An optical disc drive including a case in which a circuit board is provided, a tray on which an optical disc is mounted and is installed in the case capable of sliding in and out of the case, a main base coupled to the tray wherein the main base includes, a spindle motor to rotate the optical disc, a bracket to support the spindle motor, an optical pickup to access the optical disc, and a driving motor to drive the optical pickup. The optical disc drive also includes a flexible printed circuit electrically connecting the circuit board and the tray, on which a ground pattern is formed, and a base cover coupled to the main base to protect the main base. An exposure portion of the ground pattern is formed on part of the flexible printed circuit, and a contact portion electrically contacting the exposure portion of the ground pattern is formed on the base cover so that static electricity applied to the base cover is grounded.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disc drive, and more particularly, to an optical disc drive which can prevent a system shut down due to external static electricity.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, optical disc drives record information by emitting light onto a recording medium (i.e., CDs or DVDs) or reproduce the recorded information,
FIGS. 1 and 2 are a plan view and a bottom view of a conventional optical disc drive, respectively. FIG. 3 shows the conventional optical disc drive where a base cover is separated.
Referring to FIGS. 1–3, the conventional optical disc drive comprises a case 10 having a circuit board 12 and a tray 16 having an optical disc D mounted thereon and installed capable of sliding in and out of the case 10.
The optical disc drive further comprises, a main base 30 coupled to the tray 16, the main base having a spindle motor 18 to rotate the optical disc D and an optical pickup 20 to record data on the optical disc D or reproduce the recorded data while sliding across the optical disc D and a bracket 40 to support the spindle motor 18. A variety of circuit patterns (not shown) including a ground pattern is provided at the bracket 40. The circuit pattern is connected to the circuit board 12 provided at the case 10 through a first flexible printed circuit (FPC) 14. A driving motor 22 to drive the optical pickup 20 is installed on the main base 30. The driving motor 22 is connected to a circuit pattern provided at the bracket 21 through a second FPC 24.
A base cover 60 is installed on a bottom surface of the main base 30 to protect various components installed on the main base 30. The surface of the base cover 60 is coated with an insulation layer. A through hole 61 through which a contact portion 53 of a leaf spring for ground 50 which is described below is formed in the base cover 60.
The leaf spring for ground 50 which is bent and contact s with the base cover 60 and the bracket 40 are assembled to the base cover 60 to remove the static electricity which may be applied from the outside to the base cover 60.
FIGS. 4 and 5 are a plan view and a sectional view of the leaf spring for ground 50, respectively. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the leaf spring for ground 50 includes a coupling portion 51 coupled to the base cover 60, a contact portion 53 contacting the bracket 40, and a connection portion 52 to connect the coupling portion 51 and the contact portion 53. A plurality of sharp protrusions 51 a are formed on a bottom surface of the coupling portion 51.
When the leaf spring for ground 50 is assembled to the base cover 60 by using a screw 55, the sharp protrusions 51 a formed on the bottom surface of the coupling portion 51 contact with a contact surface of the base cover 60, thereby generating scratches on the base cover 60. Accordingly, a coating layer formed on the surface of the base cover 60 is peeled away. Thus, the contact portion 53 of the leaf spring for ground 50 contacts the bracket 40 through the through hole 61 formed on the base cover 60.
In the above structure, the static electricity applied from the outside of the optical disc drive to the base cover 60 where the coating layer is peeled away due to the scratches passes through the leaf spring for ground 50 toward the bracket 40.
However, in the conventional optical disc drive, since the leaf spring for ground 50 is used to remove the static electricity accumulated on the base cover 60, the number of components and the number of steps required to remove the static electricity increase.
Sharp protrusions are needed on the coupling portion 51 of the leaf spring for ground 50 to generate scratches on the surface of the base cover 60. Thus, when the leaf spring for ground 50 is manufactured by using a mold in which the shape of the protrusions is blunted, the scratches may not be generated on the surface of the base cover 60.


In a software receiver, a received electromagnetic signal is sampled in “slices”, each having a duration of some multiple of a reference frequency. The samples of each slice are correlated with values in a pair of reference signals, such as sine and cosine, at the reference frequency. This yields a two-tuple for each slice, which two-tuples may be stored. The stored two-tuples can be simply added to arrive at a correlation value of narrower bandwidth than that of any slice taken alone. The stored two-tuples can be taken in sequence, each rotated by some predetermined angle relative to its predecessor in sequence, and the rotated two-tuples summed to arrive at a correlation value with respect to a frequency that is offset from the reference frequency to an extent that relates to the predetermined angle. In this way, the receiver is able to proceed despite the transmitted frequency not being known exactly in advance and does not require prodigious storage or computational resources.

Some real-life situations involving reception of electromagnetic signals are relatively easy, for example where the transmitted signal is known to be at a particular exact frequency due to its being crystal controlled. As another example a signal that lasts a long time is relatively easy to receive and analyze. A signal that is repeated as often as necessary, for example in a system where packets are acknowledged and an unacknowledged packet is retransmitted, can be relatively easily received. As another example if a transmitter has the luxury of a high power level and the further luxury of an optimally sized antenna, this makes the signal easier to receive relative to ambient noise. Another thing that can make reception of an electromagnetic signal easier is if the designer is able to assume that the receiver has plenty of storage and high computational bandwidth as well as a generous power source.
Some real-life situations, however, do not offer any of these factors that would make reception of signals easy. Suppose, for example, that the transmitter is not crystal controlled and thus the designer of the receiver is not permitted to assume that the transmitted signal is at any particular exact frequency. Suppose that the transmitter is required to be physically small in form factor and thus that any antenna elements are severely constrained in size. Suppose the transmitter has a power source that does not last very long, so that any transmitted signal lasts only for a limited duration. Suppose further that the power source is not very strong, so that the transmitted signal is of only very limited strength. Suppose that the transmitter is not also a receiver, so that there is no prospect of defining a packet acknowledgment protocol that would permit selective retransmission of particular packets only when needed.
Suppose that the designer is not able to assume that the receiver has arbitrarily large data storage and is not able to assume that the receiver has arbitrarily high computational bandwidth. Suppose further that the receiver cannot be assumed to have an arbitrarily generous power source.
In such circumstances, few if any prior-art approaches turn out to provide suitable reception of the transmitted signals.
These circumstances do present themselves in real life, for example if a pill contains an IEM (ingestible event marker) and if the would-be receiver is a patch or other detector affixed to or nearby to the body of a subject that is to ingest the IEM. Such IEMs are not crystal controlled and so their transmitted signal cannot be assumed to be at any particular exact frequency. Such IEMs are powered by contact with gastric juices or other fluids within the body of the subject, and the contact-powered power source only lasts for a limited duration.
In recent times it has become commonplace to carry out reception of electromagnetic signals in what might be termed a "software receiver". As shown in FIG. 2, an input signal 201 is received (for example by an antenna) and the signal is amplified at 202. The amplified signal is passed through a bandpass filter 204 which eliminates most or all noise at frequencies above and below the edges of the filter. The filtered signal is again amplified at 205 and is digitized in an analog-to-digital converter 206, yielding a digital sample stream 207 about which more will be said.
The signal-to-noise ratio is one of the strongest predictors of success in reception of any transmitted signal. One way to improve the signal-to-noise ratio is to sharpen the bandpass filter shown in FIG. 1 as filter 203. Narrowing the filter 203 (as compared with the filter 204 of FIG. 2) has the advantage that noise that is outside of the limits of filter 203 (but that was inside of the limits of filter 204) is noise that will not clutter up the analyzed signal in FIG. 1 even though such noise would have cluttered up the analyzed signal in FIG. 2.
But if the filter 203 is narrowed, there is the risk that the actual transmitted signal is outside of the limits of filter 203, in which case the receiver of FIG. 1 will miss the signal completely and will never pick it up.
In situations (such as the IEM situation mentioned above) where one does not have the luxury of being able to assume that the signal to be detected is at some particular exact frequency, the narrower filter 203 cannot be employed. Instead there is no choice but to leave filter 204 (FIG. 2) so very broad as to be able to pass the signal-to-be-detected at any of its possible frequencies. Any application of a narrower bandpass filter will have to be relegated to a controllable filter that is able to be adjusted upwards and downwards in frequency ("hunting") until the actual frequency of the signal is determined. In a typical present-day software receiver, such a controllable filter is accomplished in software.
Only when the frequency (or frequencies, in the case of frequency-shift keying) has been discovered can further analysis be carried out for example to extract data from the signal. Such data might be phase-shift keyed, or amplitude keyed, or frequency-shift keyed, or communicated by some other more complex modulation.
The alert reader may be familiar with some of the ways that a present-day software receiver gets programmed to carry out digital filtering and further analysis. FIG. 3 shows one approach, namely storage in mass storage 208 of the entirety of the digital sample stream 207. Analysis at block 209 is carried out on the data stored at 208. It will be appreciated that depending on the sample rate of the ADC 206, and the resolution (number of bits per sample) of the ADC 206, even just a few minutes of storage of raw data can require an enormous storage device 208. But in situations (such as described above) where the receiver has limited memory resources, the storage of the entirety of the digital sample stream (raw data) is just not possible.
The alert reader may also be familiar with some of the design decisions made by designers of analysis 209. Such designers may, for example, assume that multiple analyses can be carried out one after the other (or may be run in parallel with suitable parallel hardware) on the entirety of the data in mass storage 208. One analysis tries to pick out one would-be signal frequency, a subsequent analysis tries another frequency, until (hopefully) the hunt succeeds and the actual transmitted frequency is determined. Such analyses require substantial computational bandwidth and corresponding amounts of power for the analytical hardware. But in situations (such as described above) where the receiver has limited computational bandwidth or limited power or both, it is just not possible to proceed in this way.
A further big challenge presents itself when the sought-after transmitted signal is ephemeral, that is, it does not persist for very long after it has started. Prior-art approaches that attempt to pick out the signal by means of a "hunting" process are approaches that run the risk of taking so long to succeed at the hunt that the signal may have come and gone. Some prior-art systems when faced with an ephemeral signal of frequency that is not known in advance will run a massively parallel set of relatively narrow-band receivers so that no matter which frequency turns out to be the transmitted frequency, one or another of the receivers will have picked up the entire transmission. Other prior-art systems when faced with an ephemeral signal of frequency that is not known in advance will run a single relatively broad-band receiver and will attempt to store absolutely everything that was received (digitally) and then to conduct post-receipt analysis over and over again until some digital filter happens to have picked out the signal from the noise. These approaches require lots of hardware, and lots of power. These approaches are expensive and cannot be reduced in size to desirably small form factors.
It would be very helpful if an approach could be devised which would permit picking out a signal even when one is not able to know in advance exactly what frequency the signal will be at, and to do this in a way that does not require prodigious data storage capacity, and that does not require prodigious computational bandwidth.

