An armor assembly for providing resistance to penetration by projectiles includes an impact surface or strike face layer featuring an organic resin composite into which multitudinous ceramic shapes are distributed, a secondary or transition layer to provide mechanical support to the strike face and distribute the imposed load over a wider bearing area, a spacer layer that facilitates reflection of stress waves in the assembly layers between the space and incident projectile, and a back surface that defines the space as well as intercepts any projectile or projectile fragments transiting the space so defined. To this basic assembly can be added components that increase deformation and deflection of incident projectiles, reduce transmitted stresses, or strengthen at least one of the layers.

People, vehicles, aircraft and ships may be exposed to projectiles launched from barreled weapons such as guns. Potential targets may also be exposed to projectiles created by munitions that utilize explosive detonations to form metal slugs. They may be struck by fragments generated by munitions such as artillery shells filled with explosives. Although not present on terrestrial battlefields, spacecraft are at continuous risk of impacts by projectiles such as dust and larger debris traveling at extremely high velocities. Regardless of their velocity, protection against projectiles is typically provided by armor.
Armor Including Multiple Layers
The current art for protection against supersonic projectiles usually involves armor consisting of at least two components. This is because homogeneous materials such as steel and ceramics typically require greater weight and thickness to stop a projectile than is required by armor assemblies utilizing two or more layers of different materials.
Considerable research and combat experience have consistently shown that the most efficient armors are made by joining a hard, dense impact surface or "strike face" to at least one backing layer that supports the first layer. To stop conventional projectile threats as exemplified by bullets and bomb fragments, ceramic strike faces are commonly used, but hard metal alloy strike faces also are effective in resisting many projectiles.
Hard strike faces increase likelihood that projectiles will shatter due to stress waves reflecting back and forth within them caused by impact. The fragments have much lower kinetic energy and momentum than the intact projectile. Early projectile disintegration enables load created by their impact to spread over a larger area within the armor, thereby reducing local stresses.
Hard, dense strike faces also serve to resist penetration for a longer time, thus allowing more momentum to be transferred from the projectile to the armor assembly. Longer residence or "dwell" time also allows local stresses generated by projectile impact to spread over a wider area. The result is similar to what occurs when incident projectiles shatter.
A wide range of materials and material combinations are employed as secondary or backing layers. Backing layers that resist bending are essential when ceramic strike faces are used because of the low tolerance for deformation inherent to ceramics.
Metal alloy and fiber-reinforced matrix composite materials are commonly selected as backing layers for both ceramic and metal strike faces. Composite materials typically offer higher strength to weight ratios than metal alloys, so composite backing layers are generally favored in applications where minimum weight is essential. Matrix materials may be organic resins such as epoxy and phenolic compounds, or alternatively may feature metals. Fiber materials range from graphite whiskers to organic fibers such as polyamides and modified thermoplastic resins such as polypropylene.
Despite the general effectiveness of armors made with the present art, numerous problems and shortcomings nonetheless remain. Projectiles with high kinetic energy often require unacceptably high weights of protective armor made with the current art to prevent penetration into people and aircraft, as well as into most vehicle types. High costs associated with ceramics and metal-matrix materials discourage their use in many applications. Other shortcomings become apparent when specific applications are examined.
If projectiles are sufficiently energetic, stress waves propagating in target materials will generate shear and compressive fractures. If penetration is resisted, stress waves may still produce severe deformation of the rear surface, resulting in a bulge, or so weakening the impact area that the armor will fail if another projectile strikes it.
If cracks propagate through the target, the rear surface (the surface opposite the impact surface) may detach or spall even if the projectile itself does not penetrate completely. Either spalling or complete penetration through shear failure in target materials is typical of dense projectiles having high length to diameter ratios (generally referred to as "long rod penetrators").
Stress waves propagating through armor are transmitted into people or other objects if they are in contact. Bulging of the armor's rear surface can perforate body tissue, as can spall generated by projectile impact on the strike face. All of these localized armor failures can inflict severe or lethal injury to people and serious damage to equipment, even when incident projectiles fail to penetrate.
Sniper bullets fired by ordinary rifles typically use bullets with cores consisting of tungsten carbide or steels with high degrees of hardness. Protecting only the chest and torso of a soldier against such bullets requires armor using the current art significantly exceeding five kilograms. Helmets with this level of protection would be too heavy for necks and shoulders to support if made using the current art.
The large vulnerable area of aircraft and vehicles, combined with the weight of armor made with the current art that is required to stop projectiles typically threatening these targets, force designers to limit armor usage in order to leave weight and space available for fuel and payloads. Projectiles typically fired at aircraft, vehicles and naval vessels are larger than those fired from rifles. Larger projectiles often have explosive fillings and other features that enhance penetrating capability beyond what is possible with small arms. The difficulty of resisting penetration is magnified when both mass and velocity of threat projectiles increases.
The unanswered challenges posed by current projectile threats are retarding the development of new vehicles and aircraft as designers struggle to meet performance and mission requirements while providing adequate protection. For the foregoing reasons, many potential users would welcome new materials and armor assemblies that would prevent projectile penetration with significantly less weight and with thickness no greater than required with armors of the present art.
Through recent material and design innovations, means for achieving the desired objectives are now available. These means involve proper selection and arrangement of suitable materials in novel ways. Innovative means of mounting the armor assembly variants that are part of the invention can further enhance projectile penetration resistance and well as mitigate shock associated with projectile impact.
Strike Face Materials
Ceramic strike faces typically possess higher hardness levels than are achievable with most metals. Hardness and material strength are important to resisting penetration by relatively small projectiles traveling at velocities on the order of 1 kilometer per second (km/s). Against pointed projectiles, ceramic strike faces generally extend the time of contact prior to penetration longer than occurs with metal strike faces.
Ceramics available currently are generally less dense than steel and at least as hard. As noted heretofore, ceramics also offer characteristically high acoustic speeds. This is important for rapidly dissipating projectile energy and localized contact stresses under the point of impact. The acoustic speed of alumina, for example, is approximately 10 kilometers per second. This is roughly twice the acoustic speed of steel, and 70% higher than for aluminum.
Ceramic strike face materials have drawbacks that affect performance and usage, however. Generally, ceramics are quite expensive. This is particularly the case for ceramics designated as "armor grade" silicon carbide, titanium diboride, tungsten carbide and alumina. These ceramics require careful process control during manufacturing processes that occur at high temperatures, and thus are prone to inconsistent properties between one batch and another of the same nominal composition.
Low bending tolerance inherent to all ceramics currently used in armor was noted previously. Another significant risk is that cracks may form in ceramics that have been dropped without the user knowing that penetration resistance has been degraded. This vulnerability is particular significant when the threat of multiple projectile impacts on ceramic armor is present.
Ceramics typically cannot withstand repeated projectile impacts within 2 centimeters of a previous hit. Ceramics are also less effective than metal when struck by blunt or flat projectiles. Furthermore, ceramics are particularly sensitive to impacts by explosively formed penetrators, or "EFPs".
Among commonly used ceramic armor materials, all but tungsten carbide armors tend to shatter or disintegrate into small particles (comminute) at high projectile impact velocities. Shattering negates the advantage of high acoustic speed because stress waves reflect at the new boundaries created by the cracks. Stress waves emanating from the projectile impact zone thus cannot dissipate into surrounding ceramic material.
Despite the heavier weight required, metals offer some advantages over ceramic strike faces. Most metals resist shattering under projectile impact. Certain steels can be processed in ways that provide them with high degrees of hardness and high tensile strengths while being somewhat more resistant to bending stresses. Iron alloys with significant additions of chromium and molybdenum also display both hardness and tolerance for localized bending. Mechanical properties of metal armor components are typically not degraded by subsonic collision impact. Structures are generally able to support the extra weight involved with use of metal strike faces.
Although expensive, tungsten offers particular advantages. It is strong but is more dense than steel. High density is important because of a quality called impedance. Impedance is defined as the mathematical product of density and velocity of the shock wave as it travels through the material. When the impedance of the target is higher than that of the projectile, the contact load at the impact surface is substantially reduced. This happens because shock waves generated within both the target and the projectile reflect from their surfaces, which sends negative pressure or relaxation waves back to the impact surface within the material possessing higher impedance.
As is the case with ceramics, hard metal strike faces also have their shortcomings. In addition to unfavorable comparisons with respect to weight and hardness, performance advantages of tungsten and tungsten alloys are often offset by costs and limitations in supply. Supply of other dense metals with high strength such as tantalum is far too small to consider in armor. As also noted previously, only tungsten has an acoustic speed nearly as high as that of most ceramic materials.


