The present invention provides a method and product that provides a dust-free homogeneous dispersion of zinc diacrylate in polybutadiene for use in golf balls. More specifically, the invention relates to a dispersion of zinc diacrylate in a special high-cis grade of polybutadiene commonly used by golf ball manufacturers. We have found that such a dispersion of ZDA can be made by using specific processing promoters, which not only allow the manufacture of the predispersion, but have a beneficial effect on the final properties of the golf ball. The processing promoters of the present invention enable more uniform dispersion of the ZDA into the polymer matrix, eliminate sticking to the mixer rotors, provide improved extrusion and pelletizing rates, as well as function as a separant to greatly minimize, if not totally eliminate, massing of the pelletized product. This dust-free pelletized product, which can optionally be supplied in slab form, is then sold to the golf ball manufacturer for direct addition to his mixer. The presence of the processing promoter also assists in the mixing of the product into the final golf ball compound as well as improve down-stream processing, such as extruding.

Most modern golf balls are based on peroxide cured polybutadiene. The co-agent of choice for this application is zinc diacrylate (ZDA).
Golf balls are available as solid and wound balls. Solid golf balls, which have all but replaced wound golf balls, provide maximum durability and distance. These balls have a core formed of a solid sphere of one or more layers. Typically, these balls have hard cores for high initial velocity and hard covers for low spin and durability.
A number of polymers, such as polybutadiene, natural rubber, styrene-butadiene, and isoprene, can be used in fabricating the solid cores. Today, solid core golf balls are predominantly made of high-cis polybutadiene. Moreover, in order to obtain the desired physical properties for golf balls, manufacturers have added cross-linking agents, such as metallic salts of an unsaturated carboxylic acid. The amount of cross-linking agent added is typically about 20 to 50 parts per hundred parts of polybutadiene. Most commonly, zinc diacrylate or zinc dimethacrylate are used for this purpose. Of these two cross-linkers, zinc diacrylate has been found to produce golf balls with greater initial velocity than zinc dimethacrylate.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,998,506 to Nesbitt discloses a golf ball composition which includes cis 1,4-polybutadiene, an unsaturated polycarboxylic acid, a polymerization agent preferably consisting of dicumyl peroxide, and zinc diacrylate (ZDA) as the coagent.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 6,218,453 to Boehm, et al. discloses a composition for the manufacture of a low spin golf ball comprising polybutadiene, a metal salt diacrylate, and a free radical initiator.
However, the zinc diacrylate traditionally used in golf ball compositions, displays many undesirable properties. It is in powder form and has a tendency to absorb moisture from the air. This causes it to compact, making dispersion of the ZDA powder into the polybutadiene difficult. The zinc diacrylate sticks to metal surfaces and causes mixing and cleaning problems. In addition, the ZDA powder is very fluffy, difficult to control and is a skin, eye and respiratory irritant. Manufacturers of zinc diacrylate have made the product in situ with zinc stearate in an attempt to reduce the dispersion problems, but these modifications have had little effect on the other physiological properties.
Predispersions of zinc diacrylate in EPDM and HNBR are already commercially available for use in other applications, but these polymers are not acceptable in golf balls.

