GNSS signals are centered around two bands, L1 and L2, and antennas must cover both these bands for good RTK performance. GPS is at a lower frequency in both bands than the Russian GLONASS system. What is described herein is a method of constructing a low profile dual frequency wideband antenna with excellent polarization and signal reception for both GPS and GLONASS. This technique minimizes the impact of tolerances of the dielectrics, thicknesses and tuning by optimal construction.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to antennas, and in particular to a low profile, wideband, GNSS dual frequency antenna structure.
II. Description of the Related Art
Various antenna designs and configurations have been produced for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic (wireless) signals. Antenna design criteria include the signal characteristics and the applications of the associated equipment, i.e. transmitters and receivers. For example, stationary, fixed applications involve different antenna design configurations than mobile equipment.
Global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs) have progressed within the last few decades to their present state-of-the-art, which accommodates a wide range of positioning, navigating and informational functions and activities. GNSS applications are found in many industries and fields of activity. For example, navigational and guidance applications involve portable GNSS receivers ranging from relatively simple, consumer-oriented, handheld units to highly sophisticated airborne and marine vessel equipment.
Vehicle-mounted antennas are designed to accommodate vehicle motion, which can include movement in six degrees of freedom, i.e. pitch, roll and yaw corresponding to vehicle rotation about X, Y and Z axes in positive and negative directions respectively. Moreover, variable and dynamic vehicle attitudes and orientations necessitate antenna gain patterns which provide GNSS ranging signal strengths throughout three-dimensional ranges of motion corresponding to the vehicles' operating environments. For example, aircraft in banking maneuvers often require below-horizon signal reception. Ships and other large marine vessels, on the other hand, tend to operate relatively level and therefore normally do not require below-horizon signal acquisition. Terrestrial vehicles have varying optimum antenna gain patterns dependent upon their operating conditions. Agricultural vehicles and equipment, for example, often require signal reception in various attitudes in order to accommodate operations over uneven terrain. Modern precision agricultural GNSS guidance equipment, e.g., sub-centimeter accuracy, requires highly efficient antennas which are adaptable to a variety of conditions.
Another antenna/receiver design consideration in the GNSS field relates to multipath interference, which is caused by reflected signals that arrive at the antenna out of phase with the direct signal. Multipath interference is most pronounced at low elevation angles, e.g., from about 10° to 20° above the horizon. They are typically reflected from the ground and ground-based objects. Antennas with strong gain patterns at or near the horizon are particularly susceptible to multipath signals, which can significantly interfere with receiver performance based on direct line-of-sight (LOS) reception of satellite ranging signals and differential correction signals (e.g., DGPS). Therefore, important GNSS antenna design objectives include achieving the optimum gain pattern, balancing rejecting multipath signals and receiving desired ranging signals from sources, e.g., satellites and pseudolites, at or near the horizon.
The present invention addresses these objectives by providing GNSS antennas with selectable gain patterns. For example, a wide beamwidth with tracking capability below the horizon is possible with a taller central support mounting a radiating element arm assembly of a crossed-dipole antenna. A wide beamwidth is preferred for vehicles which have significant pitch and roll, such as aircraft and small watercraft. By reducing the height of the central support structure a much steeper roll off at the horizon is generated with attenuated back lobes, which is preferred for maximal multipath rejection in high accuracy applications. Such alternative configurations can be accommodated by changing the height of the support element, which is preferably designed and built for assembly in multiple-height configurations depending upon the particular intended antenna applications.
Another beamwidth-performance variable relates to the deflection or "droop" of the crossed-dipole radiating element arms, which can range from nearly horizontal to a "full droop" position attached at their ends to a ground plane. Wider beam widths are achieved by increasing the downward deflection whereas multipath rejection is enhanced by decreasing droop. Preferably a selectable gain antenna accommodates such alternative configurations without significantly varying the input impedance whereby common matching and phasing networks can be used for all applications.
A typical approach to construct a dual frequency low profile antenna is to use stacked patches constructed of ceramic material with a dielectric constant of approximately 10. This approach typically results in a compact antenna, but due to the relatively high dielectric constant the bandwidth is quite narrow, which compromises reception performance for both Global Positioning System (GPS), GLONASS (Russian navigation satellite system) and other global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs), unless the ceramic is very thick. This increases the cost and creates issues with coupling between both patches, making it difficult to get the right gain pattern and polarization. A further issue is the use of a single feed point on both patches to minimize the impact of the feed for the top element passing through the second element. This relies on a dual resonance patch and the phase difference of this dual resonance to be exactly 90 degrees at the center frequency. This further limits the bandwidth where the antenna operates with the correct polarization.
Heretofore there has not been available an antenna with the advantages and features of the present invention.

Low profile, wideband GNSS dual frequency antenna structure


A light module can comprise a light emitting diode that generates light and an optic that manipulates or manages the resulting light. The optic can direct the generated light off axis, resulting in an illumination pattern that is biased towards one side of the light module, for example in a desired direction. Thus, the optic can transform the emission pattern of the light emitting diode to create an illumination pattern that is aimed in a desired direction. The optic can comprise a light-blocking shield to suppress, manage, or redirect light that would otherwise emanate from the light module in an unintended direction, for example opposite the desired direction.

Interest in adoption of light emitting diode technology for illumination is escalating, as light emitting diodes offer advantages over incandescent lighting and other approaches to converting electrical energy into luminous energy. Representative advantages can include longevity and efficiency. Light emitting diodes often come in compact packages that are quite different from conventional incandescent light bulbs or fluorescent bulbs. Additionally, light emitting diodes typically emit light in a quite different geometry than most other conventional illumination sources.
Improved technologies for utilizing light emitting diodes to generate illumination are needed. For example, new technology is needed for configurable, adjustable, or flexible illumination patterns. Need exists for improved luminaires and light modules that can leverage the potential advantages of light emitting diodes. A capability addressing one or more such needs, or some other related deficiency in the art, would support improved illumination systems, better economics, and/or wider use of light emitting diodes.


A receiver such as a liquid crystal display television receiver, which a user carries with him, is used for learning at sight which television stations at a destination supply broadcasting service. The receiver performs automatic tuning operation of television signal waves to search available television channels, stores searched available television channels in a memory device, and displays a list of the available stored television channels. The receiver displays the available television channels stored in the memory device, and successively receives the available television channels, thereby displaying the television programs for a predetermined period. The receiver is equipped with a memory in which local areas, local television stations in the areas, frequency data and network relations between key stations and the local television stations are memorized. When an area memorized in the memory is designated, a station-selecting guide information is displayed, which indicates a network relation between the local television stations and the key stations. The receiver selects an arbitrary television station and detect the signal receiving intensity, and stores data of the selected television station and the relevant signal receiving intensity in the memory device. The receiver displays a channel number and frequency data of the selected television station in a displaying manner associated with the detected signal receiving intensity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a receiver such as a television receiver to be installed on a car and a portable television receiver, which is provided with an auto-tuning system depending on a frequency synthesizer system or a voltage synthesizer system.
2. Description of the Related Art
An auto-tuning system has been known which automatically tunes in to a broadcasting station depending on a frequency synthesizer system or a voltage synthesizer system. The voltage synthesizer system is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,303. Also, the frequency synthesizer system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,317,227.
The above conventional auto-tuning system automatically searches for broadcasting stations by operation of an "up/down" key, which designates tuning direction (i.e., which instructs to tune in to a higher or lower frequency station), to tune in to a broadcasting station of a higher or a lower frequency than the frequency of the presently tuned-in broadcasting station. Further, when broadcasting stations are previously set to corresponding channel keys, for example, a first broadcasting station is preset to a channel key 1, a second broadcasting station is preset to a channel key 2 and so on, the auto-tuning system can tune in to a desired broadcasting station at one touch operation of the channel key.
In recent, portable liquid crystal display television receivers and automobile television receivers (a television receiver installed in an automobile) have been used widely. These television receivers are not used at a fixed area, but are moved to and used at various locations. As the television receiver is moved, broadcasting stations which can be received by the receiver are changed and the signal receiving intensity of a radio frequency received by the television receiver varies. The conventional auto-tuning systems will encounter the above troubles, they therefore can not be used effectively.
Even though particular television stations are preset to the auto-tuning system, the television station can not be received when a television receiver having the auto-tuning system is moved to some other location. Even if the television receiver is moved within a limited area, television stations which can be received will change because mountains and buildings can be obstacles to receipt of radio frequencies.
There are some television stations in cities through out the country, which constitute respective television networks and function as key stations for providing broadcasting services within their own particular service areas.
Most of conventional television receivers indicate only a channel number on the displays during tuning operation. Therefore, when a user of the conventional television receiver travels or goes on business to other place, it is almost impossible for the user to know from his (or her) television receiver how many television stations are providing services in the area, what television channels are assigned to the respective television stations, and what television station constitutes the television network which is familiar to the user at the residence area. The conventional television receiver gives the user much trouble that demands him to do time consuming work for searching for a desired television channel.

