GIAN Abondoned Patents Database

Tetrazolinonecarboxamides of formula I ##STR1## wherein PA1 Het is oxetan-3-yl, thietan-3-yl, tetrahydrofuran-3-yl, furan-3-yl, tetrahydrothiophen-3-yl, thiophen-3-yl, tetrahydro-2H-pyran-3-yl, tetrahydro-2H-thiopyran-3-yl, tetrahydro-2H-pyran-4-yl or tetrahydro-2H-thiopyran-4-yl, in each case with or without substitution; PA1 R.sup.1 is optionally substituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, cycloalkyl, cycloalkenyl, phenyl, or 3- to 7-membered heterocyclyl; PA1 R.sup.2 is hydrogen, alkyl, haloalkyl, alkenyl, haloalkenyl, alkynyl, or is optionally substituted cycloalkyl, cycloalkylalkyl, phenyl, phenylalkyl, 3- to 7-membered heterocyclyl, or 3- to 7-membered heterocyclylalkyl, their preparation and herbicidal compositions comprising them.

An additive for machine tool coolants, generally water-based coolants, to eliminate static electricity, foam and inhibit rust, causes contaminants to settle-out in the coolant and thereby be more easily removed from the coolant return tank bottoms. The composition of the additive comprises glycerin, propylene glycol, Butyl Cellosolve.RTM., Igepal CO-43O.TM. and borax in suitable proportions.

Peptide family designated as xenonins, wherein the representative members can be isolated from the substance secreted from the skin of Xenopus laevis, and having precious pharmaceutical properties.

The present invention relates to novel ligands for forming metal complexes that absorb or fluoresce in the visible or near-infrared (NIR) region of the electromagnetic spectrum, new complexes incorporating such ligands, process for preparing such complexes, and methods of imaging or therapy using such agents. More particularly, the present invention specifically pertains to novel metal complexes derived from quinoline based heterocyclic N.sub.2 O.sub.3, N.sub.3 O.sub.3, N.sub.3 O.sub.4, N.sub.3 O.sub.5 and N.sub.2 OS ligands, and are useful as general imaging, diagnostic, or therapeutic agents employing optical, nuclear medicine, or magnetic resonance procedures.

The invention concerns novel indole piperazine derivatives of Formula (I): ##STR1## It also concerns a method for preparing said compounds and their use as therapeutically active substances, in particular for treating or preventing diseases related to the dysfunction of 5 -HT.sub.1-like receptors.

Hydroxamic acids having the formula ##STR1## are useful in treating disease conditions mediated by TNF-.alpha., such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, sepsis, AIDS, ulcerative colitis, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease and degenerative cartilage loss.

An unsaturated polyester (i) having a weight-average molecular weight (Mw) of 1,000-100,000 and at least two carbon-carbon unsaturated bonds in the molecule thereof obtained by esterifying an unsaturated carboxylic acid (b) with a polyester-polyol (a) obtained by subjecting a polybasic carboxylic acid containing polymerized fatty acid and/or polymerize fatty acid ester to polycondensation with a polyhydric alcohol; and an unsaturated (poly)urethane having Mw of 1,000-100,000 and at least two carbon-carbon unsaturated bonds in molecule obtained by reacting said polyester-polyol (a), polyisocyanate (d) and compound (e) having active hydrogen and polymerizable carbon-carbon unsaturated bond. Said unsaturated polyester and unsaturated (poly)urethane exhibit excellent adhesive property, heat resistance, water resistance and flexibility after being cured.

Fluoroelastomers having copolymerized units of vinylidene fluoride major monomer, at least one other fluorinated major monomer, and at least one cure site monomer are prepared in an aqueous suspension polymerization process using an initiator consisting essentially of a solution of an oil soluble peroxide in a water-soluble hydrocarbon solvent.

The present invention provides polyimides and co-polyimides that are organosoluble. The polyimides and co-polyimides are prepared from an aromatic diamine having ortho-linked phenylene and pendant tert-butyl group, i.e., 1,2-bis(4-aminophenoxy)-4-tert-butyl-benzene, or its mixture with other diamines, and a mixture of dianhydrides that containing at least one dianhydride selected from s-BPDA, DSDA, ODPA, 6FDA and other diether-dianhydrides.

This invention is to develop novel transition metal catalysts for the practical synthesis of important chiral molecules. The invention emphasizes asymmetric catalysis based on chiral bidentate phosphine ligands with cyclic ring structures which could be used to restrict conformational flexibility of the ligands and thus the efficiency of chiral transfer can be enhanced through the ligand rigidity

An electroclinic device having two spaced cell walls each bearing electrode structures and treated on at least one facing surface with an alignment layer, a layer of a smectic liquid crystal material enclosed between the cell walls, where the liquid crystal material contains one or more of the compounds described by formula I as defined in the specification.

An improved process for preparing alcohols by the Oxo process. More particularly this invention relates to an improvement in the hydrogenation step of the Oxo process characterized in the use of certain bulk multimetallic hydrogenation catalysts comprised of at least one Group VIII non-noble metal and at least two Group VIB metals.

A method and system for automatically filing the narrow gap between facing end walls of adjacent first and second railway rails by depositing vertically spaced layers of molten metal in the gap with an electric arc welding torch using a robotic mechanism that moves the torch in a pattern controlled by a low level robotic execute program from a spatial position to a next spatial position, said method and system comprising: constructing a data array for a specific gap, said array constituting a series of positions making up an idealized progression of said torch to fill said gaps in vertically spaced layers made up of multiple positions, each of said fixed positions identified by at least four coordinates, including (1) at least x, y and z, (2) the layer in which said position is a part and (3) the welding parameters to be executed while said torch moves toward the next position; outputting data relating to a specific position from said data array; processing said welding parameters associated with said outputted data using said robotic execute program; then, outputting the new fixed data relating to the next position in said series of points; processing said welding parameters associated with said new data using said robotic execute program; and, repeating said outputting and processing acts until said positions in said data array relating to a specific layer have been processed. Thereafter the method or system repeats the layer or processes the next layer comprising multiple stored positions.

A method and apparatus for providing submerged arc welding power is disclosed. The power supply is AC/DC, and may be controlled in either a CV or a CC mode. The power supply includes a cycloconverter that provides a single phase output and receives a three phase input. A controller includes a PI current regulator for operation in the CC mode. The controller also includes a PI voltage regulator. When the CV mode is selected, the voltage and current regulators are cascaded such that the output of the voltage regulator is the set point input to the current regulator.

A lateral heating or air conditioning unit has an electric heating device downstream of the heater core, spaced from it and in the mouth of the hot passage. Separate blend doors are disposed in each of the hot and cold passages. The electric heater device is flush with the opening of the hot air passageway into the mixing chamber so as to prevent air flow disturbances.

This modular snow melting carpet device for melting snow and ice on pathways comprises a flat sheet of generally rectangular shape, two conducting wires embedded in the sheet and running along the length of the sheet and generally close to their respective length edge. The conducting wires are connected at both of their extremities to a female single pin connector also embedded into the sheet and exposed at the width edges. The device also comprises a plurality of heating elements also embedded into the sheet and parallel connected along said conducting wires and, two male single pin connectors adapted to mate with the female connectors of one edge and connected to a power source. Additionally, an intersection device may comprise two crossover connecting wires embedded into the sheet and electrically insulated from the conducting wires and heating elements. Both extremities of each crossover wires are connected to an additional female single pin connector exposed at both length edges of the sheet and in close proximity to its respective width edge. Two of these additional connectors, close to a same width edge, are electrically connected to their respective closest connector. The crossover wires allow for interconnecting another device to any of the four edges of the modular device. All female connectors are maintained covered by removable insulating plugs that can be replaced by double male couplers to parallel connect two adjacent heating devices. All distances between each female connector and its respective closest sheet corner are equal to each other, in order to allow for electrical connection between two adjacent modular carpet devices.

An insulated gate thyristor is provided which includes: a first-conductivity-type base layer, first and second-conductivity-type base regions formed in the base layer, a first-conductivity-type source region formed in the first base region, a first-conductivity-type emitter region formed in the second base region, and a gate electrode layer formed on a gate insulating film over the first base region, first-conductivity-type base layer, and second base region, which are interposed between the first-conductivity-type source region and the first-conductivity-type emitter region. The thyristor further includes a first main electrode that contacts with both the first base region and the first-conductivity-type source region, a second-conductivity-type emitter layer formed on the other surface of the first-conductivity-type base layer, a second main electrode that contacts with the second-conductivity-type emitter layer, a gate electrode connected to the gate electrode layer; and an insulating film covering entire surface areas of the second second-conductivity-type base region and the first-conductivity-type emitter region. In this insulated gate thyristor, an exposed surface portion of the first second-conductivity-type base region that is interposed between the first-conductivity-type base layer and the first-conductivity-type source region has a smaller width than an exposed surface portion of the second second-conductivity-type base region interposed between the first-conductivity-type base layer and the first-conductivity-type emitter region.

An on-chip vertically stacked decoupling capacitor includes a hardmask film formed between the capacitor dielectric and the lower electrode. The manufacturing process used to form the capacitor takes advantage of the hardmask film and enables the capacitor to be formed over a low-k dielectric material. Attack of the underlying low-k dielectric material is suppressed during the etching and stripping processes used to form the capacitor, due to the presence of the hardmask. The low-k dielectric film provides for a reduced parasitic capacitance between adjacent conductive wires formed in the low-k dielectric material and therefore provides for increased levels of integration.

An electronic module is provided using one or more field effect transistors (FETs) arranged on a conductive plate such that the module is capable of switching very high currents while remaining compact and still providing excellent thermal management properties. A plurality of conductive plates are bonded with an insulating material, the insulating material also forms a housing. One or more FETs are arranged inside the housing on one of the plates such that an electrical connection is made between a first region of the FET and the plate. A second FET region is electrically connected to another conductive plate. A circuit board is contained within the housing in which an electrical connection is made between the second region and the circuit board, and between a third FET region and the circuit board.

Carbon brush including at least one pressed-in stranded copper wire arranged as a plait-woven hollow stranded wire, formed from a plurality of copper strands of diameter 0.05 to 0.1 mm, and recrystallized by heat treatment. The hollow stranded wire contains at least one stiffening inner wire having a diameter of 0.1 to 0.5 mm, the diameter of the at least one stiffening inner wire being at least twice the diameter of any of the copper strands.

An ultrasonic motor drive apparatus includes a transformer having a primary coil and a secondary coil which drives a piezoelectric body of an ultrasonic motor. One end and the other end of the primary coil are connected to the drains of MOSFETS. The gates of the MOSFETs are connected to receive switching signals to alternately turn on and off electrical currents which flow in the primary coil. The sources of the MOSFETs are connected to the ground through ferrite beads, respectively. The ferrite bead generates a counter electromotive voltage so that the surge voltage which develops on the drain of the MOSFET at the time of turning off of the MOSFET is suppressed and high frequency oscillations are suppressed.

A piezoelectric transformer (21) comprises a piezoelectric rectangular body (23) equally divided into first to fourth regions (A1, A2, A3, and A4) in a longitudinal direction. The first and the fourth regions (A1, A4) are provided with plane electrodes (24, 25, 26, and 27) as input electrodes and polarized in a thickness direction. Strip-like electrodes (30, 31) are formed at the boundary between the remaining second and third regions (A2, A3) as output electrodes. An AC input voltage having a frequency corresponding to a wavelength equal to a half of the length of the piezoelectric rectangular body is applied to the input electrodes to vibrate the piezoelectric plate in a two-wavelength resonance mode. A voltage produced by a piezoelectric effect in response to the vibration is extracted from an output terminal. The transformer is small in size, low in vibration rate and heat generation, and excellent in efficiency. As a modification, the input electrodes may be formed in two or three regions which are opposite to each other in displacement distribution in the two-wavelength resonance without being restricted to the first and the fourth regions while the output electrode is provided in another region.

A color cathode ray tube comprises a vacuum envelope in which there is mounted a shadow mask having a curved surface having a plurality of electron beam passing holes and a skirt extending downward from the margin of the curved surface. The shadow mask is supported by a mask frame having a substantially rectangular side wall. A shadow mask assembly constituted by fitting and securing the skirt into the side wall is set in the panel of the envelope, and the skirt is fitted and secured into the side wall by curving the middles of two or four facing sides of the skirt inward. Thereby, it is possible to provide a color cathode ray tube having the shadow mask assembly capable of obtaining a superior magnetic shielding characteristic by enlarging the effective region of the curved surface of the shadow mask.

A low-interference lighting system includes a housing, a voltage converter located within the housing, at least one pair of spaced-apart arms serving as electric elongated conductors extending from the housing, and a pair of special contact conductors for an external electrical device to tap into the electric elongated conductors. With respect to each arm, it includes an elongated conductor for carrying electric current and a grounded conducting shield surrounding, but electrically isolated from, the elongated conductor. External electrical devices, such as lamps make electrical contact with the elongated conductor via the contact conductors while insulated from the grounded conducting shield. In one embodiment, the pair of arms are rigid and in another embodiment, they are flexible.

An electric motor-driven servo-drive for a motor vehicle lock in which, instead of an AND gate implemented using circuitry with two switches, a mechanical AND gate using an actuating element (10) or a magnetic sensor is used with a single switch.

An apparatus for eliminating variable offset values of current detecting signals and its method having a current detector for detecting feedback current from a three-phase AC motor and for converting the feedback current into voltage detecting signals containing offset elements, differential amplifiers for differentially operating a feedback analog offset signal and the voltage detecting signals, output amplifiers for amplifying the differentially operated voltage detecting signals to fit within the input range for controlling, an analog/digital converter for converting the amplified signals into digital signals, a control part for adding up the digital signals to a digital offset value and for comparing the digital offset value with a predetermined offset command and for applying a proportional plus integral function to the compared result and for outputting a digital offset signal of a pulse-width modulation waveform, and a digital/analog converter for converting the digital offset signal into the analog offset signal and for providing a feedback loop of the analog offset signal to the differential amplifiers. The disclosed invention can adjust a current detecting signal to a desired level of signal even though the offset element which is contained in the detecting signal of a motor such as a current detecting signal of the ASIPM is being variably changed.

A scale control method provides fine scale control in a measurement instrument and also provides scale control spanning wide adjustment ranges. The method detects the presence of the user input to a control sensor and establishes an acceleration factor for the input based on a rate at which events are generated by the control sensor. The acceleration factor modifies a defined scale step size that has a correspondence to the events generated by the control sensor. The defined scale step size, as modified by the acceleration factor, is added to a prior scale to establish a present scale. The present scale and prior scale are used to select a detent value from a series of detent values and to determine if a detent is applicable. When a detent is applicable, the present scale is set to the selected detent value and control of the scale parameters is then determined by this detent value. When the detent is not applicable scale parameters are adjusted according to the defined step size as modified by the acceleration factor.

The primary-side voltage profile of an ignition voltage is converted into an analog current through the use of a first regulating circuit, whose output voltage is compared with a first comparison voltage in a first comparator. The output voltage is compared with a second comparison voltage in a second comparator. A diagnostic signal for the ignition switch can be tapped at the output of the first comparator, and a measurement signal for the burning duration can be tapped at the output of the second comparator.

A voltage to current converter comprises a first long tail pair comprising transistors whose emitters are connected via equal value resistors to a constant current source. The first long tail pair forms a main transconductance stage. A subsidiary or corrector transconductance stage is connected in anti-phase with the main stage. The corrector stage is based on another long tail pair comprising transistors whose emitters are connected via resistors to another constant current source. The linear part of the transconductance of the corrector stage is substantially less than that of the main stage but the non-linear part is substantially equal to that of the main stage. Thus, non-linear distortion can be substantially reduced.

There is provided a booster circuit which can feed a power source to a control circuit to enable operation with a low-voltage input power source when a power supply is turned on. A charge pump circuit comprises: four capacitors C1, C2, C3 and C4 provided between an input power source (VDD) line 20 and a ground; switches for charging 30 and 32 connected to both ends of the capacitor C1; switches 34 and 36 for charging connected to both ends of the capacitor C2; switches 38 and 40 for charging connected to both ends of the capacitor C3; switches for charging 42 and 44 connected to both ends of the capacitor C4; switches for boosting 46, 48, 50, 52 and 54; and a capacitor C5 for holding an output voltage. The ON/OFF changeover of each switch is controlled by a control circuit.

An apparatus is provided for removable interconnection to a metallic bit driving tool used to drive screws and other attachment hardware and to provide a magnetizing force at the tip of the bit driving tool. The apparatus may be used in conjunction with a typical power drill or other similar device.

A single-sided magnet for magnetic resonance imaging has a main field assembly including numerous small outer field coils arrayed around a main axis. The main field assembly may also include a central field coil coaxial with the main axis inside the array of outer field coils, as well as shim coils, also coaxial with the main axis.

A laser intrusion system for detecting motion in a swimming pool for detecting a person entering a swimming pool. The laser intrusion system for detecting motion in a swimming pool includes a swimming pool. The swimming pool has a peripheral wall. The peripheral wall has a top edge. A motion detection apparatus is mounted in the peripheral wall of the pool such that emitted light travels over water in the pool. The motion detection apparatus is operationally coupled to a power source and an alarm device. The alarm device is adapted to produce a sound.

A vector quantizer and a vector quantization method are provided, which do not allow the embedding position of the watermark information to be identified easily, and thus enable unfair use of the vector quantized information to be accurately found out. Waveform extraction is performed on input signal data to output extracted waveform data. Index data are generated based on the output extracted waveform data. As index data to be generated based on predetermined extracted waveform data in which no watermark information is to be embedded, out of the output extracted waveform data, index data is randomly selected, which corresponds to the predetermined extracted waveform data from a plurality of index data which, when decoded, have amounts of errors falling within a predetermined range with respect to the predetermined extracted waveform data before decoding.

The radar apparatus of the present invention comprises a beam transmitter for radiating a radar beam, a beam receiver for receiving a reflected signal, a processor for calculating the position of the object, and a malfunction detecting device for detecting a malfunction of the radar apparatus. At least one of the area irradiated by the beam transmitter and a receiving area of the beam receiver overlaps with a movable area of a wiper blade of the wiper device, and the malfunction detecting device estimates that the radar apparatus is malfunctioning if a wiper passing signal to be detected does not appear in an output signal of the processor while a wiper movement detecting device detects that the wiper device is activated.

A driving current is supplied via a current limiting resistor to a laser diode for emitting a red laser beam. This driving current is controlled so as to make the optical output of the laser diode have a predetermined reference value. Further, a current of a constant level is intermittently subtracted from the driving current flowing into the laser diode, on the basis of an image to be formed.

An image forming apparatus having a colorimeter for measuring density or color of an image, and capable of carrying out calibration with high accuracy. In the image forming apparatus, a test image, and a first reference line and a second reference line for defining a position of the test image on an image receiving paper, are exposed and formed on a photosensitive material. The first reference line and the second reference line formed on the image receiving paper are detected by a reflective photosensor so that a position at which the test image is formed on the image receiving paper is automatically determined. As a result, test image data, which is stored in advance in the image receiving apparatus, and a measurement position, at which measurement is carried out by a colorimetry apparatus, can be made to correspond to each other accurately. Further, the colorimetry apparatus is built-in into the image forming apparatus, thus allowing a series of operations needed for calibration to be performed automatically.

A digital comb filter for decoding composite video signals into a luminance and a chrominance component. A Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) circuit or a band split filter circuit is used to determine important characteristics of an input video signal without demodulating the video signal. The circuits produce a signature signal by which each of the video lines can be correlated. Signature signals on various surrounding video lines that are of opposite subcarrier phase with the current line are compared to determine similarity and appropriate weighting coefficients for the surrounding lines. If none of the surrounding lines are similar, the comb reverts to a band split filter to form chrominance. A noise measure circuit determines an error signal input used to adjust the weighting coefficients as the noise level increases or decreases. Multiplexer combines high pass and low pass taps of a band split filter into a single data stream. Line delays delay the current video signal to form two additional lines of video. Field delay memories provide field delay and frame delay taps to the comb filter. Line delay, together with field delay memories, provide the interlaced line above and below the current line for the comb filter. Interframe motion detector gives priority to the frame comb signal when no motion is detected between the current line and the frame delayed signal in the same vertical position as the current line.

The apparatus (10) for providing magnification for a package (1,2) is designed to provide the user with an apparatus that will allow the user to have a magnification unit to enable him or her to read the instructions of directions on the side of a package (1,2). This is especially valuable for use on prescription bottles used by elderly individuals in situations where improper use of medicines could lead to disastrous consequences. The magnification apparatus (10) for packaging (1,2) comprises a cap (12) that contains a magnifying lens (11) that is molded or manufactured into the cap (12). The focal length of the lens is designed to be longer than the package (1,2) that is positioned upon in order to minimize any problems caused by light at the focal point. The lens (11) can be clear, opaque or colored as determined by the contents of the package (1,2). The user adjusts the apparatus (10) as necessary to read the instructions on the side of the packaging.

A heavy-duty precision support for an optical instrument, especially for an astronomical telescope is disclosed, comprising a base carrier which is mounted on a stationary base so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis and an instrument holder for holding the optical instrument which is supported at the base carrier so as to be swivelable about a horizontal axis. To provide a support which is simple to produce and assemble and which has excellent stiffness, positioning accuracy and dependability, the base carrier is supported against the base in the manner of a ball joint by means of a central bearing. Further, a bearing portion of the base carrier is guided axially at the base.

Disclosed herein is a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device which comprises a memory cell array, page buffers and Y-pass gate circuit. Each page buffer according to the present invention contains its latch which has a first current driving capacity during a sensing period of a read operation and a second current driving capacity during a data output period of the read operation. Similar adjustable current drive capacity is provided during a program operation of the memory device. Preferably, such additional current drive capacity is provided via dual parallel pull-up transistors provided within a data latch circuit corresponding with each bit line of the memory device. Provision of the second parallel transistor and associated gating eliminates the need for one of the prior art circuit inverters in the latch, thereby reducing layout space over-all within the page buffer circuit region of the device.

A serial access memory reduces a chip size and saves a process development. The serial access memory has first decoders that output first selection signals in response to a received address signal, write registers for temporarily storing data, a first switch that is connected between the write data buses and the write registers and provides conduction between the write data buses and the write registers in response to the first selection signals, a memory array having memory cells and a plurality of memory columns wherein the memory cells are connected through word lines, and a second switch that is connected between the write registers and the memory columns and provides conduction between the write registers and the memory columns in response to second selection signals, wherein the write registers are connected to a predetermined number of the memory columns, and the second switch provides conduction between the write registers and only one of the present invention number of the memory columns in response to the second selection signals.

An editing apparatus divides a data file including main data and management data into a first file and a second before and after a divide position. The divide position is first determined. Then, a recording data block containing the divide position is copied into a data space of the first file. The management information of the first file is edited. Then, the management information for the second file is created and edited.

A CDMA synchronous acquisition circuit for receiving a CDMA signal and performing synchronous acquisition on the CDMA signal, comprises a receiving unit for receiving a signal and decoding the received signal to a reception base band signal which is spread-modulated in a CDMA mode, a correlation circuit for calculating a correlation value for the received base band signal every timing within one chip of a spread code by a correlator, and means for detecting the maximum value of the correlation value to estimate the spread code generation timing of a spread-modulated transmission base band signal within a precision of one chip of the spread code, wherein the correlator includes offset removing means for removing a DC offset component due to unbalance of the code balance of the spread code.

A collimator apparatus for a treatment planning machine that delivers a beam. A circular collimator defines a circular aperture for the beam. At least one movable collimator jaw is moved into the projection of the circular aperture with respect to the beam in order to eclipse a portion of the beam.

Disclosed is a portable fixture which can be employed in simulating and testing the various functions of a conventional payphone. In general terms, the fixture includes an umbilical cord which can be removably connected to a payphone's motherboard. The fixture further includes a receptor for accepting a phone line, as well as electrical connectors for removably accepting the existing handset. When connected, the keypad of the fixture serves to override the payphone's keypad. Thus, when connected, the fixture mimics many of the operational functions of the payphone. Also disclosed is a diagnostic circuit within the fixture. The circuit is specifically for use in testing the operational status of the payphone's escrow relay device. The circuit is plugged into the payphone's existing escrow relay by way of an electrical connector associated with the fixture.

The present invention provides computer-assisted methods and apparatus for identifying, selecting and characterizing biomolecules in a biological sample. A two-dimensional array is generated by separating biomolecules present in a complex mixture. A computer-readable profile is constructed representing the identity and relative abundance of a plurality of biomolecules detected by imaging the two dimensional array. Computer-mediated comparison of profiles from multiple samples permits automated identification of subsets of biomolecules that satisfy pre-ordained criteria. Identified biomolecules can be automatically isolated from the two dimensional array by a robotic device in accordance with computer-generated instructions. A supported gel suitable for electrophoresis is provided that is bonded to a solid support such that the gel has two-dimensional spatial stability and the solid support is substantially non-interfering with respect to detection of a label, such as a fluorescent label, associated with one or more biomolecules in the gel.

What is described here is a device for optical signal transmission between two dynamically decoupled systems, preferably two systems moving relative to each other, comprising at least one emitter means including a first source of light, which is mounted on said first system, as well as a receiver means including at least one fiber optical wave guide, which is mounted on said second system and along which said light source is moved and into which the light of said light source can be injected. The invention is characterized by the provisions that a photo refractive layer is applied at least on that surface of said fiber optical wave guide which is immediately opposite to said first light source, and that at least one source of coherent light is mounted on said first system, which emits light which dynamically imprints an optical grating into said photo refractive layer due to beam superimposition at the site where the light is injected, which grating presents refractive properties for the light of said first source of light so that the light can be injected into said optical fiber

An optical fiber coupler has at least an m-core optical fiber optically coupled to an n-core optical fiber, where m and n are positive integers and m is greater than 1. A channel add/drop multiplexer includes an optical fiber coupler and a Bragg grating disposed on the m-core fiber outside the coupling region.

