A light emitting diode network includes a plurality of light emitting diodes arranged in a row. Each of the plurality of light emitting diodes includes a semiconductor crystal having first and second regions of opposed conductivity types respectively facing opposite sides of the row. First and second electric conductors are provided for respectively connecting the first regions of the diodes together and the second regions of the diodes together. Each of the first and second electrical inductors having alternating first and second flat portions in which the first flat portions are perpendicular relative the second flat portions. The first flat portions are soldered to the semiconductor crystals, and the second flat portions function as cooling fins for the light emitting diode network.

Such networks are now being used to an increasing extent, for example, as a replacement for incandescent or fluorescent lamps in lighting equipment for automotive vehicles. Similarly they are being increasingly used for indicator lamps, e.g. for signalling the operation of the brake lights, direction indicators, and safety indicating devices.
The light emitting diode networks often used in practice have semi-conductor crystals arranged on electrical connectors, formed in a predetermined configuration on an insulating support element and arranged to provide the electrical supply for the diodes. Each electrical connector is respectively, and selectively, in contact with the p-type and n-type regions of the semi-conductor light emitting crystals constituting the network. This assembly is designed for a method of mounting the electronic components on large surfaces, that is to say a modular assembly, with regular spacing, adapted for direct soldering of the p-type anode-base of the semi-conductor crystals, using conductive resins which only polymerise at temperatures of the order of 200.degree. C. More particularly, they are adapted for soldering of gold wire for connecting the n-type cathode, which provides the other electrical contact zone of each crystal. This method of assembly is poorly adapted for use with those printed circuits that are designed for the mounting of electronic components where the latter have previously been deposited and welded in a vacuum at relatively low temperatures, or with other networks in which the connections are carried on the insulating supports of plastics materials, which would be liable to be degraded by the temperatures necessary for the soldering of the light emitting crystals.
In addition, in most known applications, the electro-luminescent elements, which generally form a matrix of light emitting diodes, have to be arranged in large numbers on a small surface, and the emission of light beams from each of them must be localised into a zone which is substantially a point. The luminous intensity of the beams is then reinforced subsequently, using an appropriate optical system.
French published patent specification No. FR 2 574 616 A discloses such an optical system, in which the assembly comprising a plurality of light emitting diodes, whether or not carried by a specific support inserted on an insulating substrate, together with a system of optical collimating elements, has to respond to a predetermined directionality of the light beam. The collimating elements should preferably constitute an array of parabolic reflectors, each one being on substantially the same optical axis as the corresponding semi-conductor crystal.
Furthermore, in spite of the low current consumption of the electro-luminescent elements, the fact that they are concentrated on the insulating support matrix on which they are carried leads to thermal problems, which also produce side effects in regard to luminous efficiency. As an example, an increase in the temperature of the assembly due to the power dissipated by 50 diodes (of the order of 4 watts) would lead to a reduction in light output which may be as much as 0.7% per degree C. Such an increase in temperature may also lead, in certain cases, or with certain arrangements, to deterioration of the greater part of the materials, such as plastics materials, which generally constitute the reflector or its possible coating layers, the latter being deposited by a metallisation procedure in a vacuum, followed by application of a protective varnish.
In the published French patent application No. FR 2 565 726 A, it has been proposed that light emitting diodes should be fixed on a first metallic band which constitutes an electrical connector of a first polarity, while a second metallic band, constituting an electrical sector of a second polarity, is connected to each of the light emitting diodes by a connecting wire. However, such an arrangement does not allow for sufficiently good removal of the heat which is produced in operation, and it is also somewhat fragile because of the presence of the connecting wires, which may be ruptured or become disconnected under the influence of heating and vibrations which are inherent in use during an automotive vehicle.


The present invention is directed to processes and apparatus useful for fluidizing small particulate solids having a diameter of less than about 50 microns in average particle size, and at least partially enveloping these small solids with a coating material or a precursor thereto. The basic apparatus of this invention comprises:. a cross-current multi-stage fluid bed reactor having N fluid beds in flow communication with one another, wherein N>2; PA1 means for introducing small solid particles to a bed selected from the N beds of the reactor; PA1 means for introducing a fluidizing gas to the N beds of the reactor, thereby promoting a flow of the small solid particles from the first bed through bed #N of the multi-stage fluid bed reactor; PA1 means for introducing a coating material or a precursor thereto, to one or more of the N beds of the reactor; PA1 means for distributing the coating material or precursor thereto throughout the cross-section of the reactor beds containing the same; PA1 means for controlling the residence or contact time of the small articulate solids in the beds containing the coating material or the precursor thereto, such that the small particulate solids therein are at least partially enveloped by the coating material or precursor thereto; and PA1 one or more exit means for removal of the fluidizing gas and the small solid particles at least partially enveloped by coating material or precursor thereto.

The present invention is directed to fluidized bed reactors, particularly multi-stage or multi-bed fluidized bed reactors and processes utilizing such reactors for coating particulate materials.
Single stage (or bed) fluidized reactors are well known and have been extensively developed. See for example, Sigai, U.S. Pat. No. 4,585,673, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. See also, Kunii et al., "Fluidization Engineering" R. E. Krieger Publishing Co., Huntington, N.Y. (1977), particularly pp. 489-493. Multi-stage fluidized bed reactors are also known, but not as extensively developed as the single stage variety.
In Hemminger, U.S. Pat. No. 2,494,337 there is described an apparatus for contacting finely divided solid particles with gaseous material which comprises vertically positioned fluid beds with downcomers. While the phrase "multi-stage fluid bed reactor" is not used anywhere in the patent, the apparatus is a multi-stage unit.
In Schlamersdorf, U.S. Pat. No. 3,886,895, there is described an apparatus for treating particulate matter while in a fluidized state. This patent does not deal with multi-stage fluid beds. It concerns a plurality of single fluidized beds, "each of which operates in a substantially independent manner". In a multi-stage fluid bed, each stage is fed with powder from the stage prior to it and does not operate independent of each other.
The present invention provides advantages heretofore unavailable in previously available single and/or multi-stage fluidized bed reactors.


An optical material is a mixture of materials comprising a first material having a refractive index of not more than 1.45 for the d-line and a second material having an Abbe""s number, indicating wavelength dispersion in the visible region, of not more than 25. A relation between the refractive index for the d-line (nd) and the Abbe""s number (xcexdd) is defined as follows:

