A differential includes a cross-pin assembly. The case can rotate about an output axis. First and second side gears can be rotatable about the output axis relative to the case. First, second, and third pinion gears can be meshingly engaged with the first and second side gears. The cross-pin assembly can include first, second, and third pin members, each having a cylindrical body and a finger fixedly coupled to a proximal end of the corresponding cylindrical body. The first, second, and third pinion gears can be rotatably disposed about the corresponding first, second, or third cylindrical body. The first, second, and third fingers can overlap along the output axis to non-rotatably couple the first, second, and third pin members together.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
One type of automotive differential employs a differential housing, a pair of bevel side gears and a plurality of bevel pinions. Some applications employ a single pair of bevel pinions that are meshingly engaged with the bevel side gears and supported for rotation in the differential housing about an axis via a single pinion shaft. Other applications employ three, equally spaced pinions that are supported for rotation in the differential housing about intersecting axes that form a "Y" shape (i.e., each axis forms a 60° angle between each other axis), and are meshingly engaged with the bevel side gears. Other applications employ more pinions, such as four equally spaced pinions that are supported for rotation in the differential housing about intersecting axes that form a plus ("+") shape, for example.
While such configurations work well for their intended purposes, the coupling of the pinion shafts relative to the differential housing can be complex and/or costly. Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for an improved differential having multiple pinion shafts that can be robustly secured relative to the differential housing in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

Differential assembly and multi-piece cross-pin assembly


A board-mounting device (20) which includes a base carrier (10) that can be snapped down on a board (14). The base carrier (10) includes at least one locking hook (22) which engages behind the board (14) in the mounted condition of the device (20). The device (20) further includes a device carrier (11), connected with the base carrier (10), which is adapted to be moved relative to the base carrier (10). The locking hook (22) is provided with at least one shoulder (43) on which the device carrier (11) is supported by at least one guide pin (31, 40, 50, 60) before the device (20) is in its mounted condition.

The present invention relates to a board-mounting device according to the preamble of the independent claim.
There has been known from EP 264 840 A2 a device of the described species which comprises two parts adapted to move one relative to the other. The first such part is a base carrier, adapted to be snapped down on the board, which comprises a predetermined number of detent legs provided with projections that engage behind the opposite side of the board in the mounted condition of the device. The base carrier comprises further locking elements that cooperate with the detent elements and are arranged in the second part which is configured as a device carrier. The locking elements of the device carrier may be arranged on bridges of the device carrier.
In their delivery condition, the two parts are fixed one relative to the other in a first locked position. Mounting is effected by applying a pressure on the device carrier in the direction of the board, whereby the detent legs pass and engage behind the bores in the board. The device carrier remains in the first locked position relative to the base carrier during that action. After mounting of the base carrier, the device carrier is then moved from the first into the second locked position and, thus, into its final mounting position, by application of a further pressure on the device carrier in the direction of the board.
The bridges of the device carrier may also be pushed through the bores in the board, which accommodate the detent legs in the mounted condition of the base carrier. This has the result that the bridges and the detent legs will be clamped one relative to the other.
The base carrier may be provided with wire bushings for guiding through connection wires of the devices that are pushed through corresponding bores as the two parts are pressed together.
Due to mechanical stresses to which the devices may be subjected during transport or other operations carried out in preparation of the assembly of the board, it cannot be excluded that the device carrier may get displaced from the first into the second locked position unintentionally. In this joined position, mounting the device is, however, no longer possible. Pushing the device carrier back from the second into the first position is of course possible in principle, In the context of an automated board mounting process, such a device will however be classified as defective.
Further, there may also arise situations during assembly where the device carrier is moved unintentionally from the first to the second locking condition. Any canting of the device relative to the board, for example, leads to higher forces being required for snapping down the base carrier on the board. Higher forces may be required for snapping the base carrier down on the board also if a burr should be encountered on the board, for example. The higher pressure which then has to be applied on the device carrier may cause the device carrier to be moved from the first to the second locked position unintentionally before the base carrier is snapped down on the board.


A compact form factor integrated circuit card. In one embodiment, a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card is disclosed. In one embodiment, the SIM card has overall dimensions optimized for a particular application; e.g., 12.30 mm (±0.10 mm)×8.80 mm (±0.10 mm)×0.67 mm (+0.03/−0.07). In another embodiment, the SIM card has overall dimensions of 11.90 mm (±0.10 mm)×8.80 mm (±0.10 mm)×0.70 mm (maximum). Multiple complementary SIM card adapters and methods of use are also disclosed.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of communications systems, and more particularly in one exemplary aspect to a form factor design for an integrated circuit card and adaptation for use with existing legacy cellular equipment.
2. Description of Related Technology
A "smart card" or "integrated circuit card (ICC)" is a card that has been embedded with an integrated circuit. Smart cards are generally constructed as memory components and/or logic components embedded within a plastic form (e.g., polyvinyl chloride (PVC), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene or polycarbonate). Existing smart card form factors are shown in Table 1:
TABLE 1TypeLengthWidthThicknessFull85.60 mm  53.98 mm  0.76 mmMini-SIM25 mm15 mm0.76 mmMicro-SIM15 mm12 mm0.76 mm
Smart card technology has been used extensively in cellular applications. Several popular cellular technologies control subscriber access with subscriber identity module (SIM) cards. Specifically, a SIM card contains an embedded logic component which shares cryptographic secrets with an authentication center. During operation, the device receives and/or transmits cryptographic challenges, and can generate and/or evaluate responses. Successful completion of a cryptographic exchange enables mutual verification of the authentication center and the SIM card (and by implication, the possessor of the SIM card). Successful verification enables a secure session between both parties for secure communication.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Compact form factor integrated circuit card and methods


An apparatus for filling a container with a two-component filling material includes separate liquid channels for the two components. Each channel has a controllable valve. A flow meter is configured for directly measuring an amount of the first component fed to the container and indirectly measuring an amount of the second component fed to said container. It does the indirect measurement by measuring a flow rate of the first component resulting from a flow rate of the second component. Each component has an associated variable-volume chamber configured so that a volume change in one leads to an inverse volume change in the other. This affects flow rate of the first component.

Methods and filling systems are known for filling containers with a liquid filling material composed of at least two components that are introduced separately into the respective container in a volume-controlled and/or amount-controlled manner, in particular also for the bottling of fruit juices in which case one component is a homogenous liquid and a further component exhibits, for example, a high proportion of solids, e.g. fruit pulp and/or fruit fiber.
Volume-measuring or amount-measuring devices or flowmeters, in particular contactlessly operating electronic flowmeters, for example magnetically inductive flowmeters, which may be very suitable for electrically conductive liquid and homogenous components and provide exact measurement signals depending on the particular volumetric flow rate but which are not or only partly suitable for non-homogenous components and in particular components containing a high concentration of solids, are often used for volume-controlled or amount-controlled filling.
For the volume-controlled or amount-controlled filling of a filling material composed of two components, it has already been proposed in our own but not yet published patent application DE 10 2009 049 583.5 that each of the components that are to be sequentially introduced into the respective container be provided with its own liquid path connected to a storage tank for the component concerned, and that a flowmeter be disposed in only one of the liquid paths, namely in the liquid path for a first liquid and homogenous component, said flowmeter directly measuring the amount of that component introduced into the respective container during filling and indirectly measuring the amount of a second component introduced into the respective container. This latter is achieved in that, before it is introduced into the container, the second component is passed into a part-length of the liquid channel of the first component and in the process the first component is displaced on this part-length and returns through the flowmeter into a tank holding the first component. This returning amount of the first component is measured with the flowmeter. The introduction of the second component into the tank does not take place directly while measuring, but in a further process step after measuring. There is a certain disadvantage in the fact that the components can mix together in the first liquid channel or in the part-length of said channel, and that, when being measured, the amounts of the first and second component flow through the flowmeter in opposite directions which can lead to measurement errors and/or necessitate a complex calibration of the flowmeter concerned.
The object of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus that avoids the foregoing disadvantages. Suitable methods and apparatuses are recited in the attached claims.
In the case of the invention, the amount or volume of the at least one second component is also measured indirectly by measuring or capturing the first component's volumetric flow rate which results from the volumetric flow rate of the at least one second component, the volumetric flow rate of the least one second component being the volumetric flow rate of this component directly flowing to the respective container. During direct and indirect measuring of the amount or volume of all components, the flow through the flowmeter used for the measurement is in one and the same direction, this also being the direction of flow in which the first component flows through the first liquid channel when introduced into the respective container. This is made possible by the fact that at least one first chamber is associated with the first liquid channel for the first component and at least one second chamber with variable volume is associated with the second liquid channel for the second component, and that when the second component is introduced into the respective container, the volume of the at least one second chamber associated with the second component is reduced, starting from an initial volume and accompanied by an increase in the volume of the at least one first chamber associated with the first component. As a result of this the first component flows through the flowmeter and on into the at least one first chamber. The amount (volume) of the first component measured by the flowmeter is equal to the amount (volume) of the second component introduced into the container. If the volume-controlled or amount-controlled introduction of several "second" components into each container is necessary, then the above described indirect measurement of the amounts (volumes) of the "second" components is carried out with a time delay.
Further embodiments, advantages and possible applications of the invention arise out of the following description of embodiments and out of the figures. All of the described and/or pictorially represented attributes whether alone or in any desired combination are fundamentally the subject matter of the invention independently of their synopsis in the claims or a retroactive application thereof. The content of the claims is also made an integral part of the description.