Zinc diacrylate predispersed in high-cis polybutadiene


A cross-linked development and deployment system that links system design, simulation, real-time emulation, integration, and in-system verification to system implementation in the field, creating final products that are field programmable systems on printed circuit boards or field programmable systems on silicon. In a preferred embodiment, hardware and software models are created and verified in an integrated co-development environment. These models can be synchronized with each other and can also be used for in-circuit emulation and in-system verification of the system under development. Once the system has gone through verification and completed system integration, the system design database that has been generated from that testing is used to program either a field programmable printed circuit board or a field programmable system on silicon. In either case, connections are embedded in the field programmable final product that enable it to link back into the integrated co-development environment so that results created by the final product can be compared with results stored in the integrated co-development environment. The final product can also be connected to the integrated co-development environment for further analysis.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of Electronics Design Automation (EDA) systems, and more specifically, to EDA systems used for systems design and testing of systems based on microprocessors, peripherals, special purpose functional macros, and user specific custom logic.
2. Background
Modern electronics systems increase in complexity with each new generation. System development time tends to increase as a function of system complexity. Simultaneously, competitive pressures require ever shorter development and time to market cycles, making time-to-market a critical success factor in the industry. Product life cycles are also getting shorter. Thus, customers require more complex products, which take more time to develop, but market pressures dictate that the products be developed in much shorter cycles than ever before.
Additionally, many electronics designers are asked to build chips that include on one chip not only the microprocessor, but also several peripherals that may be needed for an embedded target application. As an example, some of the microelectronics controls that are built into space vehicles, airplanes, new cars or even appliances might include a chip that has a microprocessor, several analog to digital or digital to analog converters, a hard disk controller, possibly some other peripherals, custom user hardware logic as well as application software to cause the chip to perform the specific functions for the target application. If there is an error in the design that causes the system to malfunction, it can cost as much as $100,000 or more to "re-spin," that is, re-layout the chip, manufacture it, etc. to correct the problem.
Designers are thus being asked to build more complex chips, for lower costs, in less time than ever before, while also reducing the risk of errors which might necessitate the expense of a "re-spin."
In a typical system design, the hardware designers will put together a hardware prototype, using the final outline of the system specification and logic design. Software designers will typically write the application software. Once the hardware prototype is in place and the application software is ready, it is necessary to operate the hardware with the application software. For example, a chip that manages fuel-injection in an automobile engine may have a microprocessor connected to several analog to digital (A/D) and digital to analog (D/A) converters that are, in turn, attached to sensors attached to fuel pressure gauges, oxygen sensors, engine temperature sensors, etc.
Most microprocessors are fairly general purpose--that is, they have sets of instructions that they can handle, such as add, subtract, multiply, divide, load registers, etc. To make such a microprocessor actually manage fuel-injection, the application software specifies combinations of instructions to be executed by the microprocessor. For example, the application software may determine the sequence in which inputs are analyzed, cause the microprocessor to compute certain outputs, such as the amount of fuel to be released next, how much time an injector has to be open to cause the fuel to be released, and then tell the microprocessor to signal that this is to be done by a specific injector. Signals are converted and sent through the peripherals that control or operate that injector, and the fuel is released for the calculated time period. If the fuel pressure is still not at the desired level, the sensors measuring this will signal that to the microprocessor and the process continues.
If this is the type of system under development, a hardware prototype is built and tested, while application software is being developed and tested on other machines. At some point the hardware prototype has to be operated with the application software, to see if it all works. The process of evaluating newly designed hardware with new application software is known as systems integration.
The first time system integration takes place, it is very probable that the complete system will not function properly. When the system malfunctions, the cause could be any of its elements. For example, the microprocessor might have a design flaw in its floating point arithmetic logic that causes errors with certain kinds of large numbers. Or, the application software might have a "bug" or defect in the way it analyzes input. Or, the custom hardware user logic that controls the sensor readings might be defective. Sometimes the defect may cause results that are hard to interpret, and thus hard to "debug."
In the fuel-injection example, if too little fuel is being released, is it because the hardware is in error (and if so, is it the microprocessor or one of the A/D converter peripherals, or the system interconnect or the custom user logic?) or because the application software is in error (and if so, where and in what set of circumstances?) or is it a combination of two or more elements? Figuring out what causes the problem is the art of "debugging." If the designer has a guess about what the cause of the flaw or bug might be, it would be desirable to be able to isolate the problem, recreate all the conditions exactly as they occurred at the time the error was noticed, and try to see which element caused the bug and what can be done to fix it.
The earlier that each element is debugged, and the earlier that systems integration and systems-level debugging can be done in the development cycle, the faster the product will get to market. However, if the designer tries to move too quickly, and the product is fixed in final form before all the significant bugs have been removed, it can lead to costly re-spins, and loss of customer satisfaction in the market.
To help achieve these goals, many design, development, testing aids and rapid prototyping aids have been developed. Most of these, however, are limited in function and apply to only to one or another subset of design questions, usually not to the system under development as a whole, nor to the whole cycle from development to field test and final product.
For example, one of the most time consuming steps in system design is the creation of hardware prototypes for use in testing whether the new systems meet their concepts and design specifications. Another time consuming step, as mentioned, is the testing and debugging of the system as a whole, including both its hardware and any operating system or driver software. Additionally, the system under development also needs to be verified with real application software running at real-time clock frequencies and in real application conditions, a test process usually known as in-system verification. Finally, a decision has to be made about fixing the product in its final form for field test, market acceptance and production shipping.
Presently, there are tools available for testing some of these functions, but as noted, most of these are limited to testing only a subset or part of the system and they tend not to be integrated with the other subsets. For example, in-circuit emulators (ICE systems) exist, for some systems, that will emulate the microprocessor being developed so that the software can be tested. However, ICE systems usually only emulate the microprocessor, not the entire hardware system, including its peripherals. ICE systems also may require special chips known as bondout chips, for microprocessor emulation. These have special bondouts so that readouts can be taken of various internal states in the chip, such as register contents, etc.
Bondout chips are very expensive to make, and as chips become more complex in design, it becomes less and less viable to build special bondout chips to emulate them. Bondout chips, in some cases cost as much as one to two million dollars, or more, in additional chip design costs. While bondout chips can be built fairly easily for 8 or 16 bit microprocessors, as the microprocessor approaches 32 bits or 64 bits, or uses RISC technology, some form of pipelining is often introduced, especially if the chip is executing instructions every clock cycle. If a chip is using a five-stage pipeline, then five different events are happening in the pipeline all at the same time. Building a bondout chip for such a processor is extremely difficult, if not impossible. Finally, as microprocessors operate at faster speeds, in-circuit emulators are less likely to be able to support the higher speed microprocessors.
Another type of design aid available for designers today is a rapid-turn prototyper, such as that provided by Aptix Corporation, and others. These are usually reprogrammable emulators that emulate a portion of the hardware functions of the chip under development. While these can help cut development cycles, they usually do not provide a comprehensive environment for testing and analyzing the system as a whole. Quickturn Systems also provides a rapid-turn prototyper for Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) chips.
No matter what type of hardware model is employed, if the system under development is a real-time application, such as a chip to monitor fuel-injection in an automobile, the same program, when executed over and over many times in the real world tends to produce different results every time. This is caused by the asynchronous nature of real-time operations, where data coming in from external devices (such as the automobile engine) is likely to be slightly different each time. In a debugging environment, if the hardware model operates in this way, it makes it extremely difficult to replicate the hardware execution states and analyze what has happened during execution. "Intermittent" errors may occur. For example, the application program may operate correctly in the hardware model when the data comes in in small amounts, but fail when large amounts of data are received. To isolate this problem, it would be desirable to have a way to insure that the hardware model steps through handling the same large amount of data in the same time frame so that the flaw in the logic can be identified.
Attempts to help designers model the complete system also include virtual hardware prototypes--also known as software simulators. In these, the microprocessor is often modeled with HDL (Hardware Description Language) or a similar language, to produce a software simulated model of the chip. That is, the resulting "model" is a software program that might perform assembler language or machine language steps such as "if the contents of register 0 are equal to the contents of register 1 branch to the instruction to add the contents of register 2 and to register 3, storing the results in register 3." Some of the additional user's peripherals for the target application can be modeled with HDL as well. However, the simulation approach cannot provide real-time emulation or the opportunity to analyze real-time results, or in-system verification.
This is because software models tend to be quite slow in execution. A set of test data vectors or a test set run on a software simulator usually executes at a speed of thousands of instructions per second, rather than the millions of instructions per second speed at which the chip under development is designed to operate. Complete software simulators that allow system designers to describe both processors, peripherals and other logic can often be costly to create, as well.
In addition, software simulation of a real-time application may not show up bugs or defects that are time-dependent. For example, if three buffers are set aside in the application software to handle data coming in, very fast bursts of data might fill all three in the real world, causing an overflow condition that may not be easy to model in a software simulator.
And, in using either emulators or simulators, it is necessary to create a data set of test vectors or stimulators that can be incorporated into a test program so that the system or chip can be exercised according to a sequence of input patterns. Presently, in order to create test vectors, the system designers must walk through detailed system timings and combinations of input patterns, and project what the system should produce as output given those input patterns. This is usually a very time-consuming process, often taking four to six weeks or more, to accomplish, for reasonably complex systems.
In trying to test systems as a whole, it is desirable to be able to create "what-if" scenarios and then analyze the behavior that results. In the example of fast bursts of incoming data, this could theoretically be described in a software simulator, but, as mentioned, simulators execute at speeds much slower than the real-time events they simulate. In attempting to create the scenario in a hardware model using real peripherals in real-time, identically exact scenarios may never be created, since, as mentioned above, events in real-time may occur asynchronously or unpredictably.
If the details of a given scenario cannot be replicated exactly it is harder or perhaps nearly impossible to find and debug certain kinds of errors.
Testing during co-development of the hardware and software, using several different aids is often complicated further by incompatibilities between the development aids. Ideally, if a database of test data or test vectors is gathered to test the hardware model, it is desirable to use the same sets of data for testing the software model. However, a database of test vectors in the proper format for a hardware model may not be readable or understandable to a software model and vice-versa.
Product development does not stop when the design, simulation, real-time emulation, behavior analysis and in-system verification are completed. Instead, the first steps of product deployment usually occur, in which the "final" product is produced, usually in small to moderate quantities, at first, and placed in field tests or market acceptance evaluations.
Using the fuel injection example, again, it may be desirable to make final products which will be installed in real production vehicles for field testing. If the design has been thoroughly verified in the earlier testing phases, it is likely that the "final" versions of the product will function as intended during field test. If not, the product must be debugged and further testing performed. Even if the product works well in field test, the system may require fine tuning, resulting in hardware design modifications in some cases or application software changes in other situations.
Customers might also require additional functions, or request that the existing functions perform in a slightly different way. An eighteen wheel truck may require a different method of fuel injection and control than that required by a 4 cylinder passenger vehicle. Hence, the same system design may need to be fine tuned for specific requirements for different models.
At the present, once "final" versions of the product are made, most, if not all, of the development aids used in testing them up to that point are no longer useful for testing the product-level implementations of the systems. System implementation of a product-level version of the system is usually accomplished by creating a printed circuit board containing the final chip together with "off-the-shelf" electronic components, or else a custom chip is created in "silicon." That is, a VLSI integrated circuit chip containing all the hardware on one chip is made by a wafer fabricating facility. Existing development aids are not designed to work with these final versions. Both of these processes for creating a final version are time consuming and costly processes, as well. Thus, if a problem occurs after the product is cast in "final" form, debugging it and then fixing it can be expensive.
Some existing techniques for final product implementation allow the designer some flexibility in case a need for changes arises. For example, there are fast turnaround Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) prototyping systems that let the designer create chips in small quantities, but only for custom user logic. These usually provide custom user logic in a single chip in a few days to a few weeks. However, they generally do not include the microprocessors or peripherals used in the system, only the custom user logic. There are also One-Time-Programmable (OTP) microprocessors which allow the designer to program a microprocessor and certain predetermined peripherals. However, the designer must build the rest of the system, including custom user logic and interconnects, around the microprocessor. Current OTP systems also usually provide RAM or ROM to house the application program storage memory as well, and this may be changeable or programmable in the field. Thus, while the application program code may be changeable in the field test, or final product versions produced by OTP methods, custom user logic and any additional peripherals or interconnects are not.
Another existing approach uses pre-fabricated system modules to achieve fast turnaround for production versions. Pre-fabricated system modules have fixed configurations tailored to specific functions. They are also fixed bus systems. Thus, if the designer needs special peripherals, custom user logic, or unique interconnects (buses), these must be added by means of an additional printed circuit board connected to the pre-fabricated system module.
In other words, while there are fast turnaround techniques that can be used to create final product versions of a system, these, too, are limited in function and flexibility. If the final product includes custom user logic, or a unique interconnect scheme or special or non-standard peripherals, then integration can only be done using a customized chip or customized printed circuit board for the final product version. Presently, there is no fast, easy way to do this. Instead, the designer must commit to an integrated chip design and manufacturing process that includes all these elements using his or her best judgments from the preceding system simulation, emulation, and behavioral analysis steps.
If the customer requires a final product as a single integrated chip, for example, is involves a certain amount of risk in committing to a chip manufacturing process without prior field testing. If the "final" product performs well, in field test, then there is no need to re-spin the final chip. However, if field testing shows up further bugs or flaws in the "final" product, another expensive re-spin may be required.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an integrated development and deployment system that permits the designer to test the whole system and readily deploy and test early production versions.
Still another object of the present invention is providing a system designer with the ability to use development and testing tools with final product versions.
A further object of the present invention is providing a system designer with the ability to create field programmable systems on printed circuit boards or field programmable systems on silicon as field test or final products.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a hardware model that is easily reconfigurable as part of the system.
Still another object of the invention is to provide system behavior analysis of the system under development.