Television receiver with auto-tuning system


An apparatus for providing a bias magnetic field coincident with the read/write laser in a magneto-optic recording system is disclosed, with special utility for systems wherein the thickness or configuration of the media necessitates a functioning bias magnet being located on the same side of the media as the read/write laser.

High density optical recording systems which may be used for recording and playing back information are well known in the art. Current practice in the optical recording field can be broadly distinguished into three categories, the classification being largely dependent on the physical and chemical characteristics of the information carrying media. Common to all three categories is the ability of each system to have the information stored on the media to at least be "read" or "played back" by irradiating selected areas of the media with a highly focused source of light, usually a laser. Changes in the transmission or reflection of the laser beam caused by the presence or absence of recorded information on the media is detected by suitable optical sensors. The three categories are differentiated by the media's response to radiation. "Read Only" as, for example, in Compact Disk technology, wherein all the information on the disk is pre-recorded. "Write-Once, Read (Mainly)" (WORM), in which information can be written on the media by the laser, read back by a laser at reduced power levels, but cannot be erased for correction or re-use. The third consists of media which can be written upon and read back by laser, but can also be erased (by the laser), in the presence of a suitable magnetic field, and which then can be reused.
This invention, relates generally to the "erasable" optical recording systems, known in the art as magneto-optical recording systems, and in which the media is described as magneto-optic media.
A magneto-optic recording medium is a magnetic material which causes the polarization angle of laser light to be changed when it is reflected from or transmitted through a recorded spot. Preparatory to the initial recording operation, the magneto-optic media is vertically magnetized in the same direction across the entire recording surface. During recording, the direction of magnetization of the media is reversed at the point of incidence of the laser beam due to the presence of a vertical magnetic field of a given strength and polarity and heating induced by a laser. Illumination from a playback laser beam of lower power reflected from this area will show a polarization angle change, which is detectable by suitable optical sensors. The erasing process restores the original magnetic direction which existed prior to recording by the use of a vertical magnetic field of polarity opposite to that used for recording when accompanied by heating from the laser beam. Traditionally, an electromagnet in which the current can be adjusted and reversed, (thereby changing the direction and/or intensity of the induced magnetic field) has been the preferred source for generating the magnetic bias for both the writing and the erasing. The electromagnet (in some cases, a reversible permanent magnet) is also sometimes referred to as the bias magnet.
Deguchi et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,006, schematically describe in their disclosure an electromagnet surrounding the objective lens of their recording/playback apparatus which provides the bias magnetization required for magneto-optic operations. Ota et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,852, discloses a pair of bias electromagnets adjacent the objective lens in conjunction with a pair of lasers for performing the erase and re-write functions in a magneto-optic recording and reproducing system. U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,004 also describes an electromagnet surrounding the objective lens, and records information by varying the field strength of the electromagnet in the areas of the media heated by a continuous laser beam. In the previous two examples, writing was accomplished by varying the intensity of the laser beam.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,009, assigned to the Xerox Corporation, describes a system wherein plural lasers operate through a single optical path and cooperate with bi-polar magnetic field producing means located on the opposite side of the magneto-optic medium. This system also includes a bias electromagnet essentially concentric with the focusing electromagnet of the objective lens. The deficiencies of these examples in providing an essentially vertical magnetic field coincident with the laser beam is addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,914 issued to Hanaoka and assigned to Olympus Optical. This patent discloses an auxiliary magnetic pole piece for focusing a magnetic flux from the magnetic field generating device (bias magnet) into at least the heated portion and which is located on the side of the media opposite the laser beam.
The teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 4,701,894, assigned to RCA, further address the problem of providing a vertical magnetic field at the point of incidence (with the laser beam) which rely on an electromagnet located around the objective lens, or, in some cases, on the side of the media opposite the laser beam. As discussed in this patent, given the very close proximity between the objective lens of the record/playback optics, there is very little space on the recording side of the media for an electromagnet capable of providing a vertical magnetic field at the point of incidence. This patent discloses a bias electromagnet configured in the shape of a letter "E", in which the top and bottom legs of the "E" extend radially from one edge of the media towards the center (when the media is in a disk configuration, the center leg of the "E" likewise extends from one edge towards the center, but on the opposite side of the media from the top and bottom legs). Current carrying coils are wound about each of the two segments of the vertical portion of the "E" to magnetize the electromagnet. Attached to the housing of the objective lens is a ring or cap of magnetic material which has a small hole in it to allow passage of the laser beam. Magnetic coupling of this cap to the top and bottom legs of the "E" is accomplished by a pair of pole pieces, in effect, filling in the gap between the legs and the cap. The pole pieces, the cap, and the objective lens can move radially in-between the top and bottom of the "E", with the return path of the magnetic flux being provided by the center leg which is located underneath the lens and the media.
When the magneto-optic media is provided on a thin tape or on a thin disk, as described in this patent, the magnetic elements can conveniently be placed on the side of the media opposite the side upon which the laser impinges. However, when this opposite side location is not physically accessible, for example, when the magneto-optic media is supported on the surface of a drum, or is supported on a very thick substrate, these magnetic elements must be located on the same side of the media as the optics are.
It is an object of this invention to provide a device and method of producing the necessary vertical bias magnetic field, essentially in concurrence with the point of incidence of the laser beam upon the media, in which access to the opposite side of the media is denied. It is a further object of this invention to provide the necessary vertical bias magnetic field for systems in which extensive cross-track movement of the optic system is required. It is an additional object of this invention to provide the necessary vertical magnetic field with a reduced number of non-vertical components of the bias magnetic field, and with greatly reduced power requirements for providing the bias magnetic field.

System for applying a perpendicular magnetic field to the illuminated side of a magneto-optic medium

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


A composition comprising a polymer, wherein the polymer comprises at least one of: i) a blend of a first polymer comprising a reaction product of acetoacetoxyethyl (meth)acrylate monomer and a second polymer comprising a reaction product of castor oil (meth)acrylate monomer, and ii) a third polymer comprising a reaction product of acetoacetoxyethyl (meth)acrylate monomer and castor oil (meth)acrylate monomer. These polymer compositions can be cured by at least one of auto-oxidation and actinic radiation. Optionally, at least a portion of the acetoacetoxyethyl (meth)acrylate moieties in the polymer can be converted to a corresponding enamine by reaction with at least one of ammonia and an amine.

The present invention relates to compositions comprising reaction products. The reaction products comprise acetoacetoxyethyl (meth)acrylate moieties and castor oil (meth)acrylate moieties.
Traditionally, polymeric compositions that were to be formed into films or other materials were solvent based. The solvent facilitated the film formation and drying of the polymeric compositions so that the polymer could be cured. The trend is to move away from solvent based polymeric compositions to water based polymeric compositions.
A problem with curing water based polymeric compositions is that, in the absence of solvent, heat is required so that the polymers can cure. The application of heat requires the consumption of energy, which can increase the cost of curing the polymeric composition. In some applications, it is desired for films to cure at ambient temperature. Therefore, it is desirable to find polymers that can be cured by auto-oxidation or even radiation by actinic light.
Examples of auto-oxidative polymers that have been discovered to date can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,528; U.S. Pat. No. 6,235,916; U.S. Pat. No. 6,203,720; U.S. Pat. No. 6,174,948; U.S. Pat. No. 6,001,913; U.S. Pat. No. 5,767,199; U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,849; U.S. Pat. No. 4,906,684; WO 01/44380; and WO 00/56826.
A composition comprising a polymer, wherein the polymer comprises at least one of: a) a blend of a first polymer comprising a reaction product of acetoacetoxyethyl (meth)acrylate monomer and a second polymer comprising a reaction product of castor oil (meth)acrylate monomer, and b) a third polymer comprising a reaction product of acetoacetoxyethyl (meth)acrylate monomer and castor oil (meth)acrylate monomer.
Additionally, a method comprising: a) applying the composition to a substrate, and b) curing the composition by at least one of auto-oxidation and actinic radiation; wherein when the composition is cured by auto-oxidation, optionally a drier is added to the composition prior to applying, and wherein when the composition is cured by actinic radiation, optionally an actinic radiation curing agent is added to the composition prior to applying.

