A self-cleaning socket for contacting terminals on a microelectronic device wherein the first end of compliant tubular contactors rotate and wipe against terminals urged downwardly against the first end of the contactors. A rotational wipe of a contactor against a mating terminal breaks through any surface contamination layers on the terminal, thereby producing good electrical contact therebetween. Rotation of the first end of a contactor is caused by a downward deflection of a collar supported by two or more helical legs along a midsection of the contactor. Deflection of the collar distorts the resilient helical legs, each of which exerts a force on the collar which add up to produce a torsional force on the collar, thereby providing a rotational wipe in response to a downward urging of a terminal against the contactor. A void along the axis of the tubular contactor provides a reservoir to hold debris dislodged from the terminal and to keep the debris from interfering with operation of the contactor.

This invention relates to sockets used for microelectronic devices. More particularly, this invention relates to self cleaning contactors used in sockets for testing microelectronic devices with ball terminals or with flat terminals. One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to a self-cleaning electrical contactor for making electrical connections to high performance microelectronic devices, for example, and without limitation, integrated circuits ("ICs"), including microprocessors, chips for peripheral functions and RAM memories.
Sockets are used widely in electronics to burn-in and test microelectronic devices. Sockets are routinely used in systems for: (a) testing electronic device performance (an assortment of socket types have been developed to connect to a device under test ("DUT") having a wide variety of terminals and configurations), or (b) burn-in of electronic devices at elevated temperatures. A socket for burn-in or test applications will typically have a mechanical compliance that accommodates imperfections in the DUT as well as warping and non-planarity of the printed circuit board to which the socket is attached.
Prior art sockets are differentiated typically according to the type of terminals on the DUT and according to the intended end use (i.e., application). The contactors used in sockets are typically designed to make electrical connection to terminals on microelectronic devices wherein the types of device terminals contacted by sockets include pin grid arrays ("PGAs"), J-leads, gull-wing leads, dual in-line ("DIP") leads, ball grid arrays ("BGAs"), column grid arrays ("CGAs"), flat metal pads ("LAN" grid arrays or "LGAs"), and many others. In order to provide sockets for microelectronic devices with this variety of terminals, many contactor technologies have been developed for sockets. In addition to the foregoing, further differentiation among prior art sockets refers to low insertion force ("LIF") sockets, zero insertion force ("ZIF") sockets, auto-load sockets, burn-in sockets, high performance test sockets, and production sockets (i.e., sockets for use in products). In further addition to the foregoing, low cost prior art sockets for burn-in and product applications typically incorporate contactors of stamped and formed springs to contact terminals on a DUT. In still further addition to the foregoing, for high pin-count prior art sockets, a cam is often used to urge device terminals laterally against corresponding contactors to make good contact to each spring while allowing a low or zero insertion force.
For specialized applications, prior art sockets have used a wide variety of contactors, including anisotropic conductive sheets, flat springs, lithographically formed springs, fuzz buttons (available from Cinch, Inc. of Lombard, Ill.), spring wires, barrel contactors, and spring forks, among others. Prior art sockets intended for applications where many test mating cycles (also referred to as socket mount-demount cycles) are required typically use spring pin contactors of the type exemplified by Pogo® spring contacts (available from Everett Charles Technologies of Pomona, Calif.). Spring probes for applications in the electronics test industry are available in many configurations, including simple pins and coaxially grounded pins. Most prior art spring probes consist of a coil spring disposed between a first post (for contacting terminals on the DUT) and a second post (for contacting contacts on a circuit board—a device under test board or "DUT board"). Spring probes are designed to undergo 500,000 insertions before failure.
Spring probe contactors used for socketing BGA packages typically use crown tips in order to provide good contact to mating solder balls. Sharp edges of the crown tip are intended to break through any surface film on mating solder balls in order to make good conductive contact to the ball. Remnants of the surface film, including solder flux, solder oxide, organic contamination, and surface films build up contamination on the crown tip, fouling of the tip and causing unreliable contact between the contactor tip and a mating solder ball. In typical operation, spring probe contactors must be cleaned by brushing residue from the crown tips after every 10,000 to 50,000 DUT insertions in order to minimize contact failures. Fouling of crown tip contactors is responsible for economic loss due to tester down time during cleaning as well as due to false rejects resulting from contact failure. Socket cleaning and contactor failure due to contamination fouling are significant caused of tester down time in a semiconductor test facility.
Spring pin sockets typically have a plurality of spring pin contactors disposed in an array of apertures formed through a dielectric holder. By way of example, a high performance, prior art test socket may incorporate a plurality of Pogo® spring contacts, each of which is held in a pin holder with an array of holes through a thin dielectric plate. The dielectric material in a high performance, prior art test socket is typically selected from a group of dimensionally stable polymer materials including: glass reinforced Torlon 5530 available from Quadrant Engineering Plastic Products, Inc. of Reading, Pa.; Vespel; Ultem 2000 available from GE Company GE Plastics of Pittsfield, Mass.; PEEK; liquid crystal polymer; and others. The individual Pogo® spring contacts are typically selected and designed for signal conduction at an impedance level of approximately fifty (50) ohms.
The recent growth in use of BGA terminals for IC packaging has resulted in use of new and varied sockets adapted to BGA terminals for increasing terminal count and area density. BGA sockets have evolved in several directions. One type involves use of a cam driven spring wire to contact the side of each ball. Spring pins or Pogo® pins have been adapted to use in BGA sockets for certain applications in which the high cost of the socket is acceptable.
Low-cost BGA sockets for mass market applications have evolved the use of stamped and formed springs that cradle each ball of the BGA and provide some measure of mechanical compliance needed to urge a spring contactor into contact with a mating ball. Variations of stamped and formed springs are configured to use two or more formed springs to grip each ball and thereby make positive electrical contact while retaining the ball mechanically. Miniaturization and density of the mechanically stamped and formed springs are limited by present capabilities to a certain minimum size. Sockets with contactors so made are limited in density by the complexity of stamping and forming very small miniaturized springs. Further, the mechanical compliance of a stamped and formed spring is typically small in a vertical direction perpendicular to a substrate of a ball contact. Because of small compliance in a vertical direction, a miniature stamped and formed spring may be unable to accommodate motion of a contactor support relative to a ball mated to it, thereby allowing vibration, mechanical shock load and forces, flexure, and the like to cause the contactor to slide over the surface of the ball and potentially lose contact. It has also been observed that repeated microscopic motion of one contact relative to a mating contact causes fritting, that is, a build-up of small particle debris that can lead to contact failure. In addition, contamination and debris may be transferred from terminals on DUTs to mating contactors, causing a build-up of contamination on surfaces of the contactors that also lead to socket failure.
Build-up of debris on the probe from dislodged surface contamination on terminals on devices under test are a significant problem with contactors of the prior art. The contamination is typically solder flux residue, plasticizer materials, particulate contamination, organic particles, and the like. Unsuccessful attempts have been made to minimize the buildup of residue on contactor probes. One class of probes attempting to remedy the problem employs a cam action to rotate a probe plunger as the plunger is depressed. A spiral track is provided either on the plunger or on a barrel confining the plunger, wherein a cam running against the spiral track rotated the plunger as it is depressed. Rotation of the plunger caused the probe tip to wipe against a terminal biased against the probe, thereby breaking through surface contamination on the terminal. Representative patents relating to relatively large probe tips are U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,009,613; 5,032,787; and 5,633,597.
Another approach to reducing the deleterious effects of debris buildup involves the use of a hollow probe with sharp points around the circumference of the probe that cut through surface contamination on a mating terminal. The sharp points are intended to penetrate and so need not wipe against the terminal in order to cut through the surface contamination. Representative patents are U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,159,056; and 6,377,059.
Many prior art sockets are intended to provide reliable and repeatable electrical contact to electrical terminals without causing damage to either. Further, the contactors of a socket must provide a low resistance connection to mating terminals over repeated insertions of devices. In a production environment, wherein contamination and debris fouls contactors and causes test failure, periodic cleaning of the contactors of a socket is a costly and time consuming necessity. Notwithstanding the introduction of various types of contactors in test sockets, repeated socket cleaning and contact failure are continuing problems. As the number and density of terminals on microelectronic devices increases, there is an urgent and growing need for a reliable miniature contactor for test probes, i.e., one that does not fail due to contamination and that does not need repeated cleaning during production testing.

Self-cleaning socket for microelectronic devices


According to one embodiment, a correction-parameter storing unit corrects a position of a captured image captured by an image sensor, and an image-position correcting unit corrects the position of the captured image for each pixel based on the correction parameter.

