This invention relates to a surgical implant adapted for secure attachment to living bone. More particularly this invention relates to an improved orthopedic or dental implant formed to have bone contacting surfaces comprised of biocompatible organic polymers substituted with oxyacid groups or salts thereof. Applicant has found that the presence of such oxyacid substituted polymers, at least at the bone contacting surface, promotes interfacial osteogenesis and provides sites to which bone can chemically bond, thus fostering direct chemical bonding of the implant surface with the biological polymers present in developing bone tissue.
In severe cases of arthritis or other bone and joint degenerative diseases, surgical replacement of the affected joint and bone tissue is a commonly used procedure. In cases of dentition lost to disease or trauma, endosseous dental implants have been used to restore function. Research and development efforts have been highly successful in identifying materials for use alone or as composite structures for prosthetic implants --materials which meet both the basic physical (biomechanical) demands and the chemical biocompatibility requirements dictated by their use in implanted devices. Due to the stringent mechanical demands placed on load bearing bone prostheses, metals have been the material of choice for the most severely loaded parts of such implants. The metals generally used in load bearing components of orthopedic devices are limited to the cobalt, chromium, molybdenum alloys, titanium and surgical stainless steel. More recently, high strength ceramics and reinforced polymers have been introduced for such applications.
Notwithstanding the major advances which have been made in implant materials development, patients still face the trauma and expense of implant failure. The most common point of bone implant failure is not breakage or failure of the prosthetic implant itself; the more common failure of implants is at the living bone-implant interface. In other words, the implant simply works loose from its implanted position. Early total joint replacements were fixed to the bone of a recipient through a press fit of the prosthesis into a carefully prepared surgical bed. This method often resulted in loosening of the implant in the long term.
A review of the recent literature reveals significant research and development efforts directed to improving implant-bone fixation. A major advance in joint replacement surgery was the introduction of the use of poly(methyl methacrylate) [PMMA] bone cement for fixing the components of a joint prosthesis to bone. PMMA is not a glue or adhesive but a true cement which works mechanically. It is applied in a dough-like state as a grouting agent between the bone and the implant so that it can flow around the contours of the bone and the implant and into the interstices of cancellous bone. Upon hardening it forms a mechanically interlocked attachment between the bone and the implant. While PMMA bone cement provides a secure fixation of the prosthesis with living bone in the short term, the long term loss of implant fixation has proven to be a significant problem. The degeneration in implant fixation begins with a resorption of the bony tissue immediately adjacent to the bone cement and the replacement of that tissue with a soft fibrous tissue capsule. Since the fibrous tissue is far more compliant than bone, the thicker the capsule the looser the implant becomes. Since the thickness of the capsule tends to increase with motion the loosening process is self-reinforcing.
In an alternative method of implant fixation enjoying widespread use, the implant is provided with a highly porous surface coating that provides interstices into which bone can grow. Materials which provide pore size distributions of 50 to 500 microns have shown considerable promise and have become more widely used especially in young, active patients. For bone to interlock with the pore structure of the implant the implant must be firmly fixed at the time of surgery and load application must be minimized during the in growth period. Immediate surgical fixation is usually accomplished by the mechanical impaction of the implant into a slightly sub-sized surgical bed. The problems related to both of these fixation methods arise from the lack of affinity demonstrated by healing bone for the heretofore known metallic alloys and polymeric materials used in reconstructive orthopedic and oral surgery. When these materials are placed into bony defects, bone does not deposit directly onto the implant surfaces but, significantly, remains separated from them by at least a thin layer of soft tissue. This precludes the possibility of any chemical bond between the bone and the implant and limits the fixation modes to those based on mechanical interlock. Materials of this type are defined as "osteophobic" for the purposes of this disclosure.
Due to the problem of obtaining fixation to living bone by purely mechanical means, more recent research efforts have been directed at finding more bone-tissue-compatible implant materials, particularly materials having some demonstrable chemical affinity for regenerating bone tissue. It has been found that when certain minerals are implarted into osseous defects, newly forming bone will deposit directly onto the mineral surface without any intervening layer of soft tissue. Furthermore not only does bone deposit directly on the surface of these minerals, but it has been observed that bone will adhere even to a smooth surface of said minerals through the formation of chemical bonds across the bone-mineral implant surface.
For the purposes of this disclosure materials onto which bone deposits and chemically bonds are defined as "osteophilic", and the process whereby bone deposits directly onto a free surface is defined as "interfacial osteogenesis." The first materials recognized to have osteophilic properties were hydroxyapatite [Ca.sub.10 (PO.sub.4).sub.6 (OH).sub.2 ] and tricalcium phospate [Ca.sub.3 (PO.sub.4).sub.2 ]. Their osteophilicity has been rationalized by their close similarity in chemical structure with the mineral phase of mammalian bone. More recently, this inventor has made the surprising discovery that chemical similarity with bone structure is not necessary for a mineral substance to exhibit osteophilic properties. Indeed, it has been found that calcite [CaCO.sub.3 ], dolomite [CaMg(CO.sub.3).sub.2 ] (See my copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 251,225), and more recently the minerals fluorapatite, aragonite, magnesite, witherite and barite have been found to exhibit osteophilic properties. A number of researchers have sought to take advantage of in vivo chemical bonding of bone to bioactive mineral surfaces. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,787,900; 3,919,723; 4,168,326; 4,320,514; 4,366,188; 4,373,217; and 4,437,192.
The present invention is based on the discovery that certain organic polymers, that is, organic polymers bearing salt-forming oxyacid functional groups, exhibit an affinity toward developing bone tissue similar to that which has been observed for the above-mentioned inorganic mineral materials. The brittle nature of osteophilic minerals limits their usefulness to low stress applications. One such application is as a coating for porous-surfaced dental and orthopedic implants. It is known that pore sizes on the order of about 100-200 microns diameter are required for bony in growth into osteophobic materials. However, bone will grow into cracks and pores as small as 2 microns in diameter in osteophilic minerals. The pores of osteophobic metals, for example, have been coated with a thin layer of an osteophilic mineral to promote the rate of bony in growth. One serious problem related to the application of thin mineral coatings to porous metal surfaces is the lack of adhesion of such coatings to the metal substrate and the propensity for the minerals to dissolve in vivo when applied as thin films.
The present invention is based on the discovery that bone will deposit onto and chemically bond with organic polymeric materials having, at least on their bone contacting surfaces, covalently attached salt forming oxyacid functional groups. That discovery coupled with the inherent versatility of organic polymers for implant fabrication represents a significant advance in the art. Polymeric materials exhibit superior processability and mechanical properties. They can be extruded, molded, shaped and machined, or they can be applied, as a melt or dissolved in solution, to coat the surfaces of prosthetic devices constructed of other materials or material composites. Many biocompatible polymers in bulk form exhibit weight/strength properties (especially when reinforced with high tensile strength fibers) unmatched by the metal or metal/ceramic materials which have been used for construction of prosthetic devices. Still a further advantage of the use of biocompatible organic polymers for construction of orthopedic protheses is their chemical versatility. That is, implant devices constructed of or coated with biocompatible organic polymers can be surface modified by chemical treatment using a wide variety of reaction conditions to bear the desired surface-active oxyacid groups in accordance with this invention.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a method for promoting interfacial osteogenesis on an implant surface.
It is another object of this invention to provide a method for promoting bone in growth and bone adhesion to bone contacting surfaces of implanted prostheses.
Another object of this invention is to provide orthopedic prostheses having improved bone contacting surfaces comprised of a biocompatible organic polymer substituted with salt-forming oxyacid groups selected from the group consisting of the oxyacids of carbon, sulfur and phosphorus.


I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to utility bags used to contain a variety of articles, and more particularly to such bags which includes means for holding the bag in an open configuration through the use of stiffening members.
II. Prior Art
Over the years, a wide variety of utility bags have been devised to carry virtually any type of article. Many of those bags are constructed from a flexible material, such as a fabric, cloth, leather or synthetic sheet, and some include means for keeping the bag in an open configuration.
Of those bags which employ means for keeping the bag in an open configuration, this objective is often accomplished by the inclusion of curved rods sewn into the upper rim of the opening. Other such bags may include strips that resiliently bias the sides away from one another, such as the bag disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,525. In that device, the sides are allowed to fold onto themselves when the bag is opened, while a pair of strips of heavier gauge flexile material attached to the inside of the bag act to keep the bag open.
While the aforementioned bag may achieve its stated purpose, there remains a need for a utility bag which can easily and reliably be opened and held open by virtue of its own structure, and through the folding of its sides. Ideally, such a bag would allow folding away of the sides in such a manner as to expose the entire internal surface area of the base of the bag. Furthermore, the bag should allow an upper portion of the sides to conveniently fold parallel to the lower portion of the sides, such that the open configuration of the bag is maintained by the filling of the bag with the desired articles. In this manner, the user has easy access to the entire contents of the bag without having to push away the sides. As will be seen in the descriptions provided herein, such a bag is particularly useful for holding vertically oriented, relatively flat plastic bags, such as those designed to hold plastic worms used by fisherman. However, it will become apparent that the construction of the present invention and its corresponding unique features may also be used in a wide range of situations, such as a cosmetic bag, shaving kit, and other diverse applications.