A method to prevent or minimize an occurrence of a thermal runaway event in a battery module of an electric vehicle. The method places a gas barrier between a venting space and a wall of each battery cell so that escaped gas from one battery cell does not impinge onto another battery cell.

A thermal runaway event is a known problem in lithium ion battery modules during repeated charge/discharge cycles. Those in the industry have been looking for solutions to minimize or prevent thermal runaway events, which can happen during fast charging (e.g., supercharging), collisions, environmental exposure (too hot), or it can happen spontaneously.
There is a continuing need for new ways to minimize or prevent thermal runaway events in battery modules.
The disclosed embodiments may seek to effectuate one or more of the desired outcomes discussed in this disclosure. Although the present embodiments may obviate one or more of those mentioned desired outcomes, it should be understood that some aspects of the embodiments might not necessarily obviate them.
All referenced patents, applications and literatures are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Furthermore, where a definition or use of a term in a reference, which is incorporated by reference herein, is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, then the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.

Method to prevent or minimize thermal runaway events in lithium ion batteries


A method and system for the wireless terminal receiving sensitivity performance test based on a data mode are provided. The method comprises: building a human body model, in which the upper limb of the model holds the device under test at a predefined distance in front of the head of the model; taking the antenna of the device under test as the origin to build a spherical coordinate and selecting a testing point in the spherical coordinate; placing the model under the circumstance of a full-anechoic chamber; enabling the device under test to work in a data mode, and collecting the receiving power at the testing point in the spherical placement system using the testing antenna, so as to obtain the total power receiving sensitivity of the device under test. In this way, the performance influence on the mobile terminal from the human body coupling of the human being in a data mode can be actually reflected, the reality is high and the usage is easy.

In recent years, the radio-frequency performance test on a wireless terminal has attracted more and more attention. A whole machine receiving sensitivity performance test can objectively reflect the final emitting and receiving performance of a wireless terminal. At present, there are mainly two methods provided for evaluating the receiving sensitivity performance of a wireless terminal: one is known as passive test, which makes the determination based on the receiving sensitivity performance of the antenna and mainly focuses on evaluating the receiving sensitivity performance of a wireless terminal from the gain, the efficiency, the directional diagram and other radiation aspects of the antenna of the wireless terminal; and the other is known as active test, which tests spatial radio-frequency performances of a wireless terminal in a given microwave dark chamber, such as receiving sensitivity.
At present, only the wireless terminals passing full type approval (FTA) test can be sold on the market. In the FTA test, a radio-frequency performance test is mainly carried out on a wireless terminal in a cable connection mode, and no explicit regulation is given as to the spatial radio-frequency performance of the whole wireless terminal, however, over the air (OTA) test can make up the shortcomings of the FTA test in this aspect. Meanwhile, wireless terminal manufactures should have a clear understanding on the receiving sensitivity performance of the produced wireless terminals and need to improve the radio frequency emitting and receiving index of the wireless terminals through various measures; a wireless terminal with poor receiving sensitivity performance will bring much inconvenience to the user. In particular, when a wireless terminal is used for communication, the emitting and receiving performance thereof is reduced for the human body is close to the antenna of the wireless terminal, and consequently, the overall radio-frequency emitting and receiving performance of the wireless terminal is reduced. Therefore, the influence of the human body on the emitting and receiving performance of a wireless terminal should be quantitatively measured in the research and development process of the wireless terminal to carry out an optimization design so as to avoid a dramatic reduction in the emitting and receiving performance of the wireless terminal, that is, to reduce the electromagnetic coupling effect between the human body and an antenna. Transmitting parameters include total radiated power (TRP for short) and total radiated sensitivity (TRS for short).
TRS of a mobile terminal reflects the receiving sensitivity index of a wireless terminal on the whole radiating spherical surface as well as the fact that the receiving sensitivity of the whole wireless terminal is related to the conducting sensitivity of the wireless terminal and the receiving sensitivity of antenna.
                    TRS        =                              4                        π                                ∮                                          [                                                      1                                                                  EIS                        θ                                                                                (                                                  Ω                          ;                          f                                                )                                                                              +                                      1                                                                  EIS                        φ                                                                                (                                                  Ω                          ;                          f                                                )                                                                                ]                                                          ⅆ                Ω                                                                        formula                                                            (          1          )
herein, effective isotropic sensitivity (EIS for short) defines an available antenna output power, for example, each polarization reaching the acceptable threshold, Ω is a three-dimensional angle for describing direction, f is frequency, θ and φ are angle parameters of an orthogonal polarization.
                    TRS        ≈                              2                        NM                                π                                                      ∑                                  n                  =                  0                                                  N                  -                  1                                                                                ∑                                      m                    =                    0                                                        M                    -                    1                                                                                [                                                                  1                                                                              EIS                            θ                                                                                (                                                                                θ                                n                                                            ,                                                                                φ                                  m                                                                ;                                f                                                                                )                                                                                +                                              1                                                                              EIS                            φ                                                                                (                                                                                θ                                n                                                            ,                                                                                φ                                  m                                                                ;                                f                                                                                )                                                                                ]                                                                          sin                                                              (                                              θ                        n                                            )                                                                                (        2        )
wherein N and M are multiple sampling intervals for θ and (φ; θn and φm, are testing angles;
EISθ(θn, φm) is the value of the horizontal polarization component of the equivalent omnidirectional receiving power of the testing point having angles of θn and φm, with the unit being milliwatt;
EISφ(θn, φm) is the value of the vertical polarization component of the equivalent omnidirectional receiving power of the testing point having angles of θn and φm, with the unit being milliwatt.
The currently used device and method for testing TRS of spatial radio-frequency performances both aim at a voice mode, only relating to free space or human head and not completely reflecting the influence of the electromagnetic coupling of antenna and human hand or even human body in a data mode, thus, the test result of the scheme above is not accurate.

System and method for the wireless terminal receiving sensitivity performance test based on data mode