Crosslinking systems for acrylic latex films


A method of monitoring, while on board an automotive vehicle, one or more of catalyst performance, engine misfire, and combustion quality, the vehicle having an internal combustion engine equipped with a catalyst for converting noxious emissions of the engine, comprising: (i) exposing at least one pair of EGO sensors to substantially the same emissions either exiting from the engine or from the catalyst, one of the EGO sensors having its electrode highly catalytic, and the other sensor having its electrode low-to-noncatalytic; (ii) comparing the outputs of the sensor electrodes (amplitude, frequency, or phase shift) to determine if there is a sufficient differential to indicate a misfire or poor combustion in the case of the sensors being located downstream of the engine exhaust but upstream of the catalyst, or indicating poor catalyst efficiency in the case of the sensors being placed substantially immediately downstream of the catalyst. The catalyst may be a three-way catalyst (or an oxidation catalyst). The sensors may be of the EGO, HEGO, or UEGO types. Two pairs of sensors may be used, a first pair being placed substantially immediately upstream of the catalyst and the second pair being placed substantially immediately downstream of the catalyst, the pairs of EGO sensors being incorporated into a closed-loop feedback control of the engine fuel control system.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to the art of using exhaust gas oxygen (EGO) sensors for detecting catalyst failure, such catalysts being of the type that converts automotive engine emissions to non-noxious gases and water vapor.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
There is growing concern that to improve air quality in the United States, emission related components, such as a catalyst, must be monitored on board the vehicle to determine any malfunction. Catalyst monitoring has been and still is the least understood, both conceptually and practically, of the emission related components.
EGO sensors have been used in the past, in pairs, to monitor catalysts, one sensor being placed upstream from a catalyst and the other placed downstream of the catalyst, and the signals from each of such sensors were evaluated to determine any difference that would indicate the catalyst was degraded. It is presumed by such prior art that a properly operating catalyst would be capable of dampening the periodic rich to lean excursions resulting from the limit cycle A/F feedback control or intentionally generated in the exhaust stream and that a substantial loss in catalyst performance through loss in actual conversion activity and/or oxygen storage activity would result in a decrease in this dampening ability of the catalyst. This generalized approach to catalyst monitoring compares complex signal features from both devices, each of which is disposed in a different environment and exposed to different exhaust gas locations, and furthermore presumes that there is a correlation between catalyst oxygen storage, sensed signal features, and catalyst performance. Often there is no such correlation. However, since each sensor uses a similar construction, including a catalytic coating that acts as a microcatalyst, failure based on the inability of the main catalyst to convert emissions may be hidden or masked by the sensor itself.
Patented variations of the two sensor catalyst monitoring system have utilized or compared many sensor signal characteristics, including voltage amplitude, phase shift, and frequency ratioing. In some cases, an artificial change in the sensor signal is created by modulation of the engine A/F ratio which, it is hoped, will more clearly show the onset of catalyst degradation. Unfortunately, all of such prior art approaches have at least the following characteristics in common: they expose the electrodes of the sensors to different emission gases, the sensors inherently have construction variations in tolerances and aging, and a decision as to catalyst degradation cannot be made without comparison to an artificial reference. Such prior art sensor system approaches are inaccurate not only due to such sensor differences but also are not able to sense a difference in oxygen between equilibrated and nonequilibrated oxygen conversion or combustion.
What is needed is a system that more reliably monitors catalyst degradation or inadequate engine combustion.


To increase the top speed of a multi-speed range hydromechanical steering transmission for tracklaying vehicles, the displacements of the hydraulic motors in the two hydrostatic drive units are abruptly destroked from 100% displacement to 80% displacement at the moment the infinitely variable displacements of their respective hydraulic pumps achieve zero displacement during acceleration through the highest forward speed range of the transmission.

Hydromechanical steering transmissions for tracklaying or skid-steered vehicles, such as military tanks, are typically comprised of a range-changing gear pack and right and left hydrostatic drive units, all commonly driven in parallel by the vehicle prime mover operating at a substantially constant speed. Each hydrostatic unit includes a hydraulic pump and a hydraulic motor interconnected in a hydraulic fluid loop circuit. The hydraulic pump is driven by the mechanical output of the prime mover, such as a diesel or gas turbine engine, and, in turn, fluidically drives its hydraulic motor to produce a hydrostatic output. The speed of this hydrostatic output is determined by the relative hydraulic fluid displacements of the interconnected pump and motor. While it has been proposed that hydrostatic output speed can be varied by varying the displacements of both the pump and motor, in practice only the displacement of the pump is varied, while the motor is held at a constant, typically maximum displacement for optimum torque.
In hydromechanical steering transmissions of the type disclosed in Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,488, the hydrostatic outputs of the two hydrostatic drive units are combined to produce a speed-averaged hydrostatic output which is applied as a second input to the range-changing gear pack along with the prime mover mechanical output. The range-changing gear pack thus produces a hydromechanical output which is combined with the hydrostatic output of the left hydrostatic unit in a left combining gear set and with the hydrostatic output of the right hydrostatic unit in a right combining gear set. The hydromechanical outputs of the left and right combining gear sets are produced on left and right transmission shafts, respectively, to drive the two vehicle tracks.
The range-changing gear pack is equipped with a plurality of brakes and clutches for selectively grounding and engaging gear elements thereof to incrementally change its input to output speed ratio and thus, to establish a plurality of forward speed ranges and at least one reverse speed range. Since the hydrostatic outputs are superimposed on the hydromechanical output of the range-changing gear pack by the combining gear sets, speed variation in each speed range is achieved by varying the hydrostatic output speeds, i.e., by varying the hydraulic pump displacements. This practice is commonly referred to as varying the "stroke" or "stroking" the hydraulic pumps. Since a hydraulic pump can be designed such that its displacement can be infinitely varied from 100% to zero displacement, hydrostatic output speed can be likewise infinitely varied between a maximum value and zero in either direction. Consequently the hydromechanical outputs of the transmission are capable of infinitely variable speeds within the limits of each speed range.
It will be appreciated that, when the hydraulic pumps of the left and right hydrostatic units are set at equal displacements or strokes the speeds of the left and right hydromechanical outputs of the transmission are equal, and straightline vehicle propulsion in the particular speed range established by the range-changing gear pack is produced. Uniform stroking of the two hydraulic pumps produces straightline acceleration or deceleration, depending upon stroking direction, of the vehicle. To steer the vehicle, the typical procedure is to uniformly stroke the two pumps in opposite directions, such that one transmission hydromechanical output is increased in speed to the same extent that the other transmission hydromechanical output is decreased in speed. The resulting speed differential imposed on the left and right tracks causes the vehicle to execute a steering maneuver.
Unfortunately, hydromechanical steering transmissions of this type are rather limited as to the top vehicle speed obtainable in the highest forward speed range. Certainly, the range-changing mechanism can be supplemented with a high, overdrive speed range, however this adds complexity, bulk and expense to the gear pack. In non-steering or so called "straight through" hydromechanical transmissions having one hydrostatic unit and one transmission output, it is common practice to stroke both the hydraulic pump and the hydraulic motor to extend the highest speed range and thus to increase top vehicle speed. However, in hydromechanical steering transmissions, wherein two hydrostatic units are jointly involved in both straightline and steer propulsion, hydraulic motor stroking of the hydraulic motors to increase top speed has not been implemented, primarily due to the potential adverse effects on output torque, steering performance, and the added complexities involved in the steering linkages and controls.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an improved hydromechanical steering transmission for tracklaying or skid-steered vehicles.
A further object is to provide a hydromechanical steering transmission of the above-character having improved maximum speed performance.
An additional object is to provide a method for controlling a hydromechanical steering transmission such as to achieve an extended top speed range and thus a higher vehicle top speed.
Another object is to provide a hydromechanical steering transmission of the above character, wherein a high top speed is achieved without prejudicing high speed steering performance.
Yet another object is to provide a hydromechanical steering transmission of the above-character, which is efficient in construction, convenient and simple to implement and control, and reliable in operation.
Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and in part appear hereinafter.

Hydromechanical steering transmission with improved high range speed performance


Embodiments of the present invention provide a method of preventing electrical shorting of adjacent semiconductor devices. The method includes forming a plurality of fins of a plurality of field-effect-transistors on a substrate; forming at least one barrier structure between a first and a second fin of the plurality of fins; and growing an epitaxial film from the plurality of fins, the epitaxial film extending horizontally from sidewalls of at least the first and second fins and reaching the barrier structure situating between the first and second fins.