In solid-state imaging devices, an image sensor and a lens are integrated by fixing the lens to a mirror tube in which the image sensor is arranged and thereby modularizing the image sensor and the lens.
With this method, when the image sensor and the lens are modularized, deviation, distortion, or the like occurs in some cases in an image output from the solid-state imaging device due to a manufacturing variation of the lens or the mirror tube, distortion of the lens and variation in attachment position of the lens, or the like.
Moreover, for enabling to visually and quantitatively recognize a shape distortion of a projected image projected from a projector at a high accuracy, there is a method in which a chart image for correcting the shape distortion of the projected image is generated, the chart image is projected by the projector, the projected image projected from the projector is captured, coordinates of a captured sensing image are obtained by performing analysis of the sensing image, and a blended image in which the analyzed sensing image and the chart image are blended is displayed by the projector.
With this method, although the shape distortion of the projected image projected from the projector can be visually recognized, deviation, distortion, and the like of the projected image projected from the projector cannot be corrected.

Solid-state imaging device having image pixel position correction to reduce shape distortion


Methods of accelerating a target vehicle to a higher orbit via a Kinetic Energy Storage and Transfer (KEST) vehicle are provided. The KEST vehicle is configured to transfer kinetic energy to the target vehicle by way of a catching mechanism using one or more brakes on one or more associated tethers along which the braking mechanism traverses, accelerating the target vehicle into a higher orbit, potentially even beyond the Earth.

The amount of expendable hardware required to place a satellite in orbit is the primary cost driver for access to space. Specific impulse (Isp) is one of the major factors determining the size of the vehicle required to accelerate a spacecraft to orbital velocity. As shown in graph 100 of FIG. 1, the specific impulse of rocket propulsion is limited to approximately 450 seconds. Air breathing hypersonic propulsion such as scramjets have much higher specific impulses and have been proposed for space transportation, but they have proven to be impractical due to their limited thrust potential.
Because scramjet propulsion has low thrust and must operate within the atmosphere, gravity and drag losses are high. Under these conditions, rocket propulsion is more efficient. Electrical propulsion has even higher Isp (3,000 seconds or more), but has even lower thrust. As a result, electric propulsion cannot be directly employed as an ascent propulsion system. However, the ability to take advantage of the high Isp of electric propulsion systems in order to propel vehicles into orbit or beyond may be beneficial.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods of accelerating a target vehicle to a higher orbit via a kinetic energy storage and transfer (KEST) space vehicle


A method of playing a card game is disclosed. The method includes providing a game board having multiple base areas, a destination and an advancement path having a plurality of advancement spaces between the base areas and the destination. A set of the playing cards is dealt from the deck to each of multiple players. At least one game piece is provided on each of the base areas for each of the players. Each of the players draws one of the playing cards from his or her dealt set of said playing cards and advances the game pieces from his or her base areas on the advancement path for a number of the advancement spaces corresponding to a numerical value displayed on the drawn playing card.

Card games are popular among persons of all ages because they require participants to use strategy and skill in an attempt to out-maneuver their opponents and win the game. A standard card deck includes 52 playing cards divided into four suits (spades, diamonds, hearts and clubs) each having multiple card types numbered from two to ten, in addition to a king card, a queen card, a jack card and an ace card. Recently, the Pentagon released a 52-card deck of playing cards known as the Iraqi Most Wanted playing cards. These playing cards feature fifty-two of those who were the most wanted Iraqi officials in Saddam Hussein's regime at the time the Operation Iraqi Freedom war started in 2003. The Iraqi Most Wanted playing cards were designed to aid U.S. military personnel in identifying and capturing these officials.


A wireless transmission system which adaptively selects a plurality of modulation schemes according to variations in a propagation path characteristic, capable of estimating the modulation scheme of a received signal more easily with a substantially simple configuration. This system adds priority order to modulation schemes to be candidates for modulation scheme estimation processing, carries out estimation processing on modulation schemes one by one in descending order of priority and confirms the modulation scheme of the received signal when predetermined likelihood is obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reception method, reception apparatus and wireless transmission system when adaptive modulation/demodulation is carried out.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are conventional communication systems which select a wireless transmission system according to traffic of each service area, propagation environment and required service content. As conventional wireless communication systems that select this wireless transmission system, there are a low-speed adaptive modulation scheme which takes into consideration traffic, propagation environment, desired transmission speed, etc., when a channel is assigned to each user (communication terminal apparatus) and a high-speed adaptive modulation scheme which adapts its modulation scheme within the assigned range according to instantaneous variations in a propagation path to improve transmission quality.
The low-speed adaptive modulation scheme is basically intended to reduce concentration of traffic of communication systems and at the same time assign transmission bands which will meet requests from users (communication terminal apparatuses) to the greatest possible extent by providing specified quality.
Also, the high-speed adaptive modulation scheme is intended to monitor instantaneous C/Ic (power ratio of a desired signal to an interference signal: carrier to co-channel power ratio) and instantaneous delay spread and at the same time realize high throughput with high transmission quality by selecting an optimum number of modulation multi-values and symbol rate within the assigned band.
Communication systems using these schemes are easily adaptable to implementation of a large-capacity system, buffering of load on communication systems in response to dynamic variations of traffic and handling of services for media with different transmission speeds.
Meanwhile, as modulation schemes that can be switched in a communication system, there are QPSK (Quaternary Phase Shift Keying), 16QAM (16 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) and 64QAM, etc. In these modulation schemes, frequency utilization efficiency increases from QPSK, 16QAM and 64QAM in that order, but with the increase of frequency utilization efficiency, an inter-signal distance also decreases in that order, which makes the system vulnerable to noise.
Therefore, an adaptive modulation scheme that adaptively switches between these modulation schemes, selects, for example, a modulation index (number of modulation multi-values) based on its average CNR, and can thereby select an optimum modulation scheme according to its propagation path environment (e.g., see the Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. HEI 11-275164, p 6, FIG. 2).
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional reception apparatus of a system that demodulates waveform distortion due to fading through adaptive equalization processing. Here, a TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access)-based communication system will be shown and suppose that known signal patterns (training signals) used for synchronization acquisition and transmission path estimation are inserted in processing units (burst, etc.) of a received signal. However, suppose information on a modulation index is not included in the received signal.
In FIG. 1, a reception apparatus 1 performs reception processing on the received signal at a wireless section 2 and then supplies this to an A/D (analog/digital) conversion section 3. The analog/digital conversion section 3 converts the received signal supplied from the wireless section 2 to a digital signal and then supplies it to a reception level measuring section 4, a transmission path estimation section 5, a synchronization section 6 and a demodulation scheme estimation decision section 10.
The reception level measuring section 4 measures intensity of the digital received signal (RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) signal level) supplied from the A/D conversion section 3 and thereby performs gain control on the wireless section 2. The transmission path estimation section 5 performs transmission path estimation based on the digital received signal supplied from the A/D conversion section 3 and then supplies the result to a switching section 7. Furthermore, the synchronization section 6 performs coherent detection based on the digital received signal to acquire synchronization with the transmission path estimation section 5 and demodulation scheme estimation decision section 10.
The demodulation scheme estimation decision section 10 supplies the digital received signal supplied from the A/D conversion section 3 to demodulation estimation sections 11, 12 and 13. The demodulation estimation sections 11, 12 and 13 each demodulate a portion of the received signal (which is a training signal in a burst and portion modulated in the same way as for transmission data (data channel)) according to different demodulation schemes. For example, the demodulation estimation section 11 QPSK-demodulates the received signal, the demodulation estimation section 12 16QAM-demodulates the received signal and the demodulation estimation section 13 64QAM-demodulates the received signal.
Then, the demodulation estimation section 11 supplies the result of demodulation according to the assigned demodulation scheme to a likelihood calculation section 14, the demodulation estimation section 12 supplies the result of demodulation according to the assigned demodulation scheme to a likelihood calculation section 15 and the demodulation estimation section 13 supplies the result of demodulation according to the assigned demodulation scheme to a likelihood calculation section 16.
The likelihood calculation section 14 uses a training signal supplied from a training signal generation section 17 as an expected value and calculates a mean square error between the expected value and received signal as likelihood. On the other hand, the likelihood calculation section 15 uses a training signal supplied from a training signal generation section 18 as an expected value and calculates a mean square error between the expected value and received signal as likelihood. Furthermore, the likelihood calculation section 16 uses a training signal supplied from a training signal generation section 19 as an expected value and calculates a mean square error between the expected value and received signal as likelihood.
Training signals supplied from the training signal generation sections 17, 18 and 19 are the same training signals included in their respective received signals and the likelihood calculation sections 14, 15 and 16 calculate likelihood values using these training signals as expected values, and can thereby estimate which demodulation scheme is the most likely one, that is, estimate the demodulation schemes of the received signals according to which modulation was carried out on the transmitting side. This estimation processing is carried out by a demodulation scheme decision section 20 which has received the likelihood calculation results from the likelihood calculation sections 14, 15 and 16.
The result decided by the demodulation scheme decision section 20 is supplied to the switching sections 7 and 24 as a demodulation scheme selection signal. The switching section 7 selects any one of a plurality of equalization/demodulation sections 21, 22 and 23 provided beforehand according to expected demodulation schemes based on the demodulation scheme selection signal supplied from the demodulation scheme decision section 20.
That is, the equalization/demodulation section 21 is designed to demodulate the received signal using the same demodulation scheme as that used for demodulation at the demodulation estimation section 11, the equalization/demodulation section 22 is designed to demodulate the received signal using the same demodulation scheme as that used for demodulation at the demodulation estimation section 12 and the equalization/demodulation section 23 is designed to demodulate the received signal using the same demodulation scheme as that used for demodulation at the demodulation estimation section 13.
Therefore, the demodulation scheme decision section 20 selects the equalization/demodulation section capable of obtaining the most likely demodulation result based on the result of likelihood calculations from among the equalization/demodulation sections 21, 22 and 23 based on the demodulated signals supplied from the demodulation estimation sections 11, 12 and 13, and can thereby select the demodulation scheme corresponding to the demodulation scheme estimated to be the same as the modulation scheme on the transmitting apparatus side and demodulate the received signal.
The signals demodulated by the equalization/demodulation sections 21, 22 and 23 are supplied to an error correction section 25 through a switching section 24, subjected to forward error correction processing and then supplied to a reception quality measuring section 26. The reception quality measuring section 26 measures reception quality of decoded data supplied from the error correction section 25.
Thus, the reception apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 provides a demodulation section (demodulation estimation sections 11, 12 and 13) for each of a plurality of demodulation schemes corresponding to a plurality of demodulation schemes expected as the modulation scheme on the transmitting apparatus side, estimates the modulation scheme on the transmitting apparatus side based on the respective results of demodulation processing on the received signal through these demodulation sections, carries out demodulation processing according to this estimation result, and can thereby estimate the modulation scheme on the transmitting apparatus side through the reception apparatus 1 without sending any signal indicating the modulation scheme from the transmitting apparatus side.
However, the conventional reception apparatus 1 has a problem that as a method of estimating the demodulation scheme of a received signal, providing a plurality of demodulation sections (demodulation estimation sections 11, 12 and 13) corresponding to the estimated demodulation schemes for the demodulation scheme estimation decision section 10 and carrying out demodulation processing corresponding to the expected demodulation schemes at the demodulation estimation sections 11, 12 and 13 will increase the amount of processing and also increase power consumption.

