Patent Application
20170006701
A printed circuit board, or PCB, is typically a thin flat board made of fiberglass or other similar non-conductive material, onto which electrically conductive wires or traces are printed or etched. Electronic components, such as integrated circuits, resistors, capacitors, diodes, electronic filters, microcontrollers, relays, and so on, may be mounted on the board, and the traces connect the components together to form a working circuit or assembly. A PCB may have conductors on one side or both sides, and may be multi-layered, having many layers of conductors, each separated by insulating layers. While most PCBs are flat and rigid, flexible substrates may also be used. Some examples of PCBs include computer motherboards, memory modules, and network interface cards.
Items with logic, memory, and PCBs enter the waste stream continuously. In many countries, a two or three-year-old cell phone, portable music player, or gaming console is considered out of date and may be disposed of Thus, an unintended consequence of the information technology revolution is new and potentially toxic waste. Estimates suggest that 100 million computers are discarded worldwide every year. In the United States this amounts to about two million tons of computer-related waste per year and climbing. The European Union has identified waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) as the fastest growing waste stream, amounting to about 5% of the municipal solid waste (MSW) and growing at three times the rate of the total MSW stream.
In many places, PCBs are incinerated to burn away the epoxy or fiberglass substrates in order to reclaim any copper, nickel, tin or lead that are on the boards. Fumes from the incineration can be toxic, and inhalation can potentially cause health problems. Many PCBs, on the other hand, end up in landfills, may result in toxic run-off, and may take hundreds of years to decompose, if not longer.
Therefore, there remains a need for reducing potential hazards presented by PCB disposal and reclamation.
Printed circuit boards, or PCBs, may be produced from substrate sheets that include at least one biodegradable polymer. In addition, the electrical traces used on the PCBs, may also include a biodegradable polymer incorporated with an electrically conductive material, such as a metal. Once the PCB reaches its end of life, it may be composted to degrade wherein essentially only the electrically conductive material will remain, and the electrically conductive material may be reclaimed for re-use.
In an embodiment, a biodegradable printed circuit board may include at least one substrate sheet and one or more electrical conduction traces disposed on the at least one substrate sheet. The substrate sheet may include a composite of at least a first polymer and fiber reinforcements, wherein the first polymer may be biodegradable
In an embodiment, a flexible substrate sheet for supporting electronic components may include a composite of at least a first polymer and fiber reinforcements, wherein the first polymer is biodegradable.
In an embodiment, a method for making a biodegradable printed circuit board may include forming a composite of a first polymer and fiber reinforcements, wherein the first polymer is biodegradable, forming the composite into a substrate sheet, and depositing one or more electrical conduction traces on the substrate sheet.
In an embodiment, a method for disposal of at least one biodegradable printed circuit board includes removing electronic components from a substrate sheet of the printed circuit board, wherein the substrate sheet includes a biodegradable polymer and one or more electrical conduction traces disposed on the substrate sheet, and the electrical conduction traces include an electrically conductive material. The method also includes composting the substrate sheet to degrade the biodegradable polymer into a compost containing the electrically conductive material, and recovering the electrically conductive material from the compost.
Electronic substrate materials, such as those used in PCBs, may include many layers of substrate that are formed from a biodegradable polymer with whisker or fiber reinforcements. For simplification, the term “fiber” is used below to include both fibers and whiskers. The fibers may be directionally oriented in each layer to achieve desired mechanical and/or thermal properties for the end use of the substrate. The substrate layers may each include electrical traces that are printed on the surfaces of the layers or extend through the layers. The material that forms the traces may also include a biodegradable polymer. As such, a resulting substrate may be formed as a multi-layer electronic circuit with traces that run in three dimensions through each of the layers. At the end of the useful life of the substrate, the substrate may be composted so that it degrades and essentially leaves behind only the electrically conductive material of the traces, which may then be reclaimed for re-use.
In an embodiment, a flexible substrate sheet for supporting electronic components may include a composite of a first polymer and fiber reinforcements, wherein the first polymer is biodegradable.
The composite material 100 may include at least one biodegradable polymer. Some examples of biodegradable polymers may include, but are not limited to starch, polyhydroxy alkanoates, polyvinyl alcohol, polylactic acid, poly(3-hydroxypropanoic acid), or any combination thereof.
In an embodiment, the biodegradable polymer may be polylactic acid, a random copolymer of polylactic acid and at least one additional monomer, a block copolymer of polylactic acid and at least one additional monomer, a graft copolymer of polylactic acid and at least one additional monomer, or any combination thereof. Some examples of additional monomers may include, but are not limited to glycolic acid, poly(ethylene glycol), poly(ethylene oxide), poly(propylene oxide), (R)-beta-butyrolactone, delta-valerolactone, epsilon-caprolactone, 1,5-dioxepan-2-one, trimethylene carbonate, alkylthiophene, and N-isopropylacrylamide.
