A method for producing manufactured articles made of composite material comprising the steps of: First completely filling a mold with granules of a pre-expanded polymer in granular form, selected from the group consisting of polystyrene, polypropylene, copolymer of polyphenylene oxide and polystyrene and mixtures thereof; subsequently injecting in the mold an isocyanate mixed with a compound possessing active hydrogen whereby they are filled in void spaces among the granules; and condensing said isocyanate with said compound possessing active hydrogen to yield a polyurethane foam which, by expanding, subsequently completely fills the spaces among the pre-expanded polymer granules.

The present invention relates to a composite polymeric material having high resistance to impact energy.
Specifically, the present invention relates to a composite polymeric material, to the corresponding preparation process and to manufactured articles having high impact energy absorption.
Currently, manufactured articles for automotive parts capable of absorbing impact energy, such as structures for vehicle interiors and exteriors, motorcycle crash helmets and others, are made of a single material having a polymeric base, such as expanded polystyrene, expanded polypropylene, or polyurethane foams.
These manufactured articles are generally produced with a molding technology which entails injecting an expandable polymer into a mold having a preset shape and then expanding the polymer in the presence of catalysts and/or expansion agents. At the end of the expansion, the polymer hardens and acquires the preset shape of the mold.
In particular, in the production of polyurethane manufactured articles, polyisocyanates and polyesters or glycols are injected into the mold and are made to polymerize in the presence of catalysts and expansion agents. During polymerization, the polyurethane foam forms and, by expanding, takes the shape of the mold.
However, manufactured articles resistant to impact energy made of a single polymeric material produced according to conventional technology are not free from having drawbacks in use, mainly due to the fact that they are made of a single polymeric material which does not provide an adequate resistance response to the impact, and to the shock wave. In particular, the only variable that is available to the designer is the density of the material.
For example, impact-resistant manufactured articles made of a single polymer according to the prior art, particularly expanded polystyrene helmets for motorcycles, have the drawback that they lose their impact-resistance characteristics after a single impact that causes a permanent deformation of the structure.
In the case of fenders for cars or of motorcycle helmets, permanent deformation after an impact accordingly compromises their safety characteristics, forcing the user to replace the manufactured article.
One of the aims of the present invention is to eliminate or substantially lessen the drawbacks of the prior art.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a composite polymeric material which has high-level impact energy resistance characteristics and has a long life.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a composite polymeric material which is simple to produce and does not entail high production costs.
Yet another object is to provide a manufactured article made of composite polymeric material which combines low weight with high mechanical strength characteristics.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method for producing manufactured articles made of an impact-resistant composite material whose execution entails modest operating and energy-related costs.
With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, a composite material comprising a pre-expanded polymer, preferably in granular form, selected from the group consisting of polystyrene, polypropylene, a copolymer of polystyrene with a melting point above 90xc2x0 C. and mixtures thereof, dispersed in a resin selected from the group consisting of melaminic resin, phenolic resin, polyurethane resin and mixtures thereof, the polyurethane resin being the preferred one among them. The expression xe2x80x9cpolystyrene copolymerxe2x80x9d denotes a product of polymerization of polystyrene with another polymer or an alloy of polystyrene with another polymer.
Among polystyrene copolymers having a melting point above 90xc2x0 C., preference is given to those with a melting point above 100xc2x0 C.; among these, particular preference is given to the copolymer of polyphenylene oxide (PPO) and polystyrene (PS). By way of example, mention is made of the copolymer of polyphenylene oxide and polystyrene marketed under the trade-name NORYL EF (in granules or expandable beads) by the General Electric Co., USA, and of the product of the Huntsman Chemical Co., Chesapeake, Va., USA, marketed under the trade-name GECET (polymeric alloy of PS-PPO).
The pre-expanded polymer used in the present invention has advantageously been subjected beforehand to an expansion process and has a granular, spherical or bead-like shape.
The composite polymeric material according to the present invention preferably consists of a uniform dispersion of pre-expanded granules or beads in a matrix of a polyurethane, melaminic or phenolic resin.
Preferably, the polyurethane used in the present invention is obtained by condensation of an isocyanate or polyisocyanate with a compound possessing active hydrogen, both selected so as to have the following characteristics:
low reactivity; a delayed polymerization time of at least about 30 seconds allows the two components still in a fluid state to easily reach the lowest part of a mold wherein pre-expanded granules or beads are packed and then initiate the polymerization phase, so that when the polymerisation phase is completed, all (or almost all) the voids among the beads are filled with polyurethane (about 50% of the total volume of the mold);
optimal cohesion properties and adherence to the expanded beads;
optimal mechanical resistance;
low initial viscosity of the mixture of the two components, allowing an easy penetration in the voids created among the expanded beads;
high expansion capacity allowing the complete filling of the free spaces so as to obtain a homogeneous structure of the composite material;
high heat resistance;
high self-extinction.
Examples of such components are the isocyanate marketed by Dow Chemical Co., USA under the name VORACOR CD 526 and the polyol marketed by Dow Chemical Co., USA, under the name VORACOR CD 443.
The composite material having a polymeric base, according to the present invention, has high impact energy absorption because, following an impact, the impact energy is transmitted along the resinous structure, which has acquired a cellular structure whose cells internally contain the expanded polymeric granules, which undergo elastic deformation and considerably contribute to damping propagation of the shock wave and to ensuring the preservation of impact energy-absorbing properties even with subsequent impacts.
In view of these characteristics, the composite material according to the invention is particularly suitable to provide lightweight manufactured articles having high mechanical strength and resistance to impact energy and to repeated impacts.
Said manufactured articles comprise, in variable amounts, the composite material according to the invention, alone or associated with other impact-resistant materials.
Comparative tests have shown that the manufactured articles according to the invention have higher energy absorption than polystyrene and, for an equal density with respect to polyurethane, are more resistant to impact energy and to repeated impacts.
The manufactured articles according to the present invention can be entirely made of the above-described composite material or are constituted by multilayer structures in which, for example, one or more layers are made of the composite material and the remaining layers are made of other materials (polymeric and nonpolymeric).
According to another aspect of the present invention, said manufactured article is a liner for helmets, for example of the type for motorcycles, cars, work or sport. Helmet liners manufactured with the composite polymeric material according to the invention are highly resistant to impact energy and in particular maintain their impact-resistance characteristics substantially unchanged even after one or more impacts.
In particular, it has been observed that the permanent deformation of the surface structure of the manufactured article according to the invention produced by a medium-energy impact does not compromise, except to a limited extent, its strength and safety characteristics, making them suitable for prolonged use.
According to a further aspect, the present invention relates to a life preserver which comprises the composite material described above. Advantageously, said life preserver is constituted by a core made of very hard polymeric material or wood or steel, covered with a layer of the composite material according to the invention. The life preserver according to the invention has a weight which can be likened to that of life preservers of the prior art together with high impact resistance.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, said manufactured article is an automotive interior, such as door paddings, door panes, knee bolsters, head restraint systems, sun vizors, instrument panels, rear parcel shelves, or an automotive exterior such as bumpers, body supports or an automotive cavity filling.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method for producing manufactured articles made of composite material is provided, said method comprising the steps of:
injecting into a mold a pre-expanded polymer selected from the group consisting of polystyrene, polypropylene, polystyrene copolymer with a melting point above 90xc2x0 C. and mixtures thereof, and in then injecting a resin or the reagents that polymerize into a resin selected from the group consisting of polyurethane resin, phenolic resin, melaminic resin and mixtures thereof;
expanding said resin inside the mold, dispersing said pre-expanded polymer therein.
Preferably, the pre-expanded polymer is supplied in the form of granules or beads which have dimensions between 3 and 10 mm and the polymerization reaction to generate said resin occurs at a temperature between 70 and 140xc2x0 C.
According to a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, the following operating steps are performed in sequence:
filling a mold with granules of a pre-expanded polymer selected from the group consisting of polystyrene, polypropylene, copolymer of polyphenylene oxide and polystyrene and mixtures thereof;
subsequently injecting in the mold an isocyanate or a polyisocyanate and a compound possessing active hydrogen thereby they are filled in void spaces among the granules,
condensing said isocyanate or polyisocyanate with a compound possessing active hydrogen to generate, by polymerizing, a polyurethane foam which, by expanding, substantially completely fills the spaces among the pre-expanded polymer granules.
It has been observed that by initially filling the mold with the pre-expanded polymer in granular or bead form and then injecting the polyurethane, it is possible to determine the weight and therefore the density of the manufactured article.
Preferably, the reaction for condensation between the isocyanate and the compound possessing active hydrogen determines a temperature between 70 and 140xc2x0 C. In the execution of the method it is possible to use expansion agents, additives and catalysts for the condensation reaction capable of accelerating polymerization and resin hardening times.
The reagents are preferably injected by using positive-displacement pumps with a variable rotation rate and a mixer for mixing the two streams of reagent.
The term xe2x80x9ccompound possessing active hydrogenxe2x80x9d denotes a compound that may be replaced by sodium and with a few compounds having hydrogen atoms not readily replaced by sodium. In the reaction with said compounds possessing active hydrogen, the hydrogen atom becomes attached to the nitrogen of the isocyanate and the remainder of the active-hydrogen compound becomes attached to the carbonyl carbon. Said compounds possessing active hydrogen include compounds having amino, hydroxyl, carboxyl groups, particularly polyesters, polyethers and polyols, the last being preferred.
The polyurethane condensation or foaming step advantageously entails expansion times lasting between 10 and 15 minutes, during which the polyurethane foam expands into the empty volume between the polymer granules.
In accordance with an embodiment of the method according to the invention, the mold is filled initially with the pre-expanded polymer.
Preferably, the mold is initially completely filled with beads of expanded material with suitable dimensions and bulk density.
The polyurethane resin suitable for use in the present invention has a high fluidity and a delayed polymerization time, of at least 30 seconds, so as to allow the passage of the resin through all the expanded material filled in the mold, in the void spaces among the beads.
Moreover, the polyurethane resin used in the present invention has a high polymerization heat.
Due to the properties of the isocyanate and active hydrogen containing compound, as indicated above, in particular due to their high fluidity and low polymerization time, the isocyanate and the active hydrogen containing compound are filled in substantially all the empty spaces among the pre-expanded polymer beads.
Due to the granular (or bead-like) shape of the polymer, empty spaces remain between the granules and are gradually filled during the expansion of the polyurethane resin. A composite material is thus obtained which has a substantially uniform distribution of the pre-expanded polymer granules.
It has been observed that the pre-expanded polymer granules or beads, during the exothermic reaction for the polymerization of the polyurethane resins, behave differently according to the chemical nature of the polymer being used.
In particular, when granules or beads of expanded polypropylene or of an interpolymer of polyphenylene oxide and expanded polystyrene are used, the polyurethane condensation reaction can occur at a temperature between 100 and 140xc2x0 C. without causing their melting or breakdown. The polypropylene beads, amalgamated in the polyurethane foam, by being filled with air, can compress under the impact energy and then resume their initial position, thus dissipating the kinetic energy. It has been observed that the resulting composite material has the highest impact-resistance characteristics.
Instead, when polystyrene granules or beads are used in the process, the generation of heat (T=80-100xc2x0 C.) typical of the exothermic polymerization reaction of polyurethane causes them to melt. The granules, under the heat, melt inside the polyurethane foam, creating voids.
The granules or beads used in the process according to the invention are expandable polymers, expanded for example by subjecting polymeric expandable beads to a pre-expansion in a pressurized vessel using dry saturated steam. Then the pre-expanded beads are subjected to a drying step and to a maturing stage to compensate for the temporary vacuum in the cell structure after pre-expansion. This is achieved, for example, by blowing the prefoam into an air-permeable silo. After sufficient air has been diffused into the cells, the matured beads are stable and ready for processing.
The matured prefoam is blown into a mold of the desired shape, preferably until the mold is almost completely filled.
The pre-expanded granules used in the invention preferably have a density between 10 and 80 g/l, while the resins used preferably have a density between 20 and 400 g/l.
The method according to the present invention provides manufactured articles made of composite material with modest operating and energy-related costs. In particular, operating costs are reduced thanks to the possibility of using resin molds which are commonly commercially available at low cost. Molds used in the field of the invention are preferably thermostat-controlled, so as to maintain a temperature, during the resin polymerization step, that is lower than the melting temperature of the foamed polymer described above.
Energy expenditure is reduced due to the low operating temperatures of the processing plant.
According to an embodiment of the method according to the invention, manufactured articles of preset shape, such as for example outer shells, reinforcement elements, hooks, nets etcetera, are placed beforehand in the molds.