Reception method, reception apparatus and wireless transmission system using adaptive modulation scheme

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


In a printed character printed with a printing apparatus provided with a plurality of type elements and a print hammer, the specified left or right edge portion thereof has ink adhered heavily on the paper, and this specified edge portion is difficult to be erased when erasing a wrongly printed character with a correction ribbon.. In the disclosed character erasable printing apparatus, after moving the carriage from the print position by a predetermined minute distance in the printing direction or in its opposite direction toward the specified edge portion, a first hammering for erasure is carried out, and subsequently after moving the carriage in the direction opposite to above-described movement, at least, and without feeding the correction ribbon relative to the carriage, a second hammering for erasure is carried out with an unused fresh portion of the correction ribbon made to face the specified edge portion having residual ink.

The present invention relates to a printing apparatus including an erasing mechanism for erasing printed characters and symbols, and specifically relates to a character erasable printing apparatus capable of surely erasing ink adhering heavily on the right-side or left-side edge part of a printed character.
Generally, character erasable printing apparatuses such as the typewriter comprises a printing apparatus for printing characters and symbols by hammering desired types on a type-wheel by a print hammer and an erasing mechanism capable of erasing characters and symbols printed by the printing mechanism.
For erasing characters and symbols by the erasing mechanism, the erasing mechanism adopts the cover lap method which corrects by adhering correcting agent onto the printed character or the lift-off method which corrects by lifting off ink on the printed character, and in recent years the lift-off system has been generally employed. In the lift-off method, a printed character or symbol to be erased is erased by hammering by a print hammer driven mechanically or by a solenoid through an erase ribbon.
Conventionally, for example, an erasing apparatus for impact printer is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,307,971.
In this erasing apparatus, assuming errors of the stop positions of a print head at the print position and the erase position, first, the print head is moved from the print position in the direction of escapement by an amount of movement within a range of 2-20% of the amount of character escapement, then a first erasing operation being performed, and subsequently, the print head is moved from the print position in the direction reverse to that of escapement by an amount of movement within a range of 2-20% of the amount of character escapement, then a second erasing operation is performed.
In the printing apparatus describe in U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,005, by means of utilizing minute play .DELTA.S caused by errors in stop position of a stepping motor for driving the carriage and backlash in the driving gear mechanism and wire tension, when the carriage is moved in the first direction and then the carriage is moved in the direction opposite to the first direction, the carriage can be stopped at different two positions displaced by an amount of 2.DELTA.S relatively, where printing of bold face character and/or erasing of printed character can be carried out effectively.
In the printing apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,505, in order to avoid ink transfer from the correction ribbon to the paper in erasing a printed character at two or more impressions, a prescribed length of correction ribbon is fed after at least one erasing impession. Thus second erasing and third erasing can be conducted with fresh correction ribbon.
In an erasing apparatus described in the Japanese Patent provisional publication No. 147376/1985, for example, as shown in FIG. 9(a), first, a first erasing operation is performed at the position agreeing with the print position of a printed character `1`, and subsequently, as shown in FIG. 9(b), a print head is moved in the direction of spacing by a predetermined minute distance b, and then a second erasing operation is performed, and further as shown in FIG. 9(c), the print head is moved from the print position in the direction of backspacing by the predetermined minute distance b, and then a third or a third and a fourth erasing operation is performed.
In addition, numeral 29 designates a correction ribbon, numeral 34 designates ink of the printed character, numeral 34a designates ink lifted off from the printed character, and symbol P designates print paper
In the mechanical print hammer, to facilitate transfer of ink of a print ribbon onto print paper, as shown in FIG. 4 included in an embodiment of the present invention, on a head 7b of a print hammer, a large hammer weight 33 is mounted on the left side thereof, and a small hammer weight 32 is mounted on the right side thereof respectively, and when a type 5 is hammered by the print hammer, a turning torque is applied to the print hammer in the direction as shown by an arrow C along with a hammering force, and the type 5 sideslips in the direction as shown by an arrow D by a minute distance. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, ink adheres to the right-side edge part of the character `I` in a particularly firm manner, and this edge part becomes a portion where ink is difficult to be erased.
However, in the conventional erasing apparatus as described in FIG. 9, the first erase position is made to agree with the print position (refer to FIG. 9(a)), and therefore the ink 34a having a width equal to that of the printed character adheres to the correction ribbon 29 (refer to FIG. 9(b)), and the second erasure is executed in this state, and therefore the ink 34a has already adhered to the portion of the correction ribbon 29 corresponding to the right-side edge part, and even when the third erasure is executed thereafter as shown in FIG. 9(c), the ink 34 is left without being stripped off certainly as shown in FIG. 9(d), thereby raising a problem.
Furthermore, in the erasing apparatus as described in the above-described Japanese Patent Publication No. 6992/1981, the edge part of the character to be erased whereto ink adheres heavily is not taken into account, and therefore a problem exists that ink of the edge part remains.

Multi-impact character erasing apparatus with control of correction ribbon feed


A device for regenerating oil wherein an oil containing contaminates is placed in contact with at least one point source of heat which is a predetermined temperature and wherein the contaminants contained in the oil are partially evaporated and can be removed leaving an oil which is substantially free of contaminants and even though exposed to elevated temperatures the oil is not damaged or degraded.

