1. A gastric ring for treatment of obesity, comprising:
a band which is configured to form a ring around the wall of the stomach, the band including first and second lateral portions and a central portion therebetween, wherein the first and second lateral portions extend radially and outwardly from the ring formed by the central portion, the first and second lateral portions extending from the central portion in juxtaposed contacting relation when the gastric ring is placed on a patient’s stomach, and
a fastener including a first member movably connected to a second member such that the fastener is repositionable between an open position and a closed position in which the band can be maintained in the form of said ring;
characterized in that the band is made of at least one bioabsorbable or biodegradable material and has a face intended to come into contact with the wall of the stomach.
2. The gastric ring as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least the face of the band intended to come into contact with the wall of the stomach has a smooth coating for separating this face and this wall at least temporarily.
3. The gastric ring as claimed in claim 2, wherein said coating is made of a bioabsorbable or biodegradable material, in particular a crosslinked collagen material.
4. The gastric ring as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fastener comprises at least one bioabsorbable or biodegradable material.
5. The gastric ring for treatment of obesity as claimed in claim 1,
wherein the band is of such a thickness that it has a flexibility allowing it to be curved transversely with respect to its longitudinal direction, and in that said fastener further includes the first and second lateral portions of the band which continue the central portion of the band intended to surround the patient’s stomach and are designed for placing said lateral portions of the band in a substantially radial direction with respect to the circle formed by the central portions of the band when the ring is placed on the stomach of a patient, these lateral portions protruding outward from this circle.
6. The gastric ring as claimed in claim 5, wherein the first and second members of the fastener are configured to engage with said lateral portions of the band.
7. The gastric ring for treatment of obesity as claimed in claim 1,
wherein the band is of such a thickness that it has a rigidity preventing its being curved transversely with respect to its longitudinal direction.
8. The gastric ring as claimed in claim 7, wherein the band is in at least two parts connected pivotably to one another, allowing this band to be placed in an elongate shape so that this band can be introduced into the patient’s body using minimally invasive surgical techniques such as celioscopy or laparoscopy.
9. The gastric ring as claimed in claim 8, wherein the band comprises a plurality of \u201clinks\u201d connected pivotably to one another.
10. The gastric ring for treatment of obesity as claimed in claim 2,
wherein the band is of such a thickness that it has a flexibility allowing it to be curved transversely with respect to its longitudinal direction, and in that said fastener further includes the first and second lateral portions of the band which continue the central portion of the band intended to surround the patient’s stomach and are designed for placing said lateral portions of the band in a substantially radial direction with respect to the circle formed by the central portion of the band when the ring is placed on the stomach of a patient, these lateral portions protruding outward from this circle.
11. The gastric ring for treatment of obesity as claimed in claim 3,
wherein the band is of such a thickness that it has a flexibility allowing it to be curved transversely with respect to its longitudinal direction, and in that said fastener further includes the first and second lateral portions of the band which continue the central portion of the band intended to surround the patient’s stomach and are designed for placing said lateral portions of the band in a substantially radial direction with respect to the circle formed by the central portion of the band when the ring is placed on the stomach of a patient, these lateral portions protruding outward from this circle.
12. The gastric ring for treatment of obesity as claimed in claim 4,
wherein the band is of such a thickness that it has a flexibility allowing it to be curved transversely with respect to its longitudinal direction, and in that said fastener further includes the first and second lateral portions of the band which continue the central portion of the band intended to surround the patient’s stomach and are designed for placing said lateral portions of the band in a substantially radial direction with respect to the circle formed by the central portion of the band when the ring is placed on the stomach of a patient, these lateral portions protruding outward from this circle.
13. The gastric ring for treatment of obesity as claimed in claim 2,
wherein the band is of such a thickness that it has a rigidity preventing its being curved transversely with respect to its longitudinal direction.
14. The gastric ring for treatment of obesity as claimed in claim 3,
wherein the band is of such a thickness that it has a rigidity preventing its being curved transversely with respect to its longitudinal direction.
15. The gastric ring for treatment of obesity as claimed in claim 4,
wherein the band is of such a thickness that it has a rigidity preventing its being curved transversely with respect to its longitudinal direction.
16. A gastric ring for treatment of obesity, comprising:
a band which is configured to form a ring around the wall of the stomach, the band including first and second lateral portions and a central portion therebetween, wherein the first and second lateral portions extend radially and outwardly from the ring formed by the central portion, the first and second lateral portions extending from the central portion in juxtaposed contacting relation when the gastric ring is placed on a patient’s stomach, and
a fastener including a first member movably connected to a second member such that the fastener is repositionable between an open position and a closed position in which the band can be maintained in the form of said ring.
17. The gastric ring for treatment of obesity as in claim 1, wherein the first and second lateral portions extend from the central portion in substantially orthogonal relation.
18. The gastric ring for treatment of obesity as in claim 6, wherein the first member of the fastener is pivotally connected to the second member of the fastener, wherein the lateral portions of the band are freely movable between the first and second members of the fastener when the fastener is in the open position, and wherein movement of the lateral portions of the band between the first and second members of the fastener is inhibited when the fastener is in the closed position.