Method and filling system for filling containers with a filling material composed of at least two components in a volume-and/or amount-controlled manner


A blade control system for a track-type machine is disclosed. The blade control system has a blade, an input device configured to control movement of the blade, an actuator in connection with the blade, a first sensor configured to determine a track-speed of the machine, and a control module in communication with the input device, the actuator, and the first sensor. The control module is configured to receive a blade positioning signal from the input device, remove a component of the blade positioning signal based on a the track-speed of the machine, and transmit a modified blade positioning signal to the actuator.

Machines such as, for example, dozers, motor graders, and other types of heavy equipment are used to perform a variety of tasks. Some of these tasks require very precise and accurate control over operation of the grading blade of the machine. Such control may be difficult at lower machine speeds, particularly due to blade bounce caused by grouser impacts with the work surface. The resulting blade bounce often causes the machine to produce an uneven graded surface. Because of these factors, the completion of some tasks can be expensive, labor intensive, time consuming, and inefficient.
One method to provide control over a blade is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2009/069987 A1 ("the '987 publication") filed by Omelchenko on Sep. 9, 2008. The '987 publication describes a system that estimates a blade height and slope angle based on signals received from a global navigation satellite system and an inertial measurement unit, both mounted on the blade. The inputs are used in connection with a control algorithm to control the blade.
Although the '987 publication describes a system for blade control, the disclosed system is not configured to remove periodic signal noise from a blade positioning signal, nor does it account for factors such as machine speed that may adversely affect the signal to the blade actuators. Furthermore, the '987 publication describes a system that controls the height and pitch of a machine blade using a combination of an inertial sensor and a global navigation system, and does not address any factors that may vary with time, such as operational speed, machine configuration, and/or grouser impact frequency.
The disclosed system is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.

Automated system for enhanced blade control


A side cowl top cover includes a cover body and a hook formed so as to expand at an upper portion of the cover body in order to be engaged with the end flange. The cover body includes: a vertical wall that extends upwardly from a lower side of the windshield; and an extended portion extended from an upper end of the vertical wall toward the front fender. The hook includes: a holder placed at a predetermined gap relative to an end face of the extended portion and extended substantially in parallel with the end face of the extended portion; and a vertical rib extended in a direction intersecting with the direction in which the holder extends, and interconnecting a bottom surface of the extended portion and a bottom surface of the holder.

Depending on vehicles, a side cowl top cover is placed between a front fender and a windshield. Such a structure is disclosed in, for example, JP 2011-98621 A.
The structure disclosed in JP 2011-98621 A will be described below with reference to FIG. 10.
As illustrated in FIG. 10, a front fender 101 includes an end flange 102 provided at an end portion and extended downwardly.
A side cowl top cover 110 includes a V-shaped pawl 112 which is provided at an upper portion of a vertical wall 111 and in which the end flange 102 of the front fender 101 can be inserted. The side cowl top cover 110 includes a rectangular pawl 113 which is provided at a lower portion of the vertical wall 111 and which holds the end portion of a windshield 103. The side cowl top cover 110 is a resin-molded member.
The side cowl top cover 110 that employs such a structure is formed using a mold which generally includes a left mold and a right mold. However, an undercut portion 114 is present between the V-shaped pawl 112 and the vertical wall 111. This undercut portion 114 is formed by a different slide-type mold (partial mold) from the left mold or the right mold. Since the undercut portion 114 is opened downwardly, when a product is demolded from the mold, the slide-type mold is moved downwardly.
If the V-shaped pawl 112 and the rectangular pawl 113 are present on the same plane, the slide-type mold collides the rectangular pawl 113.
Hence, according to the structure disclosed in JP 2011-98621 A, the rectangular pawl 113 is placed in the depthwise direction of the figure so as to be sufficiently apart from the V-shaped pawl 112. Since it is sufficiently apart, a movement of the slide-type mold is not interrupted.
Although the shape of the side cowl top cover 110 is becoming more diversified, a structure in which the V-shaped pawl 112 and the rectangular pawl 113 are placed on the same plane is also required. It is difficult for the structure disclosed in JP 2011-98621 A to meet such a requirement. In order to meet this requirement, a side cowl top cover that employs a structure which facilitates designing of a mold and which is capable of enhancing the degree of freedom for designing of the shape of the top cover itself is required.


A system comprises a computer network and worker machines connected to the computer network. The worker machines store partitions of a distributed database. A master machine is connected to the computer network. The master machine includes a query processor to identify a star query that references a fact table and related dimension tables that characterize attributes of facts in the fact table. Eager aggregation is applied to a query plan associated with the star query. The eager aggregation alters the query plan by moving an aggregation operation before a join operation to form an eager aggregated query plan. An analytical view with data responsive to the eager aggregated query plan is identified. The eager aggregated query plan is revised to form a final query plan. The final query plan references the analytical view. The final query plan is executed to produce query results.

A distributed database is a database in which storage devices are not all attached to a common processing unit, such as a central processing unit. Instead, multiple computers are used to implement a distributed database management system. The multiple computers may be located in the same physical location, or they may be dispersed over a network of disaggregated interconnected computers. There is typically a master node and a set of slave or worker nodes that store partitions of the distributed database.
Distributed databases are commonly used to support Business Intelligence applications. Business Intelligence data is typically modeled using a star or a snowflake schema where fact table(s) keep track of facts, such as itemized sales. Dimensions describe attributes of the facts, e.g., a 'customer' dimension table describes the details of the customer, a 'store' dimension table describes stores etc. Fact tables are typically wide tables with a large number of columns and rows. Dimension tables are typically smaller in size.
The star schema gets its name from the physical model's resemblance to a star shape with a fact table at its center and the dimension tables surrounding it representing the star's points. FIG. 1 is an example of a star schema with a fact table in the center and eight different dimension tables surrounding the fact table. FIG. 2 illustrates a specific star schema with a fact table named "sales' in the middle and dimension tables respectively named "Products", "Customers", "Promotions", "Period" and "Stores" surrounding the fact table.
In order to create a normalized schema, dimension tables have a primary key which relates to a foreign key in a fact table. For example, a store dimension has a primary key 's_store_sk' that relates to the foreign key 'ss_store_sk' in a sales fact table. This relationship is defined in a database using a primary-foreign key constraint (pk-fk constraint) or a referential integrity (RI) constraint. The pk-fk relationships are hard to maintain in distributed environments when the fact tables and dimension tables are periodically updated with data.
Some database systems use 'informational' constraints to allow the databases to perform certain optimizations assuming the pk-fk holds and leaving the integrity of the system to be enforced by the user.
In a Structured Query Language (SQL) query, the fact table foreign key equi-joins with the dimension's primary key. The pk-fk constraint or referential constraint guarantees that the 'pk' is unique in the dimension table and it uniquely determines other attributes in the dimension table. For example, product_id in a products table uniquely determines product name and product description. The existence of a foreign key guarantees that a row in the fact table with product id say, 'pid1', will necessarily find one exact matching row in the dimension table 'product' with product id of 'pid1'. There may be multiple rows in the fact table with the same product id.
FIG. 3 is an example of a snowflake schema with a fact table in the center, surrounded by dimension tables, which are surrounded by additional tables. Reference herein to a star schema also implicates a snowflake schema.
The Transaction Processing Performance Council (TPC) has established a Decision Support (DS) benchmark known as TPC-DS. FIG. 4 illustrates a TPC-DS benchmark snowflake schema.
FIG. 5 illustrates a schema that supports fact table to fact table joins. A typical fact-to-fact join involves each fact table aggregating its own measures and joining with its sets of dimensions and then these aggregated fact tables are joined with each other, typically using common dimensions.
Queries based on star or snowflake schema are notoriously expensive to compute for two reasons. First, the amount of data in fact tables is typically huge. Second, since the queries join on the primary-foreign keys, the joins are not reducing. That is, the number of rows in the result of the query is the same as the number of rows in the fact table that survives local filtering on the fact table. This is unlike non-star-schema joins where in the majority of the cases, the number of rows in the result of the join is less than the number of the rows in the bigger of the tables.
Given the high concurrency that Business Intelligence applications demand—typically on the order of 100's to 1000s of concurrent sessions—it is not practical to pay the cost of computing these expensive joins upon every BI application (dashboard, visual) interaction. To alleviate this, BI systems rely on two core strategies. First, joins are pre-materialized to provide fast query response. The pre-materialization is sometimes called cubes or lenses or aggregate tables. Advantageously, pre-materialization pays the cost of the join once, so all BI dashboard-time queries can be executed against a single table. On the other hand, pre-materialization has a high initial cost of computation, which adds to a delay before the BI application can be used. This is typically called "cube building time", which adds latency to the application. Another problem is latency due to maintenance. If new data is added to any underlying table, typically the cube needs a re-computation. If a user finds that a cube does not model the necessary dimensions or measures, there is a further cost to modifying the definition of the cube and materializing it.
Another prior art technique to avoid the expense of joins is the caching of query results. This has the advantage of fast query time during the BI interactions. However, this is severely limited since query result caching does not address BI interactions like drill down, roll ups, and filters. Without that functionality a query result tier is not sufficient for BI applications to be used in a production setting.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improved techniques for executing joins for star and snowflake schema in big data applications.