When operating internal combustion engines and hydraulic-mechanical devices, lubricating oil and hydraulic oil, respectively, is used. Internal combustion engines can run on liquid fuel such as e.g. petrol or diesel oil. When the internal combustion engine is operated, the lubricating oil that lubricates the engine becomes contaminated with non-combusted fuel, water, refrigerant and substances from the fuel combustion. Hydraulic oil is contaminated in a similar way but is not subject to any combustion process but on the other hand subject to the oil absorbing water from air humidity and condensation in the tank or from water penetrating the system at changeovers or when cleaning.
There is a desire to clean the oil from unwanted substances without needing to change the oil in the device.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,083,406 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,515 a method and a device, respectively, for cleaning lubricating oil in an internal combustion engine is shown. The device comprises a particle filter that initially cleans the oil from particles and a liquid separation part intended for separating liquid in the form of water and fuel from the particle free oil. The liquid separation part comprises a substantially dome shaped heat plate. In one embodiment the dome shaped heat plate comprises a flat top and a number of, in a stair shaped structure below each other, slanted flat surfaces connected with elevations. The functioning of the device is as follows:
The particle free but from other liquids contaminated oil is sprinkled over the top of the dome shaped heat plate, after which the oil is supposed to, with the help of gravitation, to flow in a film along the sides of the heat plate, e.g. along the slanted flat surfaces of the heat plate. The function of the elevations is to stop the flow of oil in order for the oil to remain on the heat plate for a certain period.
The heat plate is manufactured of heat conductive material such as aluminium and is evenly heated by a thermostatically controlled heating coil. The complete oil film is brought to a temperature, by the heat plate, where the liquid can "boil" off from the oil which remains on the plate.
The evaporated liquid is captured and brought back to the combustion chamber and the cleaned oil is brought back to the engine, e.g. to a oil container or oil tray.
The method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,083,406 and the device in U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,515 both have a number of drawbacks.
The oil leaving the particle filter has a temperature of approximately 90° C. which means that the oil sprinkled over the heat plate can have a maximum temperature of approximately 90° C. Diesel oil has a boiling point at 250° C.-300° C. and lubricating oil has a considerably higher boiling point. The lubricating oil is however temperature sensitive but can be exposed to relatively high temperatures above 140° C., but only for a short period. Even if the diesel oil does not reach its boiling point, the diesel oil is partly evaporated at a lower temperature with an increasing degree dependent on increasing temperature. To achieve a maximum evaporation of diesel oil the temperature of the lubricating oil should therefore be increased to a maximum which the lubricating oil can withstand. The lubricating oil can withstand a high temperature for a short period better than a low temperature for a long period. The worst alternative is however high temperature under a long period as the oil is oxidized and destroyed.
The heat plate according to U.S. Pat. No. 6,083,406 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,515 aim at, through the use the elevations, to stop the flow of oil in order that all oil should have time to be heated to a certain temperature and in this way be able to "boil" off the contamination over the complete surface of the plate. This is a drawback as a high flow of oil is aimed at to achieve cleaning of big quantities of oil per unit of time. At the same time the low flow gives a long dwell time for the oil on the hot plate.
An example of a suitable oil flow is 0.65 l/minute. To be able to heat the oil from 90° C. to approximately 140° C. at this flow rate the oil needs an addition of 1 Kilowatt. The heat plate according to U.S. Pat. No. 6,083,406 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,515 is not capable of handling flows in this order, but is limited to a lower flow to give the desired temperature increase, with the result that the oil is destroyed because of the long dwell time. If the flow was allowed to increase, the temperature of the whole heat plate would need to be increased for the oil to have time to be heated. Higher temperature makes however the oil at the edges, where the oil has the slowest flow, running the risk of getting burnt and stuck and/or be destroyed through oxidization. Thus the method and device according to U.S. Pat. No. 6,083,406 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,515 are limited to low flow rates only. The low flow rate means that the oil circulation becomes too low to be able to achieve an effective cleaning process as the object is to clean all oil in the lubricating system of the engine.
The problem area is also made worse because of the fact that the outdoor temperature differs in different climates in different parts of the world, which affects the temperature of the oil entering the liquid separation part. Cold conditions give colder oil and further energy is therefore required in order for the oil to reach the right temperature. Warm conditions give warmer oil requiring the heat from the heat plate to be regulated to compensate the heat increase in order for the oil not to reach too high temperature and be destroyed. A properly working regulating arrangement for the heat plate is thus necessary for a properly working system. Such a regulating arrangement comprises thermostats and other regulators comprising moving parts which in this delicate context is a possible cause for malfunction causing limited useful life, and causing destroying high oil temperatures. Such a regulating arrangement is also expensive and hard to install.
Further problems with the device are that the heat plate has to be located horizontally in order for the oil, supplied from above, with the help of gravitation should be evenly distributed over the plate and in this way create a thin film. Problems are also encountered when the engine changes position, e.g. when a vehicle is driven in a curve. The cause for this being the change of the engine position causing change of the position of the device. The oil is also subject to a side force when it is sprinkled towards the liquid separation part. Both the change of position and the side force causes an uneven distribution of the oil over the heat plate as the gravitation alone can not distribute the oil evenly at said conditions. The device is thus limited to a horizontal position and can not be installed in another angle than 180° towards gravitation and can not be used at optimum in a vehicle used in curves and hills.
Hydraulic oil contaminated with water has analogue problems. The boiling point of water is 100° C. and the hydraulic oil has a maximum temperature of 80° C., but a working temperature of approximately 50° C. The oil has to be heated as much as it can take during as short period as possible to give the best evaporation of water at as high flow rate as possible. Also in this case it is a problem with the homogeneously heated heat plate which is limited to low flow rates for the same reason as mentioned above.
Thus, there is a desire for an improved device and an improved method for regeneration of oil in an internal combustion engine. Over and above this there is in the same way a desire for an improved regeneration of hydraulic oil.


The present invention discloses a method of producing triglycerides rich in XOX fat and/or XLX fat, which comprises the steps of heating and dissolving triglycerides (XOX fat and/or XLX fat) which comprise 20 to 60 mass % of a triglyceride having a saturated fatty acid residue on each of the first and third position and an oleoyl group and/or a linoleoyl group on the second position in total triglycerides in the presence of 1 to 30 mass % of a fatty acid lower alkyl ester; and then cooling the mixture to precipitate crystals and conducting solid-liquid separation. This method is a more efficient and industrially suitable fractionation and production method of fats and oils which are rich in a triglyceride (XOX fat and/or XLX fat) having a saturated fatty acid residue on each of the first and third position and an oleoyl group and/or a linoleoyl group on the second position.

Hard butter including cacao butter is widely used in foods such as confectionery products involving chocolates and bread products, pharmaceutical products, cosmetics, or the like. The above hard butter consists primarily of triglycerides having one unsaturated bond in a molecule such as 1,3-dipalmitoyl-2-oleoyl-glycerol (POP), a triglyceride having an oleoyl group on the second position and each one group of a palmitoyl group and a stearoyl group (POS), and 1,3-distearoyl-2-oleoyl-glycerol (SOS). Further, triglycerides having two unsaturated bonds in a molecule such as 1,3-distearoyl-2-linoleoyl glycerol (SLS) which has good quality as a chocolate tempering agent are also known.
Generally, these triglycerides can be obtained as natural fats and oils containing such compound(s), e.g. palm oil, shea butter, sal fat, and illipe butter; or as fractionated oils thereof.
Further, other than the triglycerides obtained as fractionated oil of fats and oils such as palm oil, shea butter, sal fat, and illipe butter, it is proposed that such triglycerides can also be obtained by the method which comprises the steps of reacting 1,3-selective lipase to specific fats and oils; and transesterifing them to produce the triglycerides (Patent Literatures 1 to 5).
In each of the above methods, fractionation is conducted to obtain an end product (Patent Literatures 6 to 16). However, it has been desired to provide more effective and more industrially suitable fractionation and production methods of fats and oils which are rich in a triglyceride (XOX fat) having a saturated fatty acid residue on each of the first and third positions and an oleoyl group on the second position.
Patent Literature 1:JP-A 55-071797
Patent Literature 2:JP-B 03-069516
Patent Literature 3:JP-B 06-009465
Patent Literature 4:WO96/10643
Patent Literature 5:WO03/000832
Patent Literature 6:WO2005/063952
Patent Literature 7:WO2004/029185
Patent Literature 8:JP-B 01338696
Patent Literature 9:JP-B 02013113
Patent Literature 10:JP-B 02042375
Patent Literature 11:JP-A 63-258995
Patent Literature 12:JP-B 02056898
Patent Literature 13:JP-A 02-080495
Patent Literature 14:JP-B 03588902
Patent Literature 15:JP-A 11-080776
Patent Literature 16:JP-A 2004-123839

Fractionation method of 1,3-disaturated-2-unsaturated triglyceride


The present disclosure provides, in some embodiments, compositions, kits, systems, and methods for reducing bacteria on a surface (e.g., a medical device) and preventing and/or treating a bacterial infection (e.g., urinary tract infection) in a subject using IdsD protein or a fragment thereof.

