An optical sensor unit for detecting a predetermined object to be detected comprises an optical element, a connector for connection to a wiring cable of an external equipment, and a printed circuit board having a predetermined printed wiring thereon for connecting the optical element to the connector while the optical element is completely sealed by the printed circuit board at the lower end thereof and by the case at the upper portion and sides thereof whereby reduction of quantity of the light emitted from the optical element due to collection of dust can be prevented and whereby the attachment and detachment operations of the optical sensor unit can be effected with ease.

The present invention relates to an optical sensor unit adapted to be used in detecting precisely a position, a shape, a transfer speed, etc of the papers such as a bank note, a printing paper and the like which are transferred in a cash dispenser, a duplicating machine and the like.
The prior art optical sensor unit comprises a light emitting element and a light receiving element positioned opposite the emitting element while a transfer path composed of two transfer guides for guiding the papers is interposed between the light emitting element and the light receiving element for detecting the position, the shape transfer speed, etc. by measuring quantity of light received by the light receiving element which is varied in the company of the papers on the transfer path.
The arrangement of the prior art optical sensor unit will be described more in detail.
The light emitting element and the light receiving element composed of respectively LED, etc. are soldered on a printed circuit board and fixed thereto. The printed circuit board having a previously printed wiring pattern thereon is capable of connecting the light emitting element to the light receiving element by soldering a signal line of the external equipment on the printed circuit board. The printed circuit board is fixed to the transfer guides forming the transfer path by screwing a bracket fixed to the cash dispenser or the duplicating machine etc.
The light emitting element is housed in a rubber cylinder provided between the transfer guides and the printed circuit board to prevent dust, paper dust etc. attached to the papers from attaching to an optical element. The transfer guides have holes closed by transparent glasses and positioned with the optical sensor unit so as to transmit and receive the light of the optical sensor unit.
The light receiving element has same structure as the light emitting element and is positioned opposite the light emitting element so that both optical axes are aligned with each other.
There are following problems in the prior art optical sensor unit.
Firstly, the rubber tube is slightly pressed toward the transfer guides to prevent the optical sensor unit from being blocked by the dust, paper dust, etc. However, an impact resilience force generated by the pressing operation of the rubber tube toward the transfer guides makes the printed circuit board fixing the optical sensor unit (composed of light emitting and receiving elements) flexible whereby the optical axis of the light emitting element does not align with that of the light receiving element, namely, the axes are displaced with respect to each other. As a result, the light emitted from the light emitting element can not be accurately received by the light receiving element, which results in generating an erroneous operation. Accordingly, the fixing position of the bracket or the length of the rubber tube are required to be considerably accurate to obtain an appropriate pressing force of the rubber tube toward the transfer guides without displacing the optical axes of the optical sensor unit.
Furthermore, since the signal line from the exterior apparatus is directly soldered on the printed circuit board, it is difficult to detach the signal line from or attach the signal line to the bracket, which is liable to cause breaking of the signal line.
Still furthemore, it involves difficult work to exchange the optical sensor unit with another optical sensor unit since the signal line of the exterior apparatus is fixed and the printed circuit board is fixed to a bracket by the screw.

Optical sensor unit with sealed optical element and cable connector


According to one claim of the invention, a method for occluding a fallopian tube in a vertebrate subject is described, which comprises comprising transcervically delivering a solid blocking material into the fallopian tube. In various embodiments, a fluid sealing material is delivered along with the solid blocking material. Other claims of the invention pertain to articles of manufacture, delivery devices and kits for use in occluding the fallopian tubes of a vertebrate subject.

Tubal ligation is a common method for the prevention of unwanted pregnancy. For example, a commonly used method is to tie off or clamp the fallopian tube under laparoscopy or mini-laparoscopy surgical procedures. Another approach is to tie each fallopian tube in two locations and cut the intermediate section. Other methods of ligation are electrodesiccation of the tubes to achieve ligation. There are risks of injury, scarring, cost, and recovery time associated with such surgical procedures.
Fallopian tubal ligation also can be achieved through hysteroscopic procedures. Essure microinserts are made of nitinol wrapped with dacron and are used to block the fallopian tubes once tissue in-growth completely blocks the fallopian tube. This hysteroscopic method is not effective immediately and a follow up confirmatory test after three months is required to ensure fallopian tubes are completely blocked. In the meantime alternative birth control is required. Other procedures involve the injection of various compositions within each of the fallopian tubes to block the tubes. In still other techniques, radiofrequency energy is used to thermally damage the fallopian tube, causing scarring, which occludes the tube.

Occlusion of fallopian tubes in a vertebrate subject


Apparatus, including an enclosure, a fluid-tight bag located within the enclosure, and a fluid-tight valve connected to the fluid-tight bag. The apparatus also has a tube, having a first end connected to the fluid-tight bag via the fluid-tight valve, and a second end connected to a balloon within a breast implant fitted to an implantee. The apparatus further includes a spindle, located within the enclosure, connected to the fluid-tight bag, and configured to rotate under control of the implantee so as to roll the fluid-tight bag onto the spindle or to unroll the fluid-tight bag from the spindle, and thus transfer a fluid, contained in the balloon, the tube, and the fluid-tight bag, therebetween.

There are a number of devices which are known in the art that may be used after a mastectomy.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,852,833, to Koneke, et al., whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a breast prosthesis which comprises a semi-rigid flat bottom portion with a first inner covering portion extending over the bottom.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,440, to Cohen, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a breast prosthesis comprising inner and outer flexible containers, each having a self-sealing valve associated therewith. The valves are arranged in such a fashion that each container can be separately filled with fluid.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,080,057, to Kronowitz, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a prosthesis that may be inserted into a breast and may be inflated to preserve the shape of the breast skin envelope. The prosthesis may include a base, and a balloon coupled to the base, where the balloon may be inflated to preserve the shape of the breast skin envelope.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,394,118, to Jones, et al., whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a tissue expansion system, comprising an implantable tissue expander comprising an expandable chamber completely surrounding a compressed gas reservoir, wherein the expandable chamber is adapted to be a non-elastic chamber with a pre-formed breast shape.
U.S. Patent Application 2005/0284215, to Falsetti, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes apparatus for the preoperative estimation of breast implant volume, in which a volume of air, water, or other substance is used to inflate one or more bladders located within the cups of a brassiere-like garment.
Documents incorporated by reference in the present patent application are to be considered an integral part of the application except that, to the extent that any terms are defined in these incorporated documents in a manner that conflicts with definitions made explicitly or implicitly in the present specification, only the definitions in the present specification should be considered.


A method is provided for the preparation of a semifinished product made of fiber material with an upper side and with an underside prior to a wet-pressing process. The method includes following steps: arrangement of a semifinished product made of fiber material with the underside on a preparation area with a large number of suction apertures, application of a reduced pressure to the underside of the semifinished product by way of the suction apertures, and introduction of a flowable matrix material by way of the upper side of the semifinished product.