In an embodiment, a flexible substrate sheet for supporting electronic components may include a composite of polylactic acid and fiber reinforcements. Polylactic acid resins may be formed by direct condensation of lactic acid, or in combination with the cyclic di-ester of lactic acid-lactide. Any references to polylactic acid herein are meant to include either poly (D-lactic acid) compositions, poly (L-lactic acid) compositions, or poly (D,L-lactic acid) compositions.
In an embodiment, in addition to the first biodegradable polymer, the composite may also include an additional polymer that is different from the first biodegradable polymer. The additional polymer may be selected from polyolefins, polyesters, polyamides, polyimides, polyketones, polyisocyanates, polysulphones, styrenic plastics, phenolic resins, amide resins, urea resins, melamine resins, polyester resins, epoxidic resins, polycarbonates, polyvinylpyrrolidones, epoxy resins, polyacrylates, rubbers and gums, polyurethanes, silicones, aramids, polybutadiene, polyisoprenes, polyacrylonitriles, polyvinyl difluoride, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl alcohol, ethylene vinyl alcohol, vinyl polychloride, polyvinyldiene chloride, biomass derivatives, proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, biopolyesters, or any combination thereof.
The fiber reinforcements 102 that are included in the composite 100 may be at least one of cellulose, cellulosic fibers, flax, alumina, silicon carbide, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, silicon dioxide, aluminosilicates, inorganic metal silicate glass fibers, borosilicates, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, for example, the composite may include polylactic acid as the biodegradable polymer, and inorganic fibers as the fiber reinforcements. Alumina, silicon carbide, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, and silicon dioxide have very low coefficients of thermal expansion (about 3 ppm/° C. to about 9 ppm/° C.). A substrate that includes fibers of alumina, silicon carbide, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, and silicon dioxide may therefore also have low coefficient of thermal expansion.
The fibers may have a cross-sectional dimension of about 10 nanometers to about 100 microns and a length of about 100 nanometers to about 1000 microns.
In embodiments, the fibers may have a cross-sectional dimension of about 10 nm, about 50 nm, about 100 nm, about 200 nm, about 300 nm, about 400 nm, about 500 nm, about 600 nm, about 700 nm, about 800 nm, about 900 nm, about 1 μm, about 2 μm, about 3 μm, about 4 μm, about 5 μm, about 6 μm, about 7 μm, about 8 μm, about 9 μm, about 10 μm, about 20 μm, about 30 μm, about 40 μm, about 50 μm, about 60 μm, about 70 μm, about 80 μm, about 90 μm, about 100 μm, or any value between any of the listed values, or range extending between any two of the listed values.
In embodiments, the fibers may have a length of about 100 nm, about 200 nm, about 300 nm, about 400 nm, about 500 nm, about 600 nm, about 700 nm, about 800 nm, about 900 nm, about 1 μm, about 2 μm, about 3 μm, about 4 μm, about 5 μm, about 6 μm, about 7 μm, about 8 μm, about 9 μm, about 10 μm, about 20 μm, about 30 μm, about 40 μm nm, about 50 μm, about 60 μm, about 70 μm, about 80 μm, about 90 μm, about 100 μm, about 200 μm, about 300 μm, about 400 μm, about 500 μm, about 600 μm, about 700 μm, about 800 μm, about 900 μm, about 1000 μm, or any value between any of the listed values, or range extending between any two of the listed values.
Combinations of various fibers and polymers, as well as amounts of each of the components may be varied to alter various mechanical, thermal, electrical, and optical properties of the composite and substrate sheets that may be formed from the composite. Some examples of the properties that may be varied include elastic modulus, yield stress, ultimate tensile strength, coefficient of thermal expansion, thermal conductivity, impact strength, heat capacity, density, flammability, electrical resistance, dielectric constant, dielectric strength, electric permittivity, magnetic permeability, optical transmissivity, and index of refraction.
In various embodiments, the composite may also include at least one additive selected from plasticizers, emulsifiers, anti-flocculants, processing aids, antistatics, light absorbers, antioxidants, cross-linkers, flame retardants, and antibacterials.
