A method for building a plug in a horizontal wellbore using a fluid pill containing a suspended well treatment composite. The well treatment composite contains a core comprising at least one deformable particulate and at least one dissolvable diverter. At least a portion of the surface of the core is coated with at least one viscosifying polymer and at least one crosslinking agent. The fluid pill is pumped into the wellbore at the end of a fracturing treatment and the fluid pill may be displaced by a displacement fluid. The fluid pill may be diverted to an area of lower permeability by disassociating the dissolvable diverter from the core. The disassociated diverter blocks an area of higher permeability. The sized particle distribution of the diverter is sufficient to at least partially block the penetration of fluid into the high permeability zone. In the lower permeability zone, a thickened gel is formed by the in-situ reaction of the viscosifying polymer and crosslinking. Deformable particulates in the gelled fluid form a bridge plug.

Fracturing and acidizing are common stimulation methods for increasing the production of hydrocarbons from oil, gas and geothermal wells. The success of such stimulation operations depends on the production of hydrocarbons from high permeability zones as well as low permeability zones within a fracture network. In order to optimize the production of hydrocarbons from low permeability zones, chemical diverters have been used to divert the flow of fluid pills from higher permeability zones to lower permeability zones.
Typically, multiple fractures are required during a stimulation operation in order to reach economic production levels and provide effective drainage. When multiple fractures are required, the casing in a zone of interest, after being perforated and stimulated, must be hydraulically isolated before any new zone of interest can be exploited. Isolation of zones often consists of inserting a mechanical plug, hereinafter referred to as a bridge plug, below the zone of interest. The bridge plug hydraulically isolates that portion of the well from a lower portion (or the rest) of the well. The isolation of the lower zone ensures that high pressure fracturing fluid pumped into the well is directed to the zone of interest. The high pressure fracturing fluid is used to fracture the formation at the open perforations in the casing. The high pressure of the fracturing fluid initiates and then propagates a fracture through the formation.
Wirelines are typically used to run a bridge plug into a vertical well. This method, however, is not effective in horizontal wellbores since treatment fluids (necessary for efficient production of hydrocarbons) are displaced by the bridge plug. While coiled tubing may be used to push and set the bridge plug into a horizontal wellbore, the use of such tubing is time consuming and expensive.
Construction of a sand plug in a horizontal wellbore has further been explored in order to hydraulically isolate a zone from the lower portion of the wellbore. In order to build a sand plug, it is necessary that the end of the fracturing fluid include a pill of fluid containing a greater amount of sand or proppant in comparison to the amount of sand or proppant present in the fracturing fluid. An objective is to have the sand or proppant remain suspended in the fluid pill. The fluid pill is pumped into the well under the fracturing pump rate. The pumping, and thus displacement of the fracturing fluid, is stopped as the fluid pill reaches the perforation tunnels at the zone of interest. During this time, the fluid pill, with high concentration of sand, remains stationary within the wellbore as the fractures are allowed to partially close. Once the fractures are partially closed, displacement of the fluid pill is resumed, normally at a low rate in comparison to the pump rate during the fracturing process. Typically, the rate is set low enough to prevent the fractures from reopening. The fluid pill moves into the perforation tunnels and into the fractures. The high concentration of sand or proppant suspended within the fluid pill screens out against the fractures which are partially closed. Subsequently, the suspended sand in the fluid pill bridges off against the fractures. As the process continues, the sand continues to pack off against the perforation tunnels and eventually the sand packs off against itself creating a sand plug in the wellbore. The slow rate of pumping is continued until the pressure within the wellbore rises indicating that a proper sand plug has been built within the wellbore.
Constructing a sand plug within a horizontal wellbore is difficult since gravitational settling of sand or proppant in the wellbore causes the plug to settle along the bottom of the wellbore which creates a void or channel along the upper side of the wellbore. Isolation of the treated zone is compromised since the displacement fluid passes down the channel and into the fracture without allowing the sand plug to form. Thus, it is necessary in sand plug construction that the fluid pill remain stationary for a time sufficient to keep the sand or proppant suspended in order that fractures in the formation will at least partially close.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,735,556, herein incorporated by reference, discloses a method which remedies the problems associated with insufficient suspended sand or proppant prior to closing of fractures in the formation. This method uses an ultra lightweight (ULW) proppant or neutrally buoyant proppant, in combination with sand, to build a sand plug. The method facilitates multizone fracturing treatments in horizontal wellbores not seen with conventional sand isolation plugs and provides improved isolation between perforated intervals. In the method, a fluid pill containing the ULW proppant or neutrally buoyant proppant is pumped into the wellbore at the end of the fracturing treatment. The fluid pill is pumped down the wellbore until it almost reaches fractures within the zone of interest. The pumping is then ceased or reduced, allowing the fractures to partially close. The ULW proppant remains suspended within the fluid pill while stationary. The pumping is then resumed at a slow rate as a short pump burst. This causes the proppant in the fluid pill to bridge off until a bridge plug is formed.
Methods have been sought for enhancing the wellbore isolation capabilities while enhancing the recovery of hydrocarbons from low permeability zones of the formation.
It should be understood that the above-described discussion is provided for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to limit the scope or subject matter of the appended claims or those of any related patent application or patent. Thus, none of the appended claims or claims of any related application or patent should be limited by the above discussion or construed to address, include or exclude each or any of the above-cited features or disadvantages merely because of the mention thereof herein.

Method for improving isolation of flow to completed perforated intervals


A swash plate compressor 1 includes a swash plate 3 which rotates around a rotary shaft 2, a piston 4 which moves forward and backward in response to the rotation of the swash plate 3 and in which a hemispherical concave sliding surface 4a is formed, and a shoe 5 in which there are formed a flat end surface portion 12 which comes into sliding contact with the swash plate 3 and a spherical surface portion 11 which comes into sliding contact with the sliding surface 4a of the piston 4. A columnar portion 13 is formed between the spherical surface portion 11 and the end surface portion 12 in the shoe 5, and in a boundary area between the columnar portion 13 and the spherical surface portion 11, there is formed a spherical-surface-portion side flange 14 which protrudes radially outward and constitutes the spherical surface portion.

There has hitherto been known a swash plate compressor which is provided with a swash plate which rotates around a rotary shaft, a piston which moves forward and backward in response to the rotation of the swash plate and in which a hemispherical concave sliding surface is formed, and a shoe in which there are formed a flat end surface portion which comes into sliding contact with the above-described swash plate and a spherical surface portion which comes into sliding contact with the above-described sliding surface formed in the above-described piston (Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2).
In the swash plate compressor of Patent Literature 1, in order to ensure the lubrication of a sliding surface of the above-described piston and a spherical surface portion of the shoe, the surface roughness of a non-sliding portion in the spherical surface portion of the shoe which does not come into sliding contact with the above-described sliding surface is made large, whereby a lubricating oil is held in the non-sliding contact part.
In the swash plate compressor of Patent Literature 2, the weight of a shoe is reduced by making the shoe hollow and the inertial force to the shoe caused by the reciprocating motion of a piston is reduced, whereby the sliding performance between the sliding surface of the piston and the spherical surface portion of the shoe is improved.


A sliding thorax assembly subframe is mounted to a thorax assembly main frame section of an articulating bed and is adapted to descend as the torso section of the bed is raised to an inclined position. The mechanism, which is optionally combined with a slideback mechanism to extend the pelvic area of the bed in a longitudinal direction, reduces compressive and shear forces on the patient during bed articulation.

Normally in adjustable specialty beds, when the torso is elevated more than 30 degrees, the lower portion of the torso surface compresses the lumbo-sacral area and induces the patient to slide toward the foot-end area of the bed. This not only causes discomfort, but also increases the risks of shear-lesion and pressure ulceration.
Accordingly, there is a need for a mechanism that minimizes compression of the lumbo-sacral area during articulation of the torso surface toward an inclined position.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,559,102, entitled "Adjustable Bed With Sliding Subframe for Torso Section," discloses an articulating bed with a slideback mechanism that causes displacement of the bed's torso section away from bed's pelvic section as the torso section articulates up. While this reduces the compression and shear forces described above, it would be advantageous to reduce those forces even further.

Adjustable bed with improved shear reducing mechanism


St. Augustinegrass plant ‘Polaris’ is a new and distinct variety of perennial St. Augustinegrass cultivar, characterized by its short and narrow leaf blades, fine leaf texture, short internode length and diameter, and superior cold tolerance and turf quality. ‘Polaris’ is also distinguished by its superior green plot and living ground cover characteristics.

This invention relates to a new and distinct perennial St. Augustinegrass variety adapted and suited for turfgrass applications. It is a high-quality cultivar well-suited for warm weather climates similar to that found in northern Mississippi and where high quality St. Augustinegrass grass cultivars have previously not been available. The Latin name of the genus and species of the novel cultivar disclosed is Stenotaphrum secundatum. This novel hybrid genotype has been given the varietal denomination 'Polaris' and is a perennial, asexually propagated genotype of St. Augustinegrass. St. Augustinegrass typically grows vigorously well in warm weather climates and spreads through creeping stolons that root at the nodes contacting soil with adequate moisture. Some commonly-known varieties of this genus and species include 'Raleigh' St. Augustine (not patented), 'Floratam' (not patented), 'B12' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. PP16,174 and marketed under the tradename 'Sapphire'™), and 'SS-100' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. PP9,395 and marketed under the tradename 'Palmetto'™). The designation 'Polaris' was evaluated under the experimental name 'MSA 2-3-98' and may also designate this plant in commerce. It is expected that the plant of this invention will be marketed under the synonym 'Polaris' St. Augustine as a tradename. The plant is identified interchangeably by its designation and its experimental name throughout this disclosure and its tables and figures. This high quality novel and distinct variety of St. Augustinegrass was vegetatively propagated at Starkville, Miss.