Provided are a resistance heated sapphire single crystal ingot grower, a method of manufacturing a resistance heated sapphire single crystal ingot, a sapphire single crystal ingot, and a sapphire wafer. The resistance heated sapphire single crystal ingot grower comprises according to an embodiment includes a chamber, a crucible included in the chamber and containing an alumina melt, and a resistance heating heater included inside the chamber and heating the crucible.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a resistance heated sapphire single crystal ingot grower, a method of manufacturing a resistance heated sapphire single crystal ingot, a sapphire single crystal ingot, and a sapphire wafer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Demands on sapphire wafers used as a substrate for a light emitting diode (LED) using a nitride semiconductor, e.g., gallium nitride (GaN), have increased and the sapphire wafers are in the spotlight because of high mass productivity in comparison to other substrates.
According to typical techniques, a growth furnace charged with a high-purity alumina (Al2O3) raw material is heated at about 2100° C. or more to melt the raw material, and a sapphire wafer is then fabricated through performing a series of grinding and polishing processes, such as coring, grinding, slicing, lapping, heat treatment, and polishing, on an ingot boule grown as a single crystal by using various methods such as a Czochralski method (hereinafter, referred to as a "CZ method"), a Kyropoulos method, an edge-defined film-fed growth (EFG) method, and a vertical horizontal gradient freezing (VHGF) method.
A crystallographic orientation of a sapphire substrate currently in mass production having relatively excellent LED light conversion efficiency characteristics is C-axis, and although there is a possibility that the crystallographic orientation thereof may be changed in the future, differences in yields of utilizing single crystals grown according to the growth methods of an ingot boule do not change. The differences in the yields will be depend on physical and chemical properties of a sapphire single crystal and characteristics according to the crystal growth methods.
Meanwhile, with respect to the growth of a sapphire ingot, the CZ method is an excellent method in terms of the yield of a single crystal, in which a crystallographic orientation of a substrate used is the same as a growing orientation of the crystal.
FIG. 1 an exemplary view illustrating a method of manufacturing a sapphire single crystal ingot IG by using a typical induction heated CZ method.
A sapphire ingot grower 10 using a typical CZ method by means of induction heating includes a RF-coil 30, an iridium (Ir) crucible 20, and a crucible support (not shown).
The RF-coil 30 generates induction current on a surface of the Ir-crucible 20 while the direction of high-voltage current flow changes at a radio frequency.
The Ir-crucible 20 generates heat caused by stress on the surface of the crucible due to the changes in the direction of induction current flow and acts as a molten bath containing high-temperature molten alumina (Al2O3).
However, with respect to a method of growing a c-axis sapphire single crystal ingot by using a typical induction heated CZ method, first, qualities of the sapphire single crystal may deteriorate according to the use of an Ir-crucible in the typical induction heated CZ method, and second, large size and large scaling of the sapphire single crystal ingot may be difficult according to the use of an Ir-crucible in the typical induction heated CZ method, and limiting factors may greatly affect the use of an insulation material and external field resources may not be utilized.
First, limitations in the quality deterioration of the sapphire single crystal according to the use of an Ir-crucible in the typical induction heated CZ method are described below.
In the typical induction heated CZ method, since the Ir-crucible directly generates heat, control of the temperature distribution of high-temperature molten alumina may be difficult and bubbles may be generated by localized heating.
Also, in the typical induction heated CZ method, smooth discharge of the generated bubbles may not be facilitated because free convection (FC) cells are strong as shown in FIG. 1.
In the typical induction heated CZ method, since stress may be generated between a growth interface of a c-axis sapphire single crystal facet surface and a melt while the growth interface becomes convex downward by means of FC cells, crystallographic characteristics, and latent heat effects of high-temperature alumina, crystal defects such as core facets, inclusions, etched pit dislocations (EPD), and striations may be generated.
Also, in the typical CZ method using induction heating, since a free convection cell (FC-cell) caused by the induction heating may exhibit very complex turbulence characteristics (the so-called "Rayleigh-Benard convection") behavior, constant heat and mass transfer at the growth interface may be difficult. Therefore, dislocation density may be very high and the growth of a bubble free perfect single crystal may be difficult.
In the typical induction heated CZ method, changes in the convection cells of a high-temperature alumina melt may not be induced because the Ir-crucible acting as a heating element may not be rotated or lifted.
Further, in the typical induction heated CZ method, the solidification latent heat effect of the growth interface may make the growth interface convex toward the melt due to the FC-cells. As a result, when the grown ingot is strongly rotated, crystal defects may be induced by the application of large shear stress caused by friction according to high viscosities of the growth interface and the melt.
Second, limitations in the difficulties of obtaining large size and large scaling of the sapphire single crystal ingot according to the use of an Ir-crucible in the typical induction heated CZ method, and the limiting factors with respect to the use of an insulation material and limitations of not being able to utilize the external field resources are described below.
For example, iridium, a raw material for the Ir-crucible, is a very limited material, and large size and large scaling of iridium for growing a single crystal having a diameter of 150 mm or more are difficult.
Also, according to the use of a RF-coil, the typical induction heated CZ method has limitations in that maintenance costs of the RF-coil and electricity cost may be large and the fabrication of the RF-coil may be difficult as well as high costs being required.
Further, in the typical induction heated CZ method, since the induction current is generated in a magnetic field coil in addition to the crucible, the external field resources such as magnetic field and electromagnetic field may not be utilized.

Resistance heated sapphire single crystal ingot grower, method of manufacturing resistance heated sapphire single crystal ingot, sapphire single crystal ingot, and sapphire wafer


In one example, a method of epitaxially forming a silicon-containing material on a substrate surface is presented which includes positioning a substrate into a process chamber. The substrate has a monocrystalline surface and at least a second surface, such as an amorphous surface and/or a polycrystalline surface. The substrate is exposed to a deposition gas to deposit an epitaxial layer on the monocrystalline surface and a polycrystalline layer on the second surface. The deposition gas preferably contains a silicon source and at least a second elemental source, such as a germanium source, a carbon source and/or combinations thereof. Thereafter, the method further provides exposing the substrate to an etchant gas to etch the polycrystalline layer and the epitaxial layer in a manner such that the polycrystalline layer is etched at a faster rate than the epitaxial layer. The method may further include a deposition cycle that includes repeating the exposure of the substrate to the deposition and etchant gases to form a silicon-containing material with a predetermined thickness.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention generally relate to the field of electronic manufacturing processes and devices, more particular, to methods of depositing silicon-containing films while forming electronic devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
As smaller transistors are manufactured, ultra shallow source/drain junctions are becoming more challenging to produce. Generally, sub-100 nm CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) devices require a junction depth to be less than 30 nm. Selective epitaxial deposition is often utilized to form epilayers of silicon-containing materials (e.g., Si, SiGe and SiC) into the junctions. Generally, selective epitaxial deposition permits growth of epilayers on silicon moats with no growth on dielectric areas. Selective epitaxy can be used within semiconductor devices, such as elevated source/drains, source/drain extensions, contact plugs or base layer deposition of bipolar devices.
Generally, a selective epitaxy process involves a deposition reaction and an etch reaction. The deposition and etch reactions occur simultaneously with relatively different reaction rates to an epitaxial layer and to a polycrystalline layer. During the deposition process, the epitaxial layer is formed on a monocrystalline surface while a polycrystalline layer is deposited on at least a second layer, such as an existing polycrystalline layer and/or an amorphous layer. However, the deposited polycrystalline layer is generally etched at a faster rate than the epitaxial layer. Therefore, by changing the concentration of an etchant gas, the net selective process results in deposition of epitaxy material and limited, or no, deposition of polycrystalline material. For example, a selective epitaxy process may result in the formation of an epilayer of silicon-containing material on a monocrystalline silicon surface while no deposition is left on the spacer.
Selective epitaxy deposition of silicon-containing materials has become a useful technique during formation of elevated source/drain and source/drain extension features, for example, during the formation of silicon-containing MOSFET (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor) devices. Source/drain extension features are manufactured by etching a silicon surface to make a recessed source/drain feature and subsequently filling the etched surface with a selectively grown epilayers, such as a silicon germanium (SiGe) material. Selective epitaxy permits near complete dopant activation with in-situ doping, so that the post annealing process is omitted. Therefore, junction depth can be defined accurately by silicon etching and selective epitaxy. On the other hand, the ultra shallow source/drain junction inevitably results in increased series resistance. Also, junction consumption during silicide formation increases the series resistance even further. In order to compensate for junction consumption, an elevated source/drain is epitaxially and selectively grown on the junction. Typically, the elevated source/drain layer is undoped silicon.
However, current selective epitaxy processes have some drawbacks. In order to maintain selectivity during present epitaxy processes, chemical concentrations of the precursors, as well as reaction temperatures must be regulated and adjusted throughout the deposition process. If not enough silicon precursor is administered, then the etching reaction may dominate and the overall process is slowed down. Also, harmful over etching of substrate features may occur. If not enough etchant precursor is administered, then the deposition reaction may dominate reducing the selectivity to form monocrystalline and polycrystalline materials across the substrate surface. Also, current selective epitaxy processes usually require a high reaction temperature, such as about 800° C., 1,000° C. or higher. Such high temperatures are not desirable during a fabrication process due to thermal budget considerations and possible uncontrolled nitridation reactions to the substrate surface.
Therefore, there is a need to have a process for selectively and epitaxially depositing silicon and silicon-containing compounds with optional dopants. Furthermore, the process should be versatile to form silicon-containing compounds with varied elemental concentrations while having a fast deposition rate and maintaining a process temperature, such as about 800° C. or less.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Selective epitaxy process with alternating gas supply


A method of forming a structural tube may include urging a substantially flat thermoplastic sandwich sheet against a mandrel and heating the thermoplastic sandwich sheet to a temperature below a glass transition temperature. The method may further include allowing the thermoplastic sandwich sheet to cool and removing the mandrel, thereby forming a tube portion.