Cross-linked development and deployment apparatus and method


A nail holder includes a handle having a working head with a cantilever that is bifurcated and sized to receive a nail. The nail holder also includes a magnetic element mounted at the working head.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to nail holders, and in particular to holders including a magnetic device at a bifurcated distal end.
2. Description of Related Art
Holding a nail with a holding device instead of by hand makes visually locating the nail tip easier and reduces the risk of injury during hammering. Nevertheless, the known devices have less than desirable visibility and have not been well arranged to facilitate capturing the nail and holding it in a desired orientation at a work surface.
In FIG. 2 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,623 magnetic head 7 has a slot for holding a nail. FIGS. 3 and 5 show a hand tool with a magnetic head 13 having a slot for holding a nail. In the embodiment of FIG. 6 the magnetic head is replaced with a V-shaped magnetic plate.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,060,442 both ends of a flexible nail holder are bifurcated and have recesses 20, 21, 32, and 33 for holding a nail.
U.S. Design Pat. No. 324,983 shows a nailing tool with a bifurcated end having a beveled underside.
In FIG. 2 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,747 a magnetic head 14 mounted on handle 18 has a V-shaped notch for holding a nail.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,855 a tweezer-like device can be opened with a pushbutton. The tips of the tweezer jaws are magnetized to hold a nail.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,025 a handle supports a metal block having an angled slot 31 with a ball detent 30 for holding a nail as it is being driven through corrugated sheet metal. This device is non-magnetic.
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,688,445 a pair of curved, hinged jaws that grip a nail has a curved underside designed to fit over corrugations. This device is not magnetic.
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,426,249 a non-magnetic hand tool has a bifurcated tip with recesses 6 designed to hold a nail.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,923 a hand tool has two bifurcated, non-magnetic ends that can hold nails, including magnetic fasteners. Unless bent as shown in FIG. 5 the underside of the arms are flat.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,422,489 a handle 60 supports a non-magnetic rubber blade 20 having a flat underside and a number of notches for holding a nail.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,764 a non-magnetic hand tool has five notches on one end and a single notch at the opposite end to hold a nail. These two ends appear to be slightly curved. See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,933,894.
In U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0148479 a fingernail lifter has a tapered tip with a recessed underside. A thin blade is supported on this tip.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,403,725 a sleeve has a distal end fitted with hinged jaws that can hold a nail axially. The sleeve also contains a striker rod that can be struck to drive the nail.


An exemplary implementation of the present disclosure includes a testable semiconductor package that includes an active die having interface contacts and dedicated testing contacts. An interposer is situated adjacent a bottom surface of the active die, the interposer providing electrical connections between the interface contacts and a bottom surface of the testable semiconductor package. At least one conductive medium provides electrical connection between at least one of the dedicated testing contacts and a top surface of the testable semiconductor package. The at least one conductive medium can be coupled to a package-top testing connection, which may include a solder ball.

Testing occurs during or after manufacturing to ensure that semiconductor packages and dies are capable of meeting certain stringent operating requirements and standards. Exemplary tests that may be performed on a semiconductor package include various tests for active dies within the package, such as electrical signal timing tests, voltage and current level tests, at-speed tests, direct current tests, burn-in tests, room/cold tests, and hot sort tests. The semiconductor package would include at least one active die with interface contacts that are provided to a bottom surface of the semiconductor package. The interface contacts may be utilized for regular operation of the semiconductor package (i.e. operation out in the field). In addition to the interface contacts, the active die can include dedicated testing contacts that are also provided to the bottom surface of the semiconductor package. These dedicated testing contacts are utilized for testing, but not for regular operation of the semiconductor package.
In order to test the semiconductor package, it may be electrically connected to a testing equipment or device. An exemplary testing equipment or device may include a bottom portion and a top portion, where the bottom portion may receive all of the interface contacts and the dedicated testing contacts of the semiconductor package and the top portion may be utilized to physically hold the semiconductor package onto the bottom portion of the testing equipment or device. The semiconductor package may then be tested and screened for stringent operating requirements and standards. Subsequently, the semiconductor package may be used in the field in regular operation.

Semiconductor package with improved testability


Methods and systems are provided for varying a location and rate of EGR delivered to an engine from a dedicated EGR cylinder. The dedicated EGR cylinder is configured with a plurality of exhaust valves controlled via a cam profile switching mechanism that allows the time and duration of opening of each exhaust valve to be varied. By selectively opening one exhaust valve at a time, exhaust from the dedicated EGR cylinder can be delivered to a pre-compressor location, a post-compressor location, or to the exhaust manifold, while bypassing all engine cylinders.

Engines may be configured with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) systems to divert at least some exhaust gas from an engine exhaust manifold to an engine intake manifold. By providing a desired engine dilution, such systems reduce engine knock, in-cylinder heat losses, throttling losses, as well as NOx emissions. As a result, fuel economy is improved, especially at higher levels of engine boost. However, cooled EGR is limited by the ability of the combustion system to maintain acceptable stability and combustion rates while diluted with EGR.
Engines have also been configured with a sole cylinder (or cylinder group) that is dedicated for providing external EGR to other engine cylinders. Therein, exhaust from only the dedicated cylinder group is recirculated to remaining engines. As such, this allows a substantially fixed amount (e.g., percent) of EGR to be provided to engine cylinders at most operating conditions. By adjusting the fueling of the dedicated EGR cylinder group, the EGR composition can be varied. In particular, the dedicated cylinder can be operated richer than stoichiometry to produce more combustible species, such as hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which when rerouted to the engine intake can increase EGR tolerance. As such, this further improves the fuel economy benefit coming from EGR by decreasing combustion instability and burn durations while increasing allowable EGR rates.
One example of a boosted engine system having dedicated EGR cylinder capabilities is shown by Gingrich et al. in US 20120204844. Therein, exhaust gas from a dedicated EGR cylinder is mixed with boosted air from a compressor at a location upstream of a charge air cooler and upstream of an intake throttle so that cooled EGR can be delivered to the engine.
However, the inventors herein have recognized potential issues with such dedicated EGR cylinder configurations. In particular, EGR may be at the wrong level during transients. As an example, if there is a sudden increase in torque demand and a change in the throttle position to a more open position with a consequent drop in EGR demand, due to the specific location of EGR delivery, there may be manifold filling delays that result in more EGR residuals remaining in the manifold than desired. The long delay in purging the EGR residuals may lead to a drop in boosted engine performance. As another example, if there is a sudden decrease in torque demand and a change in throttle position to a more closed position with a consequent rise in EGR demand, due to the location of EGR delivery and resulting manifold filling delays, there may be fewer EGR residuals than desired. The long delay in filling the manifold with EGR may lead to a drop in engine performance. In both cases, combustion stability issues may also arise. While diverter valves may be used for diverting some or all of the exhaust from the dedicated EGR cylinder to an exhaust location during conditions when EGR is not required, the use of diverter valves may be cost prohibitive in addition to suffering from durability issues.
The inventors have recognized these and issues and have at least partly addressed them by a method for an engine that allows exhaust from the dedicated EGR cylinder to be routed to a plurality of locations based on engine operating conditions. The method comprises: selectively opening a plurality of exhaust valves of a dedicated EGR cylinder group to recirculate exhaust gas to remaining engine cylinders at each of a pre-compressor and a post-compressor location. In this way, EGR delivery locations and rates can be easily varied as engine operating conditions change.
In one example, an engine system may be configured with a single dedicated EGR (DEGR) cylinder for providing external EGR to all engine cylinders. Further, the engine may include a charge air cooler (CAC) integrated into the intake manifold allowing for compaction of the boosted engine system. The dedicated EGR cylinder may include a plurality of exhaust valves, for example three exhaust valves, and a single intake valve. A first exhaust valve may direct exhaust from the DEGR cylinder to the engine intake, downstream of the charge air cooler and downstream of an intake throttle, thereby allowing hot EGR to be delivered at a more downstream location of the intake manifold. A second exhaust valve may direct exhaust from the DEGR cylinder to the engine intake, upstream of the intake compressor, thereby allowing cooled EGR to be recirculated at a more upstream location of the intake manifold. Since the engine includes an integrated CAC, both the hot and cooled EGR is delivered into a smaller manifold volume, reducing manifold filling delays and expediting EGR filling even if a throttle position suddenly changes. A third exhaust valve may divert hot exhaust from the DEGR cylinder to the exhaust manifold, at a location upstream of an exhaust catalyst while bypassing the remaining engine cylinders. Thus, the third exhaust valve allows no EGR to be delivered to the engine. The plurality of exhaust valves may be operated with variable valve timing, such as through the use of a cam profile switching (CPS) mechanism, so that one or more of the exhaust valves are selectively activated at a given time. For example, the CPS mechanism may be used so that the dedicated EGR cylinder is operated in one of a plurality of modes based on engine operating conditions, the mode determining when and for how long each exhaust valve is opened during an exhaust stroke in the dedicated EGR cylinder group. As an example, during low load and/or low boost conditions, the dedicated EGR cylinder may be operated in a first mode where only the first exhaust valve is opened during the exhaust stroke so that hot EGR is delivered to the engine intake at a post-compressor location. Then, during high load and/or high boost conditions, the dedicated EGR cylinder may be operated in a second mode where only the second exhaust valve is opened during the exhaust stroke and cooled EGR is delivered to the engine intake at a pre-compressor location. In comparison, during engine cold-start or catalyst warm-up conditions, or when no engine dilution is required, the dedicated EGR cylinder may be operated in a third mode with only the third exhaust valve opened during the exhaust stroke to deliver hot exhaust to the exhaust catalyst while bypassing the engine cylinders. In still further examples, the timing of each of the exhaust valves may be adjusted so that they operate with varying degrees of overlap (e.g., only partial overlap).
In this way, a location of EGR delivery from a dedicated EGR cylinder group can be varied as operating conditions change in a boosted engine system. By allowing EGR to be selectively delivered to a pre-compressor and/or a post-compressor location based on engine load and boost conditions, combustion stability issues and EGR errors during transient changes in throttle position can be reduced. By introducing EGR to a pre-compressor location at higher engine loads and higher EGR rates, EGR cylinder-to-cylinder balance is improved while also providing additional EGR cooling through a charge air cooler. Furthermore, compressor surge risk is reduced. By varying the location of EGR delivery based on engine operating conditions, a discrepancy between the location where EGR is required at those conditions and the location where EGR is introduced is lowered, thereby reducing the amount of EGR delivery errors generated, as well as decreasing manifold filling times. As such, this reduces the likelihood of EGR being at the wrong level. In addition, the approach allows for simultaneous sourcing of cooled and uncooled EGR at a reduced rate along with some exhaust flow to the catalyst for light off maintenance. By adjusting the opening of a plurality of exhaust valves of a dedicated EGR cylinder group, the blow down portion of an exhaust stroke can be leveraged for improved EGR driving capability. Further, the exhaust can be routed to a pre-turbine location for improved turbocharger performance. Likewise, the exhaust opening may be adjusted to leverage the scavenging portion of the exhaust stroke for a greater concentration of unburned and partially burned hydrocarbons for improved EGR tolerance in the engine. By reducing EGR errors during transients, boosted engine performance, even with high engine dilution, is improved.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.