St. Augustinegrass plant named ‘Polaris’


A plasma processing method includes the steps of: loading a substrate on a lower electrode, the substrate having a resist mask formed on a transcription film; supplying a processing gas into a processing chamber; forming a magnetic field, which is oriented toward one direction and perpendicular to a line connecting an upper and the lower electrode; supplying a high frequency power to the lower electrode in the processing chamber to thereby form an electric field; converting the processing gas into a plasma by a magnetron discharge caused by a presence of an orthogonal electromagnetic field; and forming lenses on the transcription film by using the plasma. The high frequency power is supplied to the lower electrode while controlling the magnitude of the electric power divided by a surface area of the substrate to be in a range from about 1200 W/31415.9 mm2 to 2000 W/31415.9 mm2.

In a CCD solid state imaging device or a MOS (metal-oxide semiconductor) solid state imaging device, micro lenses are formed to improve the efficiency of focusing light to photosensitive parts, to thereby increase the amount of incident light upon pixels and improve the sensitivity of the device. The micro lenses corresponding to the pixels in one-to-one correspondence are arranged in, e.g., a matrix pattern. To ameliorate the sensitivity of the CCD or CMOS (complimentary metal-oxide-semiconductor) sensor, the micro lenses are required to be formed to have large areas to receive more light at their condensing points. Accordingly, a distance between neighboring micro lenses is required to be small. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B a distance D1 between micro lenses 100 in horizontally or vertically parallel positions to each other (hereinafter simply referred to as a horizontal or vertical distance D1), and a distance D2 between micro lenses in diagonal positions to each other (hereinafter, simply referred to as a diagonal distance D2) need to be reduced.
Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 10C, used to form such micro lenses 3 is a wafer W on which a mask layer 103 is formed on an underlayer 101 via a lens material layer 102 made up of, e.g., an organic material, wherein the underlayer 101 is provided with a photosensitive part and a conductive film. The mask layer 103 is formed to have a lens shape as shown in FIG. 10C. By etching the mask layer 103 and the lens material layer 102 by a plasma of a processing gas including, e.g., a C-H-F based gas and an O2 gas, the lens shape of the mask layer 103 is transcribed to the lens material layer 102, so that the micro lenses 100 are obtained.
When forming the mask layer 103 in the lens shape, the organic mask layer 103 is subjected to softening by a heat treatment after an exposure process. However, if the lenses are made to contact each other by the softening, the lens shape would be collapsed due to a surface tension therebetween. For the reason, the lenses are arranged at the horizontal or vertical distance D1 of, e.g., 0.5 to 0.2 μm, and thus the diagonal distance D2 between the lenses is set to be, e.g., 1 μm. Accordingly, intervals corresponding to D1 and D2 are also formed between the micro lenses 100 transcribed to the lens material layer 102.
Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. 2005-101232 (paragraphs (0010) and (0015)) and Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No.H10-148704 (paragraphs (0049) and (0059)) disclose techniques for reducing the intervals between the micro lenses 100. These techniques attempt to reduce the intervals between the micro lenses 100 by accumulating deposits on sidewall portions of the lenses formed on the mask layer 103 and by etching the mask layer 103 and the lens material 102 simultaneously with the deposition. However, from the inspection of the inventor of the present invention, it is found that though the D1 can be reduced to zero by those techniques, the speed with which the D2 is narrowed (i.e., the decreasing rate of the D2) is very slow. Accordingly, though it is possible to reduce the D1 to zero within a processing time set by considering a throughput of a production line, the D2 still remains great, thus impeding the improvement of the sensitivity of the solid state imaging device.

Plasma processing method, plasma processing apparatus and storage medium


System and method for emanating fragrance vapor into a region. Fragrance liquid within a receptacle exhibits a liquid phase-vapor phase interface surface when in a quiescent state. Utilizing sub-pressure generators such as fan driven systems, the pressure above the interface is lowered to promote the escape of vapor molecules for dissemination into the atmosphere. The surface area of the fragrance fluid may be increased through the use of a bubbling technique to derive an effective area permitting a larger vapor molecule escape.

Humankind has used, studied and developed fragrances from ancient times. As early as 4,00 B.C., fragrant substances were burned in China, Arabia and Egypt. Thus, the term "perfume" derives from the Latin phrase "per fumum" meaning "through smoke". Although perfume in the modern cosmetic sense of an alcohol-based solution did not exist in ancient times, evidence of the practice of fumigation with incense combining wood, spice, fruit or resin with a heat source has been found in the hieroglyphics discovered at Edfou and Philae. In his works "Canon Medicinae" and "Treatise About the South" Avicenna (880-1037 A.D.), the physician and mystic mentioned many aromatic resins, such as frankincense, storax, galbanum, ambergris, asant and myrrh, all noted for their healing properties.
While the first alcohol-based perfume was developed for Queen Elizabeth of Hungary in 1370, modern perfumery is considered to have begun in 1806 with the marketing of Eau de Cologne by Jean Maria Farina. His formula consisted of an alcohol-water base scented with an oil composed of neroli, bergamot, rosemary and lemon. The building blocks of all fragrances are the essential oils extracted from flowers, grasses, seeds, leaves, roots, barks, fruits, mosses and resins. Important advancement in fragrances commenced in the nineteenth century with the emergence of organic chemistry, allowing investigators to isolate fragrant molecules and reproduce them synthetically. Synthetics (aroma chemicals) have enabled the replication of scents from flowers, like lilac and lily of the valley that cannot be captured any other way. Fragrance in its most basic form is a molecular composition of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and sulphur. When exposed to light or heat that chemical structure can deteriorate.
In the nineteenth century perfumer or "nose" Septimus Piésse implemented a classification system for perfume which remains today. That system corresponds to the musical scale wherein a fragrance composition contains individual notes or essences. The term "notes" can refer to a single ingredient such as jasmine, frankincense or lemon, but may also refer to a perfume's phase or a fragrant blend of ingredients that combine to give a fragrance its top, middle, or base notes. The term "common thread" describes a perfume's ability to flow from one phase to another in a cohesive rather than a discordant fashion. A perfumes "octave" refers to the height of a particular odor or ingredient as it makes it presence known during the drydown process. In 1923, Poucher added to the work of Piésse in publishing a classification method looking to a fragrant ingredient's evaporation rate based upon an overall scale of 1 to 100. In the modern day a perfumer may compose from a repertoire of over 2000 notes. The Société francaise des Parfumeurs has published a perfume classification listing: the citrus family; the floral family; the fern family; the chypre family; the woody family; the oriental family; and the leather family.
The olfactory reaction to a perfume is to its vapor. When encountering the nose, the vapor is warmed, humidified and channeled to the olfactory epithelium. The olfactory sensory cells have cilia with receptor sites that capture and bind the vapor molecules. How those vapor molecules are translated by the receptors into a smell remains a matter of conjecture. Recently, a vibrational theory has arisen wherein the molecules comprising the scent vapors vibrate and switch on the receptors which, in turn, communicate with the limbic system, the seat of emotion and memory in the brain.
See generally:                Newman, "Perfume, The Art and Science of Scent", National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C., 1998.        Booth, "Perfumes, Splashes & Colognes", Storey Publishing, Pownal, Vt., 1997.        Fischer-Rizzi, "The Complete Incense Book", Sterling Publishing Company, New York, N.Y. 1996.        Pavia, "The World of Perfume", Knickerbocker Press, New York, N.Y., 1995.
The present day fragrancing industry maintains two general endeavors, one being personal or cosmetic perfumes typically marketed in artistic containers, and fragrances combined with living space emission devices. The latter devices include incense burners, candles, oil warmers and generally three categories of continuous action fluid dispensers. One of those three categories involves the utilization of a wick which protrudes from a bottle. The wick can be of various diameters or heights. This wick can also be heated using, generally, a resistor in a ceramic housing, the heating of the wick tending to enhance the drawing of fragrance liquid from some reservoir. The second device is one employing a nebulizer with an atomized particle size discriminator function. A third uses a spray nozzle similar to ones employed by an aerosol or a cologne spray with an automated/timed plunger that depresses the spray nozzle periodically, thereby atomizing the liquid. The atomized particles of the fragrance fluid can be observed emanating from a nozzle and thus vaporize into the atmosphere from that condition. With any of the emanating device approaches the liquid fragrance involved may be combined with a solvent to weigh down or dilute the fragrance in order to decrease the evaporation characteristics. In general that solvent is a glycol with an emulsifier, for example, a glycol ether marketed under the trade designation "DOWANOL". Typically, the fragrance is combined in a 1:1 ratio with a solvent, an arrangement adding to the cost of the fragrance formulation. While the heated wick based devices are inexpensive, as noted above, the heating of fragrances may be deleterious. On the other hand, the nebulizing devices can be comparatively expensive. For either approach, typically a duty cycle is involved in device operation to avoid overwhelming the living space with fragrance vapor.


The invention relates to a polyamide composition with an improved resistance against yellowing. The invention also relates to a shaped article made from the composition and to a method of forming such a shaped article. The polyamide composition comprises: a. 90 to 40 wt % of one or more semi-aromatic polyamides and b.10 to 60 wt % of one or more of aliphatic polyamides and c.1 at least one white pigment as secondary component and c.2 optionally one or more other secondary components, wherein the sum of the amount of semi-aromatic and aliphatic polyamide is 100 wt % and wherein: i. the semi-aromatic polyamide is derived from one or more aliphatic diamine monomers containing 4 to 12 carbon atoms and one or more benzene dicarboxylic acid monomers and ii. the aliphatic polyamide is derived from one or more aliphatic diamine monomers containing 4 to 10 carbon atoms and one or more aliphatic dicarboxylic acids with 6 to 12 carbon atoms with the proviso that no additional thermally conductive material is present in the composition.

