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This invention relates to packaging, and more particularly to a package for an elongated object such as a flashlight in which at least a portion of the packaged object is exposed.
Various packages are known in the prior art for packaging of elongated objects, in which the package is made up of a rear panel and a front panel which is folded to define outwardly extending ribs, with the unfolded portions of the front panel being secured to the rear panel. An example of this construction is Cote U.S. Pat. No. 3,022,722, which illustrates upper and lower V-shaped ribs. An opening is formed in the upper wall of the lower rib, and a pair of aligned openings are formed in the upper and lower walls of the upper rib, extending rearwardly from the fold line of the upper rib. With this construction, the package is assembled and transformed to the location at which the object is to be packaged, where the base of the object is placed through the opening in the upper wall of the lower rib, and the upper end of the object is "snapped" into the passage in the upper rib defined by the aligned openings in the upper and lower walls of the upper rib. This construction provides a package which generally functions satisfactorily in retaining the object in position during shipping, handling and display. However, it is possible for the object to be removed from the package during display, simply by reversing the above steps carried out in placing the object into the package.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a folded-panel package for an elongated object, such as a flashlight or the like, in which the object is securely retained in engagement with the package in a manner preventing the object from being removed from the package without destroying the package. It is another object of the invention to provide such a package in which a substantial portion of the object is exposed for viewing by potential consumers. It is a further object of the invention to provide a folded-panel package capable of packaging other objects along with the elongated object, such as batteries and/or flashlights having a different size and shape. Yet another object of the invention is to provide a folded-panel package which is simple in its construction yet which provides highly satisfactory performance in retaining the objects in engagement with the package after placement of the objects in the package.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a package for an elongated object defining spaced first and second ends includes a rear panel against which the object is located, and a front panel secured to the rear panel. A first outwardly extending rib is formed in the front panel, and includes an opening for receiving and engaging the object toward its first end. A second outwardly extending rib is formed in the front panel, and has an opening for receiving and engaging the object toward its second end. The first and second ribs are arranged such that at least a portion of the object between its first and second ends is exposed therebetween. The rear panel functions to retain the object adjacent its first and second ends in engagement with the first and second ribs, respectively, to maintain the object in the package. The first and second ribs are each V-shaped, being formed by a pair of walls with a fold line therebetween. The first and second ribs define facing walls in which the openings in the first and second ribs, respectively, are formed such that the edges of the first and second ribs adjacent the openings engage the object adjacent its first and second ends, respectively. A third outwardly extending V-shaped rib may be formed in the front panel. Like the first and second ribs, the third rib is formed by a pair of walls with a fold line therebetween. The second rib is located between the first and third ribs, and the second and third ribs define facing walls with openings therein for receiving one or more second objects therein such that a portion of each of the second objects between the second and third ribs is exposed. As noted previously, the first object may be a flashlight and the second object may be one or more batteries for the flashlight. One end of each of the first and second objects is enclosed by the second rib, and the ends of the objects engage each other to maintain the first and second objects in longitudinal position within the package. The opposite end of the second object is received within an opening formed in a wall of the third rib.
In one form, the first end of the object includes a recess, and the opening formed in the first rib is formed in the inner wall of the first rib in a manner defining a cut-out flap, with the flap being engaged with the recess in the first end of the object. This functions to assist in retaining the object in engagement with the first rib. The recess in the first end of the object is defined by a lip, and the opening in the inner wall of the first rib is formed so as to engage the lip.
In another form, the first end of the object defines an external shoulder, e.g. a shoulder from which the lip defining the recess extends. A first opening is formed in the inner wall of the first rib through which the object extends. A second opening is formed in the outer wall of the first rib, and the second opening is configured so as to engage the shoulder defined by the first end of the object to retain the object in position.
The invention further contemplates a method of packaging an elongated object defining spaced first and second ends. The method involves the steps of providing a package including a pair of panels, and folding portions of a first one of the panels to provide at least first and second spaced ribs. Openings are formed in the folded portions of the first panel, and the elongated object is placed into the openings. The ribs and the openings are arranged such that the ribs engage the spaced first and second ends of the object to prevent outward movement of the object relative to the first panel. The second panel is then secured to the unfolded portions of the first panel to prevent movement of the object in the opposite direction, for positively securing the object within the package. The details of the method are substantially in accordance with the foregoing summary. | {
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The present invention relates in general to the field of removal and collection of liquids from surfaces as generated by medical procedures. More particularly, this invention relates to a disposable absorptive apparatus and method for wicking, collecting and transporting surgically generated or other medical procedure associated liquids from surfaces for use with a vacuum driven fluid collection system.
Many medical procedures generate significant volumes of fluid from the procedure site. Some procedures flush the procedure site with various liquids to introduce agents such as antiseptics or to flush debris away from the site. Additionally liquids may be released from the patient. Liquids expelled from the medical procedures collect at various locations such as the operating table and particularly on the floor. During arthroscopy surgery as typically performed on the knee, significant quantities of liquid are often expelled from the surgical region and collect on surrounding surfaces, particularly the floor. The potentially hazardous nature of the liquids precludes draining the floor, instead the liquids are collected. Liquids tend to puddle on the floor causing a trip and bio hazard for the operating room personnel.
During operations, suction devices are installed to remove liquids that have collected. Apparatus including a suction head for aspirating liquid from an operating room floor include mats as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,246, entitled “Vacuum Pad for Collecting Potentially Hazardous Fluids”, and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,729,404, entitled “Receptacle for Collecting Fluid”. The vacuum driven mats are so engineered as to remove liquids that collect on top of the mat presenting a disadvantage. The mats further require significant air flow through the apparatus to maintain a vacuum sufficient to draw fluids into the system. Suction devices that require high air flow produce noise levels that can interfere with communication in the operating room. Mats are typically designed to remain stationary on the floor thereby requiring a number of mats to collect liquids in other areas of the operating room. Additionally, mats are generally costly as compared to other liquid remove systems such as towels.
Another type of liquid removal apparatus using a flat plate suction head spaced away from the surface where the liquid resides is typified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,389, entitled “Foot Manipulated Suction Head and Method for Employing Same”, U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,258, entitled “Device for Aspirating Fluids from Hospital Operating Room Floor”, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,136,098, entitled “Method for Aspirating Fluid from An Operating Room”. The flat plate suction head is characterized by a flat plate positioned away from the surface where the liquid resides by spacers thereby permitting liquids to collect in the gap between the floor and the apparatus. When liquid is not present, air is drawn through the apparatus resulting in increased load on the vacuum collection system and higher noise levels. Apparatus placement can be accomplished; however, the potential trip hazards presented to the operating personnel are still present due to the size of the apparatus.
A further apparatus is as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,380,278, entitled “Liquid Cleansing and Evacuation Method and Apparatus for Use in Surgical Procedures” utilizes an annular suction ring for continuously evacuating fluid from a surgical area.
Devices in the sterile field of an operating room, for example, must be either be sterilized or replaced after each operation. Sterilizing is typically a costly process and therefore a low cost disposable apparatus is preferable. High cost is a significant disadvantage of many of the prior art solutions.
Vacuum collection systems are often installed in medical procedure areas, particularly operating rooms. In the operating room, the vacuum collection system provides a vacuum draw for numerous devices collecting liquids. When no liquid is presented to many suction driven liquid removal devices, the load on the vacuum collection system increases and can compromise the system.
Trip hazards are reduced by designs that incorporate a low profile on the surface and can be stepped on or crushed without detriment to the operation of the apparatus.
Prior to the present invention there existed a need for an improved liquid removal apparatus and method that is low cost, disposable, low profile, low noise, low load on the vacuum collection system to address disadvantages of the prior art. | {
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The present invention relates to a robot system in which a moving position is controlled by visual recognition.
Nowadays, a number of robot systems have been employed in industrial fields. In most of the general purpose robot systems, pre-taught operational positions of robot are assigned and stored in a control circuit. As the program goes on, when an operational position is invoked, the robot is displaced to the pre-taught, assigned position.
In some other systems, the robot is provided with a visual sensor which recognizes a target and allows for guidance of the robot in the direction of the target. However, even if a robot is provided with several sensors, the limited size of the robot does not allow the sensors to be set far enough away from each other for the robot to recognize the correct three-dimensional position of the target. Such robot systems, which have not yet been universalized due to their restrictions, still remain costly.
The primary purpose of the present invention is to furnish a visually controlled robot system that allows for operational control of the robot by means of commercially-available, general-purpose robots and commercially-available, general-purpose visual recognition devices.
To achieve this purpose, the visually controlled robot system of the present invention comprises a robot means for three-dimensional motion, means for taking images of the entire moving area of the robot, a visible target existing within the moving area of the robot, a control circuit having a function which recognizes beforehand the moving area of the robot and another function which stores in a memory the position of the visible target as shown by the images from the image taking means, as well as an ordering signal to move the robot to the position of the visible target, and a drive control means for driving the robot according to said ordering signal.
A visually controlled robot system of another aspect according to the present invention further comprises a display means and an input means. The input means is connected to the control circuit for inputting a coordinate from the display means, and the control circuit has the additional function of giving the drive control means an ordering signal to move the robot to a position corresponding to the coordinate as instructed. | {
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Conventionally, carbon electrodes containing activated carbon particles are used as polarized electrodes for electric double layer capacitors. The carbon electrodes are generally manufactured by applying electrode materials containing activated carbon particles onto a conductive substrate, and drying the laminate. A currently known method for manufacturing polarized electrodes includes applying onto a conductive substrate electrode materials obtained by dispersing activated carbon particles, conductive particulates, etc. in a dispersion of polytetrafluoroethylene (referred to as “PTFE”, hereinafter) as a binder; and drying the laminate.
The capacitance of an electric double layer capacitor varies depending on the area (effective area) where the activated carbon particles and the conductive particulates contained in the polarized electrodes contact with the electrolyte. More specifically, the capacitance is closely related to the packing ratio of the activated carbon particles and conductive particulates in the polarized electrodes. Therefore, to increase the capacitance, the packing ratio of the activated carbon particles and conductive particulates needs to be improved.
In a slurry method which includes dispersing activated carbon particles, conductive particulates, a binder, etc. in a dispersion medium to prepare slurry-like electrode materials; and forming an electrode layer of the polarized electrode using the same, the capacitance of a polarized electrode is generally proportional to the solid content of the electrode materials. Therefore, to increase the capacitance of the polarized electrode, electrode materials with high solid content need to be prepared in the slurry method.
In general, however, the electrode materials with high solid content cannot exhibit favorable application properties in many cases since such electrode materials are thickened due to a high degree of interaction between the binder and the solid content, such as activated carbon particles, conductive particulates, etc. For example, according to the conventional slurry method, when the solid content is 25% by weight or more, the viscosity of the electrode materials is about 6,000 cP (the viscosity being measured under atmospheric conditions at 25° C. with a Brookfield viscometer). Thus, a high viscosity makes it difficult to demonstrate good application properties.
Therefore, in the slurry method, the solid content of the electrode materials in view of ease of preparation, ease of applying, etc. is preferably adjusted to be about 20% by weight.
In recent years, lightweight and miniaturized polarized electrodes have been demanded, and thus the development of high capacity polarized electrodes for lightweight and miniaturized designs is called for. Thus, it is desired to produce practical polarized electrodes using electrode materials with a solid content of about 30% by weight. The development of electrode materials with low viscosity and excellent application properties (e.g., slurry flowability) even when the solid content thereof is 30% by weight or more needs to be realized. | {
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Prior art electrical control systems for hydraulic servomotors typically comprise a controller for controlling electrical activation of, e.g., valves of the control system. Furthermore, an external controller positioned in the hydraulic system, or possibly in a vehicle in which the hydraulic system is positioned, is typically necessary in order to obtain all of the functionalities which are desired.
Examples of prior art control systems are, e.g., disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,892, U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,320 and DE 44 31 103.
It may sometimes be desirable to allow some or all of these additional functionalities to be performed directly by the controller of the control system. However, this would require additional electrical connections to/from the controller, e.g. in order to allow input from a sufficient number of sensor devices measuring relevant control parameters. However, the number of available electrical connections, e.g. pins, is limited due to the size of the actuator and to strict requirements to mechanical robustness of the connector. It is therefore not necessarily expedient to increase the number of available electrical connections to a desired level. | {
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The present invention relates generally to communication networks and devices that operate thereon and, more particularly, to sharing location information between devices on a communication network.
When people communicate today through, for example, email, Instant Messaging (IM) programs, Short Message Service (SMS) messages, etc., the messages are often limited to simple text information and/or attachments containing text, graphic files, audio files, video files, and the like. When people plan to meet at a specific place, individuals typically try to describe the location or, if known, provide a street address or other type of identifying information, which the recipient may then provide as input to a mapping application, such as, for example, mapping applications provided Yahoo, Google, and Mapquest. Similarly, if a computer user is reviewing a Website of a business and decides he/she wants to visit the business, the user may obtain the address of the business from the Website and provide that address to a mapping application as described above. Alternatively, the business Website may provide a link to a map that contains directions to the business location when approaching from various locations. Thus, for a user to obtain more detailed information about a location, such as, for example, directions from a current location or reference information related to the location, the user may need to make use of a public mapping application or seek out the detailed information on a Website or other location information source. Services, such as evite.com, may allow email invitations to be sent with a link to a map for a given address. The recipient may still need to print the map and directions or hand write the directions to make effective use of the map and/or directions, however. | {
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The present disclosure relates to a laboratory sample distribution system and a laboratory automation system.
Known laboratory sample distribution systems are typically used in laboratory automation systems in order to distribute samples contained in sample containers between different laboratory stations by means of sample container carriers. Such systems use Hall-sensors for detecting positions of sample container carriers on a transport plane.
Therefore, there is a need for a laboratory sample distribution system having an improved sample container carrier position detection than laboratory sample distribution systems of the prior art. | {
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An interior passenger compartment of an automobile is designed to provide a quiet environment and to protect the driver and passengers from outside elements, such as rain, snow, cold, heat, dust, exhaust fumes, pollution, etc. As such, automobiles typically provide an interior passenger compartment that is substantially sealed from the surrounding exterior environment. However, the air pressure inside the interior passenger compartment may undesirably exceed atmospheric pressure in some instances, for example, when a vehicle door is closed. If the interior is not vented to the atmosphere, the effort required to close the door may greatly increase, inconveniencing the driver or passenger of the vehicle. Deployment of air bags may also cause a sudden increase in internal pressure. Higher internal pressures can also be created by a fan of a climate control system or by the inrush of outside air when a window or sunroof is opened when traveling at high speeds.
Pressure relief valves for equalizing the pressure between the interior compartment of an automobile and the atmosphere are known. The pressure relief valve is placed between the interior space and the outside of the vehicle in order to control an exhaust flow of air from the interior. The pressure relief valve (or “air extractor”) is typically connected by a duct to the passenger compartment. The valve permits air to be expelled or discharged from the vehicle passenger compartment, while preventing air, gas, fumes, and/or other undesirable substances from entering into the passenger compartment. By minimizing overpressure in the passenger compartment, the pressure relief valve improves the performance of the climate control system, makes it easier to close doors, and reduces the unpleasant buffeting noise from open windows. Further performance improvements, particularly to improve flow characteristics through the valve, would be highly desirable. Accordingly, a pressure relief valve with improved aero-acoustic properties would be useful to reduce noise in the passenger compartment. | {
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Establishing at the outset an excellent long lasting seal between combinations of components installed in an underground sealed liquid distribution system, has always been a prime objective. The same prime objective carries over to making repairs, changing, and extending, such underground sealed liquid distribution systems.
In the past, inventors have provided pipe seals, gaskets, and packing, which during the final positioning thereof, receive internally a liquid, which subsequently hardens, in attempting to provide long lasting seals between combinations of such components.
For example:
In 1937, John A. Byers in his U.S. Pat. No. 2,099,722, illustrated and described his pipe joint. He utilized a sealing gasket which had a cavity. He filled this cavity with a solidifiable fluid such as felted paraffine, wax, lead, or sulphur compounds. Upon the entry of the solidifiable fluid, the sealing gasket expanded to create a good seal, and the seal remained when the fluid hardened.
In 1942, Eugene Freyssinet in his U.S. Pat. No. 2,306,160 disclosed his packing device in various embodiments sealing between various components. The liquid he used as a filler was a synthetic resin, which passed from a liquid state to a solid state. The resin was called by the trademark as being "Brauthite", and was said to be a combination of formaldehyde and phenol, which hardens in the presence of air.
In 1965, Albert A. Hollingsworth, in his U.S. Pat. No. 3,222,076, disclosed his pipe joint packing. He used a gasket with an initially collapsed central cavity. Then when the gasket was located in the sealing position, he injected into this central cavity, selected epoxy fill materials, such as epichlorohydrin and bisphenol-A, which, while reacting together, entered as a liquid and then self hardened, expanding the gasket into the sealing shape and position. Other fill materials used were epoxy novolacs, polyesters, phenolics, and melamines.
In 1982, A. Eugene Martin, in his U.S. Pat. No. 4,350,351, illustrated and described his manhole joint gasket assembly and the joint formed therewith. To increase the sealing power of his gasket he surrounded the back of the gasket with a hollow ring. Then to increase the backing power of this ring, he injected a two-component foam-forming, originally liquid substance, that expanded into a solid stage under pressure in the hollow interior of this backing ring.
In 1985, John Ditcher, in his U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,355 disclosed his gasket suitable for use in sealing the exterior of sewer pipe to an opening in a manhole, and the method and system employing the same. His circumferential gasket in various embodiments was fitted to a specially formed circular receiving volume, located in the well of the manhole, about the hole through which the end of a sewer pipe was inserted. When required, to insure an adequate seal would be maintained by the gasket, Mr. Ditcher filled a cavity in the gasket, after the positioning thereof, with an expandable filler, by using a hypodermic like syringe.
The accomplishments of these prior inventors are recognized; however, there remained a need for improved pipe seals, incorporating solidifiable liquids, which could be used throughout underground sealed liquid distribution systems to create excellent seals between combinations of many components of many different types, materials, and sizes, which often also have irregular surfaces, shapes, and sizes, and which often must remain misaligned, yet withstand high pressures. | {
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The present invention relates generally to articles for holding fluid specimen containers and, more particularly but without limitation, is directed toward such articles which can also be used to contain and/or collect errant or misdirected specimen samples.
Over the past decade, there has been an increased need and demand for analysis of various biological specimens, for purposes ranging from pregnancy testing to drug analysis. Considerable time and effort has been expended by way of devising systems and analytic techniques to ensure reliable testing and accurate results. However, relatively little effort has been devoted toward the design and development of articles to conveniently and hygienically collect such specimens. The situation is uniquely illustrated in the context of collecting urine specimens.
Typically, specimen containers and related support devices require that the container and/or device be held by the person rendering the urine specimen. Often times, a difficult situation arises through inadvertent contact with the specimen. The accompanying unpleasantness is not isolated with the specimen provider, but is shared by the health care worker or laboratory technician asked to handle or analyze the urine specimen.
The search for an efficient, economical holder device for specimen containers has been a long-standing concern in the art. Most devices utilize a long handle attached to a ring configuration which engages the specimen container. A problem arises in that the weight of the container and collected specimen poses undue stress and strain on the holder. The result is often an instability which causes errant specimen deposit or, ultimately, spillage of the entire specimen. Examples of such prior art devices are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 335,708, Des. 306,648, Des. 335,346, Des. 325,180, Des. 335,179, Des. 324,804 and 5,202,094. The last of the aforementioned patents illustrates another shortcoming of the prior art, disclosing a configuration wherein an elongated handle has a hinged connection to a ring structure, thereby introducing yet another source of structural weakness upon specimen deposit.
In summary, a considerable number of drawbacks and problems exist in the art relating to holder devices for specimen containers. There is a need for an improved holder, economically produced, to safely and efficiently collect urine specimens.
It is an object of this invention to overcome the problems and shortcomings of the prior art, including those described above. It can also be an object of this invention to provide a holder device which functions more broadly to contain, collect and transfer errant or misdirected specimens.
It can be another object of the present invention to provide a one-piece holder which is formed unitarily to impart and maintain structural integrity during use.
It can also be an object of this invention to provide a holder article which inhibits the inadvertent deposit of a specimen on the outside of an intended container.
It can also be an object of this invention to provide a method of using an article, in accordance with this invention, to direct an errant specimen, collect it, then transfer it to an intended container.
It can also be an object of this invention to provide a one-piece holder preform, formed unitarily, which can be reconfigured according to design to assist in specimen collection, such reconfiguration to impart and maintain structural integrity during use.
It can also be an object of the present invention to provide a one-piece holder preform, which can be reconfigured in conjunction an adhesive component to impart and maintain structural integrity during use.
It will be understood by those skilled in the art that one or more aspects of this invention can meet certain objectives, while one or more other aspects can meet certain other objectives. Each objective may not apply equally, in all instances, to every aspect of this invention. As such, the preceding objectsxe2x80x94in light of the prior art regarding such holder devices and specimen containersxe2x80x94can be viewed in the alternative with respect to any one aspect of the present invention. Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following summary and description of preferred embodiments, and as would be recognized by those skilled in the art having knowledge of specimen collection techniques and the requirements for holder articles as used in the specimen analysis industry. Such objects, features, benefits and advantages will also be apparent from the above as taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures and all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom.
This invention includes a new and/or improved holder article, as well as a method of using the same. The invention overcomes certain well-known problems and deficiencies, including those outlined above, while providing a cost-effective alternative to current devices. As described more fully below, the invention provides an article more user-friendly, but also more considerate and hygienic with respect to downstream health care workers and laboratory technicians.
In part, the present invention is a holder article for a specimen container of the type having an upper opening. The inventive article includes (1) a ring having a width dimension and an interior diametral dimension, with a proximate portion with respect to the user of the article, such ring removably engagable with a specimen container; (2) a connector continuous with the ring and having a width dimension; and (3) a grasping portion continuous with the connector and having opposed lateral sides. The sides of grasping portion 20 can be substantially contiguous with one another or, alternatively, can have a noncontiguous relationship.
In preferred embodiments, the proximate portion of the ring is continuous therealong with the connector. Preferred embodiments can also include a grasping portion that is movable along a longitudinal axis thereof, such that the lateral sides are approachable one to another, resulting with each portion positioned on opposed sides of the plane coaxial with the aforementioned longitudinal axis. In highly preferred embodiments, the connector has a width dimension greater than the interior diametral dimension of the ring. Likewise, in highly preferred embodiments, the connector is substantially non-coplanar with the ring. One or more of such structural features in combination with another provides the inventive holder article a structural stability heretofore unavailable through the prior art.
In part, the present invention also includes a method using a holder for a specimen cup to contain an errant specimen sample. The method includes (1) providing a holder having a ring removably engagable with the cup, a connector continuous with the ring, and a grasping portion continuous with the connector and having opposed lateral side portions; (2) positioning the lateral sides of the grasping portion to provide a conduit along a line defining a longitudinal axis of the grasping portion; and (3) thereby directing an errant specimen sample along the conduit. In preferred embodiments, the lateral side portions are pre-formed to provide such a conduit. In other embodiments, such outer side portions can be moved one toward another to provide the same sort of conduit. Regardless, the conduit is preferably directed toward a specimen collection area.
As discussed more fully above, a ring with a raised interior edge and a downward flange along the outer dimension can assist in removal of an errant specimen from the collection area. A raised edge engaging a specimen cup can also operate as a guard to prevent intake from a specimen first contacting the holder article. In highly preferred embodiments, the raised edge can be configured for threaded engagement with the specimen cup. Such an engagement, alone or together with the aforementioned downward flange, operates to keep an errant specimen from soiling the outside surface of the specimen cup.
Without limitation, the present invention can also be an improvement of prior art holder articles, such an improvement including a connector continuous with both a ring and a grasping portion and configured in conjunction with the ring to provide a specimen collection area. Such an improvement can further include a grasping and support portion substantially co-planar with the ring, having opposed lateral side portions, either contiguous or noncontiguous, positioned such that the grasping portion provides a conduit directed toward the collection area. While preferred embodiments include side portions pre-formed to provide such a conduit, other embodiments include side portions which are approachable one to another to provide the same sort of conduit. Likewise, in preferred embodiments, the ring associated with such an improvement can be configured to facilitate movement of a specimen from the collection area. As described more fully above, such a configuration can include a raised interior edge on the ring and a downward flange continuous with the ring outer dimension, with a trough or channel therebetween.
Various embodiments of the present invention provide a unique functionality. The interior diametral dimension of the aforementioned ring can be defined by a raised edge. Such structure, in combination with a connector non-coplanar with the ring, can provide a specimen collection area. A downward flange continuous with the outer dimension of the ring can serve to prevent inadvertent specimen deposit along the outer container surface and also assist, in a drip-proof fashion, with removal of the specimen from the aforementioned collection area. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to multithreaded processors and, more particularly, to thread scheduling and selection in a multithreaded processor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer processor designs have been improved in a number of ways. Microarchitectures have evolved from single execution unit machines to superscalar designs having multiple pipelines and multiple execution units. To accommodate changing processing environments such as server based applications, for example, a more recent processor design trend includes multithreaded processors capable of executing multiple threads concurrently.
One aspect of multithreading involves thread selection and scheduling. A thread may have various instruction dependencies that may cause it to stall in the pipeline, while another thread may be able to execute. Processing may become inefficient if a ready thread is not scheduled as soon as an executing thread stalls, depending on how long the thread is stalled. Furthermore, depending on available resources, the scheduling process must be fair in choosing which threads to execute in order to prevent thread starvation. | {
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The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to parasite destruction and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to a system and method for damaging parasites and optionally parasite eggs by ultrasound.
Parasitic sucking lice feed on the blood, serum or lymph of their hosts and cause irritation, pruritis and disease. Some species are vectors of serious diseases and all are generally undesirable. For example, the common human head louse, Pediculus capitis and the human pubic louse Phthirus pubis are blood sucking ectoparasites which cause pediculosis disease, producing hives like irritation and pruritis in infested subjects. The human body louse, Pediculus humanus corporis causes irritation and pruritis and is also a vector of typhus, which is a potentially lethal disease.
Head lice are a common problem, particularly among children and are highly 20 communicable. Head lice attach to hair, move to the scalp where they become resident and feed on the blood. Lice may pierce the skin and exude an antigenic salivary secretion which, with the piercing of the skin, creates a pruritic dermatitis.
The head lice lay eggs (also known as nits), which become attached to hairs close to the scalp by a drop of cement secreted by the female louse, which subsequently becomes hard. Female lice lay 50-150 eggs in their lives. Upon sufficient growth, the eggs hatch thereby increasing the numbers of lice on the scalp. If not treated, the amount of lice on the head of an individual may become substantial and pose a serious health risk.
Once a significant number of lice get a foothold in the scalp of a human, they are extremely difficult to eradicate. Heretofore, various attempts have been made to treat people with head lice. These include anti-lice substances and shampoos, and nonpharmacologic approaches including occlusion therapy, nit combing, and hair removal.
A device for mechanically removing and killing lice is marketed under the trade name Lice-Guard Robi® Comb (Epilady® 2000, L.L.C.). The device is a battery-powered electronic comb with oscillating tooth that electrocute lice.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,051 describes a fine tooth comb with an electric power source. The comb includes two sections formed of conductive sheet material which are insolated from each other by an insulating separator. The comb also includes two interleaved sets of teeth, each extending from one of the sections. An electric potential applied between adjacent teeth causes current to flow through an intervening nit.
U.S. Published Application No. 2002096125 describes a hair grooming comb, such as for pet, with ionizer for ionized air onto hair to be groomed and with an ultrasonic wave generator for generating ultrasonic waves onto hair in order to repel fleas. The used comb is a brush that goes thought the fur and does not create a closed acoustic filed, therefore the apparatus is only using for repealing fleas.
Chinese Patent No. 2843056 describes an ultrasonic insect-repelling massage comb, which comprises comb teeth, a comb handle and an outer shell. A pet vibration comb emit sound wave frequency, exceeds the hearing range of human and pet, for expelling fleas, louses, etc. As the person' skilled in the art will appreciate, if a teeth comb emits ultrasonic wave with no appropriate mediate, the ultrasonic wave will not be effective since ultrasound is poorly pass troughs air.
International Publication Nos. 2007/037143 and 2009/107034 describe an ultrasonic hair treatment device having clamps with a vibrator. Impregnation and infusion hair treatment agent is accelerated into the hair and distributed therein by ultrasonic vibration.
Additional background art includes Douglas L Miller, Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology (2007), 93 (1-3): 314-330; Child et al., 1980, Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, 6(2):127-130; Child et al., 1981, Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology 7(2):167-173; Child et al., 1982, Pay et al., 1987, Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology 13(2):93-95. These publications describe various studies directed to investigate the effect of ultrasound on mammalian tissue and Drosophila melanogaster. | {
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Mobile communication devices have become ubiquitous among people living in nations with developed economies. When a problem occurs, a mobile communication device may be serviced by customer care representatives, for example by a representative in a retail outlet that sells mobile communication devices. Information about the original manufacturing of the device, the initial configuration of the device, and/or the current configuration of the device may desirably be determined to assist a representative in troubleshooting and/or repairing the device. Some mobile communication devices provide such manufacturing and initial configuration information encoded in graphics, for example bar codes, that are affixed to the device, for example inside a battery compartment and behind a battery of the device. Other information about the current configuration of the mobile communication device may be looked up or accessed from a data base via a work station operated by the representative, for example by providing information identifying the subject device such as an electronic serial number (ESN), a mobile station identity (MSID), a phone number, or other identifying information obtained from the graphics affixed inside the battery compartment and/or provided by a user of the device.
A mobile communication device, for example a mobile phone, may pass through a number of states from initial manufacturing to termination of the device, for example when melted down to harvest precious metals. A device may be provided to a first owner and activated for wireless communication services. The device may be deactivated and returned to a refurbishing center. The device may then be provided to a second owner and activated for wireless communication services, possibly services associated with a different brand or service provider. The device may cycle through these states any number of times. Ultimately the device may be deactivated and terminated. | {
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Fats and oils are regenerative biogenous energy storages. In earlier times, bovine suet for example was only used as cooking fat or in the making of candles. Other animal fats like pig lard and bone fat were considered to be highly nutritional for the human diet. Biological waste fats of every kind were also considered, until very recently, as equally nutritional animal feed for the feedstock industry. Only with the epizootic problems of foot and mouth disease and BSE and the large amount of rendering fats that resulted thereof, did animal fats become more and more realistic as an energy source or diesel alternative.
Fats and oils are triglycerides, i.e., esters comprised of glycerine with various fatty acids, especially higher fatty acids. In general, only those fatty acids which contain more than 12 C-atoms are referred to as higher fatty acids. Normally, triglycerides bind one molecule of glycerine to three molecules fatty acids. Those fatty acids respectively which contain triglycerides vary widely and are dependent on the kind of fat used. In vegetable oils/fats, there are a predominant proportion of unsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, i.e., oleic and linoleic acids. Saturated fatty acids such as palmitic acid play a less important role. In animal fats, the simple unsaturated fatty acids, chiefly oleic acid, and the saturated fatty acids, especially palmitic and stearic acid, predominate. This results in the high melting point of animal fats compared with that of vegetable oils.
Many accompanying substances of fats are not desired for technical utilization. These are to begin with ffa, diglycerides and monoglycerides and glycerine to some extent, which result from the hydrolysis of fats. Sterol, isoprenoid, phospho- and glycolipids are included in this group as well. Through autoxidation of the fatty acids, volatile components such as e.g., aldehydes, alcohols and ketones, and non-volatile components, are formed. The volatile components are mostly responsible for the displeasing aging odors from the fats/oils. The non-volatile components are odorless but accelerate the decomposition process. Also found predominantly in animal fats are heavy metals which the animals ingest through the food chain. This acts catalytically and contributes equally to further decomposition.
If fats or oils are burned and used as an energy source or a fuel substitute, then all of the accompanying substances mentioned, except for heavy metals, can be burned simultaneously, but this makes the handling of fat difficult. These substances shorten the storage-period, act negatively upon the exhaust gas composition and corrosively upon the motor assembly, hence making extensive cleaning measures in the utilization of animal fats unavoidable. The direct use of fat as fuel in diesel motors has already been mentioned in DE 31 17 374 A1. Because animal fats have a relatively high melting point, heating the fuel is imperative. Utilization is possible and relatively easy to realize. Long term attempts with diesel motor usage however displayed a major problem in animal fat use. Due to the high ffa concentration, maximum life expectancy is considerably limited. Especially components which are mechanically under high stress such as, for example, the entire injection system of modern diesel motors show wearing after a few hours of operation. This is why it is so astonishing that corrosion of the DE 196 22 601 C1 can be traced back to an excessively high proportion of glycerine, whereas used grease by comparison with an acidity of 75% can be expected to function trouble free in a diesel motor process. “The known damage mechanism” mentioned in this patent specification was not explained further therein and is in blatant contradiction to the analysis conducted by the declarant in connection with the subsequently illustrated invention, and to the analysis initiated by her and carried out by the specialized professional research facilities and well-known motor manufacturers. Such a usage as fuel must be doubted upon and can only lead to a financial loss for the user.
There exists a series of methods for preparing fats for motor processes. The fibril and heavy metals can be removed through ordinary washing with aqueous acid solutions. Phosphoric and citric acids are two such possible acids which are especially suitable and are already often utilized. Through such a washing process, the corrosive components, the fatty acids, are not removed. The possibility to remove fatty acids by washing with diluted sodium hydroxide exists. This method is only suited for fatty acids of low concentration. The common fats may contain 25 percent by weight fatty acids or more. This corresponds to a total acid number (KOH-No.) of 50. Aimed at however is a KOH-No. of at least 0.5 or less. 900 additional liters of sodium hydroxide are necessary for the neutralization of 1000 kg fat with 1 M NaOH. Such a method is therefore obviously inefficient for the handling of fats.
Further described possibilities to lower the acidity are the separation of fatty acids through steam distillation (Lurgi) and through selectively effective extracting agents such as for example with an isopropanol/hexane mixture. Alkaline extracting agents will be mentioned for example in DE 199 18 097 A1. The extraction with polyethylene glycols will be described in DE 196 38 459 A1. A chemical conversion of the fatty acids directly into animal fat is an exception. The DE 199 56 599 A1 is concerned with the esterification of ffa in fats with monovalent short chained alcohols in the presence of lipases.
The production of bio diesel using vegetable oils, especially rape oil or sun flower oil, is increasingly preferred by professionals. Several plants have come into production or been built very recently. The oil is completely base-split into the fat components glycerine and fatty acids. Subsequently, the accrued fatty acids are esterified with methanol. Thus generating a fatty acid methyl ester and, as side product, glycerine. The transesterification from fatty acids is basically possible with such apparatus and functions according to the same principle. Further developments, according to DE 697 01 014 D2, concern themselves with the use of ethanol as an esterification reagent.
Thus, it is shown that the previous methods are unsatisfying, especially complicated, extensive and inefficient. This is especially because either an extensive transesterification must be carried out in order to obtain fatty acid methyl esters for example, or the corrosive components in the form of ffa are only removed with great effort. It is therefore the task of the presently claimed invention to further present the previously described method so that the desirable advantages will be targeted. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an anode active material comprising a carbon coated with a metal or metal oxide thereon for a lithium secondary battery, a preparation method thereof, and a composite electrode and a lithium secondary battery comprising the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, a lithium secondary battery is made with a variety of carbon materials such as cokes, graphite, etc. However, when the graphite group is used as an anode active material, change of a carbon lattice constant is large in charging and discharging, and a carbon active material is gradually separated from an electron transmission path in repeated charge and discharge. As a result, an electrode capacity is lowered. In addition, in the conventional carbon anode, conductivity is lowered due to a solid electrolyte interface (hereinafter, referred to as “SEI”) coating which is formed on the surface of the carbon active material. The “SEI coating” means a coating layer formed on the surface of the carbon active material through a reaction of lithium metal with an organic solvent when charging. The SEI coating allows passing lithium ions into the carbon structure because it has an ionic conductivity, but cuts off passage of an organic solvent. Therefore, if the SEI coating is not formed, performance of a battery is rapidly lowered because an organic solvent may penetrate into a carbon structure to cause exfoliation of the graphite structure, and accordingly, the electrode active material may separate from an ion transmission path.
However, if SEI coating is formed, electrical conductivity is low with high rate charging and discharging of a battery, because SEI coating is not electrically conductive, to result in an inhomogeneous electric potential distribution of the electrode. As a result, discharge capacity of the battery is lowered, and a cycle life of the battery is also lowered due to partial charging and discharging.
In order to complement the conductivity lowering caused by the large carbon lattice constant change of the carbon active material and the SEI coating layer formed on the surface of the carbon, it has been generally attempted to add a carbon with good conductivity, for example, acetylene black (AB) to an electrode as a conductive material. However, such solutions have not been provided yet.
In the meantime, the carbon active material may be separated from the electrode due to an organic solvent electrolyte. It may be caused by gas generation, etc. resulting from dissociation of a solvent injected into the carbon together with lithium. In order to prevent the separation of the carbon active material and improve binding strength of the active material, the amount of a binder added may be increased. However, it is also disadvantageous in that charge/discharge characteristics of the electrode are deteriorated because the amount of the electrode active material to be added is reduced and internal resistance is increased.
In a conventional secondary battery using carbon, especially graphite, as an anode active material, if an organic solvent electrolyte of a propylene carbonate (hereinafter, referred to as “PC”) group is used, cycle characteristics of an electrode are very poor and capacity of the electrode is seriously lowered. Therefore, an organic solvent electrolyte of an ethylene carbonate (hereinafter, referred to as “EC”) group is mainly used. However, even though the organic solvent electrolyte of the EC group is used, it shows not only electrode capacity lower than theoretical value but also continuous reduction of the electrode capacity in proceedings of cycles.