Apparatus and method for accelerated query processing using eager aggregation and analytical view matching


A bulk amorphous metal inductive device includes a magnetic core having at least one low-loss bulk ferromagnetic amorphous metal magnetic component forming a magnetic circuit having an air therein. The component has a plurality of similarly shaped layers of amorphous metal strips bonded together to form a polyhedrally shaped part. The device has one or more electrical windings and is easily customized for specialized magnetic applications, e.g. for use as a transformer or inductor in power conditioning electronic circuitry employing switch-mode circuit topologies and switching frequencies ranging from 1 kHz to 200 kHz or more. The low core losses of the device, e.g. a loss of at most about 12 W/kg when excited at a frequency of 5 kHz to a peak induction level of 0.3 T, make it especially useful at frequencies of 1 kHz or more.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an inductive device, and more particularly, to a high efficiency, low core loss inductive device having a core comprising one or more 10 bulk amorphous metal magnetic components.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Inductive devices are essential components of a wide variety of modern electrical and electronic equipment, most commonly including transformers and inductors. Most of these devices employ a core comprising a soft ferromagnetic material and one or more electrical windings that encircle the core. Inductors generally employ a single winding with two terminals, and serve as filters and energy storage devices. Transformers generally have two or more windings. They transform voltages from one level to at least one other desired level, and electrically isolate different portions of an overall electric circuit. Inductive devices are available in widely varying sizes with correspondingly varying power capacities. Different types of inductive devices are optimized for operation at frequencies over a very wide range, from DC to GHz. Virtually every known type of soft magnetic material finds application in the construction of inductive devices. Selection of a particular soft magnetic material depends on the combination of properties needed, the availability of the material in a form that lends itself to efficient manufacture, and the volume and cost required to serve a given market. In general, a desirable soft ferromagnetic core material has high saturation induction Bsat at to minimize core size, and low coercivity Hc, high magnetic permeability μ, and low core loss to maximize efficiency.
Components such as motors and small to moderate size inductors and transformers for electrical and electronic devices often are constructed using laminations punched from various grades of magnetic steel supplied in sheets having thickness as low as 100 μm. The laminations are generally stacked and secured and subsequently wound with the requisite one or more electrical windings that typically comprise high conductivity copper or aluminum wire. These laminations are commonly employed in cores with a variety of known shapes.
Many of the shapes used for inductors and transformers are assembled from constituent components which have the general form of certain block letters, such as "C," "U," "E," and "I", by which the components are often identified. The assembled shape may further be denoted by the letters reflecting the constituent components; for example, an "E-I" shape would be made by assembling an "E" component with an "I" component. Other widely used assembled shapes include "E-E," "C-I," and "C-C." Constituent components for prior art cores of these shapes have been constructed both of laminated sheets of conventional crystalline ferromagnetic metal and of machined bulk soft ferrite blocks.
Although many amorphous metals offer superior magnetic performance when compared to other common soft ferromagnetic materials, certain of their physical properties make conventional fabrication techniques difficult or impossible. Amorphous metal is typically supplied as a thin, continuous ribbon having a uniform ribbon width. However, amorphous metals are thinner and harder than virtually all conventional metallic soft magnetic alloys, so conventional stamping or punching of laminations causes excessive wear on fabrication tools and dies, leading to rapid failure. The resulting increase in the tooling and manufacturing costs makes fabricating bulk amorphous metal magnetic components using such conventional techniques commercially impractical. The thinness of amorphous metals also translates into an increased number of laminations needed to form a component with a given cross-section and thickness, further increasing the total cost of an amorphous metal magnetic component. Machining techniques used for shaping ferrite blocks are also not generally suited for processing amorphous metals.
The properties of amorphous metal are often optimized by an annealing treatment. However, the annealing generally renders the amorphous metal very brittle, further complicating conventional manufacturing processes. As a result of the aforementioned difficulties, techniques that are widely and readily used to form shaped laminations of silicon steel and other similar metallic sheet-form FeNi- and FeCo-based crystalline materials, have not been found suitable for manufacturing amorphous metal devices and components. Amorphous metals thus have not been accepted in the marketplace for many devices; this is so, notwithstanding the great potential for improvements in size, weight, and energy efficiency that in principle would be realized from the use of a high induction, low loss material.
For electronic applications such as saturable reactors and some chokes, amorphous metal has been employed in the form of spirally wound, round toroidal cores. Devices in this form are available commercially with diameters typically ranging from a few millimeters to a few centimeters and are commonly used in switch-mode power supplies providing up to several hundred volt-amperes (VA). This core configuration affords a completely closed magnetic circuit, with negligible demagnetizing factor. However, in order to achieve a desired energy storage capability, many inductors require a magnetic circuit that includes a discrete air gap. The presence of the gap results in a non-negligible demagnetizing factor and an associated shape anisotropy that are manifested in a sheared magnetization (B-H) loop. The shape anisotropy may be much higher than the possible induced magnetic anisotropy, increasing the energy storage capacity proportionately. Toroidal cores with discrete air gaps and conventional material have been proposed for such energy storage applications.
However, the stresses inherent in a strip-wound toroidal core give rise to certain problems. The winding inherently places the outside surface of the strip in tension and the inside in compression. Additional stress is contributed by the linear tension needed to insure smooth winding. As a consequence of magnetostriction, a wound toroid typically exhibits magnetic properties that are inferior to those of the same strip measured in a flat strip configuration. Annealing in general is able to relieve only a portion of the stress, so only a part of the degradation is eliminated. In addition, gapping a wound toroid frequently causes additional problems. Any residual hoop stress in the wound structure is at least partially removed on gapping. In practice the net hoop stress is not predictable and may be either compressive or tensile. Therefore the actual gap tends to close or open in the respective cases by an unpredictable amount as required to establish a new stress equilibrium. Therefore, the final gap is generally different from the intended gap, absent corrective measures. Since the magnetic reluctance of the core is determined largely by the gap, the magnetic properties of finished cores are often difficult to reproduce on a consistent basis in the course of high-volume production.
Furthermore, designers frequently seek flexibility not afforded by a limited selection of standard gapped toroidal core structures. For these applications, it is desirable for a user to be able to adjust the gap so as to select a desired degree of shearing and energy storage. In addition, the equipment needed to apply windings to a toroidal core is more complicated, expensive, and difficult to operate than comparable winding equipment for laminated cores. Oftentimes a core of toroidal geometry cannot be used in a high current application, because the heavy gage wire dictated by the rated current cannot be bent to the extent needed in the winding of a toroid. In addition, toroidal designs have only a single magnetic circuit. As a result, they are generally best suited for single phase applications. Other configurations more amenable to easy manufacture and application, while still affording attractive magnetic properties and efficiency, especially for polyphase (including three phase) requirements, are thus sought.
Amorphous metals have also been used in transformers for much higher power devices, such as distribution transformers for the electric power grid that have nameplate ratings of 10 kVA to 1 MVA or more. The cores for these transformers are often formed in a step-lap wound, generally rectangular configuration. In one common construction method, the rectangular core is first formed and annealed. The core is then unlaced to allow pre-formed windings to be slipped over the long legs of the core. Following the incorporation of the pre-formed windings, the layers are relaced and secured. A typical process for constructing a distribution transformer in this manner is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,734,975 to Ballard et al. Such a process understandably entails significant manual labor and manipulation steps involving brittle annealed amorphous metal ribbons. These steps are especially tedious and difficult to accomplish with cores smaller than 10 kVA. Furthermore, in this configuration, the cores are not readily susceptible to controllable introduction of an air gap, which is needed for many inductor applications.
Another difficulty associated with the use of ferromagnetic amorphous metals arises from the phenomenon of magnetostriction. Certain magnetic properties of any magnetostrictive material change in response to imposed mechanical stress. For example, the magnetic permeability of a component containing amorphous materials typically is reduced, and its core losses are increased, when the component is subjected to stress. The degradation of soft magnetic properties of the amorphous metal device due to the magnetostriction phenomenon may be caused by stresses resulting from any combination of sources, including deformation during core fabrication, mechanical stresses resulting from mechanical clamping or otherwise fixing the amorphous metal in place and internal stresses caused by the thermal expansion and/or expansion due to magnetic saturation of the amorphous metal material. As an amorphous metal magnetic device is stressed, the efficiency at which it directs or focuses magnetic flux is reduced, resulting in higher magnetic losses, reduced efficiency, increased heat production, and reduced power. The extent of this degradation is oftentimes considerable. It depends upon the particular amorphous metal material and the actual intensity of the stresses, as indicated by U.S. Pat. No. 5,731,649.
Amorphous metals have far lower anisotropy energies than many other conventional soft magnetic materials, including common electrical steels. Stress levels that would not have a deleterious effect on the magnetic properties of these conventional metals have a severe impact on magnetic properties such as permeability and core loss, which are important for inductive components. For example, the '649 patent teaches that forming amorphous metal cores by rolling amorphous metal into a coil, with lamination using an epoxy, detrimentally restricts the thermal and magnetic saturation expansion of the coil of material. High internal stresses and magnetostriction are thereby produced, which reduce the efficiency of a motor or generator incorporating such a core. In order to avoid stress-induced degradation of magnetic properties, the '649 patent discloses a magnetic component comprising a plurality of stacked or coiled sections of amorphous metal carefully mounted or contained in a dielectric enclosure without the use of adhesive bonding.
A significant trend in recent technology has been the design of power supplies, converters, and related circuits using switch-mode circuit topologies. The increased capabilities of available power semiconductor switching devices have allowed switch-mode devices to operate at increasingly high frequencies. Many devices that formerly were designed with linear regulation and operation at line frequencies (generally 50-60 Hz on the power grid or 400 Hz in military applications) are now based on switch-mode regulation at frequencies that are often 5-200 kHz, and sometimes as much as 1 MHz. A principal driving force for the increase in frequency is the concomitant reduction in the size of the required magnetic components, such as transformers and inductors. However, the increase in frequency also markedly increases the magnetic losses of these components. Thus there exists a significant need to lower these losses.
The limitations of magnetic components made using existing materials entail substantial and undesirable design compromises. In many applications, the core losses of the common electrical steels are prohibitive. In such cases a designer may be forced to use a permalloy alloy or a ferrite as an alternative. However, the attendant reduction in saturation induction (e.g. 0.6-0.9T or less for various permalloy alloys and 0.3-0.4 T for ferrites, versus 1.8-2.0T for ordinary electrical steels) necessitates an increase in the size of the resulting magnetic components. Furthermore, the desirable soft magnetic properties of the permalloys are adversely and irreversibly affected by plastic deformation which can occur at relatively low stress levels. Such stresses may occur either during manufacture or operation of the permalloy component. While soft ferrites often have attractively low losses, their low induction values result in impractically large devices for many applications wherein space is an important consideration. Moreover, the increased size of the core undesirably necessitates a longer electrical winding, so ohmic losses increase.
Notwithstanding the advances represented by the above disclosures, there remains a need in the art for improved inductive devices that exhibit a combination of excellent magnetic and physical properties needed for current requirements. Construction methods are also sought that use amorphous metal efficiently and can be implemented for high volume production of devices of various types.