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical material and an optical system using it and, more particularly, to a low refractive index high-dispersion optical material, for example, applicable to optical elements such as lenses, filters, mirrors, refracting optical elements, diffracting optical elements, and so on, and an optical system of optical equipment such as cameras, binoculars, microscopes, and so on, using the optical material.
2. Related Background Art
As one of conventional approaches to correction of chromatic aberration of the optical system composed of only refracting optics, there is a method of combining glass materials of different dispersion characteristics. For example, in the case of objectives of telescopes etc., axial chromatic aberration is corrected by combining a positive lens of a low-dispersion glass material with a negative lens of a high-dispersion glass material. For this reason, there were cases where chromatic aberration was not corrected adequately if the composition or the number of lenses was limited or if available glass materials were limited.
For the purpose of correction of this chromatic aberration, there are suggestions on methods of controlling the refractive index and Abbe""s number in order to expand the range of the optical constants of glass materials, thereby obtaining the low-refraction high-dispersion glass materials, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-32631, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-9262, Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-33740, and so on.
On the other hand, other references, e.g. SPIE Vol. 1354 International Lens Design Conference (1990) etc., disclose methods of reducing the chromatic aberration by use of a diffracting optical element provided with a diffraction grating having diffracting action in part of a lens surface or an optical system, in contrast to the methods of reducing the chromatic aberration by the combination of glass materials.
These methods make use of the physical phenomenon in which a refracting surface and a diffracting surface in the optical system demonstrate opposite directions of occurrence of chromatic aberration against rays of a certain reference wavelength.
Further, such diffracting optical element can be provided with an aspherical-lens-like effect by changing periods of the periodic structure of the diffraction grating and is thus greatly effective to reduction of aberration.
Comparing them herein as to refraction of rays, a ray appears as one ray even after refracted by a lens surface, whereas a ray appears as a plurality of rays of plural orders after diffracted by a diffractive surface.
When the diffracting optical element is used as a lens system, it is thus necessary to determine the grating Structure so as to concentrate light of the used wavelength range into specific orders (which will also be referred to hereinafter as xe2x80x9cdesigned ordersxe2x80x9d) by adequately enhancing the diffraction efficiency of rays of the designed orders. When light is concentrated in the specific orders, the intensity of rays of diffracted light of the other orders is low. When the intensity is zero, diffracted light thereof appears null. If there exist rays of diffraction orders other then the designed orders, they will be focused at positions different from those of the rays of the designed orders and appear as flare light.
The layouts capable of reducing this decrease of diffraction efficiency are presented in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-127321 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-44808. The layouts realize high diffraction efficiency in a wide wavelength range by optimizing dispersion properties and thicknesses of gratings of materials different from each other.
Specifically, they disclose the diffracting optical elements wherein a plurality of optical materials (layers) are stacked on a substrate and wherein the diffraction grating is formed in the step shape, kinoform, or binary shape resulting from approximation thereof to the step shape, or the like in at least one of interfaces between the mutually different optical materials.
In each of the diffracting optical elements described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 09-127321 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-44808, the combination of a relatively high-refraction low-dispersion material with a relatively low-refraction high-dispersion material is used in order to obtain the layout having the high diffraction efficiency in the wide wavelength range. Specifically, the materials used are as follows: BMS81 (nd=1.64, xcexdd=60.1: available from Ohara Inc.) and the plastic optical material PC (nd=1.58, xcexdd=30.5: available from Teijin Chemicals Ltd.) in the case of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-127321; COO1 (nd=1.5250, xcexdd=50.8: available from Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Inc.), the plastic optical material PC (nd=1.58, xcexdd=30.5: available from Teijin Chemicals Ltd.), BMS81 (nd=1.64, xcexdd=60.1: available from Ohara Inc.) etc. In the case of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-44808.
For further enhancing the optical performance of the aforementioned diffracting optical elements, we investigated the optical materials commercially available, or the optical materials under research and development and obtained the distribution as illustrated in FIG. 1.
The materials of the stack diffracting optical elements described in the Japanese Patent Applications Laid-Open No. 9-127321 and Laid-Open No. 11-44808 also fall in the distribution of FIG. 1.
As for the materials suggested in the aforementioned Japanese Patent Applications Laid-Open No. 6-32631 and Laid-Open No. 61-9262 and Japanese Patent [Publication No. 4-33740] Publication Laid-Open No. 6-16450, their refractive indexes and refractive-index dispersions are (nd=1.585 to 1.660, xcexdd=40.5 to 32.5), (nd=1.5945 to 1.6925, xcexdd=27.3 to 36.6), and (nd=1.55 to 1.65, xcexdd=27 to 35), respectively, and these materials also fall in the distribution of the existing substances of FIG. 1.
It is seen that 2-ethozy-ethyl methacrylate (nd=1.483, xcexdd=32) seems only one material with low refractive index and high dispersion and that there have been few such materials developed.
An object of the present invention is to provide an optical material with low refractive index and high dispersion, which was not known heretofore, and an optical system using it.
A first aspect of the present invention is an optical material which is a mixture of materials comprising a first material having a refractive index of not more than 1.45 for the d-line and a second material having an Abbe""s number, indicating wavelength dispersion in the visible region,.of not more than 25, wherein a relation between the refractive index for the d-line (nd) and the Abbe""s number (xcexdd) indicating the wavelength dispersion in the visible region is defined as follows:
ndxe2x89xa6xe2x88x926.667xc3x9710xe2x88x923xcexdd+1.70.
A second aspect of the invention is the optical material of the first aspect wherein said Abbe""s number (xcexdd) indicating the wavelength dispersion in the visible region is less than 40.
A third aspect of the invention is the optical material of the first aspect or the second aspect wherein said second material comprises particles having the grain size in the range of 2 to 100 nm.
A fourth aspect of the invention is the optical material of the first aspect, the second aspect, or the third aspect wherein said first material is an amorphous fluororesin.
A fifth aspect of the invention is the optical material of either one of the first to fourth aspects wherein said second material is particles of a composite metal oxide of titanium and silicon (Sixxe2x80x94Ti(1xe2x88x92x)O2 having the Abbe""s number (xcexdd) of 24.4.
A sixth aspect of the invention is the optical material of either one of the first to fifth aspects wherein said first material is an amorphous fluororesin, said second material is particles of a composite metal oxide of titanium and silicon (Sixxe2x80x94Ti(1xe2x88x92x)O2 having the Abbe""s number (xcexdd) of 24.4, and a weight ratio of the particles and said amorphous fluororesin is in the range of 45:100 to 75:100.
A seventh aspect of the invention is the optical material of the first aspect, the second aspect, or the inthird aspect wherein said first material is a dimethylsilicone resin.
An eighth aspect of the invention is the optical material of either one of the first to third aspects and the seventh aspect wherein said second material comprises particles of titanium oxide (TiO2).
A ninth aspect of the invention is the optical material of the first aspect, the second aspect, or the third aspect wherein said first material is a dimethylsilicone resin, said second material is particles of titanium oxide (TiO2), and a weight ratio of the titanium oxide and said dimethylsilicone resin is in the range of 18:100 to 70:100.
A tenth aspect of the invention is an optical material wherein a relation between a refractive index for the d-line (nd) and an Abbe""s number (xcexdd) indicating wavelength dispersion in the visible region satisfies the following condition:
ndxe2x89xa6xe2x88x920.01xcexdd+1.70.
An eleventh aspect of the invention is an optical material which is a mixture of materials comprising a first material having a refractive index of not more than 1.40 for the d-line and a second material having an Abbe""s number, indicating wavelength dispersion in the visible region, of not more than 15, wherein a relation between the refractive index for the d-line (nd) and the Abbe""s number (xcexdd) indicating the wavelength dispersion in the visible region is defined as follows:
ndxe2x89xa6xe2x88x920.01xcexdd+1.70.
A twelfth aspect of the invention is the optical material of the tenth aspect or the eleventh aspect wherein said Abbe""s number (xcexdd) indicates the wavelength dispersion in the visible region is not more than 40.
A thirteenth aspect of the invention is the optical material of the eleventh aspect wherein said second material comprises particles having the grain size in the range of 2 to 100 nm.
A fourteenth aspect of the invention is the optical material of the eleventh aspect or the thirteenth aspect wherein said first material comprises an amorphous fluororesin.
A fifteenth aspect of the invention is the optical material of the eleventh aspect, the thirteenth aspect, or the fourteenth aspect wherein said second material comprises particles of titanium oxide (TiO2).
A sixteenth aspect of the invention is the optical material of the eleventh aspect, the thirteenth aspect, the fourteenth aspect, or fifteenth aspect wherein said first material is an amorphous fluororesin, said second material is particles of titanium oxide (TiO2), and a weight ratio of the titanium oxide and said amorphous fluororesin is in the range of 7:100 to 90:100.
A seventeenth aspect of the invention is an optical material which is a mixture of materials comprising a first material having a refractive index for the d-line in the range of 1.45 to 1.55 both inclusive and a second material having an Abbe""s number, indicating wavelength dispersion in the visible region, of not more than 10, wherein a relation between the refractive index for the d-line (nd) and the Abbe""s number (xcexdd) is defined as follows:
ndxe2x89xa6xe2x88x926.667xc3x9710xe2x88x923xcexdd+1.70.
An eighteenth aspect of the invention is the optical material of the seventeenth aspect wherein said Abbe""s number (xcexdd) indicates the wavelength dispersion in the visible region is not more than 40.
A nineteenth aspect of the invention is the optical material of the seventeenth aspect or the eighteenth aspect wherein said second material comprises particles having the grain size in the range of 2 to 100 nm.
A twentieth aspect of the invention is the optical material of the seventeenth aspect, the eighteenth aspect or the nineteenth aspect wherein said second material is ITO (indium-tin-oxide).
A twenty-first aspect of the invention is the optical material of either one of the seventeenth to twentieth aspects wherein said first material is polymethyl methacrylate.
A twenty-second aspect of the invention is the optical material of either one of the seventeenth to twenty-first aspects wherein said first material is polymethyl methacrylate, said second material is particles of ITO (indium-tin-oxide), and a weight ratio of the particles and said polymethyl methacrylate is in the range of 30:100 to 250:100.
A twenty-third aspect of the invention is the optical material of either one of the seventeenth to twentieth aspects wherein said first material is an amorphous polyolefin.
A twenty-fourth aspect of the invention is the optical material of either one of the seventeenth to twentieth aspects wherein said first material is an amorphous polyolefin, said second material is particles of ITO (indium-tin-oxide), and a weight ratio of the particles and said amorphous polyolefin is in the range of 44:100 to 150:100.
A twenty-fifth aspect of the invention is the optical material of either one of the seventeenth to twentieth aspects wherein said first material is a copolymer of methyl methacrylate and styrene.
A twenty-sixth aspect of the invention is the optical material of either one of the seventeenth to twentieth aspects wherein said first material is a copolymer resin of methyl methacrylate and styrene, said second material is particles of ITO (indium-tin-oxide), and a weight ratio of the particles and said copolymer resin is in the range of 43:100 to 140:100.
A twenty-seventh aspect of invention is an optical member comprising the optical material as set forth in either one of the first aspect to the twenty-sixth aspect.
A twenty-eighth aspect of the invention is an optical system comprising the optical member of the twenty-seventh aspect.
A twenty-ninth aspect of the invention is a diffracting optical element using the optical material as set forth in either one of the first aspect to the twenty-sixth aspect.
A thirtieth aspect of the invention is an optical system comprising the diffracting optical element of the twenty-ninth aspect.
A thirty-first aspect of the invention is an optical device comprising the optical system of the twenty-eighth aspect or the thirtieth aspect.
A thirty-second aspect of the invention is a method for producing an optical material, comprising a step of decreasing a filling factor of a first material, and a step of filling gaps of the first material of the decreased filling factor with a second material having an Abbe""s number different from that of the first material, thereby producing an optical material having a desired refractive index and Abbe""s number.
A thirty-third aspect of the invention is an optical member comprising the material produced by the production method as set forth in the thirty-second aspect.
A thirty-fourth aspect of the invention is an optical system comprising the optical member of the thirty-third aspect.
A thirty-fifth aspect of the invention is the optical system of the thirty-fourth aspect wherein said optical member is a diffracting optical element.
A thirty-sixth aspect of the invention is an optical device comprising the optical system of the thirty-fourth aspect or the thirty-fifth aspect.