Therefore, some methods have been suggested for complementing the conductivity lowering due to the change of the carbon lattice constant and the SEI coating layer formed on the surface of the carbon active material. Examples of such research include the following: a method in which instead of a carbon conductive material such as AB, etc., a metal having a good conductivity such as silver is inserted into the carbon through a reductive treatment (J. Power Source, 68, pp.436-439 (1997); and Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, Spring General Meeting, Abstracts, pp.198-201 (1997)); and a method in which two or more anode active materials are used together by depositing tin oxide, etc. onto the carbon to improve electrode capacity (The 38th anniversary of Battery Forum, pp.207-208, Osaka, Japan, 1997).
In the latter method, unlike the present invention, carbon is added into a solution of tin chloride dissolved in distilled water, and the resulting solution is then evaporated at room and elevated temperatures, thereby to deposit the tin contained in the solution. Therefore, the deposited tin is also used as an electrode active material. In this case, although electrode capacity may be improved, high rate charge/discharge characteristics and cycle characteristics are not improved. In addition, it is disadvantageous in that an initial irreversible capacity is very high because a large amount of tin oxide is included and used as an electrode active material, and a battery capacity is lowered as a whole when LiCoO2, LiMn2O4 or the like is used as a cathode. In order to solve such problems, lithium may have to be inserted into an anode in advance by using an external resistance or external power. However, it makes a battery fabrication process complicate. It is further disadvantageous in that a capacity is continuously lowered because irreversible Li22Sn5 is produced in progress of charge/discharge.
In the mean time, the method of depositing a metal such as silver, etc. onto a carbon is for improving the conductivity of carbon electrode. That is, because silver having a good conductivity is added, a conductivity of the electrode may be improved. However, because it can not prevent the electrode capacity lowering caused by the dissociation of an organic solvent electrolyte injected together with lithium, there is a limitation on selection of an organic solvent electrolyte.
Another disadvantage of the conventional preparation method of a carbon electrode is that there are problems relating to a electrode plasticity. The most serious problem is that when an electrode is prepared by casting an electrode active material onto a metal thin plate used as a current collector, the carbon active material is separated from the collector because of weak binding strength between the collector and the active material. If a binder is added in order to solve this problem, an internal resistance of the electrode is increased, and accordingly high rate charge/discharge characteristics and cycle characteristics of the electrode are lowered. In order to enhance the binding strength between the carbon active material and the metal collector, a method for forming a metal oxide layer onto the metallic current collector is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,616,437. In this method, the metal oxide layer is formed between the metallic current collector and carbon to enhance binding strength and conductivity between the collector and the carbon. However, this method could not solve all the problems of the conventional carbon active material.
Accordingly, it is necessary to solve all the problems in the conventional art including electrode capacity lowering caused by separation of an active material resulting from a large change of the carbon lattice constant or formation of SEI coating layer on the surface of the carbon active material, difficulties in high rate charge/discharge, and electrode capacity lowering caused by solvent dissociation reaction resulting from co-injection of an organic solvent, etc. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to epoxy molding compositions. More particularly, the present invention relates to epoxy molding compositions which are particularly useful as optoelectronic encapsulants for light emitting devices.
2. Brief Description of Related Technology
Epoxy resin compositions are widely used for electronic packaging materials in the electronics industry and, in particular, as encapsulants for semiconductor elements and electronic circuits. Accordingly, epoxy resin-based compositions have been widely used in the formation of molding compositions for use as electronic packaging materials. Transparent epoxy molding compositions are well known for use as encapsulants in connection with optoelectronic devices, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), for use for lighting applications in the electronics industry.
LEDs have traditionally been multilayer epitaxial structures based mainly on AlGaAs and InGaAlP as basic materials, Such LEDs are typically encapsulated in a transparent epoxy composition, which is typically provided in a dome shape for efficient transmission of light from the LED.
Epoxy compositions useful in encapsulating optoelectronic devices such as LEDs may involve liquid-type compositions, which can be filled or poured about an LED and cured. Additionally, partially cured epoxy compositions may be used for encapsulating LEDs, in which an epoxy composition is partially cured or “B-staged” to form a “pellet”, which can then be transfer molded with the electronic device under heat and pressure to encapsulate the LED.
More recently, GaN (gallium nitride)-based semiconductor devices have been used in UV/blue lasers and UV/blue LEDs. UV/blue LEDs are LEDs which are capable of emitting in the ultraviolet (UV) range, or in the blue range, or in both the UV and blue ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum. Conversion of UV/blue light from an LED to visible white light can be accomplished using phosphors, which are typically applied to the surface of the LED and then encapsulated with an epoxy encapsulant.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,886,401 to Liu discloses an LED structure including a transparent epoxy compound for encapsulating the LED, and including a phosphor layer coated on the outer surface of the epoxy compound. Such an arrangement requires additional manufacturing steps for providing the separate layers of epoxy and phosphor, which results in additional time and cost for manufacturing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,149,971 to McEihaney et al. discloses a scintillator assembly which includes a body of optically-transparent epoxy and an amount of phosphor particles embedded within the body adjacent one surface. The phosphor particles are mixed within the liquid epoxy when in an uncured state and settle to the bottom surface of a mold in which the liquid epoxy is contained. Upon curing into a hardened body, the phosphor particles are coated on one surface thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,753 to Vriens et al. discloses an LED for use in lighting applications which includes a UV/blue LED located in a depression of a cup, with the cup being filled with a light transmitting cycloaliphatic epoxy encapsulant with phosphor particles dispersed in the encapsulant or adhered to the surface of the LED. Such cycloaliphatic epoxy encapsulants are well known for use as liquid epoxy compositions in encapsulating electronics. Such liquid cycloaliphatic epoxy compositions, however, cannot be B-staged due to their inherent high reactivity. Moreover, because of their low viscosity, the phosphor particles typically settle out of the liquid composition during curing, thereby providing a non-uniform distribution of phosphor throughout the cured encapsulant.
Such epoxy compositions should be as resistant to heat and UV light as possible to help prevent degradation of the epoxy composition during operation of the light emitting device.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a molding composition useful as an optoelectronic encapsulant for LEDs which provides for substantially uniform distribution of phosphors and which is easy to manufacture and use as a molding composition. It would also be advantageous to provide a molding composition useful as an optoelectronic encapsulant for LEDs having improved resistance to heat and UV light. | {
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Optical navigation systems, which are commonly found in optical computer mice, have traditionally used light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as light sources. Recently, however, optical navigation systems that use lasers as light sources have been developed. The laser-based optical navigation systems are more sensitive to surface features than the LED-based optical navigation systems. Thus, laser-based optical navigation systems are able to accurately track on more challenging surfaces such as polished surfaces.
Most lasers are capable of causing eye injury, even permanent eye damage, to users who look directly into the laser beam. The severity of the eye injury depends on the power of the laser beam. Thus, laser-based optical navigation systems require a much more stringent eye safety regulation than the LED-based optical navigations systems. IEC 60825-1 standard is applicable to safety of laser products including laser optical mice. In order for a laser optical mouse to be classified as Class-1 product (eye-safe under all operating conditions) under the IEC 60825-1 standard, the maximum optical power output of the laser source of the laser optical mouse must not exceed a prescribed threshold, which is dependent on the wavelength and its mode of operation. As an example, a single mode vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) with a nominal wavelength of 840 nm must have a peak output power of less than 716 uW in the Continuous Wave (CW) mode to be classified as Class-1 product.
Current laser-based optical navigation systems are open loop systems. Thus, to produce Class-1 laser optical mice, every laser needs to be tested to determine the threshold current, the slope efficiency and the temperature coefficient. Each laser is then matched with a fixed binning resistor in the current regulating circuit. The drive current for each laser is adjusted through sensor digital-to-analog converter (DAC) bits so that the power of the laser is set at a fixed value, e.g., 500 uW.
A concern with these conventional laser-based optical navigation systems is that the calibration process of the lasers is very tedious, time consuming and costly, and may result in low manufacturing productivity. Another concern is that customers will need to control their manufacturing environment, especially temperature, to ensure that the initial calibration parameters are maintained within acceptable ranges.
Thus, there is a need for a laser-based optical navigation system that addresses the above-described concerns. | {
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This invention is related to commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,603 entitled xe2x80x9cMETHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING A VIDEO SIGNAL SO AS TO BE ABLE TO PROHIBIT THE MAKING OF ACCEPTABLE VIDEO TAPE RECORDINGS THEREOFxe2x80x9d which issued on Dec. 12, 1986; to U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,901 entitled xe2x80x9cMETHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REMOVING PSEUDO-SYNC PULSES AND/OR AGC PULSES FROM A VIDEO SIGNALxe2x80x9d which issued on Sep. 22, 1987; to U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,093 for METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PREVENTING THE COPYING OF A VIDEO PROGRAMxe2x80x9d which issued Mar. 6, 1990; to U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,098 for xe2x80x9cMETHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CLUSTERING MODIFICATIONS MADE TO A VIDEO SIGNAL TO INHIBIT THE MAKING OF ACCEPTABLE VIDEO TAPE RECORDINGSxe2x80x9d which issued on Apr. 4, 1989; to U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,510 for xe2x80x9cMETHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISABLING ANTICOPY PROTECTION SYSTEM IN VIDEO SIGNALS USING PULSE NARROWING which issued on Oct. 20, 1992; to U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,965 for xe2x80x9cMETHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISABLING ANTI-COPY PROTECTION SYSTEM IN VIDEO SIGNALSxe2x80x9d issued on Mar. 16, 1993; to U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,691 for xe2x80x9cMETHOD AND APPARATUS TO DEFEAT CERTAIN COPY PROTECTION PULSES WITHIN A VIDEO SIGNALxe2x80x9d issued on Apr. 29, 1997; to U.S. Pat. No. 5,633,927 for VIDEO COPY PROTECTION PROCESS ENHANCEMENT TO INTRODUCE HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL PICTURE DISTORTIONSxe2x80x9d issued on May 27, 1997; to U.S. Pat. No. 5,748,733 for xe2x80x9cMETHOD AND APPARATUS TO REDUCE EFFECTS OF CERTAIN COPY PROTECTION PULSES WITHIN A VIDEO SIGNALxe2x80x9d issued on May 5, 1998; to U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,801 for xe2x80x9cMETHOD AND APPARATUS FOR STABILIZING AND BRIGHTENING PRERECORDED TV SIGNALS ENCODED WITH COPY PROTECTIONxe2x80x9d issued on Aug. 26, 1997; to U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,554 for xe2x80x9cCODE SIGNAL BLANKING APPARATUSxe2x80x9d issued on Jun. 22, 1982 and to U.S. Pat. No. 5,583,936 for xe2x80x9cVIDEO COPY PROTECTION PROCESS ENHANCEMENT TO INTRODUCE HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL PICTURE DISTORTIONSxe2x80x9d issued on Dec. 10, 1996. All of the above are incorporated by reference.
Also related is U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,253 for xe2x80x9cMETHOD APPARATUS FOR MODIFYING A VIDEO SIGNAL TO PREVENT UNAUTHORIZED RECORDING AND REPRODUCTION THEREOFxe2x80x9d issued on Jul. 31, 1979.
1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is in the mechanisms and/or methods for defeating, removing, or reducing the effects of the video copy protection signals. These mechanisms are also used to synthesize and improve the performance of a video copy protection signal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The Hollywood movie industry is very concerned about the unauthorized copying of movies and programs. As an example, on Sep. 17, 1997 Jack Valenti, President and Chief Executive Office of the Motion Picture Association of America stated xe2x80x9cIf you can""t protect what you ownxe2x80x94You don""t own anything.xe2x80x9d The patent by Ryan, U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,603, incorporated by reference, discloses a way to process an ordinary program video source to have copy protection. The copy protected video is viewable on a TV set but it produces a recording lacking any entertainment value. That is, the video programs that are not recordable suffer from artifacts ranging from low contrast to synchronizing problems. The ""603 patent describes a method for xe2x80x9cconfusingxe2x80x9d or causing misoperation of the AGC system in a videocassette recorder while not causing a black depression problem in a television receiver displaying the copy protected signal.
A Polish Patent Application (PL 304477 (""477)) by Tomasz Urbaniec entitled xe2x80x9cMethod and Device for Protecting Videophonic Recordings Against Authorized Copyingxe2x80x9d filed Jul. 28, 1994, hereby incorporated by reference, discloses a variation of the ""603 patent by Ryan. FIG. 1a of the ""603 patent describes the waveform of the copy protected video signal as disclosed by Ryan and is replicated herein as FIG. 1a. FIG. 4 of the Urbaniec patent ""477 describes the comparative waveform as disclosed by Urbaniec, which is replicated herein as FIG. 1(b).
As is well known in the art, the videocassette system has a limited luminance frequency response, less than 2 MHz. A signal as described by Ryan recorded on a videocassette duplicating recorder with the AGC turned off (to avoid the effects of copy protection) will produce a video signal with pulse shapes modified by the limited frequency response of the duplicating recorder. Since there is no gap between the pseudo sync pulses and the AGC pulses of Ryan, the AGC system of a home duplicating recorder will respond to the combination of the pseudo sync pulses and the AGC pulses.
The limited bandwidth of the recording VCR responds slightly differently to the combination of pseudo-sync and AGC pulses separated by a time gap of 0.5 xcexcseconds to 2.0 xcexcseconds. If the time gap is as low as 0.5 xcexcseconds, the limited bandwidth of the recording videocassette recorder distorts the time gap to effectively remove it and the effectiveness of the copy protection is essentially the same as that achieved by Ryan. As the gap widens, the effectiveness of the copy protection is reduced or removed.
To defeat the copy protection process, there are a number of known ways such as attenuating, blanking, narrowing, level shifting, modifying and/or clipping the copy protection pulses as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,695,901 (""901), 4,336,554 (""554), 5,157,510 (""510), 5,194,965 (""965), 5,583,936 (""936), 5,633,927 (""927), 5,748,733 (""733) and 5,661,801 (""801) cited above and hereby incorporated by reference.
In the patents mentioned above, the AGC and/or sync or pseudo sync pulses (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,901) are changed in amplitude, changed in level relative to normal sync pulses, and/or changed in pulse width, so as to allow a satisfactory recording.
In particular, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,194,965 and 5,157,510 disclose narrowing of the AGC and/or pseudo sync pulses so that the record VCR does not sense these narrowed added pulses and thus, makes a satisfactory copy.
To defeat the anti-copy signal, the present invention discloses a method and apparatus utilizing pulse position and pulse width modulation of the AGC and/or sync or pseudo sync pulses. The invention also discloses the insertion of a sufficiently wide time gap between the AGC and/or pseudo sync pulses such that the record VCR will respond to or sense the sync or pseudo sync pulses but still will allow for a recordable copy.
The copy protection defeating mechanisms of this invention can also be used in combination with any of the defeat inventions mentioned above. For example, to defeat the copy protection process, one can shift (delay) the AGC pulse by about 1.5 xcexcseconds away from the preceding pseudo sync pulse and then trim the trailing edge of the preceding pseudo sync pulse by 0.6 xcexcsecond. Thus a gap of about 2.1 xcexcseconds exists between the trailing edge of the trimmed pseudo sync pulse and the leading edge of the delayed AGC pulse. If this gap is, for example, near blanking level for 2.1 xcexcseconds, then the VCR will sample the voltage in the gap instead of the added AGC pulses for its AGC amplifier. By sampling this gap voltage near blanking level, the copy protection signal is then nullified. Alternatively, the gap voltage level may be set above or below blanking level. It is important to note that by simply delaying or shifting the position of the leading edge of the AGC pulse relative to the trailing edge of the pseudo sync pulse, the gap between the pseudo sync pulses and the AGC pulses will nullify or partially nullify the effects of the AGC copy protection signal. It is also possible to create this gap in other ways such as moving the trailing edge of pseudo sync pulse away from the leading edge of the upcoming AGC pulse, or some combination of moving the position of both the AGC pulse and pseudo sync pulse to form a gap that would defeat the copy protection process. Typical gap durations of 1.5 xcexcseconds or more have proved effective in defeating the copy protection signal. Compounding the narrowing of the pseudo sync pulses and/or AGC pulses with this gap further enhances defeating the copy protection signal.
It should be noted that the defeat method as described above can be varied and then used as a copy protection signal. By dynamically varying the gap from zero to greater than 1.5 xcexcseconds between the trailing edge of the pseudo sync pulse relative to the leading edge of the upcoming AGC pulse, a new copy protection signal is made to effectively mimic the Ryan ""603 patent with amplitude modulated AGC pulses. By varying the gap via position modulation of the pseudo sync pulses relative to the AGC pulse or vice versa, or dynamically narrowing or changing the pulse width of the added pulses (AGC pulse and/or sync or pseudo sync pulse), an easier copy protection implementation is possible in the digital domain and/or analog domain. Today""s digital domain is the format of choice for implementing copy protection in cable systems and the like (i.e. digital versatile disc players). The range of pulse widths can be for example, between about 50% to 100% of the normal pulse widths (i.e. the pseudo sync pulse normal widths are about 2.3 xcexcseconds and the AGC normal widths are about 2.3 xcexcseconds to 3 xcexcseconds depending on how many added pulses are in a television (TV) line).
In general the copy protection process of the invention may start having the added pulse pairs as for example in FIG. 2(a) of Ryan ""603 patent, where the AGC pulse and/or pseudo sync pulse are position separated relative to time. If the gap due to position separation is insufficient to xe2x80x9cturn offxe2x80x9d the copy protection process (i.e. position modulation amounts to only 1.0 xcexcsecond of gap), then the AGC pulse and/or pseudo sync pulse can be narrowed as a function of time to increase the gap sufficiently (i.e. slowly trim or narrow the AGC pulse and/or pseudo sync pulse by about 0.35 xcexcsecond each, which would add another 0.7 xcexcsecond to the 1.0 xcexcsecond gap for a increased gap duration of 1.7 xcexcseconds). After the gap has been extended as to xe2x80x9cdefeatxe2x80x9d or turn off the copy protection signal, then the new copy protection signal is reactivated by reducing the separation (for example, to zero) between the AGC pulse and pseudo sync pulse and by restoring the pulse widths of the (trimmed or narrowed) AGC pulses and/or pseudo sync pulse to their full normal pulse widths.
The method of using relative position modulation between the sync and AGC pulses for defeating and/or synthesizing a copy protection signal can be applied to the copy protection pulses within or around a horizontal blanking interval. The method can also be combined with narrowing any portion of the added pulses.
In order to produce a further effective copy protection signal, a variation of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,603 patent has been developed. To this end, the AGC pulses also are amplitude modulated from full amplitude to zero and vice versa over the period of for example about 20 to 30 seconds. As a result, the illegal copy will have constantly changing brightness levels. This causes more annoyance when compared to a constant dim picture (when the AGC pulses are static and at full amplitude). | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a telecommunication system, and, more particularly, to a wireless telecommunication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wireless telecommunication systems, such as cellular telephone systems, typically include one or more base stations that establish concurrent communication links with a plurality of mobile units. The range of a wireless communication link is limited by the transmission power of the base station and mobile units, the sensitivity of receivers in the base stations and mobile units, obstacles between the base station and mobile units, and the like. For example, if the wireless communication link is formed in free space, the power received at the mobile unit is approximately proportional to the power transmitted by the base station divided by the square of the distance from the base station to the mobile unit. For another example, the range of a base station located in a mountainous region may be substantially smaller than the range of the same base station deployed in a region that has very few physical obstacles. Obstacles such as buildings and mountains may also introduce a directional dependence into the relation between the transmitted and received power.
When the received power falls below a certain level, the mobile unit and the base station may be unable to form or maintain a wireless communication link. Thus, a relatively large number of base stations may be needed to provide complete coverage and uninterrupted service to users traveling through regions with large numbers of obstacles, such as mountainous regions and urban canyons. In addition to transmitting and receiving signals from the mobile units, a radio access network (RAN) associated with the base station may also perform other functions, such as coordinating hand-offs of moving mobile units with other base stations, maintaining lists of active mobile units associated with the base station, determining locations of the mobile units, and the like. These functions typically require additional hardware and/or software that increase the cost of deploying, maintaining, and operating the base station. Consequently, the cost of providing the large number of base stations that may be necessary to ensure complete coverage in regions having a large number of obstacles may be prohibitive. In particular, it may not be cost effective to provide a large number of base stations in a mountainous region having a low population density.
One conventional solution to this problem is to employ one or more repeaters associated with one or more of the base stations. The repeaters receive signals transmitted by the base station, amplify the power of the signal, and transmit the amplified base station signal to one or more mobile units that may be in a region beyond the range of the un-amplified base station signal. The repeaters may also receive signals transmitted by the mobile unit, amplify the power of the mobile unit signal, and transmit the amplified mobile unit signal to the base station. However, repeaters typically do not perform many of the other functions of a base station. Consequently, repeaters may be used to extend coverage area of the base station at a much lower cost than would be incurred by installing additional base stations. The additional coverage area provided by the repeater is often referred to as a repeater cell.
Repeaters also introduce time delays into the signals. For example, due to the close proximity of the receive antenna and the transmit antenna in a repeater, repeaters often have to remove and/or cancel the repeater transmit signal from the received signal to avoid or reduce feedback interference. Canceling the transmit signal is done using digital signal processing, which introduces a time delay between the received signals and the signals transmitted by the repeater.
Conventional radio access networks associated with conventional base stations are typically unable to determine whether a received signal passed through a repeater. The digital signal processing performed by the repeater is transparent to the wireless communication system. Thus, the radio access network is not able to distinguish between propagation-related time delays and time delays introduced by signal processing. And even if the time delay associated with the digital signal processing by the repeater is detected by the radio access network, the radio access network will interpret the delayed signal as multipath reception with the strongest path not being the direct path from the base station to the mobile unit. The conventional radio access network is also unable to detect the signal amplification provided by the repeater.
Consequently, the time delay and/or the signal amplification provided by the repeater may reduce the accuracy of location services provided by the conventional radio access network. For example, the radio access network may estimate the distance to the mobile unit using the round-trip time delay of a signal. However, conventional radio access networks overestimate the distance to the mobile unit when a repeater has processed the signal because the conventional radio access network is not able to compensate for the additional time delay introduced by the repeater. For another example, the radio access network may attempt to measure the distance to the mobile unit by comparing the transmitted power with the received power and applying an appropriate channel model for the wireless communication link. However, conventional radio access networks applying the channel modeling technique will underestimate the distance to the mobile unit because the conventional radio access network is not able to compensate for the power amplification introduced by the repeater.
The present invention is directed to addressing the effects of one or more of the problems set forth above. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Conventionally, as a warmer device for a vehicle seat, a temperature control system has generally been used so as to maintain a warming member formed of a cord-like heater and the like at a constant temperature by a thermostat. However, in this kind of temperature control system operated by a thermostat, the temperature of the warming member is determined by an operating temperature of the thermostat which is being used. Therefore, in order to satisfy a demand for freely setting the temperature of the warmer device for the vehicle seat and improving the comfortability, the number of parts has to be increased or a complicated circuit configuration has to be used by employing a method using a plurality of thermostats with different operating temperatures, or a method switching a heating value of an auxiliary heater which operates the thermostat, so that the realization was difficult in practice.
In order to satisfy the above-mentioned demands, for example, the warmer device for the vehicle seat as shown in FIGS. 7, 8 are known. In FIGS. 7, 8, a temperature control circuit 101 is connected in series to a warming member 104 wherein a cord-like heater 103 is meanderingly provided in a base material 102. The temperature control circuit 101 is connected to the warming member 104 outside the base material 102, and near the cord-like heater 103, a temperature detecting element 105 such as a thermistor and the like is arranged. By controlling a current control device such as a power MOS FET and the like embedded in the temperature control circuit 101 by a temperature signal from the temperature detecting element 105, the temperature of the warming member 104 is controlled. This kind of structure is disclosed in, for example, the conventional technology of Japanese Patent Publication 1.
Also, as a publication wherein the technology which conducts the temperature control using the temperature detecting element such as the thermistor and the like is disclosed, many publications are known in addition to the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Publication 1. For example, Japanese Patent Publication 2 and the like are disclosed. Japanese Patent Publication 1: Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-217796 Japanese Patent Publication 2: Japanese Patent Publication (Tokuhyo) No. 2004-504082 | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to memory circuits, and more particularly to a memory array test circuit having bitlines cascaded with drive devices and associated methods for evaluating memory cell performance.
2. Description of the Related Art
Memory speed and other performance factors are critical limitations in today's processing systems and are predicted to become even more of a critical limitation as technologies move forward. In particular, static random access memories (SRAMS) and memory cells are used in processor caches, registers and in some designs external to the system processors for fast access to data and program instructions.
With processor cycle frequencies reaching well above 4 Ghz, development of SRAM cells that can store and provide access to stored values within that period has become necessary. However, measuring operating performance of memory cells in the presence of actual loading conditions presents a challenge.
Memory cell transition times, along with many other digital circuits have been evaluated using ring oscillator circuits wherein a large number of cells are cascaded with feedback of the output arranged in a ring configuration. The frequency at which the ring oscillator operates indicates the transition time performance, which provides some measure of ultimate operating frequency and access times. Typically, the cell design is then changed in subsequent design iterations having parameters adjusted in response to the results of the ring oscillator test.
However, present ring oscillator circuits and other delay-oriented circuits for performing delay tests typically either are not applied on production dies or they do not test the memory cells under loading conditions identical to placement of the cells within an actual memory array. Since, memory arrays are organized in rows and columns, bitlines common to each cell in a column provide loading from the bitline wire (metal) paths as well as the other cells in the column. In order to determine the performance of a memory cell design and process, the bitline loading must be considered and measured.
It is therefore desirable to provide a circuit and method for evaluating memory cell delay performance under operating conditions that are as close to actual bit-line loading conditions as possible. It is further desirable to provide such a test circuit that can be selectively enabled on production dies so that on-going evaluation during the production life span of a memory design can be performed. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
A widespread problem in the production of inherently rigid circuit boards is that of realizing flexible regions without impairing the robustness or compactness of the circuit board overall. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to a cosmetic or dermatological composition for treating keratin substances, in particular human hair, this composition comprising at least one grafted silicone polymer and at least one copolymer having a linear polysiloxane/polyoxyalkylene block as repeating units.
Grafted silicone polymers are known in the prior art, such as those described in patent applications EP-A-0,412,704, EP-A-0,412,707, EP-A-0,640,105, WO 95/00578, EP-A-0,582,152 and WO 93/23009. These polymers are used in hair care for their styling properties. However, when these polymers are used, the fixing power, the hold of the hairstyle and the feel of the hair are still unsatisfactory.
The expression fixing power of the composition will be understood to denote the ability of this composition to give the hair cohesion such that the initial shape of the hairstyle is held.
Silicones are known which possess grafted polyoxyalkylene chains, also known as dimethicone copolyol according to the CTFA nomenclature. The Applicant has observed that these silicones lower the fixing power of compositions for holding the hairstyle.
The Applicant has discovered, surprisingly, that by combining at least one grafted silicone polymer with at least one copolymer having a linear polysiloxane/polyoxyalkylene block as repeating units, the fixing power of the compositions and the feel of the hair are substantially superior to those obtained with the grafted silicone polymer used alone.
The composition according to the invention is thus essentially characterized in that it contains, in a cosmetically or dermatologically acceptable medium, at least one grafted silicone polymer comprising a polysiloxane portion and a portion consisting of a non-silicone organic chain, one of the two portions constituting the main chain of the polymer, the other being grafted onto the said main chain, and at least one copolymer having a linear polysiloxane/polyoxyalkylene block as repeating units.
The grafted silicone polymers according to the invention are preferably chosen from polymers having a non-silicone organic skeleton grafted with monomers containing a polysiloxane, polymers having a polysiloxane skeleton grafted with non-silicone organic monomers and mixtures thereof.
In the following text, in accordance with what is generally accepted, the term silicone or polysiloxane is understood to denote any organosilicon polymer or oligomer having a linear or cyclic, branched or crosslinked structure of variable molecular weight, obtained by polymerization and/or polycondensation of suitably functionalized silanes, and consisting essentially of a repetition of main units in which the silicon atoms are linked together by oxygen atoms (siloxane bonding xe2x89xa1Sixe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94Sixe2x89xa1), optionally substituted hydrocarbon radicals being linked directly via a carbon atom to the said silicon atoms. The most common hydrocarbon radicals are alkyl radicals, especially C1-C10 alkyl radicals, and in particular methyl, fluoroalkyl radicals, aryl radicals and in particular phenyl, and alkenyl radicals and in particular vinyl; other types of radicals which can be linked, either directly or via a hydrocarbon radical, to the siloxane chain are, especially, hydrogen, halogens and in particular chlorine, bromine or fluorine, thiols, alkoxy radicals, polyoxyalkylene (or polyether) radicals and in particular polyoxyethylene and/or polyoxypropylene, hydroxyl or hydroxyalkyl radicals, substituted or unsubstituted amine groups, amide groups, acyloxy radicals or acyloxyalkyl radicals, hydroxyalkylamino or aminoalkyl radicals, quaternary ammonium groups, amphoteric or betaine groups, anionic groups such as carboxylates, thioglycolates, sulphosuccinates, thiosulphates, phosphates and sulphates, needless to say this list not being limiting in any way (so-called xe2x80x9corganomodifiedxe2x80x9d silicones).
In the following text, in accordance with what is generally accepted, the expression xe2x80x9cpolysiloxane macromerxe2x80x9d is understood to refer to any monomer containing a polysiloxane-type polymer chain in its structure.
The polymers containing a non-silicone organic skeleton grafted with monomers containing a polysiloxane, in accordance with the present invention, consist of an organic main chain formed from organic monomers containing no silicone, on which is grafted, inside the said chain and optionally on at least one of its ends, at least one polysiloxane macromer.
The non-silicone organic monomers constituting the main chain of the grafted silicone polymer can be chosen from monomers containing ethylenic unsaturation which are polymerizable via a radical route, monomers which are polymerizable by polycondensation, such as those forming polyamides, polyesters or polyurethanes, and monomers which involve ring opening, such as those of the oxazoline or caprolactone type.
The polymers containing a non-silicone organic skeleton grafted with monomers containing a polysiloxane, in accordance with the present invention, can be obtained according to any means known to those skilled in the art, in particular by reaction between (i) a starting polysiloxane macromer which is correctly functionalized on the polysiloxane chain and (ii) one or more non-silicone organic compounds, themselves correctly functionalized with a function which is capable of reacting with the functional group(s) borne by the said silicone, forming a covalent bond; a classic example of such a reaction is the radical reaction between a vinyl group borne on one of the ends of the silicone with a double bond of a monomer containing ethylenic unsaturation in the main chain.
The polymers containing a non-silicone organic skeleton grafted with monomers containing a polysiloxane, in accordance with the invention, are more preferably chosen from those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,693,935, 4,728,571 and 4,972,037 and patent applications EP-A-0,412,704, EP-A-0,412,707, EP-A-0,640,105 and WO 95/00578. These are copolymers obtained by radical polymerization starting with monomers containing ethylenic unsaturation and silicone macromers having a terminal vinyl group, or alternatively copolymers obtained by reaction of a polyolefin comprising functionalized groups and a polysiloxane macromer having a terminal function which is reacted with the said functionalized groups.
One particular family of grafted silicone polymers which is suitable for carrying out the present invention consists of silicone grafted copolymers comprising:
a) from 0 to 98% by weight of at least one lipophilic monomer (A) of low lipophilic polarity containing ethylenic unsaturation, which is polymerizable via a radical route;
b) from 0 to 98% by weight of at least one polar hydrophilic monomer (B) containing ethylenic unsaturation, which is copolymerizable with the (A)-type monomer(s);
c) from 0.01 to 50% by weight of at least one polysiloxane macromer (C) of general formula:
X(Y)nSi(R)3xe2x88x92mZmxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(I)
xe2x80x83where:
X denotes a vinyl group which is copolymerizable with the monomers (A) and (B);
Y denotes a divalent bonding group;
R denotes a hydrogen, a C1-C6 alkyl or alkoxy or a C6-C12 aryl;
Z denotes a monovalent polysiloxane unit having a number-average molecular weight of at least 500;
n is 0 or 1 and m is an integer ranging from 1 to 3;
the percentages being calculated relative to the total weight of the monomers (A), (B) and (C).
These polymers are described, along with processes for their preparation, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,693,935, 4,728,571 and 4,972,037 and in patent applications EP-A-0,412,704, EP-A-0,412,707 and EP-A-0,640,105. They have a number-average molecular weight preferably ranging from 10,000 to 2,000,000 and preferably a glass transition temperature Tg or a crystalline melting point Tm of at least xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C.
As examples of lipophilic monomers (A), mention may be made of acrylic or methacrylic acid esters of C1-C18 alcohols; styrene; polystyrene macromers; vinyl acetate; vinyl propionate; a-methylstyrene; tert-butylstyrene; butadiene; cyclohexadiene; ethylene; propylene; vinyltoluene; acrylic or methacrylic acid esters of 1,1-dihydroperfluoroalkanols or of homologues thereof; acrylic or methacrylic acid esters of xcfx89-hydridofluoroalkanols; acrylic or methacrylic acid esters of fluoroalkylsulphoamido alcohols; acrylic or methacrylic acid esters of fluoroalkyl alcohols; acrylic or methacrylic acid esters of fluoroether alcohols; or mixtures thereof. The preferred monomers (A) are chosen from the group consisting of n-butyl methacrylate, isobutyl methacrylate, tert-butyl acrylate, tert-butyl methacrylate, 2-ethylhexyl methacrylate, methyl methacrylate, 2-(N-methylperfluorooctanesulphonamido)ethyl acrylate and 2-(N-butylperfluorooctanesulphonamido)ethyl acrylate, and mixtures thereof.
As examples of polar monomers (B), mention may be made of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, N,N-dimethylacrylamide, dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, quaternized dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, (meth)acrylamide, N-t-butylacrylamide, maleic acid, maleic anhydride and semiesters thereof, hydroxyalkyl (meth)acrylates, diallyldimethylammonium chloride, vinylpyrrolidone, vinyl ethers, maleimides, vinylpyridine, vinylimidazole, heterocyclic vinyl polar compounds, styrene sulphonate, allyl alcohol, vinyl alcohol and vinyl caprolactam, or mixtures thereof. The preferred monomers (B) are chosen from the group consisting of acrylic acid, N,N-dimethylacrylamide, dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, quaternized dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate and vinylpyrrolidone, and mixtures thereof.
The preferred polysiloxane macromers (C) of formula (I) are chosen from those corresponding to the general formula (II) below:
in which:
R1 is hydrogen or xe2x80x94COOH (preferably hydrogen);
R2 is hydrogen, methyl or xe2x80x94CH2COOH (preferably methyl);
R3 is C1-C6 alkyl, alkoxy, or alkylamino, C6-C12 aryl or hydroxyl (preferably methyl);
R4 is C1-C6 alkyl, alkoxy or alkylamino, C6-C12 aryl or hydroxyl (preferably methyl);
q is an integer from 2 to 6 (preferably 3);
p is 0 or 1;
r is an integer from 5 to 700;
m is an integer from 1 to 3 (preferably 1).
The polysiloxane macromers of formula:
with n being an integer ranging from 5 to 700, are more particularly used.
One particular embodiment of the invention consists in using a copolymer which can be obtained by radical polymerization starting with the monomer mixture consisting of:
a) 60% by weight of tert-butyl acrylate;
b) 20% by weight of acrylic acid;
c) 20% by weight of silicone macromer of formula:
with n being an integer ranging from 5 to 700; the weight percentages being calculated relative to the total weight of the monomers.
Another particular embodiment of the invention consists in using a copolymer which can be obtained by radical polymerization starting with the monomer mixture consisting of:
a) 80% by weight of tert-butyl acrylate;
b) 20% by weight of silicone macromer of formula:
with n being an integer ranging from 5 to 700; the weight percentages being calculated relative to the total weight of the monomers.
Another particular family of grafted silicone polymers containing a non-silicone organic skeleton, which is suitable for carrying out the present invention, consists of silicone grafted copolymers which can be obtained by reactive extrusion of a polysiloxane macromer having a terminal reactive function, with a polyolefin-type polymer containing reactive groups which can react with the terminal function of the polysiloxane macromer in order to form a covalent bond allowing grafting of the silicone to the main chain of the polyolefin.
These polymers are described, along with a process for their preparation, in patent application WO 95/00578.
The reactive polyolefins are preferably chosen from polyethylenes or polymers of ethylene-derived monomers such as propylene, styrene, alkylstyrene, butylene, butadiene, (meth)acrylates, vinyl esters or equivalents, containing reactive functions which can react with the terminal function of the polysiloxane macromer. They are chosen more particularly from copolymers of ethylene or of ethylene derivatives and of monomers chosen from those containing a carboxylic function, such as (meth)acrylic acid; those containing an acid anhydride function such as maleic anhydride; those containing an acid chloride function such as (meth)acryloyl chloride; those containing an ester function such as (meth)acrylic acid esters; those containing an isocyanate function.
The silicone macromers are preferably chosen from polysiloxanes containing a functionalized group, at the end of the polysiloxane chain or close to the end of the said chain, chosen from the group consisting of alcohols, thiols, epoxy groups and primary and secondary amines, and more particularly from those corresponding to the general formula:
Txe2x80x94(CH2)sxe2x80x94Sixe2x80x94[(Oxe2x80x94SiR5R6)txe2x80x94R7]yxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(III)
in which T is chosen from the group consisting of NH2, NHRxe2x80x2, an epoxy, OH, or SH function; R5, R6, R7 and Rxe2x80x2, independently denote a C1-C6 alkyl, phenyl, benzyl, C6-C12 alkylphenyl or hydrogen; s is a number from 2 to 100; t is a number from 0 to 1000 and y is a number from 1 to 3. They have a number-average molecular weight preferably ranging from 5000 to 300,000, more preferably from 8000 to 200,000 and more particularly from 9000 to 40,000.
According to the present invention, the grafted silicone polymer(s) containing a polysiloxane skeleton grafted with non-silicone organic monomers comprise a silicone (or polysiloxane (xe2x89xa1Sixe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94)n) main chain on which is grafted, inside the said chain as well as, optionally, on at least one of its ends, at least one organic group containing no silicone.