The present invention relates to a method for the preparation of a semifinished product made of fiber material prior to a wet-pressing process, as well as to a preparation device for the preparation of the semifinished product made of fiber material prior to the wet-pressing process.
Methods for the preparation of semifinished products made of fiber material prior to wet-pressing processes are known in principle. For instance, so-called stacks that are embodied as multilayer fiber material are placed on preparation surfaces having a table form. Then, a flowable matrix material is introduced as a matrix substance from the upper side. Once the matrix substance has passed through and penetrated essentially all of the fiber material of the semifinished product, the saturated semifinished product may then be placed into the wet-pressing tool. There, the wet-pressing process is performed. However, in order to also be able to adequately saturate particularly thick semifinished products made of a plurality of layers of fiber material, it is not enough to introduce the matrix substance just from the upper side. On the contrary, for adequate saturation of the fiber material when the semifinished product is in multiple fiber layers, the semifinished product must be divided up. For instance, a maximum of approximately three to five-layer semifinished products are possible so that, for semifinished products that are thicker, individual semifinished product stacks must be placed on top of one another in a sandwich-like fashion. The matrix substance is introduced between the individual contact layers of the individual semifinished product stacks and may thus penetrate intimately into each semifinished product stack.
The tremendous complexity required for producing the individual semifinished product stacks is a drawback for the known methods. For instance, a plurality of individual semifinished product stacks, and not just one single semifinished product, must be produced for an entire structural component. The semifinished products are frequently unrolled from rolls of woven or nonwoven fabric made of fiber material, different layers being created from a plurality of rolls. This is followed by a cutting process to define the basic geometry of the semifinished product by cutting. If a plurality of two or even more different semifinished product stacks are needed to introduce the matrix substance in a sandwich-like fashion, at the least this also doubles the cutting process, the transport process, and all of the other steps starting from the production of the semifinished product all the way to saturating it with the matrix substance. If three or even more individual semifinished product stacks are needed, the complexity described consequently increases three-fold or more. This is critical in particular with respect to the time needed for production. The costs also rise sharply.
It is the object of the present invention to eliminate at least some of the drawbacks described in the foregoing. In particular, it is the object of the present invention to provide a method for the preparation of a semifinished product made of fiber material prior to a wet-pressing process, as well as to provide a corresponding preparation device that permits the flowable matrix substance to be introduced in a simple and cost-effective manner, even for thick semifinished products.
This and other objects are achieved according to the invention by a method for preparing a semifinished product made of fiber material, and having an upper side and an underside, prior to a wet-pressing process. The inventive method includes the following steps:                arranging a semifinished product made of fiber material with the underside on a preparation surface having a large number of suction apertures;        applying a negative pressure to the underside of the semifinished product via the suction apertures; and        introducing a flowable matrix substance via the upper side of the semifinished product.
Thus, in one aspect of the invention, the material substance is introduced in a flowable manner exclusively via the upper side of the semifinished product. This makes it possible to do without the sandwich-like introduction of the matrix substance. In accordance with the invention, assistance is provided in order to ensure adequate penetration of the flowable matrix substance, regardless of the thickness of the semifinished product, that is, regardless of the number of layers of fiber material for the semifinished product. This assistance is provided by the negative pressure on the underside of the semifinished product.
If the semifinished product is arranged on the preparation surface with a large number of suction apertures, a negative pressure may then be applied to the underside. This negative pressure is generated, for example, using a compressor. By way of the negative pressure, a suction effect is created from the upper side of the semifinished product towards the underside. If a flowable matrix substance is now applied to the upper side of the semifinished product, in addition to the acting capillary forces and in addition to the acting gravity, this negative pressure assists the introduction of the flowable matrix substance. In other words, a fluid front for the matrix substance forms, which, and in addition to the previously mentioned effects, is also drawn through the thickness of the semifinished product by the negative pressure.
Naturally, a sensor element may be provided in the suction apertures to prevent the matrix substance from being introduced into these suction apertures. According to one advantageous development, it is also possible for a precise time control element to be used to define the point in time when the semifinished product has been completely penetrated by the flowable matrix substance. In the latter case, it would also be possible to do without complex sensor elements.
Proceeding from the preparation method in accordance with the present invention, the saturated semifinished product may now be placed, in a known manner, in a subsequent wet-press molding tool. The wet-pressing step for the wet-pressing process is then performed in the conventional and known manner.
The semifinished product in the context of the present invention is, in particular, a multilayer component, particularly preferably having a thickness that is relatively thick, in the range of approximately 2 to approximately 4 mm or more. A vacuum in the range of between approximately −0.2 bar and approximately −0.6 bar, in particular, is used for the negative pressure. Naturally, compressor devices may be used that can generate the negative pressure using a fluid-communicating connection to the suction apertures.
The semifinished product may also be called a stack, depending on how it is structured. The semifinished product may be produced in a known manner, for example, from rolls. Non-woven fabrics or woven fabrics or scrim made of the fiber material may be used.
In accordance with the inventive method, it is also possible, in particular, to saturate semifinished products that have complex geometries. Complex geometries shall be construed especially to include thick components and components with steep component edges. A steep component edge is defined by the side angle with respect to the horizontal in the wet-press molding tool, which is in the range between approx. 50° and approx. 90°.
After being introduced, the matrix substance is cured within the wet-pressing process. A resin substance, for instance, especially an epoxide resin, may be used as the matrix substance.
The method according to the invention may be refined in that arranged on the preparation surface is a stencil that covers sections of the suction apertures and, in particular, corresponds to the geometric shape of the semifinished product. A stencil shall be construed to be an element that is placed on the preparation surface. Correspondence with the geometric shape of the semifinished product shall be construed to mean, in particular, framing the semifinished product. In addition to framing, however, overhanging or overlapping the semifinished product is also possible. The stencil covers the suction apertures in a manner such that there are two options for how the stencil is embodied. First, it may be that the stencil is embodied impermeable to fluid, that is, the suction apertures at this location have no effect. However, it is also possible for the stencil to have its own interchangeable suction apertures that are distributed differently than the other suction apertures. Thus, the suction performance is changed so that the negative pressure may be varied. This supports the intentional application of negative pressure in individual sections of the semifinished product. However, the simplest solution is a stencil that is impermeable to fluid that is placed encircling the semifinished product. This makes it possible to use a large preparation surface, even for small semifinished products, without it being necessary to adjust the preparation surface. It is also possible to prepare a large number of semifinished products at the same time in the inventive manner.
Another advantage is obtained when, prior to the semifinished product being arranged on the preparation surface, an interchangeable insert adapted to the semifinished product is arranged on the preparation surface. In contrast to a stencil, an interchangeable insert shall be construed to mean a component that is inserted into the preparation surface, e.g. into a depression. The interchangeable insert may also be embodied both impermeable to fluid and having its own alternative apertures. Thus it may be adapted to the geometric shape of the semifinished product in the same manner as was described for the stencil. It is also possible for a defined negative pressure to be applied to individual sections of the semifinished product in a targeted manner using different interchangeable apertures.
Moreover, it is advantageous when the semifinished product made of fiber material is embodied as a multilayer semifinished product, especially with more than six layers. Thicknesses preferably in the range of approx. 2 mm to approx. 4 mm are provided. The thicker the semifinished product, the greater the advantage of the inventive method, because it is possible for the matrix substance to be introduced continuously from the upper side. However, the inventive method even provides advantages for thin semifinished products, since, in particular, it is possible to introduce the matrix substance more rapidly and thus a savings in time is achieved.
The method according to the invention may be refined in that at least sections of the semifinished product made of fiber material have the fibers in one of the following forms:                Fiber non-woven fabric,        Fiber woven fabric.
Combinations of the possible forms of the previously mentioned, non-exhaustive list are possible in the context of the invention. Preferably, the individual fibers, that is, the fiber non-woven fabric or the fiber woven fabric, are arranged on roller tracks that may be placed one on top of the other, unrolled together and cut. This is a particularly cost-effective and simple way to produce the semifinished product.
The subject-matter of the present invention is likewise a preparation device for the preparation of a semifinished product made of fiber material prior to a wet-pressing process. Such a preparation device has a preparation surface for arranging the underside of the semifinished product. The inventive preparation device is distinguished in that the preparation surface has a large number of suction apertures that are configured for applying a negative pressure to the underside of the semifinished product. A compressor device that is in fluid-communicating connection with the suction apertures may be provided, for instance. The preparation surface may have corresponding fluid connectors for this purpose. The preparation device is used in particular for executing an inventive method such that the same advantages are attained using the inventive preparation device as have been explained in detail with respect to an inventive method.
The preparation device may be further developed in that an interchangeable insert and/or a stencil that covers the suction apertures of an interchangeable section is provided for at least one interchangeable section of the preparation surface. It is also possible to use combinations of interchangeable insert and stencil. Refer to the pertinent paragraphs relating to the method for definitions of the terms "interchangeable insert" and "stencil." In both cases, interchangeable insert and/or stencil may be impermeable to fluid and may also be provided with their own interchangeable suction apertures. Naturally it may be provided that the interchangeable insert and/or the stencil may be fixed using fixing devices in order to maintain a defined position while the method is executed. In particular with large numbers of a defined shape for the semifinished product, such components in the form of interchangeable insert and/or stencil are advantageous because the speed when changing between two semifinished products may be increased significantly.
It is also advantageous when, in one embodiment of the preparation device, the interchangeable insert and/or the stencil has its own interchangeable suction apertures that are connected to the suction apertures of the preparation surface in a fluid-communicating manner. In particular, the interchangeable insert and/or the stencil may have a sub-volume over the surface so that the fluid-communicating connection is made available in a particularly cost-effective and simple manner. Thus closed and opened regions may be provided in a simple manner within the interchangeable insert and/or the stencil. The surface-area variation of the pressure or a pre-defined pressure distribution may thus be applied to the underside of the semifinished product in a particularly cost-effective and simple manner.
When providing interchangeable suction apertures, it may be advantageous for the suction apertures, and/or the interchangeable suction apertures in the inventive preparation device, to be distributed uniformly or essentially uniformly. This uniform or essentially uniform distribution provides for cost-effective and simple production of the component in question. It is also possible to attain in a uniform manner an essentially continuous fluid front when introducing the matrix substance. Naturally, uniformly distributed suction apertures may be combined with non-uniformly distributed interchangeable suction apertures and vice versa.
Alternatively, in an embodiment of the preparation device, it is also possible for the suction apertures and/or the interchangeable suction apertures to be distributed in a non-uniform manner in order to provide different suction sections. In this manner pressure distributions that extend two-dimensionally are possible. There may also be an adaptation to regions of the semifinished product that have different thicknesses so that the pressure distribution reflects the thickness distribution and thus an appropriately embodied fluid front is produced.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Method for the preparation of a semifinished product made of fiber material prior to a wet-pressing process

Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft


The invention provides a system for selective reduction of infrared signature of a vehicle subjected to aerodynamic heating. Liquid coolant under pressure vaporizes in porous sections of the skin of the vehicle to transpiration-cool the skin. Adjacent downstream solid skin sections are film-cooled by the vapor introduced in the boundary layer. Coolant flow control is achieved by pressurizing the liquid coolant, by modulating flow control valves, and, optionally, by configuring the porous section to operate as a cavitating venturi, or combinations of these methods.