Method and apparatus for use with received electromagnetic signal at a frequency not known exactly in advance


A method for determining the suitability for use in an engine of a fuel e.g. a jet fuel that may contain particulate contaminants, such as organic and/or inorganic particulates, is disclosed. The method can be used to distinguish a known organic particulate contaminant from inorganic particulate contaminants in the fuel. A composition suitable for use in the method is also disclosed.

Fuels which are liquid at ambient handling temperatures, such as liquid hydrocarbons e.g. kerosene, gasoline and diesel, can become contaminated with water, such as from condensation formed within a storage tank vented to the atmosphere and solids particulates, such as rust and metallic particles derived from storage vessels and pipelines, and silicate particles transported as dust in the atmosphere and introduced into the fuel through the venting of storage vessels.
A liquid fuel must pass stringent quality testing to ensure it is suitable for use in an engine, as contaminants such as water and solid particles can be detrimental to the performance of the engine or even damaging to the engine. Quality tests include measuring the amount of particulate solids contained in the fuel.
To reduce solid particulate contaminants from a fuel, the fuel is typically passed through a filter before it is conveyed or otherwise transported to a storage vessel at or near to a vehicle fuelling station. However, such filtering does not eliminate all solids contaminants, as fine particles can pass through the filter without being caught, and breakdown of the filter itself can generate solid particles in the fuel.
As the colloidal or dispersed water is in the form of tiny droplets the machine used to detect the particles cannot distinguish between solid particulates and the water droplets. This may lead to an artificially high count suggesting the fuel is unusable. By removing the water droplets in a sample of the fuel an accurate particle count can be determined. This allows the fuel to be distributed without the need for expensive treatment and storage.
Attempts to remove the water by use of solvents have been undertaken (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,064,480—Mountain et al, EP-A-1715323—Clarke et al). However, the use of solvents requires significant quantities to be added requiring the results be adjusted due to dilution. Naturally the use of flammable solvents is also not desirable in a field application. Field trials using both the composition of this invention and standard solvents such as Isopropyl alcohol have found that at dispersed water contamination levels up to 100 ppm the solvent system requires as much as 2.5 times the quantity of this invention to solvate the water. It must be noted that in the case of the solvents the grade used must be as analytically pure as possible with no dissolved water and <100 counts/ml of particulate>4 μm(c). These grades must be stored in as dry as condition as possible as they are generally hygroscopic in nature.
Water-in-oil microemulsions can be formed, where emulsifies are mixed with oil and water so as to distribute the water as a microemulsion in the oil. The water-in-oil emulsions formed must render the droplet size of the dispersed water phase preferably at no greater than 0.1 μm. This forms a clear and bright translucent fluid that allows the light detection of the particle counting equipment to pass through without interference (see e.g. GB2463030—Martin). Typically the lower limit of the particle counting machine is 4 μm(c). However, should the droplet size of the emulsion be greater than the wavelength of the light used, the fluid may appear hazy and the opportunity for droplet coalescence and ultimately particle counting interference will occur.
Verdegan, B M; Thibodeau, L: "Particle counting oil and water emulsions" Particulate Science And Technology, vol. 7, no. I, 1989, pages 23-34 demonstrates the use of a single surfactant, Aerosol OT, as being capable at sufficient levels to remove any contaminant water by forming emulsions. However, the method of use and preparation is cumbersome and not applicable to actual in-field use. The surfactant must be heated in the fuel to 60° C. and allowed to cool. Heating the fuel in the field is not a practical method and creates an unnecessary fire risk.
US200910194480 (Daniel et al) discloses a method of identifying contaminants within a liquid hydrocarbon media containing contaminants. The method includes adding an optical tag to a water wash, adding the tagged water wash to the liquid hydrocarbon media, emulsifying the liquid hydrocarbon media and analysing the contaminants in the hydrocarbon media with a microscope.
US2009/0319195 (Hoots et al) discloses a method of monitoring and optimizing the concentration of an additive composition in a fuel ethanol, wherein a component in the additive composition is capable of providing a fluorescent signal. Based upon the measured fluorescent signal, the concentration of the additive composition in the fuel ethanol may be adjusted. The additive compositions disclosed in Hoots, such as corrosion inhibitors, are all liquids.
WO2012/050844 (Conroy et al) provides a method of detecting/quantifying a fluorescent taggant in a liquid sample. The method may be used to detect an adulteration of gasoline and diesel fuels.
Most engines are designed to accommodate a low level of fine inorganic particles, such as those particles which are not extracted from the fuel by filtering. However, solids particles generated by breakdown of the filter can be much more problematical: whilst subsequent filtering can eliminate the larger filter breakdown particles, the smaller filter-breakdown particles are not captured and can be carried in the fuel along with the fine inorganic particles.
Filters used for removing solids particles from liquid fuels such as jet fuel are typically made from super absorbent polymers (SAPs), which are organic polymers. Such organic polymers often comprise pendant carboxyl groups. It is known that jet fuels contaminated with filter breakdown material have caused aircraft incidents, as the organic polymer particles have migrated during the refuelling of an aircraft into the main fuel tanks and subsequently interfered with fuel flow, which ultimately resulted in the loss of engine performance. The most notable incident attributed to migration of SAP filter breakdown particles was that in Surabaya (13 Apr. 2010—Accident Bulletin 1/2011). Without wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that the SAP particles may have agglomerated in the fuel tanks and the larger particles so formed causing blockages in or residues on the aircraft fuel monitoring and control systems.
Various methods have been proposed for determining whether a liquid fuel is suitable for use in an engine by measuring the amount of contaminants in the fuel. In these methods, the fuel is either rejected or accepted for use in the engine depending upon whether or not the amount of contaminants in the fuel is above or below a predetermine standard amount.
A jet fuel, for example, may be rejected or accepted, depending upon whether the total amount of solids particles exceeds a minimum specified amount. It is therefore necessary to have accurate and fast methods for analysing the amount of solids particles in the fuel. However, the filtering methods employed do not distinguish between organic and inorganic solids in the fuels, let alone to distinguish the amounts of potentially harmful organic particulate solids that may subsequently agglomerate in the fuel from all the other particulate solids that may be present in the fuel in an amount which, as a total, may be considered an acceptable amount.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an accurate and fast method of determining the presence of an amount of SAP particles as a contaminant in a fuel and, in so doing, provide a method of determining whether the fuel is suitable for use in an engine.

Method of determining the suitability of a fuel for use in an engine and a composition for use in such a method


An example electronic device includes a first antenna; a second antenna; a driver integrated circuit (IC) configured to transmit magnetic field signal through at least one of the first antenna and the second antenna; a switch configured to switch between short-circuiting connection between the driver IC and the first antenna and opening connection between the driver IC and the first antenna; and a filter configured to filter a pre-determined frequency and connected to the first antenna, the second antenna and the driver IC. The driver IC is configured to transmit the magnetic field signal using both the first antenna and the second antenna based on the switch short-circuiting the connection between the driver IC and the first antenna.

Technologies for transmitting power or data according to a magnetic induction method using the coil of an electronic device are increasing. For example, power may be transmitted using wireless power consortium (WPC) or alliance for wireless power (A4WP), that is, an international standard. Data may be transmitted using magnetic secure transfer (MST) or near field communication (NFC).
In order to apply the aforementioned different technologies (WPC, A4WP, MST and NFC), a coil optimized for each technology may be necessary. In this case, there is limitation to the area and thickness in a small electronic device, such as a smartphone. There may be a difficulty in securing coil performance due to interference attributable to surrounding coils. Each of the technologies may have different frequency characteristics and may have different inductance for performance optimization. Furthermore, inductors (e.g., coils) having proximate resonant frequencies may act as mutual interference.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An electrocardiogram diagnostic system (30) having a non-athletic ECG diagnostic mode and an athletic ECG diagnostic mode. The electrocardiogram diagnostic system (30) employs an electrocardiogram wave controller (30) and an electrocardiogram diagnostic controller (50). In operation, the electrocardiogram wave controller (30) generates an ECG wave responsive to one or more electrode signals. In response thereto, the electrocardiogram diagnostic controller (50) classifies the ECG wave as either a non-athletic ECG wave or an athletic ECG wave, interprets a non-athletic classified ECG wave based on non-athletic ECG diagnostic criteria as either a normal non-athletic ECG wave or an abnormal non-athletic ECG wave, and interprets an athletic classified ECG wave based on athletic ECG diagnostic criteria as either a normal athletic ECG wave or an abnormal athletic ECG wave.