Optical material and optical system using it


A method and system for fabricating a dental prosthesis are provided. High resolution digital scanned images of a patient's oral structures are acquired. Three dimensional (3D) cone beam X-ray images of hard and soft oral tissues are acquired. The scanned images are integrated with the 3D cone beam X-ray images in a 3D space to obtain combined three dimensional images of the oral structures. The occlusal relationship between upper and lower oral structures are digitally simulated using the combined three dimensional images. The dental prosthesis is digitally modeled for planning intra-oral positioning and structure of the dental prosthesis. The digital dental prosthesis model is refined based on simulated force tests performed for assessing interference and retention of the digital dental prosthesis model. A prospective dental prosthesis model is created based on the refined digital dental prosthesis model. The dental prosthesis is fabricated based on a verified prospective dental prosthesis model.

Dental prostheses are prosthetic appliances that replace missing teeth to aid mastication and improve facial esthetics, phonetics, and self esteem. Removable dental prostheses include dentures, partial dentures, and detachable fixed prostheses. The traditional methods of fabricating removable prostheses rely on alginate or silicone impressions of bone, soft tissue structures, and the dentition of a patient. These methods usually require multiple patient visits to obtain a clinically acceptable impression. The impressions are poured with dental stone to obtain model casts or replicas of the upper and lower jaws. Model casts or casts are plaster replicas of dental structures obtained from impressions of the dental structures.
A proper clinical step in prosthodontics requires a face bow transfer that records the position of the upper teeth in relation to the maxillary jaw. In addition to the face bow transfer records, the bite registration of the upper jaw and the lower jaw while the mandibular condyle is placed in functional positions such as the centric relation is also taken. Due to the involvement of the masticular muscle groups, there have been controversies over the definition and method of obtaining accurate occlusion data.
The face bow transfer and bite registration are then used to mount the upper and lower jaw casts onto a semi-adjustable mechanical articulator that simulates the mandibular jaw motion. The semi-adjustable dental articulator has a fixed or semi-adjustable condyle portion, a fixed lower jaw portion, with a simplified limited operation of jaw motion. These mounted casts of the upper jaw and the lower jaw are sent to dental labs, where prosthetic teeth are set in wax form for a patient's try-in. At the try-in appointment, the wax prosthesis is examined for esthetics, occlusion, and speech. Esthetics usually requires a proper smile profile, for example, with the teeth showing when smiling, and around 1 mm-2 mm of the teeth showing at the resting position of the upper lip. Occlusion requires proper contacts between the upper teeth and low teeth. Speech requires a proper seal between the upper teeth and the lower lips.
After a number of try-ins, the final wax form with properly set teeth is returned to the dental labs for processing. While the teeth are held in place by investing materials, the wax portion is replaced by pink tissue-colored acrylic materials and polymerized under high pressure and temperature. The polymerized products are then trimmed and polished to develop the finished prostheses. The entire process typically takes one to two months. Moreover, these prostheses require extensive adjustments and multiple additional visits, and also do not guarantee patient satisfaction.
While every step in the dental clinic and the dental lab requires tedious and precision-driven labor, human errors are inevitable. Furthermore, there are many inherent sources of errors that are difficult to control, for example, soft tissue deformation during impression, limitations of the semi-adjustable articulator, controversies over proper form of occlusion, and shrinkage of acrylic material during polymerization.
A major problem involving removable prosthesis is the retention of the prosthesis. Although the acrylic material adapts to the shape of the plaster cast model initially, the acrylic base shrinks and deforms during the polymerization process, thereby losing its precise seal to the plaster model and the soft tissue. If the base of the prosthesis does not seal tightly to the soft oral tissues, food particles and air can seep into the space under the prosthesis and make it less retentive. On the other hand, over retention due to lack of precision in metal framed partial dentures is also a problem. Over retention not only causes pain and discomfort, but also damages the anchoring teeth in the long term. Due to the lack of technology to precisely shape the base or anchor area of the prosthesis, current methods mostly rely on multiple clinical adjustments by the dentist using pressure-indicating paste, which still does not warrant a tight seal or fit to the tissue surfaces. Dentists often spend significant time adjusting the base of the prosthesis and patients are generally unhappy with the outcome. Another problem is improper occlusion due to inaccurate face bow transfer or the absence of a face bow transfer. This results in unbalanced occlusion interference, improper teeth alignment, or insufficient occlusion space, which further reduce the retention. As a result of these unresolved problems, the service of removable prostheses is currently under-valued and under-served in the dental industry.
Hence, there is a long felt but unresolved need for a computer-aided method and system for designing and fabricating a highly retentive, functional, and esthetic removable dental prosthesis for a patient.

Computer-aided fabrication of a removable dental prosthesis


A mounting arrangement for an HVAC case includes a drain tube extending from the HVAC case and defining an outlet. A receiving portion extends from a docking station and is adapted to accept the drain tube in an assembled position. A first compressible material is disposed between the receiving portion and the docking station. The receiving portion is operable to deflect into the first compressible material upon slidable communication of the drain tube along a surface of the neck. A second compressible material is disposed between the drain tube and the receiving portion. The second compressible material is adapted to compress between the drain tube and the receiving portion in the assembled position.

In automotive vehicles, it is common to have a climate control system located within an instrument panel which provides heated or cooled air to occupants through dash panel defrost air outlets, instrument panel venting air outlets and floor directed air outlets. These traditional climate control systems often include a heater core that performs heat exchange between the engine coolant, which is heated by the engine, and the cool air in the cabin/outside environment, in order to provide warm air to the passenger compartment. Some vehicles include an air conditioning system that cooperates with an evaporator for absorbing heat from the air in the vehicle. The heater core and evaporator are typically provided in an HVAC case located in the passenger compartment of the vehicle.
During operation, low pressure refrigerant flowing into the evaporator absorbs heat from the air inside the HVAC case for evaporation. Typically with a relatively high ambient temperature, condensation forms on the evaporator and drips onto a bottom surface of the HVAC case. In one arrangement, a drain tube directs the fluid through an outlet to an inlet of a docking station where it is discharged onto the ground. In many instances it is difficult and awkward to properly align the outlet of the drain tube with the inlet of the docking station during assembly.

Automatic drain docking system for HVAC module drain pipe


An apparatus and method for stacking a plurality of flat articles on edge, comprising a discharge magazine for sequentially receiving and stacking the flat articles in a stack, the discharge magazine including moveable discharge support belts adapted to support the stack of articles on edge and a moveable compression plate to maintain the articles on edge. A drive element is provided for controllably moving the discharge support belts. A stacker section adjacent the discharge magazine transports articles sequentially into the stack, the stacker section comprising stacker belts extending around a plurality of rollers.. The last of the articles in the stack abuts against the stacker belts adjacent one of the rollers to apply a compressive force developed by the stack of flat articles and the compression plate to the one roller. The one roller is movably mounted to the apparatus for movement responsive to increases and decreases in the compressive force. A deflection plate is positioned proximate the one moveable roller to deflect leaning sides of the articles from inadvertently applying pressure to the moveable roller. An actuator element is operatively connected to and responsive to movement of the one roller and connected to the drive element for activating the drive belts and the discharge support belts to transport the stack of flat articles away from the stacker section when the compressive force reaches a predetermined maximum value.