A component body is held by a holder while projecting both end portions thereof respectively, and two applicators are simultaneously approached toward related end portions of the component body. The applicators are provided with paste films respectively, so that the respective end portions of the component body are located in the paste films as the result of the aforementioned approaching. Then, the applicators are separated from the component body, so that the component body coated with paste materials on the both end portions can be obtained. Conductor paste materials can be efficiently applied to the both end portions of the component body, while the widths of the conductor paste materials which are applied onto the both end portions can be made equal to each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for manufacturing an electronic component, and more particularly, it relates to a method of and an apparatus for applying paste materials to both end portions of a component body thereby forming external terminal electrodes on a chip-type electronic component, for example.
2. Description of the Background Art
FIG. 12 shows a chip-type electronic component 1, which is of interest to the present invention. The electronic component 1 such as a multilayer ceramic capacitor, a multilayer chip inductor or a chip resistor has an appearance shown in FIG. 12. This electronic component 1 comprises a component body 2 and external terminal electrodes 3 and 4 which are formed on both end portions thereof. These external terminal electrodes 3 and 4 are formed by applying conductor paste materials such as Ag--Pd paste materials or Ag paste materials to both end portions of the component body 2 and baking the same. Such an electronic component 1 is of a surface-mountable type.
FIG. 13 shows a step of applying conductor paste materials to end portions of the component body 2 for defining the external terminal electrodes 3 and 4. An applicator 5 of a metal plate, for example, is formed thereon with a film 6 of a conductor paste material in a uniform thickness. Then, an end portion of the component body 2 is located in the paste film 6 and thereafter the component body 2 is separated from the paste film 6, so that the conductor paste material is applied to the end portion of the component body 2. Then, this conductor paste material is dried and thereafter the component body 2 is inverted so that another end thereof is located in the paste film 6 this time. Then, the component body 2 is taken out from the paste film 6, and the conductor paste material which is applied to the other end portion is thereafter dried. Thereafter the conductor paste materials are so fired as to define the external terminal electrodes 3 and 4 respectively.
While FIG. 13 simply illustrates a step of treating a single component body 2, this treatment is generally simultaneously carried out on a plurality of such component bodies 2, which are held by a proper holder.
However, an operation which must be carried out in order to provide the aforementioned external terminal electrodes 3 and 4 is not much efficient. Namely, a step of applying the conductor paste material to one end portion of the component body 2 is carried out independently of a step of applying the conductor paste material to the other end portion, while steps of drying the conductor paste materials are carried out after these steps respectively. Consequently, a relatively large number of steps are required for forming the external terminal electrodes 3 and 4, and hence much time is required in order to obtain a single electronic component 1.
In the as-obtained electronic component 1, it is desirable that each of the external terminal electrodes 3 and 4 has a cross-directional dimension 7 within a constant range. If the holder holding a plurality of component bodies 2 and the applicator 5 are in inferior parallelism or the component bodies 2 are not normally but inclinedly held by the holder, for example, however, parts of the electronic components 1 may be exposed to inconvenience such as that shown in FIG. 14. Referring to FIG. 14, a cross-directional dimension 7a of the external terminal electrode 4, for example, is below a standard range. Similarly, the cross-directional dimension of the external terminal electrode 3 and/or 4 may exceed the standard range.