Lighting used for general purposes should preferably be white. Energy-efficient lighting can be obtained by making use of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). LEDs emit light with a very narrow wavelength-band, thereby producing strongly colored light. To obtain white light as required for general purpose lighting 2 main techniques are used. Either light from red, green and blue LEDs is combined or a blue light emitting diode is used in combination with certain phosphors that absorb a part of the blue light and emit light with a broader spectrum of white light.
WO2006/135840 describes a thermally conductive polyamide-based composition that can be used in the manufacturing of components that are used in light-emitting diodes. The composition comprises a semi-aromatic polyamide and at least 30 weight percent of a thermally conductive material.
However, a disadvantage of a composition as described in WO2006/135840 is not only that the addition of a thermally conductive material raises the cost price of the composition and thus of the parts that are made out of that composition, but more importantly, the addition of the thermally conductive material negatively influences the properties of the composition and deteriorates its processing behavior.
Under the influence of blue light and the increased temperature, that inevitably results from the fact that a light source always produces heat next to light, the material that is used to produce components for light-emitting diodes tends to show discoloration. The surface of the material starts to display brown areas. This is sometimes also called yellowing. This yellowing is not only from an aesthetical point of view undesirable. It also diminishes the light yield that is coming from the LED, which is very undesirable, especially in view of environmental concerns.
Although the composition in WO2006/135840 can be used in the manufacture of components that are used in light-emitting diodes, the components suffer from an unsatisfactory performance on certain ageing tests. Therefore there is a need for an improved composition that can be used in the production of components for light-emitting diodes, that is cost effective and that displays improved results for certain ageing behavior, especially an improved resistance against yellowing.
This object is reached by a polymer composition comprising:
                a. 90 to 40 wt % of one or more semi-aromatic polyamides and        b. 10 to 60 wt % of one or more of aliphatic polyamides and        c.1 at least one white pigment as secondary component and        c.2 optionally one or more other secondary components,        wherein the sum of the amount of semi-aromatic and aliphatic polyamide is 100 wt % and wherein:                    the semi-aromatic polyamide is derived from one or more aliphatic diamine monomers containing 4 to 12 carbon atoms and one or more benzene dicarboxylic acid monomers and            the aliphatic polyamide is derived from one or more aliphatic diamine monomers containing 4 to 10 carbon atoms and one or more aliphatic dicarboxylic acids with 6 to 12 carbon atoms                        with the proviso that no additional thermally conductive material is present in the composition.


A head-protecting airbag device according to the present invention includes an airbag, a roof rail garnish formed into a single plate shape for covering the interior of the folded airbag, and being provided in its lower edge with a door portion to be pushed by the inflating airbag, and an inflator. These members are assembled into an airbag module and mounted on a vehicle as a single part. The airbag module includes a cover portion located in a back side of the roof rail garnish over the generally entire length of the folded airbag. The cover portion includes a bottom wall extending from an exterior side of the door portion for covering a lower side of the folded airbag, and a side wall for covering an exterior side of the airbag. An upper part of the side wall of the cover portion is joined to an exterior portion of the garnish above the folded airbag. The head-protecting airbag device of the present invention is able to protect the airbag until it is mounted on the vehicle, and is also able to suppress a protruding amount of the roof rail garnish toward the interior when in service.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a head-protecting airbag device mountable on an automobile, and more particularly, relates to a head-protecting airbag device in which an airbag, a roof rail garnish for covering the folded airbag, and an inflator for supplying inflation gas to the airbag are assembled into an airbag module and mounted on a vehicle as a single part.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, a head-protecting airbag device of this kind includes a folded airbag, a roof rail garnish, and an inflator for supplying inflation gas to the airbag, as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. 2001-334902 (as will be called "Reference 1").
In this airbag device, an airbag is folded and housed in upper edge of side windows along the front-rear direction. The roof rail garnish is formed into a single plate located in an area extending in the front-rear direction between a roof head lining and side windows, and is provided in its lower edge part with a door portion to be pushed by the airbag and open when the airbag deploys to cover the interior of side windows.
In this airbag device, moreover, the airbag, the roof rail garnish and the inflator are mounted on the vehicle in an integrally assembled state as an airbag module.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. 9-240409 (as will be called "Reference 2") discloses, in FIGS. 1 and 2, a head-protecting airbag device mounted on the vehicle as an airbag module in which an entire roof rail garnish opens inward when pushed by the airbag.
However, in the head-protecting airbag device in Reference 1, the folded airbag is assembled into an airbag module with its lower side and exterior side uncovered. Accordingly, after the members are assembled into an airbag module, the airbag module needs such a care as not to damage the airbag in handlings such as storage and transportation until it is mounted on the vehicle.
In the head-protecting airbag device in Reference 2, on the other hand, the roof rail garnish includes an elongate fixing portion extending along the entire length of the folded airbag for holding the airbag by its interior side, and a garnish body for covering the interior side of the folded airbag. When the airbag module is formed, the folded airbag is surrounded by the fixing portion and the garnish body of the roof rail garnish in interior and exterior sides, so that any countermeasures do not have to be considered to prevent damages to the airbag before it is mounted on the vehicle.
However, in the head-protecting airbag device in Reference 2, a whole garnish body in vertical direction opens inward around the upper edge of the garnish body upon airbag deployment. Accordingly, inward protruding amount of the roof rail garnish is too great for this airbag device to be mounted on a vehicle having a small interior space.


A multiple stage laser system that produces coherent light in the ultraviolet range using phase conjugated Stimulated Raman Scattering and harmonic generation. The system uses a pump laser producing an input beam that is frequency shifted via phase conjugating Stimulated Raman Scattering. The Raman shifted beam is passed through a harmonic generation stage that produces the desired output beam by generating the required harmonic of the Raman shifted beam.

