The invention pertains to methods of forming dielectric materials, and methods of forming capacitors. The invention also pertains to capacitor constructions.
It is frequently desired to form dielectric materials during semiconductor device fabrication. For instance, capacitor constructions comprise dielectric material separating a pair of capacitor electrodes. Suitable dielectric materials for capacitor constructions include silicon dioxide and silicon nitride, with an exemplary dielectric material comprising a stack of silicon nitride between a pair of silicon dioxide layers.
An advantage of utilizing silicon nitride in capacitor constructions is that it has a higher dielectric constant than silicon dioxide. However, a difficulty in utilizing silicon nitride can occur in attempting to get a uniform coating of silicon nitride over a capacitor electrode. For instance, a capacitor electrode can comprise conductively-doped rugged silicon (for example, conductively-doped hemispherical grain polysilicon). Such rugged silicon has a rough surface texture, and is utilized because the rough surface texture enables more conductive surface area to be provided over a particular footprint than would be provided with a smooth-surfaced structure. A difficulty can occur in attempting to form silicon nitride over the roughened surface structure of rugged silicon. Specifically, silicon nitride is typically provided by chemical-vapor deposition (such as, for example, low pressure chemical vapor deposition utilizing silane and ammonia as precursors), and the nitride deposits non-conformally on the roughed surface of the rugged silicon. Accordingly, if the nitride is provided as a thin layer (less than 100 xc3x85 thick), there can be pinholes extending into the nitride, and even extending through the nitride to expose portions of the underlying rugged silicon surface.
Among the methods which have been developed to compensate for the pinhole problems are methods in which silicon dioxide is formed over the layer of silicon nitride to either fill the pinholes or at least cover the pinholes with a dielectric material. The silicon dioxide can be formed by either chemical vapor deposition, or by oxidation of the is silicon nitride surface.
Another method for compensating for pinhole problems is to form silicon dioxide over the rugged polysilicon prior to formation of the silicon nitride. Accordingly, a dielectric material will be beneath the silicon nitride, and any pinholes extending through the silicon nitride can be prevented from exposing the underlying conductive substrate by the intervening layer of silicon dioxide.
In typical prior art processing, both of the above-discussed silicon dioxide methodologies are utilized. In other words, a layer of silicon dioxide is formed before forming the layer of silicon nitride, and a second layer of silicon dioxide is formed after forming the layer of silicon nitride.
It would be desirable to develop methods wherein some or all of the above-discussed difficulties associated with formation of silicon nitride could be eliminated, and particularly it would be desirable to develop methods wherein one or both of the above-discussed layers of silicon dioxide could be eliminated from capacitor constructions.
In one aspect, the invention encompasses a method of forming a dielectric material. A nitrogen-comprising layer is formed on at least some of the surface of a rugged polysilicon substrate to form a first portion of a dielectric material. After the nitrogen-comprising layer is formed, at least some of the substrate is subjected to dry oxidation with one or both of NO and N2O to form a second portion of the dielectric material.
In another aspect, the invention encompasses a method of forming a capacitor. A layer of rugged silicon is formed over a substrate, and a nitrogen-comprising layer is formed on the layer of rugged silicon. Some of the rugged silicon is exposed through the nitrogen-comprising layer. After the nitrogen-comprising layer is formed, at least some of the exposed rugged silicon is subjected to dry oxidation conditions with one or both of NO and N2O. Subsequently, a conductive material layer is formed over the nitrogen-comprising layer.
In yet another aspect, the invention encompasses a capacitor structure. The structure includes a first capacitor electrode comprising a rugged polysilicon layer, a nitrogen-comprising layer on the rugged polysilicon layer, and a second capacitor electrode. The nitrogen-comprising layer is between the first and second capacitor electrodes.


This invention relates to the use of ether amide derivatives as low calorie fat mimetics. These compounds have a (C.sub.2 to C.sub.12) backbone to which are attached one or two aliphatic groups in ether linkage and one to four aliphatic groups in amide linkage.
Dietary fat is the most concentrated source of energy of all the nutrients, supplying 9 kcal/gram, about double that contributed by either carbohydrate or protein. The amount of fat in the American diet has increased in the last 60 years by about 25% (Mead, J., et al. Lipids, Plenum, N.Y., 1986, page 459), so that fats now provide approximately 40% of the daily caloric intake. Moreover, technological advances in the food industry, including efficient and safe hydrogenation procedures, have changed the kind of fat in foods.
Because fats are high in calories and because certain fats appear to pose a health risk when consumed in large quantities over time, a number of national advisory committees on nutrition have made recommendations differing in detail, but the common theme is a reduction in the total amount of fat in the diet (Gottenbos, J. J., chapter 8 in Beare-Rogers, J., ed., Dietary Fat Requirements in Health and Development, A.O.C.S. 1988, page 109). Yet fat contributes to the palatability and flavor of food, since most food flavors are fat-soluble, and to the satiety value, since fatty foods remain in the stomach for longer periods of time than do foods containing protein and carbohydrate. Furthermore, fat is a carrier of the fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, E, and K, and the essential fatty acids, which have been shown to be important in growth and in the maintenance of many body functions. Hence, major research efforts have focused on ways to produce food substances that provide the same functional and organoleptic properties as fats, but not the calories.
A number of fat replacements have heretofore been suggested (recently reviewed by Hamm, D. J., J. Food Sci. 49: 419-428 (1984), Haumann, B. J., J. Amer. Oil Chem. Soc. 63: 278-288 (1986) and LaBarge, R. G., Food Tech. 42: 84-90 (1988)). Hamm divides replacement fats into two broad categories: structurally re-engineered triglycerides modified to retain their conventional functional properties in foods, while removing their susceptibility toward hydrolysis or subsequent absorption during digestion, and materials developed from chemistry unrelated to triglycerides.
Examples of the former class of triglyceride analogues include compounds having the glycerol moiety replaced with alternate polyols (e.g., pentaerythritol in U.S. Pat. No. 2,962,419 to Minich, or sugars, suggested by Hess, K., and Messmer, E., Ber. 54B: 499-523 (1921), and patented years later by Mattson and Volpenhein, U.S. Pat. No. 3,600,186, and Meyer, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,815); compounds having the fatty acids replaced with alternate acids (e.g., branched esters as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,579,548 to Whyte); compounds having insertions between the glycerol and the fatty acid (e.g., ethoxy or propoxy groups in U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,613 to White and Pollard); compounds having reversed esters (e.g., malonates in U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,927 to Fulcher and trialkoxytricarballylates in U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,746 to Hamm); and compounds having the ester bonds replaced by ether bonds (Can. Pat. No. 1,106,681 to Trost).
Examples of Hamm's second category of fat replacements chemically unrelated to triglycerides are mineral oil (suggested as early as 1894 in U.S. Pat. No. 519,980 to Winter); polyglucose and polymaltose (U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,794 to Rennhard); jojoba wax (W. Ger. Pat. No. 3,529,564 to Anika); polyoxyalkylene esters (U.S. Pat. No. 4,849,242 to Kershner); polyvinyl alcohol esters (U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,974 to D'Amelia and Jacklin); and polysiloxane (Eur. Pat. Ap. No. 205,273 to Frye).
Nondigestible or nonabsorbable edible fat replacements have proved disappointing when tested in feeding trials, where gastrointestinal side effects occurred, in some cases so extreme that frank anal leakage was observed. Nondigestible fats appear to act as a laxative and are expelled from the body, eliciting foreign body reactions like those early documented for mineral oil (Stryker, W .A., Arch. Path. 31: 670-692 (1941), more recently summarized in Goodman and Gilman's Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 7th ed., Macmillan Pub. Co., N.Y. 1985, pp. 1002-1003). Similarly, a series of experimental fats, e.g., glyceride esters of dibasic acids, synthesized by U.S.D.A. in the 1960's exhibited undesirable gastrointestinal side effects when the compounds were fed to rats (Booth, A. N., and Gros, A. T., J. Amer. Oil Chem. Soc. 40: 551-553 (1963)); in several of the balance studies, the diarrhea was so extreme that digestibility coefficients could not be calculated (ibid., Table I, p. 552).
Polyglycerol and polyglycerol esters, suggested as fat replacements by Babayan and Lehman (U.S. Pat. No. 3,637,774), have been suggested for use as fecal softening agents as well (U.S. Pat. No. 3,495,010 to Fossel). A number of remedies have been recommended to combat the anal leakage observed when sucrose polyesters are ingested (e.g., employing cocoa butters, U.S. Pat. No. 4,005,195 to Jandacek, incorporating saturated fatty groups, Eur. Pat. Ap. No. 233,856 to Bernhardt, or mixing residues, U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,300 to Jandacek, et al.), and dietary fiber preparations have been incorporated into polysaccharide and/or polyol-containing foodstuffs to help inhibit the diarrheal effect (U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,768 to Staub et al.). Partially digestible fat replacements have also been suggested (U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,787 to Klemann and Finley; U.S. Pat. No. 4,849,242, cited above; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,659 to Klemann, et al.).