A hinge having first and second plates each having a plurality of cam slots therein and being connected to upper and lower portions of a brace. The hinge also includes cam pin followers which are connected to the first and second plates and the lower portion of the brace such that they cooperate with the cam slots allowing the lower portion of the brace to rotate through a predetermined angular range relative to the upper portion of the brace with a constantly changing axis of rotation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to orthopedic devices for the stabilization and control of a human knee joint which has been injured. More particularly, the invention relates to a hinge for a knee brace which will permit the user a relatively high degree of freedom in the use of the bones while, at the same time, permitting control of the knee joint so as to optimize healing and stability.
2. Description of the Related Art
Devices for adding support and strength to the knee joint, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,466, which is hereby incorporated by reference, have been known for decades and have taken many different forms. While substantially all of these devices have been purported to have mechanical joints designed to produce a smooth articulation of the mechanical joint that is matched to the behavior of the natural human knee joint, very few have, in fact, done so since most known devices have apparently taken for granted that the relative movement of the femur and tibia is a rotation about a single center of rotation, typically in the center of the knee. However, studies have shown that a single pivot movement does not emulate the relative movement of the femur and tibia, and that to do so a mechanical joint must produce a rearward movement of the tibia relative to the femur throughout the full flexion range of the tibia, or for whatever angle may be traversed as limited by the injury or natural limitations of the knee brace wearer.
Attempts have been made in prior art devices to more closely mimic the natural movement of the human knee joint such as the devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. Ser. Nos. 4,723,539, 4,773,404 and 4,890,607. In each of these patents, a multiaxis controlled motion knee orthosis is disclosed having a joint that is designed to constrain the tibia to slide rearwardly relative to the femur for a predetermined distance throughout an initial range of flexion of the knee from a straight leg position, and, beyond that initial range of flexion, to rotate relative thereto along a predetermined arcuate path irrespective of the loading applied to the joint by the leg of the wearer.
Therefore, in each of these devices, the tibia slides rearwardly such that its axis of rotation is constantly changing only for an initial portion of the full range of flexion of the knee. After this initial portion of flexion movement has been obtained, the tibia no longer slides rearwardly, and instead rotates about a single axis throughout the remaining portion of flexion movement. Accordingly, while these devices more closely operate like a natural knee joint as compared to the single center of rotation devices, they are still deficient in mimicking the natural knee joint in which the tibia continually slides rearward during the entire flexion movement producing a constantly changing axis of rotation of the tibia relative to the femur.
Moreover, the above devices fail to take into account the fact that during the full range of flexion motion, the medial side of the knee first moves anteriorly prior to moving posteriorly, while the lateral side of the knee continually moves posteriorly during the full range of flexion movement.


A flash memory device that includes a number of columns each of which is connected with a plurality of memory cells. A column selector circuit selects a part of the columns in response to a column address, and a plurality of sense amplifier groups are connected with the selected columns by the column selector circuit. The column selector circuit variably selects the columns according to whether the column address is 4N-aligned (where N is an integer having a value of 1 or more). For example, the column selector circuit chooses columns of the column address when the column address is 4N-aligned, and chooses columns of an upper column address when the column address is not 4N-aligned.

One type of memory device which has found wide commercial success in the electronics industry is commonly referred to as flash memory. This commercial success is due in part to the ability of flash memory devices to store electronic data over long periods of time without an electric power supply. In addition, flash memory devices can be erased and programmed by the end user after they are installed in an electronic device. This combined functionality is especially useful in electronic device applications, such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants, and computer BIOS storage, and other applications where power supply is intermittent and programmability is desired.
Flash memory devices are made up of an array of individual memory transistors, or cells, which are similar to those used in other types of memory devices. Flash memory devices, however, typically achieve non-volatility of the memory cells by the addition of a floating gate between the control gate and the substrate region of the transistors. Like other memory devices, the transistors are oriented in rows and columns to form an array of transistors. As is common in the memory device art, the control gates of the memory cells in each row of the array are connected to a series of word lines, thus forming individual rows of cells that can be accessed by selecting the corresponding word line. Similarly, the drain regions of the cells in each column of the array are connected to a series of bit lines, thus forming individual columns of cells that can be accessed by selecting the corresponding bit lines. Finally, the source regions of each of the cells in the array are connected to a common source line. In some flash memory devices, the array of transistors is subdivided into sectors of separate transistor arrays to provide added flexibility to the programming and erasing operations.
The data stored in each memory cell represents a binary 1 or 0, as is well-known in the art. To perform a program, read, or erase operation on a particular cell in the array, various predetermined voltages are applied to the control gate, drain region, and source region of the memory cell. By applying these predetermined voltages to a particular bit line column, a particular word line row, and the common source line, an individual cell at the intersection of the bit line and word line can be selected for reading or programming.
To program a cell, the control gate and the drain region of the cell are raised to predetermined programming voltages and the source is grounded. The voltages on the control gate and the drain region cause the generation of hot electrons which are injected onto the floating gate where they become trapped, forming a negative charge on the floating gate. This electron transfer mechanism is often referred to as Channel Hot Electron (CHE) injection. When the programming voltages are removed, the negative charge on the floating gate is maintained, thereby raising the threshold voltage. The threshold voltage is used during reading operations to determine if the cell is in a charged state, that is programmed, or whether the cell is in an uncharged state, that is un-programmed.
Cells are read by applying a predetermined voltage to the control gate and the drain region and grounding the source of the cell. The current in the bit line is then sensed with a sense amplifier. If the cell is programmed, the threshold voltage will be relatively high and the bit line current will be zero or at least relatively low, thus registering a binary 0. On the other hand, if the cell is erased, the threshold voltage will be relatively low and the bit line current will be relatively high, thus registering a binary 1.
In contrast to the programming procedure, flash memory devices are typically bulk-erased by simultaneously erasing all the cells in a memory sector. One procedure for erasing an entire memory sector involves applying predetermined voltages to the common source line and all the word lines of the sector while the drain regions of the cells are left floating. This causes electron tunneling from the floating gate to the source region through Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) tunneling, which removes the negative charge from the floating gate of each of the cells in the memory sector.
Typically, the read operations are performed as a random access function, in which the user specifies a particular address in the memory array for the memory device to read. However, one function that can be provided in the memory device is a burst read mode. A burst read mode is an embedded function that sequentially reads the data in the entire memory array and outputs the data thus read to the user during succeeding clock cycles. In this mode, the user does not need to provide the cell addresses because a state machine in the memory device sequentially generates each cell address in the memory array. Generally, this function is useful when the user desires an output of all of the data in the memory device.
A number of important performance factors must be considered when designing a burst read mode, however. For example, flash memory devices are often used in hand held devices that provide a limited capacity power supply. Thus, the power consumption during the read function should be minimized. In addition, the speed of the burst read mode should be relatively fast so that the user can receive the entire output of the memory device without having to wait for the device. Another problem is that some circuits in the memory device can only operate correctly when the applied voltages are within a restricted range. Thus, the voltage must be strictly regulated to ensure proper functioning of the device.
There is a need for sense amplifier groups which correspond to the number of data words to be output successively at a burst read operation. Referring to FIG. 11 which shows a conventional column gate structure required for a burst read operation, four sense amplifier groups 10, 11, 12 and 13 and four column gate circuits 20, 21, 22 and 23 are needed to issue four data words. The column gate circuits 20-23 select columns (or bit lines) in response to corresponding column select signals Yset00-Yset03, Yset10-Yset13, Yset20-Yset23 and Yset30-Yset33.
To increase the number of data words to be read at a burst mode of operation to improve a burst read operation speed, additional sense amplifier groups and column select circuits are needed—in proportion to an increased data word number. As column select circuits are increased, column select signal groups are necessary in proportion thereto. This means that signal lines for transferring column select signals are increased in proportion to an increased data word number. For example, when reading out four data words at a burst mode of operation, 16 column select signal lines are required because four column select signals are applied for each column select circuit. Similarly, 32 column select signal lines are necessary when eight data words are read out at the burst mode of operation. To increase the number of data words that can be read, the size of a column select structure such as that shown in FIG. 11 must be increased, which increases the chip size.