This invention relates to solid state lasers and particularly to diode-pumped solid state lasers that utilize phase conjugating Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) to generate the desired beam wavelengths suitable for microlithography and other applications.
The field of microlithography and the lasers needed to etch electronic microchips is burgeoning. At the present state of technology, one of the limiting parameters to smaller microchips and higher component density on such chips is the wavelength of the coherent light etching the components on the substrate. The quality of the chip circuitry and the economic viability of the production methods depend on a number of factors arising from the laser used for etching. These factors are the laser""s emission wavelength, the laser""s beam divergence and beam profile, the beam""s pulse duration, the beam""s pulse repetition rate, and the laser""s overall compactness and safety.
The laser""s emission wavelength determines the resolution that can be achieved on the individual chip. The shorter the laser""s emission wavelength, the higher the resolution that can be achieved. Since higher resolutions lead to higher component densities on the chip, this translates to more valuable chips.
The laser""s beam divergence and profile also affect the viability of the production method. A beam divergence that is too high, in conjunction with other beam parameters, renders a laser unsuitable for microlithographic applications. For the intended application, it is desirable to bring the laser""s beam divergence closer to the diffraction-limited, plane-wave, TEMOO single mode.
A high pulse repetition rate coupled with shorter pulse durations lowers the probability of damaging the manufactured components. Thus, it is desirable to have higher pulse repetition rates and, within certain limits, shorter pulse durations. The laser system""s overall compactness and work safety factor relate simply to the cost of chip fabrication plants.
Today""s mature excimer lasers can directly generate in the sub-200 nm wavelength range of the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum. However, these lasers have some unfortunate drawbacks. These excimer lasers, such as those outlined in U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,134 issued to Palash et al. and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,161 issued to Sandstrom et al., require the use of dangerous halogen materials such as xenon fluoride (XeF), krypton fluoride (KrF), argon fluoride (ArF) and others. The use of such gases necessitates large gas processing, storage and circulation technologies. Also, using such lasers in a fabrication plant requires changing the air inside the plant entirely every several hours for safety purposes. These lasers are bulky, complex, potentially hazardous, and expensive. Furthermore, these excimer lasers cannot generate at pulse repetition rates much higher than 1 kHz, and their beam mode is quite far from the desired TEM00 single mode.
On the other hand, solid state lasers do not suffer from the safety, repetition rate, and beam mode drawbacks of excimer lasers. Solid state lasers do not use dangerous gases and this eliminates the added expense and potential harm such gases can cause. Not only that, but solid state lasers can be pulsed at multi-kHz repetition rates that are much higher than that of excimer lasers. Furthermore, the beam quality of solid-state lasers can be close to the ultimately possible diffraction limit. However, solid state lasers do not directly emit in the desired UV range. The optical frequency, and thereby the wavelength, of the solid state laser""s emission must therefore be converted to the desired wavelength range to make them suitable for microlithography.
Such a conversion can be achieved by directly multiplying the optical frequency, a method known as harmonic generation. Harmonic generation is the most common method of frequency conversion (see e.g. W. Koechner. xe2x80x9cSolid-State Laser Engineeringxe2x80x9d, 3rd Edition, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1992). However, this method does not allow the generation of wavelengths other than the initial wavelength divided by an integer factor.
Fortunately, there are other methods that allow the production of UV emission from solid state lasers. One method that is utilized in U.S. Pat. No. 5,742,626 issued to Mead et al. is the use of an optical parametric oscillator (OPO). This method is based on a nonlinear process that includes producing two independent, separated beams from the initial single beam. This approach suffers from an unfortunate practical shortcoming. The method necessitates combining two separated beams to produce the desired UV output beam. A sum frequency generator would combine the OPO-produced beam with the fifth harmonic of the input laser beam. While combining such beams is theoretically and experimentally possible, achieving the necessary efficiency to make the method useful will be very difficult, if not practically impossible. One reason for this is that it is very difficult to achieve the precision required to align independent, separated beams with the necessary parallelism. Also, the pulses produced by the laser and by the OPO have different temporal shapes, further complicating the efficient mixing of the beams. Also, the OPO""s jitter and the substantially broadened spectrum preclude efficient mixing. The above reasons therefore render the method and apparatus of Mead et al. to be impractical.
Another method for frequency conversion that produces different wavelengths from fixed wavelength solid state lasers is the use of Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS). Raman scattering is a process in which light is scattered at frequencies which are the sum and the difference between the incident frequency and the oscillation/vibration frequencies of the scattering material. When a scattering material is irradiated by a monochromatic light that has a frequency which does not correspond to any of the absorption lines of the material, frequency shifted components of the light can be detected in the scattered radiation. These shifted components have shifts independent of the irradiation frequency but characteristic of the scattering material. A laser beam, when passed through a scattering materialxe2x80x94or Raman mediumxe2x80x94produces shifted lines on the low frequency side and shifted lines on the high frequency side. The shifted lines on the low frequency side are called the Stokes-shifted lines and the shifted lines on the high frequency side are called the anti-Stokes shifted lines. Thus, laser light with frequency v scattered on a Raman medium consists of not only the initial frequency v but also the vxe2x88x92v1frequency (Stokes-shifted with a longer wavelength) and the v+v1 frequency (anti-Stokes shifted with a shorter wavelength) where v1 is characteristic of the Raman medium.
From the above, it can therefore be seen that SRS can produce different wavelengths of light given an input beam and a judicious choice of a Raman medium. The Raman medium could be gaseous, liquid or solid. The Raman threshold and other physical conditions for frequency shifting are very different for the three types of media and this leads to substantial differences in designs of gas, liquid and solid state Raman lasers. Most known practical designs of Raman lasers use gas Raman cells. U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,103 issued to Hyman et al. uses SRS in gas cells to produce yellow light for laser guide-star applications. U.S. Pat. No. 5,796,761 issued to Cheung et al. utilizes SRS in solid Raman cells to produce a laser beam in the visible range for similar applications. U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,281 issued to Byer also proposes using an SRS frequency conversion laser, this time using a solid SRS cell, for guide star applications. However, none of the methods above can convert laser light into the UV-range with a sufficient efficiency to be suitable for microlithography.
The patent by Hyman et al. describes a classic gas-cell based Raman laser where Raman cells are placed outside the laser resonator. Neither the wavelengths it generates nor its efficiency and beam divergence allow the design to be used for producing UV coherent light suitable for microlithographic applications.
Both Cheung""s and Byer""s concepts employ solid Raman cells. An essential part of both their designs is Raman unit installed inside the laser resonator. This design cannot be used for UV-microlithography because the placement of the Raman shifter does not allow the selection of the resonator transverse mode. Without this ability, the desirable beam divergence and beam quality cannot be achieved. Also, when the Raman cell is placed inside the resonator, there is a fluctuating delay (jitter) between the beginning of lasing and the emission of the SRS pulse. This leads to jitter instability in the frequency sum/difference crystal that precludes the achievement of microlithography required parameters.
The most significant drawback of all the above designs is the lack of a mechanism to completely eliminate forward scattering. As a rule, forward and backward scattering accompanies the generation of higher Stokes and anti-Stokes Raman spectral components. The presence of forward scattering lowers the efficiency of concentrating optical energy in one desirable line. A high concentration efficiency is especially important for the multi-step conversion of an input beam into the UV range. Additionally, in the presence of forward scattering, the generation of the single transverse beam-mode(TEM00)xe2x80x94that is very essential for microlithographic applicationsxe2x80x94is practically unachievable. Forward scattering is observed with all the above designs but with the intra-cavity SRS-cell the effect is stronger, and, despite the effort taken by Cheung, it cannot be eliminated totally.
Thus, while the concepts of Cheung, Hyman, and Byer are well suited for guide-star and other applications that do not require the best possible beam quality, none of them is readily applicable to microlithography.
To achieve an output beam in the TEM00-mode using SRS, the forward scattering must be entirely eliminated. This can be done by using the so called phase-conjugation geometry (see, e.g. V. Bespalov, and G. Pasmanik. xe2x80x9cNon-Linear Optics and Adaptive Systemsxe2x80x9d, Nova Science Publishers, New York, 1993). The phase conjugation principle, in simplest terms, is capable of inverting both the direction of propagation and the phase for each plane wave component of the incoming light beam. Without phase conjugation, the output of a Raman cell, given an input beam that is in the TEM00-mode, will be not be in the TEM00-mode. This change in mode is due to the presence of forward scattering. However, by using a phase conjugating geometry of the Raman cell, the frequency shifted beams will not have the undesirable forward scattering. Thus, if the input to a phase conjugating Raman cell is in the TEM00-mode, the output will also be a phase conjugated Stokes shifted beam in the TEM00-mode.
A combination of the frequency conversion methods outlined above and of the phase conjugation geometry would therefore produce a beam with the desired characteristics from a solid state laser. The frequency conversion methods would allow the generation of UV light while the phase conjugation geometry would eliminate the undesirable effect of Raman scatteringxe2x80x94forward scattering.
What is therefore required is a laser system that combines the frequency conversion methods outlined above with the concept of phase conjugation to produce laser light in the UV range with the characteristics that make that light suitable for microlithography.
The present invention overcomes the deficiencies identified in the prior art. The present invention provides a multiple stage solid state laser system producing an output beam having an output wavelength in the desirable ultraviolet range, the system comprising a first stage including an input beam stage producing an input beam, a plurality of further stages, each stage being chosen from the group comprising a phase conjugating frequency conversion stage, and a harmonic generation stage wherein each stage of the system is optically coupled to at least one other stage.
Preferably, the system includes a second stage comprising a first phase conjugating frequency conversion stage coupled to receive the input beam and producing a first phase conjugated Stokes shifted beam.
More preferably, the laser system includes a third stage comprising a harmonic generation stage coupled to receive the phase conjugated Stokes shifted beam and producing a Stokes harmonic beam that is a fixed harmonic of the first phase conjugated Stokes shifted beam.
Also preferably, the laser system includes a third stage comprising a harmonic generation stage coupled to receive the input beam and producing a harmonic beam that is a fixed harmonic of the input beam.
More preferably, the laser system includes a fourth stage comprising a second phase conjugating frequency conversion stage coupled to receive the harmonic beam and the first phase conjugated Stokes shifted beam and producing a phase conjugated anti-Stokes shifted beam.
Conveniently, the laser system includes a second stage comprising a harmonic generation stage coupled to receive the input beam and producing a harmonic beam that is a fixed harmonic of the input beam.
More conveniently, the laser system includes a third stage comprising a phase conjugating frequency conversion stage coupled to receive the harmonic beam and producing an output beam.
Also conveniently, the laser system includes a third stage comprising a second phase conjugating frequency conversion stage coupled to receive the input beam and producing a second phase conjugated Stokes shifted beam.
More conveniently, the laser system further includes a fourth stage comprising a harmonic generation stage coupled to receive the first phase conjugated Stokes shifted beam and producing a Stokes harmonic beam that is a fixed harmonic of the first phase conjugated Stokes shifted beam.
Most conveniently, the laser system further includes a fifth stage comprising a third phase conjugating frequency conversion stage coupled to receive the second phase conjugated Stokes shifted beam and the Stokes harmonic beam. The fifth stage also produces a phase conjugated anti-Stokes shifted beam.
Alternatively, the laser system further includes fourth and fifth stages
wherein the fourth stage comprises a first harmonic generation stage coupled to receive the first phase conjugated Stokes shifted beam and producing a first Stokes harmonic beam and
wherein the fifth stage comprises a second harmonic generation stage coupled to receive the second phase conjugated Stokes shifted beam and producing a second Stokes harmonic beam.
Furthermore, it is preferable that the laser system includes an output stage comprising a frequency conversion stage coupled to receive both the first and the second Stokes harmonic beams.
More preferably, the laser system further includes an output stage comprising a harmonic generation stage coupled to receive both the first and the second Stokes harmonic beams.
Also preferably, the frequency conversion stage of the laser system includes components chosen from the group comprising a phase conjugating SRS Stokes cell transmitting a phase conjugated Stokes shifted beam and a phase conjugating SRS anti-Stokes cell transmitting a phase conjugating anti-Stokes shifted beam.
In another embodiment, the invention provides a laser system comprising an input beam source and a plurality of optical devices for altering the frequency of a laser beam including at least one phase conjugating Raman medium cell and an optical harmonic generation apparatus wherein the input beam source is optically coupled to at least one of the plurality of optical devices for altering the frequency of a laser beam.
Yet another embodiment of the invention provides for a method of producing laser light having a wavelength in the ultraviolet range, the method comprising:
producing a pulsed input beam from an input beam source
passing the input beam through at least one initial wavelength altering apparatus to produce at least one first intermediate beam, the initial wavelength altering apparatus being chosen from the group comprising:
a phase conjugating Raman medium cell
an optical harmonic generation apparatus.
Preferably, the method further includes passing the at least one first intermediate beam through a secondary wavelength altering apparatus to produce an output beam, the secondary wavelength apparatus being chosen from the group comprising:
a phase conjugating Raman medium cell
an optical harmonic generation apparatus.
Alternatively, the method further includes passing the first intermediate beam through a secondary wavelength altering apparatus to produce a second intermediate beam, the secondary wavelength apparatus comprising a phase conjugating Raman medium cell producing a phase conjugated anti-Stokes shifted beam.
Conveniently, the method further includes the step of using at least one phase conjugating SRS Stokes cell to produce a phase conjugated Stokes shifted beam.
Preferably, the method further includes the step of using an optical harmonic generation apparatus to produce fixed harmonics of a laser beam.
Also preferably, the method further includes the step of using at least one phase conjugating SRS Anti-Stokes cell to produce a phase conjugated anti-Stokes shifted beam.
The advantages of the present invention are numerous. Diode-pumped lasers can be used with this invention to provide high repetition rates. Desirable UV laser light can be produced without complex gas handling mechanisms such as those used in excimer lasers. The use of SRS to shift the input beam frequency allows for a wide range of output beam wavelengths. By judiciously choosing a phase conjugating Raman medium with the desired characteristics and by generating the required harmonics, a legion of output beam wavelengths is available. Furthermore, the high conversion efficiency of the phase conjugating SRS process reduces the need for very high power input laser beams. This leads to further cost savings. Also, phase-conjugating SRS cells produce only backward scattered beams with no forward scattering, thereby helping to achieve the TEM00 quality of the output beam, if the input beam has the TEM00 quality.