Various transpiration and film cooling techniques have been used for reducing the deleterious effects of aerodynamic heating on high-speed aerospace vehicles. The primary emphasis has been the reduction in heating to prevent structural degradation of various surfaces on vehicles during operations such as reentry into the atmosphere or hypersonic atmospheric flight. Many prior art systems employ a gaseous coolant for simplicity in system design and control. These systems typically use a compressed inert gas such as nitrogen or helium stored on board the vehicle or air from the low-pressure compressor section of a jet engine powering the vehicle. The use of gaseous coolants does not take advantage of the latent heat of vaporization available through the use of phase change liquid or solid coolants. The limitation in cooling capacity of gaseous systems and the limits of storage capability for inert gas coolants makes the use of a phase change coolant desirable.
Liquid or solid phase change transpiration cooling systems have typically been designed in prior art systems to store the coolant at or near the surface which requires cooling. The coolant is vaporized by heat conduction from the surface to be cooled and the vapor is transpired through pores in the surface. Typically the pores in the surface have been sealed with a material which has been melted away by heating of the surface or is blown out by vapor pressure from the vaporized coolant. For use in the cooling of reentry vehicles and hypersonic flight vehicles, emphasis has been placed in the prior art on passive systems responding only to an increase of surface temperature beyond the vaporization point of the coolant. Sufficient coolant is therefore required for use during the entire period of potentially deleterious heating.
Typically, cooling systems for infrared signature reduction do not require continuous use. The temperatures of interest for reduction of infrared signature are usually well below the temperature for onset of any structural degradation. The use of a controllable system which is operable on command during critical mission segments when infrared signature reduction is required is therefore desirable. On board storage of the coolant may be remote from the surface to be cooled and the quantity of coolant may be based on an estimated time period for use independent of actual aerodynamic heating loads on the vehicle.
Prior art infrared signature reduction techniques included transmission of heat from the surface of a vehicle to interior structure or stored fuel through the use of fuel circulation or direct heat conduction techniques such as heat pipes. These techniques have only marginal utility due to the limited heat storage capability of such systems. In addition, the initial temperature gradient between the surface to be cooled and the structure or fuel storage decreases as heat is transported from the surface to the storage, thereby decreasing the heat transfer rate and reducing cooling capability.
The use of gaseous coolants in infrared signature reduction systems requires significant coolant flow rates due to the low heat capacity of gaseous coolants and low heat transfer coefficients characteristic of gas forced convection cooling. The concomitant plumbing size for satisfactory pressure losses to achieve the high flow rates is impractical for most surface cooling applications. A coolant system using a phase change to take advantage of the latent heal of vaporization offers approximately ten times the heat capacity of a system using only gas cooling. Therefore, a ten-fold savings in coolant weight may be obtained using a phase change system as compared to an open loop or sacrificial gaseous cooling system. Similarly, the weight of closed loop systems using only gaseous cooling and recirculating the coolant is prohibitive.
It is, therefore, desirable to have an efficient liquid-to-vapor phase change coolant system which is controllable to allow on command usage and accurate surface temperature control to provide an optimum infrared signature reduction system.

Infrared signature reduction of aerodynamic surfaces


According to one embodiment, a solid-state imaging device includes a semiconductor region, a first diffusion layer, a second diffusion layer, a third diffusion layer, an insulating film, a potential layer, and a read electrode. The semiconductor region includes first and second surfaces. The first diffusion layer is formed in the first surface. The first diffusion layer's concentration is a maximum value in a position at a first depth. The charge accumulation layer has a second depth. The second diffusion layer contacts the first diffusion layer. The third diffusion layer is formed in a position which faces the second diffusion layer in respect to the first diffusion layer. The insulating film is formed on the first surface. The potential layer is formed on the insulating film and has a predetermined potential. The read electrode is formed on the insulating film.

In a solid-state imaging device, such as a CMOS, an electron-hole pair is produced in a semiconductor substrate by light that has passed through a filter, and only electrons are accumulated in an N-type diffusion layer, which functions as a charge accumulation portion, as disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2007-258684.
Recently, due to demand for increase in number of pixels and reduction in optical size, the N-type diffusion layer tends to be reduced in size. This results in reduction in the number of electrons (hereinafter referred to as "number of saturated electrons") that may be accumulated in the N-type diffusion layer, and deteriorates quality of a photographed image at the time of playback.

Solid-state imaging device and method of controlling the same


A cable lift mechanism for a multi panel, overhead garage door includes a drum having a spiral groove comprised of two adjacent sections that are generally coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the cable drum. The groove or grooves in a first section adjacent the attachment end of the cable to the drum have a lesser radius than the remaining grooves of the second section of the drum which have substantially equal radii of greater diameter than the first section radii. As a consequence, initial torque associated with lifting of a garage door is increased to lift a heavier upper or top panel or panels of a multi-panel garage door.

In a principal aspect the present invention relates to a cable drum construction for a multiple panel garage door lift assembly. Garage doors, industrial doors and other closures for building openings may include multiple horizontal panels which are hinged together and collectively mounted on a track to enable movement of the multiple, pivotally connected panels between an open position and a closed position. To facilitate movement between and an open and a closed position, a motorized lift assembly or mechanism is typically provided. The lift assembly may include a spring biased cable arrangement which facilitates movement of the multiple, articulated, horizontal panels between the open and closed positions along a track.
Such lift assembly constructions or mechanisms thus may include a cable affixed to a lower panel of a door and wound on a drum attached to a spring biased torsion rod mounted on the frame or header for the door. The design of these constructions is well-known and the design of cable drums associated with such constructions has been the subject matter of various known developments including the disclosure in U.S. Pat. No. 7,343,958 issued Mar. 18, 2008 entitled Overhead Door Lift System, incorporated herewith by reference.
While cable door lift assembly designs have evolved over time, there remains a problem that has not been specifically addressed heretofore. That is, multi-panel doors conventionally comprise horizontal, hinged panels wherein all panels are of generally equal size, design and weight. For example, four identical panels may be arranged in an articulated or hinged array resulting in equal distribution of weight. Such constructions can be easily balanced for full travel along a track. However, often the first turn of a cable drum for such a multi-panel door includes a greater radius designed to decrease the initial spring lifting force and thereby make the closed door heavier and consequently assist maintaining the door in a vertical, fully closed position.
However, with many doors the top panel or section is heavier and as a consequence, the multiple sections of the door do not balance properly because torque per turn of the biasing door support spring is constant but the rate of change of the door weight is not constant. For example, the top section may be glazed, that is, include window panels incorporated therewith. Also the top panel may have a height dimension which is greater than the remaining door panel. Such glazing or extra height may cause a top panel to be heavier than the remaining sections or panels of the door. Therefore known prior art designs are not suitable to properly balance a door that comprises a heavier top panel or section. Further, once that top or heavier panel section rises into the horizontal position on the door track, that panel becomes less consequential with respect to movement of the entire assembly of door panels to the fully opened position. Thus, to accommodate an arrangement for lifting which includes a heavy top panel of a multi-panel door, is a problem that faces manufacturers of such panel doors.