An electrocardiogram (ECG) as known in the art increases an ability to detect abnormal cardiovascular conditions (e.g., cardiomyopathies) that may lead to sudden cardiac arrest (SCD). An issue with interpreting an ECG for an athlete is regular, intense physical training has been associated with electrical manifestations in a heart of the athlete that are reflected by an increase in a vagal tone and an enlargement of a cardiac chamber of the athletic heart.
An increase in vagal tone of the athletic heart results in ECG manifestations (e.g., sinus bradycardia, sinus arrhythmia, first-degree atrioventricular (AV) block and Morbitz type I second-degree AV block) that would be considered abnormal in the general population if athletic training were not taken into account during an ECG diagnosis.
Similarly, an enlargement of a cardiac chamber of the athletic heart results in ECG manifestations (e.g., left ventricular hypertrophy and/or acute myocardial infraction) that would be considered abnormal in the general population if athletic training were not taken into during an ECG diagnosis.

Automatic classification/intepretation of ECG waves for non-athletes/athletes


A method and apparatus for quick, safe, and easy installation of electrical fixtures in the building construction field, including connecting the fixture to a mounting mechanism for structural support and electrical service. A coupling mechanism is attached to or incorporated into the fixture. The coupling mechanism has built-in electrical leads that are designed to connect with the electrical leads on a fixture-facing interface of the mounting mechanism. Electrical leads on the coupling mechanism are connected via wire or other electrically conductive material to the electrical components in the fixture.

Every year homeowners, builders, and electrical tradespeople install millions of electrical ceiling fixtures (e.g., lights, ceiling fans, chandeliers, etc.) in residential and commercial buildings. The tools, equipment, and installation methods for installing electrical ceiling fixtures are well known and have not materially changed in decades. After first disconnecting the power to the electrical circuit, a conventional method involves six major steps (as illustrated in FIG. 1).


Provided are a method for processing multimodal images, an apparatus, a device and a storage medium. Multiple types of vision sensors are disposed in first preset identity recognition scenario. The method includes: if it is determined that a first vision sensor detects a biometric part of a target object, controlling each vision sensor to separately perform image acquisition for the biometric part in accordance with a preset acquisition strategy to obtain a target visual image of corresponding type and acquisition time information of the target visual image; performing identity recognition for the target object according to first target visual image to determine object identification information corresponding to first target visual image; determining object identification information corresponding to a target visual image of other type other than first target visual image according to acquisition time information of each target visual image and object identification information corresponding to first target visual image.

Multimodal images refer to multiple images obtained through acquisition for the same object using different vision sensors. The multimodal images are widely used in the field of biometrics (biological recognition), and biometrics technologies have a wide range of application needs in scenarios such as public security, national defense, transportation, finance, medical treatment and civil security control.
In the prior art, when multimodal images are acquired and processed to determine object identifications corresponding to the images, it is necessary to set a specific acquisition scenario and obtain a specific acquisition object, then put the specific acquisition object in the specific acquisition scenario to perform directional acquisition using a corresponding vision sensor, and record object identification corresponding to an acquired image manually, which results in less efficient multimodal image processing and high-cost acquisition and processing.

Method for processing multimodal images, apparatus, device and storage medium

BEIJING BAIDU NETCOM SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


An illustrative system includes a brain interface system configured to be worn by a user and to output brain measurement data representative of brain activity of the user while the user is engaged in an electronic messaging session provided by an electronic messaging platform and a computing device configured to obtain the brain measurement data, determine, based on the brain measurement data, a graphical emotion symbol representative of a mental state of the user while the user is engaged in the electronic messaging session, and provide the graphical emotion symbol for use during the electronic messaging session.

Electronic messaging platforms, such as remote online video conferencing platforms, online chat services, and other cloud-based peer-to-peer software platforms, provide users with the ability to instantly communicate and/or otherwise share information.
Some electronic messaging platforms offer the ability for users to include emojis in their messages. These emojis may allow a user to graphically express a reaction, an emotion, an idea, etc.
Unfortunately, during the flow of an electronic conversation, it may be difficult for a user to select or create an emoji that adequately conveys his or her feelings, especially when the user can choose from a large library of emojis and/or is pressed for time. Accordingly, many users default to using a select few emojis during their electronic conversations, and the selected emoji is typically a random choice.
Moreover, manual selection and/or creation of an emoji is by nature subjective, and often does not accurately convey how the user is really feeling. For example, when selecting or creating an emoji, a user may often fail to consider other factors, such as feeling tired, hungry, stressed, anxious, and/or afraid. To illustrate, when a user is tired or stressed out, the user may be particularity vulnerable, thereby making it difficult to assess his or her emotional feelings during an online chatting service and to represent such feelings using an appropriate emoji.

Graphical emotion symbol determination based on brain measurement data for use during an electronic messaging session


The present invention discloses a pumping device of a shoe 100 includes a cushion body (110) formed inside a sole of the shoe (110) and having front and back air chambers (120 and 130) formed therein in such a manner as to be disposed at the front and back portions thereof; an automatic pump (140) mounted adjacent to the back air chamber (130) in such a manner as to communicate with the back air chamber (130) and having a height (H2) higher than a height (H1) of the back air chamber (130); a suction valve (150) and a check valve (160) mounted at the front and back sides of the automatic pump (140); and a pressure adjusting valve (170) formed at a connecting valve (125) for connecting the back air chamber (130) with the front air chamber (120).

As well known, generally, shoes for absorbing shocks applied thereto are worn to reduce the shocks occurring when a wearer walks or exercises and thus to keep his walking or exercising at more stable positions, which prevents his fatigue from getting serious, and when the shoes are worn, the shocks are all absorbed such that the wearer can previously avoid the generation of the troubles in his knee joints.
FIGS. 1 to 3 show one example of conventional shock absorbing shoes (which is disclosed in Korean Utility Model Registration No. 20-0196729). As shown in the drawings, a pumping device of the conventional shock absorbing shoe 1 includes a shoe 1 includes a cushion body 7 that is disposed between an cuter sole 3 and a middle sole 5 of the shoe 1, for absorbing shocks in accordance with the variation of the pressure applied from a wearer's feet and that has front and back air chambers 9 and 11 formed in the cushion body 7 in such a manner as to be disposed at the front and back portions of the cushion body 7, respectively, for sucking air from the outside and exhausting the air filled in the interior of the shoe 1 to the outside, and an air pressure adjusting assembly 13 that is adapted to control streams of airflow of the front and back air chambers 9 and 11.
The air pressure adjusting means 13 includes: an automatic pump 15 that is provided with a suction valve 17 at one side thereof for sucking air from the outside therethrough, and with a check valve 19 that communicates with the back air chamber 11 and exhausts air to the inside of the back air chamber 11, at the other side thereof; and a pressure adjusting valve 21 that is connected to a connecting tube 23 for connecting the front air chamber 9 with the back air chamber 11 and is disposed at an exhaust tube 25 that is adapted to exhaust the air in the front and back air chambers 9 and 11 to the outside. The connecting tube 23 is provided with a Side protrusion piece 27 that is adapted to guide the air in the front air chamber 9 to the exhaust tube 25, at a central portion thereof, and the automatic pump 15 is operated by the pressure applied from a wearer's foot. The automatic pump 15 and the front and back air chambers 9 and 11 are formed to the same height for the sake for convenience at a time of manufacturing.
The suction valve 17 serves to suck the air from the outside and to move the air to the interior of the automatic pump 15, and the check valve 19 serves to exhaust the air to the back air chamber 11 by means of the pressure of the automatic pump 15. The pressure adjusting valve 21 is operated in such a manner that the air in the front air chamber 9 is exhausted to the outside by means of the pressure of shocks, thereby implementing the circulation of air between the inside and outside of each of the front and back air chambers 9 and 11.
Under the above construction, as the front and back portions of the outer sole 30 are sequentially depressed by the pressure applied from the wearer's foot, the automatic pump 15 operates to suck the air from the outside to the back air chamber 11. Thus, the air in the back air chamber 11 is moved to the front air chamber 9 by the pressure of the wearers foot and by the air exhausted from the check valve 19. As a result, the air in the front air chamber 9 is exhausted to the outside via the pressure adjusting valve 21 by the pressure of shocks applied to the shoe 1.
In this case, a reference numeral 29 that is not explained above denotes an adjusting body and 31 denotes a suction tube.


A slim-type small size electromagnetic relay is made using semiconductor manufacturing techniques to form a silicon substrate 2 having a planar movable plate 5 and a torsion bar 6 for axially supporting the movable plate 5 formed integrally therewith, with a planar coil 7 provided on an upper face of the movable plate 5 and a movable contact 9 provided on a lower face. Glass substrates 3, 4 are provided on upper and lower faces of the silicon substrate 2, with fixed contact 11 contactable with the movable contact 9 provided on the lower glass substrate 4. Permanent magnets 13A, 13B and 14A, 14B for producing a magnetic field at the planar coil 7 are fixed to the glass substrates 3, 4. Rotation of the movable plate 5 against the torsion force of the torsion bar 6 is controlled by passing a current through the planar coil 7 to produce a magnetic force, thereby causing contact or separation of the movable contact 9 and the fixed contact 11.

With the development of microelectronics involving the high integration of semiconductor devices, there is now a range of equipment which is both highly functional as well as being miniaturized. Industrial robot type control systems using a comparatively large amount of energy are also no exception. With this type of control system, control of high energy is controlled by an extremely small amount of energy, by incorporating microelectronics into the control equipment. As a result, problems with erroneous operation due to noise and the like arise, so that the demand for electromagnetic relays as final stage output devices is increasing.
Conventional electromagnetic relays occupy large volume, incomparably greater than that for semiconductor devices. Accordingly, in order to progress with miniaturization of equipment, miniaturization of electromagnetic relays is required.
Heretofore, the smallest standard wire wound type electromagnetic relay is 14 mm long, 19 mm wide and 5 mm high (refer to Ultra Thin Signal Relays, Matsushita Electric Publication, No. 35, pp27-31 (1987)).
Moreover, recently, in order to further miniaturize an electromagnetic relay, a planar type electromagnetic relay made using micro machining techniques has been proposed (refer to H Hosoka, H Kuwano and K. Yanagisawa, "Electromagnetic Micro Relays: Concepts and Fundamental Characteristics", Proc. IEEE MENS Workshop 93, (1993), pp.12-17).
With this planar type relay also however since the coil is a conventional wire wound type, miniaturization is limited.
The present invention takes into consideration the above situation, with the object of providing for further miniaturization of electromagnetic relays.