Novel adenine derivatives whose structures are represented by Formula I, are disclosed, as are methods of using those compounds and others of Formula II to treat monocyte-mediated disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.

Chan et al. (1982) J. Cell Physiol., 111:28-32 studied the pathways of pyrimidine nucleotide metabolism in murine peritoneal macrophages and monocytes, and reported undetectable levels of deoxycytidine kinase or thymidine kinase in these cells. High levels of adenosine kinase were found, however.
Similar high levels of adenosine kinase have been found in human monocytes and human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) in work carried out in the inventors' laboratory. In the preliminary work, MDM were found to exhibit about one-tenth to about one-fourth the nucleoside kinase activity of GEM T lymphoblasts (e.g. ATCC CCL 119) toward uridine, deoxycytidine and thymidine, and about two-thirds the adenosine kinase activity of GEM cells. In addition, that adenosine kinase activity of MDM cells was at least about 10-fold higher than any of the other kinase activities. Those studies also indicated relatively low levels of nucleoside phosphorylation using AZT, dideoxycytidine (ddC) and 2',3'-dideoxyadenosine (ddA) in intact GEM T lymphoblasts and still lower levels with the MDM.
Several 2-substituted adenosine derivatives have been reported not to be deaminated by adenosine Biophys. Acta, 99:442-451 reported that deoxyadenosine-1-N-oxide, as well as 2-hydroxy-, 2-methyl-, 2-chloro-, 2-acetamido-, and 2-methylthio-adenosines were neither substrates nor inhibitors for adenosine deaminase. Montgomery, in Nucleosides, Nucleotides, and Their Biological Applications, Rideout et al. eds., Academic Press, New York, page 19 (1983) provides a table of comparative K.sub.m and V.sub.max data for the deamination of adenosine, 2-halo-adenosines 2-halo-deoxyadenosines and 2-fluoro-arabinoadenosine that also indicates that those 2-halo adenine derivatives are poor substrates for the enzyme relative to adenine itself. Stoeckler et al. (1982) Biochem. Pharm., 31:1723-1728 reported that the 2'-deoxy-2'-azidoribosyl and 2'-deoxy-2'-azidoarabinosyl-adenine derivatives were substrates for human erythrocytic adenosine deaminase, whereas work of others indicated 2-fluoroadenosine to have negligible activity with adenosine deaminase.
2-Chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine is phosphorylated by non-dividing (normal) human peripheral blood lymphocytes and is converted to the 5'-triphosphate. This adenine derivative is not catabolized significantly by intact human cells or cell extracts, and is phosphorylated efficiently by T lymphocytes. Carson et al. (1980) Proc. Natl. Sci. USA, 77:6865-6869.
As discussed before, high levels of adenosine kinase have been found in murine peritoneal macrophages and in human monocytes. Adenosine kinase can phosphorylate 2'-deoxyadenosine derivatives, but does so less efficiently than deoxycytidine kinase. Hershfield et al. (1982) J. Biol. Chem., 257:6380-6386.
Infectious diseases in which pathogenic organisms persist in chronically infected monocytes/macrophages are Chagas' disease and other trypanosomal diseases, Leishmaniasis, mycobacterial infections, systemic and local fungal diseases, and protozoal infections such as toxoplasmosis, malaria and pneumocystis.
Similarly, many autoimmune diseases share common features with the pathogenesis of viral infection. The specific mechanism that mediates autoimmune disorders can be augmented by amplification systems which may involve lymphokines or humoral components.
One form of autoimmune disease involves a cytotoxic mechanism wherein circulating autoantibody reacts with self-antigen present on a cell surface. The cytotoxic process can be mediated by complement or by cells as in antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity. The end-result of the cytotoxic mechanism is usually cell lysis, elimination or inactivation, and this is the mechanism of many autoimmune hematologic disorders.
A second form of autoimmune disease involves the formation of immune complexes of autoantibody plus self-antigen that can fix complement as well as initiate inflammatory processes. Organs in which such complexes deposit are subject to inflammation, and ultimately to destruction. Nucleic acids are known to serve as antigens for this mechanism in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Immune complex deposition appears to account for the glomerulonephritis present in many autoimmune disorders.
A third mechanism for autoimmune disorders is mediated by interactions of cells or their soluble products with antigen (cell-mediated immune response) rather than with antibody and complement (humoral immune response). This mechanism is classically manifested in delayed hypersensitivity, which is characterized by a reaction that is time-dependent, has a specific histologic sequence in terms of inflammation and cellular infiltration, and can only be transferred by cells and not by serum.
The effector mechanism of cell-mediated cytotoxicity can include direct cell interaction with antigen or elaboration of lymphokines and monokines. The lymphokines primarily amplify the initial reaction by nonspecifically recruiting inflammatory cells such as neutrophils, cytotoxic T cells, monocytes and macrophages to the reaction area. At that inflammatory site, a cascade effect occurs wherein cells become activated, proliferate and secrete more cytokines.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic recurrent systemic inflammatory autoimmune disease primarily involving the joints. Recent studies have suggested that a virus, possibly Epstein-Barr virus, may be implicated in this autoimmune disorder. The Epstein-Barr virus is a polyclonal stimulator of B cells and can stimulate the production of rheumatoid factors by B cells. In rheumatoid arthritis, there is an increase in alpha.sub.2 -globulin, a polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia, and hypoalbuminemia. Cryoprecipitates of immunoglobulins are often seen in rheumatoid vasculitis.
Rheumatoid factors can be present in other autoimmune disorders, as well as in rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid factors have been found to be present in some patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjogren's syndrome, scleroderma and polymyositis.
The deposition of immune complexes on or in the synovia of joints appears to initiate or exacerbate an inflammatory response of the synovial membrane in rheumatoid arthritis. The deposited complexes fix and activate complement, which subsequently stimulates the attraction of inflammatory cells such as monocytes and macrophages. The deeper layers of the synovium are infiltrated by both T and B lymphocytes, plasma cells, monocytes, macrophages and occasionally neutrophils. The infiltrating cells elaborate several effector molecules of the inflammatory response, which transforms the joint fluid into an inflammatory exudate. The immune complexes together with the infiltrating cell-released factors activate the clotting pathway leading to fibrin production and deposition in the joint space, synovium and cartilage.
The essential role of the monocyte in rheumatoid arthritis was confirmed by Fujii et al. (1990) Ann. Rheum. Dis., 49:497-503. Peripheral blood and synovial fluid were obtained from 44 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The obtained monocytes were examined for their ability to produce interleukin-1.beta., leucotriene B.sub.4, and prostoglandin E.sub.2, all factors important in the establishment and maintenance of chronic inflammation. Monocytes derived from the rheumatoid arthritis patients produced significantly more of these factors than monocytes obtained from normal patients, indicating that the monocytes in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis play an important role in mediating the chronic inflammation characteristic of the disease.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is another monocyte-mediated chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease. Pathologically, MS is the result of demyelination in the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system). Symptoms resulting from this demyelination include weakness, visual impairment, incoordination, and paresthesia (abnormal tingling). The course of the disease is largely unpredictable, but often progresses through a cycle of exacerbation of symptoms followed by remission.
To date, usual treatment consists of therapy with ACTH or corticosteroids such as prednisone. Controlled studies suggest that such treatments induce more rapid clearing of acute symptoms and signs but leave the long-term outcome of the disease unaffected. Long-term maintenance therapy with ACTH or corticosteroids is contraindicated. Evidence indicates that immunosuppreessant agents have no long-term benefit. Cecil, Textbook of Medicine, Beeson et al., eds., 15th ed., W.B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, (1979) page 847.
Although the exact etiology of MS is unknown, its origins are thought to be autoimmunologic. For example, experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of demyelinating diseases such as MS, is induced by immunizing mice with whole myelin or specific myelin components such as myelin basic protein.
In humans with MS, exacerbations are correlated with high levels of neopterin in blood and cerebrospinal fluid. Neopterin is a factor released from activated monocytes and macrophages, thereby implicating these cells as being involved in MS exacerbations. Fredrickson et al., Acta Neurol. Scand., 75:352-355 (1987); Huber et al., J. Exp. Med., 160:310-316 (1984). Elevated neopterin levels are also found in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Indeed, at the microscopic level, monocytes and microglial cells (macrophages of the central nervous system) are found within the demyelinated regions of the nerve cells during MS exacerbations. Beeson et al. (eds.) Cecil Textbook of Medicine, W.B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, Pa. (1979). As in rheumatoid arthritis, the monocyte plays an important role in mediating the inflammation responsible for MS.
Various usual treatment methodologies have been employed to ameliorate the symptoms of autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Many of these are directed to use of palliative, anti-inflammatory agents.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, such as phenylbutazone, indomethacin, fenoprofen, ibuprofen, naproxen, sulindac, tolmetin, methotrexate, and mefenamic acid, and antimalarial drugs, such as chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, have been employed for arthritis, but possess serious side effects upon prolonged usage. Salicylates are commonly employed, specifically aspirin, in dosages from about 3.6 to about 5.4 grams (g) per day. Numerous side-effects are associated with high-dose aspirin therapy such as gastric upset, tinnitus and decreased platelet adhesiveness. Other frequently used palliative anti-inflammatory therapeutic agents such as parenteral gold salts, penicillamine and corticosteroids such as prednisone also possess significant side effects. No treatment to date has had any consistent positive effect on the course of MS.
Recently, the art has described the use of specific deoxyribosides as anti-inflammatory agents. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,481,197 to Rideout et al. relates to the use of unsubstituted 3-deaza-2'-deoxyadenosine derivatives in the treatment of inflammation. U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,344 to Rideout et al. relates to a process for the synthesis of deoxyribosides that utilizes a bacterial phosphorylase.
A deoxyriboside derivative, 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine (CdA), has been found to be an effective agent for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and some T cell malignancies. Carson et al. (1984) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 81:2232-2236; Piro et al. (1988), Blood 72:1069-1073. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a malignancy of B lymphocytes that bear the Leu-1 surface antigen.
The Leu-1 B cells represent a minor proportion of the normal pool of B lymphocytes, usually less than 20 percent. The Leu-1 B cells express surface markers that are typically found on monocytes (Mac-I antigen) and T-lymphocytes (Leu-1 antigen). Approximately 10 percent of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia exhibit accompanying autoimmunity, and recently, Leu-1 B cells have been implicated in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases.
Phase 1 studies on humans showed that infusion of increasing doses of 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine [0.1-0.5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day (mg/kg/day)] yielded increasing plasma concentrations of the drug [10-50 nanomolar (nM)]. Those infusions indicated that the drug was well tolerated and did not induce nausea, vomiting or fever. The dose-limiting toxicity was bone marrow suppression, which usually occurred at doses greater than about 0.2 mg/kg/day or at plasma levels of greater than about 20 nM.
Other studies, Montgomery et al. (1959) J. Am. Chem. Soc., 82:463-468, indicated that 2-fluoroadenosine exhibits a relatively high degree of cytotoxicity. Those workers reported that C57 black mice implanted with Adenocarcinoma 755 (Ad755) could tolerate only about 1 milligram per kilogram of body weight. 2-Fluoroadenosine was found to be inactive at that level against Ad755 as well as leukemia L1210 and the Erlich ascites tumor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,221 and its division No. 4,918,179 to Watanabe et al. describe the synthesis and use of several 2-substituted-2'-deoxy-2'-fluoroarabinofuranosyl nucleosides including adenine derivatives. Those compounds were said to have anti-tumor and antitrypanosomal biological activities. Cytotoxicity data showing anti-tumor activity of 2-amino-6-thiopurine, guanine and thiopurine derivatives against murine and human cell lines were reported.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,034,518 to Montgomery et al. teaches the synthesis of 2-substituted-2'-deoxy-2'-fluoroaraadenosines. Those compounds were said to have anticancer activity, and data for prolongation of life of mice transplanted with P388 leukemia cells were provided.
Chemotherapeutic agents are described hereinafter that exhibit substantial activity toward resting lymphocytes and monocytes. These agents are also useful in the treatment of autoimmune disorders.

