Many electronic devices provide display areas, e.g., computer monitor screens, in which to display data. Often, because of the data's display properties, e.g., its font size, the data is too large to display all at once within the display area. For example, when the data represents a figure, the figure's vertical height or the figure's horizontal width may be, respectively, higher or wider than the vertical height or horizontal width of the display area; or when the data represents text, the number of lines of text may exceed a number of lines that fits within the vertical height of the display area, or the length of each text line may exceed a text length that fits within the horizontal width of the display area.
In these instances, to navigate throughout displayable data, an interface, e.g., a graphical user interface (GUI), often provides scroll-bars or toggle-buttons. Scroll-bars are each displayed as a single bar with a predefined length that can be shifted within a predefined space. Often, the predefined space spans across the area in which the data is to be displayed. They may be vertically displayed when the data's vertical height exceeds that of the display area's vertical height, and horizontally displayed when the data's horizontal width exceeds that of the display area's horizontal width. Toggle-buttons are each displayed as a set of two buttons, one placed at a first extremity and another placed at second extremity opposite the first extremity. A user may shift a scroll-bar or depress a toggle-button and thereby indicate a direction in which the data should scroll.
Data applications, especially business data applications, often arrange interrelated data in tables. A table is arranged according to, and illustrates, the structural interrelationship of its data. For example, a table may have columns and rows. Each column may, for example, represent a major category of data. Each row may, for example, represent a sub-category of the major categories. The rows and columns may intersect to form multiple cells. Display of data in a particular cell of the table may indicate that the data relates to the major category of the data's cell's column, and to the sub-category of the of the data's cell's row.
When the sum of all columns' widths exceeds the display area's width or when the sum of all the rows' heights exceeds the display area's height, the data applications provide, respectively, a horizontal scroll-bar or toggle-button to horizontally scroll and/or toggle between the first and last columns, and a vertical scroll-bar or toggle button to vertically scroll and/or toggle between the first and the last rows. For example, a scroll-bar 1 is provided in FIG. 1a. In response to a shift of scroll-bar 1, the entire table, i.e. all columns of the table collectively, may shift. For example, when scroll-bar 1 is shifted to the right, a previously non-displayed column to the right of the column labeled “Document Size” may be displayed; and the previously displayed column labeled “Document ID” may be removed from the display area.
Data, e.g., text, within a row of a particular column may be wider than the particular column, although not necessarily wider than the entire display area. In this instance, not all of the row's text can be viewed at once. For example, in FIG. 1a, the text within each of the cells of the column labeled “Time Stamp” is wider than the column, so that the year is only partially displayed. However, current data applications do not provide for scrolling and/or toggling data within a particular column and/or row, via control of a scroll-bar and/or toggle-buttons. For example, even when scroll-bar 1 is shifted to the right, the text within the “Time Stamp” column will not scroll in relation to the column to reveal the entire year of the cell. Currently, to view all of a cell's text, a user can widen the cell's column; select the text and have a portion of the text superimposed over adjacent columns; or select the text and use an arrow key on a keyboard to move a cursor through and thereby scroll through the data. The first alternative wastes much of the display area. When a column is widened, the column occupies more of the display area, thereby allowing a fewer number of columns to be concurrently displayed. Furthermore, a column may contain numerous rows with data that is not wider than the column's width. For these rows, widening the column width, and thereby using more of the display area is wasteful. The second alternative causes rows of adjacent column to overlap. Furthermore, the second and third alternatives are not as convenient and as easy as scrolling with a scroll-bar or toggle-button. These same alternatives apply when the height of data within the columns of a particular row exceeds the height of the data's particular row.


The present invention relates to phase-locked loops (PLLs) and, in particular, to an integrated PLL having a resistor-less loop filter.
PLLs are used in integrated circuits, such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), for clock synchronization, recovery of serial data streams and frequency synthesis. A typical PLL includes a phase/frequency detector, a charge pump, a loop filter, a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) and a frequency divider. The VCO generates a clock signal with a phase and frequency that is a function of the voltage applied to the oscillator. The phase/frequency detector detects a phase and/or frequency difference between the VCO output and the input signal. The phase/frequency detector generates a control signal as a function of the phase difference and applies the control signal to the charge pump which increases or decreases the voltage across the loop filter. This voltage is applied to the VCO for controlling the oscillation frequency and phase of the clock signal.
A typical first-order loop filter includes a resistor and a capacitor which are coupled together in series between two external pins of the integrated circuit. In a PLL which is fabricated on an integrated circuit, an external loop filter is usually used. An external loop filter is prone to noise pick-up and increases system cost. It is therefore desireable to implement the loop filter on the integrated circuit to form a fully integrated PLL. However, good filter resistors are not readily available in standard digital complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) processes. As a result, efforts have been made to eliminate or "replace" the filter resistor in on-chip loop filters of fully integrated PLL's. For example, Ilya I. Novof et al. Fully Integrated CMOS Phase-Locked Loop with 15 to 20 MHz Locking Range and +/-50 ps Jitter, IEEE Journal of Solid State Circuits, Vol. 30, No. 11 (November 1995) discloses a phase-locked loop which uses an auxiliary charge pump for replacing the loop filter.


Cultivated crops are affected with various fungal, bacterial and viral diseases as well as a number of insect pests. Many cultivation technical, chemical and biological control methods have been developed in order to control these. The purpose of such methods is to prevent the qualitative and quantitative crop losses caused by plant diseases and other pests.
In general the term biological control of plant diseases means the control of plant pathogens by another organism, which is then called a biological control organism of plant diseases, and the preparation made thereof a biological control agent or a biopesticide. The mechanisms of the biological control of plant diseases do vary, and the effect is often based on the cooperative action of many different mechanisms. The control effect may be based on inhibitory chemical agents produced by the organism, sometimes the control organism parasitizes the pathogen or competes with it for growth space and/or the nutrients available.
The need of discovering new biological control agents has been increased by the fact that many of the traditional chemical pesticides have turned out to be deleterious to the environment and human beings. A disadvantage of the chemicals is also the fact that many pests have become resistant to one or even a number of pesticides. The development of resistance to biopesticides is instead improbable because the effect thereof is based on a number of mechanisms of different types. The chemicals usually affect faster and more effectively than biopesticides. Biopesticides for their part are often longer-acting than chemicals as their effect is based on a viable and reproducible microorganism.
The most important group of biopesticides are bacterial products targeted against insects. Bioinsecticides based on the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis may be the most commonly used. A biofungicide based on the actinomycete Streptomyces being effective against a number of soil-borne and seed-borne fungal diseases of plants is produced in Finland. Fungi of the genus Trichoderma have also fungicidal activity.
Bacteria of the genus Pseudomonas, especially of the species Pseudomonas fluorescens have been studied a lot and nowadays a great amount of P. fluorescens strains are known which have fungicidal activity. See e.g. published patent applications WO 92/18613, FI 92 1722 and WO 90/01327, as well as EP-patent 228 457.
It is known that fungi of the genus Gliocladium have fungicidal activity. Gliocladium virens strains, especially the G. virens strain G1-3, have been described in patent literature. A problem in the use of this species has been, however, that nobody has been able to produce a formulation of this fungus, in which the viability of the fungus would keep on a satisfactory level during the storage of the formulation. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,668,512, 4,724,147 and 4,818,530 besides other fungal strains the use of Gliocladium virens strains is described in the preparation of biofungicidal formulations. Also in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,165,928, 5,194,258 and 5,268,173 the use of Gliocladium virens strains as biofungicides has been described.