Where a so-called tandem-copying function is selected, in which image data read by one image forming apparatus via a control panel (con-pane) unit is output and copied at high speed by two image forming apparatuses. A central control unit causes a scanner unit to read an original and stores read image data in an image memory unit. An external controller reads the image data stored in the image memory unit and feeds the data to the two image forming apparatuses as print data. Printing is effected by printer units in the respective image forming apparatuses. In this case, if a key counter is attached to one of the two image forming apparatuses or key counters are attached to the two image forming apparatuses, the central control unit and external controller perform an accounting process using the key counter.

An image forming apparatus has a plurality of drive motors for driving a plurality of photosensitive drums independently, a plurality of motor rotation controllers for controlling rotation and driving of the plurality of drive motors independently, a plurality of rotation phase detectors for detecting the rotation phase of each one of the plurality of photosensitive drums, a rotation phase difference calculator for calculating the rotation phase difference of the other photosensitive drums corresponding to the rotation phase of the photosensitive drum for black as the reference, a phase correction setting unit for setting the rotation phase difference in printing operation, and a phase correction controller for correcting rotation phase of the other photosensitive drums on the basis of the calculated rotation phase difference and the set rotation phase difference.

An apparatus and method for enabling an uncalibrated, model independent controller for a mechanical system using a dynamic quasi-Newton algorithm which incorporates velocity components of any moving system parameter(s) is provided. In the preferred embodiment, tracking of a moving target by a robot having multiple degrees of freedom is achieved using an uncalibrated model independent visual servo control. Model independent visual servo control is defined as using visual feedback to control a robot's servomotors without a precisely calibrated kinematic robot model or camera model. A processor updates a Jacobian and a controller provides control signals such that the robot's end effector is directed to a desired location relative to a target on a workpiece.

A method for predicting a noise intensity emitted from a fan is provided. The method in accordance with the present invention provides data about the performance of the fan and a noise intensity corresponding to a shape of the fan and operating conditions so that the data are used in design and manufacturing of fans. The method comprises following steps for: analyzing a flow field around the fan on the basis of a fan shape and operating conditions; obtaining a noise source value of the fan from force data of blades at a given time in the analyzed flow field; and calculating a noise intensity from the noise source value.

Garments and apparel that animate subsurface muscles, joints and tendons. The garments can include athletic wear such as leggings that conform to both the thigh and calf of a user and arm coverings that conform over the arm, and even over the torso of the body. Other applications can include dancewear, theatrical costuming, medical and therapeutic products. The garment can include seams about slits, each slit being parallel to one another running down the exterior sides of the leggings and arm coverings. Sewn to the edges of the slits, beneath the slits can be a sublayer elastic material having a different color and/or texture than the surface color and/or texture of the garment. Alternatively, instead of seams, the material can be formed from a chemically or another technically produced fabric that has designated stretch and non-stretch areas engineered at selected locations.

A windshield wiper assembly for use in a motor vehicle. An electric motor is operatively connected to and powered by an on-board electrical supply provided by the vehicle. The motor forms a part of a housing mounted within an engine compartment of the vehicle at a location remote from the vehicles windshield. A driving wheel and linkage member convert a rotary output of the motor into a translating and reciprocating driving force. A drive mechanism is mounted proximate a lower edge of the windshield, beneath a cowl portion, and with a first wiper arm pivotally securing to the drive mechanism at a first location and a second wiper arm likewise pivotally securing to the drive mechanism at a second location. An elongated and internally hollowed sleeve extends between the housing and the drive mechanism. The sleeve encloses a flexible and incompressible cable securing to the motor and drive housing at a first end and to the drive mechanism at a second end. The cable is acted upon by the driving wheel and linkage of the housing and imparts the reciprocating and translating driving force to the gear and belt arrangement of the drive mechanism. The drive mechanism further includes high strength and resilient reciprocating structure to operate the wiper arms and blades without fear of material wearing or fatigue and so as to permit mounting of the motor and housing within the engine compartment at a location remote from the firewall separating the occupant compartment.

A secondary wiper to a windshield wiper is provided. The secondary wiper is detachably connected through connectors to an arched arm of the windshield wiper to locate in front of the latter relative to a sweeping direction of the windshield wiper. The secondary wiper includes a hair holder to which multiple lines of hair and a long wiping element are held. When the windshield wiper and the secondary wiper are brought to sweep across a windshield, the multiple lines of hairs on the secondary wiper first sweep granular and/or powdered dust off the windshield, so that such dust would not be brought by the windshield wiper to scrape across and damage the windshield. When the wipers are brought to reversely sweep across the windshield, the long wiping element on the secondary wiper effectively scrape watermarks off the windshield to enhance an overall function of the windshield wiper. A damaged secondary or windshield wiper may be independently replaced with a new one without the need to discard the other good wiper at the same time.

An accessory system for a ductwork cleaning machine that utilizes a vacuum hose having a rotating cleaning brush the vacuum and the power for the rotating brush being supplied from a remote power unit with a rotating drive cable being located within the vacuum hose. The accessories permit more efficient operation of the ductwork cleaning system. The first accessory is an improved nozzle for mounting the rotating brush which permits large vacuum openings without the risk of an operator becoming entangled with the rotating cable. A second accessory prevents the cable from withdrawing within the vacuum hose when the hose is disconnected from the power unit. The third to accessory is attached to the power unit and guides the guide cable into place as the vacuum hose is attached to the power unit.

A clip is disclosed for securing an object such as a tent fabric to an elongate support such as a pole or cable in a manner does not slide along the support but that can be easily engaged and disengaged. The clip includes a hook and a cam-shaped clamp that is manually rotated between an open position in which the cam surface of the clamp is retracted sufficiently to allow easy insertion of the pole or cable, and a clamping position in which the cam surface presses the pole or cable against the interior of the hook.

A support device, for shoes to be associated with a sports implement such as a ski, a roller skate or an ice skate, includes a rigid shell which partially surrounds the shoe laterally, to the rear and in a lower region and can be interposed between the shoe and an element for engaging the sports implement, the rigid shell having means for detachable locking to the shoe.

A cable failure device for a mobilizing a garage door in the event of a failure of one of the cables or one of the elements holding the cables is described. The cable failure device of the invention includes a support structure mounted on the cable operated door and includes a connection point onto which a tensioned cable is connected. A braking assembly is mounted onto the support structure and includes a casing mounted onto the support structure and a brake operable between a rest position and an operable position. The brake is movably mounted to the support structure and is located adjacent the outside of a fixed frame such as guide rails and is adapted to co-operate with a roller on the garage door so that a portion of the guide rail lies between the roller and the brake. A tension detector co-operating with the tension cable is provided for detecting a tension in the tension cable and an actuator is operatively connected to the tension detector and to the brake. When the brake is in the rest position, the rollers guide the door along the rail and when the brake is triggered into the operable position by a loss of tension in the cable detected by the tension detector, it causes the actuator to actuate the brake so that it engages the outside of these rails, thereby urging the brake and one of the rollers towards each other. This combined action brakes the movement of the cable operated door and thus impedes its free falling to the ground, thereby preventing damages and injuries.

An integral metal spacer for insulated glass units and method of fabricating the spacer. The spacer defines a substantially closed cross-section contour having a bottom surface, a pair of sidewalls, and a pair of generally abutting inner surfaces. A gap may be defined between the adjacent inner surfaces. The three interior corners are defined by fully mitered sidewalls. A pair of bridges are provided to integrally interconnect the inner surfaces of adjacent spacer segments. The method of fabricating includes taking a roll of flat metal stock and completely punching all corner and other structures therein while the stock is planar; severing the punched stock into individual spacer members; roll-forming the individual members into a finished linear spacer piece; applying desiccant during roll-forming; applying sealant; thereafter folding the elongate member into a square spacer thereby locking the desiccant therein.

A slicing machine that deposits foodstuff slices in a stack atop a support in a stacking station has a sheet-interposing device provided with a supply roll of sheet material and a feed roller for feeding a leading end of the sheet material in a direction to the stacking station. a guide between the station and the roller imparts to the sheet leading end an upwardly concave U-shape to stiffen the sheet leading end so it projects horizontally stiffly from the guide above the station. A cutter movable between the guide and the station cuts off the sheet leading end so that the cut-off end drops down in the station.

A heat engine is constructed from sheet metal and the like. The heat engine has an outer container and inner container which contains a displacer and a power piston. A plurality of positioning members are provided to dimensionally stabilize the inner and outer containers. By providing positioning members that extend between the inner and the outer containers, a sandwiched construction is obtained which allows the inner and outer containers to reinforce each other thus permitting the use of thin walled containers and improving the thermal efficiency of the heat engine and decreasing the weight of the heat engine.

A reservoir of the device supports, in its upper portion, a profiled flange forming a handling apparatus for the device and a trough to collect and discharge, via an opening, the water of condensation forming on a vaporization coil. The coil has turns of changing diameters, supported by support combs on the trough and enclosed in a cover provided with peripheral and upper air openings. The cover includes an element for securing a receptacle that directly coacts, by gravity, condensates.

A piping cleaning system switches over a four-way switching valve 43 of a heat pump circuit 200 so that two transfer heat exchangers 25, 26 are operated alternately as a cooling device and a heating device, by which a cleaning refrigerant in a cleaning circuit 2 is circulated through a gas line 3 and a liquid line 5. During this cleaning operation with the cleaning refrigerant circulated, when the cleaning refrigerant runs short in amount, a solenoid valve SV3 is opened so that cleaning refrigerant of the refrigerant cylinder 71 is resupplied through a refrigerant resupply line 72 to either one of the transfer heat exchangers 25 or 26 that is cooling. On the other hand, when the cleaning refrigerant is excessive, a solenoid valve SV4 is opened so that the cleaning refrigerant is returned to the refrigerant cylinder 71 through a refrigerant bleed line 73. Thus, the amount of cleaning refrigerant can be maintained at an appropriate level.

A self-contained mobile air-cooling apparatus that can be moved to specific areas for auxiliary or primary cooling as needed. The cooling apparatus has a refrigeration compressor interconnected to an expansion evaporator coil and a condenser coil. A blower draws in ambient air via a return opening and through the evaporator coil giving off cooled air. Refrigerant from the evaporator coil is circulated through a water cooled condenser coil in an enclosure giving up its heat to the water. The water is circulated over the condenser coil in the enclosure and selectively to a storage tank via an outlet control valve.

A cold compresses apparatus comprises a bladder used for cooling the forehead and/or the limbs of the feverish patient to reduce his temperature. The bladder is cooled by passing cold air inside it. The source of cold air is an air cooling unit containing a thermostat to control the cooling temperature of the outer surface of the bladder. The air-cooling unit works by electric power.

The torque variator device of the invention is a mechanism to be interleaved between a transmission arbor and a conducted arbor, and it includes two circular plates that at the external edges they have double serrated rings. On one hand, said rings include the serration of a peripheric ratchet, and, on the other hand they engage with corresponding conical pinions at the end of the threaded bars, located radially and which are gyratory within a threaded hole in radially displaceable coupling elements of said circular plates. The invention also includes a device for the detection of the radial location of said coupling elements.

A method of manufacturing a motor car steering wheel with an external shell made of carbon fibers, which comprises preparing a pile of sheet materials, hot molding thereof for obtaining respective half-shells with a shape corresponding to that of respective halves of the steering wheel being manufactured, mechanical flattening of the front surfaces of the two half-shells, mounting of the two half-shells above and under a steering wheel body formed by a metallic core covered by resin. The steering wheel body has lateral profiles which act as fixing supports for the two half-shells.

A transmission case comprises first, second and third casings 1, 2 and 3, which are connected side by side in this order from an engine. An input shaft 11 and a countershaft 12 with speed change gear trains and clutches are disposed in a first room 8 which is defined by the first and second casings, and the both ends of these shafts 11 and 12 are supported rotatably in partition walls 4 and 5 which are provided with the first and second casings, respectively. In this condition, the side of the countershaft 12 which is located away from the engine extends into a second room 9 defined by the second and third casings, in which room, an output shaft 13 is disposed. In addition, a constant mesh type gear train is disposed in the second room 9 for power transmission between the countershaft 12 and the output shaft 13. Furthermore, the end of the output shaft 13 which is located toward the engine is supported rotatably by the second casing while the end of the countershaft 12 and the side of the output shaft 13 which are located away from the engine are supported rotatably by the third casing.

A log processing system contains a row of tipple units for supporting a log to be cut into programmed lengths by saws swing-mounted on carriages selectively positioned on a truck extending beside said row. Each tipple unit has two oppositely extending wings each independently moveable between upwardly sloped and downwardly sloped positions. The tipple units at the cutting positions have their wings lowered out of the cutting range of the saws. Log hold-down arms operate from the carriages in conjunction with the saws.

A cutting tool, especially a plane blade head or plane blade shaft, includes a supporting body (1) having at least one recess (3) which is open radially to the outside, a wedge shaped clamping jaw (4) housed in the recess (3) and a blade (6) which can be fixed in its seat by means of the clamping jaw (4). For positioning the blade (6) the clamping jaw (4) is pretensioned by a compression spring (13), and for removing the blade (6) the clamping jaw (4) can be displaced radially inwards against the force of the compression spring (13), whereby the clamping jaw (4) automatically self-locks in its radial inner position. The arrangement permits the automatic self-locking of the clamping jaw (4) by providing for a spring-loaded bolt (7) which engages a recess (22) provided for in the clamping jaw (4).

A recessed portion 15 for removing a circlip 13 is formed in such a manner as to coincide in location with a broached groove 12 formed in a piston bore 2a for relieving the compression deformation of a piston pin 10 that would be caused by a thrust load.

A method and apparatus for sorting livestock such as hogs, sheep, cows, and poultry within an enclosure and guiding the livestock to an exit opening therein is disclosed. The present invention includes an elongated, foldable livestock barrier constructed of a durable plastic material which may be attached to a perimeter wall of a livestock enclosure adjacent an exit opening therein and gradually unfolded and extended to a remote position along an opposite wall of the enclosure to separate the livestock into groups to be sorted. Thereafter, the flexible barrier is gradually refolded to shorten its effective length and moved along the perimeter wall toward the exit opening of the enclosure to gradually reduce the confined area wherein the animals to be sorted are contained. Using this technique the animals are guided out of the exit opening to an alternate floor within the livestock facility without injury to either the animal or the worker. The livestock barrier is adaptable to various types of animal enclosures and is versatile in its application and use.

A fluid bed chamber assembly that is affixed to or incorporated onto the bottom portion of a combustion chamber of a package boiler assembly to increase combustion efficiency of the boiler. The fluid bed chamber assembly comprises a lower region and an upper region. The lower region having a plurality of inlet means for admitting fluidizing gas to the lower region for fluidizing a bed of particles contained therein, heat exchange tubes disposed about the side walls of the lower region, and first and second in-bed heat exchange tubes which are disposed substantially horizontal within the lower region. The upper region comprises at least one secondary air inlet means, at least one tertiary air inlet means, at least one fuel feed inlet means, and at least one recycle inlet means, all of which are disposed within the side wall of the conversion fluid bed chamber assembly.

A cylinder head for an engine having a two-plane water jacket in which a lower chamber at one plane through the head cools the fire deck of each cylinder and a cross-flow passage for the coolant is spaced above the lower chambers in a second plane through the head directs coolant to an outlet. The two planes of the water jacket are connected by an annular passage surrounding the injector nozzle sleeve and has machined surfaces whereby the size of the flow channel and thus the coolant flow between the two planes is better controlled to enable more even cooling of the fire deck resulting in less variability in fire deck temperature from one cylinder to one another. The lower chambers cooling the fire deck are separate for each cylinder to prevent heated coolant from one cylinder flowing to the next cylinder fire deck.

A rotary engine includes a central rotor having a frustoconical shape with an ellipsoidal groove machined into the outer surface of the rotor. The rotor is rotated by the movement of a series of pistons mounted in cylinders surrounding the rotor. A series of piston rods connected to the pistons have piston followers that engage and follow the elliptical groove on the rotor. The rotor is mounted on a main drive shaft, and a cam assembly is additionally mounted above the rotor on the main drive shaft. Each cam in the cam assembly has a lobe, and is operable to control the intake of fuel and the exhaust of burned gases within the each cylinder according to the rotation of the main drive shaft. In this design, the piston follower encounters less friction and side forces due to the frustoconical shape of the rotor. Additionally, the pistons have a positive movement within each cylinder due to the angular placement of the cylinder in conjunction with the rotor.

A drive train for a four stroke, overhead cam engine is provided, comprising a crankshaft, connecting rod, and piston assembly for reciprocating the piston within the cylinder bore of a cylinder block. An internally profiled cam gear is driven around an axis perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder block. A pair of follower arms extend from a pair of rocker arms and engage the cam profile to actuate intake and exhaust valves in the cylinder block. An intermediate gear is driven by the crankshaft at half speed to drive the cam gear, and may also be used to drive an additional device, such as a combination oil pump and governor. The cam follower arms may be disposed in an overlapping crosswise arrangement generally parallel to the cam gear, or may be disposed perpendicular to the cam gear.

An electromagnetic actuator for operating a driven member includes an electromagnet having a yoke provided with a pole face and a coil supported by the yoke and adapted to be supplied with electric current to produce an electromagnetic force; and an armature connectable to the driven member and movable in a path of motion into a first position and a second position spaced from the first position. The armature is moved by the electromagnetic forces into the second position in contact with the pole face. A resetting spring is coupled to the armature and exerts a spring force thereon for urging the armature away from the second position toward the first position. The actuator further includes a dampening assembly which has a piston affixed to the armature and a dampening cylinder provided in the yoke and having an open end oriented toward the armature and being in an axial alignment with the piston. In the first position of the armature the piston is axially spaced from the dampening cylinder. The piston enters the dampening cylinder solely during a terminal portion of the path of motion of the armature during displacement thereof toward the second position.

A valve gear controls a gas exchange in an internal-combustion engine with a valve spring which holds a valve in its required position at all times and is clamped between a valve head and a valve-spring support. The valve spring support is adjustable in the direction of the valve axis. The adjustable valve-spring support includes two nested setting rings (2, 3) which are rotatable in opposite directions.

A method for knock regulation in an internal combustion engine, includes using signals from at least one knock sensor to obtain knock values (KW) and using these knock values (KW) to form knock thresholds (KS) with which the knock values (KW) are compared for the purpose of identifying engine knock. Each determined knock value (KW) is compared with a limit value (g) and is replaced by a replacement value (E) if it exceeds the limit value (g), for calculation of a practical knock threshold (KS).

In an engine crankcase ventilation system, a blowby gas passage and a fresh air passage are defined between adjoining crankcase members so as to extend in parallel with a crankshaft axial line along either side of a lower part of said crankcase assembly. Because the crankcase is configured to receive the rotating crankshaft provided with counterweights, it necessarily has a circular cross section. Therefore, this arrangement allows effective utilization of the available space. Thus, a cavity of a required volume for effective oil separation and pressure pulsation damping can be formed in the engine main body without increasing the number of components parts, and without complicating or increasing the size of the overall structure.

In an ignition apparatus, voltage is induced in a primary coil by a permanent magnet being rotated together with rotation of an output shaft of an engine. As the output shaft rotates, protrusions also revolve, inducing voltage in an electromagnetic pickup. Depending on the induced voltage in the pickup, a switching element is switched on or off. The switching-off timing of the switching element is set as an ignition timing. Therefore, at the ignition timing, the current through the primary coil is sharply cut off, so that great voltage is induced in a secondary coil and is applied to an ignition plug.

An apparatus for cutting a substantially cylindrical work piece in a direction generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the work piece includes a wire having a plurality of cutting elements affixed thereto and a wire drive mechanism for driving the wire across and through the work piece. The wire drive mechanism includes a capstan to move the wire orthogonally across a longitudinal axis of the work piece, a rotational drive to oscillate the wire around the longitudinal axis and an advancing drive to advance the wire perpendicularly through the longitudinal axis of the work piece. In a particular embodiment disclosed herein, the apparatus comprises imparts a substantially rocking motion to the wire drive mechanism about the longitudinal axis of the work piece and the cutting elements of the wire are impregnated diamonds.

An upright cylindrical valve body has an inlet port axially aligned with an outlet port. A valve member is retained for reciprocal movement into and out of engagement with a valve seat axial aligned with fluid flow between the inlet and outlet ports. A relief port positioned adjacent to the outlet port exhausts fluid that remains in the valve above the valve seat after it is closed. The valve member is normally maintained in a closed position. Fluid flow into the inlet port actuates the valve. A portion of the fluid flowing through the valve chamber is diverted through passageways by a pair of remote controlled solenoid valves to open the valve. When it is desired to close the valve, the solenoid valves are actuated to evacuate fluid internally within the valve so that the valve member is returned to a closed position. A relief valve in the outlet port exhausts fluid from the upper end of the valve when the fluid pressure falls below a preselected magnitude. Flow through the valve is incrementally controlled by pulsing or cycling movement of the valve member into and out of engagement with the valve seat by switching the solenoid valves between on and off positions. In the closed position of the valve, all fluid is automatically exhausted from the valve.

A stethoscope head for joining to an earpiece assembly. The head has a generally tubular neck for joining the head to the earpiece assembly. An anterior chamber has an open face with an aperture at its apex and an outer rim. The bell is adapted to gather and reflect sound originating at or near the open face toward the aperture. A thin disposable diaphragm has adhesive on one side for releasably adhering to the rim. A central chamber is adjacent the bell and connected to the bell by the aperture. The chamber is adapted to direct sounds from the aperture to the neck.

Attachments for floor and yard trucks with a lift mast, especially for fork lift trucks, have a lift carriage (8) which has two side plates (9, 10) and two horizontal beams (12/14, 13) situated one over the other with a clearance ("h") between them, on which there is held at least one hydraulically powered element from the group: load carrier, "transport securing means," rotating device, tilting device, pushing device, pulling device, holding device, lifting device, fork shifting device, lateral shift frame (1), each with the corresponding hydraulic drive (14). The front sides of the horizontal beams (12/14, 13) and the rear edges of the side plates (9, 10) of the lift carriage (8) are disposed between two vertical planes defining between them a space (7) wherein the at least one hydraulic jack (14) is arranged and the corresponding control unit (18) is disposed. To avoid or reduce the number of hydraulic hoses, within the said space (7), in addition to the at least one hydraulic jack (14), there is also at least partially arranged the control unit (18), plus at least one drive means from the group of hydraulic pump (19a), pump motor (19b), storage battery, pump sump, pressure accumulator (20) and radio receiver.

A carrying case or luggage includes a concave curved side panel to facilitate positioning of the luggage when held by hand straps or a shoulder strap against the hip or leg of a user or person carrying the luggage.

A system is described for lining or protecting a working surface of a chute, hopper, trough, etc. or other material-handling equipment with a wear-resistant material. The system includes a framework of parallel elongated rails secured to the working surface and separated by spacer bars which define the spacing between adjacent rails. The framework is tack-welded to the working surface. A plurality of wear-resistant panels having opposing side edges are held in place on the rails. The side edges of the panels have recesses for frictionally engaging the rails, and worn panels can be easily removed and replaced when necessary.

A vending machine for dispensing a single publication product at a time. The vending machine includes a housing with a front wall, back wall, side walls, top wall and bottom wall. A door is hinged to the front wall on the housing and forms part of a display case for displaying information regarding the product being dispensed. An elevator is located within the housing and slidable from a position near the back wall toward the front wall, the elevator adapted to contain a stack of products being dispensed. A dispensing assembly is mounted within housing and forward of the elevator. The dispensing assembly includes a dispensing sled which is translatable from an upper position to a lower position. The dispensing sled is adapted to engage a publication product located on the elevator and to slide the publication product toward a dispensing area located at the bottom of the housing. An actuation arm is attached to the dispensing sled and pivotally mounted to the housing. The actuation arm projects outward from the front of the housing and is actuatable in a downward direction. The downward actuation of the actuation arm translates the dispensing sled downward. A locking mechanism controls dispensing of a publication product.

The present invention provides a system and method for a seal for a sterilizable bag. This seal is made between a first polymeric sheet material (5) and a second polymeric sheet material (3). The first sheet material (5) should be sufficiently porous so as to allow or permit gas or steam sterilization but substantially impervious to bacteria. The second sheet material (3) includes an outer heat sealable layer. The seal (4) is fabricated from a first thermal surface weld (15) between the heat sealable layer of the second sheet material (3) and the first sheet material (5), and a second thermal melt weld (12) between at least the heat sealable layer of the second sheet material (3) and the first sheet material (5). The thermal melt weld (12) may be narrower than the first weld (11) and lying within the boundaries of the first weld (11). Furthermore, seal (4) may be sufficiently flat in order to allow a cross-heat seal using conventional equipment.

A device to aid in study and learning including a fabric bag having external pockets with transparent outer panels for holding study materials, such as homework or other papers associated with a course of study, and accessories for writing on and working with the study materials. The bag is made to the size of a standard breakfast cereal box so that the box can be placed inside of the bag so as to provide both support for the bag--so that the study materials are displayed upright for ready viewing--and a writing surface, so that the study material may be worked with by marking on the transparent outer panels. Closing straps are provided such that the straps may be secured out of the way for unhampered pouring of the contents of the box. Methods of use facilitate assisted study, such as a parent assisting a child during the breakfast hour, as well as individual study and study by two individuals concurrently. For use by young children, the primary colors, basic shapes, exhortatory sayings and the like may be printed, painted, or embossed on the bag and/or its accessories such as an eraser, markers and the like.

Process and apparatus for removing solids from an aqueous fiber suspension in a flotation container that includes a drainage section. The process includes adding gas bubbles to the fiber suspension entering the flotation container, and collecting a flotation foam formed within the flotation container. The flotation foam includes the solids to be removed. The process also includes laterally moving the flotation foam in the drainage section, such that at least a portion of fluid within the flotation foam is drained from the flotation foam, collecting the drained fluid in the drainage section, discharging the drained fluid from the drainage section, discharging the flotation foam as a rejects material, and discharging a purified fiber suspension as an accepted stock suspension. The apparatus includes a flotation container, and a drainage section coupled to the flotation container. The drainage section is arranged to drain at least a portion of fluid from a flotation foam. The apparatus also includes a rejects outlet coupled to the drainage section, an accepts outlet coupled to the flotation container, and a fluid collector coupled to the drainage section for collecting the fluid drained from the flotation foam.