The polymers containing a polysiloxane skeleton grafted with non-silicone organic monomers, according to the invention, can be existing commercial products or alternatively can be obtained according to any means known to those skilled in the art, in particular by reaction between (i) a starting silicone which is correctly functionalized on one or more of these silicon atoms, and (ii) a non-silicone organic compound which is itself correctly functionalized with a function which is capable of reacting with the functional group(s) borne by the said silicone, forming a covalent bond; a classic example of such a reaction is the hydrosilylation reaction between xe2x89xa1Sixe2x80x94H groups and vinyl groups CH2xe2x95x90CHxe2x80x94, or alternatively the reaction between thio functional groups xe2x80x94SH with these same vinyl groups.
Examples of polymers with a polysiloxane skeleton grafted containing non-silicone organic monomers which are suitable for carrying out the present invention, as well as their specific mode of preparation, are described in particular in patent applications EP-A-0,582,152, WO 93/23009 and WO 95/03776, the teachings of which are included in, their entirety in the present description by way of non-limiting references.
According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, the silicone polymer containing a polysiloxane skeleton grafted with non-silicone organic monomers, which is used comprises the result of the radical copolymerization between, on the one hand, at least one non-silicone anionic organic monomer having ethylenic unsaturation and/or a non-silicone hydrophobic organic monomer having ethylenic unsaturation, and, on the other hand, a silicone having in its chain at least one, and preferably several, functional groups capable of reacting with the said ethylenic unsaturations of the said non-silicone monomers, forming a covalent bond, in particular thio functional groups.
According to the present invention, the said anionic monomers containing ethylenic unsaturation are preferably chosen, alone or as a mixture, from linear or branched, unsaturated carboxylic acids, optionally partially or totally neutralized in the form of a salt, it being possible for this (these) carboxylic acid(s) to be, more particularly, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, maleic acid, maleic anhydride, itaconic acid, fumaric acid and crotonic acid. The suitable salts are, in particular, alkali metal salts, alkaline-earth metal salts and ammonium salts. It will likewise be noted that, in the final grafted silicone polymer, the organic group of anionic nature which comprises the result of the radical (homo)polymerization of at least one anionic monomer of unsaturated carboxylic acid type can, after reaction, be post-neutralized with a base (sodium hydroxide, aqueous ammonia, etc) in order to bring it into the form of a salt.
According to the present invention, the hydrophobic monomers containing ethylenic unsaturation are preferably chosen, alone or as a mixture, from acrylic acid esters of alkanols and/or methacrylic acid esters of alkanols. The alkanols are preferably C1-C18 and more particularly C1-C12. The preferred monomers are chosen from the group consisting of isooctyl (meth)acrylate, isononyl (meth)acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl (meth)acrylate, lauryl (meth)acrylate, isopentyl (meth)acrylate, n-butyl (meth)acrylate, isobutyl (meth)acrylate, methyl (meth)acrylate, tert-butyl (meth)acrylate, tridecyl (meth)acrylate and stearyl (meth)acrylate, or mixtures thereof.
One family of silicone polymers containing a polysiloxane skeleton grafted with non-silicone organic monomers which is particularly suitable for carrying out the present invention consists of silicone polymers containing in their structure the unit of formula (IV) below:
in which the radicals G1, which may be identical or different, represent hydrogen or a C1-C10 alkyl radical or alternatively a phenyl radical; the radicals G2, which may be identical or different, represent a C1-C10 alkylene group; G3 represents a polymer residue resulting from the (homo)polymerization of at least one anionic monomer containing ethylenic unsaturation; G4 represents a polymer residue resulting from the (homo)polymerization of at least one hydrophobic monomer containing ethylenic unsaturation; m and n are equal to 0 or 1; a is an integer ranging from 0 to 50; b is an integer which may be between 10 and 350, c is an integer ranging from 0 to 50; with the proviso that one of the parameters a and c is other than 0.
Preferably, the unit of formula (IV) above has at least one, and even more preferably all, of the following characteristics:
the radicals G1 denote an alkyl radical, preferably the methyl radical;
n is non-zero and the radicals G2 represent a divalent C1-C3 radical, preferably a propylene radical;
G3 represents a polymeric radical resulting from the (homo)polymerization of at least one monomer of the carboxylic acid type containing ethylenic unsaturation, preferably acrylic acid and/or methacrylic acid;
G4 represents a polymeric radical resulting from the (homo)polymerization of at least one monomer of the C1-C10 alkyl (meth)acrylate type, preferably isobutyl or methyl (meth)acrylate.
Examples of silicone polymers corresponding to formula (IV) are, in particular, polydimethylsiloxanes (PDMS) on which are grafted, via a thiopropylene-type connecting chain, mixed polymer units of the poly(meth)acrylic acid type and of the polymethyl (meth)acrylate type.
Other examples of silicone polymers corresponding to formula (IV) are, in particular, polydimethylsiloxanes (PDMS) on which are grafted, via a thiopropylene-type connecting chain, polymer units of the polyisobutyl (meth)acrylate type.
Preferably, the number-average molecular mass of the silicone polymers containing a polysiloxane skeleton grafted with non-silicone organic monomers, of the invention, ranges approximately from 10,000 to 1,000,000 and even more preferably approximately from 10,000 to 100,000.
The grafted silicone polymers in accordance with the invention are preferably used in an amount ranging from 0.01 to 20% by weight relative to the total weight of the composition. More preferably, this amount ranges from 0.1 to 15% by weight and even more particularly from 0.5 to 10% by weight.
The block copolymers having a linear polysiloxane/polyoxyalkylene block as repeating units, which are used in the context of the present invention, preferably have the following general formula:
([Y(R2siO)aRxe2x80x22SiYO][(CnH2nO)b])2xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(V)
in which:
R and Rxe2x80x2, which may be identical or different, represent a monovalent hydrocarbon radical containing no aliphatic unsaturation,
n is an integer ranging from 2 to 4,
a is an integer greater than or equal to 5, preferably between 5 and 200 and even more particularly between 5 and 100,
b is an integer greater than or equal to 4, preferably between 4 and 200 and even more particularly between 5 and 100,
c is an integer greater than or equal to 4, preferably between 4 and 1000 and even more particularly between 5 and 300,
Y represents a divalent organic group which is linked to the adjacent silicon atom via a carbon-silicon bond and to a polyoxyalkylene block via an oxygen atom,
the average molecular weight of each siloxane block is between about 400 and about 10,000, that of each polyoxyalkylene block being between about 300 and about 10,000,
the siloxane blocks represent from about 10% to about 95% of the weight of the block copolymer,
the average molecular weight of the block copolymer being at least 3000 and preferably between 5000 and 1,000,000 and even more particularly between 10,000 and 200,000.
R and Rxe2x80x2 are preferably chosen from the group comprising alkyl radicals such as, for example, methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl, hexyl, octyl, decyl and dodecyl radicals, aryl radicals such as, for example, phenyl and naphthyl, aralkyl radicals such as, for example, benzyl and phenylethyl, and tolyl, xylyl and cyclohexyl radicals.
Y is preferably xe2x80x94Rxe2x80x3xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94RHxe2x80x94COxe2x80x94, xe2x80x94Rxe2x80x3xe2x80x94NHCOxe2x80x94, xe2x80x94Rxe2x80x3xe2x80x94NHxe2x80x94COxe2x80x94NHxe2x80x94Rxe2x80x3xe2x80x2xe2x80x94NHCO, xe2x80x94Rxe2x80x3xe2x80x94OCONHxe2x80x94Rxe2x80x3xe2x80x2xe2x80x94NHCOxe2x80x94, where Rxe2x80x3 is a divalent alkylene group such as, for example, ethylene, propylene or butylene and Rxe2x80x3xe2x80x2 is a divalent alkylene group or a divalent arylene group such as xe2x80x94C6H4xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94C6H4xe2x80x94C6H4xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94C6H4xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94C6H4xe2x80x94, xe2x80x94C6H4xe2x80x94C(CH3)2xe2x80x94C6H4xe2x80x94.
Even more preferably, Y represents a divalent alkylene radical, more particularly the xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94CH2-radical or the C4H8 radical.
The preparation of the block copolymers used in the context of the present invention is described in European patent application EP 0,492,657 A1, the teaching of which is included in the present description by way of reference.
The preferred linear polysiloxane/polyoxyalkylene block copolymers according to the invention are chosen from those of formula:
[C4H8O(CnH2nO)b(CmH2mO)dxe2x80x94C4H8xe2x80x94SiMe2O(SiMe2)aSiMe2]cxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(VI)
where Me represents methyl, n and m are integers ranging from 2 to 4, a is an integer greater than or equal to 4, preferably between 5 and 200, b and d are integers greater than or equal to 0, preferably between 4 and 200, b+d is greater than or equal to 4, preferably between 4 and 200, and c is a number greater than or equal to 4, preferably between 4 and 1000.
Among these copolymers, those having a repeating unit of formula:
[xe2x80x94(SiMe2O)xSiMe2xe2x80x94C4H8Oxe2x80x94(C2H4O)yxe2x80x94(C3H6O)zxe2x80x94C4H8xe2x80x94]xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(VII)
where x is a number between 5 and 15 (limits included), y is a number between 15 and 30 (limits included) and z is a number between 20 and 40 (limits included), are used more particularly.
Among these polymers, those whose siloxane/polyoxyalkylene weight ratio is about 20 and whose polyoxyethylene/polyoxypropylene weight ratio is about 65/35 are used more particularly.
It is also possible to choose polymers whose repeating unit is of formula (VI) and whose siloxane/polyoxyalkylene weight ratio is about 75 and whose polyoxyethylene/polyoxypropylene weight ratio is about 50/50, polymers whose siloxane/polyoxyalkylene weight ratio is about 35 and whose polyoxyethylene/polyoxypropylene weight ratio is about 100/0, and polymers whose siloxane/polyoxyalkylene weight ratio is about 30 and whose polyoxyethylene/polyoxypropylene weight ratio is about 0/100.
According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the block copolymer is chosen from the following copolymers:
[[(CH3)2SiO]41(CH3)2SiCH2CH(CH3)CH2xe2x80x94O(C2H4O)18xe2x80x94(C3H6O)33CH2CH(CH3)CH2]16.1
[[(CH3)2SiO]31(CH3)2SiCH2CH(CH3)CH2xe2x80x94O(C2H4O)20xe2x80x94(C3H6O)29CH2CH(CH3)CH2]13.3
[[(CH3)2SiO]9(CH3)2SiCH2CH(CH3)CH2xe2x80x94O(C2H4O)20xe2x80x94(C3H6O)29CH2CH(CH3)CH2]26.3
[[(CH3)2SiO]16(CH3)2SiCH2CH(CH3)CH2xe2x80x94O(C2H4O)18xe2x80x94(C3H6O)20CH2CH(CH3)CH2]21.5
[[(CH3)2SiO]9(CH3)2SiCH2CH(CH3)CH2xe2x80x94O(C2H4O)5xe2x80x94CH2CH(CH3)CH2]4.8
The linear block copolymer is preferably used in an amount of between 0.01 and 20% by weight relative to the total weight of the composition. More preferably, this amount is between 0.1 and 15% by weight and even more particularly between 0.5 and 10% by weight.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the composition also contains a polymer, preferably a non-silicone anionic or amphoteric polymer, in solubilized form or in dispersed form.
The cosmetically or dermatologically acceptable medium preferably consists of water or a mixture of water and cosmetically acceptable solvents such as monoalcohols, polyalcohols, glycol ethers or fatty acid esters, which can be used alone or as a mixture.
Mention may be made more particularly of lower alcohols such as ethanol and ispropanol, polyalcohols such as diethylene glycol, glycol ethers, glycol alkyl ethers or diethylene glycol alkyl ethers.
The grafted silicone polymers according to the invention can be dissolved in the said cosmetically acceptable medium or used in the form of an aqueous dispersion of particles.
The composition of the invention can also contain at least one additive chosen from thickeners, fatty acid esters, fatty acid esters of glycerol, silicones, surfactants, fragrances, preserving agents, sunscreens, proteins, vitamins, plant, animal, mineral or synthetic oils or any other additive conventionally used in the cosmetic field.
These additives are present in the composition according to the invention in proportions which can range from 0 to 20% by weight relative to the total weight of the composition. The precise amount of each additive depends on its nature and is determined readily by those skilled in the art.
Needless to say, a person skilled in the art will take care to select the optional compound(s) to be added to the composition according to the invention such that the advantageous properties intrinsically associated with the composition in accordance with the invention are not, or are not substantially, adversely affected by the addition envisaged.
The compositions according to the invention can be in the form of a gel, a milk, a cream, a relatively thickened lotion or a mousse.
The compositions of the invention are used as rinse-out products or as leave-in products in particular to wash, care for, condition, maintain the style of or shape keratin substances such as the hair.
These compositions are more particularly styling products such as hairsetting lotions, blow-drying lotions, fixing compositions (lacquers) and styling compositions. The lotions can be packaged in various forms, in particular in vapourizers, pump-dispenser bottles or in aerosol containers in order to ensure application of the composition in vapourized form or in the form of a mousse. Such packaging forms are indicated, for example, when it is desired to obtain a spray, a lacquer or a mousse for fixing or treating the hair.
The compositions can also be shampoos, rinse-out or leave-in compositions, to be applied before or after shampooing, dyeing, bleaching, permanent-waving or straightening the hair.
When the composition according to the invention is packaged in aerosol form in order to obtain a lacquer or an aerosol mousse, it comprises at least one propellant which can be chosen from volatile hydrocarbons such as n-butane, propane, isobutane, pentane, a chloro and/or fluoro hydrocarbon, and mixtures thereof. Carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, dimethyl ether, nitrogen or air, which is compressed, and mixtures thereof, can also be used as propellant.
Another subject of the invention is a process for treating keratin substances such as the hair, which consists in applying a composition as defined above to the hair and then optionally in rinsing with water.
The invention will now be illustrated more fully with the aid of the examples which follow, which should not be considered as limiting it to the embodiments described. In the text which follows, AM means active material. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and an arrangement for controlling the power of a transmission amplifier, in particular of a transmission amplifier in a mobile radio terminal.
FIG. 3 shows an outline circuit diagram of a conventional arrangement for controlling the power of a transmission amplifier PA. The signals sig which are supplied to the transmission amplifier PA and are to be amplified are amplified on the basis of a control parameter reg, which is supplied to the transmission amplifier PA and represents a measure of the gain or the gain level/factor, and are supplied to a directional coupler RK. The directional coupler RK outputs a small portion of the power supplied from the transmission amplifier PA to the antenna ANT and supplies it to a radio frequency detector HFD, which converts this power into a DC voltage. This DC voltage value produced in this way is supplied as an actual valuexe2x80x94(act)xe2x80x94to a comparison device V, where it is compared with a nominal valuexe2x80x94(nom)xe2x80x94which is predetermined by a control device, such as a microcontroller in a mobile radio terminal. The comparison results in a control parameter reg being output, which sets the gain of the transmission amplifier PA such that the actual value corresponds to the nominal value nom. To this end, the gain factor is raised or lowered based on the difference between the nominal value and the actual value. The majority of the power is supplied from the directional coupler RK to the antenna ANT, from which this power is transmitted in the form of radio-frequency signals. Such conventional power control loops for a transmission amplifier operate well over a narrow predetermined power band.
However, in order to improve the spectrum utilization and to increase the operating time of the mobile radio appliance, modern mobile radio terminals can be operated at different transmission power levels. For example, depending on the power class of the mobile radio terminal, the transmission power of GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) mobile radio terminals can be varied within a range of 20 and 30 dB. Furthermore, the transmission power of mobile radio terminals which operate using a time slot mode, such as GSM mobile radio terminals, must be controlled on the basis of a predetermined time slot structure. In this case, it is particularly important in order to produce a transmission pulse (burst) to set the transmission amplifier in accordance with a fixed predetermined nominal time/power curve (power ramping), which likewise necessitates a wide power dynamic range.
These two requirements for controlling the power of a transmission amplifier can no longer be satisfied reliably by conventional methods or arrangements. In particular, reliable power detection by means of an RF detector over a wide power band is scarcely feasible using simple means. This problem is further exacerbated when controlling the power of a multiband or multimode mobile radio terminal since, in this case, the number of transmission power levels is further increased, and different nominal time/power curves can be specified. Future CDMA mobile radio terminals will also require transmission power control over a very wide power band.
The invention is thus based on the object of specifying a method and arrangement for controlling the power of a transmission amplifier, which allow the power to be controlled in a simple manner and nevertheless reliably over a wide power band. According to the invention, a portion of the power emitted from a transmission amplifier is output by means of a coupling element, and for a desired transmission power level, which is less than a predetermined limit value, a further portion of the power is additionally output by means of a controlled switching device, and the output power is used for controlling the transmission amplifier.
The invention is accordingly based on the idea of outputting a relatively small portion of the power by means of a coupling element in a first case in which the desired transmission power is greater than a predetermined limit value, and of using this small portion to control the power of the transmission amplifier. In a second case, in which the desired transmission power is below a specific limit value, a relatively large portion of the power emitted from the transmission amplifier is additionally output via a switching device, and is used to control the power of the transmission amplifier.
This means that, in both cases, the absolute value of the output power is at least in a similar order of magnitude, and the components which are used for further processing the output power to form a control parameter for the transmission amplifier, in particular the radio-frequency detector, can thus be operated in a relatively narrow band, thus ensuring that the power can be controlled more reliably and with less complexity. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Alkaline electrochemical cells are typically configured as elongated cylindrical cells (e.g., AA-, AAA-, C- and D-size cells) or as flat cells (e.g., prismatic cells and button cells). Primary alkaline cells include a negative electrode (anode), a positive electrode (cathode), an electrolyte, a separator, a positive current collector and a negative current collector. The cathode of a conventional primary alkaline electrochemical cell comprises manganese dioxide (MnO2) and a conducting carbonaceous material, typically graphite, such as synthetic, natural, or expanded graphite or mixtures thereof as widely recognized in the art in a mixture wetted with an aqueous alkaline electrolyte such as potassium hydroxide. In cylindrical cells, the cathode mixture is compressed into annular rings and stacked in the battery can or the mixture may be extruded directly into the can, which serves as the positive current collector.
The anode of a primary alkaline cell generally comprises zinc or zinc alloy particles of various dimensions and shapes disposed in an alkaline electrolyte, such as potassium hydroxide, along with gelling agents such as carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and other additives such as surfactants. A negative current collector, usually a brass pin or nail, is placed in electrical contact with the gelled anode. A separator placed between the electrodes enables ions, but not electrons, to transfer between the cathode and anode while preventing the materials from directly contacting each other and creating an electrical short circuit. Conventionally, the separator is a porous, non-woven, fibrous material wetted with electrolyte. The separator is typically disposed radially inwardly of the cathode. Other aspects of a conventional alkaline cell are well known.
With the successful commercialization of these primary cells in the marketplace, new approaches to designing cells with long service life, acceptable shelf life, and voltage characteristics that operate common portable devices continue to be developed.
However, the low density of the manganese dioxide material and its consumption of water during the discharge reaction of conventional zinc manganese dioxide alkaline electrochemical cells (requiring the designer to provide the necessary water) limits the amount of space available for the zinc anode (which determines the service life), thereby leading to relatively low volumetric energy density. A recognized alternative cathode material is copper oxide, which has a high material density, does not consume water in the electron discharge reaction, has a flat discharge curve, high volumetric energy density, and little volume expansion upon discharge. Although it appears to be an excellent candidate for a long service life battery, the operating voltage of conventional batteries having a zinc anode and a copper oxide cathode is unfortunately no more than approximately 1.05V, too low to operate modern day electronic devices at reasonable current drains. At any substantial device current drain, it can fall significantly below 1V, rendering the device largely inoperable.
The use of sulfur compounds to enhance the operating voltage of a battery having a CuO cathode is known. However, it is recognized in the art that soluble sulfur species produced in the presence of alkaline electrolyte are detrimental to both anode performance and shelf life. The commercial application is therefore limited.
Additionally, recent approaches disclose using expanded graphite and/or graphitic nano-fibers with CuO to produce a cell having long service life. However the operating voltage in such systems is typically around 0.7V. Notably many of the prior approaches fail to mention soluble copper species that can be detrimental to the anode, provide no means for mitigating the problem, and fail to recognize the significance of surface area of CuO particles or of active sites on the particles on the cell discharge voltage and performance. Therefore, the disclosed technology does not produce a viable battery with reasonable shelf life. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a method for manufacturing filter canisters, and more particularly to a method that includes quality testing of each filter canister during manufacture and individually serializing each filter canister to maintain a record of the results of such quality testing.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Typically, filter canisters are manufactured in an automated assembly line by assembling component parts from a variety of sources. While the various components may be delivered by lot numbers, there is no process that correlates any of the component lot numbers with a finished product. It would be desirable to have a system to track all the component parts used to manufacture a filter canister and record the actual results of testing performed on that filter. Therefore, there is an unmet need in the art for a process to manufacture filter canisters for a variety of uses and to track the parts and testing performed on the filter canisters on an individual basis.
No system and process is currently known to enable automatic manufacture of filter canisters for a variety of applications while recording completion of the manufacturing steps and results of quality assurance testing. The present invention herein solves these problems by providing a computer-based system that allows for a certification of the manufacturing process with traceable objective quality evidence review of testing performed on individual products. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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An engine valve used for an internal combustion engine such as an automotive engine, particularly an exhaust valve, is exposed to high temperature. Accordingly, the engine valve is configured such that the stem thereof is hollow, and metallic sodium is enclosed in the hollow area of the stem. Metallic sodium to be enclosed is solid at room temperature. However, the melting point of metallic sodium is about 98° C. Thus, the metallic sodium is liquefied at relatively low temperature. Accordingly, when the valve is warmed by activating engine, the metallic sodium become liquid and is shaken in the valve stem owing to a vertical movement of the valve. Thereby, heat transferred from a combustion chamber to the valve head is transferred through the valve stem so as to dissipate to a water jacket of a cylinder head through a valve guide contacting with the valve stem. This prevents overheat of the combustion chamber. Moreover, since the specific gravity of metallic sodium is 0.97, i.e. less than that of water, the metallic sodium filled in the valve can contribute to light-weighting of the entire valve.
Metallic sodium has a strong deoxidizing action so that it deoxidizes water to generate hydrogen while the metallic sodium per se changes to sodium hydroxide. Therefore, in order to prevent the oxidization of metallic sodium and in order to be stably preserved for a long period of time, the metallic sodium is stored under the condition where it is immersed in an organic solvent, such as kerosene, liquid paraffin (a mixture of relative long-chain saturated hydrocarbons, having a boiling point of several hundred degrees) or the like, with blocking water and air. Further, each of kerosene and liquid paraffin has a less specific gravity than metallic sodium, so that metallic sodium is securely blocked from water and air without floating on the surface of such solvents.
Filling the valve stem of the engine valve with such metallic sodium stored in the organic solvent is performed by taking out a bulk body of metallic sodium immersed in the organic solvent from the solvent, melting the metallic sodium, pouring the metallic sodium in a melting state into the stem of the engine valve, and then cooling the valve (Patent Document 1). Or, it is performed by ejecting melted metallic sodium linearly into a hydrocarbon liquid to solidify in a rod shape, and thereafter inserting the metallic sodium rod into the hollow area of the engine valve to be sealed (see FIGS. 2 and 4 of Patent Document 2). | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Attaching complementary fasteners, such as a nut and a bolt, to a structure is ordinarily a simple, one-person job. Situations may arise, however, when the structure is of such size and/or shape that a single person is not able to simultaneously access both fasteners. For example, attaching a nut and a bolt through a hole in the trunk floor of an automobile requires two people to accomplish—one to hold the screw in place while the other tightens the nut from underneath the automobile. Thus, in cases such as this, the otherwise simple, one-person task of fastening a nut and a bolt to structure becomes a two-person job. Moreover, this is undesirable from the standpoint of workman productivity and efficiency.
United States Publication No. 2005/0155211 by Powell discloses a magnetic bolt holder which has a hexagonal recess for securing a nut or a bolt to a ferrous structure. The Powell device is an insufficient solution to the above-stated problem for a number of reasons. First, the device is designed for a specific size and shape of fastener (e.g., a ¼″ hex nut). Thus, a consumer would be required to purchase a different size/shape of the Powell device for each size fastener being used. Moreover, the magnetic surface of the device is substantially coplanar. The effectiveness of the device is therefore severely diminished, if not eliminated, when used on any non-flat surface.
Thus, conventional tools do not provide for a customizable solution to the above problem. Conventional tools also do not provide a solution that is adaptable for use with uneven surfaces. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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This present invention relates generally to glass optical elements, and more particularly to molded glass optical elements with datum(s) formed therein in the molding process that decrease the difficulty of subsequent manufacturing steps.
Various methods and apparatus for the compression molding of glass optical elements are known in the prior art. With these methods and apparatus, optical element preforms sometimes referred to as gobs are compression molded at high temperatures to form glass lens elements. The basic process and apparatus for molding glass elements is taught in a series of patents assigned to Eastman Kodak Company. Such patents are U.S. Pat. No. 3,833,347 to Engle et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,139,677 to Blair et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,961 to Blair. These patents disclose a variety of suitable materials for construction of molds used to form the optical surfaces in the molded optical glass elements. Those suitable materials for the construction of the molds include glasslike or vitreous carbon, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, and a mixture of silicon carbide and carbon. In the practice of the process described in such patents, a glass preform or gob is inserted into a mold cavity with the mold being formed out of one of the above mentioned materials. The molds reside within a chamber in which is maintained a non-oxidizing atmosphere during the molding process. The preform is then heat softened by increasing the temperature of the mold to thereby bring the preform up to a viscosity ranging from 107-109 poise for the particular type of glass from which the preform has been made. Pressure is then applied to force the preform to conform to the shape of the mold cavity. The mold and preform are then allowed to cool below the glass transition temperature of the glass. The pressure on the mold is then relieved and the temperature is lowered further so that the finished molded lens can be removed from the mold.
Molded glass lenses may be manufactured with upper and lower molds residing in a cylindrical mold sleeve (U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,850 to Takano et al.). In such a process the final molded lens element is typically cylindrical (and circular in cross-section). The diameter and concentricity of the cylinder are critical to subsequent handling, positioning and mounting operations. Therefore, it has been necessary to control the diameter of the cylinder either during molding, or during a subsequent grinding operation. Controlling the diameter during molding is difficult. Although a cylindrical mold sleeve produces a lens with a well-constrained outer diameter, molding tool life can be decreased due to a variety of factors. One contributor to decreased molding tool life is variability in the volume of the preforms. The preforms are the glass material (usually in the shape of a sphere) from which the lenses are molded. If the preform volume is slightly larger than the mold cavity, the excess glass can exert excessive force on the cylindrical sleeve during molding. It can also become difficult to remove the lenses from the cylindrical sleeve after multiple molding cycles.
Grinding a specified outer diameter on a lens after molding is often referred to as centering. As lens elements become smaller it becomes increasingly difficult to accurately center such lens elements as well as to position and align such elements in subsequent assembly operations.
A lens geometry is needed which allows for accurate centering, handling, positioning and mounting operations and that does not rely on the accuracy of the outside diameter of the cylindrical body of the lens as molded.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a molded lens having a geometry that allows for accurate centering, handling, positioning and mounting operations after molding.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a molded lens having a geometry that does not rely on the accuracy of the outside diameter of the cylindrical body of the lens for post molding operations.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a molded lens having a geometry that is not critically dependent upon optical element preform volume for the creation of a reference surface.
Briefly stated, the foregoing and numerous other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent upon a review of the detailed description, claims and drawings set forth herein. These features, objects and advantages are accomplished by providing a molded lens that includes a molded three-dimensional reference surface at a first end of the lens body, a first molded optical surface interrupting the three-dimensional reference surface, and a molded second optical surface at a second end of the lens body. The first and second optical surfaces may be plano, convex or concave. The molded three-dimensional reference surface is curvilinear and may be a spherical, aspheriical or conical segment. The molded three-dimensional reference surface at the first end of the lens body may be thought of as being interrupted or intercepted by the first molded optical surface. The lens body (that portion of the lens that is both between the second optical surface and the molded three-dimensional reference surface, and outside the diameters of the second optical surface and the molded three-dimensional reference surface) may be allowed to partially or fully free-form during molding, or may be constrained during molding to provide a generally cylindrical shape to the lens body. If the lens body is allowed to free-form, it is subsequently subjected to a grinding operation to yield a generally cylindrical shape. Whether the generally cylindrical shape of the lens body is accomplished by molding or grinding, the generally cylindrical shape may include an addition datum surface(s) formed therein. Also, the molded lens of the present invention may include a second molded three-dimensional reference surface at the second end of the lens body. If the molded lens includes a second molded three-dimensional reference surface at the second end of the lens body, that second reference surface will be interrupted by the second optical surface. The first and second optical surfaces are designed to image light from an object point to an image point. The molded three-dimensional reference surface is of a specified shape and location with respect to the first and second optical surfaces. By physically locating the lens with the molded three-dimensional reference surface and one of the first or second optical surfaces, the lens can be held in a given orientation. Thus, the molded reference surface(s) at the end(s) of the cylindrical body allow for accurate and safe capture, positioning, handling, and placement for subsequent finishing operations, allowing for the creation of one or more additional lens datums. These finishing operations can include, but are not limited to, grinding, polishing, and cutting. These functions of capture, positioning, handling, and placement for subsequent operations can be performed using a centering cup that engages the molded reference surface(s) at the end(s) of the cylindrical body thereby allowing subsequent operations to be performed without reliance on the outside diameter of the lens body.
The lens of the present invention can be made with an angled plano optical surface, a convex optical surface, and a lens datum. This lens datum can then be used for subsequent processing operations (such as grinding) to add additional datums to the lens. These additional datums can be placed in a precise location with respect to the optical axis of the lens element. One of the additional lens datums can be a cylindrical surface that enables mounting of the lens either in a V-groove type structure or in a precise tube. In addition, the lens can be molded without the need for a precisely controlled cylindrical preform. The lens can be centered using existing centering equipment. Because the lens does not have to be held on the piano surface, it reduces the chances of scratching this surface. Scratches can lead to scatter and reduce the light transmitted by the lens. This is particularly important for situations where the beam diameter of the light directed onto the piano optical face may be only 50 microns such as those optical elements used in conjunction with optical fibers. In such an instance, a scratch of only a few microns in size could cause a measurable decrease in the amount of light transmitted by the lens to the receiving fiber.
Either as a result of a post-molding grinding operation or as result of the molding operation itself, the lenses of the present invention typically will be xe2x80x9cgenerally cylindricalxe2x80x9d. Further, such lenses will typically be circular in cross-section. However, there may be lens applications where it is beneficial to form generally cylindrical lens which, in cross section perpendicular to lens axis are not circular (e.g.xe2x80x94elliptical). Thus, the term xe2x80x9cgenerally cylindricalxe2x80x9d as used herein is intended to include cylindrical lenses that may or may not be circular in cross section. In addition, the term xe2x80x9cgenerally cylindricalxe2x80x9d as used herein is intended to include those lenses which have datum(s) formed in the cylindrical surface thereof such as, for example, flat datum(s) and recessed datum(s) as will be discussed in more detail hereafter. Therefore, the formation of such datum(s) in the cylindrical surface of a lens will not remove such lens from the definition of xe2x80x9cgenerally cylindricalxe2x80x9d as used herein. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Red beets have long been a common source of various nutrients, and particularly of sugar and betaine. Further useful compounds obtained from red beet include betalains which represent a chemically diverse group of red to violet colored betacyanins (e.g., amaranthin, isoamaranthin, etc.) and typically yellow-colored betaxanthins (e.g., vulgaxanthin), which have found use as pharmaceutical and food coloring agents and as antioxidants.
Numerous manners of producing betalain preparations are known, and commonly start from comminuted beet root or root peelings. Other known source materials include root cell suspension culture, cactus pear, and selected higher fungi. Where betalains are prepared from beet juice or root macerates, preparations will typically have a betalain content of equal or less than 1 wt % and generally include significant quantities of sugars and other components. For example, WO 98/26792 describes various methods of preparing betalain extracts from root pulp that is further processed using crosslinked dextran chromatography. Alternatively, lyophilized beet can be used as starting material as described in US 2003/0036565, which is subsequently ground, solvent extracted, and subjected to crosslinked dextran chromatography to yield distinct betalain fractions. Typical known process employing spray drying of a beet juice concentrate will yield a powder comprising about 0.4 wt % betalains. Consequently, while most of these processes are conceptually simple, the concentration of betalains is generally below 1 wt %. Moreover, substantial quantities of non-betalain material are present and require further purification or other processing for removal.
In still other known methods (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,238,518 or GB patent 1 559 275), stabilized betanidine extracts are prepared using ion exchange chromatography in which, among other compounds, betaxanthins are removed to yield a concentrated pigment preparation that is then dehydrated, re-dissolved, and combined with a stabilizing agent to form a thermally stable pigment powder. Such method advantageously allows for production of a relatively concentrated dry form of beet pigments, however, removes significant portions of the betaxanthins and certain betacyanins. Similarly, Garin et al. describe in U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,254 a process in which beet root extract is subjected at very low pH to chromatography using a non-ionic resin to so produce a concentrated eluate that is concentrated in betanin and other adsorbed solids. Such concentrated liquids may comprise 4.5 wt % betanin and can be dried to a betanin content of about 25 wt %. Unfortunately, such preparations are generally hygroscopic, readily clump, and tend to deteriorate relatively quickly.
In an effort to reduce sugar content of a betalain preparation, von Elbe et al. describe in U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,042 a process in which beet juice or beet pulp is subjected to a yeast fermentation to reduce sucrose concentration. While such process yields a concentrated pigment preparation and successfully eliminates sucrose, other fermentation byproducts are introduced, which are chemically unidentified and account for 25 wt % (or even more) of the final product.
Unfortunately, compounding and storage of currently known betalain preparations are negatively affected by the non-betalain components. For example, betalains prepared from freeze-dried beet juice are often clumpy and highly hygroscopic. Therefore, such preparations are notoriously difficult to weigh out and aliquot, especially where relatively small quantities are distributed. Worse yet, most of the currently known dry betalain preparations are limited to betalain concentrations of about 1 wt % (total betalains), and almost all of the attempts to increase the betalain concentration by extraction or other means also leads to an increase of hygroscopicity and clumping. In still other known preparations, and particularly in those with relatively high betalain content, non-betalain components will typically lead to substantial loss of stability in the absence of a stabilizing agent. Moreover, and often irrespective of the betalain content, non-betalain components are typically associated with resistance of the betalains to completely dissolve in aqueous media.
Therefore, while numerous compositions and methods of solid betalain preparations are known in the art, all or almost all of them suffer from disadvantages. Consequently, there is still a need to provide improved compositions and methods for solid betalain preparations. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Vehicle headlamp systems have been proposed that detect the presence of a forward vehicle (i.e., a vehicle positioned ahead of the reference vehicle). In one such system, a light source in of the forward vehicle, such as a tail lamp of a preceding vehicle or a headlamp of an oncoming vehicle is detected with an imaging sensor or the like. When no forward vehicle is detected, the state of projection of light from the headlamps of the reference vehicle is automatically changed from low beam to high beam. Thus, the driver's view of the road can be improved. (Refer to JP-A-2001-519744T and JP-7-108873A, for example.)
However, these systems suffer from certain disadvantages. When the reference vehicle turns to the left or right, a light source, such as a tail lamp of the preceding vehicle or a headlamp of an oncoming vehicle may move out of the range of detection of the imaging sensor or the like. As a result, the projection state of the headlamps is changed from low beam to high beam. Then, if the reference vehicle turns in the same direction toward the forward vehicle, switching back from high beam to low beam is carried out. As a result, the driver of the reference vehicle may be erroneously perceived to be flashing his/her lights by the driver of the forward vehicle. Furthermore, when the forward vehicle enters a curve or the reference vehicle is moving through a curve, the tail lamps of the forward vehicle enter within and move out of the range of detection of the imaging sensor or the like. For this reason, repeated switching from low beam to high beam and from high beam to low beam may occur. As a result, the driver of the reference vehicle may be erroneously perceived to be flashing his/her lights by the driver of the forward vehicle. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
It is often desirable, in both distributed and non-distributed computing systems, to provide a mechanism for making the system tolerant to faults such as process failures and machine failures. The most important aspects of such fault tolerance mechanisms are generally error detection and error recovery. Conventional computing systems have been implemented which use process replication in conjunction with voting to perform error detection, and checkpointing to perform error recovery. Process replication generally involves running multiple copies of a given target program on different machines, and is also referred to as "N-version" or "N-modular" programming. Each of the copies of the program returns data values at specified breakpoints, and the voting process is used to determine if any of the processes or machines have failed. For example, if the returned data from all but one of the copies is the same, it can be assumed that the minority copy has experienced a failure. In the event of such a failure, a checkpoint is taken using one of the copies which is executing properly, and the failed process is restarted from the checkpoint. Details regarding these and other conventional techniques are described in, for example, J. Long, W. K. Fuchs, and J. A. Abraham, "Forward recovery using checkpointing in parallel systems," Proc. IEEE International Conference on Parallel Processing, pp. 272-275, 1990; D. K. Pradhan and N. H. Vaidya, "Roll-forward and rollback recovery: Performance-reliability trade-off," Proc. 24th Fault-Tolerant Computing Symposium, pp. 186-195, 1994; D. K. Pradhan and N. H. Vaidya, "Roll-forward checkpointing scheme: A novel fault-tolerant architecture," IEEE Transactions on Computers, 34(10):1163-1174, October 1994; and Algirdas A. Avizienis, "The Methodology of N-Version Programming," in Michael R. Lyti, editor, Software Fault Tolerance, pp. 23-46, John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 1995.
Conventional fault tolerance techniques generally require the modification of either source code or binary executable code to add the above-noted error detection and recovery functionality. These modifications are typically performed prior to execution of the target program and often require the user to edit files or to run direct instrumentation software, which can be inefficient. Moreover, conventional techniques which rely on an operating system to detect errors have the disadvantage of being unable to preserve data integrity when no operating system exception is triggered. Other conventional schemes use algorithm-based detection methods that are generally not applicable to many types of programs. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates in general to image processing systems and more specifically to a system for receiving and processing an image of a human user to allow interaction with video displays.