Envelope processing systems, such as mail piece processing, sorting and bar code application systems, typically include an envelope stacking apparatus at the end of the system to secure the sorted mail pieces in a stacked position to facilitate orderly removal of the processed mail pieces from the system. The stacked mail pieces are manually or automatically removed from the stack and/or bound by an operator.
One such stacking apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,596, commonly assigned. An envelope to be stacked, or any suitable sheet-like article, is forcibly fed on edge into a discharge magazine where it is stacked in a somewhat compressed array with other, previously fed envelopes. The envelope enters the discharge magazine via a dual stacker belt transport configuration, wherein a pair vertically juxtaposed stacker belts rotate about rollers disposed in a triangular array. The rollers each are rotatably mounted on shafts having a fixed axis.
The discharge magazine includes multiple transport belts that may have smooth surfaces, or may have track-like protrusions extending above the discharge magazine floor to engage the bottom edges of the stacked envelopes and advance the envelopes away from the stacker belts to permit the free entry of additional envelopes into the stacker region. The transport belts are activated by a stack sensor mechanism that includes a spring biased, pivotally mounted lever arm which extends through a gap between the pair of stacker belts. The tip of the lever arm contacts the last envelope to enter the stack. As the stack gets larger and the laterally applied normal force of the stacked envelopes overcomes the bias of the lever arm spring of the sensor mechanism, the lever arm trips a switch that in turn activates a drive motor connected to the transport belts to move the envelopes away from the stacker belts. This reduces the normal force or pressure exerted by the stack of envelopes on the stacker belts, and provides space for the entry of subsequent envelopes into the stack.
Although the stack sensor lever arm in the prior art apparatus contacts the last envelope in the stack, the lever arm contacts the last stacked envelope over a small plane, or sometimes a point, and is therefore highly susceptible to planar and height variations associated with the last stacked envelope. In high speed mail processing systems, a problem arises when the last envelope in the stack tilts such that the bottom edge and the top edge of the envelope no longer form a substantially vertical plane. As the stack becomes increasingly tight, accurate pressure sensing is critical to avoid jamming. Jamming occurs as a consequence of erroneous stack pressure sensing, when a tilted edge of the last stacked envelope obstructs the entrance to the stack of the next envelope to be stacked. Such problems are compounded when the stacker is used for simultaneously stacking a plurality of different sized (varying in height and thickness) envelopes.
Erroneous stack pressure sensing typically occurs where the lever arm contacts the tilted envelope at a surface or point that is tilted furthest away from the stacker belts. This surface exerts less force on the lever arm than the surface closest to the stacker belt. The lever arm's small plane or point of contact may erroneously indicate that the stack can receive more envelopes when the stack is actually too tight to properly receive another envelope without first activating the transport belts.
In view of the foregoing, an object of the present invention is to provide a high speed stacking apparatus and method that accurately senses the stack pressure of tilted articles to substantially reduce the occurrence of article jamming.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method that automatically and accurately senses the pressure applied by a stacked group of processed envelopes on a stacker conveying mechanism regardless of the degree of tilt of the last envelope to enter the stack, and in response thereto generates a signal to actuate an envelope transport system for advancing the documents in the stack away from the stacker conveyor means, thereby relieving the pressure on the conveying mechanism and creating space for the facile entry of additional processed envelopes into the stack.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a sensor apparatus for a conveying belt mechanism for an envelope stacker device whereby one of the roller elements supporting the belt mechanism is on a laterally displaceable axis, whereby the axial displacement of the roller element is responsive to the force applied to the sensor apparatus by the stack of envelopes regardless of the angle of vertical orientation of the envelopes in the stack as the envelopes engage the sensor apparatus.
Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of an automatically actuated kicker mechanism that senses the trailing edge of an envelope entering the stack, and kicks the trailing edge away from the conveyor belts and onto an auger which drives the envelope's tracking edge outward to cooperate with the stack pressure sensor and control device to ensure that space is provided in the stack to permit subsequent envelopes to be fed into the stack without jamming.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an adjustable deflection element for a stacker apparatus of the type described above, which deflection plate maintains larger sheet-like articles in a substantially upright manner as they enter the stacker, and prevents these larger articles from leaning into or against the moveable roller, which would result in a false detection of pressure against the moveable roller.

Apparatus for stacking sheet-like articles


An organic light-emitting display device includes a gate electrode, a source electrode, and a drain electrode on a substrate, a gate interconnection line connected to the gate electrode, a source and drain interconnection line connected to the source and drain electrodes, a first test pad electrically connected to the source and drain interconnection line, and a second test pad electrically connected to the gate interconnection line. The second test pad is at a same level as the first test pad, and the gate electrode is on a different layer than the source and drain electrodes.

An organic light-emitting display device may include, e.g., a thin film transistor (TFT) and an organic electroluminescent device (EL device), which may be driven by the TFT and may produce an image. The TFT may include, e.g., a gate electrode, an active layer, and source and drain electrodes that are stacked on a substrate. The organic EL device may include, e.g., a pixel electrode, an opposite electrode disposed facing the pixel electrode, and an emission layer interposed between the pixel electrode and the opposite electrode.

Organic light-emitting display device and method of manufacturing the same


Embodiments of the invention provide a policy-based audio system. The system includes a sound application protocol interface, a configuration module and a speaker driver. The sound application protocol interface receives a set of sound samples generated by an application or event. The configuration module retrieves a first group of one or more parameters, rules and priorities applicable to the application or event. The speaker driver produces an audio output by processing the set of sound samples as a function of the group of one or more configuration parameters, rules and priorities.

Currently, sounds generated by each application running on a computing device (e.g., personal computer) are played over each other. No sound is more important than another when played. Therefore, sound from one application may make it more difficult for a user to hear sound from an application of particular interest to the user. For instance, an alarm may not be over a music application playing a song.
Furthermore, each application may generate sound in one of a number of different formats. The hardware configuration, however, may be optimized to play sound in a particular format. Currently, there is no ready means for converting the format of sounds generated by particular application into a format that matches the hardware configuration, while not applying the conversion algorithm to sounds already generated in the matching format.

System and method for generating policy-based audio


A slab protector is provided in the form of a sheet of material configured to overlap an edge of a newly poured slab to protect that slab while an adjacent slab is poured and surface finished. The sheet of material extends along the entire length of the edge impacted by the adjacent pour and is configured to have an overhang portion that extends down over the exposed side of the slab. The sheet also includes a primary portion that overlays a significant portion of the surface of the poured slab. The slab protector sheet is preferably formed of a plastic material and includes an adhesive strip on its underside that removably and temporarily adheres the slab protector to the underlying concrete slab to resist dislodgement.

The present invention relates to the pouring and preparation of concrete slabs. More specifically, the invention concerns a device for protecting a concrete slab during an adjacent pour.
The construction of concrete slabs for driveways, sidewalks and the like, is well known. In a typical construction, temporary forms are used to define the area into which the concrete is to be poured. The forms serve to contain the concrete mixture while it hardens and during subsequent treatment. When a large slab is to be poured, it is common to divide the slab into successive pours, due to the nature of the concrete material and the manpower available at the jobsite to complete the pour.
In some cases, the temporary forms, which are often in the form of wooden planks, are used to divide a larger area into distinct smaller regions. In other cases, a permanent screed rail can separate adjacent smaller regions for successive pours.
After a slab, whether large or small, has been poured, it must be physically treated or finished. This finishing can include floating and troweling to ensure a level concrete surface. For smaller slabs, such as a sidewalk, a hand trowel can be sufficient to level the poured surface or provide other finish treatments. For larger slabs, such as a driveway, a long-handled trowel can be used to perform the same function.
When a typical driveway is being constructed, a first slab is poured and finished, and before that first slab has dried an adjacent slab is poured and finished. Successive slabs are poured and treated as quickly as the available manpower permits. One difficulty that is encountered with this approach is that during the leveling process the trowel will frequently intrude onto a previously poured and finished slab. This intrusion can disrupt the surface of the previously poured slab, requiring re-finishing or leading to an undesirable surface defect in the slab.
This difficulty can be particularly problematic where the poured concrete slab is intended to have a decorative quality. In addition, the surface defect can be a starting point for more serious erosion of the slab. Consequently, there is a need for some means for protecting one poured surface from disruption by the pouring and treatment of an adjacent surface.


An electronic flexion transducer (10) comprises a helical coil formed from two interposed electrical conductors (A) and (B) which are electrically isolated from each other either by an insulated coating on the conductors or by being embedded in a dielectric material (11) having a substantial elasticity. The coil is bonded along one side over its entire length to a flexible non-extensible support surface (13) whereby flexion of the support surface causes a change in the length of the coil between said one side, which retains its original length, and a side opposite to said one side, which either increases or decreases in length. This relative change in length between opposite sides causes angular separation between adjacent turns of the coil and since adjacent turns represent respective conductors (A) and (B) there is a change in capacitance between the respective conductors which can be used to provide an electrical signal to a computer to record and display the change. A puppeteer""s glove incorporating said transducer in each finger is also described.

The present invention relates to an electronic transducer for measuring flexion of bodies or structures and particularly bodies or structures which are soft or elastic and which may be subject to length variations during flexion. The invention has particular utility in the measurement of flexion of joints in the human body without introducing constraints but it will be apparent that the invention has wide application and is in no way limited to this particular purpose.
In one practical embodiment of the invention transducers according to the invention are mounted in or on the fingers of a glove whereby human finger motion is converted to data streams for input to a computer. Such a glove is used in professional animation production by Puppeteers.
One prior art transducer device in the form of a Puppeteer""s glove uses fibre-optic cables that circumscribe each finger of the glove through pre-sewn channels and transmit light from Light Emitting Diodes (LED""s) at one end of the cable to photo receptors at the other end of the cable. The variation in bending of the fibre-optic cable causes a variation in the light received by the receptor and thus flexion of the fingers is able to create data streams related thereto. A number of problems are inherent in these prior art devices. For example, the fibre-optic cables required for the purpose are communication grade cables which are expensive and, although flexible, are not designed for continuous flexion and consequently they have a short life span. Other problems such as connecting power to the glove and the electronic circuit components required for implementation render the gloves cumbersome and expensive to repair.
A further prior art device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,248 entitled xe2x80x9cElectronic Transducerxe2x80x9d and comprises an extensometer in the form of two or more interposed helical coils configured to allow elastic deformation thereof and preferably mounted in an elastic dielectric material which provides a restoring force to return the conductors to their original configuration after deformation. The deformation causes a change in the capacitance between the conductors (by changing the inter-electrode gap between the respective coils) and this change is monitored to measure dimensional change over a wide dynamic range. The dimensional change is essentially elongation or when the extensometer is attached to a movable joint is a combination of elongation and deflection which cannot be separated since the change in capacitance is a measure of the changes in inter-electrode""s gap due to both elongation and deflection. Therefore this prior art transducer is not suitable for measuring angular deflections reliably or accurately as would be required, for example, in the aforementioned Puppeteer""s glove or in any other situations where accurate and reproducible data is required.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an electronic flexion transducer that overcomes one or more of the aforementioned problems, or other problems, associated with known transducers when used for measuring or monitoring flexion.
The invention provides an electronic flexion transducer comprising two or more interposed electrical conductors forming an elongate coil, said coil being bonded on one side along its length to a flexible non-extensible support surface whereby flexion of the surface causes a change in length of the coil between said one side, which retains its original length and a side opposite to said one side, thereby causing an angular separation between said conductors with a consequent change in capacitance of the coil.