Method of and apparatus for manufacturing electronic component


A design supporting apparatus is disclosed, including: an inputting part; a syntactic analyzing part; and a scanning and searching part. The inputting part inputs functional description data of a register transfer level. The syntactic analyzing part conducts a syntactic analysis for the functional description data and develops a parse tree. The scanning and searching part scans and searches for the parse tree being developed by the syntactic analyzing part and searches for a description representing a comparison operator having multiple bits, the comparison operator being difficult to detect a fault by test data formed by pseudo-random numbers, which are applied from a pseudo-random number generator of a logic built-in self-test.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to design supporting apparatuses being applicable to an analysis system or a design system and easily conducting a test, and more particularly to a design supporting apparatus capable of confirming a description of which a fault in a hardware functional description is difficult to be detected which is independent of an architecture when a large-scale integrated (LSI) circuit is tested by a function of a logic built-in self-test.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, a conventional technology of a built-in self-test method (hereinafter, called logic BIST) of a scan-base using a random number for test data is disclosed in a Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 5-241882 and a Japanese Patent No. 2711492. Moreover, for example, a checking method for a functional description of a register transfer level is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Applications No. 11-85828, No. 2000-215225, and No 6-259496.
First, the Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 5-241882 describes advantages and disadvantages of a BIST circuit design having the function of the built-in self-test in an architecture. As the advantages, since a manufacturer is not required to cover time and cost necessary to embed a special test device in order to check a function and an operation of a circuit under test, test efficiency is improved. In addition, as the disadvantages, since it is required to assign a physical area within an IC (Integrated Circuit), an area for regular functional components is required to be smaller.
A circuit in the Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 5-241882 functions as a built-in self-test circuit (BIST) to test an operation of a circuit under test by generating a test vector and accumulating signals being output from the circuit under test in response to a test vector. A linear feedback shift register (LFSR) includes a first input being coupled to receive a signal output from the circuit under test, and an output to send a test vector to the circuit under test.
Next, the Japanese Patent No. 2711492 describes a distributed built-in self-test circuit for conducting a built-in self-test of a chip in a diagnostic test of an LSI design and a quality test at an LSI production, and more particularly to a pattern compressing device for the built-in self-test. That is, for the built-in self-test with respect to the LSI, it is required to arrange a pattern compressor for each of various functional blocks. Accordingly, because hardware of the built-in self-test is additionally arranged, a chip area is increased and a yield of the LSI is degraded. Therefore, an amount of hardware is required to be reduced as much as possible. As a spatial compressor built-in each functional block, various compressors having different configurations such as a compressor using a multiple input linear feedback shift register, a compressor using an exclusive OR, and a like are combined in sequence based on a smaller amount of hardware.
For example, the technologies described in the Japanese Laid-open Patent Applications No. 11-85828 and No. 6-259496 are related to a supporting apparatus to improve a test quality by a test bench that is created by a user, which warns a state coverage and an inactive state of a sequential circuit from a simulation result using the test bench created by the user.
Moreover, the Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2000-215225 discloses a technology to examine data propagation from an input to an output based on a simulation result by a test bench created by a user, and to verify a test simplification.
Since test data are pseudo-random numbers in the logic BIST, there are cases in which a sufficient fault detection ratio cannot be obtained. In particular, a comparison operator including multiple bits is a circuit (random resistant) in which a fault detection using a pseudo-random number is not easily conducted. Regarding a circuit having an encoder and a conditional branch process being nested, if test data are pseudo-random numbers, a bias occurs after a conditional branch. As a result, there are circuits which remain without being tested.
Conventionally, in response to these problems, a technology is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,261 to insert a test circuit at a place where a controllability and an observability in a net list of gate levels are not good.
However, in this technology, because of the test circuit being inserted, a circuit function, especially, speed is degraded. In addition, in a case of a large-scale circuit, an execution time becomes longer in an analysis tool for the controllability and the observability.
In order to solve the above-described problems, for example, a description being difficult to detect a fault by the logic BIST is extracted at a register transfer level (hereinafter, called RTL), and a test circuit description is additionally described to the description being extracted. A net list of the gate level, in which a countermeasure is taken for the above-described problems, can be obtained.
However, it is required to know a description corresponding to a random resistance in the RTL beforehand.
Furthermore, in other than the test, an equivalence checking tool is not used for a multiplier having more than 32 bits in an equivalence checking process. Regarding the logic synthesis, if the multiplier is a large-scale circuit, the execution time becomes longer. In response to this problem, it is required to divide the description. In this case, it is needed to know where a problem is in the RTL beforehand.

Design supporting apparatus capable of checking functional description of large-scale integrated circuit to detect fault in said circuit


A method of managing wheel slip in a vehicle. The vehicle has a frame, an internal combustion engine, front and rear wheels operatively connected to the engine, a throttle valve for controlling a supply of air to the engine, a steering assembly operatively connected to at least the front wheels for steering the vehicle, and an unassisted continuously variable transmission (CVT) operatively connecting the front wheels and the rear wheels to the engine. The method includes: determining a sensed deceleration of the vehicle; comparing the sensed deceleration of the vehicle to a threshold deceleration; and increasing a torque output of the engine from a current engine torque output value to an increased engine torque output value when the sensed deceleration of the vehicle is greater than the threshold deceleration. A method for managing wheel slip in accordance with a drive mode of the vehicle is also disclosed.

All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and similar vehicles are used for utility and recreational purposes. During use, ATVs often travel over slippery surfaces (e.g., ice, snow, mud, gravel, etc.) on which the ATV's wheels have low traction. This low traction can cause wheel slip whereby the force applied by the engine to the ATV's wheels exceeds traction available to the wheels.
Wheel slip can be encountered when the ATV undergoes "engine braking". Engine braking occurs when there is a reduction in throttle input by the driver of the ATV such as, for example, when the driver suddenly lets go of the throttle lever of the ATV. When this happens, a throttle valve in the air intake system of the ATV's engine is closed and air flow through the intake becomes restricted, causing a vacuum to form within the air intake manifold which the engine's pistons work against. Consequently, the torque output of the engine switches from a positive torque output, produced by combusting fuel to drive the wheels, to a negative torque output, produced by the engine working against the vacuum formed in the air intake manifold. When the ATV is on a high friction surface (e.g., dry asphalt) and the ATV undergoes engine braking, the ATV's wheels have sufficient traction to counter the negative torque output of the engine and thus the engine braking causes the ATV to slow down. However, on a slippery surface, the wheels may not have the necessary traction to counter the negative torque output and therefore the wheels can start slipping.
An example of the effect of wheel slip in a prior art ATV in a rear-wheel drive mode is shown in FIG. 7 which illustrates a graph plotting the speeds of the front wheels and the rear wheels of an ATV on a slippery surface when the requested throttle at the throttle operator is reduced to null (i.e., the driver lets go of the throttle lever). As shown, shortly after releasing the throttle at time t=0, both the front wheels and the rear wheels begin decelerating. However, the rear wheels, which are driven by the engine, are subjected to the negative torque output of the engine (due to engine braking) and, because the rear wheels are on a slippery surface, decelerate at a significantly greater rate than the front wheels, resulting in that the speed of the rear wheels drops considerably relative to the speed of the front wheels. At a time tr, the deceleration of the rear wheels stabilizes such that the front wheels and the rear wheels have the same speeds and decelerate at the same rate. However, between the time t=0 up until the time tr, the rear wheels are slipping relative to the surface they are on. That is, the rear wheels are rotating at a speed slower than would be expected for the speed at which the vehicle is travelling.
Thus, in order to avoid wheel slip caused by engine braking certain two-wheel drive vehicles implement an engine control strategy that is generally referred to as a drag torque control (DTC) function. Notably, DTC increases the speed of the engine and its torque output when wheel slip is detected so as to cause the engine to produce a positive torque output rather than a negative torque output. The ATV of the example of FIG. 7 does not implement DTC. Moreover, in some cases, when wheel slip is detected, a gear ratio of a transmission of the vehicle will be up-shifted to a higher gear ratio which has the effect of reducing the negative torque output to the wheels (conversely, a lower gear ratio increases the negative torque output to the wheels).
However, often times, ATVs are equipped with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) that is unassisted, such as a centrifugally actuated (i.e. a centrifugal CVT), such that the gear ratio of the CVT is mechanically adjusted in an automatic manner. In such cases, the gear ratio of the CVT cannot be increased selectively to reduce the negative torque output to the wheels. Rather, centrifugal CVTs will typically lower a gear ratio thereof when the speed of the engine is reduced, as is the case when engine braking occurs, which increases the negative torque output to the wheels thus further exacerbating the problem.
Thus, there is a desire for a method for managing wheel slip in a vehicle having a centrifugal CVT that addresses some of the aforementioned drawbacks.

Method for managing wheel slip in a vehicle


Board devices, apparatus, systems and methods for practicing exercises such as yoga and stand up paddling with an elongated planar type board having two half sections joined by a flush mounted hinge, with plural convex curved rocker members mounted underneath the board. A pair of the curved rocker members can abut each other under the hinge to lock the board in an extended position.

Balancing oneself on a pivotable indoor balance board has increased in popularity in recent years. These boards have generally relied on the use of a generally oval shaped board with an underside supported by either an inflatable cushion or a roller type pin. The inventor of the subject invention originally invented the original board in 1975 as a way of practicing surfing on land without having to go in the ocean. In 2004 the inventor introduced an inflatable circular shaped air cushion to be used under the balance board deck as a safety feature as well as an enhanced exercise aspect.
Over the years the popularity of these balancing boards have been used in various classes such as school physical education classes, gym classes, and group exercise programs, as a way of integrating core fitness and balance challenges. Staying on top of the board during unilateral and multilateral movements can increase the heart rate while simultaneously improving balance, upper and lower body joint and muscle strength and a sense of self in space (proprioception), which is important for injury prevention and rehab work. These novel balancing boards can be used to simulate stand up paddling and as a tool for practicing yoga exercises in a limited application.
The introduction of Stand Up Paddling (SUP) as a sport beginning in about 1998 has spawned a new form of exercises and yoga related exercises by using the SUP boards as an unstable platform to perform these exercise while on the surface of any applicable body of water. This in turn created a dry land solution by utilizing SUP boards supported by large balance cushions to simulate the instability of the SUP boards on the waters surface. This new exercise phenomenon is known as SUP yoga and SUP fitness.
There are numerous problems with these existing boards. For example, an SUP board is both difficult to carry and transport from location to location. In addition, these elongated boards take up a considerable amount of storage space that many users do not have. In addition these SUP boards can, as a general rule, only be found in close proximity to a suitable body of water. And are not readily available in large metropolitan areas i.e. New York City, Chicago, Denver, Dallas in relation to the number of practitioners of yoga which leaves a large market segment unable to undertake the new exercise trend.
Additionally, the current types of indoor balance boards have limited movement and versatility in relation to SUP yoga exercises. For example, the existing balance boards are limited in length and do not match the space an adult human requires to properly perform yoga. In addition, the roller pin used underneath the board can result in the board slipping off and easily separating from the roller pin. Thus, the need exists for solutions to the above problems with the prior art.