Field effect transistors (FETs) are widely used in the electronics industry for switching, amplification, filtering, and other tasks related to both analog and digital electrical signals. Most common among these are metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs), wherein a gate electrode is energized to create an electric field in a channel region of a semiconductor body, by which electrons are allowed to travel through the channel between a source region and a drain region of the semiconductor body. The source and drain regions are typically formed by adding dopants to targeted regions on either side of the channel. A gate dielectric or gate oxide is formed over the channel, and a gate electrode or gate contact is formed over the gate dielectric. The gate dielectric and gate electrode layers are then patterned to form a gate structure overlying the channel region of the substrate.
In operation of the resulting MOS transistor, the threshold voltage (Vt) is the gate voltage value required to render the channel conductive by formation of an inversion layer at the surface of the semiconductor channel. Complimentary MOS (CMOS) devices have become widely used in the semiconductor industry, wherein both n-channel and p-channel (NMOS and PMOS) transistors are used to fabricate logic and other circuitry. For enhancement-mode (e.g., normally off) devices, the threshold voltage Vt is positive for NMOS and negative for PMOS transistors. The threshold voltage is dependent upon the flat-band voltage, where the flat-band voltage depends on the work function difference between the gate and the substrate materials, as well as on surface charge.
The work function of a material is a measure of the energy required to move an electron in the material outside of a material atom from the Fermi level, and is usually expressed in electron volts (eV). For CMOS products, it is desirable to provide predictable, repeatable, and stable threshold voltages (Vt) for the NMOS and PMOS transistors. To establish Vt values, the work functions of the PMOS and NMOS gate contact and the corresponding channel materials are independently tuned or adjusted through gate and channel engineering, respectively.
Gate stack engineering is employed to adjust the work function of the gate contact materials, where different gate work function values are set for PMOS and NMOS gates. The need to independently adjust PMOS and NMOS gate work functions has made polysilicon attractive for use as a gate contact material in CMOS processes, since the work function of polysilicon can be easily raised or lowered by doping the polysilicon with p-type or n-type impurities, respectively. The PMOS polysilicon gates are typically doped with p-type impurities and NMOS gate polysilicon is doped with n-type dopants, typically during implantation of the respective source/drain regions following gate patterning. In this way, the final gate work functions are typically near the Si conduction band edge for NMOS and near the valence band edge for PMOS. The provision of dopants into the polysilicon also has the benefit of increasing the conductivity of the gate electrode. Polysilicon has thus far been widely used in the fabrication of CMOS devices, wherein the gate engineering provides a desired gate electrode conductivity (e.g., sheet resistance value) by conventional tuning (e.g., implants), and the threshold voltage fine tuning is achieved by tailoring the channel doping level through the Vt adjust implants.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional CMOS fabrication process 10 beginning at 12, in which front end processing is performed at 14, including well formation and isolation processing. At 16 and 18, channel engineering is performed (e.g., Vt adjust, punch-thru, and channel stop implants) for PMOS and NMOS regions, respectively. A thin gate dielectric and an overlying polysilicon layer are formed at 20 and 22, respectively, and the polysilicon is patterned at 24 to form gate structures for the prospective NMOS and PMOS transistors. The gate structures are then encapsulated at 26, typically through oxidation, and highly-doped drain (HDD) implants are performed at 28 to provide p-type dopants to prospective source/drains of the PMOS regions and n-type dopants to source/drains of the NMOS regions, using the patterned gate structures and isolation structures as an implantation mask. Sidewall spacers are then formed at 30 along the lateral sidewalls of the gate structures.
At 32, the PMOS source/drain regions and the PMOS polysilicon gate structures are implanted with p-type dopants to further define the PMOS source/drains, and to render the PMOS gates conductive. Similarly, the NMOS source/drain regions and the NMOS polysilicon gate structures are implanted at 34 with n-type dopants, further defining the NMOS source/drains and rendering the NMOS gates conductive. Thereafter, the source/drains and gates are silicided at 36 and back end processing (e.g., interconnect metalization, etc.) is performed at 38, before the process 10 ends at 40. In the conventional process 10, the channel engineering implants at 16 and 18 shift the Vt of the PMOS and NMOS channel regions, respectively, to compensate for the changes in the PMOS and NMOS polysilicon gate work functions resulting from the source/drain implants at 32 and 34, respectively. In this manner, the desired work function difference between the gates and channels may be achieved for the resulting PMOS and NMOS transistors, and hence the desired threshold voltages.
The gate dielectric or gate oxide between the channel and the gate electrode is an insulator material, typically SiO2, nitrided SiO2, or other dielectric, that operates to prevent current from flowing from the gate electrode into the channel when a voltage is applied to the gate electrode. The gate dielectric also allows an applied gate voltage to establish an electric field in the channel region in a controllable manner. Continuing trends in semiconductor product manufacturing include reduction in electrical device feature sizes (scaling), as well as improvements in device performance in terms of device switching speed and power consumption. MOS transistor performance may be improved by reducing the distance between the source and the drain regions under the gate electrode of the device, known as the gate or channel length, and by reducing the thickness of the layer of gate dielectric that is formed over the semiconductor surface.
However, there are electrical and physical limitations on the extent to which SiO2 gate dielectrics can be made more thin. These include gate leakage currents tunneling through the thin gate oxide, limitations on the ability to form very thin oxide films with uniform thickness, and the inability of very thin SiO2 gate dielectric layers to prevent dopant diffusion from the gate polysilicon into the underlying channel. Accordingly, recent scaling efforts have focused on high-k dielectric materials having dielectric constants greater than that of SiO2, which can be formed in a thicker layer than scaled SiO2, and yet which produce equivalent field effect performance. A thicker high-k dielectric layer can thus be formed to avoid or mitigate tunneling leakage currents, while still achieving the required electrical performance equivalent (e.g., capacitance value) to a thinner SiO2.
It has also been proposed to utilize hafnium-based high-k dielectric materials in combination with a lanthanide series metal to lower the work function of metal gates. The lanthanide series metal is provided as a distinct surface layer over the high-k dielectric material. This proposal, however, may decrease the overall equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) of the layer of gate oxide.