Cable drum construction of door lift mechanism for multiple horizontal panel garage door with disproportionally heavy top portion


Apparatuses, systems, methods, and computer program products are disclosed for automated event migration. A method includes aggregating a set of events from one or more servers to a trusted hardware device. Certain different events of a set of events may be associated with different service providers. A method includes identifying, on a trusted hardware device, a repeating event from a set of events. A method includes prompting a user to migrate subsequent instances of a repeating event from one service provider to a different service provider of a plurality of service providers based on a likelihood that the aggregated set of events includes each event for the user of an event type of the aggregated set of events. A method includes migrating subsequent instances of a repeating event, using a user's electronic credentials, from one service provider to a different service provider in response to the user accepting a prompt.

As more and more of a user's data moves to the cloud, and more and more events or transactions become electronic, it has become increasingly difficult for a user to manage and/or update the user's own personal electronic events, many of which are automatically repeating and/or recurring. Users may therefore allow the events to continue to occur, even if they're no longer desired or using a service provider that is no longer optimal.
For example, on a hardware device, data may periodically be backed up to a different hardware device over a data network (e.g., a local backup, a cloud backup, or the like), an antivirus or security scan may periodically process the hardware device for threats, subscriptions to cloud services or downloadable software licenses may be automatically renewed and/or automatically paid, software updates may be automatically downloaded and/or installed, and/or other events may periodically occur. A user may easily lose track of repeating and/or recurring events, or may not even have an interface to cancel or change such events.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method of writing a mark to an optical disc includes receiving data to be written and generating a control signal for a laser pulse having a melt period that transitions to a growth period wherein the melt period is characterized by a melt power and the growth period is characterized by a growth power.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,775,218, which was previously incorporated by reference, discloses various write strategies for writing data to an optical discs. Those write strategies precisely manipulate the state of regions of an optical disc to store data. To increase data density, it is desirable to develop more advanced write strategies that even more precisely control regions of an optical disc to store data.
Further, it is important to develop write strategies for a variety of types of optical discs, including phase change optical discs and dye based optical discs. Such optical discs can be configured as rewritable, write once read many, read only or in any other appropriate manner. In addition such discs may conform to various standards defined for disc size, type of reading laser and thickness. Such standards include the various defined DVD standards, CD standards, and newer standards such as the standards being developed for use with blue lasers. In each case, effective write strategies need to be developed for data densities to be maximized.

Advanced high density data write strategy


At least one thermally conductive receptacle in thermal communication with the heat exchange engine, the thermally conductive receptacle is configured to receive and retain a volume of alcohol. The heat exchange engine is configured to extract heat from the thermally conductive receptacle and freeze solid the volume of alcohol when the volume of alcohol is received within the at least one thermally conductive receptacle. An extraction element is included and disposed within the housing, the extraction element configured to extract the frozen alcohol from the thermally conductive receptacle.

The ability to serve a cold beverage has led to a century long revolution in the art of creating a cocktail. As bartenders began documenting recipes ice became an essential ingredient to mixology for its ability to cool a drink. As progressions in technology have happened consumers have developed preferences for the way a beverage is consumed. Specifically as to the cocktail evolution, language has been developed when ordering a drink to give a consumer control over the dilution factor of the alcohol beverage since there are few capable alternatives to water ice. Terms like Straight/Neat mean No Ice served in the beverage. "Shaken" means a mixed drink shook with Ice in a "shaker" then served. Some other options are Stirred Ice, Crushed Ice, Blended Ice, or Chipped Ice. The problem is, other than the Neat/Straight option each waters down the drink and changes the complexity of the spirit itself thereby leaving a gap by not giving the consumer a choice of something that is both pure and cool. Spirit companies go through great lengths to acquire water rights at particular sources due to the impact varying water has on the taste of the final product. Any foreign water or ice not from the alcohol distillery site changes the entire chemical make-up of the spirit resulting in a different taste altogether than the intention compounded by the issue that every different water source the ice is created from a different taste follows.
Ice has been used since the early 1800's to preserve medicine and food. However, as Fredrick Tudor revolutionized the "ice trade" it quickly spread to businesses and wealthy individuals. Soon ice became the essential ingredient to American mixology. However, as centuries of ice revolution continued attempts to create a frozen alcoholic beverage cube failed. Later ice trends aspired to create a frozen alcoholic ice cube but were often left with a "slushy" or blended drink partially frozen or excessive waste from the un-frozen product.
One problem in the current systems has been the inability to freeze alcoholic beverages containing ethanol into a frozen beverage cube. Indeed, traditional methods to prevent liquid from freezing have included ethanol as an additive ever since "antifreeze" was first conceived in the mid 1800's. This is so because ethanol has a freezing point of −114 degrees Celsius, which is significantly lower than the 0 degrees Celsius freezing point of water. However, attempts to freeze ethanol and serve it as an alcoholic beverage have failed because of its substantially cooler freezing point than water, coupled with a typical commercial and home freezer's capacity to only reach a temperature of −18 degrees Celsius or higher. The use of liquid nitrogen as a coolant to freeze alcohol, while sufficient to freeze liquid alcohol presents safety concerns in its use. In particular, alcohol frozen with liquid nitrogen may contain infused liquid nitrogen in the beverage, that when consumed and heated result in a phase change from liquid to gas which may rapidly expands in the stomach leading to gastrointestinal maladies.


A strain relief apparatus for use with at least one optical fiber mounted between plies within a matrix of a generally planar laminated composite structure wherein the fiber extends from a surface of the composite structure. The apparatus has an anchor that has a distal portion, a proximal portion and an orifice extending therethrough, wherein the proximal portion is configured to be embedded within the composite structure with the distal portion extending from the composite structure and the optical fiber extending through the orifice. In one embodiment, protective cabling is adapted to be threaded over the optical fiber and the protective cabling is secured to the distal anchor portion to provide strain relief to the optical fiber. In another embodiment, a ferrule is adopted to extend over the optical fiber and is mounted within the distal anchor portion to protect the optical fiber. In another embodiment, the anchor is designed such that the orifice increases in size to form a bend radius that provides strain relief to the fiber.

The present invention relates to the field of optical fibers. In particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus that provides strain relief for that portion of an optical fiber that is exterior to a surface of a composite structure.
Composite materials, such as graphite/epoxy laminates are rapidly replacing metal and other conventional materials in the manufacture of traditional structures. Normally, such materials are comprised of a variety of layers or plies of a fiber bonded together by a resin or polymer. Such composite structures are extremely strong and lightweight and therefore provide a good strength to weight ratio. Accordingly, these composite structures have gained wide acceptance in many industries, most notably the aircraft industry.
One disadvantage of a composite structure is that when subjected to reoccurring stress, the composite tends to fail catastrophically and in an unpredictable manner. Accordingly, there have been a number of methods and devices that have been utilized to measure the distributed strain in a composite structure.
Most of these techniques incorporate a network of optical fibers embedded between plies within a matrix of a composite structure. The stress which is placed on these fibers causes relative changes in the index of refraction of the fiber which in turn causes a change in the fiber's transmission impedance. In addition, stress placed on the fiber will cause the fiber to back-scatter a portion of optical energy introduced into the fiber. Therefore, an analysis of the composite structure can be performed by launching an optical energy pulse from an optical source, such as a laser, into the optical fibers within the matrix and toward an optical receiver. Alternatively, a reflective surface may be placed at the end of the fiber so that the optical pulse is reflected back to an optical source/receiver. The strain placed on the optical fiber and/or the possible discontinuities within the fiber can then be determined by measuring the elapsed time from the launching of the optical pulse to the reception of the optical pulse. In addition, an analysis of the back-scattering of the optical energy can also be performed.
Optical fiber sensing technology can be used to develop strain and deformation maps of the composite structure by continually monitoring and recording the ability of the optical fibers to transmit optical energy. Similarly, continuous optical monitoring will also detect sudden impacts to the composite structure along with micro-cracks within the structure. Accordingly, the optical fiber systems can be used to generate information on the composite structure throughout its manufacture, installation, maintenance, and use.
A basic concern arises, however, at the point where the optical fiber exits the composite structure. During the manufacture, maintenance, and installation of a composite structure, the fiber may be subjected to a variety of bending forces. An optical fiber can withstand a certain amount of bending, however, such a fiber cannot withstand extreme bending or shearing forces developed at the point of its exit from the composite structure. Therefore, the optical fiber can easily be damaged at points adjacent its exit from the composite structure during the manufacture, installation and maintenance of the composite structure.
A number of references have disclosed a system whereby optical fibers are embedded into a composite material so that the optical fibers may be used in conjunction with a variety of optical devices to monitor the integrity of the composite structure. For example, Lymer et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,649 discloses a damage evaluation system and method using optical fibers embedded within a composite panel. An input bundle of optical fibers is connected to a light source and an output bundle of fibers is connected to an output connector. However, there is no discussion with respect to providing strain relief to the optical fibers as they exit the optical panel.
Similarly, Spillman Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 4,983,034 discloses an optical frequency domain distributed strain sensor for determining the strain distribution along an optical fiber. An optical fiber is embedded within a strain producing structure and is attached to the sensing fiber circuit by a connector. No details are given as to providing strain relief to the fiber as it exits the strain-producing structure.
Therefore, there is a need for an apparatus that provides strain relief for an optical fiber mounted between plies within the matrix of a generally planar laminated composite structure, wherein the fiber extends from a surface of the composite structure.