Composite polymeric material having high resistance to impact energy


An image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes: an input unit for inputting a moving image signal; an extracting unit for extracting a portion of the moving image signal for a plurality of frames input by the input unit; an encoding unit for encoding the portion of the moving image signal extracted by the extracting unit using intraframe coding and interframe predictive coding; and a control unit for detecting motion of an image in an area outside the portion of the moving image signal input by the input unit and for controlling a time for performing encoding using the intraframe coding performed by the encoding unit in accordance with a result of detection of the motion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image processing apparatuses, and more particularly, to encoding processing for image signals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Moving picture expert group (MPEG) techniques are known as encoding techniques for image signals and are described, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-199408 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-163379.
In MPEG encoding techniques, an image signal is categorized into an I-frame, a P-frame, and a B-frame to be encoded. For I-frames, encoding is performed using an image signal only within the same frame. For P-frames, motion compensation predictive encoding is performed using an image signal of a previous I-frame or P-frame. For B-frames, motion compensation predictive encoding is performed using an image signal of a previous I-frame or P-frame and a subsequent I-frame or P-frame.
For transmitting an MPEG-encoded image signal using a transmission path of a limited transmission rate or for recording an MPEG-encoded image signal in a recording medium, it is preferable that the amount of data (data rate) per unit of time be kept constant. A mode for keeping the data rate constant is called a constant bit rate (CBR) mode.
In MPEG techniques, P-frames and B-frames use image signals of other frames to perform motion compensation predictive encoding. Thus, if there is a large change in a screen, for example, if a new object suddenly appears in a screen of a P-frame, a prediction error is increased.
Also, since the data rate must be kept constant in the CBR mode, if a prediction error is increased due to such a large movement, the width of a quantization step must be increased in order to reduce the amount of data.
Thus, the quality of an image in a portion including a large change is reduced, compared with other frames.


A pair of spectacles is provided which includes a writing instrument, a spectacle frame front, a first spectacle temple having an end coupled to the spectacle frame front and a second spectacle temple having an end coupled to the spectacle frame front. The first spectacle temple includes a hollow recess formed in an outer surface thereof, the writing instrument removably received and retained therein.

This invention relates to spectacles, writing instruments and their combined use, allowing a wearer the freedom to wear spectacles without interruption whilst having convenient direct access to an attached writing instrument. Spectacle wearers often need to be wearing their spectacles in order to see what they are writing.
In the Optical field, many eye conditions result in the need for spectacles. Some of these conditions include myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism and presbyopia. Safety spectacles and sunglasses are also examples of a need for spectacles, used for eye protection applications.
Presbyopia (the need for reading spectacles) is an inevitable eye condition affecting the lens within the eye. To be able to read, write or see up close, the lens flexes. This flexing action is known as accommodation. With age the lens loses its flexibility. Therefore simple close-up tasks like reading and writing become more difficult. This results in a certain need for spectacles.
Looking closely at the above definition of presbyopia, as an example, one can see the close correlation between the need for spectacles and the use of a writing instrument. Writing instruments may include but should not be restricted to pens, pencils, styluses and specialty trade writing instruments. Unfortunately, writing instruments are often misplaced. Therefore a spectacle and writing instrument combination which uses an integrated holding apparatus for the attachment of a writing instrument provides great advantages. One major advantage being the wearer has the freedom of uninterrupted use of the spectacles whilst having the option to directly access the attached writing instrument at all times.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,929,967 to Conner (1999) offers a solution to the pen and spectacles combination however it is very limiting in a number of ways. As Conner himself stated in the opening abstract, it is a case for glasses having a hollow barrel portion suitable for a "small pair of glasses" only. If the spectacle frame is larger than the narrow case, it would not be able to contain the spectacle frame. In today's changing spectacle fashion world, spectacle frames come in many sizes and shapes. Conner's narrow spectacle case is too limiting and only caters for spectacles of one size.
Conner does not present a practical solution to the pen and spectacles combination. The wearer must physically open the barrel from the rear to have access to the small spectacles inside and once the spectacles are in place on the wearer, the case is then used for writing. After use, the wearer must stop, remove the small spectacle frame from the worn position, fold down the temples and return it to its case in order to keep the two items together.
The extra steps involved in accessing and returning the spectacles would be a hindrance to the wearer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,221 to Antonucci (1989) relies on two methods of attaching the writing instrument held within his apparatus.
In the first method, a sports sunglass band (Croakies) must be threaded onto the sunglass temples. A flat bar is attached to the apparatus, which is then tucked under the sports band on one temple in order to hold it in place. The writing instrument is contained within the apparatus. This method is complicated because the whole invention requires too many components. They include the spectacle temple, the apparatus itself, the flat bar extending from the side of the apparatus, the writing instrument and the tight fitting sports sunglass band.
Every time the user wants to attach the apparatus and pen, they must slide the sports band sleeve back onto the spectacle temple, slide the flat bar of the apparatus into the sleeve then reposition it so that it is comfortable enough to be worn on their head. The co-ordination of these steps is very time consuming as well as inconvenient.
The second method of attachment is the use of velcro. The sleeve with the attached velcro is also not practical because it is not integrated as part of the spectacles and can still slide freely along the temple length, making the attachment unstable for the wearer and therefore inconvenient. Each time the pen is removed, significant strain is concentrated at the area of attachment. Not only would the stability of this attachment be inadequate because the clip apparatus is not permanently fastened, but it would also be susceptible to unwanted separation and loss of the components.
Once again there are too many parts involved complicating the process including the spectacle frame, the clip, the writing instrument, the sunglass sports band and the velcro.
The flashlight attachment clip for spectacles, U.S. Pat. No. 3,769,663, to Perl (1973) is not relevant because it relates to the attachment of flashlights rather than writing instruments. The nature of Perl's "two part clip" is also unnecessarily elaborate. The clip is made up of one detachable part placed onto the spectacle temple and another part containing the flash light. The two are joined using a slot for the pivot stud at one end and a clamp on the other end. It also is adjustable vertically, pivoting on a stud so the wearer can move the flashlight up or down depending on the light position requirements. This is not relevant to spectacle and writing instrument combinations. It pertains to the adjustability of light beam positioning which is in no way relevant to writing instruments.
In modern day optics, Perl's temple-engaging clip would be unstable and prove to function poorly because spectacle temples vary greatly in size, thickness and shape. The likelihood of a perfect fit for every pair of spectacles is remote because of the vast range of temple dimensions. Perl has limited his attachment clip to two sizes only. If the spectacle temple is thicker, the wearer must physically bend up or break off the more narrowly spaced inner clip. Not only does this leave a rough and unsightly edge to the clip (as shown in his diagram, FIG. 3. Reference Numeral 25), it is also an extra effort for the wearer prior to being able to use the device.
Inserting and removing the flashlight, is likely to be a problem because Perl's two part clip is not securely fixed as part of the complete spectacles. A detachable clip may work loose from the spectacle temple and lack stability when worn. The whole clip could even slide and come adrift.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,430,503 to Colitz (1995) combines a pair of spectacles with a pen. The pen is unfortunately too far locked in, within one of the spectacle temples, and uses the locking mechanism to secure the temple in place.
The major obvious disadvantage is the wearer does not have continuous use of the spectacles. Spectacle wearers generally need to be wearing their spectacles to be able to see what they are writing. The wearer of Colitz's invention must physically remove and dismantle their spectacle frame in order to unlock the pen for use. Whilst the pen is in use, the wearer cannot wear the spectacle frame because of the dismantling process. Once the pen is dismantled for use, the spectacle frame is in effect missing one of its temples. Without a pair of temples, spectacles are not complete and cannot be worn. With one absent temple, there is no support on one side of the spectacles. This automatically disqualifies the use of the spectacles as it is now missing a supporting temple. Conversely, if the spectacles are used correctly with two supporting temples, the use of the pen is disqualified.
The absence of the temple on a pair of safety spectacles for example, would not qualify that pair of spectacles for safety standard requirements. This is because the frame is no longer secure when worn.
The diameter and shape of Colitz's pen needs to be considered a disadvantage. People with larger hands, men in particular, would find such a thin pen as illustrated in Colitz's FIG. 2 uncomfortable to use. Also the temples in Colitz's drawings are curved to fit behind the wearer's ear. Such a curve would not be comfortable or practical when writing.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,787,830 to Marvin (1931) is not practical for a number of reasons. To begin with, the wearer would have to wear the pen or pencil in a vertical position, pressed hard up against the side of the wearer's face. This vertical holding position would not be comfortable or safe for the wearer. Also, gravity working on a vertically placed pen or pencil within the leaf spring would tend to have a downward pulling effect on the pen or pencil, adding to the risk of it eventually dropping out of the attachment.
Aesthetically the vertical attachment of the pen or pencil is out of place as it is carried and displayed in a most cumbersome way. The vertical placement of the pen or pencil may also interfere with the varying facial contours of each respective wearer.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,647,059 to Humphreys (1972) shows a hollow cylindrical accessory receptacle mounted on a temple. The apparatus is used for dispensing small pieces of tissue used for cleaning spectacle lenses. This device, however is not relevant to the combination of writing instruments and spectacles because it does not include the use of a writing instrument.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,949,515 given to Hoshino (1999) is simply an additional spectacle frame "which can be put on together with other ordinary spectacles to correct among others, age related farsightedness". However it remains irrelevant because it does not include the use of a writing instrument.
Marrufo (1958) U.S. Pat. No. 2,850,152 has tried to combine three items together using a case. It is simply a flexible pouch-type case offering the user three compartments to organise three objects separately which can be worn on the belt or in a pocket. These objects may include spectacles, pens, combs and the like. Marrufo's invention is not relevant as it does not combine, by attachment, a writing instrument and a pair of spectacles.
In conclusion, no writing instrument and spectacle combination formerly developed provides the practical simplicity of a pair of spectacles with an integrated holding apparatus for directly attaching writing instruments to the spectacles. These prior art examples demonstrate defects by using unnecessary multiple components, impractical choice of positioning, and more importantly these earlier patents show an interruption in the continuous wear of the spectacles in order to access the writing instrument.