The use of rechargeable nickel-cadmium (nicad) batteries for consumer products is well established. Such rechargeable batteries are frequently used in portable power tools, such as cordless power drills, saws and the like. Additionally, rechargeable batteries also find application in shavers, photographic equipment and other products.
Unlike disposable batteries, however, the nicad batteries require recharging upon dissipation of the electrical energy stored therein. The recharging period of the nicad batteries, if too long, may thus diminish the effectiveness of the power tools which incorporate the batteries. There have thus been prior art attempts to speed up the charge rate in order more quickly to restore the batteries to full capacity.
The normal recommended continuous charge rate for nicad batteries is C/10 where C is the battery capacity in ampere-hours. The normal charge rate thus results in a time of 12 hours or more to recharge a battery pack. Such a time requirement is excessive, however. If the batteries powering a product are discharged prior to completion of the desired task, it is necessary for the operator either to wait for a recharge or to replace the battery pack with a fully charged replacement pack. The first approach, as above noted, is typically highly time consumptive while the second is expensive.
Accordingly, the prior art has developed several approaches to reducing the recharge time for rechargeable batteries, including various techniques to avoid overcharging the units.
In one approach to the problem, battery manufacturers have conducted research into battery characteristics under charge and have developed special cells. Thus, some newer cells are characterized by a charge rate of C/3. These cells are capable of withstanding the higher charge rate indefinitely. The time required for fully charging such cells has thus been reduced to approximately 4 hours. However, even this amount of time may be too long for some applications.
Research by the battery manufacturers has also determined that properly designed cells may be charged at a rate of C/1, so that a cell may be recharged in approximately 1.2 hours, for the popular sub C (Cs) cell size. However, this approach can only be used if the high charge rate is terminated before the cells enter a destructive overcharge condition. For such cells, a maintenance, or "trickle" charge rate of C/10 is provided after the C/1 charge rate is complete. The trickle charge rate effectively "tops off" the battery charge and maintains the cell at full capacity until used.
It is thus necessary accurately to determine the particular point at which the permissible charge rate drops from the fast, C/1, rate to the trickle, C/10, rate in order to use the newly developed cells. Moreover, it is necessary to develop a control device which can accurately detect the changeover point and vary the charge rate accordingly.
Research into various cell characteristics which can be used for detecting the proper termination point for the C/1 charge rate has centered on voltage profiles, temperature changes, and internal pressure changes responsive to the charged state of the cell. Some prior art attempts have been directed to the use of internal cell pressure as the charging criterion. However, a special cell construction is required for sensing the internal pressure of the cell, involving access to the interior of the cell. The pressure sensing approach has thus not been widespread and is generally considered expensive.
Other cell characteristics which have been considered as the criteria for determining the permissible charging state of the cell have included voltage and temperature.
Sensing the voltage alone, however, has generally not been found useful, since the voltage change from a discharged state to a fully charged state of the cell is small and is hard to detect accurately. More specifically, the change in voltage is typically of the same order of magnitude as the variation in voltage which may be found between cells of a battery. Such a variation, when within established tolerance levels, is small relative to the total cell voltage. Prior charging circuit designs have thus combined voltage sensing with temperature sensing, usually by placing a thermistor into intimate contact with the battery pack. However, the prior circuits, while generally effective, were complicated and expensive.
More recent improvements in cell design have made it possible to sense only the cell temperature as the criterion for terminating a C/1 charge rate. It is considered acceptable in the battery art to protect the cells from temperatures in excess of 45.degree. C. Thus, in known circuits thermostatically controlled switches are provided in intimate contact with the batteries. The thermostat is designed to open the associated switch at a temperature of 45.degree. C.
A simple approach is used in one temperature sensitive arrangement of the prior art. Therein, the thermostatically controlled switch itself is used to break the fast charge current directly. A limiting resistor is provided in parallel with, and in close proximity to, the thermostat for supplying the C/10 maintenance charge current. In such a circuit, it is necessary to prevent further rapid charging of the battery cell once the trickle charge state has been entered.
More particularly, once the thermostatic switch has opened the rapid charge circuit the battery cell will cool, tending to reclose the thermostat and to reinitiate the process. Thus, it is necessary to latch the thermostatically controlled switch to an open condition once the fully charged state has been reached. The above described prior art approach utilizes the maintenance charge current to heat the thermostat, thereby to keep the thermostatic switch open for so long as the maintenance charge is continued. More specifically, in this approach the maintenance charge current is used to heat the limiting resistor for the trickle charging current. The close proximity between the limiting resistor and the thermostat provides a heat transfer therebetween, causing a temperature increase at the thermostat and opening the switch controlled thereby.
Although the above concept is low in cost, such an approach requires continued heating of the thermostat by the C/10 limiting resistor. Since the thermostat is in intimate contact with the battery cells, however, the above described approach provides continued heating of the battery cells during the maintenance charging state. Such heating can shorten battery life. Moreover, the above described circuit leads to reduced reliability of the thermostatic switch, since the thermostat itself is required to break the large rapid-charge current at each termination of the rapid charge condition.
In another example of this approach, wherein the thermostat is required to break large currents in the rapid-charge mode, a gate of an SCR is biased by a capacitor and the thermostatic switch is in series with the SCR. It is thus necessary to control precisely the voltage on the capacitor in order to assure proper biasing of the SCR gate. Reliability of this approach suffers still further because of possible variations in capacitor parameters, and because of the difficulty of providing a more precise point at which to turn on the SCR.
A more reliable concept has been to use the thermostat as a sensor only. In this approach, the thermostat is used to control associated electronics which, in turn, regulate the current. As with the previous approach, however, it is necessary to avoid overcharging the battery by a condition in which the fast charge rate is restarted once the batteries cool in the maintenance charge condition and the thermostat closes.
The major advantage of such an arrangement is that it is not necessary to heat the thermostat (hence the batteries) to latch the charger out of the fast charge mode while continuing a maintenance charge, since the charge rate is electronically controlled. Moreover, the thermostat is only required to switch a very low level sensing current rather than the full fast charge current.
Low cost circuits utilizing the above approach are sensitive to one or more variables, however, such as battery or electronic component tolerance or battery impedance, which affects the reliability of latching the circuit out of the fast charge mode. In one such circuit the collector-emitter junction of a transistor is used to clamp across a gate-cathode junction of a power SCR. Such an arrangement does not necessarily keep the SCR off and is subject to variations in junction voltages of the transistor. Under particular circumstances it is thus possible that the SCR, supplying a high rapid charge current, may not be fully turned off and may overcharge the battery. Other circuits, using integrated circuits, controlled tolerance electronic devices, or other special techniques have been used to increase the reliability of the above described approach. However, such circuits are more expensive and thus are less desirable.
There is thus a need in the prior art for an inexpensive circuit, providing reliable recharging of battery cells and including reliable, low cost, control circuitry to avoid overheating and overcharging the battery.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to overcome the difficulties of the prior art and to provide a battery charging apparatus for rapid charging and maintenance charging of a battery.
It is a more specific object to provide a low cost battery charging apparatus wherein a thermostatic switch detects an appropriate transition point for terminating rapid charging and for initiating maintenance, or trickle charging of a battery.
It is still another object to provide a low cost battery charging apparatus utilizing a thermostatic switch to switch a low level sensing current rather than the full charging current.
Yet another object of the invention is the provision of a dual mode battery charging apparatus wherein a thermostatic switch senses an increased temperature to transfer charging from a rapid mode to a trickle mode and wherein a voltage providing circuit is used to latch the apparatus to the trickle mode when the thermostatic switch returns to a low temperature status.
Still a more specific object of the invention is the provision of a voltage storage device for triggering a gate controlled SCR for rapidly charging a battery, including a circuit arrangement for changing the voltage level provided to the storage device in response to a temperature condition of the battery.
Yet a more particular object is an arrangement wherein an inverting structure is interposed between a voltage storage device and a gate controlled device triggered thereby, so that when a thermostatically controlled switch responds to a high temperature, fully charged, condition of a battery and increases the voltage of the storage device the reduced voltage of the inverting structure maintains the gate controlled device inactive even after the thermostatically controlled switch returns to a low temperature condition.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a triggering device for a gate controlled device in a battery charging apparatus wherein a separate switch is required to be activated, in addition to activation of a thermostatically controlled switch, in order to cause a rapid charging operation and wherein reactivation of the thermostatically controlled switch, alone, will not reinitiate the rapid charging operation.


This invention relates to packaging and, more particularly, to a strap connector and strap system for package strapping and the like.
Heretofore, myriad arrangements have been utilized and proposed for wrapping, tying, and strapping of packages, boxes, crates, and cartons. For example, it is common practice to package containers by using steel strapping, the straps being retained by crimped metal bands and by using fiberglass strapping of comparable character. Such strapping has constituted a great improvement in packaging as compared with the ubiquitous use of wire, cord, gummed, string or filament tapes, and other age old packaging expedients.
However, metal and fiberglass strapping systems require use of special tools and techniques for proper application and tensioning which are not always available to the small commercial user or individual who wishes to take advantage of the security and tensile strength of such strap materials for packaging, tying down loads, fastening of loads, etc.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a strapping and strap connecting arrangement, including an improved strap and strap connector system.
It is another object of the invention to provide such a system which facilitates simple, facile, manual strapping, fastening, and securement of packages and other objects.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide such an arrangement which does not require the use of special tools or techniques for applying to a package or object secure, strong, tensile strapping.
Another object of the invention is the provision of such a connector which quickly and easily engages the ends of the strap for reliably and conveniently engaging the ends of such strap.
Yet another object of the invention is the provision of such a strap and strap connector which is readily constructed entirely of molded synthetic resin material by economic, mass production techniques.
Various other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinbelow.