A composite of selected ones of the above-listed components may be formed into sheets for use as a substrate material. The composite may be rolled, pressed, extruded, or otherwise formed into sheets. A substrate sheet 110 may have generally any thickness, such as a thickness of about 50 μm to about 3 mm. In various embodiments, a substrate sheet may have a thickness of about 50 μm, about 75 μm, about 100 μm, about 200 μm, about 300 μm, about 400 μm, about 500 μm, about 600 μm, about 700 μm, about 800 μm, about 900 μm, about 1 mm, about 1.2 mm, about 1.4 mm, about 1.6 mm, about 1.8 mm, about 2 mm, about 2.2 mm, about 2.4 mm, about 2.6 mm, about 2.8 mm, about 3 mm, or any thickness value between any of the listed values.
In an embodiment, as shown in
Depending on the composition of the substrate sheets, the substrate sheets may be flexible. As represented in
The conductive material in the traces may be a conductive metal such as, but not limited to, silver, aluminum, copper, zinc, nickel, gold, platinum, palladium, or any combination thereof. In an alternate embodiment, the conductive material may be a conducting polymer such as, but not limited to polyacetylenes, polyphenylene vinylene, polypyrrole, polythiophene, polyaniline, polyphenylene sulfide, polyfluorenes, polypyrenes, polyvinylcarbazoles, polyazulenes, polynaphthalenes, polyindoles, or any combination thereof.
At least about 50% of the volume of the electrical conduction traces may be metal. In embodiments, the percentage by volume of metal in the traces may be, for example, about 50%, about 55%, about 60%, about 65%, about 70%, about 75%, about 80%, about 85%, about 90%, about 95%, about 100%, or any amount between any of the listed values.
In one embodiment, the electrical conduction traces may include silver as the conducting material and beads of polylactic acid as the biodegradable polymer.
The electrical conduction traces 125 may be formed by depositing a conducting paste, containing the conducting material and beads of a biodegradable polymer, onto the surface of the substrate sheet. The paste may be deposited by various methods, such as at least one of inkjet printing, screen printing, stencil printing, 3D printing, needle dispensing, contact printing, stamp printing, gravure printing, or any combination thereof. The paste may include at least one solvent for liquification, and upon depositing of the past onto the substrate, the solvent may be evaporated to leave a dry stable film of conductive material as an electrical trace on the substrate.
A substrate sheet may also be configured to receive electronic components thereon, with the electronic components disposed in contact with the electrical conduction traces 125. The electronic components may be affixed to the substrate with a conductive adhesive. For example, a silver-loaded adhesive may provide some flexibility and may allow for slight movement or deformation of the attached components. One example of a substrate sheet with electronic components may be as represented in
In one embodiment, a substrate sheet 140 with electronic components 135 mounted thereon, as represented in
As represented in
To provide electrical communication between the sheets 120-1, 120-2, 120-n, holes or vias 128, as shown in
In an embodiment, after any traces are deposited and vias are drilled, one corresponding sheet may be laminated onto another sheet, and conductor paste may be provided into the vias. The process may be continued such that several layers of substrate sheets having a 2-D (x, y plane) pattern of traces on the sheets, may be interconnected across layers (z-direction) by the drilled and filled vias. Once the final stack up is finished the laminate may be heated under slight pressure to join all the layers and fix the conductor traces
A substrate, such as substrate 140, produced in accordance with the details as discussed above, may have a useful life of multiple years. The substrate may be a printed circuit board including a biodegradable polymer and having one or more electrical conduction traces disposed on the substrate sheet, wherein the electrical conduction traces may be an electrically conductive material. As represented in
For reclamation, as represented in
A method for making a biodegradable printed circuit board may include forming a composite of a first polymer and fiber reinforcements, wherein the first polymer is biodegradable, forming the composite into a substrate sheet, and depositing one or more electrical conduction traces on the substrate sheet. The process of forming the composite into a sheet may include extruding the composite to longitudinally align the fiber reinforcements in the substrate sheet.
In an embodiment, the first polymer may include starch, polyhydroxy alkanoates, polyvinyl alcohol, polylactic acid, poly(3-hydroxypropanoic acid), or any combination thereof. In an embodiment, the fiber reinforcements may include at least one of cellulose, cellulosic fibers, flax, alumina, silicon carbide, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, silicon dioxide, aluminosilicates, inorganic metal silicate glass fibers, borosilicates, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, the first polymer may be polylactic acid, and the fiber reinforcements may be inorganic fibers. As mentioned above, the fiber reinforcements may be nano fibers, micro fibers, or both, and may have a cross sectional dimension of about 10 nanometers to about 100 microns and a length of about 100 nanometers to about 1000 microns.