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


A method for manipulating the bus communication of an electronic control device is provided, wherein the bus communication includes a bus hardware-independent first communication layer and a bus hardware-dependent second communication layer. The first communication layer encodes at least one piece of information in a first protocol data unit and transmits it to the second communication layer and/or the first communication layer receives the first protocol data unit from the second communication layer and decodes the first information from the first protocol data unit. The second communication layer generates bus hardware-dependent bus information from the first protocol data unit or from an additional protocol data unit derived from the first protocol data unit for transmission via the bus and/or the second communication layer generates the first protocol data unit or an additional protocol data unit, from which the first protocol data unit can be derived.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for manipulating a bus communication of a control device, whereby the bus communication includes at least one bus hardware-independent first communication layer and at least one bus hardware-dependent second communication layer.
Description of the Background Art
Methods for manipulating the bus communication of a control device are often used when a control device, which is connected or to be connected to other communication partners via a bus, is to be tested, particularly when the communication behavior of the control device itself is the object of the test. Methods for manipulating the bus communication of a control device are often used for this reason to test a control device and for testing the control device behavior in the event of error. Such methods are known, for example, as part of the so-called restbus simulation, in which real control devices are used in a hardware- and software-based simulated communication environment and their behavior is tested. Such methods are also known, however, as part of the restbus simulation of virtual control devices.
The first and the second communication layer can comprise additional sub-communication layers. The term "communication layer" is to be understood here substantially in the same sense as it is used, according to general understanding, for network protocols or bus protocols. Each communication layer typically provides functionalities to receive information from an adjacent communication layer and to pass it on prepared to another adjacent communication layer. With respect to the aforementioned division into a bus hardware-independent first communication layer and a bus hardware-dependent second communication layer, this means specifically that the first communication layer encodes at least one piece of information in a first protocol data unit and transmits it to the second communication layer and/or that the first communication layer receives the first protocol data unit from the second communication layer and decodes the information from the first protocol data unit. Information in the bus hardware-independent first communication layer refers here typically to an application-oriented datum, for example, a measured value, which has been recorded by the control device and is sent via a bus to another bus participant, or, for example, a variable calculated by the control device. The specific bus used in the particular case is not important for the methods being discussed either in the state of the art or in the method of the invention; the method can be used with any data buses. Examples of bus standards often used in industrial practice are CAN, LIN, or FlexRay. The information is encoded in the send direction, therefore from the first communication layer to the second communication layer, this means, for example, expanded by certain administrative information, and forwarded further to layers closer to the bus and in the present case, therefore, to the second communication layer. In the send and encode direction, the information is packed in the aforementioned protocol data unit. In the receive or decode direction, administrative information is correspondingly removed from the packed information, therefore the first protocol data unit, and finally the information is provided as such. If the first communication layer is capable of both sending and receiving, both the functionality of encoding and the functionality of decoding are implemented. The first communication layer for this reason is bus hardware-independent, because only such services are implemented in it that are independent of the specific bus hardware. In other words, the services realized in the bus hardware-independent layer are either independent of the bus system or dependent on the bus system, but not dependent on the specific bus hardware. The bus-independent first communication layer therefore lies above the communication hardware abstraction layers. For the example of a control device realized according to the AUTOSAR standard, the bus hardware-independent first communication layer then comprises application layer, runtime environment (RTE), and communication services (also including bus system-dependent parts, such as, e.g., CAN transport protocol or FlexRay transport protocol), but not the bus hardware-dependent driver layers, such as, e.g., CAN interface or FlexRay interface.
The bus hardware-dependent second communication layer as well comprises functionalities that realize the transmission of data in the send direction, therefore in the direction to the bus, or in the receive direction, therefore in the direction to the first communication layer, or the transmission of data in both directions. This means that the second communication layer generates bus hardware-dependent bus information from the first protocol data unit or from an additional protocol data unit derived from the first protocol data unit for transmission via the bus (send direction), and/or that the second communication layer generates the first protocol data unit or an additional protocol data unit, from which the first protocol data unit can be derived (receive direction), at least from a bus hardware-dependent bus information. Apart from the first protocol data unit, accordingly there can also be additional protocol data units, which are either derived from the first protocol data unit or from which the first protocol data unit can be derived. This takes into account only the fact that the second communication layer can comprise a plurality of sub-communication layers or protocol layers, each of which generates its corresponding protocol data unit, as has been explained in regard to the first protocol data unit. In the send direction, additional administrative information is typically added to each additional protocol data unit and in the receive direction the additional protocol data units are extracted in sub-communication layers or protocol layers until ultimately the first protocol data unit is obtained, from which the information is ultimately obtained in the first communication layer.
During the testing of control devices and the bus communication of control devices, there is interest in carrying out the testing as realistically as possible in order to obtain as meaningful a test result as possible. In regard to the control device this condition can be met in that in a testing environment merely the control device is used that corresponds in every respect to the series control device to be used later, which therefore has series hardware as well as series software.
For the testing of a real control device, other communication partners are frequently emulated within the scope of a restbus simulation on a hardware-in-the-loop simulator (HIL simulator), whereby not all communication partners need to be simulated, and some of the other communication partners can also be actually present. In the case of this restbus simulation also present in any event, errors can be generated relatively simply in the simulated restbus part, but errors cannot be simply injected between actually present control devices. If the communication between real control devices is to be manipulated as well, this is often realized with an error gateway. In an error gateway, in addition to the normal bus operating fault-free, a second "error bus" is provided, which in the case of error takes effect between two real control devices. The error gateway then mediates between the normal bus and the error bus, whereby the error gateway receives and decodes the data to be manipulated in the error case to be tested until such a protocol data unit is present in which an error is to be introduced, after which the manipulated message is again encoded and supplied to another control device via the error bus. It is readily evident that the manipulating of the bus communication of a control device via an error gateway is decidedly costly. Moreover, the restbus simulation with real control devices always requires that the control device is present also in its series version or at least as a hardware realization (so-called pre-series); this makes testing of the bus communication of a control device at an earlier time virtually impossible. Another fact is that the code, later used in the actual control devices, is not implemented in the restbus model of a simulated control device on an HIL simulator, so that the manipulated and tested bus communication does not correspond to the later actually realized bus communication.
The so-called virtual control devices initiate the testing exactly here. In contrast to the control device model of a restbus simulation, the code of a virtual control device already contains components of the series control device code, which is to be used later in the control device hardware.
Software that emulates a real control device in a simulation scenario is therefore called a virtual control device. The virtual control device in this case comprises, for example, the component of the application software, the runtime environment, and parts of the basic software as a serial control device code.
A virtual control device model is tested, for example, on a standard PC in an offline simulation or on a real-time simulator. In this regard, realistic effects such as the communication behavior are to be analyzed in the simulation.

Method for manipulating the bus communication of a control device

dSPACE digital signal processing and control engineering GmbH


The invention relates to a method for operating a computer system. The inventive method allows best possible utilization of the efficiency of a concrete target hardware by providing in a program alternative passages of which exactly one is selected for execution by the processor by means of a code.