The human body posses the ability to resist most types of organisms, microorganisms or toxins that can cause damage to tissues and organs. This capacity is referred to as immunity. Much of the immunity is caused by an immunity system that forms antibodies and/or sensitized lymphocytes that attack and destroy the organisms, microorganisms or toxins.
This type of immunity is commonly referred to as acquired immunity.
However, an additional portion of the immunity results from general processes rather than from processes directed at specific disease organisms. This is called innate immunity. Examples of innate immunity include Phagocytosis of bacteria and other invaders by white blood cells and reticuloendothelial cells; destruction of organisms swallowed into the stomach by the acid secretions of the stomach and by the digestive enzymes; resistance of the skin to invasion by organisms; and presence in the blood of special chemical compounds that attach to foreign organisms or toxins and destroy them.
In addition to its innate immunity, the human body also has the ability to develop extremely powerful specific immunity against individual invading agents such as lethal bacteria, viruses, toxins, and foreign tissues from other animals. This is called acquired immunity or adaptive immunity.
This system of acquired immunity is important as a Protection against invading organisms to which the body does not have innate immunity. The body does not block the invasion upon first exposure to the invader. However, within a few days to a few weeks after exposure, the special immune system develops extremely powerful resistance to the invader. Furthermore, the resistance is highly specific for that Particular invader and not for others.
Acquired immunity can often bestow significant and long term protection. This is the reason the process known as vaccination is so important in the protection against disease.
Two basic, but related types of acquired immunity occur in the body. In one of these the body develops circulating antibodies, which are globulin molecules that are capable of attacking the invading agent. This type of immunity is called humoral immunity. The second type of immunity is achieved through the formation of large numbers of highly specialized lymphocytes that are specifically sensitized against the foreign agent. These sensitized lymphocytes have the special capability to attach to the foreign agent and to destroy it. This type of immunity is called cellular or cell-mediated immunity or, sometimes, lymphocytic immunity.
Both the antibodies and the sensitized lymphocytes are formed in the lymphoid tissue of the body. The presence of antigens initiate the immune process.
Acquired immunity is the product of the body's lymphoid tissue. The lymphoid tissue is located mostly in the lymph nodes, but it is also found in special lymphoid tissue such as that of the spleen, in submucosal areas of the gastrointestinal tract, and, to a slight extent, in the bone marrow. The lymphoid tissue is distributed advantageously in the body to intercept the invading organisms or toxins before they can spread too widely.
Though most of the lymphocytes in normal lymphoid tissue look alike when studied under the microscope, these cells are distinctly divided into two separate populations. One of the populations is responsible for forming the sensitized lymphocytes that provide cellular immunity and the other for forming the antibodies that provide humoral immunity.
Both of these types of lymphocytes are derived originally in the embryo from lymphocytic stem cells in the bone marrow. The descendants of the stem cells eventually migrate to the lymphoid tissue. Before doing so, however, those lymphocytes that are eventually destined to form sensitized lymphocytes first migrate to and are preprocessed in the thymus gland, for which reason they are called "T" lymphocytes. These are responsible for cellular immunity.
The other population of lymphocytes--those that are destined to form antibodies--is processed in some unknown area of the body, possible the liver and spleen. However, this population of cells was first discovered in birds in which the preprocessing occurs in the bursa of Fabricius, a structure not found in mammals. For this reason this population of lymphocytes is called the "B" lymphocytes, and they are primarily responsible for humoral immunity.
To further emphasize that the two populations of lymphocytes are separate, it is known that they also tend to localize in separate parts of the lymphoid tissue. For instance, in the lymph nodes, the lymphocytes of the "B" system are mainly located in the cortical and germinal areas, whereas the "T" cells are located in the paracortical areas.
After formation of processed lymphocytes in the thymus, these first circulate freely in the blood and gradually filter into the tissues. Then they enter the lymph and are carried to the lymphoid tissue. The lymphoid tissue contains reticulum cells that form a fine reticulum meshwork. This filters the lymphocytes from the lymph, thereby entrapping them in the lymphoid tissue. Thus, the lymphocytes do not originate Primordially in the lymphoid tissue, but instead are transported to this tissue by way of the preprocessing areas of the thymus and probably the fetal liver.
When a lymphocyte in the lymphoid tissue is stimulated to form either sensitized lymphocytes or antibodies, it always forms a sensitized lymphocyte or an antibody having specificity for a particular antigen. Because it is known that the lymphocytes of the lymphoid tissue can form literally hundreds or thousands of different types of sensitized lymphocytes and antibodies specific for different antigens, it is also almost certain that literally hundreds or thousands of different types of precursor lymphocytes pre-exist in the lymph nodes for formation of the many specific types of lymphocytes or antibodies.
The lymphocytes of each specific type in the lymphoid tissue--those that form one specific type of sensitized lymphocyte or one specific type of antibody--are called a "clone of lymphocytes."
Each clone of a lymphocyte is responsive to only a single type of antigen (or to a group of antigens that have almost exactly the same stereo-chemical characteristics). When excited by the clone's specific antigen, all the cells of the clone proliferate madly, forming tremendous numbers of progeny, and these in turn lead to the formation of large quantities of antibodies if the clone is "B" lymphocytes, or to the formation of numerous sensitized lymphocytes if the clone is "T" lymphocytes.
On exposure to proper antigens, sensitized lymphocytes are released from lymphoid tissue in ways that parallel antibody release except that instead of releasing antibodies, whole sensitized lymphocytes are formed and released from the lymphoid tissue into the lymph.
An important difference between cellular immunity and humoral immunity is its persistence. Humoral antibodies rarely persist more than a few months, or at most a few years. On the other hand, sensitized lymphocytes probably have an indefinite life span and seem to persist until they eventually come in contact with their specific antigen. There is reason to believe that such sensitized lymphocytes might persist as long as ten years in some instances.
Although the humoral antibody mechanism for immunity is especially efficacious against more acute bacterial diseases, the cellular immunity system is activated much more potently by the more slowly developing bacterial diseases such as tuberculosis, brucellosis, and so forth. Also, this system is active against neoplastic cells, cells of transplanted organs, and fungal organisms, all of which are far larger than bacteria. And, finally, the system is very active against some viruses.
Therefore, cellular immunity is especially important in protecting the body against some viral diseases, in destroying many early cancerous cells before they begin to grow, and, unfortunately, in causing rejection of tissues transplanted from one person to another.
The sensitized lymphocyte, on coming in contact with its specific antigen, combines with the antigen. This combination in turn leads to a sequence of reactions whereby the sensitized lymphocytes destroy the invader. As is also true of the humoral immunity system, the sensitized lymphocyte destroys the invader either directly or indirectly.
Sensitized lymphocytes can become bound with antigens in the membrane of an invading cell such as a cancer cell, a heart transplant cell, or a parasitic cell of another type. The immediate effect of this attachment is swelling of the sensitized lymphocyte and cause immediate release of cytotoxic substances from the lymphocyte to attack the invading cell.
When sensitized lymphocytes combine with their specific antigens, they can release a number of different substances into the surrounding tissues that lead to a sequence of reactions. These reactions in turn are much more potent than the original attack on the invader. These include release of transfer factors which "recruit" additional lymphocytes having the same capability for causing the same cellular immunity reaction as the originally sensitized lymphocytes and includes the attraction and activation of macrophages to enhance their phagocytic and bacteriacidal functions.
It is by a combination of a weak direct effect of the sensitized lymphocytes on the antigen invader and much more powerful indirect reactions that the cellular immunity system destroys the invader.
Obviously, if a person should become immune to his own tissues, the process of acquired immunity would destroy his own body. Fortunately, the immune mechanism normally "recognizes" a person's own tissues as being completely distinctive from those of invaders, and his immunity system forms neither antibodies nor sensitized lymphocytes against his own cells and tissues. This phenomenon is known as tolerance to the body's own tissues.
Several researchers have described direct cell-mediated cytotoxicity against tumors. These include, for example, descriptions of T-cell killing, (Vanky F, Klein E., "Human T-cell cultures with selective antitomor reactivity," Cancer Immunol Immunother 1982;14:73-7; Vose BM, Bonnard GD, "Specific cytotoxicity against autologous tumor and proliferative responses to human lymphocytes grown in interluekin 2." Int. J. Cancer 1982;29L33-9; Wunderlich J., "Short-term .sup.51 Cr-release tests for direct cell-mediated cytotoxicity: methods, clinical uses and interpretations." In: Bach FH, Good RA, eds. Clinical immunobiology. New York: Academic Press, 1976:133-48); killing by macrophages, (Hibbs JB. "The macrophage as a tumoricidal effector cell: a review of in vivo and in vitro studies on the mechanism of the macrophage non-specific cytotoxic reaction." In: Fink MA, ed. The Macrophage In Neoplasia. New York: Academic Press, 1976:83-112); natural cytotoxicity, (Stutman O, Lattime EC. "Natural cell-mediated cytotoxicity against tumors in mice: an heterogeneous system, " Transplant Proc. 1981;13:752-5); polyinosinic acid-induced cytotoxicity, (Dorfman N, Winkler D, Burton RC, Kassayda N, Sabia P, Wunderlich J., " Broadly reactive murine cytotoxic cell induced in vitro under syngeneic conditions," J. Immunol. 1982;129-1762-9); lectin-induced cytotoxicity, (Mazumder A. Grimm EA, Zhang HZ, Rosenberg SA, "Lysis of fresh human solid tumors by autologous lymphocytes activated in vitro with lectins. Cancer Res. 1982;42:913-8); and interleukin induced cytotoxicity, (Grimm EA, Mazumder A, Zhang HZ, Rosenberg SA, Lymphokine-activated killer cell phenomenon," J. Exp. Mec. 1982;55: 1823-41). Lectin-induced cytotoxicity and interleukin induced cytotoxicity represent polyclonal activation of T-cells.
It is widely known that spontaneously arising tumor cells are usually not sufficiently antigenic to induce an immune response. (Eggers et. al. Cancer Immunol. Immunother. (1982)).
Adjuvant peptides have been used to stimulate the immunogencity of tumors. Adjuvants in general, are substances which non-specifically enhance the immune response to an antigen. It is known that in certain instances, administration of an antigen together with an adjuvant can completely change the mode of response, i.e., it is possible to break self tolerance to a large number of self or syngeneic antigens by injecting them into the host animal in an appropriate adjuvant. The most frequently utilized adjuvants are water-in-oil emulsions with the antigen in the aqueous phase, for example, Freund's Adjuvant. The adjuvant properties can be further enhanced by the addition of microbial antigen to the mixture such as in Freund's complete Adjuvant which contains heat-killed Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Antibody responses to antigens in adjuvants have proven to be greater, more prolonged and consist of different classes to the response obtained without an adjuvant. Adjuvants are hypothesized to work in a variety of ways. Initially, an antigen in an emulsion is resistant to dispersal and it therefore acts as a reservoir for antigen stimulation for-a period of long duration. Moreover, microbial products in general activate macrophages which lead to the Production of antigen non-specific factors which enhance the response. (Ivan M. Roitt et. al. IMMUNOLOGY Gower Medical Publishing, New York 1985).
In order to assist the body's own immune system in combating neoplastic diseases, such as all solid and lymphoid tumors, in vitro and in vivo immunization against tumor cell antigens has been performed.
In contrast to the non T-cell and polyclonal T-cell systems, it has been demonstrated that the use of an adjuvant peptide (AP) such as N-acetyl muramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine, covalently bound to the surface of poorly antigenic tumor cells such as murine methylcholanthrene-induced sarcoma cells (MC-1 cells) increases tumor immunogencity by permitting the induction of direct cell-mediated cytotoxicity against tumor associated antigens. This immunity is thus antigen driven and T-cell mediated.
The cell mediated cytotoxicity against tumor cells antigens has been shown to also be directed against cross reacting "targets" including many non H-2 (H=histo compatibility) matched solid tumors and some normal cells. This technique has been shown to work in vitro and in vivo, and a therapeutic effect has been demonstrated in vivo with small tumors. (Eggers, et. al. "Use of Covalently Bound Adjuvant Peptide to Increase Tumor Immunogenicity", Cancer Immunol Immunother; 12:167-172, 1982; Eggers, et. al. "T-cell nature of Adjuvant Peptide-Induced Antitumor cell-mediated cytotoxicity", J. Biological Response Modifiers, 3:387-390, 1984, Eggers et. al. "In vivo immunization against autologous glioblastoma-associated antigens, Cancer Immunol. Immunother. 19:43-45 (1985) the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein).
It has been demonstrated that experimental animals as well as humans can elicit an immune response against their own neoplastic cells. It has been, therefore, somewhat of an enigma why, when humans are capable of such as immune response, in most cases, the tumor continues to grow and or metastasize and finally kills the host instead of being destroyed by an immune reaction of the host. An explanation for this failure has been attempted by David Ilfeld et. al. "In vivo cytotoxicity and in vivo tumor enhancement induced by mouse spleen cells autosensitized in vitro," Int. J. Cancer 12:213-22, 1973.
Ilfeld et. al. hypothesized that circulating antibodies equipped with immunological specificity against tumor antigens accelerate tumor growth by actually interfering with the directed against tumor-specific antigens may favor the acceptance of an antigenic homograft whereas a strong response could lead to tumor rejection. Ilfeld et. al. studied the immuno-reactivity of C57B2 mouse spleen cells previously sensitized in vivo against syngeneic (self) fibroblasts, which were irradiated prior to sensitization. The sensitized spleen cells were assayed in vitro to test their cytotoxicity against 3LL tumor cells. Further, the sensitized spleen cells were mixed with the tumor cells and injected into syngeneic recipient mice in order to assay, in vivo, the influence on tumor growth. The in vitro assay showed that the sensitized lymphoid cells were cytotoxic against fibroblasts as well as against the tumor cells. However, in vivo experiments established that lymphoid cells sensitized against syngeneic fibroblasts promoted the growth of the 3LL tumor.
A problem with using tumor cells to prepare a vaccine is that most human tumors cannot be grown in tissue culture. For example, most common human tumors, such as colon, breast, non-oat cell of the lung and prostate are difficult to grow in sufficient quantities to prepare enough for a single injection.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a vaccine composition comprising non-malignant cells, preferably syngeneic, non-malignant cells coupled, to an adjuvant for administration to a vertebrate to induce a cell mediated cytotoxic response which cross reacts with tumor cells so that an anti-tumor immunity is induced in the vertebrate.
It is a second objective of the present invention to provide for a method for inducing anti-tumor immunity by administering non-malignant cells, preferably syngeneic, non-malignant cells coupled to an adjuvant as antigens or immunogens to induce in vivo cytolytic activity, i.e., induce an autoimmune response against the non-malignant cells that cross-reacts against neoplastic or tumor cells and induces in vivo protection against tumor cells.
It is a third objective of the present invention to provide a method for the treatment of neoplastic disease in a vertebrate comprising administering a therapeutically effective amount of non-malignant cells coupled with an adjuvant.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an implantable heart monitoring device, with which it is possible to monitor the heart condition. The invention also concerns a corresponding method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Several different devices for monitoring the performance of a heart are known. Often these devices are also able to deliver stimulation pulses to the heart. The devices are often able to sense the electrical activity in the heart. It is also known to determine an impedance value measured between different electrodes positioned in or at the heart. It is also known to sense other physiological parameters, such as pressure, oxygen level etc.
US 2001/0012953 A1 describes bi-ventricular pacing. An impedance may be measured between electrodes on the right and the left sides of the heart. The variation of the impedance with time is detected. The detected impedance variation may be used in order to synchronise the contraction of the ventricles.
US 2001/0021864 A1 describes different manners of using the proximal and distal electrodes of different leads in order to inject a current and to measure an impedance. The measured impedance value may be used in order to maximise the cardiac flow.
US 2007/0049835 A1 relates to an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator or pacemaker whose standard circuitry is used to trend a physiological cardiac parameter using intra-cardiac impedance measurements.
US 2007/0100249 A1 describes an implantable medical apparatus for detecting diastolic heart failure, DHF. The apparatus includes circuitry for determining, as the DHF parameter, the time duration of a predetermined phase of diastole.
US 2007/0055170 A1 describes a device for detecting the state of a heart on the basis of intracardial impedance measurement. The device has an impedance measuring unit as well as an analysis unit, which is connected to the impedance measuring unit and is implemented to derive a cardiac function parameter from a time curve of the impedance ascertained using the impedance measuring unit. The analysis unit derives a cardiac function parameter characterizing the behaviour of a heart during the diastole.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,314,323 describes a heart stimulator in which the cardiac output is determined by measuring the systolic pressure.
The article “Hemodynamic Effects of Tachycardia in Patients with Relaxation Abnormality: Abnormal Stroke Volume Response as Overlooked Mechanism of Dyspnea Associated with Tachycardia in Diastolic Heart Failure” by Dae-Won Sohn et al., Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography, February 2007, pp. 171-176, describes a comparative study of two groups of individuals: healthy individuals and individuals with stable relaxation abnormality. The article describes how left ventricular pressure and stroke volume varies for the two groups when the heart is paced with 80 beats per minute and 120 beats per minute.