Initial colonization of hosts by many species of bacteria is conferred, in part, by their ability to swarm. Swarming is a type of bacterial motility in which colonies of bacteria expand outward on a surface at centimeter-scale distances. In some species, bacterial colonies of identical populations will merge while colonies of genetically distinct populations will remain separate forming a visually apparent boundary. A boundary formed between genetically distinct populations requires that the bacteria have the ability to discriminate between self and non-self.
Proteus mirabilis is a swarming gram-negative bacterium and causative agent of urinary tract infections. Boundary formation between genetically distinct populations of the swarming bacterium P. mirabilis requires, in at least one strain, three gene clusters termed idr, tss, and ids. The idr and tss genes, which encode putative cytotoxic elements and type VI secretion (T6S) system, respectively, are needed for competition with other P. mirabilis strains and appear to evoke contact-dependent growth inhibition. The ids genes encode proteins necessary for self-recognition including IdsD protein that is exported by one cell and received by another cell. When IdsD from a donor cell (e.g., IdsD from P. mirabilis strain BB2000) interacts with IdsE in the recipient cell (e.g., IdsE from P. mirabilis strain BB20000), P. mirabilis populations are recognized as self (kin) and merge. When IdsD from a donor cell (e.g., IdsD from P. mirabilis strain BB2000) remains unbound to IdsE in the recipient cell (e.g., IdsE from P. mirabilis strain HI4320), P. mirabilis populations are recognized as non-self and form a boundary. Unbound IdsD in the recipient cell is non-lethal. Thus, IdsD and IdsE form a heteromeric bacterial self-recognition system.

President and Fellows of Harvard College


A four-cycle internal combustion engine with a valve system having improved durability in the case of high revolution speed. The engine includes a cylinder head having a port, and a valve having a stem part continuous with a fillet part for opening or closing the port. A valve spring including inner and outer springs urges the valve in a direction to close the port. A valve guide holds the stem part slidably. A tubular spring guide supports an outer periphery part of an outer spring to prevent lateral deformation of the spring. A top end of the spring guide is positioned above a top end of a valve guide.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a four-cycle internal combustion engine and, more particularly, relates to a high-revolution type four-cycle internal combustion engine mounted on a vehicle such as a sport type motorcycle.
2. Description of Related Art
In a four-cycle internal combustion engine used as a power source for a vehicle such as a motorcycle, a valve system is typically provided. The valve system typically includes a valve for opening/closing an intake port and an exhaust port (collectively referred to hereinafter as a "port") at a prescribed timing, and a coil valve spring for urging the valve in the direction that the port is closed.
A method for inhibiting abrasion of a valve spring in such an engine is known, in which spring seats are provided on both top and bottom ends of the valve spring in a contact manner. See, for example, JP-U-Hei 3-87905 (pages 4-6 and FIG. 1).
However, such valve systems have experienced problems in the case of high revolution speed in the engine (specifically, a crankshaft). In such high revolution speed, the speed of reciprocating motion of a valve is also high. If the speed of reciprocating motion of the valve increases, a valve spring pushed down by a locker arm (or a lifter) cannot contract straight, but instead contracts deformingly in the lateral direction (short side direction). Therefore, smooth operation of the valve is hindered and durability of the valve system is lowered.

Four-cycle internal combustion engine and vehicle


A Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM) logic circuit includes read sensing circuitry having a first level corresponding to a first category of logic circuitry and a second logic level corresponding to a second category of logic circuitry. The logic circuitry may be switchable between circuitry having the first logic level and circuitry having the second logic level according to the category of the logic circuit being implemented.

Unlike conventional random access memory (RAM) chip technologies, in magnetic RAM (MRAM) data is not stored as electric charge, but is instead stored by magnetic polarization of storage elements. The storage elements are formed from two ferromagnetic layers separated by a tunneling layer. One of the two ferromagnetic layers, which is referred to as the fixed layer or pinned layer, has a magnetization that is fixed in a particular direction. The other ferromagnetic magnetic layer, which is referred to as the free layer, has a magnitization direction that can be altered to represent either a "1" when the free layer magnetization is anti-parallel to the fixed layer magnitization or "0" when the free layer magnetizaiton is parallel to the fixed layer magnitization or vice versa. One such device having a fixed layer, a tunneling layer, and a free layer is a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ). The electrical resistance of an MTJ depends on whether the free layer magnitization and fixed layer magnitization are parallall or anti-parallel with each other. A memory device such as MRAM is built from an array of individually addressable MTJs.
To write data in a conventional MRAM, a write current, which exceeds a critical switching current, is applied through an MTJ. The write current exceeding the critical switching current is sufficient to change the magnetization direction of the free layer. When the write current flows in a first direction, the MTJ can be placed into or remain in a first state, in which its free layer magnetization direction and fixed layer magnetization direction are aligned in a parallel orientation. When the write current flows in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, the MTJ can be placed into or remain in a second state, in which its free layer magnetization and fixed layer magnetization are in an anti-parallel orientation.
To read data in a conventional MRAM, a read current may flow through the MTJ via the same current path used to write data in the MTJ. If the magnetizations of the MTJ's free layer and fixed layer are oriented parallel to each other, the MTJ presents a resistance that is different than the resistance the MTJ would present if the magnetizations of the free layer and the fixed layer were in an anti-parallel orientation. In a conventional MRAM, two distinct states are defined by two different resistances of an MTJ in a bitcell of the MRAM. The two different resistances represent a logic "0" and a logic "1" value stored by the MTJ.
Bitcells of a magnetic random access memory may be arranged in one or more arrays including a pattern of memory elements (e.g., MTJs in case of MRAM). STT-MRAM (Spin-Transfer-Torque Magnetic Random Access Memory) is an emerging nonvolatile memory that has advantages of non-volatility, comparable speed to eDRAM (Embedded Dynamic Random Access Memory), smaller chip size compared to eSRAM (Embedded Static Random Access Memory), unlimited read/write endurance, and low array leakage current.

Programmable logic sensing in magnetic random access memory


Sulfur silane coupling agents for use in tire compositions used to formulate tires or tire components which contain multiple blocked mercapto groups which are in a state of reduced activity until activated. The coupling agents are advantageously used in rubber formulations, including tire compositions, for example, for fabricating tires with low rolling resistance.

