Abstract: A saw blade includes a plate with teeth. A tip pocket is formed in each of the teeth where the tip pocket has a first end and a second end and a continuously curved surface between the first end and the second end. A tip has a back face shaped to match the continuously curved surface. A joint joins the tip to the plate where the joint extends for substantially the length of the surface of the tip pocket and the back face. The continuously curved surface may have a wave profile. A top face of the tip and a peripheral face of the tooth may be coplanar.

Abstract: An apparatus for dispersing a sample of particulate material, includes a carrier (31;35;37;38;39) having a sample-bearing surface on which to place the sample, and a housing (10;44;48) for forming a dispersion chamber (17), at least when closed off at a base (46;51). The carrier is arranged such that the sample-bearing surface is removed from contact with the sample upon application of a sufficient pressure differential across the carrier between the sample-bearing surface and an opposite side of the carrier. The housing (10;44;48) has an inlet (26) at least partially facing the base (46;51). The apparatus includes an apparatus (15;16) for passing a volume of fluid past the carrier (31;35;37;38;39) through the inlet (26) by subjecting the carrier (31;35;37;38;39) to a pulsed positive pressure differential relative to the dispersion chamber (17).

Abstract: An actuator (2) for an inhaler (1) comprising a longitudinally extending body (3), a delivery passage at (or near to) a first end of the body (3) and a retained cover (7) for the delivery passage, the actuator (2) having at least one profile (9) arranged to guide the cover (7) from a closed position occluding at least a user-opening (6) of the delivery passage to a remote location in which the user-opening (6) of the delivery passage is unoccluded wherein the cover (7) and the at least one profile (9) are configured and arranged such that, in use of the actuator (2), in the guided movement of the cover (7) from the closed position to the remote location, the cover (7) is glided by the user towards the second end of the body (3).

Abstract: An apparatus for dispersing a sample of particulate material, includes a carrier (31;35;37;38;39) having a sample-bearing surface on which to place the sample, and a housing (10;44;48) for forming a dispersion chamber (17), at least when closed off at a base (46;51). The carrier is arranged such that the sample-bearing surface is removed from contact with the sample upon application of a sufficient pressure differential across the carrier between the sample-bearing surface and an opposite side of the carrier. The housing (10;44;48) has an inlet (26) at least partially facing the base (46;51). The apparatus includes an apparatus (15;16) for passing a volume of fluid past the carrier (31;35;37;38;39) through the inlet (26) by subjecting the carrier (31;35;37;38;39) to a pulsed positive pressure differential relative to the dispersion chamber (17).

Abstract: A saw blade comprises a plate having a plurality of teeth. Each of the teeth includes a tip where the tip has a smooth curved surface welded to the plate. The tip comprises a solid piece of hard material and has a generally rounded wedge shape. A method of forming a saw blade having cutting tips welded to the plate is also provided.

Abstract: In one embodiment of the invention, the saw blade of the invention includes a plate supporting a plurality of teeth about the periphery thereof. Each tooth consists of a tooth support supporting a cutting tip. The tips are formed and arranged such that tips having a narrower profile are alternated with tips having a wider profile. In another embodiment of the invention teeth are provided where the distal ends of every other tip extend radially further from the center of the blade than the other tips. In another embodiment of the invention, a plurality of teeth consisting of a tooth support and tip are formed around the periphery of the plate such that teeth having a first hook angle alternate with teeth having a second hook angle. In a method of manufacturing the blade of the invention, identical tips are formed on all of the tooth supports and the ends of the tips are ground to the desired dimension after being formed on tooth supports.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a combined packing slip and shipping label provided into one form. The shipping label is attached to the packing slip along a line of perforation. The packing slip is provided with adhesive on three of its perimeter sides for securing it to a liner material. An interior portion of the packing slip, bordered by the three adhesive sides, is devoid of adhesive. When the packing slip is folded along a line of perforation, it is disposed intermediate the shipping label and the liner. Perforations also delineate the interior of the packing slip from the three sides of adhesive for removing the packing slip therefrom. Also, a remote end of the packing label opposite the packing slip is adhered to the liner. This construction maintains the remote end of the shipping label secured to the liner as the combined form is run through a printing device.

Abstract: An improved microelectronic interconnect structure and methods for forming the structure are disclosed. The microelectronic interconnect structure includes an organic-based coating that facilitates formation of electrical connections to the structure. The coating may be used to reduce oxidation of copper interconnects, which allows wire or bump attachment to the copper interconnect using conventional wire bonding or bump interconnect methods and apparatus. The coating is applied during a post chemical mechanical polishing process by placing the interconnect structure into a solution.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for using formic acid vapor as a reducing agent during wirebonding operations to a semiconductor chip. The method and apparatus are particularly useful when wirebonding to copper metal pads. While maintaining a preferred reaction temperature between 190° C. and 210° C., a copper metal pad is exposed to formic acid vapor during wirebonding to remove copper oxidation from the pad to permit a good wirebond to be achieved. A less preferred reaction temperature range is 150° C. to 360° C. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the concentration of formic acid vapor is controlled by mixing formic acid vapor with a gas such as nitrogen that does not participate in the reduction chemical reactions. Reaction by-products, such as carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas, may be recirculated back to further participate in the reduction chemical reactions.

Abstract: An isolation circuit is disclosed for isolating ground interference from a wideband transmission signal. The ground isolation circuit of the present invention is constructed using a pair of matched mixer circuits, each of which receives a carrier signal from the same oscillator circuit. The first mixer circuit also receives the baseband signal input after appropriate conditioning, and modulates the baseband signal onto the carrier signal. In the preferred embodiment, the carrier signal has a predetermined frequency which is at least two times the frequency of the baseband signal. The modulated signal (which preferably comprises an rf signal) is transmitted via an rf transmission line to the second mixer, which demodulates the rf signal to recover the baseband signal. Each port of the mixer circuits connects to an isolation transformer to insure isolation from ground interference.

Abstract: A system and method and loading articles onto a sorting conveyor. An exemplary embodiment of the system includes a computer processor to control system function, a scanning device for identifying articles to be sorted, a conveyor for transporting articles loaded thereon, and a loading device for accomplishing the physical loading of articles onto the conveyor. The computer processor controls the motion of the conveyor, receives information from the scanning and loading devices and builds a database therewith useful for sorting the articles loaded onto the second conveyor.

Abstract: A system and method for sorting articles. An exemplary embodiment of the system includes a conveyor for transporting articles, a database for storing identification information for each article on the conveyor and address information specifying the location of each article on the conveyor, one or more drop stations adjacent to the conveyor for unloading articles, a processor, coupled to the conveyor, the one or more drop stations, and the database, for accessing article information from the database, allocating to each of one or more drop stations a list of articles sorted according to one or more sorting criteria, and for controlling each such drop station to physically sort articles from the sorting conveyor into a group of sorted articles according to the sorted list of articles for the drop station.