2-halo-2'-deoxyadenosines in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis


According to the method for producing bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide salt of the present invention, the method for producing fluorosulfate, and the method for producing bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide onium salt, first, an aqueous solution is prepared by dissolving a mixed liquid containing bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide and fluorosulfonic acid in water. Then, the aqueous solution is neutralized with an alkaline compound, producing bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide salt and fluorosulfate. In the methods, bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide salt, fluorosulfate, and bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide onium salt can be obtained safely and easily.

It has been known that bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide salt ((FSO2)2N.M, wherein M is Li, K, NH4, or the like) is a useful anion source for ion electrical conducting materials and ion liquids. Also, it has been known that fluorosulfate is a useful compound used for ion electrical conducting materials and fire-retardant materials. In addition, it has been known that bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide onium salt is a useful ionic compound as an ionic liquid.
As a method for producing bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide, the methods disclosed in NPL1 and NPL2 have been known. More specifically, in NPL1, a method, in which urea (CO(NH2)2) and fluorosulfonic acid (FSO3H) are mixed first, and then the resulting mixture is heated, allowing the chemical reaction between them to proceed, is disclosed. In this reaction, the chemical reaction represented by the formula (1) below proceeds, producing bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide, ammonium hydrogen sulfate (NH4HSO4), hydrogen fluoride (HF), and carbon dioxide (CO2).3FSO3H+CO(NH2)2→(FSO2)2NH+NH4HSO4+HF+CO2  (1)
By distilling under reduced pressure during the reaction, a mixed liquid consisting of the newly produced bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide and fluorosulfonic acid is fractionally distilled. By distilling the obtained mixed liquid further, bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide can be recovered.
In NPL2, a method, in which bis(chlorosulfonyl)imide ((ClSO2)2NH) and arsenic trifluoride (AsF3) are reacted, is disclosed. In this reaction, the chemical reaction represented by the formula (2) below is allowed to proceed, producing bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide and arsenic trichloride (AsCl3).3(ClSO2)2NH+2AsF3→3(FSO2)2NH+2AsCl3  (2)
After the reaction, the newly produced bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide is dissolved in dichloromethane. The fraction of the newly produced bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide contain fluorosulfonic acid as an impurity. The contaminating fluorosulfonic acid can also be dissolved in dichloromethane. By adding NaCl to the dichloromethane dissolving bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide and fluorosulfonic acid, the chemical reaction represented by the formula (3) below is allowed to proceed, producing sodium salt of fluorosulfonic acid (FSO3Na) and hydrogen chloride (HCl). Bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide can be recovered by distilling away dichloromethane, after removing the precipitated sodium salt of fluorosulfonic acid.FSO3H+NaCl→FSO3Na+HCl  (3)
As a conventional method for producing bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide salt, a method, in which bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide is produced by the methods disclosed in NPL1 and NPL2, and is neutralized by an alkaline compound after dissolving the recovered bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide in water or the like, has been known, as described in NPL3.
As a conventional method for producing fluorosulfate, a method utilizing the chemical reaction represented by the formula (3) has been known. In the method, the bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide produced by the methods disclosed in NPL1 and NPL2. The bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide fraction containing fluorosulfonic acid is dissolved in a solvent, such as dichloromethane or the like, and reacted with NaCl, producing fluorosulfate.
As a conventional method for producing bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide onium salt, a method, in which bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide is produced by the methods disclosed in NPL1 and NPL2, and an onium compound is added to the bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide after dissolving the bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide in water or the like, has been known.

Method for producing bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide salt, method for producing fluorosulfate, and method for producing bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide onium salt

Mitsubishi Materials Electronic Chemicals Co., Ltd.


An acrylamide derivative of the following general formula (I) is used to prepare a polymer or copolymer:

This application is the national phase under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7371 of PCT International Application No. PCT/JP00/00314 which has an International filing date of Jan. 24, 2000, which designated the United States of America and was published in English.
The present invention relates to acrylamide derivatives having functional groups on side chains, homopolymers and copolymers of said derivatives, as well as crosslinked products of said polymers. Acrylamide derivatives of the present invention can readily be radical-polymerized to conveniently prepare homopolymers and can also be copolymerized with other monomers. Copolymers synthesized from acrylamide derivatives of the present invention can be temperature-responsive polymers, which are soluble below but insolubilized above a specific temperature in aqueous solutions. Thus, they can be immobilized on the surface of a solid to show hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity below and above the specific temperature, respectively. Copolymers of the present invention can be used not only to switch between hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity in a narrow temperature range but also to switch from an electrically charged state to a non-charged state simply by temperature change. Moreover, their various functional groups can be used to introduce various molecules via covalent or hydrogen bonds.
N-alkyl-substituted acrylamide polymers are one of temperature-responsive polymers, among which poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (hereinafter abbreviated as PIPAAm) is water-soluble below but rapidly insolubilized to form a precipitate above the phase transition temperature of 32xc2x0 C. Sequences of PIPAAm have been introduced into the surfaces of solids to switch between hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity simply by temperature change for harvesting cells after culture or development into chromatography. Such techniques are described in the following documents, for example:
T. Okano, N. Yamada, H. Sakai, Y. Sakurai, Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, vol. 27, pp. 1243-1251 (1993);
T. Okano, N. Yamada, M. Okuhara, H. Sakai, Y. Sakurai, Biomaterials, vol. 16, pp. 297-303 (1995);
H. Kanazawa, K. Yamamoto, Y. Matsushima, N. Takai, A. Kikuchi, Y. Sakurai, T. Okano, Analytical Chemistry, vol. 68, pp. 100-105 (1996);
H. Kanazawa, Y. Kashiwase, K. Yamamoto, Y. Matsushima, A. Kikuchi, Y. Sakurai, T. Okano, Analytical Chemistry, vol. 69, pp. 823-830 (1997).
These temperature-responsive polymers are commonly copolymerized with comonomers having a functional group such as acrylic acid to introduce the functional group into said polymers. However, straight-chain polymers or hydrogels (i.e. crosslinked products) incorporating an increased rate of acrylic acid inevitably showed a significant rise in phase transition temperature and insensitive transition behaviors. Namely, no method has existed for introducing many functional groups into temperature-responsive polymers or hydrogels while maintaining the sensitive temperature response.
An object of the present invention is to provide a monomer for preparing a polymer or hydrogel (i.e. crosslinked product) incorporating many functional groups while maintaining the sensitive temperature response, and said polymer or hydrogel (i.e. crosslinked product).
We carefully studied to solve the above problems. As a result, we found that the temperature response of homopolymers can be maintained by copolymerizing them with a monomer having a closely similar structure to that of the homopolymers, and thus attained the present invention.
Accordingly, the present invention provides acrylamide derivatives of the following general formula (I):
wherein R1 represents a hydrogen atom, a straight-chain or branched alkyl group containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms or a C3-6 cycloalkyl group, R2 and R3 each independently represent an alkylene group containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms or R2 and R3 may be combined to form a ring, X represents a hydrogen atom, an amino group, a hydroxyl group, a halogen atom, a carboxyl group or a xe2x80x94COOR4 group wherein R4 represents a C1-6 straight-chain or branched alkyl, C3-6 cycloalkyl, phenyl, substituted phenyl, benzyl or substituted benzyl group, and Y represents an amino group, a hydroxyl group, a halogen atom, a carboxyl group or a xe2x80x94COOR4 group wherein R4 represents a C1-6 straight-chain or branched alkyl, C3-6 cycloalkyl, phenyl, substituted phenyl, benzyl or substituted benzyl group.
The present invention also provides polymers consisting of identical or different repeating units of the following general formula (II):
wherein R1 represents a hydrogen atom, a straight-chain or branched alkyl group containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms or a C3-6 cycloalkyl group, R2and R3 each independently represent a alkylene group containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms or R2 and R3 may be combined to form a ring, X represents a hydrogen atom, an amino group, a hydroxyl group, a halogen atom, a carboxyl group or a xe2x80x94COOR4 group wherein R4represents a C1-6 straight-chain or branched alkyl, C3-6 cycloalkyl, phenyl, substituted phenyl, benzyl or substituted benzyl group, and Y represents an amino group, a hydroxyl group, a halogen atom, a carboxyl group or a xe2x80x94COOR4 group wherein R4represents a C1-6 straight-chain or branched alkyl, C3-6 cycloalkyl, phenyl, substituted phenyl, benzyl or substituted benzyl group.
The present invention also provides copolymers consisting of different or identical repeating units of the above general formula (II) and different or identical repeating units of general formula (III):
wherein R1 represents a hydrogen atom, a straight-chain or branched alkyl group containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms or a C3-6 cycloalkyl group, R5 represents a straight-chain or branched alkyl group containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms or a C3-6 cycloalkyl group, and R6 represents a straight-chain or branched alkyl group containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms or a C3-6 cycloalkyl group, or R5 and R6 may be combined to form a 3-, 4-, 5 or 6-membered ring in which the xe2x80x94CHxe2x80x94 group to which they are attached is one member.
Additionally, the present invention provides crosslinked products containing said polymers and crosslinked products containing said copolymers.

Acrylamide derivatives and polymers containing said derivatives

Abstract: wherein R1 represents a hydrogen atom, a straight-chain or branched alkyl group containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms or a C3-6 cycloalkyl group, R2 and R3 each independently represent an alkylene group containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms or R2 and R3 may be combined to form a ring, X represents a hydrogen atom, an amino group, a hydroxyl group, a halogen atom, a carboxyl group or a xe2x80x94COOR4 group wherein R4 represents a C1-6 straight-chain or branched alkyl, C3-6 cycloalkyl, phenyl, substituted phenyl, benzyl or substituted benzyl group, and Y represents an amino group, a halogen atom, a carboxyl group or a xe2x80x94COOR4 group wherein R4 represents a C1-6 straight-chain or branched alkyl, C3-6 cycloalkyl, phenyl, substituted phenyl, benzyl or substituted benzyl group. The thus obtained polymer or copolymer is a polymer or hydrogel incorporating many functional groups while maintaining the sensitive temperature response.


A storage includes: host interface units; file control processors which receives a file input/output request and translates the file input/output request into a data input/output request; file control memories which store translation control data; groups of disk drives; disk control processors; disk interface units which connect the groups of disk drives and the disk control processors; cache memories; and inter-processor communication units. The storage logically partitions these devices to cause the partitioned devices to operate as two or more virtual NASs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a storage which is connected to a network and used, in particular to a NAS.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a method of improving performance of an information processing system, the number of computers provided in the information processing system is simply increased. However, if a large number of computers are used, considerable time and labor are required for supervision of the respective computers, and a total area for installing the computers and total power consumed by the computers increase considerably. In order to solve this problem, there has been devised a technique for setting a high performance computer, logically partitioning resources of the computer into plural sections, and using the respective partitioned sections as a virtual computer independently. This is called logical partitioning (LPAR) of a computer. For example, an example of such a logical partitioning technique is disclosed in JP-A-2003-157177 (corresponding U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0097393).
By virtualizing one computer look as if it is functioning as a large number of computers according to the logical partitioning, a flexible operation becomes possible. For example, various operating systems can be used on the respective virtual computers freely and boot up and shutdown or failure management can be performed independently for each virtual computer. In addition, the number of physical machines is small, which is advantageous in terms of system management, an installation area for the machines, power consumption thereof, and the like. However,in the LPAR in the conventional computer, although resources such as a processor and a memory in the computer are logically partitioned and allocated to the respective virtual computers, concerning a storage connected to the computer, a storage area provided in the storage is simply partitioned and the partitioned storage areas are allocated to the virtual computers, respectively. Nothing is further taken into account specifically.
On the other hand, as a form of using a storage, other than a form in which the storage is directly connected to one computer (hereinafter referred to as "host" in some cases) and used, there is a form in which the storage is shared by plural computers via a network. In the latter form, in particular, a storage which has an interface as a form of a file system, that is, to which file access is possible from the computers, is called a network attached storage (hereinafter referred to as "NAS).
Data is exchanged between the NAS and the hosts by a form of file having a name and a structure which are recognized by an operating system running on the host. Therefore, in addition to a disk drive for storing data and a control unit therefor, the NAS has a processor and a memory, which are used for translating file input/output to and from the host into data input/output to and from the disk drive.

Storage having logical partitioning capability and systems which include the storage


A system for isolating vibration and reducing acoustic noise in the RF coil of an MR imaging apparatus is presented. The system positions an RF conductor in its operative position proximate to an RF support form. The RF conductor is sandwiched between a vibration decoupling layer and a mass loading layer. The vibration decoupling layer is affixed to the RF support form so that the vibration decoupling layer is positioned between the RF conduit and the RF support form while the mass loading layer is located exterior of the RF conductor. By this arrangement, the acoustic energy is decoupled from the RF support form by the vibration decoupling layer while the vibration is reduced by the mass loading layer located exterior of the RF conductor.

The present invention relates generally to an RF coil used in an MR imaging system, and, more particularly, to an RF coil having enhanced acoustic deadening properties.
With MR scanners, the apparatus basically includes an RF coil that surrounds the subject and which directs the RF energy toward the subject or which receives RF energy from the subject, in carrying out the scanning process.
One of the difficulties of such MR scanners, however, is that the noise level can become uncomfortably loud, both for the patient, or subject, and for the operators. The source of such acoustic noise can be many and varied, however, the RF coil has been shown to be a major contributor.
The noise from the RF coil is due to Lorentz forces set up in the RF conductors and, while other acoustic noise sources in the MR scanner can be addressed by standard vibration isolation techniques, the acoustic noise from the RF coil is more difficult to control due to its close proximity to the patient, or subject, bore.
There have been attempts at reducing the acoustic noise from the RF coil. Such attempts have included breaking up the RF conductor, where possible, to reduce eddy currents and constrained layer damping to reduce the RF support form vibration. These attempts, however, have not been able to eliminate all of the acoustic noise from the RF coil.
It would therefore be desirable to have a RF coil having a reduced acoustic output by providing vibration isolation between the RF conductors and the RF support form as well as providing damping to reduce the vibration from the RF conductor to the RF support form.

RF body coil with acoustic isolation of conductors


A receiver/transceiver includes N pieces of receiving antennas, a propagation path characterization estimator, a weight generator for interference canceller, an array processing interference canceller, a weight generator for signal estimator, a signal estimator, a transmission signal classification apparatus, and a decoding order decision apparatus. The antenna inference elimination circuit eliminates only signal component relating to transmission signal component which does not belong to groups. The signal estimator performs separation and decoding of the transmission signal belonging to the group. The transmission signal classification apparatus classifies the transmission signals from sets of the transmission antennas in which a cross-correlation value of the vector is larger than a threshold value, into one group, and classifies the transmission signal in which the cross-correlation value is smaller than the threshold value, into another group.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a receiving apparatus and a transceiver which receive superposition signals obtained by superposing a plurality of signals by a plurality of antennas and separate individual signals from the received signals.
2. Related Background Art
In a transmission apparatus of a wireless communication system, a technique in which different transmission symbols are transmitted from transmission antennas on the same resource (for example, on the same time and the same frequency) by using a plurality of transmission antennas and receiving antennas, and individual signals are separated from the superposition signals obtained by superposing a plurality of transmission symbols, in order to separate and estimate the individual signals. This is a technique for increasing capacity of transmission rate at larger amount than the wireless communication system using a single antenna. The technique is called MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output).
For example, G. J. Foshini has proposed in "Layered Space-time architecture for wireless communication in a fading environment when using multi-element antennas", Bell Labs Technical Journal, pp. 41–59, Autumn, 1998, a communication system which has plurality of antennas both at the transmitter and receiver. This is called BLAST (Bell Labs Layered Space-Time). The BLAST converts transmission symbols of serial data into parallel data, and then transmits different symbols with the same frequency from the transmission antennas at the same time. The receiving apparatus deals with the transmission symbols from the transmission antennas as interference, and eliminates interference and recover the individual symbols by using the antennas of more than the number of the antennas of the transmission apparatus. Because of this, in the BLAST, if characteristics of channel impulse response between the antennas, it is possible to obtain the capacity of M times (M is the number of the transmission antennas) of capacity of transmission rate by the conventional single antenna.
Incidentally, according to the conventional techniques (BLAST), weight vectors which are orthogonal to vectors constituted by the channel impulse response from the transmission antennas could be generated to eliminate the interference. The number of the required receiving antennas has to be the same as or more than the number of the transmission antennas. Because of this, in cellular system and so on, when the BLAST is used for down link from the wireless base station to the wireless terminal, there is a problem in which the number of the antennas of the wireless terminals increases and downsizing of the wireless terminal becomes difficult.


