Author: claimsbot

1. A structure comprising a poly(hydroxyalkanoic acid) layer, at least one tie layer, and at least one sealant layer wherein
the structure is a film or sheet;
the tie layer is selected from the group consisting of a modified polyethylene, a modified polypropylene, a modified ethylene alkyl(meth)acrylaye copolymer, and combinations of two or more thereof in which the ethylene alkyl(meth)acryliate copolymer contains, by weight of the copolymer, 4 to 28% repeat units derived from alkyl(meth)acrylate;
in the modified polyethylene, the modified polypropylene, or the modified ethylene alkyl(meth)acrylaye copolymer, the polyethylene, the polypropylene, or the ethylene alkyl(meth)acrylaye copolymer is modified with an acid, an anhydride, or an epoxide; and
the sealant layer is selected from the group consisting of ethylene alkyl(meth)acrylaye copolymer, ethylene acid copolymer, ethylene ionomer, and combinations of two or more thereof.
2-3. (canceled)
4. (canceled)
5. The structure of claim 1 wherein
the tie layer is the modified ethylene alkyl(meth)acrylaye copolymer; and
the modified ethylene alkyl(meth)acrylaye copolymer is an ethylene alkyl(meth)acrylaye copolymer grafted with an acid, anhydride, epoxide, or an ethylene alkyl(meth)acrylaye copolymer produced by copolymerizing a monomer of the polymer with the acid, anhydride, or epoxide.
6. The structure of claim 5 wherein the tie layer is the modified ethylene alkyl(meth)acrylaye copolymer modified with the anhydride or epoxide.
7. (canceled)
8. The structure of claim 6 wherein the structure is a coextruded film or sheet, the sealant layer is the ethylene ionomer or the ethylene alkyl(meth)acrylate copolymer, and the poly(hydroxyalkanoic acid) is a poly(lactic acid).
9. The structure of claim 8 wherein the sealant layer is capable of fusion bonding onto another layer by heat sealing.
10. The structure of claim 9 wherein the sealant layer is the ethylene ionomer and the poly(hydroxyalkanoic acid) layer is oriented.
11. The structure of claim 1 comprising layers of, in the sequential order, a polylactic acid, an anhydride modified ethylene acrylate, a polyethylene, a polyethylene, an anhydride modified ethylene acrylate, a polyamide, an ethylene vinyl alcohol, a polyamide, an anhydride modified ethylene acrylate, a polyethylene, and a sealant layer wherein the anhydride modified ethylene acrylate is the modified ethylene alkyl meth(acrylate).
12. An article comprising the multilayer structure of claim 1.
13. The article of claim 12 wherein
the poly(hydroxyalkanoic acid) is a poly(lactic acid);
the tie layer is the modified ethylene alkyl(meth)acrylate copolymer; and
the sealant layer is the ethylene ionomer.
14. The article of claim 13 wherein the article is a packaging and the structure is present in or as a lidding film of the article.
15. A process comprising coextruding a layer poly(hydroxyalkanoic acid) composition, a tie layer, and a sealant layer to produce a coextruded tubular multilayer structure; cooling the coextruded tubular multilayer structure in a first bubble; orienting the coextruded tubular multilayer structure under heating in a second bubble to produce an oriented tubular multilayer structure; and relaxing the oriented tubular multilayer structure under heating in a third bubble to produce a multilayer structure wherein each of the tie layer and the sealant layer is the same as recited in claim 1.
16. The process of claim 15 wherein
the poly(hydroxyalkanoic acid) is a poly(lactic acid);
the tie layer is a modified polymer; the polymer of the modified polymer is a polyethylene or ethylene alkyl(meth)acrylate copolymer; and the polymer is modified with an anhydride or epoxide; and
the sealant layer is an ethylene ionomer.
17. The process of claim 15 wherein the orienting, the relaxing, or both, is carried out at a temperature between the glass transition temperature and the melting point of the poly(hydroxyalkanoic acid) polymer composition.
18. The process of claim 16 wherein the orienting, the relaxing, or both, is carried out at a temperature between the glass transition temperature and the melting point of the poly(hydroxyalkanoic acid) polymer composition.
19. The process of claim 18 wherein the temperature 60\xb0 C. to 85\xb0 C.
20. (canceled)

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 method of knitting a tubular knitted fabric using a flat knitting machine provided with at least a pair of front and back needle beds such that a front knitted fabric belonging to the front needle bed and a back knitted fabric belonging to the back needle bed are continuously formed on both sides in a knitting width and such that the number of wales is different between the front knitted fabric and the back knitted fabric, comprising:
a step on one side of carrying out turning such that the knitted fabrics caught on the needle beds on both sides have an equivalent number of wales, in which between continuous portions between a knitted fabric having a larger number of wales and a knitted fabric having a smaller number of wales, the continuous portion on one side in the knitting width is positioned between the pair of front and back needle beds, the needle bed to which the knitted fabric having a smaller number of wales belongs catches the knitted fabric having a smaller number of wales, the continuous portion on the other side, and an end portion of the knitted fabric having a larger number of wales, and the needle bed to which the knitted fabric having a larger number of wales belongs catches the knitted fabric having a larger number of wales except for the end portion; and
a step on the other side of carrying out turning such that the knitted fabrics caught on the needle beds on both sides have an equivalent number of wales, in which between the continuous portions between the knitted fabric having a larger number of wales and the knitted fabric having a smaller number of wales, the continuous portion on the other side in the knitting width is positioned between the pair of front and back needle beds, the needle bed to which the knitted fabric having a smaller number of wales belongs catches the knitted fabric having a smaller number of wales, the continuous portion on the one side, and an end portion of the knitted fabric having a larger number of wales, and the needle bed to which the knitted fabric having a larger number of wales belongs catches the knitted fabric having a larger number of wales except for the end portion,
wherein the step on the one side and the step on the other side are alternately repeated,
the knitted fabric having a larger number of wales is provided with a joint, within a range in which the joint is caught on the knitted fabric having a larger number of wales in both of the step on the one side and the step on the other side,
in the step on the one side, in the knitted fabric having a larger number of wales, a portion on the one side from the continuous portion on the one side to the joint is knitted,
in the step on the other side, in the knitted fabric having a larger number of wales, a portion on the other side from the continuous portion on the other side to the joint is knitted, and
the portion on the one side and the portion on the other side in the knitted fabric having a larger number of wales are linked to each other at the joint.
2. The method of knitting the tubular knitted fabric of claim 1, wherein in at least one of the front knitted fabric and the back knitted fabric, a dart is formed in a middle portion in the knitting width by decreasing and then increasing the number of wales in accordance with progress of course knitting.
3. The method of knitting the tubular knitted fabric of claim 2, wherein even when the knitted fabric in which the dart is formed is the knitted fabric having a smaller number of wales, the knitted fabric is knitted separately in the step on the one side and the step on the other side, and linking is carried out at the joint,
the joint is formed so as to be positioned on the same straight line in a wale direction, and
in each of the portion on the one side and the portion on the other side in the knitted fabric, a line in which a narrowing line is continued to a widening line of the dart is formed at the same interval from a line constituted by the joint.
4. The method of knitting the tubular knitted fabric of claim 1, wherein in at least one of the front knitted fabric and the back knitted fabric, a swell is formed in a middle portion in the knitting width by increasing and then decreasing the number of wales in accordance with progress of course knitting.
5. The method of knitting the tubular knitted fabric of claim 1, wherein in at least one of the front knitted fabric and the back knitted fabric, the number of wales is increased or decreased in accordance with progress of course knitting.
6. The method of knitting the tubular knitted fabric of claim 1, wherein the joint provided in the knitted fabric having a larger number of wales is knitted so as to be positioned on the same wale such that the joint is spaced away from the continuous portions between the front knitted fabric and the back knitted fabric, within a range of the knitting width in which the joint is caught on the same needle bed in both of the step on the one side and the step on the other side.
7. The method of knitting the tubular knitted fabric of claim 2, wherein the joint provided in the knitted fabric having a larger number of wales is knitted so as to be positioned on the same wale such that the joint is spaced away from the continuous portions between the front knitted fabric and the back knitted fabric, within a range of the knitting width in which the joint is caught on the same needle bed in both of the step on the one side and the step on the other side.
8. The method of knitting the tubular knitted fabric of claim 3, wherein the joint provided in the knitted fabric having a larger number of wales is knitted so as to be positioned on the same wale such that the joint is spaced away from the continuous portions between the front knitted fabric and the back knitted fabric, within a range of the knitting width in which the joint is caught on the same needle bed in both of the step on the one side and the step on the other side.
9. The method of knitting the tubular knitted fabric of claim 4, wherein the joint provided in the knitted fabric having a larger number of wales is knitted so as to be positioned on the same wale such that the joint is spaced away from the continuous portions between the front knitted fabric and the back knitted fabric, within a range of the knitting width in which the joint is caught on the same needle bed in both of the step on the one side and the step on the other side.
10. The method of knitting the tubular knitted fabric of claim 5, wherein the joint provided in the knitted fabric having a larger number of wales is knitted so as to be positioned on the same wale such that the joint is spaced away from the continuous portions between the front knitted fabric and the back knitted fabric, within a range of the knitting width in which the joint is caught on the same needle bed in both of the step on the one side and the step on the other side.

1. An output switching circuit comprising:
a switching circuit having a first transistor connected to a high-voltage power supply, a second transistor connected to a low-voltage power supply, and an output terminal at a connection node between the first and second transistors;
a comparison unit that compares an input signal with a feedback signal obtained by feedback of an output signal of the output terminal via a low-pass filter to generate a comparison signal; and
a drive pulse generating unit that generates first drive pulses for driving the first transistor and second drive pulses for driving the second transistor in accordance with the comparison signal.
2. The output switching circuit according to claim 1, wherein the comparison unit includes:
a comparator that compares the feedback signal with the input signal;
a sampling circuit that samples an output of the comparator with a reference clock to generate a sampling signal having a first or second level; and
a comparison signal generating circuit that generates, for each first period, the comparison signal having the first or second level and having a pulse width of the first period, in accordance with a pulse width of the first level or second level of the sampling signal.
3. The output switching circuit according to claim 2, wherein
while the comparison signal is at a first level indicating that a voltage of the input signal is higher than a voltage of the feedback signal, the drive pulse generating unit generates the first drive pulse obtained by pulse density modulation of this comparison signal.
4. The output switching circuit according to claim 2, wherein
while the comparison signal is at a second level indicating that a voltage of the input signal is lower than a voltage of the feedback signal, the drive pulse generating unit generates the second drive pulse obtained by pulse density modulation of this comparison signal.
5. The output switching circuit according to claim 2, wherein
while the comparison signal is at a first level indicating that a voltage of the input signal is higher than a voltage of the feedback signal, the drive pulse generating unit generates the first drive pulse having a pulse train with a frequency higher than that of the first period.
6. The output switching circuit according to claim 2, wherein
while the comparison signal is at a second level indicating that a voltage of the input signal is lower than a voltage of the feedback signal, the drive pulse generating unit generates the second drive pulse having a pulse train with a frequency higher than that of the first period.
7. The output switching circuit according to claim 5, wherein
while the comparison signal is at the first level, the drive pulse generating unit gradually increases a time in which the first transistor is conducive in the first drive pulse for each second period that is shorter than the first period.
8. The output switching circuit according to claim 7, wherein
when the comparison signal assumes the first level, the drive pulse generating unit controls the number of conduction pulses of the first transistor in the first drive pulse in an initial second period to a first number, and then gradually increases a conduction pulse width of the first transistor by replacing non-conduction pulses of the first transistor in the first drive pulse with the conduction pulses for each second period.
9. The output switching circuit according to claim 8, wherein
the drive pulse generating unit gradually increases a conduction pulse width of the first transistor in a second half of the second period.
10. The output switching circuit according to claim 7, wherein
when the comparison signal repeats a plurality of times a change in which the comparison signal is switched from the second level to the first level, maintained at the first level within a plurality of the second periods, and then switched from the first level to the second level, the drive pulse generating unit further increases the time in which the first transistor is conductive in the first drive pulse in an initial second period.
11. The output switching circuit according to claim 6, wherein
while the comparison signal is at the second level, the drive pulse generating unit gradually increases a time in which the second transistor is conducive in the second drive pulse for each second period that is shorter than the first period.
12. The output switching circuit according to claim 11, wherein
when the comparison signal assumes the second level, the drive pulse generating unit controls the number of conduction pulses of the second transistor in the second drive pulse in an initial second period to a second number, and then gradually increases a conduction pulse width of the second transistor by replacing non-conduction pulses of the second transistor in the second drive pulse with the conduction pulses for each second period.
13. The output switching circuit according to claim 12, wherein
the drive pulse generating unit gradually increases a conduction pulse width of the second transistor in a second half of the second period.
14. The output switching circuit according to claim 11, wherein
when the comparison signal assumes the second level, the drive pulse generating unit gradually increases the number of conduction pulses of the second transistor in the second drive pulse for each second period.
15. The output switching circuit according to claim 14, wherein
the drive pulse generating unit gradually increases the number of conduction pulses of the second transistor in a second half of the second period.
16. The output switching circuit according to claim 11, wherein
when the comparison signal repeats a plurality of times a change in which the comparison signal is switched from the first level to the second level, maintained at the second level within a plurality of the second periods, and then switched from the second level to the first level, the drive pulse generating unit further increases the time in which the second transistor is conductive in the second drive pulse in an initial second period.

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. An apparatus for measuring sizes of articles comprising:
a light projecting device for projecting light toward an article from one side of an article;
a photo-sensor device arranged on the other side of the article and including a plurality of photo-detectors arranged in array in a first direction such that light projected from the light projecting device and impinging upon the photo-sensor device without being interrupted by the article is received by one or more photo-detectors;
a driving device for reciprocally moving the light projecting device and photo-sensor device relative to the article in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction;
a shifting device for shifting the photo-sensor device in the first direction into at least first and second positions which are mutually separated by a distance smaller than a pitch at which the photo-detectors are arranged in array;
a control device for controlling the driving device and shifting device such that when the light projecting device and photo-sensor device are moved by the driving device in a forward direction, the photo-sensor device is in the first position and when the light projecting device and photo-sensor device are moved by the driving device in a backward direction, the photo-sensor device is in the second position; and
a signal processing device for processing output signals generated from the photo-detectors under a control of a control signal supplied from the control device to measure size of the article with a resolution higher than the pitch at which the photo-detectors are arranged in array.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the photo-detectors in the photo-sensor device are arranged into a single array with the pitch L and the photo-sensor device is shifted in the second direction over a distance of L2.
3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the photo-detectors in the photo-sensor device are arranged into n (n is integer equal to or larger than 2) rows with the pitch L and the n rows of photo-detectors are relatively shifted in the second direction by a distance Ln, and the photo-sensor device is shifted in the second direction over a distance of L2n.
4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the article is placed on a transparent plate and the light projecting device and the photo-sensor device are arranged on respective sides of the transparent plate.
5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the transparent plate is arranged stationary and the light projecting device and photo-sensor device are arranged movably in the first direction.
6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the light projecting device is provided on a lower horizontal portion of a frame and the photo-sensor device is provided on an upper horizontal portion of the frame, and the frame is arranged movably in the first direction.
7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light projecting device includes plural light emitting elements arranged in the second direction to project a substantially parallel light flux.
8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the number of the light emitting elements is identical with that of the photo-detectors, and the light emitting elements are arranged in array to be corresponding to respective photo-detectors one by one.
9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the array of the light emitting elements is shifted in the second direction together with the photo-sensor device.
10. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the article is placed on a transparent plate and the light projecting device and the photo-sensor device are arranged on respective sides of the transparent plate.
11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the transparent plate is arranged stationary and the light projecting device and photo-sensor device are arranged movably in the first direction.
12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the light projecting device is provided on a lower horizontal portion of a frame and the photo-sensor device is provided on an upper horizontal portion of the frame, and the frame is arranged movably in the first direction.