The storage system includes a universal frame adapted to support different inserts, such as a hanging folder, a hanging sling, and a hanging box-shaped insert and is adapted to be supported by various supports, such as bent-wire snap-attach legs, a panel bracket, and rigid box support. The storage system is knockdown and reconfigurable by a user, and thus provides flexibility of use, while taking advantage of common parts. Further, the system can be flexibly used in existing offices having shelves.

A collapsible and stackable pallet rack is provided for shipping and storing heavy roll goods having a central mandrel. The rack includes two pairs of adjacent and opposite upright corner posts being foldable inwardly and downwardly. Two side bars connect together the pair of opposite upright corner posts. There are also two pairs of upper and lower end bars. Each pair of end bars connect together one pair of adjacent upright corner posts. On top of each upper end bar, there is one cradle positioned centrally thereon for receiving one end of the central mandrel. A holddown plate is fastened on top of each cradle. Two pairs of hinge plates connect the two pairs of corner posts with the two side bars. This rack provides a shipping unit that prevents damage to heavy roll goods during transit and simultaneously provides a cost-effective stackable storage unit.

A dispensing apparatus comprising at least two parts, with the first part (d) being releasably held within the second (g) of the two parts and the first and second parts can be moved relative to one another to display at least two apertures leading to a chamber for retaining articles which are to be dispensed from the apparatus. The apparatus is preferably for dispensing question cards for playing a jigsaw game.

A device that attaches to a pouring spout used on a bag-in-the-box liquid container, the device having a reservoir to catch and contain any liquid drips from the spout spigot valve after valve operation. The device may have a chute to direct drips into the reservoir.

This invention relates to a submerged entry nozzle for use in a continuous casting process, which includes a main body portion 11 formed by an AG refractory material; an internal hole portion 12 made of a graphite-less refractory material which contains 90 wt % or more of a spinel, with a total content of other components being 10 wt % or less; portions 13 surrounding the discharge openings, which are formed by a graphite-containing refractory material containing 5 to 35 wt % of a graphite, 65 wt % or more of a spinel (MgO--Al.sub.2 O.sub.3), with a total content of other components being 10 wt % or less; and a powder line portion 14 formed by a ZrO.sub.2 --C refractory material. The present submerged entry nozzle is suitable for use in casting various types of steel such as high concentration oxygen-containing steel, high concentration Mn-containing steel, Ca-treated steel, and stainless steel.

A novel hanger, kit and method for hanging holiday lights on structures such as Christmas trees. The hanger includes a belt clip or other mount that is adapted to temporarily mount on a person, and a horizontal arm upon which cordage can be wound. The hanger includes a plug retainer which holds the end of the plug. The arm includes a plurality of detents or notches formed therein and spaced apart to partition the separate loops of cordage. The hanger is preferably made from an insulated rigid material such as an insulated wire frame to provide a strong structure but yet one that will not conduct electricity that could otherwise shock the individual to which the hanger is mounted. Utilizing the hanger, first the flexible cordage is looped around the hanger into multiple loops and the hanger is temporarily mounted on a person, such as by clipping the hanger on the belt of the individual. Then, the cordage is removed from the hanger as necessary to install the cordage on a structure. The method may also be used in reverse in which cordage is removed from the structure and looped on the hanger. Once removed, the hanger and the cordage looped thereon maybe stored until reuse is desired.

A water fountain is disclosed for use in residential and commercial environments. The water fountain includes a support frame and a catch basin within which a recirculating pump system is placed. A background flow display surface is attached to the support frame for receiving water thereover from the recirculating pump system. In one embodiment, the water fountain includes a facade connected to the support frame. The facade includes a plurality of apertures such that when the facade is placed over the background flow display surface, a portion of the background flow display surface is visible through the apertures in the facade, thereby permitting visibility of the flowing water as well. The facades may include apertures of various shapes and sizes and in different arrangements. The invention also provides the use of illumination and variable recirculation pumps in order to achieve dramatic visual effects. The invention may include noise-reducing pebbles in order to buffer the noise created by the falling water into the catch basin. The invention provides an effective self-contained water fountain that can be used indoors or outdoors.

This invention relates generally to a lightweight dolly for transporting spray equipment including a container of liquid, battery power pack and optional charger unit, hose reel, and spray gun.

A fuel injector having a nozzle body defining a bore, an outwardly opening valve member slidable within the bore, the valve member defining a blind bore within which an inwardly opening valve needle is slidable, the valve needle being engageable with a seating to control fuel flow towards a first outlet opening provided in the valve member, and a second outlet opening provided in the valve member, the second outlet opening being in constant communication with a part of the blind bore upstream of the seating and being located such that, in a closed position of the valve member, the second outlet opening is closed by the nozzle body, outward movement of the valve member to an open position permitting fuel delivery through the second outlet opening.

Various embodiments of a fuel injector are provided for use in an internal combustion engine. Each embodiment uses an assembly that incorporates a magnetostrictive rod to extend and retract a needle to control fuel expulsion from the injector. In one embodiment, the fuel injector includes an actuation assembly and a nozzle assembly releasably connected thereto In another embodiment, the fuel injector includes a pintle-style needle tip. In yet other embodiments, the fuel injector includes a long-stem style needle tip.

A heat exchanger housing support for supporting a heat exchanger or coil housing and accompanying ductwork in the installation of heating and air conditioning equipment. The heat exchanger housing supports are typically used in pairs and are each characterized by a vertically-oriented support leg having a longitudinal leg cavity for receiving a threaded rod, with an adjusting nut provided on the threaded rod and a bevel gear provided on the adjusting nut. A second bevel gear is mounted on the support leg for meshing with the first bevel gear on the adjusting nut and driving the threaded rod up and down. A bottom bracket is attached to the bottom end of the support leg for resting on a supporting surface and a top bracket is fitted to a top nut threaded on the upper end of the threaded rod for engagement with the heat exchanger or coil housing. Raising and lowering of the respective top brackets and the heat exchanger or coil housing using oppositely-disposed, spaced-apart heat exchanger housing supports is accomplished by manipulating the second bevel gear to drive the first bevel gear, rotate the adjusting nut on each of the two threaded rods and raise and lower the top bracket mounted on the threaded rods extending into the respective support legs.

The invention pertains to an electric wire fish implement including fiberglass sections which are connected to each other to form an elongated implement which is used to introduce wires into inaccessible locations. The fiberglass sections are connected to each other by way of connectors at each end of the sections. The connectors are made of brass so that they can easily be attached to the fiberglass section ends by impressed dimples. one of the connectors is a female connector having a cylindrical recess therein. The other connector is made up in the same way but a threaded male stud is inserted therein and securely and permanently fastened therein. The male stud has a shore hardness considerably greater than the sleeve material. This stud helps to avoid breakage of the connection between the fiberglass sections when subjected to extreme or undesirable bends. There is also disclosed a way of quickly connecting or disconnecting various sections to or from each other, respectively. The quick connect connector can either be dovetail connections or could be form-fit connections where the connector material is made of plastic and will yield to obstructive elements. It is also disclosed that reinforcing coils could be surrounding the fiberglass sections adjacent to their connections to any one connection.

A power clamp includes a body member (2), an arm member (14) connected to the body member by means of a pivot joint (16) to allow pivoting movement of the arm member between an open position and a closed position, an actuator (10), a first drive mechanism (42) connecting the actuator (10) to the arm member (14) to control movement thereof, and a second drive mechanism (20,28) connecting the actuator (10) to the arm member (14) to apply a clamping force to the arm member when the arm member is in a closed position.

Device for separating stacked flat bag pieces, comprising a supporting structure, which is pivot-mounted in a frame and is provided with a drive, and on which suction rollers can be rotated, whose drive is in a direction of rotation opposite to the supporting structure's direction of rotation. A stacking cassette is positioned in such a manner at the enveloping cylinder, described by the rows of suction elements or suction rollers that each row of suction elements in each roller pulls a bag piece from said cassette. To prevent the trailing side edges of the bag pieces from folding over, the bag pieces are held in the stacking cassette with offset cuts, facing outwardly in the direction of the axis of rotation. The stacking cassette and/or the suction elements are arranged in such a manner and/or the suction elements are controlled in such a manner that an outer suction element of each row of suction elements sucks in each bag piece at one end of the layer of the offset cut that overlaps the layer facing the suction element; and the other suction elements engage with the edge of bag piece, provided with a side fold, at an interval in time relative to the first suction element.

An amusement game in which a game piece descends adjacent a playing surface. A preferred embodiment of the game includes a playing surface, a game piece, a plurality of deflecting members, and a receiving mechanism. The playing surface is preferably inclined. The deflecting members are preferably adapted to deflect the descending game piece. Nevertheless, the game piece is preferably adapted to descend past the deflecting members. The receiving mechanism is preferably positioned below the deflecting members. The receiving mechanism may have a recessed portion and a handle. The handle is preferably adapted to enable a player to move the recessed portion relative to the playing surface. Consequently, the player is preferably enabled to move the recessed portion to catch the game piece with the recessed portion.

A personal winter vehicle has a frame which includes a front portion and a rear portion. Preferably, the front and rear portions of the frame can flex with respect to each other. An operator-controlled motivator for generating torque, such as a pedal crank, is mounted on the frame. A drive assembly is attached to the rear portion of the frame and is mechanically coupled to and receives torque from the motivator. The drive assembly preferably includes a drive wheel rotatably attached to the rear portion of the frame and coupled to the motivator via mechanical coupling, and a track disposed around part of the circumference of the drive wheel. The drive assembly also may include a guide wheel rotatably attached to the frame and disposed in front of the drive wheel. The track is also disposed around the guide wheel. The front of the vehicle may include a ski which is turnable by operation of handlebars. Alternatively, there may be provided a front wheel also having a track. Brakes are provided, preferably caliper brakes which retard the rotation of the drive wheel and, if provided, the front wheel.

An apparatus for supporting a steering wheel (22) of a vehicle (10) comprises a first steering column part (32), a second steering column part (34), and supporting structure (46) supporting the first steering column part and the vehicle steering wheel for movement relative to the second steering column part. An energy absorbing device (20) is interposed between the first steering column part (32) and the second steering column part (34) for resisting movement of the first part relative to the second part. The energy absorbing device (20) comprises a fluid (50) having a viscosity which varies in response to an energy field acting on the fluid. The energy absorbing device (20) also comprises at least one orifice (76) through which the fluid (50) flows upon movement of the first part (32) relative to the second part (34). The energy absorbing device (20) further comprises means (54, 60, 80, 84) for varying the viscosity of the fluid to vary the rate of fluid flow through the orifice and thereby to vary the resistance to movement of the first steering column part relative to the second steering column part.

A cargo bed extender for a pick-up truck is installed by use of a replacement edge guard having hinge features interfit with hinging features on a rear panel of the extender to hinge mount the rear panel to the upper edge of the tailgate. A pair of side panels are each hinged to respective side of the rear panel, and are swung to the side when the extender is deployed.

A waste container having a wheel assembly comprising an axle assembly on which are slidably mounted a pair of wheels. The axle assembly comprises a pultruded shaft with opposing end caps. The end caps have an indentation for receiving a retainer to retain the wheels on the shaft.

A corrosion resistant cam follower bearing assembly which includes a cam follower shaft, an outer bearing ring disposed about the shaft which defines an inner roller raceway, a sleeve fixedly mounted on the cam follower shaft and defining an inner roller raceway, a plurality of rollers interposed between said raceways, and seals at opposite axial ends of said outer bearing ring for protectively containing the roller elements and raceways. The outer bearing ring and sleeve are formed of heat treated corrosion resistant steel such that the raceways are hardened to at least 58 HRC, the outer bearing ring external exposed surfaces have a chrome plating for improved corrosion resistance in a working environment, and the cam follower shaft which also can be exposed to corrosive contaminants in a working environment is formed of a different and substantially more corrosion resistant material than the material of the sleeve and the outer bearing ring that defines the inner and outer bearing races.

A suspending structure of a ceiling fan is disclosed. Since in the prior art suspending structure of a ceiling fan, the swinging angle of a swinging pipe set is confined by the assembly hole of a suspender, a swinging pipe set, a hanging bell and other components. Therefore, the swing is preformed in a small angle. For a surface (such as ceiling) with a large inclined angle, it can not be used and is very dangerous. Therefore, in the present invention, two sides of the assembly hole of a suspender are formed with a cavity and an opening, and the engaging hole of the hanging bell is formed with long sides. Two ends of the long side are placed on the cavity and opening of the suspender. Thereby, as the swinging pipe set shifts toward said cavity, said swinging pipe is received within one end of said long side of the cavity. Therefore, a swing of large angle is generated, moreover, said swinging path of the swinging pipe set is confined by said buckle and said trench. Thus, the suspending structure according to the present invention can be suitable for a non-horizontal surface with a large angle shift safely.

Disclosed is an air-tight type reciprocating compressor which can decrease discharge pulsation to reduce the vibration of a discharge line as well as to reduce an overall value in a high-frequency band as a problem frequency. The compressor, which has case members, each of which being coupled on the lower parts of a block, for receiving discharge refrigerant flowing through at least two discharge holes on the block, a connecting pipe which is adapted to communicate with the case members, and a discharge pipe which is connected to one of the case members, includes one of the at least two discharge holes having the larger diameter by at least 50-70% than that of the other which is installed on the case member to which the discharge pipe is connected.

A method for the removal of broken threaded dental posts, whose heads have been sheared off, from their receiving bores by exposing the post in its bore together with its extraction, without a need for an additional pulling device. A hollow cylindrical body accommodates precisely the neck of the broken post. The cylinder has saw teeth at its lower rim and an extension of a solid shaft at its upper end by which it is attached to the head of a dental drill. The counter clockwise rotation of the cylinder cuts a circular groove around the post which facilitates its release and withdraw of the post by screwing it out of its bore.

A teaching aid for use in facilitating the study and understanding of antibodies and antigens is disclosed. The teaching aid comprises models demonstrating how the variable regions of both the light and heavy chains of the antibody protein permit both the diversity and the selectivity of these biomolecules. Teaching methods utilizing the inventive teaching aid are also disclosed.

A connector for electrically and mechanically connecting two circuit boards at a substantially 90-degree angle. The 90-degree connector may include surface mount devices, connections for mechanically attaching to circuit boards, surface mount pads or pins for electrically connecting to the circuit boards. A printed circuit board connector constructed from materials with characteristics closely matching backplane and daughter card, minimizes reflections at interface and provides optimal signal performance. Connectors are manufactured using a process substantially similar to current printed circuit board processes allowing easy manufacturing. The connector may be manufactured from laminated printed circuit boards in a planar or cylindrical configuration.

An electrical contact-making connection has a metallic pin, a base part with a plug-in opening and an electrical conductor routed to the plug-in opening. The plug-in opening includes an oblique wall surface area oriented at an angle a other than zero with respect to a predefined plug-in direction. On this area, the pin is deflected as it is inserted into the plug-in opening in such a way that it comes to rest on at least one further inner wall surface area of the plug-in opening, while exerting a lateral pressure. The conductor is clamped in the plug-in opening by the deformed pin.

An electrical connector comprises an insulating housing (1) having a plurality of arranging surfaces; a plurality of terminals (5, 11) having contact sections (7, 12) placed on the arranging surfaces and connection legs (9, 14) projecting rearwardly from the housing to form connection portions (10, 15) in a plane. A terminal (5) in a row has a plurality of connection legs (9) spaced laterally while a terminal (11) in another row has a connection leg (14) fitted in a space between the connection legs (9) such that the connection portions (10, 15) of the terminals (5, 11) are aligned substantially laterally in the plane.

A connector body has leg portions and lead terminals protruding therefrom. The lead terminals are fixed to a flexible member to be electrically connected to conductive paths on the flexible member. The flexible member has a free end portion, and the free end portion is soldered to the printed circuit board so that the conductive paths thereon are electrically connected to a wiring pattern on the printed circuit board. The free end portion has through holes and the leg portions of the connector body are inserted into the through holes. Accordingly, the positioning of the flexible member is performed readily and accurately, and reliability of soldered portion is improved.

An RF electrical connector comprises an insulative housing with a low-profile body section, a conductive shell enclosing the housing, a fixed contact and a switch contact. Both the switch contact and the fixed contact are retained in the housing in a normally-closed configuration and electrically contact with one another. The switch contact comprises a retaining body and a folded contacting arm extending therefrom which has a first portion extending upward from the retaining body, a curved portion extending from the first portion and providing enough resilience during mating and a second portion extending downward from the curved portion. The second portion comprises an apex for contacting a plug contact of a mating plug connector and a contacting end for contacting the fixed contact.

A ZIF connector comprises an insulative housing, a plurality of terminals received in the housing, an insulative cover plate curvedly slidably mounted on the housing having a pressing plate for pressing an FPC against the terminals, an actuation mechanism for curvedly slidably connecting the cover plate and the housing and two locking mechanisms for securely locking the cover plate to the housing. The housing comprises a pair of standing walls at both ends thereof. The cover plate comprises a pair of arms formed at opposite ends thereof. The actuation mechanism comprises a pair of arcuate channels defined in the two standing walls and a pair of corresponding arcuate ribs formed on opposite arms of the cover plate and slidingly moveable in the arcuate channels when the cover plate is curvedly slidably moved relative to the housing.

A socket for an electrical part comprises a socket body, a contact pin disposed to the socket body, a movable member mounted on the socket body and adapted to displace the contact pin, and an operation unit for moving the movable member to thereby displace the contact pin. When the the contact pin is displaced, a terminal having a spherical outer shape of an electrical part is fitted to the socket body with the terminal being in non-contact state to clamping pieces of the contact pin and when the movable member is returned to an original position before movement therebetween, the displacement of the contact pin is released and the terminal of the electrical part contacts an contacting portion of the contact pin to thereby establish an electrical connection therebetween. The direction of the displacement of the contacting portion of the contact pin is set to a direction oblique to a moving direction of the movable member.

An electrical apparatus in accordance with the present invention for electrically assembling a CPU to a printed circuit board. The CPU includes an array of pin legs. The apparatus comprises a base member securely assembled to the printed circuit board. A cover member is moveably assembled to the base member and defines an array of through holes for extension of the pin legs of the CPU. A driving arrangement is arranged between the base and cover member to drive the cover member to move between first and second positions. The arrangement includes a shaft having a helical section extending therealong, and a follower is moveable along the helical section when the shaft is rotated.

A cable connector assembly comprises two plugs, a collected plug and two cables extending from each plug to the collected plug. Each plug includes a first contact unit and a second contact unit, a joint connecting the first and the second contact units, and a jacket covering the first and the second contact units. Each cable has a first end extending through an aperture of a fixing portion of the jacket and into a position between the first and the second contact units of a corresponding plug and is fixed to the plug by the fixing portion of the jacket. The collected plug connects with second ends of the cables and also connects to a network. A method for manufacturing the cable connector assembly comprises the steps of: (A) preparing the first and the second contact units and cables; (B) a soldering step; (C) forming the joints; (D) forming the jackets; (E) forming the jacket of the collected plug.

Two solder pads both having a horizontal solder tab therein and a vertical positioning leg used to mount a surface mounted electrical connector to a printed circuit board. The electrical connector comprises an elongated insulative housing having a holding cavity at each side thereof. Each of a plurality of terminals secured in the plurality of receiving channels of the insulative housing includes an engaging portion and a solder tail. Each solder pad includes an L-shaped body and a positioning leg downwardly extending from the L-shaped body. The L-shaped body comprises a vertical body portion and a horizontal solder tab for respectively engaging with the holding cavity of the insulative housing and being soldered to the printed circuit board. The positioning leg extends through a hole of the printed circuit board, where it, too, is soldered, thus adding strength to the board between the connector and the printed circuit board.

A connecting assembly for a decorative lighting net employing intercrossed electrical wires to connect a plurality of bulb units is provided. The connecting assembly includes a bulb holder having at least one L-shaped beam formed at a side thereof. The connecting assembly also includes a bulb connector coupled to the bulb holder having at least one L-shaped beam oriented in a direction opposing the direction in which the bulb holder's beam is oriented. The bulb connector's beam engages the bulb holder's beam in longitudinally offset manner to block the escape of electrical wire retained within the bulb holder's beam.

A connector, even when miniaturized, can reliably prevent incorrect insertion of the connector plug with respect to the connector socket and that has no risk of breaking the inner insulated housing and the like when an outside force is applied during insertion, the connector including a connector socket 2, having a shield case 4, which is a metal plate bent and formed into a rectangular tube, and an insulating housing 6, which supports a plurality of contact pins 5 and is built into the interior of shield case 4, a connector plug 3, having a plug part 3a which is inserted into an insertion opening 11 of connector socket 2; a pair of L-shaped depression parts 16, where both lower corners of shield case 4 are indented towards insertion opening 11.

A cable connector comprises an insulative housing defining a plurality of passageways, a plurality of terminals received in the passageways of the insulative housing, an upper shell, a lower shell and a casing portion enveloping the upper shell and the lower shell therein. The insulative housing includes a main body and a projection portion forwardly projecting from the main body. The upper shell includes a front section for receiving the projection portion therein, a rear section receiving the main body therein and a transition portion for joining the front section and rear section. A rib is provided at a junction of the transition portion and the rear section for enhancing the engagement strength of the transition portion and the rear section of the upper shell. A top protrusion and a pair of side protrusions are disposed on the rear section of the upper shell for abutting against the insulative housing. The lower shell has a latching hook upwardly extending from a forward edge of a bottom wall thereof for pressing against the forward surface of the main body of the insulative housing.

An IC card connector comprises an insulative housing and a plurality of contacts. A plurality of passageways is defined through the insulative housing for receiving the corresponding contacts therein. Each contact comprises a first contacting arm, a second contacting arm and a retaining portion connected between the first and second contacting arms. The first contacting arm comprises a first arcuate portion for electrically a contacting corresponding circuit of an IC card and a first connecting portion connected between the first arcuate portion and the retaining portion. The second contacting arm comprises a second arcuate portion, a soldering portion downwardly extending from the second arcuate portion, a second connecting portion extending from the retaining portion to the soldering portion, and a pair of fixing portions extending from lateral edges of the second connecting portion. In operation, after the IC card is inserted into the IC connector, the first arcuate portion is downwardly pressed to contact the second arcuate portion. The contact forms a parallel electrical connection between the IC card and the circuit board. Thus the signal transmission path is shortened and the electrical resistance of the contact in the present IC card connector is decreased.

A battery connector according to the present invention comprises an insulative housing and a plurality of terminals received in the insulative housing. The insulative housing includes a plurality of partitions in a middle portion of the housing. The partitions define a plurality of cavity sections therebetween for receiving mating contacts of a mating connector. A groove and a recess are respectively defined in an upper portion of each partition and in a rear top wall between adjacent partition. Each terminal includes a retaining body, a soldering leg downwardly extending at a rearward side of the retaining body, a contacting arm for electrically connecting with a complementary connector angularly extending from a lower front edge of the retaining body into a corresponding cavity section and a fixing tail rearwardly extending from a rear edge of the retaining body of the terminal for being held in a recess of the insulative housing. A clamping end depends perpendicularly from the fixing tail for being retained in the groove of a partition.

A link for an electrical mounting rack terminal has two elongate, adjacent spring contacts which are held firmly against one another at a first end portion and can move resiliently at a second end portion. The link is latched to a housing of the electrical mounting rack terminal. A first embodiment of the link terminates flush with an outer contour of the housing. A second embodiment of the link has a grasping portion which protrudes beyond the outer contour of the housing. An electrical mounting rack terminal is also provided.

A tilt device for a marine propulsion unit is disclosed where a shock blow valve comprises a disk valve fixed to a valve seat surface of the piston, the valve seat surface being provided with a seal member surrounding a communication hole which opens at the valve seat surface, and the disk valve is tightly connected to the seal member.

A self-aligning wing structure and method of assembly utilizes a main spar formed with spaced apart notch openings. The main spar is positioned on a substantially flat surface for receiving a plurality of ribs formed with leading edge slot openings and trailing edge slot openings. A leading edge core member is slid into the rib leading edge slot openings and a trailing edge core member is slid into the rib trailing edge slot openings. Accordingly, it is possible to achieve a self-aligning aerodynamic wing structure in accordance with the present invention.

A toy submarine consisting of three components. Two of the components are an injection molded thermoplastic and the other is an ordinary rubber band. The plastic is slightly positively buoyant in typical tap water. The first molded component is the tailpiece and it includes a generally cylindrical body with an integrated propeller. The second molded component is the headpiece and it includes a generally cylindrical body with an integrated propeller that spirals in the opposite direction of the tailpiece propeller. Together they form a counter rotating propeller system. The bodies of both the tailpiece and the headpiece are hollow and open at both ends. One end of the tailpiece's body mates with one end of the headpiece's body such that their axes are aligned and the bodies are able to easily rotate relative to each other. The other ends of the tailpiece and headpiece each have a longitudinal slot. In the assembly, the rubber band is routed through the slot and around the body of the tail piece, then routed through both bodies of the tail and head pieces, and then through the slot and around the body of the head piece. To use the toy submarine, the child holds either the tail piece or the head piece and, using a finger, rotates the other propeller until the rubber band is sufficiently twisted. Then the toy submarine is placed under water and released. The two propellers will begin rotate in opposite directions. It will quickly travel in a relatively straight line in a forward direction until the energy in the rubber band has dissipated. Then, because the plastic that was used for molding the two components is slightly positively buoyant, the toy submarine will slowly surface.

A toy figure pair includes an assault toy figure having a punching mechanism which extends the toy figure arms in a punching or attacking movement as the user manipulates a movable toggle at the toy figure rear torso surface. A target toy figure is movably supported upon a plurality of freely rolling wheels and is able to roll away from impacts received from the assault toy figure. Additionally, a resilient cape supported upon the target toy figure is able to prevent tipping of the target toy figure under certain circumstances.