Planar type electromagnetic relay and method of manufacturing thereof


A voltage generator for an X-ray machine comprising an X-ray tube with a cathode and an anode is described. The voltage generator comprises a negative voltage multiplier for supplying a polarization voltage to the X-ray tube and a filament transformer which can be connected to the X-ray tube for supplying an energisation voltage to the X-ray tube. The voltage generator is characterized in that the negative voltage multiplier comprises a cavity able to house said filament transformer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a voltage generator for X-ray machines and an X-ray machine which uses such a voltage generator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is known, an X-ray machine is an apparatus able to produce and emit an X-ray beam, namely a radiation having a wavelength of between about 0.1 and about 10 nm.
An X-ray machine typically comprises an X-ray tube for producing the X-ray beam and a generator for energizing the X-ray tube. The X-ray tube and the generator may be located inside separate metal containers connected by electric wires which allow the generator to energize the X-ray tube. Alternatively, the X-ray tube and the generator may be located inside a single metal container. In this case, reference is made to X-ray machines with a "single-piece" structure.
Typically, X-ray machines are used to perform non-invasive diagnoses (radiography, radioscopy, scintigraphy, etc.) of objects which comprise inside them a first portion made of a material which absorbs the X-rays and a second portion made of material through which the X-rays are able to pass. For example, in the medical field, the material which absorbs the X-rays may consist of the dense tissues of the human body (typically, bones or teeth) and the material through which the X-rays can pass may consist of the soft tissues of the human body.
In the industrial sector, X-rays machines may be used to carry out checks as to any flaws in a solid metal body (for example, a pipe or an engine block).
For this purpose, an X-ray beam is directed onto the body on which the check is to be performed. The beam part which strikes the first portion is absorbed, while the beam part which strikes the second portion passes through the body. The X-ray beam, upon leaving the body, therefore has a force distribution which substantially reproduces the internal structure of the body.
The X-ray beam leaving the body is then detected so as to create a visible image of the internal structure of the body. The detection may be performed, for example, by directing the beam leaving the body onto a photographic plate which is sensitive to X-rays or onto a screen treated with rare earths. Alternatively, the image may be acquired digitally by directing the beam leaving the body onto an array of semiconductor photosensors.
The digital acquisition of the images created by means of X-rays is currently of growing interest since it allows the images to be stored on a digital storage medium (floppy disk, hard disk, etc.). This advantageously allows the creation of very compact image files in which the images do not risk deteriorating with time, as instead occurs in the case of images recorded on a photographic plate.
The digital acquisition of images of objects analysed by means of X-ray machines requires X-rays beams emitted by particularly small focal spots with a particularly large amount of energy. This would require providing the X-ray machine with a generator able to produce a particularly high supply voltage, for example ranging between 20 kV and 450 kV.
However, the known generators able to produce such high voltages imply large dimensions. This results in an X-ray machine which is bulky, heavy and difficult to handle. Moreover, these generators are not suitable, on account of their size, for use in X-ray machines which have the abovementioned "single-piece" structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,253 discloses a high-voltage power supply wherein the second winding of the transformer, the capacitors, and the diodes of the rectifier and voltage-doubler circuits, are all disclosed in an enclosure made from two half-shells, whereas the primary winding and the magnetic circuit are disposed outside the enclosure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,694,480 discloses a hand held x-ray source and an integral generator for exciting the tube.

X-ray machine and related voltage generator


The present invention relates to adenovirus (Ad) E1-complementing cell lines which significantly reduce the presence of replication competent Ad (RCA) and can serve for the large scale production of infectious E1-deleted adenoviral particles that may be used for the treatment human patients as for example in gene therapy. As well the invention relates to a method for the large scale production of recombinant infectious adenoviral particles harboring an exogenous sequence of interest and to a RCA-free stock of infectious adenoviral particles. The invention further relates to a recombinant vector for transfecting an eukaryotic cell line in order to construct Ad E1-complementing cell lines which significantly reduce the presence of RCA and to a method therefor.

Therapeutic strategies in various discases include: nonspecific measures to mitigate or eliminate a cell dysfunction and prevent cell death; replacement of a missing or malfunctioning protein; introduction of functional nucleic acids (RNA or DNA) into cells to replace a mutated gene and introduction of novel genetic constructs to alter a cellular function. Advances in DNA technology have had a major impact on each of those therapeutic possibilities and nucleic acid transfer into diseased cells appears by far the most promising modality (Mulligan 1993, Science 260:926-932).
Viral vectors permit the expression of exogenous genes in eukaryotic cells, and thereby enable the production of proteins which require post-translational modifications unique to animal cells.
The wealth of information accumulated on adenoviruses over the last decades, has promoted them at the forefront of the gene therapy or immunization fields. Several features of adonoviruses make them attractive as gene transfer tools: (1) the structure of the adenoviral genome is well characterized; (2) large portions of viral DNA can be substituted by foreign sequences; (3) the recombinant variants are relatively stable, (4) the recombinant virus can be grown at high titer; (5) no human malignancy is associated with adenovirus; and (6) the use of attenuated wild-type adenovirus as a vaccine is safe.
Ad ate thus considered as very good vector candidates for in vivo gene transfer. Generally, such vectors are constructed by inserting the gene of interest in place of essential viral sequences such as E1 sequences (Berkner 1988 BioTechniques 6:616-629; Graham et al., 1991, Methods in Molecular Biology, 7:109-128, Ed: Murcy, The Human Press Inc.). This insertion results in an inactivation of the Ad since it can no longer replicate, hence the term replication-defective Ad. In order to propagates such vectors must be provided with the deleted element, (i.e. E1 proteins).
The elucidation of the nucleotide sequence of many Ad subtypes has enabled a precise characterization of the genomic organization thereof. The nucleotide sequence of human Ad5 is available from GenBank under accession number M73260. In simplistic terms adenoviruses comprise: (1) two inverted terminal repeats (ITR) at each end (5' and 3') which are essential for viral replication; (2) the early region 1 (E1) containing the E1A and E1B regions, both indispensible for replication, E1A and E1B are also required for complete transformation of various rodent cell lines, and polypeptide IX (pIX) which is essential For packaging of full-length viral DNA; and (3) the E2, E3 and E4 regions, with E3 being dispensable for replication (reviewed in Acsadi et al., 1995, J. Mol. Med. 73:165-180).
Recently, human Ad serotypes 2 and 5 have been used as vectors for efficient introduction of genes into several cell types both in vitro and in vivo (reviewed in Trapnell et al., 1994, Current Opinion Biotech. 5: 617-625; and Acsadi et al., 1995, J. Mol. Med. 73:165-180). Several factors need to be taken into consideration during the generation of Ad recombinants, among them is the impaired growth characteristics of some of them ( Imler et al., 1995 Gene Ther. 2:263-268; Massie et al., 1995 Bio/Technol. 13:602-608; and Schaack et al., 1995 J. Virol. 69: 3920-3923) which complicate the screening, propagation and production of high quality recombinant viral stocks with high titers (more than 10.sup.11 pfu/ml). Recently, critical issues relating to the characterization of such Ad vectors for gene therapy were reviewed in relation to clinical trials of the cystic fibrosis gene therapy (Engelhardt et al., 1993 Nature Genetics 4:27-34; Zabner et al., 1993 Cell 75:207-216; Boucher et al., 1994 Human Gene Ther. 5:615-639; Mittereder et al., 1994 Human gene Ther. 5:717-729; and Wilmot et al., 1996 Human Gene Ther. 7:301-318). Presently, a number of human clinical trials making use of Ad recombinants for the treatment of diseases like cystic fibrosis, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and cancer, have started or are being considered (Lochmuller et al., 1994 Hum. Gene Ther. 5: 1485-1491). Potential sites for the insertion of a gene of interest in the recombinant Ad vectors comprise the E1 or E3 regions (i.e. E1+E3-deleted Ad recombinants) or the region between the end of the E4 and the beginning of the 3' ITR sequences. The majority of in vivo gene transfer experiments and human trials have been carried out using E1- and E3-deleted human type 2 or 5 adenoviruses. As alluded to above, E3-deleted recombinants are replication competent E1-deleted recombinants however, are unable to replicate and the missing E1 gene products are provide in trans by the E1-complementing cell line 293 (Lochmuller et al., 1994 Hum. Gene Ther. 5: 1485-1491). The 293 cells were established by stable transfection of a human embryonic kidney cell with adenoviral (human type 5) DNA containing the full length E1 region. The maximum deletion of up to 2.9 kb in the E1 region leaves intact the ITR sequence, the packaging signal at the left and of the adenoviral DNA (188-358 bp) and the pIX coding region (starting at 3507 bp). A useful E3 deletion was made by deletion of a 1.9 kb Xba I fragment (79 and 85 mu). These combined E1 and E3 deletions allowed for inserting approximately 7 kb of foreign DNA sequences in this first-generation recombinant. Extensions of the deletion in the E3 regions further increased the insert capacity to 8 kb, which meets the size requirements for most of the gene therapeutics (Bett et al., 1994 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 91:8802-8806).
It is important to note that the recombinant Ad produced for clinical use have all been obtained using 293 cells (Graham et al., 1977, J. Gen. Virol. 36:59-72). Until the present invention, 293 cell line was the only available complementation cell line which efficiently expressed E1A and E1B RNAs and proteins. Unfortunately, it hats been documented that replication competent, also termed "revertant" virus can appear during multiple passages of the E1- and E3-deleted recombinant Ad in 293 cells, and eventually outgrow the original recombinant in large scale preparations (Lochmuller et al., 1994 Hum. Gene Ther. 5: 1485-1491). The E1 region is acquired from the 293 cells (and its derivatives) by homologous recombination at a very low frequency, but the E1-positive revertants seem to have a growth advantage with respect to their E1-negative counterparts. The presence of these revertants could thus jeopardize the safely of human gene therapy trials, especially when one considers the number of infectious viral particles required in certain applications. Experiments performed with mouse muscle have taught the use of of 2.times.10.sup.9 virus particulars to transduce more than 80% of the muscle fibers, since a human muscle is 2500 times larger, that would translate in the use of approximately 10.sup.12 -10.sup.13 viral particulars to inject only one human muscle. Supposing the presence of as little as 1/10 particules of E1+ revertants, in the stock, 10.sup.3 -10.sup.4 replication-competent particules would be injected in the muscle. It is clear that such an approach would fail to satisfy regulatory agencies.
Indeed, the 293 cells have been deemed "not suitable for large scale production of clinical grade material since batches are frequently contaminated with unacceptably high levels of replication competent adenovirus (RCA) arising through recombination" (Imler et al., 1996 Gene Ther. 3: 75-84). It should be stressed that the same authors have reported that numerous attempts to construct stable and efficient E1-complementing cell lines have failed and is therefore not a trivial task. In an attempt to solve this problem of RCA generation (Imler et al., 1996 Gene Ther. 3: 75-84) produced an E1-complementing cell line by stably transforming human lung A549 cells with E1 sequences containing the E1A, E1B and pIX regions. Novel A549 E1-complimenting cell lines were obtained which express high levels of E1 RNA and proteins. Strikingly however, the authors were unable to detect E1B protein expression in any of the A549 clones analyzed whether or not they produce high level of E1B RNA. Thus, the presence of a functional genetic unit does not necessarily predict that upon stable integration in the host, it will give rise to the expected proteins. It is also reported therein that the A549 clones, testing positive for infection with E1-deleted Ad vectors, showed a transformed phenotype and that the amplification yields therewith arc significantly lower than those obtained with 293 cells. Unfortunately, the generation of RCA with these A549 cells was not assessed. It should be noted that in the Imler et al., constructs, a significant overlap between the complementing element and the defective adenoviral vector occurs at the 3' end of the E1 region (approximately 700 bp). It follows that this overlap significantly increases the probabilities of homologous recombination and hence of the production of E1+ revertants. A disclosure of defective Ad vectors for the expression of exogenous nucleotide sequences in a host cell or organism, as well as vectors for the construction of E1-complementing cell lines, along the same lines is also found in the French publication to Imler et al., WO94/28152. However, this document fails to give an assessment of the yield of production of recombinant Ad by the complementation cell line, of the expression of the different adenoviral transcripts and proteins by the complementing cell line, and very importantly of the presence or absence of RCA during the production process leading to the obtention of the stock of defective Ad harboring the exogenous sequence of interest. It should be noted that WO94/28152 claims to diminish the problem of RCA production by deleting the 5' ITR (a non-substantiated declaration).
There still remains a need for the description of an E1-complementing cell line which combines at least one of the following properties: it expresses E1A and E1B proteins; it minimizes or abrogates the production of E1+ revertants; it is substantially as efficient as 293 or its derivatives in producing recombinant Ad; and it does not show a transformed and rounded phenotype. It would thus be advantageous to be provided with such E1-complementing cell lines which are efficient for the large scale production of E1-deleted Ad vectors devoid of RCA.
All of the above-cited citations are herein incorporated by reference.