Vehicle mounted cable reel handling apparatus adapted to be carried on a trailer vehicle are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,091,413 and 3,063,584. Reel handling apparatus has also been provided for pickup trucks as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,165,214; 3,184,082; 3,036,790 and 3,325,118. In the above patents, the apparatus generally includes vertically movable lift arms pivotally connected to the vehicle for engaging and transferring a single ground supported reel onto the vehicle for transport. The lift arms are engageable with the reel at all times even when the reel is in the transport position.
In some of the reel handling structures for trucks to handle a pair of reels for transport, the operating cylinders for the reel lift arms are arranged on the truck bed so as to appreciably limit the space for reel storage as appears in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,876,916 and 3,902,612. The Anderson U.S. Pat. No. 3,625,380 and McVaugh U.S. Pat. No. 3,820,673 use front and rear pairs of lift arms, with a first reel lifted from the ground by rear arms being transferred to the front lift arms and carried thereon to a farward transport position. The second reel when lifted from the ground remains on the rear lift arms for transport in a position adjacent to and rearwardly of the first reel.
Although transfer of a reel from the rear lift arms to the front lift arms was generally satisfactory, the double lift arm arrangement was relatively expensive and difficult to accommodate within the limited space requirements on the truck bed, especially as restricted with the growing demand for larger side mounted tool carrying compartment units. With the compartment units extended from the truck cab to positions over and behind the truck rear wheel and axle assembly space requirements for transporting the reels become more critical.
The Hall U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,612 partially solves this problem by using transversely spaced tiltable beams extended longitudinally of the truck for receiving a reel from a pair of rear lift arms. On a controlled downward and forward tilting movement of the beams the transferred reel is rolled by gravity action to a forward transport position. However, by virtue of the lift arms being actuated by cylinders mounted on the truck bed, the transverse distance between the beams is appreciably reduced. As a result the reel has a spindle of reduced length, when lifted from the ground, which is then replaced by a longer spindle before the reel can be supported on the beams. Hall, therefore, has no provision for side compartment units and requires a manual changing of reel spindles, and a manual actuation of the tiltable beams to roll a reel to a front transport position. These disadvantages of the Hall apparatus are eliminated by the apparatus of this invention.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a magnetron mounting within a microwave oven.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Historically, magnetron mounting in such devices as microwave ovens has required four attachment studs or bolts with their cooperating nuts. In some cases the studs were on the magnetron while in other cases they were on an oven wall or on brackets. Such variation requires the stocking of several different configurations to meet all design and repair requirements. In addition, labor requirements are high due to the time consuming task of individually joining and tightening each fastener combination. During both manufacture and repair, space constraints complicate the mounting of the magnetron.
Space constraints are imposed by the common desire to make the unit as compact as possible. Efficiency and safety require that any oven chamber, such as the cooking cavity and waveguide, if any, be "sealed" and have as few discontinuities as possible. For this reason, mounting of a magnetron within a microwave oven has often employed a bracket which extends beyond the chamber in question and to, or into, an adjacent closely packed compartment.