Aircraft such as commercial airliners typically include a variety of ducts for routing fluids such as air throughout the aircraft. For example, a commercial aircraft may include multiple ducts for routing conditioned air throughout the aircraft cabin as part of the aircraft environmental control system. Because of the need to provide the conditioned air at a controlled temperature, environmental control system ducts may be insulated.
Current methods for manufacturing ducts for an aircraft include the use of casting molds. Fiberglass may be laid up over one or more casting molds. After the fiberglass cures, foam may be separately bonded to the fiberglass to provide insulative capability for the duct. Unfortunately, the process of manufacturing casting molds is labor intensive. In addition, the use of casting molds generates large amounts of scrap material and/or waste material which increases the overall cost of the duct.
In another method, a plaster mandrel may be employed for laying up composite material or plies over the plaster mandrel. After the composite plies are cured, the plaster mandrel may be destroyed during the process of separating the duct from the mandrel which results in a large amount of waste material. In addition, the process of laying up composite plies on the plaster mandrel is time-consuming and labor intensive. Furthermore, for thermosetting composite materials, the thermosetting material must be stored at a relatively cold temperature until ready for use. The cost of storing (e.g., refrigerating) the thermosetting composite materials adds to the cost of the duct.
As can be seen, there exists a need in the art for a method of forming a duct such as for an environmental control system of an aircraft and wherein the duct can be produced without the generation of large amounts of scrap or waste material. Furthermore, there exists a need in the art for a method of forming a duct that requires a minimal amount of labor and which can be produced in a relatively short period of time. In addition, there exists a need in the art for a relatively simple method of forming a lightweight duct that can be fabricated at relatively low cost.

Method of forming a tube from a thermoplastic sandwich sheet


Method for designing transmission pulses for ultra-wideband communications systems. A preferred embodiment comprises specifying a spectral description for the pulse. After a spectral description is created, then an approximation of the pulse can be created and well known optimization techniques, such as the least squares technique, can be used to minimize the difference between the approximation and the pulse. If the communications system is operating in the presence of interferers, then the spectral mask can be modified to ensure that the approximation carries no signal information in frequencies corresponding to the interferers.

Ultra-wideband (UWB) communications systems are normally defined as carrier-less communications systems wherein the bandwidth of the signal being transmitted, fB, is greater than or equal to 0.20 fc, where fc is the center frequency of the signal being transmitted. Additionally, the UWB communications system should have a minimum bandwidth of 500 MHz. Note that the definition for UWB communications systems and devices is as defined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of the United States. UWB communications systems have been around for a great number of years, and the majority of them fall under a single type of system, they modulate a stream of short-duration pulses (with an approximate duration which ranges from 0.2 nanoseconds (ns) to 2 ns), either in time (pulse position modulation (PPM)), amplitude (pulse amplitude modulation (PAM)), or phase angle (bi-phase modulation).
The FCC, in Report Order 02-48 released in February of 2002, has specified a set of spectral allocation, technical standards, and operating restrictions for several different types of UWB devices. For example, in the Report Order, the FCC specifies that indoor UWB devices may operate within a frequency range of 1.9 to 10.6 GHz while hand-held UWB devices may operate within a frequency range of 3.1 to 10.6 GHz. Within the permitted frequency ranges, the FCC also places a limit upon maximum transmit power.
In order to maximize data transmission rates and operating range, designers of UWB systems can simply transmit at the maximum permitted transmit power as specified by the FCC. An ideal pulse that can be used to transmit a signal in a UWB system that can make use of the entire permitted frequency band and that can fit the specified power spectral constraints would be a rectangular shaped signal in the frequency domain. Unfortunately, a rectangle in the frequency domain corresponds to an infinite duration sinc function in the time domain. Due to its infinite length in time and a large number of taps required to generate the signal the rectangular shaped signal is infeasible to implement.
A commonly used signal in UWB is known as the 'chirp.' Two different implementations of the chirp signal have been disclosed in previous patents. A first is called the Gaussian weighted sinusoidal function and the second is called the inverse-exponentially weighted sinusoidal function. The two versions of the chirp signal offer a good approximation of the rectangular shaped signal in the frequency domain, and therefore, are good candidates for use in a UWB system.
One disadvantage of the prior art is that there are signal components of the chirp signals exist at every frequency within the transmit frequency band. Therefore, if there are wireless communications systems operating within the general vicinity of the UWB system, the transmission of the chirp signals could pose interference problems. Furthermore, the transmissions from the wireless communications systems can also interfere with the communications of the UWB system.
A second disadvantage of the prior art is that in order to provide a good approximation of the rectangular shape, a relatively large number of taps may be needed. The large number of taps can make it difficult to actually implement the pulse in a UWB system.

Method for transmit pulse design for ultra-wideband communications


A rotor for an interior permanent magnet machine has a rotor body having an output shaft and a first cavity filled with magnetic material. Second cavities are disposed inboard of the first cavities and are not filled with magnetic material. Non-magnetic rods extend through the second cavities and protrude beyond end faces of the rotor body. The rods are press-fit in blind bores formed in non-magnetic end plates disposed adjacent the end faces of the rotor body. Shrink disks are shrunk around projecting ends of the output shaft in abutting relation with the end plates. In order to prevent induced voltage from generating current in the cage formed by the rods and end plates, an oxide layer is disposed between the rods and blind bores in the end plates.

In today's automotive market, there exists a variety of electric propulsion or drive technologies used to power vehicles. The technologies include electric traction motors such as DC motors, AC induction motors, switched reluctance motors, synchronous reluctance motors, brushless DC motors, permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) and corresponding power electronics. PMSM motors are of particular interest for use as traction motors in an electric vehicle because of their superior performance characteristics, as compared to regular DC motors and AC induction motors. PMSM motors typically operate with a permanent magnet rotor. A permanent magnet rotor may be configured as a surface mount or interior or buried permanent magnet rotor. An interior permanent magnet (IPM) motor or machine has performance attributes, when compared to regular DC motors and AC induction motors, that include relatively high efficiency, relatively high torque, relatively high power densities, and a long constant power operating range which make an IPM motor attractive for vehicle propulsion applications.
Permanent magnets buried inside a rotor of a PMSM motor exhibit high reluctance directly along the magnetic axis or the d-axis due to the low permeability of the permanent magnets. While along the q-axis, between the magnetic poles or magnet barriers of an IPM rotor, there exists no magnetic barrier, and reluctivity to magnetic flux is very low. This variation of the reluctance around the rotor creates saliency in the rotor structure of an IPM machine. Therefore, the IPM rotors have reluctance torque in addition to the permanent magnet torque generated by the magnets buried inside the rotor.
The magnets in the motor are arranged in several layers creating a multi-barrier design. The multi-barrier design reduces leakage and improves the rotor saliency. Accordingly, motors having multi-barrier rotors have numerous performance advantages over a single barrier rotor designs, including relatively high overall efficiency, extended high-speed constant power operating range, and improved power factor. Reducing dependency on magnetic torque helps lower the number of magnets or amount of magnetic material in an IPM machine, as compared to a single barrier IPM machine or surface mounted permanent magnet machine. The amount of magnetic material needed to generate a specific torque and wattage rating depends on the level of saliency of the rotor. The higher the rotor saliency, the lower the magnet material usage for the same overall machine performance. Electric motors having a multi-barrier rotor design, as compared to single barrier design, generate higher rotor saliency.
The reduction of magnetic material in an electric motor rotor is desirable from a cost standpoint. Consequently, deep cavities are generally left empty as their contribution to the rotor magnetic field should they be filled is relatively small. The reason for this is the relative distance to the motor airgap. A pure synchronous reluctance motor that has similar rotor geometry to the multi-barrier permanent magnet (PM) design, but no magnetic material in the rotor, is a relatively low performance machine. Multi-barrier IPM electric motors have the beneficial attributes of both synchronous reluctance machines and the permanent magnet machine and are therefore excellent candidates for vehicle propulsion. A major difficulty involved with IPM machines is the design and manufacture of the rotor.