An apparatus and method to polish a wafer using abrasive flow machining (AFM) is provided. Under a high-pressure condition, the wafer is polished by flowing abrasive media with high viscosity, on the wafer in order to planarize the wafer. Therefore, the polishing efficiency is higher, and the attained roughness is lower than the conventional method. In addition, the selectivity of this method is lower.

A bi-directional torsional coupler for transferring torque from a drive shaft to an integral machine element (pulley, sprocket, gear etc.), comprised of two wrap springs, each having an inner helical spring portion gripping a drive shaft and a coaxial larger diameter helical spring portion, gripping a cylindrical surface of the bi-directional torsional coupler, and surrounding the inner spring, each wrap spring wound in opposite rotational directions needed to grip the shaft to provide torque transfer in both rotational directions. Manual rotation of two end caps of the bi-directional torsional coupler facilitates quick installation, quick axial adjustment and removal from the shaft, by means for unwrapping the inner wrap spring coils from the drive shaft, releasing the torque transfer from the shaft.

A method for adapting a relatively small number of bowling balls for use in testing by a relatively large number of bowlers having different hand sizes. The method includes the steps of predrilling a pair of finger holes of a standard size in each of a relatively small number of bowling balls, which finger holes are shaped to receive removable finger inserts of varying sizes. The next step is the predrilling of a thumb hole in each of a relatively small number of bowling balls with the thumb hole in each bowling ball being located at a different, predetermined distance from a pair of finger holes so that each of the thumb holes of the bowling balls are at a different distance from a pair of finger holes. The following step is the installation of a removable insert in each of the thumb holes. Finally, the removable thumb insert is sized to accommodate the thumb of a particular bowler.

The present invention provides a computerized exercise system and method allowing exercising in both a gravity field and a gravity free environment. The exercise system includes one or more exercise modules positioned at specific locations and coupled to an exercise member through an extendable cable extending between each exercise module and one or more exercise members. A controlling structure controls tension forces in each of the cables for generating desired resistive forces in the exercise member at each point of its trajectory, simultaneously moving through a trajectory, defined by exercise parameters. When a user performs an exercise routine, he/she moves the exercise member and overcomes the resistive forces elevated by the exercise modules through the controlled tension forces in each cable.

A device for exercising a user's upper body, including a waist mountable assembly secured about the waist of the user, a frame member extending from the belt and including a proximal and a pair of distal ends, wherein the distal ends are located to the rear of the user and below a transverse plane of the user generally including the belt. A flexible cord member is associated with each distal end and coupled to a pair of hand attachment elements. A resistance force is transferred by the cord member for providing a force opposing exercise movement of each hand attachment means during use, the force generally directed to the associated distal end of an extending portion of the frame member during use.

A multi-purpose sliding exerciser including a base made of two boards butted and hinged to each other. The hinge joint is threaded with a plurality of elastic ropes. At each end of the base is a tension rope. A plurality of insertion holes are also provided in pairs on the base to restrict the pedals' slide path. The multipurpose sliding exerciser allows the user to remove the elastic ropes threaded through the back side of the base so as to fold up the boards for easy storage or transport.

A rolling pin includes a cylindrical working barrel with oppositely extending handles. The handles are contoured with strategically shaped surfaces and indentations configures to comfortably accommodate the shape of the user's hands, thereby alleviating stress and fatigue during protracted use.

An air manager for the containment of hazardous fumes over a liquid chemical tank in exhausted equipment and systems in a clean room. A powered, filtered airflow source forces filtered air through a plenum coextensive with a transverse dimension of the chemical tank, in a sheet-like airflow stream over the liquid surface. The airflow is captured at the opposite side of the liquid chemical tank and directed to a powered exhaust. The air manager works cooperatively with the clean room laminar airflow, dramatically increasing the efficiency of the local exhaust. Critical Capture Velocity over the entire surface of the tank is maintained, assuring complete containment of chemical fumes. Optional airflow guides positioned along the sides of the chemical tank may be employed to confine the air stream to the area over the liquid surface.

The methods of forming a chemically adsorbed film by contacting a substrate with a solution mixture containing an alkoxysilane surface active agent, a non-aqueous solvent and a silanol-condensing catalyst to form a film covalently bonded to the substrate via siloxane bonds. These methods do not generate hydrochloric acid gas in forming the films and allow practical reaction rates.

A self-contained apparatus for cleaning contact lenses comprising a deformable, non-abrasive material having an enzyme enriched layer for contact with the optical surfaces of the lenses. While in contact with the optical surfaces, the contaminants on the lens surfaces are enzymatically removed. Upon separation of the lenses and the deformable material, substantially all of the enzymes are retained on the deformable material, largely eliminating the need to perform additional operations to inactivate the enzymes or otherwise rid the lenses of residual enzymatic matter.

A balloon catheter is formed by a heat shrinkable tube. In the method, a rod member is inserted into the shrinkable tube, and parts of the shrinkable tube are heated so that the parts of the shrinkable tube shrink to thereby form end portions of at least one balloon portion while a portion away from the end portions does not shrink. Two end portions of the balloon portion are processed to have a small diameter. Then, the rod member is removed from the shrinkable tube, and a catheter shaft is inserted into the balloon portion to completely pass therethrough. Finally, the two end portions of the balloon portion are fixed onto the catheter shaft. Since the heat shrinkable tube with the constant thickness is used, high quality catheter can be formed without fail.

Nitric oxide-specific electrodes are useful for in situ detection of nitric oxide in biomedical applications and have at least a surface region capable of forming complexes with nitric oxide. The nitric oxide complexes formed at the surface of the electrodes apparently increase the concentration of nitric oxide available for detection, leading to significantly improved relative responses as compared to other known nitric oxide electrode materials. The electrode has at least an exterior surface region which contains ruthenium and/or at least one oxide of ruthenium. The electrodes are pre-conditioned at a potential, or potentials, different than the working potential of the electrode, followed by further conditioning at the working potential. Direct response to nitric oxide has been observed for ruthenium electrodes at or below potentials about +675 mV vs. Ag/AgCl, while ruthenium electrodes paradoxical response to nitric oxide has been observed at potentials above +675 mV vs. Ag/Cl.

A water-tight fiberglass septic tank is strong enough to withstand live loads. The fiberglass septic tank is preferably designed with integral ribs to for structural strength. In one preferred embodiment, the tank is made in two unequal halves. The lower half comprises the major portion of the tank and includes a bottom, two endwalls and two sidewalls. The upper half comprises a cover. This arrangement allows the horizontal seam to be placed above the internal waterline, thereby protecting the seam from exposure to sewage. At least one of the endwalls includes a raised top portion that allows a pipe to be located near the top of the lower portion without passing through the seam between the upper and lower portions of the tank. The endwalls are also curved to allow for angled inlet and outlet pipe connections. The ribs are preferably internal and hollow. The lower portion of the tank is also preferably flat bottomed. A provision has been made for a self-locating baffle if required. In another preferred embodiment, a cylindrical male molded tank is created on a mandrel. The tank circumference is stepped, which both provides for built-in stepped ribs and eases removal of the tank from the mandrel. In preferred embodiments of the tank, a baffle is located at the position of a stepped rib so that the stepped rib supports the baffle.

The blood filter cartridge of the invention can be used as a sample cup of an analyzer without sucking bubbles, which comprises a blood filtering material, a holder containing the blood filtering material and having a blood inlet and a filtrate outlet, and a filtrate receiver for receiving filtrate discharged from the filtrate outlet, the filtrate receiver has an upper end having a difference in height or structure for returning the filtrate from the upper end of the filtrate receiver to the filtrate outlet.

This invention relates to a process for removing sulphates and calcium from a water stream which includes the steps of: combining the water stream and an amount of amorphous aluminum trihydroxide (Al(OH).sub.3); allowing the formation of ettringite (3CaO.Al.sub.2 O.sub.3.3CaSO.sub.4.31/32H.sub.2 O) as a precipitate; and removing the precipitated ettringite from the water stream.

An electrocatalytic process for treating liquid waste material containing at least one environment-polluting substance, comprising causing the liquid waste material to be treated to pass between and to contact at least one pair of spaced apart electrodes, across which a dc potential difference is applied, to cause the at least one environment-polluting organic substance to be at least partially decomposed into a gaseous or liquid form. The invention also relates to a treatment unit for performing the process.

A luminescent compound comprising an admixture of rosin and a luminescent glow pigment and methods for its use are disclosed. The luminescent glow pigment conveys a"glow in the dark" quality to the compound providing a rosin that retains its physical properties and gains the ability to be seen in little or no light. The"glow in the dark" rosin may be used for both aesthetic and practical purposes where conventional rosins are employed, and in other ways where the properties of a rosin that may be seen in the dark are desirable.

A phosphor includes about 99 dry weight % cathodoluminescent particles, which have a mean particle diameter equal to about 4 microns, and about 1 dry weight % non-cathodoluminescent inorganic particles, which have a mean particle diameter equal to about 20 microns. A method for fabricating phosphor includes the steps of providing an aqueous polyvinyl alcohol solution having about 7.5 weight % polyvinyl alcohol, adding cathodoluminescent particles to the aqueous polyvinyl alcohol solution to provide a cathodoluminescent particle solution having about 16.5 volume % cathodoluminescent particles, and adding non-cathodoluminescent inorganic particles to the cathodoluminescent particle solution to provide a phosphor paste. Non-cathodoluminescent inorganic particles function as dispersants and suspension-stabilizing agents in the phosphor paste.

A method for forming a lining on the internal faces of a vessel involves installing a granular composition into a gap formed between the internal faces of the vessel and a mandrel. The granular composition is dropped into the gap in the form of a single mass.

To produce a steering wheel having a wheel skeleton with a hub, a rim and spokes interconnecting the hub and the rim, a shaped body of a dissolvable material and corresponding in shape to an airbag module is attached to the hub. The skeleton with the shaped body is placed in a mold. A plasticized molding material is molded around the rim and the spokes and over the shaped body forming a steering wheel body with a seamless casing. The steering wheel body is removed from the mold. The shaped body is then dissolved and removed, leaving a hollow space for accommodation of the airbag module.

The invention relates to a tool steel composition comprising, expressed in weight percentage: PA1 C 0.3%-0.4% PA1 Cr 2.0%-4.0% PA1 Mo 0.8%-3.0% PA1 V 0.4%-1.0% PA1 W 1.5%-3.0% PA1 Co 1.0%-5.0% PA1 Si 0 %-1.0% PA1 Mn 0 %-1.0% PA1 Ni 0 %-1.0% the balance being mainly constituted by iron and inevitable impurities, and also to a method of preparing the composition.

A method of measuring physiological function of a group of body cells, includes the step of selecting a detectable agent capable of absorbing or emitting a measurable electromagnetic emission. The agent is introduced into body fluid which contacts the group of body cells. The absorbance or emission is measured, and physiological function is determined based on measurement of the absorbance or emission. Measurements may be made noninvasively or with the use of a modified pulmonary artery catheter. Multiple agents which can be distinguished from each other can be utilized simultaneously to measure multiple physiological functions at the same time.

A composition suitable for inhibiting the outgrowth of fungi is provided comprising a first ingredient which inhibits the biogenesis of a normal fungal cell wall and a second ingredient which is capable of perturbing the structure of the cellular membrane of said fungi, so that either the cellular integrity is essentially lost or cell division cannot take place, or both. The first ingredient preferably inhibits the anchorage of cell wall proteins in the cell wall of the fungi and is suitably a .beta.-(1,6)-glucose polysaccharide, preferably .beta.-gentiobiose or a pustulan fragment. The second ingredient is suitably a natural microbial membrane affecting substance (MMAS), preferably MB-21. The composition is particularly suitable as a preservative for inhibiting the outgrowth of fungi in food products, such as sauces, dressings, ketchups, and soups, but is also useful for preventing or inhibiting undesired fungal growth on other products such as personal health care products, e.g. soap bars.

A novel method of protecting blood coagulation factor IX from proteases during purification or storage is disclosed. High concentrations of one or more water soluble organic or inorganic salts are used to stabilize factor IX, contained within blood plasma-derived solutions, or contained within solutions derived from other sources, against conversion to clinically unacceptable peptide structures such as factor IX.sub.a, and/or degraded factor IX peptides. The technique is useful in stabilizing intermediate purity factor IX preparations during purification, and in maintaining the integrity of purified factor IX during long term storage. Stable high specific activity factor IX preparations are also disclosed.

Vaccine formulations comprising recombinant early (E) and late (L) proteins of papillomavirus and oxidized mannan as well as methods of making and using the formulations are provided.

A freeform fabrication method for making a three-dimensional food object from a design created on a computer, including: (a) providing a support member by which the object is supported while being constructed; (b) operating a material dispensing head for dispensing a strand of food composition in a fluent state with this food composition comprising a volatile ingredient; (c) operating a material treatment device disposed near the strand of food composition to at least partially remove the volatile ingredient for causing the food composition to achieve a rigid state in which the food composition is built up in a 3-D shape of the object; and (d) operating control devices for generating control signals in response to coordinates of the design of the object and controlling the position of the dispensing head relative to the support member in response to the control signals to control dispensing of the food composition for constructing the object while supported with the support member. The method optionally includes an additional step of removing the residual volatile ingredient from the resulting 3-D shape or applying a heat treatment to the 3-D shape upon construction of this shape.

A material and a method for forming a tamper-indicating identification coating are provided. The components of the coating are selected such that the coating exhibits a characteristic absorption spectrum with distinct features in individual regions during Fourier-transform infa-red (FTIR) spectroscopy. The coating components are selected to provide a distinct spectrum while, at the same time, providing a sufficiently complex spectrum such that the coating is difficult to duplicate. Also, a blowing agent in the coating decomposes to change the FTIR spectrum due to the heat associated with resoldering of an out-of-warranty electronic part marked with the identification coating to an in-warranty circuit card. In addition, the coating may contain a fluorophore to reveal the presence of a tamper-indicating identification coating, allowing a manufacturer to check the card by exposure with ultra-violet (UV) light. Further, the coating composition may be changed periodically and tracked to provide a date marker.

Metal surfaces which are pre-treated with high-energy NIR-radiation and then coated with a powder or a liquid coating composition, followed by curing or drying the coating composition, show better adhesion to the coating and improved appearance and performance and the process is more cost effective.

A ceramic composition is provided with a glass based material including SiO.sub.2, Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, B.sub.2 O.sub.3, and at least one selected from a group of Cao and MgO, and particles dispersed in the glass based material. The particles includes CaSiO.sub.3 or MgSiO.sub.3 as a main component. A sintered state of the ceramic composition has an anti-bending strength of 1500 kg/cm.sup.2 or higher.

A clean-enclosure to protect a reticle from contamination when using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography is disclosed. The clean-enclosure consists of frame and a cover attached to the frame. The cover contains an exposure window comprised of a thin film of silicon. This thin film window allows EUV light to pass through to the reticle and reflect onto the photoresist layer of a semiconductor substrate with minimal transmission loss. Also, a process for forming the silicon thin film exposure window is disclosed.

A method and structure for performing optical proximity correction in a photolithographic mask to prevent rounding of corners and line end foreshortening of a shape on the photolithographic mask comprises changing a transparency of the photolithographic mask by adding serifs and holes along each edge of the shape intersecting a comer of the shape to establish complementary symmetry along each edge of the shape, changing a transparency of quadrants around each comer of the shape to form mirror image diagonal quadrants centered on corners of the shape, reducing the size of serifs and holes by cutting out unnecessary parts to make the serifs and holes less likely to be printed and exchanging part of the serifs and holes around a comer to make the serifs and holes not printable.

The present invention relates to the field of optical recording materials, in particular, fluorescent compounds and matrices suitable for use in optical memory systems, including three dimensional optical memory systems for READ ONLY MEMORY (ROM). In particular, nonfluorescent Rhodamine B lactams are photochemically transformed into fluorescent Rhodamine B derivatives.

A color photographic silver halide material which contains at least one light-sensitive silver halide emulsion, and a cyanine dye of formula (I) ##STR1## wherein PA1 R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.3, R.sup.4, R.sup.5 and R.sup.6, independently of each other, each represent a substituent, with the proviso that at least one of the radicals R.sup.1, R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 represents a benzthienyl substituent, PA1 X represents O, S, Se, NR.sub.7, CH.dbd.CH or C(CH.sub.3).sub.2, wherein R.sub.7 represents an alkyl radical which is optionally substituted, PA1 S.sub.1 and S.sub.2 independently of each other, represent alkyl, sulphoalkyl, carboxyalkyl, --(CH.sub.2).sub.1 --SO.sub.2 --Y--SO.sub.2 -alkyl, --(CH.sub.2).sub.1 --SO.sub.2 --Y--CO-alkyl, --(CH.sub.2).sub.1 --CO--Y--SO.sub.2 -alkyl, --(CH.sub.2).sub.1 --CO--Y--O-alkyl, --(CH.sub.2).sub.1 --NH--SO.sub.3.sup..crclbar., --(CH.sub.2).sub.1 --N(alkyl)--SO.sub.3.sup..crclbar. or --(CH.sub.2).sub.1 --N(Aryl)--SO.sub.3.sup..crclbar. , with the proviso that l=1 to 6 and Y is NH or N--, PA1 n is 0, 1, 2 or 3, PA1 L.sub.1, L.sub.2 and L.sub.3 independently represent a substituted or unsubstituted methine group, which may be a constituent of one or more carbocyclic rings, and PA1 M represents a counterion which may be necessary for charge compensation.

A method of determining the presence of a nucleic acid analyte from a sample comprising binding a biotinylated capture oligonucleotide to a solid phase non-covalently coated with streptavidin or an avidin derivative. The capture oligonucleotide is contacted with and selectively hybridized to, under stringent hybridization conditions, a nucleic acid analyte to form a detectable hybridization complex.

Disclosed are novel protein and peptide compositions comprising soluble and bound forms of immunologically-active blood group antigens including mammalian Rh antigens. In preferred embodiments methods for the isolation and purification of serologically-active human Rh antigens such as D, c, C, E, and e are disclosed. Also disclosed are methods for the adsorption of immunologically-active Rh antigens to solid supports. Diagnostic kits, methods, and devices for the detection of Rh antibodies in clinical and non-clinical samples are also disclosed. Devices, compositions and methods for the isolation, purification and quantitation of anti-Rh antibodies from solution are also provided.

The present invention relates to improved diagnostic methods for early detection of a risk for developing type 2 diabetes mellitus in humans, and screening assays for therapeutic agents useful in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus, by comparing the levels of one or more indicators of altered mitochondrial function. Indicators of altered mitochondrial function include enzymes such as mitochondrial enzymes and ATP biosynthesis factors. Other indicators of altered mitochondrial function include mitochondrial mass, mitochondrial number and mitochondrial DNA content, celullar responses to elevated intracellular calcium and to apoptogens, and free radical production. Methods of treating, and of stratifying, human patients as such methods relate to disclosed indicators of altered mitchondrial function are also provided.

The present invention relates to a novel-mammalian methadone-specific opioid receptor protein and genes that encode such a protein. The invention is directed toward the isolation, characterization and pharmacological use of mammalian methadone-specific opioid receptor proteins. The invention specifically provides isolated complementary DNA copies of mRNA corresponding to the rat homologue of the mammalian methadone-specific opioid receptor gene. Also provided are recombinant expression constructs capable of expressing the mammalian methadone-specific opioid receptor genes of the invention in cultures of transformed prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, as well as such cultures of transformed cells that synthesize the mammalian methadone-specific opioid receptor proteins encoded therein. The invention also provides methods for screening compounds in vitro that are capable of binding to the mammalian methadone-specific opioid receptor proteins of the invention, and further characterizing the binding properties of such compounds in comparison with known opioid receptor agonists and antagonists.

The present invention relates to isolated nucleic acid sequences encoding polypeptides having cellobiose dehydrogenase activity. The invention also relates to nucleic acid constructs, vectors, and host cells comprising the nucleic acid sequences as well as recombinant methods for producing the polypeptides.

The invention is provides compositions and methods for monitoring subcellular compartments such as organelles by energy transfer techniques that do not require specific intermolecular affinity binding events between energy transfer donor and energy transfer acceptor molecules. Provided are methods for assaying cellular membrane potential, including mitochondrial membrane potential, by energy transfer methodologies including fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). Diagnostic and drug screening assays are also provided.

In an in vitro fertilization method, a woman is treated with a hypothalamic hormone and/or a pituitary hormone or an agonist or antagonist thereof or an active derivative thereof for a short period of time and, thereafter, using in vitro oocyte maturation egg or eggs are retrieved from the woman and are maturated using a meiosis activating compound.

A nitride film (14A) as a had pattern mask in a peripheral transistor forming region and a cell transistor forming region is narrowed by A1 into a narrower nitride film (14B) by pull-back. While the narrower oxide film (14B) in the cell transistor forming region is covered by an oxide film (22), the narrower nitride film (14B) in the peripheral transistor forming region is further narrowed by A2 into a still narrower nitride film (14C) by pull-back. By making apertures (28A, 28B) in a buried oxide film (28) by using the narrower nitride film (14B) and the still narrower nitride film (14C), STI edges made of the buried oxide film (28) can be prevented from depressing or falling down.

In growing single AlN thin films on a semiconductor substrate by rapidly cooling a beam of atomic Al and atomic or molecular N obtained by exciting or decomposing N.sub.2 with an electromagnetic wave on the semiconductor substrate, an n-type dopant and a p-type dopant in the form of atomic beams are simultaneously doped in a crystal, so that pairs of an n-type dopant and a p-type dopant are formed in the crystal to synthesize single crystal AlN thin films of low resistivity n-type and low resistivity p-type.

An improved method is provided for fabricating a cobalt silicide structure that includes the steps of: (1) forming a silicon structure, wherein a native oxide is located over a first surface of the silicon structure, (2) loading the silicon structure into a chamber, (3) introducing a vacuum to the chamber, (4) depositing a titanium layer over the first surface of the silicon structure, wherein the thickness of the titanium layer is selected to remove substantially all of the native oxide, (5) depositing a cobalt layer over the titanium layer, (6) depositing an oxygen impervious cap layer over the cobalt layer; and then (7) breaking the vacuum in the chamber, and (8) subjecting the silicon structure, the titanium layer, the cobalt layer and the cap layer to an anneal, thereby forming the cobalt silicide structure. The cap layer can be, for example, titanium or titanium nitride. The resulting cobalt silicide structure is substantially free from oxygen (i.e., oxide). Consequently, an underlying gate oxide or substrate is advantageously protected from the effects of cobalt silicide spiking.

In a semiconductor device including a semiconductor device chip mounted on a substrate and a solder bump electrode formed on an electrode film of the substrate, a pillar-form conductive paste is formed on a first surface portion of the electrode film, and a solder bump electrode is formed to cover the pillar-form conductive paste and a second surface portion of the electrode film on which the pillar-form conductive paste is not formed. With this arrangement, it is possible to realize a predetermined bump height, and also to prevent a bump from collapsing at the time of mounting.

A method for forming an interlayer insulating film is disclosed. This method includes the steps of: forming a first insulating film on a substrate, the film containing at least one of H.sub.2 O, C and a hydrocarbon; forming pores in the first insulating film by heat treatment of the first insulating film to discharge the H.sub.2 O, C or hydrocarbon therefrom; and forming a second insulating film on the porous first insulating film.

A process is provided for planarization of an insulation layer, e.g., of silicon dioxide, on a semiconductor wafer, e.g., of silicon, and having a surface with a downwardly stepped chemically mechanically polished arrangement of metal lines in the insulation layer between intervening insulation portions. A first pattern portion of metal lines is separated by intervening insulation portions and defines a first pattern factor having a first value, and an adjacent second pattern portion of metal lines is separated by intervening insulation portions and defines a second pattern factor having a second value different from the first value. The second pattern portion is at a step depth relative to the insulation layer surface different from that of the first pattern portion relative to such layer surface. The process involves chemically mechanically polishing the insulation layer surface and first and second pattern portions to reduce the step depths of the pattern portions relative to the insulation layer surface and to each other, for planarizing the insulation layer surface and pattern portions relative to each other. The process further involves providing a further insulation layer on the planarized insulation layer, and a further arrangement of metal lines in the further insulation layer, and chemically mechanically polishing the further arrangement of metal lines.

The present invention relates to a transparent glass-ceramic material which includes a glass matrix and a crystalline phase of lanthanum fluoride crystals in the glass matrix, where the transparent glass-ceramic material contains no silica. The present invention further relates to a method of producing the transparent glass-ceramic material.

This invention relates to a catalyst system based on fulvene metal complexes as well as their use for the polymerization of unsaturated compounds, in particular for the polymerization and copolymerization of olefins and/or dienes.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel thermal transfer image-receiving paper comprising a layer of a fibrous paper having writing, typing and printing properties provided at low costs via a waterproof layer capable of preventing the curling caused by absorption and desorption of moisture by a base paper, on that side of the base paper on which an image-receiving layer is not provided. The thermal transfer image-receiving paper comprises a base paper 1 provided thereon with a foamed plastic film layer 2, said plastic film layer 2 being provided thereon with an image-receiving layer 3 while said base paper 1 being provided with a fibrous paper layer 4 via a waterproof layer 5 on the side on which the image-receiving layer 3 is not provided.

The invention relates to methods for protecting cereal crops from injury caused by a herbicidally effective amount of a herbicide, in particular, herbicides selected from the group consisting of AHAS-inhibiting, ACCase-inhibiting and HPPD-inhibiting herbicides, which comprises applying to the crop plant, the seed of the crop, or the soil surrounding the crop or crop seed an effective non-phytotoxic antidotal amount of a benzothiazole derivative of formula I ##STR1## wherein PA1 A represents an alkyl, alkoxy, haloalkoxy, hydroxy, cyano or nitro group or a group of the formula ##STR2## PA1 in which W represents O or S, and R represents a hydroxy, thiol, alkoxy, thioalkyl, amino, alkylamino or dialkylamino group; and PA1 X represents CH or N; Also included are safened herbicidal compositions comprising a herbicidally effective amount of a herbicide and an effective nonphytotoxic antidotal amount a benzothiazole derivative of formula I.