The following sulfur-containing coupling agents in mineral filled elastomers involving silanes containing one or more of the following chemical bond types are known in the art:
S—H (mercapto), S—S (disulfide or polysulfide), C═S (thiocarbonyl) or C(═O)S (thioester). Mercaptosilanes have high chemical reactivity with organic polymers used in mineral filled elastomers and therefore effect coupling at substantially reduced loadings. However, these chemical bonds between the coupling agent and the organic polymer are weaker than the carbon-carbon bonds of the organic polymer. Under high stress and/or high frequency use conditions, these chemical bonds are susceptible to breakage and, therefore, loss of coupling between the organic polymer and the coupling agent. The loss of coupling may contribute to the wear and to the degradation of other elastomeric physical properties. The high chemical reactivity of mercaptosilane coupling agents with organic polymers also leads to unacceptably high viscosities during processing and premature curing (scorch). Their undesirability is aggravated by their odor. As a result, other, less reactive coupling agents such as the coupling agents that contain the S—S (disulfide and polysulfide), C═S (thiocarbonyl) or C(═O)S (thioester) functional groups are used. Because these silane coupling agents are less reactive with the organic polymers, they require higher use levels and often do not achieve the same level of bonding. Similar to the mercaptosilane coupling agents, these sulfur silanes are bonded to the organic polymer through a C—S bond.
Acylthioalkyl silanes, such as CH3C(═O)S(CH2)1-3Si(OR)3 (M. G. Voronkov et al. in Inst. Org. Khim., Irkutsk, Russia) and HOC(═O)CH2CH2C(═O)S(CH2)3Si(OC2H5)3 (U.S. Pat. No. 3,922,436 to R. Bell et al.) are known. Takeshita and Sugawara disclose in Japanese Patent JP 63270751 A2, the use of compounds represented by the general formula CH2═C(CH3)C(═O)S(CH2)1-6Si(OCH3)3 in tire tread compositions; but these compounds are not desirable because the unsaturation α,β to the carbonyl group of the thioester has the undesirable potential to polymerize during the compounding process or during storage. The disclosures of each of these documents are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.
Yves Bomal and Olivier Durel in Australian Patent AU-A-10082/97, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, disclose the use in rubber of silanes of the structure represented by R1nX3-nSi-(Alk)m(Ar)p—S(C═O)—R (Formula 1P) where R1 is phenyl or alkyl; X is halogen, alkoxy, cycloalkoxy, acyloxy, or OH; Alk is alkyl; Ar is aryl; R is alkyl, alkenyl, or aryl; n is 0 to 2; and m and p are each 0 or 1, but not both zero. It is known, moreover, that compositions of the structures of Formula (1P) must be used in conjunction with functionalized siloxanes. The prior art does not disclose or suggest the use of compounds of Formula (1P) as latent mercaptosilane coupling agents, nor does it disclose or suggest the use of these compounds such that they would give rise to the advantages of using them as a source of latent mercaptosilane. In addition, these patents do not describe coupling agents that have multiple thioester groups in the appropriate stereochemical configuration to foster multiple linkages to the organic polymer.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,608,125; 6,683,135; 6,20439; 6,127,468; 6,777,569; 6,528,673 and 6,649,684, US Patent Publication Nos. US20050009955A1, 20040220307A1, 2003020900A1, 20030130388A1, and application Ser. Nos. 11/105,916 and 10/128,804, and European patent application EP 1270657A 1, which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties, disclose the use of blocked mercaptosilanes of the structure represented by [[(RO(═O))p-(G)j]k-Y—S]r-G-(SiX3)s, where Y is a polyvalent blocking group (Q)zA(=E) and r is an integer 1 to 3 in rubber compounds, in rubber master batches and as a surface treatment for mineral fillers and how to manufacture the silane. Although these patents and patent applications disclose structures that possess more than one blocked mercapto group, i.e. r=2 or 3, they do not teach or disclose the specific stereochemical configurations of the polyvalent G structure between the silicon atom and the organofunctional group necessary to achieve the efficient multiple bonding between the coupling agent and the organic polymer of this invention.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,519,430 to Ahmad et al. and 4,184,998 to Shippy et al., which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties, disclose the blocking of a mercaptosilane with an isocyanate to form a solid which is added to a tire composition, which mercaptan reacts into the tire during heating, which could happen at any time during processing because this is a thermal mechanism. The purpose of this silane is to avoid the sulfur smell of the mercaptosilane, not to improve the processing of the tire. Moreover, the isocyanate used has toxicity issues when used to make the silane and when released during rubber processing.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,957,718 to Porchet et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, discloses compositions containing silica, phenoplasts or aminoplasts, and silanes, such as xanthates, thioxanthates, and dithiocarbamates; however, the prior art does not disclose or suggest the use of these silanes as latent mercaptosilane coupling agents, nor does it suggest or disclose the advantage of using them as a source of latent mercaptosilane.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,359,046; 5,663,226; 5,780,531; 5,827,912; 5,977,225; 4,709,065; 6,759,545 and WO 2004000930A1, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties, disclose a class of polysulfide silane coupling agents that contain more than one S—S (disulfide or polysulfide) functional group per molecule. However, the multiple S—S linkages are achieved by separating the functional groups with an organic hydrocarbon radical. In use, these S—S groups decompose to form sulfur radicals that couple to the polymer, but generate species that contain only one sulfur reactive group per silicon atom. Dittrich, et al. in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,110,969 and 6,268,421 and Weller, et al., which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties, overcame this feature. They disclose structures that contain more than one sulfur functional group directly attached to silicon atom through a cyclic hydrocarbon radical. The multiple S—S groups were bonded to adjacent carbon atoms and the silicon atoms were directly attached to the rings through hydrosilation of the alkoxysilane to a vinyl containing cyclic hydrocarbons. However, these compounds contained rings of S—S and carbon atoms or were polymeric materials wherein the silyl containing hydrocarbon radicals were connected through S—S groups. These cyclic or polymeric coupling agents were rendered less reactive with the organic polymers because they contained S—S groups attached directly to secondary carbons. The attachment of the S—S containing group to secondary carbon atoms sterically hinder the reaction of the S—S groups and inhibit their reactions with the organic polymers.
Therefore, a need exists for latent coupling agents that have low reactivity to affect processing of the mineral filled elastomers or rubbers without scorch and can be activated at the desired time to form multiple linkages with the organic polymer. These multiple linkages provide sufficient bonding so that the loss of coupling between the rubber and coupling agent is minimized during high stress or frequency use conditions, such as is experienced by tires, without exhibiting the disadvantages such as described herein.

Tire compositions and components containing blocked mercaptosilane coupling agent


A sealing unit having a first annular rotating shield and a second annular shield is provided. The second annular shield is fixed and arranged in front of the first shield for delimiting therebetween a first annular chamber and a sealing ring provided with at least a first and a second annular lips, which extend axially and radially projecting from a flange portion of the second shield and towards a flange portion of the first shield, inside the annular chamber. The first shield integrally supports a third annular lip that extends projecting from the first shield towards one of the first and second lips without touching it for defining a second dynamic labyrinth seal between the first and second shield and inside the annular chamber.

The sealing units adapted to equip the rolling bearings of wheel hub assemblies are formed by so-called "packet" or "cassette" seals including a first and a second annular shields, mounted in front of each other so as to delimit an annular chamber between the shields, inside which chamber a series of sealing lips are arranged, carried by a sealing ring integrally fixed to one of the shields, generally the shield adapted in use to remain stationary. These sealing lips exert a sliding or labyrinth seal on respective sealing surfaces of the rotating shield and may have various shapes and be optionally charged by springs. An example of such a type of seal/sealing unit is given by EP0980999B1.
While they are satisfactory, the known "packet" sealing units have relatively high frictions due to the sliding lips charged by springs or in any case mounted with strong interferences. Sealing units including only labyrinth seals, in addition to being relatively large sized and complex to be implemented, have low frictions with reduced sealing efficiencies, often not sufficient for several applications, such as in the automotive field. DE102008017409 does not solve the problem.

Sealing unit, in particular for rolling bearings


Tiled flat-panel displays have increased mechanical stability due to the addition of stiffening straps affixed across seams between individual display modules. The stiffening straps may increase mechanical strength of the display by redistributing stress placed on the display from the front of the display to the straps.

This invention relates generally to tiled, flat-panel displays.
Flat-panel displays are widespread in their use. For example, watches, clocks, telephones, and laptop computers may all incorporate flat-panel displays. Because of the relatively small size of the flat panel displays used in the above examples, they are usually monolithic.
A monolithic display may be limited in size due to a variety of factors. For example, increasing the size of an active matrix liquid crystal display by one square inch may require millions of dollars to be invested in capital equipment and may lead to an increase in component failure or malfunction. Moreover, in general, increasing the size of monolithic flat-panel displays may also increase the number of defects per unit of area so that the yield of functional displays is low. That means increased cost to the consumer to compensate for the loss of functional displays during the manufacturing process. Thus, very large flat-panel displays may not be cost effective.
One way to circumvent the size limitations placed on monolithic flat-panel displays is to use an array of smaller display modules. The smaller display modules may be xe2x80x9ctiledxe2x80x9d to create a large display that appears monolithic to the viewer.
A variety of devices may utilize a large, tiled, flat-panel display. For example, large screen televisions, public information displays, displays in public trading rooms, displays at sporting arenas, and electronic signs may all incorporate a large array, tiled, flat-panel display.
Sandwiching an array of display modules between two glass plates may lend mechanical stability to tiled, flat-panel displays. Increasing the thickness of the glass plates may further increase the mechanical stability of the tiled displays.
Placing tiled, flat-paneled displays in a xe2x80x9cpicturexe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cwindowxe2x80x9d frame may also lend mechanical stability to the displays. The frame may reduce a large display""s tendency to twist and bend at the periphery. However, the frame may not prohibit bending and twisting at the front or back of the display, away from the periphery. For example, in an outdoor sporting arena, wind may cause a large display to bend or bow in or out at the center of the display.
Mechanical stability that is obtained by using thick glass plates and robust frames may increase the weight and cost of large displays without significantly reducing their tendency to bend or to bow. Thus, the increase in the weight and cost of the large displays may outweigh the benefits of known mechanical strengthening techniques.
Therefore, there is a need to improve the mechanical stability for tiled, flat-panel displays without significantly increasing the weight and cost of the displays.


Peak primary current control on the secondary side. In a power converter having a primary side and a secondary side separated by a main transformer, example methods include: driving primary current through a primary winding of the main transformer; creating, on the secondary side of the main transformer, a signal indicative of current through the primary winding of the main transformer; and ceasing the driving of primary current through the primary winding when the signal indicative of primary current reaches a predetermined value.

Switching power converters implement a primary-side controller that controls the duty cycle of the pulse-width modulation (PWM) signal applied to the gate of the main field effect transistor (FET). In many cases, the feedback parameter for the control loop is a signal indicative of output voltage provided from the secondary side by way of an optocoupler having its light emitting diode (LED) operatively coupled to the output voltage of the power converter, and its optically driven transistor coupled to provide the signal indicative of output voltage to the primary-side controller.