Basal-like breast tumors are largely overlapping with the triple-negative subtype defined by the absence of Estrogen Receptor and Progesterone Receptor expression, and Her2 overexpression, and tend to be locally invasive and recur at high frequency (Meyers et al 2011, Pazaiti and Fentiman 2011). Results from animal models and the study of human cancers suggest that E-Cadherin functions as a tumor suppressor and an invasion suppressor (Cowin et al 2005). E-Cadherin is often absent or nonfunctional in invasive breast cancers and this is commonly attributed to epigenetic silencing of the E-Cadherin gene, Cdh1 (Jeanes et al 2008). Therefore, efforts have been directed toward reactivating E-Cadherin expression in cancers (Ou et al 2007, Papageorgis et al 2010). However, data also indicate that E-Cadherin is expressed in some invasive breast cancers where it is mislocalized to cytoplasmic vesicles (Corsino et al 2008, Facina et al 2010). Thus, reinstating E-Cadherin expression may not restore its tumor and invasion suppressive actions unless the posttranslational mechanisms that nullify E-Cadherin function in cancers are also blocked.
E-Cadherin is a homophilic cell-cell adhesion molecule whose extracellular domain binds to the extracellular domain of E-Cadherin on adjacent cells and whose cytoplasmic domain binds a number of proteins including p120ctn, β-Catenin, and γ-Catenin, also referred to as Junctional Plakoglobin. The latter two proteins bind α-Catenin, which is thought to either directly or indirectly couple the E-Cadherin complex with the Actin cytoskeleton. These multiprotein E-Cadherin-containing complexes play a critical physical role in mediating the formation of adherens junctions in epithelial tissues (Baum and Georgiou 2011), and serve to control the activity of several complex components that also function as transcriptional regulators (Daniel 2007, Heuberger and Birchmeier 2010). As such, mechanisms that converge on E-Cadherin provide an opportunity to address unmet needs in treatment and prevention of disease.


This invention relates generally to the field of fluid jetting systems and relates, more particularly, to the means and methods used to maintain a fluid jet device of a fluid jetting system in proper working order.
An example of a fluid jet device with which this invention is concerned is a printer head of an ink jet printer. In some instances, such a printer head relies upon capillary action to move a working fluid (e.g. ink) to the printer head and includes means mounted within the head for directing ink through an orifice toward a target substrate. Such ink-directing means can include an actuator, such a piezoelectric device or an electrostatic membrane, for directing ink through an orifice upon appropriate actuation of the actuator or, in the alternative, can include a thermal device wherein heat which is applied to the ink serves as the mechanism for directing ink through an orifice.
Commonly, a fluid chamber, or ink flow passageway, is provided in the printer head which conducts ink from a source, by way of a conduit connected between the source and the printer head, and past the ink-directing means to the orifice. During normal operation of the printer head, ink must be present in the ink flow passageway so that operation of the ink-directing means effects a drawing of ink into the passageway and a subsequent pushing of ink, under pressure, through the orifice and toward a target surface. If, however, air enters the ink flow passageway through the orifice (as could be the case if the printing head were accidentally struck or jostled) or if the orifice becomes blocked, for example, by debris or dirt which may become lodged within the orifice, operation of the ink-directing means neither draws additional ink into the passageway nor does it effectively push ink through the orifice. Consequently, for effective operation of the printer head, the ink flow passageway must be devoid of air and the orifices of the printer head must remain free of blockage.
Air which is present in an ink flow passageway of a printer head and any blockage (surface or internal blockage) of the orifices of a printer head is commonly removed by a purging or head-cleaning operation which requires that additional ink be forced through the conduit and ink flow passageways by way of a purge bulb, pump or other means for forcing ink through the conduit and toward the printer head orifices. Such a purging or head-cleaning process, however, normally pushes ink, as well as air or blockage matter (e.g. debris), through the orifices so that ink which is pushed from the orifices flows downwardly along the front (i.e. the face plate) of the printer head. To prevent the ink which flows downwardly along the front of the printer head from touching or being smeared upon surfaces desired to remain free of ink, the ink is manually wiped from the front of the printing head with an absorbent sheet of material. However, such a purging and subsequent cleaning procedure requires manual intervention in and disruption of the printing operation and is usually a messy, undesirable job. Furthermore, if such a process is required to be performed on a printer head stationed along an assembly line, assembly line production may have to halted in order to satisfactorily service the printer head, thereby causing the loss of production time. It would therefore be desirable to provide a new and improved system and method for maintaining the front of a printer head in a relatively clean condition, even when ink is pushed through the orifices of the printer head during a purging or head-cleaning operation wherein air or blockage material is purged from the ink flow passageways.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved system and method for use when purging or cleaning a fluid chamber of a fluid jet apparatus, such as the printer head of an ink jet apparatus, for maintaining the front, or exterior surface, of the fluid jet apparatus in a relatively clean condition.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system and method which facilitates a purging and cleaning operation in that such operations can be performed routinely upon the fluid jet apparatus without the messiness associated with purging and cleaning operations of the prior art.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide such a system and method which circumvents the need for wiping the front, or exterior surface, of a fluid jet apparatus during a purging or cleaning operation performed upon the fluid jet apparatus.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such a system and method which is well-suited for automatic operation, thereby requiring no manual intervention, and can be performed without disruption of a fluid jetting operation or any assembly line operation with which the system and method are used.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a system and method which can be used to maintain an orifice of a fluid jet apparatus relatively free of blockage matter, such as debris or dirt.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide such a system which is uncomplicated in construction, yet effective in operation.
This invention resides in an apparatus and method for use when purging air or blockage from a fluid chamber of a fluid jet apparatus during a purging or cleaning operation, wherein the fluid chamber has a chamber wall with an exterior surface, an interior surface adjacent the fluid chamber, and at least one orifice through which fluid is ejected by the fluid jet apparatus during a jetting operation.
The apparatus includes a cavity adjacent the chamber wall, wherein the fluid which flows through the at least one orifice during a purging or cleaning operation flows from the at least one orifice into the cavity.
The method of the invention includes the steps of providing a cavity adjacent the exterior surface of the chamber wall into which fluid which flows from the at least one orifice during a purging or cleaning operation is permitted to flow from the at least one orifice, and withdrawing fluid which is contained within the cavity.
In another aspect of the apparatus and method, the cavity can be used to create a zone of above-atmospheric pressure in a region adjacent the exterior surface of the chamber wall so that leakage of air from said region helps to maintain the at least one orifice in a relatively clean condition. To this end, air is conducted, under pressure, to the interior of the cavity so that any leakage of air from the cavity into the atmosphere effects a flow of air out of the cavity.


1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for detecting islanding when power supply from a grid power source (commercial power source) is cut off.
2. Related Art
Recently, the development of a distributed generation system using solar cells or fuel cells which have a small influence on the environment has been actively conducted in terms of global environment protection. Such a distributed generation system converts DC power generated by the solar cells or the like into AC power with a commercial frequency through an inverter, and supplies the AC power to a system load in connection with a grid power source, while transmitting surplus power to the grid power source.
The distributed generation system must prevent reverse charge from the distributed generations to the grid power source when the power supply of the grid power source is stopped. Thus, when the power supply of the grid power source is stopped, the distributed generation system detects islanding of the distributed generations, isolates the distributed generations from the grid power source, and stops operation of the inverter.
The method for detecting islanding may include a passive method which detects a rapid change in a voltage waveform or phase when islanding is performed. However, when the balance between output power of the inverter and power consumption of the load is maintained, the passive method cannot detect islanding because no change occurs in the grid when the islanding is performed.
Furthermore, the method for detecting islanding may include an active method which slightly changes an output voltage or frequency of the inverter and detects that the change becomes prominent when islanding is performed.
In the active method, however, when a plurality of distributed power systems are connected in parallel to the grid, the change may be offset to degrade the islanding detection function.
Technology for solving such a problem has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2012-085384.
The technology disclosed in the above-described patent relates to a method for detecting islanding of a distributed generation system which changes DC power of distributed generations into AC power through an inverter and supplies the AC power to a load in connection to a commercial power source of a power grid line. The method controls the inverter to overlap an output current of the inverter at a connection point with the commercial power source with a secondary harmonic current synchronized with a fundamental wave of the output current, and detects islanding based on an even harmonic wave of the fundamental wave included in the grid voltage at the connection point.
According to the method, since the output current of the inverter at the connection point, which is controlled in phase with the grid voltage, overlaps the secondary harmonic current synchronized with the fundamental wave of the output current, the harmonic current overlapped with the output current of the inverter in each of the distributed power systems may be synchronized with the phase of the grid voltage, when the distributed power systems are operated in a state where they are connected in parallel to the grid. Then, since the harmonic currents of the respective distributed power systems do not offset each other, the degradation of the islanding detection function may be prevented.
In the above-described technology, however, since both the upper and lower half cycles of the secondary harmonic wave are overlapped, the power quality is degraded.
Furthermore, while one distributed generation is installed and operated, another distributed generation might need to be additionally installed. In this case, as one of islanding detection methods, the injection directions of reactive power in the plurality of distributed generations may be synchronized through communication. However, when the inverters of the respective distributed generations are manufactured by different makers, the inverters are highly likely to have different control circuits or methods. Thus, the installation of communication lines may become difficult or complex.