An improved exhaust fan housing, and exhaust fan assembly so characterized, is generally provided. The exhaust fan housing includes a first cylindrical or conical element, a second cylindrical element interior of the first cylindrical element, and a plurality of hollow vanes traversing an annular fluid passage chamber delimited thereby and uniting the first and second cylindrical elements. A central drive chamber, delimited by the second cylindrical element, is in fluid communication with ambient air exterior of the first cylindrical element via the hollow vanes. Each hollow vane is characterized by spaced apart wall segments which unitingly terminate so as to delimit a leading edge for each hollow vane, each of the spaced apart wall segments having a free end or a closed end delimiting first and second trailing edges for the hollow vanes.

The transport of deleterious/potentially deleterious gases and/or the transport/removal of same from spaces so characterized is an important, oftentimes critical operation. For example, and without limitation, the venting of high-temperature, particular laden, toxic, noxious, corrosive, etc. "gases" or fumes from work places such as laboratories, industrial or chemical processing areas or other environments such as tunnels are well known. Heretofore, and generally, such fumes have been either guided to a tall exhaust stack whereby they are discharged at a height well above ground/roof level, or, during the process of evacuating such fumes, make-up or "fresh" air is introduced so as to mix and thereby dilute the contaminated air, with a high velocity roof top discharge of the diluted air commonplace.
In the context of direct drive tubular inline fan housings/assemblies, traditionally they have been characterized by a so called "bifurcated" design which is intended to isolate, and to some degree cool a fan motor from the contaminated air stream, as well as single-thickness vanes to support the fan motor and "straighten" the air stream "swirl" downstream of the fan impeller, see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,320,363 B2 (Seliger et al.), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Moreover, in the context of induced flow fans characteristic of chemical, industrial, manufacturing fume exhaust operations, such direct drive tubular inline fan housings/assemblies are characterized by contraction nozzles for high-speed discharge, and windbands for dilution of fume efflux with ambient air, see e.g., Seliger et al.
Further still, in the context of induced flow fan assemblies, fume exhaust accessories include, and may not be limited to, multiple nozzles of differing outlet areas to accommodate/achieve operating points/velocities believed advantageous, an isolation damper to prevent flow reversal through an idle fan in a parallel fan configuration of a plenum assembly, a bypass damper to maintain nozzle outlet velocity by drawing upon additional ambient air when efflux flow is reduced in a variable exhaust system, and/or a weather management system to prevent precipitation ingress to the system, structures thereof and the structure within which the assembly is deployed.
In as much as apparent improvements have been made with regard to service/maintenance of components of such systems and marginal efficiencies with regard to operating efficiencies and sound attenuation for such systems, it is nonetheless believed that heretofore known functionality may be achieved with a simplified structure/assembly, e.g., a fan housing, which circumvents, eliminates or at least reduces what is believed to be unnecessary momentum and energy losses attendant to any of the functions of "swirl" straightening, motor cooling/protection, high-speed upblast discharge, and/or fume efflux dilution, especially at high airflow rates, while at least maintaining present industry efficiencies as to operation and/or sound output. Moreover, in relation to induced flow fan accessories (i.e., the functional objectives thereof), it is believed that such function can be retained while nonetheless eliminating heretofore known structures owing to, among other things, synergistic effects having origins in Applicant's simplified structure/assembly.


The present application discloses footwear comprising a body structure in which at least upper is made of one continuous folded composite material comprised of layered sheets of material.

The invention relates to footwear made by cutting, folding, and assembling sheets of composite or composite-like materials, and the method for making the same. As described in greater detail below, this "unibody" construction footwear is lightweight and requires fewer individual parts that have to be separately sewn, stitched, or glued together, and can be fabricated in less time and at lower cost.

Unibody construction footwear and method for making the same


A bucking apparatus to be used in conjunction with a loader and topping saw that are mounted to a logging platform or trailer. The bucking apparatus is attached to the loader and includes a plurality of hatches. The hatches can be adjusted for different lengths so that different length logs can be cut when eliminating faults from the trees. The hatches of the bucking apparatus are measured to be particular distances from the topping saw and so, when a tree is pulled through the topping saw with the loader, the end being held can be aligned with one of the hatches, and then the saw can be engaged thus creating a log of the particular length.

As the Monty Python song goes "I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK, I sleep all night and I work all day". Lumberjacks are North American workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era (before 1945 in the United States) when hand tools were used in harvesting trees.1 1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumberjack
The term lumberjack is of Canadian derivation. The first attested use of the word comes from an 1831 letter to the Cobourg Star and General Advertiser in the following passage: "my misfortunes have been brought upon me chiefly by an incorrigible, though perhaps useful, race of mortals called LUMBERJACKS, whom, however, I would name the Cossack's of Upper Canada, who, having been reared among the oaks and pines of the wild forest, have never been subjected to the salutary restraint of laws."2 2Ibid.
Today, a more common term for a lumberjack is "logger". Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Modern technology changed the job of the modern logger considerably. Although the basic task of harvesting trees is still the same, the machinery and tasks are no longer the same. Many of the old job specialties on logging crews are now obsolete.
Chainsaws, harvesters, and feller bunchers are now used to cut or fell trees. The tree is turned into logs by removing the limbs (delimbing) and cutting it into logs of optimal length (bucking). The felled tree or logs are moved from the stump to the landing. Ground vehicles such as a skidder or forwarder can pull, carry, or shovel the logs. Cable systems "cars" can pull logs to the landing. Logs can also be flown to the landing by helicopter. Logs are commonly transported to the sawmill using trucks. Harvesting methods may include clear cutting or selective cutting. Concerns over the environmental impact have led to controversy about modern logging practices. In certain areas of forest loggers re-plant their crop for future generations.
A recent Wall Street Journal survey on the best jobs in the United States ended by listing being a logger as the "worst" citing "work instability, poor income and pure danger". A Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of America's most dangerous jobs put loggers at the top of the list for 2004.
In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used narrowly to describe the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard. In common usage, however, the term may cover a range of forestry or silviculture activities.
Clearcut logging is not necessarily considered a type of logging but a harvesting or silviculture method, and is simply called clearcutting or block cutting. In the forest products industry logging companies may be referred to as logging contractors, with the smaller, non-union crews referred to as "gyppo loggers."
Cutting trees with the highest value and leaving those with lower value, often diseased or malformed trees, is referred to as high grading. It is sometimes called selective logging, and confused with selection cutting, the practice of managing stands by harvesting a proportion of trees.
Logging and log processing can be carried out by different methods, of which the following three are considered industrial methods:
Tree-Length Logging/Stem Only Harvesting (SOH)
Trees are felled and then delimbed and topped at the stump. The log is then transported to the landing, where it is bucked and loaded on a truck. This leaves the slash (and the nutrients it contains) in the cut area, where it must be further treated if wild land fires are of concern.
Whole-Tree Logging (WTL)
Trees and plants are felled and transported to the roadside with top and limbs intact. There have been advancements to the process which now allows a logger or harvester to cut the tree down, top, and delimb a tree in the same process. This ability is due to the advancement in the style felling head that can be used. The trees are then delimbed, topped, and bucked at the landing. This method requires that slash be treated at the landing. In areas with access to cogeneration facilities, the slash can be chipped and used for the production of electricity or heat. Full-tree harvesting also refers to utilization of the entire tree including branches and tops. This technique removes both nutrients and soil cover from the site and so can be harmful to the long term health of the area if no further action is taken, however, depending on the species, many of the limbs are often broken off in handling so the end result may not be as different from tree-length logging as it might seem.
Cut-to-Length Logging
Cut-to-length logging is the process of felling, delimbing, bucking, and sorting (pulpwood, sawlog, etc.) at the stump area, leaving limbs and tops in the forest. Harvesters fell the tree, delimb, and buck it, and place the resulting logs in bunks to be brought to the landing by a skidder or forwarder. This method is routinely available for trees up to 900 mm (35 in) in diameter. Harvesters are employed effectively in level to moderately steep terrain. Harvesters are highly computerized to optimize cutting length, control harvesting area by GPS, and use price lists for each specific log to archive most economical results during harvesting.
In cut-to-length logging, one of the first jobs that a new logger is entrusted with is bucking logs into their proper lengths. While one may conclude that cutting logs to particular lengths is an straight forward job, there are actually many complications associated with the process. If all logs were the same, healthy and uniform, it would simplify the job. However, in the real-world, each tree is different and can pose issues for even for a seasoned logger. As such, a bucker needs to pay close attention to the different characteristics of a tree, they need to have a knowledge of grade in a log as well as how to cut a log to maximize the amount of board footage that can be gleaned from that tree.3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logging
Many techniques are used to determine the length of a log cut and loggers tend to have their own techniques. There are a couple of measuring tools and techniques that are more common than others. Some loggers will use a stick of a specific length, and then starting from the butt of the tree, the bucker will lay the stick against the tree trunk, then flip the stick end over end to measure the next length. This process is continued until the desired length is reached and then the tree is cut at that point. Thus, is a four foot stick is used, the bucker can easily measure out lengths in increments of four feet. In addition, a mark can be placed in the middle of the stick to provide two foot measurements.
Other techniques utilize logger's tape measure. Another technique is to drive stakes in the ground at the desired length.
It should be appreciated that in addition to finding great trees, the profitability of a logging business is also based on the efficiency with which the logger is able to process the trees into logs for being shipped to the sawmill. The above-described techniques for measuring for bucking can be inefficient and limiting. This is especially realized by the fact that some trees have diseased areas, crotches, etc. that may limit the length of the log that can be bucked from the tree. Thus, there is a need in the art for a system and method to buck trees that increases the efficiency of the process, achieves the longest cuts as possible and also provides the flexibility for making shorter cuts as dictated by the nuances of the tree.