A two-stroke motorcycle lubricant comprising a base oil having a viscosity at 100.degree. C. of less than 8 cSt and a pour point below -30.degree. C., preferably below -39.degree. C. The two-stroke motorcycle lubricant further comprises a detergent system based on an ashless, oil-soluble amine. The two-stroke motorcycle lubricant exhibits high levels of cleanliness and low levels of exhaust smoke, whilst maintaining high load carrying capacity. The two-stroke motorcycle lubricant may be dyed.

A process for producing a thermoformed package comprises the steps of placing a first sheet of film over a forming die having at least one cavity, heating the film to mould the film into the at least one cavity thereby forming at least one recess in the film, placing a composition in the at least one formed recess, and sealing a second sheet of film across the at least one formed recess to produce at least one closed package. Once formed, the or each recess is substantially retained in its formed orientation by the application of a vacuum through the or each cavity.

The present invention discloses the ophthalmic applications of mucin derived from mammalian milk or milk byproducts. This mucin has been found to be a MUC1 type mucin similar to the transmembrane mucin expressed on the surface of the human eye. The mucin-containing preparations described in this invention can be in the form of an aqueous formulation to be instilled into the eye, or in which to pre-soak or store an object to be inserted into the eye, such as a contact lens, an ointment, or a solid device to be inserted into the conjunctival sac. The preparations disclosed are utilized for the treatment of tear film and ocular surface disorders associated with the signs and symptoms of dry eye. Furthermore, mucin-based formulations are also effective for the relief of symptoms of eye irritation, such as those caused by environmental conditions or by contact lens wear.

The object is to provide a novel compound, with which there is little possibility of phytotoxicity for crop plants, and which is greatly effective in controlling various plant diseases caused by viruses pathogenic to plants, by bacteria, and by molds, and to provide agricultural chemicals, particularly agents for controlling plant diseases, containing this compound, 2,6-dichloro-4-pyridinemethanol, and/or a benzoic acid ester thereof as an active ingredient. As means for achieving the object, 2,6-dichloro-4-pyridinemethanol derivatives, 2,6-dichloro-4-pyridinemethanol, benzoic acid esters thereof, and agricultural chemicals containing these compounds as active ingredients are provided, the 2,6-dichloro-4-pyridinemethanol derivative being expressed by general formula (1): ##STR1## wherein W denotes an optionally substituted C.sub.1 to C.sub.8 alkyl group, a trifluoromethylpyridyl group, --COR.sup.1, --SO.sub.2 R.sup.2, --PO(OR.sup.3).sub.2, --CONHR.sup.4, --COOR.sup.4, --COCOR.sup.4, or --SiR.sup.5 R.sup.6 R.sup.7, in which: R.sup.1 denotes an optionally substituted C.sub.1 to C.sub.18 alkyl group, an optionally substituted C.sub.1 to C.sub.18 alkenyl group, a phenyl group which has one or more specific substituent groups, or a 5- or 6-membered heterocyclic ring residue which has any one of a nitrogen atom, an oxygen atom, or a sulfur atom as a ring component atom; R.sup.2 denotes an alkyl group or a phenyl group; R.sup.3 denotes an alkyl group; R.sup.4 denotes an alkyl group or a phenyl group; and each of R.sup.5 to R.sup.7 denotes an alkyl group.

This invention provides compounds of Formula I having the structure ##STR1## wherein PA1 B and D are each, independently, hydrogen, halogen, --CN, alkyl of 1-6 carbon atoms, aryl, or aralkyl of 6-12 carbon atoms; PA1 R.sup.1 is hydrogen, alkyl of 1-6 carbon atoms, --CH(R.sup.2)W, --C(CH.sub.3).sub.2 CO.sub.2 R.sup.3, 5-thiazolidine-2,4-dione, --CH(R.sup.4)CH.sub.2 CO.sub.2 R.sup.3, --COR.sup.3, or --PO.sub.3 (R.sup.3).sub.2 ; PA1 R.sup.2 is hydrogen, alkyl of 1-6 carbon atoms, aralkyl of 6-12 carbon atoms, aryl, --CH.sub.2 (1H-imidazol-4-yl), --CH.sub.2 (3-1H-indolyl), --CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 (1,3-dioxo-1,3-dihydro-isoindol-2-yl), --CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 (1-oxo-1,3-dihydro-isoindol-2-yl), or --CH.sub.2 (3-pyridyl); PA1 W is --CO.sub.2 R.sup.3, --CONH.sub.2, --CONHOH, --CN, CONH(CH.sub.2).sub.2 CN, 5-tetrazole, or --PO.sub.3 (R.sup.3).sub.2 ; PA1 R.sup.3 is hydrogen, alkyl of 1-6 carbon atoms, or aryl; PA1 R.sup.4 is hydrogen or alkyl of 1-6 carbon atoms; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, which are useful in treating metabolic disorders related to insulin resistance or hyperglycemia.

This invention provides methods of treating secretory diarrhea or cystic fibrosis in a mammal which comprises administering to a mammal in need thereof an effective amount of diarylsulfonylurea. This invention also describes specific diarylsulfonylureas for use in treating secretory diarrhea or cystic fibrosis.

A method of treating asthma that includes the step of controlling the asthma by ingesting a composition which includes a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor that is sertraline hydrochloride. Chronic administration of the sertraline thereof downregulates brain norepinephrine receptors. The increased output of the brain norepinephrine receptors increases the dilation of the bronchi. Sertraline has no significant affinity for adrenergic (alpha.sub.1, alpha.sub.2, beta), cholinergic, GABA, dopaminergic, histaminergic, serotonergic (5HT.sub.1A, 5HT.sub.1B, 5HT.sub.2), or benzodiazepine receptors. Antagonism of such receptors has been hypothesized to be associated with various adverse anticholinergic, sedative, and cardiovascular effects.

An organopolysiloxane composition comprising (A) an organopolysiloxane, (B) a silane compound having at least two hydrolyzable groups or a partial hydrolyzate thereof, and (C) an antibacterial agent based on a ferrous compound, typically FeSO.sub.4 is antibacterial, mildew resistant, resistant to heat, resistant to weather, and safe.

Imidazopyridine compounds of the formula 1 are can be made in high purity, e.g. greater than 95% pure, by a process that use a novel intermediate of formula 5: ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 each independently represent hydrogen or a lower alkyl group and Y and Z each independently represent a lower alkyl group. By this process, zolpidem, a commercial pharmaceutical of the formula 1 can be effectively made.

The present invention relates to photochromic [3H]naphtho[2,1-b]pyran compounds containing an acetylenic substituent, process for their manufacture, and photochromic materials and articles obtained therefrom. The invention, in some specific aspects, relates to photochromic compounds having a [3H]naphtho-[2,1-b]pyran structure and bearing an acetylenic group in one of the positions 7 to 10 of the naphthopyran ring structure.

A process for producing 10-deacetyl baccatin III from an acidic solution containing a spectrum of taxanes, comprising contacting the acidic solution containing the spectrum of taxanes with a hydrazine hydrate, thereby to convert into 10-deacetyl baccatin III some taxanes in said solution that are not 10-deacetyl baccatin III.

A process for producing isopropyl aromatics using a transalkylation reaction zone and an alkylation reaction zone is disclosed. Portions of the transalkylation reaction zone effluent pass to a multibed alkylation reaction zone where aromatics in the transalkylation reaction zone effluent are alkylated to the desired isopropyl aromatics. At least a portion of the transalkylation reaction zone effluent passes to an alkylation bed other than the first alkylation bed of the multibed alkylation reaction zone. This process decreases the capital and operating costs of recycling the aromatics in the transalkylation reaction zone effluent. This process is well suited for solid transalkylation and alkylation catalysts. Cumene may be produced by this process.

A process for the double bond isomerization of olefinic feed compounds is provided comprising contacting the olefinic feed compounds and a catalyst under reaction conditions sufficient to produce double bond isomerization, wherein the catalyst is an aluminophosphate-containing molecular sieve with pores having a diameter in the range of about 3.8 .ANG. to about 5 .ANG.. The process provides high conversion of normal alpha-olefins and high selectivity for linear internal olefins.

A novel rice cultivar, designated M-402, is disclosed. The invention relates to the seeds of rice cultivar M-402, to the plants of rice M-402 and to methods for producing a rice plant produced by crossing the cultivar M-402 with itself or another rice variety. The invention further relates to hybrid rice seeds and plants produced by crossing the cultivar M-402 with another rice cultivar.

A music performance assisting system analyzes a set of music data codes representative of a series of notes and rests forming a tune, and selectively assigns the notes to the five fingers of each hand of a player, wherein the music performance assisting system temporarily assigns notes of each of plural note groups to the fingers in accordance with rules of a fingering for obtaining candidates of a finger pattern, and, thereafter, evaluates the candidates on the basis of rules of a desirable fingering so as to determine the optimum use of fingers so as to decrease the data base and speed up the data processing.

A chip-type electronic device has a substrate with a vertically extending groove formed on each of its mutually opposite edges. A solder material fills these grooves partially to a height which is below the top surface of the substrate. Electrode patterns are formed on these edges of the substrate including the inner surfaces of these grooves. A semiconductor electronic element is attached onto the top surface of the substrate. A resin mold seals the entire top surface of the substrate inclusive of the semiconductor element, extending to positions of the edges of the substrate and protruding partially into the grooves so as to serve as hooks to securely attach to the substrate.

An electronic element is mounted on a resin wiring substrate and a cover member is bonded to the wiring substrate so as to cover the electronic element and constitute an encapsulation region. The encapsulation region houses the electronic element and has a cavity inside. A side electrode is formed of an electronically conductive through groove provided in a cover-member-bonding surface on the wiring substrate. A plating layer inside the electrically conductive through groove includes at least two metal layers including an Au plating layer and a Cu plating layer. The plating layer has conductors connected to circumferential peripheries of the electrically conductive through groove on upper and lower surfaces of the wiring substrate. Only the Cu plating layer is formed on the conductor on the upper surface of the wiring substrate to improve the reliability of bonding. The reliability of bonding of the resin wiring substrate and cover member which constitute the encapsulation region is improved, and therefore the reliability of the air-tight seal of the cavity inside the encapsulation region is improved.

A selector switch using a digital encoder for controlling multiple functions of a vehicle accessory. A rotary switch having a body portion and a shaft is provided. The shaft has a rotary axis and terminates at a distal end that is received by a knob. A carrier is provided on the shaft in conjunction with the knob and has at least one spring and ball for engaging a detent formed in a face plate of the selector switch assembly. The face plate has a plurality of circumferentially arranged detents that are engaged by the ball to provide intermediate position stops for the knob. The face plate and knob cooperate to provide end stops for limiting arcuate movement of the knob. Redundant detents and end stops may be provided for durability and improved operation. The selector switch may be used to control headlights and parking lights for a vehicle and may provide either instantaneous control or delayed turn-off of headlights, depending upon the digital output of the encoder at a preselected detent location.

An auxiliary magnetic trip unit for a circuit breaker arranged on the load strap of an industrial-rated circuit breaker to interrupt circuit current upon occurrence of a high-level short circuit fault. The magnetic trip unit employs a magnet yoke, an armature, a trip lever for interacting with a latching mechanism of a circuit breaker operating mechanism, and a lever arranged to restrain the armature from moving toward the magnet yoke and to release the armature in response to a predetermined level of pressurized gas. Thus providing an auxiliary magnetic trip unit for use with circuit breakers for selective short circuit overcurrent protection in an electrical distribution system with circuit breakers connected in series.

A laser shock peening system includes an apparatus and method that senses a thickness of laser transparent confinement media flow, such as water. In one embodiment, the apparatus indicates a proper thickness, in another embodiment, the apparatus controls the flow rate of the confinement media using signals from probes of the apparatus. A first probe is used to sense a predetermined minimum thickness and another embodiment further includes a second probe to indicate a predetermined maximum thickness of the confinement media.

An installation strip for the surface-flush installation of a panel of a cooktop in a work-top includes a supporting section for supporting the cooktop. In order to ensure the surface-flush installation in the simplest possible manner, the installation strip has at least one suspension section suitably spaced apart, in a vertical direction, from the supporting section for suspendedly positioning the supporting section of the installation strip relative to a top side of a work-top in a border region of a work-top cutout. The suspension section is connected to the supporting section at a given point, which can be a bending or predetermined breaking point.

The field of view of an optical sensor used in a burner assembly of a glass-ceramic cooktop appliance is improved by providing the burner assembly with a wide angle optical element. The burner assembly includes a burner casing having a bore formed therein. The optical sensor is located in the lower end of the bore, and the wide angle optical element is located in the upper end of the bore. The wide angle optical element directs radiation from over the entire heated portion of the glass-ceramic plate onto the optical sensor. The a wide angle optical element also prevents dust from falling onto the sensor. In one preferred embodiment, the wide angle optical element is a Fresnel lens.

A flash memory structure comprises a first polysilicon layer above a semiconductor substrate; a thin dielectric layer above the first polysilicon layer; and a second polysilicon layer across and above the dielectric layer and the substrate, wherein the second polysilicon layer has a linear shape when viewed from the top. The memory structure further comprises a drain region in the semiconductor substrate on one side of the second polysilicon layer; a trench isolation structure for insulating from neighboring devices; a buried metallic layer located inside a portion of the trench isolation structure close to the upper surface of the substrate; and a common source region located on the other side of the first polysilicon layer just opposite the drain region such that the common source region at least includes a source region and a buried metallic layer alternately linked together.

A multicolor sensor with a plurality of diode functions comprising a succession of layers with p and n doped layers. A microcrystalline layer is thus constructed from at least one of the internal contacts for contacting. According to the invention, pin, nip, npin and/or pnip structures are provided to form the diode functions.

A tape carrier is constituted comprising land 12 for solder ball, formed in a predetermined pattern on insulating film 7 having device hole 10 formed in the middle, leads 9 to be connected to a semiconductor chip, plating power-feeding lead 13 having one end connected to lead 9 and formed on insulating film 7, and easily-broken part 19 provided in the middle of the power-feeding leads. A semiconductor device is constituted wherein tape carrier 2 is provided with plating power-feeding lead 13 formed on insulating film 7, one end of which is drawn out of insulating film 7, the other end being connected to leads 9, and plating power-feeding lead 13 is disconnected from the leads when semiconductor chip 1 is installed. Thus, a tape carrier for BGA which is manufactured easily, capable of achieving higher density of wiring in the wiring pattern, improved in water-resistance and reliability, and a semiconductor device using the same are provided.

An integrated semiconductor circuit configuration includes stabilized conductor tracks which run in different planes. Critical locations of the conductor tracks which are dictated by the layout are provided with dummy contacts.

A circuit for driving a load. In one embodiment, the load is driven by an inverter circuit having a full bridge circuit divided by inductive elements to provide cross conduction protection. In another embodiment, first and second converter circuits are coupled to the inverter circuit with the inverter and converter circuits having common circuit elements. In a further embodiment, a common mode inducter is inductively coupled to a power circuit for detecting a common mode signal generated by a load current return path disruption. The common mode inductor is coupled to a control circuit for limiting current to the load.

An image detecting apparatus comprises a rotating disk having pinholes that allow light to pass through, a photosensor for detecting the rotation of the disk, a CCD camera for capturing a confocal image of a specimen passed through the pinholes of the disk, a brushless DC motor for rotating the disk at a given speed, and an FPGA which produces a pulse-like brake signal having two levels for accelerating and decelerating the disk and its pulse width set variable and outputs it to the DC motor, thereby allowing the synchronization of the rotation of the disk with the image capture timing of the CCD camera.

In an induction motor drive system with/without a speed sensor, resistance values are stably and accurately estimated during the operation of the motor regardless of the operating conditions such as a speed, a load, etc. and of a particular combination of parameters. A suitable point Pr is taken inside a current locus on a stator current vector plane, and a measured current i.sub.s and an observed current i.sub.s ' are referenced from this point Pr. The difference between the magnitudes of two vectors i.sub.s and i.sub.s ' is associated with an error of a rotor resistance Rr, while the difference between phase shifts is associated with an error of a stator resistance Rs.

In a circuit arrangement for limiting peak current, an inverter provides at an AC voltage output a series circuit of a consumer and a rectifier unit connected across the output. A current limiter connects across output terminals of the rectifier unit. The current limiter has first and second terminals, a series circuit formed of a measuring shunt and a switching element being connected across the first and second terminals. A control input of the switching element is connected to an output of a current regulator. First and second input terminals of the current regulator connect to both sides of the measuring shunt. The current regulator is designed to control a switching element such that when a current maximum representing a peak current flows, a height of the peak current is limited to a desired maximum current value determined primarily by a potential across said measuring shunt.

The present invention discloses 10 discloses an eddy current probe assembly having unique types and arrangements of coils 14, 16, 18 therein. This type and arrangement of coils allows for a more accurate determination of tube 20 anomalies. A first pair of coils 14 are provided which comprise a pair of coils 14A, 14B oriented 45 degrees apart wherein each pair of coils comprises an additional pair of coils 14G, 14H which are oriented 90 degrees apart. A second pair of coils 16 are provided which are about 0.060 inches apart. A third pair of coils 18 are provided having a larger coil 18A and a smaller coil 18B. An extension wand 22 with cable connectors 26 are provided for connection to suitable probe actuation and control means.

An auto resistance device for distribution boxes, which can automatically provide grounding for a cable connector of a distribution box before a cable is connected or remove the grounding after the cable is connected is disclosed.

In order to carry out histogram control so that colors of regions printed for overlapping regions are appropriate for a multi-color, multi-stencil thermal silkscreen stencil-making device, a hue, printing density and corresponding extracted color for ink used in multi-color, multi-stencil printing are inputted, of which a color of the densest printing density is set at a color separation circuit 36 as an extracted color for making a histogram. A histogram producing circuit 34 constituting a histogram controller 33 is then initialized, histogram data HD for the color extracted for making a histogram is acquired while reading an original, and this histogram data HD is temporarily stored in memory 37. While stencils are being made for all of the colors, the stencils are made while an energy control circuit 35 carries out histogram control based on an applied energy control signal S corresponding to histogram data HD stored in the memory 37 and binary data D3.

A thermal head is provided which comprises an insulation substrate, a heat-generating resistor on the insulation substrate, a conductive layer for supplying electric power thereto, and a protective layer provided thereon. In the thermal head, the protective layer is surface-treated with a water- and oil-repellent and heat-resistant organosilicon-containing compound to provide a contact angle with respect to water of 95 degrees or more. The organosilicon-containing compound is preferably a fluoroalkyl silane with a fluorinated carbon chain length of 6 to 10 carbon atoms, having a hydrolyzable reactive group at a terminal thereof. The compound is strongly bonded to the protective layer via a silanol group by heat-treatment at 50.degree. C. or more. The protective layer surface may be properly pretreated with an organosilicon compound having an isocyanate group bonded to a silicon atom.

An object of the invention is to provide an illumination apparatus and exposure apparatus and method employing this, whereby the illumination distribution on a mask or wafer can be compensated to a desired distribution, and whereby it is possible to independently alter the pupil shape (coherence factor) of illuminating light in respect of various image heights above the wafer. In order to achieve the on object, an illumination apparatus as claimed in the invention is provided with: a rod-type optical integrator forming a large number of light source images from the light from a light source; a relay optical system that illuminates a surface to be illuminated by respectively condensing light from the large number of light source images formed by the rod-type optical integrator; and means for controlling illumination that respectively independently control the intensity distribution of the light in the large number of light source images, being arranged on the light source side of the rod-type optical integrator.

A bent capillary flow cell with protruding end bulbs coaxial with centerline of an elongated center cylindrical section of capillary tubing. The bulbs provide a high light throughput entrance window for the cell. Light is piped along the elongated center section by total internal reflection at the outside surface of the cell wall. An external light absorbing band is placed in optical contact with outer surface of the cell wall over a transition cone region between the bulb and center cylindrical section of the cell. Each of the external light absorbing bands extend a short prescribed distance over the cylindrical wall to absorb light rays that would otherwise be light piped within the cell wall and have little exposure to the liquid in the cell.

A cartridge for use in a data drive is disclosed. The cartridge comprises at least one optical pipe for transmitting light incident on one point along the exterior of the cartridge to another point on the exterior of the cartridge where the light is illuminated from the cartridge.

An electrode for a capacitor comprising a collector and a layer of a polarizable electrode material formed thereon, which includes activated carbon powder, a conducting aid, and a mixture of polytetrafluoroethylene and hydroxyalkylcellulose as a binder, which electrode is useful as an electrode of an electric double layer capacitor.

An arrangement of a first receptacle and a second receptacle for separately receiving a card device in a portable computer. The first and second card receptacles are coupled to allow movement of the receptacles relative to each other between a first configuration where the receptacles are substantially nested, and a second configuration where the receptacles are substantially stacked, such that the receptacles move from the first configuration to the second configuration in order to receive a card device in the first receptacle.

A method (and structure) for cooling a portable computer includes attaching a portable computer to a holder, transferring heat of a heat-generating component disposed within the portable computer to the holder, and releasing the transferred heat to the atmosphere. The portable computer includes a fixture for detachably fixing the portable computer to the holder, a heat release device for releasing heat of a heat-generating component disposed within the portable computer to the outside, and a supporter which supports the fixture and the heat release device.

A control system is provided for positioning between a power source, such as a distributed generator, and a utility or utility grid to control the injection of dc current and even harmonics into the utility or utility grid. In one embodiment, the control system is particularly suited for grid-tied operation and includes a power converter for acting as an ac current source by converting power received from the power source to ac current for transmittal to the utility. The control system further includes a voltage transformer between the power converter and the utility connection to block dc current and isolate the power source from the utility. A feedback control loop is included in the control system to measure, with a pair of current transformers, dc current and even harmonics in the current flowing into (power converter side) and out (utility side) of the voltage transformer. A signal combiner is used to combine the outputs of the two current transformers such that its output to a harmonic analyzer of the feedback control loop represents the load current of the voltage transformer. The harmonic analyzer determines the magnitude and phase of the second harmonic of this load current and transmits this as output to a controller of the feedback control loop. The controller creates a control signal that it transmits to a reference device connected to, or integrated with, the power converter which creates a reference signal having a dc offset that functions to substantially zero out the linearized second harmonic magnitude. The reference signal is used to control the operation and output of the power converter to substantially eliminate dc current injection into the voltage transformer which in turn effectively limits the amplitude of even harmonics in the current supplied to the utility.

In the optical head transfer circuit of the related art, the sled error signal generated only via a low-pass filter has been used as a tracking error signal. However, the present invention provides a portable type reproducing apparatus which compensates a DC element corresponding to a shifting displacement of an objective lens generated depending on a change of attitude of the reproducing apparatus with a sled feed mechanism, and does not result in deterioration of reproducing characteristics depending on vertical or horizontal installation. The present invention has realized much improvement in vibration characteristics, because a signal from which the DC element is eliminated corresponding to the shifting displacement of the objective lens is used as the tracking error signal and the sled error signal is generated depending on a signal from which the DC element is not yet eliminated.

A method and apparatus for testing a modem line in a data processing system, wherein the data processing system includes a modem having an input for a modem line. The input is tested to determine an electrical connection network is present.

The optical fiber connector of the invention comprises a first optical fiber, a first convex lens that converges light emitted from the first optical fiber, a second convex lens that converges light emitted from the first convex lens, and a second optical fiber that receives a convergent light beam from the second convex lens, wherein, when a core diameter of the first optical fiber is given by E1, a numerical aperture thereof by NA1, a core diameter of the second optical fiber by E2, a numerical aperture thereof by NA2, a focal length of the first convex lens by f1, a focal length of the second convex lens by f2, and (E1/E2)/(f1/f2)=x is introduced, a connection efficiency .eta. of the first and the second optical fibers satisfies the following inequality EQU (E1/E2).sup.2 <.eta..ltoreq.(1/x).sup.2.multidot.NA2/sin(tan.sup.-1 E1/E2.multidot.NA1/x), in EQU 1 Status Category:
Patent Expired Due to NonPayment of Maintenance Fees Under 37 CFR 1.362

The organizer of the invention is of the type having superposable cassettes pivotally mounted in a support housing them, each cassette having a flexible carrier arm for conveying fibers to an inlet passage of the cassette while simultaneously securing the cassette to the support, the arm being suitable for being folded both down against and away from the cassette so as to enable the cassette to pivot relative to the support. Advantageously, a fiber fan-out assembly is mounted on the outside of the support and has outlets staged along a fixing axis for the pivot arms of the various cassettes of the support.

In a precedent pre-output processing of a print start command in a digital reproducing apparatus, a print start command is saved in a command queue in an engine control task, and a next sheet feed start command is transmitted immediately after a termination command indicating sheet feed of a sheet which is being processed is received from a mechanism control section. Furthermore, the precedent pre-output of a print start command is performed even when sheet feed positions are different corresponding to a preceding sheet and a following sheet in such a case of printing in a cover sheet mode or printing using an automatic duplex unit. In this case, the digital reproducing apparatus does not transmit the command which has been precedently pre-output to a mechanism control section and notifies a print control task of no transmission of the command as cancellation of the print start command, thereby preventing the next sheet from being printed at a time of occurrence of sheet empty.

An image formation apparatus including an electrostatic latent image formation body, a latent image forming unit for forming an electrostatic latent image on the electrostatic latent image formation body, and a belt-shaped image carrier with an inner surface in contact with the electrostatic latent image formation body for transferring the electrostatic latent image to the belt-shaped image carrier. A developing unit supplies a liquid developer containing toner particles and carrier liquid to a surface of the belt-shaped image carrier which is not in contact with the electrostatic latent image formation body. A solvent removal unit removes the carrier liquid from the developed image so as to form a toner-developed image. A transfer-fixation block transfers and fixes the toner-developed image from the belt-shaped image carrier onto a recording medium.