1. Field
Embodiments relate to a battery module.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a high output battery module using non-aqueous electrolyte of high energy density has been considered. The high output battery module may include a high capacity battery module formed by serially connecting a plurality of battery cells to be used for driving a device that requires high power, e.g., a motor of an electrical vehicle.
Typically, the battery module may include a plurality of battery cells. The battery cell may provide energy to an external electronic device by an electro-chemical reaction. The plurality of battery cells may be fixed (by a housing) to be used as a power source. The battery cell may include a highly reactive material therein, e.g., lithium. Thus, stability may be important.


Generating high quality and trusted random numbers is an essential task in various cryptographic schemes and many other applications such as Monte Carlo simulations [1] and various algorithms utilizing random numbers. Algorithmically generated pseudo-random numbers are available at very high rates and can be easily implemented in software, but they are deterministic in nature and therefore are not suitable for cryptographic purposes, and may be problematic for some Monte-Carlo simulations as well as other applications, e.g. games.
As an alternative, hardware random number generators have been used [2, 3]. They measure noisy physical processes and convert the outcome into random numbers. Since it is impossible to predict the outcome of such measurements, these physically generated random numbers are more trusted compared to pseudo-random numbers. Quantum random number generators (QRNG) are a class of hardware random number generators whose source of randomness is the outcome of measurements of a quantum noise source.
Early implementations of QRNGs made use of the decay statistics of radioactive nuclei [4, 5]. A number of more recent implementations using quantum optical measurements have been reported. These include measuring photon number statistics [6-12], scattering events of single photons by a beam splitter [13] and amplified spontaneous emission of a fiber amplifier [14]. QRNGs based on measuring the intensity [15, 16] and phase noise [17-24] of different light sources have also been reported.
QRNG implementations based on measuring the vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field have also been reported in [25-28]. Such measurements are known for their high bandwidth. However, the reported QRNG implementations based on measuring vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field have commercial implementation problems due to complexity of the alignment of optical elements and issues in manufacturability.
Embodiments of the present invention provide an alternative method and system for random number generation.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus, a method and a system for resistance-based evaluation of a muscular force.
2. Description of the Background Art
A system for resistance-based evaluation of a muscular force, exploiting a bi-articular link mechanism, such as a bi-articular arm apparatus, has been proposed in Japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2000-210272, for instance. In this known system for resistance-based evaluation of a muscular force, the muscular output of the antagonistic mono-articular muscles and the antagonistic bi-articular muscles of a test subject, or testee, whose muscular force is being evaluated, is measured with a pressure sensor. The test subject, or person, exerts the force with maximum isometric effort, at his or her four limbs, in a plurality of preset directions. Then, a hexagonal diagram showing characteristics of the output distribution is prepared to use the so prepared diagram to evaluate the force of function-based muscles of praxis.
There has also been proposed a model for bi-articular muscles that functions for a mammal inclusive of the human being to bend an arm, and researches are now underway with the use of the model to control the movements of the bi-articular link mechanism. See T. Fujikawa et al., “Functional Coordination Control of Pairs of Antagonistic Muscles”, Transactions of The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, Vol. 63, No. 607 (1997-3) pp. 769-776, Treatise No. 96-1040. In this research, it is stated to be desirable to use, as a driving source, a model of an actuator having an elastic element and a contractile element that exerts the force in the contracting direction.
In the above-described conventional solutions for resistance-based muscular force evaluation, the four limbs of a test subject are simulated to a link system, and a muscular force is evaluated based on a hexagonal diagram plotting characteristics of output distribution. Since the hexagonally-shaped output distribution, plotted on the diagram, differs with the joint angles of the link system, measurement cannot be conducted unless proportionally contracted. Further, it is difficult to arrive at proper comparison if the test subject changes his or her position each time his or her muscular force is measured.


This invention relates to a product for use on the sand shore of a beach, and more particularly concerns a product which serves both as a beach blanket and chair.
There is widespread interest in recreational or leisure time visits to sandy beaches. For more comfortable relaxation at the beach, a beach "blanket", usually a large sheet or blanket structure, is spread upon the sand so that the beachgoer can sit or lie upon the beach surface without actually being in contact with the sand.
Another item generally brought to the beach is a beach "chair", usually of foldable light-weight construction. The beach chair provides support for the user's back, and is therefore more comfortable than sitting directly upon the sand or the beach blanket, especially if the beachgoer intends to read or converse.
Although the beachgoer will want to bring to the beach equipment, food, and other articles to enhance the enjoyment of the occasion, the carrying and transporting of such items to the beach can be burdensome and diminish the enjoyment of the occasion.
The use of multifunctional beach related items are therefore of interest to the beachgoer, in that they minimize the amount of time and effort required to prepare and pack an automobile or bicycle for the trip to the beach, and in carrying the items onto the beach. Many types of compact beach chairs have earlier been disclosed, and various types of beach blankets are known, including inflatable structures which doubly serve as a raft. Inflatable chairs and related devices which provide support for the user's back are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,612,645; 3,112,956; 3,408,107, and 4,189,181. However, such prior devices are unsuitable for use on a beach or are not properly designed to support the back on a sand surface.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a product useful as both a beach blanket and beach chair, capable of accommodating one or more persons.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a product as in the foregoing object, a portion of which can be controllably inflated to form a comfortable chair-like structure having back-supporting characteristics.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a product of the aforesaid nature of rugged, durable, light-weight construction and amenable to low cost manufacture.
These objects and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.


Three-dimensional (3D) scanning systems are used to capture 3D models of real-world, physical objects by using one or more 3D scanners to capture views of the physical objects from multiple angles and synthesizing the 3D models from the multiple views.
Three-dimensional scanning systems may be contrasted with panoramic photography or virtual reality (VR) photography that capture a series of two dimensional (2D) images from multiple viewpoints and combine the 2D images into a format that allows a user to control the panning of a virtual camera across a 2D scene that remains stationary at a fixed central point (e.g., “outward facing” VR photography) and formats that allow a user to rotate around an object to view 2D images of the object from different sides (e.g., “inward facing” VR photography).
In contrast, the 3D scanning systems may be used to capture three-dimensional models of objects and/or environments (e.g., geometry defined by collections of three dimensional points), thereby allowing, for example, the measurement of lengths within the 3D models, and the insertion of the captured 3D models into 3D virtual environments such as 3D modeling tools and 3D game engines.


Membrane technology is extensively applied to gas separation. For this application, high gas permeability and gas pair selectivity are the two most important criteria for choosing membrane materials. See, e.g., P. Bernardo, et al., Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 48, 2009, 4638 and V. Abets, et al., Adv. Eng. Mater. 8, 2006, 328.
Cross-linked aromatic polyimide materials have received much attention for use in gas separation. Methods to cross-link aromatic polyimides include ultraviolet irradiation of benzophenone-containing polyimide chains, thermal treatment of polyimide chains containing acetylene end groups, and cross-linking polyimide chains by small molecules with multiple reactive groups. See H. Kita, et al., J. Membrane. Sci. 87, 1994, 139; Y. Xiao, et al., J. Membrane. Sci., 302, 2007, 254; and C. Staudt-Bickel et al., J. Membr. Sci., 155, 1999, 145. These methods tend to increase chain packing and inhibit intra-segmental and inter-segmental mobility among chains, resulting in improved gas pair selectivity but sacrificing gas permeability.
There is a need for improved polyimide membranes that can be used in gas purification with both high gas permeability and gas pair selectivity.