With the continuing scaling down in real estate for semiconductor device manufacturing, non-planar semiconductor devices are expected to play an ever increasing important role in the areas of field-effect-transistor (FET) beyond certain node size, such as beyond 22 nm node, for at least one simple reason: these devices demand less real estate for manufacturing. There are many different types of non-planar semiconductor devices including for example tri-gate devices, such as tri-gate static-random-access-memory (SRAM), and fin-type FET (FinFET). FinFET transistors may include a p-type dopant doped FinFET (or PFET in short) and an n-type dopant doped FinFET (or NFET in short).
During manufacturing of non-planar devices as well as other types of devices, silicon-based epitaxial film is often used to form access to these devices as a means to lower access resistance. Silicon-based epitaxial film may be used in forming conductive regions as well, where desirable dopants may be incorporated into the epitaxially grown film through, for example, in-situ doping. On the other hand, borderless contacts to the devices may be favored and/or desirable beyond the 22 nm node as overlay tolerances shrink due to continued feature pitch scaling. Silicon-based epitaxial film growth, through forming doped regions, may form a borderless contact to the source and drain of a non-planar FET device.
Generally, silicon-based epitaxial film grows both vertically and laterally on FinFET devices due to the exposed sidewall facet of the fins. For example, for demonstrative purpose, FIGS. 11A-11C are simplified illustrations of perspective, top, and cross-sectional views respectively of a semiconductor structure in a process of manufacturing thereof as is known in the art. More specifically, a plurality of fins such as fins 201, 202, 203, and 204 are formed from a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate 220. During manufacturing, a silicon-based epitaxial film may be formed. Growth of the epitaxial film is selective to silicon material. In other words, the film will grow only on top of silicon material and not on other material such as, for example, silicon-oxide (SiO2) or silicon-nitride (SiN). More specifically, the epitaxial film will not grow on top of oxide layer 200 of SOI substrate 220. The epitaxial film may grow from sidewall surfaces of fins 201-204 and the growth direction may depend upon the exposed facets of the fins. For the example being illustrated in FIG. 11, films 211 and 212 may grow from sidewalls of fin 201; films 213 and 214 may grow from sidewalls of fin 202; films 215 and 216 may grow from sidewalls of fin 203; and films 217 and 218 may grow from sidewalls of fin 204. As is demonstratively illustrated in FIG. 11C, with the lateral epitaxial growth, films 214 and 215, for example, may eventually grow sufficiently big to become in contact with each other, causing shorting of fin 202 with fin 203.
Conventionally, in order to avoid shorting of neighboring fins due to lateral growth of silicon-based epitaxial film, the distance, or pitch, between neighboring fins have to be intentionally increased. However, in high density SRAM cells where spacing between fins of n-type FinFET and p-type FinFET is a dominant factor in determining cell density, the thickness of epitaxial RSD (raised source/drain) may ultimately limit the density of the cell or preclude the use of epitaxial film as a borderless contact.

International Business Machines Corporation


A tambour door for a cabinet having a series of hinged, vertical panel members which are precluded from moving vertically one with respect to the other by a plug which coacts with slots defined in the hinge elements connecting the adjacent tambour elongated panel members.

In a principal aspect, the present invention relates to an improvement for a cabinet of the type having a sliding door known as a tambour door and, more particularly, to the construction of the tambour door for such a cabinet.
Computer disks, computer tapes and other similar items are often maintained or stored in specially configured and constructed cabinets. Storage in such cabinets provides not only a security factor, but also provides a means to environmentally protect the disks or sensitive items. Since such cabinets are often manufactured in a configuration which will readily receive the computer disks or tapes, the cabinets have a modular size.
Access to such cabinets is often effected by means of sliding front doors rather than folding or single piece doors. Typically, such a door, known as a tambour door, is comprised of a series of vertical panels or slats which are joined one to the other by a hinge mechanism. The door formed from such panels than may slide horizontally in a track which is defined in the cabinet so that the door may slide to one side or the other in the cabinet, to thereby expose the interior or contents of the cabinet. The sliding door may include a lock along one edge which may be fastened to the side of the cabinet or released from the side of the cabinet to permit sliding of the door. The cabinet itself may include an internal panel, which is a false panel behind which the sliding door may slide. The internal panel may also serve to support a shelf or a series of shelves.
As previously stated, the tambour door or sliding door may be comprised of a series of vertical panels, slats or elements which are hinged or connected together along each side elongated edge thereof. Each panel is often fabricated from a molded or extruded plastic material. In order to enhance the rigidity of the door, vertical, metal reinforcing bars are often provided for various vertical panels along the width of the door. Thus the door can remain rigid for an extended height because of the reinforcing bars. However, with various types of hinge constructions, the panels tend to slide vertically one with respect to the other. In order to preclude such relative sliding action, it has been the practice in the past to attach a flexible, horizontal fabric strip across the width of the door formed by the panels. The horizontal strip prevents the panels from sliding with respect to each other and thereby maintains the integrity of the door.
A problem which has been noted, however, is that the fabric strip may degrade or become detached from the vertical panel members. Thus there has developed a need for an improved hinge construction which will maintain the vertical panels properly aligned and oriented one with respect to the other despite the constant use of the sliding or tambour door.


Provided is a two-actor user authentication system with a reduced risk of leakage of authentication information.

In user authentication systems, a one-time password-based system using a single-use password usable only once for user authentication purpose has become popular as one scheme having higher security than fixed password-based schemes. The one-time password-based system includes a token-based scheme using a token for creating a one-time password in accordance with a one-time-password generation rule synchronous with an authentication server, and a challenge/response scheme designed such that an authentication server transmits to a client a so-called "challenge" which is a value to be varied every time, and the client returns to the authentication server a response created by applying a client's fixed password to the challenge in accordance with a given rule. While the token-based scheme has an advantage of being able to reliably identify a user who owns a token, it forces the user to carry around the token, and has problems about cost of the token and security in the event of loss of the token. In this respect, the challenge/response scheme offers the convenience of being not necessary to use a token. On the other hand, due to a process of generating a one-time password using a client's fixed password which is highly likely to be analogized, the challenge/response scheme involves problems about poor protection against stealing during a password input operation and the need for installing dedicated software to allow a client to generate a response.
Late years, a new user authentication system has been developed based on a so-called "matrix Authentication®" scheme to improve the above problems in the conventional challenge/response scheme. This matrix authentication scheme is designed to arrange a plurality of random numbers in a given pattern format so as to create a matrix-form presentation pattern to be presented to a user requesting authentication, and apply a one-time-password derivation rule serving as a password of the user to certain pattern elements (a part of the random numbers) included in the presentation pattern so as to create a one-time password. Specifically, the presentation pattern is shared in common between a server and a client. Then, instead of a direct comparison of password, the sever carries out user authentication by comparing between a one-time password created on the client side as a result of applying the one-time-password derivation rule or the user's password to the presentation pattern, and a verification code created on the server side as a result of applying the one-time-password derivation rule or the user's password to the presentation pattern. In the matrix authentication scheme, a one-time-password derivation rule serving as a password is information about respective positions of certain pattern elements to be selected on a matrix-form presentation pattern and a selection order of the certain pattern elements, and characterized in that it is easily storable in the form of an image and cannot be figured out as a specific password even if being stolen during a password input operation.
Based on the matrix authentication scheme, a system has also been developed in which a presentation pattern is created based on a combination of a pattern seed value and other information so that it becomes possible to prevent the presentation pattern from being figured out even if the pattern seed value is stolen by a malicious third party through network eavesdropping (tapping or sniffing), etc. (see, for example, the following Patent Document 1). Specifically, in this authentication system, an authentication server is operable to generate and transmit a pattern seed value for creating a presentation pattern, to an authentication-requesting client. In response thereto, the authentication-requesting client is operable to display thereon the presentation pattern using the pattern seed value, and transmit a one-time password entered based on the presentation pattern, to the authentication server so as to perform user authentication through verification of the one-time password.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for two-factor user authentication

Abstract: The two-factor user authentication system is designed to use, as a password, a one-time-password derivation rule to be applied to certain pattern elements included in a presentation pattern at specific positions so as to create a one-time password, and further use, as a second authentication factor, information identifying a client to be used by a user. An authentication server is operable to generate a pattern seed value adapted to uniquely specify a presentation pattern in combination with a client ID, and transmit the pattern seed value to an authentication-requesting client. The authentication-requesting client is operable to create a presentation pattern based on a client ID acquired therefrom, and display the presentation pattern to allow a user to enter thereinto a one-time password based on the presentation pattern.


A method for manufacturing a printed circuit board assembled panel by a simple process with an excellent material yield and a high conforming product rate. Unit printed circuit boards previously manufactured are arranged in a frame in a prescribed relationship. Then, the printed circuit boards are fixed to one another, and the printed circuit board and the frame body are fixed to one another.