Spectacle and writing instrument combination


A bag carrying device that will allow an individual to carry and contain multiple plastic grocery bags with the use of one hand comfortably. The bag carrying device is lightweight, compact and can be stored in a handbag or pant pocket. The bag carrying device is comprised of a horizontal tubular shaped handle. The horizontal handle will be covered with a soft foam hand grip. The inside of the tubular shaped handle is hollow allowing a flexible connecting member to be inserted directly through the center of the tubular handle extending and tapering downward and adjoining to a fastening device with a safety gate. The fastening device with a safety gate will allow the user to attach and remove multiple plastic grocery bags with ease preventing the user from having to attach one bag at a time or balance bags on separate hooks.

The present invention relates to a carrying device for plastic bags commonly used in supermarkets, discount stores, drug stores, or any other industry using plastic bags to carry merchandise from the store to the home. More specifically, this invention relates to a carrying device used to carry and contain multiple plastic bags using one hand.
In North America and much of Europe, plastic bags have become one of the most popular types of bag used to carry merchandise. When groceries are packed into the bags, there are usually more than one bag to carry, and they become difficult and awkward to handle. A compact, light weight, hand held carrying device, that can easily be stored in a pocket or handbag will allow a customer to carry multiple plastic bags comfortably using one hand in an organized manner. This will save the customer time and aggravation when carrying, loading, transporting and unloading one or more bags.
In the past, plastic grocery store bags with handles have been carried uncomfortably using one or two hands. When transporting the bags in an automobile, the bags tend to shift and slide, making them difficult to gather and reorganize. This method of carrying and transporting plastic grocery store bags, make it difficult to keep the bags organized and contained. It also increases the amount of stress that is put directly on the hands and fingers when carrying multiple bags.
One known carrying device is the xe2x80x9cCarrying Memberxe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 4,772,059, which is constructed of an injection molded polypropylene material. The carrying member is comprised of an upper gripping portion, the ends of which continue into outside portions, extending downward to a lower bag handle receiving region. The lower receiving region is used to carry one or more plastic bags by slipping them up through a gap and fitting them onto two support arms. A problem associated with this prior art is having to balance an equal number of bags on each support arm to insure proper balance. When carrying only one bag you must separate the individual handle portions of the bag and fit them individually on the two support arms balancing the load at the middle of the carrying member.
Another known carrying device is U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,052. The bag carrier is a flat design comprised of a horizontal upper handle section, connected to a horizontal lower hook support section by connecting vertical members. Multiple hooks on the bag carrier allow for bags to be attached or removed from the carrier. A problem associated with this prior art device is the time consuming task of attaching each bag to a separate hook and then removing each bag from a separate hook when using this device. The device is also constructed of a rigid material, which does not completely eliminate the stress put directly on the fingers. No device is known however, that can be used to carry multiple plastic grocery store bags comfortably, using a foam covered handle, and a single fastening device with a quick release safety gate that allows the user to attach multiple bags quickly and easily.
The principle object of the present invention is to provide a carrying device that attaches directly to the plastic handles on plastic bags commonly found in supermarkets, discount stores, drug stores, or any other industry using plastic bags. It also is an object of the present invention to allow a customer to carry multiple bags using one hand comfortably eliminating the amount of stress that is placed directly on the fingers and hand. Another object is to provide a device that will keep the bags grouped together and organized, allowing the customer to easily carry them, load them into the automobile, transport them in the automobile, and unload the bags when leaving the automobile. A further object is to provide such a device that can easily be stored in a handbag, purse, or pant pocket when not in use.
The foregoing can be accomplished by providing a carrying device, that is compact in size, and has a foam covered handle, with a fastening device that attaches to the handles of commonly used plastic bags. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the horizontal handle is tubular in shape, and covered with a foam handgrip. The inside of the tubular shaped handle, will be hollow, to allow a nylon strap, to be inserted directly through the center of the rigid tubular shaped handle. A fastening device will be suspended from the horizontal handgrip, by a nylon strap, and attached by either a straight stitch or x-tack sewing stitch.


A cosmetic composition for application to keratinous surfaces containing at least one film forming polymer; and a plasticizer for the film forming polymer which is a C1-20 ester of malic acid; and a method for plasticizing a film forming polymer contained in a cosmetic product which is applied to keratinous surfaces; comprising adding a plasticizing effective amount of a C1-20 ester of malic acid to the cosmetic product composition.