Data is frequently transmitted to and from users, such as consumers, over a network such as the Internet, cable, fiber, wireless, or satellite networks. A data modem is frequently used to modulate and demodulate data for transmission over the network. Data modems normally include one or more packet buffers to store incoming and outgoing packets, which may be transmitted using protocols such as UDP (User Datagram Protocol), which generally provides real-time non-guaranteed delivery of packets, and TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), which generally guarantees delivery of packets. Upstream packets such as UDP packets containing voice data or TCP/IP packets containing uploaded pictures or videos are generally stored in the packet buffer until they can be accepted by the network.
The ability of a given network to accept packets from the packet buffer may depend on a service “tier” to which a given consumer or other user has access. Users who have access to higher levels of service may be provided with a higher bandwidth corresponding to an improved performance experience, whereas users who have access to lower levels of service may be provided with a lower bandwidth. These factors may affect the length of time that packets remain in the packet buffer. If the network is congested, packets may remain in the buffer for a longer period of time, leading to perceptible delays, especially for applications such as voice transmission.
When a data modem is “provisioned” for a particular user or class of users, one of the parameters that may be set is the size of the packet buffer. By setting the packet buffer to a large size, some packets may stay in the buffer for a long period of time, creating perceptible delays. By setting the packet buffer to a small size, the buffer may fill up quickly, leading to an underutilization of the provisioned data rate. A default packet buffer size may be provided, which may be based on an assumption that the provisioned user will have a high tier of service corresponding to high bandwidth. Once the packet buffer size is set, it is generally not changed for the user. It would be desirable to allow more flexibility by allowing the buffer size to be adapted over time based on one or more factors.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital camera having a self-timer shooting function and an image display function.
2. Description of the Related Art
In resent years, digital cameras have rapidly been becoming widespread, and various types of digital cameras are supplied to the market. Generally, a digital camera frequently has an image display device comprising a liquid crystal display (hereinafter, referred to as an LCD) or the like on its back. Because of the LCD, the photographer can confirm the image to be shot without viewing through the finder. Therefore, it is possible to shoot the subject at an extremely free angle. Moreover, a conventional digital camera is provided with a function to continue displaying the shot image on the image display device for a predetermined time every time one frame is shot, that is, a function to hold the shot image for a predetermined time. Because of this function, the photographer can check whether the shot image is desired or not without performing any complicated operations.
Whether silver halide film cameras or digital cameras, cameras are frequently provided with a function to perform shooting by use of a self-timer (hereinafter, referred to as a self-timer function). According to the self-timer function which is used, for example, when the photographer himself or herself is the subject to be shot, shooting is on standby for a predetermined time after the depression of the release button, and shooting is performed after the predetermined time has elapsed. Because of this function, the photographer can shoot himself or herself by moving to the position of shooting within the predetermined time after depressing the release button.
However, since the photographer is the subject when self-timer shooting is performed as mentioned above, it takes time for the photographer to return to the camera after shooting is performed. Therefore, even though the digital camera has the image display device and the function to display the shot image for a predetermined time, it frequently occurs that the display of the shot image ends before the photographer returns to the camera to check the display device on the back of the camera. That is, the photographer cannot check the shot image. Since recorded images can be read out from a recording medium and played back, the shot image can be checked by playing it back. However, complicated operations-such as switching to a reproduction mode and specification of the frame to be played back are necessarily performed every time, which is inconvenient.
In view of the above-mentioned problem, an object of the present invention is to provide a digital camera in which the photographer can easily check whether the shot image is desired or not without performing any complicated operations even when self-timer shooting is performed.


In recent years, extremely many kinds of organic photochromic dyes has been developed, and photochromic dyes capable of being obtained as commercially available products have been increasing. The application thereof to a lens for eye glasses also becomes popular along with the trend of plasticization on the marketplace, and a photochromic lens made of plastic, applying an organic photochromic dye comes onto the market for use in eye glasses.
As to methods for manufacturing a photochromic lens, there are disclosed (1) a method of coating a resin liquid containing a photochromic compound on a lens, heating the same to cause the photochromic compound to permeate the lens surface layer, after that, removing the coated resin film, and applying a curable film thereon (for example, see Patent Literature 1), and (2) a method of dissolving a photochromic compound into a lens coating liquid, and coating and curing the same on the lens surface (for example, see Patent Literature 2).
However, in the method of (1), in order to obtain a sufficient photochromic density, it is necessary to cause the photochromic compound with a high concentration to permeate the lens surface and there is a problem in which a lens base material is limited to a material to be highly permeated. Therefore, in terms of heat resistance, mechanical strength and the like, a satisfactory level as a lens for eye glasses is not attained. In addition, in the method of (2), there is a limitation on the solubility of the photochromic compound into the coating liquid and the securement of a sufficient coloration density is difficult.
Furthermore, in these methods, since a film is formed by coating the coating liquid on lens surfaces of variously curved shapes, a high-accuracy technology of homogenizing the film and a high-accuracy technology of controlling a film thickness, which correspond to these methods, are required, and thus the manufacturing cost becomes high.
In contrast, as manufacturing methods other than (1) and (2), (3) a method of dissolving previously a photochromic compound into a monomer mixed liquid for a lens, pouring it into a mold, and after that, polymerizing it to obtain a photochromic lens is disclosed (for example, see Patent Literature 3 and Patent Literature 4).
More particularly, in Patent Literature 3, a photochromic lens is disclosed, the lens having a sufficient light-controlling performance, and excellent surface hardness and abrasion resistance that are important as a lens. In addition, in Patent Literature 4, a photochromic lens is disclosed, the lens having a low yellow level before coloration and having wavelength in coloration made longer, to thereby allow a deep tone to be expressed.
Methods of (1) and (2) require a special process for imparting light controllability such as a coating treatment after lens molding. In contrast to this, the method of (3) is preferable as a manufacturing method because the light-controlling performance is imparted simultaneously at the time of the lens molding and thereby manufacturing number of processes is lowered, and in addition, since the photochromic compound can easily be dispersed homogeneously in a base material, the method of (3) is extremely useful as a method for mass-producing a lens having a certain light-controlling performance irrespective of the lens shape and having a stable quality.
Furthermore, as specific examples of the method of (3), in Patent Literature 5 and Patent Literature 6, it is described that the combination of a specific aromatic (meth)acrylic ester and aromatic vinyl makes it possible to obtain a good light-controlling performance.


Credit card sized integrated circuit integrated circuit cards are commercially available and find utility in numerous electronic systems. In personal computers they supplement or replace floppy disks by carrying software programs and data. Integrated circuit cards are connected to the computer's internal logic by insertion through an opening in the side of the computer to mate with a socket contained within the computer. Portable personal computers, notebook computers, and pocket diaries particularly find integrated circuit cards convenient because they avoid the need for the expense, power requirements, bulk, and weight of a disk drive; the integrated circuit card needs only an electrical connector and minimal structural, support.
Facsimile and copy machines can use an integrated circuit card to store data related to usage control. Typewriters and printers can use an integrated circuit card to store desired memory fonts. Word processors can use an integrated circuit card to store text. Hand-held terminals can use integrated circuit cards to store inventory control information. Electronic cash registers can use integrated circuit cards to store price information. Controllable machinery can use integrated circuit cards to store automation control information. Programmable controllers can use integrated circuit cards to store process control data. Electronic game systems can use integrated circuit cards to store the specifics of games to be enacted on TV screens by the players.
Other areas that can benefit from the use of integrated circuit cards include bulk data acquisition such as in music and photography, where the desired song or picture is stored in the memory devices of the card.
Presently available integrated circuit cards typically include one or more plastic-encapsulated or other types of integrated circuits solder attached to connection stripes or spots on a printed wire board. A connector is solder attached to metal lines which are formed on the printed wire board and extend to one edge of the board. The connector connects external power, signal, and ground lines to circuitry in the card. An external shell or encasement surrounds the printed wire board/integrated circuit/connector assembly. The encasement typically has top and bottom frames formed from molded plastic and bonded together along an outer edge to define an interior chamber in which the printed wire board is located. The top and bottom frames have ribs which contact and securely hold the printed wire board and connector in place. Top and bottom metal plates are bonded to the top and bottom frames, respectively, and cover openings in the top and bottom frames.
The use of a plastic frame adds significantly to the complexity, tooling costs, and tooling turn around time in integrated circuit card construction. This is due to the fact that the manufacture of a plastic frame requires the use of a mold. Whenever the size of the printed wire board or the number, location, or size of the semiconductor devices on the printed wire board is changed, a new plastic frame that will accommodate the changes is required. The fabrication of the mold for the new frame is extremely time consuming and expensive. As a result, the time and expense incurred in producing integrated circuit cards incorporating even minor design changes are significant.
The use of a molded plastic frame is also a major source of problems during assembly of the integrated circuit card due to the fact that molded plastic frames are easily bent and often have surface irregularities introduced during the molding process which prevent all integrated circuit card parts from fitting together properly. In addition, processes for bonding the top and bottom plastic frames together, such as ultrasonic welding, are difficult and produce integrated circuit cards having inconsistent quality.
Accordingly, a need exists for an integrated circuit integrated circuit card that can be produced quickly, is simple, inexpensive, and reliable, and does not require a plastic frame.


1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a suction cup device, more particularly to a suction cup device which defines a volume-variable space to produce an adjustable reduced pressure with a desired suction strength.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a conventional suction cup device 10 disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2010/0116954 A1, which is adapted to be attached to a flat wall 1, and which includes a suction cup 13 with a rack 14 connected to the center thereof, a mount body 11 attached to the suction cup 13 by virtue of a pressing ring 12, and a lever 15 pivotably mounted on the mount body 11 and provided with a pinion 152 meshing with the rack 14. By turning the lever 15, a central part of the suction cup 13 can be pulled away from the flat wall 1 to produce a reduced pressure in an enclosed space between the flat wall 1 and the suction cup 13 for holding the suction cup device 10 against the flat wall 1. However, in the conventional suction cup device 10, the strength of suction force generated as a result of movement of the central part of the suction cup 13 is constant, and cannot be increased after a period of use, thereby resulting in undesired disengagement of the suction cup device 10 from the flat wall 1.
Another conventional suction cup device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,021,593 B1, which includes a suction lock/release disposed on a lever and deep scoops disposed on the mount body to lock the lever at a fixed angle so as to adjust the suction strength of a suction cup. However, assembly of the suction lock/release to the lever is troublesome. Besides, manual operation of the suction lock/release is required to lock or unlock the lever, thereby rendering the adjustment complicated.