The fixing apparatus is capable of ensure the freedom of the design for a driving mechanism which is provided for endlessly traveling the fixing belt. In order to accomplish the object, the fixing apparatus has a fixing roller (22), a pressing roller (24) being rollingly contacted the fixing roller (22), a heating roller (28) positioned upstream side of the fixing roller (22) with respect to a feeding direction in which a sheet (S) carrying an unfixed toner image thereon is fed and having a heating source therein, a fixing belt (32) trained around the heating roller (28) and the fixing roller (22) for transferring heat from the heat source to preheat the unfixed toner image on the sheet (S) before the sheet (S) passes through a rolling contact region defined between the fixing roller (22) and pressing roller (24), and a driving mechanism (44) for rotatably driving the pressing roller (24).

A method for providing information to a customer who is requesting a synthesized oligonucleotide, peptide, peptide nucleic acid, polysaccharide or antibody (collectively "strands"). The capabilities of one or more suppliers are stored and automatically searched for capabilities to synthesize the requested strand. A list of the suppliers with the required capabilities is generated along with the price of the strand. The invention also encompasses an apparatus for providing information to remote users regarding which suppliers can supply a desired strand. The apparatus has a database and a server which allows the remote user to access the capabilities of one or more suppliers for synthesizing a strand.

A bed (10) includes a base (12) having a first end and a second end, and a support assembly (22) coupled to of the base (12) adjacent the first end. The support assembly (22) includes a rotatable drive mechanism (55). The bed (10) also includes a patient support assembly (26) having a support surface (50) for supporting a patient. The patient support assembly (26) has a proximal end (24) and a distal end (25) spaced apart from the proximal end (24) to define a longitudinal axis (38). The proximal end (24) of the patient support assembly (26) is coupled to the drive mechanism (55) of the support assembly (22) so that the distal end (25) of the patient support assembly (26) is cantilevered from the support assembly (22). The drive mechanism (55) is configured to rotate the cantilevered patient support assembly (26) about its longitudinal axis (38).

An automatic cable clamping vice with insertion of the cable (1) between an upper tightening member (2) and a lower tightening member (3) anchored through an eyelet (12) is described. In accordance with the present invention the connection between the tightening members (2) and (3) takes place through the two side hinges made up of eyelets (6) and withdrawable pins (7) and (8) as well as the fact that the hinges are inclined at an angle .alpha. with respect to the axis of the cable (1) and that the hinges in addition to the rotary movement also permit longitudinal movement in such a manner that the shifting of the member (2) longitudinally with respect to the member (3) due to the cable traction also causes closing of the members (2) and (3) and therewith tightening of the interposed cable (1).

A pressure clip for contacting a heat sink device to a heat sink by means of a pressure bond having thermal resistance of less than about 5 K/kW/cm.sup.2. The pressure clip includes a mounting block, a clamp block; a spacer disposed between the mounting block and the clamp block forming a channel therebetween, support shoulders in the channel for supporting a heat sink, means for securing the clamp block and the spacer to the mounting block, pressure arm disposed above the mounting block, flexible joint for flexibly attaching the pressure arm to the mounting block, pressure screw disposed between the pressure arm and the mounting block for applying pressure to the pressure arm, and a plunger projecting into the channel between the mounting block and the clamp block for transmitting pressure from the pressure arm.

A self-centering arbor adapted to locate a hole in a mechanical object having coaxial openings, such as brackets, bushings or the like, with vastly improved accuracy and repeatability. The self-centering arbor comprises two opposite free floating, spring biased, coaxial, tapered pins mounted in a housing member for engagement with the openings in the axle bracket or the like. The housing includes opposite first and second housings interconnected by a mandrel shaft. Furthermore, two spherical locating members are secured to the housing member and are oppositely aligned on an axis of the tapered pin.

A stop device that is used to prevent unauthorized opening of sliding closures, such as windows and doors, which is esthetically pleasing, is adjustable in length and includes removable decorative accessory items. The stop device includes first and second elongated extension members and a locking mechanism. The locking mechanism includes first and second levers which engage the first and second members, respectively, to lock the first and second members with respect to the locking mechanism.

An apparatus for installing door frames which comprises at least two template members and at least three apertures on each template member. To provide horizontal adjustment means between said at least two template members, at least one elongated member may be joined approximately normal to each of said at least two templates. Said at least one elongated member may comprise at least one tongue member and at least one groove member, said at least one tongue member may be slidably positioned within said at least one groove member. To provide means for plumbing said template members, at least one screw may be positioned within said at least one template member. To install a door frame, the apparatus is positioned within a doorway, said doorway composed of two trimmer studs joined by a header stud, such that the at least one template of the apparatus is juxtaposed one of the two trimmer studs, and said at least one aperture outlines the perimeter of at least one slot to be cut in the trimmer stud. Using said at least one aperture as a guide, at least one slot is cut in the trimmer stud using, e.g., a router or saw. At least one shim is inserted into said trimmer stud. The apparatus may be removed (preferably before shim installation) and the door frame member is installed, said door frame member juxtaposed said at least one shim. Before cutting said at least one slot in the trimmer stud, the installer preferably ensures that the at least one template member of the apparatus is plumb by turning the at least one screw which contacts the trimmer stud and adjusts the at least one template member until the at least one template member is plumb. The door frame may then be plumb and square with a door.

An injection molded rigid roof panel system for constructing pitched roof structures of the type affixed directly to roof trusses or rafters and needing no structural or supporting sheathing surface or moisture barrier. Comprised of no less than (23) standard roof panel components of varying shapes, sizes, colors and exposed surfaces replicating conventional roofing surfaces. Panels overlap, underlap and interlock by means of an array of shoulders, locating ribs and clearance channels creating a unitized roof system utilizing integral seals at the seams, subsurface water channels and self sealing, threaded fasteners whose molded-in, counter-bored holes are further sealed by composite plugs. Panels are produced by mixing, extruding and pelletizing a compound of over 60% recycled materials and encapsulating a semi-rigid fiberglass mesh sheet in the panels during the injection molding process producing a roofing product that is fire retardant, impervious to moisture, insects, ultraviolet rays and winds in excess of 130 mph.

Building system comprising individual building elements (1), each element having an upper and a lower surface which are substantially parallel to each other and each building element having at least one opening (10, 11) extending from the upper surface to the lower surface, the building elements being such that they can be positioned on top of each other so that openings of different elements are aligned with respect to each other, characterized in that in each opening a connecting element (30) can be placed by means of which the building element belonging to it can be connected with a predetermined pressure to the building element located immediately below the first building element.

An assist step for a stirrup associated with a saddle wherein the step is secured to or formed integrally with an outer side element of the stirrup which is pivotally mounted at a base of the stirrup such that when pivoted downwardly relative to the base, the step provides a platform for assisting a rider in mounting a saddle. The outer side element also functions as a safety breakaway portion for the stirrup to permit release of a rider's foot in the event a rider falls from the saddle.

The invention provides an improved ammonium synthesis process. A synthesis gas is separated with a membrane into a hydrogen-rich gas and a hydrogen-depleted gas. The hydrogen rich gas is shifted with steam to convert carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Carbon dioxide is removed from the shifted gas, and remaining carbon oxides are methanized. This gas is admixed with nitrogen and with recycled ammonia synthesis feedstock gas. This ammonia synthesis feedstock gas is then cycled in an ammonia synthesis reactor. A purge gas stream is withdrawn from the ammonia synthesis feedstock gas and is admixed with the hydrogen-depleted gas. The hydrogen-depleted gas and the purge gas are combusted, usually in a combustion turbine, to generate heat or power. Lower purity hydrogen can therefore be used in the synthesis of the ammonia.

An air conditioning system for an automotive vehicle having a sunroof, a sunshade comprising a number of louvers and installed in a ceiling opening located below the sunroof, and a roof air path formed between the sunroof and sunshade so as to be in communication with an air path of the air conditioning system blows cold air into a passenger compartment through the sunshade via the roof air path during cooling operation controlling angles of the louvers of the sunshade, and draws recirculated air from an upper part of the passenger compartment by a sub-blower and direct the recirculated air to a main blower during heating operation.

The present invention provides for an air conditioning unit for mounting within or on the roof of a vehicle which has a passenger compartment and air delivery ducts, the unit being adapted for conditioning of air with the passenger compartment of the bus. The unit comprises a casing having a longitudinal axis extending between ends and adapted to be attached to the roof of the vehicle with the longitudinal axis oriented front to back of the vehicle. A condenser section (24) is located centrally of the casing and adjacent the top thereof, the condenser section (24) including air delivery device (48) and at least one condenser coil (40) located adjacent the air delivery device (48). At least one evaporator section (22) is located between the condenser section (24) and a side of the casing and adjacent the bottom of the casing, the evaporator section (22) including an evaporator section air delivery device (30) and an evaporator coil (26), the air delivery device (30) having an air inlet for drawing in air from the passenger compartment and an outlet for discharging the air through the evaporator coil and then returning the conditioned air to the passenger compartment.

An evaporative cooler including a cross-flow plate heat exchanger formed by a plurality of stacked, fluted plates. The evaporative cooler may be operated in an indirect evaporative cooling process, or in a combined direct and indirect mode. The heat exchanger operates as a cross between a cross-flow exchanger and a counter-flow exchanger because the primary and secondary air streams are not perpendicular or parallel to one another, but rather, are oriented at an oblique angle. In a preferred embodiment formed by stacked hexagonal plates, the shape of the exchanger lends itself to the application of water on a primary side to achieve two-stage (indirect plus direct) evaporative cooling. In the two-stage operation mode, all six sides of the heat exchanger have water flowing through the corrugated flutes. The heat exchanger provides a single, compact design that utilizes all six sides for air inlet and outlets, providing a higher efficiency exchanger as compared to traditional compact indirect evaporative cross-flow plate heat exchangers.

A cooling apparatus, such as a consumer display unit (400), comprises a covered tray (403) or other compartment for accommodating consumer product to be kept cool, and a housing (420) for accommodating a replaceable charge of dry ice out of contact with the product. A tubular element (421) communicates between the covered tray and the housing (420) to allow cold air and carbon dioxide to flow from the dry ice to the product.

In an absorption refrigerating apparatus (18) the pump pipe (42) is made of a material, which is more corrosion resistant to the working medium than the material of the rest of the apparatus. In order to prevent galvanic corrosion in the boiler the pump pipe (42) can be electrically insulated (72, 74) from the rest of the boiler.

A tool for reshaping corner bead, which is perforated right angle metal strip used in fabrication of corners in drywall building construction, spreads the legs of 90 degree angle corner bead outwardly to increase the included angle thereof. The bead is rolled between a pressure roller and a multiplicity of idler rollers. The apex of the bead runs in a circumferential groove of the vertically adjustable pressure roller which presses downwardly as the legs ride upon idler rollers which resist the downward force while allowing sideward motion of the legs. Preferably, the rollers are comprised of mated pairs of hemispheres and the bead is made to pass through the tool by driving the pressure roller with a screw gun. The frame of the tool has a detachable tang which enables the tool to be mounted from the side wall pocket of a common pickup truck box.

A crash sensor comprising a magnetic field sensor with means for concentrating magnetic flux from the magnet, wherein the magnetic field sensor detects a change in magnetic field strength as the sensing mass moves causing a corresponding change in output voltage or current from the magnetic field sensor. The magnetic field sensor is used for determining crash severity for timely deployment of an occupant restraint system.

An engine or other machine has an improved configuration for a connecting rod a wrist pin cradled and fastened on a saddle of the rod. The improved configuration allows fluid flow through the rod to the interior of the wrist pin while reducing the tendency for cracks in the saddle. The configuration includes a fastener which has a through bore and which extends from a void in the rod to the interior of the wrist pin. The fastener fits closely with holes in the wrist pin and the saddle, and a nut fixed in the wrist pin threads with the fastener, whereby the nut and fastener prevent relative motion between the wrist pin and the saddle. The saddle has only one aperture, so the saddle is stronger than prior designs.

A magnetic bar stock puller for a CNC type, numerically controlled turret lathe, the magnetic bar puller configured to engage and pull bar stock for positioning same. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the bar puller has a body having an engaging end and a mounting end, the mounting end mounted to a station on the rotary turret. The bar puller is actuated by fluid pressure from liquid coolant flowing from the cooling system of the lathe, the coolant passing through a longitudinal bore in the body of the unit so as to urge a piston, having a high field strength magnet, to migrate within the longitudinal bore towards the engaging end of the bar holder, so as to provide a magnetic field in the vicinity of the engaging end, to selectively engage a bar or other ferrous object in the vicinity of the engaging end of the bar puller. A spring bias is provided to urge the piston away from the engaging end of the bar holder, removing the magnetic field from the vicinity of the engaging end, when fluid pressure ceases due to cessation of flow of coolant through the system.

A table saw apparatus includes a table, a saw blade, a motor, a belt-pulley mechanism, a bracket mounted pivotally on the table and connected to the motor, a saw frame mounted pivotally on the table and including a tubular seat which is connected to the saw blade and which is movable downward when the saw frame turns forward and which is movable upward when the saw frame turns rearward, a connecting unit interconnecting the tubular seat and the motor, and a height adjustment unit mounted on the table and including a first rotary drive member connected drivingly to the saw frame so as to move the saw frame forward or rearward.

In a swash plate type hydraulic unit for use as a swash plate type hydraulic pump and a hydraulic motor, a plurality of block plates 4.sub.1 to 4.sub.5 being divided at split planes extending orthogonal to a cylinder block axis X are soldered to one another to form a cylinder block 4. Inlet holes 25i and 39i for supporting plungers 27 and 41 slidably therein are formed in an inlet-side one of the block plates 4.sub.1, 4.sub.2 ; 4.sub.4, 4.sub.5 located close to plunger swash plates 9a and 19a, while in remaining inner-side ones of the block plates 4.sub.3 to 4.sub.5 ; 4.sub.1 to 4.sub.3 are formed inner holes 25o and 39o of a diameter larger than that of the inlet holes 25i and 39i, the inner holes 25o and 39o each defining an oil chamber to which the outer peripheral surface of the associated plunger 27, 41 faces. With this arrangement, a cylinder block structure superior in mass-productivity is provided.

In an inking system of a rotogravure printing press there are included an ink reservoir, an ink doctor blade device and an ink catch reservoir. All of these components of the inking system are height-adjustable with respect to the formed cylinder of the printing machine.

A substrate is coated with a first material which is soluble in a first solvent, whereupon a second material which is strongly adherent to the first material and insoluble in the first solvent is selectively applied by an ink jet printer. The substrate is then developed in the first solvent to establish the image. In a preferred embodiment the substrate is hydrophilic, the first material is a negative working photosensitive material, and the second material is a transparent adhesive, which permits curing the first material by exposure to actinic light after the development step. The adhesive is then removed. In an embodiment directed to a waterless plate the substrate includes a surface coating of silicone, and the first material is a primer which promotes adhesion of a second material in the form of an oleophilic adhesive which is selectively applied. The primer is then developed to expose the silicone on the non-image areas. The ink carrying image areas are formed by the adhesive, which in this embodiment is not removed.

This invention involves a hard target penetrating warhead designed to produce a variable explosive discharge. A standard warhead casing is divided into several compartments with each compartment separated by a shock-absorbing shield. Explosive fill in contained within each compartment. The shock-absorbing shield inhibits the dynamic shock produced by detonating a compartment, thus preventing sympathetic detonation of adjoining compartments. As a result, the size of an explosive blast is controlled by detonating the explosive fill, in a set number of compartments. Each compartment also contains an igniter element, which initiates a slow burn of undetonated explosive fill.

A knock-down trader desk including a frame having at least two upright frame members and at least two horizontal beams. The beams releasably interconnect the upright frame members to form a freestanding knock-down rigid frame. A plurality of vertically oriented panels are attached to the rigid frame to define a storage area within the rigid frame. The trader desk includes at least three worksurfaces including a pair of outer worksurfaces defining two opposed user accessible elongate edges. The trader desk also includes at least one central worksurface positioned above the storage area and between the outer worksurfaces. The worksurfaces are engagable with the frame at a plurality of heights whereby the worksurfaces are selectively positionable at a plurality of heights. At least one access opening is provided for passing cables from the storage area to an upper surface of the central worksurface.

A tabletop has a plurality of panels connected by rope-type connections and pole-shaped legs that can be folded up by way of links. Bars with grooves are provided to maintain the tabletop panels in an outstretched position. Connectors provided on the legs and connectors provided on the panels both engage the grooves on the bars such that the legs are properly positioned with respect to the panels of the tabletop.

A boat with an articulating bow and a method for articulating the bow of a boat is provided which permits easier storage and transportation of the boat, without increasing the height of the boat when the bow is in its articulated open configuration, and the bow of the boat may be articulated while the boat is in a body of water.

A terrarium filtering device, apparatus, and method is disclosed which includes a base filtration plate, a barrier wall, and an environment separation cup. The present invention includes a terrarium filtering system for maintaining a wet environment, a moist environment, and a dry environment within an aquarium tank. The filtering system includes a terrarium filter plate with a barrier wall to separate the wet and moist areas, water flow holes and water movers connected to a bubbling system to provide aeration and create a water flow, and a passive waste neutralization system. The terrarium filter plate is covered with a filtering media and together they act as a filtering device. Waste materials in the water are moved by flowing water to be trapped in the filtering media, and a porous passive neutralization system is used to offset toxins in the water flow.

An rocker arm is tilted by a cam so as to open and close a valve provided on a cylinder head. This arm comprises a pair of opposing wall portions which are made by folding a flat plate so that they oppose substantially in parallel and cylindrical expanding portions which are formed at tilting fulcrum shaft mounting portions located in a center of the opposing wall portions in the length direction thereof, the expanding portions being expanded in the direction of the tilting fulcrum shaft. The cylindrical expanding portions which are thicker than the opposing wall portions receive a load accompanied by the tilting motion so as to decrease bearing stress applied to the opposing wall portions.

A direct-injection internal combustion engine can smoothly switch and transition between a first operation mode and a second operation mode according to an operating condition of the engine. An engine control amount in the first operation mode is calculated differently from an engine control amount in the second operation mode. However, even if the engine control amount requires correction only in the second operation mode, calculation of a correction amount is made during the first operation mode as well. During a transition from the first operation mode to the second operation mode, the correction amount calculated during the first operation mode is taken into account in calculating an engine control amount. As the correction amount is already available at the time of transition, a suitable engine control amount can be immediately obtained.

An engine exhaust braking method and apparatus. The method includes injecting a predetermined amount of fuel per stroke into an engine cylinder during engine braking, wherein the predetermined amount of fuel cools the fuel injector nozzle, thereby allowing the engine braking to be performed without damage to the fuel injector nozzle due to excessive heat. The apparatus includes a fuel injector having a nozzle and capable of injecting a predetermined amount of fuel into an engine, and a processor connected to the fuel injector, with the processor monitoring engine operation and capable of causing the fuel injector to inject the predetermined amount of fuel into the engine, wherein a predetermined amount of fuel is injected into the engine to cool the fuel injector nozzle, thereby allowing the exhaust braking to be performed without damaging the fuel injector nozzle due to excessive heat.

An internal combustion engine has a crankcase (2) and a fuel injection system (21) supplied with compressed air, whose piston compressor (12) has a piston (15) guided in a cylinder (18) and a driving crankshaft in operating connection with the engine crankshaft (6). To produce favorable construction conditions, the crankcase (2) constitutes the cylinder (18) for the piston (15) of the piston compressor (12).

A waste fluid discharge column for use in a vacuum drainage system. The discharge column comprises a vertical pipe maintained under negative pressure to create a liquid column inside the vertical pipe. A chamber is attached to an upper end of the pipe and defines a vacuum port and a fluid inlet port. The chamber allows for better separation of waste fluid and air, and provides a vacuum buffer for the drainage system. The present invention further comprises a vacuum drainage system capable of separately handling multiple waste fluid flows. Two or more waste fluid discharge columns may be connected to a single vacuum source. Because the different types of waste fluid are handled separately, treatment and other auxiliary apparatus needed for certain types of waste fluid may be sized properly since the vacuum drainage system may direct only the waste fluid requiring treatment to the auxiliary apparatus.

A collector unit to be attached to a ceiling to collect leaking water and falling debris is formed by a sheet of water impervious material, preferably foldable and flexible, and having a generally concave shape with an outlet drain at a lower part. A net is fastened to the sheet across its open top. The unit is fastened to a ceiling and leaking water passes through the net, flows in the sheet to the outlet drain and it is conveyed away from the collector unit through a drain line connected to the outlet drain. Debris falling from the ceiling is caught by the net so that it does not reach the sheet and clog the outlet drain. The sheet and net are preferably of a material such that the collector unit can be folded into a package.

A proportional control gas valve includes a valve body formed with an inlet having a first orifice, a first chamber communication with the inlet through the orifice, a second chamber formed with a balancing orifice and a second orifice, a third chamber in communication with the first chamber through the balancing orifice, a fourth chamber in communication with the first chamber via the second orifice, a fifth chamber in communication with the fourth chamber, and an outlet in communication with the fifth chamber, a solenoid assembly mounted in the first chamber for controlling gas flowing from the first chamber to the fourth chamber via the second orifice, a main diaphragm arranged between the inlet and the third chamber, a valve spring mounted under the main diaphragm and urging the main diaphragm to move upwardly to close a passage from the inlet to the outlet, a regulation diaphragm mounted inside the fifth chamber, a regulation spring mounted on the regulation diaphragm, an adjust stem connected with the regulation diaphragm for controlling gas flow rate from the fourth chamber to the outlet, and a servomotor drivingly connected with the adjust stem, whereby the proportional control gas valve only requires a small amount of energy to control the gas pressure and flow rate simultaneously.

A valve for use in a sucker rod actuated fluid pump including a traveling valve assembly and a standing valve assembly within which a vortex is believed to be created to draft the ball check valve from its seat during the stroke of the sucker rod and thereby increase the amount of petroleum fluids pumped to the surface during each stroke of the fluid pump.

A control valve contains a housing with an inlet connection, an outlet connection and a return connection. A first seat valve with a first valve body and a second seat valve with a second valve body are disposed in the housing. The first seat valve is disposed between the outlet connection and the return connection and is normally closed and the second seat valve is disposed between the inlet connection and the outlet connection and is normally open. The second valve body is disposed coaxially in the first valve body.

A sweat flange, piping system utilizing the same, and method of installing a circulator to a copper pipe. The sweat flange includes a base portion having a predetermined shape and at least two bolt openings dimensioned to accept at least two mounting bolts. A shoulder portion extends from the base portion and includes a substantially circular pipe opening that extends through the base portion and the shoulder portion. The pipe opening includes a first portion dimensioned to accept the pipe and a second portion of decreased diameter in order to limit the travel of the pipe through the opening. The sweat flange is attached to the pipe by inserting the pipe into the pipe opening of the flange and soldering the two together using art recognized soldering techniques. The piping system includes at least one pipe, a sweat, a pair of mounting bolts and a circulator or other pump. The piping system is assembled by inserting the pipe within the pipe opening in the sweat flange and soldering the pipe to the sweat flange. The pipe and the sweat flange are allowed to cool and the bolt openings of the sweat flange are aligned with the bolt openings of the volute flange. The mounting bolts are disposed through the bolt openings in pipe flange and the volute flange and are secured such that the sweat flange and the pump are secured together.

The present invention relates to a reinforced flexible tube having at least one elongated reinforcing element. According to the invention, this elongated element has a cross section or profile in the form of a T and is wound helically.

A bag filler attachment for a sander for quickly and conveniently filling large number of bags. The bag filler attachment for a sander includes a hopper member having a top end, bottom portion, top portion which is tapered from the top end to the bottom portion, a flange member securely attached along a rim of the hopper member at the top end thereof and being attachable to a dispensing member on a sander; and also includes a bag holding member which includes an elongate member being securely attached to the bottom portion and being horizontally disposed and having a pair laterally-extending grooves extending about the circumference of the elongate member near the ends thereof and being adapted to hold one end of a bag during the filling thereof.

Ejection device to expel objects from the inside of a bag in the event of a bag-snatching, the bag comprising an expandable sack below a lining (400), a compressed gas feeder (2) including an elongated housing (20) operatively connected to the expandable sack (1) and carrying, in sequence, a small gas bottle (6), a piercing bit (72), a release mechanism (8), a relative control means (3) with a Bowden cable transmission (30) connected to a handle (50) through a junction member (51) in two parts. A snatch, being transmitted to the handle (50), operates the release mechanism (8) and causes the expandable sack to be inflated (1) and then the two parts of the junction member (51) to be separated.

The present invention provides a handbag equipped with a zipper for opening a section of the bag located between the front and interior walls thereof. When this section of the bag is unzipped, the faces of said front and interior walls are exposed and permit a user to obtain various handbag items from pockets attached to said faces. The bag may be carried in the hand or over the shoulder as a result of a loop and ring arrangement which are connected by an adjustable strap and buckle arrangement. Other sections of the bag contain loop and ring arrangements for rapidly obtaining keys, a pager, a cosmetic pouch or the like. By virtue of the present invention, all contents of the inventive bag can be easily and quickly accessed by a user with one easy motion, while the bag is on or off his shoulder, without placing the bag on a flat surface.

A motorized window blind includes a mounting frame stretched in a longitudinal direction, a blind screen including a mounted end mounted on the mounting frame, a liftable end opposite to the mounted end in a transverse direction relative to the longitudinal direction, and a flexible intermediate portion interposed therebetween. A motor has an output shaft and is mounted in the vicinity of the mounting frame so as to drive a drive transmitting member to move a distal end of the drive transmitting member in the transverse direction between retracted and extended positions where the distal end is proximate and distal to the mounting frame, respectively. A plurality of tubes are telescopically fitted to each other, and extend in the transverse direction. The tubes include a tail end fixedly mounted relative to the mounting frame, and a lead end opposite to the tail end in the transverse direction and disposed to associate the liftable end with the distal end to move the liftable end when the lead end is driven by the distal end.