With a rapid development of the multimedia society, the technique for semiconductor elements and a display apparatus has got a great and rapid progress.
In terms of the displays, an Active Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode (AMOLED) display meets those characteristic requirements for a display in the multimedia era, because it has advantages such as no limitations on an angle of view, a low manufacture cost, a high response speed (about hundred times and more of that of the liquid crystal), energy saving, self-luminous, being applicable to a direct-current driving for a portable device, a wider operation temperature scope, and a lighter weight while being miniaturized and thinned along with the hardware devices, and the like. Therefore, the Active Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode display has a great potential of development and may be desired to become a next generation of the new flat panel display and to replace the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD).
Currently, there are two ways of manufacturing the Active Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode display panel, one way of which is to utilize a process technique for Thin Film Transistors (TFTs) of the Low Temperature Poly-Silicon (LTPS), and the other way of which is to utilize a process technique for the Thin Film Transistors (TFTs) of the amorphous silicon (α-Si). Herein, the process technique for the Thin Film Transistors of the Low Temperature Poly-Silicon would need more processes for mask manufacturing craft and thus lead to an increasing of the cost. Therefore, the process technique for Thin Film Transistors of the Low Temperature Poly-Silicon is mostly applied to the panel having a small or medium size, while the process technique for the Thin Film Transistors of the amorphous silicon is mostly applied to the panel having a large size.
Generally, for an Active Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode display panel manufactured by the process technique for Thin Film Transistors of the Low Temperature Poly-Silicon, the thin film transistors in the pixel circuit may be P-type or N-type, but no matter whether the P-type or N-type transistors are selected to implement the organic light-emitting diode pixel circuit, the current flowing through an organic light-emitting diode may not only change with the changes caused by a long time stress in a turn-on voltage (Voled_th) of the organic light-emitting diode, but also vary with a threshold voltage shift (Vth shift) in the thin film transistor for driving the organic light-emitting diode. As a result, the brightness uniformity and the brightness constancy of the organic light-emitting display may be affected correspondingly.


Transponders are inserted into living beings for the purpose of being able to identify them. A transponder is a transmitter-receiver unit with a memory accommodated in a housing. When the antenna belonging to it is radiated from outside, the stored data are sent out by the transmitter unit, so that remote identification of the animals in question can take place. The stored data are unique for each animal through the coding used. Guns provided with a needle-shaped guide are generally used for the insertion of transponders. An opening is made in the skin in one way or another with said needle-shaped guide, following which the guide is inserted further into the body of the animal in question. The transponder is then ejected by the guide, either by means of a bar or by means of fluid pressure.
One method of injection discloses in particular an insertion point for living beings, such as pigs, behind the ear. Although this method of insertion was found to be satisfactory for many animals, it was found that it was unsuitable for animals with moving ears, such as cattle. Unlike pigs, cattle move their ears to a considerable extent, and such animals also have the habit of rubbing their heads along bars of feeder units and the like. These movements cause damage to the transponder and/or force it out of the body. There is also the disadvantage of the transponder being relatively easily accessible.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a method of degreasing and cleaning an object deposited with oils, as well as an apparatus used therefor. The present invention more particularly concerns such a method and apparatus which can be suitably utilized, for example, as a precleaning in a heat treatment step or as an intermediate cleaning after a hardening step.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As examples of degreasing and cleaning methods which have been applied to metal materials deposited with oils, the following methods are known:
(1) Alkali cleaning: where cleaning is achieved by dipping the material into a warm aqueous solution, an alcohol solution of sodium hydroxide, or other alkali agent; or by spraying such a solution; alkali cleaning is applied to heavy oil contamination.
(2) Cleaning with a surface active agent: where cleaning is achieved by dipping the material into a warm aqueous solution of a surface active agent, or by spraying such a solution. Surface active agent cleaning is applied to slight deposition contamination or oil membranes.
(3) Cleaning by dipping or vapor cleaning with chloro-solvent: a chloro-solvent, such as, for example, 1,1,1-tri-chloroethane, trichloroethylene or perchloroethylene.
(4) Cleaning with a fluoro-solvent: which involves dipping or vapor cleaning, such as, for example, by using from 113.
However, degreasing and cleaning methods (1) and (2) using the alkali agent or the surface active agent are not generally employed since they involve problems. For example, cleaning performance is poor and quite often causes stains on the surface of an object to be cleaned. Likewise, liquid waste treatment is expensive.
On the other hand, degreasing and cleaning methods (3) and (4) using chloro-solvents or fluoro-solvents have high cleaning performance. However, the chloro-solvents involve problems since they show strong toxicity and evaporate greatly. Moreover, the chloro-solvents scatter from cleaning apparatus or treated objects owing to their volatility and thereby contaminate underground water as carcinogenic substances. Accordingly, legal regulations for their use have become severer in recent years. Use of the fluoro-solvents has also been extremely restricted since they form ozone layer destructive substances when released to the atmosphere.
3. Object of the Invention
In view of the above, the present invention has been accomplished taking notice of the foregoing problems in the prior art. Therefore, it is an object hereof to provide a metal degreasing and cleaning method using neither alkali agent nor chloro- or fluoro-solvent which would result in public pollution or circumstantial contamination, as well as an apparatus used for the method.