Computer systems and the corresponding methods for operating them are generally known. A computer system—or computer for short—features a processor or a corresponding processing unit which is in a position to execute commands in accordance with a defined command set and to initiate the actions corresponding to the commands in each case. Processors and processing units of the above type are referred to in general terms below as processors.
There are processors of the type defined above in various performance classes and with different instruction sets. Whereas each processor will provide commands in some form or another, for adding two numbers for example, the number of commands that are to be executed on a processor to perform such an addition, e.g. an addition of two so-called long numbers, varies widely. If a first processor can address these two long numbers directly and has the corresponding internal registers in which these two long numbers can be buffered, the addition can for example be implemented with one or two processor commands. For another processor the same function can require significantly more processor commands to be executed, e.g. if the addition of the long numbers has to be executed byte-by-byte or word-by-word, so that the addition has to be broken down into individual part additions and finally in a concluding step any possible carry over has to be taken into account. The addition is then performed more quickly—disregarding the clock frequency with which the processor is controlled—on that processor on which fewer processor commands are to be executed.
Software programs which include such additions for example and are to be run on the processor or executed by the processor are currently usually coded using what are known as high-level programming languages. A specific translation program, known as the compiler, takes care of the translation of the commands of the programming language into commands which the processor can execute directly. This makes it clear that a compiler has previously been tailored to the processor concerned on which the compiled program is subsequently to be run.
For compilers which create executable code for the widely used processors from Intel, e.g. processors of type 8088, 8086, 80186, 80286, 80386, 80486, Pentium, etc. it is often possible to select the processors for which the compiler is to create the executable code. If for example executable code for execution on a processor of type 80486 has been created with the compiler, this code also contains those processor commands which distinguish a processor of type 80486 from for example a processor of type 8086. The execution of code optimized in this way for a processor of type 80486 is thereby more efficient than if the compiler had created code for a processor of type 8086 and this code were to be run on a processor of type 80486. To this extent there exists what is known as upwards compatibility between the processors listed above, as can also be found for processors of other well-known processor families. However no downwards compatibility is provided so that a code which was created for a processor of type 80486 cannot be executed on a processor of type 8086, since this code also features processor commands that only a processor of type 80486 is in a position to execute.
A program which has been created can thus not simply be transferred from a first processor onto a second processor with a different range of functions. When the program is transferred to a processor with a smaller range of functions it is under some circumstances not possible to execute the program since the processor with the smaller range of functions cannot execute some instructions contained in the program. When the program is transferred to a processor with a larger range of functions execution of the program is generally safeguarded, however the disadvantage is that the additional performance of the processor cannot be exploited.
What are known as preprocessors are already known from software development, which prepare a source program, source code as an input for the compiler by essentially executing textual expansions or replacements. The preprocessor is a specific software program which is used before the compiler is used. The preprocessor is able to recognize specific elements in the source code on the basis of a unique syntax or on the basis of a unique format. The usual case is for example an application in which the programmer provides instructions in the source code which make it easier to find possible errors during development. In the final program however these instructions should no longer be present. To do this the programmer embeds the corresponding instructions in a pre-processor instructions provided for this purpose, such as #if DEBUG . . . #endif. The result of these is that after the source code has been processed by the preprocessor, the instructions contained between the markers #if and #endif are only still included if the symbol DEBUG was defined. The programmer can thus almost operate a switch by defining a symbol which affects the type and scope of the generated program.


A method and system are provided for determining an imminent failure of a non-volatile memory array. The method includes: performing a first array integrity read of the memory array until an error is detected; determining that the error is not error correction code (ECC) correctable, wherein a first word line voltage associated with the error is characterized as being a first threshold voltage; performing a second array integrity read of the memory array until all bits of the memory array indicate a predetermined state, wherein a second word line voltage associated with all of the bits indicating the predetermined state is a second threshold voltage; and comparing a difference between the first and second threshold voltages to a predetermined value.

1. Field
This disclosure relates generally to non-volatile memories (NVMs), and more specifically, to imminent error prediction of memory cells of the NVMs.
2. Related Art
Non-volatile memories (NVMs) have a limited endurance. Much work has been done to increase this endurance, but there is currently no expectation of this endurance having no limit. An NVM is typically specified with a certain endurance that the NVM is guaranteed to meet which sets an expectation to the user. Individual NVMs will vary from this specified amount so that a few may not even meet the specified endurance whereas the others will exceed it and sometimes greatly exceed it. A user may keep using the NVM beyond the specified endurance unintentionally or even intentionally. In either case and even in the case where the NVM does not meet the specified endurance, as a result of a latent defect for example, it would be beneficial to warn the user of an imminent failure so that actions can be taken in advance of the actual failure. It is important that the prediction be accurate because a false alarm could result in actions being taken that are unnecessary. Also if there is an expectation of a warning, an actual failure without the warning could result in increased adverse affects because of the expectation of the warning.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide imminent failure warning for an NVM that improves upon one or more of the issues described above.

Non-volatile memory (NVM) with imminent error prediction


A hot-swap controller fault reporting system includes component(s), a hot-swap controller that is coupled to the component(s), and a hot-swap controller fault reporting subsystem that is coupled to the hot-swap controller. The hot-swap controller fault reporting subsystem identifies a hot-swap controller fault that was generated by the hot-swap controller and that is associated with the component(s), generates an Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) bit combination that is based on the hot-swap controller fault and that is configured to identify the hot-swap controller and a type of the hot-swap controller fault, and provides a log entry based on the IPMI bit combination in a log database.

The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to reporting hot-swap controller faults in information handling systems.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems such as, for example, server systems like the DELL EMC® POWEREDGE® XE7100 or the DELL EMC® POWEREDGE XE8545 available from DELL® EMC® of Hopkinton, Mass., United States and Round Rock, Tex., United States, would benefit from the implementation of hot-swap controllers to monitor, report, and protect the server system from faults with server components (e.g., short circuits, over-current draws, etc.) that could otherwise draw large currents that lead to server system damage, power losses, and/or other fault issues known in the art. However, currently such server systems do not include any ability to monitor such hot-swap controllers and report faults detected by those hot-swap controllers, and a customized monitoring/reporting solution for hot-swap controllers increases the costs associated with such server systems, while also limiting adoption by users that do not wish to dedicate resources to obtain the subsystems needed to support such customized monitoring/reporting solutions.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a hot-swap controller fault reporting system that addresses the issues discussed above.

Hot-swap controller fault reporting system


A composition that may be an electronic circuit element includes a metal nanoparticle, a silicone modified polyacrylate compound and a solvent. The silicone modified polyacrylate compound may be a silicone modified polyacrylate compound with at least one organic functional moiety. A method of forming conductive features on a substrate includes depositing a composition containing metal nanoparticles, a silicone modified polyacrylate compound and a solvent onto a substrate, and heating the deposited composition to a temperature from about 100° C. to about 200° C.

Fabrication of electronic circuit elements using liquid deposition techniques is of profound interest as such techniques provide potentially low-cost alternatives to conventional mainstream amorphous silicon technologies for electronic applications such as thin film transistors (TFTs), light-emitting diodes (LEDs), RFID tags, photovoltaics, and the like. However, the deposition and/or patterning of functional electrodes, pixel pads, and conductive traces, lines and tracks, which meet the conductivity, processing, and cost requirements for practical applications, have been a great challenge.
Solution-processable conductors are of great interest for use in such electronic applications. Metal nanoparticle-based inks represent a promising class of materials for printed electronics. However, most metal nanoparticles, such as silver and gold metal nanoparticles, require large molecular weight stabilizers to ensure proper solubility and stability in solution. These large molecular weight stabilizers inevitably raise the annealing temperatures of the metal nanoparticles above 200° C. in order to burn off the stabilizers, which temperatures are incompatible with most low-cost plastic substrates such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) that the solution may be coated onto and can cause damage thereto.
Furthermore, current metal nanoparticle compositions when deposited on a substrate often result in conductive metal ink lines that are too wide, exhibit a low conductivity and have a "coffee ring effect". "Coffee ring effect" is referred to herein as the widening of a deposited metal ink line such that it displays a bimodal line profile (two peaks) in a surface profile measurement. The deposition of a conductive metal ink lines that exhibit a coffee ring effect and/or are otherwise too wide may limit their use in certain applications.