Flash memory device with burst read mode of operation


An organic light-emitting display panel includes: pixel rows arranged sequentially along a first direction and high voltage signal lines extending along the first direction. Each pixel row includes pixel sets arranged along a second direction which intersects the first direction. Each pixel set includes first and second pixels arranged along the second direction. The first pixel includes first to third sub-pixels emitting different colors. The second pixel includes fourth to sixth sub-pixels emitting different colors. Each sub-pixel includes a pixel driving circuit and an organic light-emitting diode. The high voltage signal lines are electrically connected to the sub-pixels, so as to provide voltage signals to anodes of the organic light-emitting diodes for driving the sub-pixels to emit light. For the same pixel set, the third and fourth sub-pixels have the same color, and are electrically connected to the same third high voltage signal line.

Currently, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) is one of research hotspots in the field of flat panel display.
In the related arts, an organic light-emitting display panel typically includes a red sub-pixel, a green sub-pixel, a blue sub-pixel, and a power supply line. The power supply line is configured to transmit a power signal to a sub-pixel to drive a sub-pixel to emit light. Due to a voltage drop phenomenon existing in the PVDD power supply line, sub-pixels at different positions might get different voltages. In this case, under the same data signal voltage input, sub-pixels at different positions would output different brightness. As a result, a color shift phenomenon may occur in some areas of the organic light-emitting display panel, which would reduce a display quality.
Especially for a display panel having a large dimension, the color shift phenomenon is more serious. An obvious color difference exists between a proximal IC end and a distal IC end of the display panel, seriously reducing display quality and affecting user experience.

Organic light-emitting display panel and organic light-emitting display device


A terminal apparatus for controlling uplink signal transmission power and a method for same are disclosed. A method for the terminal, which communicates with a plurality of cooperation nodes that are controlled by one base station in one cell, controlling the uplink signal transmission power in a wireless communication system comprises the steps of: receiving diversity gain information of the plurality of cooperation nodes; determining the uplink transmission power of the uplink signal by considering the diversity gain information; and transmitting the uplink signal at the uplink transmission power that is decided, wherein the diversity gain information is an offset value which considers a diversity margin of the plurality of cooperation nodes.

Most important requirements of next-generation wireless access systems are to support high data throughput. For this, a variety of technologies such as MIMO (multiple input multiple output), CoMP (cooperative multiple point transmission), relay, etc. have been developed.
Conventional wireless access systems consider only a single carrier although different bandwidths are configured for uplink and downlink. For example, there has been provided a single carrier based wireless communication system in which uplink and downlink are respectively composed of a single carrier and an uplink bandwidth and a downlink bandwidth are symmetrical.
To secure a wide bandwidth for satisfying higher data throughput in consideration of saturated frequency resources, carrier aggregation (CA) (multiple cells), which aggregates a plurality of dispersed bandwidths and is designed to satisfy basic requirements that independent systems are respectively operated using the bandwidths, has been introduced.
Here, a carrier for a bandwidth, which can be independently operated, is referred to as a component carrier (CC). To support increasing transmission capacity, 3GPP LTE-A or 802.16m extends the bandwidth thereof to 20 MHz or more. In this case, one or more component carriers are aggregated to support a wide bandwidth. For example, if one component carrier supports a bandwidth of 5 MHz, 10 MHz or 20 MHz, a maximum of five component carriers are aggregated to support a system bandwidth of up to 100 MHz.

Terminal apparatus for controlling uplink signal transmission power and method for same


A valve gear arrangement for load change valves of internal combustion engines has an intermediate element that is pivoted on a lever in the cylinder head, to activate the load change valves. The intermediate element engages a cam of a camshaft and has fork-shaped parallel guides on guide cylinders, over the center axis of which a guide groove in the shape of a circular ring segment extends. A roller axle of a roller that engages the cam is displaceably guided in the guide groove. There are springs supported on the roller axle that force the roller axle against an adjustable guide element, counter to the acting forces, when it passes through a plateau region of the cam, and lies against the plateau region.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a valve gear for load change valves of internal combustion engines, that are held in the closed position by spring force. An intermediate element is articulated onto a lever mounted in a fixed position in the cylinder head, so as to pivot, in order to activate the load change valves. This intermediate element rests against an adjustable counter-bearing and engages a cam of a camshaft mounted in the cylinder head.
2. The Prior Art
Valve gears of this type are shown in FIG. 1 of German Patent No. DE 38 33 540 C2. A load change valve held in the closed position by spring force is indirectly activated by a cam, via a pivot lever mounted in a fixed location, by way of an intermediate element articulated onto the pivot lever, in accordance with the cycle, but with variably adjustable opening characteristics.
The cam, with its control curve, forces the triangle-shaped intermediate lever articulated onto the pivot lever against a roller that is fixed in place, but is adjustable by pivoting in its position. The pivoting for changing the roller position takes place about the imaginary articulation axle of the intermediate element on the pivot lever, specifically in the position that the articulation axle assumes when the valve is closed.
Depending on the position of the roller, the control curve converts the movement transferred by the cam into different valve opening curves, all the way to non-opening of the valve, by the articulation on the pivot lever.
With the valve gear embodiment described above, it is disadvantageous that only a slight valve stroke is performed when the opening time is short, due to the kinematics.

Valve gear for load change valves of internal combustion engines

IAV GmbH Ingenieurgesellschaft Auto und Verkehr


A method for making a shell plate that is mountable to a shell of a grinding mill for grinding ore, said shell plate includes a shell plate body having a first portion including a fixing surface for fixing the shell plate body to the shell and a second portion including a wear surface facing toward interior of the grinding mill, said first portion and said second portion forming a continuous shell plate body, the second portion includes polyurethane such that the wear surface is made of polyurethane.

Grinding mills are used for processing hard solid material such that large solid material is grinded into smaller pieces. Lifting bars assist in lifting the solid material that is being processed in the drum as it rotates and the shell plates' function is to protect the shell of the grinding mill.


A load-bearing structure is configured to be mounted on an engine core of a turbofan engine. The load-bearing structure comprises two longitudinal beams and a transverse connection connecting them. Each of the longitudinal beams comprises a forward mounting interface and a rear mounting interface for mounting the structure on the engine core while allowing at least the longitudinal travel of the engine core. Each longitudinal beam also comprises a lateral suspension point for transmitting longitudinal and vertical forces between the load-bearing structure and a suspension structure. The load-bearing structure further comprises a transverse connection comprising a central suspension point for transmitting lateral and vertical forces between the load-bearing structure and the suspension structure.

The present invention relates to the field of suspensions of propulsion assemblies for aircraft, and more specifically a load-bearing structure configured to be attached to an engine core of a turbofan in order to allow its connection to a receiving structure of the aircraft, which can also be called the aircraft structure, via a suspension.
Typically, a turbofan is suspended from a receiving structure of the aircraft, for example a pylon attached, under the wing, to an intermediate casing forming a single part with the fan casing and a downstream suspension fastened to the turbine casing. This avoids a cantilever which would subject this engine to bending forces which can notably have an adverse effect on the adjustment of the compressor and turbine rotors in their respective housings.
However, such an arrangement has the drawback of a large bulk. With increasing thrusts and bypass rates, the diameter of the fans is also significantly increasing, which makes this arrangement increasingly bulky. Thus, when a turbofan engine with a high bypass rate is suspended from the wing of the aircraft in such an arrangement, the ground clearance of the aircraft can be insufficient to accommodate the propulsion assembly formed by the turbojet and its nacelle, thus requiring modifications to the nacelle and/or the landing gear, which can be costly and have a negative impact on the overall performance of the aircraft.
Thus, to remedy this drawback, several solutions have been proposed to suspend a turbofan engine only by its engine core, downstream of the fan. Thus, in certain solutions a structural shroud of the engine core incorporating a part of the pylon has been proposed to take up the bending forces, thus allowing the suspension of the turbofan engine through this structural shroud, despite the cantilevering of the fan. In the international application WO 2008/000924 A1 other concepts are proposed wherein the turbofan engine is suspended from a pylon through a structure attached to an intermediate casing of the engine core. This however involves the concentration of the forces, and in particular the bending forces, on the end of the pylon attached to these added structures, thus requiring considerable reinforcements with a consequent penalty in terms of added weight. These solutions all have the drawback of an added weight which can turn out to be more or less considerable.

Load-bearing structure intended to be mounted on a gas generator


A tricycle includes a windshield and a second attaching device. The windshield has a shell part, a first attaching device at the lower part of the shell part, and the shell part includes a front portion and a rear portion, and the rear portion of the shell part is open. The second attaching device has one or more support beams extended outward from the outer rim substantially on the same plane of the attaching device. The shell part of the windshield is of a streamline shape. The support beams are fixed to the shell part. The windshield further includes a visor part, and the visor part is disposed at the top part of the windshield. The visor part of the windshield is made of plastic and transparent. The tricycle further includes a frame having a triangular truss, a frontal member, a rear wheel support bar, and a handle holder.