The invention is in the field of cosmetic compositions for application to skin, nails or hair, which contain one or more film forming polymers.
The application of cosmetic and personal care products to the skin almost always involves the formation of a film on the skin. For example, application of a foundation to the face involves formation of a colored film on the skin. The same is true of products such as lipstick, eyeshadow, blush, and nail enamel. The product is applied to the appropriate keratinous surface and allowed to dry. A film is formed which adheres to the skin for the appropriate period of time before being removed by chemical processes, or washed off with water.
Most film forming cosmetic and personal care products contain a polymeric material as the primary film former. The term xe2x80x9cfilm formerxe2x80x9d means a material which, upon drying, produces a continuous film on keratinous substrates such as skin, hair, or nails. The term xe2x80x9cskinxe2x80x9d when used in accordance with the invention means both face and body skin or lips. The term xe2x80x9cfilm forming polymerxe2x80x9d means that the film former is in the polymeric form. A variety of polymers have film forming properties: they can be natural polymers, synthetic polymers, or polymers that have both natural and synthetic portions. While the polymers available today have a myriad of properties, most cosmetics and personal care products contain other ingredients to further modify the properties of the composition and improve aesthetics.
When forming a film on skin, hair, or nails, it is important that the film have certain properties in order to provide a commercially acceptable product. For example, if the film formed is too brittle, it may crack, or chip from the keratinous surface. On the other hand, if the film is not hard enough, it may be tacky to the touch and the consumer will have the feeling that the product has not dried on the skin. Accordingly, most cosmetic and personal care products containing one or more film forming polymers also contain an ingredient known as a plasticizer. A plasticizer is a material that is capable of modifying the properties of the film formed on the keratinous substrate by the film forming polymer. Generally, the plasticizer will make the film more flexible, or pliable. This, in turn, causes the film to xe2x80x9cmove with the skinxe2x80x9d in products which are applied to skin. In products such as nail enamel, the plasticizer will make the film formed on the nail more flexible such that it doesn""t chip from the nail so readily. Further, the plasticizing effect of the most desirable plasticizers does not dissipate with time, e.g. some plasticizers have only a temporary plasticizing effect, and after passage of time, lose effectiveness. A plasticizer is a most important ingredient in cosmetic and personal care products containing polymeric film formers. The selection of the appropriate plasticizer can mean the difference between a successful, aesthetically pleasing product, and a product that is unacceptable from the commercial point of view.
Accordingly, there is always a need for better plasticizers in film forming cosmetic and personal care products. An ideal plasticizer is capable of plasticizing a wide variety of film forming polymers, and enable the selection of a wide variety of film forming polymers for use in compositions. It has been discovered that certain esters of malic acid provide an excellent plasticizing effect to a wide variety of natural and synthetic polymeric film formers.
An object of the invention is to provide an improved plasticizer for use in film forming cosmetic and personal care products.
Another object of the invention is to provide cosmetic and personal care products containing one or more polymeric film formers, which contain C1-20 esters of malic acid as a plasticizing agent for the film forming polymers.
Another object of the invention is provide cosmetic and personal care products containing one or more film forming polymers, where the plasticizer for the film forming polymer does not lose effectiveness over time.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method for plasticizing a film formed on skin, nails, or hair with a cosmetic composition containing one or more film forming polymers, comprising adding to said film a plasticizing effective amount of a C1-20 ester of malic acid.
The invention comprises a cosmetic composition for application to keratinous surfaces containing at least one film forming polymer; and a plasticizer for the film forming polymer which is a C1-20 ester of malic acid.
The invention also comprises a method for plasticizing a film forming polymer contained in a cosmetic product which is applied to keratinous surfaces, comprising adding a plasticizing effective amount of a C1-20 ester of malic acid to the cosmetic product composition.
All percentages mentioned herein are percentages by weight unless otherwise indicated.
A. The Film Forming Polymer
A wide variety of film forming polymers may be used in the cosmetic or personal care products of the invention. The film forming polymer must be capable of forming a film on the skin, nails, or hair. The film forming polymers may be natural or synthetic, or a combination of both, and may be in the form of solids, semi-solids, or liquids. The film forming polymer may be neutral or ionic in character, e.g. anionic, cationic, nonionic, or amphoteric.
1. Synthetic Polymers
Suitable synthetic polymers include homopolymers, copolymers, and block and graft copolymers comprised of repeating monomers such as acrylic or methacrylic acid or esters thereof, urethanes, esters, amides, styrene, vinyl, silicon, and so on. The synthetic polymers may be present in the composition in ranges from 0.1-95%, preferably 1-85%, more preferably 3-45% by weight of the total composition.
Examples of synthetic film forming polymers include those set forth in the CTFA Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook, Eighth Edition, 2000, pages 1744 through 1747, which are hereby incorporated by reference, including those which are summarized herein.
a. Silicone Resins
Cross-linked silicones, also known as silicone resins, can be plasticized with C1-20 esters of malic acid, and are suitable for use in the compositions and method of the invention. Preferred silicone resins have the general formula:
wherein R, Rxe2x80x2 and Rxe2x80x3 are each independently a C1-10 straight or branched chain alkyl or phenyl, and x and y are such that the ratio of (RRxe2x80x2Rxe2x80x3)3SiOxc2xd units to SiO2 units is 0.5 to 1 to 1.5 to 1.
Preferably R, Rxe2x80x2 and Rxe2x80x3 are a C1-6 alkyl, and more preferably are methyl and x and y are such that the ratio of (CH3)3SiOxc2xd units to SiO2 units is 0.75 to 1. Most preferred is this trimethylsiloxy silicate containing 2.4 to 2.9 weight percent hydroxyl groups which is formed by the reaction of the sodium salt of silicic acid, chlorotrimethylsilane, and isopropyl alcohol. The manufacture of trimethylsiloxy silicate is set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,676,182; 3,541,205; and 3,836,437, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Trimethylsiloxy silicate as described is available from Dow Corning Corporation under the tradename 2-0749 and 2-0747, which is a blend of about 40-60% volatile silicone and 40-60% trimethylsiloxy silicate. Dow Corning 2-0749 in particular, is a fluid containing about 50% trimethylsiloxy silicate and about 50% cyclomethicone. The fluid has a viscosity of 200-700 centipoise at 25xc2x0 C., a specific gravity of 1.00 to 1.10 at 25xc2x0 C., and a refractive index of 1.40-1.41.
b. Copolymers of Silicone and Organic Monomers
Also suitable for use as the film forming polymer in the compositions and method of the invention are copolymers of silicone and various organic, ethylenically unsaturated monomers, and optionally other monomers. Examples of such polymers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,650, which is hereby incorporated by reference. Preferred examples of these polymers include graft or block copolymers comprised of silicon moieties and C1-12 alkyl acrylate or methacrylate monomers which may be substituted with one or more groups such as halogen or hydroxy, also referred to as silicone/acrylate copolymers. Suitable silicone acrylate copolymers may be purchased from 3M Company under the tradenames VS-70 and SA-70, or from Shin Etsu Silicones.
c. Urethane Homo- and Copolymers
Also suitable for use in the compositions and method of the invention are homo and copolymers of urethane. Homopolymers of urethane are often sold in an aqueous dispersion from vendors such as Alloid Colloids, B.F. Goodrich, and the like. Suitable urethane copolymers may be comprised of urethane monomers copolymerized with organic compounds, or other synthetic monomers.
d. Amides and Amines
Also suitable are various synthetic polymers containing amide or amine substituent groups. Examples of such polymers include nylon, ammonium polyacrylate, acrylamides copolymer, acrylates/acrylamide copolymers, acrylates ammonium acrylate copolymer, acrylates C10-20 alkyl acrylate cross polymer, acrylates/carbamate crosspolymer, acrylates ceteth-20 itaconate copolymer, acrylates/dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate copolymer, ammonium acrylates copolymer, ammonium polyacrylate, ammonium styrene/acrylates copolymer, ammonium vinyl acetate/acrylates copolymer, aminomethylpropanol/acrylates/dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate copolymer, and so on.
e. Other Synthetic Polymers
Preferred are synthetic polymers are comprised of one or more monomers selected from the following general formula:
wherein R1 is H, a C1-30 straight or branched chain alkyl, aryl, aralkyl; R2 is a pyrrolidone, or a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic, alicyclic, or bicyclic ring where the substitutents are C1-30 straight or branched chain alkyl, or COOM wherein M is H, a C1-30 straight or branched chain alkyl, pyrrolidone, or a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic, alicylic, or bicyclic ring where the substitutents are C1-30 straight or branched chain alkyl which may be substituted with one or more halogens.
Even more preferred as synthetic polymers which comprise polar monomers such as acrylic acid or methacrylic acid, in combination with C1-6 esters thereof Most preferred is a synthetic polymer which comprises monomers of butyl methacrylate and acrylic acid.
2. Natural Polymers
A variety of natural polymers, or derivatives thereof are suitable, including cellulosics, chitins, chitosans, shellac, rosins, resins, animal or vegetable proteins and polypeptides, and so on. The natural polymers may be present in ranges from 0.1-95%, preferably 1-85%, more preferably 3-45% by weight of the total composition.
a. Cellulosics
Examples of suitable cellulosic polymers include nitrocellulose, mono- or diesters of cellulose formed by the reaction of cellulose with various organic acids, for example straight or branched chain carboxylic acids having from one to twenty, preferably one to ten carbon atoms, which may be substitued with one or more hydroxyl groups, Examples of such cellulosics include cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate isobutyrate, cellulose acetate propionate, cellulose acetate propionate carboxylate. Also suitable are cellulose polymers prepared by reacting with groups such as hydroxyl, alkoxyalkyl, hydroxylalkyl where the alkoxyalkyl and alkyl groups have from about one to ten carbon atoms. Examples of such polymers are carboxylmethyl hydroxyethylcellulose, carboxymethylcellulose, ethyl cellulose, hydroxyethylcellulose, methyl ethylcellulose, hydroxypropylcellulose, hydroxylbutyl cellulose, hydroxybutyl methylcellulose, and so on.
b. Chitin or Chitosan
Chitins, or chitosan and derivatives thereof are also suitable natural film forming polymers for use in the compositions and method of the invention. Chitin is defined as a polysaccharide derived from the exoskeleton of marine invertebrates which contains chiefly N-acetyl-glucosamine residues. Chitosan is chitin that has been deacetylated. Both polymers may be used as is, or esterified to form mono-, di-, or triesters by reacting with various straight or branched chain organic acids having from one to thirty carbon atoms, alpha or beta hydroxy acids, or di- or tricarboxylic acids. Examples of chitin or chitosan esters include chitosan adipate, chitosan ascorbate, chitosan formate, chitosan glycolate, chitosan lactate, chitsan PCA, chitosan salicylate, chitosan succinamate, and so forth. Also suitable are simple derivatives of chitin or chitosan, which are formed by substituting moieties such as hydroxyl, C1-6 alkoxy, and the like on the polymer. Examples of such derivatives include carboxylbutyl chitosan, carboxylmethyl chitosan, carboxyethyl chitosan, carboxylbutyl chitosan, and so on.
c. Proteins
Also suitable as film forming polymers are various animal and vegetable proteins including hydrolyzed animal protein, albumin, serum albumin, hydrolyzed wheat protein, hydrolyzed soy protein, hydrolyzed animal collagen, and mixtures thereof.
d. Dextrans
Also suitable are dextrans and alkoxy, or alkoxylalkyl derivatives thereof such as carboxymethyl dextran, carboxylethyl dextran, and so on.
e. Rosins, Resins and Gums
Also suitable are various natural resins and rosins and derivatives thereof such as Balsam Canada resin, hydrogenated rosin, glycol rosinate, shellac, and the like. Various gums are also suitable including acacia gum, and similar materials.
It may be desirable to have more than one film forming polymer in the composition. They polymers may be a combination of one or more synthetic polymers, or one or more natural polymers, or mixtures of both.
B. The Plasticizer
The The nail enamel compositions of the invention comprise a plasticizing effective amount of a C1-20 mono- or diester of malic acid. The plasticizing effective amount may vary depending on the film forming polymer and solvents, as well as the other ingredients in the formula. Generally, suggested ranges of plasticizer range from 0.01 to 50%, preferably 0.1-40%, more preferably 0.2-35% by weight of the total composition. Preferred are diesters of malic acid, more particularly, fatty diesters of malic acid which are formed by the reaction of a C1-20 alcohol with malic acid. Preferably, the plasticizer is formed by the reaction of a C1-8 alcohol and malic acid, and is dioctyl malate or dibutyl malate.
C. Other Ingredients
A wide variety of other ingredients may be found in the cosmetic compositions, depending on the type of composition. For example, the compositions may include nail enamel, foundation makeup, blushes, lipsticks, skin creams and lotions, concealers, and hair products such as shampoos, conditioners, and sprays.
1. Nail Enamel Compositions
The cosmetic compositions may comprise nail enamel. Suitable nail enamel compositions contain, in addition to the film forming polymer and the plasticizer, one or more aqueous or non-aqueous solvents, secondary film formers, pigments, suspending agents, and the like.
a. Solvents
The nail enamel compositions of the invention comprise 10-95% by weight of the total composition, of solvent. The solvent may be aqueous or non-aqueous or a mixture of both types of solvents. Suitable non-aqueous solvents include aliphatic or aromatic ketones such as acetone, diacetone alcohol, dihydroxyacetone, ethyl butyl valerolactone, methyl ethyl ketone, and the like; aliphatic or aromatic alcohols such as methanol, propanol, benzyl alcohol, butoxyethanol, butoxypropanol, butyl alcohol, 3-methyl-3-methoxy-butanol, t-butyl alcohol, butylene glycol, diethylene glycol, abietyl alcohol, propylene carbonate,hexyl alcohol, isopropanol, and the like; glycol ethers; esters such as butyl acetate, ethyl acetate, etc.
b. Pigments
The nail enamel compositions of the invention may be pigmented or clear. If pigmented, generally 0.1-30% by weight of the total composition, preferably 0.5-20%, more preferably 1-15% of pigment is suggested. Pigments suitable for use in nail enamel compositions are well known and include iron oxides, DandC and FDandC colors, titanium dioxide, and the like. The pigments may be treated or coated with agents which modify the surface properties such as silicones. Examples of silicone treated pigments which can be used in the compositions of the invention are set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,944, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
c. Suspending Agents/Associative Thickeners
If the nail enamel compositions of the invention contain pigments, it is desirable to also incorporate 0.1-15% by weight of the total composition of a suspending agent which acts to suspend the pigments in the formulation. Suitable suspending agents are montmorillonite minerals and derivatives thereof, such as stearalkonium bentonite, hectorites, attapulgite, bentones, and the like, as well as polymeric compounds known as associative thickeners. Suitable associative thickeners generally contain a hydrophilic backbone and hydrophobic side groups. Examples of such thickeners include polyacrylates with hydrophobic side groups, cellulose ethers with hydrophobic side groups, polyurethane thickeners. Examples of hydrophobic side groups are long chain alkyl groups such as dodecyl, hexadecyl, or octadecyl; alkylaryl groups such as octylphenyl or nonyphenyl.
d. Silicones
It may also be desireable to include 0.1-20% by weight of the total composition, of a silicone antifoam agent in the nail enamel composition. Suitable silicone antifoam agents include dimethicone, or silicone glycol copolymers, which are polymethylsiloxanes wherein a portion of the methylsiloxane units are substituted with polyalkylene glycol ether moieities. Preferred is wherein about 60-90% of the polymer (the percentage being based on the number of monomer units), of the compound is polydimethylsiloxane or polyhydrogen methylsiloxane and 30-40% of the compound (the percentage being based upon the number of monomer units) is di- methyl or hydrogen-methyl siloxane units substituted with polyalkylene glycol ethers. Most preferred are silicone glycol copolymers having a viscosity ranging from 1.0 to 500,000, preferably 1.0 to 2,000 centipoise at 25xc2x0 C., a specific gravity ranging from 0.80 to 1.030 at 25xc2x0 C., and comprise approximately 80% dimethylsiloxane units and 20% propylene oxide substituted methyl siloxane units. Silicone glycol copolymers having this description are commercially available from a variety of sources including Dow Corning under the tradenames Dow Corning Additive 3, 7, 11, 14, 18, 21, 24, 26, 28, 29, 51, 54, 56, 57, and 1248.
The compositions of the invention may also contain other ingredients such as emulsifiers, humectants, ancillary film formers, defoamers, plasticizers, preservatives, and the like.
2. Foundation Makeup
Foundation makeup compositions are typically found in the emulsion form, either water-in-oil, or oil-in-water emulsions, and contain a film forming polymer, pigments, and one or more surfactants, which cause the composition to form a stable emulsion. Generally, these compositions comprise from about 0.5-95%, preferably 1-90%, more preferably 5-75% water, and 0.5-99%, preferably 1-90%, more preferably 2-40% oil. The film forming polymer may be part of the oil phase or part of the water phase, provided it is capable of forming a film on the skin and is capable of being plasticized by contact with the C1-20 ester of malic acid.
a. Silicone or Organic Oils
The makeup compositions may contain one or more silicone oils. The silicone oil may be volatile, non-volatile or a mixture of both, provided that the silicone oils are soluble in each other, and in the oil phase of the composition. Suitable volatile silicones include Cyclic silicones (or cyclomethicones) are of the general formula:
where n=3-7.
Linear volatile silicones in accordance with the invention have the general formula:
(CH3)3Sixe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94[Si(CH3)2xe2x80x94O]nxe2x80x94Si(CH3)3
where n=0-6, preferably 0-5.
Linear and cyclic volatile silicones are available from various commercial sources including Dow Corning Corporation and General Electric. The Dow Corning volatile silicones are sold under the tradenames Dow Corning 244, 245, 344, and 200 fluids. These fluids comprise octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane, decamethylcyclopentasiloxane, hexamethyldisiloxane, and mixtures thereof.
Suitable nonvolatile silicones include water insoluble silicones having a viscosity of 10 to 600,000 centistokes, preferably 20 to 100,000 centistokes at 25xc2x0 C. Suitable water insoluble silicones include cetyl dimethicone, dimethicone, phenyl trimethicone, phenyldimethicone, diphenyl dimethicone, and mixtures thereof Such silicones are available from Dow Corning as the 3225C formulation aid, Dow 190 and 193 fluids, or similar products marketed by Goldschmidt under the ABIL tradename.
Also suitable as the nonvolatile silicone oil are various fluorinated silicones such as trimethylsilyl endcapped fluorosilicone oil, polytrifluoropropylmethylsiloxanes, and similar silicones such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,496 which is hereby incorporated by reference.
A variety of organic oils may also be suitable. Examples of suitable organic oils include hydrocarbons, esters, and the like. Suitable hydrocarons include paraffinic hydrocarbons having 9 to 70 carbon atoms, C20-45 olefins, isododecane, isobutene, isoeicosane, isohexadecane, mineral oil, squalene, squalane, and the like.
Also suitable are various esters that are liquid at room temperature. Suitable esters include guerbet esters, which are generally defined as esters which are formed by the reaction of a guerbet alcohol (which is a branched chain alcohol) with a mono-, di-, or tricarboxylic acid.
Other suitable esters include those having the formula RCOxe2x80x94ORxe2x80x2 wherein R and Rxe2x80x2 are each independently a C1-25, preferably a C4-20, straight or branched chain alkyl, alkenyl or alkoxycarbonylalkyl or alkylcarbonyloxyalkyl. Preferred are esters which are the reaction product of of a branched chain fatty acid and a branched or straight chain fatty alcohol, preferably a branched chain fatty alcohol. Examples of such esters include isotridecyl isononanoate, isostearyl neopentanoate, tridecyl neopentanoate, cetyl octanoate, cetyl ricinoleate, decyl isostearate, isodecyl oleate, isodecyl neopentanoate, isohexyl neopentanoate, tridecyl octanoate, and so on.
Other suitable esters include naturally occuring glyceryl esters of fatty acids, or triglycerides. Both vegetable and animal sources may be used. Examples of such oils include castor oil, lanolin oil, triisocetyl citrate, C10-18 triglycerides, caprylic/capric/triglycerides, coconut oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, linseed oil, mink oil, olive oil, palm oil, illipe butter, rapeseed oil, soybean oil, sunflower seed oil, walnut oil, and the like.
Also suitable are synthetic or semi-synthetic glyceryl esters, e.g. fatty acid mono-, di-, and triglycerides which are natural fats or oils that have been modified, for example, acetylated castor oil, glyceryl stearate, glyceryl dioleate, glyceryl distearate, glyceryl trioctanoate, glyceryl linoleate, glyceryl myristate, glyceryl isostearate, PEG castor oils, PEG glyceryl oleates, PEG glyceryl stearates, PEG glyceryl tallowates, and so on.
b. Pigments or Powders
Suitable colorants may be inorganic or organic pigments and powders. The organic pigments are generally various aromatic types including azo, indigoid, triphenylmethane, anthraquinone, and xanthine dyes which are designated as DandC and FDandC blues, browns, greens, oranges, reds, yellows, etc. Organic pigments also generally consist of insoluble metallic salts of certified color additives, referred to as the Lakes. Inorganic pigments include iron oxides, ultramarines, chromium, chromium hydroxide colors, and mixtures thereof Preferably, the pigments may be coated with one or more ingredients that cause the pigments to be hydrophobic. Suitable coating materials that will render the pigments more lipophilic in nature include silicones, lecithin, amino acids, phospholipids, inorganic and organic oils, polyethylene, and other polymeric materials. Particularly preferred are silicone treated pigments as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,722, which is hereby incorporated by reference. Suggested ranges of pigments found in foundations is about 0.1-30%, preferably 0.5-25%, more preferably 1-20% by weight of the total composition.