A listening device includes a) an input transducer; and b) an output transducer for converting a processed electric signal to an output sound; a forward signal path being defined there between and comprising c) a signal processing unit for processing an electric input signal or a signal derived therefrom and providing a processed output signal; d) a manually operable user interface located on the listening device allowing a user to control a function of the listening device; e) a feedback estimation system for estimating a feedback path from the output transducer to the input transducer, the feedback estimation system comprising e1) an adaptive filter having e11) a variable filter part and e12) an algorithm part comprising an adaptive algorithm.

The following account of the prior art relates to one of the areas of application of the present application, hearing aids.
Two different ways exist for changing programs/volume in a hearing aid. This is illustrated in FIG. 1. One way is to use a button at the hearing aid (FIG. 1a). The other way is to wirelessly change the program/volume through an external device such as a remote control (FIG. 1b). The difference is that the local acoustics around the hearing aid changes while the hand is near the ear (pressing an activation element on the hearing aid, FIG. 1a), but the local acoustics is unlikely to change in the other case where the hand is far from the hearing aid (on the remote control, FIG. 1b). When the local acoustics changes, the feedback path will change. This may result in howling.
EP 2 148 525 A1 describes a hearing instrument comprising a codebook of plausible feedback channel impulse responses (or any equivalent representation) and to make them available for selection and use by a signal processing unit in the appropriate listening situation, e.g. by storing them in a memory of the hearing instrument.


A programmable logic IC comprising an input buffer segment, a programmable logic segment and an output buffer segment, the input buffer segment and output buffer segment respectively comprising buffers of a first level and buffers of a second level as disposed in parallel arrays of the two levels and whichever of the levels being optionally selectable by programming.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a programmable logic integrated circuit which can interface with any of, for example, TLL level and C-MOS devices.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
A programmable logic integrated circuit consists of generally an input buffer segment, a programmable logic segment and an output buffer segment. A specific example of this type of programmable logic integrated circuit is illustrated in FIG. 3. As illustrated, an input buffer segment 1 is comprised of input buffers 10.sub.-1, 10.sub.-2, . . . , 10.sub.-n, and an output buffer segment 2 comprises output buffers 20.sub.-1, 20.sub.-2, . . . , 20.sub.-n. A programmable logic segment 3 comprises a matrix unit 31 formed from a plurality of lines and rows, OR circuits 32.sub.-1 ; 32.sub.-2, . . . , 32.sub.-n, and exclusive OR circuits 33.sub.-1, 33.sub.-2, . . . , 33.sub.-n. A transistor (not shown) is positioned at each junction between the line and row of the matrix 31, and according to the program, the transistors at necessary junctions are kept active, while those at the remaining junctions are blocked. In this manner, AND circuits are formed using the rows with active transistors as inputs and lines with active transistors as outputs. Each of these AND circuits is indicated at A. The illustrated programmable logic integrated circuit has been implemented with bipolar transistors and recently has been implemented using C-MOS transistors for reduced consumption current.
As mentioned above, the early programmable logic integrated circuit was implemented with bipolar transistors and the peripheral integrated circuit was also usually bipolar. Therefore, the interface of the input and output buffers was naturally interfaced at the TTL level.
However, to reduce the consumption of current, programmable logic ICs of C-MOS construction have been developed. In consideration of the bipolar integrated circuit to be interfaced, the input and output buffers are designed to interface at the TTL level. If one attempts to use C-MOS integrated circuits for the peripheral integrated circuit, too, entire electronic circuit board consists of of C-MOS integrated circuits and the peripheral C-MOS IC must be connected to the conventional programmable logic integrated circuit. The device itself is of C-MOS construction but the interface is of TTL construction, and the problem of a conflict of level occurred. Therefore, a level-changing circuit must be provided in order to convert a system comprising a C-MOS device and a TTL peripheral integrated circuit to an all C-MOS system, it is necessary to redesign the board requiring additional development time and cost.
The present invention is intended to solve this problem by providing a programmable logic IC which can interface at either TTL and C-MOS levels.

Multiple level programmable logic integrated circuit


A method and a system are described for processing of drilling fluid from a drilling hole (10) in an underwater well to a floating drilling rig or drilling vessel, comprising a sealing device (12) connected to a well head, a pump module (14) to transport drilling fluid, a treatment plant for treatment of drilling fluid, or a storage installation. Before a blow-out valve is connected to the well head and before a riser is connected between the drilling hole and the floating drilling rig or drilling vessel, the pump module (14) placed on the ocean bed transports drilling fluid from the drilling hold (10) on the ocean bed to the floating drilling rig or drilling vessel.