A mold chase for packaging a compartmentally shielded multifunctional semiconductor is provided. The mold chase generally includes a first cavity and a second cavity separated by a trench plate positioned between a first component and a second component of the multifunctional semiconductor between which a compartmental shield is required. The mold chase is lowered into a molding position over the multifunctional semiconductor and a molding material is injected through an inlet sprue into the first and second cavities to surround the first and second components, respectively. After the molding material is cured, the mold chase is removed and an open trench is formed in the cured molding material by the trench plate. The open trench is filled with a conductive material to form the compartmental shield. A conformal shield may be added to cover the package.

Microelectronic devices, such as memory devices, microprocessors, and light emitting diodes, typically include one or more semiconductor dies mounted to a substrate and encased in a protective covering. The semiconductor dies are packaged to couple the bond pads to a larger array of electrical terminals that can be more easily coupled to the various power supply lines, signal lines, and ground lines. Conventional processes for packaging dies include electrically coupling the bond pads on the dies to an array of leads, ball pads, or other types of electrical terminals, and encapsulating the dies to protect them from environmental factors (e.g., moisture, particulates, static electricity, and physical impact). The semiconductor dies include functional features, such as memory cells, processor circuits, interconnecting circuitry, etc. that may require shielding from other components.
In some examples, multiple semiconductor components are packaged together in a multifunctional package, or a System in Package (SiP), which generally refers to a semiconductor package containing different types of semiconductor devices, such as differ types of dies with different functionality, or other components packaged with semiconductor dies. In SiP arrangements, certain components may require shielding from other components within the same package. In such package-level shielding, one or more conductive shields are integrated within the protective covering to isolate components and compartmentalize the SiP. In conventional SiP shielding arrangements, multiple manufacturing process steps are required to integrate the shield.

Semiconductor devices with package-level compartmental shielding and associated systems and methods


The present invention discloses a trash bag detection device for a smart trash receptacle, comprising a transmitter for transmitting a signal and a receiver for receiving a signal, both the transmitter and the receiver being disposed on internal surfaces of the trash receptacle, wherein the signal received by the receiver is a direct signal transmitted from the transmitter or a signal from the transmitter that has been reflected. The present invention also discloses a smart trash receptacle incorporating such a trash bag detection device and a method for control of automatic bag replacement. With the present invention, the position of a trash bag in the trash receptacle can be automatically detected, allowing improved intelligent control of the trash receptacle. This is helpful in protecting the trash bag, saving resources, reducing potential safety risks of the smart trash receptacle and increasing its stability and reliability.

With the advancement of science and technology and the improvement of people's living standards, smart homes are increasingly becoming an indispensable part of our lives. At present, smart trash receptacles have been a focus of people's attention thanks to their characteristics of cleanliness, sanitariness and convenience of use.
A conventional smart trash receptacle usually has a flip cover and an infrared (IR) sensing device arranged in the vicinity thereof. The IR sensing device can cause the flip cover to be opened when sensing an approaching user and closed after the user has left. Although this can save the step for manually opening/closing the flip cover, such a simple function lags far behind users' expectations. Therefore, research efforts in the art have been placed on developing the capabilities including intelligent sensing, automatic bagging and automatic bag replacement. Among these, automatic bag replacement can dispense with manual bag replacement that consumes much time and labor. In an automatic bag replacement process, a fan can be used to evacuate the air from a trash receptacle, making the ambient atmospheric pressure higher than the air pressure in the receptacle. As a result, the trash bag to be replaced is pushed into the receptacle under the action of the atmospheric pressure, thus enabling automatic bag replacement. However, most smart trash receptacles currently available in the marketplace only allow manual or semi-automatic bag replacement and do not have a device capable of effectively detecting the position of a trash bag within the receptacle. For this reason, it is impossible to determine whether the trash bag has been fully fitted in place so as to prevent partial breakage of the trash bag during its automatic replacement or even potentially other safety issues of the smart trash receptacle. This limits further development of intelligence in such smart trash receptacles.
Therefore, how to address the issue that conventional smart trash receptacles are incapable of detecting the position of a trash bag therein and hence tend to suffer from breakage of the trash bag during automatic bag replacement and how to satisfy the need for information about such intra-receptacle position of the trash bag for further intelligence in smart trash receptacles remain critical technical problems sought to be solved by those skilled in the art.

Trash bag detection device, smart trash receptacle and method for control of automatic bag replacement

SHANGHAI TOWNEW INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A cleaning product having a reservoir and a cleaning pad. The reservoir contains a first reactant that is released upon the application of a certain force that ruptures the reservoir. A second reactant is applied to the cleaning pad that is placed into contact with the first reactant when the reservoir is ruptured.

Cleaning products (e.g., mop, hand held pad, etc.) are used for cleaning a variety of surfaces, such as floors, ovens, carpets and bathtubs. Typically, the cleaning product is dipped into a cleansing solution and then applied to the surface being cleaned. Alternatively, the cleansing solution may be applied directly to the surface being cleaned, and then wiped with a pad. The cleansing solution increases the speed at which the surface is cleaned, decreases the effort a user must exert to clean the surface, and improves the overall quality of the cleaning process. Moreover, cleaning products may also be packaged with a chamber, such as a capsule, which stores the cleansing solution prior to use. A user may release the cleansing solution from the chamber and subsequently use the cleansing solution during cleaning. This configuration avoids the inconvenience of providing a separate source of cleansing solution, ensures a particular type of cleansing solution is used, and allows for the actual amount of cleansing solution used to be regulated.
Unfortunately, packaging a cleaning product with a cleansing solution is often detrimental to the shelf life and effectiveness of the cleansing solution. For example, hydrogen peroxide is a common cleansing solution that may be used as a whitener, brightener, cleanser, antimicrobial agent, and/or oxidizer. However, hydrogen peroxide becomes unstable when exposed to ultraviolet light. Thus, because the cleaning product is exposed to ultraviolet light over time, the shelf life and effectiveness of hydrogen peroxide is usually reduced when packaged along with the cleaning product.
Cleansing solution may sometimes be packaged in a spray bottle or other container. A user may apply the cleansing solution to a surface and then use a cleaning product, such as a sponge, to work the cleansing solution across the surface to remove dirt and other contaminants. This type of arrangement may be problematic in that a pair of objects, the spray bottle and sponge, are needed. For example, if one of the objects becomes lost or otherwise runs out, a user will not be able to conduct or continue cleaning.
Accordingly, a need exists for a cleaning product that helps increase the effectiveness and shelf life of cleansing solutions and other materials associated with cleaning products.