A method for making a biodegradable printed circuit board may also include at least one of: varying the selected fibers, varying a concentration of the selected fibers, and varying a longitudinal orientation of the selected fibers, to alter at least one of elastic modulus, yield stress, ultimate tensile strength, coefficient of thermal expansion, thermal conductivity, impact strength, heat capacity, density, flammability, electrical resistance, dielectric constant, dielectric strength, electric permittivity, magnetic permeability, optical transmissivity, and index of refraction of the composite.
The depositing of the electrical conductive traces may include depositing a conducting paste onto the substrate sheet by at least one of inkjet printing, screen printing, stencil printing, 3D printing, needle dispensing, contact printing, stamp printing, gravure printing, or any combination thereof. The conducting paste may include a biodegradable polymer, a conductive material, and at least one solvent carrier. In one embodiment, the biodegradable polymer may be polylactic acid beads, and the conductive material may be silver. Some examples of solvent may include hexanes, cyclopentanone, propylene glycol butyrolactone, d-limonene, monomethylether acetate (PGMEA). The biodegradable polymer may be in the form of microbeads having a diameter of about 10 nm to about 30 μm.
In an embodiment, the forming of the composite may include forming the composite with the first polymer, the fiber reinforcements, and at least one second polymer to alter at least one of a mechanical property, a thermal property, an electrical property, and an optical property of the composite. The at least one second polymer may be selected from polyolefins, polyesters, polyamides, polyimides, polyketones, polyisocyanates, polysulphones, styrenic plastics, phenolic resins, amide resins, urea resins, melamine resins, polyester resins, epoxidic resins, polycarbonates, polyvinylpyrrolidones, epoxy resins, polyacrylates, rubbers and gums, polyurethanes, silicones, aramids, polybutadiene, polyisoprenes, polyacrylonitriles, polyvinyl difluoride, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl alcohol, ethylene vinyl alcohol, vinyl polychloride, polyvinyldiene chloride, biomass derivatives, proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, biopolyesters, or any combination thereof.
In an embodiment, the forming of the composite may include forming the composite with the first polymer, the fiber reinforcements, and at least one additive selected from plasticizers, emulsifiers, anti-flocculants, processing aids, anti statics, light absorbers, antioxidants, cross-linkers, flame retardants, and antibacterials.
In an embodiment, the forming of the composite into a substrate sheet may include forming the composite into a plurality of the substrate sheets, and laminating the plurality of the substrate sheets together. The sheets may be oriented so that the longitudinally aligned reinforcement fibers in at least one substrate sheet are oriented in a direction different from the longitudinally aligned reinforcement fibers in an adjacent substrate sheet. Electrical conduction traces may be formed on each sheet of the plurality of the substrate sheets. The method may further include forming at least one hole in at least one of the substrate sheets at at least one location along the electrical conduction traces, stacking the plurality of substrate sheets to align the at least one hole with one of a hole and an electrical conduction trace in an adjacent substrate sheet, and disposing conductor paste in the at least one hole to electrically connect electrical conduction traces in the adjacent substrate sheets.
A printed circuit board may be configured by placing one or more electronic components on the substrate sheet in contact with the electrical conduction traces. The electronic components may include, but are not limited to at least one of: a microprocessor, a diode, a microcontroller, an integrated circuit, a capacitor, a resistor, a transformer, an inductor, a coil, a logic device, a connector pin, a battery, an antennae, a light emitting diode, a switch, a sensor, and a system-in-package.
Flexible substrate sheets will be produced from a composite of polylactic acid and alumina fibers having an average cross sectional dimension of about 50 nanometers and an average length of about 500 nanometers. The sheets will have a thickness of about 200 μm, and will be about 70 wt % polylactic acid and 30 wt % alumina fibers. The longitudinal direction of the alumina fibers will be aligned in a sheet through extrusion of the composite during production of the sheet. For production of the sheets, pellets of polylactic acid will be melted at a temperature of about 155° C., and the alumina fibers will be mixed in. After the mixture is substantially homogenized, the melt will be extruded into a sheet. The temperature of the sheet will be maintained above the softening point at a temperature of about 70° C., and the sheet will be rolled to a thickness of about 200 μm.
A portion of the substrate of Example 1 will be cut into a sheet having a size of about 65 mm by about 125 mm. A mixture of about 60 wt % silver and 40 wt % polylactic acid will be mixed with the solvent gamma butyrolactone to provide a conductor paste, and the paste will be inkjet printed onto the cut substrate sheet in a predetermined pattern. The solvent will be evaporated to leave electrical conduction traces on the substrate for the electrical interconnection of electronic components.