The present invention relates to a tricycle with a windshield and truss. More particularly, this invention relates to a tricycle with a windshield attached to a handle holder by attaching device. Also, the invention relates to a tricycle with a truss which is triangular and doubly fortified to support the load to the tricycle.
The tricycle is something special to almost everyone at one or other period of his/her life. To a little person, it is the very first self-powering and self-controlling vehicle in the long line of the kinds; bicycle, motorcycle, car, and the like.
In a tricycle, there can be a couple of mechanical design concerns, which is closely related to the stubbornness of the structure and an aesthetic consideration. The user may prefer more realistic outlook to just a toy, and the realistic outlook does not come automatically. It may cause additional tight restriction on designing of the parts of the tricycle. Also, the mechanical structure may have to withstand more demanding stress. The strong and light structure is one of the first factors for the safety of the user as in most of the mechanical systems.
Accordingly, a need for a tricycle with a windshield and a truss structure has been present for a long time. This invention is directed to satisfy the long-felt need and solve the related problems.


A reservoir unit which is included as an element along a circulation path of a cooling system includes a cartridge and a cartridge loading unit which are configured to be removable from each other. The cartridge includes a reservoir chamber that stores a circulating liquid, and a connection portion in fluid communication with the reservoir chamber. The cartridge loading unit includes a connection receiving portion, to which the connection portion is connected, and a connection port. When the cartridge and the cartridge loading unit are attached to each other, the connection portion, the connection receiving portion and the connection port form a feed path that allows feeding the circulating liquid to the circulation path outside, and a collection path that allows collecting the circulating liquid into the reservoir chamber.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a cooling system including a circulation path in which a coolant for cooling a heat source in a system circulates, and a reservoir unit and a cartridge used in the cooling system. The present invention also relates to a solid-state laser oscillator system provided with the cooling system.
2. Background Art
In the case of solid-state lasers, visible light or near-visible light is emitted from a flashlamp serving as an optical pumping source, and this optical energy is stored in a laser rod and converted into a laser beam. However, the energy conversion efficiency of this case is low, and most of the optical energy from the flashlamp is converted into heat. At this time, the energy efficiency in the laser rod decreases along with increase of the temperature.
In order address this problem, solid-state lasers usually include a cooling system for cooling the laser rod (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-198593 (hereinafter, Patent Document 1)). As shown in FIG. 14, for example, this type of cooling system is formed by a circulation path 85 that includes a resonator 80 (or a laser chamber) including a laser rod, which is the heat source, a heat radiator 81, a reservoir tank 82, a pump 83 and a filter 84. In the circulation path 85, a coolant fed from the reservoir tank 82 by the pump 83 passes through the filter 84, where foreign matters are removed from the coolant, and then the coolant is brought into direct contact with the laser rod in the resonator 80 to absorb heat generated at the laser rod. The heat absorbed by the coolant is radiated at the heat radiator 81, and then the coolant is returned to the reservoir tank 82. The coolant circulates in the circulation path such that the above-described steps are repeated.
The coolant is gradually contaminated due to water stain, etc., as the coolant repeatedly circulates in the circulation path, and therefore the coolant is replaced on a regular basis. Conventionally, this replacement work of the coolant is achieved by removing the coolant from the reservoir tank with a dropper, or the like, and then replenishing the reservoir tank with fresh coolant.

Cooling system, reservoir unit and cartridge, as well as solid-state laser oscillator system provided with the same


A design device which designs a controller in accordance with H infinity (H ∞) logic, in which formulae of generalized plants and formulae of control object models which are parts of the generalized plants are stored in a memory unit 3. In a parameter calculating unit including comprising a frequency response calculation unit 4 and a scaling matrix calculation unit 5, the frequency response calculation unit 4 calculates the frequency responses of the control object models, and the scaling matrix calculation unit 5 calculates a scaling matrix T in accordance with the frequency responses of the control object models so that the respective gains of the control object models are consistent. A controller calculation unit 6 calculates the parameters of a controller by applying the scaling matrix T to the generalized plants.

In recent years, in the feedback control field, the H ∞ logic has often been utilized which allows the design of a controller in view of an error between an actual control object and a numerical model of the control object. In the conventional control logic, when designing a control system, a control object model that is represented by the transfer function and the state equation is prepared, and the control system is designed to stabilize the model. At this time, when there is an insignificant error between the actual control object and the model, a controller designed to stabilize the model can also stabilize the actual control object. However, when there is a significant error between the actual control object and the model for some reason, the controller may not stabilize the actual control object.
In the H ∞ logic, even if there is an error between the actual control object and the numerical model for use with the design, when the information as to the error can be obtained, the controller for stabilizing the actual control object can be designed in view of the error. It is said that the H ∞ logic is more likely to give the control specification intuitively in designing the control system, as compared with the conventional control logic. For example, in a case of designing a control system using the conventional control logic, its design specification involved a pole in the closed loop system or a weight matrix of evaluation function. However, the physical meanings of these values were unclear, and it required a lot of trial and error to make the settings.
On the contrary, in the H ∞ logic, the control specification can be defined in accordance with the frequency responses of the closed loop system consisting of the control object and the controller. The H ∞ logic has such an advantage, but is theoretically difficult, and has not been put into practical use in the current situation for the reasons of requiring the considerable knowledge to construct the actual control system, and it being difficult to give the control specification to the objects less treatable in accordance with the frequency responses in the process control and so forth.

H-infinity controller design using control object models


A polymer coating applied to a load bearing or contact surface of objects such as skis and snowboards is provided. The polymer coating is a drag reducing, water soluble long chain polymer such as polyethylene oxide. The polymer coating is applied to the contact surface of the object and dissolves into the thin layer of water that forms between the contact surface and a water-containing surface over which the object is passed. The polymer readily dissolves in the thin water layer, decreasing the friction between the contact surface of the ski or snowboard and the surface of the snow or ice.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to friction reducing polymer coatings.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
In recreational activities that involve moving an object that has a surface in contact with liquid water, ice or snow, friction between the surface of the object and the water, snow or ice creates an undesirable loss of speed and decrease in maneuverability. Moreover, additional force or power needs to be added to overcome the effects of these frictional losses. Lubricants are used to decrease the friction between the object surface and the water, snow or ice. In activities such as skiing or snowboarding, a coating of a wax or similar material is applied to the surface of the ski or snow board that is in contact with the snow or ice to reduce friction.
Various compositions of waxes have been used including lacquer-waxes and paraffin waxes. The waxes in general adhere well to the surface of the ski or snowboard, are moisture repellent, have a low adhesion to snow and are easily applied. U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,863 is directed to a drag-reducing ski wax that is particularly useful on ultra-high performance skis and is applied directly as an exterior coating to the ski running surface base layer that will come into direct friction contact with snow. A poly(alpha-olefin) is incorporated into a wax formulation to reduce ski drag.
All waxes, however, easily wear off ski surfaces and need to be frequently reapplied. Therefore, repeated applications of the wax to the contact surface are required. In addition, waxes sometimes require heating during application. In many instances, the wax must be applied to a completely dry surface. Thus, "in-the-field" application or re-application of wax coatings is difficult or impossible, in particular where the surface is moist.
In addition to applying waxes to the contact surface of a ski or snow board, the contact, surfaces, which are generally bonded to the ski body, can be modified to provide for a level of lubrication. For example, the contact surface can contain a lubricating filler, for example powdered graphite or molybdenum disulfide. U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,622 is directed to a surface lubricant that contains over 50 vol. % boron nitride (hexagonal), with the remainder of the composition being bonding agents comprised of single or mixed oxides or organics, the boron nitride composition being from about 36 wt. % to about 99 wt. %. This lubricant is suitable for topical applications in a thin layer to various sports objects. The lubricant can be applied in the form of a stick, paste or powder or be incorporated into waxes. While such particulate lubricants help to reduce drag between the ski running surface and the snow, the spaced apart particles do not provide a continuous lubricating surface. They also tend to easily wear off the ski surface due to friction with the snow.
Another type of lubricant that can be used to decrease friction and increase performance is a drag reducing polymer. Drag reducing polymers have been applied in many different types of applications where friction or frictional loss needs to be minimized. Drag reducing polymers have been applied to the interior of pipes and have resulted drag reductions of up to 80% using long chain polymers at concentrations in the 5 parts per million range. The Alaskan oil pipe line, for example, uses long chain polymers to reduce frictional drag. This reduction in frictional drag increases the amount of flow through the pipe, reducing the number of pumping stations required to transfer the oil through the pipe line. Polymer coatings are also used on razors to provide a lubricant between the skin and the blade. Lubricating polymer materials have also been used for crowd control. By spraying the lubricating polymer on a street or parking lot, walking or running across the surface would be impossible due to the lubricious surface created by the polymer, and anyone attempting to cross the surface on foot would fall down and have to crawl.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,093,268 is directed to a plastic drag reducing surfacing material containing a lubricating polymer. A ski surfacing plastic base layer is provided that acts as a rigid, plastic, non-water soluble matrix for the lubricating additives. A long carbon chain, thermoplastic, water soluble polymer is disposed and interdispersed with the plastic, non-water soluble matrix. The polymer slowly dissolves and leaches out of the surrounding plastic matrix upon contact with the microlayer of water from the snow or ice on which the ski moves, to form a liquid, polymer containing film. The film acts as a continuous, frictionless boundary lubricant to reduce drag and increase speed. This surface attempts to rely on the leaching of the lubricant from the plastic matrix in order to achieve the desired lubrication. The amount and rate of leaching, however, may provide an insufficient amount of lubrication.
Therefore, the need exists for a lubricant that can be easily and repeatedly applied in the field to a frictional contact surface. A sufficient amount and concentration of the lubricant is applied so that the lubricant is easily and readily available to provide a sufficient amount of lubrication.