A flexible liner system provides for instrumentation and sampling within a cavity. An elongated flexible liner effectively contacts wall portions of the cavity when inflated within the cavity and has a top and a bottom and has perforations open to the cavity wall portions at selected locations along the liner. At least one sleeve is sealed to the flexible liner and extends from the top portion of the liner to a perforation at one of the selected locations along the liner to define a sealed interior open to a cavity wall portion. A well casing may be place within the sleeve for fluid sampling or for emplacing instrumentation adjacent the perforations in the flexible liner.

A grader attachment for a skid steer vehicle. The grader attachment is attachable to the front end of the skid steer vehicle. The grader attachment includes a mounting plate at the rear of the grader attachment for removably attaching the grader attachment to the lift mechanism of the skid steer vehicle. The grader attachment further includes a frame with a plurality of frame members extending longitudinally from the mounting plate in parallel spaced relation for accepting at least three grading blades attached to and extending downwardly from the frame members. The grading blades include a first blade located at the front end of the grader attachment, the first blade angled inwardly from right to left to output a windrow from the left end of the first blade. A second blade is located behind the first blade and positioned to accept the windrow from the first blade, the second blade angled inwardly from left to right to produce a windrow on the right end of the second blade. A third blade is located behind the second blade and positioned to accept the windrow from the second blade, the third blade angled inwardly from right to left to produce a windrow on the left end of the blade. The grader attachment further includes a guide wheel located at the front of the grader attachment, the guide wheel hydraulically powered by a hydraulic cylinder and used for raising and lowering the front end of the grader attachment.

A scaffolding system includes tubular columns (3) and horizontal and/or diagonal crossbars (1,2). One or more scaffolding joints (4) are arranged on each tubular column (3) and placed above and at a distance from each other. Connecting elements (1,2) are engaged with the joints nots. The tubular columns includes wedge-shaped pockets for wedge shaped plug in elements forming joints (4) and connecting elements (1,2), the wedge-shaped plug in elements (5) are arranged on the ends of the crossbars and engage with the wedge pockets (6) of varying geometry. The horizontal connecting elements (1) are mounted via above-mentioned linkage of the wedge-shaped plug-in element (5) and the wedge pocket. The diagonal crossbars (2) are mounted by means of wedge heads (7) which are arranged on each side of a diagonal brace (2.1) and are slid over the wedge pocket (6) of the tubular column (3) via the receiving opening located in the small front face lies in a flat position.

The present invention relates to a storage device for use with a carrying case, and having an aperture therein adapted to receive a handle or strap of the carrying case. The device may also have attachment devices enabling the device to be carried separate from the carrying case if desired. Side body portions of the device have compartments that are adapted to receive, store, and carry items of various sizes. These compartments may be lined with material to protect or enhance the items contained therein. Optional straps may extend from the bottom edges of the side portions in order to attach and secure the device onto a carrying case.

A luggage frame including two upright support rods, two brackets fastened respectively to the top end of the upright support rods, two base seats fastened respectively to the bottom end of the upright support rods, two caster mounts fastened respectively to the base seats, a top plate fastened to the two brackets, and a bottom plate fastened to the caster mounts.

A merchandise display assembly comprises first and second longitudinal profiles defining a groove therebetween, each profile including a flange portion having an upper edge portion for overlapping onto the edge portion of a display card hanger portion; and a member configured to be inserted into the groove, the member including a leg portion configured to be disposed in a space formed between adjacent flange portions such that the leg portion is disposed over the display card hanger portion, whereby the display card is restricted from being lifted from the edge portion.

A container for pencil-like items and booklet-like items and having a symbolic person-like shape. The container has substantially identical externally-shaped top and bottom planar members, each having a head portion, a body portion, two spaced-apart leg portions and two arm portions. The leg portions and arm portions extend longitudinally downwardly in spaced-apart parallel relationship with respect to the body portion.

A compact disc container includes a box defining a unitary space in which a tube projects upwardly from a bottom center thereof. A seat located around a lower outer end of the tube extends upwardly from a bottom surface of the box. The tube has a locking hole provided near a top thereof for a locking knob to engage and tighten thereto. More than one compact disc may be superimposed in the box around the tube with a lowermost compact disc supported on the seat without frictionally contacting the bottom surface of the box. The locking knob is tightened to the locking hole in the tube and locates the superimposed compact discs in the box. The unitary space of the box allows accommodation of more than one compact disc and effectively reduces costs otherwise needed for packing the compact discs individually.

The disc carrying case includes a housing defining a chamber in which the disc is stored. An elongated slot provides access to the chamber, such that the disc moves edgewise through the slot when it is transferred into and out of the chamber. A pair of tracks aligned with the slot serve to support the disc within the chamber by only the outer rim thereof. Furthermore, a spring biased catch located within the chamber automatically projects into the mounting hole of the disc, when the disc has been sufficiently inserted into the chamber, to prevent relative edgewise movement of the disc. While the disc is held by the catch, an ejector engages the outer edge of the disc and exerts a yieldable ejection bias thereagainst. Removal of the catch from the mounting hole is caused by actuation of a release mechanism. Such removal of the catch permits the ejector to urge the disc out of the chamber.

A low-profile compact disk (CD) case includes pivotally connected top cover and bottom seat to provide an inner space for receiving a compact disk therein. The bottom seat is integrally formed on an inner surface with a central holding means and a plurality of protective means. The central holding means is a short hollow cylinder upward projected from the bottom seat and has spaced cuts along its circumferential wall to provide a plurality of flexible catch pawls for holding a compact disk in place. First and second protective means are low-raised ribs for supporting and preventing the compact disk from direct contact with the bottom seat, and the third protective means are raised curved ribs higher than the first and the second ribs and the compact disk for protecting the compact disk from compression by the top cover. No extra CD deck is required and an overall height or thickness and production costs of the CD case can therefore be largely reduced.

A compartmentalized carrier and presentation bag especially configured for housing an LCD TV and VCP and for providing a presentation apparatus for in-vehicle entertainment by orienting an LCD TV for easy viewing by back seat passengers. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is a multiple compartment bag of generally rectangular configuration and having a main pocket for holding the VCP and a pair of side pockets, one for storing the LCD TV and the other for storing an FM transmitter for transmission of left and right audio signals to a vehicle's stereo receiver. Each end of the main compartment is closed by a full length flap releasibably secured. A significant feature of the illustrated embodiment is a unique LCD TV support along the top surface of the main compartment. The support employs a holder for housing the TV and a folding support pad which is configured to present the TV in an inclined position thereby permitting convenient rear passenger viewing when the bag is located between the vehicle's front seats.

A tool display rack includes a board having two apertures through which two side arms of a retainer extend. A first hook extends from an inside of a first end of each side arm and a retaining plate is connected between the two first hooks. A groove is defined in the inside of a second end of each side arm and a locking member is securely engaged with the two grooves and connected between the two side arms so that the retainer cannot be removed from the two apertures.

A product hanging system comprised of one or more product hanging straps plus a point-of-purchase hanging strip said strip having one or more through cut slots of suffieient size to acccept a notched T shaped end of a strap portion of the invention with both the straps and the hanging strip being produced from sufficiently strong flexible natural or colored plastic. The strip being of equal width having a through cut hole top center used to suspend it from a hook or wire and spaced through cut slots down its length. Product to be hung is secured to a strap of the invention then the opposite end of the strap is attached to a hanging strip with the attachment method being a "T" shaped strap end is fed into a through cut slot, entry of the head of the "T" into said slot being accomplished by engaging a key notch on the body of the T. After full entry of the head of the T shaped end of the strap into the slot the notch is disengaged allowing the head of the T to seat in said slot, the notch showing below the slot is visible evidence of a strap to slot lock. This method of "T" into slot connection is used to secure a strap end to through cut slots found in; Link up product display strips, other straps, packaged products with through cut slots, displays and other items with a sufficiently cut slot. In order to hang coiled or folded electric cords a T shaped end of a strap is fed through a slot in the opposing end forming a loop in the strap a loop that closes when the end of the strap passing through the slot is lifted, in this way items to be hung can be cinched within the body of a strap and secured there with a slight bend of the strap body at the loop. The strap with cinched product is secured on a product display strip using the notch of the T as a key. Removal requires a lift of the strap so the notch in the strap end engages the slot in the strip, once the notch is engaged twist the strap to the side to remove the rounded head of the T shaped end of the strap from the slot in the strip. The strap portion of the invention can also be used to close carton flaps. A slit is cut in each carton flap to be closed then each end of the strap is inserted and locked in each of the slits. The strap acts like a bridge securing the box flaps and forming a light load handle in the process with removal of one strap end allowing access to the contents of the carton. Corner flaps of a carton can be kept open for product loading using the notched T into slit method of connection.

A fluid substance dispenser includes a dispensing head or pusher to be fitted onto the stem of a pump. The fluid substance dispenser also includes a cap to be fixed onto the mouth of a container containing the substance to be dispensed. On the outer surface of the head and on the inner surface of the cap, spiral ribs are provided which extend in the same direction. The spiral ribs interfere with each other and pass snapwise over each other, when the head is pressed onto the cap. The spiral ribs cooperating "with each other" to cause the head to withdraw from the cap, when the head is rotated about the cap.

A strap is disclosed comprising a bottle-neck-strap-hole (13) with the measurements predetermined, in accordance with the bottle-neck size, the bottle-neck-strap-hole is cut to fit tightly around a bottle-neck. The bottle-neck-strap is designed to be worn comfortably over the shoulder, around the neck or hung on an object. The Bottle-neck-strap (10) made out of ethylene-vinyl-acetate, which has a hand like foam rubber, is a preferred practical application of this invention. This invention can also be made in a two piece bottle-neck-strap, with the area around the bottle-neck-strap-hole (13) referred to as a bottle-neck-collar (15). A rope, cord or string can be attached to the hole (16) at each end of the bottle-neck-collar; this completes the utility-bottle-neck-strap design.

A fully enclosable backpack style baby carrier which protects the baby from sun exposure, insects, rain, snow and light impacts such as from overhanging branches. The carrier remains enclosed while the carrier is being carried and while it is set on the ground. The configuration of the fabric enclosure allows the stand, carrying straps, etc. to be attached to the frame without penetrating the inner layer, preserving the integrity of the enclosure. Mesh panels are used throughout to provide ventilation while excluding insects. A head enclosure encloses and protects the baby's head while providing significant ventilation.

A backpack (1) has two shoulder straps (2, 3) extending obliquely downward crosswise from one or the other side of the upper end area (4) of the backpack (1) to the lower end area (5) and each consisting of an upper portion (6, 7) and a lower portion (8, 9) which are interconnected by a buckle in the chest area. The buckle is formed by a snap buckle (11) comprising a snap-in part (12) and a receiving part (13). The upper portion (6) of the first shoulder strap (2) and the lower portion (9) of the second shoulder strap (3) are fastened to the snap-in part (12), and the upper portion (7) of the second shoulder strap (3) and the lower portion (8) of the first shoulder strap (2) to the receiving part (13).

The present invention relates to a composition for preventing creeping of a flux for soldering, which is free from a problem from the viewpoint of the global environment or working environment. The present invention provides a composition for preventing creeping of a flux for soldering, consisting of a composition comprising a polymer containing polymer units of an unsaturated ester containing a polyfluoroalkyl group, a fluorine-type surfactant and an aqueous medium. Further, the present invention provides a method for soldering by means of the composition. Furthermore, the present invention provides an electronic part or printed board soldered by the method. Still further, the present invention provides an electric appliance employing such an electronic part or printed board.

Demodulated data B containing the whole of a right block and a part of a left block is obtained after demodulated data A containing a start guard bar and based on a division reading process has been at first obtained. When demodulated data C containing an end guard bar and numerical data of three characters is thereafter obtained, a CPU aligns the demodulated data C with modulus 10-OK data obtained by synthesizing the demodulated data A with the demodulated data B on the basis of the end guard bar, and compares tenth through twelfth characters (of the numerical data) of both of data with each other. As a result of this comparison, if the tenth through twelfth characters (of the numerical data) of both of data are coincident with each other, the CPU increments an identical character counter.

A method for aligning a boundary condition temperature in a thermal processor utilizes an air temperature measurement. During the thermal process, air temperature measured along an interval series forms an air profile and provides a reference to which the boundary condition temperature may be aligned. A method for aligning a part temperature profile to the processor temperature profile uses the measured air temperature to adjust the part temperature profile, so as to be synchronized with the air temperature profile. These procedures may be used in conjunction with setpoint parameter prediction for attaining a target part temperature response.

An air conditioning system and an air conditioning method are disclosed for quickly and effectively controlling the temperature in a room requiring cooling and keeping the room at a uniform temperature. The present invention estimates a temperature distribution in a room through a simulation and controls airflow rates and airflow directions of a plurality of fans on the basis of the simulation result. Temperature sensors are arranged at predetermined positions in a room such as a computer room. A simulation is performed on the basis of temperatures detected by the temperature sensor Sn and the current airflow rates and airflow directions of a plurality of fans to obtain a temperature distribution in the room. It is determined whether obtained temperatures are in a predetermined temperature range. As the result of such determination, at least one of airflow rate and airflow direction of a fan which covers a position being at a temperature out of the predetermined temperature range is controlled. It is preferable to use an underfloor fan that can be fitted into the floor of the computer room.

The invention relates to a rail system (1) comprising a line of rails with fixations, cross ties (wood, concrete, etc.), an infrastructure (2) on which the cross ties are laid, as well as an elastomeric cross tie shoe, whose sidewall (7), which tapers upward, entirely or partially surrounds the cross tie, the inner sidewall being in the form of a flexible lip (9) sealingly laid against said cross tie (2); besides, between the bottom of the cross tie shoe (13) and the cross tie underside (2) is inserted an elastic intermediate layer (5). The rail system according to the invention (1) is characterized in that the sidewall (7) of the cross tie shoe (4) presents on its inner face (8) a pattern of ribs and grooves and that the elastic intermediate layer (5) is provided with extruded-like channels (6, 6', 6") located virtually in the same plane as that in which two geometries of alternating channels appear.

A fishing reel having a frame and an operating mechanism on the frame. The operating mechanism has a line carrying spool that is movable guidingly and reciprocatingly in a first path in first and second opposite directions, a bail assembly which is rotatable around a first axis to direct line onto the line carrying spool, a drive element that is operable to rotate the bail assembly, and an oscillating assembly. The oscillating assembly is driven by operation of the drive element and thereby causes the line carrying spool to move in the first path. The oscillating assembly has a first gear element that is rotatably driven by operation of the drive element around a second axis that is transverse to the first axis and a second gear element that is in mesh with the first gear element. The second gear element extends both a) in the first direction beyond the second axis and b) in the second direction beyond the second axis as the fishing reel is operated.

The invention relates to a seat belt retractor comprising a seat belt spool (2) rotationally mounted on a frame (1) for winding and unwinding the seat belt, a blocking means (5) for blocking the rotation of the seat belt spool, a control element (6) by means of which the blocking means (5) can be actuated, a seat belt sensor mass (4) movably mounted on a support element (3) which rotates with the seat belt spool (2), a vehicle sensor mass (35) and a coupling device (14, 34) by means of which a moving connection can be established between the support element (3) and the control element (6) via the seat belt sensor mass (4) and/or the vehicle sensor mass (35). Said connection assures the transmission of a rotation of the seat belt spool in the direction of unwinding for actuating the blocking means. The support element (3) together with the seat belt sensor mass (4) positioned thereon and the control element (6) constitute a pre-assembled component unit (7).

An adjustable support for a sensor has a first support defining a first end and a second end. A first clamp is fixedly coupled to the first support between the first and second and thereof. The first clamp has an adjustable coupling for selective fixation to a support platform. A second support is adjustably coupled to the first support in a way that supports the second support, facilitates selective movement of the second support relative to the first support in one dimension, and facilitates fixation of the second support relative to the first support. A second clamp is adjustably coupled to the second support so that a sensor fixedly coupled to the second clamp can be moved relative to the second support and fixed thereto by the second clamp.

An eyewear holding device including a suction cup adapted for engaging a selected surface within an automobile. The suction cup has a post extending rearwardly from a rear surface thereof. An eyewear support is secured to a free end of the post of the suction cup. The eyewear support includes an arcuate support portion dimensioned for supporting a pair of rims with connected nose piece thereon. An eyewear arms support is provided that is adapted for supporting a pair of arms of the eyewear when positioned on the eyewear support. The arms support has a plate extending downwardly from the arcuate support portion in an angular orientation. The plate has an upwardly turned lower portion for receiving ear pieces of the pair of arms thereon.

The spring-loaded camming nut of the invention includes first and second wedge-shaped chock portion. The first chock portion is wedge-shaped and larger than the second. The second chock portion is prism-shaped with a triangular cross-section. Means are provided for moving the first chock portion axially, lateral to the second chock portion. As the smaller second chock portion travels along the larger first chock portion, toward the crack's opening the first chock portion rotates on its horizontal axis, causing a tooth of the second chock portion to move horizontally and upwardly, into the rock.

An improved structure of a CPU securing seat comprising a seat body, a covering body and a controlling device, characterized in that the seat body is provided with a plurality of triangular holes, and each of the triangular holes is provided with an inverted V-shaped clipping disc having securing legs extended from the bottom section thereof, the inverted V-shaped clipping disc is extended upward to the pore of the covering seat, and two lateral sides of the top section of the hole are extended to form a protruded rail and the covering body is provided with a plurality of triangular pores and one side of the pore is extended to form a notch, the bottom section of the pore is extended to form an engaging slot; the controlling device is mounted at the top section of the covering body to control the forward and backward movement of the seat body, thereby the controlling device is used to control the covering body to move backward so that the inverted V-shaped clipping disc is clipped by the notch to form an inverted U-shaped to clip the insertion legs of the CPU.

A foot device for supporting electronic equipment thereon comprises a sleeve having an axial through bole, and a plurality of balls one by one in line provided in the hole wherein the bottom and top balls are extended above the axial through hole. As such, in use, the electronic equipment is supported by the extended ball of the foot device, while not in contact with supporting plane. This point based contact has the effect of suspending the electronic equipment in the air, thus eliminating interference. Further, the vibration generated by the electronic equipment is not absorbed and interfered by the supporting plane, resulting in a uniform transmission of vibration to all directions without damping or interfering for achieving a maximum quality.

A gate valve in which the structure is simplified and inexpensive, movement of a valve body is smooth and high in speed, a force of inclination moving the valve body is strong, and a sealing property of an opening portion can be improved. The gate valve has a valve body capable of sealing the opening portion; a valve rod to which the valve body is fixed; a roller rotatably provided on the other end portion of the valve rod; a roller receiving member having a first holding portion for holding the roller when the valve rod moves the roller straight, an inclined surface for inclining the valve rod, and a second holding portion for holding the roller when the valve rod is inclined up to a predetermined angle; a driving means for moving the roller receiving member straight; and stoppers limiting the straight movement of the valve rod at predetermined positions at which the valve body closes the opening portion. This gate valve is preferably driven by the cylinder apparatus.

The invention is a clamping device for fastening a draw-in bolt to a machine table or a baseplate. The clamping device has a piston axially displaceable in a recess of the machine table and which is also hydraulically actuateable. The clamping device also has a cover, a clamping mechanism, and an integral bushing positioned in the machine table recess. At least one of the piston and the cover form a receptacle into which the draw-in bolt can be inserted through the cover and fastened to the clamping device by the clamping mechanism. The clamping mechanism is actuateable by displacement of the piston. The piston is also displaceable in the bushing with the bushing and the piston cooperating to form a pressure space. The cover is fastened to and centered upon the bushing and is fastenable to the machine table in order to close off the recess.

A braking control device for skates including a shoe having a toe portion at a forward location and a heel portion at a rearward location, and a pivoting quarter, and the shoe being connected with a chassis having a plurality of wheels at least one of which interacts with a brake device. The braking control device has structure allowing to transfer a braking force to the at least one wheel up to a presettable value, which is preferably close to the value required to lock the at least one wheel and beyond which an excess force is substantially not transferred to the at least one wheel. The brake device includes: a traction element connected at a first end to sliding trapezoidal elements which activate pivoting breaking bars engageable with wheel hubs, and the traction element being connected at a second end with a cylinder which is slidably accommodated in a seat provided at the rear of the shoe; and a pin protruding from the quarter of the shoe for engaging a disk which is slidingly seated in the cylinder and biased upwardly by a spring. Alternatively, the cylinder is slidingly accommodated in a seat formed in the quarter of the shoe.

A skate cart includes a horizontal body with a section extending from a front end of the horizontal body, and a rear wheel is connected to a bottom of a rear end of the horizontal body. A tube is pivotably connected to the section and a handlebar stem is connected to the tube. The handlebar stem has a front wheel connected thereto. An engaging device is pivotably connected to the tube and has a first hook end for engaging with a stop on a top of the section when the skate cart is riding, and a second hook end for engaging with the section when the cart is folded. A spring is biased between the engaging device and the tube.

An engaging and disengaging gear for a bicycle includes an axle rotatably mounted in a five-way tube on the bicycle to connect to two pedal cranks, a thimble fixedly connected to one end of the five-way tube, an internally threaded transmission bevel gear received in the thimble, a chain wheel mounted on the axle between the thimble and a collar of the axle, and a ring spring fixed to outer surface of the transmission gear. The axle has an externally threaded section between the thimble and the chain wheel for extending through and engaging with the internally threaded transmission gear. An outer periphery of the ring spring slightly contacts with inner wall of the thimble to provide a resistance to a maximum static friction force between the transmission gear and the axle that are screwed together. When the axle is caused to turn forward, the transmission gear moves along the axle toward the chain wheel and engages with the latter, causing the chain wheel to rotate forward, too. When the axle or the chain wheel is caused to rotate reversely, the transmission gear moves along the axle toward the five-way tube and disengages from the chain wheel, so that the axle and accordingly the pedal cranks connected thereto do not keep turning reversely along with the reversing chain wheel.

A system for preventing toe-edge travel of a hi-back is provided. The system includes a latch, supportable by the hi-back, for engaging a snowboard binding base plate. The system can include a forward lean adjuster. When engaged, the latch prevents travel of the hi-back relative to the snowboard binding base plate, thereby increasing the responsiveness of the snowboard to rider movements. The latch may be engaged in a lateral rotational position of the hi-back.

A data carrier with an optically variable structure is described having an embossed screen which is combined with a coating contrasting with the surface of the data carrier in such a way that different optically variable effects occur at different angles. Embossed screen and/or coating are executed in such a way that especially striking or additional effects occur which are suitable for determining the authenticity of the data carrier but cannot be reproduced, or reproduced true to the original, with the help of copying machines.

A support and control device (11) for opening or closing a grip element (19) in two parts, where the two parts can mutually rotate in order to grip objects, the device (11) comprising a body (12) to which a handle (14) is connected, bearing a control sleeve (20) operationally connected, through a cable (23), to drive gears (26,29) to range the two parts of the grip element (19) between a first, open, position and a second, closed, position where the two parts determine a space for containing the objects to be gripped and/or picked up, in which the drive gears (26,29) comprise a kinematic motion mechanism, internal to the body (12), controlled by the cable (23), an exit-part controlling the kinematic mechanism, bearing the grip-element (19), being positioned according to an axis substantially parallel to that of movement of the cable (23).

A folding seat for assisting persons who use wheelchairs and other persons with physical limitations to enter and exit motor vehicles. The seat includes an adjustable width frame which fits adjacent a vehicle seat at a doorway of the vehicle and which attaches to the existing bracketry holding the vehicle seat to the vehicle body. A transfer seat is pivotally connected longitudinal of the vehicle and vertically slidably connected at an edge thereof to respective slots in a pair of spaced apart upright posts of the frame. The seat is supported in a horizontal deployed position with the pivotal connection thereof at the top of the respective slots by means of an upper cross member of the frame and by a folding brace member which extends from the underside of the seat to the lower doorway portion of the vehicle body. The seat includes a stowed position wherein the seat is tilted to a vertical position and lowered such that the pivotal connections are at the lower end of the respective slots, the seat being retained laterally between the upper cross member and the side of the vehicle seat.

The Invention, a multipurpose utility trailer which converts into a workport or a camper, attaches to a standard axle assembly to become transportable. The frame, skeleton, and body components are welded coated steel, the cargo deck is pressure treated plank and the front deck and steps are coated expanded steel. The Invention is topped with detachable aluminum back cowling panels and a swing-up aluminum nose cowling which all interlock to create a flat, non-corrosive, self draining covering which is suitable for an elevated cargo or bunk platform. Removal of the back cowling panels exposes an open cargo deck with permanent sidewalls. Back cowling panels can be inserted into channels in the tailgate, thus becoming loading ramps. The nose cowling swings up to become a shielded counter top and the front compartment wall swings down and extends across swing-out braces becoming a camper floor. The swing-out braces accommodate canopy struts which support a canopy system, converting the Invention into a sheltered workport or camper. The steel tongue is adjustable in height and accommodates the swing-out steps at any height. Parking jacks are welded to the frame. Fittings are affixed about the core unit for attaching a flexible rail system and accessories. A removable divider panel forms a divider between front and rear cargo compartments. The removable tailcap, which is also a straightedge and level, is non-corrosive and slides through slots to enclose and lock the spare tire and accessory compartments.

The present specification discloses a children's furniture comprises a plurality of stalls, each stall defined by three walls and sharing a common wall with an adjacent stall. Each stall has a shelf, coat hooks, a seat and a storage area. Children can sit on the seat to put on and remove their shoes, and will store their shoes in the storage area under the seat. They can also hang their coats on the hooks provided here, and put their books and other belongings on the shelves.

A discharge breaking system and a discharge breaking method for breakage and decomposition of objects to be ruptured such as destruction of base rocks and breakage of stones into small pieces at building lands, breakage for finishing tunnels and destruction of concrete buildings. A discharge breaking system is configured to supply or discharge electric energy charged or accumulated in a capacitor between a pair of electrodes in a short time for abrupt vaporization of a breaking substance for transmitting a pressure, thereby breaking an object to be ruptured with an expansion force generated by the vaporization. The discharge breaking systems has a structure wherein an end portion of a sheath member which covers a pair of metal cores for composing a cable is cut off to expose ends of the metal cores, and the exposed ends of the metal cores are submerged in the breaking substance and used as electrodes. The cable can be a coaxial cable having an inner core and an outer core, the cable being cut off to expose an end of the inner cable having one or more notches to cause the exposed end of the inner core to function as the foregoing thin metal wire. This discharge breaking system requires no adjustment of a distance between the electrodes and can easily be manufactured.