Lipolytic enzymes such as lipases and phospholipases are used, e.g., in detergents and baking.
Thus, lipases have been used for a number of years as detergent enzymes to remove lipid or fatty stains from clothes and other textiles, particularly a lipase derived from Humicola lanuginosa (EP 258 068 and EP 305 216) sold under the trade name LIPOLASE® (product of NovozymesA/S).
Fatty acid-modified lipases and their use in transesterification have been described. M. Murakami et al., JAOCS, 70 (6), 571–574 (1993); K. Green et al., JAOCS, 75 (11), 1519–1526 (1998).
It is also known to add lipases and phospholipases to breadmaking dough. WO 94/04035; WO 98/26057.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a self contained lamp control and lamp package, and relates more specifically to a self contained lamp for automatic light level adjustment.
2. Description of Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional incandescent light bulb 5 includes base 10, and evacuated envelope or diffuser 14. Diffuser 14, which is typically pear-shaped, surrounds a filament (not shown) that is electrically connected to base 10 for electrical connection to a conventional lamp socket. A well-known base is an Edison screw-base, as shown, which is electrically connectable to an Edison screw socket.
In recent years, compact fluorescent lamp packages have been introduced into the market. These lamp packages are particularly desirable because of their energy efficiency.
Referring to FIG. 2A, an example prior art compact fluorescent lamp package (CFLP) 7 is shown consisting of fluorescent lamp 12, lamp holder 13, and auxiliary housing 15 for interfacing between lamp holder 13 and base 10. Typically, housing 15 also houses a complete ballast 17. However, it should be noted that ballast 17 has also been placed into base 10, while either retaining housing 15 or removing this housing. In most CFLPs an Edison screw-base is used as base 10 for a reliable mechanical and electrical connection to a standard Edison socket, although other sockets are known and used.
The typical height of a standard incandescent light bulb 5 is about 4.5 in. However, most conventional CFLPs are typically taller than a conventional incandescent light bulb due to auxiliary elements such as auxiliary housing 15. As a result, a conventional CFLP may extend out of a lampshade or fixture adapted for an incandescent light bulb, causing an undesirable appearance, or the CFLP may not fit within an existing fixture. This extended height, together with the unusual appearance of conventional CFLPs, are believed to adversely affect the acceptance of CFLPs in the marketplace
Another issue with the conventional CFLP is that when ballast 17 is housed in auxiliary housing 15, the heat generated by ballast 17 cannot escape very efficiently. Referring, for example, to FIG. 2B, in a typical enclosure or downlight fixture 19, the heat generated from the lamp and ballast of a conventional CFLP 7 collects up in the fixture around the CFLP 7 without any path to escape.
As a result, there is a higher ambient temperature around CFLP 7 which causes the internal components of the CFLP 7, especially ballast 17, to run at even higher temperatures, e.g., above 150° C. The increase in the internal heat decreases reliability, causes field failures and limits the use of a conventional CFLP to open rather than enclosed fixtures, all of which further adversely affects the desirability of CFLPs. Nonetheless, it should be noted that when ballast 17 has been placed into base 10 as described above, the base has acted as a heat sink for the ballast, helping to dissipate some of this heat.
A further issue with the conventional CFLP is that because of its size and operational constraints, such as its high ambient temperature and its use of the conventional Edison socket, it is difficult to realize some desirable features, such as, for example, a dimming feature where the light output of the fluorescent lamp is selected based on a control signal or setting. More specifically, conventional incandescent lights typically use a dimmer control mounted on a wall near an on/off switch for adjusting the light level. These types of dimming controls operate on various principles but all in essence change the characteristic of the electrical power supplied to the light fixture to create various power levels supplied to the lamp, thereby affecting the output lighting level. However, these types of dimming controls are unsuitable for CFLPs because the change in power may extinguish the lamp. As a result, in order to incorporate a dimming feature into the CFLP, a dimmable ballast circuit is typically used where the electronic ballast now includes an additional dimming function that controls the ballast to dim the lamp. However, a mechanism is now needed to control this additional dimming function, thereby making it a difficult challenge to provide a dimming feature to a CFLP.
For example, one mechanism that has been used to control a dimmable ballast circuit is to dedicate a wire from a wall-mounted dimmer to the fixture. However, if the CFLP is inserted into an Edison socket, this requires additional wiring. Specifically, Edison screw sockets typically only provide switched utility power on two wires, a line input and a neutral wire. Accordingly, a third wire is now needed to control the dimming function. However, providing a third wire or connection to the Edison screw socket is a highly undesirable additional requirement to realize a dimming feature.
Another example mechanism that has been used to control a dimmable ballast circuit is to send control signals from a switch to the fixture directly over the power lines, thereby negating the need for an additional wire. However, this approach is complex, expensive, and space consuming given that the fixture must now include an interface to receive and decode the signal. Nonetheless, it should be noted that some systems that have used this mechanism have also incorporated advantageous features, including the use of an external control module that allows for the remote and automatic control of the lights. For example, a control system may be provided that can control a number of different areas of lighting to automatically change lighting settings depending upon various circumstances, such as evening hours, weekend hours, lengthened days and so forth. However, it should also be noted that these types of lighting systems typically have limited local intelligence (e.g., the fixtures lack sensor feedback that permits localized control) and often control blocks of lights together, rather than individual lights.
Another mechanism that has been used to control a dimmable ballast circuit is to include a manual control directly on the casing of the electronic ballast of the CFLP so that dimming can be effected. However, CFLPs designed to replace incandescent bulbs often do not permit easy access to the CFLP or electronic ballast by the user. In addition, once the light level has been set, it is often difficult or inconvenient to readjust.
A further mechanism that prior fluorescent light systems in general have used to control dimming is to incorporate a self-dimming function that automatically dims the light in reaction to external events. Such self-dimming functions have included the integration of a heat sensor or a photosensitive control element, such as a photocell, with the dimming function. For example, these systems have interconnected a photocell with the dimming function to automatically control the turning on/off of the light and to maintain a constant light level in a room, all based on the changing ambient light levels in the room.
In the case of the CFLP in particular, the photocell has been mounted directly on the housing 15. This arrangement creates several advantages as compared to the other dimming mechanisms described above. Specifically, this arrangement allows for individual control of each CFLP and because of the automatic feedback orientation, each CFLP is self-dimming thereby making the CFLP easier and more convenient to use because the user is not required to constantly readjust the light level as conditions change. In addition, when the CFLP is inserted into an Edison socket, the socket does not require additional wiring. This mechanism is also less complex and less expensive than prior mechanisms.
Nonetheless, prior CFLPs that have integrated a sensor, like a photocell, with the dimming function of a dimmable ballast circuit continue to have the same issues as described above with reference to the example CFLP 7. Specifically, these prior CFLPs continue to use a housing 15 to house the dimmable ballast circuit, thereby creating the same height and heat issues described above.


1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a substrate for superconductive film fabrication to be employed on the occasion of manufacturing oxide superconductive wires through the deposition of a superconductive film on a substrate. This invention also relates to superconductive wires having a superconductive film fabricated on the substrate and to manufacturing methods of the substrate and the superconductive wires.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there have been proposed a many number of ideas for manufacturing oxide superconductive wires through the deposition of a superconductive film on a substrate (see for example, Japanese Patents No. 2614948; No. 3251034; No. 3532253; and No. 3771012; and JP-A 2001-110255 and JP-A 11-3620).
Among them, an oxide superconductive wire utilizing an oxide superconductor represented by a composition formula of REBa2Cu3O7-d (wherein RE means rare earth elements, also referred to as 123-type or yttrium-type superconductor), the oxide superconductor being deposited on a tape-like metal substrate to make the wire flexible, is known to attain excellent current characteristics. For this reason, this oxide superconductive wire is one of the oxide superconductive wires that are intensively studied and developed at present. Under the circumstances, the studies on this oxide superconductive wire have been advanced to such a stage that a large number of prototypes concerning electric power equipments and the like utilizing this oxide superconductive wire have been manufactured.
Therefore, in the art of manufacturing oxide superconductive wires, it is now strongly desired to establish a mass production system aiming at industrialization for the production of superconductive wires, so that we are now faced with a situation where the development of highly reliable and stable process for the production of superconductive wires is urgently needed.
The fact that a thin-film oxide superconductor is capable of exhibiting excellent current characteristics has been already confirmed through experiments on the oxide superconductor deposited as a thin film on the surface of a monocryatalline substrate. When a monocryatalline substrate is to be used however, it is impossible to freely bend it and to work it to obtain an elongated strip having a length of several hundreds meters, thus making it unrealistic.
In any attempt for the practical use or industrialization of the oxide superconductive wires, it is imperative to work the oxide superconductor into a wire-like member having the same degree of flexibility as metals. For this reason, it has been attempted to deposit an oxide superconductor as a thin film on a tape-like metal substrate to thereby enable the resultant substrate to exhibit a function useful as a practical wire. However, it has been found that, in the case of the superconductive thin film which has fundamentally a polycrystalline structure, it is impossible to obtain excellent current characteristics unless a large number of crystal grains constituting the thin film are uniformly arrayed in the same direction.
However, as conducted in the ion beam assist vapor deposition (IBAD) method, inclined substrate deposition (ISD) method, or a method employing an orientated metal, this problem has been already solved by using a substrate where a large number of crystal grains constituting the substrate are orientated in the same direction as a substrate for superconductive film formation.
Further, as a result of considering the matching of lattice constant, reactivity of substrate to the superconductive film, etc. in addition to the orientation of crystal, the development of the superconductive wires is now generally directed to the wires wherein at least one oxide layer called intermediate layer other than a superconductive layer is deposited on a metal substrate and then a superconductive layer is deposited on the intermediate layer, thereby obtaining a wire having a multi-layer structure.
By means of this multi-layer structure, it is now possible to obtain wires which are capable of exhibiting excellent current characteristics even on a metal substrate, e.g., a current density of more than 106 A/cm2 at liquid nitrogen temperature (77K) or a current density of more than 107 A/cm2 at liquid helium temperature (4.2K), the wires moreover being flexible.
However, when the practical use or industrialization of the oxide superconductive wires is taken into consideration, it is imperative to further improve the manufacturing speed of the wires. Thus, it is strongly desired, at present, to improve the manufacturing speed of the wires in the art of manufacturing oxide superconductive wires.