It is highly desirable for tires to exhibit good traction characteristics on both dry and wet surfaces. However, it has traditionally been very difficult to improve the traction characteristics of a tire without compromising its rolling resistance and tread wear. Low rolling resistance is important because good fuel economy is virtually always an important consideration. Good tread wear is also an important consideration because it is generally the most important factor which determines the life of the tire.
The traction, tread wear and rolling resistance of a tire is dependent to a large extent on the dynamic viscoelastic properties of the elastomers utilized in making the tire tread. In order to reduce the rolling resistance of a tire, rubbers having a high rebound have traditionally been utilized in making the tire's tread. On the other hand, in order to increase the wet skid resistance of a tire, rubbers which undergo a large energy loss have generally been utilized in the tire's tread. In order to balance these two viscoelastically inconsistent properties, mixtures of various types of synthetic and natural rubber are normally utilized in tire treads. For instance, various mixtures of styrene-butadiene rubber and polybutadiene rubber are commonly used as a rubber material for automobile tire treads. However, such blends are not totally satisfactory for all purposes.
Rubbers having intermediate glass transition temperatures (-70.degree. C. to -40.degree. C.) compromise rolling resistance and treadwear without significantly increasing traction characteristics. For this reason, blends of rubbers having low glass transition temperatures and rubbers having high glass transition temperatures are frequently utilized to attain improved traction characteristics without significantly compromising rolling resistance or treadwear. However, such blends of rubbers having low glass transition temperatures and rubbers having high glass transition temperatures exhibit poor processability. This major disadvantage associated with such blends has greatly hampered their utilization in making tire tread compounds.
Tin-coupled polymers are known to provide desirable properties, such as improved treadwear and reduced rolling resistance, when used in tire tread rubbers. Such tin-coupled rubbery polymers are typically made by coupling the rubbery polymer with a tin coupling agent at or near the end of the polymerization used in synthesizing the rubbery polymer. In the coupling process, live polymer chain ends react with the tin coupling agent thereby coupling the polymer. For instance, up to four live chain ends can react with tin tetrahalides, such as tin tetrachloride, thereby coupling the polymer chains together.


A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. The following notice applies to the software and data as described below and in the drawings referred to herein: Copyright 2005, Cyberscan Technology, Inc., All Rights Reserved.


The present invention relates to a process of thermal treatment in a tissue, and especially relates to a process of thermal treatment in a tissue comprising embedding a heat-sensitive magnetic material (hereinafter referred to as "implant") in a tumor, and externally applying a high frequency magnetic field thereto for raising the temperature of the implant in order to promote the medical treatment.
A process of thermal treatment in a tissue is one in which high frequency induction heating is utilized for medically treating a tumor in a living body in which a plurality of needle-like implant elements are embedded, based on the therapeutic effects which destroy only cancer cells to minimize the unfavorable influence on normal cells when the temperature of tissues of an organism is elevated to 42.degree. C. to 43.degree. C. The process of thermal treatment in a tissue is supposed to be promising not only for a brain tumor but also for other internal organ cancers such as a tongue cancer, a spleen cancer, a bladder cancer, a bone tumor, a mammary cancer and [Tatsuya Kobayashi, Yoshihisa Kida, Masaaki Matsui and Yoshifumi Amamiya, NEUROLOGICAL SURGERY, Vol. 18, No. 3 (issued on Mar. 10, 1990)]. A metallic alloy such as a Ni-Cu alloy, a Ni-Si alloy, a Ni-Pd alloy, an Fe-Pt alloy, an Fe-Pd alloy and an Fe-Pt-Si alloy and an oxide such as .gamma.-hematite, magnetite, cementite, rare earth magnetic materials, strontium ferrite, magnet-plumbite type ferrite and amorphous materials are known as material of the implant element employed in the process of thermal treatment (Japanese patent laid open gazette No. 63-103048).
Heat generation of the above implant material of the metallic magnetic material is carried out by mainly utilizing eddy current loss, while that of the magnetic material made of an oxide or that of the powders of metallic materials are carried out by mainly utilizing magnetic hysteresis loss of powders. When the eddy current is utilized, the magnetic field is required to be applied in the longitudinal direction of a cylindrical sample for avoiding the influence of a demagnetizing field. For avoiding the directional influence of the magnetic field, the magnetic field may be rotated utilizing a Helmholz type coil which generates a magnetic field by parallel connecting the same sized coils to provide a space in the middle. Such properties as a sufficient amount of heat generation, a relatively low Curie temperature and the safety in an organism are required as implant material. It has been conventionally supposed that an Fe 73% (atomic %, any percentage appearing in the rest of the specification is also atomic %)- Pt 27% alloy having a low Curie temperature of 68.degree. C. is most suitable.
Since, however, even the temperature of the implant element made of the Fe-Pt alloy itself rises to 68.degree. C., there is a possibility of damaging the normal cells as well as the cancer cells by means of the heat generated. When the implant element made of the Ni-Cu alloy or the Ni-Si alloy having a similar Curie temperature to that of the Fe-Pt alloy is employed, a large number of the implant elements are required to be embedded in an affected part because of the insufficient heat generation. On the other hand, in case of the bulk-like molded material made of the powders utilizing the hysteresis loss, there are disadvantages such that when the high frequency magnetic field is applied, an eddy current flows at a contacted portion to prevent the sufficient penetration of the magnetic flux into the implant element so as to suppress the generation of heat by means of the hysteresis loss that results in the uneven heat transmission to the affected part. Although the amount of the heat generation is desirably changed according to the individual difference of a patient and the progress of the affected part, it is in fact impossible.
Further, the compatibility of the implant element to an organism including the dispersion of the component elements into the organism as a result of corrosion and ionization is problematic even if such a metal as Fe and Pt is a metal of considerably low toxicity because the implant element is embedded in the organism for a long period of time. The molded member made of powders such as ceramics becomes brittle after the repetition of the thermal treatments in a tissue so that the uncovered powders are in danger of straying in the living body.


FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention relates generally to slatwall-type display shelving and, more specifically, to interlocking slatwall-type panels and method therefor.


It is known that in the deep-drawing of sheets, particularly relatively thin sheets, the frictional situation between the holding down device and the pull part is important, since this influences the continuity of flow of the workpiece into the die. In order to obtain workpieces free from wrinkles and cracks, in addition to the friction other parameters have to be adapted such as the material, drawing part shape, drawing slot, hold-down pressure and the like. For example, wrinkle formation at the drawing part cannot be prevented by unlimited increase of the hold-down pressure, since increased frictional forces result in crack formation in the drawing part. Also the use of lubricants does not result in the desired success, if the usual smooth or directed surface structures are employed. The film of the lubricant in this case is squeezed away from the hold-down device such that the friction at this place of highest load rapidly reaches an impermissible level and results in a tearing of the drawing part. It is also known that an improvement of the frictional situation at the drawing slot and at the hold-down device results if in place of the usual rolled-bright, matte, brushed, ground or with foil-covered flat surface a roughened surface is employed, which allows at the contact surface the production of a high lubricant pressure. Thus it is known to employ work rollers with corrugated valleys, which are generated by grinding, to produce a roughened surface (Austrian patent disclosure No. AT-PS 325,236), or trough shaped impressions which are generated by sand blasting (Austrian patent disclosure No. AT-PS 347,387), for aluminum and aluminum alloys for rolling, since the impressions keep the lubricant in place during the rolling. A sheet produced in this way does not show advantageous properties in the subsequent deep-drawing process, since the valleys are pulled by the rolling operation in longitudinal direction with a large longitudinal elongation and are thereby directed, so that the lubricant can escape in this direction during the drawing process.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to processes for the preparation of optically active amines or salts thereof and processes for the preparation of optically active imines. The invention also relates to novel optically active amines and salts thereof and to novel optically active imines.
2. Description of the Related Art
Certain optically active amines are known in the art as intermediates for medical drugs and agricultural chemicals. For example, an optically active 7-amino-5-azaspiro[2.4]heptane is a compound useful as an intermediate for synthetic antimicrobial agents that have high antibacterial activities.
Such an optically active 7-amino-5-azaspiro[2.4]heptane has been prepared by certain processes typically described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publications No. 11-240867 and No. 11-240868. In these processes, an oxo group at the 7-position of a precursor 5-benzyl-4,7-dioxo-5-azaspiro[2.4]heptane is oximated with hydroxylamine, and an oxo group at the 4-position and a hydroxyimino group at the 7-position are reduced to yield 7-amino-5-benzyl-5-azaspiro[2.4]heptane, the 7-amino-5-benzyl-5-azaspiro[2.4]heptane is then condensed with an optically active carboxylic acid and is converted into a 5-benzyloxycarbonyl derivative, the resulting diastereomers are separated and are deprotected to thereby yield an optically active 7-amino-5-azaspiro[2.4]heptane.
These publications also describe a process for the preparation of an optically active 7-amino-5-azaspiro[2.4]heptane derivative, in which an optically active 1-phenylethyl group is introduced, instead of the benzyl group, at the 5-position of 5-benzyl-4,7-dioxo-5-azaspiro[2.4]heptane, the oxo group at the 7-position of the resulting compound is converted into an amino group, and the resulting diastereomers are separated to thereby yield the target compound.
In all of these processes, however, diastereomers are once prepared synthetically and are then subjected to resolution. The processes are thereby low in yields and are not efficient for the preparation of an optically active 7-amino-5-azaspiro[2.4]heptane.


Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is the sudden and momentary electric current that flows between two electric elements at different electrical potentials. ESD events may cause damage to electronic equipment, especially in solid-state electronics, such as integrated circuits. As fabrication of integrated circuits is moving into sub-micron processes, the circuits are more vulnerable to stress due to ESD. That is, as fabrication, e.g., CMOS, processes downscale, ESD robustness degrades due to the metallization layers being thinner, hence having higher sheet resistance.
Recently developed techniques allow fabricating radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) that operate in millimeter wave frequencies, typically using deep sub-micron CMOS technology. In order to enable proper and safe operation of ICs, on-chip ESD protection should be included. In a design of an RFIC, a critical point that requires ESD protection is at the RF front-end between the low noise amplifier (LNA) and antenna(s). The LNA, which is commonly the most sensitive element in the RF front end, is typically exposed to ESD sparks (pulses) induced through the antenna pins.
Conventional ESD protection techniques applicable for ICs cannot be efficiently implemented in RFICs and in particular, RFICs for millimeter wave frequencies. The conventional techniques introduce significant parasitic capacitance and resistance, thus degrading RF front-end performance.
In the related art, several on-chip ESD protection techniques for RFIC can be found. For example, the article “ESD Protection for a 5.5 GHz LNA in 90 nm RF CMOS Implementation Concepts, Constraints and Solutions” to Natarajan, et al., proposes to place inductors at input and output pins of the LNA to divert the ESD current away from the LNA core to the power lines. The size of the inductors can be relatively small, thus suitable for RFIC designs where area is limited. However, the fabricated inductors are characterized by high series resistance due to the thin metal layer of the semiconductor substrate. This reduces the effectiveness of the ESD protection. Further, the inductors introduce high heat dissipation in a long-lasting ESD pulse. This can lead, for example, to open interconnect.
Another ESD solution designed for protection of RFICs is based on a shorted-stub transmission line. As illustrated in FIG. 1A, the transmission line 110 is connected between an input pin 101 of a LNA 120 and the ground. The shorted-stub transmission line 110 discharges ESD pulses, while at the same time operates as a matching circuit for a normal operation of the LNA 120. This ESD protection solution suffers from the deficiencies noted above, e.g., high resistance and high heat dissipation. In addition, the length of the transmission line 110 is typically λ/4, where λ is the wavelength of a signal amplified by the LNA 120. For example, for 60 GHz signals the length of the transmission line 110 is not less than 600 micron (when fabricating a transmission line on a multilayer semiconductor substrate the length of each line is shorter than λ/4 due to characteristics of the substrate).
In order to improve the protection efficiency and reduce the heat dissipation, a ladder-shaped ESD protection circuit is proposed in “Ladder-shaped network for ESD protection of millimeter-wave CMOS ICs” to Park, et al. As illustrated in FIG. 1B, the ESD protection circuit consists of three shorted stubs 130 and three series stubs 140. The length of each shorted stub 130 is 300 micron. The ladder-shaped structure operates as a high-pass filter, i.e., filtering ESD pulses characterized by a low frequency relative to the operating frequency of the LNA.
The major disadvantage of the shorted-stub based ESD protection solutions, illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, is that they are considerably large in size for RFIC designs. Therefore, such structures are unsuitable for use in RFICs, and more particularly elements that should be integrated in devices for 60 GHz band applications.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a solution for designing a compact size circuit for providing robustness in ESD protection for RFICs operation in millimeter wave frequencies.