In disposing a rigid board over a bending portion of a steel case of an electronic instrument, generally, the rigid board is divided into a plurality of pieces which are to be connected with one another by utilizing a flexible board.
Such a rigid-flexible board can be made as a printed circuit board as follows. In this case, a plurality of rigid-flexible board can be obtained from the printed circuit board.
(1) A rigid board is formed so as to comprise a plurality of unit flexible boards, a plurality of circuit patterns, each being provided on the corresponding unit flexible board, and a plurality of circuit patterns, each being provided at the corresponding unit rigid board as an inner plate.
(2) A rigid board is formed so as to compose a cupper layer on the top surface or the bottom surface thereof which is to be contacted to the flexible board so that the rigid board is laminated with the flexible board. The portion of the rigid board corresponding to the unit flexible board is punched out.
(3) The rigid board formed in the step (1) is laminated on the flexible board formed in the step (2) at the main surface of the flexible board under the condition that a releasing film and a cover film are formed at the punched out portion of the rigid board. Then, the rigid board and the flexible board are combined with one another through thermal pressing.
(4) The rigid board is laminated on the flexible board at the backside of the flexible board under the condition that a releasing film and a cover film are formed at the punched out portion of the rigid board. Then, the rigid board and the flexible board are combined with one another through thermal pressing.
(5) Then, the releasing film and the cover film are removed so that the laminated body is divided into unit sheets for package.
(6) After the packaging step, rigid-flexible boards are divided individually from the unit sheets.
In the present specification, the wording "unit board" means a minimum unit board under manufacture, and the wording "complex board" means a single board made by combining a different kinds of unit boards. In the present specification, the wording "unit sheet for package" means a unit for package which is composed of a plurality of unit boards or a plurality of complex boards. In the present specification, the wording "assembled panel" means a board to be functioned as a single board wherein a plurality of boards are built in one board or a plurality of complex boards are built in one board, and then, to be divided into unit boards, complex unit boards or unit sheets for package after manufacturing process. In the present specification, the wording "horizontal circuit area" means an interlayer circuit of an circuit board, and the wording "vertical circuit area" means an interlayer connection for connecting different circuit layers at a single board or a complex board, and the wording "connector" means a connector for electrically connecting boards. As the connector, a conductive bump, a pad, a portion of the horizontal circuit area can be exemplified.
In a conventional manufacturing method of printed circuit board assembled panel, however, the intended assembled panel can be made by using a flexible board with the same size as the assembled panel so that the productive cost of the assembled panel can be increased because the flexible board is expensive.
In the conventional manufacturing method, it is required that a frame for handling is formed at each printed circuit board by cutting off the corresponding portion of the printed circuit board so that much waste is created and thus, the material using efficiency is deteriorated.
Moreover, in the conventional assembled panel, since the finally shaped printed circuit boards are built in a large board, if one unit sheet is failed, the assembled panel is also failed so that the productive yield of the assembled panel is lowered.

Printed circuit board assembled panel, unit sheet for packaging a printed circuit board, rigid-flexible board and method for manufacturing the same


A system, method, and computer program product are provided for testing a network service associated with a communications network. In use, a network service to be tested is identified, the network service including at least one network service associated with a communication network. Further, test criteria associated with the network service to be tested is identified. Additionally, a test scenario is generated for testing the network service based on the testing criteria. Furthermore, a Software Defined Networking (SDN) controller is programmed such that: a request associated with the generated test scenario is sent to an ingress point associated with the network service; the request is received at an egress point of the network service, upon the request being processed utilizing the network service; and the request is passed back to a testing software module that initiated the request, the testing software module having knowledge of rules associated with the SDN controller for generating the testing scenario. Moreover, the request that is passed back to the testing software module that initiated the request is analyzed to test the network service. Still yet, a generated response to the request is sent to the egress point of the network service such that the network service is applied to the generated response and the generated response is passed back to the software testing module from the ingress point of the network service. The abovementioned sequence is repeated until testing is completed.

Network Function Virtualization is a term or a name of a proposed architecture of telecom services as published by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) in a series of documents available from the ETSI website. NFV uses generic hardware platform and software adapted for the generic hardware platform. Thus, NFV creates a network much more flexible and dynamic than a legacy communication network. In NFV-based networks, a Virtual Network Function (VNF) decouples the software implementation of the network function from the infrastructure resources it runs on by virtualization. A network service is based on one or VNFs and/or Physical Network Functions (PNFs), their interconnections, and chaining definitions. The VNFs can be executed on almost any generic hardware processing facility. Therefore, VNFs may be installed, removed, and moved between hardware facilities, much more easily, less costly and thus, more frequently. The flexibility of the NFV-based network enhances the means available for optimizing the network's capacity and performance.
In today's networks, both hardware-based networks and virtual networks, it is a challenge to actively test and monitor functionality and availability of "transparent" network services (e.g. transparent proxies, firewalls, and other security services, etc.). In order to actively test and monitor such network services, probing mechanisms are typically required to be inserted into the network topology. This is a manual and time consuming operation.
There is thus a need for addressing these and/or other issues associated with the prior art.

System, method, and computer program for testing a network service associated with a communications network


An optoelectronic configuration method is provided. The method includes determining a baseline link budget value for the VCSEL. The method applies a constant input value to a VCSEL and monitors the output of the VCSEL. The method calculates a first link budget value from the inputs and outputs of the VCSEL and compares the first link budget value with the baseline link budget value to determine either a pass state of the VCSEL or a fail state of the VCSEL. If a fail state of the VCSEL is determined, the method may iteratively apply modified inputs to the VCSEL until the desired relationship between the first link budget value and the baseline link budget value is obtained.

Optoelectronic communication systems, often utilized in data centers, include cables that transmit signals over optical media. Optoelectronic communication systems may utilize active optical cables (AOC) as optical media and may also include separate circuitry that facilitates the transmissions along the optical cables using one or more transducers. For example, modern optoelectronic communication systems may utilize vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) as optoelectronic transducers that convert electrical signals to light for transmission through the AOCs.
AOCs and other optical cables are manufactured to a predetermined, manufacturer defined length. Traditionally, when wiring components together in a data center, multiple cables are necessary for making connections to a single component in a data center rack, resulting in multiple cables occupying a small space. These conventional wiring methods result in tangled and/or complexly wired racks that may operate inefficiently.
The inventors have identified a number of additional deficiencies and problems associated with conventional AOC wiring and associated methods. Through applied effort, ingenuity, and innovation, many of these identified problems have been solved by developing solutions that are included in embodiments of the present invention, many examples of which are described in detail herein.

Method of configuring an optoelectronic system for accommodating different fiber optic cable lengths


A phase and amplitude calibration system for an electromagnetic propagation based earth formation evaluation tool is presented. In accordance with the present invention, improved phase and amplitude logs of a borehole section are provided by an automatic calibration system which compensates for errors caused by temperature and pressure variations in the borehole. This improvement is accomplished by applying in-phase, equal-amplitude reference signals to both measurement channels of a two channel system to thereby characterize system errors for correction of data used for logging. The reference signals are applied by tightly coupling a calibration signal to each receiving antenna. In a first embodiment, this is accomplished by adding a second antenna (a calibration antenna) to each of the two spaced receiving antennas. Each of the calibration antennas communicates with an attenuator which acts to make the calibration antenna transparent or invisible to the receiving antenna when the receiving antenna is in the measurement mode. The attenuator also sets the signal level delivered to the calibration antenna to a value that the receiving antenna would normally see in a measurement mode. In a second and preferred embodiment, the electrostatic shield surrounding each receiving antenna is used as a calibration antenna. The attenuator is then connected across the gap of the shield.

This invention relates generally to borehole formation evaluation instrumentation. More particularly, this invention relates to a new and improved calibration system for use in an electromagnetic propagation based borehole formation evaluation instrument used primarily in oil and gas well drilling applications.
Borehole formation evaluation tools are known which measure phase and/or amplitude of electromagnetic waves to determine an electrical property (such as resistivity or permittivity) of a section of a borehole. Typically, the existing tools used for this application are composed of one or more transmitting antennas spaced from one or more pairs of receiving antennas. An electromagnetic wave is propagated from the transmitting antenna into the formation surrounding the borehole and is detected as it passes by the two receiving antennas. In a resistivity measuring tool, magnetic dipoles are employed which operate in the mf and lower hf spectrum. In contrast, permittivity tools utilize electric dipoles in the VHF or UHF ranges.
In a known resistivity sensor of the type hereinabove discussed which is used by Teleco Oilfield Services Inc., assignee of the present application, the resistivity sensor measures both phase difference and amplitude ratio to provide two resistivities with different depths of investigation. A signal received in a first receiving antenna is shifted in phase and its amplitude will be less than the signal received in a second receiving antenna. Resistivities are then derived from both the phase difference and the amplitude ratio of the received signals. This differential measurement is primarily responsive to the formation opposite the receiving antennas and is less sensitive to the borehole and/or variations in the transmitted signal as in prior art sensing devices.
While well suited for its intended purposes, a problem with existing electromagnetic propagation sensors of the type described herein consists of measurement uncertainty introduced by phase and amplitude differentials between the two measurement channels. A measurement channel includes a receiving antenna, a radio receiver and such signal processing means as may be necessary to determine the phase and amplitude of the received signal relative to the other channel or a known reference. Phase and amplitude differentials can occur with antenna deformation caused by borehole temperature and pressure variations, antenna insulator deterioration or thermal drift of the electronic components.
Such phase and amplitude differentials become more difficult to compensate through ordinary means (such as increased mechanical precision and ruggedness or electronic component matching) as the measurement bandwidth is reduced. This is because narrow bandwidth channels are more sensitive to thermal and mechanical changes than are wide bandwidth channels. As a result, efforts to improve measurement resolution (i.e., the ability to log small changes in the formation characteristics) by decreasing the system bandwidth are frustrated by the reduced overall accuracy introduced by phase and amplitude differentials. One problematic manifestation of this differential effect is "divergence" of the phase and amplitude logs of a borehole section. Such "divergence" reduces the confidence of the formation evaluation and thereby forces the allowance of a wide error band in the log interpretation.
One prior art solution to the phase and amplitude differential problem is the Compensated Dual Resistivity sensor. This device employs transmitting antennas at each end of the drill collar, with a pair of receiving antennas located centrally between them. By firing one transmitting antenna and then the other, the two differential measurements will have equal and opposite error components. Averaging the two measurements cancels the errors. This type of sensor is by necessity about one meter longer than the analogous electromagnetic propagation type tool used by Teleco Oilfield Services, Inc. There are a number of disadvantages associated with this greater length. Significantly, higher drill collar weight, higher material and machining costs, more difficult transportation, storage and handling considerations, as well as a somewhat reduced immunity to invasion effects. This is because the measurement occurs farther from the bit. In addition, at slow penetration rates, drilling mud can invade the formation before the sensor can log it.