A furniture unit having a first tower and a second tower spaced from the first tower. Each of the first and second towers includes a first attachment surface and a second attachment surface. The furniture unit further includes an undivided top bridge member and an undivided bottom bridge member spaced from the top bridge member. The top bridge member has opposed ends each being attached to the first attachment surfaces. The bottom bridge member has opposed ends being attached to the second attachment surfaces. The first and second towers define a space for receiving a television or a television stand for supporting a television.

In an electronic blackboard, a print head for drawing an image on the screen sheet is disposed on the upstream side of a read head for reading an image from the screen sheet, with respect to the forward travel direction of the screen sheet. When an image is printed on the screen sheet, the screen sheet is moved in the reverse travel direction. When the read head reads an image on the screen sheet, print stop processing is performed in order to stop printing operation of the print head. If an unerased image is present on the stored face of the screen sheet when printing on the screen sheet is performed, the unerased image on the stored face passes by the read head, because the screen sheet is moved in the reverse travel direction during such a printing operation. If the read head reads an unerased image, the print stop processing is performed in order to stop printing operation of the print head, and warning display processing is performed in order to display a message indicating that an unerased image is present on the screen sheet.

A grip device to prevent eyeglasses having a bridge piece from slipping downwardly on the nose over time. The device comprises two mutually removable attachment components, one fixed to the rear surface of the bridge piece of the eyeglasses, and the other fixed to the bridge of the nose of a person. Each attachment component is preferably a flexible tape having exposed adhesive. The two attachment components mutually attach employing removable connector material. In alternative embodiments, this connector material is magnetic materials, or alternatively comprises hook and loop fastener. The two attachment components are small and inconspicuous. The attachment component which is adhered to the face is flesh colored.

A bifocal simultaneous vision contact lens includes a central vision element and an outer vision element formed in a single, unitary, monolithic body of contact lens material. The central vision element has a diameter ranging between 0.85 and 1.75 mm, preferably ranging between 1 and 1.5 mm and most preferably ranging between 0.90 and 1.1 mm.

A ratchet wrench with illuminating device, including two clamping boards, a pad block, a rotary member and at least one cell cover. By means of the pad block sandwiched between the clamping boards, the ratchet wrench can be easily manufactured and applied to those situations necessitating great torque and working sites with insufficient illumination. Therefore, the ratchet wrench is more competitive on market. When it is necessary to replace the cell, a user only needs to push the cell cover in a specific direction so as to open or close the cell cover. Therefore, the cell can be easily replaced.

A socket wrench including a handle, a socket, and a handle body which is provided at a front end thereof with a clamping cell having a pivoting slot. The pivoting slot is provided with a guide slot and a rotary member having a shaft rod and a light bulb opening in which an illuminating element is disposed such that two pins of the illuminating element extend toward the rotary member, and that two pins are connected with two conductive annular members which are fitted over the rotary member. The conductive piece of the plug body is extended into the clamping cell by an extension guide body which is forced by a resilient element to become attached to the conductive annular member of the rotary member, thereby enabling the rotary member to adjust an angle at which the illuminating element illuminates.

A light emitting diode light strip that uses a rigid hollow tube (20) sized to accommodate a printed circuit board (22) which has a positive and negative bus extending the full length of the board. One or more resistors (38) are in contact with the positive bus on one end and a series of light emitting diodes (44) on the other. The diodes are mounted through holes (34) in the board and the anode of the diode is in communication with a resistor while the cathode of the diode contacts an adjacent diode anode connecting them in linked series through traces on the bottom of the circuit board. The end cathode in each series, engages the negative bus forming a predetermined group of diodes electrically coupled to a single resistor on one end and the negative bus on the other. A pair of end caps (50) enclose the tube and an electrical cable (60) is connected through the caps to the busses on the circuit board. A power supply (64) is in contact, through the electrical cable, with the board providing low voltage direct current power through the busses to a predetermined group of light emitting diodes, for illumination of the area surrounding the light strip.

In a liquid crystal projection apparatus having a plurality of lamps, and a plurality of cooling means for cooling the plurality of lamps individually, the lamp includes the following: a cup-shaped reflecting mirror 41 having an air discharge hole 41A, an insulator 50 having an air suction hole 50A, a front glass 42, a light emitting tube 40, and air passages (a) to (c) in the lamp for cooling the light emitting tube. The cooling means 12 sucks in hot air from the lamp, and exhausts the hot air toward the louver of the case. Thus, the lamps and the liquid crystal projection apparatus are cooled effectively.

These and other objects of the present invention are achieved by inserting electrically conductive rings and a bearing into a mold before a slip ring body is injection molded. During the injection molding process, the rings and the bearing are partially encapsulated by the injected plastic and retained. Plastic is prevented from entering the race of the bearing by using a pair of additional plastic inserts which prevent plastic from entering the bearing race. When the injected plastic cools, the plastic shrinks and compresses the bearing thereby preventing axial movement. Wires attached to the rings are also encapsulated by the plastic material during the injection molding process.

A camera has a rear backframe (exposure) opening, including a pair of spaced opposite ends across which successive sections of a filmstrip are moved for each section of the filmstrip to be advanced over the backframe opening. A pair of parallel film rails have longitudinal film support surfaces that support each section of the filmstrip over the backframe opening. A pair of parallel film debris catching combs are positioned between the film rails, proximate respective ones of the opposite ends of the backframe opening, and inwardly of the longitudinal film support surfaces to remove any debris from each section of the filmstrip before that section is advanced over the backframe opening. One of the film debris catching combs preferably is positioned inwardly of the film support surfaces farther than the other comb.

An applicator (1) of a powder product is provided, wherein the applicator has a support (2) at least a portion of the surface of which is covered by a mixture of coating fibers (3) and of both powder (4) and the product to be applied, and a method for manufacturing the applicator and it use to apply cosmetic powders.

A horizontally adjustable dowel pin hole dri g guide for drilling dowel pin holes into work pieces along various horizontal planes, the horizontally adjustable dowel pin hole driling guide having a stable piece, a pair of swingable and pivotable connectors, the swingable and pivotable connectors being swingably connected to the stable piece, and a horizontally movable piece, the horizontally movable piece being pivotably connected to the swingable and pivotable connectors, the horizontally movable piece have a drill guide passage passing therethrough.

An aircraft towing vehicle includes a lifting and locking device for the nose landing gear of the aircraft being towed. The device has two support elements which reach behind the nose wheels and can be displaced along straight-line guiding rails by a linear drive so as to pull the nose wheels of the aircraft onto a lifting platform and to lock it into place thereon. At the end of each guiding rail a guiding pin is provided which, in cooperation with a guiding track embodied in the support element, controls the rotation of the support element into a release position in which the nose landing gear is able to pass through. By a reverse movement, the rotation of the support elements are put into the operation position in which the support elements reach behind the nose landing gear.

A circumferential flow liquid pump having formed in the vicinity of an impeller 4 an inner circumferential portion of a pump flow path 7 an air vent passage 31 having an opening with a step from a bottom portion 10 of the pump flow path 7 and extending in the radially inward direction and a through hole 32 for connecting the air vent passage 31 and the exterior of the pump casing assembly 1 together, having a sufficiently large cross-sectional area as compared to the air vent passage 31 and a cross-sectional configuration of a partial annular ring shape extending along the pump flow path 7. The through hole may be a plurality of passages 33 disposed within the region of the partial annular ring shape or al passage 34 directly connected to the pump flow path 7 without having the air vent passage 31 interposed therebetween.

An aerofoil blade damper comprising an elongate member which is inserted within a core passage of the blade and extends within the blade with the damper retained therein at one end which is closest to the blade root with the remainder of the damper free to move relative to and within the passage; such movement generating friction which dissipates any vibration. The damper comprises a plate insert including at least two discrete substantially oppositely directed contact regions which are arranged, in use, to frictionally engage the passage. The discrete contact regions may be provided by protrusions in the form of contact pads or arms extending from the plate or be provided by the corrugations of the plate. A contact load on the contact regions is provided by the resilience of the damper, an interference fit of the damper and/or centrifugal loading of the damper and contact regions during operation.

The rotor consists of two airfoils symmetrically disposed around an axis of rotation. Each airfoil consists of an outer vane having a leading edge and a trailing edge and an inner vane having a trailing edge and having a leading edge attached to the trailing edge of the outer vane. The outer vane has a radius R and extends not more than 90 degrees around the axis of rotation. The inner vane extends 180 degrees around an axis that is parallel to but displaced from the axis of rotation. The radius of the inner vane is a fraction, between 0.6 and 0.8, of the radius of the outer vane. Automatic limitation of the speed of rotation is achieved in one embodiment by letting centrifugal force deform the inner vanes so as to reduce the cross sectional area of the air flow path through the rotor.

A plurality of rotary assemblies driven by gas pressure having internal cam activated retractable gates selectively coupled to a rotary compressor. The rotary compressor is selectively coupled through a clutch to a shaft. The shaft is rotated by the plurality of rotor engine assemblies that are driven by gas pressure. A gate is coupled to a cam follower bearing that rides on an internal surface of the rotor housing, causing the gates to form chambers within the rotor as well as move out of position to pass a chamber divider. The shaft may be coupled to a load to do work.

A closed compressor includes a compression mechanism contained in a closed vessel and a motor drive section for driving the compression mechanism. A compression mechanism holder is secured to the inner surface of the closed vessel to hold the compression mechanism within the closed vessel.

A fuel supplying apparatus for a vehicle for supplying fuel including an in-tank type fuel pump 7 provided in a sub-tank 5 inside a main tank 1 and a tubular fuel holding case 21 surrounding a suction filter portion 20 of this fuel pump 7 and having an opening portion 21B which is open in an opposite direction to a forwardly moving direction of the vehicle, so as to supply fuel 2 to outside the main tank 1 through a delivery pipe 16 by means of the fuel pump 7. The fuel 2 can be supplied to an engine even during the quick braking of the vehicle when the amount of fuel 2 is small without increasing the number of component parts of the apparatus.

The invention refers to a hydrostatic pump or engine with infinitely variable debit or impulse of the rotative type, constituted by an external and fixed body (1) of cylindrical shape, and whose symmetry axis coincides with the axis (4) of the rotor (3); the named body is laterally fixed to two flat covers forming a case. A second body, or stator (2), with a cylindrical interior peripherical surface, and whose symmetry axis is in a coincident or parallel position with the rotor axis, is interposed at intervals between the rotor and the first body, being formed cameras (7) and (9), for the fluid circulation, and cameras (6) and (8), for the compensation and balance of forces acting in the interior and in the exterior of each stator side. Performing by means of rods (14), (15) the stator decentralization, in the direction (A) or in the inverse direction (B), one gets the progressive variation of the volume of the named cameras and consequently the variation of the debits or of the impulses in an infinitely variable way. Associating a pump sending fluid with an engine receiving the same fluid and this returning to the pump in continuous circulation, performing the stator decentralization, in one direction or in the inverse direction, in the pump or in the engine, or in both simultaneously, one gets a transmission of force or of speed, one or the other of infinitely variable value.

A steam driven engine having a device for equilibration of propulsion forces in the bearing assemblies produced by the steam drive and equipped with steam and oil separators. The device for equilibrating the propulsion force includes a space disposed between the drive shaft and the surrounding casing, the device being connected on one side to the pressurized steam source and on the other side to a discharge pipe via a throttle channel. The clearance is situated in the casing on both sides of the drive screws and runs along the lateral surface of the drive shaft on the portion thereof opposing the direction of the propulsion force. The steam and oil separators are provided with elements for discharge of the steam and oil.

The device is provided with at least one laser diode (2) and two electric connecting members for connection to an electric power supply (8) for supplying said at least one laser diode. It includes two elements (14, 16) which can be elastically deformed or moved, which are conductive electrically and arranged in a base electrically insulated from the two connecting members. The two elastically deformable or moveable elements are electrically connected and arranged so as to abut against two respective contact surfaces (34, 36) of the two connecting members when the device is not connected to said power supply by means of an external connector (40) which is complementary to the two electric connecting members. The two elastically deformable or moveable elements are respectively separated from the two connecting members when the external connector is introduced or are able to be respectively separated from said two connecting members when the external connector is introduced.

An electrical connector comprises an elongate housing, a number of terminals, and an actuator. The housing includes a top wall, a bottom wall, a pair of supporting walls projecting from lateral ends of the bottom wall and a slot for receiving a flexible printed circuit board. The bottom wall forms a pair of ribs at opposite ends thereof. Each supporting wall forms a projection at an upper side thereof and defines a recess rearwardly extending from a forward side thereof. An aperture is defined at an inner side of the recess. The actuator includes a handle with a pair of arms formed at opposite ends thereof, a cylindrical peg extending inwardly from each arm to pivotably engage with the apertures. A pressing plate extends from the handle for pressing the flexible printed circuit board against contacting portions of the terminals. A pair of latches extends from opposite junctures of the handle and the arms and each latch forms an inwardly projecting embossment for latching with the bottom wall. The arms are retained in a closed position by engagements of the projections and arms and those of the embossments and the ribs.

A data and power transmitting cable system that includes a first cable conforming to the USB or IEEE1394 standard. The first cable has a power supply wire and several data transmission wires and is plugged into a first port. The first cable provides for transmission of power and data. The system also includes at least one second cable, following the same standard. The second cable includes only power supply wires, with no data transmission wires. The second cable is plugged into a second port, allowing for transmission of additional power.

The present invention provides an L-shaped connector for connecting an antenna wire to an image or acoustic equipment. The antenna wire has a coaxial core wire, a shield cover and primary and secondary insulation coating materials. The L-shaped connector comprises a metallic body case having a horizontal portion, a vertical portion and at least one leg portion. A metallic tip end side cylindrical case is fitted to the horizontal portion of the metallic body case. A plug pin support is made of insulation material and is attached within the horizontal portion of the metallic body case. A metallic plug pin is horizontally inserted into and attached to the plug pin support. And, a cylindrical protective case is comprised of a pair of cylindrical halves, made of insulation material, and housed in the vertical portion of the metallic body case, wherein at least the core wire of the antenna wire is passed through the cylindrical protective case to be electrically connected to the plug pin and the cylindrical protective case is held within the metallic body case by bending the at least one leg portion.

An electrical connector comprises a base, a conductor seat, a spring contact, and a circuit board. The wiring of that circuit board is that the board has the first and second conductors extended from aperture on the top surface through the board to the bottom. Also, the first and second conductor sections are unshielded on top of the board in contact with the third and sixth pins respectively when the spring contact is secured between the conductor seat and the board. Further, the first and second conductors are below the board extended along above the fourth and fifth pins of the contact spring through the third and fourth conductor sections on the board. Finally, the first and second conductors are in contact with the vertical portions of the third and sixth pin of the spring contact respectively.

A water jet propelling type outboard motor (1) is provided with a casing member (50), a frame (10), a motor (11), a gear case (13), a vertical driving shaft (12), a horizontal following shaft (14), a power transmission mechanism (15), and an impeller (5). The casing member (51) has a front end water suction inlet (3a), a rear end jetting outlet (6a), a first inside space (51) extending from the suction inlet (3a) obliquely upward and rearward, and a second inside space (52) extending generally horizontally from a rear end of the first inside space (51) up tot he jetting outlet (6a). The frame (10) extends upwardly from the casing member (50) to be mounted on a ship body (2). The motor (11) is mounted on the frame (10). The gear case (13) is disposed laterally forward of the second inside space (52) and generally vertically above the water suction inlet (3a). The vertical driving shaft (12) extends from the motor (11) downward to be inserted into the gear case (13). The horizontal following shaft (14) extends laterally and forwardly from the second inside space (52) to be inserted into the gear case (13). The power transmission mechanism (15) is provided inside the gear case (13), and the vertical driving shaft (12) and the horizontal following shaft (14) are coupled to each other. The impeller (5) is disposed inside the second inside space (52), and it is rotated by the horizontal following shaft (14) to draw water from the water suction inlet (3a) and pressurize the same, thereby injecting the water from the jetting outlet (6a).

An improved doll house is provided for storing and playing with dolls and accessories that is configured so as to be thematically integrated with the dolls and accessories. The doll house comprises a plurality of molded, hollowed-out compartments which are hinged together to provide an openable enclosure with the appearance of a mushroom having a head section and a stem section. Concave berths, having bubble-shaped doors, are provided in the head section for storage of dolls which resemble faeries. Upper and lower scalloped seating areas are provided on an interior surface of the compartments to accommodate the dolls. The compartments include windows with curtains to allow one to view the interior of the doll house when the compartments are closed.

An apparatus for applying liquid smoke to the outer surface of an extruded sausage strand has a frame with an elongated stationary outer tube thereon. A rotatable tube is concentrically mounted within the outer tube. Power components are on the frame for extruding a meat emulsion through the inner tuber while it is rotating, and for winding a strip material into a casing on the outer tube wherein the formed casing slides and rotates as it progresses down the stationary tube to receive meat emulsion from a discharge end of the inner tube. A fluid, such as liquid smoke, is introduced between the rotating casing and the rotating strand of meat, which rotate in the same direction and at the same speed to prevent any turbulence from developing in the meat emulsion. A meat strand linker creates the extruded strand into links. A conveyor takes the link strand to a heating station for cooking. The conveyor then delivers the linked and cooked strand to a peeling, cutting and packaging station located adjacent the microwave oven.

A system for controlling make-up air apparatus for a controlled building space includes a first sensor for sensing the operation of a first appliance within a building space. The appliance causes the air to be exhausted from the controlled building space. There is a controller which receives a first signal from the appliance indicating that the appliance is activated. This signal is used to determine the air flow requirements between the controlled building space and an environment outside of the controlled building space such as to ensure a predetermined balance of the pressure of air within the controlled building space and the environment outside of the controlled building space. An air temperature sensor monitors the outside temperature. A back-flow damper and a preheater are also associated with the make-up air apparatus. A switch activates the preheater in the event that the temperature of outside air is below a predetermined level. The motor of a blower causes air to be drawn into the building space. The motor speed is determined in response to appliance operation.

A pressure relief check valve for a hydraulically actuated clutch pack or limited slip device in a limited slip differential or torque coupling device. A ball seat is formed on the external surface of the differential case and is connected to a passageway leading to a limited slip device within the differential case to establish fluid communication there between. A ball rests on the valve seat and is retained thereon by a retainer and spring. The retainer is removable secured to the outer surface of the differential case and a coil spring is disposed between the ball and the retainer to bias the ball against the valve seat. When pressure within the differential case or limited slip device exceeds a predetermined pressure, the ball is lifted from the valve seat and fluid passes through the differential case to an exterior within the differential housing. When pressure in the differential case and limited slip device is less than the predetermined pressure, fluid is prevented from passing through the valve.

An infinite speed ratio transmission device comprises a continuously variable transmission which varies the rotation speed of an input shaft (1) at an arbitrary speed ratio, a fixed speed ratio transmission (3) which varies the rotation speed of the input shaft (1) at a fixed speed ratio, and a planetary gear set (5) which outputs the rotation to a final output shaft (6) according to the relative rotation of the continuously variable transmission (2) and fixed speed ratio transmission (3). The continuously variable transmission (2) comprises a first toroidal unit (2A) and a second toroidal unit (2B) respectively provided with an input disk (21) which rotates together with the input shaft (1), output disk (22) and two power rollers gripped between these disks, and a first sprocket (24) disposed between the output disks (22), which rotates together with the output disks (22). The rotation of the first sprocket (24) is transmitted to a sun gear (5A) of the planetary gear set (5) via a chain (40) and a second sprocket (4A). A casing (14) of the infinite speed ratio transmission device supports the first sprocket (24) such that the latter is free to rotate via an intermediate wall (60). A supporting surface (14D) of the casing (14) which supports the intermediate wall (60) forms an approximate right angle to the tension direction of the chain (40).

A limited slip differential assembly comprising a differential case and two side gears rotatably supported within the differential case. Each of the side gears provided with a pre-loaded clutch pack mounted on a hub portion of the side gear. A lock ring is permanently pressed on the hub portion of the side gear adjacent the clutch pack for retaining the clutch pack in a predetermined pre-loaded condition, thus forming a side gear/clutch pack assembly which may be pre-assembled as a pre-loaded self-contained module before the various components of the differential assembly are assembled in the differential case.

An envelope machine having a roller assembly with a groove in the roller and a ring assembly removably mounted in the groove. The ring assembly has a pair of half-rings segments removably mounted in the groove, each of which are adapted to mesh and interfit with each other to form the ring assembly. The ring assembly lies below the surface of the roller and each ring segment has a holding notch at one end and a key assembly at the other end, with the holding notch of one ring segment adapted to interfit and mesh with the key assembly of another ring segment.

A massage apparatus includes an upright frame member having a parallel pair of vertically extending guide rails, and an externally threaded screw shaft mounted on the frame member and disposed parallel to and between the guide rails. A slide frame extends between the guide rails and is coupled slidably thereto so as to be movable upwardly and downwardly therealong. A massage drive unit is mounted on the slide frame, and includes an upright rotatable drive shaft having a lower end provided with a first gear and an upper end provided with a second gear, and a massaging roller assembly driven by axial rotation of the drive shaft for imparting a massaging action. A first transmission belt is coupled to a motor on a lower frame part of the slide frame and the first gear so as to enable the motor to drive the drive shaft to rotate axially. A coupling unit is mounted on the upper frame part of the slide frame, and includes a rotary member coupled threadedly and rotatable relative to the screw shaft. A second transmission belt is coupled to the second gear and the rotary member so as to enable the second gear to drive rotation of the rotary member, thereby enabling the rotary member to move upwardly and downwardly along the screw shaft to result in corresponding upward and downward movement of the slide frame.

A process is described for insertion of a prosthesis within an intradiscal space during a posterior laminectomy. The process insures proper orientation and alignment of prostheses inserted in the intradiscal space. The process also involves minimal removal of bone from the facet joint, which assures retention of the major portion of a patient's spinal column weight bearing capability.

A method of treating wounds includes the step of applying UVC radiation to the wound for a time and at a proximity and intensity sufficient to have a bacteriocidal effect. The method is particularly effective when carried out with a UVC lamp having an intensity of between 5 and 20 .mu.W/cm.sup.2, with a duration of between about 5 seconds and 1 minute and a proximity to the wound of between about 1/4 and 3 inches from the wound being preferred. It has been observed that such application of UVC radiation can kill up to 100 percent of the microorganisms present in a wound, thereby enabling the wound to heal free of infection.

A method is provided for implanting a joint prosthesis for a damaged joint, wherein the steps include removing the damaged joint and initially anchoring two stem members into adjacent bones and inserting a temporary occupier at the joint location between the two stem members. The occupier is configured to allow only limited movement of the bones having the stem members. After the area around the occupier has healed, the occupier is removed and a specially configured ball and socket is installed as the joint to allow for incremental adjustments of the ball and socket relative to the two stem members during the installation procedure to simulate the natural bending motion of the joint once healed.

There is provided a high-purity ruthenium sputtering target with a low impurity content, in particular producing extremely few particles, which is suitable for applications such as the formation of semiconductor thin films. The high-purity ruthenium sputtering target is manufactured by feeding crude ruthenium powder into a sodium hydroxide solution; blowing an ozone-containing gas while or after blowing chlorine gas into the solution to form ruthenium tetroxide; absorbing the ruthenium tetroxide in a hydrochloric acid solution or a mixed solution of hydrochloric acid and ammonium chloride, and evaporating the solution to dryness; sintering the resultant ruthenium salt in a hydrogen atmosphere to form high-purity ruthenium powder; and hot-pressing the ruthenium powder into a sputtering target.

The present invention relates to a method that comprises dispersing a stream of a melt flowing from a die by applying perturbations to said stream in an inert cooling gas which has an optimal temperature and is depleted of oxygen up to a value not exceeding 0.0001 mol. %. after their output at a stationary generation mode, the granules are recovered in the outlet portion of a heat-exchange chamber. The die is made of a heat-resistant material and has a flow section with a length defined by the relation 2d<1<20d. The perturbation frequency of the stream is defined by relation EQU f=Wk.sub.o /.pi.d.sub.o (1+c.tau.).sup.2 (I) where .tau. is the dispersion time (at the initial moment .tau.=0); c is the empirical coefficient characterizing the die material resistance to the perturbation of the stream; w is the flow rate of the stream; d.sub.o is the initial value of the stream diameter; and k.sub.o is equal to 0.7 and is the value of the non-dimensional wave number. The material to be dispersed consists of a chemically active melted metal or alloy that comprises at least one rare-earth element.

A polyimide solution is supplied to a wafer and the wafer is rotated by means of a spin chuck, thereby forming a polyimide film on the wafer. An irradiator for irradiating a laser beam to a peripheral portion of the wafer W is provided. After the polyimide film is formed and side rinse is performed, a laser beam is irradiated to the peripheral portion to solidify the film at the peripheral portion. The solidified polyimide film forms a weir, thus preventing the polyimide solution which has not dried yet from flowing out toward a peripheral edge portion.

A part of the outer wall of the processing chamber supplied with an active gas for an intended processing forms a protruding section extending out from the outer wall into the air. An incident side window through which laser light is guided is mounted to the protruding portion. A baffle is provided inside the protruding portion for intercepting unnecessary portion of light guided in the processing chamber even if irregularly reflecting light arises, when laser light is guided into the window. An antireflection coating is coated on the air side surface of the window. A purge gas inlet port for blowing out a purge gas along the inside surface of the window is formed in the protruding portion. Therefore, a deposit caused by a process gas on the chamber inside surface of an incident side window and the surface of a stopper for beam light is prevented from producing, thereby the inside of the chamber is not contaminated and weak scattered light from a fine particle floating or falling down in the chamber can be measured.