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Various abbreviations that appear in the specification and/or in the drawing figures are defined as follows:
ADC analog to digital converter
ASIC application specific integrated circuit
dB decibel
dBFS decibel full scale
DSP digital signal processing
ECM electret condenser microphone
EMC electromagnetic compatibility
Gnd ground
L/R left/right
MEMS micro electro-mechanical system
PDM pulse density modulation
SNR signal to noise ratio
SPL sound pressure levels
Vdd supply voltage
Audio-visual camcording is one of the most common uses for a mobile device with multimedia capabilities. Advances have been made with respect to the visual capturing components. Customer expectations have in turn risen in regards to the quality of video recordings, however the audio components including both capture and playback have lagged behind the visual side. This may be especially problematic when capturing video events that have high sound pressure levels (SPL). The internal microphone of the mobile device can saturate easily when trying to record high SPLs, which are also frequency dependent. The recorded audio signal can result in heavy distortion and compression which influences the overall audio quality.
Audio distortion may also occur in windy environments. The movement of air across a microphone element of a mobile device may generate unwanted noise. This unwanted noise may reduce the intelligibility of the audio and force a user of the mobile device to terminate a phone call prematurely.
Currently some mobile devices with multimedia capabilities fail to provide sufficient audio capture in a high SPL environment. The quality of audio capture often depends on the microphone arrangement and microphone design. One possible arrangement involves implementing multiple microphones on a single base as is shown in FIG. 1, which is a reproduction of FIG. 3A of US Patent Application Publication US 2007/0047746 A1. The microphone system shown in FIG. 1 has a base 130, and a plurality of substantially independently movable membranes 120 secured to the base 130. Each of the plurality of membranes 120 forms a variable capacitance with the base 130. Thus, each membrane 120 effectively forms a generally independent, separate microphone with the base 130.
Another possible arrangement involves a direct digital microphone that is constructed of a plurality of first membranes 220 each formed by a micro-machined mesh supported by a substrate 270. This is shown in FIG. 2, which is a reproduction of FIG. 3 of US Patent Application. Publication US 2003/0210799 A1. A second membrane 210 and a plurality of first membranes 220 are located in two different positions. The plurality of first membranes 220 is comprised of individual first membranes 260. The second membrane 210 is supported by a substrate 270 and positioned above the plurality of first membranes 220 to form a chamber 230 between the plurality of first membranes 220 and the second membrane 210. A pressure sensor 240 is responsive to pressure in the chamber 230. Drive electronics 250 are responsive to the pressure sensor 240 and control the positions of the plurality of first membranes 220. Polling electronics 250 are responsive to the positions of the plurality of first membranes 220 and produce a digital output signal. | {
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A transistor formed over a flat plate such as a glass substrate, which is typically used in a liquid crystal display device, is generally formed using a semiconductor material such as amorphous silicon or polycrystalline silicon. A transistor manufactured using amorphous silicon has low field effect mobility, but can be formed over a larger glass substrate. In contrast, a transistor manufactured using polycrystalline silicon has high field effect mobility, but needs a crystallization step such as laser annealing and is not always suitable for a larger glass substrate.
Thus, a technique in which a transistor is manufactured using an oxide semiconductor as a semiconductor material and applied to an electronic device or an optical device has attracted attention. For example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 disclose a technique by which a transistor is formed using zinc oxide or an In—Ga—Zn—O-based oxide semiconductor as a semiconductor material and such a transistor is used as a switching element or the like of an image display device.
A transistor in which a channel formation region (also referred to as a channel region) is provided in an oxide semiconductor can have higher field effect mobility than a transistor using amorphous silicon. An oxide semiconductor film can be formed by a sputtering method or the like at a relatively low temperature. Its manufacturing process is easier than that of a transistor using polycrystalline silicon.
Transistors which are formed using such an oxide semiconductor over a glass substrate, a plastic substrate, or the like are expected to be applied to display devices such as a liquid crystal display, an electroluminescent display (also referred to as an EL display), and electronic paper. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to monomers for use in the synthesis of polyurethanes, and more particularly to carboxyl-containing monomers made from a low molecular weight polyol compound and an acid anhydride, and in the presence of 5-500 ppm phosphoric acid.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known that polyurethanes are generally manufactured by reacting a polyisocyanate and a polyol. The produced polyurethane may have unique chemical and/or mechanical properties depending on the reacting conditions, as well as other additives such as catalysts, solvents, surfactants, blowing agents, fillers, and the like. The polyols used in manufacturing polyurethanes are typically low molecular weight poly-hydroxyl-containing polymers, such as those containing polyethers, polyesters, polyacrylics, polycarbonates, and the like. These polyols are generally provided with at least two hydroxyl groups so that they can be easily incorporated into a lengthening polymer in an ordered fashion.
Due to environmental and toxicity concerns, water-based polyurethanes and aqueous dispersions of polyurethanes are becoming the materials of choice for many applications, including aqueous applications. However, in many instances, the components of the polyurethane product are not easily soluble in water. To overcome this problem, it is known to introduce ionizable groups into the monomers prior to their condensation into the final polyurethane polymer. These ionizable groups are thought to aid in the solubilization of the polymer and thus produce a uniform aqueous dispersion of the final polyurethane mixture.
The reaction of succinic anhydride with triols or tetrols has been described generally in U.S. Pat. No. 5,863,980 to Kuen-Bae Choi. According to the disclosure, acid groups are introduced in the main chain in the absence of catalysts, including acid catalysts. In order to perform reaction between succinic anhydride and polyol, high reaction temperature was used and resulted in highly viscous polyols. When such highly viscous polyol was reacted with diisocyanate, a viscous prepolymer was obtained.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,2267 to Wulf von Bovin discloses a process for preparation of stable suspensions of inorganic fillers in poly-hydroxyl compounds by grafting olefinically unsaturated carboxylic acid onto polyol. As an example, acrylic acid and peroxide type initiators are used for this process.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,077 to Wulf von Bovin et al. discloses a suspension which is stable and contains inorganic filler and graft polymer which was produced by free radical polymerization of olefinically unsaturated carboxylic acid.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,460,738 to Frentzel et al. discloses a process for grafting carboxyl groups to mono and polyether polyols by reacting maleic acid, fumaric acid, itaconic acid or their mixtures with polyether polyols in presence of peroxy-type free radical initiator.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,615 to Frentzel et al. discloses a process for grafting carboxyl groups to mono and polyether polyol by reacting maleic acid, fumaric acid or their mixtures with short chain polyether polyols in presence of peroxy-type free radical initiator.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,990,250 to Housel et al. discloses a process for incorporating carboxyl groups into main polyester chain by reacting polyether or polyester polyol with aliphatic dianhydride.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,242,954 and 5,250,582 to Hire et al. disclose a process for making cellular and microcellular polyurethane foams using a carboxylic acid-grafted polyol.
A common result of introduction of a carboxyl group into the polyol component is undesirable side reactions between the carboxyl group and nearby hydroxyl groups. The side reactions markedly increases viscosity of the monomer mixture, and provides fewer usable monomers for incorporation into the final aqueous urethane dispersion. In addition, the reacted carboxyl group results in reduced hydrophilicity of the final urethane dispersion.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for water-soluble monomers to be incorporated into a urethane dispersion that possesses low viscosity, and does not undergo undesirable side reactions. The present invention is believed to be an answer to that need.
In one aspect, the present invention is directed to carboxyl-containing monomers for use in preparing a polyurethane polymer, the carboxyl-containing monomer being the reaction product of a low molecular weight polyol compound and an acid anhydride in the presence of 5-500 ppm phosphoric acid, the carboxyl-containing monomer having a viscosity in the range of about 3,000-100,000 centipoise, and having free oligomer content in the range of about 2-30 mg KOH/g.
In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a method of preparing a carboxyl-containing monomer for use in preparation of a polyurethane polymer, comprising the step of combining a low molecular weight polyol compound and an acid anhydride in the presence of 5-500 ppm phosphoric acid to produce the carboxyl-containing monomer, the carboxyl-containing monomer having a viscosity in the range of about 3,000 to about 100,000 cps and having a free oligomer content in the range of about 2 to about 30 mg KOH/g.
In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a prepolymer for use in preparing a polurethane polymer, the prepolymer being the reaction product of (1) the carboxyl-containing monomer described above, and (2) a polyisocyanate compound, the prepolymer having a viscosity in the range of about 3,000 to about 100,000 cps.
In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a method of preparing a prepolymer for use in preparation of a polyurethane polymer, comprising the step of combining the prepolymer described above with a polyisocyanate compound to produce the prepolymer, the prepolymer having a viscosity in the range of about 3,000 to about 100,000 cps.
In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a water-borne polyurethane polymer, the water-borne polyurethane polymer being the reaction product of (1) the prepolymer of described above, and (2) an amine compound.
These and other aspects will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description of the invention.
It has been surprisingly found, in accordance with the present invention, that a carboxyl-containing monomer being the reaction product of a low molecular weight polyol compound and an acid anhydride, and made in the presence of phosphoric acid, results in a chemical monomer that is very beneficial for making waterborne polyurethane dispersions. The present inventors have unexpectedly discovered that phosphoric acid is very efficient in catalyzing polyol-anhydride addition reactions with anhydride ring opening mechanism, while exhibiting little or no acceleration of acid and polyol condensation side reactions.
In contrast to the prior art where the hydroxyl groups of polyol are reacted with polyisocyanate to produce polyurethane prepolymer, the monomer made according to the present invention possesses an polar center (by virtue of the grafted carboxyl function) that is thought to stabilize and solvate waterborne polyurethane emulsions when polyurethane prepolymer is dispersed in a water or alkaline-water solution. In addition, the presence of phosphoric acid in the reaction medium is thought to maintain the grafted carboxyl group in a protonated state and thus prevent it from participating in undesirable side reactions which lead to a high viscosity product that has limited usefulness.
The present invention provides a process for xe2x80x9cgraftingxe2x80x9d carboxyl groups to polyol monomers, and the low-viscosity carboxyl-containing polyol monomers made by the process. The term xe2x80x9cgraftingxe2x80x9d refers to addition of one molecule onto another molecule by means of a chemical reaction. The process of the present invention generally consists of reacting a polyol monomer, preferably containing three hydroxyl groups per molecule, with an organic acid anhydride under conditions such that an organic acid group is grafted to the polyol monomer. Because the polyol monomer is preferably selected to have three hydroxyl groups per molecule and is reacted with only one molecule of anhydride, the resulting carboxyl-containing monomer possesses two free hydroxyl groups per molecule and one carboxyl group grafted to the polyol. As indicated above, the two free hydroxyl groups of the carboxyl-containing monomer are used in subsequent reactions that form the ultimate polyurethane, while the carboxyl group aids in hydration of the polyurethane dispersion and prevents generation of highly viscous, unwanted side reactions and undesirable by-products.
As defined herein, the term xe2x80x9cpolyolxe2x80x9d refers to compounds having between two and four free hydroxyl (xe2x80x94OH) groups per molecule, and preferably three hydroxyl groups. As defined herein, the phrase xe2x80x9clow molecular weight polyolxe2x80x9d refers to those polyols having a molecular weight less than 8,000, more preferably less than 2,000, and most preferably less than 500. The phrase xe2x80x9ccarboxyl-containing monomerxe2x80x9d refers to a polyol having a carboxyl group added to one of the hydroxyl groups of the polyol.
As indicated above, in one aspect, the present invention is directed to a carboxyl-containing monomer for use in preparing a polyurethane polymer. The carboxyl-containing monomer is the reaction product of a low molecular weight polyol compound and an acid anhydride, and the resulting carboxyl-containing monomer has a viscosity in the range of 3,000-100,000 centipoise (cps) and has oligomer content in the range of 2-30 mg KOH/g. Each of these components are discussed in more detail below.
Examples of polyols that are useful in the present invention include low molecular weight polyols having from two to four hydroxyl groups. Preferably, the polyol contains three free hydroxyl groups (hereinafter termed xe2x80x9ctriolxe2x80x9d). Triols suitable for use in the present invention are generally based on the structure of glycerol, trimethylolpropane, trimethylolethane, and the like. Preferred triols include Poly-G 76-635 (a polyether triol of molecular weight 265, available from Arch Chemicals, Inc..) and Poly-G 35-610 (a polyether triol of molecular weight 275), and their mixtures with trimethylolpropane or pure trimethylolpropane. Alternatively, polyalkylene polyether polyols produced by the poly-addition of any of the mentioned above triols and an alkylene oxide such as ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, butylene oxide, epoxybutene, and the like, may also be used. These triols usually have molecular weight from less than 100 to about 6000.
Suitable acid anhydrides used in the present invention include any acid anhydride that results in the addition of a carboxyl group to the monomer molecule. Useful acid anhydrides include maleic anhydride, phthalic anhydride, succinic anhydride, glutaric anhydride, and mixtures thereof. A preferred acid anhydride is succinic anhydride.
The preparation of the carboxyl-containing monomer is generally accomplished by reacting the low molecular weight polyol compound with an acid anhydride in the presence of phosphoric acid. Generally, the polyol is heated with anhydride to about 80-105xc2x0 C. in presence of about 5-500 ppm of orthophosphoric acid (H3PO4), more preferably from about 100-400 ppm orthophosphoric acid, and most preferably from about 250-350 ppm orthophosphoric acid. According to the present invention, addition of 5-500 ppm of orthophosphoric acid catalyzes the selective reaction between polyol and anhydride, and an acid group is xe2x80x9cgraftedxe2x80x9d to the polyol molecule. Preferably, a triol is selected that has three hydroxyl groups per molecule, and each triol molecule is reacted with one molecule of anhydride to generate a product that has two hydroxyl groups per molecule and one carboxyl group grafted to the polyol.
The reaction is monitored by acid number, and as soon as theoretical acid number has been reached, the reaction is stopped. In order to dry the reaction product, a solvent capable of forming an azeotropic mixture with water is added. Later, the azeotropic mixture of solvent and water is removed by vacuum distillation.
Preferably, the carboxyl-containing monomers are liquid at room temperature because liquids are more easy to handle as compared to solids. A useful range of viscosities for the carboxyl-containing monomers is generally less than 100,000 cps at 25xc2x0 C. Preferably, the viscosity of the carboxyl-containing monomers is from about 3,000 to about 100,000 cps, more preferably from about 3,000 to about 50,000 cps, and most preferably from about 3,000 to about 20,000 cps.
The viscosity of prepolymers made with carboxyl containing monomers is preferably less than 100,000 centipoise (cps) at 25xc2x0 C. in order to obtain good water borne dispersions. A preferred range of viscosity is from about 3,000 to about 100,000 cps, more preferably from about 3,000 to about 50,000 cps, and most preferably from about 3,000 to about 20,000 cps. If viscosity of prepolymer is more than 100,000 cps, the prepolymer usually is too thick for high speed mixing and no good waterborne dispersion can be obtained.
In order to increase the shelf life of prepolymer products made from the carboxyl-containing monomers, it is desirable that the carboxyl-containing monomers made as described above contain minimal amounts of oligomers. As defined herein, oligomers are molecules which result from the reaction of the grafted carboxyl function with another hydroxyl function, which can lead to oligomerization of the monomer products. Oligomers are undesirable due to their propensity to cause increased viscosity of the monomer product.
It has been found that the presence of oligomers above about 30 mg KOH/g (as analyzed below) results in undesirable gelling of the prepolymer product. Preferably, the carboxyl-containing monomers have less than 30 mg KOH/g oligomers, preferably between 2 and 30 mg KOH/g oligomers, more preferably between 2 and 20 mg KOH/g oligomers, and most preferably between about 2 and 15 mg KOH/g oligomers. Oligomer content in the carboxyl-containing monomer can be measured by calculating the difference between theoretical acid number and acid number determined by chemical analysis as known in the art.
Briefly, acid number is determined using 1-2 grams of sample. 100 ml of isopropyl alcohol and 50 ml water is added to the sample, and stirred until the sample is completely dissolved. Approximately 15 drops of 1% phenolphtalein solution is added, and the sample solution is titrated with 0.5 N potassium hydroxide (or 0.5 N sodium hydroxide) until a light pink color appears. Oligomer content in the carboxyl-containing monomer can be measured by calculating the difference between theoretical acid number and acid number determined by chemical analysis (expressed as mg KOH/g sample). This difference in mg KOH/g is then correlated to oligomeric ester units per gram of monomer.
As indicated above, the carboxyl-containing monomers prepared above may be used in the production of a xe2x80x9cprepolymerxe2x80x9d. In general, the prepolymer is made by combining the carboxyl-containing monomers prepared above with a polyisocyanate compound. Organic polyisocyanates useful as reactants in the production of the prepolymer include any aromatic, cycloaliphatic and aliphatic diisocyanates and higher polyisocyanates. Diisocyanates are the preferred class of polyisocyanates. Suitable aliphatic diisocyanates include hexamethylene diisocyanate, 4,4xe2x80x2-dicyclohexylmethane diisocyanate; isophorone diisocyanate;1,4xe2x80x2-tetramethylene diisocyanate; and 1,10-decamethylene disiocyanate and 1,12-dodecamethylene diisocyanate. Suitable aromatic diisocyanates include tolulene-2,4- or 2,6-diisocyanate; 1,5-naphthalene diisocyanates; 4-methoxy-1,3-phenylene diisocyanate; 4-chloro-1,3-phenylene diisocyanate; 2,4xe2x80x2-diisocyanatodiphenyl ether; 5,6-dimethyl-1,3-phenylate diisocyanate; 2,4-diemthyl-1,3-phenylene diisocyanate; 4,4xe2x80x2diisocyanatodiphenylether; benzidene diisocyanate, 4,4xe2x80x2-diisocyanataodibenzyl; methylene-bis(4-phenylisocyanate); and 1,3-phenylene diisocyanate. Particularly useful polyisocyanates for use in preparing the polyurethane prepolymers include toluene diisocyanate, 4,4xe2x80x2-diphenylmethane diisocyanate, 2,4xe2x80x2-diphenylmethane diisocyanate, hexamethylene diisocyanate, isophorone diisocyanate, 4,4xe2x80x2-dicyclohexylmethane diisocyanate, 1,12-dodecanediisocyanate, 2,4,4-trimethylhexamethylene diisocyanate, xylylene diisocyanate, tetramethyl-xylylene diisocyanate and other polyisocyanates such as polymethylene polyphenyl isocyanate and isocyanate prepolymers having at least two isocyanate groups which are produced by reacting an isocyanate with a polyhydroxyl compound such as polyoxyalkylene polyol or polyester polyol or mixtures thereof.
The reaction in which hydroxyl groups are reacted with isocyanate groups and polyurethane prepolymer is produced is usually performed at 50-100xc2x0 C. for 1-5 hours under an inert atmosphere such as nitrogen gas and at atmospheric pressure. Preferably the reaction is performed at 70-90xc2x0 C. for 2-3 hours.
The ratio of isocyanate to carboxyl-containing polyol is such as to have the desired amount of grafted carboxyl groups per molecule of polyurethane prepolymer. Usually, the carboxyl-containing monomer is added to result in an acid number for the prepolymer of 10-30 mg KOH/g. The preferred procedure for producing the prepolymer is to react the selected polyisocyanate with regular polyether or polyester polyol for 1-2 hours at 80-90xc2x0 C., and then add carboxyl-containing monomers until the theoretical isocyanate group content has been reached. If desired, catalysts such as dibutyltin dilaurate, stannous octoate, or amine-type catalysts like triethylamine or triethylene diamine, may be used to assist prepolymer formation. The prepolymer composition may also include solvents such as methylethylketone, methylpyrrolidone, and the like
Because carboxyl groups are grafted to the polyol molecule, the resulting main polyurethane chain is linear with carboxyl groups as side pendants. This structure is ideal for obtaining good water-borne dispersions. The chemical structure of an exemplary prepolymer made from 1 mole of 1000 molecular weight propylene oxide based diol (Poly-G 20-112 from Arch Chemicals, Inc., Norwalk, Conn.), three moles of 4,4xe2x80x2dicyclohexylmethane diisocyanate, and one mole of trimethylolpropane with succinic anhydride grafted to a side chain is as follows:
This prepolymer is easy to disperse in water by converting side pendant carboxyl groups into salt groups and then reacting free NCO groups with diamine to obtain a high molecular weight urethane dispersion in water. Because, according to the present invention, there is one carboxyl group grafted to each triol molecule, the resulting prepolymer has low viscosity, low oligomer content, and is very easy to disperse in water. The dispersion process proceeds easily and water-borne dispersions may be prepared without the use of high shear/high speed mixers.
The prepolymer described above, may be combined with an amine compound to extend the prepolymer and further dispers the polymer in water. Suitable amines for dispersing prepolymer in water and chain extending the prepolymer include triethylamine, tripropylamine, ethylene diamine, n-butylamine, diethylamine, trimethylamine, monoethanol amine, dimethylethanolamine, aminoalcohols, hydrazine, hexamethylene diamine, isophorone diamine, cyclohexane diamine, dimethylcyclohexylamine, tris(3-aminopropyl)amine, 2-methylpentamethylenediamine, 1,12-dodecanediamine and combinations thereof.
The chain extension reaction occurs when free isocyanate groups of water dispersed prepolymer react with amino groups and is described in the art. The reaction between isocyanate groups and amine groups is very fast and chain extension step can be carried out in water.
It may be desirable to add other conventional additives such as blowing agents, thickening agents, pH adjusters, monoisocyanates and the like to the composition of the invention. Furthermore, fillers, plasticizers, pigments, and the like may be utilized as desired. It may be also desirable to add other polyurethane prepolymers made from modified or unmodified polyether polyols or polyester polyols or the like.
The following examples are intended to illustrate, but in no way limit the scope of the present invention. All parts and percentages are by weight and all temperatures are in degrees Celsius unless explicitly stated otherwise. | {
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The present invention generally relates to a process for removing paint from a plastic substrate and substrates treated by the process.
Traditionally, paint is removed from a substrate by either mechanical methods such as abrasives or, in more recent years, using various chemicals. Unfortunately, the mechanical methods developed to remove paint from a substrate do not allow for all of the paint to be removed, and the abrasives and abrasive techniques often used may also damage the substrate. Moreover, removing paint mechanically from a substrate is made more difficult if the substrate has many crevices and grooves. In fact, it may be impossible to mechanically remove all of the paint from the substrate. When this occurs, depending on the shape of the substrate, it may not be possible to recycle the substrate for further use in the same or different field because of the chemical contents of the remaining paint.
A good process for removing paint from a substrate typically provides quick, complete removal of the paint without harming the substrate. Removing paint from a plastic substrate is especially difficult. Most chemicals traditionally used to remove paint from wood or metal substrates do not work well with plastic substrates. In addition to removing the paint from a plastic substrate, the chemicals also melt or otherwise damage the plastic substrate. Difficulties are also seen when using most traditional paint stripping chemicals to treat a substrate and remove the paint. Most chemicals used for this process are not biodegradable, may require careful handling, and may have special disposal requirements. They may also be harmful to the environment.
Accordingly, there is a need for an environmentally friendly, thorough, easily handled, disposable, chemical process that removes substantially all of the paint from a substrate, typically a plastic substrate, in a relatively easy, efficient and cost-effective manner to generate paintless, plastic pieces that can be recycled or reused. | {
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Integrated circuits are operated in environments where radiation-induced logic errors may occur, such as in outer space. In such environments, the integrated circuit is required to maintain data integrity during a single-event upset (SEU). A single-event upset is a radiation-induced error in the logic state of a signal within the integrated circuit. Such a single-event upset may be the result of a collision between a high-energy proton or a heavy ion (cosmic ray) and the semiconductor material that forms the integrated circuit. The interaction of these charged particles, or heavy ions, with metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) static random access memory (SRAM) cells results in low linear energy transfer (LET) from the charged particle to the SRAM cells.
The basic operation of the SRAM cell is to store electronic information in the form of 1's and 0's. In space-based electronics, where cosmic-rays exist and bombard electronics continuously, LET from a heavy ion's interaction with an SRAM cell can flip/change the state of that cell's stored information from a 0 to a 1 (or a 1 to a 0). This interaction corrupts stored information and can lead to incorrect operation of associated circuitry. To prevent single-event upsets from causing erroneous operation of an integrated circuit containing SRAM cells, circuitry within the integrated circuit must be designed to withstand such upsets.
A simple six-transistor SRAM cell is shown in FIG. 1. A bit in the SRAM cell 100 is stored through four transistors 110-113 that together form two cross-coupled inverters 101 and 102 disposed between reference voltages VDD and GND. Inverter 101 comprises P-type field-effect-transistor (“P-fet”) 110 and N-type field-effect-transistor (“N-fet”) 111 while inverter 102 comprises P-fet 112 and N-fet 113. The control gates of transistors 110 and 111 are commonly connected at first output node Q and the control gates of transistors 112 and 113 are commonly connected at second output node Qbar. The storage cell 100 has two stable states which are respectively used to denote a logical 0 and a logical 1.
Two additional access transistors 103 and 104 serve to control the access to data stored on the output nodes Q, Qbar during read and write operations. Upon charging of a word line WL coupled to the gates of these access transistors 103 and 104, the access transistors turn ON and transfer data stored on the output nodes Q, Qbar onto the bitlines BLT and BLC.
In operation, to access data stored in the SRAM cell 100 the wordline WL is activated to turn ON the access transistors 103 and 104. The cell 100 thereafter transfers the data stored in the cell in the form of the voltages on the output nodes Q, Qbar onto the bitlines BLT, BLC during a read operation. During a write operation, voltages are applied on the bitlines BLT, BLC corresponding to the data to the stored in the cell 100 to thereby drive the voltages on the nodes Q, Qbar to the desired voltages. In the SRAM cell 100, even when turned OFF the transistor may be in saturation with Vdd applied across its source and drain, which increases the LET-sensitivity of the memory cell, and concomitantly increases the likelihood of a single-event upset causing an error flipping the state of the cell, as described in further detail with respect to FIGS. 2A-2C below.
To examine the scenario resulting from an SEU impact of SRAM memory cell 100, assume that the bit stored in cell 100 is a logical 1, meaning output node Q is at approximately Vdd and output node Qbar at approximately ground. N-fet 113 and P-fet 110 are consequently both off, while N-fet 111 is ON and “pulling down” node Qbar just as P-fet 112 is “pulling up” output node Q. Although N-fet 113 is off, it is in saturation mode due to the voltage across its drain coupled to node Q and its source connected to ground. Similarly, P-fet 110 is off but also in saturation mode since a voltage of approximately Vdd is across its source and drain.
FIG. 2A shows a cross-section of N-type transistor 113 from FIG. 1 while off but in saturation mode, such as when memory cell 100 stores a logical 1. Transistor 113 is disposed in a substrate 201. Source 210 is connected to GND. Gate 220 is tied to Qbar, which is also in its low-voltage state (equivalent to GND) because memory cell 100 is storing a logical 1. Similarly, drain 230 is connected to Vdd by Q being in its high-voltage state. FIG. 2A also shows a single-event upset in the form of an impact from heavy ion 299, which results in additional charge via linear energy transfer (LET) in the area of substrate 210 between source 210 and drain 230. FIG. 2B shows this additional ion-charge deposition allowing a conduction channel 240 to form between source 210 and drain 230. This interaction turns transistor 1130N, driving node Q to a low-voltage state which, in turn, drives node Qbar high thus changes or flips the state of the memory cell 100. This causes a “soft error” of the data stored in the memory cell 100. A soft error is one which results the change of data stored in an SRAM memory cell but which does not damage the circuitry of the cell.
FIG. 3 shows an SEU-resistant improvement to the design of the basic six-transistor SRAM memory cell 100 discussed above with respect to FIG. 1A. Cross-coupled resistors 310 and 320, often called feedback resistors, are respectively connected between output nodes Q and Qbar and the control nodes of inverters 101 and 102. This resistance operates to decrease the LET-sensitivity of memory cell 300. However, as silicon technology has scaled in line-width dimension into the deep sub-micron range (0.25 μm and smaller) process control in the manufacturing of these feedback resistors has increased in difficulty.
FIG. 4 shows a known improved SRAM memory cell with a 10-transistor (10-T) configuration. This cell design uses secondary transistors, identified as P-fet (ohm) 450 and P-fet (ohm) 452 and N-fet (ohm) 451 and N-fet (ohm) 453 to provide ohmic channel resistance. P-fet 450 is inserted between pull-up P-fet 110 and output node Qbar; P-fet 452 is inserted between pull-up P-fet 112 and output node Q. Both P-fets 450 and 452 are gate-tied to GND such that they are powered in a permanent ON-state. Similarly, N-fet 451 is inserted between pull-down N-fet 111 and output node Qbar; N-fet 453 is inserted between pull-down N-fet 113 and output node Q. Both N-fets 451 and 453 are gate-tied to Vdd such that they, too, are powered in a permanent ON-state. The inline resistance of this configuration allows transistors 450-453 to operate as a voltage divider element to provide feedback resistance in the cell, much like resistors 310 and 320 operate with respect to memory cell 300 in FIG. 3. While improved, the design has a high LET sensitivity: the cell will upset with a heavy-ion LET as low as 9 (MeV cm2)/mg. The desired LET sensitivity would be above 40 (MeV cm2)/mg. | {
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This invention relates to novel multifunctional lubricant additives which are Viscosity Index (VI) improvers and provide other performance characteristics when employed in a lubricating oil compositions.
The use of polymer additives in lubricating oil compositions is well known in the art. For example, ethylenepropylene copolymers and ethylene-alpha olefin non-conjugated diene terpolymers which have been further derivatized to provide additional properties in lubricating oil compositions illustrate this type of oil additive.
Thus, an object of this invention is to provide a novel derivatized graft copolymer composition.
Another object of the invention is to provide a multi-functional lubricant additive effective for imparting viscosity index improvement with enhanced antioxidant and dispersant properties to the lubricating oil composition. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Sickles typically including cutter bars supporting a row of knives, have been used to cut plants, including, but not limited to, hay, grasses, small grains and the like, for many years. The knives are composed of a plurality of knife or sickle sections which are mounted in side by side relation forming an elongate metal knife assembly. The elongate knife assembly is normally supported so as to slide longitudinally along an elongate stationary bar that has forwardly projecting, spaced apart guards bolted to a structural beam. The knife assembly moves back and forth in a reciprocating movement to move the knives relative to the guards so that the leading knife edges of the knives cross over the guards or through slots in the guards. This produces a shearing or cutting action which severs plant stems and stalks or other material captured between the knives and the guards.
In a harvesting machine, such as a combine or windrower, the knife assembly and stationary bar are typically supported in connection with a cutting head or header, and are oriented so as to extend sidewardly along a forward edge portion of structure such as a floor or pan of the header, hereinafter sometimes referred to generally as the floor. The floor or pan defines the lower periphery of a cut crop or plant flow area, which can include conveying apparatus, such as one or more augers or belts, operable in cooperation with a reel in machines so equipped, for conveying the cut plant material and crops, for instance, to a feeder inlet of a combine or windrow forming apparatus of a windrower.
The knife assembly is driven reciprocatingly longitudinally by an oscillating drive, which can include, but is not limited to, an eccentric shaft on a rotating hub, a wobble drive, or a similar well known commercially available device. Such drives are typically located at the sides of the header, so as to drive the knife assembly from the end. This location is advantageous as it allows the driving point for the knife assembly to be in line with the stationary bar, provides clearances for removal of the knife assembly, and provides space for assembly of the drive. Disadvantages of the side location include that the header must include significant frame structure for supporting the drive and to withstand forces and vibrations generated thereby. The end structure or crop divider at the end of the header must also be relatively wide, to accommodate the drive and to direct adjacent standing crops therepast, and increasing the possibility of accidentally pushing down adjacent standing crops. Additionally, for headers utilizing two drives located on opposite sides of the header, it is usually desired to time the operation of the drives such that the forces and vibrations generated by the respective drives cancel one another. This typically involves relatively long mechanical drive lines connecting the two drives together, which is disadvantageous as it adds weight, cost and complexity.
A knife assembly, which will weigh from 35 to 38 pounds for a typical 20 foot wide header, typically must accelerate and decelerate two times per cycle as a result of the reciprocating movement. A typical speed for the knife assembly is up to about 16 hertz or cycles per second. Thus, it can be seen, the reciprocating motion at a high cycle per second generates high acceleration values and high deceleration values that in turn generate high forces on the structural components. These high forces can have at least two negative effects, vibration at the drive system that may be transmitted to other components of the machine, and fatigue failure of the structural components themselves. On larger headers, for instance, headers 30 feet wide and greater, two knife assemblies each equal to one-half the sideward extent of the header are often used.
Driving a knife assembly or assemblies of a header from a more central location, such as the center of the header, would provide several advantages compared to a side location. Notably among these advantages, the header structure would not be required to support heavy drive units on one or both sides, such that the structure of the header could be lighter. Long timing apparatus extending between the ends could also be eliminated. If the drive mechanism could be incorporated into a location that would not interrupt or require dividing crop or plant material flow through the crop flow area of the header, the normal crop flow of the header would not be significantly impacted. And, since the drives are not located in the ends, the end dividers can be made significantly thinner, such that the header can have a shorter overall width, would be more easily maneuverable in relation to adjacent standing crop, and danger of downing the adjacent standing crop would be reduced.
Thus, what is sought is a drive for a sickle of a header of an agricultural cutting machine, such as a combine or windrower, which overcomes one or more of the problems, negative effects, and disadvantages referenced above. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a control system for a gas turbine aeroengine.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a control system for an aircraft engine, the data on the engine inlet conditions including Mach number, pressure altitude and outside air temperature are generally detected from outputs of engine inlet sensors such as a temperature sensor and a pressure sensor, all installed at the inlet (air intake) of the engine. When an aircraft has an on-board computer installed in the airframe, the airframe on-board computer determines the engine inlet condition data and sends the same to a computer of an engine control system installed at the engine. Even if the engine computer is merely provided with the data from the airframe computer, the engine computer still needs the inlet sensors as a backup for a case when the engine computer is not able to receive the data from the airframe computer due to, for example, a communication trouble therebetween.
For that reason, an ordinary prior art control system is provided with a temperature sensor and a pressure sensor installed near an air intake (engine inlet) at the front of an engine (turbofan engine) for detecting the intake air temperature (herinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cT1xe2x80x9d) and the intake air pressure (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cP1xe2x80x9d) at that location.
Since, however, these engine inlet sensors such as the temperature sensor and the pressure sensor are located near the intake (engine inlet), the sensors are liable to suffer from the problem of FOD (Foreign Object Damage) and/or icing. Therefore, the engine inlet sensors require a sufficient strength to prevent them from being damaged by foreign objects such as birds and hail. Moreover, the sensors need a temperature raising means such as a heater to avoid being iced over. Accordingly, the engine inlet sensors are generally expensive.
Therefore, it is preferable to remove the engine inlet sensors and to estimate the engine inlet condition data based on outputs from the other sensors.
As regards the parameter estimation, U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,238 proposes a gas turbine engine control system which maintains a selected level of engine performance despite the failure or abnormal operation of one or more engine parameter sensors.
However, this prior art does not disclose removing any sensor such that the necessary data is estimated from an output(s) of other remaining sensors. Moreover, the parameter estimation proposed by this prior art requires an engine model which should be updated on a real-time basis. This disadvantageously makes the configuration of the system complicated.
An object of this invention is therefore to overcome the problems of the prior art by providing a control system for a gas turbine aeroengine that, without using the engine inlet sensors and instead, enables it to estimate necessary engine inlet condition data based on outputs from other sensors through reasoning or logic with a relatively simple configuration.
For realizing this object, the present invention provides a system for controlling a gas turbine aeroengine having at least a turbine which is rotated by gas produced by the engine to rotate a rotor that sucks in air, comprising: turbine rotational speed detecting means for detecting a rotational speed of the turbine; turbine inlet pressure detecting means for detecting an inlet pressure of the turbine; atmospheric pressure detecting means for detecting an atmospheric pressure exerting on the engine; and engine inlet condition data estimating means for estimating engine inlet condition data based at least on the detected rotational speed of the turbine, the detected inlet pressure of the turbine and the detected atmospheric pressure. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to usage control of content that is used as objects of a formed document.
2. Description of the Related Art
[Formed Document]
Document data in a format that represents a document in a combination of objects and forming information thereof (hereinafter referred to as a “formed document”) has been utilized in recent years. As used herein, “objects” refer to content items serving as components that constitute a document, that is, data items written in formats such as JPEG, PDF, Tiff and PostScript®. “Forming information” refers to data that specifies objects serving as components of a formed document, and in which the relationship between the objects and the formed document is written. When describing that “forming information specifies objects to be output” in the explanation given hereunder, it indicates that forming information specifies objects so that the objects are output as components.
For example, forming information specifies the coordinates and size of each object when outputting a formed document. A data file in which forming information is written (hereinafter referred to as a “layout file”) and data files of objects are archived and may be managed collectively or separately.
When forming information and objects are managed collectively, an output apparatus forms and outputs the objects in accordance with the forming information extracted from a formed document. On the other hand, when forming information and objects are managed separately, an output apparatus refers to object identifiers, such as URLs (uniform resource locators), that are written in the forming information, obtains objects, and forms and outputs the obtained objects based on the forming information.
Because each object is specified to be output in accordance with the forming information as described above, it is possible to create and edit document data without changing data of the objects.
A page description language (PDL) called personalized print markup language (PPML) is an example of a formed document. PPML describes forming information in an XML (extensible markup language) format and locates objects within a page in accordance with the forming information. With PPML, it is possible to specify objects internally (internal data) and/or externally (external data). Objects that are specified internally (hereinafter referred to as “internally specified objects”) are embedded within a layout file. Objects that are specified externally (hereinafter referred to as “externally specified objects”) are specified with identifiers such as URLs.
It goes without saying that data files of externally specified objects and a layout file are archived and may be managed collectively or separately. When externally specified objects and a layout file are managed collectively, an output apparatus forms and outputs the objects in accordance with the forming information of the layout file extracted from a formed document. On the other hand, when externally specified objects and a layout file are managed separately, an output apparatus refers to object identifiers, such as URLs, that are written in the forming information of the layout file, obtains objects, and forms and outputs the obtained objects based on the forming information.
[DRM]
Digital rights management (DRM) is a technology used to manage the copyrights of content as typified by digital data such as music, moving images and still images (see Japanese patent No. 3738020). With this DRM technology, a policy in which usage conditions for respective content are written is set, and the content can be used only when the policy is satisfied.
A policy is represented in a combination of a plurality of usage conditions, and each usage condition includes condition items and condition values. “Condition items” are items that are examined for the usage control of content. “Condition values” are criterion values that are used to determine acceptance or non-acceptance in the examinations. For example, when a condition item is “authorized user”, its condition value is a value that identifies a user A or user B. As the condition items, for example, the period of usage of content, the frequency of usage, usage location and so on can be used.
An example of an embodiment of this DRM technology will be described below. In the following explanations, content protected by DRM is referred to as “protected content”, and content that is not protected by DRM is (explicitly) referred to as “non-protected content”.
A content administrator (hereinafter referred to as an “administrator”) generates a license including a policy in which encrypted content obtained by encrypting content, a decryption key for decrypting the encrypted content, and usage conditions for the content are set, and distributes protected content in which meta information for obtaining the license is added to the encrypted content.
A person who obtained the protected content (hereinafter referred to as a “user”) requests the license using the meta information included in the protected content. The administrator issues the license to authorized users and users who have paid therefor.
A user who obtained the license uses the decryption key included in the license in accordance with the policy and consumes the protected content. As used herein, “the consumption of content” refers to a process in which data such as images and moving images is processed and output to a screen or in the form of printouts, a process in which content is copied or edited, and so on. To consume protected content, the usage environment (date and time of usage, user, etc.) of the content and the usage conditions written in the policy are examined to perform a policy evaluation for determining whether or not the protected content can be consumed.
According to another embodiment of the DRM, for example, the distribution of protected content is controlled such that the protected content is distributed only to terminals within a network as typified by a cell phone network, and the usage of the protected content by the terminals is controlled in accordance with the policy set in the protected content.
As described above, it is possible to control the usage of objects by protecting the objects with DRM. However, in the case of a formed document, objects are output in accordance with a layout written in the forming information, and thus output is possible by editing the forming information or changing the layout of the objects. Particularly when laying out and outputting a plurality of objects, a problem arises in that the layout differs significantly from the layout intended by the content administrator. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a medical tool, particularly a hollow needle for an instrument used in ocular surgery for the in-vivo disintegration of organic lenses by means of ultrasound, having a functional part and a connector part, with the connector part having handling means and serving to provide a removable connection to a handle. The invention further relates to a method for the production of such a medical tool.
2. Description of Related Art
Medical tools of the type under discussion have been known in practice for years. Concretely, such a medical tool may be, for example, an ultrasound-activated hollow needle for an ocular surgery instrument. Purely by way of example, we refer here to DE 10 2008 023 967 A1.
Ultrasound-activated hollow needles are used in cataract operations in the field of ocular surgery for the purpose of disintegrating lenses. To this end, the free end of the hollow needle—the functional part—is placed in high-frequency axial motion and moved directly toward the cataract. Ultrasound waves are emitted by the functional part in order to emulsify the tissue. Lens debris is suctioned off by the hollow needle along with a liquid supplied to the eye.
Before the operation, the medical tool must be connected to a handle via a connector part. If the hand-held medical equipment is an ultrasound-activated hollow needle for use in ocular surgery, said needle is connected to a handle that causes the functional part to oscillate and that suctions off lens debris. It is further known from the prior art for the connector part of the tool to have handling means. In order to connect the tool to the handle in the simplest manner possible, it may be gripped on the handling means. The handling means are embodied in an integral fashion with the connector part.
In order for the patient to recover after the surgery as quickly as possible, the attempt is made to conduct the intervention with a low level of trauma. Here, we wish to refer by way of example to the hollow needles used in ocular surgery, which are designed to be extremely small, with the trend in development moving toward ever-smaller dimensions and smaller lumens of the tools and hollow needles. However, it is problematic that tools that have already been used once cannot be reliably prepared or sterilized because their small dimensions and lumens. Therefore, patients are subjected to the realistic risk of cross-contamination if the tool has already been used and subsequently not correctly sterilized. Infections such as, for example, hepatitis or HIV may be transmitted in this manner.
Another problem lies in the fact that material fatigue occurs in the tools due to the small dimensions that, in an extreme case, may even cause the tool to break. Safely using tools that are placed into oscillation—such as, for example, hollow needles used in ocular surgery—multiple times is therefore not possible. The risk of injury to the patient is too high in the case of multiple uses of preprocessed tools. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Memory devices are widely used in many applications. Memory devices include, a static random access memory (SRAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and so on.
In general, DRAM can provide a higher degree of integration. However, DRAM requires constant refreshing. As a result, the use of DRAM is limited for computer main memories by its power consumption and slow refresh speed.
On the other hand, SRAM can maintain its logic state as long as an adequate power is supplied. SRAM can operate with a higher speed and lower power consumption. Thus, SRAM can be utilized for computer cache memories, embedded memories or networking equipment memories. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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It has been observed that, in the production of optoelectronic components comprising a copper substrate (which serves, in particular, as a heat sink and for mechanical stabilization), a very high number of rejects in respect of non-functional components, are produced, particularly if the optoelectronic components are light emitting diodes or laser-diodes.
Therefore, it could be helpful to provide a method with which a smaller number of rejects in respect of non-functional optoelectronic components are obtained. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a collapsible tent for truck beds and the like, and more particularly to such a tent which is rapidly and conveniently mounted on and dismounted from such a bed, is light in weight, is low in cost, and is particularly adapted for use with small pickups and four-wheel drive vehicles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art includes well-known portable enclosures, such as tents and camper shells, for mounting on a truck bed. Insofar as is known to the applicant, none of these prior art devices meet the need for an enclosure which is mounted on a truck bed for use and yet can be readily dismounted and compactly stowed for transportation to a campsite or the like.
Prior art tents are relatively expensive and slow to erect since they generally include elements secured to the ground to support the roof and upper portions of the walls of the tent. These elements also increase the bulk of a tent when it is in a collapsed configuration for stowage. Prior art camper shells for the bed of a pickup truck or the like utilize the bed for support, but, heretofore, substantial portions of these shells have been permanently assembled. The shells thus must be relatively bulky to provide sufficient interior room and, as a result, project upwardly and outwardly from the bed. Such shells therefore cannot be used when vehicles, typically four-wheel drive vehicles, are operated on narrow roads with limited vertical and horizontal clearances due to trees, rocks, and the like. Even where limited clearances are not a problem, the bulky structure of such a shell results in its being relatively heavy and expensive and thus not well suited for occasional use or for use where it is desired to mount and dismount the shell frequently.
It has long been recognized as highly advantageous to provide a collapsible tent for a truck bed or the like which can be readily erected when an enclosure is needed for living quarters and then readily dismantled and stowed when the truck is on the road. It has also been recognized as especially advantageous if the tent is relatively low in cost, light in weight, and even suited for operation of the vehicle at moderate speeds with the tent in an erect configuration. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for locking personal items to secure them from theft, and more particularly to a locking safety pin-like unit in combination with a chain for locking personal articles to a fixed object to prevent theft.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many efforts have been made to provide locking devices with which to secure small articles of personal property such as purses, briefcases, coats, skis, and other personal items where circumstances demand that they be left unattended for a period of time. A common locking device of this type is a chain and padlock used to prevent the theft of an unattended bicycle.
A known device for securing smaller personal articles is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,611,760 and consists of a combination lock and a cable which may be utilized to secure a briefcase to a fixed object. Combination cable locks are well known and the following U.S. Pat. Nos. are representative of this type of lock: 1,222,920; 1,267,894; 1,472,206; 1,627,462; 3,906,758; 4,064,715; 4,398,403; 4,543,806; and 4,597,273. Earlier known devices utilizing combination chains and lockable pins are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 200,990; 599,765, and 1,632,338.
While locking devices are well known, none of the known devices permit small articles to be locked universally to fixed objects. In most cases the construction of the known locks limits their use to specific applications and are generally cumbersome. Therefore, there is need for a locking device that may be utilized to universally attach small articles to a fixed or stationary object. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to quartz crystal oscillator elements and more particularly to a new and improved quartz crystal oscillator element.
Oscillator elements of various types are known. Generally the known oscillator elements comprise a quartz crystal substrate having a tuning fork configuration with two parallel prongs extending therefrom and have a natural frequency on the order of 32 KHZ. These conventional oscillator elements have electrodes disposed on opposed major surfaces thereof so that great care is required in mounting them and in making external circuit connections to them. During bonding of lead wires to the electrodes the conventional oscillator elements are subject to cracking because of their extreme thinness. Furthermore, the thins conventional oscillator elements have a low impact resistance. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a musical-tone-signal-generating apparatus, and more particularly, to a tone-color-selecting technique for the apparatus.
2. Prior Art
Among conventional electronic organs which can simulate a pipe organ, a type provided with a number of tone-selecting switches called "flute-couplers" is known. Each of these tone-selecting switches, for example, corresponds to one of the following foot-sounds: 1', 2', 4', 5(1/3)', 8', and 16'.
In the above-mentioned electronic organ, a plurality of the tone-selecting switches can be simultaneously turned on, so that a plurality of foot-sounds corresponding to the on-switches can be generated simultaneously. In order to generate a number of foot-sounds, a plurality of musical-tone-generating channels must be provided in a parallel fashion or in a time-sharing fashion. As a result, the number of the musical-tone-generating channels increases with the number of tones simultaneously generated, and consequently, the configuration of the apparatus becomes more complex and cost increases.
To overcome these problems, another technique is proposed (for example, see U.S. Pat. No. 3,823,390). This technique produces musical-tone waveforms to be generated by computation each time a number of tone colors are selected, and the resultant waveforms are stored into wave memories. The computation above is performed on the basis of the volume-level information and the musical-tone-spectrum information corresponding to the selected tone colors. According to the technique, though the number of the wave memories can be reduced, the circuit configuration for computing the waveforms must remain complex.
A similar problem occurs not only in the tone-color selection of the flute-coupler, but also in other tone-color-selections, such as that of a horn, a bass, or the like. For this reason, it was usual that simultaneous selection of two or more tone colors in the same tone group was inhibited, and only one tone color selected by one of the tone-color-selecting switches of each tone group was allowed. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The invention relates to a device for separating a harvested stream, a cleaning system including such a separation device, and a harvesting machine including such a cleaning system.
The invention applies to the field of mechanised harvesting of fruit growing on trees or bushes, such as grapes, berries, coffee berries, olives and other fruit, in particular growing in bunches.
The fruit is conventionally harvested by a shaker system that straddles a row of plants to detach the harvest. The harvested crop stream obtained is then conveyed into the machine to be stored in at least one hopper provided for this purpose or in a trailer driven by.
However, because of the action of the shaker system, the harvested crop stream includes, in addition to detached fruit, and among other things, juice, leaves, wood particles, bunches of fruit of various sizes. To eliminate components other than fruit, in particular leaves and wood particles, harvesting machines include a cleaning system which is adapted to eliminate said components from the stream by suction before storage.
In particular, an aspiration or suction device can be disposed above the conveyor transporting the harvested stream from the shaker system to the storage facility. However, the problem then arises of adjusting the suction force to remove from the stream as many components without fruit as possible, and to do this without eliminating the harvested fruit and juice.
To solve this problem it has been proposed to equip these machines with a device for separating the harvested stream into two layers, respectively a top layer containing components of greater size, especially components other than fruit, and a bottom layer containing detached pieces of fruit and juice. Accordingly, as the suction device faces the top layer, the probability of sucking up components from the bottom layer is reduced.
Patent applications EP-1 192 850 and EP-1 336 333 propose to effect this separation by means of a conveyor equipped with elongate members that are fixed at the upstream end with an intermediate spacing allowing components of the bottom layer to pass between them. Accordingly, separation is effected by feeding the harvested stream upstream of said elongate members, then displacing said stream along the members over a sufficient length to complete said separation, and then ejecting the top and bottom layers in the downstream portion above which the suction device is placed.
In this arrangement the separation members on the machine are subjected to mechanical loads during harvesting, especially vibratory loads. Accordingly, the downstream ends of the members being free, the problem arises of holding said members in position to maintain a spacing between them that is adapted to retain the components of the top layer.
This problem is all the more critical in the case of a small harvesting machine in which the space available prevents the incorporation of a separator device, said device being fed by two conveyors coming from the shaker system. To complete separation, it is then necessary to use longer members, which increases the risk of relative displacement thereof.
The invention aims to improve on the prior art by in particular proposing a separator device including lengthwise separator members that are fixed to guarantee that their spacing is maintained under mechanical loads, this being achieved without forming any obstacle to the harvested stream transported by said device. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
A wireless service provider may provide access to a private network of an enterprise, such as an enterprise local area network (LAN). Enterprise devices (e.g., smart phones of enterprise employees) may use the wireless service provider's network to access the enterprise network. An enterprise administrator may control services, devices, and websites that may be accessed by the enterprise devices. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to biomedical electrodes and particularly to a biomedical electrode for use on a limb of an infant.
One form of limb band electrode heretofore made used a strip of vinyl plastic coated with a conductive layer along one side and a conductive gel laminated to the conductive layer along a length of the band such that the band could adhere around substantially the entire periphery of the limb of the infant. Another prior form of limb band electrode used a strip of plastic with a strip of absorbent paper adhered along one side of the plastic and a wire electrode extending through the strip of absorbent paper. The wire electrode and the strip of absorbent paper had a length to encircle the limb of the infant and, in use, the wire electrode was bent to conform around the limb. This limb band did not have an adhesive for attaching the band to the skin and, in use, required the addition of a saline solution to the absorbent paper to provide and maintain conductivity between the wire electrode and the skin.
A band that encircles the limb of a patient must be applied sufficiently loosely to avoid interference with circulation. Limb band electrodes of the type that are adapted to form an electrical contact with the skin around the entire periphery of the limb, can produce artifacts due to muscular contractions and changes in pressure and contact area between the band and the skin of the subject.
Biomedical electrodes have also heretofore been made in which an electrode pad having an electrically conductive electrode member was adapted to be adhesively secured by a pressure sensitive solid gel adhesive to a localized area of the infant's body. However, an electrode mounted on a patient's limb, is subjected to limb movement and the electrode lead wire exerts forces on the connection of the lead wire to the electrode pad and on the adhesive attachment of the electrode pad to the skin. The skin composition of premature infants and particularly gram weight neonatals is very thin and delicate and it is important to minimize stressing or irritating of the infant's skin and prevent potential infection or additional trauma. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method for joining metal materials at least one of which has an oxide film on the surface, in more detail to a low-cost method for joining the metal materials that can be performed in the air at low temperature and can minimize the influence of heat on the base materials and surroundings.
2. Related Art
Various metal materials are used in industrial products, and such metal materials are joined by various types of joining methods including joining between heterogeneous metal materials as well as joining between homogeneous materials. For example, copper- or aluminum-based metals, which have low electrical resistance, are used for parts of various batteries and electric/electronic devices. In these parts, such metal materials would be joined to each other. Further, for the purpose of reducing contact resistance, gold- or silver-plated parts would also be joined.
Metal materials as described above used in such parts can be joined by brazing with a solder. However, the resulting parts cannot be used at a temperature higher than the melting point of the solder (brazing material) (e.g. around 200° C.).
Further, even though it is possible to improve the use temperature of parts by using a high-temperature solder, solders containing a noble metal increases the cost. Further, although it is depending on the composition of a solder, intermetallic compounds or a Kirkendall void may be formed in a high temperature condition, which impairs the strength and the durability. For these reasons, it is desirable that metal materials as described above are directly joined to each other without using a brazing material.
On the other hand, the above-described metals except for gold typically have an oxide film on the surface. Such oxide films block direct joining, and thereby make metallurgical joining difficult.
For example, Patent Document 1 describes a method of joining aluminum to aluminum or aluminum to alumina, including: interposing an insert containing an element that causes eutectic reaction with the base material between faces to be joined, making them in contact with each other in an oxygen atmosphere, and then heating the faces to be joined to a temperature in the range that effects the eutectic reaction, so that a melt phase on the contact face due to the eutectic reaction as well as an oxide phase due to a reaction between the components of the base material and oxygen present at the gap of the contact faces are produced (see claim 1). As a result, it is described that the oxide films on the surfaces of the base material are broken and mixed in the melt phase along with the oxide produced by a reaction between the components of the melt phase and oxygen (see the middle part of the left column on page 3). | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates generally to an air handling system and, in particular, to an air handling system having modular sections.
More specifically, this invention relates to a modular section for an air handling system for housing an air conditioning component such as a heat exchanger coil for heating or cooling air that is being conducted through the air handling system. Some air handling systems are designed to allow the air conditioning coil to be removed from either the left or right side of the unit. This, however, places certain, oftentimes unwanted, limitations on the design of the system.
Due to installation limitations, this type of side access to the equipment is oftentimes denied and the coil must be removed through the top of the unit. This, in turn, requires the dismantling of a number of the air handling unit components to provide the necessary access to disconnect the coil from the air conditioning unit and raise the coil through the top opening. Current designs require the dismantling of the structure retainer of the modular unit that houses the coil as well as some of the related structural members. This procedure is not only time consuming but also poses a danger to the coil.
is an object of the present invention to improve air handling systems, and, in particular, modular units of the system in which air handling equipment is housed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a modular section for an air handling unit that is capable of housing a heat exchanger coil and which can be easily accessed for installing and removing of the coil.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide ease of access to an air conditioner coil housed within an air handling unit.
Another object of the present invention is to reduce the amount of time needed to install or remove a piece of air handling equipment from a modular section of an air handling system.
These and other objects of the present invention are attained by a rectangular shaped three-dimensional modular section of an air handling system that is arranged to house related air handling equipment such as a heat exchanger coil. The modular section includes a structural framework having a pair of rectangular spaced-apart end frames that are cojoined by longitudinally extended beams that are attached at either end to the opposing corners of the spaced apart frames. The openings in the framework between the beams are closed by heat insulated removable panels. The two ends of each beam are equipped with an end cap that mates with a corner piece that joins a vertical leg of a frame to a horizontal leg. The end caps each have a hole with a recessed entrance that aligns with a threaded member carried in the mating corner piece. A threaded fastener is passed through the hole and threaded into the member thus securing both ends of the beam in the opposed end frames. Removal of the one longitudinally extended beam and the adjacent side wall panels provides extensive access to the coil housed within the module section. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This application relates to a coupler for connecting a blowing air conduit assembly with a tuyere equipped with a tuyere punch. Although the invention will be described particularly for use with a tuyere equipped with a tuyere punch, it will be recognized that certain aspects of the invention have broader applications, and the coupler and conduit assembly may be used in other environments.
Converters for processing metals are commonly supplied with tuyeres in the form of pipes extending through the converter wall for supplying blowing air to the converter. A Y-fitting secured to the converter mounts a tuyere punching device including an elongated rod reciprocatingly extending through the tuyere pipe for selective operation to punch obstructions such as slag from the pipes. The Y-fitting also includes a connection for connecting a conduit assembly which supplies blowing gas to the tuyeres. The tuyere punch and blowing gas supply conduit assembly are exposed to a very dirty and oxidizing environment, and must be replaced or removed for cleaning and repair at relatively frequent intervals. The connections commonly used on the blowing gas supply conduit are of the screw thread-type, and removal and replacement thereof is very time consuming. Another problem is that the connection of the manifold supplying the blowing gas is spaced-apart a predetermined distance from the connection on the Y-fitting and these connections are at fixed location. The high temperature, dirty and oxidizing environment requires the use of stainless steel tubing for the blowing gas supply conduit assembly, and it is difficult to position such a tube and make proper connections due to the space limitations between the connections.
Conventional quick disconnect couplings cannot be used on a conduit assembly of the type described because the stainless steel tubing is relatively not extensible or retractable, and the space limitations make it impossible to insert and remove a conventional locking nose on a plug with respect to a socket on a quick disconnect coupling. In addition, conventional quick disconnect couplings are not properly sealed against entry of dirt into the area of the locking balls and biasing spring so use of a conventional quick disconnect coupling in an environment of the type described would soon render such coupling inoperative. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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This application is a U.S. National Phase Application under 35 USC 371 of International Application PCT/DE99/01870 (not published in English) filed Jun. 23, 1999.
The invention relates to a process for production of monocrystalline powders and a monogram membrane comprising the same.
A monogram membrane is a thin film constructed from one layer of powder. The powder grains are bonded together.
From the article entitled xe2x80x9cMonograin layersxe2x80x9d by T. S. Velde and G. W. M. T. van Helden in Philips Technical Review, 29 (1968), 238-242, it is known that a monogram membrane can be produced from monocrystalline CdS powder. Monocrystalline powder comprising CdS is obtained by crushing a relatively large single crystal. A bonding agent is then applied as a thin film on a glass substrate. The powder is scattered on the film of the bonding agent. Thereupon a layer of the powder adheres to the bonding agent. The other powder grains not attached to the bonding agent are eliminated. Dissolved resin, polymer or components for the same are added to the powder grains adhering to the bonding agent. After the solution has been dried and cured, the film containing a powder layer is peeled from the substrate. If necessary, the powder grains can be exposed by etching, starting from the surface. Otherwise the powder grains are or remain held together by the resin, etc. and thus form the desired monogram membrane.
One problem is the production of the monocrystalline powder. For example, it is relatively expensive first of all to produce a relatively large single crystal. It is also hardly possible to produce powder grains of uniform size by mechanical crushing.
Powder grains of uniform size are necessary in order to obtain a monogram membrane of uniform thickness.
A monogram membrane can be used advantageously in the art of photovoltaics, among others. Copper indium diselenide is a particularly suitable material for this purpose.
The object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive process for production of monocrystalline powder with predetermined grain sizes. A further object of the invention is to provide, for the first time, particular monogram membranes comprising powders formed according to the process.
The objects are achieved by a process having the features described hereinbelow as well as by a monogram membrane having the features described hereinbelow. Advantageous embodiments are specified hereinbelow.
The present invention concerns a process for producing a monocrystalline powder comprising a semiconductor material. The process comprises:
(a) fusing together individual components of the semiconductor material or salts thereof to form a melt;
(b) adding a fluxing agent to the melt;
(c) adjusting the temperature of the melt together with the fluxing agent such that the components or salts thereof melt and at the same time the powder to be produced crystallizes out, so that monocrystalline powder grains grow; and
(d) cooling the melt such that the growth of the monocrystalline powder grains is stopped.
The present invention also relates to a monogram membrane comprising monocrystalline copper indium diselenide or GaAs grains produced according to the above-described process.
According to the process, a melt is formed and a fluxing agent is added. The melt is formed from the individual components of a semiconductor material, preferably a II/VI or III/V semiconductor, an example of which can therefore be the components of copper indium diselenide or GaAs. Salts containing the components can also be fused instead of the components. The components or their salts are preferably chosen such that the components are present in the melt in the same stoichiometric composition as that of the powder to be produced.
The melt must then be brought to a temperature at which the individual components or their salts become fused and at the same time the powder to be produced crystallizes out. Such a temperature typically lies between 300xc2x0 C. and 1000xc2x0 C. In the appropriate temperature range, monocrystalline powder grains are formed in the melt. Once the powder grains have reached the desired size, the melt is cooled or quenched so rapidly that the growth of the powder grains is stopped as a result. The appropriate instant of quenching, as well as the appropriate temperature profile for obtaining desired powder sizes are determined by, for example, preliminary experiments. After quenching or cooling it is expedient to eliminate the fluxing agent.
The process is simple and inexpensive, since it is not necessary to produce large single crystals beforehand. The grains grow uniformly, and so the resulting powder comprises grains of uniform size.
To produce copper indium diselenide monocrystalline powder, the salt melt can be formed from CuSe and In, or from Cu, Se and In, or from Cuxe2x80x94In alloys and Se, or from Cu, In or Se salts with appropriate melting points. A typical melt then has the composition of, for example, 6.35 g Cu, 11.5 g In, 15.8 g Se and 40 vol % CuSe.
NaCl or an excess of Se or selenides can be used as a fluxing agent in a melt containing copper indium diselenide. The proportion of fluxing agent typically amounts to 40 vol % of the melt. In general, however, it can range between 10 vol % and 90 vol %. The melt together with the fluxing agent is introduced into, for example, a quartz ampoule. The quartz ampoule is evacuated and fused. Thereafter the quartz ampoule together with the contents cited as an example is heated to at least 300xc2x0 C., especially 600xc2x0 C. As soon as the components have melted, monocrystalline copper indium diselenide grains begin to grow. The growth of a semiconductor such as copper indium diselenide takes place as a function of time and of the fluxing agent used. Depending on fluxing agent and desired size of the powder grains, a treatment time ranging from 5 minutes to 100 hours is necessary.
In order to stop the growth selectively, the melt is cooled. The cooling rate determines the fault content and fault type in the material, as well as the surface morphology. Quenching can be completed within a few seconds. The melt can also be cooled over a period of several hours. For this purpose the quartz ampoule together with the contents can be cooled in a water bath or in air at an instant determined by preliminary experiments. Thereafter the contents are removed from the quartz ampoule and the fluxing agent is eliminated. In the case of NaCl, this can be achieved, for example, by dissolving the NaCl in water, provided the powder grains are insoluble in water, as is the case of copper indium diselenide. If Se is used as the fluxing agent, it can be eliminated by volatilization of Se.
The temperature range in which recrystallization takes place depends on the fluxing agent and the desired grain size, and can lie between 100xc2x0 C. and 1000xc2x0 C. The process has been used to produce, among other substances, monocrystalline copper indium diselenide powder with extremely high electrical conductivity. Grain diameters of 40 xcexcm, for example, have been obtained. Grains with resistance of 10 to 30xcexa9 have been achieved. These values correspond to specific electrical resistivities of 0.1 to 0.6 xcexa9m.
It was possible to produce powders with diameters of 0.1 xcexcm to 0.1 mm.
From the powders produced according to the process, there can be produced by the prior art described hereinabove in the background of the invention monogram membranes which can be used, for example, in photovoltaics. A minimum diameter of 10 xcexcm was necessary for production of monogram membranes, since otherwise a continuous polymer film was not possible. A diameter of 50 xcexcm should not be exceeded for the production of monogram membranes, since otherwise, in the art of photovoltaics, for example, undesirably high series resistances develop and material is wasted. It is worth emphasizing that the grain sizes produced according to the process vary only slightly within a batch. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Descaling of metal strip, especially stainless steel strip, has taken many forms in the past. The simplest technique involves only the pickling of the strip in mineral acid such as sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, nitric acid, or mixtures thereof. This may work with some grades of stainless steel with very light scale, however, in most cases more is needed than just an acid pickle. In those cases, various compositions and techniques have been developed to condition the scale before acid pickling. Typical compositions for scale conditioning include mixtures of alkali metal hydroxides and alkali metal nitrates with various other additives, such as alkali halides, carbonates, and/or other oxidizing agents. These are often referred to as descaling or scale conditioning salts. A conventional technique for using such compositions is in the fused anhydrous state in a pot at elevated temperatures, e.g. 800° F. to 1000° F., through which the strip is passed, followed by an acid pickle. While this works well in many cases, nevertheless there are certain drawbacks to this technique in some instances. For example, the bath has to be maintained at elevated temperatures, which may be energy intensive. Also, the fused caustic baths require submerged rolls which may be difficult to maintain, and can cause marring of the surface of the strip being descaled. Additionally, there is the issue of drag-out of the fused composition, i.e. as the strip exits from the pot of fused composition, it carries a certain amount of the fused composition with it, especially at high strip speeds. Furthermore, fused bath compositions are limited to compounds that have long term stability at elevated temperatures.
Other techniques for descaling are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 3,126,301, issued Mar. 24, 1964, entitled “Molten Salt Spray Process for Descaling Stainless Steel” and U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,798, issued Dec. 28, 1993, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Descaling Metal Strip”. These patents disclose methods and structures for spraying fused caustic-containing compositions onto a moving strip of steel to condition the scale, after which the scale is pickled off. These offer several advantages, in some instances, over the technique of using a pot of fused material. However, they too have some drawbacks in some instances. They require high temperature nozzles, and the composition must be maintained at elevated temperatures, e.g. 800° F. to 1000° F.
Thus, there is a need for a relatively inexpensive, low temperature, and efficient technique for conditioning scale on metal surfaces, especially on stainless steel strip, or the like. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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This application claims Paris Convention priority of DE 100 06 324.1 filed Feb. 12, 2000 the complete disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The invention concerns an NMR (=nuclear magnetic resonance) probe head comprising an RF (=radio frequency) receiver coil system, which can be cooled down to cryogenic temperatures, and a room temperature pipe extending in a z direction for receiving a sample tube containing a sample substance to be examined through NMR measurements.
A cooled NMR probe head of this type is e.g. known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,256.
The probe head is installed in a magnet, for generating a highly homogeneous static B0 field, and comprises RF receiver coils disposed about a z axis which are cooled down during operation to temperatures of approximately 10 to 25 K by means of suitable heat exchangers and heat conducting elements to improve the signal-to-noise-ratio of the received NMR signal during the measurement. The RF receiver coils are in an evacuated region for heat insulation reasons which is formed essentially by a usually metallic casing of the probe head which is penetrated by a room temperature pipe disposed cylindrically about the z axis for receiving a sample tube. To permit passage of the RF signals from the sample to the RF receiver coils, the otherwise metallic room temperature pipe is replaced in the axial region of the coils by an RF permeable inner pipe, in most cases a glass pipe, which is connected to the metallic parts of the room temperature pipe in a vacuum-tight fashion.
After insertion of the sample tube into the room temperature pipe from the bottom, it is substantially maintained at a desired temperature (usually approximately 300K) using warm air flowing from below through the room temperature pipe to control the temperature of the sample substance. This, however, causes the associated problem that the measuring sample xe2x80x9cfeelsxe2x80x9d the considerably cooler surroundings of the NMR resonator, cooled down to 10 to 25 K, and radially radiates heat in this direction. This lost heat must be continuously replenished by the surging warm tempering air flow to ensure that the measuring sample remains essentially at the desired temperature. In consequence, an axial and radial temperature gradient is produced in the measuring sample which strongly impairs the NMR measurement. It is therefore the underlying purpose of the present invention to provide a cooled NMR probe head comprising the above-mentioned features wherein the temperature gradients occurring during operation are considerably reduced with as simple as possible technical means and without thereby impairing the NMR measurement.
This object is achieved in accordance with the present invention in a both surprisingly simple and effective manner by providing a centering device for centering the sample tube in its measuring position about the axis of the room temperature pipe.
In addition to exchangeable sample tubes, the NMR probe heads in accordance with the invention also include so-called flow-through heads wherein the sample tube remains fixedly installed and the fluid to be examined is introduced through a thin conduit on the one side (bottom) and is guided out on the other side (top). Probe heads of this type may be used in continuous passage and also in a flow and stop mode (for an extended measuring period). These probe heads are used for rapid introduction of the sample as well as for an important analysis step following a liquid chromatography separating cell. The former are called flow-through probe heads, the latter LC-NMR coupling. Probe heads of this type are also referred to as LC heads (liquid chromatography, in particular also HPLC High Pressure Liquid Chromatography). Probe heads of this type can particularly profit from cryotechnology and also from the modifications in accordance with the invention. The transverse temperature gradients, extending radially with respect to the z axis, which can occur during operation of a cooled NMR probe head and which are substantially responsible for the instabilities in the spectrum and also in the lock system result from integration of the local axial temperature gradients along the z direction, from the bottom of the sample to the observed point. The local axial temperature gradients are given by the product of the heat loss per unit surface and the local reciprocal value of the mass flow of tempering gas. This mass flow distribution depends on the asymmetry and the angular deviation of the axis of the sample tube from the z axis of the temperature pipe. Since this asymmetry appears as a factor in the overall product, even small axial displacements or inclinations of the measuring sample within the room temperature pipe have a large influence on the tempering flow. Therefore, the proposed centering device can have a considerable effect with regard to a reduction in the temperature gradients in the xy plane and an improvement of the quality of the NMR signals in the cooled probe head.
In a further development which is particularly easy to realize, the centering device comprises one or more spacers disposed between the room temperature pipe and the sample tube and symmetrically distributed about the z axis of the room temperature pipe.
These spacers may be disposed in the area of the bottom of the sample tube in its measuring position and/or in the area of the feed opening of the room temperature pipe on the side of the room temperature pipe facing the sample tube.
Alternatively, the spacers may extend over the entire axial length of the RF receiver coil system thus effecting as precise a centering of the sample tube as possible in the room temperature pipe.
In advantageous embodiments of the NMR probe head in accordance with the invention, several, preferably between 3 and 8, in particular 6 spacers are symmetrically distributed about the z axis of the room temperature pipe. This configuration has given the best results to date.
One further development is also advantageous, wherein the spacers consist of strips of elastic material extending in the direction of the z axis which are rigidly connected to the room temperature pipe at their ends facing away from the sample glass in its measuring position and whose ends facing the sample glass in its measuring position have a bead which is bulged towards the sample glass and whose free leg seats on the room temperature pipe. The centering device of this embodiment is particularly simple and inexpensive to produce and can be easily retrofitted in existing NMR probe heads.
To prevent disturbance of the NMR measurements, the spacers should be produced from a material which is transparent to RF radiation and possibly also magnetically compensated.
In a preferred further development, the spacers consist of sheet metal strips having a thickness of approximately 100 xcexcm and a width transverse to the z axis of approximately 0.5 mm to 2 mm, preferably approximately 1 mm.
A particularly preferred embodiment of the NMR probe head in accordance with the invention provides for radiation shields disposed between the RF receiver coil system and the room temperature pipe which surround the room temperature pipe in a radial direction, extend in the z direction and are made of one or more materials oriented in the z direction which are almost completely transparent to RF fields or at least have an absorption of less than 5%, preferably less than 1% for RF fields.
Although cryotechnology has used radiation shields for some time to curtail heat radiation losses, this procedure is not directly applicable for a cooled NMR probe head since the normally metallic radiation shields, which reflect heat radiation, either completely block or at least strongly impair propagation of RF fields from the measuring sample to the RF receiver coils such that the incoming NMR signals are at least highly attenuated, distorted or completely unusable.
In accordance with the inventive solution, the radiation shields provided in the vacuum between the RF coils and the room temperature pipe solely comprise materials which are oriented in the z direction. The axial orientation of the radiation shield material prevents their finite susceptibility from impairing the resolution of the NMR signals. On the other hand, the physical properties of the materials should be such as to effect as large a transparency as possible in the region of radio frequency radiation. In most cases, this material property has the associated disadvantage that reflection of lost heat back towards the measuring sample is not very high.
It is advantageous if the radiation shields have at least a minimum separation from one another in the radial direction and do not contact each other or at the most contact at points or linearly to prevent direct heat conduction between the individual radiation shields in a radial direction which would lead to a thermal xe2x80x9cshort circuitingxe2x80x9d. Occasional contact between the radiation shields is not a serious problem, in particular if the chosen material has very low heat conduction. As long as the individual contacting points or lines are sufficiently spaced apart from one another, the overall heat conduction between the radially disposed radiation shields can be essentially neglected for the purposes of the invention.
One further development is particularly preferred, wherein the radiation shields are constructed from a material which reflects or at least absorbs radiation in a wavelength range of 10 xcexcmxe2x89xa6xcexxe2x89xa6100 xcexcm and which is transparent to radiation in a wavelength range of xcex greater than 100 mm. The former wavelength range corresponds to heat radiation at a temperature of between approximately 20K to 300K which corresponds to the temperature difference between the measuring sample and the cooled NMR coils. The latter wavelength range corresponds to radiation of a frequency above 3 GHz, wherein the RF range which is important for NMR measurements is between several MHz and below approximately 1 GHz.
An optimum material which has practically no absorption losses in the considered RF range, and on the other hand is not transparent in the above-mentioned heat radiation range, is e.g. glass or quartz.
The radiation shields of the NMR probe head in accordance with the invention could theoretically be configured as tubes coaxially surrounding the room temperature pipe, however, the thickness of the tube material would normally be too large.
The radiation shields could also be constructed from a unidirectional foil whose production and processing is, however, relatively difficult. Orientation of the foil along the z axis can be realized e.g. through application of mechanical tensile stress. In contrast thereto, one embodiment is preferred, in which the radiation shields are made from a unidirectional fabric. Unidirectional fabric of this type having correspondingly suitable materials is commercially available.
These fabrics preferably consist of fiber mats, in particular fiber glass mats which are made of fibers having a diameter of less than 10 xcexcm and a total thickness of approximately 30 xcexcm. When using such fiber glass mats, it would be feasible to wind them in several layer in a spiralling fashion about the room temperature pipe on its vacuum side instead of providing a radial sequence of individual cylindrical radiation shields.
In a further particularly preferred embodiment, the radiation shields are formed of rods or fibers, preferably glass fibers and/or quartz fibers oriented in the z direction and radially disposed about the axis of the room temperature pipe. Fibers of this type are available with diameters of between 10 and 50 xcexcm. Although, glass filaments having a diameter of less than 5 xcexcm are also available, these would probably be difficult to work with.
In a preferred further development, the radiation shields are formed of fiber bundles having somewhat higher overall mechanical stability than the individual filaments and are thus easier to work, similar to rods.
In embodiments of the invention, the rods or fibers may be disposed freely in space and be fastened only at their ends.
Alternatively, the rods or fibers may be mounted to a support pipe disposed coaxially with respect to the room temperature pipe, preferably on the side of the room temperature pipe facing the RF receiver coil system.
In a preferred further development the rods or fibers are mounted to the support pipe or room temperature pipe using a glue transparent to RF radiation in order to prevent attenuation of the RF radiation from the measuring sample to the RF receiver coil due to gluing.
One further development is also advantageous, wherein the rods or fibers are densely packed in the peripheral direction about the axis of the room temperature pipe to prevent xe2x80x9cvisible gapsxe2x80x9d as viewed in the radial direction. In this fashion, the rods or fibers each form a radiation shield connected in the peripheral direction.
One embodiment of the NMR probe head in accordance with the invention is particularly preferred in which a tempering means is disposed between the RF receiver coil system and the sample tube, extending in the z direction, surrounding the sample tube in the radial direction, and preferably formed from a material having high thermal conductivity which is almost completely transparent to RF fields or at least has an absorption of less than 5%, preferably less than 1% for RF fields.
This prevents dissipation of heat from the measuring sample and thus uneven cooling without significantly impairing the received NMR signals. The advantage of such a tempering means compared to a heated air flow about the sample tube is mainly the fact that the thermal efficiency can act uniformly through the entire axial length of the sample tube. The central area is thus as well tempered as the edge areas thereby effectively preventing axial temperature gradients. In contrast thereto, a conventionally heated air flow, without the heating means in accordance with the invention, usually enters into the room temperature pipe at the lower end of the sample tube, starts to heat up the sample tube at this location, and continues to cool down while rising in the axial direction. The temperature of the heated air flow in the upper region of the sample tube will therefore always be less than in the lower area thereby inevitably reducing the tempering performance in the upper region of the sample tube. As a result, there will always be an axial temperature gradient which can be somewhat reduced by increasing the amount of air per unit time, however cannot be prevented in principle. Moreover, the corresponding countermeasures are highly limited since, if the amount of air per unit time is too large, vibration free positioning or proper rotation of the sample tube can no longer be guaranteed.
In a possible further development of this embodiment, the tempering means comprises a layer having a radial thickness of less than 1 mm, preferably less than 50 xcexcm, radially surrounding the sample tube in the axial region of the RF receiver coil system and formed of a material which at least partially absorbs radiation in a wavelength range of 100 nmxe2x89xa6xcexxe2x89xa6100xcexcm and which is transparent to radiation in a wavelength range of xcex greater than 100 mm.
For uniform heating of the layer, the NMR probe head in accordance with the invention is preferably provided with a heating means.
In a preferred further development, the heating means comprises a device for irradiating the layer with radiation in a wavelength range of 100 nmxe2x89xa6xcexxe2x89xa6100 xcexcm, in particular with heat radiation, the device being preferably disposed on the side of the room temperature pipe facing the RF receiver coil system.
Many materials which can be used to construct the room temperature pipe already absorb in the desired wavelength range such that heating up using radiation does not require a special radiation-absorbing layer.
The radiation absorbing heating layer may surround the room temperature pipe over a large area. Alternatively, the layer may be disposed about the room temperature pipe in axially extending strips disposed at a separation from one another in the peripheral direction.
One further development is particularly preferred in which the layer is electrically conducting and can be heated through application of an electric voltage.
Alternatively or additionally, a further embodiment provides that the tempering means comprises one or more heating coils of thin, in particular layered, electrically good conducting material each comprising an outgoing and return conductor. The outgoing and return conductors of the heating coils are electrically connected to one another at one end and can be supplied with heating current from a current source at the other end.
In a particularly preferred manner, the outgoing and return conductors of the heating coils are disposed bifilarly at as small a separation from one another as possible to minimize generation of a disturbing magnetic field during current flow.
In this connection, it is advantageous if the outgoing and return conductors of the heating coils consist of two longitudinal strips disposed one on top of the other which are electrically insulated from one another by an insulation layer or insulation strip.
A further development is particularly preferred with which the outgoing and return conductors of the heating coils are made from materials having different magnetic susceptibilities and which are selected such that each overall heating coil is magnetically compensated towards the outside.
The tempering means can be geometrically designed such that one or more heating coils are disposed in a spiral fashion about the room temperature pipe.
As an alternative, it is also possible to dispose several, preferably at least 8, heating coils at a separation from one another in the peripheral direction about the z axis of the room temperature pipe, which extend parallel to the z direction.
Advantageously, the heating coils are spatially oriented such that they are minimally coupled to the RF receiver coil system.
One embodiment of the heating coils having a material exhibiting as good an electrical conductance as possible (e.g. Cu) is particularly preferred, wherein the conductors have rectangular, possibly square or circular cross-sections (typically of a magnitude of 10 xcexcmxc3x9710 xcexcm or less). Due to the resulting very small overall surface covering, the room temperature pipe maintains its good permeability to RF fields, and the RF losses are also very low due to both the small surfaces of the heating conductors and the good electrical (and thus RF) conductivity.
In a preferred further development of the above-described embodiment, a low-pass filter may be provided between the current source and the heating coils to minimize signal distortion and residual attenuation.
One further development is also preferred in which a parallel resonant circuit is provided between the current source and the heating coils whose resonance frequency is the most sensitive RF frequency relevant for NMR measurements. Such a rejector circuit also prevents transmission of disturbing signals to the RF receiver coil system and minimizes unwanted coupling out of the RF signals via the heating coils.
In a further development, the current source advantageously supplies the heating coils with alternating current in order to keep further disturbances in the static magnetic field as small as possible. The angular frequency is thereby selected such that generated side bands are all outside of the observed NMR spectral window.
Further advantages of the invention can be extracted from the description and the drawing. The features mentioned above and below can be used in accordance with the invention either individually or collectively in any arbitrary combination. The embodiments shown and described are not to be understood as exhaustive enumeration but rather have exemplary character for describing the invention.
The invention is shown in the drawing and explained in more detail by means of embodiments. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field
Example embodiments include a composition comprising a mixture of at least one iridium organometallic compound and an electrically conductive polymer, an organic active layer comprising the same, an organic memory device comprising the organic active layer and methods for fabricating the same. Other example embodiments include a composition comprising a mixture of at least one iridium organometallic compound and an electrically conductive polymer, an organic active layer comprising the same, an organic memory device comprising the organic active layer with improved operating characteristics and improved non-volatility, which comprises a first electrode, a second electrode and the organic active layer between the first and second electrodes, and methods for fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the recent developments in digital communication technology, demand for a variety of memory devices has been increasing. For example, portable electronic devices suitable for use in applications including, for example, mobile terminals, smart cards, electronic money, digital cameras, personal digital assistants, digital audio players, multimedia players and others, are required for retaining data in memory even when no power is being applied to the memory device, thereby tending to reduce the memory-related power consumption of the device.
In view of the known limitations of conventional flash memory devices and the processes for fabricating such devices, efforts have continued toward developing next-generation nonvolatile memory devices that overcome at least certain of the limitations associated with conventional silicon-based memory devices and provide one or more advantages over the conventional devices including, for example, increased operating speeds, increased density and/or capacity, reduced power consumption and/or reduced fabrication costs.
Some of these next-generation memories may be generally categorized as, for example, ferroelectric RAMs, magnetic RAMs, phase change RAMs, nanotube memories, holographic memories, organic memories, and/or other groupings that tend to reflect the particular constituent materials used in forming the primary memory cells, and/or the particular configuration of the materials and/or structures within the memory cells utilized in the semiconductor memory devices.
Organic memories, for example, may include an organic active layer formed from an organic material positioned between an upper electrode and a lower electrode to utilize the bistability of resistance values obtained when a voltage may be applied to the devices for storing data. Such organic memories have attracted attention as next-generation memories because they provide the desired non-volatility, which may be an advantage associated with conventional flash memories, while also providing improved processability, reducing fabrication costs and/or improving the degree of integration.
Examples of such an organic memory may utilize a 7,7,8,8-tetracyano-p-quinodimethane (CuTCNQ), which may be an organometallic charge transfer complex compound, as the organic material. Another example includes semiconductor devices comprising an upper electrode, a lower electrode and an intermediate layer between the upper and lower electrodes, wherein the intermediate layer may be formed from a mixture of an ionic salt (e.g., NaCl or CsCl) and a conductive polymer. Other work has suggested organic memory devices comprising organic active layers and a metal nanocluster applied between the organic active layers, but efforts in this area have been hampered by low yields, difficulties in forming suitable metal nanoclusters, and reset voltages of about 0 V, rendering such devices generally unsuitable for widespread use as a nonvolatile organic memory. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Critically ill patients with shock requiring vasopressors are at a high risk of death. High output shock (also known as distributive shock) is the most common form of shock, and is often caused by sepsis [1]. When shock is treated with vasopressors, two main classes of vasopressors are in the intensivists' armamentarium: catecholamines and vasopressin type peptides [1]. Currently, no specific type of vasopressor (e.g. norepinephrine, vasopressin, dopamine) compared to another vasopressor has been shown to improve outcome [2]. All vasopressors have limitations and potential side effects. Patients treated with catecholamines for shock often develop tachyphylaxis thereby limiting the utility of these agents, and high doses of catecholamines can cause direct cardiotoxicity [3]. The toxic potential of catecholamines has been recently demonstrated in a randomized clinical trial of septic shock patients treated norepinephrine [4]. In this study, beta-blockade with esmolol was shown to improve survival in these patients by decreasing the heart rate. Thus, vasopressors that are not inotropes or chronotropes may be useful in patients with shock. One such vasopressor is vasopressin, which is most commonly used as an adjuvant with catecholamines. Vasopressin has been shown to improve outcomes in patients with less severe septic shock, but has toxicity (e.g. cardiac and mesenteric ischemia) at high doses and interacts with hydrocortisone [5]. In high-output shock, the patients are critically ill and mean arterial pressure cannot be maintained without vasopressors. High-output shock is defined as a cardiovascular Sequential Organ Function Assessment (SOFA) score of greater than or equal to 3 or 4 as well as a cardiac index of >2.4 liters/min/BSA 1.73 m2 [10]. In high-output shock, if blood pressure cannot be maintained, it is uniformly fatal. In patients that cannot maintain their blood pressure, the addition of a ‘rescue’ vasopressor in this setting could be useful.
A subset of patients with shock (including high-output shock and other types of shock) are catecholamine-resistant. That is, they are unresponsive (do not exhibit an appropriate increase in blood pressure) in response to treatment with a dose of a catecholamine equivalent to a dose of at least 0.2 mcg/kg/min of norepinephrine.
Angiotensin II (sometimes referred to herein as ATII) is a naturally occurring peptide hormone with endocrine, autocrine, paracrine, and intracrine hormonal effects. It is a potent direct vasoconstrictor, constricting both arteries and veins and increasing blood pressure [6]. It has a half-life in circulation of approximately 30 seconds, but while in tissue, its half-life may be as long as 15-30 minutes. ATII increases secretion of ADH and ACTH, and may potentiate sympathetic effects by direct action on postganglionic sympathetic fibers. It also acts on the adrenal cortex, causing it to release aldosterone [6,7]. High doses of angiotensin II have been reported to induce adverse side effects, including for example, mesenteric ischemia and bronchospasm. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention generally relates to a catheter management clip. More particularly, the present invention relates to a catheter management clip located on the handle of a device requiring a catheter.
Catheters are tubular medical devices for insertion into the body in order to perform a variety of medical procedures. These catheters can vary in size, shape and function, and often consist of a long, flexible, and thin tubular portion that is connected to an accessory or device that a healthcare professional uses to perform the medical procedure. Catheters are generally very fine and delicate in nature, and should be handled, stored, and shipped with great care.
In addition to the delicate nature of catheters, the sterility of catheters is also of paramount importance so as to prevent infection within the body.
During the course of various medical procedures, a healthcare professional often works with a variety of catheter-requiring devices. As a function of practicality, given the length of these devices (catheters often range from 170-200 cm long) and the speedy nature of these procedures, healthcare professionals must balance maintaining the sterility and organization of these lengthy devices with the need to perform the procedure efficiently. Oftentimes catheters can become tangled or dropped, requiring additional time to either untangle the catheter or the use of a brand new catheter entirely.
Current devices in the prior art generally provide for the organization and management of catheters that do not require constant manipulation. These devices either provide minimal support for the catheter in use, or an additional step must be taken to secure these devices onto the catheter. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Photodynamic therapy can be used for the treatment of a variety of oncological, cardiovascular, dermatological, and ophthalmic diseases. In cancer treatment, for example, photoactive materials can be preferentially localized in tumor tissues upon systemic administration and then can be irradiated to produce reactive species that can irreversibly damage cells. Under appropriate conditions, such a method can selectively destroy diseased tissues without damaging adjacent healthy tissues.
Many photoactive drugs and dyes are hydrophobic (due to at least some organic content), however, and this has required the development of various different delivery vehicles or carriers to enable the stable dispersion of such photoactive compounds into aqueous systems. Carriers have included oil-dispersions (micelles), liposomes, polymeric micelles, hydrophilic drug-polymer complexes, and so forth. Some such approaches have elicited hypersensitivity reactions, and others have suffered from relatively poor drug loading, self-aggregation of the drug, and/or accumulation of the drug in normal tissues.
Ceramic-based nanoparticles such as organically-modified silicates have also been doped with photoactive drugs or dyes for use as delivery vehicles. Such nanoparticles are generally quite stable, can effectively protect doped molecules from extreme pH and temperature conditions, can be easily functionalized with various different surface-modifying groups, and at least some are known for their compatibility with biological systems. Processes for the preparation of such doped ceramic-based nanoparticles have typically involved the use of organic solvent (which can hinder particle formation), however, and have suffered from other drawbacks such as the need for multiple process steps, multiple catalysts, formation of micellar compositions, and/or production of core-shell particle structures. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device, and, more particularly, to a static RAM (i.e, Random Access Memory), which is composed of MIS (i.e., Metal Insulator Semiconductor) type field effect transistors (which will be shortly referred to as "MISFETs") and a fabrication process thereof.
In an MIS type semiconductor integrated circuit device (which will be shortly referred to as an "IC"), and input protection circuit composed of a resistor and a diode may be connected between an input terminal and a gate so as to protect the gate of an MISFET which is to be fed with a signal coming from the outside of the IC. It is conceivable to use a diffusion resistor, which is prepared in a semiconductor wafer by the diffusion technique, as that input protection resistor. According to our investigations, however, it has been found that, in case a C-MOS is used in the peripheral circuit unit other than the memory cells of the aforementioned static RAM, such diffusion resistor never fails to be formed with a PN junction so that the ratch-up phenomenon takes place. In order to prevent this phenomenon, we have conceived to use a polycrystalline silicon film (which will be shortly referred to as a "poly Si film"), which is formed over the field oxide film of the semiconductor wafer, as the input protection resistor. As a forming method of this input protection resistor, we have also conceived to use the poly-Si film which is formed simultaneously with the poly-Si gate electrodes of the MISFETs of the peripheral circuit unit, the poly-Si gate electrodes of the MISFETs in the memory cells and the poly-Si word lines in the memory cells. In this case, however, in order to shorten the propagation delay time of the signals at the gates and the word lines, the aforementioned poly-Si film has to be doped with phosphorous to have its specific resistance lowered (to 30 .OMEGA./.quadrature., for example). In order to have the desired resistivity (about 2 K.OMEGA.) required of the input protection resistor, therefore, it is necessary to enlarge the wiring length of the poly-Si film. As a result, it has also been found that the area occupied by the protection resistor is enlarged to augment the chip size, which is disadvantageous for the improvement of integration. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a cleaning device and an image forming apparatus.
2. Related Art
There is a related technology for cleaning a discharge member of a charging device. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
In modern processors, execution of instructions occurs, in general, in the following sequential order: the processor reads an instruction, a decoder in the processor decodes the instruction, and, then, the processor executes the instruction. In older processors the clock speed of the processor was generally slow enough that the reading, decoding and executing of each instruction could occur in a single clock cycle. However, modern microprocessors have improved performance by going to shorter clock cycles (that is, higher frequencies). These shorter clock cycles tend to make instructions require multiple, smaller sub-actions that can fit into the cycle time. Executing many such sub-actions in parallel, as in a pipelined and/or super-scalar processor, can improve performance even further. For example, although the cycle time of a present-day processor is determined by a number of factors, the cycle time is, generally, determined by the number of gate inversions that need to be preformed during a single cycle. Ideally, the execute stage determines the cycle time. However, in reality, this is not always the case. With the desire to operate at high frequency, the execute stage can be performed across more than one cycle, since it is an activity that can be pipelined. In a large number of workloads the added latency caused by the additional cycle(s) has only a small impact on processor performance. The ultimate goal of many systems is to be able to complete the execution of as many instructions as quickly and as efficiently as possible without adversely impacting the cycle time of the processor.
One way to increase the number of instructions, or equivalent instructions, that can be executed is to create a single instruction that can perform work that currently can only be accomplished by using multiple instructions without causing any timing problems during the execute phase. An instruction of this type can be especially effective in performing N-wide add-compare-select operations. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates to a pneumatic tube carrier of the type which may be used to carry objects, such as mail and newspapers from outside to inside a building. The particular embodiment disclosed in this application relates to a system designed to function in a residential environment. The outside terminal serves as a mailbox and in the disclosure below is operated manually by the postman in much the same way a regular mailbox would be operated. The inside terminal is designed to be operated automatically or semiautomatically.
Pneumatic carrier systems are known in the prior art and have heretofore been used primarily in banks and savings and loans to permit transactions to take place between a customer--usually in a car--and an employee of the bank or savings and loan stationed inside the building. Such systems are manual in the sense that the transaction takes place by the customer removing a carrier from a terminal and manually opening it, placing money, checks or the like in the carrier, closing the carrier, placing the carrier back in the terminal and activating the system by closing a door, pushing a button, etc. The carrier travels through a pneumatic tube to the employee who removes the carrier from the inside terminal, manually opens the carrier, removes the contents, carries out the desired transaction, places documentation such as a deposit slip or other contents in the carrier, closes the carrier, places the carrier back in the inside terminal, and activates the system, sending the carrier back to the customer, who carries out the same steps all over again to remove the items from the carrier. This system requires a person on both ends who must carry out a series of steps in the correct order for the system to work properly.
This type of system is suitable only for fully attended use, as described above. Such a system is completely impractical for use in a residential environment since the occupant of the residence and the postman or newspaper carrier would seldom, if ever, be at opposite ends of the system at the same time. In addition, the manual systems currently in use cannot be used for unattended automatic or semiautomatic use in financial institutions after regular business hours or when an attendant is not needed as a part of a transaction, i.e., making a deposit.
A manual system is also not practical for other commercial or for industrial because a person must be almost constantly in attendance at one or both ends to remove contents and dispatch the carrier. An automatic system would be an ideal manner of transmitting plans, drawings and even manufacturing parts and supplies from one part of a large industrial area to another.
A number of problems have heretofore prevented development of a practical automatic pneumatic carrier system. These include the need for a carrier which will travel in any direction in the system and yet be capable of being manually loaded and manually or automatically unloaded, the need for a system with means for accumulating contents unloaded over a period of time and the need for a system which requires only one blower located remote from the terminals and yet capable of an efficient "push-pull" type of transport action. These problems are solved in the invention described below. The resulting system has application in an number of different fields, including financial, residential, commercial and industrial. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The invention relates to a spoiler arrangement on the rear of a motor vehicle, particularly a passenger car, which is arranged in the rear area of a fast back and extends essentially above a rear window.
From the German Pat. Document No. DE-OS 35 11 809, a spoiler arrangement of the initially mentioned type is known which is installed fixedly on the rear and functions well. This spoiler arrangement has the purpose of, on the one hand, reducing the drag coefficient of the vehicle and, on the other hand, increasing the negative lift at the rear axle.
So that this spoiler arrangement will not be damaged when driving through a certain type of automatic car wash installations, an expensive swivel mechanism is provided for the spoiler arrangement. In addition, the stationary spoiler arrangement impairs the free -- also stylistic -- design of the body in the area of the spoiler arrangement.
The EP-A 0 226 778 shows a spoiler arrangement arranged at a notchback of a motor vehicle which can be moved from a retracted inoperative position to an extended operative position and vice versa. In the inoperative position, the spoiler arrangement is arranged inside a recess-shaped receiving space of the rear opening hood.
This arrangement has the disadvantage that the recess-shaped receiving space arranged on the bottom side of the hood projects relatively far into the trunk, thereby considerably reducing the capacity of the trunk.
It is an object of the invention to take such measures on a spoiler arrangement arranged adjacent to a rear window of a fast back that the spoiler arrangement, when driving through an automatic car wash installation, is effectively protected from damages without any significant impairment of the free design of the vehicle body, and in that, in addition, the capacity of the trunk provided below the fast back is reduced only slightly.
According to the invention, this object is achieved providing an arrangement wherein an adjustably constructed spoiler arrangement, in a retracted inoperative position, forms a partial area of the rear window, the partial area extending flush with the shell, with respect to the adjacent rear window section.
The principal advantages achieved by means of the invention are that, by means of the adjustable design of the spoiler arrangement and by means of the integration of the spoiler arrangement into the rear window, the free design of the vehicle body in the area of the spoiler arrangement is not impaired and it is also ensured that the retracted spoiler arrangement is not damaged when driving through a car wash installation. By using a thin-walled disk section as a spoiler arrangement, it is achieved that the spoiler arrangement has only a low height and can correspondingly, in the inoperative position, be received in a shallow receiving space, whereby the capacity of the trunk space is limited only insignificantly.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Many electronic systems include a memory device, such as a Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), to store data. A typical DRAM includes an array of memory cells. Each memory cell includes a capacitor that stores the data in the cell and a transistor that controls access to the data. The capacitor typically includes two conductive electrodes separated by a dielectric layer. The charge stored across the capacitor is representative of a data bit and can be either a high voltage or a low voltage. Data is stored in the memory cells during a write mode and retrieved from the memory cells during a read mode. The data is transmitted on signal lines, sometimes referred to as digit lines, which are coupled to input/output (I/O) lines through transistors used as switching devices. Typically, for each bit of data stored, its true logic state is available on an I/O line and its complementary logic state is available on an I/O complement line. However, each such memory cell is coupled to, or associated with, only one digit line of a digit line pair through an access transistor.
Typically, the memory cells are arranged in an array and each cell has an address identifying its location in the array. The array includes a configuration of intersecting conductive lines, and memory cells are associated with the intersections of the lines. In order to read from or write to a cell, the particular cell in question must be selected, or addressed. The address for the selected cell is represented by input signals to a word line or row decoder and to a digit line or column decoder. The row decoder activates a word line in response to the word line address. The selected word line activates the access transistors for each of the memory cells in communication with the selected word line. The column decoder selects a digit line pair in response to the digit line address. For a read operation, the selected word line activates the access transistors for a given word line address, the charge of the selected memory cells, i.e the charge stored in the associated capacitor, are shared with their associated digit lines, and data is sensed and latched to the digit line pairs.
As DRAMs increase in memory cell density by decreasing memory cell area, there is an ongoing challenge to maintain sufficiently high storage capacitance despite decreasing memory cell area and its accompanying capacitor area, since capacitance is generally a function of electrode area. Additionally, there is a continuing goal to further decrease memory cell area.
A principal method of increasing cell capacitance is through cell structure techniques. Such techniques include three-dimensional cell capacitors, such as trenched or stacked capacitors. One common form of stacked capacitor structure is a cylindrical container stacked capacitor, with a container structure forming the bottom electrode of the capacitor. Such container structures may have shapes differing from a substantially cylindrical form, such as an oval or other three-dimensional container. The container structures may further incorporate fins.
Another method of increasing cell capacitance is through the use of high dielectric constant material in the dielectric layer of the capacitor. In order to achieve the charge storage efficiency generally needed in 256 megabit (Mb) memories and above, materials having a high dielectric constant, and typically dielectric constants greater than 20, can be used in the dielectric layer between the bottom electrode and the top electrode of the capacitor. The dielectric constant is a characteristic value of a material and is generally defined as the ratio of the amount of charge that can be stored in the material when it is interposed between two electrodes relative to the charge that can be stored when the two electrodes are separated by a vacuum.
Unfortunately, high dielectric constant materials are often incompatible with existing processes. One cause of such incompatibility can be adverse chemical reactions or oxygen diffusion between the material of the dielectric layer and the material of an adjoining electrode due to direct contact.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for alternative capacitor structures and methods for producing same. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to an apparatus for controlling a drive coil of a contractor in the holding mode.
An electronic drive control for a magnetic drive featuring pulse width modulation of the armature current is known from European Patent Application 0 789 378 A1.
In the case of pulse-width modulated signals, the problem exists that the TON-time cannot be graded, or stepped, with arbitrary fineness. In the holding mode, only {fraction (1/7)} to {fraction (1/12)} of the pick-up current is required, which results in the necessity of narrow pulses. In the case of the highest input voltages to be expected, the TON-time must even be considerably shorter, for example, 400 ns. Since only a graduation in finite steps of, for example, 100 ns can be attained, the ratio of the realizable steps to the required pulse duration is relatively high. A shortening of the mentioned shortest TON-time involves EMC problems and requires an outlay which is hardly justifiable any more. In this example, this already corresponds to an increment ratio of 25% and a holding power of 50%. In the case of high voltages, it is therefore not possible for the holding power to be minimized without limiting control, or actuating, reserves. This problem occurs, in particular, in the case of a DC voltage.
An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for controlling the drive coil of a contactor in a holding mode, which allows the holding power to be minimized in a simple manner even in the case of high voltages, without the occurrence of EMC problems and without limitation of the functional reliability.
The present invention provides an apparatus for electronically controlling a drive coil of a contactor in a holding mode using a pulse-width modulation. The apparatus includes an oscillator configured for generating an AC voltage, and a mixer configured for superposing a periodic output signal of the oscillator with an input variable associated with an input voltage so as to generate a pulse-width signal. An interval time for the pulse-width modulation is varied in time or the pulse width ratio is continuously changed.
Using the present invention, not only the holding power is maintained constant in a simple manner even in the case of high voltages but the EMC is improved as well. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of wireless communication and data networks. More particularly, in one exemplary aspect, the present invention is directed to wireless communications system using multiple air interfaces and multiple antennas.
2. Description of Related Technology
Wireless connectivity is becoming ubiquitously available and necessary in electronic computing, information, and entertainment products. Presently, many electronic products such as mobile phones, computers, media players, etc. come equipped with one or more wireless networking or communication interfaces.
In many cases, these communication interfaces may include both wired and wireless network interfaces. Wireless network interfaces, also called “air interfaces”, are of increasing interest due to the mobility and freedom they afford a user. Exemplary wireless networking technologies include Wi-Fi (IEEE Std. 802.11a/b/g/n), WiMAX (IEEE Std. 802.16e, etc.), PAN (IEEE Std. 802.15), IrDA, ultra-wideband (UWB), Mobile Wideband (MWBA; IEEE-Std. 802.20), Bluetooth (BT), and others.
Many popular electronic devices now also utilize multiple air interfaces in ways where interference between these air interfaces can cause problems with the function or “user experience” (i.e., user enjoyment or perception of functionality) of the device. One common implementation for portable electronic devices is the simultaneous use of Wi-Fi and BT air interfaces or radios, which operate in overlapping frequency bands. Accordingly, when a WLAN 802.11b/g/n and BT radio are integrated in a personal electronic device, and because these two radios share the same frequency band (i.e., the Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band of 2.4-2.48 GHz), there is interference between the radios when they operate simultaneously. However, BT was designed with the possibility of radio interference in mind, and utilizes algorithms that are adapted to mitigate the effects of EMI or external emissions, including a feature known as adaptive frequency hopping (AFH), described in greater detail subsequently herein.
Traditionally, as long as the WLAN and BT modules have over 40 dB isolation and the aforementioned BT AFH algorithm is implemented properly, in most cases the interference between WLAN and BT is not very noticeable, and the user experience for WLAN and BT simultaneous operation is reasonable, especially in cases where the isolation is sufficiently large (e.g., >35 db between the first and second air interface antennae).
However, with the evolution of new applications for these wireless systems, as well as shrinking system form factors, existing methodologies and algorithms are becoming increasingly insufficient. For example, most prior art WLAN usage cases were for downloading; e.g., receiving email, web surfing, and streaming audio/video applications. Accordingly, for the majority of the time, WLAN was used almost exclusively for receiving data, thereby resulting in a lower probability of interference between the WLAN module (i.e., during WLAN transmissions) and the BT module that is mostly used in a receiving mode. This results from the fact that most common implementations for BT in portable computing devices are for a BT human interface device (HID), such as a mouse (MS), touch pad, headset, and/or keyboard (KB).
More recently, manufacturers have fielded products which provide increasing amounts of usage for the transmit side of the portable device's WLAN module than had been previously experienced in prior implementations. For example, the Assignee hereof has developed products such as Apple TV™ and Apple Time Capsule™, which, in combination with a user's existing computing device(s), increase usage of WLAN transmit functions. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a user of a computing device 100 (such as for example the MacBook Pro™ device), might have his/her software storage application (e.g., Time Machine™) upload files to a remote Wi-Fi capable storage device 110 (e.g., such as their separate Time Capsule hardware), while simultaneously utilizing a BT MS/KB 120 as the default HID. In addition, when utilized with external displays, such as Apple's LED Cinema Display, the computing device 100 (if a laptop computer), is often operated in its clamshell mode (i.e., closed) which tends to negatively affect isolation between the two antennas.
As a result of this increased amount of usage on the transmit side of the WLAN interface (and/or decreasing levels of isolation in certain operational modes), the probability of interference from the WLAN 115 (e.g. during transmitting or sync-up of files sent to the storage device 110, etc., as shown in FIG. 1) affecting BT operation 125 (e.g. receiving from the MS/KB periodically, etc.) increases. In the aforementioned exemplary scenario, a WLAN and BT antenna isolation of 40 dB provided using only the default BT AFH is no longer sufficient to provide an acceptable user experience. In other words, users will start to notice a significant degradation in service quality, which can manifest itself for instance as jerkiness or other undesired motion or artifact when utilizing a BT MS.
The foregoing problems are yet further exacerbated by the push towards smaller form factors (thereby tending to reduce isolation), as well as packaging with less-than-ideal materials for wireless system implementation (such as the metallic housing or case structures), thereby complicating efforts to increase isolation between wireless network interfaces in the foregoing use cases.
Moreover, battery-powered BT peripheral devices are constrained on their power use. Poor isolation can lead to the increase of BT transmission power (e.g. from class 2 to class 1) and potentially an increased number of BT data retransmissions, both of which result in shorter battery life and decreased levels of user satisfaction.
Despite a variety of attempts to address interference associated with multiple air interface co-existence evidenced in the prior art (including the aforementioned BT AFH scheme, transmitter power control schemes based entirely on RSSI (Receiver Signal Strength Index), and so-called “time sharing” approaches described in greater detail below), there is a salient need for improved methods and apparatus that provide additional robustness against interference in systems that operate in historically untraditional ways. Specifically in the context of the aforementioned WLAN transmission usage case, there is a need for a solution which addresses poor user experience with one or more air interfaces. Ideally, such a solution will also address situations that are highly space-constrained or otherwise necessarily result in low isolation values between the antennae of the various air interfaces of the platform (for example, WiFi/WLAN and Bluetooth, WiMAX and Bluetooth, WLAN and UWB).
Such an improved solution would ideally permit for good user experience by avoiding significant audio or data drop-outs; prevent the appearance of adverse effects on data streaming rate; avoid the preclusion of use of one interface when another is being used; and be absent of any significant operation restrictions with respect to the multiple air interfaces by allowing two or more interfaces to operate simultaneously in at least a partial capacity. Furthermore, such a solution would still obey the platform or form-factor limitations such as those present in extremely small hand-held or laptop computing devices, or those with metallic cases which inherently present challenges to antenna placement. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field
The present invention relates to wireless power, and more specifically, to methods and device related to a headset for receiving wireless power.
2. Background
Typically, each battery powered device requires its own charger and power source, which is usually an AC power outlet. This becomes unwieldy when many devices need charging.
Approaches are being developed that use over the air power transmission between a transmitter and the device to be charged. These generally fall into two categories. One is based on the coupling of plane wave radiation (also called far-field radiation) between a transmit antenna and receive antenna on the device to be charged which collects the radiated power and rectifies it for charging the battery. Antennas are generally of resonant length in order to improve the coupling efficiency. This approach suffers from the fact that the power coupling falls off quickly with distance between the antennas. So charging over reasonable distances (e.g., >1-2 m) becomes difficult. Additionally, since the system radiates plane waves, unintentional radiation can interfere with other systems if not properly controlled through filtering.
Other approaches are based on inductive coupling between a transmit antenna embedded, for example, in a “charging” mat or surface and a receive antenna plus rectifying circuit embedded in the host device to be charged. This approach has the disadvantage that the spacing between transmit and receive antennas must be very close (e.g. mms). Though this approach does have the capability to simultaneously charge multiple devices in the same area, this area is typically small, hence the user must locate the devices to a specific area.
A need exists for a headset including an antenna integrated therein in a manner to enhance the size of the antenna and for enabling the antenna to be selectively configurable in either an open or closed loop configuration. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electronic security systems and especially to such systems which are designed to reduce or eliminate inadvertent alarm actuations in response to interference signals.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Electronic security systems are known which detect the presence of a resonant tag circuit which may be attached to an article. Such systems are especially useful to prevent theft in retail stores, and the unauthorized removal of books or documents from a secure location, or the like. However, such systems are known to be susceptible to producing a false alarm when interfering noise signals are present in the vicinity. An inadvertent alarm can cause embarrassment in a retail store environment by prompting security personnel to detain a shopper who may coincidentally be passing the security system at the time of the alarm. Further, an inadvertent alarm gives notice to persons in the vicinity of the existence of a security system which may lead to a knowledgeable thief taking steps to avoid detection. Consequently, a need has arisen for noise rejection circuitry which is readily adapted for use in an electronic security system.
Noise rejection circuitry has been suggested in the past. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,828,337 to Lichtblau discloses such circuitry in which true signals are distinguished from noise by sensing the absence of one or more pulses in an expected train of pulses produced by the resonant tag. The Lichtblau patent is deficient in that timing circuits are required which must be within certain tolerances. If these tolerances vary, the circuitry operation degrades drastically. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This disclosure relates to multiple optical wavelength physiological sensors and monitors, especially to pulse oximeters.
Pulse oximetry is a well-established technique for measuring oxygen saturation (SpO2) in arterial blood. SpO2 is an important parameter that relates to the adequacy of oxygen supply to peripheral tissues and organs. Pulse oximeters provide instantaneous in-vivo measurements of arterial oxygenation, and thereby an early warning of arterial hypoxemia, for example. Pulse oximeters also display a photoplethysmographic (PPG) pulse waveform, which can be related to tissue blood volume and blood flow, i.e. the blood circulation, at the site of the measurement, typically in finger or ear. Standard pulse oximeters use two wavelengths to measure the ratio of oxyhemoglobin to total functional hemoglobin, indicated as an SpO2 value. However, pulse oximeters using more than two wavelengths have also been developed to be able to non-invasively measure the levels of the other blood substances that provide important clinical information. For example, levels of other significant hemoglobin species, such as carboxyhemoglobin and methemoglobin, and total hemoglobin may be estimated if the number of wavelengths used in the pulse oximeter is increased.
Since the measurement is normally made from an anatomical extremity, such as a finger tip, pulse oximeters typically comprise a separate sensor attachable to a subject and the actual pulse oximeter device to which the sensor is connected through a cable. The sensor normally comprises two or more emitter elements, each emitting radiation at a specific wavelength, and a broad spectral band photodetector common to all emitter elements. Due to the various combinations of wavelengths that may be used to measure certain substances in blood and the variety of sensor types needed for different subjects and different measurement sites, the choice of sensors and interface cables that may be used in connection with one pulse oximeter device may be rather extensive. The different sensors along with the different cables and/or connectors to be used in connection with the said sensors make the operation of a pulse oximeter device rather demanding thus detracting from the user-friendliness of the device.
This drawback is further aggravated by the fact that the current oximeters do not inform the user about possible incompatibility and accuracy issues the user may encounter while using an incompatible sensor or a sensor that has degraded in performance.
While a certain measurement mode, i.e. the combination of wavelengths used, normally requires a particular sensor compatible with the mode, the internal operation of a measurement mode is normally fixed in terms of the utilization of the wavelengths, which may reduce the signal-to-noise ratio and the accuracy of the some measurements. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a metallic gasket which is interposed between joining surfaces of a cylinder block and a cylinder head of an internal combustion engine, and which prevents leakage of fluid such as combustion gas, cooling water, lubricating oil, and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a gasket of various kinds is interposed between joining surfaces of a cylinder block and a cylinder head mounted thereon of an automobile engine such as an internal combustion engine to prevent leakage of fluid such as combustion gas, cooling water, lubricating oil, and the like, and the sealing function is achieved by tightening both the cylinder block and the cylinder head by tightening members such as bolts or the like. Conventionally, as such a gasket, the so-called soft gasket is provided which is formed of an asbestos material, a chemical fiber material, a carbon sheet material, or the like. However, the soft gasket involves a drawback as an inavoidable problem due its material that there is a deterioration with time due the operation of an internal combustion engine, and that it is difficult to ensure a heat resistance. As a result, is well known that recently, metallic gaskets are widely used, which are excellent in heat resistance, compressive resistance, and durability, and which provide satisfactory restoration properties (spring characteristics) and thermal conductivity.
In such metallic gaskets, the sealing in a peripheral portion of the combustion chamber, that is, the cylinder bore is particularly important. In other words, when the sealing of this portion is not sufficient, the utilization of the combustion gas in the inside of the combustion chamber is incomplete, and it will result in a reduction of the pressure. Accordingly, an elastic base plate in the metallic gasket is provided with a bead formed concentrically with a cylinder bore hole which is formed to communicate with the cylinder bore, and the surface pressure generated between the joining surfaces of the metallic gasket and the cylinder block, and of the metallic gasket and the cylinder head is made to increase by utilizing a repulsive force which is generated when the metallic gasket is tightened by the tightening members such as the bolts between the cylinder block and the cylinder head, thereby to improve the sealing in the peripheral portion of the cylinder bore.
The bead is elastically deformed in a direction in which the bead collapses by the surface pressure when the metallic gasket is tightened by the tightening members such as the bolts between the cylinder block and the cylinder head, however, in order to completely collapse or flatten the bead, a relatively large load is needed. However, between the joining surfaces between the cylinder block and the cylinder head, the tightening force is large at a position near the tightening member such as the bolt, however, the tightening force is inevitably decreased at a remote position. This is resulted from the fact that when an aluminum alloy having low rigidity is used as a material of the cylinder head to decrease the weight of the engine, or when a width of the cylinder head between the combustion chambers is reduced by reducing a distance between combustion chambers to make the engine small in size and light in weight, the rigidity of a portion between the combustion chambers of the engine is reduced.
On the other hand, the bead is formed at a position remote from the position of the tightening member such as the bolt. Accordingly, due to the distance from the tightening member such as the bolt and the above-mentioned reduction of the rigidity of the engine, the bead does not completely collapse by the surface pressure, and an inclination is caused in the bead. More specifically, at a portion at which the bead is formed, the rigidity of the engine and the repulsive force of the bead are balanced, and this balance is maintained when the engine is stopping. However, when the engine is operating, due to an increase and a decrease of the pressure inside the combustion chamber, the tightening force imparted to the metallic gasket is changed, and vibrations are generated in the bead. Furthermore, as a result of vibrations due to a mass of the engine, and as a result of a change in volume due to a temperature change of each engine component, variations are caused in the tightening force imparted to the metallic gasket. Thus, the bead is vibrated by its elasticity due to the above-mentioned vibrations and the variations in the tightening force, and furthermore, there is a possibility of causing a fatigue break when the bending of the bead is repeated due to the vibrations.
Accordingly, there is a proposal to restrict the magnitude of an amplitude of the above-mentioned vibrations and to prevent the occurrence of the fatigue break at the portion of the bead, as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Utility-Model Publication Hei No. 4-16026, and Japanese Patent Publication Hei No. 5-61503.
Specifically, in Japanese Utility-Model Publication Hei No. 4-16026, as shown in FIG. 10, a subplate 3 is placed over a base plate 1 on a side to which a bead 2 expands, that is, the side of a convex of the bead 2, and the base plate 1 and the subplate 3 are coupled with each other by spot welding or by using eylets at several positions including these portions (for example, 10a in FIG. 9 which will be described later) which extend outwardly beyond a joining area with the cylinder block and the cylinder head of the engine. Furthermore, an edge of the subplate 3 is folded back to the base plate 1 side to form a folded section 3a, and this folded section 3a is positioned at an inner side towards the combustion chamber with respect to a starting point or turning point 2a of the bead 2, which starting point 2a is located near the combustion chamber, so that the folded section 3a and the starting point 2a do not overlap with each other. In such a metallic gasket, by the formation of the folded section 3a, the complete collapse of the bead 2 in a collapsing direction is prevented, and at the same time, the deterioration of the restoration property (spring characteristic) is prevented, thereby to decrease the amplitude of the vibrations and to prevent the occurrence of the fatigue break.
On the other hand, in Japanese Patent Publication Hei No. 5-61503, as shown in FIG. 11, a subplate 3' is placed over a base plate 1 at a side at which a bead 2 does not expand, that is, at a concave side of the bead 2, and the base plate 1 and the subplate 3' are coupled with each other at several positions including these portions which extend outwardly beyond a joining area with the cylinder block and the cylinder head in a similar manner as described with reference to FIG. 10. Furthermore, an edge of the subplate 3' is folded back upwardly to hold a flat portion la of the base plate 1 by the folded edge portion of the subplate 3', thereby to form laminations. In this structure, at the laminated end portion, a thickness is increased by one sheet of plate thickness of the subplate 3' as compared with other part of the base plate 1. As a result, a high surface pressure can be ensured at this laminated end portion. Furthermore, by virtue of the structure, a high pressure gas generated in the combustion chamber during operation of the engine is initially sealed (primary sealing) at the laminated end portion, and further, the high pressure gas is secondary sealed by collapsing the bead 2 in the collapsing direction. Accordingly, even when the tightening force of the metallic gasket is varied and the vibrations of the bead are caused, the deformation of the bead 2 in the collapsing direction is restricted by the end portion which is folded, and the vibrations are reduced and the occurrence of the fatigue break is prevented.
However, the metallic gaskets in the prior art involve the following drawbacks.
Specifically, in the metallic gasket in Japanese Utility Model Publication Hei No. 4-16026, the base plate 1 and the subplate 3 are coupled with each other only at several positions at the portions extended outwardly beyond the joining area with the cylinder block and the cylinder head. Accordingly, in the case where the subplate 3 is thin, for example, when the cylinder block of the engine is made of cast iron and the cylinder head is made of aluminum, and when the engine is operated and stopped to repeat a temperature rise and fall in the combustion chamber, there is a possibility that the subplate 3 which is thiner than the base plate 1 is deformed or produces a wrinkle, so that the subplate 3 protrudes into the combustion chamber, or a crack is caused in the folded section 3a. On the other hand, when the subplate 3 is thick, a folded end of the subplate 3 does not become completely flat, or the folded end will somewhat expand to both sides towards the joining surfaces. As a result, the folded end is difficult to be completely flattened even by the tightening force of the tightening members such as bolts, and the folded end will be subjected to a large load at its upper and lower ends in the thickness direction of the subplate 3. Accordingly, a sealing surface of the cylinder block or the cylinder head will sink or become hollow at a peripheral portion of the combustion chamber, and on the other hand, when an enormous load is applied to completely flatten the folded end, there is a possibility that the folded end is broken.
Also, in the metallic gasket in Japanese Patent Publication Hei No. 5-61503, since the base plate 1 and the subplate 3' are coupled with each other only at several positions outside the joining surface area, and since the folded section 3a' is directly in contact with the joining surface of the cylinder block or the cylinder head at the time of assembling the metallic gasket to the engine, when the temperature rise and the temperature fall in the combustion chamber are repeated due to the operation and stopping of the engine as described in the foregoing, the degree of thermal expansion will be different when the engine components are made of different kind of materials, there is a possibility that the subplate 3' which is thiner than the base plate 1 is deformed, and a wrinkle is caused to extend into the combustion chamber, and a crack is caused in the folded section 3'. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention is concerned with polymeric coatings which are cured with particle or wave energy. A particular aspect of the invention is concerned with negative resist coatings in which patterns are generated by high energy radiation, such as, electron beam or wave energy of X-ray wavelength and shorter. Resist patterns of this nature may be utilized for protecting substrate regions from attack by a variety of agents or by other techniques used for circuit fabrication.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Fabrication of printed and integrated circuitry generally includes one or a series of processing steps in which surface regions are pattern delineated by selective material removal. Such removal, whether accomplished by use of chemical reagents, either acidic or basic, or by machining, for example, ion milling, utilizes masks or "resists". Such resists, generally adherent to the surface being processed, in accordance with this procedure define a negative image of the pattern to be delineated.
In accordance with general practice to date, resist patterns are generated in light sensitive coatings by flooding with ultraviolet light through a master mask in contact with or spaced from the coating, followed by development in an agent which differentiates between exposed and unexposed material. This procedure has been successfully utilized in the fabrication of patterns with reasonably low defect count and resolution as high as tens of microns separated by dimensions of the same order. See Handbook of Thin Film Technology, L. I. Marssel and R. Glang, Chapter 7 "Generation of Patterns in Thin Films" by R. Glang and L. V. Gregor, McGraw-Hill, N.Y. 1970. Resolution obtainable by light flooding is limited by a number of factors which diffraction and aberrations characteristic of conventional optical systems are examples. It has been recognized for some time that improved resolution would likely require development of a different system. Of the various systems investigated, the most promising at this time involves resist patterns generated by electron beams, modulated, for example, electrically and made to impinge directly on adherent radiation sensitive materials. The variety relevant to this discussion makes use of materials which are insolubilized by electron beam exposure. Alternative systems may substitute X-ray and/or may utilize masks. Where radiation sensitive layers are polymeric, insolubilization often takes the form of cross-linking. Subsequent to exposure, unexposed regions are dissolved, for example, by immersion in a suitable reagent.
A significant class of negative resist materials sensitive to electron beam or X-ray is described in "The Preparation and Characterization of a New, Highly Sensitive, Crosslinking Electron Resist" appearing in the Journal of the Electrochemical Society Vol. 122, No. 4, pages 541-544 (1975). This is an acrylate-based polymer system, generally a terpolymer of glycidyl methacrylic, ethyl acrylate, and methyl methacrylate in which epoxy moieties are totally or partially esterified with methacrylic acid. Preparation is involved, requiring a polymerization followed by a separate esterification and requiring close control at each step. Exposure of properly deposited coatings of this material results in cross-linking at reactive sites. Sensitivity is at least in part attributed to active vinyl sites produced by esterification. This material, considered by some to be marginally feasible from a preparative and an economic standpoint is, under optimum conditions, considered capable of producing patterns of usable yield with electron beam energy of less than 10.sup.-6 coulomb per square centimeter and with a resolution of the order of 1 micrometer. | {
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In 1953, it was first recognized that ingestion of gluten, a common dietary protein present in wheat, barley and rye causes disease in sensitive individuals. Gluten is a complex mixture of glutamine- and proline-rich glutenin and prolamine molecules, which is thought to be responsible for disease induction. Ingestion of such proteins by sensitive individuals produces flattening of the normally luxurious, rug-like, epithelial lining of the small intestine known to be responsible for efficient and extensive terminal digestion of peptides and other nutrients. Clinical symptoms of Celiac Sprue include fatigue, chronic diarrhea, malabsorption of nutrients, weight loss, abdominal distension, anemia, as well as a substantially enhanced risk for the development of osteoporosis and intestinal malignancies (lymphoma and carcinoma). The disease has an incidence of approximately 1 in 200 in European populations.
A related disease is dermatitis herpetiformis, which is a chronic eruption characterized by clusters of intensely pruritic vesicles, papules, and urticaria-like lesions. IgA deposits occur in almost all normal-appearing and perilesional skin. Asymptomatic gluten-sensitive enteropathy is found in 75 to 90% of patients and in some of their relatives. Onset is usually gradual. Itching and burning are severe, and scratching often obscures the primary lesions with eczematization of nearby skin, leading to an erroneous diagnosis of eczema. Strict adherence to a gluten-free diet for prolonged periods may control the disease in some patients, obviating or reducing the requirement for drug therapy. Dapsone, sulfapyridine and colchicines are sometimes prescribed for relief of itching.
Celiac Sprue is generally considered to be an autoimmune disease and the antibodies found in the serum of the patients supports a theory of an immunological nature of the disease. Antibodies to tissue transglutaminase (tTG) and gliadin appear in almost 100% of the patients with active Celiac Sprue, and the presence of such antibodies, particularly of the IgA class, has been used in diagnosis of the disease.
The large majority of patients express the HLA-DQ2 [DQ(a1*0501, b1*02)] and/or DQ8 [DQ(a1*0301, b1*0302)] molecules. It is believed that intestinal damage is caused by interactions between specific gliadin oligopeptides and the HLA-DQ2 or DQ8 antigen, which in turn induce proliferation of T lymphocytes in the sub-epithelial layers. T helper 1 cells and cytokines apparently play a major role in a local inflammatory process leading to villus atrophy of the small intestine.
At the present time there is no good therapy for the disease, except to completely avoid all foods containing gluten. Although gluten withdrawal has transformed the prognosis for children and substantially improved it for adults, some people still die of the disease, mainly adults who had severe disease at the outset. An important cause of death is lymphoreticular disease (especially intestinal lymphoma). It is not known whether a gluten-free diet diminishes this risk. Apparent clinical remission is often associated with histologic relapse that is detected only by review biopsies or by increased EMA titers.
Gluten is so widely used, for example in commercial soups, sauces, ice creams, hot dogs, and other foods, that patients need detailed lists of foodstuffs to avoid and expert advice from a dietitian familiar with celiac disease. Ingesting even small amounts of gluten may prevent remission or induce relapse. Supplementary vitamins, minerals, and hematinics may also be required, depending on deficiency. A few patients respond poorly or not at all to gluten withdrawal, either because the diagnosis is incorrect or because the disease is refractory. In the latter case, oral corticosteroids (e.g., prednisone 10 to 20 mg bid) may induce response.
In view of the serious and widespread nature of Celiac Sprue, improved methods of treating or ameliorating the effects of the disease are needed. The present invention addresses such needs. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Human Respiratory Syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of severe lower respiratory tract disease in infants and young children, and may repeatedly cause infection in the same individual. RSV also causes disease in immune-compromised adults and in the elderly. To date, there is no safe and effective vaccine against RSV and against other infective agents (virus, bacteria, etc.). Thus, there remains a need for vaccines against RSV and vaccines against other infective agents. | {
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Osteosynthesis plates for stabilization of bone fractures typically are applied with bone screws. Traditionally, bone screws compress a plate onto the bone surface to provide stable fixation. More recently, locking plates have been introduced, which typically have threaded receiving holes for positive, angle-stable engagement with the threaded head portion of a locking screw. These locking plates may provide more stable fixation in the ends of weak, osteoporotic bone compared to traditional, non-locking plates.
Clinically, plate osteosynthesis constructs face two principal challenges. First, an osteosynthesis construct may alter the load distribution in bone, which may either cause bone resorption in cases exhibiting load shielding, or bone fracture due to implant-induced stress risers. Second, the high stiffness of a plate osteosynthesis construct may suppress relative displacement between bone fragments, whereby this interfragmentary motion is important to promote the natural cascade of fracture healing by callus formation. Therefore, overly stiff locking plate constructs may delay or prevent fracture healing by callus formation. | {
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Numerous forms of artificial tanning products are currently available, including lotions, creams, gels, oils, and sprays. These products are typically mixtures of a chemically-active skin colorant or a bronzer, in combination with moisturizers, preservatives, anti-microbials, thickeners, solvents, emulsifiers, fragrances, surfactants, stabilizers, sunscreens, pH adjusters, anti-caking agents, and additional ingredients to alter the color reaction.
Automated systems for applying artificial tanning products often include a booth provided with a spraying system. The user selects a tanning shade and intensity before the process begins, then steps inside the booth. Once the user is inside, the spraying system is activated and the user is uniformly coated. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related in a general manner to the field of golf and, more particularly, to a golf club head of improved construction and, more particularly, to the head of a putter having an improved construction.
2. Description of Background and Relevant Information
The head of a putter generally has the shape of an elongated mass that includes a striking face arranged substantially perpendicular to the horizontal or ground, which is used to strike the ball and cause it to roll on the green in an attempt to move it closer to the hole or even better, into the hole.
It is recognized that off-centered strokes tend to cause a rotation of the face with respect to a starting position perpendicular to the intended trajectory. To reduce this twisting effect, an attempt has been made to construct heads by distributing the mass towards the ends of the heel and toe so as to increase the resistance to rotation by an increase of inertia. The constructions known from the prior art, however, are not completely satisfactory. In the case of heads made out of one single amorphous material as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,231, for example, heavy materials, such as brass, copper, or even cupro-beryllium, are generally chosen, and the volume of the toe and heel material is increased with respect to the center face. The sensation upon impact on materials of high density is not very agreeable and it is very difficult to control the intensity and length of the stroke.
More sophisticated constructions call for light metallic or plastic structures extending at the ends by cavities filled with a metal of high density in the form of inserts, of screwed or affixed weights, or even steel balls, agglomerated powder, etc. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,655,459 and 5,340,107 are some examples among many others of such embodiments. The mass distribution is, however, not optimum for both reducing the tendency for rotation of the head and promoting the top spin to cause the ball to roll and to control the trajectory and length of the ball. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Communications networks, such as the Internet, provide access to a vast library of content. For instance, communications networks may be leveraged by media players on personal computers to access and render audio and video programming. The interactive nature of the content sources and communications networks enables many users to select, access, or leverage a specified content selection from the vast library of content at a time desired by the user. Mobile communication and computing devices have increased in power and in the richness of applications that they can provide to users.
Many mobile devices, including smartphones, include clock and alarm clock application, and other applications, or apps, may be added to certain smartphone platforms. These alarm clocks may be set to wake a user of a device, including when the user is traveling and needs to wake for a flight when staying inn a hotel room. A user of an alarm application may also be allowed to change the appearance of the application, such as by switching between analog and digital clock representations. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a resin dispersion for cationic electrodeposition and a low temperature curable cationic electrodeposition coating composition including the same, and more particularly to a low temperature curable and lead-free cationic electrodeposition coating composition in which the electrodeposited coating film thereof has an epoxy-acrylic double-layered structure to give a high functionality, and in which an organic solvent content is minimized.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Since electrodeposition coating has a good efficiency in application and a high corrosion-resistance and can minimize an environmental contamination because of employing water as a solvent, it is widely used for primer coating of cars, household electric appliances, and industrial machines when compared with a brush coating or a spray coating. Recently and widely used epoxy-based cationic electrodeposition coating composition includes cationic epoxy resin onto which amine is added and blocked polyisocyanate. Researches at home and abroad on cationic electrodeposition paint are concentrated on paints related to energy conservation, safety, and environmental considerations. Also, researches on electrodeposition coating, composition are concentrated on developing highly functional and highly efficient electrodeposition paint having various purposes and characteristics.
Generally, a cationic electrodeposition coating composition includes a tin compound such as dibutyl tin oxide in order to improve a cross-linking reaction between a compound containing hydroxyl functional group with a compound containing isocyanate functional group, along with a lead compound as an anticorrosive pigment in order to improve a corrosion-resistance. However, the lead compound becomes a target of restriction on usage in all over the world as a material inducing an environmental contamination. On July 1996 in Japan, an automobile industrial institute established an independent restriction law named as SHREDDER DUST and suggested each automobile manufacturing company to lessen the utilizing amount of lead in the automobiles. In Europe (EU), a law to restrict on crushing, reclamation, incineration of an automobile containing harmful materials such as lead, cadmium, mercury, etc. during the operation of the automobile, will be positively established on the year after 2003.
Therefore, with the movements on restricting the environmental pollutants, researches on reducing or removing the harmful materials such as lead from a coated and dried film of the electrodeposition coating composition are actively progressed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,908,912 (issued to Kollah et al.) discloses a formation of a lead-free dried film by applying a salt of bismuth compound and a carboxylic acid including amine into a pigment paste as a reaction catalyst for preparing a cationic electrodeposition coating composition. However, there are problems of coagulation of the bismuth salt during storage and a lowering of the pH of the electrodeposition coating composition because of the addition of a large amount of an acid in order to applying the bismuth compound into the cationic electrodeposition coating composition.
Among the researches, studies on reducing an organic solvent emission during coating operations are being developed. The motive for these studies is the regulation of emission of organic solvents for the protection of the environment. As examples of the regulations related to the regulation of emission of organic solvents, the regulation for volatile organic compounds (VOC) of the Environment Office in U.S. and the atmospheric purification law (TA-Luft) in Germany can be noted. The former establishes a guideline for the emission amount of the organic solvents from a coating composition, while the latter restricts the total amount of the organic solvents discharged from the paint consumed for coating one car. Since about 20% of the total amount of carbon dioxide discharged into the world is due to the coating industry (for example, organic solvent and combustion by means of a drying oven), the coating industry is a major cause of the environmental pollution. Hence, the coating industry has become the subject of supervision.
Presently, as an electrodeposition coating composition of primer coating, an epoxy cationic electrodeposition paint is mainly used. However, the epoxy cationic electrodeposition paint is rich in organic solvents and these solvents are evaporated from the electrodeposition tank, thereby emitting an offensive odor from a work-piece. Also, these solvents are emitted during curing and drying, so environmental pollution problems occur. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,147,144, issued to the present Applicants, a cationic electrodeposition coating composition in which the amount of the organic solvent is minimized, is disclosed.
Further, even though the conventional epoxy cationic electrodeposition paint has a good corrosion-resistance and a good adherence, this is lacking in properties such as a weather-resistance, a yellowing resistance, etc.
It is an object of the present invention, considering problems, to provide a low-temperature curable resin dispersion of a cationic electrodeposition, of which dried film is free from lead, and which includes a minimized amount of organic solvents and has an epoxy-acrylic double-layered structure to improve a weather-resistance and a yellow resistance, and a method of preparing therof.
Another object of the present invention is providing a cationic electrodeposition coating composition including the above-described resin dispersion of the cationic electrodeposition and a pigment paste composition, and a method of preparing thereof.
To accomplish the above object, there is provided in the present invention a resin dispersion of a cationic electrodeposition including an aqueous dispersion. The aqueous dispersion is prepared by mixing about 35-45 parts by weight of a cationic electrodeposition resin, about 55-65 parts by weight of deionized water, about 0.3-1.5 parts by weight of an acid for neutralization, about 1-5 parts by weight of a reaction product of manganese phosphate and an acid diluted in an deionized water to 10% and about 0.5-1 parts by weight of a cationic surfactant.
The cationic electrodeposition resin is prepared in the presence of an organic solvent from (a) about 40-60% by weight of a cationic electrodeposition synthetic resin produced by an epoxy-amino addition reaction (b) about 5-10% by weight of an acrylic cationic electrodeposition resin having an amino group (c) about 1-3% by weight of a fatty acid ester resin synthesized by an esterification reaction of styrene-allylalcohol copolymer and fatty acid and (d) about 30-50% by weight of polyurethane cross-linking agent produced from a mixture of blocked polymethylene polyphenyl polyisocyanate and blocked isophorone diisocyanate.
The resin dispersion of the cationic electrodeposition is prepared by the following method including the steps of preparing a cationic electrodeposition resin, preparing an Is aqueous dispersion, removing organic solvents having a low boiling point from the aqueous dispersion by extracting and then filtering.
The cationic electrodeposition resin is prepared in the presence of an organic solvent from (a) about 40-60% by weight of a cationic electrodeposition synthetic resin produced by an epoxy-amino addition reaction (b) about 5-10% by weight of an acrylic cationic electrodeposition resin having an amino group (c) about 1-3% by weight of a fatty acid ester resin synthesized by an esterification reaction of styrene-allylalcohol copolymer and fatty acid and (d) about 30-50% by weight of polyurethane cross-linking agent produced from a mixture of blocked polymethylene polyphenyl polyisocyanate and blocked isophorone diisocyanate.
The aqueous dispersion is prepared by mixing about 35-45 parts by weight of the cationic electrodeposition resin, about 55-65 parts by weight of deionized water, about 0.3-1.5 parts by weight of an acid for neutralization, about 1-5 parts by weight of a reaction product of manganese phosphate and an acid diluted in an deionized water to 10% and about 0.5-1 parts by weight of a cationic surfactant.
Preferably, a solid content in the resin dispersion of the cationic electrodeposition is about 30-40% by weight and a mean size of particles contained in this dispersion is about 60 nm or less. And a preferred amount of organic solvents in this dispersion is about 0.5% by weight or less.
The other object of the present invention is accomplished by a cationic electrodeposition coating composition comprising an aqueous dispersion and a pigment paste composition. The aqueous dispersion is prepared by mixing about 35-45 parts by weight of a cationic electrodeposition resin, about 55-65 parts by weight of deionized water, about 0.3-1.5 parts by weight of an acid for neutralization, about 1-5 parts by weight of a reaction product of manganese phosphate and an acid diluted in an deionized water to 1 0% and about 0.5-1 parts by weight of a cationic surfactant.
The cationic electrodeposition resin is prepared in the presence of an organic solvent from (a) about 40-60% by weight of a cationic electrodeposition synthetic resin produced by an epoxy-amino addition reaction (b) about 5-10% by weight of an acrylic cationic electrodeposition resin having an amino group (c) about 1-3% by weight of a fatty acid ester resin synthesized by an esterification reaction of styrene-allylalcohol copolymer and fatty acid and (d) about 30-50% by weight of polyurethane cross-linking agent produced from a mixture of blocked polymethylene polyphenyl polyisocyanate and blocked isophorone diisocyanate.
A method of preparing the cationic electrodeposition coating composition also is provided in the present invention. The cationic electrodeposition coating composition is prepared by preparing a cationic electrodeposition resin, preparing an aqueous dispersion, preparing a resin dispersion of a cationic electrodeposition by removing organic solvents having a low boiling point from the aqueous dispersion by extracting and then filtering, and then mixing thus obtained cationic electrodeposition resin dispersion with a pigment paste composition.
The cationic electrodeposition resin is prepared in the presence of an organic solvent from (a) about 40-60% by weight of a cationic electrodeposition synthetic resin produced by an epoxy-amino addition reaction (b) about 5-10% by weight of an acrylic cationic electrodeposition resin having an amino group (c) about 1-3% by weight of a fatty acid ester resin synthesized by an esterification reaction of styrene-allylalcohol copolymer and fatty acid and (d) about 30-50% by weight of polyurethane cross-linking agent produced from a mixture of polymethylene polyphenyl polyisocyanate and blocked isophorone diisocyanate.
The aqueous dispersion is prepared by mixing about 35-45 parts by weight of the cationic electrodeposition resin, about 55-65 parts by weight of deionized water, about 0.3-1.5 parts by weight of an acid for neutralization, about 1-5 parts by weight of a reaction product of manganese phosphate and an acid diluted in an deionized water to 10% and about 0.5-1 parts by weight of a cationic surfactant.
The preferably employed pigment paste composition includes (a) about 15-30% by weight of pigment grinding vehicle (b) about 2-6% by weight of an anticorrosive pigment and (c) about 0.7-2.3% by weight of dibutyl tin oxide. The ratio of solid content of the pigment/pigment grinding vehicle is in a range of 1/0.2-1/0.45.
Particularly, the pigment grinding vehicle is obtainable from about 25-35% by weight of polyglycidyl ether of bisphenol A, about 5-12% by weight of propyleneglycol monomethyl ether acetate, about 8-15% by weight of partially blocked isocyanate cross-linking agent, about 25-40% by weight of ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, about 10-20% by weight of organic tertiary amino acid salt and about 0-5% by weight of deionized water. Further, the epoxy equivalent weight of the polyglycidyl ether of bisphenol A is in a range of about 900-1200.
In addition, the preferred anticorrosive pigment is at least one selected from the group consisting of bismuth hydroxide, bismuth trioxide, bismuth oxide, aluminum tri-polyphosphate hydrate and magnesium aluminum hydroxide carbonate hydrate.
The cationic electrodeposition resin applicable in the present invention is a major component for forming a film in the electrodeposition coating composition. Some of these known cationic electrodeposition resin are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,663,839; 3,984,299; 3,947,338; 3,947,339; and 6,130,274. These film forming resins represent a resin having an amino group formed by an addition reaction of polyepoxide with a primary, secondary, or tertiary amine. In the present invention, as for the cationic electrodeposition synthetic resin formed by an addition reaction of polyepoxide and amine, a resin having the following structural formula can be illustrated:
In the above-illustrated structure, R., R2 and B are as follows and n is an integer of 3or 4.
If the amount of the cationic electrodeposition synthetic resin having an amino group used is less than 40% by weight, mechanical properties of the dried coating layer are weak, and if the amount of the cationic electrodeposition synthetic resin used exceeds 60% by weight, the manufacture of an aqueous dispersion is difficult. Therefore, the amount of the cationic electrodeposition resin having an amino group used is preferably in the range of about 40-60% by weight, and more preferably about 45-55% by weight.
In addition, as another cationic electrodeposition resin, an acrylic cationic electrodeposition resin having an amino group which is copolymerized with butyl acrylate, methyl acrylate, hydroxy ethyl acrylate, styrene, methyl methacrylate, (N,N-dimethyl)aminoethyl metacrylate, etc., can be illustrated.
If the amount of the acrylic cationic electrodeposition resin used is less than 5% a by weight, a dried coating film having an epoxy-acrylic double-layered structure cannot be obtained, and if the amount of the acrylic cationic electrodeposition resin used exceeds 10% by weight, the epoxy resin and acrylic resin are not compatible, thereby affecting the surface appearance and gloss. Therefore, the amount of the acrylic cationic electrodeposition resin used is preferably in the range of about 5-10% by weight, and more preferably about 7-9% by weight.
Usually these resins having an amino group are used together with a blocked polyisocyanate curing agent. Isocyanate is so completely blocked that it can be mixed with the resin having an amino group. Otherwise, isocyanate is partially blocked in such a manner that it can react with the backbone of a resin. As for the blocking agent of the polyisocyanate compound, at least one compound selected from the group consisting of methyl ethyl ketoxime, dimethyl pyrazole, diethyl malonate, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether and diethylene glycol monobutyl ether can be preferably utilized. As for the blocked polyisocyanate curing agent which can be dissociated at a low temperature, the compounds having the following structural formulae can be illustrated:
If the amount of the blocked polyisocyanate curing agent used is less than 30% by weight, properties such as pencil hardness, corrosion-resistance, etc., are diminished. If the amount of the blocked polyisocyanate curing agent used exceeds 50% by weight, the preparation of an aqueous dispersion is difficult and properties such as impact-resistance, flexibility, etc., are diminished. Therefore, the amount of the blocked polyisocyanate curing agent used is preferably in the range of about 30-50% by weight, and more preferably 35-45% by weight.
Particularly, the composition of the present invention comprises a fatty acid ester synthetic resin synthesized by an ester reaction of styrene-allylalcohol and fatty acid, in order to improve a smoothness of the electrodeposited coating film and to inhibit a pinhole and cratering characteristic. As for the fatty acid ester synthetic resin, a resin having the following structural formula can be illustrated:
The molecular weight (weight-average molecular weight) of these fatty acid ester resins is preferably in the range between about 2000-40,000, and more preferably is between about 3000-30,000. If the amount of these fatty acid ester resins used is less than 1% by weight, an improvement of the smoothness of the electrodeposited coating film and the restraint of the pinhole and cratering characteristic cannot be achieved. However, if the amount of these fatty acid ester resins used exceeds 3% by weight, mechanical properties of the dried coating film such as pencil hardness is deteriorated. Therefore, the amount of the fatty acid ester resin used is preferably in the range of about 1-3% by weight, and more preferably about 1.5-2.5% by weight.
The cationic electrodeposition composition according to the present invention may contain pigments, solvents and additives such as a surface improving additive, a surfactant, a thickening agent, a curing catalyst, etc. As the curing catalyst, a metallic salt of organic acids such as cobalt acetate, chrome octoate, chrome naphthenate, lead acetate and dibutyl tin oxide may be usually used.
The method of preparing the cationic electrodeposition coating composition according to the present invention will be described in detail below.
First, a cationic electrodeposition resin is prepared in the presence of an organic solvent having a low boiling point of about 140xc2x0 C. or less from (a) about 40-60% by weight of a cationic electrodeposition synthetic resin produced by an epoxy-amino addition reaction (b) about 5-10% by weight of an acrylic cationic electrodeposition resin having an amino group (c) about 1-3% by weight of a fatty acid ester resin synthesized by an esterification reaction of styrene-allylalcohol copolymer and fatty acid and (d) about 30-50% by weight of polyurethane cross-linking agent produced from a mixture of blocked polymethylene polyphenyl polyisocyanate and blocked isophorone diisocyanate.
As the organic solvents having the low boiling point, methyl isobutyl ketone, xylene, toluene, methyl ethyl ketone, etc. can be illustrated.
The cationic electrodeposition synthetic resin obtained by an epoxy-amino addition reaction may be manufactured by using an epoxy resin, polycaprolactonediol, bisphenol A, and benzyl dimethyl amine.
Thereafter, about 35-45% by weight of thus prepared cationic electrodeposition resin, about 55-65 parts by weight of deionized water, about 0.3-1.5 parts by weight of an acid for neutralization, about 1-5 parts by weight of a reaction product of manganese phosphate and an acid diluted in an deionized water to 10%, and about 0.5-1 parts by weight of a cationic surfactant, are mixed to prepare an aqueous dispersion. The aqueous dispersion is extracted under reduced pressure to remove the organic solvents having the low boiling point. In the following, the aqueous dispersion is filtered to prepare the cationic electrodeposition coating composition.
During the process of using the acid for neutralization, the degree of neutralization of the existing amino group is preferably in the range of about 20-100%, and more preferably is about 40-70%. According to a suitable neutralization method, an acid for neutralization such as formic acid, acetic acid, lactic acid and phosphoric acid, a surfactant, deionized water, etc., are added and dispersed into water by a high-speed stirring so that an excellent resin of an aqueous dispersion may be obtained.
Successively, a solvent stripping of the organic solvent having the low boiling point is performed at about 40-80xc2x0 C. and at about 30-90 mmHg, and more preferably is performed under a reduced pressure of about 50-70 mmHg. Then, organic solvents having a high boiling point over 140xc2x0 C., which has been included in the preparation of the cationic electrodeposition synthetic resin obtained by an epoxy-amino addition reaction, the acrylic cationic electrodeposition resin having an amino group, and the fatty acid ester resin synthesized by an esterification reaction of styrene-allylalcohol copolymer and fatty acid, remains. Meanwhile, organic solvents having the low boiling point such as methyl isobutyl ketone, xylene, toluene, methyl ethyl ketone, etc., are removed.
After implementing the solvent stripping process for making the solid content of the aqueous dispersion of the cationic electrodeposition resin being about 20-60% by weight, and more preferably about 30-40% by weight, the aqueous dispersion is filtered through diatomaceous earth in such a manner that an improved cationic electrodeposition coating composition can be obtained. The average particle size of the improved cationic electrodeposition coating composition is less than 60 nm and the organic solvent content is minimized.
The method of preparing the first component of the cationic electrodeposition coating composition, the cationic electrodeposition resin dispersion has been described above. Hereinbelow, a method of preparing the second component, a pigment paste composition will be described.
First, a pigment grinding vehicle for the cationic electrodeposition coating composition is prepared from about 25-35% by weight of polyglycidyl ether of bisphenol A, about 5-12% by weight of propyleneglycol monomethyl ether acetate, about 8-15% by weight of partially blocked isocyanate cross-linking agent, about 25-40% by weight of ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, about 10-20% by weight of organic tertiary amino acid salt and about 0-5% by weight of deionized water.
If the amount of the polyglycidyl ether of bisphenol A used is less than about 25% by weight, properties such as corrosion-resistance, water resistance, etc. are deteriorated, and if the amount of the polyglycidyl ether of bisphenol A used exceeds 35% by weight, mechanical properties of the dried coating layer such as hardness is diminished. Therefore, the amount of the polyglycidyl ether of bisphenol A used is preferably in the range of about 25-35% by weight, and more preferably about 27-32% by weight.
If the amount of the propyleneglycol monomethyl ether acetate used is less than 5% by weight, the process of melting the polyglycidyl ether resin of bisphenol A is poorly performed. If the amount of the propyleneglycol monomethyl ether acetate used exceeds 12 percent by weight, the stability of the paint manufactured with the pigment grinding vehicle is deteriorated. Therefore, the amount of the propyleneglycol monomethyl ether acetate used is preferably about 5-12% by weight, and more preferably about 7-1 0% by weight.
If the amount of the partially blocked isocyanate cross-linking agent used is less than 8% by weight, the hardness of the coating layer is lessened. If the amount of the partially blocked isocyanate cross-linking agent used exceeds 15% by weight, the mechanical property of the coating layer is lowered due to the increase of the hardness of the coating layer. Therefore, the amount of the partially blocked isocyanate cross-linking agent used is preferably in the range of about 8-15% by weight, and more preferably about 10-13% by weight.
If the amount of ethylene glycol monobutyl ether used is less than 25% by weight, the stability of the electrodeposition paint is poor, and if the amount of the ethylene glycol monobutyl ether used exceeds 40% by weight, the organic solvent content is increased. So, the amount of the ethylene glycol monobutyl ether used is preferably in the range of about 25-40% by weight, and more preferably about 30-35% by weight.
If the amount of the organic tertiary amino acid salt used is less than 10% by weight, the water-miscibility is insufficient. And if the amount of the organic tertiary amino acid salt used exceeds 20% by weight, the property of water resistance is poor. So, the amount of the organic tertiary amino acid salt used is preferably in the range of about 10-20% by weight, and more preferably about 13-16% by weight.
At this time, if the polyglycidyl ether of bisphenol A has an epoxy equivalent weight less than about 900, chemical properties of the coating layer such as water resistance, corrosion-resistance, etc., are poor. Therefore, the epoxy equivalent weight of the polyglycidyl ether of bisphenol A used is preferably about 900-1200 (or 1400-2800 by weight-average molecular weight).
The pigment paste composition includes the pigment grinding vehicle prepared by the above-described method, pigment ingredients such as carbon black or titanium dioxide, a catalyst such as dibutyl tin oxide and an anticorrosive pigment for improving the corrosion-resistance.
In the pigment paste composition, the amount of the pigment grinding vehicle used is in the range of about 15-30% by weight and preferably, about 17-25% by weight. If the amount of the pigment grinding vehicle is less than 15% by weight, a viscosity increases during storing, thereby weakening a storage stability. If the amount of the pigment vehicle exceeds 30% by weight, the storage stability is increased. However, some properties such as water-resistance, chemical-resistance, etc. of a dried film of the cationic electrodeposition coating composition are deteriorated.
In order to improve the corrosion-resistance of the dried film, an anticorrosive pigment such as a bismuth compound containing bismuth hydroxide, bismuth trioxide, bismuth oxide, etc., aluminum tri-phosphate hydrate, magnesium aluminum hydroxide carbonate hydrate, etc. can be included in the pigment paste composition. The amount of the anticorrosive pigment is in the range of about 2-6% by weight, and more preferably about 3-5% by weight. If the amount of the anticorrosive pigment is less than 2% by weight, the corrosion-resistance of the dried film of the cationic electrodeposition coating composition is deteriorated and if the amount exceeds 6% by weight, the viscosity of the pigment increases to generate a coagulating phenomenon during storing.
Further, a tin compound such as dibutyl tin oxide can be included in the pigment paste composition as a curing catalyst. The amount used of the tin compound is in the range of about 0.7-2.3% by weight, and more preferably about 1-2% by weight. If the amount of the tin compound is less than 0.7% by weight, a curing characteristic is weakened and so mechanical properties and chemical properties are weakened after drying the cationic electrodeposition coating composition. If the amount of the tin compound exceeds 2.3% by weight, the crosslinking density increases after the drying and the chemical properties are improved, however, the mechanical properties such as impact resistance and flexibility are deteriorated.
In addition, the ratio of the solid content of the pigment/pigment grinding vehicle in the pigment paste composition is in the range of about 1/0.20-1/0.45, and more preferably in the range of about 1/0.25-1/0.35. If the ratio of the solid content of the pigment/pigment grinding vehicle of the pigment paste composition is less than 1/0.20, the mechanical properties and the chemical properties of the dried film of the cationic electrodeposition coating composition are deteriorated, and if exceeds 1/0.45, the stability of the pigment paste composition is deteriorated to generate a coagulating phenomenon. | {
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This invention relates to novel multifunctional lubricant additives which are Viscosity Index (VI) improvers and provide other performance characteristics when employed in a lubricating oil compositions.
The use of polymer additives in lubricating oil compositions is well known in the art. For example, ethylenepropylene copolymers and ethylene-alpha olefin non-conjugated diene terpolymers which have been further derivatized to provide additional properties in lubricating oil compositions illustrate this type of oil additive.
Thus, an object of this invention is to provide a novel derivatized graft copolymer composition.
Another object of the invention is to provide a multi-functional lubricant additive effective for imparting viscosity index improvement with enhanced antioxidant and dispersant properties to the lubricating oil composition. | {
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The present invention relates generally to management of servers in a large wide area network and, more particularly, to processes for building servers consistently.
A large enterprise with hundreds or thousands of servers may easily build or rebuild 30 or more servers each month with a goal of having each server being built being as similar as possible to the other servers. Having this consistency in the server build process makes the support of the servers, once they are in production environment, much easier to manage. To this end, exhaustive effort is applied to developing processes and procedures to be followed while building a server. However, even with such processes and procedures, due to the number of persons involved in building servers and the odd times at which a server might need to be rebuilt, mistakes are often made which can cause problems once the server is in a production environment.
Prior art solutions for server customization use an assortment of batch files, Visual Basic scripts, and compiled executables. Each of these components can handle part of the installation process, but not the entire process.
Other prior art solutions require detailed manual step-by-step written procedures to make sure the technical components are executed correctly. More training is required for a manual approach because the installer has to understand the procedures and also know which technical tools to use to follow the steps of the procedures. This means that there is more room for error and inconsistency because the installer may miss a step or complete a step incorrectly. | {
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The present invention relates to non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries using non-aqueous electrolyte with lithium ion conductivity where material capable of incorporating and releasing lithium is used as a negative active material, and in particular, it relates to novel negative active materials capable of proposing improved high-reliable secondary batteries with a longer service life having a satisfactory charge and discharge characteristic of a high voltage and high energy density.
Non-aqueous electrolyte batteries using lithium as a negative active material have various advantages including high reliability ranging long periods due to smaller amounts of self-discharge in addition to a high voltage and higher energy density, therefore they have widely been used as primary batteries of power supplies for memory backup, cameras and the like. However in recent years, following the remarkable development of portable type electronics equipment and devices, communication equipment and devices and so forth, various kinds of equipment and devices have been realized requiring larger current outputs for batteries as a power supply. It is therefore strongly desired to produce high energy density secondary batteries capable of recharging and redischarging from the view point of economics, compact size, and light-weight of the devices. For this reason, the research and development for more satisfactory non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries have been considerably promoted, a part of which is now in practical use, however unsatisfactory characteristics still remain in energy density, charge and discharge cycle service life, and reliability.
Conventionally, as a positive active material constituting a positive electrode of the secondary battery of this kind there have been found three kinds of types depending on charge and discharge reaction patterns. Namely, in the first type, only lithium ions (cation) are input into and output from between layers of the crystal, lattice positions or gaps among lattices of the crystal by means of intercalation and deintercalation reactions and the like as is the case of metal chalcogenide such as TiS.sub.2, MoS.sub.2, NbSe.sub.3 and the like, and metal oxide such as MnO.sub.2, MoO.sub.3, V.sub.2 O.sub.5, Li.sub.x CoO.sub.2, Li.sub.x NiO.sub.2, Li.sub.x Mn.sub.2 O.sub.4, and the like. The second type is a type in which mainly only anion is stably input or output by the doping or undoping reactions as in the case of conductive polymers such as polyaniline, polypyrrole, polyparaphenylene and the like. The third type is a type in which both lithium cation and anion can be input and output as in the case of layer-like structure graphite compounds and conductive polymers such as polyacene and the like (intercalation, deintercalation, or dope, undope or the like).
On the other hand, in the negative active material of the battery of this kind, since the use of metal lithium in a simple substance gives the basest electrode potential, it is preferable that the battery combined with the positive electrode using positive active material as described above has the highest voltage and the highest energy density. However, the problem arises in considerable deterioration with charge and discharge and results in a shorter cyclic life because of the generation of dendrite or passive state compounds on the negative electrode due to the charge and discharge. In order to solve this problem, for the negative active material, various possible materials capable of incorporating and releasing lithium ions are proposed; namely, (1) alloy of lithium with other metals such as Al, Zn, Sn, Pb, Bi and Cd; (2) intercalation compounds or insertion compounds in which lithium ions are incorporated into the crystal structure of inorganic compounds such as WO.sub.2, MoO.sub.2, Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3, and TiS.sub.2, graphite, and carbonaceous materials obtained by baking organic materials; (3) conductive polymers such as polyacene, polyacethylene and the like in which lithium ions are doped.
However, in general, in case where, as a negative active material, the negative electrode using materials capable of incorporating and releasing lithium ions (other than metal lithium as described above) is combined with the positive electrode using the positive active material described above to constitute a battery, an electrode potential of the negative active material is nobler than an electrode potential of metal lithium, and the drawback therefore arises in that an operating voltage of the battery is lowered than when using metal lithium in the simple substance as a negative active material. For example, the operating voltage is lowered by 0.2 to 0.8 V when using alloys of lithium with Al, Zn, Pb, Sn, Bi, Cd or the like, by 0 to 1 V when using lithium intercalation compound of carbon, and by 0.5 to 1.5 V when using lithium ion insertion compound such as MoO.sub.2 or WO.sub.2.
Since elements other than lithium are involved as negative electrode constituent elements, the capacity and energy density per volume and weight are considerably lowered.
Further, in case (1) where the alloys of lithium are used with the other metals, a problem occurs because the utilization-efficiency of lithium is low during charge and discharge and repeating charge and discharge causes cracks or breaks in the electrode which results in a shorter cyclic life. It (2) where the battery uses the lithium intercalation compound or insertion compound, deteriorations such as decay of the crystal structure and generation of irreversible substances arise in the case of excess charge and excess discharge, and further there is a drawback of a lower output voltage of the battery because of the higher (nobler) electrode-potential. In case (3), where the conductive polymer is used, the problem is that the charge and discharge capacity, in particular, the charge and discharge capacity per unit volume, is small.
For these reasons, to obtain a secondary battery with a long cyclic service life having a graded charge and discharge characteristic with a high voltage and a high energy density, there is required a negative active material having a larger effective charge and discharge capacity, that is, a larger amount of reversible incorporation and release of lithium ions with a lower (baser) electrode potential for lithium but without deteriorations such as decay of the crystal structure and generation of irreversible substances and the like due to the incorporation and release of the lithium ions during charging and discharging. | {
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Complex information is used in a number of fields. Heretofore, such information has been provided printed in book form. This can result in a number of problems, particular when a user may wish to access information in a number of books concurrently. Typically, each work is indexing separately, and cross-referencing as among a number of works can typically be difficult, particularly when one needs to use information on-site. In addition, it is often difficult to ensure that the information is satisfactorily maintained in updated form
Although information from individual works can often be accessed in electronic form, such as through a personal computer or laptop computer, typically such a computer are difficult to carry and use, and are also relatively expensive. In addition, although updating information as maintained on a computer may be easier than if the information is simply maintained in book (printed) form, such updates typically require a network administrator to ensure that the information has been provided to a particular computer in a timely basis.
The Shah patent describes an information supply and update system by which information in structured form can be disseminated from a central base subsystem to a number of remote user devices such as PDA's (personal digital assistants), paging devices, cellular telephones, smart phones, and/or any other types of devices which may receive information from a remote location and store the information for later display. The information supplied by the information supply and update system is structured, that is, it can include information from a number of works, with various works including a plurality of topics, each including a plurality of sections. The topics and sections, along with indices set up for the various works, allow a user to easily navigate through the respective works, and cross-references allow a user, when he or she is in one work, to find related information in another work. | {
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Archery bows are typically constructed with an insert for attaching an archery bow stabilizer to the bow. Archery bow stabilizers are utilized to absorb limb vibration, add mass weight to a bow, and allow an archer to hold steadier on target by giving a desired balance to a bow. Target bow stabilizers up to three feet long are not uncommon, but hunting bow stabilizers are usually under 12 inches. Some hunting bow stabilizers may be used for storage of small accessories or survival gear.
It would be desirable to place an archery bow stabilizer near the center of an archery bow to provide optimum balance priorities. However, such desired placement of an archery bow stabilizer would place the bow stabilizer at an archer's handgrip, and would thus interfere with the archer's ability to grip the bow. Further, the optimal location of a stabilizer relative to an archery bow will depend upon characteristics of the bow, and characteristics of the archer.
Bows are frequently used for hunting. It is frequently desirable to have hunting bows be relatively short so that the bows do not get hung-up in brush as an archer is stalking prey. Stabilizers are currently typically mounted on a riser portion of an archery bow and offset relative to a handgrip portion of an archery bow. The riser portions must therefore be extended well beyond the handgrip portion to provide room to receive a stabilizer. Accordingly, it would be desirable to develop a mechanism for mounting a stabilizer whereby the stabilizer could overlap a handgrip portion and thus enable archery bow riser portions to be shortened. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a zoom lens system, a lens barrel, an imaging device and a camera. In particular, the present invention relates to: a zoom lens system that is used suitably in a small and high-image quality camera such as a digital still camera or a digital video camera, and that has a large variable magnification ratio and a high resolution; a lens barrel that holds this zoom lens system and has a short overall length at the time of accommodation as well as a low overall height; an imaging device including this lens barrel; and a thin and compact camera employing this imaging device.
2. Description of the Background Art
With recent progress in the development of solid-state image sensors such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) and a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) having a higher number of pixels, digital still cameras and digital video cameras are rapidly spreading that employ an imaging device including an imaging optical system of high optical performance corresponding to the above solid-state image sensors of a higher number of pixels.
Among these, especially in digital still cameras, thin constructions have recently been proposed in order to achieve satisfactory accommodation property or portability to which the highest priority is imparted. As possible means for realizing such thin digital still cameras, a large number of zoom lens systems have been proposed that bend a light beam by 90°.
For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-004533 and No. 2003-202500 disclose a construction in which in an imaging device provided with a zoom lens system, a right-angle prism provided with an internal reflecting surface for bending a light beam by 90° is arranged inside a lens unit located on the most object side. In the imaging device disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-004533 and No. 2003-202500, since the object light is bent in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis of the incident lens unit, the thickness of the imaging device is determined by the right-angle prism and the lens elements located on the object side relative to the right-angle prism. This reduces the thickness.
Further, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-102089 discloses a construction in which in an imaging device provided with a zoom lens system composed of four units having a construction of positive, negative, positive and positive, a right-angle prism provided with an internal reflecting surface for bending a light beam by 90° is arranged inside a second lens unit having negative optical power. In the imaging device described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-102089, the right-angle prism can be arranged inside the lens unit located on the image side relative to the first lens unit having positive optical power. This allows the right-angle prism to be constructed compactly.
Nevertheless, in the zoom lens system disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-004533, although a compact imaging device can be provided, the variable magnification ratio is as small as approximately 3. Further, the optical performance is insufficient in the periphery.
Further, in the zoom lens system disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-202500 and No. 2004-102089, thickness reduction of the imaging device is restricted from their intrinsic construction. Further, optical performance is insufficient in the periphery part. | {
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Polyester films are excellent in mechanical and chemical properties, and are used in a wide range of fields such as those of packaging, magnetic tapes, electronic components, electrical insulation and protective sheets. In solar cell back sheet applications, solar cell front sheet applications, motor insulation applications and capacitor applications, the films are exposed to a severe environment for a long period of time, and therefore a higher level of durability is required. However, when the polyester film is used in a high-temperature and high-humidity environment, there is a problem that hydrolysis occurs at the ester bond site in the molecular chain, so that mechanical properties become worse. Thus, various studies have been conducted for improvement in hydrolysis-resistant performance of polyester films.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique of improving hydrolysis resistance by lowering the acid value of a resin. Patent Documents 2 to 4 disclose techniques of improving weather resistance by increasing the molecular weight of a resin.
Patent Documents 5 to 7 disclose techniques of adding a carboxylic acid end capping agent such as an epoxy compound, an oxazoline compound or an isocyanate compound for improving the hydrolysis resistance of a polyester film. A hindered phenol-based antioxidant is used in parallel therewith as an additive for prevention of deactivation of an end capping agent and prevention of gelation. Further, Patent Documents 8 to 10 disclose techniques of improving weather resistance and various properties by homogeneously mixing and blending a polyester and other resins. A hindered phenol compound is also used in parallel therewith as an additive for preventing decomposition and coloring of a resin to be blended.
As to the hindered phenol-based compound, a technique of preventing heat aging of a molded product by adding the compound as an antioxidant has been previously widely known in the art of engineering plastics such as injection molding (Patent Document 11). | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to urine containers and more particularly pertains to a new urine specimen container system for collecting urine from a woman.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of urine containers is known in the prior art. More specifically, urine containers heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 3,161,891; U.S. Pat. No. 3,711,871; U.S. Pat. No. 3,811,136; U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,076; U.S. Pat. No. 3,625,654; and U.S. Des. Pat. No. 341,421.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new urine specimen container system of the present invention.
The urine specimen container system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of collecting urine from a woman.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of urine containers now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new urine specimen container system wherein the same can be utilized for collecting urine from a woman.
The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new urine specimen container system which has many of the advantages of the urine containers mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new urine specimen container system which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art urine containers, either alone or in any combination thereof.
To attain this, the present invention generally comprises a receiving member for receiving urine expelled from a body of a user. Thereceiving member has a bottom wall with a perimeter, and a peripheral wall united to the perimeter of the bottom wall to define an interior of the receiving member. The bottom wall of the receiving member has a hole formed therein for draining urine from the interior of the receiving member through a bottom surface of the bottom wall. A container having an opening with an annular lip formed about the opening. A container securing structure on the receiving member for removably securing the container to the receiving member by releasably engaging the annular lip on the container.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new urine specimen container system which has many of the advantages of the urine containers mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new urine specimen container system which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art urine containers, either alone or in any combination thereof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new urine specimen container system which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new urine specimen container system which is of a durable and reliable construction.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new urine specimen container system which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such urine specimen container system economically available to the buying public.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new urine specimen container system which provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new urine specimen container system for collecting urine from a woman.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new urine specimen container system which includes a receiving member for receiving urine expelled from a body of a user. The receiving member has a bottom wall with a perimeter, and a peripheral wall united to the perimeter of the bottom wall to define an interior of the receiving member. The bottom wall of the receiving member has a hole formed therein for draining urine from the interior of the receiving member through a bottom surface of the bottom wall. A container having an opening with an annular lip formed about the opening. A container securing structure on the receiving member for removably securing the container to the receiving member by releasably engaging the annular lip on the container.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new urine specimen container system that provides an easy method of urine collection for a woman by providing a boat-like receiving member for urinating in. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to wireless communications, and more particularly, to a method of performing uplink synchronization in a wireless communication system.
2. Related Art
Third generation partnership project (3GPP) mobile communication systems based on a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) radio access technology are widely spread all over the world. High-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) that can be defined as a first evolutionary stage of WCDMA provides 3GPP with a radio access technique that is highly competitive in the mid-term future. However, since requirements and expectations of users and service providers are continuously increased and developments of competing radio access techniques are continuously in progress, new technical evolutions in 3GPP are required to secure competitiveness in the future. Reduction of cost per bit, increase of service availability, flexible use of frequency bands, simple structure and open interface, proper power consumption of a user equipment (UE), and the like are defined as requirements.
In general, there are one or more cells within the coverage of a base station (BS). One cell may include a plurality of UEs. A UE is generally subjected to a random access procedure to access a network. The random access procedure is performed by the UE for the following purposes: (1) initial access; (2) handover; (3) scheduling request; and (4) timing synchronization. However, this is for exemplary purposes only, and thus the content or number of purposes for performing the random access procedure may vary depending on systems.
The random access procedure can be classified into a contention based random access procedure and a non-contention based random access procedure. Major difference between the two random access procedures lies in whether a random access preamble is dedicatedly assigned to one UE. In the non-contention based access procedure, since a UE uses only the random access preamble dedicatedly assigned to the UE, contention (or collision) with another UE does not occur. The contention occurs when two or more UEs attempt the random access procedure by using the same random access preamble through the same resource. In the contention based random access procedure, there is a possibility of contention since a random access preamble used by the UEs is randomly selected.
In an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)-based wireless communication system, timing synchronization between a UE and a BS is important so as to minimize interference between users. The random access procedure is performed for uplink synchronization. While the random access procedure is performed, the UE is time-synchronized according to a time alignment value transmitted from the BS. When uplink synchronization is achieved, the UE runs a time alignment timer. If the time alignment timer is running, it is regarded that the UE and the BS are uplink-synchronized with each other. If the time alignment timer is expired or is not running, it is regarded that the UE and the BS are not synchronized with each other. In this case, uplink transmission cannot be achieved except for transmission of the random access preamble.
A random access failure may occur in the contention based random access procedure since there is always a possibility of contention. Therefore, a method is needed for performing uplink synchronization caused by the random access failure. | {
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This invention relates to a method of welding seam portions of a pipe fashioned from a steel plate.
When welding along a seam line of a pipe fashioned from a steel plate, the heat affected zone (hereinafter abbreviated occasionally to HAZ) will become brittle due to marked formation, in the course of the welding heat cycle, of an upper bainite in the vicinity of a bond or transition zone between the weld metal and parent metal.
Such brittleness of the heat affected zone is undesirable especially when a low temperature toughness in excess of a predetermined value is a requirement. It is believed that high toughness of the weld metal may not be realized due to formation of the proeutectoid ferrite. An accepted practice is to cool the heat affected zone during welding. In the case of submerged arc welding, hereinafter abbreviated occasionally as SAW, the cooling of the weld or weld joint may be caused by spontaneous cooling of the weld zone surrounded by the fluxes, dissipation of heat from the lower surface of the parent metal and the transfer of heat to the parent metal. Reliance on such spontaneous cooling solely gives rise to retarded cooling of the weld surrounded by a thick layer of slags, thus the Charpy strength of the weld being lowered. Such tendency will be more noteworthy when the heat input is elevated. For this reason, a variety of cooling methods have been proposed for cooling the weld, including water cooling used in conjunction with vertical electro-slag welding. This method is however not applied to the case of submerged arc welding. It is also known to cool the weld surface with a mist after welding and subsequent to the flux removal. With such cooling, the start time of cooling may be delayed due to hygrospic properties of the fluxes and the mounting of the flux recovery device between the cooling position and the electrodes. Moreover, such cooling technique can not be used for cooling the inside weld of a large diameter pipe which has been welded on the outside by the preceding welding operation.
In submerged arc welding, endeavors have been made to improve the toughness of the heat affected zone as by using fluxes of higher basicity or adding to the weld metals alloying agents such as nickel, molybdenum and titanium. It was also proposed to perform a so-called multi-layer welding at the sacrifice of welding efficiency or to add the parent metal with trace amounts of Ti, Al-B, REM-B Ti-Ca or similar combinations of alloying agents. Especially, higher notch toughness is required of the weld metal and the heat affected zone of large diameter pipes that are designed for the frigid zone such as Arctic Zone where the temperatures may fall to -25.degree. to -40.degree. C. It is a matter of great difficulty to satisfy the above requirement by using the currently marketed steel plates and welding wires at an acceptable cost. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field
This field is generally related to using biometric data to login to a computing device with a touchscreen.
2. Background
Typical login processes for computing devices with touchscreens involve using a keyboard presented on the screen to type a password. Typing on a screen is slow and error-prone. Thus, such typing presents a significant barrier to entry for someone trying to quickly login to such a computing device.
Other systems present the user with a pattern that can be drawn on the screen. While this is quicker than the software keyboard, it leaves smudge marks on the screen which might allow for intruders to guess the pattern. Furthermore, the user typically needs to set up the pattern on his or her device before using it.
Thus, present approaches have not yet developed a way for users to identify themselves on a touchscreen that is convenient, accurate, and secure. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates to operation of a halogen lamp in a dental curing process and, more particularly, to the obtaining of more power in a usefull spectral region without diminishing useful lifetime of the lamp.
A halogen lamp has a tungsten filament which is heated by electric current during operation of the lamp. The lamp""s lifetime is based on the integrity of the filament. Once the filament burns out, the lamp no longer operates. While the lamp is operating, heat produced by electric current in the filament induces evaporation of the filament. Thus, the filament is continuously evaporating during operation of the lamp and, when the diameter of the filament reaches the critical point, the lamp burns out. A higher current flow in the filament results in a more rapid evaporation. Thus, during the start-up interval of the lamp, before the filament has attained its operating temperature, a much larger current flows with a resultant higher rate of evaporation.
In order to preserve the lifetime of a lamp having a tungsten filament during operation wherein the lamp may be turned on and off frequently, it is known to use a current limiter such as an NTC (negative temperature coefficient) thermistor to suppress the initial inrush current while providing negligible electrical resistance once the filament has heated to operating temperature. Unfortunately, such a current limiter develops significant heat after suppressing the initial inrush current, and requires a cool-town (recovery) time after power is removed from the lamp and prior to reactivation of the lamp. Due to the temperature dependent operating characteristic of the thermistor, the thermistor must be allowed to cool down in order to restore its resistance to the appropriate value for reactivation of the lamp. The cool-town time is approximately one minute. This presents an inconvenience in the situation wherein it is desired to turn the lamp off momentarily before reactivating the lamp. Also, the current limiter suffers from the disadvantage of dissipating some of the electric power which would otherwise be employed usefully in operation of the lamp.
In the use of a halogen lamp for curing dental material, it is advantageous to operate the lamp in a fashion which accelerates the rate of the curing. Thereby, the curing can be accomplished advantageously in a lesser amount of time. One way to accomplish this is to raise the operating voltage of the lamp, resulting in increased power dissipation in the lamp with increased light output. However, this introduces the disadvantage of reduced lifetime of the lamp. Another factor to consider in accelerating the curing process is the spectral distribution of light produced by the lamp. The curing process is accomplished best with a light wavelength of approximately 450 nm (nanometers). However, more than 95 percent of halogen lamp light, in the case of a typical halogen lamp heated by a tungsten filament, has a wavelength over 600 nm. Therefore, normal operation of a halogen lamp suffers from a lack of optimization of the spectral distribution of the light for use in the curing of dental material.
In view of the aforementioned disadvantages and problems, it is an object of the present invention to operate a halogen lamp in a manner which accomplishes a more rapid curing of dental material while substantially retaining the expected lifetime of the lamp. In accordance with a feature of the practice of the invention, it is recognized that the spectrum of light radiated by the lamp is dependent on the electrical voltage employed for exciting the lamp. Thus, an increase of the operating voltage by 10 percent shifts the color temperature to give a 6 percent color temperature rise, in the case of a typical halogen lamp heated by a tungsten filament. The increase of the operating voltage by 10 percent in this lamp also results in an increase of radiated light energy by 34 percent. The increase in color temperature is manifested by a shifting of the maximum spectral radiation output from longer wavelength toward shorter wavelength. In the case of the foregoing example, the spectrum shifting results in an additional 5 percent light output. While the increase in applied voltage provides the foregoing advantageous features in the operation of the lamp, it is noted that the increased voltage is accompanied by a disadvantage in that the foregoing 10 percent increase in the operating voltage results in a shortening of the lamp""s life by 40 percent.
In accordance with the methodology and the apparatus of the invention, enhanced usage of the halogen lamp for the curing of dental material is obtained by increasing the voltage applied to the lamp to shift the spectrum and obtain better utilization of the frequency spectrum of the output light, and to increase intensity of the output light, while regulating the applied voltage for a gradual increase of the voltage at the time of initial turn on of the lamp so as to avoid the initial surge current with its associated rapid evaporation of the filament. The design lifetime of the lamp is retained because the loss in use of the lamp associated with the increased voltage is balanced by the improved utilization of the spectrum, and the avoidance of the initial surge current so as to maintain an upper bound on the magnitude of the current. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is a polypeptide hormone which is naturally produced in the parathyroid of mammals. The human polypeptide consists of 84 amino acids and is involved in the regulation of the calcium concentration in blood plasma. If the calcium level drops below a threshold level, PTH is secreted by cells of the parathyroid glands into the blood and induces a release of calcium from bone tissue. At the same time, PTH supports calcium absorption from the small intestine and enhances calcium reabsorption from the primary urine, thereby suppressing calcium loss via the kidneys. Due to its calcium releasing effects, an excessive amount of PTH in the blood as commonly observed in primary and secondary hyperparathyroidism has been found to be associated with reduced bone density and bone atrophy (osteoporosis). Considering the physiological effects of PTH, it appears odd that the hormone nevertheless proved useful in the therapy of osteoporosis.
However, animal studies in rats for the first time revealed that a short-term exposure to PTH supports bone formation due to transient activation of osteoclasts, whereas a sustained exposure ultimately results in bone atrophy. Subsequent clinical studies in humans using the pharmaceutically active fragment PTH1-34 of human PTH confirmed that the fragment can be used for treating osteoporosis. PTH1-34 is a polypeptide having a molecular mass of 4.7 kDa that consists of the first 34 amino acids of the human PTH hormone. It was approved for osteoporosis therapy in 2002 under the product name “teriparatide”. Teriparatide is sold by Lilly Pharma under the trade name Forteo (in the US) and Forsteo (in Europe).
At present, PTH1-34 for therapeutic use is produced by heterologous expression in bacterial host cells and subsequent purification of the pharmacological active polypeptide. However, it has been found that all known fragments and variants of PTH1-34 occur during the production process demonstrate a reduced potency compared to PTH1-34. In addition a negative effect on overall purity is observed. For example, a number of fragments derived from PTH1-34 were identified in the final batch obtained after heterologous expression, including amongst others PTH1-30, PTH2-34, PTH3-34 and PTH4-34. Moreover, chemical modifications of certain amino acids of PTH1-34, e.g. oxidation of methionine residues or deamidation of asparagine residues, give rise to additional variants.
However, as homogeneity of a product intended to be used as a therapeutic is of utmost importance for safety reasons, any kind of truncated or chemically modified form of PTH1-34 in the final product is clearly undesirable. Accordingly, current production processes normally include one or more chromatography steps that aim at the purification of the PTH1-34 polypeptide. However, it has been found to be problematic to separate PTH1-34 from some of its variants and fragments without significant product loss. In particular, it was observed that the fragment PTH2-34 shows essentially the same retention properties in ion exchange chromatography as PTH1-34. Consequently, the PTH2-34 fragment is co-eluted with PTH1-34 which makes PTH1-34 purification challenging. Moreover, alternative chromatographic techniques, e.g. reversed phase chromatography, were tested but did not show any potential for a preparative separation of truncated and full-length teriparatide.
In light of the above, new methods are needed which are effective in separating PTH1-34 from its fragments and chemically modified variants. The method of the present invention provides for the effective purification of the PTH1-34 polypeptide by cation exchange chromatography using inversely directed gradients of pH and ionic strength. As discussed in more detail below, the method is particularly suitable for separating PTH1-34 from PTH2-34. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the invention relate to a photovoltaic apparatus. More particularly, embodiments of the invention relate to a photovoltaic apparatus, a photovoltaic module and a fastener thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Since petroleum reserves are decreasing gradually, the energy crisis has become an issue all over the world in recent year, and therefore, it is necessary to develop an alternative energy immediately. In these alternative energy options on the table, the solar energy is under the spotlight due to its unexhausted resources.
At present, a method for collecting the solar energy is generally implemented by using a photovoltaic panel. The photovoltaic panel is generally mounted on a roof of a building to receive sunlight to generate electricity. In order to form a photovoltaic panel array on the roof, an worker have to use a plurality of screws or bolts to secure plural rails on the roof in the beginning, and then uses a plurality of screws, bolts or clamps to fasten the photovoltaic panel onto the rails.
Since plural rails and associated mounting hardware are required to mount the photovoltaic panel onto the roof in the aforementioned way, it is inevitably that the material cost and working hours of the worker are increased. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Bayesian methods are useful in modern data analytics as they may fuse sparse information with models of different fidelity levels. A Bayesian network is a representation of the probabilistic relationship among variables. The probability distribution specifies the strength of the relationship between variables. The Bayesian rule provides a standard set of procedures and formula to determine this relationship. A standard procedure used in solving the Bayesian rule is numerical integration. However, a problem with conventional Bayesian methods that use numerical integration is that numerical integration requires a large amount of computation, which can become computationally expensive. Conventionally, some solutions to the slow computations are to either simplify the models so that they can run fast enough, or to derive approximate solutions. The problem with both of these conventional approaches (model simplification and approximation) is that they lose accuracy. Another alternative is to employ heuristic approaches, which may be problem-specific and therefore may be very difficult to generalize.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a system and method that more efficiently solves the Bayesian rule. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The direction of aiming of the cannon with respect to the direction of the target takes into account a certain number of parameters. The distance between the cannon and the target requires an angle called the aim angle between the direction of the cannon and the direction of the traget. The relation between the aim angle and the distance is not linear. The platform supporting the turret of the cannon can take an undetermined position and it is necessary to take into account the inclination of the turning axis of the cannon. Different ammunition has a very variable behavior from the point of view of initial speed and ballistics and the characteristics of the cannon change in time. The variation of initial speed and the ballistic coefficient necessitate a correction in elevation. These parameters act angularly in a manner substantially proportional to the aim angle. It is also necessary to take into account lateral wind forces and the lateral shifting of the ammunition. These parameters necessitate corrections in bearing and the corrections are approximately proportional to the aim angle.
Different systems for firing are known. One system of firing comprises an observation telescope which can be a shielded telescope or a periscope. The generally accepted principle resides in the calculation of an aiming error between the cannon and the direct sight as a function of all the parameters of firing, after which a shift is made between the line of sight and the axis of the cannon so that the projectile strikes the target. The determination of the aiming error is effected from information from a rangefinder or determining the distance of the target. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,887,774, the deviation of the line of sight is effected by displacement of the cross-hairs of the sight. The cross-hairs are displaced by a cam.
The profile of the cam is determined by the successive values of the aim angle. The position of the cam around its axis is determined by the distance of the target given by a rangefinder. The displacement of the cross-hairs corresponds from this fact to the necessary angle of aim. The cam acts on the cross-hairs through the intermediary of a lever whose displacement of the articulation point by a mechanical system permits the introduction of secondary corrections such as the variation of initial speed and the ballistic coefficient. However, this system of firing does not permit taking into account the inclination and the secondary corrections cannot easily be taken into account.
In modern systems of conducting firing such as those described in French Pat. No. 2,016,096, the determination of the aiming error is effected with the aid of an electronic computer receiving information from a rangefinder of laser type. Generally, the firing information determined by the computer acts on an optically controlled deviator, situated in front of the telescope, which shifts both the observation and the transmission and reception beams of the laser rangefinder with respect to the cannon. The optical deviation is effected either by diasporameters or by a movable mirror. The computer apparatus not only determines the errors but also calculates their transformations into control parameters for the deviator systems. The known systems are, therefore, very complex. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to high-performance light emitting diodes, and more particularly to a method of using metal diffusion bonding technology as well as surface treatment process to improve light extraction efficiency.
2. Description of the Related Art
The MOCVD epitaxy technology has been applied in the production of high brightness Group III-V light emitting diodes (LEDs), which include aluminum indium gallium phosphide (AlInGaP, wavelength range: 560 nm˜650 nm) LEDs and indium gallium nitride (InGaN, wavelength range: 380 nm˜550 nm) LEDs. High brightness LEDs are employed extensively in the areas of indicating lamps, traffic lights, outdoors displays, special lighting, etc. The epitaxial growth of AlInGaP LED is usually grown on lattice-matched GaAs substrate in order to get good crystal quality. However, since the energy bandgap of GaAs substrate is less than the emission energy of LED, at least half of the emitted light will be absorbed by the light-absorbing GaAs substrate. Improved performance can be achieved by eliminating this light-absorbing GaAs substrate. There are several techniques for replacing this light-absorbing substrate by either a transparent substrate or an opaque substrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,580 issued to Fred A. Kish, et al in 1993 disclosed a semiconductor light emitting diode structure and manufacturing process as shown in FIG. 1, wherein a wafer bonding was performed at a high temperature and a high pressure (temperature >900° C., pressure >400 kg/cm2) to bond the epitaxial LED layers 61 and the transparent GaP semiconductor substrate 60. The light-absorbing GaAs substrate can be removed either before or after the wafer bonding. To reduce the resistance at the wafer-bond interface, Fred A. Kish suggested that the bonding interface must have an InGaP layer as a bonding layer 62. Such bonding method is usually called fusion bonding. The fusion bonding process has the following drawbacks: (1) after the removal of the GaAs substrate, the remaining LED structure is very thin, e.g., ˜50 μm, and therefore fragile and difficult to handle, so that it is difficult to maintain the integrity of the bonded wafer or achieve a high yield rate; and (2) it is necessary to align precisely the lattice direction of LED structure and the permanent transparent substrate during the wafer bonding process, otherwise the operating voltage of the LED will be high.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,797,987 B2 issued to Tzer-Perng Chen in 2003 disclosed a semiconductor LED structure as shown in FIG. 2. Epitaxial structure 100 was grown on a temporary light-absorbing GaAs substrate by MOCVD. Thereafter, an ohmic contact metal 112 was formed on the p-type contact layer (GaAsP, AlGaAs or GaP). Then, a transparent conducting oxide layer 114 and a metal reflective layer 116 were deposited for reflecting the light generated in the active layer 106. The transparent conducting oxide layer 114 also served the function of conducting currents, so as to provide a vertical LED chip structure. Further, a permanent substrate 120 such as Si, AlN, SiC, copper, or aluminum was bonded to epitaxial structure 100 by using the bonding layer 124 such as Au—Sn, Au—Si, Pb—Sn, Au—Ge, or In alloy. The principle is same as soldering. During the heat up, when temperature reaches the eutectic point or melting point of the metal alloy chosen, the bonding layer 124 melted. When temperature cooled down, the liquid metal alloy solidified, and bonded epitaxial structure 100 to the permanent substrate 120. Since the bonding layer 124 is melted during the pressurized bonding process, the pressure applied for the bonding process must be less than 15 kg/cm2 to prevent the melted metal from being squeezed out during the bonding process. Such bonding method is called eutectic bonding. The eutectic points or melting points of some commonly used metal bonding layer are listed below:
Typical Eutectic Point or Melting PointIn156° C.Au—20Sn276° C.Au—3.2Si363° C.Pb—61.9Sn183° C.Au—12.5Ge381° C.
Usually, the eutectic bonding is categorized as a low-temperature (Typ. <400° C.) and/or low-pressure (<15 kg/cm2) wafer bonding. This method has the following drawbacks: (1) Since this kind of eutectic reactions is fast, it is not easy to control the thickness of the metal bonding layer after bonding; (2) It is likely to produce an intermetallic compound (IMC) which is a fragile material, and the IMC further deteriorates the bonding strength; and (3) The bonded wafer can not go through a temperature higher than the bonding temperature in the chip process steps following wafer bonding, otherwise, the metal bonding layer will be affected. Furthermore, the bonding strength is not strong enough to survive the long-term reliability test, which is essential for high brightness LED.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,900,473 B2 issued to Shunji Yoshitake et al in 2002 disclosed some manufacturing methods for roughening surface of LED epi-wafers as shown in FIG. 3. Most light generated in the active layer of LED will be trapped inside LED due to the difference of refractive indices between semiconductor LED material and air (or epoxy resin). The roughened LED surface is capable of reducing the total internal reflection between LED surface and air (or epoxy resin), and thus, enhancing the light extraction efficiency of LED. In the embodiments disclosed by Shunji Yoshitake, the roughened LED surface is manufactured either by reducing V/III ratio during the later part of the epitaxial MOCVD growth of upper cladding layer or by thermal etch after epi-growth. However, both methods cannot guarantee the uniformity of the surface roughness. Such limitation makes the implementation of the surface roughening process of AlInGaP light emitting devices difficult. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates generally to circuit wiring boards and, more particularly, to ceramic composite circuit wiring boards and/or multichip modules and methods to construct the same.
Semiconductor integrated circuits (“SIC”) or semiconductor chips are being developed to operate at increasingly higher speeds and to handle larger volumes of data. This trend has caused the density of electrical interconnections required between the semiconductor chip and the larger electronic sy stem to increase dramatically. Conversely, this ultra-large scale integration restricts the physical dimensions of the SIC. The drive to implement more sophisticated SIC's which require much larger numbers of electrical interconnections to be crammed into smaller physical dimensions creates a technical bottleneck, wherein SIC performance is increasingly limited by the circuit board/package connecting the chip to the larger electronic system.
The industry convention has been to use a lead frame that electrically interconnects the SIC to a printed circuit board (“PCB”), and to envelop the chip and lead frame in a ceramic laminate package. The packaged SIC is socketed to the PCB, which electrically connects the SIC to the larger electronic system. The modern, more sophisticated SIC's generate greater amounts of heat than their predecessors. This heat, if not dissipated from the SIC, reduces circuit performance. Robust lead frames have been able to function as both electrical connection and heat sink, however, as the density of leads per unit area has increased, the physical dimension of the individual lead must be shrunk. Smaller lead sizes sharply limit their function as a heat sink. This has forced system manufacturers to dissipate thermal loads through unmanageably large heat sinks attached to the SICs, which hampers the drive towards smaller, mobile platforms.
Furthermore, the operating speed of the more sophisticated SICs is increasingly limited by the printed circuit board. Conventional PCBs have routed electrical signals between system and SIC through an electrode network patterned on the PCB surface on which the semiconductor chip is mounted. To allow the SIC to operate at higher speed the interconnections between the semiconductor chip and the electronic system must be low-resistance. Lower resistance electrical contact is achieved by shortening electrode length and by decreasing electrode resistivity. Shorter electrode lengths are engineered by embedding an electrical interconnection network within the circuit board rather than one patterned on the surface. The prior art discloses methods to construct multilayer ceramic composite printed circuit boards with electrical interconnection networks embedded within the circuit boards. However, these methods are performance-limited because the embedded electrode network is composed of metallic films, conducting pastes, or both, which have much higher electrical resistance than the wire form of the same conducting metal. Lower-resistance at higher signal frequency is also enhanced by forming the wiring board from low dielectric constant materials. Therefore, circuit wiring board and multichip module designs that comprise electrode networks of conducting metal wire embedded within a low dielectric ceramic, such as silica or alumina, and simultaneously contain heat sinks, embedded within the ceramic to dissipate heat generated by the SIC would be highly desirable.
Relevant prior art includes the following patents. Fujita et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,034, discloses methods to construct a thin film ceramic multilayer wiring hybrid board. Bonham et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,032, discloses the construction of a multi-chip module (“MCM”) with two sets of lead frames, one set supplying input/output bond pads, and another independent set to provide electrical contact to test pins that can be used to isolate and examine the performance of one or multiple devices mounted on a substrate within a cavity of said MCM, wherein the device(s) is (are) wire bonded to said pads. The material comprising the MCM package body can be ceramic, plastic, laminate, or metal, but the substrate on which the devices are mounted does not contain internal electrical interconnects and/or heat sinks. Wiesa, U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,039, discloses the construction of a printed circuit board with internal heat dissipation means channeling heat from power units mounted on the board to heat sinks, wherein the core of the printed circuit board comprises glass cloth. Chobot et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,280, discloses methods to construct a multilayer ceramic circuit board in which some metal film layers function as electrode networks, and are separated from other metal film layers which function as heat sinks. Ohtaki et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,300,163, discloses a process to fabricate a multilayer ceramic circuit board comprising a ceramic substrate, multiple layers of green tape with conductive paste patterns therein, and via holes with conductive paste to electrically interconnect the assembled layers. Cherukuri et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,469, discloses a multilayered co-fired ceramic-on-metal circuit board prepared using ceramic green tapes and a system of low-temperature, high expansion glass ceramics. Capp et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,315, discloses the construction of ceramic circuit board structures in which heat dissipation extensions are embedded in the ceramic member by laser drilling holes into the ceramic member and filling the holes with conductive metal using well-known metal deposition techniques. Plonski, U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,321, discloses a method of making interconnection boards with coaxial wire interconnects on the external major surface of the board substrate that opposes the major surface upon which integrated circuits are mounted. Ushifusa et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,167, discloses the construction of multilayered ceramic circuit board that comprises a plurality of integrally bonded ceramic layers, each having a patterned electrically conducting paste layer and through holes filled with electrical conductors for connecting the patterned electrically conducting layers on respective ceramic layers to form a predetermined wiring circuit. Takeuchi, U.S. Pat. No. 4,551,357, discloses a manufacturing process for ceramic circuit boards that comprises firing a circuit pattern formed from an organic-laden conductive paste on the surface of a green-state ceramic with an organic binder.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a composite wiring structure which enhances SIC performance.
It is another object of this invention to provide a composite circuit wiring structure which increases the allowable operating speeds of SICs.
It is a further object of this invention to reduce compressive and shear stresses within the composite structure.
It is another further object of this invention to provide a composite circuit wiring board structure wherein the structure's dielectric member is either a ceramic or an organo-ceramic composite.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a highly efficient and effective ceramic composite wiring structure for SICs and the method of manufacture thereof. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
Dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPPIV) is a kind of serine protease that specifically hydrolyzes the dipeptide-X-Pro (X may be any amino acid) from the free N terminus of a polypeptide chain.
Glucose-dependent insulinotropic hormone (incretin; GLP-1, Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 and GIP; Glucose-dependent Insulinotropic Polypeptide), which is secreted postprandially from the intestinal tract, is quickly degraded and inactivated by this DPPIV Suppressing this degradation of GLP-1 by DPPIV enhances the action of incretin (GLP-1 and GIP), and facilitates insulin secretion from pancreatic β-cells due to glucose stimulus. It has been shown that, as a result, postchallenge hyperglycemia is improved in oral glucose tolerance tests (see Non-patent document 1). Furthermore, it has also been shown that GLP-1 is involved in suppressive effects on appetite and food intake, and also in β cell protection based on its promotional effect on pancreatic β cell differentiation and growth.
Therefore, DPPIV inhibitors can be expected to serve as useful therapeutic and preventive agents against diseases involving GLP-1 and GIP, such as obesity and diabetes.
As shown below, a relationship has been reported between various diseases, including diabetes, and DPPIV DPPIV inhibitors can therefore be expected to become therapeutic agents for such diseases.
(1) Preventive and therapeutic agents for AIDS (see Non-patent document 2),
(2) preventive and therapeutic agents for osteoporosis (see Non-patent document 3),
(3) preventive and therapeutic agents for intestinal disorders (see Non-patent document 4),
(4) preventive and therapeutic agents for hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and obesity, (see Non-patent documents 5 and 6),
(5) preventive and therapeutic agents for angiogenesis (see Non-patent document 7),
(6) preventive and therapeutic agents for infertility (see Patent document 1),
(7) preventive and therapeutic agents for inflammatory diseases, autoimmune diseases, and chronic rheumatoid arthritis (see Non-patent document 8), and
(8) preventive and therapeutic agents for cancer (see Non-patent documents 9 and 10),
(9) preventive and therapeutic agents for multiple sclerosis (see Non-patent document 11)
Although a number of DPPIV inhibitors are known (see Patent documents 2-11), DPPIV inhibitors comprising a fused 1,3-dihydroimidazole ring are not known.
[Non-patent document 1]
Diabetologia 1999 November, 42(11): 1324-31
[Non-patent document 2]
Science 1993, 262: 2045-2050
[Non-patent document 3]
Clinical chemistry 1988, 34: 2499-2501
[Non-patent document 4]
Endocrinology 2000, 141: 4013-4020
[Non-patent document 5]
Diabetes 1998, 47: 1663-1670,
[Non-patent document 6]
Life Sci 2000, 66(2): 91-103
[Non-patent document 7]
Agents and actions 1991, 32: 125-127
[Non-patent document 8]
The Journal of Immunology 2001, 166: 2041-2048
[Non-patent document 9]
Br J Cancer 1999 March, 79(7-8): 1042-8
[Non-patent document 10]
J Androl 2000 March-April, 21(2): 220-6
[Non-patent document 11]
The Journal of Immunology 2001, 166: 2041-48
[Patent document 1]
WO 00/56296
[Patent document 2]
US Patent Application No. 2001020006
[Patent document 3]
U.S. Pat. No. 6,303,661
[Patent document 4]
U.S. Pat. No. 6,011,155
[Patent document 5]
U.S. Pat. No. 5,543,396
[Patent document 6]
WO 02/02560
[Patent document 7]
WO 00/34241
[Patent document 8]
WO 99/61431
[Patent document 9]
WO 99/67279
[Patent document 10]
WO 97/40832
[Patent document 11]
WO 95/29691
[Patent document 12]
WO 02/068420
As described above, compounds with DPPIV-inhibiting activity useful as pharmaceutical agents are being earnestly sought. However, a compound with excellent DPPIV-inhibiting activity, which is also very useful as a clinically effective pharmaceutical, has yet to be discovered. Thus, an objective of the present invention is to search for and find compounds with DPPIV-inhibiting activity that can be used as preventive or therapeutic agents for the above-mentioned diseases (particularly diabetes and such). | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The present invention relates to an input/output paging mechanism in a data processor using a virtual memory.
The virtual memory permits the user to treat secondary storage as an extension of a main memory unit, thus giving the performance of a larger main memory.
A conventional construction of a data processor using a virtual memory is shown in FIG. 1.
In FIG. 1, a system control processor (SCP) 11, a main memory unit (MMU) 13 and input/output processors (IOP) 17, 18 are connected to a system bus 15. Further, a magnetic disk unit (MK) 19 and a floppy disk unit 20 are connected to the IOPs 17, 18, respectively. The system bus 15 comprises address, data and control lines. In particular, the control lines comprise 32 lines to be able to specify virtual addresses up to 4 giga bytes (GB)=4.times.10.sup.9 bytes.
The SCP 11 controls the individual units connected to the system bus 15 under control of a program stored in the MMU 13 in which various programs and data are stored including channel programs and address translating tables (page tables) for the use of a list service and a data service. The list service defines the operation for accessing a channel command entry list (CCE list), and the data service defines the operation of a data transfer.
The IOPs 17 and 18 control the data flow between the I/O devices 19, 20 and the MMU 13. Thus, the release of the SCP 11 from the I/O processing permits the parallel operation of the SCP processing and the I/O processing. The I/O processing is carried out with a start I/O (SIO) instruction and a channel program. The SIO instruction includes an address specifying a start address of the channel program, a channel number and the I/O device number to be controlled. The execution of the SIO instruction by the SCP 11 triggers the IOP 17 to control the I/O operation. The channel program comprises the CCE list and a channel program header (CPH). The CCE list consists of a series of channel commands. The CPH includes a start address of the CCE list, completion status, the number of real data transfer bytes, completion CCE address and so on.
The channel program is stored in the MMU 13. The address space of the MMU 13 is 16 mega bytes (MB), for example, and is divided into physical blocks of words called pages, each having 4KB.
There are two types of addressing modes: a physical addressing mode and a logical addressing mode, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. In the physical addressing mode, a physical address within an effective address space of the MMU 13 is specified in a displacement field of bits 0 through 31, for example. In the logical addressing mode, a logical page number which specifies the page in the virtual address space is specified in bits 8 to 19, and the relative address within the page is specified in bits 20 to 31 of the displacement field, for example.
When the SIO instruction is executed by the SCP 11, the specified IOP reads the CPH to obtain the start address of the CCE list. Then, the IOP 17 reads the corresponding CCE list based on the obtained start address. The IOP decodes and executes each CCE independently of the processing by the SCP 11. Executing the final CCE, the IOP 17 informs the SCP 11 of the termination of the data transfer using an interrupt function.
However, in the prior art system, a virtual address specified in the SIO instruction should be translated into an effective address by a software means such as an operating system (OS) under the control of the SCP 11. Thus, the increase of the overhead operations for the address translation degrades the system performance.
To eliminate the above drawbacks, an IOP having an address translating mechanism functioning as an input and output paging mechanism (I/O paging mechanism) has been developed. In this prior art system, a page table for holding the logical addresses specifying the CCEs is provided in the MMU 13. Further, a page table pointer (PTP1) specifying the page table is stored in the CPH. When the SIO instruction is executed by the SCP 11, the specified IOP reads the CPH to obtain a page table pointer (PTP) which specifies the start address of a page table (PT). Then, the IOP 17 reads the PT and obtains a PT word from the location specified by one part of a channel command entry pointer (CCEP). Then, the IOP 17 reads the CCE list and obtains the address of a data transfer area, data transfer size and so on from the locations specified by the PT word and another part of the CCEP. However, a page table for logically specifying a data transfer area is not provided in the MMU 13. Therefore, there is a severe restriction in that the data transfer area should be within a continuous space specified by the CCE. That is, the CCE list cannot be set over multiple pages. In such a situation, an OS designer must always keep in mind the locations of the data transfer area in a physical address mode. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an order placement and acceptance management system and an order placement and acceptance management method, whereby an orderer orders parts or the like from an order acceptant and the order acceptant processes the order and more particularly, the present invention relates to a flexible order placement and acceptance management system and a flexible order placement and acceptance management method, whereby the order acceptant is capable of handling the order in accordance with one's convenience.
2. Description of the Related Art
An orderer, for example, an automobile manufacturer orders various parts from many order acceptants, for example, an auto-part manufacture. In this case, it is necessary for the automobile manufacturer as the orderer to send a order form of parts, on which a content of the order including a part number, a quantity, a delivery place and a delivery date or the like is described, to the automotive parts supplier as the order acceptant. It takes a labor hour to create the above mentioned part order form with respect to various parts, so that, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 62-144457, a method has been employed to send a order form (order slip) for parts to an automotive parts supplier by a network such as a facsimile network or the like.
Alternatively, a system is also employed such that a computer of the automobile manufacturer is connected to a computer of the automotive parts supplier as a trade connection by a wide area network. However, even according to such a system, the automobile manufacturer as the orderer sends the order data to the automotive parts supplier as the trade connection via the network and the automotive parts supplier as the trade connection accumulates this order data in their database, so that the automotive parts supplier as the trade connection has created a required document such as an order form, an identification tag and a statement of delivery or the like on the basis of this order data.
Conventionally, in this way, the order data is transmitted to the automotive parts supplier as the trade connection depending on a convenience of the automobile manufacturer as the orderer and the trade connection receives this data for each time. Therefore, it is inconvenient for the automotive parts supplier that they can pull together the orders only within a range of the data accumulated in one's own database even if they intend to pull together the orders for every attribution of the part such as a kind of the part and the delivery date or the like. Additionally, in the case of widening the range of the data, the database should be increased, so that this involves a disadvantage such that an equipment cost has been higher.
Thus, the conventional order placement and acceptance management system focuses on the orderer, so that, on the order acceptant's part, the conventional order placement and acceptance management system lacks flexibility and freedom and it is not user-friendly. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates broadly to a subsurface inspection probe and, in particular, to a subsurface pipeline inspection system for inspecting pipe bedding surrounding subsurface pipelines.
Traditionally, subsurface pipelines such as sewerlines and storm water drains have been inspected using manual access. This involves a person entering the pipeline system and carrying out a manual inspection of pipe walls. However, this method reveals only surface defects in the pipe walls and gives no information on defects in the surrounding soils. This method also has inherent dangers and health risks for the person carrying out the inspection.
Remote Controlled Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) has also been employed in inspecting subsurface pipelines. This method involves the use of a small camera which is mounted on the end of along flexible cable. The camera is placed into the pipeline through an access opening and is then remotely controlled from the surface. This method removes the dangers involved in a person entering the pipeline, however, this method again reveals only surface defects in the pipe walls and gives no information on defects in the surrounding soils.
In order to inspect the bedding of a subsurface pipeline and to detect defects in the surrounding soils, more elaborate techniques have been employed such as ground probing radar (GPR) and seismic methods. The GPR systems consist of a transmitting antenna emitting electromagnetic radiation (le: generated by an oscillator), a receiving antenna and an energy detecting device, or receiver. A portion of the transmitted signal is intercepted by a reflecting object, such as the wall of the pipeline, and is reradiated in all directions. The energy reradiated in the back direction is collected by the receiving antenna and delivered to a receiver, where it is processed to detect the presence of the pipeline. The time taken for the radar signal to travel through the pipeline and back is measured. Defects in the soil surrounding the pipeline, which can result in deformation or collapse of the pipeline, are detected by using the time measurement and known soil characteristics, and comparing this information to site drawings.
Seismic methods, including techniques such as tomography, measure the velocity and refraction of seismic waves in a manner similar to the electromagnetic radiation measurements of GPR. However, seismic methods are based on long wavelengths with a resulting reduction in resolution. Further, both the GPR and seismic methods require complex equipment and processing which results in low productivity and unacceptably high costs.
It is an object of the present invention to substantially overcome, or at least ameliorate, one or more of the deficiencies of the above mentioned arrangements.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided, a time domain electromagnetic (TEM) subsurface analysis system characterized by at least part of said system being configured for insertion along a sub-surface conduit for emission and reception of TEM signals.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a time domain electromagnetic (TEM) subsurface analysis system characterized by a mobile TEM signal transmitter and receiver module operatively coupled to a stationary controller and TEM recorder module and by said mobile module being self-powered and processing said electromagnetic response prior to communicating the processed response to said stationary controller.
According to still another aspect of the present invention there is provided a time domain electromagnetic (TEM) subsurface analysis system incorporating at least one transmitter coil and a plurality of receiver coils characterized in that said coils are configured as part of a mobile module including a multiplexer arrangement for coupling at least said receiver coils in a predetermined manner to a recorder module.
According to still another aspect of the present invention there is provided an inspection system comprising a transmitter and a receiver configured for communication with a remotely positioned processing means, said transmitter and receiver being arranged as a mobile apparatus configured for insertion into a duct, and said transmitter being configured to transmit an electromagnetic signal to induce an electromagnetic response in said duct, said electromagnetic response being detected by said receiver, characterized in that, said mobile apparatus is self-powered and processes said electromagnetic response prior to communicating the processed response to said remotely positioned processing means as a discrete signal.
According to still another aspect of the present invention there is provided an inspection system, said system comprising:
a first apparatus configured for insertion into a duct and comprising:
(i) transmission means for transmitting an electromagnetic signal to induce an electromagnetic response in said duct and material surrounding said duct;
(ii) detection means for detecting said electromagnetic response;
(iii) conversion means for converting said electromagnetic response to a discrete signal; and
(iv) communication means for reading and communicating said discrete signal to a second apparatus positioned remotely to said first apparatus;
said second apparatus comprising:
(i) storage means for storing said discrete signal;
(ii) processor for processing said discrete signal; and
(iii) display for displaying said processed discrete signal.
According to still another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of inspecting a subsurface pipeline utilizing an inspection system, said system comprising:
a first apparatus configured for insertion into a duct and comprising:
(i) transmission means for transmitting an electromagnetic signal to induce an electromagnetic response in said duct and material surrounding said duct;
(ii) detection means for detecting said electromagnetic response;
(iii) conversion means for converting said electromagnetic response to a discrete signal; and
(iv) communication means for reading and communicating said discrete signal to a second apparatus positioned remotely to said first apparatus;
said second apparatus comprising:
(i) storage means for storing said discrete signal;
(ii) processor for processing said discrete signal; and
(iii) display for displaying said processed discrete signal, said method comprising the steps of transmitting a first electromagnetic signal from said transmission means;
detecting a second electromagnetic signal at said detection means;
amplifying said second electromagnetic signal;
sampling said amplified signal;
converting said sampled signal to a digital signal utilizing said conversion means;
communicating said digital signal from said first apparatus to said second apparatus;
storing said digital signal in said storage means; and
displaying said digital signal on said display. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates to a power transmission system including two transmission units provided in parallel with each other in power transmission paths between a driving force source and a drive wheel.
2. Description of Related Art
A well known power transmission system includes two transmission units. The two transmission units are provided in parallel with each other in power transmission paths between an input rotating member and an output rotating member. Power of a driving force source is transmitted to the input rotating member. The output rotating member outputs the power to a drive wheel. This is, for example, a power transmission system for a vehicle, described in International Application Publication No. 2013/176208. International Application Publication No. 2013/176208 describes the power transmission system for a vehicle, including a power transmission path through a gear train and a power transmission path through a belt-type continuously variable transmission. The power transmission paths are provided in parallel with each other between an input shaft and an output shaft. A first clutch is provided in the power transmission path through the gear train. The first clutch transmits or interrupts the transmission of power. A second clutch is provided in the power transmission path through the continuously variable transmission. The second clutch transmits or interrupts the transmission of power. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to an improved magnetic encoder, and more particularly relates to production of a magnetic encoder adapted for detection of angular displacement, linear displacement and displacement speed of a mobile body in a drive system for robots or NC devices.
Conventional magnetic encoders are roughly classified into two typical groups each of which includes a rotary spindle mechanically coupled to the drive system. Such a rotary spindle is generally mounted to a housing via suitable bearings. In the case of the first group, a drum-type magnetic recording medium is coaxially coupled to the rotary spindle outside the housing and a magnetized pattern is formed on the peripheral face of the drum. A magnetic detection head is arranged facing the magnetized pattern on the drum while leaving a prescribed clearance. In the case of the second group, a disc-type magnetic recording medium is again coaxially coupled to the rotary spindle outside the housing and a magnetized pattern is formed on the end face of the disc along the periphery. A magnetic detection head is arranged facing the magnetized pattern on the disc while leaving a prescribed clearance.
In either group, as a recording medium rotates with the rotary spindle, a magnetic field applied to the detection head varies as the magnetized pattern on the recording medium moves and, in response such variation in the magnetic field, the detection head generates a series of output signals representative of the magnetic pattern on the recording medium for detection of angular displacement, linear displacement or displacement of the mobile body in the drive system connected to the rotary spindle.
Since the recording medium is prepared separate from the rotary spindle, both have to be mechanically coupled to one another during production, and such coupling process requires much labour and time. In addition, the degree of preciseness of this coupling process poses a serious influence on the functional reliability of the magnetic encoder. That is, for correct detection of the displacement or displacement speed of the mobile body, the clearance between the detection head and the magnetized pattern on the recording medium has to be maintained as constant as possible during rotation of the recording medium. In practice, however, the clearance inevitably fluctuates due to production errors mainly caused by a low degree of preciseness in coupling. It is extremely difficult to achieve the coupling process with a sufficiently high degree of preciseness.
In order to remove such drawbacks, it was proposed by the inventors of the present invention in a copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 168,160 filed on Mar. 15, 1988, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,851,752 to form a magnetized pattern on the peripheral face of a rotary spindle made of a magnetic material. By using the rotary spindle itself as a recording medium, it is no longer necessary to mechanically couple a recording medium to the rotary spindle and the functional reliability of the magnetic encoder is much improved due to absence of a coupling process of a low degree a preciseness. However, such a peripheral-magnetization type magnetic encoder requires arrangement of a detection head in a face-to-face relationship to the peripheral face of the rotary spindle. This arrangement makes it difficult to achieve compactness of the magnetic encoder, which is nowadays generally demanded in the field of electric and electronic devices. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Inventions
This invention relates to a hinged bezel for a computer system. In one aspect, the invention relates to a hinged bezel for a computer system having a glowing logo therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer systems are general-purpose devices that may be modified to perform particular tasks or functions. Generally, computer systems include a motherboard, a power source, and other components mounted within an enclosure. Such components may include hard disk drives, CD-ROM drives, and the like that, from time to time, are removed from the computer system. In conventional computer systems, an enclosure cover may have to be removed to access components mounted within the enclosure. If the computer system is mounted in a rack, the computer system typically is removed from the rack before the enclosure cover can be removed, often resulting in increased servicing time and difficulty.
As computer systems have become more powerful, user interfaces to these systems have become more sophisticated. One example of this higher level of sophistication is the addition of more and more indicator lights corresponding to various functions performed by the computer system. For example, it is common for a computer system to have indicator lights to indicate a power-on condition, hard disk access, CD-ROM access, and the like. These indicator lights are typically small and difficult to distinguish from one another. For example, each indicator light may have an adjacent icon corresponding to the function being indicated by the indicator light. These icons are often merely small markings that are part of the molded case, panel, bezel, or enclosure and are difficult to see.
It is also useful in the effective marketing and branding of computer systems for the producer""s logo to be easily noticed and recognized by the buying public. Computer system producers have used various coloring schemes to set their logos apart from background enclosures, panels, bezels, and molded cases. For example, a front bezel of a computer system may be a beige color, while the producer""s logo is bright blue in color. As this way of distinguishing brands is common, consumers may not notice one particular logo over another.
In one aspect of the present invention, a bezel assembly for a computer enclosure is provided. The bezel assembly includes a bezel and a hinge capable of hingedly joining the bezel to the computer enclosure.
In another aspect of the present invention, a computer system is provided. The computer system includes an enclosure, a bezel, and a hinge capable of hingedly joining the bezel to the enclosure.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, a method of replacing a first component with a second component in a computer system enclosure having a hinged bezel is provided. The method includes pivoting the hinged bezel away from the computer system enclosure and removing the first component from the computer system enclosure. In one embodiment, the method further includes inserting the second component into the computer system enclosure and pivoting the hinged bezel toward the computer system such that the hinged bezel is adjacent the computer system enclosure.
In a further aspect of the present invention, a method of displaying a glowing logo in a computer system having a hinged bezel is provided. The method includes applying electrical power a light source of the computer system to emit a light and propagating the light through a logo portion in the hinged bezel. In one embodiment, the method further includes changing a color of the light according to a state of the computer system. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Mobile electronic communication devices such as cellular telephones, pagers, and wireless PDAs (personal digital assistants) are in wide use. Many such mobile electronic communication devices offer core functions such as a contact list, call log, voice mail and so forth, while many high-end models offer advanced functions such as Internet access and messaging services. Currently, most mobile electronic communication devices use a sound or a text message to notify the user that the mobile electronic communication device has received a message. However, these notifications typically do not provide a quick and easy method to determine the senders' identities, nor do they provide an indication of how much time has passed since the mobile electronic communication device received the messages. For example, in some of these existing mobile electronic communication devices, the user must navigate through one or more menus displayed by the mobile electronic communication device to access messages to determine a sender's identity and the time the message was received. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a magnetic disc cartridge, and more particularly to a magnetic disc cartridge comprising a thin shell and a magnetic disc which is formed integrally with a center core member and is supported for rotation in the shell.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been known a magnetic disc cartridge which comprises a thin cartridge shell formed of a pair of shell halves of plastic mated together and a magnetic disc which is formed integrally with a center core member and is supported for rotation in the shell, the shell being provided with a magnetic head window through which a magnetic head of a recording and reproducing system is given access to the magnetic disc and a spindle hole through which a spindle of the recording and reproducing system is engaged with the center core member to rotate the magnetic disc with the center core member. The magnetic head window is provided with a shutter which closes the magnetic head window when the magnetic disc cartridge is not used in order to prevent dust and/or dirt from entering the cartridge.
A liner of nonwoven material is attached to the inner surface of the shell opposed to each side of the magnetic disc to prevent the surface of the magnetic disc from being damaged and to wipe dust and/or dirt off the surface of the disc when the disc is rotated.
Recently, with advent of a novel high density recording system, there has been developed a magnetic disc cartridge having a magnetic disc whose recording capacity is fifty times as large as that of the currently prevailing 3.5 inch floppy disc. In such a large capacity magnetic disc cartridge, the magnetic disc is rotated at much higher speed than the conventional magnetic disc cartridge in order to increase the recording density and the transfer rate and at the same time, the magnetic disc must be positioned with respect to the magnetic head at an extremely high accuracy.
In the large capacity magnetic disc cartridge, the magnetic disc is rotated at 2500 to 5000 rpm in order to ensure a high transfer rate. In such a case, wobbling of the surface of the magnetic disc occurs due to the condition of application of the center core member to the disc, curl of the disc itself and fluctuation in air flow between the inner surface of the shell and the surface of the disc.
Such wobbling of the disc surface is more apt to occur when the cross-section of the shell fluctuates across the shell due to unevenness on the inner surface of the shell.
Though the wobbling of the disc surface can be suppressed by a means which is brought into contact with the magnetic disc (e.g., by lifting the liner in the conventional micro floppy disc into contact with the disc), such an approach gives rise to a problem that frictional heat and/or damage on the disc are generated due to contact with the disc which is rotating at high speed. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to sewing machines and refers particularly, through not exclusively, to long-arm sewing machines created by extending the arm of standard sewing machines.
2. Description of the Related Art
When sewing fabrics of more than standard width a sewing machine having a longer arm is required. The arm of a sewing machine is that part which extends from the main body to the sewing head. Normally, the arm is extended by cutting the arm and inserting all necessary mechanisms and spacers to make the arm the necessary length. This has created several problems.
The principal problem is caused when the extended arm and/or the bed of the sewing machine flex so that the gap between the sewing head at the outermost end of the extended arm and the bed, varies. The flexing is due to the instability of the machine itself.
A second problem of an extended arm is the increased tendency to vibrate at the sewing head. If the variation in sewing height varies due to vibration, the machine can jam. With the vibrations induced in the operation of a sewing machine, it has been found that such arms have tended to allow for flexibility to the stage that the sewing head does move sufficiently to cause jamming of the sewing machine.
With the precision nature of high-speed sewing machines, particularly industrial sewing machines, a variation in the height of the sewing needle above the counter mechanism in the bed of the machine can cause misalignment of the sewing mechanisms or secure of the machine. The variation need only be as little as half a millimeter for this to occur.
Furthermore, with the distance of the sewing head from the body and the weight of the sewing head, the increased bending movement may cause the arm to bend slightly and thus displace the sewing head.
Also, most bodies of sewing machines are made as castings. With the vibration and the extra weight being placed upon the main body a cracking of the body may occur to the stage that a new body is required. This causes the machine to be removed from use and dismantled, with a significant loss of productivity.
In the past these problems have attempted to be overcome by installing bracing along the top of the arm to allow for greater rigidity. Such bracing is normally bolted to the top of the body. It has slightly reduced the vibration or movement of the head, but has increased significantly the cracking problem. However, vibration and movement still occurs. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Saposins, a family of small (˜80 amino acids), heat stable glycoproteins, are essential for the in vivo hydrolytic activity of several lysosomal enzymes in the catabolic pathway of glycosphingolipids (see Grabowski et al. (1990) Crit. Rev. Biochem. Mol. BioI. 25:385-414; Furst et al. (1992) Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 1126:1-16; Kishimoto et al. (1992) J Lipid Res. 33:1255-1267). Four members of the saposin family (A, B, C, and D) are proteolytically hydrolyzed from a single precursor protein, prosaposin (see Fujibayashi et al. (1985) Am. J Hum. Genet. 37:741-748; O'Brien et al. (1988) Science 241:1098-1101; Rorman et al. (1989) Genomics 5:486-492; Nakano et al. (1989). J Biochem. (Tokyo) 105: 152-154; Reiner et al. (1989) J Mol. Neurosci. 1:225-233; herein incorporated by reference. The complete amino acid sequences for saposins A, B, C, and D have been reported as well as the genomic organization and cDNA sequence of prosaposin (see Fujibayashi et ai. (1985) Am. J Hum. Genet. 37:741-748; O'Brien et ai. (1988) Science 241:1098-1101; Rorman et al. (1989) Genomics 5:486-492).
Saposins are defined as sphingolipid activator proteins or coenzymes. Structurally, saposins A, B, C, and D have approximately 50-60% similarity including six strictly conserved cysteine residues (see Furst et al. (1992) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1126: 1-16) that form three intradomain disulfide bridges whose placements are identical (see Vaccaro et al. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270:9953-9960). All saposins contain one glycosylation site with conserved placement in the N-terminal sequence half, but glycosylation is not essential to their activities (see Qi et al. (1998) Biochemistry 37:11544-11554 and Vaccaro et al. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270:30576-30580, herein incorporated by reference in their entirety).
All saposins and saposin-like proteins and domains contain a “saposin fold” when in solution. This fold is a multiple α-helical bundle motif, characterized by three conserved disulfide structures and several amphipathic polypeptides. Despite this shared saposin-fold in solution, saposins and saposin-like proteins have diverse in vivo biological functions in the enhancement of lysosomal sphingolipid (SL) and glycosphingolipid (GSL) degradation by specific hydrolases. Because of these roles, the saposins occupy a central position in the control of lysosomal sphingolipid and glycosphingolipid metabolisms (see Kishimoto et al. (1992) J. Lipid Res. 33:1255-1267; Fujibayashi et al. (1985) Am. J. Hum. Genet. 37:741-748; O'Brien et al. (1988) Science 241:1098-1101, herein incorporated by reference). In addition, saposins participate in the fusion and destabilization of acidic phospholipid vesicles (see Vaccaro et al. (1994) FEBS Letters 349:181-186, herein incorporated by reference).
Saposin C is required for optimal hydrolysis of glucosylceramide by acid β-glucosidase (Gcase, EC 3.1.2.45) in vivo and in vitro. Also, saposin C induced fusion toward phosphatidylserine containing vesicles has been observed by electron microscopy (see Vaccaro et al. (1994) FEBS Letters 349:181-186, herein incorporated by reference). Further, saposin C has the general property of lipid membrane binding activity or plasma membrane affinity. Saposins associate with lipid membranes by embedding into the outer leaflets. The H-1 and H-5 helices are integral to this process, suggesting that proper membrane interaction of saposin C affects its specificity and activity. In addition, saposin C induces structural changes of the membrane. The dynamic processes of saposin interactions with planar phospholipid bilayers have been visualized in real time using atomic force microscopy (see Qi et al. (2001) J. Biol. Chem. 276:27010-27017 and You et al. (2001) FEBS Lett. 503:97-102, herein incorporated by reference).
Phospholipid asymmetry is a well-known characteristic of mammalian plasma membranes. The outer leaflet of the lipid bilayer is rich in choline-phospholipids, whereas aminophospholipids are preferentially in the inner leaflet (Bevers et al. (1998) Lupus Suppl. 2:S126-S131). Phosphatidylserine (PS) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) reside almost exclusively in the inner leaflet, and phosphatidylcholine (PC) and sphingomyelin are enriched in the outer leaflet. Phospholipid asymmetry might be a general property of all cells (Woon et al. (1999) Cell Calcium 25(4):313-320). The plasma membrane phospholipid asymmetry is maintained through a variety of mechanisms, including aminophospholipid translocases and phospholipid scramblases (U.S. Patent Application No: 20020081698).
In general, tumor or cancer cells grow rapidly in comparison to normal cells. These abnormal cells produce a significant amount of protons primarily by generating lactic acid during glycolysis or by generating carbon dioxide during respiration due to a fast metabolic rate. Therefore, the surrounding sites of these cells and tissues are usually found to be more acidic than those of cells with a normal growth rate.
Squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) of the skin are one of the most common skin cancers associated with a substantial risk of metastasis (Alam et al. (2001) N. Engl. J. Med. 344:975-983, herein incorporated by reference). Cancers of the skin are classified into two categories, melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC). According to the estimation by the American Cancer Society, more than one million cases of NMSC are found in the United States each year. SCC accounts for approximately 20% of all cutaneous tumors and there are about 200,000 new SCC cases in the United States each year. SCC is the most frequent form of malignant tumor in the transition from the skin to the mucosa and in the mucosa itself (Boni et al. (2002) Neuroendocrinology Letters 23S2:48-51). The current treatments of SCC patients include electrodessication and curettage, excision, cryotherapy, surgical excision, or Mohs' surgery. Appropriate use of electrodessication and curettage, excision, or cryotherapy can eliminate small (<1 cm in diameter), well-defined tumors with a low risk of metastasis. Surgical excision and Mohs' surgery offer the highest rates of cure for patients with high-risk primary or recurrent SCCs. However, these treatments are more costly with the risk of hematoma, seroma, infection, and wound dehiscence.
Thus, development of an effective, low-cost SCC treatment with improved cosmetic outcomes is desirable. It is also of importance to develop an effective, low-cost treatment for other cancer types such as breast and prostate cancers and lymphomas. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
The electronics industry continues to rely upon advances in semiconductor technology to realize higher-function devices in more compact areas. For many applications realizing higher-functioning devices requires integrating a large number of electronic devices into a single silicon wafer. As the number of electronic devices per given area of the silicon wafer increases, the manufacturing process becomes more difficult.
The packaging of an IC device is increasingly playing a role in its ultimate performance. For example, in mobile devices (i.e., mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, remote controls, etc), WLCSP components are used in their assembly. WLCSP components save valuable space in the mobile application.
During manufacturing, WLCSP devices may be subjected to a number of processes and stress which may affect product yield and product reliability. The yield has a direct bearing on the cost of the finished mobile product. The reliability affects the longevity of the finished mobile product.
There is a need for a WLCSP assembly process which can address the challenges raised by the needs of mobile applications. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
(a) Field of The Invention
This invention relates to exercise devices and, in particular, to such devices capable of being used in the palm of one's hand to exercise the hand and the fingers and thumb.
(b) Description Of The Prior Art
The good working of one's fingers is not only desirable to all, it is essential to many professionals and technicians who need to be skillful with their fingers and hands, e.g., surgeons, pianists, ball players, typists and word processors.
Oftentimes, the working of one's fingers is reduced or made more difficult due to injury, such as broken bones, or surgery on one's hand, wrist or forearm, or because of arthritis.
In these and other such situations, it is sometimes desirable to provide exercises for the fingers and hand. As a result, over the years various exercise devices have been developed whereby one can exercise his/her fingers and hands. These devices find not only therapeutic uses but are useful, in general, to strengthen one's fingers and hand grip and to provide better manual dexterity. Exemplary of these prior art devices are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,026,215; 3,779,548; 4,278,248; and 4,577,858, and in British Patent No. 550,961.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,026,215, which issued on May 14, 1912, discloses a device comprising the combination of a grip dumb-bell with a hand grip exerciser with a view to providing the desired weight, a spring member connecting the two with each other. Thus, when used as a hand exerciser, the device will cause an alternate tension and relaxation of the muscles of the hand, wrist and arm. The squeezing of the fingers on the handles of the hand exerciser, nevertheless, exercises only the flexors of the fingers. No other hand motion is provided, i.e., there is no range of motion provided for the fingers and thumb. As disclosed by the patentee, the dumb-bell is detachable from the device and can be used as a dumb-bell by itself, if desired. If more weight is desired, two dumb-bells can be connected together according to the patentee, and can readily be taken hold of in one hand by the user. Nevertheless, the two dumb-bells when used together are interlocked and are not capable of being rotated by the user one over the other.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,779,548 discloses a finger training apparatus. This apparatus comprises a grip portion to be held in the palm of one's hand, and a forked portion. The forked portion supports two elongated rollers in spaced-apart relationship to one another on the ends of each of which is located a gear, the two gears being in intermeshing engagement, one with the other. The peripheral surface of each of the rollers is provided with longitudinally extending grooves which facilitates engagement of the fingers with the rollers in use of the apparatus. Thus, this apparatus provides a limited range of motion. Nevertheless, the resistance and ability to vary resistance cannot be determined. The elongated rollers, moreover, are in fixed location relative to one another and cannot be rotated one over the other.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,248 there is disclosed a rhythm indicating exercising device for use by those engaged in aggressive walking exercise. The device, in general, comprises a tubular member in the internal bore of which is located a weighted mass. The weighted mass is caused to hit the stop provided at the ends of the tubular member as one's arm changes its direction of swing while walking, causing an impact sound. Thus, the person is enabled to establish and maintain an appropriate rhythmic swing of the arms to coincide with the cadence of the footstep. In use of the device, as disclosed by the patentee, one such device is grasped in the hand, or preferably, a pair of the tubular members are held, one in each hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,858 discloses a fingertip exerciser comprising two balls each having a bore extending centrally therethrough and a connection inserted through the bores of the two balls and rotatably connecting the balls together. In use, the balls rotate on their own axis independent of one another and are incapable of being rotated one over the other.
British Patent No. 550,961 discloses improved grip dumb-bells whereby the resistance to grip may be varied. Thus, the dumb-bell disclosed comprises an interchangable core of a rigid or resilient substance, as desired, whereby the resistance to grip can be varied.
Other exercise devices known heretofore for use in one's hand are disclosed in Black Belt, July, 1986, at page 54, and in Popular Mechanics, November, 1983, at page 44. Both of these articles disclose spherical members or balls, to be grasped in the palm of one's hand, and to be rotated, or otherwise manipulated by the fingers. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention disclosed herein relates to methods and compositions for the efficient production of bacterial plasmid-based shuttle vectors free of linear plasmid-derived DNA contaminants, and particularly such vectors as might be used in DNA vaccination and gene therapy.
2. Description of the Related Art
The application of recombinant DNA technology to eukaryotic cells has come to rely on shuttle vectors, plasmids that can be readily produced in bacterial culture but include elements that function in eukaryotic cells. Generally such plasmids contain a bacterial origin of replication and a selectable marker. In most cases the origin of replication is a high copy number origin so that many copies of the plasmid can replicate simultaneously in each bacterial cell thereby providing higher yields in production. The most commonly used origins of replications include pMB1, ColE1, and pUC. These origins are closely related and can be found in high and low copy number variants. The selectable marker serves to ensure that only bacteria containing the plasmid survive in culture. The eukaryotic elements most often consist of a viral or eukaryotic promoter linked to a protein coding frame leading to production of a peptide or protein when the plasmid is transduced into an appropriate eukaryotic host cell. In other cases transcription from the promoter accomplishes expression of a viral genomic RNA, leading to production of virus particles, or an antisense RNA. Various other elements may be included depending on the functions sought and these functions may dictate the arrangement of the elements involved. However no rules have been described for the arrangement of functionally unrelated elements. | {
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In conventional radiography where an X-ray image of a patient is produced by exposing a radiographic film to X-rays transmitted through a patient, several identification items are produced on the film such as a patient's identification items, the hospital's name, an identification of the radiologist, an examination type identification etc. These identification data are first produced on an identification card. Then, a dedicated location on the radiographic film is exposed to the image of the card in an identification camera.
Recently a wide variety of new image acquisition techniques that render a digital representation of an image have been developed. For many examination types these techniques have gained a lot of importance.
Among these new techniques are computerised tomography, nuclear magnetic resonance, ultrasound, detection of a radiation image by means of a CCD sensor or a video camera, radiographic film scanning etc.
Still another technique has been developed wherein a radiation image, for example X-rays transmitted by an object, is stored in a screen comprising a photostimulable phosphor such as one of the phosphors described in European patent application 503 702 published Sep. 16, 1992 and in U.S. Ser. 07/842,603.
The procedure for reading out the stored radiation image consists of scanning the screen with stimulating radiation, such as laser light of the appropriate wavelength, detecting the light emitted upon stimulation and converting the emitted light into an electric representation for example by means of a photomultiplier.
This technique further comprises digitizing and processing said electric signal.
After read-out of the image stored in the photostimulable phosphor screen, one disposes of an electric (e.g. digital) image representation that can be applied to a monitor for display of the corresponding visual image.
The digital image representation of a medical image that is acquired by one of these techniques can further be applied to a recorder for recording a hard copy image, for example on film. This hard-copy can be viewed on a lightbox for diagnostic purposes.
Also in case of reproduction of an image acquired by one of these `digital` acquisition techniques it is common practice to provide a text box on the film. Commonly several identification data such as the name of the hospital and of the radiologist, specifics on the patient such as the patient's name and identification number, are reproduced on a dedicated location on the hard copy. Often also data that are relevant with regard to evaluation of the image acquisition and image processing, for example processing parameters, minimum and maximum density etc. are reproduced in the text box on the hard copy.
The lay out of these text box is fixed in the systems that are on the market nowadays. This means that one lay out has been selected and installed and that this lay out cannot be changed to meet the customer's specifications, in casu the specifications of the staff of the hospital where the image acquisition and reproducing device has been installed.
However, hospitals and radiologists often demand for a very specific lay out of the text box.
They would either like to have a text box that has a similar lay out as the text box they were used to work with in conventional radiography systems or they have very specific desires.
These very specific desires are different from country to country. For example, in a country such as Sweden where many people have the same surname and the same christian name, more importance is given to a patient's identification number than to his name and hence the hospitals in Sweden often desire that the patient's identification number is reproduced in a more notable way in the text box than are the other items.
The reproducing systems that are on the market nowadays do not provide such features.
Further, also on display devices such as monitors, a displayed image is often provided with a text box. The above described reflections relating to text boxes on hard copy images apply also to text boxes on soft copy images. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to on-chip interconnect and more specifically to redundancy to satisfy on-chip interconnect timing.
2. Description of the Related Art
A source-synchronous, complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-repeater-based interconnect provides a simple, high-performance topology for global on-chip communication fabrics. However as silicon die sizes increase, the on-chip interconnect may span 10 mm or more in length and the communication channels are subject to many sources of timing error including crosstalk, power-supply-induced jitter (PSIJ), and wire delay variation due to transistor and wire metallization mismatch.
For a 10-mm lower-level metal wire with 130 um width and space, 50% utilization on adjacent layers, and with repeater size and spacing optimized for the minimum power-delay product, the 1-σ delay variation is about 8 ps per transition polarity per wire due to transistor variation (slow process, 0.75V, and 125 degrees Celsius). If a “lone 1” is transmitted across such a wire, the leading and trailing signal transitions may each exhibit independent timing offsets normally distributed about a mean delay with σ=8 ps. This is equivalent to 1-σ values of 2.3% duty-cycle distortion (DCD) for a 4-Gb/s toggle (or 2-GHz double-data-rate clock) and 5.7 ps skew (i.e. net delay offset in the central point between the two edges). An example on-chip network is composed of one hundred 10-mm channels, each 10 bytes wide and operating at 4 Gb/s per wire (i.e. delivering a total of 4 TB/s over 10-mm). Assuming crosstalk, PSIJ, and random jitter (extrapolated to the bit error rate of interest) amount to 0.44UI (110 ps), and flip-flop tolerances and clock buffer skews amount to 0.2UI (50 ps), a statistical timing budget predicts a yield of 0% for the assembly of links comprising the on-chip network due to wire delay mismatch. In other words, with a yield of 0% no chips including such an on-chip network would function properly at full speed.
Crosstalk mitigation methods developed for source-synchronous, CMOS-repeater-based interconnect topologies can limit resulting timing jitter to about 200 milli unit interval (mUI) at aggressive bandwidth densities (e.g. on the order of 30 Tb/s per mm of bus width at the 28-nm process node). Power supply noise on the order of +/−7% can result in significant modulation of data rate (through modulation of signal propagation velocity), further reducing the effective timing margin by as much as 400 mUI. In such harsh environments, wire delay mismatch can cause chips to fail to operate properly, as explained above regarding the transmission of the “lone 1”, resulting in severe yield loss. The combination of wire delay mismatches, timing jitter, and power supply noise may reduce the effective timing margin such that clock frequency must be reduced to ensure that timing margin constraints are met so that the chip operates properly. In particular, the chips may fail when an on-chip source-synchronous, CMOS-repeater-based interconnect serves as the building block for large on-chip networks responsible for moving several terabytes of data per second across large portions of the chip. Failure of even a single signal transmitted on the wire of the interconnect to satisfy the timing requirements will likely result in a functional failure of the chip.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is an improved technique for satisfying timing requirements of on-chip source-synchronous, CMOS-repeater-based interconnect. | {
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This invention relates to an improved tag designed for attachment to a part of an animal for identification purposes.
To assist in the identification of animals it is well known to apply a tag to some part of the animal, usually the ear, the tag bearing suitable information to allow for quick and easy identification. The tag can consist of two tabs (such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,731,414) with one tab having a male member which is passed through the ear of an animal to engage in a female form in the other tab. The two tabs are locked together by the male member fitting in the female form to provide the complete tag. In use the tag is contained within the area of the ear or hangs downwardly therefrom depending on the physical dimensions of both tabs. The tags according to the aforesaid patent specification have proved to be a very effective means of animal identification.
Other types of tags are also known and whilst having differing degrees of effectiveness nearly all include single or double tabs which are contained within the area of the ear or hang therefrom.
In some applications it has become apparent that a tag which stands upwardly from the ear of an animal would be much more effective for ready identification. A tag of this type has heretofore not been successfully developed because of the difficulty in maintaining a tag in the upright position especially when the tab or tabs forming the tag are of a resilient nature. Some attempts have been made to construct such an upstanding tag but all resulted in complex tags which are very difficult to apply or which require specially constructed applicators.
I have now devised a tag which will stand upright from an animal's ear and which is easy to apply from a known type of applicator. | {
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The present invention relates to a method in the tail threading of a web-forming machine, in which a threading tail is formed from the web, and is transferred to the production section of a web-forming machine including a draw point, and in which method monitoring takes place of both the formation of the threading tail and its transfer to the draw point, which is at the start of the said production section, and from which the threading tail is pulled in the tail threading towards a holding point at the end of the production section. The invention also relates to a corresponding arrangement in the tail threading of a web-forming machine.
European patent application number 1335067 discloses a method and arrangement in transferring the web from one production section of a paper machine to another. In the tail threading, a threading tail, which is cut from the web, is used in the tail threading. According to the application, the forming of the threading tail is monitored, for example, using camera. If something abnormal occurs in the threading tail or in the path of its travel, the formation of the threading tail, or its transfer to the next production section, are adjusted using the control system. For example, on the basis of a detected deviation, water cutting can be adjusted, either manually, or automatically.
The arrangement is intended for monitoring and controlling the formation of a threading tail between production sections. The camera can also be used to determine the failure of the tail threading of the threading tail to the roll nip, forming the draw point in the following production section. Problems arising after the point in question will, however, remain unnoticed. In addition, the automatic control disclosed is usually impossible, if formation of the threading tail fails completely. This is because, at present production speeds, only a moment is needed for commencing tail threading. If tail threading fails immediately when it starts, it will thus be impossible to use software to control its formation. In other words, the method and apparatus disclosed can only be used to monitor one part of the tail threading. Despite the numerous adjustment possibilities, adjustment is often also impossible in practice, as tail threading takes a maximum of a few seconds. In addition, monitoring both before and during tail threading leads to long imaging times, which require an accurate camera and powerful peripheral devices. Despite the versatile equipment, it is impossible to use the arrangement to determine whether the tail threading has succeeded, never mind determining the problem points that caused it to fail. | {
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The present invention relates to a mass flow controller which is used in, for example, a semiconductor manufacturing process.
In a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a mass flow controller is used for controlling a fluid such as a process gas and a liquid material. This mass flow controller provides a fluid supply system, together with filters and valves. With respect to such a fluid supply system, reduction in size and weight of the system has been desired, in order to improve performance by, for example, suppressing an escape of gas and reduce the cost of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.
Conventionally, components of the fluid supply system are connected by means of pipe joints. However, in order to reduce the size of the fluid supply system, it has been proposed to connect base portions of the components by a common connecting method using flanges. In this connecting method using flanges, although the size of the fluid supply system can be reduced, a fluid control system has a high component density while the weight thereof remains unchanged. Further, because many flanges are used for connecting the components, the fluid supply system becomes a metallic mass, and even the weight of the fluid supply system as a whole increases.
In the conventional connecting method using pipe joints, a base portion of the mass flow controller is produced by cutting a metal. Therefore, the mass flow controller has a large weight and is difficult to manufacture in mass production, leading to difficulty in cost reduction.
The present invention has been made, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems accompanying the conventional connecting methods with respect to the mass flow controller. It is an object of the present invention to provide a high-performance mass flow controller which is compact and lightweight, which has a fluid flow path having a simple structure and which does not have dead space in which a fluid is likely to stagnate and cause the problem of contamination.
The present invention provides a mass flow controller for controlling a mass flow rate in a predetermined range, in which a mass flow rate of a fluid is detected by a flow rate sensor and a control valve is operated so as to adjust the detected mass flow rate to a desired value. The control valve is arranged as a solenoid valve operated by means of a solenoid, and a plunger for opening and closing the solenoid valve is disposed within a cylindrical conduit having a hollow structure, whereby one-way flow of the fluid is effected in a space between an outer circumferential surface of the plunger and an inner circumferential surface of the conduit in a direction of the axis of the cylindrical conduit.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the outer circumferential surface of the plunger includes a groove extending in parallel to the axis of the conduit, to thereby provide a fluid flow path.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the plunger is made of a magnetic alloy having high anti-corrosion properties.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, the control valve comprises a spherical valve head attached to a forward end of the plunger and a valve seat corresponding to the valve head. The valve seat is arranged in a funnel-like form.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, a cylindrical yoke for guiding a magnetic flux generated by the solenoid is disposed in the conduit at a position adjacent to the plunger, which yoke is movable in the direction of the axis of the conduit, whereby an initial position of a valve head of the solenoid valve and an attractive force of an electromagnet can be adjusted by adjusting a gap between the plunger and the yoke.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, a spherical valve head is attached to one end of the plunger and a yoke having a funnel-like valve seat corresponding to the valve head is disposed adjacent to the plunger with a spring being provided therebetween, to thereby obtain a normally opened valve structure.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, a doughnut-like permanent magnet is positioned at an outer circumferential surface of the conduit at a position corresponding to the plunger, which doughnut-like permanent magnet is adjustable in terms of a position with respect to the direction of the axis of the conduit, whereby an initial axial position of the plunger when the solenoid is deenergized can be adjusted by adjusting the position of the doughnut-like permanent magnet.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, the flow rate sensor comprises a thermal mass flow rate sensor connected in parallel with the conduit.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, the flow rate sensor is arranged as a pressure based flow rate sensor. The pressure based flow rate sensor comprises a pressure gauge provided in the fluid flow path, so as to detect a pressure caused by a change in flow rate.
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and appended claims taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. | {
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The present invention relates to fluid leak detection, and in particular to the leak detection of gases by odor generated by adding odiferous materials to the gases at the leak site.
With the advent of the fuel cell technology and a drive for clean fuel, hydrogen gas is emerging as a leading candidate for the fuel of choice. In addition to the benefit of being oxidizable in an emission free manner, hydrogen may be obtained from an abundant, renewable, resource, water.
For hydrogen to become a consumer fuel for automobile and domestic power generation, safety is paramount. Although safe handling and use of hydrogen is well understood, warnings are needed to alert against any leaks. Hydrogen sensors are commercially available but are not considered to be an absolute safeguard against leaks due to their potential for malfunctioning, change of air currents, etc. Human senses, in particular, the sense of smell, are considered to be the ultimate safeguard against leaks. Since hydrogen is an odorless gas, odorants are preferably incorporated in hydrogen for easy leak detection. A review of the codes, standards, regulations, recommendations, and certifications on the safety of gaseous fuels is addressed in a report, Proc. U.S. DOE Hydrogen Program Rev. (1996), Vol. 2, pages 569-604.
Odorization of gases for leak detection is well known in the natural gas and petroleum gas industries. For example, a paper by M. J. Usher (Proc. Int. Scho. Hydrocarbon Meas. 73rd, pages 743-48 (1998)) reviews the history, application, compounds, and safety practices in selecting and applying odorants in the natural gas industry. Mixing small quantities of odorants with gases is a substantially universal practice in natural and petroleum gases. For example, a paper by I. Katuran (Proc. Int. Sch. Hydrocarbon Meas., 64th, pages 325-30 (1989)) reports on natural gas odorants, their safety and handling precautions, handling techniques, and methods of adding odorants to gases.
Nearly all of the methods for odorization of natural and petroleum gases consist of metering a certain amount of the odorant into a gas stream to a level where detection can be made by the human sense of smell. Natural gas for public gas supplies typically contains 5-10 mg of sulfur per cubic meter of gas. However, odorants for hydrogen used as an energy source for fuel cells have unique requirements which must be met. This is because most of the commercial odorants used in gas leak detection act as poisons for the catalysts used in hydrogen based fuel cells, most specifically for the PEM (polymer electrolyte membrane or proton exchange membrane) fuel cells. Chemical compounds based on mixtures of acrylic acid and nitrogen compounds have been adopted to achieve a sulfur-free odorization of a gas. See, for example, WO 00/11120 (PCT/EP99/05639) by Haarmann & Reimer GmbH. However, these formulations are either ineffective or do not have general acceptance by users. Also, in the use of natural gas and other petroleum gases for hydrogen generation for fuel cell applications, sulfur free natural or petroleum gases are needed, or else a desulfurization step must be incorporated in the reforming process, which adds further cost to hydrogen generation.
The PEM fuel cells are sulfur intolerant because sulfur compounds poison the noble metal catalysts used in these fuel cells. If sulfur-containing odorants are used, it would be necessary to remove sulfur containing materials, like mercaptan odorants, from the feed gas using materials like zinc oxide. The sulfur containing materials, like thiophenes, cannot be removed by zinc oxide and may require a hydrodesulfurization process, using hydrogen gas, to remove sulfur. This all will add to the cost of the process.
A further complexity for hydrogen fuel comes from the nature of the hydrogen flame propagation. When gases burn in air, their flames propagate upwards with greater ease than they propagate downwards. This is primarily due to the natural convection of hot burnt gases in an upward direction. For petroleum gases, propane and methane, the upward and downward propagating lean limits of combustion are approximately the same. However, for hydrogen, since they differ by a factor of 2.5, the amount of odorant needed for leak detection in hydrogen could be >2.5 times that needed for methane or propane. The higher quantity of the odorant needed for hydrogen odor detection further complicates the sulfur poisoning problems for hydrogen gas used in the PEM fuel cells.
In several other gas applications, particularly when gases are odorless, toxic, or are otherwise harmful, methods of leak detection using odiferous materials are also desirable. The gases included in this category are, for example, nitrogen, carbon monoxide, nitrogen trifluoride, ethylene oxide, carbon tetrafluoride and other perfluoro gases.
Several other issues also have been encountered in the odorization of the natural and petroleum gases. The key ones are (1) hydrocarbon masking the odor of the odiferous materials, (2) adsorption of the odorant on the storage vessel and pipe walls, (3) reaction of the odorants with low molecular weight mercaptans (naturally occurring in the gas), (4) condensation of the odorants in the gas storage vessel and pipes, and (5) physical scrubbing of the mercaptans from the gas with liquids (associated with the natural gas).
Today, approximately twenty-five different blends are used as natural gas odorants. Of these twenty-five blends, seven blends are more prevalent. Almost all of the odorant agents are sulfur compounds, e.g., mercaptans (tert-butyl mercaptan, isopropyl mercaptan, normal propyl mercaptan, secondary butyl mercaptans, ethyl mercaptans, normal butyl mercaptan, etc.), thiophenes (tetrahydrothiophene), sulfides (dimethyl sulfide, methyl ethyl sulfide), etc.
In addition to the pungent odors of these chemicals, the chemicals used are also expected to have certain other attributes, such as low vapor pressure (high boiling point), low freezing point, low specific gravity so that they are fully dispersed in the gas, and appropriate thermal properties (e.g., they will not freeze at appropriate temperatures and will not cause over odorization in the hot weather). The general quality requirements, as specified for sulfur containing odorants in ISO/DIS 13734, are: (1) a cloud point of less than −30 degrees Celsius, (2) a boiling point of less than 130 degrees Celsius, and (3) evaporation residue of less than 0.2%.
Requirements for odorants further will likely include an odorant concentration high enough to allow detection with a fuel gas concentration of ⅕ the lean limit of combustion. These requirements exist for natural gas (SAE J 1616, NFPA 52-1992) and petroleum gas (NFPA 58-1989).
It is, therefore, desired to have a method and system for the use of odorants in gas storage and delivery systems in which the above stated problems are alleviated.
It is further desired to have a method and system for the use of odorants in gas storage and delivery systems in which the odorants are not dispersed in the bulk gas but are accessible only to the leaking gas streams, thus alleviating the above said concerns and making leak detection by smell viable without adding odorants in the entire gas stream.
It is still further desired to have a system and method for the use of odorants in gas storage and delivery systems which can be used for gas leak detection with the use of an odorant(s), where the odorant(s) do not contaminate the bulk gas stream.
It is also desired to have such a system and method which overcomes the difficulties and disadvantages of the prior art to provide better and more advantageous results. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clamping device of an injection molding machine in which an adaptor plate is attached between a mold attachment surface of a platen and a mold fixed to this platen, and which controls a temperature of this adaptor plate.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a clamping device of an injection molding machine, a fixed platen and a rear platen are generally coupled by a plurality of tie bars. The fixed platen is fixed to tie bars by fixing platen nuts provided on a tie bar side. Similarly, the rear platen is also fixed to the tie bars by rear platen nuts provided on the tie bar side. The rear platen nuts are rotatably attached around the centers of tie bar shafts, so that, by rotating the rear platen nuts to move the rear platen forward and backward with respect to the fixed platen, it is possible to adjust the thickness of a mold.
Although most of injection molding machines use four tie bars, when stretch amounts of these four tie bars are different, the lengths of the tie bars differ and a parallelism (platen parallelism) of a mold attachment surface of the fixed platen and a mold attachment surface of a movable platen does not match in some cases. Hence, generally, clamping amounts of rear platen nuts are adjusted to precisely adjust the stretch amounts of the tie bars and the platen parallelism. However, the clamping amounts of the rear platen can be adjusted only before molding, and cannot be adjusted during molding. (1) JP 2-75499 A and JP 2006-347078 A disclose techniques of attaching a heater to each tie bar, fluctuating a stretch amount of each tie bar byway of thermal expansion and adjusting a tie bar balance.
However, although this technique can adjust the tie bar balance and the platen parallelism by changing temperatures of tie bars and adjusting the stretch amounts of the tie bars, the final purpose of injection molding is to uniformly distribute a clamping force to an entire mold, and changing the temperatures of the tie bars and stretching the tie bars are indirect means and not direct one. Further, a center portion of the mold and the tie bars are slightly distant, and therefore there is a problem that it is not possible to make a mold surface pressure uniform even by adjusting the stretch amounts of the tie bars. (2) JP 62-264921 A, JP 2000-271981 A and JP 2006-212980 A disclose techniques of canceling a difference between temperatures of sites of a platen and maintaining a fixed temperature over the entire platen.
However, this technique makes the temperature uniform over the entire platen, and, therefore, even when a tie bar balance is lost or the platen parallelism does not match due to, for example, a difference between stretch amounts of tie bars, the entire temperature is adjusted while the balance is lost and the parallelism does not match and there is a problem that it is not possible to adjust the tie bar balance or the platen parallelism. | {
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Golf balls having multi-layer cores are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,852,044 discloses golf balls having multi-layered cores having a relatively soft, low compression inner core surrounded by a relatively rigid outer core. U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,531 discloses a solid golf ball comprising a solid core having a three-layered structure composed of an inner layer, an intermediate layer, and an outer layer, and a cover for coating the solid core. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0128904 also discloses multi-layer core golf balls. Other examples of multi-layer cores can be found, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,743,816, 6,071,201, 6,336,872, 6,379,269, 6,394,912, 6,406,383, 6,431,998, 6,569,036, 6,605,009, 6,626,770, 6,815,521, 6,855,074, 6,913,548, 6,981,926, 6,988,962, 7,074,137, 7,153,467 and 7,255,656.
The present invention provides a novel multi-layer core golf ball construction wherein the core comprises a thermoset rubber center, a thermoplastic intermediate core layer, and a thermoset rubber outer core layer. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a fuel cell such as a solid oxide fuel cell or the like which has an electrolyte, a fuel electrode and an air electrode, and which generates electric energy by electrochemical reaction, and more particularly to a fuel cell having a following feature: a combustion heater is incorporated in the fuel cell, thereby improving both the starting performance and restarting performance of the fuel cell.
2. Description of the Related Art
A fuel cell has a structure where a high-performance electrolyte for conducting an ion such as an oxygen ion (O2−), a proton (H+) or the like is held between a porous air electrode and a porous fuel electrode. Moreover, the fuel cell generates an electromotive force by respectively supplying oxidizing gas containing oxygen gas to the air electrode side and reducing gas containing hydrogen or hydrocarbon gas to the fuel electrode side, and electrochemically reacting these gases with each other through the electrolyte.
As a conventional solid oxide fuel cell (Hereinafter, Solid Oxide Fuel Cell is abbreviated to SOFC.) which is a type of such fuel cells, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H5-205753 discloses an SOFC including a flat-plate stack formed by alternately laminating single cell plates and separators, each single cell plates having an anode and a cathode respectively arranged on a front surface and a backside of a solid electrolyte plate, and each separator having a gas groove formed on one side to distribute fuel gas, and a gas groove on the other to distribute oxidant gas. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H8-102327 discloses a hollow flat-plate fuel cell plate for forming a cell plate including a plurality of gas passages inside and also a separator function.
Generally, in such an SOFC, an operating temperature reaches 800 to 1000° C., so that heating must be carried out up to the operating temperature at starting time of the fuel cell. However, in the above publications, no mention is made of specific means for heating such a fuel cell stack.
Meanwhile, with regard to a cylindrical stack, a paper “A 1000-cell SOFC reactor for domestic cogeneration”, pp. 271 to 274 of Journal of Power Sources 71 (1998), describes power generation by introducing fuel to cylindrical inner sides of a plurality of cylindrical cells, and air to outsides of the cells. In addition, the paper describes a process of introducing a mixture of hydrogen and air to the inside of the cell cylinder at starting time, and igniting it for combustion by an ignition coil arranged on an upper side of cell.
Also, an article “Concept and technology of DH-Q-SOFC for efficient use of fossil fuel resources in electric vehicles” presented at 45th SOFC workshop (held on May 9, 2001) describes installation of a combustion cylinder separately from a cell. | {
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LED lighting apparatuses for ordinary lighting may be required to achieve (retrofit) a shape and a way of lighting close to those of incandescent light bulbs. In particular, there have been demands for lighting with wide light distribution (½ light distribution angle is substantially 270°) from a point light source inside the globe, like clear type incandescent light bulbs (light bulbs using a clear glass globe). | {
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The present invention relates to a method for processing the sludge, that inevitably forms during halogen-type electrolytic tinplating. In particular, the present invention relates to a method for recovering metallic tin at a high yield and at a high purity from the sludge. Further, the present invention relates to a method for processing sludge generated by halogen-type electrolytic tinplating in which other useful materials can be recovered for reuse from the filtrates and the precipitates resulting from the process. 2. Description of the Related Art
Halogen-type electrolytic tinplating producing is one of the continuous manufacturing methods for tin-electroplated steel sheets. The halogen-type electrolytic tinplating process uses a halide electrolytic bath which contains for example a hydrogen halide solution such as hydrochloric acid, stannous chloride, sodium chloride, sodium fluoride, sodium hydrogen fluoride and the like. By electroplating using a combination of metallic tin as an anode and an advancing steel sheet as a cathode, metallic tin is electrodeposited on the surface of the steel sheet.
A halogen-type electrolytic tinplating process using an acidic electrolyte (plating solution) is advantageous in that the metallic tin at the anode can be dissolved as available stannous ions. However, some of the stannous ions are simultaneously oxidized by oxygen to stannic ions, which results in the formation of a large amount of sludge. The resulting sludge contains sodium hexafluorostannate (Na.sub.2 SnF.sub.6) as one of the main components. The sludge also contains a small amount of sodium hexafluoroferrate (Na.sub.3 FeF.sub.6) which includes ferric ions dissolved from the steel sheet.
Sludge is also formed by ferrous ions dissolved from the steel sheet into the plating solution. Although the halogen-type electrolytic tinplating process permits high current density operation and is suitable for a high-speed production line, the high-speed advancement of the steel sheet causes agitation of the plating bath and thus introduction of air into the bath. Currents in the plating bath also cause introduction of air into the bath. Ferrous ions are consequently oxidized by oxygen dissolved into the plating bath to form ferric ions. In the plating bath, the resulting ferric ions are reduced to ferrous ions by causing stannous ions to be oxidized to stannic ions, which results in the formation of sludge. In order to prevent oxidation of stannous ions, sodium ferrocyanide (Na.sub.4 Fe(CN).sub.6) is added. Sodium ferrocyanide reacts with ferric ions to form ferric ferrocyanide (Fe.sub.4 [Fe(CN).sub.6 ].sub.3) which precipitates in the sludge.
Accordingly, the sludge in the plating bath contains cyanides and fluorides after halogen-type electrolytic tinplating of the steel sheet. Sludge primarily containing Na.sub.3 FeF.sub.6 and Fe.sub.4 [Fe(CN).sub.6 ].sub.3 is called "blue sludge", whereas sludge primarily containing Na.sub.2 SnF.sub.6 is called "white sludge", based on their respective colors. For the purpose of a clearer explanation of the present invention, the blue sludge and its reaction product may be referred to as "iron-containing sludge", and the white sludge and its reaction product may be referred to as "tin-containing sludge". Increasing amounts of the blue and white sludges retard the electroplating operation, hence the operation must be suspended to remove the sludge.
Since the sludge contains useful tin, the tin is recovered as a metal by a conventional recovery process as shown in FIG. 5. Such a recovery process, however, consists of many preliminary steps before electrolysis, and thus is economically disadvantageous.
Japanese Kokai No. 57-70242 discloses a method for recovering metallic tin from sludge generated by a halogen-type electrolytic tinplating process, as shown in FIG. 4. In this method, the sludge is converted to a slurry, hot alkali (i.e. NaOH) is added to the slurry, and blue sludge containing large amounts of iron is separated by filtration. On the other hand, acid is added to the filtrate containing white sludge components to adjust the pH to 7 to 13, and the filtrate is subjected to electrolysis in order to recover metallic tin by electrodeposition.
That method, however, has the following disadvantages. When the hot alkali is added to the slurry, some of the tin sludge is deposited together with the iron sludge. Thus, the tin content in the filtrate is decreased, resulting in a reduced tin yield recovered from the filtrate in the subsequent steps. The recovered metallic tin has a relatively low purity of approximately 99.5%. Such low-purity tin does not satisfy the quality requirements for an anode for tin plating of steel sheets for cans. Moreover, since the method aims only at recovery of metallic tin, the solution containing large amounts of nonrecoverable fluorine components is wasted.
Japanese Kokai No. 9-103790 discloses another method for recovering tin. Sludge is subjected to leaching with acidic water (pH 5.5 to 6) containing an oxidizing agent to remove blue sludge. The pH of the filtrate is adjusted to 7.5 to 9.0 to precipitate tin hydroxide or tin oxide hydrate. The precipitate is then reduced to metallic tin.
The reduction processes proposed in this method include a molten-salt reduction process and a smelting reduction melting process in which the precipitate is melted with graphite and the resulting iron is separated based on the difference in the melting point. These reduction processes are dry processes and involve formation of fine particles, resulting in environmental hazards during the operation. Furthermore, the melting point of the precipitate changes depending on the iron content in the precipitate; therefore the temperature and the reduction are controlled only with great difficulty. As a result, the purity and yield of tin decrease.
Japanese Kokai No. 9-67699 discloses a sludge processing apparatus for performing a process as shown in the flow chart of FIG. 3. The apparatus includes a sludge-separating unit, a white-sludge processing unit, and a blue-sludge processing unit. The sludge-separating unit separates the initial sludge into an aqueous white-sludge solution containing stannous ions and a blue-sludge solid content. The white-sludge processing unit recovers metallic tin from the aqueous solution, whereas the blue-sludge processing unit decomposes the solid content into harmless compounds which can be safely disposed of. In this method, NaOH is added to the aqueous solution containing stannous ions to form white sludge primarily containing SnO.sub.2.nH.sub.2 O. The white sludge is heated with a carbon reducing agent to form a metallic tin melt, while iron is removed based on the difference in its melting point. The remaining tin is cast as an ingot.
This method therefore also uses a difference in the melting point for separating tin from iron, as in Japanese Kokai No. 9-103790. Thus, this method has disadvantages of unsatisfactory separation and environmental pollution due to the formation of fine particles. Furthermore, incorporation of the fine particles into the recovered tin results in a low purity and a low yield of tin. Both the molten-salt reduction process and the smelting reduction melting process require expensive facilities, and thus have economic disadvantages. In Japanese Kokais Nos. 9-103790 and 9-67699, the major part of the filtrate formed by sludge processing is disposed of without recovery of useful components.
The present inventors disclose a method for separating the initially-formed sludge into blue sludge and white sludge and recovering useful components from the waste solution, in Japanese Kokai No. 10-72629. Tin obtained by this method, however, is still insufficiently pure for use an anode for tin plating. This method would also benefit from improvement in the yield of the recovered tin and workability, and simplification of the process in view of process cost reduction. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a position recognition technique, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for reckoning the position of a moving robot using dead-reckoning and range sensing.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, robots have been developed for use in industry as a part of factory automation or to perform tasks that are repetitive, dangerous, and/or difficult. Robot engineering has been directed to space applications as well as humanized robots for home use. In addition, robots are being installed inside of people to cure ailments that cannot be cured by existing medical devices. Such robot engineering has received much attention as the most advanced field that will substitute for the biotechnology field as the most popular after the information revolution based on the Internet.
An example of a robot for home use includes a cleaning robot, which serves as a leading example of how heavy industry based robot engineering limited to industrial robots is being extended and transformed into light industry based robot engineering.
A cleaning robot generally includes a driving means for movement, a cleaning means for cleaning, and a monitoring means for sensing a front obstacle. The driving means includes a driving motor exerting a driving force, a caterpillar or wheel having a specified diameter, driven by the driving motor, and a driving control circuit controlling driving operation. The cleaning means includes a dust collector collecting dust to remove it, and a dust collecting control circuit controlling the dust collecting action. The monitoring means includes a monitoring camera for capturing a front obstacle, and a transmitter for transmitting an image captured by the monitoring camera to a user.
A conventional cleaning robot 1 of the above-described configurations is moved toward another direction within a limited area 2 if an obstacle appears through the monitoring means, as shown in FIG. 1. Accordingly, there results portions of the area where cleaning may not be performed. Also, a moving path of the cleaning robot 1 is inefficient.
A recent cleaning robot 3, as shown in FIG. 2, reckons its position using a certain means, and reduces cleaning time and energy consumption by moving through an optimal path after identifying a target area 2.
As described above, for a moving robot, such as a cleaning robot, which moves within a certain area, a technique for allowing the moving robot to accurately identify its position (i.e., accurate localization) is required. However, since users often unintentionally move the moving robot (so called “kidnapping”), a method of allowing the moving robot to reset its position is required. | {
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A pair of members are typically required to be selectively interconnected at or along respective surfaces in order to allow these members to cooperatively form a desired assembly and/or to perform some desired overall function. Particularly, these interconnecting surfaces and members cooperatively form a “joint”. Typically, three types of joints exist and/or are selectively formed and are respectively referred to as a “lap joint”, a “one-half coach joint”, and a “coach joint”.
Particularly, a lap joint is formed by the selective interconnection of two substantially flat or planar members while a coach joint is formed by the selective interconnection of two arcuate members. The arcuate members cooperatively form a flared and open end. A one-half coach joint is formed by the selective interconnection of a substantially planar member and an arcuate member. Each of these joints is “tightened”, “stiffened” or respectively secured or interconnected by the use of an adhesive material which selectively resides and/or is applied within the joint in a substantially “wet” state and allowed to cure. The cured adhesive then typically joins the various joint forming surfaces and allows the formed joint to perform a desired function.
While the adhesive material does desirably allow a relatively tight or stiff joint to be formed, it does frequently “seep” out of the joint and undesirably adhere to the joint-forming members or to other machinery, tools, or members in close proximity to the formed joint. Such seepage may cause damage to such machinery or members and may undesirably interfere with an overall manufacturing process. Moreover, since many such joints are typically formed during a manufacturing process, such seepage from all or a substantial number of these joints may greatly and undesirably reduce the efficiency of product production and increase the overall cost of the product manufacturing process.
Moreover, many business enterprises have not created and/or adopted a standardized method for forming a joint, thereby causing the various and respective manufacturing facilities of these business enterprises to produce joints having various “amounts of” or “degree of” stiffness, thereby increasing the variability of certain attributes of the products respectively produced by these business enterprises (i.e., overall product stiffness and/or reliability).
Traditionally, such seepage is substantially eliminated by the alternative use of other relatively costly and “mechanical” joint securing methods (i.e., by the use of fastening members) and/or by greatly diminishing the amount of the adhesive which is placed within the joint. While diminishing the amount of adhesive which is selectively placed within the joint does reduce seepage, it undesirably produces a relatively loose joint.
There is therefore a need for a method for forming a joint and for applying an adhesive within a joint which allows a relatively tight joint to be formed while concomitantly and substantially reducing the likelihood of seepage of the adhesive from the joint. There is further a need for a standardized method for forming a joint and/or for placing adhesive material within a joint, effective to allow and/or cause a business enterprise to consistently produce relatively stiff joints in a manner which overcomes at least some of the previously delineated drawbacks of prior methods and which substantially reduces the amount of variability associated with certain attributes and/or characteristics of the products produced by a business organization. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the structure of an antioxidant gas blow-off unit to be installed in a wire bonding apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A large number of wire bonding apparatus employ ball bonding. In the ball bonding, a wire tail that extends from the tip of a capillary as a bonding tool is formed into a free air ball by a spark, and then the free air ball is bonded to a semiconductor element or an electrode of a substrate with the tip of the capillary.
Although gold wires have been conventionally used for wire bonding, copper wires are now increasingly used because of lower cost and superior electric properties. However, the copper wire is more susceptible to oxidation than the gold wire, and thus when the free air ball is formed from the copper wire by a spark, an oxide film might be formed on the surface of the ball. Such an oxide film weakens bonding between the free air ball and the electrode, leading to defective bonding. For this reason, a method for suppressing the oxidation of the surface of the ball is proposed which includes forming a free air ball under inert gas, such as nitrogen or argon gas, in bonding by use of a copper wire (see for example, Patent Document 1).
In contrast, when the surface temperature of the free air ball becomes low at the time of bonding, the bonding strength between the free air ball and electrode might be weakened. Furthermore, when the surface temperature of the free air ball becomes low at the time of forming the fee air ball, the resultant ball might be deformed (formed into a noncircular shape). For this reason, a method for ensuring the bonding strength is proposed which includes flowing heated deoxidation gas through surroundings of the free air ball before, throughout and after the formation of the free air ball, thereby keeping the temperature of the free air ball at high temperature (see for example, Patent Document 2). Moreover, another bonding method is proposed which includes suppressing oxidation of the surface of a free air ball by forming the free air ball with the heated inert gas flowing therethrough, while keeping the free air ball at high temperature (see for example, Patent Document 3).
However, like the related art described in Patent Document 2, 3, in the structure for ejecting the heated inert gas from a gas nozzle, it is necessary to increase the flow rate of inert gas in order to maintain an inert gas atmosphere. Therefore, a large-sized heater is also required to heat the inert gas. Potential problems with this case are that the bonding apparatus is enlarged and its slow operation inhibits high-speed bonding. | {
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The present invention relates generally to structures and methods for strengthening/supporting dielectric membranes which extend over the over openings/cavities in integrated circuit devices, and more particularly to deep trench oxide post/support structures extending through openings/cavities to support various parts of the membranes.
This invention is related to the structures and methods disclosed in the assignee's pending application “INFRARED SENSOR STRUCTURE AND METHOD” by Walter B. Meinel and Kalin V. Lazarov, Ser. No. 12/380,316, filed Feb. 26, 2009, and incorporated herein by reference.
Integrated semiconductor sensors can make use of “cantilevered” silicon dioxide membrane structures which extend from, or “overhang” from, a silicon base or the like. Such membrane structures tend to be fragile and therefore susceptible to damage during assembly operations that occur after formation of the membrane structures. For example, to achieve maximum sensitivity, the cavity openings covered by the SiO2 membrane in the infrared sensors described in the above mentioned Meinel et al. application should be as large as possible. The larger the cavity opening is, the more fragile the SiO2 membrane will be.
The closest prior art is believed to include the article “Investigation Of Thermopile Using CMOS Compatible Process and Front-Side Si Bulk Etching” by Chen-Hsun-Du and Chengkuo Lee, Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 4176 (2000), pp. 168-178, incorporated herein by reference. Infrared thermopile sensor physics and measurement of IR radiation using thermopiles are described in detail in this reference. Prior Art FIG. 1A herein shows the CMOS-processing-compatible IR sensor integrated circuit chip in FIG. 1 of the foregoing article. “Prior Art” FIG. 1A herein is similar to that drawing, and Prior FIG. 1B herein shows the top perspective view of the same IR sensor integrated circuit chip illustrated in FIG. 2 of the foregoing article.
Referring to Prior Art FIG. 1A herein, the IR sensor chip includes a silicon substrate 2 having a CMOS-processing-compatible dielectric (SiO2) stack 3 thereon including a number of distinct sub-layers. A N-type polysilicon (polycrystalline silicon) trace 11 and an aluminum trace M1 in dielectric stack 3 form a first “thermopile junction” where one end of the polysilicon trace and one end of the aluminum trace are connected. Additional oxide layers and additional metal traces also may be included in dielectric stack 3. An oxide passivation layer 12A is formed on top of dielectric stack 3, and a nitride passivation layer 12B is formed on oxide passivation layer 12A. A number of silicon etchant openings 24 extend through nitride passivation layer 12 and dielectric stack 3 to the top surface of silicon substrate 2 and are used to etch a cavity 4 in silicon substrate 2 underneath the portion of dielectric stack 3 in which the thermopile is formed, to thermally isolate it from silicon substrate 2.
Prior Art FIG. 1A is taken along section line 1A-1A of Prior Art FIG. 1B, which is essentially similar to FIG. 2 of the above mentioned Du and Lee reference. Cavity 4 is etched underneath SiO2 stack 3 by means of silicon etchant introduced through the various etchant openings 24, which are relatively large and irregular. FIG. 1B shows various metal-polysilicon strips MP1 each of which includes an aluminum strip M1 and a polysilicon strip 11 which makes electrical contact to the aluminum strip M1 as shown in FIG. 1B. The metal strips M1 run parallel to the polysilicon strips 11 and, except for the electrical contact between them as shown in FIG. 1A, are separated from polysilicon strips 11 by a sublayer of SiO2 stack 3. Although not shown in FIG. 1A, the dielectric material directly above metal strips M1 actually has corresponding steps which are indicated by reference numerals MP2 in FIG. 1B. The relatively large etchant openings 24 and their various angular shapes cause the “floating” membrane consisting of the various metal-polysilicon strips MP1 and the central section 3A of SiO2 stack 3 supported by metal-polysilicon strips MP1 to be very fragile. Such fragility ordinarily results in an unacceptably large number of device failures during subsequent wafer fabrication, subsequent packaging, and ultimate utilization of the IR sensor of FIGS. 1A and 1B.
A second thermopile junction (not shown) is also formed in dielectric stack 3 directly over a silicon substrate 2 and is not thermally isolated from silicon substrate 2, and therefore is at essentially the same temperature as silicon substrate 2. The first and second thermopile junctions are connected in series and form a single “thermopile”. The various silicon etchant openings 24 are formed in regions in which there are no polysilicon or aluminum traces, as shown in the dark areas in FIG. 2 of the Du and Lee article.
Incoming IR radiation indicated by arrows 5 in Prior Art FIG. 1A impinges on the “front side” or “active surface” of the IR sensor chip. (The “back side” of the chip is the bottom surface of silicon substrate 2 as it appears in Prior Art FIG. 1A.) The incoming IR radiation 5 causes the temperature of the thermopile junction supported on the “floating” portion of dielectric membrane 3 located directly above cavity 4 to be greater than the temperature of the second thermopile junction (not shown) in dielectric membrane 3 which is not thermally insulated by cavity 4.
It is well-known that the upper limit of the operating frequency of an integrated circuit is often determined by the amount of parasitic capacitance associated with circuit elements such as resistors and/or capacitors and/or inductors therein. It would be very beneficial to be able to substantially lower such parasitic capacitance.
It would be highly desirable to provide integrated circuit devices which include fragile “cantilevered” dielectric membranes and which are more economical and more robust than those known in the prior art. It also would be highly desirable to provide robust integrated circuits that are operable at higher RF frequencies than previously have been economically achievable.
There is an unmet need for integrated circuit devices which include fragile “cantilevered” dielectric membranes and which are more robust than those known in the prior art.
There also is an unmet need for an IR radiation sensor which includes a fragile “cantilevered” dielectric membrane and which is more robust than those known in the prior art.
There also is an unmet need for a CMOS-processing-compatible IR radiation sensor chip which is substantially more robust than those of the prior art.
There also is an unmet need for an improved method of fabricating an IR radiation sensor.
There also is an unmet need for a robust, economical integrated circuit that is operable at higher RF frequencies than have been previously achievable for similar integrated circuits.
There also is an unmet need for a way of providing a circuit component having reduced parasitic capacitance in an integrated circuit.
There also is an unmet need for a way of providing a resistor and/or a capacitor and/or an inductor having reduced parasitic capacitance in an integrated circuit. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toner and a developer for use in electrophotography. In addition, the present invention also relates to a developer and an image forming method using the toner.
2. Discussion of the Background
In a typical electrophotographic apparatus or electrostatic recording apparatus, an electric or magnetic latent image is formed into a visible image by a toner. Specifically, in electrophotography, an electrostatic latent image is formed on a photoreceptor, and then developed with a toner to form a toner image. The toner image is transferred onto a recording medium such as paper, and fixed thereon by application of heat, etc. The toner for developing the electrostatic latent image typically includes colored particles in which a colorant, a charge controlling agent, and the like agents are dispersed in a binder resin.
As a method for fixing a toner image on a recording medium, a heat roller method is widely used due to its high energy efficiency. In recent attempts to reduce energy consumption in fixing, toners are required to be fixable at low temperatures. In other words, a smaller amount of energy is required when a toner image is fixed on a recording medium. The International Energy Agency (IEA) Demand-Side Management (DSM) program in 1999 involves a technology procurement project for next-generation copiers, and a requested specification is disclosed therein. Specifically, copiers with a printing speed of 30 cpm or more are required to have a warm-up time of 10 seconds or less and to consume energy in an amount of from 10 to 30 watts in the warm-up, which is a drastic energy-saving requirement compared to conventional copiers. To respond to the requirement, one possible approach involves reducing heat capacity of a fixing member such as a heat roller, so that temperature response of a toner is improved. However, this approach is insufficient to respond to the requirement.
To minimize the warm-up time, it is necessary that the melt-starting temperature of a toner is reduced so that the toner is fixable at low temperatures (this property is hereinafter referred to as “low-temperature fixability”). To respond to such a requirement, toners using polyester resins, which are fixable at lower temperatures and have better thermostable preservability than conventionally-used styrene-acrylic resins, have been proposed.
As described above, the heat roller method is widely used because of providing good heat efficiency and contributing to downsizing of an apparatus. In consideration of energy saving, the heat roller is required to consume less electric power.
To respond to such a requirement, fixing devices have been further improved recently. For example, the thickness of a fixing roller that contacts a surface on which a toner image is supported is reduced so that heat efficiency is increased. As a result, the warm-up time is drastically reduced. In this case, however, the specific heat capacity of the fixing roller is decreased, and therefore a difference in temperature between portions in which a recording medium passes or not may be large. Consequently, a hot offset problem occurs. The “hot offset” here refers to an undesirable phenomenon in that part of a fused toner image is adhered to the surface of a fixing roller, and re-transferred to an undesired portion of a recording medium. Accordingly, toners are required to have both low-temperature fixability and hot offset resistance.
To improve hot offset resistance of a toner, a release agent included therein is required to have a low melt viscosity and good separability from a binder resin. For example, Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication Nos. (hereinafter “JP-A”) 01-185660, 01-185661, 01-185662, and 01-185663 disclose toners including a carnauba wax and/or a montan wax, and Examined Japanese Patent Application Publication Nos. (hereinafter “JP-B”) 52-3304 and 52-3305 disclose toners including a hydrocarbon wax such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and paraffin.
However, hot offset resistance of these toners is yet insufficient. To make matters worse, in a case where the release agent is unevenly dispersed in the toner, chargeability and fluidity of the toner may be poor, thereby consistently degrading the resultant toner image. Therefore, the release agent is required to be finely dispersed in the toner, especially when the toner has a small size. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image capture apparatus including a neutral density (ND) filter which is inserted into or withdrawn from an optical path of an image capture optical system.
2. Description of Related Art
An image capture apparatus with an ND filter which is inserted into or withdrawn from an optical path of an image capture optical system in accordance with the brightness of an object is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-283923.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a conventional image pickup apparatus 300 of this kind. The image pickup apparatus may be an electronic still camera or a video camera. In the figure, a reference numeral 301 denotes a lens which is the image capture optical system. A reference numeral 302 denotes the ND filter (achromatic color light reduction filter), which reduces the transmitting light amount of the image capture optical system. A reference numeral 303 denotes an iris for adjusting the light amount. A reference numeral 304 denotes an image capture device such as a CCD. A reference numeral 305 denotes a correlated double sampling (CDS)/auto gain control (AGC) circuit. A reference numeral 306 denotes a luminance signal detection circuit for detecting a luminance signal from an image signal output from the CDS/AGC circuit 305. A reference numeral 311 denotes an iris control signal generation circuit which generates a control signal for controlling the iris 303 according to the luminance information output from the luminance signal detection circuit 306. A reference numeral 308 denotes an iris driver which drives the iris 303 based on a control signal from the iris control signal generation circuit 311.
A reference numeral 310 denotes an ND filter insertion/withdrawal switch-over switch for switching over the insertion or the withdrawal of the ND filter 302 in conformity with the intension of a user. The switch 310 is not the switch such as a slide switch, which holds the state thereof and results in the storage of the on/off state thereof. The switch 310 is generally the switch such as a push switch, which does not hold the state thereof and results in the non-storage of the on/off state thereof. In other words, the switch 310 is the switch for switching over the ND filter 302, which is in either sate of the insertion state thereof and the withdrawal state thereof, from one state to the other state by each same operation. The user cannot judge which state of the insertion state and the withdrawal sate the ND filter 302 is in only by viewing the state of the switch 310.
A reference numeral 312 denotes an ND control signal generation circuit which generates a control signal for controlling the switch-over of the ND filter 302 from one sate to the other state according to a key operation of the ND filter insertion/withdrawal switch-over switch 310. A reference numeral 309 denotes an ND driver for driving the ND filter 302 based on a control signal from the ND control signal generation circuit 312. A reference numeral 307 denotes an electric power switch operated when the user switches over a power source of the main body of the camera to the on-state thereof or the off-state thereof.
When the user carries out the key operation of the electric power switch 307, the power source of the main body of the camera is turned on, and the image capture apparatus 300 having the configuration mentioned above starts image capturing. As the luminance signal used when exposure is controlled, a luminance signal including high frequency components of an image signal output from the CDS/AGC circuit 305 is used. The luminance signal is detected by the luminance signal detection circuit 306, and then is sent to the iris control signal generation circuit 311. The iris control signal generation circuit 311 compares the luminance signal detected by the luminance signal detection circuit 306 with a reference value (the level of appropriate exposure) previously determined to keep the luminance signal constant, and generates an iris control signal. More specifically, the iris control signal generation circuit 311 compares the luminance signal detected by the luminance signal detection circuit 306 with the reference value, and generates a control signal for operating the iris 303 to move it toward closing in case of “the luminance signal>the reference value.” On the other hand, the iris control signal generation circuit 311 generates a control signal to operate the iris 303 toward opening in case of “the luminance signal<the reference value.” The control signals generated in such a way are supplied to the iris driver 308, and the iris 303 is driven. By always carrying out the control mentioned above, it becomes possible to make the exposure state be in the optimum state.
Here, the ND filter 302 is described in detail. The ND filter 302 is configured so as to be in the withdrawal state thereof just after the user has turned on the power source of the main body of the camera by operating the electric power switch 307. When the user wishes to insert the ND filter 302 into the optical path from this state, the ND filer 302 is inserted therein by the key operation of the ND filer insertion/withdrawal switch-over switch 310 by the user. Moreover, when the ND filter 302 which is in the insertion state thereof is desired to be withdrawn from the optical path, the ND filer 302 is withdrawn from the optical path by another key operation of the ND filter insertion/withdrawal switch-over switch 310. For example, in the case where brightness of an object is high out of doors or the like, a diffraction phenomenon is sometimes brought about owing to a decrease of the diameter of the iris 303, and results in a deterioration of the image quality of the image of the object. Inserting the ND filter 302 into the optical path in order to avoid this disadvantage will make it possible to obtain a good quality image. Moreover, in the case where brightness of an object is low within doors or the like, withdrawing the ND filter 302 from the optical path in order to obtain good sensitivity will make it possible to obtain a good quality image.
Using the block diagram of FIG. 3, the operation of the ND filter 302 at the time of the insertion into or the withdrawal from the optical path is described. When a key operation of the ND filer insertion/withdrawal switch-over switch 310 is once carried out by a user in the case where the ND filter 302 is in the withdrawal state thereof from the optical path, the ND control signal generation circuit 312 generates a control signal for inserting the ND filter 302 into the optical path. The generated control signal is supplied to the ND driver 309, and then the ND filter 302 is inserted into the optical path. When another key operation of the ND filer insertion/withdrawal switch-over switch 310 is carried out by the user in this state, the ND control signal generation circuit 312 generates a control signal for withdrawing the ND filter 302. The control signal is supplied to the ND driver 309, and the ND filter 302 is withdrawn from the optical path.
Next, by reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4, control operations of the iris 303 and the ND filter 302 immediately after the turning-on of the power source of the main body of the camera are described.
At a step 401, a user carries out a key operation of the electric power switch 307, and the power source of the main body of the camera becomes in the on state thereof. Then, the ND filter insertion/withdrawal switch-over switch 310 is made to be in an invalidated state at the next step 402. And, at the next step 403, the luminance signal detection circuit 306 detects a luminance signal including high frequency components of an image signal output from the CDS/AGC circuit 305. At the successive step 404, the iris control signal generation circuit 311 compares the detected signal with a predetermined reference value (an appropriate exposure level) to generate a control signal for controlling the iris 303. For example, when the detected signal is larger than the reference value as a result of the comparison of the detected signal with the reference value, the iris control signal generation circuit 311 generates a control signal for controlling the iris 303 toward the closing thereof. On the other hand, when the detected signal is smaller than the reference value, the iris control signal generation circuit 311 generates a control signal for controlling the iris 303 toward the opening thereof. Then, at the next step 405, the iris control signal generation circuit 311 supplies the control signal generated at the step 404 to the iris driver 308 to drive the iris 303.
At the next step 406, the iris control signal generation circuit 311 generates a control signal for withdrawing the ND filter 302 from the optical path in order to create a previously withdrawn state of the ND filter 302 after the turning-on of the power source. Then, at the next step 407, the iris control signal generation circuit 311 supplies the control signal generated at the step 406 to the ND driver 309 to withdraw the ND filter 302 to the outside of the optical path. Then, at the next step 408, the iris control signal generation circuit 311 validates the ND filter insertion/withdrawal switch-over switch 310, which has been invalidated at the step 402.
The camera having the ND filter mentioned above has been scarcely adopted as a camera in a popular type class. The following reasons can be considered of the nonadoption of the camera having the ND filter: the using method of the camera becomes troublesome; the main body of the camera becomes larger; the cost of the camera becomes expensive; and the like. However, the camera having the ND filer has been considerably generally adopted as a camera in a quality type class.
Now, in the image capture apparatus 300 mentioned above, it cannot be judged only by viewing the state of the switch 310 which state of the insertion and the withdrawal the ND filter 302 is in. Consequently, when a user does not remember which state of the insertion and the withdrawal the ND filter 302 is in at the time of turning off the power source of the main body of the camera, it is difficult for the user to immediately grasp which state of the insertion and the withdrawal the ND filter 302 is in when the power source is next turned on. Moreover, when the ND filter 302 is in the insertion state thereof, the amount of the light reaching the image capture device 304, of course, decreases more than the decreased amount at the time of being in the withdrawal state thereof. Consequently, it is impossible to obtain sufficient luminance at the time of carrying out photographing within doors. Accordingly, the image capture apparatus mentioned above, as shown in FIG. 4, controls the ND filter 302 to be in the withdrawal state thereof just after the turning-on of the power source of the main body of the camera. However, under such a configuration, even when recording is desired to be begun immediately after the turning-on of the power source of the main body of the camera, the ND filter 302 is always in the withdrawal state thereof. Consequently, for example, when the brightness of an object is low within doors or the like, good photographing can be carried out. But, when the brightness of an object is high out of doors or the like, because the ND filter 302 is being left in the withdrawal state thereof, the iris 303 becomes the state of having a small diameter, and the diffraction phenomenon is brought about.
It is, of course, possible to start recording in this state as it is, but, because the diffraction phenomenon has the possibility of causing the deterioration of image quality, good photographing cannot be always carried out. In such a case, the user is required to carry out the key operation of the ND filter insertion/withdrawal switch-over switch 310 in order to switch over the insertion/withdrawal state of the ND filter 302, and to switch over the ND filter 302 from the withdrawal state thereof to the insertion state thereof. That is, in the case where the photographing when the user wants to start recording immediately after the turning-on (activation) of the power source of the main body of the camera is to be performed in the state in which the brightness of the object is high out of doors or the like, the user is required to carry out the operation of inserting the ND filter 302 into the optical path. Because the user has to insert the ND filter into the optical path by carrying out the key operation of the ND filter insertion/withdrawal switch-over switch 310, the image capture apparatus 300 has a problem of the impossibility of the instantaneous starting of recording. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel bisphosphite compound and a method for producing aldehydes by subjecting an olefinic compound to a hydroformylation reaction in the presence of a catalyst containing such a phosphite compound and a Group VIII metal.
2. Discussion of Background
The reaction which comprises reacting an olefinic compound with carbon monoxide and hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst in a solvent to produce aldehydes or alcohols as their hydrogenated products, is well-known as hydroformylation reaction. As the catalyst, it is common to use a soluble complex of a Group VIII metal having an organic phosphorus compound as a ligand. The ligand used together with the metal component of the catalyst gives substantial influence to the catalytic reaction. Also in the hydroformylation reaction, it is widely known that the catalytic activity and the selectively are substantially influenced by the ligand. In order to carry out the hydroformylation reaction industrially advantageously, it is important to improve the catalytic activity and the selectivity of the product. Accordingly, various efforts to design the ligand have been made for this purpose.
Various phosphite compounds are known as a group of phosphorus compounds which may be used as the ligands. In addition to monophosphites such as trialkylphosphites or triarylphosphites, various phosphite compounds including polyphosphites having plural coordinating phosphorus atoms in their molecules, have been proposed. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. 116587/1987 and No. 116535/1987 disclose bisphosphite compounds containing two phosphorus atoms in their molecules. Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 178779/1993 discloses bisphosphite compounds having a .beta.-naphthyl group or a phenyl group substituted at a specific position.
As mentioned above, various phosphite compounds have been proposed as the ligand to be used for the hydroformylation reaction. However, the selectivity of the desired product formed in the hydroformylation reaction using these compounds have not necessarily been satisfied, and the formation of by-products has brought about an economical disadvantage to commercial production. Among such by-products, paraffins formed by reduction of an olefinic compound with hydrogen without a hydroformylation reaction, are particularly valueless, since they are not useful other than as fuels. Accordingly, it has been desired to develop a phosphite ligand which does not cause such a reduction reaction as a side-reaction. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates generally to improvements in a point-attack bit, and more particularly to an improved bit of this type that turns in its mounting to provide a self-sharpening action resulting in a longer bit wear and life.
A self-sharpening bit of this general type is disclosed in applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,652,130 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,833,264. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
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