Electronic components, such as, but not limited to, a microprocessor, a diode, a micro-controller, an integrated circuit, a capacitor, a resistor, a transformer, an inductor, a coil, a logic device, a connector pin, a battery, an antennae, a light emitting diode, a switch, a sensor, and a system-in-package, will be mounted on the printed substrate sheet in accordance with a pre-determined pattern using a silver-loaded adhesive.
A laminate of five layered sheets will be produced for a PCB. Within the laminate, and for references only, sheet 1 will be the top sheet, followed consecutively by sheets 2, 3, 4 and 5, with sheet five as the bottom sheet.
A composite mixture of Example 1 will be extruded and rolled into sheets having a thickness of about 50 μm. Portions of the substrate will be cut into sheets having a size of about 10 cm by about 20 cm, with three sheets (laminate layers 1, 3, and 5) having the longitudinal direction of the fibers running in the longitudinal direction of the sheet, and two sheets (laminate layers 2 and 4) having the longitudinal direction of the fibers running in the width direction of the sheet. With this arrangement, when stacked, each sheet will have fibers oriented approximately perpendicularly to the fibers in an adjacent sheet, and the fibers in every other layer will be approximately parallel.
Holes will be drilled in the upper sheets (layers 1-4) in predetermined locations to provide electrical vias between the layers. A mixture of about 60 wt % silver and 40 wt % polylactic acid will be mixed with the solvent d-limonene to provide a conductor paste. The paste will be inkjet-printed onto each of the five cut substrate sheets in a predetermined pattern that will include filling in the vias. The solvent will be evaporated to leave electrical conduction traces on the sheets. The sheets will be laminated together to form the PCB substrate by heating under slight pressure to join all the layers and fix the conductor traces.
Electronic components, such as microprocessors, microcontrollers, diodes, integrated circuits, capacitors, resistors, transformers, logic devices, coils, connector pins, batteries, antennae, light emitting diodes, switches, sensors and system-in-packages, will be mounted on the laminate sheet in accordance with a pre-determined pattern using a silver-loaded adhesive.
Printed circuit boards (PCBs) having a substrate of a biodegradable polymer, such as those of Example 3 will be disposed of by composting. After retrieval of the PCBs, any electronic components on the PCBs will be mechanically scraped off of the substrate. The substrate will be comminuted to break the substrate into smaller pieces. The pieces of the substrate will be sprayed with water and placed into contained composting bins to degrade the biodegradable polymer into a compost containing the silver and alumina fibers. The silver will be recovered by smelting the compost to produce a slag containing the alumina and liquefied silver, and the liquefied silver will be separated from the slag.
This disclosure is not limited to the particular systems, devices and methods described, as these may vary. The terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing the particular versions or embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope.
In the above detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings, similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be used, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented herein. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated in the Figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are explicitly contemplated herein.
The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particular embodiments described in this application, which are intended as illustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and variations can be made without departing from its spirit and scope, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Functionally equivalent methods and apparatuses within the scope of the disclosure, in addition to those enumerated herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing descriptions. Such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. The present disclosure is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to particular methods, reagents, compounds, compositions or biological systems, which can, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting.
As used in this document, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Nothing in this disclosure is to be construed as an admission that the embodiments described in this disclosure are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention. As used in this document, the term “comprising” means “including, but not limited to.”
While various compositions, methods, and devices are described in terms of “comprising” various components or steps (interpreted as meaning “including, but not limited to”), the compositions, methods, and devices can also “consist essentially of” or “consist of” the various components and steps, and such terminology should be interpreted as defining essentially closed-member groups.
With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.
It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to embodiments containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”
In addition, where features or aspects of the disclosure are described in terms of Markush groups, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure is also thereby described in terms of any individual member or subgroup of members of the Markush group.
As will be understood by one skilled in the art, for any and all purposes, such as in terms of providing a written description, all ranges disclosed herein also encompass any and all possible subranges and combinations of subranges thereof. Any listed range can be easily recognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range being broken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, tenths, etc. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein can be readily broken down into a lower third, middle third and upper third, etc. As will also be understood by one skilled in the art all language such as “up to,” “at least,” and the like include the number recited and refer to ranges which can be subsequently broken down into subranges as discussed above. Finally, as will be understood by one skilled in the art, a range includes each individual member. Thus, for example, a group having 1-3 cells refers to groups having 1, 2, or 3 cells. Similarly, a group having 1-5 cells refers to groups having 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 cells, and so forth.
Various of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be combined into many other different systems or applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art, each of which is also intended to be encompassed by the disclosed embodiments.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US14/23192 | 3/11/2014 | WO | 00 |