Image processing is used in many areas of analysis, education, commerce and entertainment. One aspect of image processing includes human-computer interaction by detecting human forms and movements to allow interaction with images. Applications of such processing can use efficient or entertaining ways of interacting with images to define digital shapes or other data, animate objects, create expressive forms, etc.
Detecting the position and movement of a human body is referred to as “motion capture.” With motion capture techniques, mathematical descriptions of a human performer's movements are input to a computer or other processing system. Natural body movements can be used as inputs to the computer to study athletic movement, capture data for later playback or simulation, enhance analysis for medical purposes, etc.
Although motion capture provides benefits and advantages, motion capture techniques tend to be complex. Some techniques require the human actor to wear special suits with high-visibility points at several locations. Other approaches use radio-frequency or other types of emitters, multiple sensors and detectors, blue-screens, extensive post-processing, etc. Techniques that rely on simple visible-light image capture are usually not accurate enough to provide well-defined and precise motion capture.
Some motion capture applications allow an actor, or user, to interact with images that are created and displayed by a computer system. For example, an actor may stand in front of a large video screen projection of several objects. The actor can move, or otherwise generate, modify, and manipulate, the objects by using body movements. Different effects based on an actor's movements can be computed by the processing system and displayed on the display screen. For example, the computer system can track a path of the actor in front of the display screen and render an approximation, or artistic interpretation, of the path onto the display screen. The images with which the actor interacts can be e.g., on the floor, wall or other surface; suspended three-dimensionally in space, displayed on one or more monitors, projection screens or other devices. Any type of display device or technology can be used to present images with which a user can control or interact.
In some applications, such as point-of-sale, retail advertising, promotions, arcade entertainment sites, etc., it is desirable to capture the motion of an untrained user (e.g., a person passing by) in a very unobtrusive way. Ideally, the user will not need special preparation or training and the system will not use unduly expensive equipment. Also, the method and system used to motion capture the actor should, preferably, be invisible or undetectable to the user. Many real-world applications must work in environments where there are complex and changing background and foreground objects, short time intervals for the capture, changing lighting conditions and other factors that can make motion capture difficult. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Hair frizz is described by consumers as the appearance of unruly fibers at the top of the scalp and tips of hair as well as an increased volume through the bulk of the hair. Generally they see this frizz on days when there is humid weather and the level of moisture in the air is high. The appearance of frizz is undesired and it is often associated with a loss of shine and smoothness. The appearance of frizz and loss of shine and smoothness are associated with a perception of poor hair health. The basic mechanism causing frizz in high humid environments is that at high humidity water penetrates into hair and changes the chemical bond interactions inside the hair. During styling, the consumer will create a ‘wet set’ where hair is blow dried or flat ironed to create the desired shape. During drying, water is evaporated from hair and hydrogen bonds are formed between the protein peptide chains holding the style in place. As moisture diffuses into hair the hydrogen bonds are broken and hair returns back to its natural shape. For consumers who straighten their hair by blow drying or flat ironing this return to a curled style is associated with a loss of alignment and increased volume. In addition, at high moisture levels in hair the fiber diameter increases which also increases the overall volume of hair.
The typical strategy to prevent frizz is to formulate leave-on and other hair care products with surface-depositing materials such as silicone, oils, conditioning silicone etc. which make hair more hydrophobic and decrease inter-fiber interactions. At high levels these materials can also provide increased cohesive forces holding fibers together to prevent frizz from occurring. With these materials depositing on the hair surface a greasy look and feel is typically experienced, which is an undesired trade-off of frizz reduction.
Consequently, a need exists for treatments that combine effective frizz control with additional hair benefits that the consumer can notice and feel and, at the same time, is delightful to use without having a sticky or greasy feel. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The most general method for detecting the amplification product obtained by nucleic acid amplification such as polymerase chain reactions (PCR) is carried out by subjecting the solution after amplification to agarose gel electrophoresis and binding a fluorescent intercalator such as ethidium bromide thereto, and then observing specific fluorescence. When there is no possibility of contamination by other DNA and only the occurrence of the amplification product is of interest, fluorescence can be observed by adding a fluorescent intercalator to the solution after amplification while omitting electrophoresis. A fluorescent intercalator, however, binds to a single-stranded DNA such as a primer and emits fluorescence. Accordingly, a significant level of background noise can be contained in the detected fluorescent signal.
Recently, the present inventors have succeeded in developing a novel method for nucleic acid amplification, which does not require the complicated temperature control that is supposedly inevitable in PCR, i.e., the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method (Notomi, T. et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 28 (12), e63 (2000), WO 00/28082). In the LAMP method, the 3′ terminal region of template polynucleotide is self-annealed, synthesis of complementary strands is started therefrom, and a primer that is annealed to the loop formed in the aforementioned synthesis is used in combination therewith. This enables the amplification under isothermal conditions, and has remarkably enhanced the simplicity of nucleic acid amplification.
In real-time monitoring of the product of nucleic acid amplification using a fluorescent intercalator, fluorescence intensity significantly varies in PCR since the product of nucleic acid amplification is repeatedly dissociated and reassociated due to thermal denaturation as a thermal cycle proceeds. In the LAMP method, however, fluorescence intensity does not vary since the reaction proceeds under isothermal conditions. Thus, the LAMP method is more suitable for real-time monitoring of the product of nucleic acid amplification. The LAMP method, however, requires approximately 10 times as many primers as the quantity required in PCR. When the product of nucleic acid amplification obtained by the LAMP method is intended to be detected using a fluorescent intercalator, the level of background noise caused by single-stranded primers, which are also present therein, is high. Thus, it is difficult to detect only the amplified double-stranded nucleic acids with high sensitivity.
An object of the present invention is to provide a process for detecting nucleic acids that can detect double-stranded nucleic acids using an intercalator with higher sensitivity by reducing signals derived from an intercalator bound to single-stranded nucleic acids.
The present inventors have conducted concentrated studies in order to attain the above object. As a result, they have succeeded in reducing signals derived from an intercalator bound to a single-stranded nucleic acid with the addition of a compound that reacts more preferentially with an intercalator bound to a single-stranded nucleic acid than with an intercalator bound to a double-stranded nucleic acid or a compound that is bound to a single-stranded nucleic acid more strongly than an intercalator and is bound to a double-stranded nucleic acid more weakly than an intercalator to a mixture comprising double-stranded and single-stranded nucleic acids both having intercalators bound thereto. This has led to the completion of the present invention.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for reducing signals derived from an intercalator bound to a single-stranded nucleic acid, wherein a compound that reacts more preferentially with an intercalator bound to a single-stranded nucleic acid than with an intercalator bound to a double-stranded nucleic acid is added to a mixture comprising double-stranded and single-stranded nucleic acids both having intercalators (e.g., ethidium bromide, acridine orange, TO-PRO-1® (Quinolinium, 4-[(3-methyl-2(3H)-benzothiazolylidene)methyl]-1-[3-(trimethylammonio)propyl]-, diiodide, or YO-PRO-1® (Quinolinium, 4-[(3-methyl-2(3H)-benzoxazolylidene)methyl]-1-[3-(trimethylammonio)propyl]-, diiodide) bound thereto, thereby reducing signals derived from an intercalator bound to a single-stranded nucleic acid. Examples of a compound that reacts more preferentially with an intercalator bound to a single-stranded nucleic acid than with an intercalator bound to a double-stranded nucleic acid include an oxidant, such as sodium hypochlorite, hydrogen peroxide, or potassium permanganate, and a reducer, such as sodium borohydride or sodium cyanoborohydride.
Further, the present invention relates to a method for reducing signals derived from an intercalator bound to a single-stranded nucleic acid, wherein a compound that is bound to a single-stranded nucleic acid more strongly than an intercalator and is bound to a double-stranded nucleic acid more weakly than an intercalator is added to a mixture comprising double-stranded and single-stranded nucleic acids both having intercalators (e.g., ethidium bromide, acridine orange, TO-PRO-1® (Quinolinium, 4-[(3-methyl-2(3H)-benzothiazolylidene)methyl]-1-[3-(trimethylammonio)propyl]-, diiodide), or YO-PRO-1® (Quinolinium, 4-[(3-methyl-2(3H)-benzoxazolylidene)methyl]-1-[3-(trimethylammonio)propyl]-, diiodide) bound thereto, thereby reducing signals derived from an intercalator bound to a single-stranded nucleic acid. An example of a compound that is bound to a single-stranded nucleic acid more strongly than an intercalator and is bound to a double-stranded nucleic acid more weakly than an intercalator is a second intercalator (e.g. methylene blue, actinomycin D, SYBR® Green 2 (CAS Registry No. 172827-25-7), or OliGreen® (CAS Registry No. 268220-33-3)) different from the above intercalator.
Furthermore, the present invention relates to a method for detecting a product of nucleic acid amplification comprising the following-steps:
(a) amplifying a nucleic acid through nucleic acid amplification;
(b) adding an intercalator to a reaction solution after the nucleic acid amplification;
(c) reducing signals derived from an intercalator bound to a single-stranded nucleic acid by any of the aforementioned methods; and
(d) assaying the fluorescence intensity of a reaction solution.
Further, the present invention relates to a method for detecting a product of nucleic acid amplification comprising the following steps:
(a) amplifying a nucleic acid through nucleic acid amplification in the presence of an intercalator;
(b) reducing signals derived from an intercalator bound to a single-stranded nucleic acid by any of the aforementioned methods; and
(c) assaying the fluorescence intensity of a reaction solution.
The present invention further relates to a method for detecting a product of nucleic acid amplification comprising the following steps:
(a) amplifying a nucleic acid through nucleic acid amplification in the presence of an intercalator and a compound that is bound to a single-stranded nucleic acid more strongly than an intercalator and is bound to a double-stranded nucleic acid more weakly than an intercalator; and
(b) assaying the fluorescence intensity of a reaction solution.
The nucleic acid amplification can be carried out by the following steps:
(a) selecting a first arbitrary sequence F1c, a second arbitrary sequence F2c, and a third arbitrary sequence F3c in that order from the 3′ terminus in a target region toward the 3′ terminus on the polynucleotide chain and a fourth arbitrary sequence R1, a fifth arbitrary sequence R2, and a sixth arbitrary sequence R3 in that order from the 5′ terminus in the target region toward the 5′ terminus of the nucleotide chain;
(b) preparing a primer containing sequence F2 which is complementary to F2c and, on the 5′ side of F2, the same sequence as F1c; a primer containing sequence F3 which is complementary to F3c; a primer containing the same sequence as R2 and, on the 5′ side of the sequence, sequence R1c which is complementary to R1; and a primer containing the same sequence as R3; and
(c) synthesizing DNA in the presence of a strand displacement-type polymerase and the primers using the nucleotide chain as a template.
The nucleic acid amplification can be carried out by the following steps:
(a) selecting a first arbitrary sequence F1c and a second arbitrary sequence F2c in that order from the 3′ terminus in a target region toward the 3′ terminus on the polynucleotide chain and a third arbitrary sequence R1 and a fourth arbitrary sequence R2 in that order from the 5′ terminus in the target region toward the 5′ terminus of the nucleotide chain;
(b) preparing a primer containing sequence F2 which is complementary to F2c and, on the 5′ side of F2, the same sequence as F1c; and a primer containing the same sequence as R2 and, on the 5′ side of the sequence, sequence R1c which is complementary to R1; and
(c) synthesizing DNA in the presence of a strand displacement-type polymerase, the primers, and a melting temperature regulator (such as betaine or trimethylamine N-oxide) using the nucleotide chain as a template for amplification.
The present invention further relates to a kit for detecting double-stranded nucleic acids comprising, as elements, an intercalator (e.g, ethidiun, bromide, acridine orange, TO-PRO-1® (Quinolinium, 4-[(3-methyl-2(3H)-benzothiazolylidene)methyl]-1-[3-(trimethylammonio)propyl]-, diiodide), or YO-PRO-1® (Quinolinium, 4-[(3-methyl-2(3H)-benzoxazolylidene)methyl]-1-[3-(trimethylammonio)propyl]-, diiodide) and a compound that reacts more preferentially with an intercalator bound to a single-stranded nucleic acid than with an intercalator bound to a double-stranded nucleic acid and/or a compound that is bound to a single-stranded nucleic acid more strongly than an intercalator and is bound to a double-stranded nucleic acid more weakly than an intercalator. Examples of the compound that reacts more preferentially with an intercalator bound to a single-stranded nucleic acid than with an intercalator bound to a double-stranded nucleic acid include an oxidant such as sodium hypochlorite, hydrogen peroxide, or potassium permanganate, and a reducer, such as sodium borohydride or sodium cyanoborohydride. An example of the compound that is bound to a single-stranded nucleic acid more strongly than an intercalator and is bound to a double-stranded nucleic acid more weakly than an intercalator is a second intercalator (e.g. methylene blue, actinomycin D, SYBR® Green 2 (CAS Registry No. 172827-25-7), or OliGreen® (CAS Registry No. 268220-33-3)) different from the aforementioned intercalator. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to a new watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) cultivar designated watermelon line Ace Plus. All publications cited in this application are herein incorporated by reference.
There are numerous steps in the development of any novel, desirable plant germplasm. Plant breeding begins with the analysis and definition of problems and weaknesses of the current germplasm, the establishment of program goals, and the definition of specific breeding objectives. The next step is selection of germplasm that possess the traits to meet the program goals. The goal is to combine in a single variety or hybrid an improved combination of desirable traits from the parental germplasm. These important traits may include increased head size and weight, higher seed yield, improved color, resistance to diseases and insects, tolerance to drought and heat, and better agronomic quality.
Watermelon is a member of the Cucurbitaceae family and is a vine-like flowering plant thought to have originated in southern Africa. Watermelon is an annual plant with long, weak, trailing or climbing stems that is grown for its large edible fruit. The fruit has a thick rind and fleshy center that is red, orange, pink, yellow, green or white. The fruit is rich in vitamins A and C and can be eaten raw or cooked in various ways. There are over 1,200 varieties of watermelon worldwide, which range in weight from less than one to more than 90 kilograms.
Successful watermelon production depends on attention to various cultural practices. This involves soil management practices with special attention to proper fertilization, crop establishment with appropriate spacing, weed control, the introduction of bees for pollination, and suitable pollenizers for seedless watermelon, irrigation and pest management. Watermelon fruit size and shape; rind color; thickness and toughness; seed size, color and number; and flesh color, texture, soluble solids and freedom from fruit defects are all important characteristics to be considered in selection of watermelon varieties. In addition, seedless watermelons should be free of hard seeds and have undeveloped seeds that are small and innocuous.
Watermelon pollination is essential to the production of fruit. The flowers of watermelon plants are unisexual, with male and female flowers occurring on the same plant (monoecious). In order to set fruit, pollen from the male flower must be transferred to a female flower on that plant or another plant in the field. This pollen transfer is accomplished by several naturally occurring insects, but most effectively by the honeybee.
Seedless watermelon plants are triploid and are produced by crossing a tetraploid (2n=4x=44 chromosomes) inbred line as the female parent with a diploid (2n=2x=22) inbred line as the male parent of the hybrid; the resulting hybrid is a triploid (2n=3x=33). Triploid plants have three sets of chromosomes, and three sets cannot be divided evenly during meiosis. This results in nonfunctional female and male gametes although the flowers appear normal. Since the triploid hybrid is female sterile, the fruit induced by pollination tend to be seedless. As the pollen in triploid male flowers is not viable and female flowers in triploid plants require viable pollen to set fruit, it follows that there must be separate diploid (seeded) pollenizer plants available to provide pollen.
Triploid watermelon is mainly pollinated by bees and other insects that hop from flower to flower and distribute pollen from seeded pollenizer plants to triploid hybrid plants. Because watermelon flowers open only for a short time, it is essential that bees and pollens are present during pollination. It is also essential that the full-flowering period of the seedless plants (which takes about 3-4 weeks) should match with the full-flowering period of the pollenizer plants, in order to have plenty of pollen available during pollination. Lack of pollen during full flowering of seedless watermelon plants will have negative effect on the total yield and fruit quality. Therefore, early-maturing seedless watermelon hybrids should be combined with early and prolonged-flowering pollenizer plants to achieve high yield and quality watermelon production in commercial production fields.
Seeded watermelon plants take up space, nutrients and water in the field that farmers would rather devote to seedless plants. As a results, farmers have increasingly turned to varieties of seeded watermelons that produce pollen to fertilize the seedless plants, but that also grow very small, inedible fruit that does not need to be harvested and does not take up much space in the field. These varieties are called “pollenizers” because they are grown solely to provide pollen for the seedless watermelons.
Watermelon plants are susceptible to numerous diseases that attack the roots, foliage, and fruit. The most common diseases of watermelon are anthracnose, fusarium wilt, downy mildew, gummy stem blight, root-knot nematode and virus diseases. Disease control and production of resistant lines are thus essential for the production of high quality watermelons.
Therefore, developing improved inbred watermelon lines having early flowering, an increased number of flowers and an increased length of flowering period, producing an increased yield of marketable triploid fruit when used as a parent of a pollenizer, and having resistance to diseases, is highly desirable.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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This invention relates to a color picture tube and specifically relates to a flatter-face color picture tube.
In general picture tubes, shadow masks are made of low-carbon mild steel and are heated by impacts of electron beams so that they tend to deform toward phosphor screens. Such a deformation is referred to as doming. Especially, local doming generally has a considerable degree for the following reason. In a television receiver, a beam current has a limited average so that when a displayed picture has a portion brighter than other portions, the density of beam current corresponding to the bright portion is higher than that corresponding to the other portions. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates generally to the field of static timing analysis of a microchip or an integrated circuit design, and more particularly to analysis and reduction of runtime overhead needed for statistical static timing analysis of an integrated circuit design. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates to a method for synthesizing fluorocarbon fluids containing oxypentafluorotellurium (TeF.sub.5 O--) substituents. The TeF.sub.5 O-- group is inherently dense and when incorporated into fluorocarbon fluids it provides enhanced density to those materials. In addition, the ether-like oxygen link furnishes molecular flexibility, lessening of steric hindrances, and retention of fluid properties.
These fluids find particular utility as agents for a wide variety of industrial applications requiring the utilization of highly dense fluids. They are especially useful as flotation agents for gyroscopes, compasses and other like instruments which must be dampened to minimize excessive vibration and oscillation problems.
To the best of our knowledge, no previous examples have been reported in the literature incorporating the TeF.sub.5 O-- groups into fluorocarbons. Compounds containing the analogous sulfur substituent, SF.sub.5 OR.sub.f, are known, being mainly obtained by reactions of SF.sub.5 OCl and SF.sub.5 OF with olefins. This work showed that the addition of SF.sub.5 OX to olefins proceeded according to the general equation: ##STR1## For both of these hypohalites, good yields of the adducts are often obtained but the hypofluorite reactions are sometimes difficult to control and much lower yields are realized. This is not surprising in view of the fact that CF.sub.3 OF reacts explosively with some olefins and its addition to them is superseded by fluorination reactions.
In the case of SeF.sub.5 OF reactions with olefins such as CF.sub.2 .dbd.CF.sub.2, CF.sub.3 CF.dbd.CF.sub.2 and CH.sub.2 .dbd.CH.sub.2, no products containing the SeF.sub.5 O-- group were identified. With perfluorocyclopentene a good yield of the adduct, SeF.sub.5 OC.sub.5 F.sub.9, was obtained. No examples of the addition of SeF.sub.5 OCl to olefin have been reported.
Based on the observed trends in the reactivity of the Group VI hypofluorites with respect to olefins, one would expect that TeF.sub.5 OX, where X is F or Cl, should not undergo a facile addition reaction. Therefore, it was unexpected that the recently discovered TeF.sub.5 OF would react smoothly with olefins to provide TeF.sub.5 O-- substituted fluorocarbons in high yield by addition across the olefin double bond. Furthermore, it has been found that TeF.sub.5 OCl also adds to olefins. In this instance, the reaction is more difficult to control to achieve the desired addition, and yields of the adducts are lower. All of the TeF.sub.5 O-- substituted fluorocarbons are thermally stable fluids. Their either-like structure provides the desirable fluid properties exhibited by that class of compounds. In addition, they have enhanced density due to the presence of the TeF.sub.5 O-- group. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.
Many pattern identification, verification, and recognition systems include a service in which a test pattern is compared against a reference database of authorized patterns. Systems and methods supporting these comparisons offer a trusted mode in which patterns are registered into the reference database to become authorized patterns.
Depending upon the nature of the pattern source and other implementations of the registration process, it is possible that one or more of the patterns that are attempted to be registered are actually invalid or otherwise improperly submitted for registration during the trusted mode.
For example, some patterns to be submitted into the reference database during the trusted mode registration are sourced using a sensor that has a pattern capture area size smaller than a characteristic dimension of the pattern to be captured. Sometimes the pattern source is changed during the registration process. Determining in real-time during the trusted registration process whether all captured patterns are from the same pattern source becomes more challenging as the pattern capture area size decreases.
Some conventional systems accept all submitted patterns during the trusted mode registration process. When one or more of the submitted patterns are invalid or improper patterns (e.g., a pattern from a different or an unauthorized pattern source), any subsequent pattern identification, verification, and/or recognition system employing the reference database including those invalid or improper patterns may be compromised or degraded.
Pattern identification, verification, and/or recognition systems are increasingly becoming gateways to significant personal and economic data and it is desirable to improve reliability and accuracy of these gateways. Improving the registration process, such as by preventing or reducing any opportunity for invalid or unauthorized data to be included in the reference database, is one way to improve reliability and accuracy. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Technical Field
This invention is directed to spark plugs and other ignition devices used in internal combustion engines and, more particularly, to ignition devices having high performance metal firing tips.
2. Related Art
Spark plugs are well known in the industry and have long been used to initiate combustion in internal combustion engines. In general, a spark plug is a device that extends into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine and enables a spark to ignite a combustible mixture of air and fuel therein. Specifically, a spark plug typically includes a cylindrical metal shell having external threads that screw into a portion of the engine and further having a hook shaped ground electrode attached thereto at a firing end of the spark plug. A cylindrical insulator is disposed partially within the metal shell and extends axially beyond the metal shell toward a firing end and also toward a terminal end. A conductive terminal is disposed within the cylindrical insulator at the terminal end of the spark plug, opposite the firing end. At the firing end, a center electrode is disposed within the insulator and projects axially out of the insulator toward the ground electrode, whereby a spark plug gap is defined between the center electrode and the ground electrode.
Due to the very nature of an internal combustion engine, spark plugs are exposed to many extremes occurring within the engine cylinder, including high temperatures and various corrosive combustion gases, which have traditionally reduced the longevity of the spark plug. Spark erosion also reduces the longevity of spark plugs. Spark erosion is where the electrode and in particular the firing tip or a material next to or adjacent to the firing tip erodes away during operation due to localized vaporization due to arc temperatures. Spark plugs traditionally have electrodes formed from Nickel or Nickel alloys which are susceptible to spark erosion. Recently manufacturers have been forming the firing end of the center electrode out of a precious metal such as Platinum, Iridium, or alloys thereof to minimize spark erosion. Platinum, Iridium, and alloys thereof are typically very resistant to spark erosion. However, Platinum, Iridium, and alloys thereof are generally very expensive and it is desirable to minimize the amount of material used to provide the spark portion.
In operation, ignition voltage pulses of up to 40,000 volts are applied through the spark plug to the center electrode, thereby causing the spark to jump the gap between the center and ground electrodes. The spark ignites the air and fuel mixture within the combustion chamber or cylinder to create high temperature combustion to power the engine. Unfortunately, the high voltage and high temperature environment within the combustion chamber can degrade the components of the spark plug, such as through spark erosion. As the spark plug becomes degraded, the characteristic of the spark may become altered thereby degrading the quality of the spark and resulting combustion. While Platinum, Iridium, or other precious metals and alloys thereof are less susceptible to spark erosion, if too small of a piece, either in length, width, or size is used for the precious metal firing tip, the spark may jump around the precious metal tip and arc between the base material of the center electrode and the ground electrode. As the base material is typically a Nickel alloy, it is susceptible to spark erosion which may cause the base material or center electrode to erode away until the precious metal tip falls off. Any degradation of the plug will affect the quality of the spark and any spark that does not originate from the spark surface on the spark portion but instead originates on the center electrode and passes around the precious metal firing tip will degrade the quality of the spark. The quality of the spark effects the ignition of the mixture of air and fuel (i.e., the combustion efficiency, combustion temperature, and combustion products) thus, the power output, fuel efficiency, performance of the engine, and the emissions produced by the combustion of the air and fuel mixture may be adversely affected. Due to the increasing emphasis on regulating emissions for motor vehicles, increasing fuel prices, and modern performance demands it is desirable to maintain a high quality spark for consistent engine performance and emission quality.
The longevity of the spark plug and thereby resistance of the spark plug to spark erosion is also important to manufacturers. Manufacturers are increasingly requiring longer service lifetimes from spark plugs such as 100,000 mile, 150,000 mile, and 175,000 mile service lifetimes. Many traditional Nickel spark plugs only have service lifetimes of 20,000 to 40,000 miles due to spark erosion and corrosion. Furthermore, many manufacturers are increasing the compression within an engine cylinder to provide a more fuel efficient engine. Any increase in compression also requires an increase in operating voltage of the spark plug to sufficiently allow the spark to jump the spark gap between the center and ground electrodes. Any increase in the operating voltage of a spark plug also increases the likelihood of spark erosion and therefore reduces the longevity of the spark plug. One method to combat spark erosion is to significantly increase the amount of precious metal material such as Iridium, Platinum, or alloys thereof forming the tip spark portion or size of the firing tip. However, Iridium, Platinum, and alloys thereof are extremely expensive and as manufacturers continually demand cost reductions, it becomes important to minimize the amount of Iridium, Platinum, or alloys thereof used in spark plugs.
Furthermore, in manufacturing spark plugs having spark portions formed out of Iridium, Platinum, or alloys thereof, attachment of the spark portion to the center electrode base material may be difficult. The Iridium and Platinum alloys tend to be dissimilar in properties and are sometimes difficult to reliably weld to the base material of the center electrode. Additionally Iridium and its alloys are often very brittle causing difficulty in processing and attachment to the base material. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention generally relates to the field of electromagnetic radiation transmission, and more particularly to a method and system for transmitting light through a multiple channel guide.
Well known to the art, lightpipes are used to transmit light from a first location to a second location. Transmission performance is dependent upon the frequency of light being transmitted through the lightpipe, the absorption of light energy in the lightpipe medium, and the loss of light energy from refraction as light rays intersect the boundary of the lightpipe medium. Snell""s Law of Refraction states that a light ray traveling through a media that is incident on the media boundary will be partially reflected and partially refracted, or transmitted through the media boundary.
Conventional lightpipe designs utilized in electrical and computer equipment use curved channels molded out of plastic or glass as shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 1, input light is transmitted through a channel, such as a lightpipe. When the input light reaches the interface between air and the lightpipe media, typically glass or plastic, a refracted ray is transmitted outside of the lightpipe along with a reflected ray that continues to travel down the lightpipe. The light of the refracted ray is lost, causing a reduction of signal strength at the end of the lightpipe. Therefore, the transmitted light will be the quantity of input light less absorption losses through the length of the lightpipe and additional losses from the refracted light. This will result in a dimming of the output light. Additionally, the refracted light may intersect adjacent channels, which may increase crosstalk between multiple channels. Consequently, a method and system of transmitting light through lightpipes without incurring refracted light losses is necessary.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a method and system for the efficient transmission of electromagnetic radiation through a channel. In an embodiment of the invention, an electromagnetic radiation guide may include an optical channel having optical properties sufficient to allow electromagnetic radiation to travel through the length of the guide. The electromagnetic radiation guide may also include an optical prismatic section capable of redirecting the light to a desired location.
It should be understood that both the forgoing general description and the following detailed description are explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and together with the general description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new and improved automatic golf bag support stand and, more particularly, pertains to automatically supporting a golf bag with an integrally formed stand.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of golf bag stands is known in the prior art. More specifically, golf bag stands heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of supporting a golf bag when not in use are known to consist basically of familiar, expected, and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which has been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
The prior art discloses a large number of golf bag support stands. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,235 to Solheim discloses golf bag with extensible support stand. U.S. Pat. No. Re. 33,203 to Reimers discloses a golf bag device. U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,192 to Jones discloses a golf bag having integrally support stand. U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,483 to Maeng discloses a golf bag with support stand. U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,003 to Gretz et al. discloses a golf bag with stand. U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,285 to Reimers discloses a soft sided golf bag with quick action integral stand. U.S. Pat. Des. 377,748 to Keller et al. discloses the ornamental design for a golf bag leg hinge bracket. Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 846,552 to Collins discloses an automatic folding stand.
In this respect, the automatic golf bag support stand according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of automatically supporting a golf bag with an integrally formed stand.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved automatic golf bag support stand which can be used for automatically supporting a golf bag with an integrally formed stand. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. | {
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Field
The present disclosure relates to a reactor pressure vessel assembly including a flow barrier structure and/or a method of manufacturing the reactor pressure vessel assembly.
Description of Related Art
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional natural circulation reactor pressure vessel assembly. FIGS. 2-4 are a plan view, a cross-sectional view, and a perspective view, respectively, of a portion of the reactor pressure vessel assembly in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIGS. 1-4, the reactor pressure vessel assembly 100 includes a housing H that surrounds a core inlet region 114, a shroud 104, a reactor core 112, a chimney assembly 108, and steam separators 118. The reactor core 112 is over the core inlet region 114. The chimney assembly 108 is between the steam separators 118 and the reactor core 112. The steam separators 118 are over the chimney assembly 108. The reactor core 112 may be defined by an inner surface of the shroud 104, a core plate 116 secured to a bottom of the shroud 104, and a top guide 120 secured to a top of the shroud 104. The shroud 104 may be a hollow cylindrical structure that separates the reactor core 112 from the downcomer annulus flow in the annulus A. The core plate 116 may support control rods and fuel assemblies that include a plurality of fuel rods in the reactor core 112. The top guide 120 may provide lateral support to the top of the fuel assemblies. The core plate 116 may support the control rods laterally. The control rods may be vertically supported by control rod guide housings that are welded to a bottom head in the reactor pressure vessel assembly.
The chimney assembly 108 includes a chimney barrel B, chimney partitions C, a chimney head CH, and a plenum 106. An inner surface of the chimney barrel B defines a space between the reactor core 112 and the steam separators 118. The plenum 106 is a portion of the space defined by the inner surface of the chimney barrel B between a lower surface of the chimney head CH and an upper surface of the chimney partitions C. A height of the plenum 106 may be about 2 meters, but is not limited thereto. The chimney partitions C are located inside the chimney barrel B. The chimney partitions C divide the space defined by the inner surface of the chimney barrel B into smaller sections.
The annulus A is defined by a space between an inner surface of the housing H and outer surfaces of the chimney assembly 108 (e.g., outer surfaces of the chimney barrel B) and reactor core 112 (e.g., outer surface of the shroud 104). Together, an inner surface of the chimney assembly 108 (e.g., inner surface of the chimney barrel B) and an inner surface of the reactor core 112 (e.g., an inner surface of the shroud 104) define a conduit for transporting a gas-liquid two phase flow stream from the reactor core 112 through the chimney assembly 108 to the steam separators 118.
The upward arrows in FIG. 1 indicate a flow direction of the gas-liquid two phase flow stream through the reactor core 112, chimney assembly 108, and steam separators 118. The chimney partitions C act to channel the gas-liquid two phase flow exiting the reactor core 112 into the chimney assembly 108 in order to limit cross flow and/or reduce the potential for recirculating eddies. The steam separators 118 may separate a gas portion of the gas-liquid two phase flow that flows through the steam separators 118 out a top of the reactor pressure vessel assembly 100, as indicated by the arrows above the steam separators 118 in FIG. 1. A remaining portion of the gas-liquid two phase flow that corresponds to the downcomer fluid from the steam separators 118 and steam dryer (not shown), referred to as separator downcomer flow, flows down from the top of the reactor pressure vessel assembly 100. The separator downcomer flow may come from two sources: a steam dryer (not shown) and a return from the steam separators 118. A substantial portion of the separator downcomer flow (e.g., about 97%) may come from the return flow of the steam separators 118 and a comparatively smaller portion (e.g., about 3%) of the separator downcomer flow may come from the steam dryer (not shown). However, the relative contributions to the separator downcomer flow from the return flow of the steam separators 118 and the steam dryer (not shown) are not limited to about 97% and about 3%, respectively, and may be different depending on operation conditions and/or variations in design. FIG. 3 illustrates a fluid level L of the separator downcomer flow, but the fluid level L of the separator downcomer flow may vary from the fluid level L indicated in FIG. 3 depending on operation conditions.
The reactor pressure vessel assembly 100 includes at least one feedwater sparger 126 in the housing H that is configured to deliver a sub-cooled feedwater into the annulus A. Each feedwater sparger 126 is connected to a corresponding feedwater opening defined by the housing H. The reactor pressure vessel assembly 100 may include a plurality of feedwater spargers 126 arranged in a circular pattern over the chimney assembly 108 and connected to a plurality of feedwater openings defined by the housing H. The housing defines a feedwater opening for each feedwater sparger 126. The annulus A is in fluid communication with the feedwater opening connected to the feedwater sparger 126 and the conduit for transporting of a gas-liquid two phase flow stream from the reactor core 112 through the chimney assembly 108 to the steam separators 118.
As shown in FIG. 3, a support plate 128 may be arranged a distance H1 above the chimney head CH, but below a height of the feedwater spargers 126. The support plate 128 may be secured to the chimney head CH. For example, the support plate 128 may be welded to the steam separator stand pipes SP. Chimney head bolds (not shown) may fit inside the support plate 128 through slip fit holes. The support plate 128 may support the outer stand pipes, and may support the chimney head bolts, laterally. The support plate 128 may have a ring structure with a width W1. From a plan view, as shown in FIG. 2, the feedwater spargers 126 expose the width W1 of the support plate 128 below. The steam separators 118 are over an area surrounded by the support plate 128, but the steam separators 118 may be arranged so they are not directly over the support plate 128 in a vertical direction. In other words, as shown in FIG. 2, the support plate 128 may surround the steam separators 118 in a plan view. As shown in FIG. 4, even though some of the outer steam separators 118 may be on top of stand pipes SP that partially contact the support plate 128, the steam separators 118 are not directly over a portion of the support plate 128 in a vertical direction. As shown in FIG. 4, only part of the circumference of the outer stand pipes SP is in contact with support plate 128 where the outer stand pipes intersect the support plate 128.
As indicated by the down arrows in the annulus A of FIG. 1 and the arrows in the core inlet region 114 of FIG. 1, the sub-cooled feedwater may flow down the annulus A through the core inlet region 114 into the reactor core 112. The arrows in FIG. 3 illustrate part of the separator downcomer flow may be redirected to flow around the feedwater sparger 126 and the support plate 128 into the annulus A. The mixture of the sub-cooled feedwater flowing in the annulus A with the portion of the separator downcomer flow that is redirected into the annulus A may be referred to as the annulus downcomer flow. In the reactor core 112, fuel rods may heat the annulus downcomer flow received from the core inlet region 114 and the portion of the separator downcomer flow received from the top of the reactor pressure vessel assembly 100 to provide the gas-liquid two phase flow stream that flows upward from the reactor core 112 through the chimney assembly 108 to the steam separators 118.
Complete mixing (and/or a desired level of mixing) between the separator downcomer flow and the sub-cooled feedwater does not occur. All (or substantially all) separator downcomer flow may be directed into the annulus A; however, at least a portion of the separator downcomer flow may bypass the sub-cooled feedwater and avoid mixing or reduce a degree of mixing. In the conventional natural circulation reactor pressure vessel assembly 100, there is incomplete mixing of the separator downcomer flow and the sub-cooled feedwater before delivery to the reactor core 112. A temperature of the sub-cooled feedwater is generally less than a temperature of the separator downcomer flow. Consequently, the incomplete mixing between the separator downcomer flow and sub-cooled feedwater may cause temperature variations into the fuel rods and supports for the fuel rods in the reactor core 112. Accordingly, improved mixing between the separator downcomer flow and sub-cooled feedwater before entry into the reactor core 112 is desired. | {
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The present invention relates to a manufacturing method for encommiae ulmoide young leaf tea, and more particularly to a manufacturing method for encommiae ulmoide young leaf tea, which is able to remove the bitter and astringent taste and achieve an exellent taste and the manufactured encommiae ulmoide tea contains proper amount of calcium, phosphorus, iron, natrium, potassium, etc.
More and more manufacturing methods for healthy drinks have been developed, such as the existing guava tea manufacturing method and bitter-melon tea manufacturing method. In these methods, the guava leaves or bitter-melon with nutritions are manufactured into guava leaf tea or bitter-melon tea for brewing. However, there is still no better method for manufacturing encommiae ulmoide tea from encommiae ulmoide young leaf tea with the high nutrition contained therein maintained. It is known that the encommiae ulmoide pertains to leaf-falling plants, containing numerous kinds of mineral and vitamins and able to expedite human metabolism and slow down oldening. The encommiae ulmoide skin has been used as a revitalizer in herbal medicine long -since. In recent research, it is found that the encommiae ulmoide leaf contains the same components as the encommiae ulmoide skin and has high nutrition. In the existing method for manufacturing encommiae ulmoide tea, after the encommiae ulmoide leaves are dried and chopped, the encommiae ulmoide leaves are packed into a tea bag. The encommiae ulmoide leaves adopted in the conventional manufacturing method are generally old leaves and encommiae ulmoide skin by reason that the extraction period of the old leaves is relatively long through four seasons of a year. However, in such leaves, most of the nutritions have been lost and a healthy effect can be hardly achieved. Moreover, the encommiae ulmoide tea made by the conventional manufacturing method will release specific bitter and astringent taste when brewed. Such taste is poor and make it hard to drink the encommiae ulmoide tea. | {
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The present invention relates to an ice thermal storage type air-conditioner in which ice is made or thawed by flowing a cooling medium in the interior of a heat transfer unit or units provided in an ice thermal storage tank, and an ice thermal storage tank used therein.