This invention relates to osteoimplants and their use in the repair of bone defects and injuries. More particularly, the invention relates to a load-bearing composite osteoimplant which can assume any of a wide variety of configurations, methods for their manufacture and the use of the osteoimplants for the repair of hard tissue.
Shaped or cut bone segments have been used extensively to solve various medical problems in human and animal orthopedic surgical practice, and their application has also extended to the field of cosmetic and reconstructive surgery, dental reconstructive surgery, and other medical fields involving surgery of hard tissues. The use of autograft bone (where the patient provides the source), allograft bone (where another individual of the same species provides the source) or xenograft bone (where another individual of a different species provides the source) is well known in both human and veterinary medicine. In particular, transplanted bone is known to provide support, promote healing, fill bony cavities, separate bony elements (such as vertebral bodies), promote fusion (where bones are induced to grow together into a single, solid mass), or stabilize the sites of fractures. More recently, processed bone has been developed into shapes for use in new surgical applications, or as new materials for implants that were historically made of non-biologically derived materials.
Bone grafting applications are differentiated by the requirements of the skeletal site. Certain applications require a xe2x80x9cstructural graftxe2x80x9d in which one role of the graft is to provide mechanical or structural support to the site. Such grafts contain a substantial portion of mineralized bone tissue to provide the strength needed for load-bearing. The graft may also have beneficial biological properties, such as incorporation into the skeleton, osteoinduction, osteoconduction, or angiogenesis.
Structural grafts are conventionally made by processing, and then cutting or otherwise shaping bones collected for transplant purposes. The range of bone grafts that might be thus prepared is limited by the size and shape limitations of the bone tissue from which the bone graft originated. Certain clinically desirable shapes and sizes of grafts may thus be unattainable by the cutting and shaping processes, due to the dimensional limitations of the bone. For some shapes they may also be available only in limited amounts, due to the large variations inherent in the human or animal donor source populations.
Many structural allografts are never fully incorporated by remodeling and replacement with host tissue due, in part, to the difficulty with which the host""s blood supply may penetrate cortical bone, and partly to the poor osteoinductivity of nondemineralized bone. To the extent that the implant is incorporated and replaced by living host bone tissue, the body can then recognize and repair damage, thus eliminating failure by fatigue. In applications where the mechanical load-bearing requirements of the graft are challenging, lack of replacement by host bone tissue may compromise the graft by subjecting it to repeated loading and cumulative unrepaired damage (mechanical fatigue) within the implant material. Thus, it is highly desirable that the graft have the capacity to support load initially, and be capable of gradually transferring this load to the host bone tissue as it remodels the implant.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an osteoimplant possessing sufficient strength in a body fluid environment to enable the osteoimplant to bear loads.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a load-bearing osteoimplant which contains pores or cavities which permit the osteoimplant to be revascularized and incorporated by the host.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a load-bearing osteoimplant which is osteogenic and thereby promotes new host bone tissue formation within and around the osteoimplant.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a load-bearing osteoimplant which supports load initially and is capable of gradually transferring this load to the host bone tissue as it remodels the osteoimplant.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a load-bearing osteoimplant containing a reinforcing component.
It is yet an even further object of the present invention to provide methods for the manufacture of osteoimplants of any size and/or configuration ranging from the relatively simple to the relatively complex.
It is yet an even further object of the present invention to provide methods for the manufacture of bone-containing osteoimplants which are not limited by constraints imposed by the shape and/or size of the bone tissue from which the osteoimplants are manufactured.
It is still another object of the invention to provide tissue-engineered bone manufactured from one or more synthetic materials and tissue obtained from various sources such as transgenic animals, plants and microorganisms.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide an integral implant insertion instrument and implant possessing an implant portion in accordance with the invention which, following its implantation in the body, is separated from the insertion portion of the instrument.
These and further objects of the invention are obtained by a load-bearing osteoimplant which comprises a shaped, coherent aggregate of bone particles.
The load-bearing osteoimplant of this invention is fabricated by the method which comprises providing an aggregate of bone particles, optionally in combination with one or more additional components, and shaping the mass into a coherent unit of predetermined size and shape employing at least one or more processes such as extruding, molding, -solvent/gel casting, machining, computer aided design and computer aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM), and the like.
The bone particles utilized in the fabrication of the osteoimplant of this invention are selected from the group consisting of nondemineralized bone particles, demineralized bone particles and combinations thereof. The bone particles are remodeled and replaced by new host bone as incorporation of the osteoimplant progresses in vivo. As described more fully hereinbelow, the bone particles can be fully demineralized by removing substantially all of their inorganic mineral content, they can be partially demineralized by removing a significant amount, but less than all, of their inorganic mineral content or they can be superficially demineralized by confining the removal of inorganic mineral to just the surface of the bone particles.
The term xe2x80x9costeoimplantxe2x80x9d as utilized herein contemplates any device or material for implantation that aids or augments bone or other hard tissue formation or healing for human or animal use. Osteoimplants are often applied at a bone defect or dental repair site, e.g., one resulting from injury, defect brought about during the course of surgery, infection, malignancy or developmental malformation. Therefore, osteoimplants are envisioned as being suitably sized and shaped as required for use in a wide variety of orthopedic, neurosurgical, oral and maxillofacial and dental surgical procedures such as the repair of simple and compound fractures and non-unions, external and internal fixations, joint reconstructions such as arthrodesis, general arthroplasty, deficit filling, discectomy, laminectomy, anterior cervical and thoracic operations, spinal fusions, dental restorations, etc. Therefore, the osteoimplants herein are intended for implantation at a bony site and, in addition to bone particles, can contain one or more other components, e.g., binder (adhesive), filler, biologically active component, reinforcing component or reinforcing structure, coupling agent, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,399,693, the contents of which are incorporates by reference herein, -and the like.
The term xe2x80x9cshapingxe2x80x9d refers to any of the various methods that can be used, individually or in combination, to provide an osteoimplant of a desired size and configuration. Such methods include, for example, extruding, injection molding, solvent casting, vacuum forming, sintering, melt forming, reaction molding, compression molding, transfer molding, blow molding, rotational molding, thermoforming, machining, CAD/CAM procedures, and the like, and include any post-shaping operations that may be utilized to modify the internal and/or external structure of the osteoimplant and/or modify its properties, e.g., selective removal of a filler component to provide voids, application of a layer of biologically active material to part or all of the surface and/or subsurface region of the osteoimplant, bonding of bone particles through the crosslinking of their mutually contacting exposed collagen, etc.
The term xe2x80x9cbiocompatiblexe2x80x9d and expressions of like import shall be understood to mean the absence of stimulation of an unacceptable biological response to an implant as distinguished from the sort of mild, transient inflammation and/or granulation response which can accompany implantation of foreign objects into a living organism and which is associated with the normal healing response. Optional components that are useful can be considered biocompatible if, at the time of implantation, they are present in a sufficiently small concentration such that the above-defined condition is achieved.
The term xe2x80x9cparticlexe2x80x9d as applied to the bone component of the osteoimplant includes bone pieces of all shapes, sizes, thickness and configuration such as fibers, threads, narrow strips, thin sheets, chips, shards, powders, etc., that posses regular, irregular or random geometries. It should be understood that some variation in dimension may occur in the production of the bone particles and bone particles demonstrating considerable variability in dimensions and/or size are within the scope of this invention. Bone particles that are useful herein can be homogenous, heterogeneous and can include mixtures of human, xenogenic and/or transgenic material.
The term xe2x80x9chumanxe2x80x9d as utilized herein in reference to suitable sources of bone refers to autograft bone which is taken from at least one site in the graftee and implanted in another site of the graftee as well as allograft bone which is human bone taken from a donor other than the graftee.
The term xe2x80x9cautograftxe2x80x9d as utilized herein refers to tissue that is obtained from the intended recipient of the implant.
The term xe2x80x9callograftxe2x80x9d as utilized herein refers to tissue, which may be processed to remove cells and/or other components, intended for implantation that is taken from a different member of the same species as the intended recipient. Thus, the term xe2x80x9callograftxe2x80x9d includes bone from which substantially all cellular matter has been removed (processed acellular bone) as well as cell-containing bone.
The term xe2x80x9cxenogenicxe2x80x9d as utilized herein refers to material intended for implantation obtained from a donor source of a different species than the intended recipient. For example, when the implant is intended for use in an animal such as a horse (equine), xenogenic tissue of, e.g., bovine, porcine, caprine, etc., origin may be suitable.
The term xe2x80x9ctransgenicxe2x80x9d as utilized herein refers to tissue intended for implantation that is obtained from an organism that has been genetically modified to contain within its genome certain genetic sequences obtained from the genome of a different species.
The term xe2x80x9ccompositexe2x80x9d as utilized herein refers to the mixture of materials and/or components used in preparing the shaped osteoimplant.
The term xe2x80x9cwholexe2x80x9d as utilized herein refers to bone that contains its full, or original, mineral content.
The term xe2x80x9cdemineralizedxe2x80x9d as utilized herein refers to bone containing less than about 95% of its original mineral content and is intended to cover all bone particles that have had some portion of their original mineral content removed by a demineralization process. Non-demineralized bone particles provide strength to the osteoimplant and allow it to initially support a load. Demineralized bone particles induce new bone formation at the site of the demineralized bone and permit adjustment of the overall mechanical properties of the osteoimplant.
The expression xe2x80x9cfully demineralizedxe2x80x9d as utilized herein refers to bone containing less than about 8% of its original mineral context.
The term xe2x80x9costeogenicxe2x80x9d as utilized herein shall be understood as referring to the ability of an osteoimplant to enhance or accelerate the growth of new bone tissue by one or more mechanisms such as osteogenesis, osteoconduction and or osteoinduction.
The term xe2x80x9costeoinductivexe2x80x9d as utilized herein shall be understood to refer to the ability of a substance to recruit cells from the host that have the potential for forming new bone and repairing bone tissue. Most osteoinductive materials can stimulate the formation of ectopic bone in soft tissue.
The term xe2x80x9costeoconductivexe2x80x9d as utilized herein shall be understood to refer to the ability of a non-osteoinductive substance to serve as a suitable template or substrate along which bone may grow.
The term xe2x80x9costeoimplantxe2x80x9d herein is utilized in its broadest sense and is not intended to be limited to any particular shape, size, configuration or application.
The term xe2x80x9cshapexe2x80x9d as applied to the osteoimplant herein refers to a determined or regular form or configuration in contrast to an indeterminate or vague form or configuration (as in the case of a lump or other solid mass of no special form) and is characteristic of such materials as sheets, plates, disks, cores, pins, screws, tubes, teeth, bones, portions of bones, wedges, cylinders, threaded cylinders, cages, and the like. . This includes forms ranging from regular, geometric shapes to irregular, angled, or non-geometric shapes, and combinations of features having any of these characteristics.
The term xe2x80x9cimplantablexe2x80x9d as utilized herein refers to a biocompatible device retaining potential for successful surgical placement within a mammal.
The expression xe2x80x9cimplantable devicexe2x80x9d and expressions of like import as utilized herein refers to any object implantable through surgical, injection, or other suitable means whose primary function is achieved either through its physical presence or mechanical properties.
The term xe2x80x9cbioresorbablexe2x80x9d as utilized herein refers to those materials of either synthetic or natural origin which, when placed in a living body, are degraded through either enzymatic, hydrolytic or other chemical reactions or cellular processes into by-products which are either integrated into, or expelled from, the body. It is recognized that in the literature, the terms xe2x80x9cresorbablexe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cabsorbablexe2x80x9d, and xe2x80x9cbioabsorbablexe2x80x9d are frequently used interchangeably.
The term xe2x80x9cpolymericxe2x80x9d as utilized herein refers to a material of natural, synthetic or semisynthetic origin that is made of large molecules featuring characteristic repeating units.
The expression xe2x80x9calternating copolymersxe2x80x9d as utilized herein refers to copolymers with a regular or alternating repeating unit sequence The expression xe2x80x9cthermoplastic elastomersxe2x80x9d as utilized herein refers to melt-processable copolymers which possess elastomeric mechanical properties as a result of a crystallizable xe2x80x9chardxe2x80x9d segment and an amorphous xe2x80x9csoftxe2x80x9d segment possessing a Tg below its service temperature.
The term xe2x80x9cblendsxe2x80x9d as utilized herein refers to polymeric materials that are melt-mixed to achieve compounding between two or more different polymeric compositions that are not covalently bonded to each other. For the purposes of this application, a melt-miscible blend is a polymeric mixture that possesses sufficient miscibility in the melt to be useful in shaping.
The term xe2x80x9cincorporationxe2x80x9d utilized herein refers to the biological mechanism whereby host cells gradually remove portions of the osteoimplant and replaces the removed portions with native host bone tissue while maintaining strength. This phenomenon is also referred to in the scientific literature by such expressions as xe2x80x9ccreeping substitution,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cwound healing responsexe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9ccellular based remodeling.xe2x80x9d Therefore, the term xe2x80x9cincorporationxe2x80x9d shall be understood herein as embracing what is considered by those skilled in the art to be conveyed by the aforequoted expressions.
The expression xe2x80x9cfurther treatmentxe2x80x9d as utilized herein refers to procedures such as lyophilization, cross-linking, re-mineralization, sterilization, etc., performed either before, during or after the step of shaping the bone particle-containing aggregate as well as post-process procedures such as machining, laser etching, welding, assembling of parts, cutting, milling, reactive etching, etc. It further includes treatment(s) applied at the time of surgery such as rehydration, combining with cellular materials, application of growth factors, etc.
The expression xe2x80x9cwet compressive strengthxe2x80x9d as utilized herein refers to the compressive strength of the osteoimplant after the osteoimplant has been immersed in physiological saline (water containing 0.9 g NaCl/100 ml water) for a minimum of 12 hours and a maximum of 24 hours. Compressive strength is a well known measurement of mechanical strength and is measured using the procedure described herein.


Crude oil is a complex mixture of organic and inorganic species. Pitch is the residue that is left after refining crude oil under vacuum and high temperatures. It is generally considered waste and is the major component of road tar. Pitch contains thousands of aromatic hydrocarbons with 3 to 8 fused ring systems, which is also known as carbon mesophase. The carbonaceous pitches containing asphaltene are useful in the formation of a variety of carbon artifacts due to their high carbon-to-hydrogen ratio. There is a need for additional methods and resulting compositions that can use pitch to generate useful asphaltene and asphaltene derivatives.