A method of coagulating particulates, as in papermaking or water clarification applications, for example, is provided wherein a zeolite crystalloid coagulant is added to water containing the solid matter, a source of multivalent cations, and a cationic acrylamide polymer. The zeolite crystalloid coagulant is preferably prepared by admixing aqueous sodium silicate and sodium aluminate solutions to form a reaction mixture and allowing a reaction to proceed for a sufficient time to form a zeolite crystalloid coagulant particles having particle sizes of at least about 4 nm before terminating the reaction.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to water treatment and, more particularly, the invention relates to the use of zeolite crystalloids as coagulants in the clarification of water or to promote improved retention, drainage, and formation in the manufacture of paper and paperboard.
2. Description of Related Technology
Considerable expenditures are made each year for materials used in water treatment, such as coagulants and flocculants used to clarify raw waters for potable and industrial use; to clarify process water streams such as deinking water in paper recycling plants and mining wash water circuits; and to clarify industrial and municipal effluent waters, for example. Coagulants and flocculants are used to improve the efficiency of the papermaking process by improving the first pass retention of fiber and filler, and formation and drainage, on the paper machine forming wire. Therefore, the demand for more efficient, inexpensive water treatment compositions for use as coagulants and flocculants is increasing.
Widely used as coagulants and flocculants in the clarification of raw waters, process waters, and effluent waters are chemicals such as alum, sodium aluminate, polyaluminum chloride, activated silica, bentonite clays, inorganic iron salts, low molecular weight organic cationic polymers, high molecular weight organic polymers, and others. Some of these coagulants and flocculants may be used by themselves; however, in many cases various combinations of these materials may produce more efficient results, depending upon the nature and requirements of the water to be clarified.
The manufacture of nearly all fine paper worldwide is now done at alkaline pH levels (about 8.0 to 8.4 pH) using calcium carbonate pigment as a filler along with bleached wood cellulose fiber (some cotton cellulose is used in specialty papers). A current favored method of obtaining good sheet formation, good first pass retention of fiber and filler on the traveling formation wire, and rapid water drainage through the wire is to add rather high dosages (often three lbs per ton of dry furnish or more) of a synthetic high molecular weight cationic retention aid polymer flocculant to the machine furnish stream at the fan pump so as to utilize the high mixing forces at that point to deflocculate. Some believe so-called microflocs are, in part, created with this technique. However, if the use of the flocculant in this manner is all that is done, the retention of fiber and filler would be poor.
To provide superior retention, drainage, and formation, a coagulant is added before, or after the rotary screens located between the fan pump and the paper machine headbox. Generally known as microparticulates and of negative charge, these coagulants act as a bridge between the fibers, fines, and fillers.
The first such coagulant aid in wide use in papermaking was a bentonitic montmorillonite clay. Also now in use are colloidal silicas, modified colloidal silicas, polysilicate microgels, and very low molecular weight organic polymers, which are suggested to be sols on the basis of the very small water droplets emulsified in an oil carrier during the manufacturing process.
Regarding the use of microparticulates and cationic polymers as coagulation and retention aids in the manufacture of paper, U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,710 teaches that bentonite is essential. U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,710 compares bentonite to the aluminum silicate-modified surface on colloidal silica that is taught in WO 86/05826 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,980,025, and found bentonite to be superior. U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,710 teaches the use of at least four pounds bentonite per ton of furnish along with as much as three pounds cationic polymer flocculant per ton of furnish. Bentonitic montmorillonites are described as being metal silicates wherein the metal may be aluminum, and the ratio of silicon atoms to metal atoms is in the range of 5:1 to 1:1. This patent does not disclose that montmorillonites are layered minerals having tetrahedra on their top and bottom layers and an octahedral layer in the center. In the case of 1:1 (atomic ratio) silicon to aluminum, most of the aluminum is in the center octahedral layer where the cationic exchange sites are not available for cationic bonding. The overall surface area of a water swelled montmorillonite can be very large, reportedly as much as 800 m.sup.2 /gram, but most of the surface is disposed between layers where it as accessible to infused water but not available to participate in bonding to other particulates having calcium on their surfaces.
In another use of aluminum silicate as coagulant microparticulates, U.S. Pat. No. 4,954,220 describes the use of sodium aluminate as well as acids and certain other materials added to sodium silicate solutions to cause the formation of anionic, water soluble polysilicate microgels. The goal of this disclosure was to create colloidal silica analogs that would cost considerably less than colloidal silica. This disclosure relies on the anionic charge of the polysilicate microgel to perform well along with the use of cationic polymer flocculant, and requires the use of a sodium silicate with a SiO.sub.2 /Na.sub.2 O weight ratio of about 3.3, which is the maximum currently available, apparently in order to provide the maximum commercially available amount of silica per pound in order to produce a polysilicate microgel. While a reaction time of 5% to 95% of gel time is stated, it appears the disclosure is not concerned with overall unit size, although it is claimed that the resultant reaction product consists of three dimensional strings of 3 nm particles. This disclosure (Example 5) implicitly describes the use of an Al/Si weight ratio of 0.3 and claims results equal to colloidal silica. This disclosure does not recognize nor does it claim any advantage in utilizing the cation exchange ability of certain aluminum silicates, namely zeolites.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,980,025 and WO 86/05826 describe the use of aluminum silicates as coagulants in the papermaking process, with emphasis on "greatest improvements" obtained with mechanical or unbleached chemical pulps where "dissolved wood or trash substances" interfere with other programs. This disclosure uses an inorganic sol or aluminum-modified silicic acid sol. The inorganic colloid is taught as consisting of colloidal particles having at least one surface layer of aluminum silicate or aluminum modified silicic acid such that the surface groups of the particles contain silicon atoms and aluminum atoms in a ratio of from 9.5:0.5 (19:1) to 7.5:2.5 (3:1). It is further stated that the benefit of the aluminum atom is to form what is termed as an aluminate ion Al(OH).sub.4 -! that provides a fixed negative charge. No cation exchange ability of a properly formed zeolite, which is an aluminum silicate, is either recognized or claimed. Also, it is taught that the ratios of silicon to aluminum should be from 19:1 to 3:1.
Pummer, in Das Papier, 27, Volume 10, 1973, pages 417 to 422, describes the use of aluminum silicates in paper making but in this instance the aluminum silicate is a relatively large particulate used as a filler in paper at levels beyond 2.5%, based on the dry weight of paper.


The invention provides compositions and methods for making and using microvascular stamps for stimulation and spatial organization of neovessels in tissue.