The present invention relates to a method and a system for processing of drilling fluid from a drilling hole in an underwater well to a floating drilling rig or drilling vessel. In particular, the invention relates to processing of drilling fluid before a blow-out valve is connected to the drilling hole and a riser is connected between the drilling hole and the floating drilling rig or drilling vessel.
Today""s demands relating to environmental discharges puts great demands on the operators in the oil industry. For example, some of the operators stipulate that there shall not be any discharge of drilling fluid during drilling. During drilling of a new oil well in the ocean bed, or drilling in an already existing well, large amounts of drilling fluid, which must be treated, are produced. This car be oil-based drilling fluid or water-based drilling fluid, depending on whether the drilling which is being carried out, is top-hole drilling or drilling in the coil zones.
In this application, drilling fluid is meant to be fluids which appear during drilling in a drilling hole, such as cuttings, drilling mud, or other drilling fluids.
In recent years, the environmental threats which the oil industry poses have been given increasingly more focus. The authorities have imposed increasingly stronger demands on care for the environment and have strict rules for discharges from offshore installations, as these can have negative effects on the maritime environment. Today, there are, in the main, strict restrictions with regard to discharges of oil-based drilling mud, and discharges of this type have almost been completely stopped in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.
In a standard well, in which the following holes are drilled without risers (36xe2x80x3-225 m, 26xe2x80x3-1200 m), more than 340 m2 of cuttings will be produced directly from the well. In addition, there is the drilling mud with its mixture of different chemicals. The Norwegian Pollution Control Authority (SFT) introduced a complete ban on dumping of drilling mud and/or drilling fluid in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea in 1993. This was the start of what is today called slurry-fixing plants, which are able to process the return of fluid to the drilling hole.
Today, most of the fixed installations have such plants, but they are only used for injection of oil-containing waste. The injection is carried out in an annular space between two casings in the drilling hole, normally casings with diameters of around 340 mm and 508 mm (13xe2x85x9cxe2x80x3 and 20xe2x80x3). This is based on a pump rate of about 4000 1/min under drilling of about a 311 mm (12xc2xdxe2x80x3) section and about a 216 mm (8xc2xdxe2x80x3) section.
Water-based drilling fluids are discharged directly to the sea and sink to the ocean bottom, something that creates environmental problems for the maritime life both in the ocean and at the ocean bottom. Discharges of drilling fluids can be carried out with the aid of a pump which is connected on a base at the drilling hole The pump acts as a suction pump to create a negative pressure in a sealing device which is arranged round the drill column in the drilling hole.
Disadvantages with today""s methods are that if the water-based drilling fluid is to be transported up to the drilling rig to be injected into a corresponding well, many problems to which there are no solutions at present arise. For example, during top-hole drilling, there are no maritime risers, i.e. a vertical riser which transports drilling mud from the ocean bottom and up to the drilling platform, and in addition, there is no annular space for injection of the water-based drilling fluid.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,603 disclose a system and a method of underwater drilling operation, which returns drilling mud to the surface of the water, without the use of a riser, but after a BOP is installed. The system comprises e mud sump connected to the top of a submerged wellhead and pump means to pump mud through a hose and to the surface.
EP 0290250 discloses a method and apparatus for drilling sub sea wells at large depths, where drilling return mud is pumped to the surface by a centrifugal pump. The apparatus is attached to top of the blow-out preventer stack.
None of the prior art documents discloses methods or apparatuses adapted to be used before a riser is connected and a blow-out preventer is installed on the wellhead.
There is, therefore, a need for a method that can remove discharges of drilling fluid returns at a drilling rig or drilling vessel, and which can be applied in connection with the already existing drilling hole applications both on the ocean bottom and on the drilling rig, before both riser and blow-out preventer is installed. There is also a need for a system to carry out the method according to the present invention.
Advantages with the method according to the present invention are that great savings are achieved by being able to recirculate drilling fluid returns. Full drilling rate is maintained in the different sections, i.e. about 311 mm and about 216 mm (12xc2xexe2x80x3 and 8xc2xdxe2x80x3) sections. Moreover, the environment is spared from unnecessary discharges. A faster slurrification of the drilling fluid which is produced during drilling is also achieved, i.e. faster treatment of the pumpable fluid or mud which consists of a solid material sedimented in a fluid. Less strict demands for the slurry. No wearing of casings will occur, and there is no danger that the casing will be damaged. Drilling fluid is kept away from the template, i.e. the base, and no concrete is used around the template. This gives a clear view for the ROV operator (Remotely Operated Vehicle). A greater injection rate is also achieved. In addition, the drilling fluid can also be stored for later, to be transported away from the floating drilling rig.
In connection with drilling on the ocean bed, drilling fluid is formed around the drilling mould (template). It is normal to use remote controlled underwater vehicles (ROV-xe2x80x9cremote operated vehiclexe2x80x9d) with a camera, to monitor and carry out various operations, and the drilling fluid/mud in the area around the drilling hole orifice represents, therefore, a considerable visual problem. Cuttings are fragments of rocks, which under drilling are brought up with the drilling mud.
The object of the prevent invention is, therefore, to provide a method and a system, which eliminates the abovementioned problems. It is also an object to provide a method and a system of processing drilling fluid return from a drilling hole in an underwater well at a floating drilling rig or a drilling vessel, comprising a sealing device connected to a well head, and a pump module to transport drilling fluid, a treatment plant, or a storage installation, for drilling fluid and possibly an injection pump.
The method, according to the present invention, is characterised in that before a blow-out valve is connected to the well head, the submerged pump module and the sealing device provides an outlet pressure, dependent on the specific weight of the mud and the ocean depth, which is high enough for transportation of the drilling fluid from the drilling hole, through the return line and up to the floating drilling rig or drilling vessel.
The system, according to the present invention, is characterised in that a pump module, which is arranged on the ocean bed and connected to a sealing device, is adapted to transport drilling fluid from the drilling hole on the ocean bed, via a return line, to a treatment plant, or a storage installation, on the floating drilling rig or drilling vessel.
Preferred embodiments of the method, according to the present invention, are specified in that the pump nodule placed on the ocean bed and the sealing device provides an outlet pressure, dependent on the weight of the mud and ocean depth, which is high enough to transport drilling fluid from the drilling hole, through the return line and up to the floating drilling rig or drilling vessel. The drilling fluid is transported through the return line and to the existing line (flow-line) on the floating drilling rig or drilling vessel for further transport to the treatment plant or storage installation. After the cuttings is treated, using a method that may be known previously, on the floating drilling rig or drilling vessel, the treated cuttings is injected, with the aid of a high-pressure pump, into a second drilling hole provided on the ocean bed, or in an adapted annular space in the first drilling hole.
Preferred embodiments of the system are characterised in that the submerged pump module and the sealing device, before a blow-out valve is connected to the well head, are adapted to provide an outlet pressure which is high enough for transportation of the drilling fluid from the drilling hole, through the return line and up to the floating drilling rig or drilling vessel.
The pump module placed on the ocean bed comprises a number of pumps to provide the necessary pressure, such as a centrifuge and/or a friction pump possibly connected in series, where the pump, or pumps, is driven by a submerged electric motor which is connected to the pump or pumps.
A preferred embodiment, according to the present invention, shall now be described with reference to the enclosed figures. It must be understood that this example is not limiting and that other and further modifications may be carried out within the scope of the claims.
FIG. 1 shows a principle of the method and the system for processing of a drilling fluid according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 shows a section of an injection well according to FIG. 1.

Methods and system for processing of drilling fluid


A masking fixture for use in a coating process includes a first fixture plate for supporting a first work piece, a second fixture plate spaced from the first fixture plate for supporting a second work piece, and at least one spacer secured between the first fixture plate and the second fixture plate.

This disclosure relates to fixtures for use in coating processes and, more particularly, to fixtures that can be stacked with work pieces that are to be coated in order to mask a portion of the work pieces.
Coating processes are known and used to deposit organic, metallic, ceramic, or other types of coatings on a component work piece. Depending on the design of the component, certain portions of the component may be coated while other portions are to remain uncoated. For example, portions of the component may be masked with a tape in attempt to prevent deposition of the coating on the masked portion. However, using tape may involve considerable time and/or labor to apply and remove the tape. Furthermore, if a spray coating process is used, the coating material may deflect off of the tape and interfere with the coating process.
A support may be used to mount one or more components in a desired orientation for the coating process. Typically, the support is exposed to the coating during the coating process, becomes coated and/or deflects the coating material. If the coating adheres to the support, the support may require considerable time and labor for cleaning to limit coating build-up. Furthermore, if the coating deflects off of the support, the deflected coating may interfere with the coating process and/or be deposited on areas where no coating is desired.