As the need for increased dam storage changes, the search for higher density, faster access memory technologies also increases. One of these, holographic data storage, provides the promise for increased access to higher density data. The techniques for realizing such storage typically utilize some type of storage media, such as photorefractive crystals or photopolymer layers, to store 3-D "stacks" of data in the form of pages of data. Typically, coherent light beams from lasers are utilized to perform the addressing, writing and reading of the data from the storage media by directing these beams at a specific region on the surface of the media. Writing is achieved by remembering the interference pattern formed by these beams at this region. Reading is achieved by detecting a reconstructed light beam as it exits the storage medium, the data then being extracted therefrom. Addressing is achieved by the positioning of the laser beams, and this is typically done through the mechanical movement of mirrors or lenses; however, the storage media itself can be moved relative to fixed laser beams.
One method for positioning the laser beam onto the storage media is to utilize a fixed optics system that selects a given storage location, such that both the reference beam and the data beam are focused onto the storage location. In order to select another storage location on a two-dimensional holographic media, the storage media can then be moved along its x- and y-axes. Alternatively, the optic system can be more complicated, such that the beams can be located to a particular region without the need to move the media itself. However, apparatus for achieving such movement are quite complex.


Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a drum unit, and a developing unit. More specifically, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a drum unit, and a developing unit to form a color image by toners of plural colors.
Description of Related Art
An image forming apparatus for forming a color image by a tandem electrophotographic color printer includes an image carrier and a developing roller for each color to form a toner image with the corresponding color. The image carrier is used up by image forming, and hence a drum unit including the thus consumed image carrier needs to be replaced. Further, when the drum units have different configurations for each color, some measures are required to prevent wrong insertion of a drum unit for different color for replacement.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP 2010-217658 teaches a technique of providing protrusions and recesses in a drum unit and in an attachment part of an image forming apparatus in which the drum unit is to be attached in order to prevent wrong attachment of the drum unit. Specifically, these protrusions and recesses are provided in different positions for each color, and thus any drum unit other than a correct drum unit for the corresponding color is not allowed to be attached to the attachment part.
However, some drum units are not so largely different in visual appearance among different colors. Therefore, there is a case that a user erroneously inserts a wrong drum unit into an attachment part for the different color.
Further, the protrusions and the recesses for preventing the wrong attachment are formed by resin molding, which is an inexpensive method in general, and they do not have much strength. As a result, when a user erroneously inserts the drum unit in the attachment part for wrong color, the protrusions and the recesses for preventing the wrong attachment may be broken.
The present invention has been made to solve the above problem of the conventional technique. To be specific, the present invention has objects of providing an image forming apparatus enabling to prevent wrong attachment of a drum unit without causing breakage when a replacement part has the wrong attachment, and further providing a drum unit and a developing unit which can be used as the replacement part of the image forming apparatus.


The present invention relates to a plurality of feeder aids mounted on a feeder drum of a self-propelled combine harvester.
A first feeder drum is disclosed in EP 0 836 800 B1 that is composed of feeder segments mounted on an axle in rows. The feeder segments are essentially square and are mounted on the axle such that they are offset relative to each other and are non-rotatable. A wide threshing cover is located on every corner of the feeder segment for reinforcement.
The disadvantage of this configuration of the feeder drum is its high-cost, laborious production outlay, since every segment must be manufactured individually and mounted on the axle. In addition, the covers, with their wide configuration, have a negative effect on the threshing of the crops, because the wide effective surface area of the covers creates high friction on the crops and, due to this friction, a high portion of damaged grain often results. Finally, when harvesting conditions are unfavorable, the fact that the crops are acted upon by a large surface area sometimes causes an entire ear to be torn off, thereby continually impairing the separation of the grain.


A turbine wastegate is typically a valve that can be controlled to selectively allow at least some exhaust to bypass a turbine. Where an exhaust turbine drives a compressor for boosting inlet pressure to an internal combustion engine (e.g., as in a turbocharger), a wastegate provides a means to control the boost pressure.


The background art contains several examples of methods for constructing fibrous mats. An example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,049 to Simmons, et al. Simmons discloses a method of making mats from chopped fibrous material. The method uses an elongated endless transport belt that extends over a pair of rollers. At an initial station, a series of spools deliver continuous fiber strands into a cutting station. The cut strands are deposited onto the belt to form a loose fibrous mat structure. The mat structure is then transported to a misting station where nozzles spray a fine mist of water onto the mat structure. An adhesive powder is then applied uniformly over the top surface of the mat structure. The powdered adhesive takes the form of granules that are metered out of an adhesive applicator. At a subsequent heating station an upper belt is provided that applies pressure to the mat. The heating station also includes heating elements positioned above and below the mat structure. The pressure and heat cause the mat structure to flatten out and the adhesive to become plasticized. Next, a cooling station is provided that brings the temperature of the mat down below the initial plasticizing temperature of the adhesive. This causes the adhesive to re-solidify and bind the fibers together.
Another method of making fibrous mats is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,051,122 to Reese et al. Reese discloses a method of making mats of continuous glass fiber strands in which a heated calendaring roll and continuous belt are used to compact the mat. A plurality of strand feeders are traversed across the surface of a moving perforated conveyor with each feeder drawing at least one continuous strand from a supply source and projecting it onto the surface of the conveyor belt to form a loose fibrous mat structure. Powdered resin particles are distributed over the loose mat, which is then passed between a second moving conveyor or belt and at least one heated calendaring roller. One embodiment uses water to wet the mat for easier distribution of the resinous material. As the mat passes to a second conveyor belt it is pinched between the surfaces of the conveyor and a separately driven, rotating, heated calendar roll. As the mat passes around the circumference of the roll it is compacted against it by the tension of the belt. As the belt turns, it separates the compacted mat from the calendar roll and continues its path. Steam from the heating of the mat by the calendar roll is vented away by means of a hood.
Although each of the above references discloses a useful construction method, the references also suffer from certain disadvantages. For instance, each of the references applies a resin or adhesive in a particulate or granular form. This application technique requires multiple steps and does not adequately coat the underlying fibers. As a result there is insufficient bonding between adjacent fibers. The background art likewise fails to illustrate a method for constructing fibrous mats in conjunction with composite building boards. The system and method of the present disclosure are aimed at overcoming these and other shortcomings in the background art.


The present invention relates to a process for treating complex cyanide, especially cyanide associated with spent aluminum potliners.
Aluminum potliners are created in the smelting of aluminum metal and its alloys. They are the liners of the pots into which the molten aluminum is poured. A typical liner lasts about five years. The Pacific Northwest aluminum producers currently annually produce about 50,000-75,000 tons of spent potliners, which are currently classified in the U.S. as hazardous waste. They contain significant concentrations of several soluble pollutants, namely, cyanides, fluorides, and heavy metals (such as lead, beryllium, and cadmium). They may also include polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PNAs).
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/254,000 (which I incorporate by reference) describes a treatment process for spent potliners that is technically feasible at a reasonable cost (with reasonable capital cost). That process produces disposable waste products that comply with all environmental control regulations. It is robust and able to tolerate variations in the feed because spent potliners from different sources differ significantly in their makeup (that is, the process can accept widely differing feedstreams rather than requiring a particular feedstock). The process initially reacts crushed potliner with a calcium chloride/hydrochloric acid (CaCl2/HCl) leach mill solution at elevated temperatures and pressures. Then, it oxidizes the PNAs with a strongly acidic FeCl3 leach mill solution in an oxygen-containing environment at elevated temperature and pressure. Cyanides are destroyed and complex fluorides converted to insoluble florspar by reacting a slurry of finely crushed potliner (xe2x85x9 inch minus) in the calcium chloride/hydrochloric acid leach mill solution at a pulp density of about 30-40%.
Comalco treats potliners using a two-step process involving a calciner to complex the cyanides followed by a hydrometallurgical step to recover the fluorides. Pechiney""s SPLIT process introduces ground potliner to a hot airflow vortex rotating at supersonic speeds to destroy the cyanides followed by reacting the fluorides with an additive to produce a disposable solid waste.
The xe2x80x9cLCLL process, xe2x80x9d Alcan""s Low Caustic Leaching and Liming process, digests (leaches) finely ground spent potliner in a dilute caustic solution at around 85xc2x0 C. for about one hour. Then, Alcan adds NaOH in a plugflow reactor at about 180xc2x0 C. and 160 psig to destroy the cyanide in the leach solution in about one additional hour of processing while producing sodium fluoride. Finally, Alcan adds more caustic (generally, lime) to the remaining fluoride liquor for a third hour of treatment in equipment comparable to aluminum smelter wet scrubbers to produce calcium fluoride and a recyclable, caustic leach solution.
The Adrien process for treating spent potliner uses five stages to recover calcium fluoride, aluminum fluoride suitable for smelting, and to leave a carbonaceous, solid waste. Adrien leaches the crushed potliner, washes the solid residue with two acid washes using NMF or another fluoroacid, and, finally, uses a water wash.
The process of the present invention destroys complex cyanides effectively and efficiently. In air at atmospheric pressure an effective amount of chloride salt solution, especially calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, or a mixture of these salts, and sodium or calcium hypochlorite (i.e., household bleach) react within about one hour with complex cyanide, such as cyanide complexed with iron or copper as is common with aluminum spent potliner, to reduce the cyanide. Optionally (and typically), the process also uses an effective amount of calcium carbonate as a source of carbon dioxide to accelerate the reaction, as illustrated in the formulae below. I believe that the following reactions are involved with my preferred process (using calcium salts for purposes of illustration):
CaCl(OCl)+CO2+H2O=CaCl(HCO3)+HClOxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1)
HClO=HCl+Oxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(2)
2HCl+CaCO3=CaCl2+CO2+H2Oxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(3)
The combination of ingredients and reactants causes the cyanide to oxidize. I have not been able to destroy the cyanides in potliner using chloride salt solution alone or the hypochlorite alone, at least when the cyanide is bound with iron or copper. The chloride salt and hypochlorite together, however, provides an effective environment for destruction of the cyanides. The calcium carbonate forms carbon dioxide that appears to accelerate the destruction of the cyanide.


