A suction holder for sucking and holding a holding target member includes a sucker, a tube bellows connected to a lower end of the sucker, and a tube arranged inside the tube bellows and having an upper end positioned lower than an upper end of the sucker. A lower opening of the tube is communicated with a suction source and the holding target member is contacted with the upper end of the sucker to form a closed room, and the inside of the closed room is placed into a negative pressure state to hold the holding target member.

A thin ribbon spirally wound polymer conduit and method of forming, wherein a helical reinforcing bead is interposed adjacent overlapping layers of ribbon. Further, a method of continuously forming spirally wound conduit wherein a sacrificial layer, preferably having a different base polymer to that of the conduit, is first applied to the former before the conduit is formed overtop.

An apparatus of separating a flexible panel from a glass substrate is provided. The apparatus includes a console, a movable object fixing table, a position catcher, a lifting platform, and a suction separator. The console respectively drives the movable object fixing table and the lifting platform to move to a first position and a second position according to a real-time position of a fixed object captured by the position catcher, and an adhesive element of the suction separator tightly attaches to the flexible panel of the fixed object, drives the lifting platform to move to a direction away from the movable object fixing table, and drives the movable object fixing table to move to a direction away from the suction separator to separate the flexible panel from the glass substrate of the fixed object and fix the flexible panel on the adhesive element.

According to various embodiments of the present invention, an electronic device comprises: a heating unit, which includes a lower heating unit and an upper heating unit rotatably coupled to the lower heating unit, and heats an external electronic device mounted on at least one surface of the lower heating unit; a fixing unit, which is disposed to be adjacent to the lower heating unit, and has at least one part formed to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the lower heating unit, thereby fixing the external electronic device; a adsorption unit having one part, which is inserted into at least one recess formed on the upper heating unit, and adsorbing at least a region of the external electronic device; and a driving unit, which is disposed at one side or a surrounding part of the heating unit, can move in the direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the fixing unit, and rotates the upper heating unit by pressurizing the same.

A thin ribbon spirally wound polymer conduit and method of forming, wherein a helical reinforcing bead is interposed adjacent overlapping layers of ribbon. Further, a method of continuously forming spirally wound conduit wherein a sacrificial layer, preferably having a different base polymer to that of the conduit, is first applied to the former before the conduit is formed overtop.

A method of removing backing film from a sheet element is provided. The sheet element has a preimpregnated layer, and sheets of backing film are adhered to the top and bottom of the preimpregnated layer. The backing film has a different coefficient of thermal expansion than the preimpregnated layer, and a plane of the sheet element is defined by the peripheral edge. A shear strain is created between the backing films and the preimpregnated layer by cooling the sheet element. A fluid stream is directed at a portion of the peripheral edge, the fluid stream being directed in the plane of the sheet element. The fluid stream causes the backing films to separate from the top and bottom of the preimpregnated layer. A differential pressure is simultaneously applied to the backing films relative to the fluid stream to cause the backing films to be removed from the preimpregnated layer.

A transfer apparatus holdes a plate-shaped workpiece under suction in a noncontact condition and transfers the workpiece. The transfer apparatus includes a base, a Bernoulli transfer pad fixed to the base for spraying air toward the workpiece to produce a vacuum, and a moving unit for moving the base. The Bernoulli transfer pad includes a cylindrical pad body. The pad body has a lower surface as a holding surface to which a fluid spraying portion opens and an annular pad mounting portion for mounting an annular pad. When the annular pad is mounted on the annular pad mounting portion, the holding surface is increased in a radial direction of the pad body to thereby increase a suction force for sucking the workpiece.

A blade includes an edge to be pressed against an end portion of a carrier film to fold the end portion upwards from a sheet. A clamp mechanism peels the carrier film off from the sheet by moving while clamping the upwardly folded end portion of the carrier film.

The present invention provides a method for enhancing the specific uptake of a neurotoxin polypeptide into cells, the method comprising: incubating cells susceptible to neurotoxin intoxication with a neurotoxin polypeptide for a time and under conditions which allow for the neurotoxin polypeptide to exert its biological activity, the incubation comprising at least one of the following steps: (i) K.sup.+-mediated depolarization of the cells, (ii) a reduced neurotoxin polypeptide exposition time and/or (iii) agitation of the cells during neurotoxin polypeptide exposition, thereby enhancing the specific uptake of the neurotoxin polypeptide into said cells. In addition, the invention pertains to a method for directly determining the biological activity of a neurotoxin polypeptide in cells, comprising: a) incubating cells susceptible to neurotoxin intoxication with a neurotoxin polypeptide for a time and under conditions which allow for the neurotoxin polypeptide to exert its biological activity, the incubation comprising at least one of the following steps: (i) K.sup.+-mediated depolarization of the cells, (ii) a reduced neurotoxin polypeptide exposition time and/or (iii) agitation of the cells during neurotoxin polypeptide exposition; b) fixing the cells and, optionally, permeabilizing the cells with a detergent; c) contacting the cells with at least a first capture antibody specifically binding to the non-cleaved and neurotoxin-cleaved substrate and with at least a second capture antibody specifically binding to the cleavage site of the neurotoxin-cleaved substrate, under conditions which allow for binding of said capture antibodies to said substrates; d) contacting the cells with at least a first detection antibody specifically binding to the first capture antibody, under conditions which allow for binding of said first detection antibody to said first capture antibody, thus forming first detection complexes and with at least a second detection antibody specifically binding to the second capture antibody, under conditions which allow for binding of said second detection antibody to said second capture antibody, thus forming second detection complexes; e) determining the amount of the first and second detection complexes of step d); and f) calculating the amount of substrate cleaved by said neurotoxin polypeptide in said cells by means of the second detection complexes, thereby determining the biological activity of said neurotoxin polypeptide in said cells.

A label applicator with a label peeling function includes a frame supported by a support machine, a suction unit that is supported by the frame and has a suction pad, a claw member having a sharp tip that is disposed under the suction pad, a moving mechanism that is supported by the frame, and supports the claw member so as to be movable in an up-down direction relative to the suction pad, and a lock device that locks movement of the claw member in the up-down direction relative to the suction pad, in a state where the suction pad is placed on top of and in contact with an end of a label lying on the tip of the claw member.