Neovessels play a critical role in homeostasis, regeneration, and pathogenesis of tissues and organs1-2, and their spatial organization is a major factor to influence the vascular function3. It has been proposed that an ability to control growth direction and spacing of neovessels over physiologically relevant lengths ranging from about 100 μm to about 500 μm can provide a better understanding and controllability of neovessel formation3-7. However, a technology to accomplish this challenging goal is still lacking.
Prior studies have demonstrated that spatiotemporal distribution of multiple proangiogenic growth factors in a 3D tissue can control growth direction of neovessels and also their macroscale spacing7-8. In these studies, various polymeric scaffolds were assembled by welding a growth factor-releasing layer with a growth factor-free layer, while varying layer thickness at the millimeter scale. To further control spatial organization of the neovessels at a length scale required to uniformly perfuse 3D tissue, various micropatterning, ink-jet printing and microfluidic techniques were used to control spatiotemporal distribution of proangiogenic factors or direct the adhesion pattern of endothelial cells at micrometer scales9-15. However, there have been no reports of regulating the microscale spacing between functional neovessels, through which blood flows in vivo, using microfabrication techniques. Spacing of neovessels is important for proper vascularization of tissue.

Microvascular stamp for patterning of functional neovessels

The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois


A method and apparatus for enqueuing and dequeuing packets to and from a shared packet memory, while avoiding collisions. An enqueue process or state machine enqueues packets for a communication connection (e.g., channel, queue pair, flow). A dequeue process or state machine operating in parallel dequeues packets and forwards them (e.g., to an InfiniBand node). Packets are stored in the shared packet memory, and status/control information is stored in a control memory that is updated for each packet enqueue and packet dequeue. Prior to updating the packet and/or control memory, each process interfaces with the other to determine if the other process is active and/or to identify the other process' current communication connection. If the enqueue process detects a collision, it pauses (e.g., for a predetermined number of clock cycles). If the dequeue process detects a collision, it selects a different communication connection to dequeue.

This invention relates to the field of computer systems. More particularly, a method and apparatus are provided for avoiding contention when accessing memory during concurrent packet enqueue and dequeue operations.
A data center, a computing cluster, or other collection of computing assets often must interface with multiple networks or other communication links, and distribute communication traffic among different computing devices. For example, a data center may include an InfiniBand network fabric and one or more host computer systems. The InfiniBand systems may exchange communication traffic with other (e.g., remote) systems via a non-InfiniBand network or communication link (e.g., the Internet).
In this data center, a computing device may be assigned to handle the transfer of communications (e.g., packets) between the InfiniBand environment and the other (e.g., Internet Protocol or IP) environment. The computing device may be configured to receive inbound traffic and store it for forwarding to a host.
The process of storing a communication for forwarding is often termed enqueuing, while the process of removing and forwarding the communication is termed dequeuing. Collisions occur when the enqueue process needs to access an area of memory that the dequeue process also needs to access. Illustratively, this may occur if a packet being enqueued belongs to the same communication connection that the dequeue process needs to work with. For example, the dequeue process may visit each queue pair in turn (e.g., via round robin scheduling) to try and dequeue communications, and the target communication connection of the enqueue process may match the target communication connection of the dequeue process.
In such situations—when the same area of a shared memory needs to be accessed by different processes—an arbiter is traditionally employed to arbitrate access. However, use of an arbiter delays communication processing, especially if every access to the memory must be arbitrated. In addition, the memory may be able to support simultaneous access as long as the same area or address is not being targeted.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus for supporting concurrent access to shared memory while avoiding the cost involved in using an arbiter.

Method and apparatus for avoiding collisions during packet enqueue and dequeue


The method involved in the present invention is directed to the coating step where an assembled unit of the upper vehicle body and the under vehicle body is coated and the upper vehicle body section is separated from the under vehicle body after coating. In the vehicle body assembly step, the vehicle body is loaded on a jig unit disposed so as to be movable through stations located along the vehicle body assembly line. Upon loading the upper vehicle body on the jig unit, the vehicle body is aligned with the jig unit on the basis of an inner member of a member for structuring the vehicle body with the aid of an aligning unit mounted to the jig unit. After coating the assembled vehicle body unit, the unit is divided into the upper vehicle body and the under vehicle body, which are then processed in separate mounting steps. After mounting various parts to each of the upper vehicle body and the under vehicle body in their own mounting lines, the upper vehicle body is combined with the under vehicle body. The lower part unit is then mounted to the vehicle body assembly or mounted to the under vehicle body prior to the assembly of the under vehicle body with the upper vehicle body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for the assembly of automotive vehicles.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, the method of the assembly of automotive vehicles basically comprises four steps, that is, a press molding step for forming vehicle body structuring members, such as bonnets, trunk lids and so on, an assembly step for mounting these vehicle body structuring members to vehicle body sections into a white vehicle body section, a coating step for coating the white vehicle body section with coating paints, and a vehicle body assembly step.
The white vehicle body section assembly step further comprises an aligning step for aligning an assembly of each of a floor panel, a front body section and a rear body section with a pallet disposed in a vehicle body assembly line, an under vehicle body section assembly step for the assembly of the vehicle body sections by temporarily and additionally welding them, thereby forming an under vehicle body section, an aligning step for aligning the under vehicle body section with the vehicle body structuring members, such as the assembled body side panels, roof panels and so on, with the aid of exclusive aligning jigs by fixing the vehicle body structuring members on the basis of a reference surface of the outer panel, and a welding step for temporarily and additionally welding the resulting vehicle body section. The resulting vehicle body shell (white vehicle body section) is then conveyed to the coating step.
In the coating step, the vehicle body shell, or the white vehicle body section, is then subjected to chemical conversion treatment and further coated with under coating, intermediate coating and overcoating, as needed. Further, an anti-chipping paint may be coated prior to the intermediate coating or subsequent to the overcoating, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication (kokai) Nos. 61-163,297 and 61-4,562.
When the vehicle body shell is coated in such a state that the lid members, such as the bonnet and the side doors, are temporarily mounted to the vehicle body shell, the lid members are generally removed from the vehicle body shell after the necessary coating has been finished, followed by mounting necessary parts, units, mountings or accessories to the lid members in an exclusive mounting line.
In the vehicle body assembly line, the parts, units, mountings or accessories, such as screws, grommets, fasteners, harnesses, trims, floor mats, instrument panel, seats and seat belts, are mounted to the vehicle body shell. Further, the lower part unit, such as the internal combustion engine, suspensions, tires and a fuel tank, are mounted. In addition, the lid members such as the bonnet and the side doors are mounted.
Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication (kokai) No. 64-1,667 discloses a holding apparatus for the assembly of the vehicle body shell in order to simplify the assembly operations of the vehicle body shells in the white vehicle body assembly step. This holding apparatus is so arranged as to perform the step for inserting a frame into the partially assembled vehicle body shell (at least prior to the mounting of the roof panel) through a roof opening section thereof and the step for assembling the rest of the vehicle body structuring members with the aid of plural clamping units or devices and tools mounted to the frame.
Recently, it has been proposed that the vehicle body shell should be separated into an upper vehicle body section and an under vehicle body section composed mainly of a floor panel. The upper vehicle body section and the under vehicle body section are separately assembled with the corresponding parts, units, mountings or accessories and then conveyed to the vehicle body assembly step, in order to simplify the operations in the vehicle body assembly step to a great extent. This step can further improve the efficiency in the mounting operations for mounting the lower part units and the various parts, units, mountings or accessories.
Further, Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication (kokai) No. 63-265,779 discloses a process of assembly of automotive vehicles, which involves coating each of the vehicle body structuring members constituting the upper vehicle body section and the under vehicle body section as well as the lid members, assembling the upper vehicle body section and the under vehicle body section separately, mounting the lid members and the mountings, etc. to the upper vehicle body section assembly, mounting the lower part units to the under vehicle body section to form an under vehicle body section assembly, and then combining the upper vehicle body section assembly with the under vehicle body section assembly.
This process, however, suffers from economical disadvantages because it increases the coating lines, it makes the coating step complicated, and it increases the number of conveying units and apparatuses, because each of the vehicle body structuring members such as the upper vehicle body section and the under vehicle body section is separately coated in the coating step. Further, it is difficult to provide both of the upper vehicle body section and the under vehicle body section with uniform coatings.
In addition, a conventional white vehicle body assembly step is so arranged as to assemble the white vehicle body sections with each other by setting each of the vehicle body structuring members on the basis of the outer panel thereof. This step, however, suffers from disadvantages that accuracy in assembling the white vehicle body may be lowered and various jigs are required so as to agree with the assembly of different models and kinds of white vehicle body section. This is because first, the outer panel is low in rigidity; secondly, the curved outer panel has the property of being returned to its original shape due to elasticity; thirdly, the alignment is performed merely by receiving the panel surface when the white vehicle body is fixed on the basis of the outer panel so that accuracy in the alignment becomes low; and, fourth, the jigs are not of general purpose type. The low accuracy in the assembly of the white vehicle body may become a cause of lowering the efficiency of operations, which follow, and may become an obstacle for the automation of the mounting operations.

Method for the assembly of automotive vehicles


The present invention is an isolated nucleic acid molecule encoding CD36, Gqi9, and G protein-coupled receptor 84 (GPR84) proteins as well as vectors and recombinant host cells which co-express CD36, Gqi9, and GPR84 proteins for use in identifying modulators of GPR84 activity.