Ice making methods in ice thermal storage type air-conditioners include two kinds of static method and dynamic method. With the static method, icing forms and grows ice on a surface of a heat transfer unit or units provided in a thermal storage tank, so that there is caused a problem that heat transfer resistance increases with an increase in the thickness of ice and so ice making decreases in efficiency. With the dynamic method, a cooling medium of low temperature and low pressure is made to flow in the interior of a heat transfer unit or units provided on the bottom of an ice thermal storage tank to make ice, and then a cooling medium of high temperature and high pressure is made to flow to peel ice, which has grown, off the surface of the heat transfer unit so that ice pieces are permitted to come up to the upper portion of the thermal storage tank by their buoyancy and cold accumulates as ice in the thermal storage tank. An example of the dynamic method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 42878/1996 is known.
In the prior art of the above publication, a solution is presented with respect to suppression of an increase in thermal resistance accompanied by the formation of ice and to enhancement of an ice filling rate for a volume of water in the tank. Since a plate evaporator is provided as the heat transfer unit on the bottom of the ice thermal storage tank, however, there is raised a problem that the ice filling rate for a container space in the ice thermal storage tank (the rate of occupation) decreases. Besides, because of peeling ice off the heat transfer unit, which will become an evaporator at certain periods in operation, there is raised a problem that the surrounding water is warmed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an ice thermal storage type air-conditioner in which unused portions not contributing to ice making in an ice thermal storage tank are reduced to improve the ice filling rate of the ice thermal storage tank or to prevent a heat transfer unit from being damaged due to excessive icing, and an ice thermal storage tank used therein. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) and, more particularly, to a method of reducing micro-scratches during tungsten CMP.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the fabrication of semiconductors such as very large scale integrated (VLSI) or ultra-large scale integrated (ULSI) circuits, a high degree of surface planarity is an important factor in forming high-density devices using a photolithographic operation. Especially when the fabrication of semiconductors reaches the sub-half-micron stage, chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) method has become one of the principle means of global planarization in VLSI or ULSI production.
CMP is a preferred method of planarizing tungsten interconnects, vias and contacts. In tungsten CMP processing, a highly selective polish rate for tungsten as compared to the dielectric is allowed for over-polishing while still achieving a flat tungsten stud. However, wafer defects during polishing, such as micro-scratches, which may cause short or open circuits in the inter-metal dielectric (IMD) layer of via structure must still be overcome. The prior art teaches various methods of controlling the micro-scratches by the proper manufacturing of the abrasive particles in slurry and the proper mixing sequence of the abrasive particles with the suspension agent in slurry. Unfortunately, prior CMP slurries have not been as effective as needed.
FIGS. 1A to 1D are sectional views showing a conventional tungsten CMP process. First, as shown in FIG. 1A, a semiconductor substrate 10 has a plurality of first conductive layers 12 and an IMD layer 14 of silicon oxide formed on the first conductive layers 12. Then, as shown in FIG. 1B, using anisotropic dry etching, a plurality of via structures 16 are formed in the IMD layer 14 to expose the tops of the first conductive layers 12, respectively. Next, as shown in FIG. 1C, a second conducive layer 18 of tungsten (W) metal is deposited on the IMD layer 14 to fill the via structures 16 till reaching a predetermined thickness. Finally, as shown in FIG. 1D, in etching back the second conductive layer 18, CMP is applied to polish the second conductive layer 18 to obtain a planar surface. Thus, the second conductive layer 18 remaining in the via structure 16 serves as a tungsten plug 19.
In tungsten CMP processing, a slurry containing colloidal silica or dispersed aluminum mixed with basic solution, such as KOH or NH4OH solution, is employed. The interaction between the abrasive particles within the slurry and the surface of the IMD layer 14 produces small undesirable micro-scratches on the polished surface. Unfortunately, portions of a metal layer in subsequent processing become trapped within the IMD layer 14, resulting in poor performance of the finished semiconductor device. For example, the xe2x80x9ctrappedxe2x80x9d portion of the metal layer may produce a short circuit condition within the finished device, or undesirably high electrical leakage between adjacent metal lines. In addition, if the IMD layer 14 is also removed in the tungsten CMP process, an oxide layer erosion and a tungsten plug recess will happen due to an over-polishing.
In order to solve the micro-scratches problem, one conventional method is to develop soft slurry without abrasive particles, such as soft silica-gel like compositions. However, use of the soft slurry encounters problems of poor uniformity, decreased wafer throughput, increased process cost, and control difficulties. Another method is to tune the CMP recipe or modify the CMP steps. But, how to develop an available CMP recipe or step still challenge engineers in worldwide.
The present invention provides a method of reducing micro-scratches during tungsten CMP to solve the problems caused in the prior art.
The method of the present invention provides a novel tungsten CMP on a semiconductor substrate having at least a tungsten plug and an IMD layer. First, the tungsten CMP with a standard tungsten slurry is provided on the exposed surfaces of a tungsten plug and a IMD layer. Tungsten CMP with an oxide slurry is then provided on the polished surfaces of the tungsten plugs and the IMD layer.
Accordingly, it is a principle object of the invention to use the oxide slurry to reduce micro-scratches in the tungsten CMP.
It is another object of the invention to reduce micro-scratches in the tungsten CMP to prevent a short circuit condition within the finished device.
Yet another object of the invention is to reduce micro-scratches in the tungsten CMP to prevent undesirably high electrical leakage between adjacent metal lines.
It is a further object of the invention to reduce micro-scratches in the tungsten CMP by an easily controlled process.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. | {
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The invention relates to a process for the preparation of a composite crystalline aluminium silicate. More particularly it relates to a hydrothermal process for preparing same.
Crystalline aluminium silicates, which can be distinguished from one another by certain characteristic lines occurring in their X-ray powder diffraction patterns, can be prepared hydrothermally by maintaining an aqueous alkaline starting mixture comprising one or more silicon compounds, one or more aluminium compounds, one or more alkali metal compounds and one or more organic nitrogen compounds at an elevated temperature until the crystalline aluminium silicate has formed and subsequently separating the crystalline silicate from the mother liquor, usually followed by washing and drying.
The right selection of reaction components comprised in the aqueous mixture and their molar ratios is of major importance in preparing the desired crystalline aluminium silicates.
It is known that the microscopic texture (e.g. the crystal shape, size, degree of smoothness and the degree of agglomeration of the ultimate crystals) of a synthetic zeolite is influenced by the organic nitrogen compound(s) present in the starting mixture used to carry out the above-described hydrothermal process.
When producing larger amounts of composite crystalline aluminium silicate on a (semi-)commercial scale it is highly desirable that silicates of constant quality and composition are obtained. This implies that process mixtures which comprise a considerable number of compounds are preferably kept in motion continuously or intermittently (e.g. by stirring) in order to keep the composition of the mixtures reasonably constant over their whole volume. | {
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Rechargeable batteries manufactured from laminates of solid polymer electrolytes and sheet-like anodes and cathodes display many advantages over conventional liquid electrolyte batteries. These advantages include lower overall battery weight, high power density, high specific energy, longer service life, as well as being environmentally friendly since the danger of spilling toxic liquid into the environment is eliminated.
Solid polymer electrochemical cell components include positive electrodes, negative electrodes and a separator material capable of permitting ionic conductivity such as a solid polymer electrolyte sandwiched between each anode and cathode. The anodes (or negative electrodes) and cathodes (or positive electrodes) are made of material capable of reversibly intercalating alkali metal ions.
Such an advanced battery system typically consists of a series of extremely thin film laminates of anode material, polymer electrolyte separator, cathode material and current collector assembled together as a multi-layer construction in either a flat roll configuration, a jelly roll configuration or a flat stack configuration to form a battery. Individual electrochemical laminates are typically mono-face or bi-face. A mono-face electrochemical laminate consists of a current collector, a cathode, a polymer electrolyte separator, and an anode covered with an insulating polypropylene film to insulate the electrochemical laminate from the adjacent one for preventing short circuits. A bi-face electrochemical laminate consists of a central current collector having a cathode layer on both sides, a polymer electrolyte separator adjacent each cathode layer, and an anode layer adjacent each electrolyte separator. In a bi-face laminate, the insulating polypropylene film is eliminated since the risk of short-circuits between the anode and the cathode of adjacent laminates is removed. A bi-face laminate assembly typically provides a higher energy density.
For large batteries (500 gr or more), the preferred configuration is a flat stacked multi-layer assembly of bi-face laminate for its high energy density and for its ability to be shaped into a limited volume.
Numerous methods of assembling laminates into cells and batteries have been devised and/or investigated. U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,746 discloses a method of assembling the anode, cathode, current collector and electrolyte separator layers are co-laminated using a series of pressure rollers, the assembly thereafter being coiled to form a battery; however, the assembly could be cut and stacked.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,030,421 discloses a previously laminated mother-battery containing an anode of metallic lithium or sodium, a composite cathode, a polymer electrolyte that acts as a separator between the electrodes, and a current collector. The laminated mother-battery is thereafter subjected to a sharp mechanical cutting out to give thin polymer electrolyte batteries.
These documents disclose how to assemble the laminates themselves but do not teach precisely how to properly superpose or flat-stack the laminates to form batteries.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,229 discloses a stacking apparatus and method employing one or more stations, each including a stationary stacking platform or a conveyor upon which spaced-apart pucks are coupled for travel thereon. A product delivery apparatus drives one or more movable webs to which segmented product sheets are removably affixed. The product delivery apparatus includes one or more rotatable lamination interfaces associated with each of the stations for transferring product sheets from the webs to the pucks on a repetitive basis to produce a stack of product sheets on the respective pucks. Each of the segmented product sheets may define all or a portion of an electrochemical cell, the latter including layers of film or sheet material, wherein a portion of each of the layers is provided with a bonding feature. A puck need not be in motion during the transfer of the product sheet from the lamination roll to the puck. The puck may or may not be attached to a conveyor, but the conveyor need not be in motion during the lamination or stack building process. In this case, a roller is moved across the puck and simultaneously rotated so a point on the surface of the roller interfaces with the puck at the same location on each pass.
WO 02/43179 discloses an apparatus and method for rotatably cutting and/or laminating layered structures or sheet material supported by webs. A rotary converting apparatus and method converts a web comprising a cathode layered structure and a web comprising an anode layered structure into a series of layered electrochemical cell structures supported by a release liner. Employment of a rotary converting process provides for the creation of a product having a finished size, without need for downstream or subsequent cutting.
These two documents disclose methods of stacking components of laminates using a rotary device. This type of rotating mechanism is however often unreliable to produce precise assembly.
There are numerous difficulties to overcome when stacking extremely thin sheets together to produce electrochemical cells. First, each layer must be precisely aligned with the other layers in order to have a properly assembled stack that can be electrically connected with ease and within which no electrical short circuit will occur due to misalignment of the plurality of layers. A rotary system is inherently unable to provide the precise stacking of each layer required for electrochemical cell assembly. Secondly, when stacking the various layers of the electrochemical cell together, it is imperative that air not be trapped between two layers. Air entrapment will prevent proper contact between the various layers thereby reducing the capacity of the electrochemical cell as well as creating uneven surfaces that may cause further problems in subsequent assembly steps. Thirdly, the components, i.e. thin films of cathode, anode and electrolyte separator, are sticky and are difficult to handle without ripping or corrupting.
Thus there is a need in the polymer battery industry for an efficient method and apparatus for stacking polymer electrochemical laminates and constituents thereof to form polymer electrochemical cells and batteries. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
Example embodiments of the present invention relate generally to a latency control circuit and method thereof and an auto-precharge control circuit, and more particularly to a latency controlling circuit and a method of controlling latency and an auto-precharge control circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Data may be input to and/or output from a synchronous semiconductor device in synchronization with an external clock signal. Double data rate (DDR) dynamic random access memory (DRAM) may use a write latency (WL) scheme and/or an additive latency (AL) scheme to increase an efficiency of an address bus line or a command bus line.
If the latency scheme is used, after a number of clock cycles corresponding to latency have been counted, in response to a command received from a controller (e.g., a read or write command), an address signal may be activated for designating a memory address to/from which an internal command signal and/or data may be input/output. A circuit for delaying an external address signal or command signal by WL, AL, or (WL+AL) may further be included.
FIG. 24 is a circuit diagram illustrating a conventional latency control circuit 1500. Referring to FIG. 24, the conventional latency control circuit 1500 may include a plurality of registers 1511 through 1517 and a plurality of multiplexers 1521 through 1527, which may be connected to each other in series. A WL signal WLi (e.g., where I=1˜M) may be based on WL. For example, if WL is set to 7, only a signal WL7 may be activated (e.g., set to a first logic level, such as a higher logic level or logic “1”) and the remaining signals WLi, where I=1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, may be deactivated (e.g., set to a second logic level, such as a lower logic level or logic “0”). Accordingly, if the WL is 7, an address signal Ai may pass through the 7 registers 1511 through 1517 and then may be output as a delayed address signal CAi. Alternatively, if the WL is 4, the address signal Ai may pass through 4 registers 1511 through 1514 and then may be output as a delayed address signal CAi, and so on. Accordingly, after input latency (WL+AL), which may be caused due to an external command (e.g., a write command), a column address CAi for activating a column selection line may be generated. Therefore, a number of registers may be at least equal to the number of input latencies (AL+WL) for each bit of the address signal Ai. In an example, each register may be implemented by a flip-flop. Thus, a number of flip-flops may equal the number of input latencies within a circuit generating a bit of an address signal so that the circuit may be synchronized with an internal clock signal PCLK and may delay the address signals by desired latencies, thereby generating the column address CAi.
Because many flip-flops may be included in the conventional latency control circuit 1500, a current consumption may be relatively large. In addition, a higher proportion of an available layout area may be reserved for the flip-flops within the conventional latency control circuit 1500.
With increases in operating frequencies (e.g., above 800 MHz in DDR-DRAM), AL and WL may increase to 10 or more. As a result, a number of registers required to perform latency control on an address and/or a command may likewise increase. For example, if AL is 8 and WL is 10 in a 512 Megabyte (MB) DDR synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), 18 registers (i.e., 8 registers for AL and 10 registers for WL) may be required for each bit of a 16-bit address signal. In addition, 8 registers for AL may be required for each command. Thus, if a total of 5 commands (e.g., /WE, /CS, /RAS, /CAS, and /OE) are externally received, a number of registers required for latency control on addresses and commands may be expressed by 18*16+8*5=248. If the number of registers increases above a threshold (e.g., 200 registers), an area occupied by the registers may increase and routing may become increasingly complicated. Further, the number of registers may further increase to accommodate for burst length. The burst length may refer to a number of bits which may be consecutively input or output per data input/output pin in response to a write or read command. In a conventional memory device (e.g., DDR2), in which two bits of data may be input or output per data input/output pin during a single clock cycle, an address may be delayed by a clock cycle corresponding to “burst length/2”, and therefore, at least a number of registers corresponding to the “burst length/2” may be required to output the single address signal. Accordingly, as the size of latency control circuit 1500 increases, a line or conductive path of a clock signal input to the latency control circuit 1500 may become longer, thereby increasing a delay time of the clock signal.
In order to quickly perform write and/or read operations, a semiconductor memory device, and particularly, a DRAM device, may perform a precharge operation for charging bit lines to a given voltage level to close an activated bank. The activated bank may be precharged before a new row in the activated bank may be opened. In other words, if data is written to or read from a memory cell through a bit line, the electric potential of the bit line may be changed. Accordingly, it may be necessary to precharge the bit line to the given voltage level after the data write or read operation.
A conventional precharge operation may be performed using a precharge command or an auto-precharge function. A precharge operation may also be performed after a write operation using a precharge command or an auto-precharge function. If the precharge command is issued after a write command to perform the precharge operation, a transmission efficiency of a data bus line may be decreased because an idle section (e.g., a portion on which no data may be transmitted through a bus line within a system) may occur. Accordingly, the auto-precharge function may typically be used to perform the precharge operation.
Typically, a write auto-precharge function may be performed in response to a write auto-precharge command, which may be defined by making a given signal (e.g., a bit A10 in an address signal), which may be input along with a write command applied from an external source (e.g., a memory controller), transition to the first logic level (e.g., a higher logic level or logic “1”).
Thus, if the given signal (e.g., the bit A10 in the address signal) is set to the first logic level and received along with the write command, DRAM may internally generate a write auto-precharge command and may perform a write auto-precharge operation. The write command may be first executed based on the generated write auto-precharge command. The precharge operation may not be performed until the last data in a burst write sequence is stored in a memory array in response to the write command. After a given period of time following the last data being stored in the memory array, the precharge operation may be performed.
The given period of time may be a write recovery time tWR (e.g., a minimum “wait time” before data may be written to the memory cell). In an example, the write recovery time tWR may be fixed at about 15 ns. Accordingly, the precharge operation may be performed after the write recovery time tWR. The write auto-precharge command may thereby have to be delayed.
FIG. 25 illustrates a conventional auto-precharge control circuit 2100 which delays a write auto-precharge command by the write recovery time tWR.
Referring to FIG. 25, the auto-precharge control circuit 2100 may be a circuit for controlling an auto-precharge operation of DDR3 DRAM, which may include 8 banks and may have an operating frequency of 1.6 GHz. Accordingly, because a clock signal applied to the DDR3 DRAM may have a frequency of 800 GHz and a cycle of 1.25 ns, an auto-precharge command may be delayed by 12 clock cycles of the clock signal, which may correspond to 15 ns of the write recovery time tWR.
Referring to FIG. 25, the auto-precharge control circuit 2100 may include a precharge sub-signal generator 2110 and a precharge main signal generator 2120. The precharge sub-signal generator 2110 may include a decoder 2111 and an AND element array 2112. The decoder 2111 may output first precharge sub-signals BANK0 through BANK7, which may respectively correspond to 8 banks, based on bank address signals dBA0 through dBA2. The AND element array 2112 may include 8 AND elements connected in parallel and may perform an AND operation on each of the first precharge sub-signals BANK0 through BANK7 and a write auto-precharge command signal dWAP to output second precharge sub-signals FAP0 through FAP7.
Referring to FIG. 25, the precharge main signal generator 2120 may include a plurality of register arrays, which may respectively delay the second precharge sub-signals FAP0 through FAP7 output from the precharge sub-signal generator 2110 and may output precharge main signals PAPB0 through PAPB7 to the banks, respectively. The precharge operation may be performed based on the precharge main signals PAPB0 through PAPB7.
Referring to FIG. 25, in order to delay the second precharge sub-signals FAP0 through FAP7 by the write recovery time tWR, each of the register arrays may include 12 registers connected in series, which may respond to an internal clock signal PCLK.
Accordingly, referring to FIG. 25, the number of registers included within the auto-precharge control circuit 2100 may be 96, which may be obtained by multiplying the number of banks (i.e., 8) by the number of clock cycles of the internal clock signal PCLK (i.e., 12) corresponding to the write recovery time tWR (e.g., 15 ns). As described above, the number of registers may be related to the number of banks and the cycle of a clock signal. With the increase of an operating frequency and the decrease of a cycle of a clock signal in a memory device, the number of clock cycles of the internal clock signal PCLK, which corresponds to the write recovery time tWR, may be increased. As a result, the number of registers required to execute a write auto-precharge command may be increased.
As the number of registers is increased, as well as an area occupied by the registers in a layout, loading of the internal clock signal PCLK, which may be input to each register, may also be increased. As a result, a power consumption or current consumption may be increased. | {
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There are occassions when a general purpose vehicle is used to tow a second vehicle, or to pull a second vehicle out of a ditch or snowbank or other location from which the second vehicle cannot exit under its own power. A towing cable or chain is used to link the towing vehicle to the towed vehicle. However, conventional towing chains can be heavy, awkward and messy to use and store. As a result, attempts have been made to design a retractable towing cable which can be stored outside the vehicle. While these designs begin to address the problem of cable storage, certain shortcomings are evident.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,714,019 to J. L. Williams et al., discloses a retractable towing cable which is mounted to a vehicle. This type of design often presents a problem in that the attachment of the cable to the storage reel must bear the full stress on the towline. The attachment can break due to an inablility to withstand the substantial pressure exerted upon it. This results in potential damage to the vehicles involved, as well as potential injury to the person or people using the retractable cable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,635,953 to Robertson et al. discloses a tow cable with a storage means. The storage means in this design is a flexible tube which mounts to the undercarriage of a vehicle. The tow cable is made of a semi-rigid material, which can be pulled out of the flexible tube for use, then simply pushed back in to the tube for storage. A collar prevents the cable from being pulled completely out of the tube. As with the '019 patent to Williams et al., the problem with this design lies in the connection of the cable to the towing vehicle. Continuous tension on the cable, or a sudden sharp tug, is likely to pull the cable out of the collar, resulting in damage or injury. Additionally, the tow cable of this design is limited in length to the length of the vehicle, making it impossible to extend the cable to longer lengths, as may be needed to pull a second vehicle from a ditch or other more distant location.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,751 to Colby discloses a retractable towing cable and storage means, which is permanently mounted to the frame of a vehicle. A collar on the towline prevents the towline from hyperextending. An abutment means for transferring stress from the towline to the vehicle frame is provided. This design is installed on the frame of the vehicle, requiring professional installation. The device of Colby makes no provision for adjusting the length of cable between the towing vehicle and the object being towed.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,695,096 to Hanses discloses a vehicle towing device comprising a metal strap coiled on a retracting wheel. This device is attached with a single lug to the rear of the towing vehicle, and, while retractable, is not entirely self storing. | {
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This invention relates generally to the field of vehicular control, and in particular, to a method and system for progressive engagement of an all-wheel drive for a mobile vehicle.
All-wheel drive (AWD) systems use a center differential that allows the level of locking between the front and rear axles to be controlled. When the differential is totally unlocked, the vehicle stability in a turn may be maximized since the wheel speeds can be controlled by a Vehicle Stability Enhancement (VSE) subsystem without affecting the other axle. When the differential is totally locked, the traction of the vehicle is maximized since traction forces are supplied to all four wheels at a similar level. The optimal amount of locking should maintain a balance between the stability of the vehicle, the amount of all-wheel drive traction available, and driver comfort.
In order to achieve satisfactory vehicular performance under all road conditions, a control algorithm should provide variable engagement of AWD systems. When AWD systems are engaged without any estimates of surface capability, driver command, and vehicle state, instability of the vehicle may result or driver comfort may be negatively affected. Accordingly, it would be beneficial to have a system and method for using data from existing VSE subsystems such as yaw rate, lateral acceleration, and sensed wheel speed to provide these estimates, thereby engaging the AWD in a progressive manner to maintain stability and traction and to enhance the comfort of the vehicle user.
Furthermore, it would be beneficial to consider and incorporate the status of other vehicle subsystems, such as an anti-lock braking subsystem and a traction control subsystem, to produce smooth, progressive engagement and disengagement of an all-wheel drive system under varying road conditions and driver demands.
The object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a method and a system for progressive engagement of all-wheel drive, and to overcome the deficiencies and obstacles described above.
One aspect of the current invention provides a method of progressive engagement of all-wheel drive for a mobile vehicle. The method may include the steps of sensing a set of vehicle parameters, determining an all-wheel drive lock value based on the sensed set of vehicle parameters, determining vehicle subsystem control activation, adjusting the all-wheel drive lock value based on the vehicle subsystem control activation determination, and engaging an all-wheel drive controller based on the adjusted all-wheel drive lock value.
The sensed set of vehicle parameters may include lateral acceleration, steering wheel angle, yaw rate, and wheel speed. The all-wheel drive lock value may be based on a ratio of a sensed lateral acceleration and a surface capability value. The surface capability value may be computed from the sensed set of vehicle parameters.
The vehicle subsystem control activation determination may include determining whether a vehicle anti-lock brake subsystem is active, and adjusting the all-wheel drive lock value to an unlocked condition when the vehicle anti-lock brake subsystem is active. The vehicle subsystem control activation determination may include determining whether a vehicle traction control subsystem is active, and adjusting the all-wheel drive lock value based on a traction control subsystem gain value when the vehicle traction control subsystem is active. The traction control subsystem gain value may be a function of the surface capability value.
The vehicle subsystem control activation determination may include determining whether a vehicle stability enhancement subsystem is active, and adjusting the all-wheel drive lock value based on a stability enhancement subsystem gain value when the vehicle stability enhancement subsystem is active. The stability enhancement subsystem gain value may be a function of the surface capability value.
Adjustments to the all-wheel drive lock value may not be made when it is determined that the anti-lock brake subsystem is not active, the traction control subsystem is not active, and the vehicle stability enhancement subsystem is not active.
Another aspect of the current invention is a computer usable medium including a program for progressive engagement of an all-wheel drive. The computer program may include code to determine an all-wheel drive lock value based on the sensed set of vehicle parameters. The computer program may include code to determine vehicle subsystem control activation. The computer program may include code to adjust the all-wheel drive lock value based on the vehicle subsystem control activation determination. The computer program may include code to engage an all-wheel drive controller based on the adjusted all-wheel drive lock value.
The computer program may include program code to sense a set of vehicle parameters including lateral acceleration, steering wheel angle, yaw rate, and wheel speed. The computer program may include code to determine the all-wheel drive lock value based on a ratio of a sensed lateral acceleration and a surface capability value.
The computer program may include code to determine the surface capability value computed from the sensed set of vehicle parameters.
The computer program may include code to determine vehicle subsystem control activation that includes determining whether a vehicle anti-lock brake subsystem is active, and adjusting the all-wheel drive lock value to an unlocked condition when the vehicle anti-lock brake subsystem is active.
The computer program may include code to determine vehicle subsystem control activation that includes determining whether a vehicle traction control subsystem is active, and adjusting the all-wheel drive lock value based on a traction control subsystem gain value when the vehicle traction control subsystem is active. The computer program may further include code to determine the traction control subsystem gain value, which may be a function of the surface capability value.
The computer program may include code to determine vehicle subsystem control activation that comprises determining whether a vehicle stability enhancement subsystem is active, and adjusting the all-wheel drive lock value based on a stability enhancement subsystem gain value when the vehicle stability enhancement subsystem is active. The computer program may include code to determine the stability enhancement subsystem gain value, which may be a function of the surface capability value.
The computer program may include code to make no adjustment to the all-wheel drive lock value when it is determined that the anti-lock brake subsystem is not active, the traction control subsystem is not active, and the vehicle stability enhancement subsystem is not active.
Another embodiment of the current invention includes a system for progressive engagement of an all-wheel drive, including a means for sensing a set of vehicle parameters; a means for determining an all-wheel drive lock value based on the sensed set of vehicle parameters; a means for determining vehicle subsystem control activation; a means for adjusting the all-wheel drive lock value based on the vehicle subsystem control activation determination; and a means for engaging an all-wheel drive controller based on the adjusted all-wheel drive lock value.
The invention provides the foregoing and other features, and the advantages of the invention will become further apparent from the following detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The detailed description and drawings are merely illustrative of the invention and do not limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof. | {
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Recently, much attention has been focused on providing wireless packet data service to mobile data communication users. For example, "Cellular Digital Packet Data System Specification," Release 1.0 (Jul. 19, 1993), describes a connectionless, multi protocol network service that provides peer network wireless extension to existing data networks and in which one or both ends of the data communications may be a mobile end system.
Like voice networks, data communication networks typically have more than one path between two endpoints. Data network equipment may use protocols such as the Routing Information Protocol and the Open Shortest Path First to determine what those paths are and to determine which path represents the best route between a given pair of end systems. These protocols, however, run counter to the notion of equal access which would provide non-discriminatory exchange access to inter-exchange carriers, and which would allow a user or subscriber of the network services to choose the route by which the data is communicated between end systems. Equal access would permit a subscriber to select the route by which data is communicated at least with respect to those paths for which the subscriber pays.
In voice communication networks, a subscriber may choose a long distance carrier at the time he signs up for service. The subscriber also may change the long distance carrier at any time simply by contacting the local service provider. Furthermore, a subscriber may select a long distance carrier on a per-call basis.
Packet data networks are, however, connectionless by nature. In other words, packets of data may be exchanged between any pair of end systems at any time without explicitly establishing a connection. Packet data networks, therefore, pose unique problems in determining how to permit a subscriber to choose the inter-LATA (Local Access Transport Area) data carrier or inter-exchange carrier which will transport its data between end systems. | {
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Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to surgical instruments and, more particularly, to surgical forceps configured for treating tissue and including components and/or features that facilitate the assembly and manufacture thereof.
Background of Related Art
A surgical forceps is a plier-like device which relies on mechanical action between its jaws to grasp, clamp, and constrict tissue. Energy-based surgical forceps utilize both mechanical clamping action and energy to treat, e.g., coagulate, cauterize, and/or seal, tissue.
Generally, surgical instruments, including surgical forceps, can be classified as disposable instruments, e.g., instruments that are discarded after a single use, or reusable instruments, e.g., instruments capable of being sterilized for repeated use. As can be appreciated, those instruments that are configured for single-use must be cost-efficient while still being capable of effectively performing their intended functions. | {
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Campylobacter bacteria are microorganisms that are pathogenic to humans as well as wild and domestic animals and that cause abortion and enteritis in animals and enteritis in humans. Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli are known to be causative bacteria of Campylobacter infection in humans. These bacteria are often referred to as food poisoning bacteria (Blaser, et al, Ann Intern. Med., 91:179 (1979); Tauxe, R., American Society for Microbiology, Washington D.C. pg. 9 (1992)).
As of 2000, Campylobacter has been classified into 15 species and 9 subspecies. C. jejuni constitutes 95 to 99% of the bacteria that are isolated in human diarrhea cases, while other bacterial species, such as C. coli, constitutes only a few percent (Takahashi, M. et al, Infectious Diseases Weekly Report Japan, 3(6):10 (2001)). However, the carriage rate of C. coli is extremely high in pigs. In recent years, Campylobacter infection has been on an increasing trend with increasing meat imports mainly from Southeast Asia. In particular, the infection from chicken-related food, whose consumption has been growing as a result of problems with beef such as BSE and O-157, has rapidly increased.
In addition, while Campylobacter fetus has been known as an abortion-causing bacteria in sheep and bovine, it has only recently been reported to be involved in abortion and premature delivery in humans as well. C. fetus infection, resulting from eating raw liver or beef contaminated with C. fetus, is associated with symptoms such as sepsis and meningitis. The primary source of Campylobacter infection in humans is chicken, which carries the bacteria at high densities in the intestinal tract (Simon, M. S. et al., 2003. Campylobacter infection. Diseases of Poultry, Iowa State Press, 615-630).
Campylobacter bacteria are generally distributed at a high density in the digestive tract of animals, such as bovine, sheep, pig, and chicken, and thus recognized as causative bacteria of zoonosis. Most campylobacteriosis is thought to be caused by chicken. Infection may arise through direct contact with the above animals or their excrement, or through intake of or during processing of food, drinking water, milk, and such contaminated with the excrement. Furthermore, infection cases in facilities such as newborn nurseries have also been reported (Japanese Journal of Pediatric Medicine, 29:1219-1222 (1997)).
Campylobacteriosis has a long incubation period, ranging 3 to 7 days. It is characterized by gastroenteritis symptoms, such as diarrhea (sometimes, bloody mucous diarrhea), abdominal pain, fever, nausea, vomiting, headache, chills, and feebleness. Although the lethality is low, newborn babies may develop systemic infection, such as sepsis and meningitis. In most cases, recovery takes several days to about one week. The general prognosis has a favorable course except in some immunodeficiency patients. However, it has been reported in recent years that patients may develop Guillain-Barre syndrome or Fischer syndrome, which are autoimmune diseases, after campylobacteriosis. The cases developed following campylobacteriosis generally tend to become severe, and the remission rate after one year of the onset is only about 60%.
Chemotherapy using antibiotics is performed for severe conditions or cases complicated by sepsis. The first choice drug is a macrolide, such as erythromycin. Due to natural resistance, cephem antibiotics are not expected to have therapeutic effects. Meanwhile, the increase in the number of bacteria resistant to new quinolone antibiotics has become a problem in recent years. Rapid identification of causative microorganisms after infection is important to conduct an appropriate treatment for campylobacteriosis and to prevent the expansion of infection by revealing the infection route. However, it is difficult to diagnose campylobacteriosis based on clinical symptoms alone, much less to identify Campylobacter and its species.
Campylobacter bacteria are microaerophiles. A culture of the bacteria requires a special medium such as Skirrow's medium, and a special apparatus (anaerobic jar or the like) to maintain the oxygen concentration at 3 to 10% for the absolute microaerophilic condition. In addition, the culture is time-consuming (2 to 3 days) as compared with other bacteria. Thus, it is difficult to achieve and maintain an isolation culture of Campylobacter bacteria. Furthermore, since Campylobacter bacteria easily die in the air, they must be tested within 2 to 3 hours after sample collection. Furthermore, since the incubation period of campylobacteriosis is long (3 to 7 days), the bacteria often cannot be isolated when bacterial identification in any foods concerned is carried out after the onset of the symptoms. Furthermore, Campylobacter bacteria have very strong infectivity, and have been reported to establish infection with only several hundreds of cells. Thus, it is extremely difficult to identify the source of infection.
One method of discriminative diagnosis between C. jejuni and C. coli involves testing hippurate hydrolysis. Specifically, the method is based on the fact that C. jejuni has the ability to hydrolyze hippurate while C. coli does not. However, this method is not exact because there some hippurate-negative C. jejuni species are known in the art (Totten, et al, J. Clin. Microbiol., 25: 1747 (1987)). Thus, the presence of Campylobacter bacteria can be confirmed only by estimating the presence of the bacteria from food intake history and symptoms, and by examining morphological and biological features of bacteria from colonies obtained by feces culture, which requires several days.
Thus, attempts have been made to identify Campylobacter bacteria and detect its toxin genes using, as rapid diagnostic methods that don't require cultivation, genetic diagnostic methods which utilize a DNA probe method or a PCR method using oligonucleotides. For example, the gene encoding rRNA has been generally used as a probe for Campylobacter bacteria (Japanese Patent Application Kokai Publication No. (JP-A) S62-228096 (unexamined, published Japanese patent application)). The sequences of Campylobacter rRNA genes have already been published (Romaniuk, P. J. et al,J. Bacteriol., 169: 2173 (1987)). In addition, nucleic acid fragments for detecting Campylobacter bacteria are also known (JP-A H2-84200; JP-A H2-154700; JP-A H3-112498; JP-A H6-90795; JP-A H6-90796). However, while these sequences may be used to detect C. jejuni and/or C. coli, they are not adequate to detect other Campylobacter bacteria. Furthermore, the current level of specificity is not sufficient.
A method for identifying C. jejuni by PCR, using oligonucleotides selected from the fla A gene of C. coli VC167, has also been reported (Oyofo, et al, J. Clin. Microbiol., 30: 2613 (1992)). Furthermore, the use of oligonucleotide primers to amplify a target sequence of superoxide dismutases of C. jejuni and C. coli has been reported in the literature (Romaniuk, P. J. et al, J. Bacteriol., 169: 2173 (1987)). However, these methods are incapable of discriminating between C. jejuni and C. coli.
Meanwhile, pathogenic factors of Campylobacter are being studied actively. Various factors, such as cell invasiveness, flagellin, and cholera toxin-like enterotoxin, have been reported as pathogenic factors of Campylobacter bacteria (Mizuno, K. et al, Microbios., 78: 215 (1994); Suzuki, S. et al, FEMS Immunol. Med. Microbiol., 8: 207 (1994)). Recently, cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) was discovered as a toxic factor from C. jejuni (Pickett, C. et al. Infect. Immun, 64: 2070 (1996)), and its relevance to the pathogenicity has attracted attention. For example, diarrheagenicity of the toxin has been reported in an animal model using recombinant E. coli that produces CDT of Shiga's bacillus (Shigella dysenteriae) (Infect. Immun, 65: 428-433 (1997)).
CDT is a holotoxin composed of three subunits, called cdtA, cdtB, and cdtC, which are encoded by genes arranged in tandem. The active center of the toxin is in the cdtB subunit having type I deoxyribonuclease-like activity, while the cdtA and cdtC subunits are thought to be involved in the adhesion to target cells. When the holotoxin acts on cells, the cells are distended, i.e. swollen, and finally killed. The toxin is thus named “cytolethal distending toxin”.
The molecular mechanism is believed to be as follows. The cdtB subunit that constitutes the active center of the toxin translocates into a cell nucleus, and introduces nicks into chromosomal DNA by its type I deoxyribonuclease activity, thereby inducing DNA-damage response. The cell then arrests the cell cycle at G2/M phase to activate the gene repair system, and is then distended and killed (Science, 290: 354-357 (2000)). Furthermore, CDT has been found to act on a broad range of cells, including epithelial cells and immune cells. In particular, CDT is believed to act on human lymphocytes and induce apoptosis in them, which allows easy escape from immunity (J. Biol. Chem., 276: 5296-5302 (2001)).
As described above, CDT has a unique molecular mechanism that is not found in the other toxins previously known. To date, the complete nucleotide sequence of CDT among Campylobacter bacteria has been determined for only C. jejuni (Pickett, C. et al. Infect. Immun, 64: 2070 (1996)). | {
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The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Geranium plant botanically known as Pelargonium×hortorum and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Balfanwite’.
The new cultivar originated in a controlled breeding program in Weener, Niedersachen (Northern Germany) during the summer of 1999. The objective of the breeding program was the development of Geranium cultivars that flower uniformly and have large flowers, dark green-colored foliage, and a vigorous, upright growth habit.
The female (seed) parent of the new cultivar was ‘Penwei’ (HU9801865 A2 and QZ1995/0756). The male (pollen) parent of the new cultivar was ‘Sel Wenke’, not patented. The new Geranium was discovered and selected by the inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the above stated cross-pollination during June 2000 in a controlled environment at Weener, Niedersachen.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal stem cuttings since June 2000 at Weener, Niedersachen and West Chicago, Ill. has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation. | {
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There is an ever-increasing interest in making electronic devices physically smaller. Consequently, electrical components become more compact as technologies are improved. However, such advances in technology also bring about additional problems. One such problem involves packaging components in devices.