19. The gastric ring for treatment of obesity as in claim 18, wherein the fastener is configured such that the lateral portions of the band are engaged by the first and second members when the fastener is in the closed position such that the lateral portions are slidable therebetween in frictional relation.
20. The gastric ring for treatment of obesity as in claim 18, wherein the fastener is configured such that the lateral portions are engaged by the first and second members in fixed relation when the fastener is in the closed position such that movement of the lateral portions between the first and second members is prevented.
21. The gastric ring for treatment of obesity as in claim 18, wherein the fastener further includes locking structure to selectively maintain the position of the first and second members.
22. The gastric ring for treatment of obesity as in claim 1, wherein the first and second lateral portions extend linearly from the central portion.
23. The gastric ring for treatment of obesity as in claim 1, wherein the first member of the fastener is pivotably connected to the second member of the fastener at a hinge member.
24. The gastric ring for treatment of obesity as in claim 16, wherein the first member of the fastener is pivotably connected to the second member of the fastener at a hinge member.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A two-fluid nozzle for cleaning substrates which mixes gas and liquid internally and injects liquid droplets with gas so as to clean a substrate, comprising:
a gas supply passage for supplying gas, a liquid supply passage for supplying liquid, and a lead-out passage for leading out internally-formed liquid droplets which are formed by internally mixing gas and liquid,
wherein said gas supply passage and said liquid supply passage open toward an entrance of said lead-out passage which is formed at a rear end of said lead-out passage, and mix the gas and the liquid in the vicinity of said lead-out passage entrance,
wherein an injection port for injecting liquid droplets to the outside is formed at the front end of said lead-out passage,
wherein a transition between the lead-out passage and the injection port is step-wise such that a cross-sectional area Sb of said injection port is smaller than a cross-sectional area Sa of said lead-out passage,
wherein a cross-sectional area Sc of an exit of said gas supply passage is smaller than the cross-sectional area Sa of said lead-out passage,
wherein said lead-out passage is formed in a straight shape,
wherein the cross-sectional area Sb of said injection port is constant from an entrance thereof at the step-wise transition to an exit thereof and
wherein the cross-sectional area Sc of the exit of said gas supply passage is equal to the cross-sectional area Sb of said injection port or smaller than the cross-sectional area Sb of said injection port.
2. The two-fluid nozzle for cleaning substrates as set forth in claim 1,
wherein a ratio Sa: Sb between the cross-sectional area Sa of said lead-out passage and the cross-sectional area Sb of said injection port is 1:0.25 to 0.81.
3. A two-fluid nozzle for cleaning substrates which mixes gas and liquid internally and injects liquid drops with gas so as to clean a substrate, comprising:
a gas supply passage for supplying gas, a liquid supply passage for supplying liquid, and a lead-out passage for leading out liquid drops formed by atomizing liquid with gas, and an injection means, wherein
said gas supply passage and said liquid supply passage open toward an entrance of said lead-out passage which is formed at a rear end of said lead-out passage, and mix the gas and the liquid in the vicinity of said lead-out passage entrance,
said injection means re-atomizes liquid drops passed through said lead-out passage and injects liquid drops to the outside, and
said injection means is connected to a front end of said lead-out passage by a step-wise transition between said lead-out passage and said injection means.
4. The two-fluid nozzle for cleaning substrates as set forth in claim 3,
wherein the cross-sectional area Sc of the exit of said gas supply passage is 1.77 mm2 to 4.91 mm2.
5. The two-fluid nozzle for cleaning substrates as set forth in claim 1,
wherein said lead-out passage is formed in a straight shape, and the cross-sectional area Sa of said lead-out passage is constant.
6. The two-fluid nozzle for cleaning substrates as set forth in claim 1,
wherein a length L1 of said lead-out passage is 10 mm to 90 mm.
7. The two-fluid nozzle for cleaning substrates as set forth in claim 1, wherein a length L2 of said injection port is 30 mm or shorter.
8. The two-fluid nozzle for cleaning substrates as set forth in claim 1, comprising a liquid introduction passage in an annular shape surrounding said gas supply passage, and having a structure such that
said gas supply passage is arranged coaxially with said lead-out passage,
said liquid supply passage is opened on an outer peripheral face of said liquid introduction passage,
a taper portion is formed with a diameter which gets smaller toward a front end side in said liquid introduction passage,
the taper portion is opened between said gas supply passage and said lead-out passage, and
gas supplied from said gas supply passage and liquid introduced from said liquid introduction passage are mixed to form liquid droplets and the liquid droplets are lead out via said lead-out passage.
9. The two-fluid nozzle for cleaning substrates as set forth in claim 1,
wherein said injection port is formed with a vertical cross-sectional shape of an exit side periphery having a right angle or an acute angle.
10. A substrate cleaning apparatus, comprising:
a two-fluid nozzle for cleaning substrates as set forth in claim 1;
a spin chuck for holding a substrate substantially horizontally; and
a drive mechanism for moving said two-fluid nozzle for cleaning substrates above the substrate.
11. The two-fluid nozzle for cleaning substrates as set forth in claim 3,
wherein the cross-sectional area Sc of the exit of said gas supply passage is 1.13 mm2 to 6.16 mm2.