Taste signaling is found throughout the animal kingdom, from simple metazoans to the most complex of vertebrates. Taste sensation is believed to be mediated by receptors, i.e., metabotropic or inotropic receptors. Cells which express taste receptors, when exposed to certain chemical stimuli, elicit taste sensation by depolarizing to generate an action potential, which triggers the sensation. As such, taste receptors specifically recognize molecules that elicit specific taste sensation. These molecules are also referred to herein as "tastants." Many taste receptors belong to the 7-transmembrane receptor superfamily (Hoon, et al. (1999) Cell 96:451; Adler, et al. (2000) Cell 100:693), which are also known as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Other tastes are believed to be mediated by channel proteins.
The biochemical analysis and molecular cloning of a number of such receptors has revealed basic principles regarding the function of these receptors. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,691,188 describes how upon a ligand binding to a GPCR, the receptor presumably undergoes a conformational change leading to activation of the G protein. G proteins are comprised of three subunits: a guanyl nucleotide binding α subunit, a β subunit, and a γ subunit. When GDP is bound, the G protein exists as a heterotrimer, the Gαpγ complex. When GTP is bound, the α subunit dissociates from the heterotrimer, leaving a Gβγ complex. When a Gαβγ complex operatively associates with an activated G protein-coupled receptor in a cell membrane, the rate of exchange of GTP for bound GDP is increased and the rate of dissociation of the bound Gα subunit from the Gαβγ complex increases. The free Gα subunit and Gβγ complex are thus capable of transmitting a signal to downstream elements of a variety of signal transduction pathways. These events form the basis for a multiplicity of different cell signaling phenomena, including for example the signaling phenomena that are identified as neurological sensory perceptions such as taste and/or smell.
Mammals are believed to have five basic taste modalities, sweet, bitter, sour, salty, and umami (the taste of monosodium glutamate). See, e.g., Kinnamon, et al. (1992) Ann. Rev. Physiol. 54:715-31; Lindemann (1996) Physiol. Rev. 76:718-66; Stewart, et al. (1997) Am. J Physiol. 272:1-26. Numerous physiological studies in animals have shown that taste receptor cells may selectively respond to different chemical stimuli. See, e.g., Akabas, et al. (1988) Science 242:1047-50; Gilbertson, et al. (1992) J. Gen. Physiol. 100:803-24; Bernhardt, et al. (1996) J. Physiol. 490:325-36; Cummings, et al. (1996) J. Neurophysiol. 75:1256-63.
Much is known about the psychophysics and physiology of taste cell function. Thus, the identification and isolation of novel taste receptors and taste signaling molecules could allow for new methods of chemical and genetic modulation of taste transduction pathways. For example, the availability of receptor and channel molecules permits the screening for high affinity agonists, antagonists, inverse agonists, and modulators of taste activity. Such taste modulating compounds could be useful in the pharmaceutical and food industries to improve the taste of a variety of consumer products, or to block undesirable tastes, e.g., in certain pharmaceuticals.
Complete or partial sequences of various human and other eukaryotic chemosensory receptors are known. See, e.g., Pilpel & Lancet (1999) Protein Science 8:969-977; Mombaerts (1999) Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 22:487-50; Wang, et al. (2006) J. Biol. Chem. M608019200. See also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,874,243, WO 92/17585, WO 95/18140, WO 97/17444, WO 99/67282, and WO 2007/027661. In addition, the identification of ligands for G protein coupled receptors such as GPR84 has been conducted. See Wang, et al. (2006) supra; WO 2007/027661; and U.S. Patent Application No. 2007/0196867.


A laminate structure includes a conductive layer and a dielectric layer in contact with the conductive layer, the dielectric layer comprises a selectively patterned high-modulus dielectric material that balances a differential stress between the conductive layer and the dielectric layer to mechanically stiffen the laminate structure and reduce warpage.

The present invention generally relates to 3D semiconductor packaging, and more particularly to improving the dimensional stability of a laminate structure.
Current semiconductor integrated circuit packaging technologies may use flip chip plastic ball grid array (FCPBGA) laminate substrates to form a grid array of pads on which solder balls may be placed to provide electrical connections to the laminate. Most of these FCPBGA laminate structures may utilize a fiberglass reinforced epoxy core, upon which thin dielectric layers are added and metalized to allow for complex semiconductor wiring from the chip to a printed circuit board.
Over time, the mechanically stabilizing core thickness has been reduced, allowing for improved electrical performance including, for example, reduced inductance and improved power distribution resulting from finer plated-through holes (PTH) ground rules. However, an increase in laminate warpage has been observed, impacting bond and assembly yields. Warpage may include undesired deformations of the laminate substrate caused mainly due to stress induced by aggressive thermal treatments.
In order to minimize the aforementioned problems, coreless laminates may provide a practical alternative. One of the advantages of coreless laminates is that they do not have the limitations of cored laminate structures for conducting wiring through the epoxy core, and thus, take advantage of the resulting higher wiring densities enabled at all levels of the coreless laminates. Consequently, coreless laminates having equivalent electrical function with fewer layers may be produced. However, a trade-off of coreless laminates may be the mechanical integrity of their structure which may make handling a challenging task during both laminate fabrication and subsequent module assembly levels.

International Business Machines Corporation


Patients diagnosed with a cancer harboring an IDH-1 mutation can be treated by the administration of a therapeutically effective amount of a pharmaceutical composition comprising Compound 1, a selective inhibitor of 2-HG production from mIDH-1 enzymes including the R132 mutations R132C, R132H, R132L, R132G, and R132S.

Dysregulation of metabolism is a common phenomenon in cancer cells. The NADP(+)-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenases 1 and 2 (IDH-1 and IDH-2) functionally modulate cellular metabolism in lipid synthesis, cellular defense against oxidative stress, oxidative respiration, and oxygen-sensing signal transduction. The presence of mutations in IDH-1 imparts a neomorphic activity to the enzyme, resulting in the production of (R)-2-hydroxyglutarate (2-HG), the downstream effects of which cause epigenetic changes that consequently block the proper differentiation of progenitor cells and lead to cancer. IDH-1 mutations have been reported in hematological malignancies, as well as many solid tumors types. By far the most frequent IDH-1 mutations occur at amino acid position R132, and include R132H, R132C, R132S, R132G, and R132L mutations.
Therapeutic compounds can be useful for inhibition of mutant IDH-1 and/or mutant IDH-2 cancer cells (mIDH-1 and mIDH-2) are being developed for the treatment of certain cancers. These therapies may also reduce elevated 2-HG levels in these cancer patients. Many different small molecule inhibitors of mutant isocitrate dehydrogenase (mIDH) proteins with neomorphic activity are disclosed in publications (e.g., WO2016/044789, WO2016/044787, WO2016/044782, WO2016/171755, and WO2016/171756), including testing of these compounds in IDH-1 R132H and IDH-1 R132C enzymatic assays, and cellular 2-HG assay using HCT116 mutant IDH-1 cells.
There remains a need for identifying therapeutic compounds that selectively inhibit the production of 2-HG from mIDH-1 cancer cells harboring R132 mutations including R132S, R132G and R132L. In addition, there remains a need for therapeutic compounds that selectively inhibit production of 2-HG from cancer cells harboring a variety of R132 IDH-1 mutations with clinically relevant comparative potencies, while remaining inactive at wild type IDH-1 cells. Preferably, a targeted, selective small molecule inhibitor of 2-HG production from mIDH-1 cancer cells is also inactive in mIDH-2 cancer cells that produce 2-HG. In addition, there is a need for inhibitors of the production of 2-HG from mIDH-1 cancer cells having a R132 mutation selected from the group consisting of: R132L, R132G, and R132S mutation in IDH-1.

Inhibiting mutant isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (mlDH-1)


A radio altimeter with at least one transmitting antenna and at least one receiving antenna in a single housing reduces coupling with antennae housings shaped to deflect electromagnetic signals, and spacing between the antennae based on the phase of the transmitting signal. Coupling of less than −40 dB is filtered by software using adaptive leakage cancelling.

Frequency Modulated Continuous-wave (FMCW) radar is a short range measuring radar set. FMCW radar is often used as a "radar altimeter" to measure the exact distance between an aircraft and the ground during landing procedures. With the advent of modern electronics, the use of Digital Signal Processing (DSP) is used for most detection processing. The signals are passed through an Analog to Digital converter (ADC), and digital processing is performed on the result.
Current aircraft radio altimeter installation involves placing two separate antennae on the underside of the aircraft. Siting these antennae, including a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna, is non-trivial. When the antennae are too far apart, low altitude performance is limited. When the antennae are too close together, the antennae suffer leakage due to poor isolation. Leakage may render the radio altimeter effectively useless if coupling between the antennae cannot be handled by software. Coupling is the transfer of energy from one circuit segment to another through some electrical process such as induction.
Consequently, it would be advantageous if an apparatus existed that is suitable for housing a receiving antenna and a transmitting antenna in close proximity, while limiting coupling between the antennae.


A refractive Fresnel lens part is provided on an upper surface of a plate-like lens at a central portion. A reflective Fresnel lens part is provided on a lower surface of the plate-like lens at a peripheral portion.