Phase and amplitude calibration system for electromagnetic propagation based earth formation evaluation instruments


An integral solder back contact is provided over a semiconductor circuit. The solder contact includes a pair of layers which form an alloy at elevated temperatures. A semiconductor device having the integral solder back contact is mounted on the carrier and disposed at an elevated temperature which causes one of the layers to melt. The material of the other layer is dissolved in the melted layer until such melted layer has a sufficient amount of the material of the other layer dissolved therein to form an alloy which hardens. After the alloy hardens the circuit is firmly bonded to the carrier even while the carrier is exposed to the elevated temperature.

This invention relates generally to electronic component packaging techniques and more particularly to mounting of electronic devices within a package.
As is known in the art, electronic devices in particular integrated circuits such as monolithic microwave integrated circuits include a semiconductor crystalline substrate such as gallium arsenide, silicon, or other semiconductor materials having disposed over a first surface thereof an electronic circuit manufactured by conventional integrated circuit techniques. Generally, disposed over the opposite surface of the substrate is a back plane conductor which serves as a heat sink and ground plane for the electrical circuit.
In particular, with monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC's) the circuit is bonded to a machined carrier typically comprised of a metal or a dielectric having a metal coating over a surface thereof. The metal carriers are subsequently bonded or packaged into a circuit package. Two techniques are commonly employed to bond MMIC devices to a package. One technique is pretinning in which the package or carrier is provided with a quantity solder. The carrier is heated to remelt the solder as the electronic circuit is placed upon the carrier.
With the second technique, the integrated circuit is soldered to the carrier using a solder pre-form. A solder pre-form is a flat slab of solderable material which is placed between the ground plane conductor of the integrated circuit and the carrier. The carrier is heated to an elevated temperature and slight pressure is brought to bear on the circuit to cause the solder pre-form slab to melt and form a solder bond between the package and the circuit.
Problems with pretinning and the solder pre-form technique are similar. For example, a solder pre-form is often relatively thick and thus the solder pre-form provides a relatively thick solder bond. The solder pre-form also provides a relatively high thermal impedance bond, since typically the material of the solder has a thermal conductivity which is lower than the thermal conductivity of the material of the machined carrier, and the material of ground plane conductor on the substrate of the MMIC. Generally, gold is the material used as the ground plane conductor whereas a gold layer is often provided on the package or carrier.
Furthermore, since the solder pre-form tends to be thick, there is a possibility that excess solder will build up around the outside edges of the chip. This situation provides the potential for a short circuit between the back contact of the integrated circuit and the circuit fabricated on the front side or top portion of the substrate. Moreover, the requirement for applying pressure to the circuit may result in damage to the circuit.
Also, solder pre-form bonds often have inconsistent and unreproducible mechanical characteristics. Such occurrences necessitate addition rework operations which increase the cost of packaging, and have the potential to cause damage to the circuit.
The use of solder pre-forms or pre-tinning also increase the cost of packaging of such electronic circuits, since such solder bonding techniques are labor intensive.


A state client is configured to allow a user to specify a meeting-specific state, such as that the user is running late for a meeting, checked in to the meeting, or unable to attend the meeting. A state service stores data identifying the user's meeting-specific state. The state service also responds to requests for the state of the user. In one implementation, when such a request is received, the state service determines whether the user is an invitee to the same meeting as the user requesting the state. If not, the state service returns a general-purpose state indicator for the user. If both users are invitees to the same meeting, the state service returns the meeting-specific state indicator, which may then be displayed by a state client.

Various types of computer programs allow a user to share data describing their current state with other users. For instance, a user of an instant messaging ("IM") client application might manually specify their current state as "bus." The specified state may then be communicated to other IM users.
A user's state might also be set automatically. For instance, an IM client might automatically update a user's state based on activity or inactivity detected at the user's computer, in another example, a user's calendar might be utilized to automatically set the user's state to "in a meeting" during the time a meeting is scheduled on the user's calendar.
Conventional indicators of a user's current state ("state indicators") communicate only a very general notion of the current state of a user. For instance, conventional general-purpose state indicators typically include "online", "busy", "offline", "in a meeting", and other similarly general phrases.
The conventional general-purpose state indicators "busy" and "in a meeting" are helpful to people outside of a meeting. However, these general-purpose state indicators provide little information for invitees to the same meeting. For invitees to the same meeting, the "busy" and "in a meeting" general-purpose state indicators may be unhelpful and even misleading, especially if one of the invitees is not actually at the meeting.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.


According to one embodiment of the invention, a method for auto-boating includes supporting a tape substrate having first and second end portions on a boat, sandwiching the first and second end portions between respective ones of a pair of end sleeves and the boat, coupling a boat clip to the boat, and removing the end sleeves from between the first and second end portions and the boat clip.

Because of the sheer volume of integrated circuits in the marketplace, packaging of integrated circuits in a manner that is cost-effective with high yield is important for semiconductor manufacturers in order that they can be competitive in the marketplace. One important process in the fabrication of integrated circuits is the die attach process. Because of the ever decreasing thickness of some substrates, such as tape substrates, the die attach process becomes even more important because of the challenges present when attaching die to these types of substrates.
The auto-boating process, which sandwiches a tape substrate between a boat and a clip, greatly enhances the die attach process for tape substrates. However, since the clip holds down only a very small strip of the substrate along its edges, the possibility of the substrate edges getting jammed with the clip windows at the ends of the clip is high because of the coiling effect when placing a tape substrate on a boat. This leads to substrate bowing and warping along its edges, which means that the integrated circuit dies formed along the edges of the tape substrate may have to be scrapped, which hurts yield.

System and method for improved auto-boating


A speaker device includes a terminal member, a connecting member, a conductive damper and a voice coil. The terminal member has a first connecting part, a slit, a hole, a second connecting part and a fixing part. The connecting member has a projecting portion on a bent portion and a groove at an area in the vicinity of a lower end of an outer peripheral wall of the cylindrical portion. The terminal member is mounted to the connecting member. A lead wire is wound around the slit of the connecting part, and a portion thereof is soldered. The projecting portion is inserted into the hole. The fixing part is inserted into the groove. The second connecting part is connected to a conductive member of the conductive damper disposed at the area in the vicinity of the lower end of the outer peripheral wall of the cylindrical portion by the soldering.

Conventionally, there is known an internal magnet type speaker device including a magnetic circuit including a planar magnet, a planar plate and a pot-shaped yoke, and a vibration system including a conductive damper made by weaving a conductive member, a connecting member made of a resin material, a voice coil, a voice coil bobbin and a frame.
In such a speaker device, the connecting member movably supports the voice coil bobbin. The connecting member has a cylindrical portion in a substantially cylindrical shape at a position opposite to the outer peripheral wall of the voice coil bobbin. An inner peripheral edge portion of the conductive damper is mounted to an outer peripheral wall of the cylindrical portion via an adhesive. A lead wire drawn from the voice coil is drawn along the outer peripheral wall of the voice coil bobbin, an upper end surface of the connecting member and an outer peripheral wall of the cylindrical wall, to be connected to one end side of the conductive member of the conductive damper by soldering.
However, in the above-mentioned speaker device, since the lead wire of the voice coil is fine, when the lead wire is drawn, the lead wire is problematically cut.
In order to prevent the lead wire from being cut, it is necessary to perform the work of drawing the lead wire up to the side of the conductive damper and soldering the fine lead wire and one end side of the conductive member of the conductive damper. The work of the soldering is problematically extremely inefficient.
In addition, in the above-mentioned speaker device, for the purpose of preventing ignition at the time of inputting a direct current to the lead wire and preventing occurrence of a collision sound of the lead wire and the connecting member at the time of driving the speaker, after soldering the lead wire to the conductive member of the conductive damper, a portion of the lead wire contacting the connecting member is solidified by an adhesive having fire resistant property to be reinforced. However, in this case, if the adhesive is applied to the portion at which the outer peripheral wall of the cylindrical portion of the connecting member and the lead wire contact each other, since the outer peripheral wall of the cylindrical portion is substantially parallel with the center axial direction of the speaker device, the adhesive drips down to the lower side of the cylindrical portion, and particularly an upper portion of the lead wire is problematically exposed.
As the wiring structure of the speaker by using the conductive damper, there is known a wiring structure of a speaker formed by connecting a conductive material of a conductive damper and a folded portion formed in an end portion of a coil wire wound around the voice coil bobbin, for example (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open under No. 2000-312397).
There is also known a wiring structure of a speaker in which a housing with a lead wire is mounted at a mounting portion provided at a terminal ring mounted to an overlap width portion of a conductive damper, and a connecter lug and a tinsel cord in a plain stitch of the conductive damper are connected and wired (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open under No. 9-9381, for example).
Moreover, there is known a wiring structure of a speaker device in which a recessed portion is formed at one portion of a damper inner peripheral portion of a conductive damper, an end portion of a conductive material is mounted along a bottom surface of the recess, and the end portion of the conductive material is connected to the voice coil (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open under No. 2001-54190, for example).


An organic electroluminescent display (“OELD”) includes an organic light-emitting diode (“OLED”) panel and a driving panel. The OLED panel includes an image display portion which displays an image using an OLED, and the driving panel includes a driving circuit portion which controls the image display portion. The OLED panel and the driving panel are combined into one body to complete the OELD. The image display portion and the driving circuit portion are electrically connected through pads disposed between the OLED panel and the driving panel, and the OLED panel and the driving panel are fabricated using separate processes, thus preventing the driving panel from being damaged by heat generated in the fabrication process of the OLED panel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic electroluminescent display ("OELD"), and more particularly, to an OELD using two panels.
2. Description of the Related Art
Organic electroluminescent displays ("OELDs") are self-luminescent displays which use an organic compound as a luminescent material. When compared to non-luminescent thin film transistor ("TFT") liquid crystal displays ("LCDs"), OELDs are simple and inexpensive to fabricate and have low power consumption, small thickness, and high response speed.
Active matrix OELDs include a plurality of organic light-emitting diodes ("OLEDs") arranged in an X-Y matrix configuration and a semiconductor circuit driving the OLEDs. A conventional stack type OELD is generally a top emission type OELD. Top emission type OELDs radiate light to an outside in a direction opposite to the substrate on which the OLED is placed. In a top emission type OELD, an OLED array is disposed on a driving circuit including a plurality of transistors such that the OLED array overlaps the driving circuit. A planarization layer is formed between the OLED array and the driving circuit, and through holes are formed in the planarization layer to electrically connect the driving circuit and the OLED array.
In such a conventional stack type OELD, when an organic thin film transistor ("OTFT") of a driving circuit is formed out of an organic semiconductor material, it may be damaged by the plasma which is used to form an OLED array on the driving circuit. While the OTFT can be formed using a low-temperature process, the OLED array is fabricated at high temperatures of 150° C. or more. When the OTFT is exposed to high-temperatures in the high-temperature OLED array fabrication process, its operating characteristics may be degraded due to damage caused by the high-temperatures.
Moreover, the driving circuit includes a switching transistor, a driving transistor, and a storage capacitor, and thus has an uneven surface. Therefore, before formation of the OLED array on the driving circuit, a planarization layer must be formed on the driving circuit in order to planarize the uneven surface of the driving circuit. Otherwise the OLED would be laid down unevenly and its electrical and light-emitting characteristics would be degraded. Also, it is necessary to form a through hole in the planarization layer in order to electrically connect the driving circuit and the OLED array.


A composite profile for doors, windows, or other facade elements includes a first and second metal profile between which at least one intermediate metal profile is provided. The first metal outer profile is connected to the intermediate metal profile in a first insulating web zone via one or more insulating web(s), and the second metal profile is connected to the intermediate profile in a second insulating web zone via one or more insulating web(s). Both the first and second insulating web zones have different shear strengths orthogonally in relation to the cross-sectional plane of the composite profile.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to a composite profile for doors, windows or façade elements.
Such composite profiles for doors, windows or other façade elements are known from the state of the art. Thus, a composite profile which has a first and a second metallic exterior profile each with at least one hollow chamber is disclosed in German patent document DE 20 2013 105 101 U1. A middle profile made from a metallic material is located between the two exterior profiles. The metallic middle profile is connected to first exterior profile by one or more spaced insulating bars and is likewise connected with the second exterior profile by at least one or more spaced insulating bars so that good thermal insulation is achieved and relatively long protection against the transmission of flame in the event of fire is achieved.
A preferred—but not constraining—area of application for such composite profiles which have more than two metallic profile sections is for use as door profiles in the interior of buildings with special fire protection requirements.
In composite profiles for doors, windows or façade elements with insulating bars, increases or decreases in temperature on one side, such as those occurring as a result of seasonal variation, lead to shearing stress between the components of the composite profile. As a result of the shear strength of the composite profile, the shearing stress leads to the deformation of the composite profile, resulting in a curvature towards the warmer side of the composite profile. Such deformations can interfere with the function of the door or window frame constructed from the composite profile.
In particular, for relatively long composite profiles used as the frame bars for doors, the temperature-related deformation of the composite profiles has a negative effect on the functioning of the sealing and locking systems.
Solutions are known from the state of the art that address the prevention or mitigation of such stresses and deformations of composite profiles. Thus, European patent document EP 0 829 609 A2 suggests that the shear strength is low, tends towards zero or a sliding guide is present in insulating bars connected to an interior and exterior profile.
According to German patent document DE 20 2007 004 804 U1, an insulating strip has at least two or more insulating strip sections or parts, which move in relation to one another and which are connected to each other by means of bars, wherein the bars are designed such that the two insulating strip parts of the insulating strip can move relative to one another to a limited extent such that bars and the insulating strip parts which are adjacent to one another can swivel into a parallelogram shape in the movement.
German patent document DE 10 2013 204 693 A1 suggests that an insulation bar comprising two sections that slide in relation to one another, used to connect two metal profiles of a thermally insulated composite profile, is designed such that the insulation bar has means, intermittently or across a greater length of the insulation bar, of establishing a locally shear-resistant connection between the two sections of the insulation bar that nonetheless has reduced overall shear strength so that equalisation of the dilation movements is also possible here.
The disadvantage of the solutions from the state of the art is that the design for the insulating bars between the profiles with low or non-existent shear resistance results in a relatively low geometric moment of inertia.
As a result, the permissible static loads for a composite profile according to the state of the art with non-existent or low shear resistance insulating bars are lower than for composite profiles with rigid insulating bars. This results in a disadvantage when such composite profiles are used e.g., for glass facades as well as for large windows or doors so that a more extensive composite profile with non-existent or low shear resistance insulating bars needs to be used for the same static requirements in comparison with a composite profile with rigid insulating bars.
This results in a smaller glazing area and lower incidence of light for a composite profile with non-existent or low shear resistance insulating bars than for a composite profile with rigid insulating bars for the same wall opening area.
In addition, the thermal insulation properties of a composite profile with non-existent or low shear resistance insulating bars according to the state of the art are poorer than those of composite profiles according to the state of the art which have more than two metallic profile sections.
Accordingly, exemplary embodiments of the invention are directed to providing a class-specific composite profile for doors, windows or similar that at least reduces this problem.
According to an exemplary embodiment the two insulating bar zones have different shear strengths orthogonal to the cross-sectional plane of the composite profile. This can be realised through the provision or establishment of a rigid connection between all of the elements that are connected to one another in the first insulating bar zone (this includes single part insulating bars or multi-part insulating bars with their insulating bar sections and the adjacent metal profiles, so the middle metal profile and the corresponding exterior metal profile or exterior profile), while the shear strength of the elements connected to one another in the second insulating bar zone (insulating bars, metal profiles or insulating bar sections) is lower than in the first insulating bar zone at least partially or in sections.
In this way, the invention creates a composite profile for doors, windows or similar that ensures deformation of the profile as a result of temperature influences due to the differing shear strengths of the insulating bar zones and preferably in particular a shear-free or low-shear design of an insulating bar zone. Despite the reduced shear strength design of one of the two insulating zones, the result here is a surprisingly high stiffness of the composite profile.
The reduction of the shear strength in one of the two insulating bar zones can be realised in various different ways. Reference should initially be made to European patent document EP 0 829 609 A2, which discloses the basic fundamental principles of reduced shear strength. Variants of the concepts of this document are shown in German patent documents DE 10 2004 038 868 A1, DE 10 2013 204 693 A1, EP 1 004 739 B1, and DE 199 62 964 A1. The zone with reduced shear strength can be designed as in these documents. It can therefore be designed as a sliding guide that is formed between the insulating profile and one or both adjacent metal profiles. The sliding guide can also be formed between two insulating profile sections. The friction in the sliding guide must not tend towards zero. It can even be increased again locally in the sliding guide by means for generating shear strength, but the overall shear strength here should be lower along the length of the composite profile (concerning a unit of length, for example 1 m) than in the other insulating bar zone.
The two insulating bar sections can also be made from different materials and/or be connected to one another with limited movement using crossbars or similar. Combinations of these measures and other measures to reduce the shear strength in relation to a rigid connection are also conceivable.
In the second insulating bar zone, the shear strength is higher than in the other insulating bar zone. This connection is preferably actually rigid, i.e., as a result of dilation, relative movement of the "insulating bars" or "insulating bar sections or parts" and "metal profiles" elements to be connected in the insulating bar zone is prevented in this insulating bar zone for the purposes of this document using suitable measures and means. This can be well achieved through the rolling of metal profile bars on the heads or end sections of the insulating bars and through supplementary measures such as wires with variable longitudinal thickness or a knurled wire or similar in the roll area. For the purposes of this document, however, a shear-free joint—sometimes also referred to as a low-shear joint—allows for a limited relative movement of the "insulating bars" or "insulating bar sections or parts" and "metal profile" elements adjacent to and to be connected to one another in this insulating bar zone as a result of dilation. In a beneficial design variant, the composite profile has one or more insulating bars having thickened end sections for this purpose, wherein the respective end section can have a trapezoidal, triangular or wedge-shaped, or L-shaped cross-section and the respective end section engages in a groove in the metal profile.
In a beneficial design variant, the insulating bars in the composite profile have an end section having a significantly piping-like cross-section which engages in a groove in a metal profile in order to realise a form of sliding guide. In another beneficial design variant, the insulating bars in the composite profile are made from two insulating bar sections or parts, wherein both parts of the insulating bar in the direction in which the cross-section of the composite profile extends are positively connected with one another using a piping connection. This also serves the realisation of a sliding guide. The piping connection has a piping bead and a piping tag which engages in a groove with the corresponding cross-sectional geometry.
This simply and thus beneficially creates a positive but sliding guide-like connection in the direction in which the cross-section of the composite profile extends between the insulating bars and the metal profiles or within an insulating bar which can, where necessary, easily and beneficially be developed into an almost "shear-free" connection using an agent which minimises friction. In an embodiment, the end section with a piping-like cross-section is not frictionally connected to the groove.
It is particularly beneficial to be able to apply the friction-minimising agent easily, as is the case due to a co-extruded film applied to the piping bead in the piping connection. The film of the co-extruded film, which is in contact with the groove in this case, has a particularly low friction coefficient so that an almost shear-free connection is created in the direction orthogonal to the cross-sectional plane of the composite profile.
In another beneficial embodiment of the present invention, the composite profile has at least one or more hollow chambers, wherein at least one insulating strip is used in one or more of these hollow chambers. The thermal insulation properties of the composite profile are thus simply and beneficially further improved.
In another beneficial embodiment, firebreaks are positioned instead of the insulating strips or in addition to them in other hollow chambers. The fire-protection properties of the composite profile are thus also simply and beneficially further improved. It is particularly beneficial if the firebreaks are always made from a material having properties that cause an endothermic reaction when burnt, as is beneficially the case if the firebreaks are made from a material containing water of crystallisation.
According to an alternative design, it is preferred that the two insulating bar zones I, II have the same shear strength orthogonally to the cross-sectional plane of the composite profile but which is lower than that of a rigid connection.