A digital transport stream typically comprises scrambled audio/video/data content packets and scrambled conditional access messages (ECM, EMM) which have to be processed in order to extract control data (CW); the latter being necessary for the multimedia unit to descramble the content packets relating to the event (e.g a broadcasted program or a set of programs). Conditional access messages include two kinds of information, namely Entitlement Control Messages (ECM) and Entitlement Management Messages (EMM). The ECM is information relating to content packets, whereas the EMM is information dedicated to an individual end user (subscriber) or a group of end users. The ECM contains the access conditions for the current broadcast event together with control word (CW) for unscrambling this event. The Control Word (CW) is a key used for decrypting content packets of a packetized event broadcasted within the data stream. Thus, each ECM is specific to each event (e.g. a TV program). The EMM is a message used typically by the security module to set, reset or change product access entitlements, credit, etc. . . . Thus EMM refers to the rights (access data) of the subscriber for accessing to the content (events).
There is two main types of set-top-boxes known by the prior art. The first type comprises set-top-boxes that can generally receive broadcast unencrypted events, and which therefore do not require any access control. As internet access is widespread at user homes, such set-top-boxes are increasingly provided with an IP-connection which allows the end user to use his set-top-box together with his television screen as a terminal for internet facilities.
The second type refers to set-top-boxes provided each with a security module. These set-top-boxes are typically used by Pay-TV systems for processing selective access to broadcast services on a per-subscriber basis managed by a conditional access system (CAS). Such a security module typically refers to a smart card (chip card) which can be inserted into a slot of a conditional access reader. This card reader can be connected to the multimedia unit or be lodged directly within this unit. Thus, the security module becomes a necessary device for decrypting the scrambled content packets of the digital transport stream. To this end, the conditional access messages contained in the transport stream are routed to the security module which has the keys to decrypt the ECM in order to extract the control word (CW) which then will be used by a descrambling module (within the multimedia unit) for descrambling the content packets. This process is achieved only if the conditional access rights (provided by the EMM) are valid and checked by the security module.
The problem with set-top-boxes of the first type is that they are often unsuitable for processing conditional access messages required for descrambling audio/video content packets within a Pay-TV environment. This is true even if they are provided with an IP-connection. Thus, a user wanting to subscribe a subscription for having access to Pay-TV programs has to change his set-top-box with another one that supports conditional access processing.
On the other hand, the set-top-boxes of the second type, provided with a security module, are dependent on this module for descrambling the content packets of the transport stream. It means that the security module of the set-top-box is required for descrambling purposes. If this security module becomes unavailable (for instance because the required smart card has to be changed to a renewal or for any other reasons), this set-top-box becomes at least temporarily unavailable for receiving Pay-TV programs.
Accordingly, there exists a need for improving processes and multimedia units (e.g. set-top-boxes) in order to optimize the processing of control data for descrambling the content packets of the transport stream, for instance by adapting this processing to different circumstances, depending on the availability and the adequacy of the network and/or depending on the material configuration at the end user.


Bioresin is a term coined to describe a resin or resin formulation derived from a biological source. Thus, many traditional resins such as protein-based soybean, collagen or casein, or carbohydrate-derivatives from cellulose or starch, natural rubber based adhesives and natural phenolic adhesives such as tannin or lignin may all be classed as bioresins. They are renewable polymers and, with low environmental impact, represent an alternative to existing petroleum-driven systems.
Interest in bio-resin systems stems largely from increasing regulation and public concern for a pollution-free environment, and the need for sustainable alternatives to products based upon a finite petrochemical resource. Commercial thermoset resin production and use is subject to such regulation largely due to the monomer components that form the basis of the formulation. Overwhelmingly, these resins are based on melamine, phenol, urea, formaldehyde, styrene or isocyanate starting materials.
Emissions of formaldehyde, phenol and isocyanate are generally regulated; they are governed in England and Wales under the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations (2000), SI19, for installations involved in the manufacture of particleboard (PB), oriented strandboard (OSB), medium density fibreboard (MDF) and wood fibreboard. Emissions to air are limited to 5 mg/m3. In particular, the guidance notes that ‘operators should use resins which minimise emissions of formaldehyde wherever possible. The choice of resins used should be continually reviewed to ensure minimum emissions occur. Problems may exist concerning both high formaldehyde levels in the workplace and with the slow release of formaldehyde from the panel products themselves, particularly at the beginning of the product's lifetime.
Bioresin products may offer an alternative, renewable source of thermosetting resins that will begin to address the depletion of finite resources and have better emissions profiles, particularly when formulated without formaldehyde. Though formaldehyde-free materials such as iisocyanate and tannin resins have become available, about 85% of MDF produced today uses formaldehyde resin, corresponding to a European market of approximately 2 million tonnes per annum. In those resins, whilst a reduction in formaldehyde content has been achieved in recent years, it has been at the cost of longer processing times, and decreases in internal bond and bending strengths and an increase in swelling and water absorption of panel products made therefrom. There is, thus, a clear place in the market now for new more environmentally friendly resins that are competitive in price, performance and adaptable to existing composite manufacturing processes.


In a cell array of a conventional semiconductor memory device, a memory cell may include a switching element and a data storage element, and a cell may have an 8F2 configuration (F being a feature size based on a design rule). Many efforts have been made to provide increased integration of devices. More particularly, an area occupied by a memory cell has been reduced. For example, semiconductor memory devices are changing from 8F2 configurations to 6F2 configurations. Active regions of a 6F2-type cell array recently developed may be diagonal.
Portions of a conventional cell array having diagonal active regions is illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. The conventional cell array has a plurality of diagonal active regions. Adjacent active regions are arranged face to face in a major axis direction. To define diagonal shapes on a reticle, a to-be-exposed portion is divided into segments S and S′ of a predetermined width which are exposed discontinuously. Therefore, more time may be required to fabricate a reticle than a square configuration having vertical and horizontal axis directions. Further, a segment size may be determined according to pattern-to-pattern distances B and B′ and a pattern inclination so that correcting patterns may be difficult. If patterns are disposed face to face in a major direction, a bridge may occur at patterns transcribed to a substrate if a distance between adjacent patterns is a feature size A. In the case where patterns are diagonally disposed face to face, as illustrated in FIG. 2, a pattern-to-pattern distance A′ may become narrower than a feature size increasing a possibility that a bridge may occur.
To form a normal pattern during an exposure process, an optical requirement for a light source of a direction corresponding to an inclined axis of a pattern may be provided. Thus, an optical system may adopt a unique aperture to select and irradiate light in the direction corresponding to a pattern axis.


This disclosure relates generally to database management systems and, more particularly, relates to transforming a user-defined table function (UDTF) to a derived table in a database management system (DBMS). Databases are used to store information for numerous types of applications. Examples include various industrial, commercial, technical, scientific, and educational applications. Database management systems (DBMSs) are a typical mechanism for accessing data stored in a database. DBMSs are typically configured to separate the process of storing data from accessing, manipulating, or using data stored in a database. DBMSs often require tremendous resources to handle the heavy workloads placed on such systems. As such, it may be useful to transform a UDTF to a derived table in a DBMS.