Coating to reduce friction on skis and snow boards

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


In a power source circuit, an AC voltage of a commercial AC power source is full-wave-rectified by a diode bridge and divided into two 1/2 voltages by two capacitors connected to the output terminals of the diode bridge. A half-bridge inverter operation is performed by a smoothing capacitor and first and second reverse-conductive switches connected in parallel with the output terminals of the diode bridge via inductors, respectively. A power from the capacitors is temporarily stored in the inductors, and the first and second reverse-conductive switches are operated, thereby performing two boosting chopper operations.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power source circuit, and more particularly, to a power source circuit for converting a low-frequency alternating current into a high-frequency alternating current via a direct current and outputting the converted current.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, regulations for a high frequency with respect to an input current of a power source circuit, such as an inverter for illumination to be connected to a commercial AC power source, have become more strict year after year. For this reason, a circuit must realize not only a high efficiency, as in a conventional circuit, but also a low-distortion input. In a known conventional arrangement, a chopper circuit is provided at an input to control an input current, thereby realizing such a low-distortion input.
When a chopper circuit is provided at an input, however, a two-stage conversion of the chopper circuit and an invertor is arranged in a power source circuit to increase the number of constituting parts. Therefore, an inexpensive power source circuit cannot be obtained.
For this reason, arrangements disclosed in Unexamined Published Japanese Patent Application No. 61-94569 and No. 2-202365 are known. For example, in the circuit disclosed in Patent 61-94569, as shown in FIG. 1 (PRIOR ART), a rectifier 14 is connected to the output terminal of a commercial AC power source 12. One terminal of a reactor 16 is connected to one output terminal of the rectifier 14, and a smoothing electrolytic capacitor 18 is connected to the other terminal of the reactor 16. A series circuit constituted by reverse-conductive switches 20 and 22 and a series circuit constituted by two capacitors 24 and 26 are connected in parallel with the two terminals of the electrolytic capacitor 18. A node between the switches 20 and 22 is connected to the other terminal of the rectifier 14. A load 28 is connected between a node between the switches 20 and 22 and a node between the capacitors 24 and 26.
In the power source circuit having the above arrangement, the reverse-conductive switches 20 and 22 are alternately switched on/off at a high frequency. As a result, the circuit operates as an inverter, and the switch 20 operates as a chopper to charge the smoothing capacitor 18.
In the above conventional circuit, however, since boosting is performed by the chopper operation, a DC voltage must be designed to be at least two time more than a peak voltage of an AC voltage. If an AC voltage is 100 V, a corresponding DC voltage is about 300 V, and no problem is posed in selection of a switching element. If an AC voltage is 200 V, however, a corresponding DC voltage is 600 V, and it is difficult to select a switching element.
In addition, since an input current is intermittently supplied by the chopper operation, a filter circuit is required to perform smoothing. For this reason, a large capacitance and a large inductance are required.
Furthermore, since the reverse-conductive switch 20 singly performs switching of all the capacitance, the switch 20 must have a large rated current. For these reasons, manufacturing cost of the circuit is increased.

Toshiba Lighting & Technology Corporation


A curved display shelf comprises an arcuate sidewall having an upper edge, the sidewall including at least one groove from which to hang merchandise; a top panel secured to the upper edge; and at least one hook operatively secured to the slatwall member for hanging to a display wall.

A slatwall is generally used for displaying merchandise. The grooves provided by the slatwall are used to hang standard hardware, which may be used to support a shelf on which to display merchandise. However, the space immediately beneath the shelf may become unusable for hanging additional merchandise, since it is obscured by the shelf. There is, therefore, a need for providing a shelf that provides visible hanging space underneath for displaying additional merchandise.


A low temperature alkaline fuel cell having a hydrogen electrode and an oxygen electrode, both of which are comprised of high performance non-precious metal catalytic materials providing high performance at low temperatures.

As the world's population expands and its economy increases, the atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide are warming the earth, causing climate change. However, the global energy system is moving steadily away from the carbon-rich fuels whose combustion produces carbon dioxide gas. Experts say atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide may be double that of the pre-industrial era by the end of the next century, but they also say the levels would be much higher except for a trend toward lower-carbon fuels that has been going on for more than 100 years. Furthermore, fossil fuels cause pollution and are a causative factor in the strategic military struggles between nations. Furthermore, fluctuating energy costs are a source of economic instability worldwide.
In the United States, it is estimated, that the trend toward lower-carbon fuels combined with greater energy efficiency has, since 1950, reduced by about half the amount of carbon spewed out for each unit of economic production. Thus, the decarbonization of the energy system is the single most important fact to emerge from the last 20 years of analysis of the system. The present invention is another product which is essential to shortening the period of decarbonization. It is expected, hydrogen will be used in fuel cells for cars, trucks and industrial plants, just as it already provides power for orbiting spacecraft. But, with the problems of storage and infrastructure solved (see U.S. application Ser. No. 09/444,810, entitled "A Hydrogen-based Ecosystem" filed on Nov. 22, 1999 for Ovshinsky, et al., which is herein incorporated by reference and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/435,497, entitled "High Storage Capacity Alloys Enabling a Hydrogen-based Ecosystem", filed on Nov. 6, 1999 for Ovshinsky et al., which is herein incorporated by reference), hydrogen will also provide a general carbon-free fuel to cover all fuel needs. Utilizing the inventions of subject assignee, the hydrogen can be stored and transported in solid state form in trucks, trains, boats, barges, etc. (see the '810 and '497 applications).
A fuel cell is an energy-conversion device that directly converts the energy of a supplied gas into an electric energy. Researchers have been actively studying fuel cells to utilize the fuel cell's potential high energy-generation efficiency. The base unit of the fuel cell is a cell having an oxygen electrode, a hydrogen electrode, and an appropriate electrolyte. Fuel cells have many potential applications such as supplying power for transportation vehicles, replacing steam turbines and power supply applications of all sorts. Despite their seeming simplicity, many problems have prevented the widespread usage of fuel cells.
Presently most of the fuel cell R & D focus is on P.E.M. (Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel cells. The P.E.M. fuel cell suffers from relatively low conversion efficiency and has many other disadvantages. For instance, the electrolyte for the system is acidic. Thus, noble metal catalysts such as platinum and palladium are the only useful active materials for the electrodes of the system. Unfortunately, not only are the noble metals costly, they are also susceptible to poisoning by many gases, and specifically carbon monoxide (CO). The proton exchange membrane itself is quite expensive, and because of its low conductivity, inherently limits the power performance and operational temperature range of the P.E.M. fuel cell (the P.E.M. is nearly non-functional at low temperatures, unlike the fuel cell of the instant invention). Also, the membrane is sensitive to high temperatures, and begins to soften at 120° C. The membrane's conductivity depends on water and dries out at higher temperatures, thus causing cell failure. Therefore, there are many disadvantages to the P.E.M. fuel cell which make it somewhat undesirable for commercial/consumer use.
The conventional alkaline fuel cell has some advantages over P.E.M. fuel cells such as higher operating efficiencies, use of less expensive materials of construction, and no need for expensive membranes. The alkaline fuel cell also has higher ionic conductivity electrolyte, therefore it has a much higher power capability. Unfortunately, conventional alkaline fuel cells still suffer from certain disadvantages. For instance, conventional alkaline fuel cells still use expensive noble metals catalysts in both electrodes, which, as in the P.E.M. fuel cell, are susceptible to gaseous contaminant poisoning and dominate cost of manufacture. While the conventional alkaline fuel cell is less sensitive to temperature than the P.E.M. fuel cell, the active materials of conventional alkaline fuel cell electrodes become very inefficient at low temperatures.
Fuel cells, like batteries, operate by utilizing electrochemical reactions. Unlike a battery, in which chemical energy is stored within the cell, fuel cells generally are supplied with reactants from outside the cell. Barring failure of the electrodes, as long as the fuel, preferably hydrogen, and oxidant, typically air or oxygen, are supplied and the reaction products are removed, the cell continues to operate.
Fuel cells offer a number of important advantages over internal combustion engine or generator systems. These include relatively high efficiency, environmentally clean operation especially when utilizing hydrogen as a fuel, high reliability, few moving parts, and quiet operation. Fuel cells potentially are more thermodynamically efficient than other conventional power sources based upon the Carnot cycle.
The major components of a typical fuel cell are the hydrogen electrode for hydrogen oxidation and the oxygen electrode for oxygen reduction, both being positioned in a cell containing an electrolyte (such as an alkaline electrolytic solution). Typically, the reactants, such as hydrogen and oxygen, are respectively fed through a porous hydrogen electrode and oxygen electrode and brought into surface contact with the electrolytic solution. The particular materials utilized for the hydrogen electrode and oxygen electrode are important since they must act as efficient catalysts for the reactions taking place.
In an alkaline fuel cell, the reaction at the hydrogen electrode occurs between hydrogen fuel and hydroxyl ions (OH−) present in the electrolyte, which react to form water and release electrons:H2+2OH−→2H2O+2e−.At the oxygen electrode, oxygen, water, and electrons react in the presence of the oxygen electrode catalyst to reduce the oxygen and form hydroxyl ions (OH−):O2+2H2O+4e−→4OH−.The flow of electrons is utilized to provide electrical energy for a load externally connected to the hydrogen and oxygen electrodes.
The catalyst in the hydrogen electrode of the alkaline fuel cell has to not only split molecular hydrogen to atomic hydrogen, but also oxidize the atomic hydrogen to release electrons. The overall reaction can be seen as (where M is the catalyst):M+H2→2MH→M+2H++2e−.Thus the hydrogen electrode catalyst must efficiently dissociate molecular hydrogen into atomic hydrogen. Using conventional hydrogen electrode material, the dissociated hydrogen atoms are transitional and the hydrogen atoms can easily recombine to form molecular hydrogen if they are not used very quickly in the oxidation reaction. With the hydrogen storage electrode materials of the inventive instant startup fuel cells, the atomic hydrogen is immediately captured and stored in hydride form, and then used as needed to provide power.
The use of precious metals as catalyst material is prevalent in current fuel cells. Many fuel cells, such as Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells use platinum as the catalytic material within the positive and negative electrodes. While platinum may work well under certain conditions, the use of platinum may result in cost problems for the wide scale production of fuel cells in the years to come. Platinum is currently available for the limited production of fuel cells, but wide scale production of fuel cells utilizing platinum will substantially increase the price and demand for platinum, which will cause the price of fuel cells to be unaffordable for the public resulting in the halt or decrease of fuel cell production. To make fuel cells readily available to the public at affordable prices, alternatives to platinum must be utilized within the fuel cells without a compromise in performance.
Current fuel cells such as PEM, Methanol, Phosphoric Acid, Molten Carbonate, and Solid Oxide, have difficulty operating at ambient temperatures without the use of a heating systems. Of the fuel cells previously listed, PEM and methanol fuel cells have the lowest operating temperature at around 75° C. The other fuel cells have operating temperatures beyond 210° C. High operating temperatures provide design problems when trying to utilize these fuel cells in applications requiring operating conditions at ambient or lower temperatures, such as utilization in automobiles. Heat must be continually supplied to these fuel cells upon startup and during operation to maintain operation. This temperature dependence is detrimental to the wide scale use of fuel cells in a variety of applications operating at ambient temperatures. For fuel cells to gain acceptance as a viable source of power for automobiles, generators, power packs, and the like, fuel cells must be able to operate in a variety of conditions, including low temperatures. The ability for fuel cells to operate at low temperatures is a criteria that is essential for fuel cells to gain acceptance as a viable source of power for a wide variety of applications.