Packaging is especially problematic with components incorporating multiple layers. One such component is the capacitor. Capacitors provide improved charge storage and energy density using multiple conductive layers and advanced dielectrics. As the layers become more complex and smaller in dimensions, problems arise with packaging. Housings for complex shapes defining contoured layer stacks are needed.
Thus, there is a need in the art for housing designs which are adapted to new capacitor stack shapes, and which improve packaging efficiency without sacrificing substantial performance of the component. | {
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The present disclosure relates to an integrated layer stack arrangement, an optical sensor and also a method for producing an integrated layer stack arrangement.
In a conventional CMOS camera (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor camera), a plurality of layer stacks having alternately in each case a patterned metal layer, usually made of aluminum in accordance with the prior art, and an intermetal dielectric layer, usually made of silicon dioxide, are applied above a photodiode integrated in a substrate. Light to be detected which is radiated in onto the known CMOS camera passes through the plurality of layer stacks and finally impinges on the photodiode. In the photodiode, the optical energy is converted into electrical energy and the electrical energy is if appropriate amplified, digitized and processed further by means of an evaluation circuit.
In future CMOS technologies, the material used for the metal layers, i.e. the metallization planes, will no longer be aluminum but rather is expected to be copper. With the use of copper for wiring in the respective metallization planes, diffusion barriers are required in order to prevent copper atoms from diffusing into the intermetal dielectric, preferably silicon dioxide (SiO2). An alternative material for the intermetal dielectric is an electrically insulating low-k material, for example SiLK™. Silicon nitride (Si3N4) is usually used as material for the diffusion barriers.
In future products, the layer thickness of a diffusion barrier layer will be approximately 50 nm and less and the thickness of an intermetal dielectric layer will be approximately 400 nm to 1000 nm.
Silicon is usually used as a substrate. If a photodiode is integrated in the silicon substrate in the product, from the surface of the component a light that is incident there has to penetrate through all the layer stacks applied above the photodiode until it can penetrate into the photodiode and can lead to the generation of electrical charge carriers there.
Owing to the different optical density of the material of the intermetal dielectric (silicon dioxide/low-k material usually have a refractive index n of approximately 1.5) and of the diffusion barrier (silicon nitride has a refractive index n of approximately 2) multiple interferences occur in the optical path of the light beams passing through the layer stacks.
FIG. 2 shows an ascertained transmission curve 201, illustrating the transmission coefficient 202 depending on the wavelength 203 of the light that is respectively radiated in for an above-described layer stack arrangement in accordance with the prior art with copper as metal for the conductor tracks and silicon nitride as diffusion barrier material.
As can be gathered from the transmission curve 201 in FIG. 2, on account of the, to an approximation, chaotic and thus unpredictable distributions of the transmission curve maxima, it is not possible to suitably dimension the layer stack arrangement such that a maximum quantity of light impinges on the photo-diode, i.e. that only a minimum quantity of light is reflected by the layer stacks.
As can furthermore be gathered from the transmission curve 201, a plurality of layer stacks in the layer stack arrangement of a CMOS camera in the case where copper metallization is used reduces the mean optical transmission to 65% for individual wavelengths even down to 20%.
For a CMOS camera or for an optical mouse into which is introduced an electronic chip with above-described technology with photodiodes, this leads to an increased current consumption and to a reduction of the yield.
One solution to the problem described above might consist in optimizing the thicknesses of the layers of the intermetal dielectric and of the diffusion barriers and in monitoring the thicknesses of the layers very precisely and thus optimizing the transmission for a specific wavelength. However, this leads to a considerably increased outlay in the production of such an integrated layer stack arrangement.
One alternative would be, furthermore, to replace the material of the diffusion barrier, i.e. currently silicon nitride, with a material that has the same or a very similar optical density as or to the material of the intermetal dielectric used, copper. However, this would require a redevelopment and qualification of the entire back-end process.
Furthermore, one possibility for solving the problem described above would be to irradiate the integrated layer stack arrangement in accordance with the prior art with light having increased intensity in order thus to compensate for the only low transmission. However, this procedure considerably increases the current consumption, thereby decreasing for example the battery endurance time of radio mouses, for example. Generally, an increased current consumption in the case of a device with such an integrated layer stack arrangement is not desired. | {
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The present invention relates to devices for introduction into a body via a substantially straight conduit to form a predefined curved configuration, and methods employing such devices.
It is known to insert straight elements into various types of bodies. In the general field of mechanical engineering, this includes insertion of drills, nails, screws and rods of various kinds into structures such as walls, articles such as furnishings, other inanimate bodies, plant bodies such as wood, and animal or human bodies. In certain cases, the straight elements have structures or mechanisms for securing the elements against withdrawal from the body.
It is also known in certain contexts to insert elements with a fixed degree of curvature into a body. Examples of this kind include curved needles such as are used for sewing leather, and arcuate drills for medical applications, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,337 to Donohue and U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,466 to Romano. Such structures are limited to a very superficial depth of penetration into the body, and generally channel through an arc of less than 180° within the body.
In a third group of applications, primarily limited to the field of medical endoscopy, steerable flexible elements are introduced into a body. Steerable flexible elements can be introduced through straight conduits and can then be deflected within the body in order to steer them to a desired location, thereby allowing the elements to reach a location at an arbitrary desired depth within a body. These elements, however, do not generally assume a well defined curved configuration within the body, and typically do not turn through angles of more than about 180°. In many cases, steerable elements are specifically kept away from their mechanical limit of flexing in order to avoid structural damage through over-flexing.
None of the above provide a structure or method through which a curved structure can be introduced into a body via a straight conduit and then assumes a deployed position in a predefined curved configuration within the body, and particularly where the predefined curved structure turns through more than 180°, has a variable curvature and/or assumes a three dimensional (non-planar) geometry.
There is therefore a need for devices for introduction into a body via a substantially straight conduit to form a predefined curved configuration, and methods employing such devices. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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This invention relates to a method for preparing new biodegradable foams. More particularly, the present invention provides new dental and biomedical foams using a hydrophilic polyurethane foam having a biodegradable moiety.
Numerous devices have been proposed in the prior art for use as dental and biomedical foams for absorbing or removing body fluids. Typically, the prior art approaches have relied upon natural materials such as cotton, which is now becoming relatively expensive while providing a resultant structure which is generally fragile in use. Also, the amount of absorption by natural materials is relatively low.
Various polyurethanes have been used as dental and biomedical foams but suffer a disadvantage in that such foams are not readily biodegradable. It has now been found, however, that by practice of the present invention, there is provided a method for preparing new, simple and highly efficient dental and biomedical foams which are readily biodegradable after use, and which are characterized by high absorptive ability of body fluids in use.
Various attempts have also been made in the prior art to prepare foams of organic substances for use in cavities of the human body. However, such organic substances typically require, for example, catalysts or the like during the foaming reaction. These additives remain in the foam after foaming and are readily leached into the human body when in contact with body fluids. Thus, although artificial foams, especially those of polyurethane, of the prior art possess the capacity of high absorptivity of body fluids, usage within the human body typically invites disadvantages beyond advantages realized by low cost and high absorptivity. Thus, artificial foams such as polyurethanes of the prior art have received limited practical acceptance by the medical, dental and government regulatory agencies when proposed for internal usage in the human body. There is especially a disadvantage of such foams. | {
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} |
The present invention relates generally to energy generating systems and particularly to a system for absorbing and converting solar energy. The invention is particularly related to a solar farm having radiation concentrators, particularly readjustable concentrators distributed over an area having focal points where radiation absorption may take place, the system also including a heat accumulator.
Solar farms of the type indicated above are known and they usually operate to supply energy to solar power plants. In this concept of radiation collection, not only are gaseous mediums used but liquid heat transfer mediums may also be used for thermal transport of energy from the focal points of the radiation concentrators to a central utilization point. However, it will be found that liquid is the medium most predominantly used.
In any case, pipes for conveying the heat transfer media are generally required, with these pipes being several hundred meters in length and having excellent thermal insulation. Since the operating temperatures of the heated medium may reach levels of between 300.degree. and 500.degree. C., the requirements established for pipe design, sealing systems and fittings are extremely demanding. The heat carrier must be circulated by means of pumps which will utilize additional energy. Pipes carrying the heat transfer medium, including the medium itself, will have a significant heat capacity which will negatively affect the actual output of the system.
Furthermore, it will be found that the heat carrier media tend to exhibit poor storage characteristics so that accumulators with large volumes and with accompanying insulation problems must be utilized.
The present invention is directed toward provision of a solar farm of the aforementioned type wherein a new form of absorber which does not exhibit the disadvantages discussed above may be utilized and evenly transported through the system. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Laparoscopic surgery is a type of minimally invasive surgery. It is a substitute for traditional “open” surgeries and provides the benefits of minimizing post-operative pain, decreasing hospital stays and periods of disability, and reducing costs for both hospitals and patients.
Over 7.5 million laparoscopic surgeries are performed worldwide each year in the areas of, e.g., cholecystectomy, appendectomy, bariatric surgeries, gynecological surgeries, and urological surgeries. However, because of the incidence rate of port-site herniation for the laparoscopic surgeries, port-site closure is preferred for fascial incisions greater than or equal to 10 mm. Port-site closure can effectively reduce the rate of herniation, reducing the need for hernia repair surgery, which has estimated costs of between US$6,000-US$10,000 per procedure and three-week recovery times. Approximately 70% of the laparoscopic procedures performed have 10 mm or larger port-sites.
To ameliorate these problems, techniques for suturing the port site have been developed. Despite the benefits associated with the use of suture delivering devices, a number of challenges exist. Devices for port-site closure can rotate, tilt, and slide downward vertically in the wound track or incision during the insertion of a suture needle. If the device rotates, the suture will be deployed at less that the ideal 180 degree placement across the wound. If the device slides vertically during the insertion, the tissue bite of desired muscle/fascia layer is reduced for devices that use the peritoneum as a reference point for needle entry into the muscle/fascia layers. That is, if such a device is not engaged against the peritoneum due to downward sliding, the needle entry point into muscle/fascia layers will be lower than the intended position and reduce tissue bite. It is also desirable to provide a device configured to deploy the needles in a reproducible manner to minimize the amount of skill required from the operator. Accordingly, this disclosure is directed to systems and methods for wound closure that provide these and other desired characteristics. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Most passenger side airbag modules employ cushion covers. The term "cushion" as used herein means the folded and undeployed airbag. The purposes of the cover are to prevent foreign objects from lodging inside the cushion and to retain the cushion fold until the module is installed in a vehicle and a deployment door is attached over it. Cushion covers presently employed may be made of plastic fiber papers such as Tyvek (a DuPont trademark), woven fabric, or injection molded or die cut sheet plastic. These prior art cushion covers are normally secured to the module by means of adhesive bonding, sewing, or fastening with screws or rivets. They are designed with perforated lines or tear seams which are designed to split when the airbag deploys. The cover portions then swing open allowing full deployment of the airbag.
The prior art cushion covers have a number of disadvantages. First, as previously explained, they require the use of fasteners or adhesives, thereby complicating the task of assembly. Second, the presence of a perforation or tear line invites inadvertent splits due to handling prior to or during installation. Finally, the presence of two relatively small and newly formed "doors" presents the possibility of snagging of the airbag which could thereby destroy its ability to function as a life saving element.
Accordingly it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a cushion cover for a passenger side airbag module which does not require the use of fasteners or adhesives. Another object is to provide such a cover which is unperforated and thereby resistant to inadvertent splitting. Another object of the present invention is to provide such a cover which provides a relatively wide guide flap against which the airbag may deploy to reduce the possibility of snags. Other objects, features, and advantages will become apparent from the following description and appended claims. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Aircrafts typically include one or more types of monuments, such as staircases and galleys. These monuments often include parts made from cosmetically sensitive material, such as stainless steel and chrome. Monuments are often fully assembled prior to installation into an aircraft. The cosmetically sensitive parts on the monuments may receive scratches, scuffs, dents or other types of damage during the installation process and aircraft assembly and maintenance.
For example, in larger aircraft with more than one deck, a staircase or stairway is installed to provide access from one deck to another. Staircases often include a plurality of steps positioned between two side rails including a hand rail. The steps may include a kick strip on the front side of the steps. One or both of the side rails may include an opening for stylistic purposes at least partially covered with a privacy screen made from an opaque material. The staircase is typically fully assembled by the manufacturer and shipped to the aircraft manufacturer for installation into the aircraft. In addition, staircases are typically installed into an aircraft prior to other monuments, and other parts or components of the aircraft, and are therefore accessible to damage during the remaining aircraft manufacturing or build process.
Because of the high cost of such staircases, and the high cost of repairing or replacing parts on the staircases, there is a need to protect the staircase when the aircraft is not in commercial service. In particular, there is a need for a low cost system and method that are readily accessible and provide protection for cosmetically sensitive parts during installation, repair or maintenance. | {
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I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to vehicles having an electrically operated load device, and more particularly, to such a device employing a photovoltaic cell for charging the electrical power source or operating the load device.
II. Description of the Prior Art
There are many previously known forms of motorized vehicles. In particular, it has also been previously known to provide a motor means for driving a bicycle in order to supplement or replace the manually driven pedal mechanism provided on such vehicles. Although such bicycles are often powered by a small internal combustion engines, it has also been known to employ electric motors powered by a battery source. Such battery powered units are substantially quieter than the internal combustion engines, and can be substantially less expensive to operate.
However, the disadvantage of battery powered propulsion units is that the battery discharges and must then be recharged or replaced. Since replacement of the battery is relatively expensive, it is preferable to recharge the battery. Quite often, the recharging unit is a stationary device which can be connected to the battery on the bicycle when the bicycle is not in use. Although some battery chargers are portable, such units are still quite bulky and, therefore, not readily transported on a vehicle such as a bicycle. Consequently, the range of travel of such a vehicle is limited. Furthermore, chargers are typically operated by plugging into a standard AC outlet, and thus, as a practical matter, are immobilized when operative. Consequently, the vehicle is unavailable for use during recharging of the battery unless the battery is removed and replaced by a fully charged battery. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Inventions
This application generally relates to heating systems, and more specifically, to resistive heating elements and their use in the climate control of seat assemblies.
2. Description of the Related Art
Temperature modified air for environmental control of an automobile or any other living or working space is typically provided to relatively extensive areas, such as an entire automobile interior, selected offices or suites of rooms within a building and the like. In the case of enclosed areas, such as automobiles, homes, offices, libraries and the like, the interior space is typically heated and/or cooled as a unit. There are many situations, however, in which more selective or restrictive air temperature modification is desirable. For example, it is often desirable to provide an individualized climate control for a seat assembly so that substantially instantaneous heating or cooling can be achieved. For example, a vehicle seat, chair or other seat assembly situated in a cold environment can be uncomfortable to the occupant. Furthermore, even in conjunction with other heating methods, it may be desirable to quickly warm the seat to enhance the occupant's comfort, especially where other heating units (e.g., automobile's temperature control system, home's central heater, etc.) take a relatively long time to warm the ambient air. Therefore, a need exists to provide a climate-controlled vehicle seat, bed, other seat assembly and/or other item which may be adapted for spot cooling and/or heating for use in various indoor and/or outdoor environments. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to a credit card system, and particularly to one which includes a plurality of card readers at various locations enabling the subscribers to charge various items, involving the sale of a product or service, to their account at a central location.
The term "credit card", as used herein, is intended to include not only the usual credit cards whose users enjoy credit allowances, but also debit cards which are now finding widespread use to allow an immediate debiting to the user's account at the moment of the transaction.
More and more payments are carried out using credit cards (which term also includes debit cards, as noted above) insertable into card readers at various locations and communicating with a data base at a central location. However, such communication between local card readers and the central data base is relatively expensive, and the use of such a system for low value transactions is therefore normally not economically feasible. Thus, most vending machines do not allow credit card payments because of the relatively high expense, compared to the value of the transaction, involved in providing communication between the card reader and the central data base for payment approval. In addition, credit cards are not generally used to make payments for train tickets, toll charges, vending machines, etc., because of the time delay inherent in obtaining payment approval from the central data base, which time delay would cause undue congestion at the ticket gates, toll booths, vending machines, etc. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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This invention relates to the stabilization of polyvinyl chloride resins. More particularly, this invention pertains to the stabilization of polyvinyl chloride resins from the degradative effects of ultraviolet light and heat, as well as improving plate-out resistance.
It is well known that polyvinyl chloride containing resins degrade at elevated temperatures. When vinyl chloride polymers and copolymers are subjected to molding temperatures in excess of about 150.degree. C, they tend to discolor. Serious discoloration occurs even in the relatively short period of time required for a molding operation. This serious coloration of the resin causes a high molded article rejection rate when clear articles are being produced, and further obviates the reuse of scrap material from the molding processes.
In regard to ultraviolet degradation, this takes place subsequent to molding and while the article is in use. Molded polyvinyl chloride panels which are used in exterior construction are particularly susceptible, as well as molded articles such as playground and other recreational equipment, automobile parts and so on, which are exposed to sunlight for long periods of time. Such articles on ultraviolet degradation become embrittled and readily crack or shatter. When this embrittling occurs, the article is no longer effective in its original function.
By plate-out resistance is meant the resistance to forming residual deposits on machine parts such as extruder dies or calender or mill rolls as the resin is being processed. Such deposits left on the rollers will cause imperfections in resin subsequently passed through such rolls. This is a problem particularly in forming films. Unexpectedly, the unactivated Zeolite A and related unactivated naturally occurring molecular sieves increase the plate-out resistance properties of the resin.
This invention is specifically directed to the solving of these related problems. To date, numerous stabilizers have been suggested for use in polyvinyl chloride type resins. The most satisfactory of these stabilizers comprise barium, tin, lead and cadmium containing organometallic compounds. These compounds, while performing satisfactorily, still have not solved the problem of heat and ultraviolet light degradation of polyvinyl chloride resins. In heat stabilization, there is a need for further increasing both the temperature which the resin can withstand as well as the time duration at elevated temperatures. The present invention has to a degree solved this problem by extending both of these barriers. Further, the stabilizer system of the present invention has also proven to increase manyfold the ultraviolet stability of the resin. The increased light stability has now made polyvinyl chloride resins useful for many long term exterior uses.
In essence, the present invention comprises the synergistic stabilizing effect of unactivated Zeolite A type molecular sieves. When used in admixture with these or related conventional polyvinyl chloride stabilizers, there is a synergistic stabilizing effect. This effect is exhibited in higher and longer duration heat stabilities, as well as improved long term ultraviolet light stability.
The prior art is replete with inorganic, organometallic, and organic polyvinyl chloride stabilizer materials. The prior art has also disclosed the use of activated Zeolite A alone as a stabilizer for polyvinyl chloride resins. Such a use for activated Zeolite A is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,245,946. However, the use of an unactivated Zeolite A, and further, the use of an unactivated Zeolite A in conjunction with an inorganic, organometallic or organic stabilizer has not been disclosed or suggested by the prior art, which has instead directed that Zeolite A molecular sieves not be used. This is for the reason that they contain absorbed water which, by theory, on contact with any chlorine from the polyvinyl chloride resin degradation, would combine to form hydrogen chloride. Hydrogen chloride is known to catalytically aid polyvinyl chloride degradation. However, this water bound in the sieve by adsorbtion is not deleterious, but by some unknown mechanism unexpectedly aids in the transport and trapping of the hydrogen chloride within the sieve. And when this sieve is used in conjunction with the conventional organometallic or organic stabilizers, there is a distinct increase in thermal and light stability.
It is, therefore, a particular object of this invention to set out synergistic polyvinyl chloride stabilizing systems comprised of unactivated Zeolite 3A, unactivated Zeolite 5A, or unactivated Zeolite 4A and conventional inorganic, organic or organometallic stabilizers or mixtures of these stabilizers.
It is further an object of this invention to provide polyvinyl chloride resins which can withstand higher molding temperatures for longer periods of time.
It is also an object of this invention to provide polyvinyl chloride resins which are highly resistant to long term ultraviolet light initiated degradation.
It is additionally an object of this invention to set out polyvinyl chloride resins of increased plate-out resistance. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Solid electrolytic capacitors (e.g., tantalum capacitors) have been a major contributor to the miniaturization of electronic circuits and have made possible the application of such circuits in extreme environments. An example of a solid state capacitor and related mass production method for manufacturing surface mountable solid state capacitors is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,399 (Salisbury).
Some solid electrolytic capacitors have an anode lead formed of a substantially planar surface that is bonded to an anode body with a seed/seeding layer. Seed layers, and sometimes the anode bodies as well, have been formed as respective continuous planes of material that are cut in multiple dimensions to provide discrete capacitor elements. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,699,767 (Huntington) discloses a method for manufacturing multiple solid state capacitors that includes steps for forming such seed and anode components. An entire upper surface of a wafer has sintered thereon a seed layer, for example a dispersion of tantalum powder. A green (i.e., un-sintered) mixture of fine-grained capacitor grade tantalum powder is then pressed onto the upper surface of the substrate to form a green layer. The green layer is sintered to fuse the fine grained powder into an integral porous network. The sintering process also fuses the porous layer to the coarse seeding layer. The substrate assembly is then machined to produce an orthogonal grid of transverse channels and longitudinal channels, which are cut to a depth just beyond the level of the porous tantalum layer so that the cuts impinge on the substrate. The machining process produces an array of orthogonal section bodies, on the substrate, which are ultimately processed to form the anode portions of the capacitors.
In a related variation to the above manufacturing process, a continuous plane of material forming a seed layer is formed over the substrate and sintered. Subsequently, anodes of the same or varying heights are matrix pressed onto the seeded wager. After pressing, the anodes are sintered. Series of orthogonal cuts must also still be performed through the seed layer slightly into the wafer to remove the seed from between respective anode layer bodies and form discrete capacitor elements.
The multiple steps for forming discrete capacitor elements, especially the cutting steps in U.S. Pat. No. 6,669,767 (Huntington) to produce the transverse and longitudinal channels, can be a time-consuming and expensive part of the manufacturing process. In addition, generally thicker substrates are required so that the channels can be cut into the substrate beyond the level of the porous tantalum layer thereon, thus limiting potential volumetric efficiency of the capacitor elements. Such conditions leave room for improvement in the manufacturing process. | {
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Generally, integrated circuit devices such as transistors are being formed on emerging semiconductor thin films such as, for example, group III-V semiconductor materials for electronic or optoelectronic devices. Lower carrier velocities at a gate region of an integrated circuit device may result in a lower aggregate carrier velocity through a channel of the integrated circuit device. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Multiple sclerosis (“MS”) is an inflammatory autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system (Compston and Coles, Lancet 372, 1502-17 (2008)). With a prevalence of about one in 1000, MS is the most common cause of neurological disability in young adults (Polman and Uitdehaag, BMJ 321, 490-4 (2000)). MS involves engagement of the immune system, acute inflammatory injury of axons and glia, recovery of function and structural repair, post-inflammatory gliosis, and neurodegeneration (see, e.g., Compston and Coles, 2008). These sequential processes underlie a clinical course characterized by episodes with recovery, episodes leaving persistent deficits, and secondary progression. Id.
The goal of MS treatment is to reduce the frequency and severity of relapses, prevent disability arising from disease progression, and promote tissue repair (Compston and Coles, 2008). The primary approach to MS treatment is modulation or suppression of the immune system. Currently available MS drugs include interferon beta-1a (e.g., AVONEX and REBIF), interferon beta-1b (e.g., BETASERON), glatiramer acetate (e.g., COPAXONE), mitoxantrone (e.g., NOVANTRONE), and natalizumab (e.g., TYSABRI). Another promising new drug for MS is alemtuzumab (CAMPATH-1H).
Alemtuzumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody directed against CD52, a protein widely distributed on the surface of lymphocytes and monocytes but with unknown function. Alemtuzumab has been used to treat B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. A single pulse of treatment leads to a rapid, profound, and prolonged lymphopenia. Cell numbers recover but at varying rates; CD4+ T cells are particularly slow to recover, remaining depleted for at least five years (Coles et al., Journal of Neurology 253, 98-108 (2006)). A phase 2 trial (CAMMS-223 study group; Coles et al., N. Engl. J. Med. 359, 1786-1801 (2008)) has shown that alemtuzumab is highly effective in treating early relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. This drug reduces the risk of disease activity and accumulation of disability by over 70% compared to interferon-beta in patients with early relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. The principal adverse effect is autoimmunity, arising in the setting of T cell lymphopenia months to years after dosing. About 20%-30% of patients develop thyroid autoimmunity, mainly Graves' disease (Coles et al., Lancet 354, 1691-1695 (1999)), and 3% have immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) (Coles et al., 2008). Single cases of Goodpasture's disease, autoimmune neutropenia (Coles et al., Journal of Neurology 253, 98-108 (2006)), and autoimmune haemolytic anaemia (unpublished observation) also have been observed. In addition, a further 5.5% of patients develop sustained non-thyroid autoantibodies without clinical disease (Coles et al., 2006). The timing and spectrum of autoimmunity after alemtuzumab is similar to that seen in other examples of “reconstitution autoimmunity” in other clinical contexts; for example, autoimmune thyroid disease and autoimmune cytopenias also predominate months to years after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or antiretroviral treatment of HIV (Chen et al., Medicine (Baltimore) 84, 98-106 (2005); Daikeler and Tyndall, Best. Pract. Res. Clin. Haematol. 20, 349-360 (2007); Jubault et al., J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 85, 4254-4257 (2000); Ting, Ziegler, and Vowels, Bone Marrow Transplant. 21, 841-843 (1998); Zandman-Goddard and Shoenfeld, Autoimmun. Rev. 1, 329-337 (2002)).
While autoimmunity arising in the context of lymphopenia is well recognized in animal models, it is rarely encountered and, hence, difficult to study in humans. Most lymphopenic subjects do not develop autoimmunity, suggesting that additional factors are involved (Krupica et al., Clin Immunol 120, 121-128 (2006)). It remains unclear what those additional factors are. Depletion of T regulatory cells has been considered as one factor, as seen in the murine colitis and gastritis models (Alderuccio et al., J Exp. Med 178, 419-426 (1993); McHugh et al., J. Immunol 168, 5979-5983 (2002); Powrie et al., Int. Immunol 5, 1461-1471 (1993); Sakaguchi et al., J Immunol 155, 1151-1164 (1995)). However, it has been observed that T regulatory cells are increased after alemtuzumab in human patients and thereafter return to normal levels (Cox et al., Eur J Immunol 35, 3332-3342 (2005)). This observation has since been replicated (Bloom et al., Am J Transplant. 8, 793-802 (2008)) and is in keeping with other experimental lymphopenic models (de Kleer, I. et al., Blood 107, 1696-1702 (2006); Zhang, H. et al., Nat Med 11, 1238-1243 (2005)). | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally directed to a method and apparatus for inducing visual preception in persons suffering from blindness caused by retinal disease, pathology, or malfunction. Many causes of blindness, especially those involving occlusions or opacity in the optical pathway through the eye, have yielded to modern medical treatments, and vision can be restored to a great extent in a large number of cases. Indeed, the removal of cataract-occluded lenses is now a mere outpatient surgical procedure, and the substitution of plastic lens implants yields excellent results. Likewise, relief from secondary cataracts in the posterior capsule of the lens may be corrected using optical laser eye surgery in a noninvasive procedure requiring only minutes to complete.
Some diseases of the eye, however, cause blindness by attacking the light-sensing retina, causing blindness while the remainder of the optical pathway remains perfectly clear and functional. For example, the genetically transmitted disease retinitis pigmentosa gradually causes destruction of the rod and cone cells in the retina, resulting in eventual total blindness. It is interesting that this disease does not adversely affect the optic nerve, nor the neurons in the retina. It is known that other diseases affecting the retina likewise leave many viable neurons in the retina.
Recent research and development in the field of sensory deafness has shown that such deafness can be overcome, and intelligible hearing can be induced by direct electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve endings distributed along the basilar membrane in the cochlea of the inner ear. By properly filtering, processing and channeling spectral portions of the electrical audio signal analog of ambient sound to appropriate portions of the basilar membrane, significant word recognition can be achieved by individuals who were formerly completely deaf. These successful developments suggest that direct electrical stimulation of visual neurons should be able to provide at least some degree of visual cueing to persons suffering from sensory blindness.
2. Description of the Relevant Literature
Michelson, R. P., "Electrical Stimulation of the Cochlea," Gerald English's Otolaryngology, Harper and Row Publishers, Inc., 1980.
Potts, A. M., et al., "The Electrically Evoked Response of the Visual System," Invest. Ophy. (1968) 7:269-278. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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This invention relates broadly to decorative jewelry articles for water related activities. More particularly, my invention relates to buoyant eyeglass retainers, especially adapted for beach use, for holding personal articles such as eye glasses.
As will be appreciated, personal items such as sunglasses, keys, and other beach accessories are easily misplaced, and may be quickly lost if dropped into the water. Unfortunately, conventional beachwear items seldom provide adequate pockets or pouches for conveniently storing such articles. Hence, it is desired to provide comfortable and attractive means for retaining such articles on the wearer's body, and for protecting them from loss in the water.
In the prior art known to me, various eyeglass retainers have been proposed for sportsmen. For example, the headband proposed by Fuller U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,604 issued Jan. 9, 1979, comprises a flexible band which terminates in a pair of tubular ends. The ends slidably engage the temple pieces, so that the eyeglasses are securely retained in position during sports activities and the like. U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,696 issued to Winger/Friedopher on Sep. 17, 1985 teaches a tubular, knit cord for retaining eyeglasses about the neck.
A similar device is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,481,946 issued to Pendleton on Sep. 13, 1949. U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,776 issued to Seron on Apr. 1, 1975 teaches a flexible eyeglass retainer which is adjustably coupled to the eyeglass templates by a flexible loop. Bloom, U.S. Pat. No. 2,660,092 issued Nov. 24, 1953 suggests the desirability of providing a flexible, adjustable-width, cushioned headstrap for retaining eyeglasses in position. The strap terminates at both ends in a flexible loop, which is captured by a slidable pin or hook associated with the glasses frame. McCulley U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,861 teaches an earpiece cushion for eyeglasses.
Various structures for floating a pair of glasses are also known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,711,190 issued to Blair on Jan. 16, 1973 comprises a blow-molded air cell which is threaded by resilient loops to the temples of the eyeglasses. Related devices are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,038,375 issued to Gansz on Jun. 12, 1962 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,390,938 issued to Gansz on Jul. 2, 1968. Floatable spectacles are taught by Goodman in U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,124 issued Jun. 19, 1973 and by Wilson in U.S. Pat. No. 3,517,989 issued Jun. 30, 1970.
However, none of the known prior art provides a comfortable, floatable. The prior art known to me fails to adequately provide floatable means for attachment to various common beach items, especially those which are not already provided with a fastening pin, loop, or chain. The floatable retainer disclosed in my previous patent application is particularly well-suited for eyeglasses of ordinary configuration, having a generally straight ear piece. However, it does not contemplate securing very fine wire or wrap-around ear pieces, or retaining other swimmer's articles.
Most importantly, none of the prior art known to me satisfactorily addresses the need for providing a comfortable, attractive device for floatably retaining and thereby preventing the loss of a variety of different beach oriented accessories. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The sweetness enhancers used herein are known as natural and artificial sweeteners, however, they are used herein in a much lower concentration near their sweetness detection threshold.
These sweetness enhancers include Naringin dihydrochalcone (NarDHC), mogroside V or swingle extract comprising mogroside V, rubusoside or rubus extract comprising rubusoside, stevioside, and rebaudioside A.
Naringin dihydrochalcone has been used as a sweetener in concentrations well above its sweetness detection level. It has also been used in combination with stevioside to reduce the off-note of stevioside (JP10276712).
Swingle (also known as Lou Han Gou (LHG)) contains various naturally-derived terpene glycosides, in particular various mogrosides including mogroside IV, mogroside V, siamenoside I, and 11-oxo mogroside V. A swingle/LHG juice based sweetening system that provides a reduced sweet or unpleasant aftertaste is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,965 and WO 94/18855 by Fischer et al.
Rubus extract contains rubusoside and is used at a concentration well above its sweetness detection level as a sweetener and in combination with sugars. Sweetener compositions of various terpene glycosides including mogrosides and rubusoside at 0.1% to 10% by weight (1,000 ppm-100,000 ppm) are disclosed in US20020132037.
The sweet terpene glycoside stevioside and rebaudioside A have been used in mixtures with sugars including sucrose at above sweetness detection threshold (Schiffman et al., Chem. Senses 2000, 131-140, Schiffman et al., Brain Res. Bull., 1995, 105-120, Schiffman et al., Food Qual. And Pref. 2006 (internet pre-publication)).
Applicant has found that certain known sweeteners, namely mogroside V/swingle extract, rubusoside/rubus extract, and naringin dihydrochalcone (NarDHC), are sweetness enhancers and can be used in a low concentration near their sweetness detection threshold in combination with certain sweeteners, including certain artificial sweeteners, including in particular the sugars sucrose, fructose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup (containing fructose and glucose), xylose, arabinose, and rhamnose, the sugar alcohols erythritol, xylitol, mannitol, sorbitol, and inositol, and the artificial sweeteners AceK, aspartame, neotame, sucralose, and saccharine, to enhance the sweetness of said sweeteners.
None of these sweetness enhancers has been previously used near its sweetness detection threshold, alone or in combination, to enhance the sweetness of the above-mentioned sweeteners. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Unmanned vehicles (e.g., unmanned aerial vehicles) are known for their use in combat zones. In combat zones, they are often used to surveille an area, damage a structures, or lethally wound a potential enemy combatant. The use of unmanned vehicles can go far beyond the aforementioned examples, especially outside of a combat zone and in a commercial setting. Businesses of all sorts are now developing innovative ways to use unmanned vehicles to benefit their business. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the recovery from a software or hardware error in a data processing system. More particularly, the invention relates to an error recovery subsystem which is easily reconfigured, and a method for recovering from an error and a program product therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer or data processing systems typically comprise a plurality of hardware components such as processors, memory devices, input/output devices and telecommunications devices. In addition, such systems also comprise a plurality of software components such as operating systems, application support systems, applications, processes, data structures, etc. A fault or an error in any one of these hardware or software components can invalidate the results of a computer system action. Much effort has therefore been invested in discovering and correcting such errors.
When an error is discovered in a data processing system, a specific recovery action, or series of actions, is generated to restore the system to working order. These actions include restarting a software process, reinitializing a data area, rebooting a central processing unit, resetting a piece of hardware, etc. In a complicated system, it is often difficult to determine in real time which basic hardware or software components of the system are at fault and require the attention of recovery actions. Because the availability of the entire data processing system is dependent upon a rapid reacquisition of full working status, an efficient strategy is required to minimize system recovery time.
One known method for recovery from a detected error is to examine all known system variables to precisely determine the state of the data processing system. The actual system state is then compared to all possible system states for which a sequence of recovery actions is known. The possible system states are referred to as "error states" and are retained in system memory. If the actual system state matches an error state, the sequence of recovery actions associated with such error state is invoked.
The detailed logic necessary to implement an error recovery subsystem is complex and often requires a significant development effort. The large number of system variables in a data processing system results in an immense number of system states which must be detectable, and in an immense number of error states which must be retained in memory. Moreover, although new error conditions are frequently identified during the life of the data processing system, additions and modifications to the logic of an error recovery subsystem are very difficult and expensive. For example, the logic used to program the system must be redesigned to retain and utilize new error states and their associated sequences of recovery actions as they are discovered. In addition, redesign is necessary as the appropriate sequence of recovery actions for a given error state changes due to aging of the data processing system components. The design and maintenance of error recovery subsystems thus tend to be costly and unresponsive to the experience gained during the life of a data processing system.
One additional strategy used to minimize recovery time for data processing systems is to attempt recovery at the level of the simplest, most elementary component which could have caused the observed error condition. If reinitialization of that lowest level component fails to clear the error condition, a component at a next higher level (having a larger and more comprehensive function) is reinitialized. If the error is still not cleared, components at ever higher and higher levels are reinitialized until the error condition is cleared. If, after a predetermined time-out period or after the highest level component possibly involved in the error is reinitialized, and the error condition remains, the error recovery subsystem is deemed to have failed and an alarm is used to alert personnel to take corrective action. This type of multi-level procedural strategy for recovering from errors is known as a multi-staged error recovery system.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,866,712 discloses an error recovery subsystem which is somewhat modifiable. The error recovery subsystem includes a user editable error table and a user editable action table. The error table has one entry for each possible error state and contains a count increment for each sequence of recovery actions that might be taken to correct that error condition. The action table includes action codes uniquely identifying each sequence of recovery actions and an error count threshold for each possible sequence of recovery actions. The subsystem accumulates error count increments for each possible sequence of recovery actions and, when the corresponding threshold is exceeded, initiates the associated sequence of recovery actions. Because the error table and action table are user editable, the subsystem is easily modified to account for new error states, to associate a different known sequence of recovery actions with a particular error state, and to adjust the error count thresholds. It is unclear, however, how to cope with the very large number of system variables in determining the system state. Also, although one can change the sequence of recovery actions (from one specified sequence to another specified sequence) associated with an error state by changing the action code, there is no simple way to create a new sequence of recovery actions as the system ages. Instead, the logic must be redesigned. Even if the error recovery system is implemented as software/microcode programming, such program must be modified and then recompiled as a new code load before installation, thereby slowing system maintenance. In addition, the particular error recovery subsystem disclosed is limited to multi-staged error recovery systems. | {
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Turbochargers are a type of forced induction system. They deliver air, at greater density than would be possible in the normally aspirated configuration, to the engine intake, allowing more fuel to be combusted, thus boosting the engine's horsepower without significantly increasing engine weight. This can enable the use of a smaller turbocharged engine, replacing a normally aspirated engine of a larger physical size, thus reducing the mass and aerodynamic frontal area of the vehicle.