The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for the take-up of continuous filament bundles of synthetic fibers at a high speed. More particularly, it relates to a method for the take-up of continuous filament bundles of synthetic fibers, such as yarns and tows, or the like at a high speed, comprising introducing the continuous filament bundles carried on the air stream into a bent tube provided downstream of the air jetting device, which is rotating in substantially reverse direction to that of the continuous filament bundles discharged from the outlet of the bent tube at a peripheral speed of the outlet thereof being 0.5 to 2.0 times the take-up speed of the continuous filament bundles, and receiving the continuous filament bundles into a receiving device, and an apparatus therefor.
Hitherto, the take-up of a number of yarns (e.g. tow) has been carried out by using a pair of gear rollers or a pair of belts, between which the tow is put and taken up. With the speed up in the treatment of the tow for improving the productivity and for rationalizing the procedure, it is required to take up the tow at a higher speed. For instance, when the tow is taken up at a high speed of 2,000 m/min. or more, the conventional methods using gear rollers or belts have a defect that the tow is wound around the final take-up rollers due to the accompanying air stream. For eliminating the defect, it has been proposed to provide an air jetting device in the high speed take-up method. However, when the tow discharged from the air jetting device is directly received into the tow receiving device, the received tow is disturbed by the air stream jetted out together with the tow, and thereby, when the tow is drawn out from the receiving device in the subsequent step, the tow becomes entangled and can not stably be drawn out. There has also been proposed a method comprising striking the tow discharged from the air jetting device onto a lattice or net drum, by which the tow is separated from the air stream, and then the tow is taken up. However, according to this method, when the tow is struck, it is somewhat crimped and entangled, and therefore, when the tow is drawn out from the receiving device in the subsequent step, the tow can not stably be drawn out because it has become snarled.
Under the circumstances, the present inventors have intensively attempted to eliminate these defects in the conventional methods for taking up the continuous filament bundles. As the results, it has been found that the object can be accomplished by using a bent tube which is rotating in a substantially reverse direction to that of the continuous filament bundles discharged from the outlet of the bent tube at a fixed speed.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved take-up method of the continuous filament bundles of synthetic fibers at a high speed.
Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus useful for the take-up of the continuous filament bundles of synthetic fibers at a high speed.
These and other objects will be apparent from the following description.
The take-up method of the continuous filament bundles of synthetic fibers (hereinafter, referred to merely as "yarns") of the present invention comprises introducing the yarns discharged from the air jetting device and carried on the air stream into a bent tube provided downstream from the air jetting device, which is rotating in substantially reverse direction to that of the yarns discharged from the outlet of the bent tube at a peripheral speed of the outlet thereof being 0.5 to 2.0 times the take-up speed of the yarns, and receiving the yarns into the receiving device provided downstream from the bent tube.
The apparatus useful for the take-up of yarns at a high speed according to the present invention comprises an air jetting device provided downstream from the final take-up rollers, a bent tube provided downstream from the air jetting device, and a receiving device provided downstream from the bent tube.
According to the present invention, the winding of the yarns onto the final take-up rollers can be prevented by using the air jetting device, and further, by introducing the yarns discharged from the air jetting device into the bent tube together with the jetting air stream and moving the tip of the bent tube circularly in substantially a reverse direction to that of the stream of the yarns and the air, at a speed approximately equal to the take-up speed of the yarns, the yarns and the jetting air are discharged from the outlet of the bent tube at an absolute speed of approximately zero. Therefore the yarns are stably, without any disturbance, disposed into the receiving device.


The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for the cleaning and compacting of metal and/or ceramic material, such as lathe cuttings and/or grinding grits.
In the machining or grinding of workpieces large amounts of cuttings or grits are produced which are wet with emulsions or with oils from the machining process. The oil or the emulsion is necessary to the working process. These liquids serve to cool the workpiece and to carry away the cuttings. The cuttings are separated from the liquids in the filters of the machines in question. The liquid itself remains in the machines, while the grits and/or cuttings have to be removed from the filters.
Due to the great surface area of the cuttings, large amounts of lubricant and coolant come out with them. To reduce this loss of liquid the cuttings are centrifuged or pressed. The liquid is returned into the circuit, while the remaining residue must be disposed of. Disposing of these cuttings and/or grits presents considerable difficulty for environmental reasons.
Since the cuttings and/or grits are contaminated with mineral oils, esters, glycerol, emulsifiers, additives containing phosphorus or heavy metals etc., these useful substances should not be recycled directly into the melting process. Another problem is the low bulk density of the cuttings. For proper disposal the cuttings and/or grits would have to be decontaminated and thoroughly compacted.
In the known cleaning processes the degreasing is performed by washing, pressing or centrifugation. In thermal processes the heat is applied by indirect inductance, resistance heating or even flame heat sources.


A three-dimensional quadrupole ion trap includes three electrodes which define a chamber. Two of the three electrodes are virtually identical and, while having hyperboloidal geometry, resemble small inverted saucers. The electrodes which resemble inverted saucers are called end-cap electrodes and are typically distinguishable by a number of holes in the center of each electrode. For example, one end-cap electrode may have a single small central aperture through which ions can be gated periodically, and the other end-cap electrode may have several small centrally arranged apertures through which ions can be ejected from the chamber of the ion trap so as to interact with a detector. (Note that ion traps which utilize external ion sources typically have a single perforation in each end-cap electrode.) The third electrode also has hyperboloidal geometry and is called the ring electrode. The ring electrode is positioned symmetrically between the two end-cap electrodes, and all three cooperate to define the aforementioned ion trap chamber.
The geometries of the electrodes are defined so as to produce a quadrupole field which, in turn, will produce an ion trapping potential for the confinement of ions in an area within the chamber of the ion trap defined by the ion trapping potential. For example, an ion trapping potential can be created from a field generated when an oscillating potential is applied to the ring electrode and the two end-cap electrodes are grounded.
Because a quadrupole ion trap can generate an ion trapping potential for the confinement of ions, it can function as an ion storage device in which gaseous ions can be confined for a period of time in the presence of a buffer gas, such as 1 mTorr of helium gas. For example, as a storage device, the ion trap can act as an “electric field test-tube” for the confinement of gaseous ions, either positively or negatively charged, or both, in the absence of solvent.
One use of the confinement of gaseous ions in such a “test-tube” permits the study of gas-phase ion chemistry. In addition, the ion trap can also function as a mass spectrometer in that the mass-to-charge ratios of the confined ions can be measured. For example, as each ion species is ejected from the chamber of the ion trap in a mass selected fashion, the ejected ions impinge upon an external detector thereby creating a series of ion signals dispersed in time which constitutes a mass spectrum. Ejection of ions from the chamber of the ion trap can be accomplished by ramping, in a linear fashion, the amplitude of a radio frequency (r.f.) potential applied to the ring electrode; each ion species is ejected from the chamber (and thus the area defined by the ion trapping potential) at a specific r.f. amplitude and, because the initial amplitude and ramping rate are known, the mass-to-charge can be determined for each ion species upon ejection. This method for measuring mass-to-charge ratios of confined ions is known as the “mass-selective axial instability mode”.
One area of interest in which the above described ion traps are utilized is the study of large polyatomic molecules such as peptides, proteins, oligonucleotides, carbohydrates, and synthetic polymers. These polyatomic molecules can be studied in ion traps due to ionization methods introduced during the past fifteen years which can produce multiply-charged ions from such large molecules. These methods include electrospray ionization (ESI), massive cluster impact ionization, and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI)). ESI and MALDI in particular have become the ionization methods of choice for most large polyatomic molecules such as those mentioned above. In the case of MALDI, singly charged ions usually dominate the population of ions produced. However, in the case of ESI, multiply charged polyatomic molecules usually dominate the population of ions produced. In addition, the population of multiply charged ions produced with ESI has a distribution, or range, of charge states, all of which are substantially greater than +1 or −1. As such, the population of multiply charged ions produced with ESI has a distribution, or range, of mass-to-charge ratios.
Having a population of polyatomic molecules present in the chamber of the ion trap which represents a range of mass-to-charge ratios can be a drawback. In particular, the charge state of the polyatomic molecule of interest may be spread out over 10-15 different ionic states which results in a plurality of relatively weak signals when the population of multiply charged polyatomic ions is analyzed. For example, each charge state gives rise to one relatively weak mass spectrum signal when the population of polyatomic ions is subjected to the previously mentioned “mass-selective axial instability mode” of mass spectrometry. Accordingly, there is a need for a method of operating an ion trap which addresses the aforementioned drawback.


Portable electronic devices have gained widespread use and can provide a variety of functions including, for example, telephonic, electronic messaging and other personal information manager (PIM) application functions. Portable electronic devices can include several types of devices including mobile stations such as simple cellular telephones, smart telephones, wireless PDAs, and laptop computers with wireless 802.11 or Bluetooth capabilities. These devices run on a wide variety of networks from data-only networks such as Mobitex and DataTAC to complex voice and data networks such as GSM/GPRS, CDMA, EDGE, UMTS and CDMA2000 networks.
Devices such as PDAs or smart telephones are generally intended for handheld use and easy portability. Smaller devices are generally desirable for portability. A touchscreen input/output device is particularly useful on such handheld devices as such handheld devices are small and are therefore limited in space available for user input and output devices. Further, the screen content on the touchscreen input/output devices can be modified depending on the functions and operations being performed.
Touchscreen input/output devices are constructed of a display, such as a liquid crystal display, with a touch-sensitive overlay. These input/output devices suffer from inherent disadvantages relating to user interaction and response, however. In particular, such touchscreen input/output devices fail to provide a user-desirable tactile quality for positively indicating input, providing a poor user-experience.
Improvements in input/output devices are therefore desirable.


This disclosure relates generally to the field of chemical compound production and more specifically to an improved process and apparatus for using the extremely time-efficient, energy input-efficient, and therefore cost-efficient “collision physics” to achieve chemical compound production by means of the supersonic collision shockwave reaction mechanism.
For centuries, the conventional way of chemical reaction was based on mixing two or more chemicals in a stirring, blending or intermixing method with or without the addition of a liquid, often with the assistance of the input of heat, pressure and time, and sometimes further assisted by introducing a catalyst into the reaction. The objective was to cause the original respective bonding of a chemical A and a different chemical B to be loosened, thereby to allow one or more new compounds to be made as a result of a new pairing of A and B. If either or both of A and B are themselves compounds, then a new pairing of a number of variations of the components of A and B.