Composite profile for doors, windows or façade elements


Methods and apparatus are presented for extracting, transforming, and loading data from one database to another database. For example, an extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) component may access an operational log of a given database in order to detect an update to the database. Upon detecting the update, the ETL component may extract a subset of data from the operational log, where the extraction of the subset of data is based on one or more rules. Once the subset of data has been extracted, the ETL component may transform the extracted subset of data from the operational log into a format for another, target database, where the data format for the other, target database is different from a data format for the given, source database. The ETL component may then load the subset of data transformed into the data format for the other, target database into the target database.

A wide variety of applications allow a user to query and display report data, where the report data may be culled from multiple, sometimes disparate data sources. For example, if a user, through the use of a report generation tool, is interested in data such that the data is dependent upon both transactional and analytics data, a query to produce the data may be exceedingly slow because the necessary data is spread across multiple data stores and because the data stores may include massive amounts of data. In such a circumstance, if a user requests to see keywords for which more than 50 cents was bid on in the past week, and further where those keywords received at least 1000 clicks, the query necessary to satisfy such a request would be time and computationally intensive. However, it is often the case where a user is interested in data for certain, commonly requested time frames such as the previous week, or the previous two weeks, or the quarter to date, among other frequently specified date ranges. A further impediment to quickly satisfying a query that depends on both transactional and analytics data is that the structure of the stored data has different characteristics.

Rule-based extraction, transformation, and loading of data between disparate data sources


Disclosed is an apparatus for controlling a motor that determines whether or not to control the motor in order to control a variable valve lift device by using a measurement value of a valve lift and a target value of the valve lift; compares a predetermined base temperature with a temperature of an engine room in order to control the motor; determines a temperature factor corresponding to the temperature of the engine room when the temperature of the engine room is larger than the base temperature; and determines a driving signal value for the motor by applying the temperature factor to a predetermined base signal value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for controlling a motor. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for controlling a motor driving a continuously variable valve lift device.
2. Description of Related Art
A continuously variable valve lift (hereinafter, referred to as 'CVVL') system varies an opening/closing level of a valve by varying a press level of a cam through rotation of an eccentric control shaft. In this case, a valve lift representing the opening/closing level of the valve is determined according to an angle value of the control shaft and the angle value of the control shaft is varied by a motor.
The CVVL system varies the angle value of the control shaft within a predetermined operation range by controlling the motor according to a difference between a present value and a target value of the valve lift so as to control the valve lift. In this case, in the CVVL system, since the valve lift determines an air volume, i.e., a driving force of an engine, control performance of the valve lift is a key element to determine control and reaction performance of the engine.
When an apparatus is controlled through the motor, the motor consumes high current due to conditions (e.g., cold starting, before breaking in a vehicle, high RPM, and the like) in which control resistance of the apparatus is deteriorated.
In this case, when an internal temperature of the apparatus is increased by the high current, an electrical endurance limit and rigidity of each component are deteriorated and a current-resistant value of a wire on which the high current flows is decreased with an increase in a surrounding temperature, such that the wire may be damaged or a fire may occur.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

Apparatus and method for controlling motor


A method of operating parallel connected transistors including a first transistor and a second transistor having their respective collectors and emitters connected together includes receiving a first pulse and providing it for a first time period to a gate of the first transistor and not to the second transistor. The method also includes receiving a second pulse and providing it for a second time period to a gate of the second transistor and not to the first transistor and receiving a third pulse and providing it to the gate of the first transistor and not to the second transistor for the first time period.

The present disclosure relates generally switches and, more particularly, to a circuit that drives a motor or other device utilizing parallel IGBT switches.
Insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) are well known three-terminal power semiconductor devices. Due to their high efficiency and fast switching they are often used for switches primarily used as an electronic switch and can be used, for example, in inverters that convert a direct current (DC) voltage into an alternating current (AC) voltage.
In some cases a particular IGBT may not, due to thermal constraints, be able to handle the voltage/current required in a particular situation. One approach is to use two IGBTs in parallel to handle higher current. Such an approach would reduce thermal stress effects and add to the modularity of a particular system. In such cases, two parallel connected IGBTs are driven by a common or separate gate drives.
Paralleled IGBTs requires very careful design and layout of the IGBTs and busbars, requires effective heatsink to avoid thermal runaway, and careful design of gate drive to minimize the unequal current sharing during switching as well as steady state. With the prior art direct paralleling technologies, even with carefully lay out busbars and gate drives, it is not easy to achieve close to ideal steady state current sharing. Further, dynamic current sharing during turning-on and turning-off can be much worse.
Newer generations of IGBTs are switching ever faster. This means the dynamic sharing between paralleled IGBTs is getting more challenging, and the capacity utilization of paralleled IGBT is getting worse. For instance, In a six IGBT inverter bridge, the mismatch between current sharing, especially the dynamic sharing, differs between the three phase libs, and differs between upper and lower switches due to physical location differences of each IGBTs. The effective current capacity of the inverter would be dictated by the pair of paralleled IGBTs that has the worst sharing.

Circuit with current sharing alternately switched parallel transistors