Additive for robust metal ink formulations


Provided is a piezoelectric ceramic composition capable of being sintered at low temperatures and in a low-oxygen reductive atmosphere and capable of attaining a sufficient displacement even at high voltages of 1 kV/mm or more. The piezoelectric ceramic composition includes: a composite oxide, as a main constituent thereof, represented by the following composition formula; Cu and/or Ag, each as a first additive, Cu being included in a content α, in terms of Cu2O, falling within a range 0<α≦0.5% by mass and Ag being included in a content β, in terms of Ag2O, falling within a range 0<β≦0.4% by mass, in relation to the main constituent; wherein: composition formula: Pba[(Zn1/3Nb2/3)xTiyZrz]O3, where 0.96≦a≦1.03, 0.005≦x<0.05, 0.42≦y≦0.53, 0.45≦z≦0.56, and x+y+z=1.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a piezoelectric ceramic composition suitable for the piezoelectric layers in various piezoelectric elements such as an actuator, a piezoelectric buzzer, a sound component and a sensor, and to a laminated piezoelectric element using the above-mentioned composition, and in particular, relates to a piezoelectric ceramic composition capable of being sintered at temperatures of 950° C. or lower and in a low-oxygen reductive atmosphere.
2. Description of the Related Art
Piezoelectric ceramic compositions to be used in such a piezoelectric element are required to be high in piezoelectric properties, in particular, large in piezoelectric strain constant. As piezoelectric ceramics capable of attaining a large piezoelectric strain constant, there have hitherto been known, for example, a ternary system (PZT) composed of lead titanate (PbTiO3; PT), lead zirconate (PbZrO3; PZ) and lead zincate niobate (Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3), or a piezoelectric ceramic in which the lead (Pb) in the above-mentioned ternary system is partially substituted with strontium (Sr), barium (Ba), calcium (Ca) or the like.
However, these conventional piezoelectric ceramics require high sintering temperatures of the order of 1200° C.; consequently, in the production of laminated piezoelectric elements, it is necessary to use, for internal electrodes, high-price noble metals such as platinum (Pt) and palladium (Pd), leading to a problem of increased production cost. Accordingly, for the purpose of using a lower-price silver-palladium (Ag—Pd) alloy for internal electrodes, the sintering temperature has been demanded to be decreased.
Under these circumstances, the present applicant has proposed in Patent Document 1 to enable low-temperature sintering at 1050° C. or lower by adding a first additive containing at least one selected from Fe, Co, Ni and Cu and a second additive containing at least one selected from Sb, Nb and Ta to the above-mentioned ternary piezoelectric ceramic compositions, and consequently to make usable low-price materials such as a Ag—Pd alloy for internal electrodes.
Recently, use of copper (Cu), lower in price than the Ag—Pd alloy, for internal electrodes has been investigated. The use of Cu, having a melting point of 1085° C., for internal electrodes requires the sintering temperature to be set at 1050° C. or lower. In this connection, it is to be noted that Cu starts to be sintered at a further lower temperature, so that the sintering temperature is required to be set at a temperature as low as possible, for example, at 950° or lower. Additionally, Cu is a base metal, and sintering of Cu in air leads to oxidation thereof to make Cu unusable as electrodes. Accordingly, fabrication of laminated piezoelectric elements using Cu for internal electrodes requires the sintering to be carried out in a low-oxygen reductive atmosphere.
In response to the above-described requirement, the present applicant has proposed in Patent Document 2 a production method of a piezoelectric ceramic in which Pb in a ratio of 0.01 to 1.5% by mass in terms of oxide (PbO) and Cu in a ratio of 1% by mass or less in terms of oxide (CuO) are added to a calcined powder having a composition represented by (Pba−bMeb)[(Zn1/3Nb2/3)xTiyZrz]O3 and then sintering is carried out, wherein a, b, x, y and z are the values respectively falling within the following ranges 0.96≦a≦1.03, 0≦b≦0.1, 0.05≦x≦0.40, 0.1≦y≦0.5 and 0.2≦z≦0.6 with the proviso that x+y+z=1, and Me represents at least one element selected from the group consisting of strontium (Sr), calcium (Ca) and barium (Na).
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-137106
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-193414

Piezoelectric ceramic composition and laminated piezoelectric element


A shaft coupling assembly comprising a coupling element including a shaft receiving slot and retainer receiving aperture adjacent the shaft receiving slot; a retainer extendable through the retainer receiving aperture; and an axial shaft body configured to be inserted in the coupling element slot. A safety clip is configured to be retained on the coupling element with a first portion extending toward the shaft receiving slot. The first portion includes a retainer blocking edge and a pair of extensions. The first portion is moveable between an initial position wherein the blocking edge covers a portion of the retainer receiving aperture and a second position wherein the shaft body contacts the extensions and moves the edge such that the retainer receiving aperture is sufficiently clear to receive the retainer.

The present invention relates to shaft components. More particularly, the present invention relates to a safety mechanism for reducing the likelihood of an improper shaft assembly.
Shafts are utilized in many applications and generally require interconnection between the shaft and a secondary component. The secondary component can be an independent component or secondary shafts such that the shaft serves as an intermediate shaft. In both instances, the forward end 22 of the shaft 20 is interconnected with a coupling element 10 which in turn is interconnected with the secondary component (not shown).
Many different coupling elements can be utilized with the present invention, with an exemplary coupling element 10 illustrated in FIG. 1. The coupling element 10 has a shaft receiving and retaining slot 12 and a retaining bolt 16 or other retainer that is passed through and secured in a through bore 14 in the coupling element 10. Typically, the shaft 20 has a notch, annular groove or other form of bolt receiving recess 24 adjacent the forward end 22 of the shaft 20. The forward end 22 of the shaft 20 is first positioned in the slot 12 (as indicated by the arrow 1 in FIG. 1) with the bolt receiving recess 24 aligned with the through bore 14. Thereafter, the retaining bolt 16 is slid through the through bore 14 and bolt receiving recess 24 (as indicated by the arrow 2 in FIG. 1) and secured by a cotter pin, nut or the like. The retaining bolt 16 extending through the bolt receiving recess 24 permanently secures the shaft 20 to the coupling element 10.
In many applications, for example, a steering intermediate shaft, the interconnection of the shaft 20 and coupling element 10 occurs in a location with limited accessibility. As such, it is difficult to visually or manually check that the retaining bolt 16 is properly received in the bolt receiving recess 24. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the shaft 20 may not be fully inserted into the coupling element slot 12 when the retaining bolt 16 is inserted. As a result, the retaining bolt 16 is not received in the bolt receiving recess 24. In some instances, the forward end 22 of the shaft 20 jams between the inserted retaining bolt 16 and the inner surface 18 of the coupling element slot 12. If the shaft 20 is jammed sufficiently, it may give a rigid feeling to an assembly worker, thereby creating a false sense that the shaft 20 is properly interconnected. After some use, the shaft end 22 may dislodge from between the retaining bolt 16 and slot surface 18, thereby causing disassembly and failure of the coupling.
The present invention provides a shaft coupling assembly. The coupling assembly comprises a coupling element including a shaft receiving slot and a retainer receiving aperture adjacent the shaft receiving slot; a retainer extendable through the retainer receiving aperture; an axial shaft body configured to be inserted in the coupling element slot and including a retainer receiving recess adjacent the forward shaft end and configured to receive and retain the retainer after the shaft forward end is inserted in the coupling element shaft receiving slot. A safety clip is configured to be retained on the coupling element with a first portion extending toward the shaft receiving slot. The first portion includes a retainer blocking edge and a pair of extensions, one extension positioned on each side of the edge, extending beyond the edge into the shaft receiving slot. The first portion is moveable between an initial position wherein the edge covers a portion of the retainer receiving aperture and a second position wherein the shaft body contacts the extensions and moves the edge such that the retainer receiving aperture is sufficiently clear to receive the retainer.


A chilled arm that transports a substrate to and from a heating plate for performing a heating process on the substrate is formed with a flow passage pipe therein, and cools the entire holding area thereof opposed to the substrate held by the chilled arm to a predetermined reference temperature by supplying circulating cooling water through the flow passage pipe. Six polyimide heaters are affixed to the holding area to control the temperature of at least a portion of the holding area at a temperature different from the reference temperature. These two temperature control mechanisms intentionally provide a temperature distribution to the holding area to thereby provide an intentional temperature distribution to the substrate before and after the heat treatment by the heating plate. This reduces the nonuniformity of a temperature distribution which typically occurs in the heating plate to accomplish a uniform heat treatment throughout the heat treatment process step.