Various automated systems for forming and cutting surgical suture tips exist or are known in the art. In one such machine, means for simultaneously advancing in parallel at least six separate strands of suture material, and six independent tensioners for maintaining respective parallel portions of each of the six strands at a preset tension are provided. Once a predetermined length of suture material has been advanced by the advancing means, a horizontal heater bar (positioned perpendicular to the six suture strands) is actuated by an electronically controlled solenoid which moves a planar heater bar into contact with one side of the suture strands for a predetermined dwell time. Once the predetermined dwell time has elapsed, the solenoid retracts the heater bar to its original position, and the heat exposed (or heat-stiffened) section of suture material is advanced to a cutting station. At the cutting station, the heat-stiffened section of suture material is cut at its midpoint, thereby producing a suture with two stiffened ends. Other mechanisms for forming and cutting surgical suture tips are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,832,025, 4,806,737 and 5,226,336 to Coates. The system described in the Coates patents uses convective or non-contact heating to form suture tips.
Known systems for forming and cutting surgical suture tips suffer from several drawbacks. First, such systems typically use heat to stiffen the surgical suture tips. Since the unfinished surgical suture material used by such systems is often coated, the heat applied during the tipping process may melt the coating. Once it has melted, the coating from the unfinished surgical suture material often adheres to the tipping machine, thereby compromising the machine's performance. Another drawback of known systems for forming and cutting surgical suture tips is that such systems typically produce a suture tip, which lacks a substantially uniform cross-section.
In addition, such systems are undesirable in that they typically cut the suture tip in an imprecise manner, thereby leaving a cut end, which may be irregular or distorted in shape. From a manufacturing standpoint, suture tips having non-uniform cross-sections and/or irregular or distorted cut ends are undesirable because, among other things, such sutures are difficult to insert into needles. Finally, known systems, which use heat to stiffen surgical suture tips are undesirable because such systems cannot be used with sutures formed from silk.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a system for forming surgical suture tips, which system does not use heat in forming the suture tips and which may be used to fuse silk.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a surgical suture having a welded core, which facilitates the easy insertion of the suture tip into a needle.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an automated system and method for manufacturing surgical sutures having tips with welded cores.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an automated system and method for making surgical sutures with tips having precisely cut ends.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for tipping sutures and method for making suture tips.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more fully apparent from the description and claims, which follow or may be learned by the practice of the invention.


This invention relates to a centrifugal fan for sucking air from one of both sides defined along an axis of a revolving shaft of an electric motor and discharging it in a direction perpendicular to an axial direction of the revolving shaft, and more particularly a centrifugal fan exhibiting enhanced waterproof performance.
A prior art fails to develop a centrifugal fan called a sirocco fan which exhibits increased waterproof performance while being simplified in structure. For example, a centrifugal fan disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 148484/1999 is so constructed that a stator which is required to exhibit waterproofness structure is covered with a resin mold.
However, techniques of covering the stator with the resin mold require much time and much cost for formation of the resin mold, to thereby fail to reduce manufacturing costs of the centrifugal fan.
The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing disadvantage of the prior art.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a centrifugal fan which is capable of exhibiting enhanced waterproof performance without using any resin mold while being simplified in structure.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a centrifugal fan which is capable of being simplified in structure and exhibiting waterproof performance.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a centrifugal fan which is capable of permitting water collected in a casing to be discharged outwardly of the casing to a degree sufficient not to interfere with operation of the centrifugal fan even when accuracy at which the centrifugal fan is assembled is deteriorated.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a centrifugal fan which is capable of exhibiting increased waterproof performance irrespective of a posture in which the centrifugal fan is mounted or operated.
In accordance with the present invention, a centrifugal fan is provided. The centrifugal fan includes an electric motor including a stator having a stator-side magnetic pole and a rotor rotated about a revolving shaft outside the stator. The rotor includes a cup-like member including a bottom wall fixed on the revolving shaft and a peripheral wall arranged so as to extend in an axial direction of the revolving shaft from an outer edge of the bottom wall, and a rotor-side magnetic pole fixed inside the peripheral wall of the cup-like member and arranged opposite to the stator-side magnetic pole of the stator. The centrifugal fan further includes an impeller including a fixed section fixed outside the cup-like member of the rotor of the electric motor, a blade support fixed on the fixed section and arranged so as to extend in a radial direction of the revolving shaft, and a plurality of blades fixed on the blade support so as to suck air on one axial side of the revolving shaft and discharge the air in the radial direction of the revolving shaft; and a casing including a first side wall provided with a suction port which is open to the one axial side of the revolving shaft, a second side wall positioned on the other axial side of the revolving shaft with respect to the first side wall and arranged so as to be spaced from the first side wall at a predetermined interval, and a peripheral wall arranged so as to connect the first side wall and second side wall to each other and form an air passage between the first side wall and the second side wall for guiding air discharged from the impeller to a discharge port which is open in a direction tangential to a direction of rotation of the impeller. The casing receives the electric motor and impeller therein. The term xe2x80x9cone axial sidexe2x80x9d of the revolving shaft used herein is intended to mean one of both sides defined along an axis of the revolving shaft of the motor. Also, the term xe2x80x9cthe other axial sidexe2x80x9d of the revolving shaft used herein is intended to mean the other of both sides defined along the axis of the revolving shaft.
In the centrifugal fan generally constructed as described above, the electric motor is arranged in the casing so that the stator is fixed on the second side wall and the cup-like member of the rotor permits the bottom wall to face the suction port of the first side wall. The second side wall of the casing and a wall of the blade support of the impeller have opposite surface portions arranged so as to be opposite to each other in the axial direction of the revolving shaft, respectively. The opposite surface portion of the second side wall of the casing and the opposite surface portion of the wall of the blade support of the impeller each are formed into a configuration which permits the opposite surface portions to cooperate with each other to provide a labyrinth structure which prevents water from intruding into a space defined between the cup-like member and the second wall from an outside in the radial direction of the revolving shaft. The blades are mounted on a surface portion of the blade support opposite to the opposite surface portion of the blade support.
Such construction of the present invention permits the centrifugal fan to exhibit satisfactory waterproof performance while being simplified in structure without increasing an overall size thereof and using any resin mold. Also, in the present invention, as described above, the labyrinth structure is arranged at a position at which the blades are mounted, to thereby increase a length of the labyrinth structure and permit a space defined inside the labyrinth structure to be effectively utilized for receiving parts thereon.
The labyrinth structure may be constructed in any desired manner. For example, it may be constructed in such a manner that the opposite surface portion of the second side wall is formed with a plurality of cylindrical projections in a manner to project toward the one axial side of the revolving shaft and be arranged concentrically with the revolving shaft, wherein the opposite surface portion of the impeller is integrally formed thereon with a plurality of cylindrical projections in a manner to project toward the other axial side of the revolving shaft, be concentric with the revolving shaft and alternate with the cylindrical projections of the second side walls in the radial direction of the revolving shaft. Such construction permits the cylindrical projections to cooperate with each other to define a gap passage therebetween which provides the labyrinth structure. Also, it facilitates an increase in length of the gap passage. Thus, the centrifugal fan of the present invention exhibits enhanced waterproof performance while being simplified in structure.
Irrespective of arrangement of the labyrinth structure described above, the centrifugal fan has a likelihood that water is gradually collected in the casing and then intrudes from an inlet of the labyrinth structure through the labyrinth structure into the motor. In order to avoid the problem, at least one of the first and second side walls may be formed at a portion thereof positioned outwardly in the radial direction of the revolving shaft as compared with the labyrinth structure with at least one drainage through-hole for outwardly discharging water collected in the casing. The drainage through-hole may be arranged so as to extend through the side wall in the axial direction. Such arrangement of the drainage through-hole, when water collected in the casing reaches a level of the drainage through-hole, permits the water to be outwardly discharged therethrough from the casing irrespective of a posture in the centrifugal fan is operated and/or operated. This prevents water connected in the casing from intruding through the labyrinth structure into the motor. Water at a level below the drainage through-hole is still remain in the casing. However, the water does not adversely affect operation of the centrifugal fan. The drainage through-hole may be arranged at the peripheral wall. This permits water collected in the casing to be naturally discharged therethrough from the casing. However, when the drainage through-hole of the peripheral wall has a large size, air discharged from the impeller is caused to positively leak therethrough, to thereby deteriorate air feed efficiency and generate noise. Thus, a size of the drainage through-hole and the number thereof are preferably limited to the minimum.
When it is possible to previously know a posture in which the centrifugal fan is operated, a position of the drainage through-hole may be determined depending on the posture. However, in the case of a general-purpose centrifugal fan, a posture in which it is mounted or operated is varied depending on a user. Thus, it is preferable that at least one of the first side wall and second side wall is formed with a plurality of drainage through-holes in a manner to be spaced from each other at intervals in a peripheral direction of the revolving shaft. Such arrangement of the through-holes permits water collected in the casing to be outwardly discharged from the drainage through-holes of the side wall without substantially considering a posture of operation of the centrifugal fan, to thereby enhance general-purpose properties of the centrifugal fan. In particular, in this instance, arrangement of one or more such drainage through-holes at both first side wall and second side wall substantially prevents intrusion of water into the electric motor irrespective of a posture of mounting and/or operation of the centrifugal fan. In this instance, the first side wall and second side wall each may be formed with at least one such drainage through-hole. This prevents intrusion of water into the motor irrespective of a posture of mounting and/or operation of the centrifugal fan.
For example, when the drainage through-hole is formed at the side wall of the casing, at least one of the first side wall and second side wall is formed with a plurality of drainage through-holes at a portion thereof positioned in an angular range except a predetermined angular range defined about the revolving shaft and including the discharge port when the first side wall is viewed from the one axial side of the revolving shaft. In this instance, the drainage through-holes may be arranged at portions of the first side wall and second side wall positioned in the predetermined angular range including the discharge port. However, when the centrifugal fan is operated in a posture which may possibly cause water to be collected in the casing under such conditions, water collected in the casing to a degree is permitted to be discharged from the discharge port, so that it is not required to form the drainage through-holes in the angular range. Thus, at least one drainage through-hole may be formed at a position which permits water collected in the casing to be discharged through the drainage through-hole when the centrifugal fan is operated or mounted in a posture which keeps water entering the casing through the suction port from being discharged through the discharge port. Thus, at least one of the first side wall, second side wall and peripheral wall may be formed with at least one drainage through-hole for discharging water in the casing when the centrifugal fan is operated or mounted in a posture which keeps water entering the casing through the suction port from being discharged through the discharge port.