Turbochargers (FIGS. 1 and 2) use the exhaust flow, which enters the turbine housing (2) from the engine exhaust manifold to drive a turbine wheel (51), which is located in the turbine housing. The turbine wheel is solidly affixed to the turbine end of a shaft, becoming the shaft and wheel assembly (50). A compressor wheel (20) is mounted the other end of the threaded shaft, referred to as the “stub shaft” (56), and the wheel is held in position by the clamp load from a compressor nut (30). The primary function of the turbine wheel is providing rotational power to drive the compressor.
The compressor stage consists of a wheel (20) and it's housing (10). Filtered air is drawn axially into the inlet of the compressor cover by the rotation of the compressor wheel (20). The power generated by the turbine stage to the shaft and wheel drives the compressor wheel to produce a combination of static pressure with some residual kinetic energy and heat. The pressurized gas exits the compressor cover through the compressor discharge and is delivered, usually via an intercooler, to the engine intake.
In one aspect of compressor stage performance, the efficiency of the compressor stage is influenced by the clearances between the compressor wheel contour (28) and the matching contour (13) in the compressor cover. The closer the compressor wheel contour is to the compressor cover contour, the higher the efficiency of the stage. In a typical compressor stage with a 76 mm compressor wheel, the tip clearance is in the regime of from 0.31 mm to 0.38 mm. The closer the wheel is to the cover, the higher the chance of a compressor wheel rub, so there has to exist a compromise between improving efficiency and improving durability.
The wheels in a compressor stage do not rotate about the geometric axis of the turbocharger, but rather describe orbits roughly about the geometric center as seen in FIG. 3. The “geometric center” (35) is the geometric axis of the turbocharger. The compressor end, with data taken from a cylindrical nut of the turbocharger, describes a series of orbits (81), which are grouped as larger orbits (83) for the purposes of evaluating the shaft motion of the rotor group.
The dynamic excursions taken by the shaft are attributed to a number of factors including: the unbalance of the rotating assembly, the excitation of the pedestal (i.e., the engine and exhaust manifold), and the low speed excitation from the vehicle's interface with the ground.
As a dynamic assembly, the rotating assembly passes through several critical speeds. At the first critical speed, the critical mode is rigid body bending. In this mode, the rotating assembly describes a cylinder. At the second critical speed, the critical mode is again that of a rigid body, but in the conical mode about the outer ends of the bearing span. At the third critical speed the critical mode is that of shaft bending. The third critical speed occurs at from 50% to 70% of the operational speed. The first two critical speeds are much lower than that and are passed through very quickly during accelerations.
The first two modes are predominantly controlled by the bearing stiffness. The third mode, that of shaft bending, is predominately controlled by the stiffness of the shaft. The stiffness of the shaft is proportional to Ds4 where Ds is the diameter of the shaft.
The power losses due to the bearing system are predominantly controlled by Ds3. So it can be seen that the control of the third critical mode is a compromise between power losses, thus efficiency and shaft bending. When there is an unbalance force, acting on the rotating assembly at the compressor-end of the turbocharger, the stiffness of the shaft is a major factor in countering that force and also in allowing the turbocharger to continue to run after a compressor wheel rubs against its cover.
After a loss of oil pressure or oil flow to any of the journal or thrust bearings, the predominant ultimate cause of turbocharger failure is contact between a wheel and cover. This contact can be as mild as a rub of the rotating wheel on the cover, or an impact of the wheel on the cover. To minimize the risk of this contact, the manufacturer takes many steps to build dynamic integrity into the rotating components.
In a mid-sized, commercial Diesel turbo, for example, with a 76 mm compressor wheel, the shaft and wheel (50), seen in FIG. 2, which is recognized as the welded assembly of the turbine wheel (51) to the shaft, is balanced in two planes, the nose (89) and the backface (88). Since the shaft and wheel is finished as a very accurately machined, single component, with shaft diameters ground to tolerances in the tenth of a thousandth of an inch regime (2.54 microns), its inherent balance is quite good. In addition to these tightly held diametral tolerances, the diameters which support the journal bearings (70) on the large diameter end (52) of the shaft, and the stub shaft (56), upon which the compressor wheel and small parts are both axially and radially located, are held to a complex cylindricity tolerance measured in the regime of tenths of a micron.
The shaft and wheel component for the turbocharger size above is balanced within a range of 0.4 to 0.6 gm-mm. The next components in the rotating assembly are the thrust washer and flinger. Both components are ground steel and of relatively small diameter when compared to a wheel. The thrust collar has a mass of around 10.5 gm; the flinger has a mass of around 13.3 gm. Because they are totally circular and have a high degree of finish, these components have very close to perfect balance. The next component is the compressor wheel, which has a mass of around 199 gm.
The compressor wheel is an extremely difficult part to machine and balance. While it is ultimately balanced to a range of from 0.04 to 0.2 gm-mm in each plane, getting down to that limit is difficult. FIG. 4 shows a compressor wheel casting (15), FIG. 5 shows the same casting machined. The chucking lug (16) on top of the nose is used to locate the wheel for the first machining operation, which sets the machining of the backface (22); the lower mounting face (22); the OD (33) of the wheel; and the bore (27) in the center of the wheel. It is extremely critical to machine the bore (27) in the center of the wheel such that it is centered on the hub at both the nose end (21) and the hub end (22). This means that the majority of the mass of the machined wheel is centered on the bore (27) of the compressor wheel. The act of centering the as-yet un-machined casting on the imaginary turbocharger centerline (35) also results in blades of equal length which further contributes to the balance of the component. If the wheel is not chucked exactly on center with the hub profile, the machining of the blade contour surfaces (28) off center (of the hub) results in blades of different lengths. Blades of unequal length can cause not only balance and blade frequency problems, but also once-per-revolution unwanted acoustic problems.
In the next chucking operation on the OD of the wheel (33) the top of the nose of the compressor wheel is machined flat so that this surface (21) is flat and parallel to the lower mounting surface (22), and perpendicular to the bore (27). Because the surface (21) on the nose of the compressor wheel is machined in a second chucking, it is difficult to develop the parallelism required with the lower mounting surface. This parallelism is critical from the aspect of maintaining the stub shaft cylindricity with the bearing journal zone (52). The reason it is critical is to ensure that, when clamp load is applied to this flat surface on top of the nose of the compressor wheel, the clamping forces are parallel to the shaft and wheel centerline, as defined by the cylindricity of the journal bearing surfaces (52) and the stub shaft mounting surfaces. This shaft and wheel centerline must then be parallel to, and co-incident to, the turbocharger axis for the assembly to have acceptable core balance.
The compressor nut should not be referred to as a nut in the normal sense of the term. The function of the compressor nut is to apply sufficient clamp load to the compressor wheel such that it will not rotate under any dynamic conditions from max speed from cold start to hot shutdown at max speed.
While the nut is a relatively low mass item, at 6.3 gm in the turbo under discussion, its contribution to unbalance (as against balance) can be very large. A requirement of the nut is that the lower face, the face in contact with the face (21) on the nose of the compressor wheel, must be manufactured to a very tight perpendicularity tolerance to the bore of the thread in the compressor nut, in the range of 0.03 to 0.04 mm, so that when the nut is threaded onto the shaft and clamp load applied, the aforementioned lower face of the nut is applying a load close to normal to the face (21) on the nose of the compressor wheel. Failure to apply this load symmetrically, either normal to the face of the compressor wheel, or parallel to the shaft centerline (35), will cause bending of the shaft, with the result that the mass of the compressor wheel, nut, and stub shaft will be displaced from the turbocharger axis (35) causing a large unbalance in the rotating assembly. Since the nut is extremely difficult to assemble exactly on axis, the mass of the nut is a critical factor in the level of unbalance the bearing system can tolerate. For the same degree of unbalance in the core, the lower the mass of the nut, the higher the geometric run-out acceptable tolerance. Much effort goes into the design of the top end of the compressor wheel, the nut (30), and the amount of thread (57) visible above the nut to keep the mass in this zone to a minimum. If the nut is not perpendicular to the top of the compressor wheel, and parallel to the stub shaft below the nut, then the threaded part of the stub shaft, above the nut (i.e., with thread no longer engaged with the thread on the stub shaft), will also be off-center with the centerline of the stub shaft below the nut, and ultimately, off-center with the turbocharger axis, thus contributing to even greater core unbalance.
At the point of manufacturing, all of these critically balanced items are assembled and the core balanced, that is, the balance of the rotating assembly, assembled to the bearing housing, supported by the journal bearings, is spun at high speed with oil pressure supplied to support the rotating shaft on its designed oil film. This procedure checks the balance of the rotating “core”. If the balance is within limits, then the core is satisfactory and is released for assembly into a complete turbocharger. If the balance is out of limit, then the core undergoes a procedure to bring the balance into limits before it is assembled into the housings to produce a turbocharger.
Accordingly, when the turbocharger leaves the factory, the rotating core is within a balance limit, and the turbocharger could be expected to live for several engine rebuild periods.
In the period the turbocharger is operating on the engine, the balance of the rotating core can be degraded in many ways, some of which are listed here: the turbine wheel is subjected to damage from particles, sometimes quite large, from the combustion chamber and exhaust manifold, which causes damage ranging from bending to breaking off of parts of the blades, which then causes a deviation from the factory balance condition; the compressor wheel also can be subjected to damage inflicted by “foreign objects” which are ingested into the system. Loss of oil pressure for a period can cause loss of support of the rotating assembly, which can result in a wheel rub on either, or both wheels, which, at minimum, can cause the removal of some blade material (by rubbing on the housing), which then alters the mass of several adjacent blades, or in a heavier rub can bend the blades. Both of these resultants will cause a change in the balance of the rotating assembly.
If the rotating assembly does develop an unbalance condition less than those discussed above, a resultant of the core unbalance can be the generation of acoustic abnormalities at a once per revolution frequency. With a turbocharger rotating at 150,000 RPM to 300,000 RPM, an unbalance-related acoustical event will be in the frequency range of 2,500 to 5,000 Hertz, which makes the frequency somewhere around the highest frequency producible by a flute (2093 Hz) and the highest producible by a piano, (4186 Hz). So the customers do complain about the audible noise.
A measure of the efficacy of a turbocharger bearing system is the ability of the bearing system to control and support the rotating assembly under all conditions. Turbocharger bearing systems come in many designs from ball bearings for very large and some high performance turbochargers, to different configurations of fixed sleeve bearings, floating oil film bearings, air bearings. They all have one thing in common, and that is the need for fine balance control of the rotating assembly.
The level of balance for the individual components is generated, to some extent, by the level of balance acceptable by the bearing system in the rotating assembly. An automotive type, oil pressure fed, well designed bearing system will present to a manufacturer a maximum unbalance which the bearing system can control and will provide sufficient damping that it remains in control of the shaft excursions under all conditions. This means that any balance condition lower than the maximum unbalance condition acceptable for that bearing system, on a specific engine, is acceptable from an engineering point of view. The cost to achieve this level of core unbalance increases as the level of acceptable unbalance decreases. In the experience of the inventor, some turbocharger cores pass through the core balance “gate” with no additional attention. Some cores need attention, which can be as little as undoing the compressor nut, rotating some components, re-applying the clamp load and then re-testing, to replacing components in the rotating core.
The goal of a turbocharger manufacturer is to offer product at the lowest cost with the highest possible reliability and durability. Balance is a key factor in the durability and reliability drivers. So it can be seen that there is a general need to present cores to the core test device which fall well inside the unbalance lower limit to both decrease assembly costs and increase turbocharger life. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a novel process for separating fatty materials, such as fatty acids, from supported nickel catalysts. More specifically, the process involves subjecting the supported nickel catalyst containing the fatty material to supercritical fluid extraction, separating the fatty material and supported nickel catalyst and recovering same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Supported nickel catalysts are utilized in numerous hydrogenation processes where low IV (iodine value) fatty products, i.e., products which are completely or essentially completely saturated, are desired. A considerable amount, sometimes up to about as much as 60 percent by weight, fatty material can be associated with the supported nickel catalyst or supported nickel catalyst and clay/earth mixtures. This can result in a substantial reduction in the yield of the process. The presence of fatty materials with the supported nickel catalyst also significantly impairs the catalyst activity so that it is impractical to recycle the catalyst. The presence of these fatty products even complicates processing the catalyst for recovery of the nickel value.
Procedures for the recovery of fatty materials from bleaching earths and clays are known. One such process for the recovery of polymeric fatty acids is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,585. Also, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,685 a process for washing fatty acids from spent clay with aqueous alkali at elevated temperatures while maintaining a specified pH of 5-6.5 is disclosed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,110,356 describes a procedure for deoiling spent clay by slurrying the spent clay with aqueous alkali at a temeprature of at least 80.degree. C. and with a water to clay ratio of about 2-6:1. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,283,346 discloses the recovery of oil from clays by alkali treatment under high temperature and high pressure followed by the addition of an acid. A process for extracting residual vegetable oil contained in spent bleaching clays with an aliphatic hydrocarbon solvent and then reprocessing the bleaching clay for use is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,832.
Procedures for the extraction of various fatty materials utilizing supercritical fluids are also known and such processes are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,969,382, 4,156,688, 4,250,331, 4,280,961 and 4,422,966. The regeneration of adsorbents by removal of the adsorbate by contacting with a supercritical fluid is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,061,566 and 4,124,528.
It would be highly advantageous to have a process whereby fatty materials could be readily removed from spent supported nickel catalysts and mixtures of such catalysts with clays and/or earths such as are employed for bleaching, deodorization and to assist in filtering. It would be even more desirable if an extraction process utilizing supercritical fluids were available wherein spent supported nickel catalysts obtained from various fatty processes could be treated to extract the adsorbed fatty material and if both the fatty material and catalyst could be recovered and subsequently used. | {
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I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to animal feeders. More particularly, the present invention relates to feeders that move vigorously in response to the presence and motion of feeding squirrels.
II. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of wild animal feeders, including numerous feeders designed specifically for birds and squirrels, are known in the art. Many hours of pleasure may be derived by feeding animals that are drawn to readily visible, properly placed feeders. Squirrels can be particularly entertaining.
Typically, squirrel feeders are solidly mounted in a highly visible elevated position. While some form of perch or shelf is often provided to support feeding squirrels, these animals are not at all particular about feeder configuration, as long as ample feed, usually corn, is generously provided. In other words, hungry squirrels are daring enough to visit feeders of almost any form, size, height, or shape.
Usually squirrel feeders are mechanically secured in a stable, fixed position. Rigid mounting techniques minimize feeder movements. However, inquisitive and aggressive squirrels have little, if any, fear of traveling over moving feeders, or visiting feeders that have moving parts. It is quite entertaining to watch nimble squirrels scurry over and under obstacles to reach feed. It is equally amusing to watch squirrels maneuver and move about as they visit a moving feeder and squirm to maintain their balance.
Squirrels love a variety of granular feeds, including those comprising various bird seeds and grains such as corn. To the consternation and dismay of bird watchers, squirrels are often attracted to bird feeders. Consequently, some bird feeders include means for limiting or discouraging squirrels. Another way to reduce the likelihood that squirrels will visit bird feeders it to provide separate squirrel feeders. When several well stocked squirrel feeders are strategically placed in a typical yard, the sometimes annoying squirrels can be lured away from bird feeders.
Although numerous granular feeds are commercially available for squirrels, unshelled corn cobs are readily available. Corn is highly desired by squirrels, and feeders equipped with an ample supply of corn are extremely effective in attracting squirrels. With granular feeders, some of the corn will inevitably drop downwardly to the ground to positions that are not easily observed. Furthermore, it takes less effort for squirrels to eat granular feed, reducing the viewing time available to observers, and increasing feed consumption. Feeders that use corn cobs require squirrels to work harder, and move about more. Simply stated, it takes more time and effort for squirrels to deplete corn cobs, and they must work harder. As a result, feeders that facilitate limited movements in response to squirrel visitation produce more motion, and become an attractive sight. Corn cobs are also desirable because ears of corn cannot be easily broken or thrown and scattered about, so less food is wasted.
I have found that it is desirable to provide a corn-cob feeder that moves vigorously when squirrels visit. Furthermore, it is desirable that such a feeder provides visiting squirrels with a decent perch with which to maintain their grip as movement occurs.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,746 issued to Burnham on May 20, 2003 shows a squirrel-powered feeder structure that utilizes energy produced by live squirrels to dispense feed from a storage hopper. The feeder is suspended above the ground from a tree branch or other structure. Feed, such as corn, stored within the hopper, drops to the ground to feed various wild animals including squirrels and deer. The feeder assembly comprises tubular feed container with a horizontal platform mounted on the bottom, a port hole for allowing feed particles to spill out onto the platform, and an agitating device that sweeps feed particles off the platform to the ground below. The agitating device is activated by the force generated by the weight and momentum of squirrels leaping back and forth from the tree trunk to the platform.
U.S. Design Pat. No. D337,861 issued to Ross Jul. 27, 1993 shows a squirrel feeder that holds several ears of corn.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,178 issued to Lush on May 26, 1998 shows a wild game feeder that is suitable for squirrels. An upwardly extending member supports a block of animal feed.
No prior art animal feeder known to me is adapted to maximize viewer entertainment by moving radically in response to squirrel visits. | {
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Phospholipases and galactolipases are known as enzymes with hydrolytic activity towards ester bonds in polar lipids such as phospholipids and galactolipids. WO 00/32758 discloses lipolytic enzyme variants having phospholipase and galactolipase activity and their use in baking. WO 98/26057 discloses a lipase/phospholipase from Fusarium oxysporum and its use in baking. WO 01/83770 describes variants of a fungal lipase. | {
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In conventional crayon manufacturing apparatuses, gravity is utilized for filling the mold cavities with molten wax. Typically, a heated mold table, containing several mold compartments of multiple crayon mold cavities is flooded with a layer of a molten wax blend which flows into the crayon mold cavities to fill the molds. The table is then cooled and the wax sets to form the crayons. When the process is complete, the excess wax is scraped off the table top and recycled. However, this type of gravity process can cause air pockets to form in the individual mold cavities if the wax is too viscous or if the mold is too cold and allows the wax to solidify on the sidewalls of the cavities before the entire mold cavity can fill. Consequently, to avoid these problems, the crayon wax must be maintained at a sufficiently high temperature to maintain an appropriate viscosity, usually 245.degree. F. or higher, and the mold itself must not only be maintained at an appropriately high temperature to avoid premature cooling of the wax but must also be capable of rapid cooling to solidify the wax at the appropriate time.
As is readily apparent, the temperature of the wax is directly proportional to the time required to manufacture a finished crayon. Specifically, the higher the wax temperature, the longer time that is required for the wax to cool and the finished crayon to be completed. However, the higher the wax temperature, the less viscous the wax is and, as a result, the more quickly and completely it fills the mold cavities. Thus, a manufacturer must decide what temperature of wax is high enough to succeed in a gravity fill process but not too high to complicate cooling and lengthen the molding process.
Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a crayon manufacturing apparatus which can use wax at a reduced temperature, thereby reducing the time to mold crayons, and which can also eliminate the formation of air pockets within the crayon body. It is another object of the present invention to provide an injection apparatus capable of injecting a variety of highly viscous materials into final packaging containers or into molds for the creation of a variety of finished products. | {
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This invention generally relates to assemblies for holding material specimens, and more particularly relates to a specimen holder and mating receptacle holder arrangement for a plasma system in which a voltage is applied to the sample by either self-biasing or an external biasing system, and in which the imposed electric field at the sample due to this voltage is shaped by both the geometry of the specimen and the geometry of the holder in such a way as to cause low energy ions from the plasma to ion sputter material from the surface and near surface region at a low angle to improve the imaging of the sample in a transmission electron microscope (TEM), field ion microscope (FIM), position sensitive atom probe, or a three dimensional atom probe.
A critical requirement for high resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy is that the sample should be very thin relative to traditionally prepared and examined TEM specimens. It is well known that the conventional methods of preparing TEM specimens produce artifacts that detract from the quality of high resolution images because of damage at the top and bottom of the sample. With the specimen thickness requirements of the highest resolution instruments that can achieve sub-angstrom resolution, the surface artifacts can become an appreciable thickness fraction of the sample under observation and prevent the achievement of the desired resolution. For example, mechanical polishing techniques to promote electron transparency, such as the tripod polishing technique or dimple grinding, will create surface scratches and subsurface damage in the form of amorphous regions and crystalline defects such as dislocations and dislocation loops and twinning, and can even cause re-crystallization or phase changes. Ion milling for short times by using an Ar ion beam at a low angle is used to remove this type of damage and provides samples that are representative of the original sample when viewed in the TEM. However, it has been shown that even with an ion energy as low as 3 keV and ion milling at an angle of 5°, an amorphous region as thick as 12 nm can be created on both the top and bottom surface of the TEM sample. Focused Ion Beam (FIB) preparation of TEM samples is even worse. The amorphous damage region for 30 keV Ga ions can be 20 nm thick or more on both surfaces of the TEM sample and it can implant Ga into the sample. One direct observation study of the amorphous damage from 30 keV Ga ions used to prepare a TEM sample of silicon showed that the amorphous damage in a wedge shaped sample is 23 nm and this limits the minimum practical thickness for an as-prepared FIB sample imaged in the TEM to about 60 nm. FIB instruments capable operating at low energy can reduce the amorphous region in at TEM sample to about 4 nm. Low angle, low energy Ar ion milling has been shown to reduce this layer to less than 1 nm when an angle of 5° from the surface and energy of 250 eV is used. For preparing FIM samples used in atom probe class instruments such as the position sensitive atom probe or a three dimensional atom probe, FIB has been employed to produce the conical shaped sample that is needed. Here too, the surface of the samples prepared by FIB has the problem of amorphization due to the beam. A pillar of material is often used and prepared by FIB for electron tomography in a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM).
Plasma processing in commercially available plasma cleaners has been used to remove some of the amorphous damage from FIB samples but not in the manner that will be described in this application. Plasma cleaning of TEM samples and the TEM holder uses oxygen or an oxygen based gas mixture and is typically used to remove hydrocarbon contamination on the samples while they are positioned in the TEM holder assembly. For the removal of amorphous damage, typically Ar or another inert gas is used. Prior to discussing how the plasma processing has removed this amorphous damage in past studies and how the present method is different, a brief description of the plasma is necessary.
A plasma can be described as an ionized gaseous state in which ions, electrons, exited atoms, atomic neutrals, and molecules coexist. The presence of charged particles in the plasma is responsible for its conductivity, which is used to maintain the plasma condition through applied electromagnetic fields. In the majority of practical applications, the plasma generation process requires reduced gas pressures in a space between opposite electrodes and either a DC or an RF electromagnetic field imposed across this space. In these fields, electrons can easily be accelerated and their collisions with molecules and neutral atoms are the basis for the primary mechanism for gas molecule decomposition, excitation, and ionization. This creates chemically active neutrals and ions, which can be beneficially used for surface cleaning. In glow plasma discharges, the random kinetic energy of both neutrals and ions is below 0.1 eV and the plasma ionization rates are typically around 0.1-1%. Although such plasmas are sometimes referred to as cold, they do contain considerably higher energy electrons with energies of 1-3 eV, corresponding to an average temperature of about 24,000 K. Some of the hot electrons have energies of 15-20 eV, which exceed gas ionization potentials and provide gas ionization and excitation, which results in the visible glow of a plasma. From this plasma composition, there are three possible modes for using it in surface cleaning:
(i) Acceleration of positively charged ions with large masses towards the surfaces to be cleaned which causes mechanical sputtering of the contaminants;
(ii) Acceleration of negatively charged electrons towards the surface, with impact momentums insufficient for sputtering, but high enough for heating and thermal activation of surface contaminants; and
(iii) Creation of chemically active atoms and radicals to form volatile products with surface contaminants that can be pumped from the vacuum system. The thermalization and surface desorption of these volatile products are enhanced by the presence of the hot electrons in the cold plasmas.
While the first two methods are most efficient in terms of cleaning rates, they are also the most likely to cause irreversible surface modifications by ion implantation, radiation damage, or surface heating when the orientation of the sample is normal to the incident radiation. When the preservation of the surface is a major requirement, such as in sample preparation for surface analysis or TEM preparation, the third mode is more suitable. This method does not require high D.C. (direct current) acceleration voltages and consequently RF (radio frequency) systems are commonly chosen for plasma cleaning systems. It permits efficient cleaning of both conductive and insulating surfaces. For the removal of amorphous damage, the first method is most desirable if the plasma processing parameters can control the energy and angle of the ions. Important parameters in characterizing a plasma are its energy and its density. These are controlled by the gas pressure, the applied power of the electromagnetic fields, and the geometry of the discharge system.
There are two principal geometries for RF plasma cleaners. In the inductively-coupled geometry, an external RF coil surrounds a chamber wall made from an insulating material, such as a quartz tube. This part of the wall acts as an RF electrode, which is positively and negatively charged following the RF field oscillations. In this geometry, the other electrode can be a piece of grounded metal such as part of the vacuum chamber or an inserted electrode. The specimen to be cleaned can either be moved into the quartz portion of the chamber, where it is exposed to both charged and neutral plasma interaction, or it can be placed inside a grounded metal tube connected to the quartz tube, where only chemical interactions can take place, due to the much longer life of chemically active neutrals than charged particles. In the capacitively coupled geometry, a pair of inserted RF electrodes, one of which can be the grounded chamber and the other the active antenna. A sample to be cleaned is placed in the space between these electrodes, where it is exposed to both charged and neutral plasma components.
In a typical RF plasma generator, one electrode is grounded and has a large surface area, e.g. the chamber wall, while the other has a smaller area and is connected to the RF power supply via an impedance matching network. This smaller electrode develops an average negative DC self-biasing potential, USB, due to the different masses and, hence, response times of electrons and ions to the RF oscillations. This electrode is referred to as the cathode, and the chamber wall as the anode. The self-biasing potential of the cathode can be up to several hundred volts and is dropped across a dark cathode sheath, which separates the cathode surface from the glowing plasma. The gradient of this potential is the electric field that accelerates ions from the plasma towards the cathode surface and may cause sputtering if USB, is high enough. For cleaning procedures this is undesirable, since the sputtered cathode material will be deposited onto the surface being cleaned. This can be prevented either by keeping USB, below the sputtering threshold for the cathode material or by shielding the sample from sputtered material. For plasma cleaning in a capacitively coupled system, the sputtering effects from the antenna are avoided by restricting USB to below the sputtering threshold for the cathode material by restricting the RF power. The same is true for an inductively coupled system. In addition, in both types of systems, the sample can be moved into the non-plasma position where it is shielded from direct sputtering, as described above. This is sometimes referred to as down-stream processing.
In both geometries, the plasma can have its own potential, UP, with respect to ground, due to the difference in the mobility of electrons and ions. For practical purposes, a plasma floating potential, UF, is also important, which reflects the potential of an insulated probe inserted into the plasma with respect to UP. When a floating surface is inserted into the plasma it is bombarded with ions having kinetic energies of e(UP-UF), which could be within the range of 5 to 40 eV for commonly used RF plasmas. If the immersed surface is biased negatively, it will attract ions from the plasma. If the immersed surface is grounded, it acts as an additional anode. In typically used geometries, the total area of the anode is considerably larger than the area of the cathode and UP is positive with respect to the anode, causing ion bombardment. If the anode area is small compared to the cathode area, then the plasma potential is shifted towards negative values. However, this shift will always be below the gas ionization potential. The shift of the plasma potential also depends critically on the plasma parameters. The plasma potential will be shifted positively if the RF power is increased or if the pressure is reduced. As discussed above, both of these parameters increase the mobility of the electrons in the plasma. A higher plasma potential results in higher energy ions striking the surface of the grounded sample. The average temperature of the electrons in the plasma can be determined from the plasma potential, since eUp=kTe, where k is Boltzman's constant and Te is the average electron temperature. The described characteristic potentials of the plasmas can be obtained from voltage/current curves obtained using suitable electrostatic probes. For the commercial plasma cleaners that accept TEM specimen rods, it is possible to obtain representative values of these plasma potentials if an analytical TEM stage with an isolated tip for probe current measurements is used.
For the purpose of the removal of amorphous damage from TEM samples, the consideration of the relative values of the bias voltage on the antenna, USB, the floating potential UF, and the plasma potential, UP, are critically important. For minimizing the thickness of the surface damage region from mechanically polished, ion milled, and FIB prepared TEM samples with ions extracted from the plasma, both the energy and the angle that the ions strike the surface are critical parameters, as they are with the focused low energy ion milling approach. Because of these considerations, for the plasma processing approach outlined in this application, the orientation of the sample is also very important. The removal rate of material from a sample by sputtering is dependent on several parameters that include the ion angle, the material, the ion species, and its energy. As mentioned above, the energy of the ions must be above the materials threshold energy for sputtering to occur. In the plasma cleaner, the energy of the ions striking the sample is determined by the potential difference between the sample and the plasma potential. If the TEM sample is held in a TEM specimen holder, then the ions will strike the surface at normal incidence. Even at low energies, ions impinging normal to a surface will implant and cause sub-surface damage. The removal rate is also very dependent on ion angle. It has been shown that the best surface quality from a polishing standpoint is achieved at an incident angle relative to the surface normal greater than 85° and preferably at about 89° and at lower incident angles, surface roughening can occur.
The first description of a plasma cleaner affecting an FIB prepared sample was done with a capacitively coupled plasma cleaner supplied by South Bay Technology, Inc., the assignee of the present application. In this process, an FIB lift-out sample was held in a TEM holder and Ar was used as the gas because of the damage to the support grid if an oxygen plasma had been used. It was shown that a higher than normal operating power would thin a Zn sample. Since Zn has a high volatility, it is not surprising that it would show sputter removal at a relatively modest power level. Using Ar ions below 1000 eV, Zn and Cd, two similar metals, have at least five times higher sputter yields than any other metal. The orientation of the sample relative to the plasma was parallel so that ions struck the surface at normal incidence. Subsequent studies of plasma processing to thin FIB prepared samples utilize the same orientation. The phrase “plasma trimming” was coined to describe the removal of material from a TEM sample by an Ar plasma in a plasma cleaner. The assignee's experiments with biasing a 500 Å gold-coated Si sample to −133 V demonstrated that the normal incidence processing was very slow. However, this work did demonstrate that the coating near the edges of the sample was removed at a much higher rate. The higher removal rate is due to the increase in the electric field induced at the corners because of the small radius of curvature, since the electric field is proportional to the applied voltage and inversely proportional to the radius of curvature. | {
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In the manufacturing of wafers, integrated circuit devices such as transistors are first formed at the surfaces of semiconductor substrates in the semiconductor wafers. Interconnect structures are then formed over the integrated circuit devices. Bumps are formed on the surfaces of the semiconductor wafers, and are electrically coupled to integrated circuit devices. The semiconductor wafers are sawed into semiconductor chips, also commonly known as dies.
In the packaging of the semiconductor chips, the semiconductor chips are often bonded with package substrates using flip-chip bonding. Solder bumps are used to join the bumps in the semiconductor chips to the bond pads in the package substrates. Underfill is used to protect the solder bumps.
FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary bond structure for bonding chip 202 and package substrate 204. Solder bump 210 is used to bond metal feature 212 (such as an under-bump metallurgy (UBM)) in chip 202 to bond pad 214 in package substrate 204. Polyimide layer 220 is formed on the surface of chip 202. Underfill 216 is filled between chip 202 and package substrate 204, and is in contact with polyimide layer 220. The structure as shown in FIG. 1 suffer from delamination between underfill 216 and polyimide layer 220, The delamination is caused due to process issues such as the warpage resulted from the high stress near the interface between underfill 216 and polyimide layer 220. The stresses also result in the growth of any delamination in the lateral directions. | {
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The present invention relates generally to methods and systems for determining the adequacy of treatment during hemodialysis of a patient utilizing a non-invasive near-infrared tissue analysis. More specifically, the invention relates to direct measurement of urea concentrations in tissue of patients undergoing dialysis with light diffusely reflected by skin in conjunction with a spectrographic model, which relates urea concentration to a diffusely reflected light spectrum.
Measurement of the efficacy of hemodialysis treatments is currently time consuming, inaccurate and expensive. Approximately 260,000 Americans suffer from end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Fifty-nine percent are treated by thrice-weekly maintenance hemodialysis sessions designed to clear the products of metabolism that are normally excreted by the kidneys in the urine. Since the failure to adequately dialyze a patient has been shown to increase mortality and morbidity and since the process of dialyzing an ESRD patient is complex and variable in terms of the efficiency of the treatment, a number of methods have been developed to quantify the effectiveness of the treatment. The technique used in the overwhelming majority of dialysis centers is based on pre- and post-dialysis measurements of blood urea nitrogen concentrations. Urea, a low-molecular weight molecule, is a product of protein metabolism that is normally cleared from the body by the kidneys. Because it is also cleared from the blood by the dialysis process and easily measured in blood, its disappearance from the blood during hemodialysis is a measure of the efficacy or adequacy of that particular treatment session. The process of removal of toxins from the body by hemodialysis is best represented as a logarithmic function. As such, the coefficient of the natural logarithm termed KT/Vd, which is calculated from pre- and post-dialysis measurements of blood urea concentrations, can be used as a single descriptor of dialysis adequacy.
The importance of adequate duration or dose of hemodialysis has been underscored recently by the observation that the adjusted mortality of patients with renal disease in the United States exceeds that of several other countries, despite a longer life expectancy of the general population of the United States. A number of studies have documented the failure to deliver an adequate dose of hemodialysis to many Americans. The failure of delivery of adequate hemodialysis doses in the United States is a result of many factors. Time and financial pressures contribute to the problem. Because the metabolic toxins are removed from the blood, which makes up only a fraction of the total volume of the body in which the toxins are distributed, there are delays as the solutes redistribute and equilibrate after dialysis. Thus, measurement of KT/Vd is highly dependent on the time of the urea measurements and the relative size of the compartments such as blood water, interstitial water and intracellular water, all of which harbor urea and other contaminants. These compartments vary in size from patient to patient, and within a patient depending upon present physiologic state. The best measure of the post-dialysis urea is made at least 15 minutes after hemodialysis, but for some patients it may require 50 to 60 minutes to reach equilibrium. There is no accurate way to predict which patients will have a significant blood urea increase following hemodialysis at any given treatment time. Given the time constraints on out-patient hemodialysis centers that commonly are able to dialyze no more than two patients per day on a single machine, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, the need to obtain post-dialysis blood urea concentrations 30 to 60 minutes after dialysis is impractical at best. Finally, the late blood measurement requires an additional venipuncture of the patient who is disconnected from the dialysis machine minutes after cessation of circulation through the machine.
Urea testing is a capital burden on the dialysis centers that provide dialysis to ESRD patients under a capitated reimbursement basis. The blood drawing process is labor intensive and exposes the nursing staff to blood borne pathogens. The samples must then be transported to a laboratory for analysis, incurring another charge and a delay in reported values. Currently, the accepted xe2x80x9cstandard of carexe2x80x9d given financial constraints is that KT/Vd be measured once per month, that is, once during every 12 dialysis sessions. In summary, hemodialysis is xe2x80x9cunder-deliveredxe2x80x9d in the United States. Financial and time constraints result in failure to recognize such inadequacy given the infrequent collection of blood for urea samples and calculation of KT/Vd, as well as poor modeling due to variability of the rebound effect and early post dialysis blood collection.
As noted above, monitoring the adequacy of hemodialysis, as defined by the National Kidney Foundation (NKF)xe2x80x94xe2x80x9c1997 DOQI Clinical Practice Guidelines for Hemodialysis Adequacyxe2x80x9d, and the Renal Physicians Associations (RPA) xe2x80x9c1993 Clinical Practice Guidelines on Adequacy of Hemodialysisxe2x80x9d, entail measuring blood urea nitrogen (BUN) pre- and post-dialysis once per month in order to calculate the so-called single pool KT/Vd value with K=dialyzer clearance, T=time of dialysis, and V=volume of distribution of urea. KT/Vd is then calculated from pre- and post-dialysis BUN concentrations by the following formula:
KT/V=xe2x88x92Ln(Ct/Coxe2x88x920.008txe2x88x92UF/W)
Where Ct is the post-dialysis urea level and Co is the pre-dialysis urea level; t is the time; UF is the ultrafiltrate removed; and W is the post-dialysis weight.
The equation is most representative of the true dialysis dose if the post session BUN blood sample is drawn after the blood urea has equilibrated with the interstitial and intracellular urea. Release of sequestered urea from the intracellular space to the extracellular space continues for 30 to 60 minutes after completion of a dialysis session. This equilibration is due to the removal of urea from the blood by the dialyzer at a rate that exceeds the rate of diffusion from the intracellular to the extracellular compartment. Delays of equilibrium are also caused by the so-called xe2x80x9cflow-volume disequilibriumxe2x80x9d. Seventy percent of the total body water is contained in organs that receive only 20% of the cardiac output. Relatively poorly perfused tissues such as skin, muscle, and bone are cleared of urea less efficiently than highly vascularized organs such as the liver or lungs. The consequence of this compartmentalization of urea is an increase in the BUN concentration over the 60 minutes after the completion of hemodialysis.
The magnitude of the urea rebound varies greatly among dialysis patients. The average increase of urea concentration in the 30 minutes following completion of dialysis is 17%. However, some patients exhibit a rebound as high as 45%. This results in a 75% error between KT/V based on immediate post-dialysis BUN measurement and 30 minutes post-dialysis determination. Despite these limitations of the single-pool KT/V model based on the immediate post-dialysis BUN, the need to obtain the post-dialysis BUN sample 30 to 60 minutes after the completion of dialysis in order to compute the more accurate double-pool KT/V, is impractical in the out-patient hemodialysis setting.
At least two methods for approximating the equilibrated or double-pool KT/Vd have been proposed in the literature. The Smye formula approximates the equilibration BUN concentration based on three urea measurements, the usual pre- and post-dialysis determinations, as well as a mid-dialysis blood sample. This method yields an average error of 13% between the estimated equilibration KT/V and the true equilibrated value. The Daugirdas formulas are based on linear transformations of the single-pool KT/V modified according to the type of vascular access; venous shunt or arterial shunt. The improvement of accuracy is comparable to the Smye method.
Despite limitations of the single pool technique, the NKF recommends its use because of the impracticality of the late measurement of urea in the out-patient setting and the unproven accuracy of the double pool estimates.
Living human tissue and blood is recognized as a dynamic system containing a multitude of components and analyte information that is particularly useful in the medical profession for diagnosing, treating and monitoring human physical conditions. To this end, effort has been directed toward developing methods for non-invasive measurement of tissue and blood constituents using spectroscopy. The spectrographic analysis of living tissue has been focused on the identification of spectral information that defines individual analytes and relating such spectral data to the analyte""s concentration. Concentration of these analytes vary with time in an individual patient. Acquiring tissue spectral data with sufficient accuracy for use in diagnosis and treatment has proven difficult. Difficulties in conducting the analysis have been found, which are related to the fact that the tissue system is a complex matrix of materials with differing refractive indices and absorption properties. Further, because the constituents of interest are many times present at very low concentrations, high concentration constituents, such as water, have had a detrimental impact on identifying the low level constituent spectral information and giving an accurate reading of the desired constituent concentration.
Improved methods and apparatus for gathering and analyzing a near-infrared tissue spectra for an analyte concentration are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Patent applications and issued patents. U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,530 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/844,501, filed Apr. 18, 1997, entitled xe2x80x9cMethod for Non-invasive Blood Analyte Measurement with Improved Optical Interfacexe2x80x9d relate to near-infrared analysis of a tissue analyte concentration which varies with time, with a primary focus on glucose concentrations in diabetic individuals. The methods and apparatus include placing a refractive index-matching medium between a sensor and the skin to improve the accuracy and repeatability of testing. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/174,812, filed Oct. 19, 1998, entitled xe2x80x9cMethod for Non-Invasive Blood Analyte Measurement with Improved Optical Interfacexe2x80x9d discloses additional improvements in non-invasive living tissue analyte analysis. The disclosure of each of these three applications or patents are hereby incorporated by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,633 relates, in part, to another aspect of accurate non-invasive measurement of an analyte concentration. The apparatus includes a device having transparent and reflective quadrants for separating diffuse reflected light from specular reflected light. Incident light projected into the skin results in specular and diffuse reflected light coming back from the skin. Specular reflected light has little or no useful information and is preferably removed prior to collection. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/871,366, filed Jun. 9, 1997 now Pat. No. 5,935,062 , entitled xe2x80x9cImproved Diffuse Reflectance Monitoring Apparatusxe2x80x9d, discloses a further improvement for accurate analyte concentration analysis which includes a blocking blade device for separating diffuse reflected light from specular reflected light. The blade allows light from the deeper, inner dermis layer to be captured, rejecting light from the surface, epidermis layer, where the epidermis layer has much less analyte information than the inner dermis layer, and contributes noise. The blade traps specular reflections as well as diffuse reflections from the epidermis. The disclosures of the above patent and application, which are assigned to the assignee of the present application, are also incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus to directly measure the urea concentration of patients undergoing dialysis, using reflectance, non-invasive near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. Thus, instead of drawing blood samples from the patient at the beginning and end of dialysis for analysis of BUN concentrations at a clinical laboratory, the patient""s skin will be xe2x80x9cscannedxe2x80x9d and BUN concentration determined in real-time. This will allow the calculation of dialysis dose or KT/Vd to be measured and reported by the end of the dialysis session.
In its broadest sense, the present invention includes a method for assessing the need for hemodialysis, the progress of a hemodialysis procedure or the adequacy of a hemodialysis treatment. The method generally includes providing a means for optical analysis of tissue on a patient with the means for optical analysis providing an output spectrum at multiple wavelengths. Tissue, as defined herein, includes all tissue components found in a given cross section that is optically penetrated during analysis. The tissue is chiefly made up of extravascular water, which includes both interstitial and intracellular fluid, with a relatively small fraction comprising blood. The output spectrum has varying intensities as related to absorption by the non-vascular tissue. The tissue is coupled to the means for optical analysis, and an output spectrum is acquired before, during or after hemodialysis. The tissue urea concentration, in contrast to blood urea concentration, is calculated from a mathematical model relating the output spectrum to the tissue urea concentration.
In the most limited case, the method and apparatus of the present invention would be used in dialysis centers to measure the pre- and post-dialysis urea levels of patients for real-time KT/V calculations. In a preferred method, measurement can also be made continuously for more detailed urea removal modeling or for feedback to the dialysis unit for feedback and control purposes.
The advantages of the method of the present invention over the standard method of calculation of KT/V by pre- and post-dialysis blood sample BUN measurement are four-fold. First, the accuracy of the calculation of KT/V measured at the end of dialysis approaches the accuracy of KT/V based on post equilibrium blood sample BUN measurements. This is due to the fact that the analysis is of tissue versus blood. The tissue has a relatively small (and negative) urea rebound. Because the tissue water is both chiefly extravascular and much of it is relatively poorly vascularized, its urea content more closely correlates with equilibrated total body urea and equilibrated blood sample BUN than does the immediate post-dialysis, pre-rebound blood sample BUN. Thus, the non-invasive skin measurement of urea delivers the accuracy of the equilibrated or two-pool KT/V, but does not require that the dialysis patient and staff wait 30 minutes or more after dialysis before collecting a final blood sample.
Second, calculation of KT/V is nearly xe2x80x9creal-timexe2x80x9d. The clinician or staff overseeing the dialysis session will be able to judge the efficacy or adequacy of the dialysis dose at the time it is delivered in a xe2x80x9cpoint of carexe2x80x9d mode. Failure to deliver the prescribed dose can be appreciated before the patient leaves the dialysis clinic. A decision can then be made to continue the current session or adjust the following dialysis session dose. Should the machine be devoted to a single patient during dialysis, true, real-time kinetic modeling is possible.
Third, the non-invasive nature of the measurement limits the exposure of nursing and technical staff to blood born infectious agents. Two blood samples must be removed from the closed loop hemodialysis circuit and transferred to standard blood analysis tubes in order to calculate the KT/V. In an average hemodialysis centers, where 100 clients are dialyzed, at least 200 blood samples are drawn and sent via courier to a clinical chemistry laboratory. Replacement of blood sample BUN measurements by non-invasive skin measurements would substantially reduce the potential of infection of both the nursing staff who draw blood samples and laboratory personnel who then handle the specimens.
Finally, a fourth advantage over the current methods is a reduction of the cost per measurement. Although the investment in such a device will have to be considered in terms of the fixed reimbursement for monthly measures of KT/V, the clinician will not incur significant costs by using the device more often than once per month. In fact, like the usual blood pressure measurement at the end of a dialysis session, a non-invasive measure of urea would require no reoccurring costs except the time to make the measurement. Dialysis patients would greatly benefit from more frequent measurement of the dialysis dose.
Success of the method of the present invention is believed tied to two components. First, the method incorporates an apparatus and technique for accurately and repeatably acquiring a tissue spectra which is both stable and sensitive to slight changes in spectral output at desired wavelengths and optimizes optical throughput both into and out of the tissue sample. Second, because the spectral features, which can be correlated to tissue urea concentration are not readily apparent from the spectral data, a mathematical model is utilized to correlate spectral data to a tissue urea concentration. The model is built based on multiple tissue scans and same time blood sample BUN measurements. The method preferably incorporates a resultant mathematical model based on Partial Least Squares Algorithm applied to the multiple tissue scans and concomitant BUN measurements which is then applied to an unknown spectra.
The present invention, thus, includes a method for measuring tissue urea concentration of an individual before, during or just after hemodialysis using non-invasive tissue spectroscopy. A preferred method and apparatus illuminates skin with near infrared radiation and collects the reflected, non-absorbed near infrared radiation. Diffuse, rather than specular, reflected light is preferably collected, more preferably light diffusely reflected from the inner dermis rather than the epidermis. For illustrative purposes, three methods are set forth for capturing light diffusely reflected from the inner dermis, including a blocker blade, use of blocking and free zones in a lens or mirror surface, and use of an index matching medium to coat tissue. The near infrared spectra collected can be stored in a computer database.
The method for non-invasively measuring the concentration of urea in tissue includes first providing an apparatus for measuring infrared absorption by a urea containing tissue. The apparatus includes generally three elements, an energy source, a sensor element, and a spectrum analyzer. The sensor element includes an input element and an output element. The input element is operatively connected to the energy source by a first means for transmitting infrared energy. The output element is operatively connected to the spectrum analyzer by a second means for transmitting infrared energy.
In preferred embodiments, the input element and output element comprise lens systems which focus the infrared light energy to and from the sample. In a preferred embodiment, the input element and output element comprise a single lens system which is utilized for both input of infrared light energy from the energy source and output of both specular and diffusely reflected light energy from the analyte-containing sample. Alternatively, the input element and output element can comprise two lens systems, placed on opposing sides of an analyte-containing sample, wherein light energy from the energy source is transmitted to the input element and light energy transmitted through the urea-containing sample then passes through the output element to the spectrum analyzer.
The first means for transmitting infrared energy, in preferred embodiments, simply includes placing the infrared energy source proximate to the input element so that light energy from the source is transmitted via the air to the input element. Further, in preferred embodiments, the second means for transmitting infrared energy preferably includes a single mirror or system of mirrors which direct the light energy exiting the output element through the air to the spectrum analyzer.
In practicing the method of the present invention, a urea-containing tissue area is selected as the point of analysis. This area can include the skin surface on the finger, earlobe, forearm or any other skin surface. Preferably, the urea-containing tissue is the underside of the forearm.
A quantity of an index-matching medium or fluid is then placed on the skin area to be analyzed. The index-matching fluid detailed herein is selected to optimize introduction of light into the tissue, reduce specular light and effectively get light out of the tissue. The medium or fluid preferably contains an additive which confirm proper coupling to the skin surface by a proper fluid, thus assuring the integrity of test data. It is preferred that the index-matching medium is non-toxic and has a spectral signature in the near-infrared region which is minimal, and is thus minimally absorbing of light energy having wavelengths relevant to the urea being measured. In preferred embodiments, the index-matching medium has a refractive index of about 1.38. Further, the refractive index of the medium is preferably constant throughout the composition.
The sensor element, which includes the input element and the output element, is then placed in contact with the index-matching medium. In this way, the input element and output element are coupled to the urea-containing tissue or skin surface via the index-matching medium which eliminates the need for the light energy to propagate through air or pockets of air due to irregularities in the skin surface.
In analyzing for the concentration of urea in the tissue, light energy from the energy source is transmitted via the first means for transmitting infrared energy into the input element. The light energy is transmitted from the input element through the index-matching medium to the skin surface. Some of the light energy contacting the analyte-containing sample is differentially absorbed by the various components and analytes contained therein at various depths within the sample. Some of the light energy is also transmitted through the sample. However, a quantity of light energy is reflected back to the output element. In a preferred embodiment, the non-absorbed or non-transmitted light energy is reflected back to the output element upon propagating through the index-matching medium. This reflected light energy includes both diffusely reflected light energy and specularly reflected light energy. Specularly reflected light energy is that which reflects from the surface of the sample and contains little or no analyte information, while diffusely reflected light energy is that which reflects from deeper within the sample, wherein the analytes are present.
In preferred embodiments, the specularly reflected light energy is separated from the diffusely reflected light energy. The non-absorbed diffusely reflected light energy is then transmitted via the second means for transmitting infrared energy to the spectrum analyzer. As detailed below, the spectrum analyzer preferably utilizes a computer to generate a urea concentration utilizing the measured intensities, a calibration model, and a multivariate algorithm.
The computer includes a memory having stored therein a multivariate calibration model empirically relating the known urea concentration in a set of calibration samples to the measure intensity variations from the calibration samples, at several wavelengths. Such a model is constructed using techniques known by statisticians.
The computer predicts the analyte concentration of the urea-containing sample by utilizing the measure intensity variations, calibration model and a multivariate algorithm. Preferably, the computation is made by the partial least square technique as disclosed by Robinson et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,581, incorporated herein by reference.
These and various other advantages and features of novelty which characterize the present invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and forming a part hereof. However, for a better understanding of the invention, its advantages, and the object obtained by its use, reference should be made to the drawings which form a further part hereof, and to the accompanying descriptive matter in which there are illustrated and described preferred embodiments of the present invention. | {
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Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for presenting health related messages.
Background Art
Portable and/or wireless electronic devices have also been developed or adapted for use in various commercial, personal or leisure activities to assist people in performing the activity and/or to enhance the enjoyment and/or efficiency of the activity. Such electronic devices may or may not be GPS-enabled. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an optical apparatus, and more particularly to a RGB beam combiner.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional RGB beam combiner 3, which is equipped in a projector to combine color light beams L1˜L3 into one beam L4, includes a first prism 51 and a second prism 52, a third prism 53, and a fourth prism 54 coupled together. Between the first and the second prisms 51, 52 and between the third and the fourth prisms 53, 54 respectively are provided with a film to allow the first the second color light beams L1, L2 to transmit through, and reflect the third color light beam L3. Between the second the third prisms 52, 53 and between the first and the fourth prisms 51, 54 respectively are provided with a film to allow the second and the third color light beams L2, L3 to transmit through, and reflect the first color light beam L1.
Therefore, when the first color light beam L1 enters the beam combiner 3 via the first prism 51, the fourth prism 54, and the third prism 53 respectively, finally, they L1, L2, L3 will be combined to form a composite light beam L4 and come out via the second prism 52.
With advancement in technology, more and more people use projectors in seminar, video conference, or just simply watch movie. The projectors have to be made smaller and lighter for portability. The conventional beam combiner 3 is constructed by four prisms 51˜54, and the color light beams L1˜L3 enters the beam combiner 3 in three different directions that the projector must leave a large space for the prisms 51˜54 and for the beams L1˜L3 transmission. It can't be equipped in a small projector.
To overcome the aforesaid drawback, an improved beam combiner 4, taught in U.S. patent 20070091449, includes a first beam splitter 61, a second beam splitter 62 and a third beam splitter 63, wherein the third beam splitter 63 is parallelogram between the first and the second beam splitters 61 and 62. Between the first and the third beam splitters 61 and 63 is provided with a film to allow the second color light beam L2 to transmit through and reflect the first color light beam L1, and between the third and second beam splitters 63 and 62 is provided with a film to allow the first and the second color light beams L1, L2 to transmit through and reflect the third color light beam L3.
Therefore, the color light beams L1˜L3 may be combined in the second beam splitter 62 to form the composite light beam L4. The size of the beam combiner 4 is smaller and the first and the third color light beams L1, L3 enter the beam combiner 3 in the same direction that the beam combiner 3 needs a smaller space in the projector. However, it still has its limitations and that needs to be improved. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a receiving set capable of recording the received sound of a radio set or the like and reproducing the recorded sound at an optional time.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Sometimes the listener fails inadvertently to hear important information in listening to the news on the radio. Particularly the listener often fails to hear information in listening in to the information on the radio while the listener is driving an automobile or the like.
Recording the received information on an endless recording tape is a simple method to solve such problem. However, this method is capable of reproducing the portion of the broadcast which could not be heard, whereas the same is incapable of enabling the listener to listen in to the present broadcast.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a receiving set capable of repeating the radio broadcast or the like which the listener failed to hear and capable of storing the radio broadcast during the reproduction of the previous radio broadcast.
A receiving set according to the present invention comprises: a record circuit to convert a received and detected audio signal into a signal suitable for recording; signal compressing means to compress the output signal of the record circuit on a time axis; a memory to store the output signal of the signal compressing means; a reproducing circuit to reproduce the contents of the memory; a switch for selectively providing the received and detected audio signal or the output audio signal of the reproducing circuit; reproduction request detecting means to detect whether or not a reproduction request is given; state switching control means to establish a reception-record state in which the switch is controlled so as to provide the received and detected signal, when the reproduction request is not given, and to establish a reception-record-reproduction state in which the switch is controlled so as to provide the output audio signal of the reproducing circuit and the received and detected sound signal is compressed and stored in the memory during the reproducing operation, when the reproduction request is given; and state reset control means to reset the state switching control means in the reception-record state upon the coincidence of the received and detected audio signal and the output audio signal of the reproducing circuit in the reception-record-reproduction state.
According to the present invention, the reproduction request detecting means detects whether or not the reproduction request is given, the state switching control means establishes the reception-record state in which the switch, the record circuit and the signal compressing means are controlled so as to provide the received and detected audio signal as an output signal of the receiving set and to compress and store the received and detected signal in the memory when the reproduction request is not given, and establishes the reception-record-reproduction state in which the reproducing circuit and the switch are controlled so as to reproduce the contents of the memory, to provide the reproduced signal as the output signal of the receiving set and to compress the received and detected audio signal and store the compressed sound signal in the memory during reproducing operation, and the state reset control means resets the receiving set in the record-reproduction state upon the coincidence of the received and detected audio signal and the output audio signal of the reproducing circuit in the reception-record-reproduction state. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Generally, dummy patterns are inserted into integrated circuit designs to fulfill some design rules. One possible design rule may be to have each layer within the semiconductor device be as uniform as possible to reduce process variations, such as from lithography, etching, chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), or others. For example, dummy active areas may be inserted into a semiconductor material to create more uniform density of active areas in the semiconductor material. Likewise, dummy metal may be inserted into metal layers to cause the metal layers to have a more uniform density. Other dummy patterns may also include cell patterns, polysilicon patterns, or via patterns. Another possible design rule could link the integrated circuit design with a process model for better physical accuracy of the finished device. For example, the rule could require CMP-aware dummy metal insertion for a better physical thickness of the layer.
Designs are typically analyzed for electrical performance of the functional aspects of the integrated circuit using different electronic design automation (EDA) tools. Generally, a rule-based or physical-based dummy insertion is performed by an implementation tool; however, the electrical impact of the dummy pattern on functional components is not considered during this process. Accordingly, generally after the dummy pattern insertion, the performance of functional components are analyzed. Then, interactions of revisions of dummy patterns and re-analysis is generally necessary during the design implementation for optimal device functionality, which can lengthen the design process. Therefore, there is a need in the art to have performance-aware dummy pattern insertion in an integrated circuit. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the cell structure and fabrication process of power semiconductor devices. More particularly, this invention relates to a novel and improved cell structure and improved process for fabricating a trench MOSFET with trench source contact having copper wire bonding.
2. The Prior Arts
With the increasing demands of better performance, the trench MOSFET has been required to have a lower spreading resistance, smaller size and reducing fabricating cost. As shown in FIG. 1, a cell MOSFET structure of prior art (U.S. Pat. No. 6,066,877) with relatively thick metal layer is disclosed to reduce the distributed resistance of the source metal layer. Trench MOSFET 101, as illustrated, is formed on an N+ substrate 100 on which an N-doped epitaxial layer 102 is grown. Inside said epitaxial layer 102, individual transistor cells 101A-101D are formed between trench gates 102A-102E, respectively. In order to connect N+ source regions, which are formed adjacent to trench gates 102A-102E, a thin metal layer 103, typically Al, is deposited at the top surface of epitaxial layer 102. P-body regions within each cell 101A-101D, is shorted to N+ source regions also by means of said thin metal layer 103. In passivation layer 104 over thin metal layer 103, an opening 105 is formed for the deposition of thick metal layer 110. In this structure, said thick metal layer 110 consists of a Zn adhesion sublayer 110A, a thick Ni sublayer 110B, and a gold surface sublayer 110C. Au wire 107 is bonded to the top surface of metal layer 110. According to the prior art, the thick metal layer provides essentially no resistance between the transistor cells, and therefore the overall spreading resistance is dramatically reduced.
However, this “low resistance” performance is based on the sacrificial of other important characteristics. First of all, the additional Ni and Au deposition is quite expensive for the aspect of fabricating cost, and second, it is not really necessary because the additional Ni and Au deposition has a low cell density (<100M/in2) with planar source contact, resulting in a huge waste of area and the corresponding increasing of spreading resistance, which counteracts the advantages by depositing the thick metal layer.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a new trench MOSFET cell structure with low spreading resistance, and at the same time, with small size and low fabricating cost. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field
The technology of the present application relates to mobile communication systems. More particularly, the present application relates to a method and apparatus for providing separable personal and business mobile communications services, including voice and data services, using a wireless communications system.
2. Background
Wireless communications systems find wide spread use in numerous different and personal applications. Increasingly, communications systems are capable of providing voice and data access over a wireless communications network. Particularly, such data access is increasingly used to access data over data networks, such as web sites over the internet. In many cases, voice communications and data communications are billed separately, with air time charges and charges for data access having different rate structures.
One application of wireless communications devices with increasing reliance on both voice and data communications is in wireless fleet communications systems that allow vehicles in a commercial vehicle fleet, such as tractor-trailer trucks, to stay in communication with a dispatch, or central management office, using a wireless communications network. The wireless communications network may include wireless satellite links, and wireless cellular links. The wireless links are formed by radio frequency (RF) signals relayed between mobile communications terminals, such as wireless devices contained within a vehicle, and a central server using the satellites or cellular base stations. Mobile communications terminals in such applications often include a computer or processor coupled with a RF transceiver system to send and receive communications over the wireless network. Often, the communications terminal includes a user interface including a keyboard and user display and may also include an interface for voice communications, including a microphone and speaker.
The dispatch may use the wireless communications network and associated mobile terminals for communications including vehicle locations, load status, instructions to the driver as to the next destination and/or source to deliver and/or pick up materials, to name but a few. Furthermore, in applications that provide network access, drivers may access different network sites using the communications terminal to obtain information that may be used to assist the driver in making a particular delivery. For example, a driver may access a navigation site or mapping site to provide a route to a particular destination, or to find an alternate route in the event that a standard route is unavailable for any reason. Such information enables a dispatch to better assess the state of and control its vehicle fleet, and also allows operators of vehicles to perform their jobs more efficiently. Thus, overall efficiency of a particular vehicle fleet is enhanced due to the increased connectivity between a vehicle and dispatch.
While conducting business related communication using a wireless network for such vehicles enhances the efficiency of the business in general, users of such mobile terminals often desire to use the mobile terminals for personal business in addition to business related use. For example, a driver of a vehicle may desire to place a personal call using a telephone function of a mobile terminal, and/or may desire to access a network location, such as an internet site, that is not related to the business. Furthermore, with respect to network access, including internet access, it is further convenient for a driver of the vehicle to access the internet through such a system as internet access is limited while traveling. While understanding that such non-business uses provide a significant convenience for a driver, a business typically does not desire to bear the additional costs for such access to the wireless network. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Slider assemblies are known in the heavy-duty vehicle industry. Slider assemblies are typically used on heavy-duty vehicles, such as trailers, tractor-trailers or semi-trailers. A slider assembly typically has longitudinally extending main members and transverse cross members forming a subframe. One or more axle/suspension systems depend from the subframe. The slider assembly is mounted on the underside of a heavy-duty vehicle, for example to a primary frame of a trailer. The slider assembly is movable longitudinally relative to the primary frame of the heavy-duty vehicle to increase maneuverability and distribute a load carried by the heavy-duty vehicle. Once moved to a desired relative position, the slider assembly is maintained in place relative to the heavy-duty vehicle, usually by a lock pin mechanism.
The main members of the slider assembly are longitudinally moveable relative to the primary frame of the heavy-duty vehicle. A slider wear pad was developed and interposed between the slider assembly and the primary frame of the heavy-duty vehicle to aid or facilitate relative movement. The slider wear pad is made from a material with a relatively low coefficient of friction. Each one of a pair of slider wear pads extends substantially the entire length of a respective main frame member of the slider assembly. Typically, the slider wear pads are attached to each main frame member by recessed fasteners, such as screws or bolts, to an upward facing surface of a respective main frame member of the slider assembly.
A heavy-duty vehicle having a slider assembly may be subject to relatively large lateral or side loads that may be encountered, for example, during a turn and/or roll. These relatively large lateral or side loads acting through the slider assembly can be significant. The heavy-duty vehicle having a slider assembly is also subjected to vertical and longitudinal loads.
The known slider wear pads suffer from several limitations, disadvantages and drawbacks. For example, when a slider wear pad is exposed to elevated temperatures, it can possibly expand longitudinally and break free from the fasteners attaching it to main frame members of the slider assembly. If a slider wear pad encounters lateral or side loads during turning or rolling, the slider wear pad can move laterally from between the heavy-duty vehicle primary frame and a main frame member of the slider assembly. This relative lateral movement of the slider wear pad is referred to as “scrubbing”. If the slider wear pad is displaced laterally enough to become ineffective to reduce friction, normally easy longitudinal movement of the slider assembly relative to the heavy-duty vehicle primary frame can be adversely affected, hindered and result in less than optimal functioning and performance of the slider wear pad and slider assembly.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved slider wear pad that can overcome the limitations, disadvantages and drawbacks of previously known slider wear pads. An improved slider wear pad of the subject disclosure satisfies this need. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a protocol converter, and particularly to the protocol converter that converts a Modbus protocol and an ECHONET Lite protocol with each other to enable communication between a device performing communication based on a Modbus protocol and a device performing communication based on an ECHONET Lite protocol.
2. Background of the Disclosure
Exemplary embodiments disclosed in the present invention are based on an ECHONET Lite protocol that is attracting much attention as a smart home communication protocol recently.
As an environmental problem, an energy problem, and/or the like come to the fore, the demand for a green energy system is increasing explosively. The reason that provision of the green energy system is slow is because protocols of devices differ. In order to solve such a problem, an ECHONET Lite protocol is being actively developed and distributed all over the world.
However, it is difficult to apply the ECHONET Lite protocol to devices which have been developed and are being used at present. Particularly, since industrial products mainly use a Modbus protocol based on RS 485, it is more difficult for the industrial products to communicate with and be compatible with devices using the ECHONET Lite protocol.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a related art system including devices which are connected to each other over a communication network.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 designates industrial devices or electric power generation devices such as a photovoltaic device, an energy storage device, an electricity meter, an electric car charger, and the like which are not based on ECHONET Lite, reference numeral 2 designates a new industrial devices or electric power generation devices based on ECHONET Lite, reference numeral 2-1 designates an ECHONET Lite communication stack enabling ECHONET Lite communication, reference numeral 3 designates an ECHONET Lite network that performs communication based on an ECHONET Lite protocol, reference numeral 4 designates a controller that controls an ECHONET Lite device, and reference numeral 5 refers to a Modbus network that performs communication based on a Modbus protocol.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, since a communication protocol does not match between conventional devices based on a Modbus protocol and new devices based on the ECHONET Lite protocol, the conventional devices are incompatible with the new devices. Due to a problem of compatibility, it is difficult to realize connection and integration control between the conventional devices and the new devices.
In order to solve such a problem, the ECHONET consortium defines a ready device and an adaptor device as standard devices and is trying to distribute the ready device and the adaptor device. However, such a standard also has a problem of changing a protocol in order for conventional equipment to match the ready device.
Generally, a home energy management system (abbreviated as “HEMS” hereinafter) is a system that displays the amount of electric power consumed by devices (or home appliances) at home, or controls driving in a remote place.
Here, examples of a communication scheme (protocol) applied to the HEMS include ECHONET, ECHONET Lite, etc.
In a service based on ECHONET Lite, whenever a user of a terminal issues a request, information about all characteristics (or properties) of one or more devices is requested through a controller, and in response to the request, information about characteristic transmitted from each of the one or more devices is output through the terminal. For this reason, a communication load (traffic) between the terminal and the one or more devices increases, and a response time increases.
PATENT REFERENCE: Korean Patent No. 10-0628493 | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Replacement gate processes for metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors must contend with increasingly smaller gate lengths and hence higher aspect ratios of the gate cavities to be filled. Replacement gate structures with several conformal layers may be especially challenging. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to an optical receiver.
In conventional circuits, an optical-to-electrical transducer is followed by an automatic gain control amplifier which compensates for variations in the received light level and amplifies the latter to a level required by a following signal regenerator to restore the signal to its original form. Such an amplifier is disclosed in DE-OS No. 32 33 146. However, considerable difficulties are encountered in the design of the amplifier if both high sensitivity and a large control range are required. To be able to process high light levels, a variable optical attenuator to be mechanically adjusted to the respective attenuation value required is therefore placed ahead of the optical-to-electrical transducer. This, however, entails a considerable loss of sensitivity. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
In multi-interface integrated circuit (IC) devices, such as smart card devices that include an ISO-7816 operating mode and a USB operating mode, it is necessary to detect which type of interface is connected to the device. In the case, for example, where the USB interlace is not used and the USB host is not connected, the USB pads, (designated D+ and D−), which are associated with the USB host being connected, are left floating on the USB interface side. This floating state of the D+ and D− pads tends to result in an increased power consumption in the IC device and may even render it non-functional. Additionally, software that is embedded in the IC device requires knowledge of the presence of the USB host to activate or deactivate the USB software associated with the IC device, which may cause an additional power drain.
Currently, to perform detection of a USB host, an IC device includes pull-up resistors connected between a power supply and the D+ and D− leads through switches. The USB host, on the other hand, includes pull-down resistors that connect the D+ and D− leads to ground terminals. The pull-down resistors are significantly less resistive than the pull-up resistors. Therefore, if the USB host is present, then D+ and D− are tied to ground through the pull-down resistors, whereas if the USB host is not present, D+ and D− are tied to the power supply via the pull-up resistors. The use of resistors, however, requires a significant amount of physical space to accommodate them, as well as a significant amount of power to drive current through them. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Such a type of conventional cylinder device having a force multiplier is disclosed in Patent Literature 1 (Japanese Patent Application Publication, Tokukai, No. 2001-25932 A). The conventional technique is configured as follows:
A main piston is arranged in a right part of a housing, and a sub piston is arranged in a left part of the housing. A cylindrical hole of the sub piston is fitted to a piston rod of the main piston. A lever of a lever-type force multiplier is swingably supported in a space on a left outside of the sub piston. An input section, provided outside in a radial direction of the lever, is in contact with a left surface of an outer circumference part of the sub piston, and an output section, provided inside in the radial direction of the lever, is coupled to the piston rod of the main piston.
By supply of pressurized air into a drive chamber formed between the main piston and the sub piston, the sub piston, which is driven leftward, carries out force multiplication driving rightward with respect to the piston rod (and the main piston) via the lever.
Another type of cylinder device having a force multiplier is disclosed in Patent Literature 2 (Japanese Patent No. 4945681 B, the specification). The conventional technique is configured as follows:
An output rod is inserted in a housing so as to be movable vertically. In an upper part of the housing, a first piston is formed so as to be integrated with a central part in an axis direction of the output rod. A second piston inserted in a lower part of the housing is fitted on a lower half part of the output rod so as to be hermetically movable vertically. A lock chamber is arranged between the first piston and the second piston. A first release chamber is arranged above the first piston, and a second release chamber is arranged below the second piston. A wedge-type force multiplier is arranged in the second release chamber provided below the second piston. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Liquid crystalline oriented films are required to have good transparency and superior electrical and mechanical properties. Polyimide films satisfying these requirements find extensive use as the liquid crystalline oriented films. The polyimide films have excellent electrical and mechanical properties and also have a good transparency, but the transparency is a colored transparency. Therefore, it has been demanded to develop polyimides free from such coloration.
To this effect, various polyimides have hitherto been proposed. Of such polyimides, the aromatic polyimide having a recurring unit shown below has a small degree of coloration and high transparency and is useful as an excellent polyimide oriented film, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application (OPI) No. 91430/83 (the term "OPI" as used herein refers to a "published unexamined Japanese patent application"). ##STR1## wherein R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3 and R.sub.4, which may be the same or different, each represents a hydrogen atom, a lower alkyl group, a lower alkoxy group, a chlorine atom, or a bromine atom; R.sub.5 and R.sub.6, which may be the same or different, each represents a hydrogen atom, a methyl group, an ethyl group, a trifluoromethyl group, or a trichloromethyl group; and Ar represents a residue of an aromatic tetracarboxylic acid.
Although the above-described polyimide oriented film has excellent transparency, it is still colored yellow and has not been proved to be entirely satisfactory for use as a liquid crystalline oriented film. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
It is often necessary to splice already-installed fiber-optic cables to provide for connection to a different end-point. Such fiber-to-fiber splices require removal of a section of the fiber cable so that the spliced end(s) may be properly prepared. This, in turn, changes the length (i.e., shortens) of the cable. Since fiber-optic cables are typically installed with a certain amount of slack in the cable, splicing changes the amount of slack that must be accommodated. Following a splice it thus becomes necessary to accommodate a different length of fiber cable. In addition, a minimum radius must be provided to prevent damage to the fiber-optic cable.
There thus exists a need in the art for a fiber-optic routing and storage device that provides flixibility in accommodating fiber-optic cable slack and that also ensures the minimum bend radius for the cable. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention is directed to a family of new alkylhydrido siloxane fluids including comonomers of the formula RSi(OSiMe.sub.2 H).sub.3, oligomers of the formula (HMe.sub.2 SiO).sub.2 -Si(R)-O-Si(R)-(OSiMe.sub.2 H).sub.2, and higher molecular weight siloxanes of the formula RSi[(OSiMe.sub.2).sub.x OSiMe.sub.2 H].sub.3 and [HMe.sub.2 SiO(Me.sub.2 SiO).sub.x ].sub.2 SiRORSi[(OSiMe.sub.2).sub.x OSiMe.sub.2 H].sub.2 ; in which Me is methyl; R is a C.sub.2 to C.sub.18 straight-chain or branched-chain alkyl substituent; and x has a value of 1-100.
Although compounds such as methyltris(dimethylsiloxy) silane CH.sub.3 Si(OSiMe.sub.2 H).sub.3 a and phenyltris (dimethylsiloxy) silane C.sub.6 H.sub.5 Si(OSiMe.sub.2 H).sub.3 are known in the art; that is compounds where R in the formula RSi (OSiMe.sub.2 H).sub.3 is either methyl or phenyl, respectively; compounds are not previously known where R is a C.sub.2 to C.sub.18 straight-chain or branched-chain alkyl substituent, as defined above. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
In hard disk drives, data is written to and read from magnetic recording media, herein called disks. Typically, one or more disks having a thin film of magnetic material coated thereon are rotatably mounted on a spindle. A read/write head mounted on an actuator arm is positioned in close proximity to the disk surface to write data to and read data from the disk surface.
During operation of the disk drive, the actuator arm moves the read/write head to the desired radial position on the surface of the rotating disk where the read/write head electromagnetically writes data to the disk and senses magnetic field signal changes to read data from the disk. Usually, the read/write head is integrally mounted in a carrier or support referred to as a slider. The slider generally serves to mechanically support the read/write head and any electrical connections between the read/write head and the disk drive. The slider is aerodynamically shaped, which allows it to fly over and maintain a uniform distance from the surface of the rotating disk.
Typically, the read/write head includes a magnetoresistive read element to read recorded data from the disk and an inductive write element to write the data to the disk. The read element includes a thin layer of a magnetoresistive sensor stripe sandwiched between two magnetic shields that may be electrically connected together but are otherwise isolated. A current is passed through the sensor stripe, and the resistance of the magnetoresistive stripe varies in response to a previously recorded magnetic pattern on the disk. In this way, a corresponding varying voltage is detected across the sensor stripe. The magnetic shields help the sensor stripe to focus on a narrow region of the magnetic medium, hence improving the spatial resolution of the read head.
The write element typically includes a coil of wire through which current is passed to create a magnetic field that can be directed toward an adjacent portion of the disk by a ferromagnetic member known as a write pole. While it is known that the write element can be arranged to either store data longitudinally or perpendicularly on the disk, most, if not all, commercial disk drives to date have utilized longitudinal recording arrangements. Although perpendicular recording techniques have the potential to allow for higher densities of recorded information, longitudinal recording is used in all current products for historical reasons. An early perpendicular recording technique is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. RE 33,949, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
In longitudinal recording, fringe fields can be produced that can inadvertently write or erase data on adjacent parallel tracks on the disk. In order to not write or erase data in adjacent tracks, the fringing field in the media in the adjacent track should be less than the nucleation field. Furthermore, in order to have a good write process, the write field in the media in the desired track for writing data should be at least twice the coercivity of the media.
Typically, the write coil is overdriven with current in order to quickly change the magnetic data in the media. For example, the profile of a current signal to the write coil may include a brief pulse of 100 milliamps and settling down to a signal of 30 milliamps. Unfortunately, overdriving the write coil in this manner ends up overdriving the fringe field as well. Of course, this can end up causing fringe or adjacent track erasure (ATE). It may be that only a few bits on an adjacent track are erased on each pass, but after writing to a particular track 100 times or more, then the adjacent track ends up corrupted. It should be understood that there are some applications where a particular track could be written to millions of times.
Previous approaches to reduce ATE have related primarily to moving sharp edges on the larger write pole further from the gap between the write poles. As is well known, the two write poles (commonly referred to as P1 and P2) are typically of different width with P2 being on the order of magnitude of the track to be written and the majority of P1 being significantly wider. The corners of P1 closest to P2 have been found to be the most problematic in creating fringing fields, since sharp edges typically cause fields to concentrate there. As shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,112, these front corners of P1 can be beveled off. In this manner there are still corners, but they are further from the gap so there is less ATE. It should be noted that because of the non-linear magnetic characteristics of the recording media, reducing the fringing fields by as little as 10% can significantly reduce ATE.
Another technique for reducing ATE is now a part of the typical process of manufacturing GMR read/write heads. This technique includes using the P2 write pole as a mask on P1 and ion milling away the upper surface of P1. This ion milling process moves the corners further from the gap between P1 and P2. The ion milling that creates this deep cut does, however, have the disadvantages of cutting away the top and sides of P2 and consequently reducing track width control, creating a flux bottleneck in P2, and requires a lengthy ion milling process which results in undesirably long process times.
In addition, increasing the depth of the ion milling on P1 has diminishing returns on ATE. This is because the fringing fields come not only from the portions of P1 that are closest to P2 yet not in the gap. In addition, fringing fields come from other sources, such as the write coil, other portions of P2, and so forth.
It has also been discovered that the relationship between the magnetic field and magnetization of the media changes with temperature, so that what might be an acceptable amount of fringing field at room temperature becomes a problematic amount of fringing field at elevated temperatures.
It is desirable to design/provide a read/write head which does not suffer from the above drawbacks. It is against this background and a desire to improve on the prior art that the present invention has been developed. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
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