A method of capturing signals during hardware verification of a circuit design utilizes at least one field-programmable gate array (FPGA) and includes selecting, at run time and using one or more pre-compiled macros, a group of signals to be captured during verification of the circuit design and storing values of the group of signals in at least first and second random access memories disposed in the at least one FPGA. The first and second random access memories may be addressable spaces of the same random access memory.

Conventional field-programmable gate array (FPGA) based hardware emulation debug of an integrated circuit design is typically done by connecting probes to the pins of the chip or using internal scan-chain mechanisms. Physical probes tend to be restrictive due to the limited number of pins, while serial scan-chain mechanisms tend to be slow.
Static probes may generate waveforms for a limited number of signals by connecting them to the ports of the design where they become available to the on-board trace memory. Dynamic probes may generate waveforms using a read-back mechanism. One conventional technique utilizes local FPGA resources to capture and buffer the signal waveforms at relatively high speeds enabled by the use of a concurrent capture mechanism that employs dedicated hardware for each captured signal. When the buffers storing the signals fill up, their content is transferred to the host using a high-speed system bus.
Such systems however require a significant amount of hardware resources, thus impacting their capacity. Capturing a new set of signals may require, among other things (i) routing of the signals to the highest level of hierarchy, (ii) increasing in the size of the macro, (iii) changing the inter-FPGA partitioning, and (vi) reexecution of the lengthy place-and-route process on the affected FPGAs. Second, conventional systems provide a limited run-time signal selection method. Because users may not know in advance the number and makeup of the signal groups, changing or adding groups after the design has been compiled causes inefficiency and delays the completion. Moreover, although the capture mechanism is often relatively fast, the system has limited memory to store the waveforms. When the memory is filled, the buffered data must be transferred to the host for storage. When transferring a large amount of data, the FPGAs and modules share the limited communication resources available, thus leading to long idle times, lower throughput, and degraded performance.

High speed, low hardware footprint waveform


An electronic device includes a housing and a catheter having a proximal end seated within the housing and a distal end positioned to an exterior thereof. The catheter distal end has an arcuate shape, assisting the user to scan an internal plug cavity, and a cylindrical cross-section provided with a suitable diameter such that the catheter can be probed through a lock plug without contacting pin pairs. A mechanism is included for detecting a point where the pins come together and line up with a shear line. LEDs are coupled to the detecting mechanism and are illuminated when the catheter is displaced along the lower and upper pin pairs. A mechanism is included for automatically adjusting the catheter's position as the point of each of pin pair is detected. A mechanism is included for displaying numeric values on the housing that correspond to the points identified by the detecting mechanism.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to decoding devices and, more particularly, to a decoding device for quickly determining the dimensions and contours of a first double-sided key and thereby making a second double-sided key having identical dimensions and contours.
2. Prior Art
Locks using key operated systems are widely available and known. Key locking systems, for example, are used in automobiles, homes, offices and industrial buildings, cabinets and other applications and locations requiring limited or restricted access thereto. Often, keys are used to lock important or critical items, such as the aforementioned vehicles, homes, etc. In many instances, keys, which must be carried separately from the lock with which they are to be associated and used, are prone to becoming misplaced, lost and even stolen. A key which is not readily available for use, such as a lost or misplaced key, creates complications for the lock user. While many individuals will have a duplicate or spare key, it sometimes will not be in their possession or readily available. In other instances, there may be no spare keys.
Most commonly, among those keys which are misplaced are included automobile keys, and house keys. In the case of automobile keys, for example, it is often not enough to simply have a locksmith open a car door, since one will need to start the car engine in order for the vehicle to be used. To do this a key must be made. For example, where people have lost keys on vacation, in the ocean or some other place where it is not likely to be recovered, not only must the individual be given access to his or her vehicle, but also, the person must have a key in order to start the vehicle. While many manufacturers provide a key code which enables the mailing of a duplicate key which will fit that specific vehicle, usually the automobile dealers, and not locksmiths, are the only ones with access to the codes and equipment required to make a key which will fit. While a locksmith can obtain access to the automobile, for example, by picking a door lock, generally, this provides little help to the vehicle owner or user who then wishes to drive the vehicle to another location.
While mention was made of certain key codes, car dealers are not open twenty-four hours a day, and sometimes are not close by, rendering it impossible to have a new key made. Today, there are more difficulties encountered by the use of high security vehicle locks. These keys are even more difficult to duplicate and require specialized equipment for their production. High security type keys often include two profiles, one on one side of the key, and another on the opposite side of the key. The profiles are often separated by a wall between them.
In many cases, the only way to make a new key, when one has been lost, is to read the lock. This requires that the lock be disassembled in order to ascertain the proper profile of the key which will fit the lock and open it. This is often an expensive and impractical procedure, since the lock must be removed from its mounting and disassembled. In the case of an automobile, the lock must be removed from the door panel. This is considerably expensive and time consuming. Other difficulties, apart from removal of the lock, include encountering locks which cannot be readily disassembled, but must be destroyed and replaced. Thus if the lock must be destroyed, it will often be useless, except in the case of automobiles, for example, the key is still needed to operate the engine.
In the past, methods have been proposed for decoding locks without the need for disassembly or destruction of the lock. One method includes the use of a visual aid for inspecting the interior of the lock to observe the positions of the individual wafers or tumblers. A prior art example discloses the use of a lamp and probe for holding some of the tumbler wafers out of the way of the line of sight in order to permit observation of other wafer positions. This method requires the accurate estimation of the tumbler positions within the lock based on the observer's visual inspection. Because of small variations in the locations of the tumbler positions, and because of reflections and shadows of light, ascertaining the correct key profile by this method can prove difficult.
Accordingly, a need remains for a decoding device for double-sided keys in order to overcome the above-noted shortcomings. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing a decoding device that is convenient and easy to use, provides for improved vehicle protection, and avoids considerable frustration and unnecessary expenditures. Instead of calling a locksmith or emergency road service truck to the scene for professional assistance, such a decoding device enables the driver/owner to create a duplicate key to unlock the door in an efficient manner. This advantageously saves the person a considerable amount of time, money and effort. Since the door is opened with a key instead of a slim-jim or a coat hanger, no accidental damage is inflicted upon the vehicle's window seals or painted surfaces. The decoding device is reliable, effective, lightweight, and adaptable to a variety of vehicle applications.


An endoscope apparatus includes at least one of a connector on the side of a scope unit and a connector on the side of a fixed unit in a connector portion disposed in an detachable portion of a base unit and the fixed unit of the scope unit is a movable connector, and in the detachable portion, the base unit is connected to the fixed unit by positioning means for positioning the fixed unit side to the base unit side, when the connector on the fixed unit side is connected to that on the base unit side.

The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus which is used in an industrial field and which is inserted into an inspection object space such as a pipe to observe the inside of the inspection object space, and the like.
As a general endoscope apparatus, a constitution described, for example, in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 7-181400 is known. In this publication, an operation portion on a hand side is connected to a base end of an elongated insertion portion inserted into the inspection object space. Furthermore, an observation optical system including an image pickup device for observation, an illuminating window for irradiation with an illuminative light, and the like are disposed in a tip end of the insertion portion.
Moreover, the operation portion is connected to one end of a universal cable. This universal cable includes a light guide for transmitting the illuminative light, a signal line for transmitting a signal output from the image pickup device, and the like. The other end of the universal cable is connected to a connector portion.
The connector portion is detachably connected to an external apparatus including a light source apparatus or a camera control unit (CCU). An elastically supported socket is disposed in the light source apparatus. The connector portion of the universal cable is inserted and connected into the socket, and in this state a connected portion of the connector portion and the socket is elastically supported.
Furthermore, a fixed unit which is usable in common in a plurality of types of endoscope apparatuses is disposed. Some of members of an external peripheral apparatus are mounted on the fixed unit. A system is proposed in which the fixed unit is combined and used with a plurality of types of scope units of the endoscope apparatus.
In this system, when the fixed unit is connected to the plurality of scope units, and when the position of the connector portion is not aligned with that of the socket disposed opposite to the portion, the units cannot be connected to one another in some cases. When the position of the connector portion does not agree with that of the socket because of fluctuation by assembly during manufacturing, there is a problem that the scope unit cannot be attached/detached with respect to the fixed unit.
Furthermore, when the scope units cannot securely be positioned with respect to the fixed unit, loss of an illuminative light amount, or contact defect of an electric contact is caused, and original capabilities possessed by machines cannot be fulfilled in some case. Moreover, looseness or breakage is sometimes caused in a connected portion by vibration or impact. Therefore, since assembly accuracy has to be enhanced, a lot of trouble is taken, workability is bad, and further manufacturing cost is raised/influenced.