(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a door hinge for a motor vehicle with                a column console that can be arranged on a column of a door frame,        a door console that can be attached to a motor vehicle door assigned to the door frame, wherein        the door console and the column console are pin-jointed together via a hinge pin and        the door console or column console is formed from two releasably connected partial units, which rest against each other at assigned contact areas.
(2) Prior Art
Door hinges for motor vehicles for linking doors or covers, flaps, etc. generally have a door console, which is firmly arranged on a component that is swivel-mounted on a motor vehicle body, and a column console, which is arranged on the vehicle body. The rotating movement of the door and column console relative to each other is normally achieved through a hinge pin, by means of which the consoles are pin-jointed together.
Within the optimization of vehicle production and minimization of production costs, the motor vehicle door is meanwhile being removed again after painting after installation on a vehicle body. This takes places in order to facilitate the installation of interior motor vehicle components and the equipping of the motor vehicle door with further hardware components.
It is of considerable importance that, after this assembly work is complete, the motor vehicle door is also immediately returned to the original assembly position after painting.
A motor vehicle door hinge of the initially named type is already known from DE 602 03 143 T2, in which either the door console or the column console has a two-piece structure. These types of motor vehicle door hinges enable the removal of a door or suchlike from the motor vehicle, without separating from each other the components connected together via the hinge pin. After painting, the motor vehicle door hinge is not separated at the hinge pin, but rather via the two-piece door console or column console, wherein the provided fastening means are released. However, known constructions with at least three pieces have the disadvantage that they do not ensure to the required degree the dimensionally accurate restoration of the original installation position.


The present invention relates generally to automated microscopy, and more specifically to improvements in the automatic detection of cell colonies' location on a glass sample slide. Additionally, the glass sample slide may be covered with a coverslip that protects cell colonies from contamination and damage. The coverslip area is that area of a specimen slide where most of focus mapping, image capture and image analysis needs to take place, because cell colonies reside underneath the coverslip. Thus the edges of the coverslip, which denote the area of interest for automated microscopy, need to be reliably detected.
At the present, operators typically scan and analyze the entire slide even though colonies of interest may reside only on several isolated spots within the slide. Operators are required to manually identify colonies (by drawing around them) resulting in slow system throughput. Furthermore, focus mapping can be slow or inaccurate due to sparse cell populations on colony slides.
Some existing methods attempt automated cell analysis of biological specimens by detecting candidate objects. Each slide is first scanned at a low microscope magnification. Candidate objects are identified based on their color, size, and shape; and their location is recorded. The candidate objects are then scanned with higher magnification lens. Thresholding and focusing steps are performed, followed by the morphological processing to identify candidate objects of interest by comparing optical features of the candidate object of interest to a target blob. However, those methods do not use morphological methods that enhance the image of the colonies of interest, neither do they associate the metaphases with the colonies. They also do not disclose a coverslip detection.
Some other existing methods create a composite image from smaller images. Subsequent image analysis is performed only over the areas of interest within the composite image. Those methods also eliminate the edges that were created by the overlaps or similar imperfections between the subimages caused by mechanical alignment errors. Substantially, those methods could be viewed as bandwidth saving methods. They do not disclose background subtraction, morphological methods for colony detection, thresholding, association of metaphases with the colonies, or the coverslip detection.
An accurate identification of the edges of a coverslip on a sample slide continues to be a challenge. Presently, detection methods typically scan and analyze the entire slide, i.e. the areas under and outside of the coverslip, which can be inefficient and time-consuming. Or to reduce scan and analysis time the operators need to accurately place the coverslip in the same position on each slide so that a fixed scan area is applicable to all slides.
Some methods for detecting a microscope slide coverslip are known. For example, these methods can detect the coverslip by locating all four coverslip edges when those edges satisfy a set of predetermined criteria. However, those methods are rule-based and time consuming, and are not applicable to detecting a coverslip of unknown size and location.
Yet some other methods use non-linear Hough transforms to detect some features of the cell or objects within the cell (e.g., detecting nucleus centre, plasma membrane, etc.). Those methods also use an adjustment of the pixel intensity level to improve feature accuracy, presumably on the suspect edges of the objects of interest. However, those methods detect a presence of the objects within the cell, but not their precise outline, nor do they detect the edges of the coverslip.
Some other methods detect objects that are similarly shaped using a pre-existing shape library or they detect a grid-like arranged specimens on a slide using Hough transformation. The centroids of the specimen are detected using 2D peak detection algorithms. Column and row orientations are detected followed by the calculation of the overall grid intersection locations. The method can identify the specimens by finding their expected location in the 2D grid. However, those methods do not detect edges of the object (i.e. coverslip edges), neither do they perform any image enhancements, such as, for example, dark field subtraction.
There is therefore a need for systems and methods that accurately and automatically detect the location of the coverslip on a microscope slide as well as the location of cell colonies of interest underneath the coverslip.


Advanced forms of information technology (IT) infrastructure, including but not limited to cloud computing platforms, converged infrastructure (CI) platforms, software defined data centers (SDDCs), distributed infrastructure, and other types of processing platforms, are increasing in availability and usage. Management of such IT infrastructure by users, such as customers, companies, businesses, organizations or other enterprises, is a complex task. As IT infrastructure expands and new platforms, software, and other IT resources are released and become available or incorporated into such IT infrastructure, the complex task of IT management is increasingly difficult and costly.