The present invention relates to a substrate transport apparatus and a heat treatment apparatus which place a substrate such as a semiconductor substrate, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a glass substrate for a photomask, a substrate for an optical disk and the like on a holding surface to perform a heat treatment on the substrate.
As is well known, semiconductor and liquid crystal display products and the like are fabricated by performing a series of processes including cleaning, resist coating, exposure, development, etching, interlayer insulation film formation, heat treatment, dicing, and the like on the above-mentioned substrate. An apparatus which performs a resist coating process on a substrate to transfer the substrate to an exposure unit and which receives an exposed substrate from the exposure unit to perform a development process on the exposed substrate, among the above-mentioned processes, is widely used as a so-called coater-and-developer.
The exposure unit (also known as a stepper) for performing an exposure process is typically provided in juxtaposition with the above-mentioned coater-and-developer, and prints a circuit pattern on a substrate formed with a resist film. With recent decrease in width of lines exposed to light, a lamp for use in printing of a pattern in such an exposure unit is shifting from a conventional ultraviolet light source toward a KrF excimer laser light source and also toward an ArF excimer laser light source. A chemically amplified resist is used when a pattern is printed using a KrF light source and an ArF light source. The chemically amplified resist is a photoresist of the type in which an acid formed by a photochemical reaction during the exposure process acts as a catalyst for resist reactions such as crosslinking, polymerization and the like in the subsequent heat treatment step to change the solubility of the resist in a developing solution, whereby pattern printing is completed.
It is known that, when the chemically amplified resist is used, a slight variation in processing conditions exerts a large influence upon line width uniformity because an extremely small amount of acid catalyst is formed during the exposure process. Thus, an attempt has been made to make various processing conditions throughout the exposure processing step as uniform as possible when the chemically amplified resist is used. A technique for controlling the time interval between the instant of the end of the exposure process and the instant of the start of a post-exposure bake process to be constant to make the line widths of a pattern uniform is proposed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-43208 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-342654.
However, slight line width nonuniformity has not yet been eliminated despite various improvements, and is generally considered to result principally from the post-exposure bake process. Like other heating processes, the post-exposure bake process includes the steps of increasing the temperature of a substrate, maintaining the substrate at a predetermined temperature, and then decreasing the temperature of the substrate. Of these steps, the step of increasing the temperature of the substrate and the step of maintaining the substrate at the predetermined temperature can attain in-plane uniformity of the substrate with considerably high accuracy. Despite accurate control over the in-plane uniformity of the substrate during this step, line width nonuniformity still exists. Thus, there is a need in the art for improved methods and systems for performing substrate processing operations including heat treatment operations.

Substrate transport apparatus and heat treatment apparatus


A pedal lever (2) for actuation with the foot is connected to an actuating element (18) by a spring element (12) in such a manner that an actuating force is introduced directly or by a component (13), but the restoring force introduced into the pedal lever (2) by a restoring spring element (6) is transmitted only up to a maximum permitted value. As soon as this value is exceeded, the spring element (12) absorbs the force exceeding it. As a result, the actuating element (18) is protected against damage caused by excessive introduction of force during the restoring movement.

The invention relates to a pedal mechanism, in particular for a vehicle, having a pedal lever which is mounted pivotably about an axis, can be deflected by foot force and can be pivoted back into a basic position by a restoring spring element, an actuating element being actuable by the pedal lever.
Pedals of the abovementioned type have long been customary in motor vehicles and are therefore generally known. If the driver of a motor vehicle moves back his foot which is actuating the pedal lever, the pedal lever then has to follow this movement. If the driver takes his foot off the pedal lever completely in order, for example, to actuate the accelerator after a braking procedure, the pedal lever then has to move back relatively rapidly into its inoperative position. This restoring movement is usually made possible by means of a restoring spring element. When the actuating force is suddenly taken away by the foot letting go or sliding off from the pedal lever, the spring force of the restoring spring element causes the pedal lever to accelerate relatively powerfully (what could be termed allowing it xe2x80x9cto snapxe2x80x9d). If this movement is only stopped by the actuating element as soon as it has reached its maximum deflection or has arrived against its stop, it may be that the force applied to the actuating element by the momentum of the pedal lever exceeds the highest permissible force and damage to the actuating element occurs.
Overloading of the actuating element can be counteracted by a stop or a stopper which limits the movement of the pedal arm being provided on the pedal mechanism. However, it has proven disadvantageous here that the stop has to be matched exactly to the associated actuating element in order to achieve the desired effect. This requires complicated setting and adjusting activities, which are associated in turn with increased costs. At the same time, the conversion to different vehicle or motorization variants is also difficult. Furthermore, the maximum possible deflection, which is limited by the actuating element, is reduced by the stop, since the theoretically possible maximum deflection has to be reduced by a safety margin which ensures permanently reliable
The invention is based on the object of providing a pedal mechanism of the described type, in which damage to the actuating element can largely be ruled out and at the same time a stop or a stopping element for limiting the restoring movement of the actuating element can be dispensed with.
According to the invention this problem is solved by the pedal lever being connected to the actuating element by a spring element which is provided in order to limit the force transmitted to the actuating element by the pedal lever during the restoring movement of the pedal lever by decoupling the pedal lever from the actuating element. By this means, when the pedal lever is actuated, the actuating element is actuated as in the case of a conventional pedal lever and the actuating force is transmitted to the actuating element. When the actuating force is suddenly taken away, the pedal lever swings back under the action of the restoring spring force. If, in this case, the highest permissible force for the actuating element is exceeded, the spring element is tensioned. The maximum force acting on the actuating element in the release direction is therefore determined by the configuration of the spring element. Damage to the actuating element, which may be a hydraulic cylinder, for example, is therefore ruled out. A stop can either be omitted completely or serves merely to limit the movement in the restoring direction if the spring element is tensioned and the distance between the pedal lever and the actuating element is therefore enlarged.
A particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention is provided if a component is arranged between the actuating element and the spring element, which component is designed such that in the actuating direction, it can move together with the pedal lever, and, in the restoring direction, it can move relative to the pedal lever against the spring force of the spring element. This makes it possible, on the one hand, to decouple the actuating element during the restoring movement from the movement of the pedal lever and, on the other hand, to relieve the load on the spring element in the actuating direction. A defined path of movement in the component is preferably established. Lateral deviation of the actuating element is thus prevented. The actuating element therefore reliably returns into its inoperative position.
It is advantageous here if the component bears against the pedal lever when the latter is actuated. As a result, the actuating force is transmitted to the actuating element from the pedal lever by means of the component with the spring element being excluded. By this means, the spring element is not subjected to load when the pedal is actuated and is therefore subject to considerably less wear. Possible compliance of the pedal mechanism in the actuating direction, caused by the spring element being loaded in a direction opposed to the direction of action, can therefore be avoided.
A particularly simple embodiment of the invention in terms of structure is one in which the component and the pedal lever are arranged pivotably about a common axis. This enables very compact constructions of the pedal mechanism to be realized. At the same time, the path of movement of the arrangement, in particular of the actuating element, is unchanged as compared to a conventional pedal mechanism. Only very slight changes to existing pedal mechanisms are therefore required, and so this embodiment is also suitable for retrofitting purposes.
The present invention is suitable in principle for all intended uses. The pedal mechanism according to the invention is particularly suitable for use in a motor vehicle if the pedal lever is a brake pedal lever and the actuating element is a braking device. While accelerators are increasingly provided with electric actuating elements whose actuating forces can be configured to be considerably lower, brake pedal levers in passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles are generally also used for the (hydro)mechanical transmission of -the actuating force to a braking device or for the (hydro)mechanical activation of a brake servo. The restoring force of the restoring spring element then depends primarily on the configuration of the braking device and brake servo. These are generally produced in large piece numbers, with the result that individual configurations for the intended purpose, in particular with an individually reinforced stop for the pedal mechanism, are generally not possible.
A particularly simple embodiment of the invention is provided if the spring element is a tension spring. This can easily be integrated into the connection between the pedal lever and the actuating element and at the same time can also be designed to transmit compressive forces.
Another embodiment is provided if the spring element is a compression spring. In the event of the spring element failing, for example should the spring element break, such a spring element makes possible a restoring movement of the actuating element. The actuating element is thus decoupled from excessively high restoring forces, on the one hand, but at the same time has a stop which guides the actuating element into the inoperative position when the compression spring is pressed to the maximum. This may, for example, be effective if the actuating element is jammed in an operating position and no longer returns into the inoperative position.
A further advantageous embodiment is provided with a pedal mechanism in which the spring element is a leg spring. This enables a pedal mechanism to be formed which is space-saving and reliable at the same time. To this end, it is possible for the leg spring to be pivotable, for example, about an axis which is shared with the pedal lever and, in a similar manner to a clothes peg, to be supported with one spring clothes arm on the upper side of the pedal arm and, to compress with the other spring arm, the actuating element against the under side of the pedal lever. When the pedal lever is actuated, the actuating force acts directly on the actuating element, and during the restoring movement, when a maximum permissible force is exceeded, the leg spring separates the actuating element from the pedal arm, as a result of which these are pivoted toward each other.
Play in the pedal lever can be effectively avoided if, in accordance with another advantageous development of the invention, in the basic position the spring force of the spring element is greater than the spring force of the restoring spring element. This enables the pedal mechanism to be operated particularly regularly and safely.