Methods and systems of peak primary current control on the secondary side

SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC


Remote configuration of network interface cards (NICs) on appliances of a scaleable compute resource such as a frame-based system is disclosed. Frames may include a frame link module (FLM). Remote configuration of NICs may allow for multiple networks to be maintained in physical or logical isolation from each other. For example, a management data network may be maintained independently of an application data network. An FLM CPU may detect an appliance, validate compatibility for the appliance, a midplane, a PHY connection, etc. Commands from the FLM CPU may configure the independent networks. Independent networks may provide redundancy and segregation by data type. A controller area network (CAN) bus may deliver configuration commands to a NIC of an attached appliance. Air gap equivalent isolation of networks based on type of network may be achieved while maintaining redundancy of networks to address potential failure of individual components.

In the field of scalable compute resources, network connectivity between nodes, blades, or frames of adjacent network modules may represent a primary communication path for sharing data between those nodes. The data may represent inputs to a compute process (e.g., data or applications), outputs of compute resources (e.g., compute results), communications to coordinate distributed processes, and other types of data. In some architectures, adjacent nodes of network modules within a blade server, cluster, or frame may be expected to be directly connected to each other using a control network to exchange coordination information amongst the set of devices working, together. This control network, sometimes referred to as a management network, may be isolated from regular data traffic on an application network, sometimes referred to as a customer network, using a separate physical local area network (LAN) or logical network (e.g., virtual local area network ULAN).
In some systems, there may be more than one control network. Each control network may communicate across different physical media using an independent network interface card (NIC) port or may share a physical media using logical segregation. Different topology networks may be used, e.g., ring networks, star networks, point-to-point, etc. Control signals may use a LAN, VLAN, control area network (CAN), or other type of network. Additionally, some scalable compute resources may maintain a single active uplink from the group of resources and have multiple backup uplinks. For example, a single uplink to a customer network may be used to provide an application data communication path. In some customer environments, segregation of application data and the management network data that is used to monitor, configure, and control devices is desirable for a variety of reasons including performance, reliability, and security.

Remote network interface card management

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP


An optical assembly includes: a first lens comprising a crown material; a second lens comprises a primary flint material for wavelengths below about 1.0 μm; and a third lens comprising a secondary flint material for wavelengths below about 1.0 μm, wherein the first, second and third lenses together are configured to transmit light and function in the visible, mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) and long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some implementations, the optical assembly may be configured as an afocal Galilean telescope having an objective lens assembly and a eyepiece lens assembly.

The application generally relates to optical elements, and in particular, materials and configuration for optical assemblies and telescopes.
Refractive optics assemblies adapted for both the visible (approximately 400-700 nm) and the mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) (approximately 3-5 μm) portions of the electromagnetic spectrum are known.
FIG. 1, for example, shows a raytrace schematic of a conventional optical assembly. Conventional optical assembly 100 may be configured as a wide-field of view (WFOV) Galilean afocal telescope as shown. One such attachment is used in the a helicopter targeting turret system.
Conventional optical assembly 100 generally includes first lens 110, second lens 120, third lens 130, fourth lens 140, fifth lens 150, sixth lens 160 and seventh lens 170. First through fourth lenses 110-140 may be arranged to form an objective, while fifth to seventh lenses 150-170 may be arranged to form an eyepiece. A housing (not shown) is provided to support the various lens elements. Optical assembly 100 is approximately 4.0 inches in length and 1.0 inch in diameter.
In use, light rays 101 in space 105 pass through first lens 110, space 115, second lens 120, space 125, third lens 130, space 135, fourth lens 140, space 145, fifth lens 150, space 155, sixth lens 160, space 165, and seventh lens 170 to space 175.
Using optical assembly 100 causes the focal plane array (FPA) to view more field of view (FOV), but through a smaller aperture. The afocal telescope does not have an intermediate image (or final image, for that matter). Rather, collimated light enters the telescope and collimated light exits the telescope. The telescope is Galilean in that there is no intermediate image, as opposed to Newtonian telescopes which have intermediate images. Newtonian telescopes have real exit pupils while Galilean telescopes do not have real exit pupils.
Table 1 shows one optical prescription for conventional optical assembly 100. The afocal magnification is approximately 4×, by taking an aperture of 0.618 inches and FOV of 9.4 degrees in object space, and converting it into an aperture of 0.153 inches (4× smaller) and FOV of 38.14 degrees (4× larger). Conventional optical assembly 100 is designed in the direction shown in the table, but is actually used in the reverse, where the smaller aperture and wider FOV faces object space, while the larger aperture and smaller FOV is on the FPA side of the optics path. Between this afocal attachment and the FPA there may be imager optics (not shown).
TABLE 1PRESCRIPTION FOR CONVENTIONAL VISIBLE AND MWIR AFOCAL TELESCOPESurfaceRadiusThicknessMaterialCCAdAeAfAg105Inf2.300air1101.2940.220CaF2115−7.329 0.020air1203.0180.130CaF2125−26.161 0.177air130−56.896 0.100ClZnS13523.696 0.041air1.022E−02−9.601E−030.14375−0.29522140−3.679 0.100Al2031455.4682.226air150−0.515 0.100BaF2−1.248971551 0900 018air1601.0830.125ClZnS−0.851566.024E−020.34278−0.26262−0.106521651.2260.019air1701.1990.125Al203−1.983421752.4590.500AirEntrance aperture: 0.660 diameterEntrance FOV: 9.4 deg totalSpectral bands: 0.45-0.75 um, and 3.7-4.8 umAd, Ae, Af, Ag are aspheric constantsCC is a conic constant
As noted in Table 1, optical assembly 100 is comprised of four materials: barium fluoride (BaF2), clear transient ClearTran zinc sulfide (ClZnS), calcium fluoride (CaF2), and aluminum oxide (Al2O3). In this assembly, Al2O3 is used as a crown and CaF2 is used as a flint. At visible wavelengths, the ClZnS lens functions as a flint, and the CaF2, BaF2, and Al2O3 lenses function as crowns. However, at MWIR wavelengths, the Al2O3 lens functions as the flint, and the CaF2, BaF2, and ClZnS lenses function as crowns. The term crown generally refers to a low dispersion material, while the term flint generally refers to a high dispersion material.
Optical assembly 100 is capable of transmitting wavelength from 0.48 μm to 4.8 μm, or about 10 octaves. However, this provides transmission in the visible and the MWIR spectra only. The optical system has been optimized to provide best image quality from about 0.45 to 0.75 microns and from 3.7 to 4.8 microns.
In addition, optics assemblies that transmit both the MWIR and long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) (approximately 8-12 μm) portions of the spectrum are known. With the advent of 2-color (MWIR and LWIR) detector arrays, it is desired that certain optical assemblies also cover the visible and both the MWIR and the LWIR infrared bands.
However, an optical assembly for achieving transmission in the visible, MWIR and LWIR portions of the electromagnetic spectrum has not yet been realized.


Method and apparatus for making an electrical device including a contact supported in a housing having a space within which at least part of such contact may move, wherein the contact is placed with respect to a mold core that resiliently deforms the moving part of the contact to a condition it ordinarily would be expected to take during use in connection with another contact and cooperates with at least such moving part of the contact to form a composite core that is placed in a mold cavity to mold a housing about part of the contact and to at least part of the contact while the composite core defines the space within which the moving part of the contact can deform during use. An electrical connecting device is made by the aforementioned process. Also, an electrical connecting device includes an electrical contact, a housing having an opening for receiving a member for contacting the electrical contact, the electrical contact including two or more contacting portions for contacting the member placed therebetween to engagement therewith, such contacting portions being deformable during such placing, and the housing including a body molded to form a singular integral structure about and to at least part of the electrical contact and around the contacting portions to form a substantially open space in the housing between the contacting portions and also on opposite sides thereof to permit such deformation of the contacting portions.