Case hardening is a heat treating practice by which a thin, hardened "skin" is formed on a steel article. Case hardening generally designates any of three types of hardening processes: carburizing wherein carbon is added to low carbon steel, nitriding wherein nitrogen is added, and nitrocarburizing wherein both carbon and nitrogen are added to the steel. In carburizing, the article is exposed to a gaseous carbon containing atmosphere (gas carburization) or packed in a carbonaceous powder (pack carburization) or immersed in a cyanide-salt bath (liquid carburizing) and heated so that the carbon diffuses into the surface of the steel to form the skin. In nitriding, the steel article is placed in a heated nitrogen containing atmosphere (gas nitriding), or the article is placed in a heated cyanide bath (liquid nitriding) so that the nitrogen from the gas or bath diffuses into the surface to form the skin. (In both liquid carburizing and liquid nitriding, the medium is a molten cyanide salt bath; the temperature at which the case hardening is carried out determines the result). Ferritic nitro-carburizing (carbonitriding) is a combination of gas carburization and nitriding wherein a nitrogen gas, usually ammonia, and an endothermic gas are added to the carburizing gas.
These processes are carried out at temperatures sufficiently high so that nitrogen from the disassociated ammonia or carbon from the carbonaceous powder can diffuse into the steel to form a hardened skin by making iron nitrides and alloys of nitrides and/or carbides through reactions with various trace elements at and just below the surface. Typical gas nitriding temperatures are 925.degree. to 1050.degree. F. whereas typical gas carburization temperatures are above 1600.degree. F. and most often at 1700.degree. F. to 1900.degree. F. Carbonitriding is carried out at temperatures below those required for carburizing, that is at 1400.degree. F. to 1650.degree. F.
During case hardening, anti-nitriding and anti-carburizing compositions are sometimes employed to shield selected metal surfaces from the nitriding or the carburizing medium, whether gas, liquid or powder. These compositions are called "stop-offs" or "resists."
Stop-offs are typically employed to prevent a predetermined portion of the steel from forming a hardened skin so as to facilitate later machining operations on the unhardened areas.
Prevention of case hardening is a matter of preventing nitrogen or carbon from reaching the surface of the steel by providing a physical shield between the steel and the case-hardening atmosphere or environment. The high temperatures at which case hardening processes are carried out present special problems in formulating stop-offs. To be commercially acceptable, a stop-off should exhibit certain desirable performance characteristics: the stop-off must be capable of effective application to the articles at room temperatures (preferably by an easily practiced technique, such as by "painting" the article with the stop-off); the stop-off must provide a gas impervious shield which not only resists gaseous penetration at high temperatures but also withstands the stresses and strains caused by thermal expansion and contraction of the underlying article; and the stop-off must be easily removable from the article after the case hardening process is complete.
Carburizing takes place at substantially higher temperatures than nitriding or ferritic nitrocarburizing so that carburizing stop-off formulations have been different from those used in nitrogen processes.
One early stop-off technique was to coat metal with pulverized boric acid. The boric acid melted at the elevated operating temperatures to provide a fluent, adherent glaze-like shield. Such a technique is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,190,937, which teaches a boric acid coating to prevent the decarbonization of steel during heat tempering. Other carburizing stop-off materials have been proposed which employ various alternative formulations, such as the refractory clay and borax or boric acid formulations in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,567,632, and 3,151,002. The later patent teaches the use of a synthetic resin lacquer as a binder to hold the boric acid crystals in place until an operating temperature sufficiently elevated to melt the boric acid and to coke the resin is reached.
Nitriding and ferritic nitro-carburizing (nitrogen processes) are carried out at temperatures lower than those for carburizing. Nitrogen process frequently employ a layer of tin on the surfaces of the article to be shielded. Electroplating was one technique of providing a tin layer, and where electroplating was not feasible, various tin-bearing coatings have been employed to shield parts of the article. When the article was brought to an elevated operating temperature, the tin in the coating melted to form a coherent, fluent shield. A tin technique, albeit for prevention of carburization in a cyanide bath, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,485,176, which teaches a copper/tin (bronze) composition in an organic, vehicle.
In order to be easily applied by spraying or painting, some prior art stop-offs were formulated with combustible or flammable resins, as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 2,485,176, wherein the finely powdered metal particles are dispersed in an organic vehicle so as to be sprayable or paintable on surfaces not required to be case-hardened. If further thinning or dilution of these stop-offs was needed, for example after a period of storage or standing open so as to cause the resin to evaporate, additional flammable resin or solvent therefor had to be handled. Thus, use of many prior stop-offs involved the risk of fire or explosion. It can be appreciated that such stop-offs required special ventilation of the work place as well as special handling and storage facilities. Lastly, flammable stop-offs present transportation problems in that they require special packaging, labeling and handling.
In order to ameliorate the dangers and difficulties attendant the use of flammable stop-offs, various proposals have been made for providing non-flammable formulations. U.S. Pat. No. 3,178,321 teaches a wide temperature range (i.e., from about 800.degree. F. to about 1900.degree. F.) protective coating comprising refractory clays in a water-dispersible resin. U.S. Pat. No. 3,454,433 discloses low temperature (i.e., below about 1600.degree. F.) protective ceramic coatings comprising frits and refractory materials in both organic solvent type binder carrier and water-base binder carrier. U.S. Pat. No. 3,661,820 teaches an anti-carburization compound containing boric acid or borax in "water reducible" resins. Although the greater water content of these stop-offs may have improved safety, there was a trade-off in terms of drying techniques and times. The '321 patent reports oven drying at 180.degree. F. In the '433 patent, air drying is followed by baking the water-soluble resinous varnish-containing formulation at about 180.degree. C. to thermoset the binder; drying times are reported in the '820 patent to be around eight hours at room or factory temperatures. Satisfactory use of such stop-offs required either the provision of special elevated temperature drying rooms to hasten drying or a great deal of advance planning coupled with storage space so that the coated articles awaiting treatment could be stored away during drying so as to avoid damage to the wet stop-off surfaces.
Another disadvantage encountered with prior formulations for water-based stop-offs included short-shelf life in contrast to organic solvent based stop-offs; problems with prior formulations included such settling during storage that the particulates could not be stirred up again, as well as rapid hardening after opening the container.
It would be advantageous, therefore, to have a truly water-based stop-off useful in nitrogen processes and characterized by ease of application and quickness of drying before heat treatment, ease of removal afterward, and enhanced safety in the work place.


The invention relates to a stand for vertically receiving rod-shaped materials, comprising a base plate that has at least two diametrically opposed clamping jaws which are disposed on a substantially horizontal plane and are used for receiving a rod. At least one of said jaws can be displaced radially in an outward direction counter to the force of a spring.
A device of this generic concept is known from DE-A-36 23 693, which discloses at least two diametrically opposed clamping jaws that grasp the vertical rod, for example, a Christmas tree or a flagpole, whereby at least one of the clamping jaws is spring-loaded and can be displaced radially in an outward direction. As far as practical handling is concerned, it proves difficult to open the displaceable clamping jaw counter to the force of the spring by hand and, at the same time, using the other hand, to introduce the rod between the opened clamping jaws, especially if the object is a flagpole, a Christmas tree or a larger mast. The help of a second person is usually required, whoxe2x80x94after the first person has opened the clamping jawsxe2x80x94positions the rod or the Christmas tree between the clamping jaws.
On this basis, the invention has the object of providing a stand which can be used effortlessly by a single person and which brings a rod into a secure vertical position and fixes it there.
In accordance with the invention, this task is solved therein that the displaceable clamping jaw is pivotally connected to one end of a lever, whereby the opposite end thereof is guided and displaced in an abutment in a substantially vertical manner and is located above the horizontal plane defined by the direction of movement of the clamping jaw.
The invention""s central idea consists therein to displace the clamping jaw to be actuated for opening via a lever, which is disposed in a special way and manner and is guided displaceably in an abutment. Here, the lever, most simply conceivable as a straight bar, is pivotally connected directly or indirectly to the displaceable clamping jaw, whereby the opposite end of the lever is guided in an abutment that facilitates substantially vertical displacement. The arrangement of the different possible positions of the end of the lever in the abutment is to be effected so that said end is located above the horizontal plane defined by the direction of movement of the clamping jaw during every phase of motion. Consequently, a downward movement of the end guided in the abutment presses the clamping jaw away from the abutment, thereby opening the stand or releasing the rod. Within the meaning of the invention, the term xe2x80x98vertically displaceablexe2x80x99 denotes that the abutment may comprise a strictly vertical guidance, but also a guidance with a specific inclination in relation to the perpendicular. The displacement of the end of the lever within the abutment can also be achieved by a downward movement of the foot, that is, the operator steps on the end of the lever, whereby both hands are free to insert or remove the rod from the clamping jaws. To realise the inventive idea, it is sufficient to employ two clamping jaws, one of which is displaceable. Moreover, a larger number of clamping jaws can be provided, whereby one or also several are disposed displaceably and displaced synchronously.
As regards the use of the application force produced by the springs, it is optimum if rigid and displaceable clamping jaws are disposed diametrically opposite each other. The application force is fully compensated by the rigid, opposing clamping jaw in the sense of a bearing. One then obtains a optimum relationship of forces for configuring the clamping jaws.
In an advantageous embodiment, the lever is configured like a frame, whereby one lateral length corresponds to the end of the lever connected pivotally to the displaceable clamping jaw and the opposing lateral length produces the connection to the abutment. The parts of the frame located in between, which extend essentially perpendicularly thereto, give a closed form that circumscribes the reception of the rod.
To improve the guidance, and for lateral support, in a further embodiment, the lever (or also the frame) is guided on both sides in the region of the swivelling axis in a guiding groove in the base plate by a cross brace, which is aligned in the direction of movement of the clamping jaw. Although further possibilities for guiding the displaceable clamping jaw are conceivable, this comprises a preferred option because it provides an optimum manner of support.
The constructional, concrete form of the abutment is configured as an essentially vertically aligned inclination, along which the end of the lever slides. By means of the force of the spring upon the displaceable clamping jaw, and the opposite end of the lever connected thereto, the end of the lever on the abutment side is pressed against the inclination. When a downward movement occurs, the opposite clamping jaw is pressed away from the abutment, whereby the downward movement can be achieved by stepping thereupon. To achieve the best transmission of forces, with as little friction as possible, the end of the lever rests against the inclination via a roller so that a loss of force is minimised by means of rolling friction.
To facilitate the downward movement of the lever in the region of the abutment, a tread surface is disposed there, upon which one can step and thus the downward movement of the lever can be effected comfortably by means of application of force, that is, by moving one""s foot downward or through the operator""s weight.
To make it possible to place both feet thereupon, and to enable the application of one""s total weight while avoiding overturning moments, it is proposed to configure two tread surfaces symmetrically in relation to the abutment.
For utilising the inventive stand, the shape of the rod cross section is basically optional. To produce optimum, that is, large-surface contact between the rod and the clamping jaws, it is advantageous to select the interior shape of the clamping jaws so that it is commensurate with the shape of the cross section of the rod to be inserted. In the case of a round rod, clamping jaws that have a circular form with the corresponding radius are especially used. This embodiment is also recommended if the material used for the rod is sensitive and should be largely free of pressure marks.
With other materials, the option is given to select a rhombus shape for the closed clamping jaws. Then, the contact between the clamping jaw and the rod does not have to be produced across the whole circumference so that this shape proves advisable especially if the shape of the rod cross section is irregular.
If soft materials are used, support and force transmission can be improved by integrating a spike inside the clamping jaws, that is, on the side facing the rod. When the clamping jaws are closed, the spike digs into soft materials, for example, wood, and in this way establishes intimate contact.