An apparatus and method for mapping memory addresses to reduce or avoid conflicting memory accesses in memory systems such as cache memories is described in connection with a multithreaded multiprocessor chip. A CMT processor reduces the probability of hot-spots in cache operations by hashing certain bits of a physical cache address to form a hashed cache address. By using exclusive OR functionality to hash the index bits, an efficient address transformation is achieved for indexing into an L2 cache memory.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of processor or computer design and operation. In one aspect, the present invention relates to memory operations in a multi-threaded processor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer systems are constructed of many components, typically including one or more processors that are connected for access to one or more memory devices (such as RAM) and secondary storage devices (such as hard disks and optical discs). For example, FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a computer system 10 with multiple memories. Generally, a processor 1 connects to a system bus 12. Also connected to the system bus 12 is a memory (e.g., 14). During processor operation, CPU 2 processes instructions and performs calculations. Data for the CPU operation is stored in and retrieved from memory using a memory controller 8 and cache memory, which holds recently or frequently used data or instructions for expedited retrieval by the CPU 2. Specifically, a first level (L1) cache 4 connects to the CPU 2, followed by a second level (L2) cache 6 connected to the L1 cache 4. The CPU 2 transfers information to the L2 cache 6 via the L1 cache 4. Such computer systems may be used in a variety of applications, including as a server 10 that is connected in a distributed network, such as Internet 9, enabling server 10 to communicate with clients A-X, 3, 5, 7.
Because processor clock frequency is increasing more quickly than memory speeds, there is an ever increasing gap between processor speed and memory access speed. In fact, memory speeds have only been doubling every six years—one-third the rate of microprocessors. In many commercial computing applications, this speed gap results in a large percentage of time elapsing during pipeline stalling and idling, rather than in productive execution, due to cache misses and latency in accessing external caches or external memory following the cache misses. Stalling and idling are most detrimental, due to frequent cache misses, in database handling operations such as OLTP, DSS, data mining, financial forecasting, mechanical and electronic computer-aided design (MCAD/ECAD), web servers, data servers, and the like. Thus, although a processor may execute at high speed, much time is wasted while idly awaiting data.
One technique for reducing stalling and idling is hardware multithreading to achieve processor execution during otherwise idle cycles. FIGS. 2a and 2b show two timing diagrams illustrating an execution flow 22 in a single-thread processor and an execution flow 24 in a vertical multithread processor. Processing applications, such as database applications and network computing applications, spend a significant portion of execution time stalled awaiting memory servicing. This is illustrated in FIG. 2a, which depicts a highly schematic timing diagram showing execution flow 22 of a single-thread processor executing a database application. The areas within the execution flow 22 labeled as "C" correspond to periods of execution in which the single-thread processor core issues instructions. The areas within the execution flow 22 labeled as "M" correspond to time periods in which the single-thread processor core is stalled waiting for data or instructions from memory or an external cache. A typical single-thread processor executing a typical database application executes instructions about 25% of the time with the remaining 75% of the time elapsed in a stalled condition. The 25% utilization rate exemplifies the inefficient usage of resources by a single-thread processor.
FIG. 2b is a highly schematic timing diagram showing execution flow 24 of similar database operations by a multithread processor. Applications, such as database applications, have a large amount of inherent parallelism due to the heavy throughput orientation of database applications and the common database functionality of processing several independent transactions at one time. The basic concept of exploiting multithread functionality involves using processor resources efficiently when a thread is stalled by executing other threads while the stalled thread remains stalled. The execution flow 24 depicts a first thread 25, a second thread 26, a third thread 27 and a fourth thread 28, all of which are labeled to show the execution (C) and stalled or memory (M) phases. As one thread stalls, for example first thread 25, another thread, such as second thread 26, switches into execution on the otherwise unused or idle pipeline. There may also be idle times (not shown) when all threads are stalled. Overall processor utilization is significantly improved by multithreading. The illustrative technique of multithreading employs replication of architected registers for each thread and is called "vertical multithreading."
Vertical multithreading is advantageous in processing applications in which frequent cache misses result in heavy clock penalties. When cache misses cause a first thread to stall, vertical multithreading permits a second thread to execute when the processor would otherwise remain idle. The second thread thus takes over execution of the pipeline. A context switch from the first thread to the second thread involves saving the useful states of the first thread and assigning new states to the second thread. When the first thread restarts after stalling, the saved states are returned and the first thread proceeds in execution. Vertical multithreading imposes costs on a processor in resources used for saving and restoring thread states, and may involve replication of some processor resources, for example replication of architected registers, for each thread. In addition, vertical multithreading complicates any ordering and coherency requirements for memory operations when multiple threads and/or multiple processors are vying for access to any shared memory resources.
Accordingly, improved memory operations for multithreading and/or multiprocessor circuits and operating methods are needed that are economical in resources and avoid costly overhead which reduces processor performance. In addition, an efficient memory addressing protocol is needed that reduces contention problems caused by multiple threads and/or processors making memory access requests to a shared memory resource. Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional systems will become apparent to one of skill in the art after reviewing the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings and detailed description which follow.

Level 2 cache index hashing to avoid hot spots


The invention relates to an antimicrobial barrier device and methods of manufacture. The antimicrobial barrier comprises one or more antimicrobial drugs that inhibit biofilm formation and bacterial and/or fungal growth. The antimicrobial barrier is suited for use with insertable devices (e.g., catheters) to reduce the incidence of infection at and around the insertion site.

The prolonged placement of insertable medical devices, such as needles and catheters, presents the risk of infection from bacteria and fungi at the site of insertion. Infection can result from the colonization of the insertion site by microorganisms present on the skin. The microorganisms can migrate into a patient's body along the outer surface of the insertable medical device resulting in infection.
The risk of infection is common with the use of urinary catheters for draining bodily fluids. Untreated infections can lead to infection of the kidneys. Infection typically results from manipulation of the catheter and drainage device. Virtually all patients undergoing long term urinary catheterization can develop bacteriurea. See Nicolle et al. Clin. Infect. Dis. (2005) 40(5), 643-654. Attempts to prevent urinary tract infection from long-term catheterization have produced mixed results. Jacobsen et al. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. (2008) 21, 26-59. Coating a catheter with an antimicrobial solution or lubricant has not proven successful. Limited trials with antibiotic-impregnated catheters, however, produced some benefit.
Infections can also result from the use of percutaneously inserted catheters and i.v. tubes. Catheter-related infections represent a significant proportion of hospital acquired infection and contribute to increased morbidity and mortality. Bouza et al. Clin. Infect. Dis. (2007) 44 (6), 820-26. General guidelines for prevention of infection include cleaning the area of insertion with an antiseptic such as 70% alcohol, tincture of iodine, or chlorhexidine. O'Grady et al. Clin. Infect. Dis. (2011) 52, pp. e1-e32. In spite of these preventive measures, prolonged placement of catheters can nonetheless result in infection.
Long term use of intravascular and urinary catheters is associated with the possibility of biofilm formation on the catheter. Microorganisms on the skin of a patient around a catheter insertion site can attach to the external surface and form a biofilm. Donlan, R. Clinical Infectious Diseases (2011) 52, 1038-1045; Trautner et al. Am. J. Infect. Control. (2004) 32, 177-183. Biofilms are microbial communities that colonize the surface to which they are attached and produce a gel-like extracellular polymeric substance matrix. Once established, organisms living in a biofilm can become much more resistant to antimicrobial agents than planktonic (i.e., freely suspended) organisms. Biofilms can also serve as a source of microorganisms that can subsequently infect a patient. Newman, D. Infectious Diseases Special Edition (2010) 13-20.
Current techniques used to impregnate drugs into materials to create drug eluting devices are limited in how much drug can be imbibed into the material. Current methods also require a large amount of drug to be unused and wasted during the imbibement process. Another drawback of using current imbibement/impregnation techniques is that drugs can elute more quickly than desired, thus decreasing the useful lifetime of the device.
Therefore, a need exists for novel devices and methods for preventing and reducing the incidence of infection at the site of insertion of an insertable medical device and inhibiting biofilm formation, particularly in the case of prolonged placement of a catheter.


The present invention provides methods of selecting and uses of anti-arthropod vector vaccines to prevent Leishmaniasis. The present invention also provides compositions for vaccines to prevent Leishmaniasis.

The leishmaniases are a group of diseases caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania and affect many millions of people worldwide. In humans, infection with the parasite manifests either as a cutaneous disease caused mainly by L. major, L. tropica, and L. mexicana; as a mucocutaneous disease caused mainly by L. brasiliensis; or as a visceral disease caused mainly by L. donovani and L. chagasi. All leishmanial diseases are transmitted to their vertebrate hosts by phlebotomine sand flies, which acquire the pathogen by feeding on infected hosts and transmit them by regurgitating the parasite at the site of a subsequent blood meal (1).
While obtaining a blood meal, sand flies salivate into the host's skin. This saliva contains anticlotting, antiplatelet, and vasodilatory compounds that increase the hemorrhagic pool where sand flies feed (2, 3). Some of these components are additionally immunomodulatory. For example, the New World sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis contains the 6.5-kD peptide, maxadilan, which is the most potent vasodilator known (4). Maxadilan additionally has immunosuppressive activities of its own (5), as do many persistent vasodilators such as prostaglandin E2 (6-8) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (9). Old World sand flies (who share a common ancestor with New World sand flies before the separation of the present tectonic plates, or about the time of irradiation of mammals) do not have maxadilan but instead use AMP and adenosine as vasodilators (10). Adenosine is also an immunomodulatory component, promoting the production of IL-10 and suppressing TNF-α and IL-12 in mice (11-13). Despite what is known about the role of sandfly saliva and disease transmission, much remains unknown, and an effective vaccine does not exist. Thus, there is a need to prevent infection with the organisms that cause Leishmaniasis. The present invention provides nine major salivary proteins from the sand fly vector of L. major, P. papatasi, and the nucleic acids that encode them, a vaccine comprising the proteins and/or nucleic acids of the invention, and methods of producing an immune response in a subject to prevent Leishmaniasis.

Anti-arthropod vector vaccines, methods of selecting and uses thereof

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services


The present invention comprises: a first X-ray irradiation apparatus and a second X-ray irradiation apparatus for irradiating a subject with X-rays; an X-ray generation unit supporting so that first and second X-rays irradiated onto the subject are detected by a set detector when the subject is irradiated with the first and second X-rays from the first and second X-ray irradiation apparatuses, respectively; and a mode selection unit for allowing selection of any one mode from among a 2D imaging mode and 3D imaging mode, wherein the angles with respect to the subject of the first and second X-ray irradiation apparatuses are determined on the basis of said any one mode selected by means of the mode selection unit from among the 2D imaging mode and 3D imaging mode. According to the present invention, the mode can be easily selected according to need from among the 2D imaging mode and 3D imaging mode.

In a conventional angiographic unit, an image intensifier receives an X-ray signal if an X-ray is irradiated onto a human body, and transmits the received the X-ray signal to a camera tube, by which the X-ray signal is converted into an image signal. When the image signal is reconfigured by several image-processing circuits and sent to a monitor, an operator performs treatments while watching the monitor. As such, since there are few techniques for reconstructing 3D images in a real-time fluoroscopic field, it is difficult for the operator to recognize accurate pathways, directions, etc. of blood vessels with 2D images upon a treatment.
Upon taking an image of blood vessels by using an angiographic unit, a performance of the angiographic unit is evaluated by a resolving power, which is determined by contrast resolution, time resolution, and spatial resolution. The contrast resolution is an ability of discerning differences between light and darkness of a substance and the time resolution is an ability of discerning a minimum time interval regarding an input signal. The spatial resolution, which is the most important element in determining the resolving power, is an ability to geometrically separate and discern an adjacent substance, but the reconstruction of three-dimension (3D) as an element for improving the spatial resolution is scarcely considered.
To overcome such problems, a method for obtaining 2D images orthogonal with each other by using two C-arms and then reconstructing a 3D structure has been suggested. However, the method has also problems of causing a double radiation exposure due to two X-ray generators and two detectors, and failing to obtain images from various angles.

X-ray apparatus for real-time three-dimensional view


A plurality of assemblies is manufactured. Each assembly comprises a sealing slice that is fixed to a base slice. The plurality of assemblies is manufactured in the following manner. In a preparation step, a stack is formed. The stack comprises a plurality of pre-assemblies. Each pre-assembly comprises a base slice, a sealing slice and a fixing layer provided between the base slice and the sealing slice. The stack further comprises at least one supple buffer layer. The supple buffer layer has a mechanical rigidity, which is substantially less than that of the base slices and that of the sealing slices. The supple buffer layer thus enables to compensate for variations in thickness of the base slices and of the sealing slices. In a fixing step, the stack is pressed which causes the sealing slice of each pre-assembly to be fixed to the base-slice of the pre-assembly.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a method of manufacturing a plurality of assemblies. An assembly comprises a sealing slice that is fixed to a base slice. The sealing slice and the base slice can be, for example, two silicon wafers.
2. Description of the Related Art
The French patent application number 2 767 966 concerns a secured integrated circuit device. The device includes an active layer with a semiconducting material and circuits integrated with the semiconducting material. This active layer includes an active side on which there are contact studs. An additional layer is then bonded to this active layer via an intermediate fixing layer, for example a thermosetting plastic. This fixing layer is deposited in the viscous state. Apart from its bonding properties, it is resistant to the traditional solvents.
Generally, its properties of bonding and resistance to solvents are temperature activated. During this activation, redundant products are formed in the intermediate fixing layer. Some redundant products are products resulting from various intermediate chemical reactions occurring, in particular, as a result of this activation. Other redundant products are solvents, especially solvents required to ensure that activation occurs correctly.

Method of manufacturing a plurality of assemblies


A joint control method with variable ZVS angles for dynamic efficiency optimization in a WPC system for EVs under ZVS conditions, including: adjusting a phase-shift duty cycle of a secondary active rectifier to control a charging voltage and a charging current of EV's batteries through a charging voltage closed loop and a charging current closed loop, respectively; adjusting a power angle of the secondary active rectifier to control a ZVS angle of the secondary active rectifier through a secondary ZVS angle closed loop; adjusting a phase-shift duty cycle of a primary inverter to control a ZVS angle of the primary inverter through the primary ZVS angle closed loop; determining the current operating case of the WPC system and adjusting the ZVS angles of the primary inverter and the secondary active rectifier to automatically identify an optimal operating point with a maximum charging efficiency through the P&O method.

WPC is a safe and convenient method for electric power transfer. It is flexible and user-friendly with the adaptability to harsh environments, and enables mobile power supply. WPC techniques based on near-field coupling are promising in EVs, consumer electronics, sensors and implanted devices since it well satisfies the requirements on transfer distance, efficiency, power level and safety. Currently, due to the widespread use of the EVs, WPC techniques for the EVs are becoming a research hotspot. However, in the control of WPC systems for the EVs, there are several requirements.
(1) Stable charging voltage and charging current: as a power source, WPC systems are required to provide a stable charging voltage and charging current for the EVs.
(2) Minimum switching loss: a series-series (SS) compensated WPC system needs to adopt a high-frequency inverter and an active rectifier. The high-frequency inverter and the active rectifier are generally designed with Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor (MOSFET) devices. In order to reduce switching losses, both the inverter and the active rectifier need to achieve ZVS.
(3) Maximum overall transfer efficiency under various operating conditions: In the whole charging process of EV's batteries, WPC systems should achieve the maximum transfer efficiency under various operating conditions to reduce power losses and the volume of heat sinks, in order to improve the power density of WPC systems and save electric energy.
(4) Excellent anti-interference performance: in practical applications, when the load changes, the control system needs to automatically adjust control variables to track the reference signals from the EV's batteries.
(5) Fewer converters: in the WPC system for the EVs, it is significant to reduce the number of converters, which is beneficial for reducing the system cost and complexity, improving the maximum transfer efficiency and power density.
On the one hand, in order to reduce switching losses of the primary and secondary converters, the primary and secondary converters are required to achieve ZVS; on the other hand, in the practical applications of WPC systems for the EVs, the charging voltage and the charging current will change continuously in the whole charging process of the EV's batteries, and the power losses of WPC systems will change greatly. Therefore, it is vital to adjust the control variables reasonably to minimize the power losses of WPC systems under ZVS conditions. Currently, it is still lack of the multi-objective control method to satisfy the five requirements mentioned above.
In summary, it is necessary to propose a novel control method to meet five aforementioned requirements in the WPC system for the EVs.

Joint control method with variable ZVS angles for dynamic efficiency optimization in wireless power charging for electric vehicles


A method for signaling sample adaptive offset (SAO) band offset syntax elements in a video encoder is provided that includes receiving a plurality of band offset syntax elements, entropy encoding an absolute value of a magnitude of each band offset syntax element in a compressed video bit stream, and entropy encoding a sign of each non-zero band offset syntax element in the compressed video bit stream following the absolute values of the magnitudes.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to signaling of signed band offset values for sample adaptive offset (SAO) filtering in video coding.
2. Description of the Related Art
The Joint Collaborative Team on Video Coding (JCT-VC) of ITU-T WP3/16 and ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG 11 is currently developing the next-generation video coding standard referred to as High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC). Similar to previous video coding standards such as H.264/AVC, HEVC is based on a hybrid coding scheme using block-based prediction and transform coding. First, the input signal is split into rectangular blocks that are predicted from the previously decoded data by either motion compensated (inter) prediction or intra prediction. The resulting prediction error is coded by applying block transforms based on an integer approximation of the discrete cosine transform, which is followed by quantization and coding of the transform coefficients.
In a coding scheme that uses block-based prediction, transform coding, and quantization, some characteristics of the compressed video data may differ from the original video data. For example, discontinuities referred to as blocking artifacts can occur in the reconstructed signal at block boundaries. Further, the intensity of the compressed video data may be shifted. Such intensity shift may also cause visual impairments or artifacts. To help reduce such artifacts in decompressed video, the emerging HEVC standard defines three in-loop filters: a deblocking filter to reduce blocking artifacts, a sample adaptive offset filter (SAO) to reduce distortion caused by intensity shift, and an adaptive loop filter (ALF) to minimize the mean squared error (MSE) between reconstructed video and original video. These filters may be applied sequentially, and, depending on the configuration, the SAO and ALF loop filters may be applied to the output of the deblocking filter.

Signaling signed band offset values for sample adaptive offset (SAO) filtering in video coding