A material handling apparatus for processing heated formed ferrous metal products and/or glass products made of a face centered cubic crystal intermetallic alloy of a metal aluminide having the property of withstanding repeated thermal cycling from ambient temperature to about 1600.degree. F. wherein the metal is selected from the group consisting of a group VIII metal of the Periodic Table. Also described is an aluminide roll that also is characterized as retaining its ultimate tensile strength at 1600.degree. F. of at least 75% of the tensile strength the roll had at ambient room temperature.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,990,181 is directed to porous sintered aluminide structures of aluminum, nickel, titanium and/or rare earth metal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,717 teaches a process sensor tube having erosion and corrosion resistance which is adapted for sensing process conditions which has a coating of an aluminide of nickel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,116 teaches a spark-ignited internal combustion engine exhaust valve having on the critical surfaces thereof nickel aluminide.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,210 teaches an apparatus for use in liquid alkali environment such as nuclear fuel sub-assembly which has bearing surfaces coated with nickel aluminide.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,558 pertains to the production of reactive sintered nickel aluminide material utilizing hot isostatic compaction.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,829 pertains to cold worked tri-nickel aluminide.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,650,519 and 4,661,156 pertain to hot isostatic pressing of nickel aluminide from powder. In a similar fashion, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,613,480 and 4,609,528.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,252 teaches a wear-resistant metallic article employing a mixture of nickel aluminide in a copper-based matrix.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,362,696 teaches corrosion-resistant fuel cladding alloy for liquid metal fast-breeder reactors which utilizes nickel aluminum inter-metallic phases.
Other patents related to aluminide alloys are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,970,450; 4,144,059; 4,238;229; 4,253,872; 4,410,371; 4,612,165; 4,647,427; 4,711,761; 4,722,828; 4,731,221; 4,839,140; 4,961,903; and Canadian Patent No. 1,244,676.
Improvement To The Art
The general deficiencies of metallic elements and their alloys when used as tooling, fixturing, components and general structural items (parts) for use at elevated temperatures (i.e. 1200.degree. F, to 2300.degree. F.) is as follows:
the strength and toughness values diminish as the temperature increases rendering parts made from such materials less useful in withstanding structural loads, especially beyond 1500.degree. F. to 2300.degree. F.; PA0 the resistance to attack by oxygen diminishes with increasing temperatures rendering parts made from such materials vulnerable to dimensional loss, load bearing failure, loss of surface integrity, and general incapacity to perform their function, especially with temperatures beyond 1200.degree. F. to 2300.degree. F.; PA0 the resistance to creep and fatigue diminishes with increasing temperatures along with the strength and toughness rendering parts made from such materials vulnerable to thermal shock, thermal cycle fatigue, load cycle fatigue, cracking, dimensional loss, load bearing failure, breakage, and general incapacity to perform their function, especially beyond 1500.degree. F. to 2300.degree. F.; PA0 the resistance to attack by carbon diminishes in many of these materials with increasing temperatures rendering parts made from such materials vulnerable to embrittlement, load bearing failure, and general incapacity to perform their function, especially beyond 1500.degree. F. to 2300.degree. F.; and PA0 the resistance to abrasive wear diminishes in parallel to the general decline in strength and toughness rendering parts made from such materials vulnerable to galling, welding, seizing, loss of dimensional integrity, and general incapacity, especially beyond 1200.degree. F. to 2300.degree. F.
However, there is a class of metal alloys that provides the basis for significant improvement in the aforementioned performance deficiencies which arise at elevated temperatures and in turn permits one to make industrially useful parts that provide a significantly better performance than parts made from their generally available metallic alloy counterparts. This class of metal alloys are the intermetallic alloys or inter-metallic compounds which are defined as an alloy or compound of two or more metals which has a distinctive crystallographic structure and definite composition or composition range.
It is an object of the present invention to provide material handling apparatus for processing heated formed ferrous metal products and/or hot glass products fabricated of intermetallic alloys of a face centered cubic crystal of a metal aluminide.
It is another object of the present invention to provide fixtures and components (i.e. parts) that are useful for the processing, fabrication and manufacture of hot steel objects based on the application of inter-metallic alloys as parts, especially the alloys based on the face centered cubic crystal of a metal aluminide.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a heat treatment furnace roll of an inter-metallic alloy as used in the support and transfer of hot steel objects within steel heat treat furnaces with the said rolls having the property of withstanding the load bearing requirements, the resistance to oxidation, the resistance to scaling, the resistance to wear, the resistance to carburization, the resistance to creep and fatigue and generally the ability to usefully be applied in the operating environment.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a heat treat furnace roll made of an inter-metallic alloy that has the ability to retain its ultimate tensile strength at 1600.degree. F. of at least 75% of the ultimate tensile strength that the heat treat furnace roll had at ambient temperature, and further provide useful structural load bearing capacity at temperatures up to 2300.degree. F.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a steel slab soaking furnace roll made of an intermetallic alloy as used in the support and transfer of steel slabs in soaking furnaces that has the ability to be useful at temperatures up to 2300.degree. F. without regard to roll cooling wherein such a roll is able to provide useful load bearing capability, resistance to wear, resistance to oxidation and scaling and general useful product life in this application.
It is also an object of the invention to provide tubes and other industrial fixturing and components (i.e. parts) made of an intermetallic alloy as used in furnaces and in other unit operations for steel that have the ability to withstand the effects of carbon on such parts which often lead to embrittlement, cracking and failure of such when used at elevated temperatures (e.g. 1400.degree. F. to 2300.degree. F.) whereby such parts would be subjected to carburization, whether intentionally when such parts are used in the unit operation of carburization of steel objects or whether such are merely exposed to such conditions as a matter of course.
It is a further object of the invention to provide tools made of intermetallic alloys which are to be used in the manufacture of steel products from steel raw materials (e.g. rolling, forming, piercing, extrusion, drawing, swaging and other such unit operations) at elevated temperatures, especially within the temperature range of 1400.degree. F. to 2300.degree. F. wherein such tooling should retain at least 75% of its ultimate tensile strength at 1600.degree. F. in comparison to the strength of the tool at ambient temperatures.

Method of preparing intermetallic alloys