The alkaloids obtainable from Vinca rosea represent one of the most productive areas of chemistry for drugs which adversely affect the growth of experimental malignancies in mammals. Initially, only some of the alkaloids, obtainable from the leaves of the plant by extraction and purifiable by chromatography, were found to be active. These active antineoplastic alkaloids obtained directly from the leaves of the vinca plant incude VLB (Vinblastine, vincaleucoblastine), vincristine (leurocristine), leurosine (vinleurosine), leurosidine (vinrosidine), leuroformine (formylleurosine) and deoxy VLB "A" and "B" (4'-deoxy VLB and 4'-deoxyleurosidine).
Chemical modification of the Vinca alkaloids started slowly for several reasons. In the first place, the molecular structures involved are extremely complex, and chemists were slow to find reactions which modified one specific functional group of the molecule without affecting other groups. Secondly, dimeric alkaloids lacking desirable chemotherapeutic properties had been recovered or produced from Vinca rosea extracts, and a determination of their structures had led to the conclusion that these inactive compounds were closely related structurally to, and even isomeric with, one or more of the active alkaloids. Thus, it appeared that small chemical changes in the known anticancer alkaloids could have a profound effect on antineoplastic activity.
Because of these restrictions, modification of the indole-dihydroindole alkaloids obtained from Vinca rosea has centered around only three areas of the molecule: C-3, C-4' and C-4. Considering C-3 modification first, one of the more recent, and more successful, modifications of the basic indole-dihydroindole structure has been the preparation of C-3 carboxamide and carboxhydrazide derivatives, most of which turned out to be active anti-tumor agents. [See U.S. Pat. No. 4,166,810, and Conrad et al. J. Med. Chem., 22, 391 (1979)]. 4-Desacetyl VLB 3-carboxamide (vindesine) is currently being marketed in several European countries as an oncolytic agent. It is said to be effective in treating some vincristine-resistant leukemias in addition to many common neoplasms including germ-cell tumors. Reaction of the 3-hydroxy and 3-ester functions with an isocyanate has produced the corresponding oxazolidinedione derivatives, one of which, the N-chloroethyl derivative--vinzolidine--is currently undergoing a clinical trial. These oxazolidinedione derivatives are disclosed in Miller and Gutowski, RE 30,560, reissued Mar. 31, 1981.
A second area of the molecule which has been modified is the C-4' functionality. A majority of these modifications have been based on the 3',4'-anhydro derivative, makeable both by coupling vindoline and catharanthine via a modified Polonovski reaction--Potier et al. J.C.S. Chem. Comm., 670, (1975)--and by dehydrating VLB or leurosidine--Gutowski and Miller, U.S. Pat. No. 4,029,663. The dehydration reaction produces two exo-double bond isomers in addition to the .DELTA..sup.3',4' -anhydro derivative. Functionalization of any one of these double bonds to form epoxides, diols, etc. has constituted the chief chemical modifications undertaken at C-4'.
The third region of the indole-dihydroindole which has been modified successfully is C-4. In the first place, hydrolysis of the acetoxy group, present in all the above vinca alkaloids, yields active antineoplastic 4-desacetyl derivatives. (Vindesine, a C-3 carboxamide, is a 4-desacetyl derivative.) Secondly, Hargrove, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,387,001 and 3,392,173 prepared novel 4-acyl derivatives of 4-desacetyl VLB, 4-desacetyl vincristine, etc. Among these new derivatives was 4-chloroacetyl VLB, which compound could be reacted with amines, for example, dimethylamine, to yield a potent anticancer drug, vinglycinate, N,N-di-methyl 4-glycinyl VLB. In a different modification, Wright and Neuss, U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,082, oxidized the 4-hydroxyl of 4-desacetyl VLB to a 4-keto compound, and Thompson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,022, reduced this ketone to the 4-epihydroxy (4.alpha.-hydroxy) derivative, also a compound with anticancer activity.
Indole-dihydroindole bridged dimers; i.e., the same or different alkaloid moieties bridged thru the 3-carboxyl via a bis-amide are described in Conrad and Gerzon, U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,504. Otherwise, indole-dihydroindole vinca alkaloid dimers have not been bridged through other positions in the molecule to form vinca tetramers.
VLB and vincristine have been conjugated with proteins to form antigens useful in radioimmune assays. 4-Desacetyl VLB 3-carboxazide (desacetyl vinblastinoic azide) and the corresponding vincristine compound have been the derivatives employed; see Conrad et al., J. Med. Chem., 22, 391 (1979), European Pat. No. 41,935, Abstract 182, FACSS, Oct. 6, 1975, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,203,898 for illustrations of this reaction.


Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is the performance of surgery through incisions that are considerably smaller than incisions used in traditional surgical approaches. For example, in an orthopedic application such as total knee replacement surgery, an MIS incision length may be in a range of about 4 to 6 inches, whereas an incision length in traditional total knee surgery is typically in a range of about 6 to 12 inches. As a result of the smaller incision length, MIS procedures are generally less invasive than traditional surgical approaches, which minimizes trauma to soft tissue, reduces post-operative pain, promotes earlier mobilization, shortens hospital stays, and speeds rehabilitation.
MIS presents several challenges for a surgeon. For example, in minimally invasive orthopedic joint replacement, the small incision size may reduce the surgeon's ability to view and access the anatomy, which may increase the complexity of sculpting bone and assessing proper implant position. As a result, accurate placement of implants may be difficult. Conventional techniques for counteracting these problems include, for example, surgical navigation, positioning the subject patient limb for optimal joint exposure, and employing specially designed, downsized instrumentation and complex surgical techniques. Such techniques, however, typically require a large amount of specialized instrumentation, a lengthy training process, and a high degree of skill. Moreover, operative results for a single surgeon and among various surgeons are not sufficiently predictable, repeatable, and/or accurate. As a result, implant performance and longevity varies among patients.
To assist with MIS and conventional surgical techniques, advancements have been made in surgical instrumentation, and in technologies for understanding the spatial and rotational relationships between surgical instruments and tissue structures with which they are intervening during surgery. For example, instruments for calcified tissue intervention that are smaller, lighter, and more maneuverable than conventional instruments have become available, such as handheld instruments configured to be substantially or wholly supported manually as an operator creates one or more holes, contours, etc. in a subject bony tissue structure. In certain surgical scenarios, it is desirable to be able to use such handheld type instrumentation while understanding where the working end of the pertinent tools are relative to the anatomy. In particular, it is desirable to be able to control the intervention such that there are no aberrant aspects, wherein bone or other tissue is removed outside of the surgical plan, as in a situation wherein a surgical operator has a hand tremor that mistakenly takes the cutting instrument off path, or wherein a patient moves unexpectedly, thereby taking the instrument off path relative to subject tissue structure. There is a need for handheld systems that are capable of assisting a surgeon or other operator intraoperatively by compensating for aberrant movements or changes pertinent to the spatial relationship between associated instruments and tissue structures.