Several examples of electrical devices or connectors of the type to which the present invention relates are those sometimes referred to as cable terminations, cable termination assemblies, headers, jumpers, and edge board connectors. The foregoing are not intended to limit the devices which may incorporate principles of the invention; rather they are mentioned for convenience to facilitate the following description. Nevertheless, it will be appreciated that the features and principles of the invention may be included in other devices intended for electrical connection purposes.
A cable termination may be defined as an electrical connector intended to connect the conductor(s) of an electrical cable to one or more further electrically conductive members. An exemplary cable termination may include one or more electrically conductive members, for example, electrical contacts, and a support or housing for supporting such contacts for the intended electrical connection purpose. A cable termination assembly may be defined as a cable termination in combination with the electrical cable intended to be terminated, i.e., the conductor(s) of such cable is (are) intended to be connected to further members via the contact(s) of the cable termination of such assembly.
There are various types of electrical contacts. Conventionally, electrical contacts are categorized in at least two groups, male type, such as pin contacts, and female type, such as fork contacts. For example, a pin contact may be inserted between the tines of a fork contact to engage the same thereby to create an electrical connection of the contacts. A box contact is another example of a female contact. A leaf type contact and a bow type contact in which a portion of the respective contact tends to deform, preferably resiliently, as another member, such as a pin contact, is placed to engagement therewith, also have a similar characteristic to the fork and box contacts in that such deformation occurs during engagement with a further member in use of the contact. For convenience of the following description, reference to female contacts is intended to mean a contact that has at least one part thereof that is intended to deform, or deflect or displace, from one condition to another during use of the contact. Indeed, such deformation preferably is of the resilient type whereby the contact ordinarily is in a rest, unstressed (or preloaded with relatively low stress), or undeformed condition, mode or shape, and in response to the placing of a further member, such as a pin contact, to engagement therewith, the female contact would tend to undergo some resilient deformation to a stressed, deformed, contacting condition. Preferably, the resiliency characteristic is a function of the contact itself, although such characteristic may be achieved by other means such as a separate spring or spring-like element acting on the contact.
A header typically is an electrical connector device of a type that has contacts held with respect to a molded body; the contacts are intended to connect circuits on a printed circuit board and further conductors or circuits that are not on such printed circuit board. Often a header is attached, mounted, soldered or otherwise associated with a printed circuit board. A jumper is a device that usually is employed to interconnect at least two electrical circuits, for example, by engaging with and electrically connecting two pin contacts. Often a jumper is used to interconnect (or not, e.g., by removal of the jumper) selected circuits on a printed circuit board, say to identify certain characteristics of the printed circuit board, such as memory size, starting address, etc. An edge board connector, for example, is a connector that may be connected to printed circuit terminal pads or the like at or proximate the edge of a printed circuit board. In an exemplary case, an edge board connector may be a particular type of cable termination assembly intended to connect with such terminal pads on a printed circuit board. Another type of edge board connector is one which is mounted on one printed circuit board, and having contacts that are electrically connected to printed circuits on that printed circuit board and are electrically connectable to terminal pads of another printed circuit board to facilitate so called mother board-daughter board arrangements.
The foregoing descriptions and definitions are presented by way of example to facilitate the following detailed description of the invention. However, it is intended that such foregoing descriptions and definitions are not intended to limit the invention or the types of devices to and in which the principles and features of the invention may be applied.
In many prior electrical connector devices it generally has been the case that multiple parts have to be assembled and mechanically, adhesively, etc. held together. One example is the cable termination assembly disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,799. A cable termination assembly as disclosed in said patent includes a multiconductor electrical cable having plural parallel conductors separated from each other in the cable insulation, plural electrical contacts respectively electrically connected to cable conductors, and a body molded about and to at least part of the conductors and contacts, including the junctions thereof, to form therewith an integral structure. The contacts are of the fork type. Further, such cable termination assembly includes a cover or cap that has a plurality of cells or chambers therein for containing the tines or arms of respective fork contacts, for guiding pin contacts to engagement with the respective tines, and for permitting resilient deformation of the tines during insertion and/or removal of respective pin contacts. Such cover is molded in a separate process and must be secured, e.g., by ultrasonic welding, to the molded body to form what may be called a composite integral body. It however would be desirable to mold the body and the cover in a single process to form a singular integral structure, and the present invention provides for this, as is described in further detail below.
Various other electrical connection devices, such as jumpers as well as cable terminations other than those of the type disclosed in said patent, require the assembling of multiple parts, including the inserting or assembling of the electrical contact(s) with respect to a housing, cover, cap, body, or other support that holds the contact(s) in position for use in performing electrical connection functions. Such covers, for example, and/or other parts of the device(s) usually are molded to provide adequate space within chambers thereof to accommodate the resilient deformation of the contact(s) during insertion and withdrawal of another member with respect thereto.
Although headers previously have been molded as integral structures formed by a molded body containing plural contacts, the contacts were pin contacts. To use female contacts in a header, edge board connector, or the like, it was necessary in the past separately to assemble plural molded parts to make the device.

Method and apparatus for making electrical connecting device


An electro cautery device for attachment to a suction pump and to a source of electric current includes a tubular member one end of which is connectable to the suction pump and the other end is insertable into the cavity of a human torso. A retractable cautery element is mounted on the end insertable into the torso and connectable to a source of electric current. The cautery element is movable between a retracted position which prevents it from being exposed to tissue and an extended position used during cauterization. A button on the tubular member moves the cautery element from the retracted to the extended positions when depressed, simultaneously connecting the cautery element to the source of the electric current.

This invention generally relates to medical devices and, more specifically, an electrocautery device used in operative procedures.
During all laparascopic surgeries involving penetration through the abdominal wall, bleeding is usually encountered which must be stopped. For example, bleeding from the liver during gall bladder surgery has been common.
There are two devices used in most laparascopic operative procedures. The first is an electrocautery which is used to cauterize or sear tissue by burning in a surgical field. The second device is a suction tube which is used to suction blood away from the surgical field so that the bleeding can be cauterized. Both the electrocautery as well as the suction tubes are typically introduced into the abdominal cavity through trocars, well known to those skilled in the art, which are sharp-pointed surgical instruments used with a cannula to puncture a body cavity.
It is important in these procedures to clear the surgical field of as much blood as possible so as to facilitate examination by means of T.V. camera, the introduction of forceps, etc., all of which are introduced through trocars.
A prior art device is illustrated which combines a suction tube and a cautery. The problem with this device is that the cautery tip protrudes beyond the suction tube and remains in such extended position at all times while the remote free end of the device is in the abdominal cavity. This makes the instrument risky and unpopular since while the device is used for suction, the exposed cautery tip acts as a sharp instrument which can and does lacerate tissue and can have the opposite to the desired effect, namely increasing the extent of bleeding instead of decreasing bleeding.
Another known device includes a sliding mechanism which permits a surgeon to manually slide the cautery tip to an extended, active position but the cautery tip must be manually retracted. Therefore, if the surgeon forgets to retract cautery tip, this device exhibits the same disadvantages as the first mentioned fixed device.


A stator seal assembly for a gas turbine engine of a type having a high pressure compressor section and a high pressure turbine section, the stator seal having a seal segment extending between a stator vane support structure and disk seal teeth, the stator seal segment having an arm for forming a cavity, a retaining segment attached to the seal segment and the arm for sealing the cavity to form a dead air space, a control ring located in the cavity having a coefficient of thermal expansion lower than a coefficient of thermal expansion for the seal segment, and a honeycomb pad located between the arm and the seal teeth, whereby thermal expansion clearance between the stator vane and the rotor disk is minimized.

The present invention relates to gas turbine engines and, more particularly, to aircraft-type high bypass ratio turbine engines having multi-stage compressor and turbine sections.
A typical modern gas turbine aircraft engine, particularly of the high bypass ratio type, includes multi-stage high pressure compressor and turbine sections interconnected by a central compressor shaft or, in some models, a forward shaft. In the later instance, the forward shaft extends between the webs of the last stage high pressure compressor disk and the first stage high pressure turbine disk webs. The high pressure turbine section typically includes first and second stage disks, and the compressor section includes a plurality of disks. Located at the radial end of each disk is a row of rotor blades which together rotate around the compressor shaft between fixed stator vanes.
Stator seals are positioned in the combustor section of the engine, one adjacent to the last stage compressor stator and one adjacent to the first stage turbine stator. These high pressure stator seals are an independent component often made of a low coefficient of expansion material or designed to include a closed cavity. These basic stator seal designs produce an adequate frequency margin, between the natural flexural nodal vibration modes of seal components and corresponding seal rotor speed, however these types of designs result in larger than required thermal expansion clearances, since the stator seal and the rotor seal teeth independently react to thermal conditions generated by the engine.
These undesirably large clearances are the result of thermal expansion mismatch of the stator and rotor structure during both transient and steady state operation of the engine. During transient operation, the stator is influenced by relatively high heat transfer values, whereas the rotor bore is surrounded by lower values. These conditions cause the stator to expand significantly faster than the rotor. During steady state operation of the engine, the rotor bore is bathed in temperatures much lower than the stator. This condition drives the stator to expand to, and remain at, a larger diameter which creates steady state clearances larger than desired. Accordingly, there is a need for a stator seal design which minimizes thermal expansion and mismatch at both transient and steady state operation of the engine, and a design which improves performance of the engine with improved thermal expansion clearance control between the rotor seal teeth and the stator seal.

Stator seal assembly providing improved clearance control