The present invention relates to a Fresnel lens and to an illuminating device comprising the Fresnel lens and an LED as a light source for using in a portable telephone, electrical appliances and others.
The illuminating device for illuminating displays of portable telephones and small electrical appliances comprises a light source such as an LED or lamp and a semispherical lens or Fresnel lens. Since the Fresnel lens has a thin thickness, the illuminating device can be made into a small size.
There is known two types of Fresnel lenses. One of the types is the refraction type, the other is the reflection type.
FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a refraction type Fresnel lens, FIG. 9 is a sectional side view of an illuminating device using the Fresnel lens, FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of an A-portion of FIG. 9, and FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of a B-portion of FIG. 9.
The Fresnel lens 1 comprises a central convex lens 2 formed at a central portion of an upper surface of a lens plate member 1a, and a plurality of annular circumferential lenses 3 coaxially disposed with the convex lens 2. Each of the circumferential lenses 3 has a sectional shape of a prism comprising an outside semispherical refraction face 3a and an inside cylindrical face 3b as shown in FIG. 10.
The sectional area of the prism reduces toward the periphery. Heights of the convex lens 2 and circumferential lenses 3 are substantially equal with each other and inclination angle of the refraction face 3a increases toward the periphery so that the distance between adjacent prisms reduces toward the periphery.
An illuminating device 4 shown in FIG. 9 comprises a box 5 supporting the Fresnel lens 1 and an LED 6 mounted on a bottom 7 of the box 5.
Light rays 8 emitted from the LED 6 are slightly refracted when entering the lens plate member 1a and further refracted when exiting from the lenses. Angles of refraction faces 3a are set so that the light rays 8 exit the Fresnel lens in parallel as shown in FIG. 9.
The reflection type Fresnel lens is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid Open 2001-337206.
FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a reflection type Fresnel lens, FIG. 13 is a sectional side view of an illuminating device using the Fresnel lens, FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of a C-portion of FIG. 13, and FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of a D-portion of FIG. 13.
The Fresnel lens 10 comprises a plurality of annular lenses 13 coaxially formed on an underside of a lens plate member 11. Each of the annular lenses 13 has a sectional shape of a prism comprising an outside cylindrical incident face 13a and an inside inclined reflection face 13b as shown in FIG. 15.
The sectional area of the prism increases toward the periphery. Inclination angle of the reflection face 13b reduces toward the periphery so that the distance between adjacent prisms increases toward the periphery.
An illuminating device 14 shown in FIG. 13 comprises a box 15 supporting the Fresnel lens 10 and an LED 16 mounted on a bottom 17 of the box 15.
Light rays 18 emitted from the LED 16 are refracted when entering the cylindrical incident face 13a and upwardly reflected on the reflection face 13b. Angles of reflection faces 13b are set so that the light rays 18 exit the Fresnel lens in parallel as shown in FIG. 13.
Although the Fresnel lens can be made into a small size as described above, there are problems that the process for manufacturing Fresnel lens of small size is difficult. The inclination angle of the prism becomes large in the peripheral area in the refraction type lens as shown in FIG. 10, and in the central area in the reflection type lens as shown in FIG. 14, thereby increasing density of the prisms in both areas. The Fresnel lens is manufactured by molding a resin in a mold. The mold is formed by a cutting tool. In order to cut a metal to form a prism having such a large inclination angle, the vertex of the cutting tool is very small, and hence the width of the cutting tool is very small. The tip of such a cutting tool is liable to be broken. Consequently, it is difficult to manufacture the mold for Fresnel lens. Namely, there is a manufacturing limitation in vertex of the prism.

Fresnel lens and an illuminating device provided with the Fresnel lens


A method for fabricating a chip carrier and attaching the chip carrier to a printed circuit board is disclosed. A plated through hole (PTH) is formed through a chip carrier substrate. The PTH has surface lands on opposite surfaces of the substrate. Next, at least one of the surfaces of the substrate is covered with a dielectric material. The dielectric material at least partially fills the PTH. A solder ball is attached to the surface land on the opposite side as the dielectric material. Then, a printed circuit board is positioned relative to the chip carrier such that the solder ball contacts a surface land of the printed circuit board. Then, the solder is reflowed. Because the solder is reflowed while the dielectric material at least partially fills the PTH, the dielectric material within the PTH prevents the solder from flowing entirely through the PTH. This prevents contamination of the opposite surface of the chip carrier.

The present invention relates generally to chip carriers and printed circuit boards, and deals more particularly with a method for fabricating chip carriers and printed circuit boards.
Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are well known and comprise multiple layers of dielectric material with metallizations on the layers. The metallizations comprises conductors, power planes, ground planes, internal pads and surface lands. The metallizations are used to connect the components to each other and to I/O pads and provide power and ground. Typically, electronic components are mounted on the exposed surface of at least one of the surface layers. Because the surface layer cannot always accommodate all the requisite conductors, the metallizations on the inner layers are used to provide many of the interconnections. Plated through holes (PTHs) are commonly used to interconnect conductors on different layers. A PTH comprises a metal pad on each of the layers to be interconnected, a hole passing within the metal pads through all the layers, and copper plating on the inner surface of the hole to interconnect the two pads. Pads within the PCB are connected by conductors as required. An electronic component may be soldered to a "surface land") of the final printed circuit board, and the surface land may be connected to an inner layer by a PTH.
A problem with the foregoing technique is that some types of solder and flux, when reflowed i.e. melted, to join the electronic component to the surface land, flow entirely through the PTH and may inadvertently contaminate a layer on the opposite side of the printed circuit board. While there are some solutions to this problem--use of high metal alloy solder balls that do not flow so readily, use of large surface lands which receive solder away from the PTH and use of solid surface lands that cover the PTH, all these solutions significantly add to the cost or size of the resultant product.
A chip carrier may comprise a thin film substrate such as metallized polyimide and be used to mount an integrated circuit for connection to other components and I/O. Metallizations are also provided on both surfaces of the chip carrier, and typically comprise surface lands and conductors. A PTH is also utilized to make an electrical connection between the metallizations on the two surfaces. A chip lead may be soldered to a surface land associated with the PTH or to a conductor leading to the surface land. If the chip lead is soldered directly to the surface land, the same problem may occur in that some types of solder and flux, when reflowed to join the chip lead to the surface land, flow entirely through the PTH and may inadvertently contaminate the metallizations on the opposite surface. While the same types of solutions as described above are possible, they are not cost effective or utilize too much surface area.
The chip carrier may be attached to a printed circuit board as follows. A solder ball is attached to the surface land on the opposite surface as that which mounts the chip. Then, the PCB is positioned beneath the chip carrier such that the solder ball contacts a surface land of the PCB. Then, the solder ball is reflowed to connect the surface land of the chip carrier to the surface land of the PCB. The same problem as described above may occur in that some types of solder and flux, when reflowed to join the surface land of the chip carrier to the surface land of the PCB, flow entirely through the PTH of the PCB and may inadvertently contaminate the metallizations on the opposite surface of the PCB. While the same types of solutions as described above are possible, they are not cost effective or utilize too much surface area.
Accordingly, a general object of the present invention is to provide a cost effective method for soldering electronic components to printed circuit boards and chip carriers with PTHs and soldering chip carriers to PCBs such that solder and flux do not inadvertently flow entirely through any of the associated PTHs.

Method for fabricating chip carriers and printed circuit boards

International Business Machines Corporation


A method for preparing a carbon fiber fabric impregnated with a thermoplastic plastic including providing a fabric which substantially consists of carbon fibers with a coating of an epoxy material without curing agent; bringing the fabric to a temperature in the range of 330° C. to 430° C.; and holding the fabric at the temperature for 120 to 240 minutes such that the carbon fibers remain unaffected and the epoxy material is aged or neutralized and loses its tacky character. Alternatively, the heat treatment may be carried out by bringing the fabric to a temperature of 450±70° C. for 15±5 minutes and subsequently to a temperature of 220±30° C. for 240±60 minutes. Fabrics prepared as described may be used in preparing laminates, which include a plurality of layers consisting alternately of the above-described fabric and a layer of thermoplastic plastic.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for preparing carbon fiber fabric and, in particular, carbon fiber fabric impregnated with thermoplastic plastic.
2. Description of Related Art
Before glass fibers are formed into a fabric a protective coating is applied to the fibers. This coating is removed after the weaving by subjecting the glass fabric to a high temperature for quite a long time. A typical cycle comprises a temperature of about 400° C. for a period of 70 hours. The coating, generally designated as "strong layer," usually consists of PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) or starch. During the heating process, the protective coating is completely burned away, which can be easily checked by determining the weight of the fabric before and after the relevant heating treatment. In order to prepare glass fabric for impregnation after the heat treatment, a more suitable coating is added to the glass fiber material for adhesion to plastic systems. Typical materials for coatings are chromium (III) and siloxane complexes.
Lightweight composite materials for structural applications are manufactured by combining carbon fibers with a plastic matrix. For space travel, aviation, and industrial applications, the plastic is added to the fibers by an impregnation process. If the impregnation process is carried out on a fiber system in which all fibers run substantially parallel to each other, the product in question is designated as unidirectional tape.
Carbon fibers are easily damaged by friction forces. However, no protection for the carbon fibers is necessary for the impregnation process for the unidirectional tape since no friction forces occur between the individual fibers.
If, however, the fibers are combined into a fabric, friction occurs between the fibers during insertion of the filling fibers perpendicular to the warp fibers. As a result of these friction forces, carbon fibers are easily damaged during the weaving process.
In order to facilitate the weaving process, carbon yarns are provided in advance by the supplier with a standard sizing, which consists of, for instance, 0.5-1% unsaturated epoxy material. This sizing does not have to be removed if the fabric is subsequently impregnated with a curing plastic system.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,555,446 and 4,446,255 describe how an epoxy sizing can be arranged onto carbon fibers. The sizing agent contains a solvent for arranging the agent onto the carbon fibers. Subsequently, the fibers with the sizing agent are dried at an elevated temperature in order to remove the solvent from the agent. According to U.S. Pat. No. 4,555,446, the temperature should not exceed 250° C. as the sizing would undergo heat deterioration.
The epoxy-based sizing is compatible with most thermosetting plastic systems. However, for impregnation with a thermoplastic matrix, the epoxy sizing does have an adverse effect on the adhesion between fiber and plastic.
For these reasons, material impregnated with a thermoplastic has only been made commercially available in the form of unidirectional tape. The manufacturing process of said unidirectional tapes uses fibers which are not provided with a coating or sizing. So as to enable weaving and nevertheless ensure sufficient adhesion between fibers and plastic, the epoxy sizing has to be neutralized after the weaving process.
Much attention has been devoted to this problem, and the industry is still seeking a method of removing or neutralizing the epoxy sizing on carbon fibers after the weaving process, and is seeking to find a method to improve the adhesion between carbon and thermoplastic plastic, and thus provide a basis for a reliable composite material for structural applications.

Method for preparing a fabric substantially consisting of carbon fibers