Preferably, the composition contains one or more particulates which serve as powders, fillers, or sunscreens in the composition. These powders or fillers are present for adjusting the color of the composition, and in some cases may provide a sunscreen effect by physical blocking of UV radiation. Preferably, the particle size of the particulates ranges from 0.05 to 100 microns, and are present in ranges of 0.1-20%, preferably 0.5-15%, more preferably 1-10% by weight of the total composition. Examples of particulates include white or non-pigmentitious powders include bismuth oxychloride, titanated mica, fumed silica, spherical silica, polymethylmethacrylate, micronized teflon, boron nitride, acrylate copolymers, aluminum silicate, aluminum starch octenylsuccinate, bentonite, calcium silicate, cellulose, chalk, corn starch, diatomaceous earth, fuller""s earth, glyceryl starch, hectorite, hydrated silica, kaolin, magnesium aluminum silicate, magnesium trisilicate, maltodextrin, montmorillonite, microcrystalline cellulose, rice starch, silica, talc, mica, titanium dioxide, zinc laurate, zinc myristate, zinc rosinate, alumina, attapulgite, calcium carbonate, calcium silicate, dextran, kaolin, nylon, silica silylate, silk powder, sericite, soy flour, tin oxide, titanium hydroxide, trimagnesium phosphate, walnut shell powder, or mixtures thereof. While titanium dioxide is commonly considered to be a white pigment when used in paints, in color cosmetic compositions it is used more for its ability to mute color, and/or provide an opaque or semi-opaque finish, or provide sunscreen protection, then as a colorizing ingredient. The above mentioned particulates may be surface treated with lecithin, amino acids, mineral oil, silicone oil or various other agents either alone or in combination, which coat the powder surface and render the particles more lipophilic in nature.
c. Surfactants
The foundation makeup compositions generally will contain one or more surfactants which are capable of ensuring stability of the emulsion formed. Suitable surfactants may be organic or silicone surfactants. The compositions of the invention comprise an effective amount of a surfactant which is capable of causing the water phase and the oil phase to form an emulsion having stability for two weeks at 50xc2x0 C. Suggested ranges of surfactant are in the range of about 0.1-20%, preferably 0.5-15%, more preferably 1-10% by weight of the total composition of one or more surfactants. Suitable surfactants include organic or silicone surfactants, which may be anionic, cationic, nonionic, zwitterionic, or amphoteric. Preferably the surfactants are nonionic organic or silicone surfactants.
Examples of nonionic organic surfactants include alkoxylated alcohols, or ethers, formed by the reaction of an alcohol with an alkylene oxide, usually ethylene or propylene oxide. Preferably the alcohol is either a fatty alcohol having 6 to 30 carbon atoms. Examples of such ingredients include Beheneth 5-30, which is formed by the reaction of behenyl alcohol and ethylene oxide where the number of repeated ethylene oxide units is 5 to 30; Ceteareth 2-100, formed by the reaction of a mixture of cetyl and stearyl alcohol with ethylene oxide, where the number of repeating ethylene oxide units in the molecule is 2 to 100; Ceteth 1-45 which is formed by the reaction of cetyl alcohol and ethylene oxide, and the number of repeating ethylene oxide units is 1 to 45, laureth, 1-100 where the number of repeating ethylene oxide units is 1 to 100, and so on. Other alkoxylated alcohols are formed by the reaction of fatty acids and mono-, di- or polyhydric alcohols with an alkylene oxide. For example, the reaction products of C6-30 fatty carboxylic acids and polyhydric alcohols which are monosaccharides such as glucose, galactose, methyl glucose, and the like, with an alkoxylated alcohol.
Also suitable as the nonionic surfactant are alkyoxylated carboxylic acids, which are formed by the reaction of a carboxylic acid with an alkylene oxide or with a polymeric ether. The resulting products have the general formula:
where RCO is the carboxylic ester radical, X is hydrogen or lower alkyl, and n is the number of polymerized alkoxy groups. In the case of the diesters, the two RCO- groups do not need to be identical. Preferably, R is a C6-30 straight or branched chain, saturated or unsaturated alkyl, and n is from 1-100.
Also suitable as the nonionic surfactant are monomeric, homopolymeric and block copolymeric ethers. Such ethers are formed by the polymerization of monomeric alkylene oxides, generally ethylene or propylene oxide. Such polymeric ethers have the following general formula:
wherein R is H or lower alkyl and n is the number of repeating monomer units, and ranges from 1 to 500.
Other suitable nonionic surfactants include alkoxylated sorbitan and alkoxylated sorbitan derivatives. For example, alkoxylation, in particular, ethoxylation, of sorbitan provides polyalkoxylated sorbitan derivatives. Esterification of polyalkoxylated sorbitan provides sorbitan esters such as the polysorbates. Examples of such ingredients include Polysorbates 20-85, sorbitan oleate, sorbitan palmitate, sorbitan sesquiisostearate, sorbitan stearate, and so on.
Also suitable as nonionic surfactants are silicone surfactants, which are defined as silicone polymers which have at least one hydrophilic radical and at least one lipophilic radical. The silicone surfactant used in the compositions of the invention are organosiloxane polymers that may be a liquid or solid at room temperature. The organosiloxane surfactant is generally a water-in-oil or oil-in-water type surfactant which is, and has an Hydrophile/Lipophile Balance (HLB) of 2 to 18. Preferably the organosiloxane is a nonionic surfactant having an HLB of 2 to 12, preferably 2 to 10, most preferably 4 to 6. The HLB of a nonionic surfactant is the balance between the hydrophilic and lipophilic portions of the surfactant and is calculated according to the following formula:
xe2x80x83HLB=7+11.7xc3x97log Mw/Mo
where Mw is the molecular weight of the hydrophilic group portion and Mo is the molecular weight of the lipophilic group portion.
The polymeric organosiloxane surfactant used in the invention may have any of the following general formulas:
MxQy, or
MxTy, or
MDxDxe2x80x2yDxe2x80x3zM
wherein each M is independently a substituted or unsubstituted trimethylsiloxy endcap unit. If substituted, one or more of the hydrogens on the endcap methyl groups are substituted, or one or more methyl groups are substituted with a substituent that is a lipophilic radical, a hydrophilic radical, or mixtures thereof T is a trifunctional siloxy unit having the empirical formula RRxe2x80x2SiO1.5 or RRSiO1.5. Q is a quadrifunctional siloxy unit having the empirical formula SiO2, and D, Dxe2x80x2, Dxe2x80x3, x, y, and z are as set forth below, with the proviso that the compound contains at least one hydrophilic radical and at least one lipophilic radical. Preferred is a linear silicone of the formula:
MDxDxe2x80x2yDxe2x80x3zM
wherein M=RRRSiOxc2xd
D and Dxe2x80x2=RRxe2x80x2SiO{fraction (2/2)}
Dxe2x80x2=RRSiO{fraction (2/2)}
x, y, and z are each independently 0-1000,
where R is methyl or hydrogen, and Rxe2x80x2 is a hydrophilic radical or a lipophilic radical, with the proviso that the compound contains at least one hydrophilic radical and at least one lipophilic radical.
Most preferred is wherein
M=trimethylsiloxy
D=Si[(CH3)][(CH2)nCH3]O{fraction (2/2)} where n=0-40,
Dxe2x80x2=Si[(CH3)][(CH2)oxe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94PE)]O{fraction (2/2)} where PE is (xe2x80x94C2H4O)a(xe2x80x94C3H6O)bH, o=0-40,
a=1-100 and b=1-100, and
Dxe2x80x2=Si (CH3)2O{fraction (2/2)}
More specifically, suitable silicone surfactants have the formula:
wherein p is 0-40, and
PE is (xe2x80x94C2H4O)a(xe2x80x94C3H6O)bxe2x80x94H
where x, y, z, a, and b are such that the maximum molecular weight of the polymer is approximately 50,000.
Another type of preferred organosiloxane emulsifier suitable for use in the compositions of the invention are emulsifiers sold by Union Carbide under the Silwet(trademark) trademark, which are referred to by the CTFA term xe2x80x9cdimethicone copolyol.
Also suitable as nonionic silicone surfactants are hydroxy-substituted silicones such as dimethiconol, which is defined as a dimethyl silicone substituted with terminal hydroxy groups.
Examples of silicone surfactants are those sold by Dow Corning under the tradename Dow Corning 3225C Formulation Aid, Dow Corning 190 Surfactant, Dow Corning 193 Surfactant, Dow Corning Q2-5200, and the like are also suitable. In addition, surfactants sold under the tradename Silwet by Union Carbide, and surfactants sold by Troy Corporation under the Troysol tradename, those sold by Taiwan Surfactant Co. under the tradename Ablusoft, those sold by Hoechst under the tradename Arkophob, are also suitable for use in the invention.
The foundation makeup compositions may contain a variety of other ingredients such as humectants, plant extracts, ceramides, emulsifiers, and the like.
3. Pigmented Cosmetic Sticks
The cosmetic compositions of the invention may be in the form of pigments sticks such as lipstick, eyeshadow sticks, foundation sticks, and the like. Preferably, these sticks are anhydrous, although they may, if desired, contain water. In addition to containing one or more of the film forming polymers and plasticizer in the ranges mentioned above, the compositions generally will also comprise a mixture of waxes and oils in amounts necessary to cause the formation of a stick. By xe2x80x9cstickxe2x80x9d is meant that the cosmetic composition is capable of forming a free standing stick. Also included within the meaning of the term xe2x80x9cstickxe2x80x9d are compositions that are capable of forming free standing sticks, but are poured into pans or similar types of containers.
a. Oils
The cosmetic stick generally comprises one or more oils. By xe2x80x9coilxe2x80x9d is meant an oily material that is a liquid or semi-solid at room temperature. Preferably, the compositions contain 0.5-60%, preferably 1-50%, more preferably 2-45% by weight of the total composition. Suitable oils may vary widely and, in general, those oils listed as being acceptable in foundation makeup compositions in Section IC2(a) above, are also suitable for use in lipsticks.
b. Solidyfing Agent
Generally, a certain amount of a solidifying agent is necessary to enable the formation of a cosmetic stick. Most often solidyfing agents are waxes. The waxes are solid or semi-solid at room temperature. Suggested ranges of wax are 0.1-60%, preferably 0.5-55%, more preferably 1-45% by weight of the total composition. The waxes preferably have a melting point of about 39 to 135xc2x0 C., preferably in the range of 45 to 95xc2x0 C., most preferably 55 to 95xc2x0 C. Suitable waxes generally include animal waxes, plant waxes, mineral waxes, silicone waxes, synthetic waxes, and petroleum waxes. More specifically, these waxes include tribehenin, bayberry, beeswax, candelilla, carnauba, ceresin, cetyl esters, hydrogenated jojoba oil, hydrogenated jojoba wax, hydrogenated microcrystalline wax, hydrogenated rice bran wax, japan wax, jojoba butter, jojoba esters, jojoba wax, lanolin wax, microcrystalline wax, mink wax, montan acid wax, montan wax, ouricury wax, ozokerite, paraffin, cetyl alcohol, beeswax, PEG-20 sorbitan beeswax, PEG-8 beeswax, rice bran wax, shellac wax, spent grain wax, sulfurized jojoba oil, synthetic beeswax, synthetic candelilla wax, synthetic carnauba wax, synthetic japan wax, synthetic jojoba oil, synthetic wax, polyethylene, stearoxy dimethicone, dimethicone behenate, stearyl dimethicone, and the like, as well synthetic homo- and copolymer waxes such as PVP/eicosene copolymer, PVP/hexadecene copolymer, and the like.
c. Pigments/Powders
Generally, cosmetic sticks will comprise 0.1-45%, preferably about 0.5-40%, more preferably 1-35% by weight of the total composition of pigments and/or powders. Suitable pigments and powders are as set forth above in Section IC2b.
The cosmetic stick compositions may also contain other ingredients to enhance the aesthetic properties, such as humectants, plant extracts, emulsifiers, and the like.
5. Mascara
The cosmetic compositions of the invention may be in the form of mascara. Generally mascaras are in the anhydrous or water and oil emulsion form. Anhydrous mascaras according to the invention generally comprise 0.1-95% oil, 0.5-30% pigment, 0. 5-45% of a solidifying agent, and 0.1-30% of one or more synthetic or natural film forming polymers, and 0.01-50% of the C1-20 ester of malic acid plasticizer. The oils, pigments, and film forming polymers are those mentioned for use with the other cosmetics mentioned herein. Suitable solidifying agents are as mentioned herein with respect to the cosmetic sticks.
The mascara may also be in the form of an emulsion, which may be water-in-oil or oil-in-water. Typically such mascaras contain 0.1-50% water, 0.5-55% oil, 0.1-30% pigment, and 0.5-45% solidifying agent, and 0.1-30% of one or more synthetic or natural film forming polymers, and 0.01-50% of the C1-20 ester of malic acid. Mascaras may also contain other desired ingredients such as humectants, preservatives, stabilizers, and so on.
The combination of the film forming polymer and C1-20 ester of malic acid may be used in a wide variety of cosmetic compositions. The C1-20 ester of malic acid acts as an excellent plasticizing agent for the film forming polymer, either alone, or when the combination is used in a cosmetic formula.
The invention will be further described in connection with the following examples which are set forth for the purposes of illustration only.

Cosmetic compositions containing film forming polymers plasticized with esters and malic acid


A method and corresponding receiver for transmitting channel quality data for a channel in a wireless communication system are provided. The method comprises determining channel quality metrics for frequency intervals within the channel, selecting groups of frequency intervals based on the determined metrics, and transmitting one or more channel quality indicators for the groups. The invention also provides a method of transmitting over a channel based on such channel quality indicators feedback from a receiver, and a corresponding transmitter.

Link adaptation by means of adaptive modulation and coding enables robust and spectrally efficient transmission over time-varying channels in a wireless system. The basic idea behind it is to estimate the channel at a receiver and feed this estimate back to a transmitter. The latter adjusts its transmission in order to adapt the modulation scheme and the code rate to the channel characteristics. Modulation and coding schemes that do not adapt to fading conditions require a fixed link margin to support an acceptable performance when the channel quality is poor. These systems are then designed for the worst-case channel conditions, and result in an inefficient use of the channel. Thus, adaptive modulation and coding schemes are appealing, since they can increase the average throughput, and reduce the required transmit power and bit error rate. See, for example: "Variable-Rate Transmission for Rayleigh Fading Channels" by J. K. Cavers (IEEE Transactions on Communications, pp. 15-22, February 1972); "Variable Rate QAM for Mobile Radio" by W. T. Webb and R. Steele (IEEE Transactions on Communications, pp. 2223-2230, July 1995); "An Adaptive Coding Scheme for Time-Varying Channels" by B. Vucetic (IEEE Transactions on Communications, pp. 653-663, May 1991); and "Adaptive-Modulation Schemes for Minimum Outage Probability in Wireless Systems" by K. M. Kamath and D. L. Goeckel (IEEE Transactions on Communications, pp. 1632-1635, October 2004).
Moreover, a radio channel is always subject to some degree of frequency selectivity, implying that the channel quality will vary in the frequency domain. This variation in frequency can be beneficial for a link adaptation scheme over the frequency axis for multi-carrier systems such as OFDM systems. With adaptive modulation and coding in the frequency domain, a higher-order modulation (e.g. 16QAM or 64QAM) together with a high code rate is appropriate for frequency intervals (e.g., subcarriers or groups of sub-carriers) experiencing advantageous channel conditions in the frequency domain, where QPSK modulation and low-rate coding are used for frequency intervals with poor radio link conditions.
The advantages of adaptive modulation and coding have motivated its use in advanced wireless communication systems, including cellular systems like EGPRS and HSPA as well as wireless LANs.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a receiver 2 communicating with a transmitter 4 via a wireless channel 6. The transmitter and receiver can be a base station (or Node-B) and a mobile terminal (or user equipment (UE)), adapted for use in a wireless cellular environment. The receiver 2 has a processor 8 for, amongst other things, estimating the channel quality and providing a channel quality indicator (CQI) value. The transmitter includes a processor 10 for, amongst other things, implementing adaptive modulation and coding based on CQIs it receives from the receiver. It will readily be appreciated that FIG. 1 is greatly simplified—in practice there can be a plurality of receivers and transmitters, with a multiplicity of channels, which vary in quality with time and in the frequency domain.
Another appealing scheme that maximizes the spectral efficiency of a wireless system is channel-dependent scheduling implemented by a packet scheduler 14. This mechanism controls the allocation of the shared resources (e.g. frequency intervals for multi-carrier system like OFDM) at each instant. It is closely related to adaptive modulation and coding scheme and often they are seen as one joint function as they are both trying to adapt to the channel conditions. The first objective of downlink scheduling, for example, is to make the users orthogonal by different multiplexing techniques: Time Division Multiplexing, Frequency Division Multiplexing, Code Division Multiplexing or Spatial Division Multiplexing. The second objective is the maximization of the radio resources. When transmissions to multiple users occur in parallel, resources (in code/frequency/time/space domain) are assigned to users with the best instantaneous channel conditions. See, for example "Information Capacity and Power Control in Single-Cell Multiuser Communications" by R. Knopp and P. A. Humblet (Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Communications, vol. 1, Seattle, USA, June 1995, pp. 331-335). This strategy is an example of channel dependent opportunistic scheduling, where the scheduler takes into account only the instantaneous radio-link conditions. Other strategies can take into account delay, fairness—in general parameters related to QoS constraints.
To enable adaptive modulation and coding and channel-dependent opportunistic scheduling, the mobile terminal or User Equipment (UE) reports a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) 12. In an OFDM system, to support downlink scheduling in the frequency domain coupled with a link adaptation scheme with a plurality of users, each user needs to report a CQI per frequency interval (group of sub-carriers) and over time. In order to provide full flexibility at the packet scheduler 14, the UE 2 would need to report CQIs 12 over the entire frequency band, making the signaling overhead impractically large.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a frequency band with consecutive frequency intervals f1, . . . , fN at respective frequency locations i=1, . . . , N. Each frequency interval corresponds for instance to a predefined number of adjacent OFDM sub-carriers.
Many solutions have been proposed for CQI feedback reduction, to allow frequency selective scheduling with reduced signaling overhead. These solutions range from uniform reporting grid of CQI, where a CQI (CQI(1), . . . , CQI(N) is reported for each frequency interval f1, . . . , fN (impractical from the point of view of the implementation complexity), to reporting only the indication of the best CQI and the best frequency interval (e.g. CQI(i) for interval fi). The latter scheme is based on the fact that a user will be preferentially scheduled on its best frequency interval, and therefore the CQI for the best resource block is of primary interest to the scheduler 14. A variation of the latter scheme is to report the CQIs for the M best frequency intervals, e.g. CQI(1), CQI(j), CQI(i+k) for f1, fi and fi+k (M=3). Another possibility is to adopt a threshold-based CQI report, based on the feedback of the average CQI over the frequency intervals that are within a predefined threshold from the best CQI. Other solutions aim at reducing the overhead of CQI feedback by reporting an average CQI over the M best frequency intervals, or over the frequency intervals that are within a predefined threshold from the best CQI. On top of these schemes, it has been proposed to apply some known compression methods such as Discrete Cosine Transform or Wavelet Transform to further reduce the number of bits required to encode the CQI reports.
The main disadvantages of these schemes are:                Lack of scheduling flexibility—For different reasons such as system overload, scheduling type or practical reasons, the packet scheduler may need to assign to the users different frequency intervals than the one reported. The CQI schemes reported above do not provide channel quality information for other than the reported frequency intervals.        In the case of feedback of averaged CQIs, reporting averaged channel quality may destroy channel information. Depending on channel variability in frequency and/or time, the averaging could destroy the information about the channel condition at specific frequencies.        Signaling overhead—The schemes mentioned above need to report the index i of frequency intervals to which the reported CQIs are referred.


A MEM tunneling gyroscope assembly includes (1) a beam structure, and a mating structure defined on a first substrate or wafer; and (2) at least one contact structure, and a mating structure defined on a second substrate or wafer, the mating structure on the second substrate or wafer being of a complementary shape to the mating structure on the first substrate or wafer; and (3) a bonding layer is disposed on at least one of said mating structures for bonding the mating structure defined on the first substrate or wafer to the mating structure on the second substrate or wafer.

The present invention provides a new process of fabricating a single crystal silicon MEM gyroscopes using low-cost bulk micromachining techniques while providing the advantages of surface micromachining. The prior art, in terms of surface micromachining, uses e-beam evaporated metal that is patterned on a silicon dioxide (SiO2) layer to form the control, self-test, and tip electrodes of a tunneling MEM sensor. A cantilevered beam is then formed over the electrodes using a sacrificial resist layer, a plating seed layer, a resist mold, and metal electroplating. Finally, the sacrificial layer is removed using a series of chemical etchants. The prior art for bulk micromachining has utilized either mechanical pins and/or epoxy for the assembly of multi-Si wafer stacks, a multi-Si wafer stack using metal-to-metal bonding and an active sandwiched membrane of silicon nitride and metal, or a dissolved wafer process on quartz substrates (Si-on-quartz) using anodic bonding. None of these bulk micromachining processes allow one to fabricate a single crystal Si cantilever (with no deposited layers over broad areas on the beam which can produce thermally mismatched expansion coefficients) above a set of tunneling electrodes on a Si substrate and also electrically connect the cantilever to pads located on the substrate. The fabrication techniques described herein provide these capabilities in addition to providing a low temperature process so that CMOS circuitry can be fabricated in the Si substrate before the MEMS sensors are added. Finally, the use of single crystal Si for the cantilever provides for improved process reproductibility for controlling the stress and device geometry.
MEM gyroscopes may be used in various military, navigation, automotive, and space applications. Space applications include satellite stabilization in which MEM technology can significantly reduce the cost, power, and weight of the presently used gyroscopic systems. Automotive air bag deployment, ride control, and anti-lock brake systems provide other applications for MEM gyroscopes and/or sensor. Military applications include low drift gyros.

Dual-wafer tunneling gyroscope and an assembly for making same


A computer method for redirecting input messages to an application that has at least one window redirected is provided. The method intercepts input messages, determines if the input messages are directed at the redirected application, and transforms the input messages to correspond to the actual location of the window that has been redirected before the input message is redirected to the application that has had at least one of its windows redirected.

The present invention relates to software, and more specifically, to redirecting messages received from input devices.
In today""s multi-tasking environments, users generally interact with computers through graphical user interfaces. Typically, these graphical user interfaces display an application""s content within graphical windows on a display screen. Although multiple graphical windows can arise from a single program on a computer, the usual display screen includes windows from different programs executing independently of each other on the computer, or even several different computers.
With the development of faster computers having better graphical and multi-tasking capabilities, users may display a large number of windows on a desktop at any one time causing some windows on the display to overlap or obscure other windows. In order to view the obscured information, a user may resize or move the obstructing windows. This, however, may result in perhaps only seeing a portion of the desired information. Larger screen sizes and multiple monitors have been used to get around such a problem, but they are very expensive and can take up much desktop space. What is needed are new ways of interacting with windows in graphical user interfaces.
Typically, a user interacts with windows through various input devices, including a keyboard and a pointer device, such as a mouse. Many windowing systems provide mouse information to an application when the mouse pointer is located within an application""s window boundary. Additionally, many applications rely on the mouse pointer being within its boundaries when manipulating the window by moving, resizing, selecting menu items, and the like. For example, the user may open a menu by locating the mouse pointer over a graphical menu and selecting the menu. As long as the mouse pointer remains over the menu, the menu will be visible. If the mouse pointer is moved outside of the menu""s boundaries, however, the menu may disappear because the application assumes that the user is no longer interested in the menu.
Currently, there is no way of interacting with a graphical representation of a window as though the representation was a window object itself. While a user can apply transformations and effects to images on graphical displays, the user is not able to manipulate the graphical display through standard graphical user interface techniques. Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method for redirecting input so that a user may manipulate graphical images as if those images were window objects themselves.
The present invention is directed to providing a system and method for redirecting messages received from input devices. This redirection helps a user to interact with a graphical image as if the image itself was an actual application window. In one embodiment of the present invention, a window is redirected to appear as a texture map image on the user""s display, rather than as an actual window object. When a window is redirected, the actual window object is not displayed to the user. Instead, to the user, the texture map image appears and interacts as though it was the actual window object of the application that has been redirected while the actual window object is hidden from the user. The operating system, however, does not recognize a texture map image, i.e., a textured polygon as a window object, and therefore, input events that are directed toward the texture map image may not correspond with the actual location of the redirected window. Therefore, input messages received from input devices are redirected to correspond to the actual location of the window object of the redirected application. For example, when a window has its output redirected to a three-dimensional (3D) display, instead of being displayed in a standard graphical window environment, the input messages received within the 3D environment are transformed to correspond to the two-dimensional (2D) screen location of the actual window object. If the input messages are properly redirected to correspond to the actual window location, the user will be able to manipulate the texture map image as though it was the actual window. For example, the user can type in the 3D window, adjust the menus, and interact with the redirected output as though the application had not been redirected. If the input were not redirected, the 3D image would not behave as the application window. Instead, the input messages directed at the application may not even be processed by the application that has had a window redirected; or processed incorrectly. In summary, in accordance with this invention, messages arriving from input devices belonging to a particular application are redirected to correspond to the actual location where the application is located on the desktop.
One embodiment of the invention works in the following way. Applications are provided with the ability to set a style bit indicating that a window should be redirected. The application redirecting the window is referred to as the redirection host. Any time after the window has been created, the redirection host may set the style bit. Once the style bit has been set, the graphics device interface (GDI) visually removes the window from the desktop, creates an off-screen bitmap, and reroutes all further drawing operations applied to the window to the redirected location. Since the redirected application may not be aware of this change, the redirection host is responsible for propagating changes in the application""s visible appearance on the screen. To enable these changes, the GDI provides a global event (redirected paint) whenever the application has finished a visual update. By requesting a hook on this event, the redirection host obtains notification of the update, including which window was updated and the affected region within the window. Similarly, in order for the user to interact with the redirected output, input messages directed at the redirected window must often be transformed to correspond to the actual location of the window object. In one embodiment of the invention, a window test hook and get cursor position hook allows the operating system to intercept and change specified input messages to correspond to the actual screen location of the window object so that the application behaves as if it was not redirected.
In one embodiment of the invention, if a window has been redirected, the input messages obtained from the keyboard automatically go to the foreground application. The ability to bypass sending keyboard messages to the redirection host is achieved by setting a window flag to ensure that the redirection host does not become activated. Once the flag has been set the redirection host never receives keyboard messages because these are sent to the foreground application by the operating system. In one actual embodiment, therefore, the existing notions and policies of window activation and keyboard focus are consistent with the Windows operating system.
Mouse messages, on the other hand, typically get posted to the queue of the window that is located under the position of the cursor. Therefore, if the redirection style bit is detected as being set, a window hit test hook is installed that intercepts input messages before they are sent to the underlying window. If the mouse pointer is located over a redirected window""s texture map, the mouse coordinates are adjusted and the target window handle in the hit test structure is updated such that the pointer will appear to redirected window to be in the proper location. Once the input message has bee examined, and possibly transformed, the operating system posts the message to correct application. If the message was a mouse click over a texture map representing a redirected window, the application will become a foreground application and update its visuals and behavior accordingly. Thus, a click on a window object causes a corresponding application to receive activation and focus; a click on the 3-D scene background causes the redirection host to receive focus. This occurs even though neither mouse nor keyboard messages actually reach the host window event queue. If the input event is determined to be outside of a redirected window then the input event message is left alone and no changes are made.
Input messages relating to mouse position are also adjusted when a redirected window inspects the mouse position directly. Therefore, an additional hook is provided that intercepts direct inquiries to obtain the cursor position made by an application that has had a window redirected. This hook updates the mouse coordinates so as to correspond to the actual location of the redirected window if the cursor is over a position of the redirected window""s texture map.
In order for input redirection to properly work in one actual embodiment, each low-level mouse message generated in the system is inspected. Depending on how the output is redirected determines how difficult the hit test becomes. For example, when the output is redirected to a three-dimensional screen, the 3-D hit test can be non-trivial. It will appreciated, however, that deciding whether or not the pointer is over a pixel belonging to a redirected window can be accomplished in many different ways. For example, if the output is redirected to a 3-D scene, a 3-D hit test using hierarchical bounding boxes which returns a 2-D normalized coordinate on the face of the bounding box that was hit can be used. The normalized 2-D coordinate is then transformed into an appropriate pixel coordinate in the window""s coordinate system. A map of the screen locations of transformed 3-D objects representing windows can also be created, allowing a simple point in polygon test to determine whether the mouse is over that window. By inverting and caching the 3-D camera transform, the transformation to 2-D forged coordinates becomes much cheaper computationally than ray-plane intersection against a bounding box.