1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to magnetic thin film heads (TFH) for recording and reading magnetic transitions on a moving magnetic medium.
2. Background of the Invention
Magnetic TFH transducers are known in the prior-art. See, e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,016,601; 4,190,872; 4,652,954; 4,791,719 for inductive devices and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,190,871 and 4,315,291 for magnetoresistive (MR) devices.
In the operation of a typical inductive TFH device, a moving magnetic storage medium is placed near the exposed pole-tips of the TFH transducer. During the read operation, the changing magnetic flux of the moving storage medium induces changing magnetic flux upon the pole-tips and gap between them. The magnetic flux is carried through the pole-tips and back-portion core around spiralling conductor coil winding turns located between the core arms. The changing magnetic flux induces an electrical voltage across the conductor coil. The electrical voltage is representative of the magnetic pattern stored on the moving magnetic storage medium. During the write operation, an electrical current is caused to flow through the conductor coil. The current in the coil induces a magnetic field across the gap between the pole-tips. A fringe field extends into the nearby moving magnetic storage medium, inducing (or writing) a magnetic domain (in the medium) in the same direction. Impressing current pulses of alternating polarity across the coil causes the writing of magnetic domains of alternating polarity in the storage medium. Magneto-resistive (MR) TFH devices can only operate in the read mode. The electrical resistance of an MR element varies with its magnetization orientation. Magnetic flux from the moving magnetic storage medium induces changes in this orientation. As a result, the resistance of the MR element to a sensing electric current changes accordingly. The varying voltage signal is representative of the magnetic pattern stored on the magnetic medium.
Prior-art magnetic recording inductive thin film heads include top and bottom magnetic core pole layers, usually of the alloy Ni--Fe (permalloy), connected through a via in the back-portion area, and separated by a thin gap layer between the pole-tips in the front of the device. The bottom pole-tip is usually designed to be wider than the top pole-tip in order to prevent "wraparound" due to misregistration or misalignment, as taught by R. E. Jones in U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,855. Alternatively, one or both pole-tips are trimmed by ion-milling or by reactive ion etching (RIE) to ensure similar width and proper alignment. Such a technique is disclosed, for example, by U. Cohen et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,623. As the track width decreases in order to increase the recording density, the write head pole-tips must be very narrow. P. K. Wang et al. describe elaborate schemes to obtain pole-tips for writing very narrow track width, in IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, Vol. 27, No. 6, pp. 4710-4712, November 1991.
One of the problems associated with the prior-art pole-tip designs is that during write operations, substantial noise is introduced along the track-edges (on the magnetic storage medium), which adds to the noise generated by the medium during read operations. During the write operations, significant portions of the intense magnetic flux lines, emanating from the corners and side-edges of the pole-tips, deviate from a direction parallel to the track's length. The non-parallel magnetic field magnetizes the medium in the wrong directions, giving rise to noise along the track-edges. This noise is usually characterized as "track-edge fringing noise" and is a major obstacle to increasing the track density. According to a paper by J. L. Su and K. Ju in IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, Vol. 25, No. 5, pp 3384-3386, September 1989, the track-edge noise extends about 2.5 .mu.m on each side of the written track. As track density increases, the track width decreases along with the strength of the read-back signal. If the track-edge fringing noise remains the same, then the signal to noise ratio (SNR) is directly proportional to the track width, and deteriorates rapidly as the latter decreases. The current state-of-the-art magnetic thin film media can support lineal density of about 40,000-60,000 flux changes per inch (FCI), corresponding to domain length of about 0.4-0.7 .mu.m. Yet, the track width is at least an order of magnitude larger, about 8-12 .mu.m. There is no apparent reason why the media could not support much narrower tracks, if not for the rapid deterioration of the SNR. By eliminating most of the track-edge fringing noise, the useful track width could be decreased to about 1.0 .mu.m, or less. This represents an increase of recording density by about an order of magnitude.
In addition to the medium's noise, there is also the head's noise. A significant portion of the head's noise is due to edge-closure domains in the pole-tips. This noise contribution becomes more dominant as the width of the pole-tips decreases. This problem was described, for example, by D. A. Herman in Paper No. 299, "Laminated Soft Magnetic Materials", The Electrochemical Society Conference, Hollywood, Fla., October 1989.


Circuit structures are known in which a conductive member that constitutes a circuit for conducting a comparatively large current is fixed to a substrate provided with a conductive pattern that constitutes a circuit for conducting a comparatively small current (for example, see JP 2003-164040A below).
In the circuit structure disclosed in JP 2003-164040A, a main portion of an electronic component (FET) is mounted on the conductive member, and at least one of the terminals of the main portion is connected to the conductive member while the other terminal or terminals are connected to the substrate (see FIG. 4 of JP 2003-164040A). Because there is a height difference (step difference), which corresponds to the thickness of the substrate, between a surface of the substrate and a surface of the conductive member, there is a need to perform processing such as bending of either of the terminals. Also, there may be cases where bending cannot be performed if the terminals are short, and connection becomes difficult.
The issue to be solved by the present invention is to provide a circuit structure to which an electronic component can be easily mounted (electrical connection of terminals).


1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a process for measuring the flow vectors in gas currents containing optically detectable particles wherein a focusing means focuses at least two spatially separated beams in at least two focusing point in a measuring volume.
2. Description of the Related Art
Processes for measuring flow vectors in gas currents have been known to employ light of a light source focused by a focusing means in the flow channel at two focusing points positioned in a close succession (U.S. Pat. No. 3,941,477). Particles contained in the gas current are illuminated in traversing the focusing points. Due to the stray radiation reflected by the particles, a start pulse is produced when the first focusing point is traversed, while a stop pulse is produced during the traversing of the second focusing point. From the time interval between the start pulse and the stop pulse, it is possible to determine the component of the particle speed vector in direction of the straight line traversing the focusing points. By moving the focusing device, said direction may be varied thus permitting the detection of flow vectors having different directions. However, by said method, it is only possible to measure the components of the flow vectors which extend in a normal plane relative to the optical axis of the focusing means. The component extending in the direction of the optical axis may not be determined. Said process is designated to 2d-process to refer to the two-dimensional vector measurement.
A further development of said process is designated as 3d-process, by which the vector component extending in direction of the optical axis may be detected as well (British Pat. No. 2,109,548) and in which four laser beams are used two of which each form a beam pair. The beams of each pair being directed to two focusing points situated in the same normal plane relative to the optical axis. Due to the differences of the direction of incidence of the beams directed to a focusing point, the flow directions measured by means of the beam pairs are determined differently. From said difference of direction, one may draw a conclusion concerning the flow component in direction of the optical axis of the system. The expenditure and the laser capacity required by said known process are quite considerable.


Alternative transportation fuels have been represented as enablers to reduce toxic emissions in comparison to those generated by conventional fuels. At the same time, tighter emission standards and significant innovation in catalyst formulations and engine controls has led to dramatic improvements in the low emission performance and robustness of gasoline and diesel engine systems. This has reduced the environmental differential between optimized conventional and alternative fuel vehicle systems. However, many technical challenges remain to make the conventionally-fueled internal combustion engine a nearly zero emission system having the efficiency necessary to make the vehicle commercially viable.
Alternative fuels cover a wide spectrum of potential environmental benefits, ranging from incremental toxic and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission improvements (reformulated gasoline, alcohols, etc.) to significant toxic and CO2 emission improvements (natural gas, etc.). Hydrogen has the potential to be a nearly emission free internal combustion engine fuel (including CO2 if it comes from a non-fossil source).
The automotive industry has made very significant progress in reducing automotive emissions. This has resulted in some added cost and complexity of engine management systems, yet those costs are offset by other advantages of computer controls: increased power density, fuel efficiency, drivability, reliability and real-time diagnostics.
Future initiatives to require zero emission vehicles appear to be taking us into a new regulatory paradigm where asymptotically smaller environmental benefits come at a very large incremental cost. Yet, even an “ultra low emission” certified vehicle can emit high emissions in limited extreme ambient and operating conditions or with failed or degraded components.
One approach to addressing the issue of emissions is the employment of fuel cells, particularly solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), in an automobile. A fuel cell is an energy conversion device that generates electricity and heat by electrochemically combining a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, carbon monoxide, or a hydrocarbon, and an oxidant, such as air or oxygen, across an ion-conducting electrolyte. The fuel cell converts chemical energy into electrical energy. A fuel cell generally consists of two electrodes positioned on opposite sides of an electrolyte. The oxidant passes over the oxygen electrode (cathode) while the fuel passes over the fuel electrode (anode), generating electricity, water, and heat.
The fuel gas for the cell can be derived from conventional liquid fuels, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, methanol, or ethanol. The device, which converts the liquid fuel to a gaseous fuel suitable for use in a fuel cell, is known as a reformer.
The long term successful operation of a fuel cell depends primarily on maintaining structural and chemical stability of fuel cell components during steady state conditions, as well as transient operating conditions such as cold startups and emergency shut downs. The support systems are required to store and control the fuel, compress and control the oxidant and provide thermal energy management.