Electronic transducer for measuring flexion


In a connection part of vertical transfer registers with respect to a horizontal transfer register, transfer electrodes to which clocks .phi.V1, .phi.V2A, .phi.V3A, .phi.V2B, .phi.V3B, and .phi.V1A are applied are arranged in the cited order. In a horizontal transfer register 6, transfer is conducted by 3-phase clocks .phi.H1A, .O slashed.H1B, and .phi.H2. By activating clocks, signal charges of a channel denoted by A-A' and channels equivalent thereto are first transferred to undersides of electrodes of .phi.H1A of the horizontal transfer register. The signal charges are transferred in the rightward direction to underside of electrodes of .phi.H1B. Subsequently, signal charges of a channel denoted by B-B' and channels equivalent thereto are transferred to undersides of electrodes of .phi.H1B of the horizontal transfer register, and mixed with the signal charges previously transferred. As a result, it becomes possible to reduce pixels and lower the resolution without conducting high speed driving.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid state imaging device of all pixel simultaneous read type in which signal charges of unit pixels are read out into a vertical transfer register simultaneously and independently, and relates to a method for driving such a solid state imaging device. In particular, the present invention relates to a solid state imaging device formed so that signal charges arranged in the horizontal direction may be reduced, and relates to a method for driving such a solid state imaging device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, it has been demanded to make it possible to display moving pictures on a monitor of a personal computer as well. In the current processing capability, however, it is difficult to display moving pictures on personal computers with a resolution close to that of television sets. For displaying image data taken in from, for example, a CCD camera, it is necessary to reduce frames and lower the frame rate, or maintain the frame rate and reduce image data. In the case where the frame rate has been lowered, however, smooth motions cannot be represented. Typically, therefore, pixels are reduced, i.e., the resolution is lowered. As for the conventional image change-over method, there was a method of simultaneously reading signal charges of all photodiodes and then reducing in a solid state imaging device, and a method of coping with it by using software processing on the personal computer. Prior to describing the conventional image change-over method, the conventional solid state imaging device will first be described.
FIG. 1 is a schematic top view showing the entire configuration of a conventional solid state imaging device of all pixel readout type. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional solid state imaging device is formed by photodiodes 1 arranged in a matrix form to convert light to signal charges, optical black level regions 2 for forming a reference level of image signals, a vertical surplus charge sweeping out drain 3 and a horizontal surplus charge sweeping out drain 4 for sweeping away the surplus charge, vertical transfer registers 5 for reading out and transferring signal charges stored in the photodiodes 1, and a horizontal transfer register 6 for receiving the signal charges transferred through a vertical transfer register 5 and transferring the signal charges to an output amplifier 7. On the photodiodes 1, RGB filters are arranged by using, for example, the Bayer method.
FIGS. 2 and 3 are diagrams showing an electrode configuration of a connection part between the vertical transfer registers 5 and the horizontal transfer register 6 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a top view. FIG. 3 is a sectional view along a line A-A' of FIG. 2. The vertical transfer registers 5 are driven by 4-phase clocks .phi.V1, .phi.V2, .phi.V3, and .phi.V4. Transfer electrodes to which the clock .phi.V1 is applied are formed by first polysilicon layer. Transfer electrodes to which the clocks .phi.V2 and .phi.V4 are applied are formed by second polysilicon layer. Transfer electrodes to which the clock .phi.V3 is applied are formed by third polysilicon layer. Transfer electrodes of a final stage to which .phi.V1 is applied form gates for the horizontal transfer register 6.
The horizontal transfer register 6 is driven by 2-phase clocks .phi.H1 and .phi.H2. Each of all transfer electrodes of the horizontal transfer register 6 is formed by the second polysilicon layer and the third polysilicon layer. An electrode portion of the second polysilicon layer forms a storage portion, and an electrode portion of the third polysilicon layer forms a barrier portion. The signal charge of a vertical transfer register is transferred to the horizontal transfer register in such a state that the clock .phi.H1 of the horizontal transfer register is kept at its high level. In other words, if .phi.V1 turns the high level in such a state that .phi.H1 is kept at its high level, then transfer of the signal charge to undersides of the transfer electrodes to which .phi.H1 has been applied is started. When .phi.V1 has become its low level, the transfer is completed.
Operation of the conventional solid state imaging device in the connection part between the vertical transfer registers 5 and the horizontal transfer register 6 will now be described by referring to FIGS. 4 to 6. FIG. 4 shows the pulse timing of the 4-phase clocks .phi.V1, .phi.V2, .phi.V3, and .phi.V4 applied to the transfer electrodes of the vertical transfer registers 5 and the 2-phase clocks .phi.H1 and .phi.H2 applied to the transfer electrodes of the horizontal transfer register 6. FIG. 5 shows how signal charge in a vertical transfer register 5 is transferred to the horizontal transfer register 6. FIG. 6 shows how signal charge in the horizontal transfer register 6 is transferred. Signal charges stored under the transfer electrodes to which .phi.V3 and .phi.V4 have been applied during t0 begin to be transferred to the undersides of transfer electrodes to which .phi.H1 is applied, when .phi.V1 becomes its high level during t1. If .phi.V3, .phi.V4, and .phi.V1 are changed to the low level in the cited order, signal charges are transferred to the undersides of the electrodes for .phi.H1. The signal charges stored under the electrodes for .phi.H1 are successively transferred in the horizontal transfer register by repetition of alternate high/low levels of .phi.H1 and .phi.H2.
At this time, signals R1, G1, R2, G2, R3, G3, R4 and G4 according to the RGB Bayer arrangement are transferred without destroying the order as shown in FIG. 6. An output waveform of an output amplifier 7 is shown in FIG. 7.
For implementing moving pictures with smooth motions on a personal computer monitor, it is necessary to reduce pixels and lower the image resolution as described above. As for methods for lowering the resolution, there are a method of temporarily recording image data in an external memory, then rearranging data so that filter pixels of the same color will adjoin each other, and treating adjoining data of the same color as one pixel, and a method of reducing one of adjoining data of the same color.
Means for lowering the resolution in the device itself will now be described. For example, in the case where the horizontal resolution is to be reduced to 1/2, there is used a method of, for example, leaving the center of the image and sweeping away half of the image located on the left and right sides as shown in FIG. 8. Every horizontal line, in this method, a first 1/4 portion is transferred at a speed twice the normal speed as a sweeping away region 9, and the data are passed through the output amplifier and then thrown away. The next central 1/2 portion is transferred at the normal speed as an effective region 8, and image data are obtained. A final 1/4 portion is transferred at a high speed in the same way as the first 1/4 portion and then thrown away.
In the above described conventional method of lowering the resolution of the horizontal direction by software means, it is necessary to record images temporarily in the external memory and then rearrange data at high speed. In the case where the processing speed of the apparatus cannot cope with this, therefore, the frame rate cannot be maintained consequently, resulting in a drawback.
Furthermore, in the case where the resolution is lowered in the device itself, it is necessary to transfer the 1/2 image data to be swept away, with high speed drive. Therefore, excessive performance is required of the device, resulting in a lowered yield. In addition, the power dissipation of the drive circuit becomes large. This results in a drawback of degraded performance when viewed as the apparatus.

Solid state imaging device and method for driving the same


A medical device is described which has on a surface thereof a bio-compatible coating. This bio-compatible coating is formed from a composition which includes an aqueous emulsion or dispersion of a polycarbonate-polyurethane composition containing one or more internal emulsifying agents.

It is generally known to provide a substrate, such as a medical device or parts of such a device with various types of coatings for enhancing the biocompatability of the device when it is introduced into a mammal, such as a human body.
In particular, implantable medical devices used for minimally invasive procedures in body conduits, such as for example in blood vessels, the esophagus or urethra may be provided with bio-compatible coatings. Among the various intraluminal prostheses commonly used today are vascular grafts which include endovascular grafts, stents and graft-stent combinations. Various types of stents are available such as wire stents and tubular stents. These constructions may be made from metals or polymers and may be of the balloon expandable type or the self-expanding type. Among the self-expanding type are those made from superelastic, shape-memory materials such as nitinol. Other devices which can benefit from such coatings include catheters, guide wires, trocars, introducer sheaths and the like.
Medical devices coated with bio-compatible coatings and methods for providing substrates with such coatings have been described in a number of references, some of which are described below.
Various biocompatible coatings have been employed with medical devices in an attempt to impart enhanced bio-compatibility and other properties to such devices. For example, therapeutic agents have been incorporated into polymeric films made from polyurethane, polyester, polylactic acid, polyamino acid, polyorthoester, polyphosphate ester and the like, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,823, U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,958 discloses a stent having a binder layer and an anti-thrombogenic pyrolytic amorphous carbon layer attached to the binder layer to provide an anti-thrombogenic surface.
Biologically active agents have been incorporated into polymeric films for slow or controlled release of the active agent into the body. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,342,348 discloses porous polyurethane and PTFE stents having biodegradable polymeric filaments attached thereto which release drug over time. U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,928 discloses delivery of a drug using a stent-sheath structure made from both degradable and non-degradable polymers, such as ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA).
Endoprostheses have also been developed for targeted drug delivery to sites within a body. Such endoprostheses can be coated with microporous materials having pores in which bio-active agents may be anchored for controlled delivery thereof over time. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 5,449,382 to Dayton (hereinafter the "'382 patent") discloses a minimally invasive bio-activated endoprosthesis for vessel repair. This endoprosthesis is coated with a polymer having a microporous structure with a predetermined pore size and a bio-active substance disposed within these pores for elution therefrom. The coating described by the '382 patent is made from a polymeric solution which includes silicone, polyurethane, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene, biodegradable polylactic acid polymers, polyglycolic acid polymers, polyesters, hydrogels, tetrafluoroethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, fluorosilicone etc. Admixed into one of these polymers is a bio-active agent, such as for example heparin, for controlled and prolonged release thereof.
One drawback to conventional biocompatible coatings is the use of organic solvents. Such organic solvents may be highly reactive in vivo if not completely removed prior to implantation. Furthermore, in instances where the bio-active agent is admixed with the polymer, the surface of the article coated with such a composition is not necessarily continuously bio-active, i.e., active throughout the entire surface. Thus, such a coating may be less effective at preventing, e.g., thrombosis formation, than coatings which are designed to provide resistance to thrombosis throughout the surface.
Although polyurethane coatings have been employed as biomaterials, they are known to suffer from stability problems and such coatings are quickly bio-degraded and or bio-eroded. Thus, attempts have been made to develop medical devices and polyurethane coatings therefor which contain compositions which are less susceptible to bio-degradation and bio-erosion.
In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,742 to Pinchuk (hereinafter the "'742 patent") discloses a prosthesis formed from polycarbonate-urethane polymers. Such polycarbonate-urethane compositions are bio-compatible and less susceptible to bio-degradation and/or bio-erosion than simple polyurethane coatings. The '742 patent describes forming the polycarbonate-urethane polymer from the reaction of a polycarbonate diol, a diisocyanate and a chain extender in a suitable organic solvent. This polymer is then spun through a spinnerette into a filamentous vascular graft. Prostheses formed entirely from such a composition, however, are expensive to produce.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,818 to Pinchuk discloses a locking ring or barb-type braided stent coated or lined with porous bio-compatible coating materials which include polyurethane, spun polyurethane, spun polycarbonate urethane, spun polyolefin, silicone coated polyurethane, spun silicone and combinations thereof. This patent, however, suffers from the drawback, that most of the materials, including the spun polycarbonate urethane coatings or linings are applied in a non-efficient, labor intensive manner. In particular, the preferred method for forming the liner or coating includes spinning the polymer on a mandrel at an angle coincident with the pitch angle of the stent (i.e., the pitch angle of the stent's body section, as well as, the locking ring ends thereof). The lining is then applied to an adhesive-covered stent.
EP Publication No. 627 226 to Severini (hereinafter the "Severini publication") also describes a stent which is coated with a polycarbonate-urethane composition. This coating composition, however, suffers from the drawback that it is applied to the stent as a segmented thermoplastic polycarbonate-urethane solution containing an organic solvent, such as dimethylacetamide. A stent coated with such a composition is clearly not desirable because of the danger to the patient should all of the organic solvent not be evaporated prior to implantation. Furthermore, the evaporation of organic solvents, such as dimethylacetamide, not only increases the health risks to manufacturing personnel but also pollutes the environment. Moreover, the required evaporation step adds a significant amount of time to the coating process, i.e., 24 hours. Still further, in the Severini publication, the process of applying the polycarbonate-urethane coating to the stent is slow and inefficient. In particular, the process includes rotating the stent at a speed of 2 rpm while the coating is dripped onto the stent from a pipette suspended thereover. Coatings formed in such a manner are unequal and nonuniform.
The present invention is directed to aqueous dispersions or emulsions of polycarbonate-polyurethane coatings for implantable devices and methods of preparation thereof. These coatings are particularly advantageous because they make it possible to impart implantable devices with long-term biostability and such coatings serve as superior primer layers for attachment of optional bio-active agents. Furthermore, due to the aqueous-based nature of the coatings of the present invention, they are less hazardous than the prior art coatings cited hereinabove. Moreover, these coatings are highly versatile and can be efficiently applied to a wide range of substrates including heat sensitive. substrates, such as, polyethyleneterphlate (PET) balloon catheters and stents. Because the optional bio-active agents of the present invention are covalently bonded to the polycarbonate-polyurethane primer, the bio-active agents are permanently attached to the substrate unlike certain of the transient coatings discussed above.
In summary, all of the references cited above suffer from the drawback that they use organic solvents in their coating layer and/or cure at high temperatures. Thus, there is a need for improved bio-compatible coatings which enhance the biostability, abrasion-resistance, lubricity and bio-activity of the surface of implantable medical devices, especially heat sensitive medical devices and coatings which have heat-sensitive biomolecules. In particular, there is a need for improved, cost efficient compositions and devices which have antithrombogenic properties and for more efficient methods of providing same. The present invention is directed to meeting these and other needs.

Polycarbonate-polyurethane dispersions for thromobo-resistant coatings


Inclinometer devices and methods of manufacturing the same are provided herein. The inclinometer device includes an inclinometer for measuring attitude data of an object, a wireless communication interface for communicating the object attitude data, and a casing. The casing is configured to house the inclinometer and the wireless communication device, and is further configured for use in hazardous environments.

The present disclosure relates generally to measuring attitude of manufactured objects, and more particularly to inclinometer devices and methods of manufacturing inclinometer devices.
Large vehicles, and/or structures (hereinafter "objects") are commonly checked to make sure they are level or balanced during the manufacturing process. Keeping an object level to the ground in certain circumstances facilitates ensuring safe and proper operation of the object. To measure whether an object is level, at least some known systems include measuring a pitch and a roll of the object using devices such as plum bobs, spirit levels, and or digital levels. For example, in an aircraft, the leveling process typically involves a mechanic installing a plum bob high up in a wheel well of the aircraft. Inclement weather and wind conditions can cause such installation to be a challenge.
Moreover, devices such as the plum bob require human interpretation, and therefore, the accuracy of such measurement is subject to the experience and skill of the operator. Alternatively, digital levels and other such computerized devices typically include wired connections for power and/or data transmittal. Using such wired connections on a metal object, such as an aircraft, can be difficult. Wireless leveling devices have been manufactured; however, such wireless devices are a challenge to accuracy in connection with the pitch and roll of an object. Moreover, such wireless devices are not necessarily packaged for operation in environments, such as an aircraft.

Inclinometer device and method of manufacture


Two SODAR systems (12a and 12r) for detecting and characterizing vortices (16) shed from landing or departing aircraft (14) as at an airport (10) are positioned so that one, the active system (12a) is located beneath the likely vortices (16) and the other, the reference system (12r) is located away from the vortices but in the same ambient environment. Thus, where a wind duct or thermal inversion (18) is present, both SODAR systems will detect echoes (22 and 28) generated thereby, whereas only the active system (12a) will detect echoes (24) from wake vortices (16). By differencing the outputs of the reference and active systems, better vortex identification and discrimination is achieved. Only one SODAR system need be used where sufficiently normal conditions prevail between aircraft activity, since readings taken in the absence of aircraft can be used as reference data for subtraction from ‘active’ data recorded during the presence of aircraft.

This specification is to be read in conjunction with our prior international applications PCT/AU01/00247, PCT/AU02/01129, PCT/AU04/00242 relating to SODAR systems using long pulses encoded in a 'pulse compression' manner, using over-sampling of received echoes for good resolution and processing gain, and using complex Fourier-domain processing of the sampled echoes to achieve further discrimination and processing gains in the signal-to-noise ratio. The pulses—generically called 'chirps'—employed in our prior inventions preferably had durations in the order of tens of seconds. The pulse-compression technique employed was preferably a linear increase or decrease in phase (tone) over the duration of the pulse; for example, a steady increase in tone from 500 to 1500 Hz, or a steady decrease in tone from 1500 to 500 Hz. The methods disclosed involved 'listening while sending'; that is, echoes are received and processed while transmission of the chirp is still under way. This technique not only allows very high system and processing gains that result in exceptionally good s/n (signal to noise ratio), but it also enables atmospheric discontinuities that occur close to the ground to be detected. Since prior art systems could not 'listen while sending', it was necessary to use short powerful pulses for short-ranges and to suffer the resulting very poor system and processing gains. Such prior art SODARs were essentially incapable of detecting and displaying wake vortices with the high spatial and temporal necessary for charactreising the vortices in a wide range of airport environments.
While the SODAR systems disclosed in our prior applications were capable of detecting wake vortices and of monitoring wind conditions in the vicinity of airports with much greater sensitivity and precision than was previously possible in the art, they still had difficulty in displaying the 'life' of a vortex; for example, tracking the wind shear disturbances formed by a landing aircraft as they form, fade, travel to the ground or dissipate over a period of seconds or minutes.
For brevity, the disclosures in our aforementioned applications are regarded as being incorporated herein, including the extensive discussion of the prior art contained in the specifications of those applications. In addition, some of the terminology that is used herein is explained or defined in those specifications.

Detection of wake vortices and the like in the lower atmosphere


A data storage device for storing digital information in a readable form is described made up of one or more memory elements, each memory element comprising a planar magnetic conduit capable of sustaining and propagating a magnetic domain wall formed into a continuous propagation track. Each continuous track is provided with at least one and preferably a large number of inversion nodes whereat the magnetization direction of a domain wall propagating along the conduit under action of a suitable applied field, such as a rotating magnetic field, is changed.

1. Technical Field
The examples of embodiments relate to a data storage device for the storage of digital information such as computer files, digital music, digital video etc., and, in particular, to a data storage device to which data can be written and read back an unlimited number of times.
2. Description of Related Art
A wide range of data storage devices has become available in recent years employing a range of media for a range of digital data storage applications. Data storage devices are designed which are adapted to some of a variety of operational characteristics, including capacity, speed of access, write/rewrite ability, ability to retain data stably over time (with or without power), size, robustness, portability and the like.
Known data storage devices include magnetic tape storage, magnetic hard disk storage, and optical disk storage. All offer advantages of good storage capacity and relatively rapid data access, and all can be adapted for ready write and rewrite of data. All require moving parts in the form of electromechanical or optical readers. This can limit the extent to which devices incorporating such data storage media can be miniaturized, and limit the use of the device in high-vibration environments. Although in each case the surface medium is the key to data storage, the mechanisms involved require careful control of properties also of any supporting substrate. Thus, such devices have to be of carefully controlled construction. Moreover all require the reader to have access to the surface of the device, which can place limitations on design freedom for the device.


A switching regulator includes a power stage, an output capacitor, a first reference voltage generator, a comparator, a constant-time trigger, a frequency-to-voltage converter, and an error amplifier. The power stage includes a first switch, a second switch coupled to the first switch, and an output inductor. The comparator is coupled to the output capacitor, and output inductor, and the first reference voltage generator. The constant-time trigger is coupled to the comparator and the power stage. The error amplifier includes a first input end coupled to the frequency-to-voltage converter, a second input end, and an output end coupled to the constant-time trigger.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a switching regulator, and more particularly, to a switching regulator for fixing a frequency by controlling a constant-time trigger.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Regulators usually include switching regulators and liner regulators. The characteristics of liner regulators are that they are cheap, easy to use and respond quickly. However the efficiency of liner regulators is poor, often consuming 50% of the power. Although a switching regulator has slow response, its power efficiency is great. Power consumption plays an important role in circuit design nowadays. As for a quick response requirement, switching regulators utilize a constant-time trigger to substitute for an error amplifier with additional frequency compensation elements used for controlling signal differences between PWM loops. The constant-time trigger is used for triggering a fixed on time or a fixed off time to control the whole switching regulator.
Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram of a switching regulator 10 according to the prior art. The switching regulator 10 includes a power stage 12, an output capacitor Cout, a loading Rload, a reference voltage generator 14, a comparator 15, and a constant-time trigger 16. The power stage 12 includes a first switch SW1, a second switch SW2, an inverter 17, and an output inductor Lout. The second switch SW2 is coupled to the first switch SW1. The output inductor Lout is coupled to the first switch SW1 and the second switch SW2. The inverter 17 is coupled to the constant-time trigger 16 and a control end 104 of the second switch SW2 for processing an inverse operation on a signal outputted from the constant-time trigger 16. The output capacitor Cout is coupled to the output inductor Lout with an output voltage Vout across the capacitor. The output capacitor Cout further includes an equivalent series resistance ESR. The reference voltage generator 14 is used for generating a reference voltage Vref. The comparator 15 includes a first input end 152 coupled to the output inductor Lout and the output capacitor Cout for receiving a feedback voltage VFB (equals the output voltage Vout). The comparator 15 includes a second input end 154 coupled to the reference voltage generator 14. The constant-time trigger 16 is coupled to the comparator 15 and the power stage 12. The constant-time trigger 16 is used for controlling turning on and off the first switch SW1 and the second switch SW2 of the power stage 12 according to a result of the comparator 15. An input end 122 of the first switch SW1 is coupled to an input voltage terminal Vin, and an input end 124 of the second switch SW2 is coupled to ground. The comparator 15 is an error comparator. The first switch SW1 and the second switch SW2 are metal-oxide semiconductor transistors (MOS). When the constant-time trigger 16 is an on-time trigger, it is used for controlling on time of the first switch SW1 and the second switch SW2. When the constant-time trigger 16 is an off-time trigger, it is used for controlling off time of the first switch SW1 and the second switch SW2.
Please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating signal waveforms in FIG. 1. The upper waveform is a variation of an inductor current IL in time, where it rises in a positive slope for a span and drops in a negative slope for a span. Due to the output voltage Vout equaling the feedback voltage VFB, the feedback voltage VFB could be represented as the product of the inductor current IL and the equivalent series resistance ESR. Assume that the constant-time trigger 16 is an on time trigger for controlling turning on the first switch SW1 for a fixed time TON. The comparator 15 is used for comparing the feedback voltage VFB and the reference voltage Vref. When the feedback voltage VFB is lower than the reference voltage Vref, the comparator 15 triggers a high level signal to the constant-time trigger 16. The constant-time trigger 16 controls the first switch SW1 to turn on for the fixed time TON and to turn off the first switch SW1 for a fixed time TOFF. The constant-time trigger 16 turns on the second switch SW2 to form a loop.
Please continue to refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. Assume that the constant-time trigger 16 is an on-time trigger. The on-time of the first switch SW1 is TON and the off-time of the first switch SW1 is TOFF. A switching frequency f1 of the switching regulator 10 can be represented as the following equation: f1=Vout/TON(Vin−IL×RDSON), where TON is the on-time of the first switch SW1, IL is the inductor current, and RDSON is the resistor of the switch when conducting. Thus, the frequency f1 relates to the output voltage Vout, the input voltage Vin and the resistor RDSON.
Fixing frequency applications of switching regulators are already disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,774,611 "Circuits and Methods for Synchronizing Non-constant Frequency Switching Regulators with A Phase Locked Loop", U.S. Pat. No. 6,885,175 "Fixed Frequency Hysteretic Regulator", and U.S. Pat. No. 6,456,050 "Virtual Frequency-Controlled Switching Voltage Regulator". In U.S. Pat. No. 6,774,611, the method of work is adjusting the on-time TON and the off-time TOFF by a phase difference generated by a phase-locked loop (PLL).
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,885,175, the main application is aimed at a hysteresis system. Please refer to FIG. 3 that is a diagram of a hysteresis system 30 according to the prior art. The upper limit of the hysteresis system 30 is a first reference voltage Vref1 , and the lower limit of the hysteresis system 30 is a second reference voltage Vref2. A comparator 35 is used for comparing the first reference voltage Vref1 with a feedback voltage VFB, and a comparator 36 is used for comparing the second reference voltage Vref2 with the feedback voltage VFB. The magnitude of the first reference voltage Vref1 and the magnitude of the second reference voltage Vref2 are controlled by an offset generator 32 which is controlled by a frequency f2 of the hysteresis system 30. When the frequency f2 of the hysteresis system 30 is too large, the offset generator 32 outputs the offsets Offset1 and Offset2 with a greater value. When the frequency f2 of the hysteresis system 30 is too small, the offset generator 32 outputs the offsets Offset1 and Offset2 with a smaller value. The hysteresis system 30 includes an adder 33 and a subtractor 34. The adder 33 is used for adding a reference voltage Vref and the offset Offset1 together to get the first reference voltage Vref1. The subtractor 34 is used for subtract the offset Offset2 from the reference voltage Vref to get the second reference voltage Vref2. Frequency fixing is achieved by utilizing the offset generator 32 to adjust the magnitude of the offsets Offset1 and Offset2.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,456,050, the method of work is adding a feedback mechanism to the system. The off-time TOFF is adjusted by variations of current indirectly. Thus a frequency of the system is changed.
Due to the frequency f1 of the switching regulator 10 being relating to the output voltage Vout and the input voltage Vin, a different output voltage Vout and a different input voltage Vin leads to a different frequency f1 even though the on-time TON is equal. The frequency f1 changes with variations of the output voltage Vout and the input voltage Vin. Therefore, the frequency of the system is unstable.

Switching regulator for fixing a frequency


An aircraft electrical system includes a controller system having a self-testing system configured to test an operability of a transient voltage suppression device. A single line communication bus is connected to a communications output of the controller. A first lightning protection device including the transient voltage suppression device is configured to protect the controller from transient voltages. An enable/disable circuit comprising a normally closed switch connects a low side of the lightning protection device to a neutral.

Modern aircraft typically utilize multiple on-board electrical systems and controls to ensure proper operation of the aircraft. In some examples, one or more of the on-board electrical systems communicate with a pilot, or the cockpit in general, via a single line communication bus. Such systems are referred to herein as single line communication systems.
One environmental risk aircraft are exposed to during flight is the potential of a lightning strike hitting the aircraft. When lightning strikes an aircraft, a surge of electricity passes through the aircraft and any unprotected electrical systems onboard the aircraft. The surge can overload unprotected electrical systems and damage or destroy the unprotected electrical system. This surge of electricity is referred to as a lightning transient surge. In order to protect against these lightning transient surges, aircraft include lightning protection circuits connected to one or more on board electrical systems. The lightning protection circuits shunt the lightning transient surge away from the protected electrical system, and to a neutral power line.
Some existing lightning protection circuits utilize a transient voltage suppression device as a clamping portion of the transient surge protection. Further, in some cases the transient voltage suppression device can enter a short circuit failure mode. While in the short circuit failure mode, the transient voltage suppression device directly connects the single line communication bus to a neutral point causing the communication bus to be unable to communicate with the cockpit. As the single line communication bus cannot communicate with the cockpit, each of the sensors, controllers, and other aircraft components that rely on the communication bus to transmit signals to the cockpit likewise cannot communicate with the cockpit.
In existing single communication line systems, the cockpit is unable to determine whether a communication interruption is due to a failed transient voltage suppression device or a more serious failure in one or more of the systems communicating over the single line communication bus. As a result, a failure of the transient voltage protection device is treated as a "worst case scenario" even when the aircraft components that communicate over the single line communication bus may otherwise be fully operational.

Transient voltage suppression protection circuit including built in testing and enable-disable functionality


A memory access scheme achieved using a memory address register and a register-indirect memory accessing mode eliminates write back collisions, long cycle time, and enhances system performance. During memory address generation operations, an arithmetic-logic unit (ALU) generates memory addresses from data in a general purpose register (GPR). Then, the memory addresses are written back to the GPR and a memory address register (MAR). During memory access operations, the MAR is accessed for the memory addresses to access a memory. Two approaches are provided. In a first approach, use of the MAR during the memory access operations is explicit. In a second approach, use of the MAR during the memory access operations is transparent. According to the second approach, a controller is provided to validate the MAR during the memory access operations.

1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates generally to a memory access scheme for computer systems, and more particularly to a memory access scheme which is achieved using a memory address register and a register-indirect memory accessing mode.
2. Related Art
In many conventional computer systems, memory address generation is performed as part of memory access instructions, such as memory load and store instructions. An example of a conventional computer system with multiple functional units having simultaneous multiple operations is shown in FIG. 1. Specifically, FIG. 1 illustrates a computer subsystem 102 where memory address generation is performed as part of memory access instructions.
The computer subsystem 102 contains a processing unit 104 and a memory unit 134. The processing unit 104 contains multiple general purpose registers (GPR) 106, each of which are connected to an adder 108 for address generation and an arithmetic-logic unit (ALU) 110. An output 126 from the ALU 110 can be transferred (or written back) to the GPRs 106 via line 142. Addresses generated by the adder 108 are transferred to a memory 136 contained in the memory unit 134. Data is transferred between the GPR 106 and the memory 136 via the ALU 110 side of the processing unit 104. That is, data is transferred from the GPR 106 to the memory 136 via the ALU 110. Data is transferred from the memory 136 to the GPRs 106 via a bus 112, an ALU out register 138 (which is associated with the ALU 110), and a line 142.
FIG. 2 illustrates a pipelined timing diagram of the computer subsystem 102 where a memory load instruction 202 starts at time t.sub.0 and a register-to-register instruction 212 starts at time t.sub.1.
The memory load instruction 202 operates as follows. After an instruction fetch cycle 204, a memory address is calculated in the adder 108 during a decode/address generation cycle 206. The memory address is transferred to the memory 136. During a memory access cycle 208, the memory 136 retrieves data (according to the memory address) and places the data in the ALU out register 138. During a write back cycle 210, the data in the ALU out register 138 is written back to the GPRs 106 via the line 142.
The register-to-register instruction 212 operates as follows. After an instruction fetch cycle 214, data from the GPRs 106 is manipulated in the ALU 110 to produce an arithmetic/logic result during an decode/execute cycle 216. During a write back cycle 218, the arithmetic/logic result is written back to the GPRs 106 via the line 142.
Because the memory load instruction 202 contains an additional memory access cycle 208, an uneven pipeline is created. That is, the memory load instruction 202 (and memory access instructions in general) takes one more cycle to execute than the register-to-register instruction 212. As a result of the uneven pipeline, both the memory load instruction 202 and the register-to-register instruction 212 attempt to write back to the GPRs 106 via the line 142 during the same cycle (that is, the cycle beginning at t.sub.3). Therefore, "write back" collisions occur in computer systems where memory address generation is performed as part of the memory access instructions. Such write back collisions degrade processor performance.
In a first prior solution to the write back collision problem, register instructions are extended by 1 cycle. This is illustrated by the timing diagram in FIG. 3, wherein a register-to-register instruction 302 contains an wait cycle 304, in addition to the instruction fetch cycle 214, the decode/execute cycle 216, and the write back cycle 218. The addition of the wait cycle 304 eliminates write back collisions by eliminating the uneven pipeline. However, the addition of wait cycles 304 increases pipeline penalties. Consequently, this solution is flawed because it decreases system performance.
In a second prior solution to the write back collision problem, memory access instructions are executed as 2 cycle instructions. This is illustrated by the timing diagram in FIG. 4, where the start of a register-to-register instruction 402 is delay by one cycle to t.sub.2. While eliminating write back collisions, this solution causes the memory access instructions to effectively execute in 2 cycles, rather than 1 cycle. Thus, this solution is flawed because it decreases system performance.
In a third prior solution to the write back collision problem, an additional GPR write port is added for use during write back cycles. Referring to FIG. 1, an additional GPR write port is added to facilitate a separate path between the GPR 106 and the memory 136. The separate path, working in conjunction with the existing path formed by line 142, eliminates write back collisions. However, this solution significantly increases the hardware costs in computer systems with multiple functional units. Specifically, if a system has N functional units and W write ports per functional unit, then W*N.sup.2 input ports to the GPR 106 are required (if the GPR 106 is partitioned and replicated). Thus, this solution is flawed because it increases the cost of computer systems.
In a fourth prior solution to the write back collision problem, memory address generation is performed in separate instructions, apart from memory access instructions. Performing memory address generation in separate instructions does not have an adverse affect on system performance in computer systems with multiple functional units. The fourth solution is illustrated by the timing diagram in FIG. 5, where an address generation instruction 502 begins at t.sub.0, a memory load instruction 510 begins at t.sub.1, and a register-to-register instruction 518 beings at t.sub.2.
The operation of the address generation instruction 502 and the register-to-register instruction 518 is similar to the operation of the register-to-register instruction 212. In particular, the address generation instruction 502, after generating an address during a decode/execute cycle 506, writes back the address to the GPR 106 during a write back cycle 508.
The operation of the memory load instruction 510 is similar to the operation of the memory load instruction 202. Unlike the memory load instruction 202, however, the memory load instruction 510 does not perform address generation. Instead, the memory load instruction 510 accesses the GPR 106 for the address generated by the address generation instruction 502. The memory load instruction 510 then uses the address to access the memory 136. The memory load instruction performs these two operations during a decode/memory access (GPR) cycle 514 (the "(GPR)" indicates that the address comes from the GPR 106).
Because address generation is not performed in memory access instructions 510, the fourth solution eliminates uneven pipelines and thus eliminates write back collisions.
However, the fourth solution is inefficient because the path length associated with the decode/memory access (GPR) cycle 514 is much longer than the path length associated with the decode/execute cycle 522. In other words, the fourth solution creates an unbalanced pipeline partition because some cycles take significantly longer to execute than other cycles. Thus, the fourth solution is flawed because it results in a much longer cycle time (since cycle time is determined by the longest pipeline path).
Specifically, the decode/memory access (GPR) cycle 514 involves (1) processing time to access the GPR 106 to retrieve the address generated during the address generation instruction 502, (2) propagation delay to send the address from the GPR 106 to the memory 136, (3) memory read latency delay associated with reading the memory 136, and (4) propagation delay to send data from the memory 136 to the ALU out register 138.
In contrast, the decode/execute cycle 522 involves only (1) processing time to access the GPR 106 to retrieve data for the register-to-register instruction 518, and (2) processing time of the ALU 110.
The processing time disparity between the decode/memory access (GPR) cycle 514 and the decode/execute cycle 522 is greater if the processing unit 104 and the memory unit 134 are located on separate chips or circuit boards. The processing unit 104 and the memory unit 134 are likely to be located on separate chips or circuit boards if the processing unit 104 contains multiple functional units.
Uneven pipeline creates additional problems for very long instruction word (VLIW) machines. A VLIW machine contains multiple functional units. The functional units execute multiple operations in parallel and in lock step according to very long instruction words. Since all pipeline interlocks and parallelism extraction are managed by a compiler, the uneven pipeline or long pipeline that is presented to the compiler would significantly complicate the compiler's task.
Therefore, a memory access scheme is required which achieves an uniform pipeline without increasing cycle time.

General purpose memory access scheme using register-indirect mode

International Business Machines Corporation