The present invention relates to laminated or layered assemblies which include a first layer a face of which is secured by adhering to a first face of a second meshed layer. The second layer comprises a base with free loops projecting from a second face of said second layer.
The invention applies particularly to such assemblies which are flexible and which are used for making, for example in the form of bands, the female parts of so-called self-gripping fasteners, the loops of which are intended to engage,in a releasable hooting relationship, with complementary male elements, for example hooks, filiform elements with an enlarged head or the like. These female parts of self-gripping fasteners are used, among others, as adjustable and releasable closures for diapers.
For cost reasons one is led to manufacture the second layer base in a light and open meshed form, and therefore with a mechanically fragile and dimensionally unstable structure, without however sacrificing the quality of the loops which constitute the critical operative member of the self-gripping fastener female part. The fragility and instability of the base involves processing difficulties, which include, among others, positioning and securing at high speed this female part on its support. There are also utilization difficulties, due to relatively high tearing-out stresses to which the base is submitted and which result from the action of the male elements on the loops.
One is therefore led to reinforce the base by adhering it on a more resistant supporting layer, for example a solid, thin and flexible film. This supporting layer can be either an intermediary support, the laminated assembly being then secured to an article, or the article itself.
However some difficulties are met during the manufacturing of such a laminated assembly because the loops have a tendency to also adhere to the supporting layer through the meshes, together with the base material. This destroys their self-gripping ability since the apex of the loops is firmly laid flat against the base and/or the supporting layer and therefore cannot engage the male elements in the desired hooking relationship. As a matter of fact, to effect this lamination, it is generally necessary to firmly press the two assembly members one against another, for example, by means of calenders.


With any internal combustion engine it is desirable that exhaust gases be treated so that they can be safely discharged into the atmosphere. In some engines, particularly of the diesel type, among the most prevalent operating problems is the presence of particulates of varying size, which are carried in the exhaust gas stream.
The particulates are normally bits of carbon. They result from the incomplete combustion of hydrocarbon fuels under certain engine operating conditions. However, the operating efficiency of the engine is also a contributing factor to the amount of carbon produced.
The presence of relatively large amounts of carbon particles in any exhaust gas stream is evidenced by a dark, smoky, undesirable effluent. Such smoke is not only offensive aesthetically; in large quantities it can be unhealthy. The problem is most evident in the operation of diesel engines.
Means have been provided and are known to the prior art, for the elimination or minimization of the particulate content in exhaust discharge streams. It is known, for example, particulates can be eliminated by a suitable smoke filter of proper construction. Eventually, however, the latter can become saturated and/or inoperable, a result that stems from excessive particulate accumulations which block flow passages.
It is further known that the overall engine exhaust gas treating process can be expedited to a degree. This is achieved primarily by passing the hot gas stream through a filter medium, a process which is expedited by providing the filter with a catalyst which is capable of promoting combustion of retained particles.
It should be appreciated that the generation of carbon particles is prevalent under virtually all diesel engine operating conditions. It is further appreciated that the quality of an exhaust gas stream in any internal combustion engine will vary in accordance with the immediate operating characteristics of the engine.
For example, the temperature range experienced by a diesel exhaust gas stream can vary between slightly above ambient air temperature, to temperatures in excess of 1200.degree. F. When the exhaust gas is hot enough, the carbon particles trapped in a filter will, upon contact with the hot gas, be combusted and the filter rejuvenated. However, in diesel powered passager cars, engine operating conditions under which this automatic rejuvenation can occur is seldom reached.
Where it is determined that an engine continuously operates under circumstances that the particulates are continuously produced and accumulated in the filter, the particulate retaining bed must be occasionally rejuvenated.
Under some circumstances, and as noted above, rejuvenation will consist of merely introducing the hot exhaust gas stream, containing sufficient oxygen, into the filter bed to contact and ignite the retained carbon particles. The combustion of any large and confined carbon accumulation tends to produce temperatures greatly in excess of that of the exhaust gas. The result is that at such excessively high tempeatures, parts of the filter bed or even the filter casing are susceptible to thermal shock, damage or distortion.
Stated otherwise, the filter bed, when formed of metallic fibers or of a similar filter media, is constructed in a manner to be characterized by a sufficient fiber density to remove solid particulate matter. The filter mass, however, should not be so dense as to establish too great a back pressure against the source of the gas.
To withstand the high temperatures which can be expected in internal combustion engine operation, the filter media here contemplated is preferably formed of metallic fibers such as stainless steel or the like. Such fibers are capable of being readily bent or deformed. Thus, a mass of randomly disposed fibers can be compressed to a desired density, received within a reaction chamber, and perform the desired particulate removing function. The degree to which it is compressed will determine the size of the gas flow passages therethrough.
When a filter bed of metallic fibers is utilized in an exhaust gas treatment system, the hot gas stream will tend to follow the path of least resistance from the casing inlet to the outlet. As a general rule, for a uniform density filter bed, this path will be through the center of the bed, or along a path determined by the relative positioning of the inlet and outlet.
As a consequence, the bed's outer or peripheral edges will receive a minimal amount of retained particulate matter. As a further consequence, the particulate accumulations will be concentrated in those areas or those parts of the bed where gas flow is most concentrated.
During the rejuvenation period when the combustible accumulations are burned off, the thermal intensity of incineration will be concentrated at certain parts of the bed. Thus, while the rejuvenation process is found to be successful, it might have been achieved at the expense of the parts of the bed which have been permanently deformed or otherwise thermally damaged due to prolonged exposure to the excessive heat.
This thermal damage is most noticeable at the downstream end of the gas's flow path. Generally, the filter bed will be found to have developed a conically shaped defective area adjacent to the filter casing outlet. It results from the combined effect of the incineration combustion, together with the hot exhaust gas as the latter becomes progressively heated while transversing the filter bed.
Toward overcoming the stated problems endemic to exhaust gas filters, there is presently provided a filter having a bed formed of randomly disposed and compressed metallic fibers. The latter are sufficiently compacted to define a plurality of passages through which the hot exhaust gas will flow.
The physical composition of the overall bed is relatively uniform. However, the packed density of the mass is varied in different segments of the bed. Thus, the exhaust gas flow path through the respective bed passages, in following a path of minimal resistance will urge much of the stream toward the filter's peripheral edges.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an effective exhaust gas filter for removing particulate combustible matter from an exhaust gas stream.
A further object is to provide an exhaust gas filter which can be safely rejuvenated without jeopardizing the integrity of the filter medium.
Another objective is to provide a filter which utilizes a frangible though compressible filter media which has the capability of being compressed to a desired density whereby to regulate the gas flow path through the filter bed.


Drums are the simplest, and most primitive, musical instruments. The drum is a percussive instrument, which produces sound by striking a membrane. The sound is propagated through a membrane, or drumhead, to the drum shell, which is designed to resonate when the membrane is struck. The drumhead is coupled to the drum shell through drum hoops, lugs, and lug or hoop holders. The energy created by striking the drum head is transferred into a wave in the drum shell, producing the distinctive drum sound, a tuned impulse.
While drums usually cannot play different pitches, they are usually tuned. The drum is tuned by tightening or loosening the drumhead by adjusting the lugs and drum hoops. The tighter the drumhead, the higher the pitch propagated by the drumhead.
Many drummers use a drum kit. Drum kits have several different drums, which can be individually tuned. A drum kit is often composed of various drums, such as a bass or kick drum, snare drums, and tom drums, as well as assorted cymbals and high-hats. When a drummer is drumming, there is substantial vibration throughout the drum kit. Additionally, the various drums can move or flex as they are struck, meaning that the drums, themselves, are vibrating and, therefore, moving. This is especially true of the tom and snare drums.
A drum mount or support is a sub-classification that includes many different methods of mounting the drum to legs or to other structural elements. The mounts used for drums often degrade the sound, because the drum is held too tightly, damping or attenuating the tuned impulse. Depending on how the drum mount is attached, and how it supports the drum, it can hinder the drum shell resonance, the drumhead, or both. Any drum mount or support that rigidly fixes itself to the drum, whether to the drum shell or the drum hoops, risks damping the sound. A very small number of mounts attach to lugs or lug holders. As currently implemented, these integrated mounting brackets and lugs are a bad idea, because they fail to properly isolate the tuning of the lug from the tuning of the drum mount. The lugs are supposed to be tuning the drum. By adding additional stiffness (force) to the lugs, a fixed drum will change the tuning of the drum. An integrated lug and drum mount is conceptually attractive, because such a device, if it did not adversely affect the tuning of the drum head, would be easier to install on the drum.
Other mounts attach to the top and/or bottom hoops of the drum shell. Still other supports attach to the drum shell. Rigidly attached supports, whether mounted to the shell or hoops, will damp the vibration of the drum, and may, ultimately, distort the sound through buzzing or rattling, if the support mount is not properly engineered and attached.
As a result, a new device is needed, integrating the lug and drum mount, without unduly affecting the tuning of the drum. The new integrated lug and mount should allow the drum shell to resonate freely. Such an integrated lug and mount needs to maintain the drum, in position, without, itself, generating objectionable sounds. The integrated lug and drum mount should be quickly and easily adjustable. It should also allow for quick set-up and break-down of a drum kit. An integrated lug and drum mount that has variable stiffness, and isolates the drum shell from the structural members supporting the drum would be ideal.