A method of making at least one marker (MX) for double gate SOI processing on a SOI wafer is disclosed. The marker has a diffracting structure in a first direction and the diffracting structure is configured to generate an asymmetrical diffraction pattern during use in an alignment and overlay detection system for detection in the first direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method to make a marker for double gate SOI processing. Also, the present invention relates to a marker for double gate SOI processing. Moreover, the present invention relates to a semiconductor device provided with such a marker for double gate SOI processing.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Such a marker is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,335,214 B1 which discloses a SOI (silicon-on-insulator) circuit with double-gate transistors. A method for a double-gate transistor is disclosed wherein a back-side gate is created, which is self-aligned to the upper gate of the transistor.
A transfer method is used to generate marking features on the wafer backside comprising the formation of etch stop spacers on the edge of a gate stack and the etching of an alignment trench through the silicon device layer and through the buried oxide layer, so that deposition of an alignment layer on the bottom of the alignment trench provides a marker on the backside.
Since critical features sizes of semiconductor devices are 100 nm and less, in lithographic processing the requirements for (optical) alignment and overlay are high. In lithographic apparatuses, alignment and overlay detection is performed typically by detecting a plurality of diffracted beams (i.e., diffraction orders) generated by an impinging optical beam on an alignment marker.
Such alignment markers may comprise a grating of which the structure is modified in such a way that the intensity of some selected diffracted beams are biased with respect to the other diffracted beams of which the intensity is relatively reduced.
Due to the biasing of some selected diffraction orders, the diffraction pattern (i.e., the set of diffraction beams) becomes asymmetrical with respect to the impinging optical beam. By this measure the alignment and overlay detection method is generally improved.
However, the asymmetry of alignment signals and their detection in the lithographic apparatus is an obstacle for double gate SOI processing, where wafer bonding is performed. After wafer bonding, further lithographic processing is hindered since the signals generated by the alignment marker can not be detected anymore due to the disturbed asymmetry.

Method to make markers for double gate SOI processing

Interuniversitair Microelektronica Centrum vzw (IMEC)


Implementations generally relate to providing data transmission between devices over audible sound. In some implementations, a method includes mapping each symbol of data to a frequency combination, where each frequency combination includes one or more frequencies. The method further includes generating a sine wave for each frequency. The method further includes adding sine waves for a given symbol to obtain a resulting sine wave. The method further includes applying a window function to the resulting sine wave to obtain a data signal.

Some mobile applications enable users to participate in social activities where devices of users can communicate with other devices that are physically close by. For example, users may want to locate other users in the same physical location. In another example, users may have taken some photos of each other and may want to share their photos with each other.

Data transmission between devices over audible sound


Apparatus for controlling a stepping motor drive system during start up and maintenance of a desired oeprating speed. A dynamically variable loop filter i.e. a boot strap loop filter is used in a phase locked loop circuit to ramp the stepping motor to operative speed faster and with less transient instability than heretofore available. Protection from transients tending to cause slower or faster speeds is obtained with the same circuits. Stall sensing and restart capabilities are provided and the circuits use fewer components and less PCB real estate than prior art.

This invention relates to control systems for driving stepping motors and more particularly to a dynamically variable loop filter drive control circuit for synchronizing a color filter wheel for a color video borescope.
The use of color video systems for viewing remote regions has become a powerful diagnostic tool in the industrial and medical fields. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,306, a color endoscope is disclosed wherein a filter wheel is employed to sequentially illuminate a target to provide color separated image information which is processed in the video system to present a color separated image of the target area one over the other upon a television screen. As can be seen, both a sharp image and a faithful reproduction of the original colors is important in making an accurate diagnosis and any loss of image registration or the like will adversely affect the results of the examination.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,224 to Longacre, there is shown an open loop motor control unit for synchronizing the stepping rate of the motor to the field rate of the video system in response to the master clock signal so that the filters are brought past the fixed optical path in timed sequence with each of the video field periods.

Stepping motor control having a dynamically variable loop filter circuit


A method and system are provided for maintaining dynamic visual cues/graphic indicia for associated circuitry of a schematic object. The dynamic visual cues or graphic indicia indicate a number of states of the parent circuit object and its associated circuitry. The visibility, placement status, and other attributes of the parent or associated circuitry may be quickly discerned by inspection of the visual indicia. Navigation, including manipulations of one or both of the parent and associated circuitry are available through actuation of the visual cue or a selectable button proximately disposed thereto.

The subject system and method are generally directed to establishing and maintaining a dynamic visual cue for associated circuitry connectable to a schematically represented object of an electronic circuit design. Associated circuitry facilitates operational implementation of the object in the electronic circuit design without directly altering the digital logic to be carried out thereby. The system and method provide measures for generating and adaptively managing visual cues relating to such associated circuitry for one or more circuit objects of the given design schematically represented for viewing by a user.
While design tools in general and particularly electronic design automation (EDA) tools for creating, modifying, and reviewing integrated circuits (IC), printed circuit boards (PCB), and package designs to arrive at an IC product are known, such heretofore known systems and methods are encumbered by numerous deficiencies, not the least of which is a lack of effective usability. Graphical saturation, over-cluttering, congestion, and the inability to effectively navigate amongst a design all detract from the usability of such heretofore known systems.
The lack of such capabilities have heretofore hindered electronic design flows, time-to-market, and costs. There is therefore a need for a system and method for maintaining dynamic visual cues for associated circuitry of schematic objects.

System and method for maintaining dynamic visual cue for associated circuitry of schematic object


A bipolar charger includes a housing with a main chamber and positive and negative electrode chambers facing each other. The electrode chambers each have a ground electrode and a high voltage electrode that cooperate to create a cloud of ions. An aerosol flowing from an inlet passage through the main chamber and out an outlet passage mixes with the clouds of ions, thereby providing an aerosol with a steady-state electric charge distribution.

Bipolar chargers are used to provide a steady-state electric charge distribution to an aerosol. This is useful for a variety of tasks, including collection, analysis, and measurement of particles in an aerosol.
Aerosols may include charged particles, but the distribution of charges on the particles varies depending on a number of factors. For many applications, particularly for measurement applications, it is desirable to treat, or charge-condition, an aerosol such that it acquires a steady-state electric charge distribution. A bipolar charger may be used to provide such a steady-state electric charge distribution. Certain bipolar chargers operate by providing a mixture of positive and negative ions. This mixture of positive and negative ions is mixed with the aerosol resulting in bipolar diffusion charging. If the ion populations are initially balanced, the charge state of their aerosol will eventually reach a quasi-steady state.
Most bipolar chargers use a radioactive source, which leads to regulatory and transportation issues. This is a major obstacle in conducting field measurements of aerosols using instruments that utilize such radioactive sources. As such, there is a need for a bipolar charger that does not include a radioactive source, is capable of being miniaturized, and is low in cost.

Non-radioactive bipolar charger for aerosol particles

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


An apparatus for identifying a path pattern of devices that produces a defective product in a production line where a product is produced via a plurality of device is provided. The device is configured to estimate a path pattern quality indicating a quality of a group of products produced through a production path included in a path pattern, based on a production path quality and an association relationship between a path pattern and a production path indicating devices via which the product is produced and an order of passing through the devices; and to identify a path pattern suspected to be defective based on the estimated path pattern quality.

Hitherto, there has been known a technology of identifying a device suspected to be defective such as failure or cyberattack from the outside, in a production line where a product is produced via a plurality of devices (e.g., refer to Patent Literature 1).
In Patent Literature 1, there is described a method for identifying a device suspected to be defective, in a production line of a factory or a plant, by visualizing a product quality for each device based on a quality of a product and a production path indicating devices through which the product has been produced.

Apparatus, method and computer program for identifying defective devices


Embodiments include methods, systems and computer program products for controlling a display of a first display device with a second display device. Aspects include pairing the first display device with the second display device and monitoring an orientation of the first display device and the second display device. Based on a determination that the display of the first display device is at least partially aligned with a display of the second display device, aspects also include identifying open applications on the first display device and displaying indications of the open applications on the display of the second display device. Aspects further include switching an active application on the first display device responsive to receiving a selection of one of the open applications on the second display device.

The present disclosure relates generally to navigating between open applications and web browser tabs on a mobile device and more specifically to navigating between open applications and web browser tabs on a mobile device using a wearable device.
Currently, when a user of a mobile device has multiple application windows, or multiple tabs in any browser, open at the same time and desires to navigate from one window to another window, or one tab to another tab in any browser, the user must press a specific button to view the tabs or windows on the mobile device screen. At this point, the user can select the desired application window or tab from the screen. Navigating between applications and browser tabs in this manner can create an interruption in the current work flow and it can be time consuming.

Browsing applications on mobile device via a wearable device

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION