A method for converting expended plastic and metal containers into artificial rocks by removing the label from a plastic or metal container, removing the top, stuffing the container with compacted, smaller, expended plastic, beverage bottles, or cleaned, crushed, expended food cans, shaping the filled plastic container by means of a heat gun, or the filled metal container by crimping the ends, burning holes into the filled, shaped plastic container with a soldering iron or drilling holes in the filled shaped metal container with an electric drill. A first layer of wet stucco is troweled onto the shaped container, lightly pressed into the holes, and allowed to dry, whereupon a second layer of stucco is applied over the base layer and allowed to dry, after which a layer of colored cement is applied over the second layer and brushed and rolled while still wet to create different surface textures like those of real rocks and allowed to dry to form the final rock product that looks just like a real rock.

Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a method for producing artificial rocks, specifically from expended plastic containers and expended metal cans.
Prior Art
One of the serious problems confronting society today is the generation of waste. Millions of thermoplastic and metal containers are produced each year, used once, and thrown away. Landfilling is the primary method of waste disposal, but it appears that landfills throughout the world are rapidly filling up. Discarded plastic and metal containers are non-biodegradable, and so add to the landfill and environmental problem, as they fill up an ever decreasing landfill space.
The present invention enables the conversion of such used containers into articles of renewed utility and thus enables an economically sound solution to the problem of waste disposal while at the same time providing a valued new product, specifically an economical, artificial rock.
When these rocks are installed on a substrate and mortar is put between them, they look like real rocks, with differing elevation out from the substrate, and different shades, shapes, textures and sizes. This is completely different from mold formed, uniform rocks that look like they came from a cookie cutter. The artificial rocks can also be used as stand-alone rocks for gardens, lawns, yards, and many other uses where artificial rocks are desired. In addition, the artificial rocks produced by this invention can be filled with non-organic trash, such as empty plastic bottles and empty cans, thus further helping to alleviate the waste disposal, environmental problem.
Prior art discloses various attempts to recycle used materials and to make artificial rocks from various materials, including concrete, plastic, steel, and aluminum, but many of the rocks produced by these methods look like they come from a cookie cutter. Also, usually they require bonding agents and molds in their process.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,115,178 B1 (2006), to Schofield, (the present inventor), proposes a process to convert empty, plastic bottles into artificial rocks by using heat to make the bottle malleable, and actual rocks to shape the bottles into rock like shapes. The process further requires a bonding agent to bond the texturing cement to the rock shaped, plastic bottle. The present invention does not require actual rocks to achieve the different rock shapes and does not need a bonding agent or a special machine, and it provides even more recycling possibilities, because the empty, plastic bottle or aluminum or other metal can, can be used in the invention if filled with empty, compacted, plastic bottles or empty used cans.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,678,617 (1987), to Sykes proposes converting two-liter soda bottles into building blocks. This produces a cookie cutter effect, as all the objects are the same size and shape. This process only uses, and so is limited to, soda bottles. Also, this process would not be suitable for producing artificial rocks, which would need to be of different shapes and sizes to appear real.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,196 (1996), to Samuelson proposes to recycle a plastic, soda bottle into a container for articles, by means of cuts and flaps. Though this addresses recycling of the plastic bottle without melting or crushing, it does not convert the bottle into a rock as per the invention of this application.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,175 (1991), to Kirkpatrick proposes to use expended, plastic, beverage bottles to form cushions, which, which could be used for various purposes. It addresses recycling, but not artificial rocks.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,826 (1977), to Hum proposes a lightweight, cement rock colored with cement dyes or pigments. This uses a mold which must be made first. The present invention uses the empty, plastic container or cylindrical can as the mold. Also, the Hum invention does not address recycling.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,132,820 (2000), to Callahan shows a rock made of cement and polystyrene poured into a mold. Again, a mold must be prepared first. The polystyrene used is a waste product, but comprises only a small portion of the rock, so the rock materials are not primarily recycled.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,328 (1989), to Neighbors proposes making a decorative item from an aluminum can by means of grooves and pressing. Again, though this addresses using the can itself for the decorative article, it does not convert the can into a rock, as does the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,746,869 (1930), to Rosenthal proposes making sheet metal flowerpots from cylindrical tin-plate cans by means of crimping and deforming the can. This does address recycling the cans, but it converts the can to a flowerpot, and not a rock, as does the present invention.
The present inventor could find no reference in the prior art where holes put into a mold or object were used as a means to anchor the stucco or cement to the surface of the object, thus eliminating the need for a bonding agent.

Process of making artificial rocks out of expended plastic bottles and metal cans


A memory device comprising memory cells associated with word lines for storing data. A timer is connected to determine the length of time during which a selected word line(s) is activated. The word line activation time length is shorter in a testing mode than in a using mode.

This invention relates to a semiconductor memory device arranged to detect a defective part(s).
It is required to test semiconductor memory devices, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and the like, before they are forwarded. For example, a PWL timer has been used to determine the length of time during which the associated word line remains at a high level when the reading and/or writing operation of a pulsed word line (PWL) type SRAM is tested. However, such a PWL timer is arranged to determine the same time length regardless of whether it operates in the testing or using mode. For this reason, the possibility exists that some of the forwarded semiconductor devices do not have enough internal timing. Such defective semiconductor devices cannot satisfy specifications with small variations in the transistor characteristics.


A first customer provides a CAD file defining the surface profile for a part to be molded to the system, and a second customer does the same for a second part. The system determines whether the materials match and the run dates overlap, thereby qualifying the parts for use in a multi-customer mold block. The system assesses the part surface profile (which could have any of a virtually infinite number of shapes) of the parts submitted and lays out the parts from multiple customers on one or more multi-customer mold blocks. Savings are generated, such as by reducing redundancies in press clean-up, in set-up, in tooling, and in surface finishing. Due to these savings, the system provides a quotation of the part to at least one of the customers which differs from the quotation that would be provided if each part was run independent of parts of other customers.

The present invention relates to the field of mold making, and particularly to the manufacture of molds, such as for use with injection molding presses, from blocks of metal. More specifically, the present invention relates to software supported methods, systems and tools used in the design and fabrication of molds for custom plastic parts, and in presenting information to customers for the customer to make selections to help minimize the cost of the mold and running the customer's part.
Injection molding, among other types of molding techniques, is commonly utilized to produce plastic parts from molds. Companies and individuals engaged in fabricating molds are commonly referred to as "moldmakers." The moldmaking art has a long history of fairly gradual innovation and advancement. Molds are designed pursuant to a specification of the part geometry provided by a customer; in many cases, functional aspects of the plastic part also need to be taken into account. Historically, moldmaking involves at least one face-to-face meeting between the moldmaker and the customer, with complex communication between the moldmaker and the customer and complex decisions made by the moldmaker regarding the construct of the mold. More recently, this process has been automated to a significant degree, to assist in transmitting information between the moldmaker and/or the moldmaker's computer system and the customer, thereby realizing significant efficiencies and corresponding price reductions in the manufacture of molds and custom molded parts. Such automation is described in U.S. patent application numbers 11/074,388, 11/035,648, 10/970,130, 10/325,286(now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,836,699), and 10/056,755 (now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,701,200). While such software and automated methods have revolutionized the moldmaking process, additional cost reductions still can be obtained by creative and non-obvious modifications.


A catalytic converter includes a housing, a honeycomb heater fixed to inside the housing, and a catalytic element disposed downstream of the honeycomb heater. The honeycomb heater has a first honeycomb structure made of metal having a first partition wall having a plurality of first throughholes, and at least one electrode for electrifying the first honeycomb structure. The catalytic element fixed to inside the housing and disposed downstream of the honeycomb heater has a second honeycomb structure having a second partition wall having a plurality of second throughholes, and a catalytic compound loaded on the second honeycomb structure. A horizontal cross-section of the honeycomb structure is made smaller than that of the honeycomb structure. Further, a gap between an outflow end surface of the honeycomb structure and an inflow end surface of the honeycomb structure is made large. According to the catalytic converter, a durability of a honeycomb structure, particularly resistance against vibrations extending over a long period of time can be improved while maintaining an exhaust gas purification ability under severe driving conditions. Further, according to the present invention, the temperature of a honeycomb heater can be raised in a short period of time.

The present invention relates to a catalytic converter which is suitably applicable to purification of an exhaust gas of an automobile, or the like.
Recently, a metallic honeycomb structure has been attracted a good deal of public attention besides a porous ceramic honeycomb structure as a carrier, or the like, for a catalyst for purifying pollutants such as nitrogen oxide (NO.sub.x), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbon (HC), and the like, contained in an exhaust gas discharged from an internal combustion engine of an automobile, or the like.
Additionally, there has been earnestly desired development of a heater, or the like, which can reduce a discharge of pollutants upon cold start as regulations on an exhaust gas are tightened.
The present applicant previously proposed a honeycomb heater in which a honeycomb structure is provided with a resistor adjusting mechanism (U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,029). The present applicant further proposed a method for holding a honeycomb heater by covering a circumference of the honeycomb heater with a metallic band by means of an insulating substance such as a ceramic mat, cloth, or the like (U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,548).
The aforementioned method discloses a method for protecting a resister adjusting mechanism of a heater by an insulation. However, the heater disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,029 has a possibility that an inorganic adhesive drops off under a severe driving conditions (particularly, vibrations and thermal shocks) of an automobile. The heater disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,548 has a possibility that a heater is deformed by horizontal and vertical vibrations, resulting in breakage of a spacer or wear of an insulating mat.
The present applicant has further studied so as to develop a new heater unit which is free from breakage and exfoliation of a honeycomb heater against an expansion or a shrinkage caused by vibrations or thermal shocks under a severe condition of an automobile. The new heater unit was disclosed in SAE Technical Paper Series 940466. The heater unit is very preferable because it hardly has deformation or breakage of a honeycomb heater.
The heater unit has a structure that a honeycomb heater is hold by a housing by means of a metallic, flexible holding member. SAE Technical Paper Series 940466 also discloses a flexible electrode structure, a ring which limits a gas flow, and a disposition of a light-off catalyst downstream of the honeycomb heater.
An embodiment of a constitution of a conventional catalytic converter is hereinbelow described with reference to FIG. 19. Housings 12 and 14 fixedly install a honeycomb heater 20 and a catalytic converter 30. Specifically, a honeycomb heater is fixed to a housing 12 by means of a holding member (not shown) so as to form a heater unit. Similarly, a catalytic element 30 is fixed to a housing 14 by means of a holding member (not shown) so as to form a catalytic unit. When a catalytic converter is produced, a duct 16, the heater unit, and the catalyst unit are fixed.
A numeral number of througholes are formed in parallel in a fluid-flow direction in a honeycomb structure 22 constituting a honeycomb heater 20 and a honeycomb structure 32 constituting a catalytic element 30. A fluid such as an exhaust gas, or the like, of an internal combustion engine is introduced to an inflow end surface 22s of the honeycomb structure 22 of the honeycomb heater 20 from a duct 16. The fluid, then, passes through the throughholes and flows out of an outflow end surface 22t. An electrode 28 supplies electricity to a honeycomb structure 22, and the fluid is heated upon passing through the throughholes of the honeycomb structure 22.
The fluid flows out of the outflow end surface 22t of the honeycomb structure 22, passes through a gap G, is introduced to an inflow end surface 32s of a honeycomb structure 32 of a catalytic element 30, passes through throughholes, and flow out of an outflow end surface 32t. Since a surface of a partition wall for forming the throughholes in the honeycomb structure 32 is covered with a catalytic composition, active components such as noble metals contained in the catalytic composition remove pollutants such as oxygen nitride, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, or the like, in an exhaust gas by oxidation or reduction.
When an exhaust gas has not been warmed, for example, when an engine of an automobile is started up, the catalytic composition of the catalytic element 30 is not activated, and therefore, the pollutants in the exhaust gas cannot be removed. Accordingly, the honeycomb heater 20 heats the exhaust gas up to a light-off temperature or more so as to activate the catalytic composition and improve an efficiency in removing the pollutants in the exhaust gas.
In a conventional catalytic converter, a diameter D.sub.2 of an inflow end surface 32s of a honeycomb structure 32 was almost the same as a diameter D.sub.1 of the outflow end surface 22t of a honeycomb structure 22. A honeycomb structure 32 constituting a catalytic element 30 is required to have a certain degree of volume to obtain a predetermined exhaust-gas purifying ability by ensuring a surface area for loading a catalytic composition thereon and to obtain an O.sub.2 storage (keeping) ability for detecting deterioration of a catalyst.
On the other hand, a catalytic converter is also required not to deteriorate properties of the internal combustion engine and to lower a pressure loss as much as possible caused when the fluid passes through the honeycomb structure 32.
In order to satisfy these requirement, it is preferable to make the diameter D.sub.2 of the honeycomb structure 32 constituting the catalytic element 30 as large as possible, and to make a length L.sub.2 of the honeycomb structure 22 in the axial direction as short as possible. In that case, the diameter D.sub.1 of the honeycomb structure 22 of the honeycomb heater 20 also becomes large. Therefore, as a result there has been a problem that a vibration resistance of the honeycomb structure 22 is lowered, and a risk of breakage of the honeycomb structure 22 in the worst case by vibrations or the like upon driving with a high burden.
When an alternator attached to the internal combustion engine is used as a source for supplying electricity to the honeycomb heater 20, the honeycomb heater 20 is required to have a high resistance of usually 200 m.omega. or more because of properties of the output voltage. In this case, in order to obtain a high resistance, the length L.sub.1 of the honeycomb structure 22 is small and the number of slits arranged in the honeycomb structure 22 is high, and thus the aforementioned vibration resistance is highly concerned about.
When the diameter D.sub.1 is made small in view of vibration resistance of the honeycomb structure 22, the diameter D.sub.2 of the honeycomb structure 32 becomes small. In this case, there are caused problems that a pressure loss increases and output properties of an internal combustion engine deteriorate.
On the other hand, the conventional converter is aimed to rapidly heat the honeycomb structure 32 by a thermal energy obtained by heating a fluid flowing through the honeycomb structure 22 by electrically heating the honeycomb structure 22. Accordingly, a gap G between the honeycomb structures 22 and 32 was formed as small as possible. In this case, a region where a fluid such as an exhaust gas is present in a circumference of the honeycomb heater 20 and a region where exothermic reaction is not caused electrically also in a circumference of a honeycomb structure 22. Accordingly, there has been a problem that a fluid flowing through a circumferential portion 33 of the honeycomb structure 32 is not heated after an engine is started up particularly in a cold season, thereby impeding the exhibition of a purification ability in this range.
As a volume of the honeycomb structure 22 becomes large, a heat capacity of the honeycomb structure 22 becomes large and temperature-rising speed of the honeycomb heater 20 slows down. However, since a honeycomb heater is desired to have a high temperature rapidly, a volume of a honeycomb structure 22 is desirably small.
Further, because of a convenience of designing an exhaust system of an automobile, a diameter of the duct is small, and generally, an area of the inflow end surface 22s of the honeycomb structure 22 is larger than that of the outflow end surface 16s of a duct 16. If so, a fluid flows into a portion of the honeycomb structure 22, and the portion is prone to deform by a heat. This is particularly remarkable when an automobile runs at high speed and caused by both rises in speed and temperature of an exhaust gas. Hence, an area of the inflow end surface 22s of the honeycomb structure 22 is desirably a little larger than that of the outflow end surface 16s of the duct 16.
However, if a volume and an area of a horizontal cross-section of the honeycomb structure 22 are made small, a problem of pressure loss in the honeycomb structure 32 as described above. Therefore, it was difficult to miniaturize the honeycomb structure 22.
Additionally, in a conventional catalytic converter, a gap G between an outflow end surface 22t of a honeycomb structure 22 and an inflow end surface 32s of a honeycomb structure 32 was made small so as to prevent a fluid such as an exhaust gas from being cooled down, i.e., to avoid thermal loss after the fluid flows out of the outflow end surface 22t of the honeycomb structure 22 and before the fluid flows in through the inflow surface 32s of the honeycomb structure 32. For example, the present applicant disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/412,279, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,614,155 a honeycomb structure 22 having a length L.sub.1 in the axial direction of 5-20 mm. The honeycomb structure 22 preferably has a volume of 30-150 cm.sup.3. When such a honeycomb structure 22 is used, generally, the gap G was determined to be 10 mm or less, and typically 5-8 mm. Incidentally, in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/412,279 a distance between the inflow end surface 22s of a honeycomb structure 22 and the outflow end surface 16s of a duct 16 is preferably 3 mm or less.


A casing body made by forming a synthetic resin into a bottomed cylinder-like configuration with a first bracket integrally provided at one end of a cylindrical portion. The cylinder body includes a plurality of clamping portions connected at their base ends to the first bracket at locations equally spaced circumferentially of the cylindrical portion, and magnet retaining portions each protruding to opposite sides from a tip end of each clamping portion. When the casing body is formed by molding, a yoke and a plurality of magnets are integrally coupled to each other. The yoke is clamped between the clamping portions and the cylindrical portion, and the magnets abut against an inner surface of the yoke with their circumferential opposite side ends being defined by the clamping portions and with their axially opposite ends being defined by the first bracket and the magnet retaining portions. Thus, it is possible to reduce the number of producing steps by forming the casing body by molding, and also to eliminate plating and coating steps as well as the step of bonding the magnets to the yoke, leading to a further reduction in a number of producing steps.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric rotating machine including a rotor which is rotatably supported at axially opposite ends of a casing having a cylindrical yoke and which is coaxially surrounded by the yoke, and magnets disposed at a plurality of points equally spaced apart in a circumferential direction of an inner surface of the yoke.
2. Description of the Related Art
In such a conventional electric rotating machine, the cylindrical yoke and a bracket are integrally formed by drawing from a magnetic metal plate to form a bottomed cylindrical casing body and hence, multi-stage drawing steps are required, resulting in an increased number of production process steps. Moreover, such an electric rotating machine may be used in some cases in a corrosive environment such as on the sea, and for this reason, it is necessary to apply a plating and a coating to the casing body in order to enhance the corrosion resistance. This also results in an increased number of production steps. In addition, the plurality of magnets are bonded to the inner surface of the yoke and hence, a line of bonding the magnets is required independently of the line of producing the casing body.


Activation system includes a reception device for receiving an activation signal (SIGA), and an activation circuit (4) for activating an electric circuit (5). A pyroelectric element (3) is connected to the reception device (1) and to the activation circuit (4). The pyroelectric element can be heated by the activation signal (SIGA) in such a way that a voltage high enough to actuate the activation circuit (4) is produced in the pyroelectric element.

The invention relates to an activation system, a remotely triggerable circuit system containing this system, and to respective operating methods.
Electric circuits, which are not connected to a power supply system, e.g. radio identity disks or radio access cards, tickets, etc. (smart cards) require extremely low energy consumption. Constant operation would very quickly drain the batteries.
The circuits are therefore conventionally maintained in a very power-saving, inactive state and only activated for short periods as required. Activation is effected to date by means of a radio signal, which is received in the battery-operated device, rectified and used for activation. Activation is then generally triggered when the rectified signal exceeds a defined threshold value.
One problem with this conventional method is the often inadequate range of the activation signals, which is due in particular to the low level of efficiency of rectifier diodes at low voltages. A further problem is that the activation system responds to all signals in a specific frequency range, including interference signals, as no "intelligence" has been prompted before activation—resulting in unwanted activation of the circuit and therefore premature draining of the batteries.
FIG. 3 outlines the principles of activation according to the prior art.
An activation transmitter ST1 sends an activation signal SIGA to a conventional activation system ST2. The activation system ST2 comprises a directly operating rectifying circuit, which rectifies the activation signal SIGA and uses it directly for its operation.
A device is known from WO 00/43802, with which radiation at the site of a coding element is converted using a converter to a secondary energy form, which is buffered. The stored secondary energy is then fed to a non-linear element, which is a spark discharge gap.
An ID tag is known from EP 0 467 036 A2, which is maintained by means of an activation or wake-up circuit at constant low output. The activation circuit is activated by a received signal, which is first analyzed by a microprocessor.

System and method for receiving a signal to trigger a pyroelectric activation system


A system and method for maintaining alignment between a source and router in a Wavelength Division Multiplexed (WDM) fiber optic network. In a preferred embodiment, a narrow band of the wavelengths emitted by the WDM source is designated as a monitor channel. The monitor channel is matched in wavelength to a fiber grating that is located in the optical path between the source and router so that the grating reflects the monitor channel light while allowing all other source light to pass through unimpeded. By monitoring the reflected light and adjusting the source wavelengths to maximize the amount of reflected light, alignment between the source and router is maintained.

A common type of fiber optic network is the Wavelength Division Multiplexed (WDM) network. In a typical WDM network, a multifrequency source is used to generate two or more signals of distinct wavelengths. A single fiber is used to carry the signals to a remote router where they are distributed to network subscribers according to their wavelengths. Similarly, in networks which provide for two-way signaling, the router may be used to combine signals generated by the subscribers.
To maximize the efficiency of a WDM network, the router must accurately track the source wavelengths. The router is essentially a comb filter which, ideally, has its lobes centered on the source signal wavelengths. Accordingly, when the lobes of the router are not aligned with the source wavelengths the router will attenuate the signals intended for the subscribers, the level of attenuation being proportional to the amount of misalignment between the source and the router. Moreover, misalignment of the source and router can result in crosstalk between router outputs, decreasing performance even further. Misalignment may occur, for example, when a temperature change at the source causes the source frequencies to drift or, similarly, when a temperature change at the router causes the router filter bands to drift.
In an attempt to eliminate misalignment between sources and routers network designers have proposed loopback WDMs. In a loopback system, a portion of the signal received by a subscriber is fed back, via a separate feedback fiber, to a central station. The power level of the feedback signal is examined. Any misalignment between the source and router shows up as a drop-off in the power level of the feedback signal and realignment may be achieved by adjusting the source wavelengths to maximize the feedback signal. Such a system, however, requires a separate fiber line to provide the feedback to the central station, and therefore the overall cost of a network employing the system is increased.

System and method for synchronizing an optical source and a router in a wavelength division multiplexed fiber optic network


A system and method are provided for the measurement and display of attributes of an object of interest in a medical image. An object of interest is identified, such as a lesion or cluster of lesions in a breast area on a mammography image. At least one attribute of the lesion is then automatically measured, such as the area of the lesion, the width and height of a cluster of lesions, the number of lesions in a cluster, or the distance from one or more lesions to an anatomical feature such as the nipple, skin line or chest wall. The measurements are then displayed to a user, for example by displaying the measurements on the mammography image. Additionally, anatomical zones, such as standard, quadrant and clock zones of the breast area may be determined and displayed on the mammography image or diagram to display the location of the lesion as it corresponds to the zones.

1. Field
The systems and methods described below relate to the measurement and display of objects of interest in a medical image, and more specifically to automatic measurement and display of attributes of lesions in mammography images.
2. Background
Medical imaging is the field of creating images of the human body for medical purposes, such as diagnosing or examining disease or other physiological anomalies. Numerous types of image modalities produce medical images, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), radiography (x-rays), computed tomography (CT), ultrasound (US) and others. In medical imaging, an object of interest is usually selected pertaining to an area of the human body, such as the head, heart or chest.
One type of medical imaging is mammography, which is the examination of a medical image of the human breast. Mammography is used to detect breast cancer by examining the breast tissue for abnormalities such as lesions that represent microcalcifications or uncharacteristic masses.
In the process of reading digital mammography images, a user, such as a radiologist, often needs to measure attributes of the lesions, such as the location, size, number and distance from other anatomical features. These measurements are then compiled into a report that describes the radiologist's findings. However, these attributes are measured manually by the radiologist, which slows down the workflow and increases the work load of the radiologist.
The radiologist may also need to identify the location of a lesion in terms of standard zones of a breast area illustrated by the breast diagram 10 depicted in FIG. 1—subareolar zone 12, anterior zone 14, middle zone 16 and posterior zone 18. FIG. 1 depicts a left and right breast, but only the breast on the right side of the image is labeled in the figure. Similar labels apply for the breast on the left side. FIG. 1 also illustrates a breast diagram as seen from a cranio-caudal (CC) view, where the breast area can be further classified into a lateral zone 20, central zone 22 and medial zone 24. In a medio-lateral (ML) or medio-lateral oblique (MLO) view of a breast area depicted by the breast diagram 26 shown in FIG. 2, the lesion can be further classified as belonging to a superior zone 28 or inferior zone 30. Furthermore, the radiologist may want to determine a quadrant and clock location of a lesion when both the CC and ML/MLO view images are available, as illustrated by the breast diagram 32 in FIG. 3 of a left breast 32a and right breast 32b. The quadrant locations in a quadrant/clock location diagram are upper outer 34, upper inner 36, lower outer 38 and lower inner 40, and the clock positions 42 correspond to a conventional analog clock face, with positions ranging from 1-12.
For all of the illustrated lesion location schemes, the radiologist must manually determine the zones, quadrant and clock positions on the breast area of a mammography image and then determine which zone, quadrant and clock position the lesion falls into. If the lesion is palpable, the position of the lesion can be determined directly on the breast. Otherwise, using the nipple's location as the reference, the radiologist can determine whether a lesion is in the inner or outer zone in the breast by checking the position of the lesion in the CC view image; and determine whether a lesion is in the upper or lower zone by checking the position of the lesion in the ML/MLO view image. Then the quadrant can be determined jointly from the upper/lower and outer/inner position. After determining the quadrant, the radiologist can further estimate the clock position by checking whether the lesion is closer to the uppermost (lowermost) or innermost (outermost) part of the breast. The process is time consuming. Moreover, as the radiologist interprets the location information from two projection images empirically, the results may have a high inter-person variation.
Thus, there is an unmet need to develop systems and methods for effectively and efficiently measuring and displaying attributes of lesions or other objects of interest in medical images.

Systems and methods for measurement of objects of interest in medical images


Disclosed is a positive active material for a rechargeable lithium battery. The positive active material includes a core and a surface-treatment layer on the core. The core includes at least one lithiated compound and the surface-treatment layer includes at least one coating material selected from the group consisting of coating element included-hydroxides, oxyhydroxides, oxycarbonates, hydroxycarbonates and any mixture thereof.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a positive active material for a rechargeable lithium battery and a method of preparing the same, and, more particularly, to a positive active material for a rechargeable lithium battery exhibiting good electrochemical properties such as cycle life, high discharge potential, high power density and improved thermal stability characteristics.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Rechargeable lithium batteries have high average discharge potential of about 3.7V and are 4V-grade batteries. The rechargeable lithium batteries are widely used for cellular phones, notebook computers, or camcorders, which are also known as "the 3 Cs", and are main components in the digital world.
The rechargeable lithium batteries use a material from or into which lithium ions are deintercalated or intercalated as positive and negative active materials. For an electrolyte, an organic solvent or polymer is used. Rechargeable lithium batteries produce electric energy as a result of changes in the chemical potentials of the active materials during the intercalation and deintercalation reactions of lithium ions.
For the negative active material in a rechargeable lithium battery, metallic lithium has been used in the early days of development. Recently, however, carbon materials, which intercalate lithium ions reversibly, are extensively used instead of the metallic lithium due to problems of high reactivity toward electrolyte and dendrite formation of the metallic lithium. With the use of carbon-based active materials, the potential safety problems that are present in batteries with the metallic lithium can be prevented while achieving relatively higher energy density, as well as much improved cycle life. In particular, boron is added to carbonaceous materials to produce boron-coated graphite (BOC) in order to increase the capacity of the carbonaceous materials.
For the positive active material in the rechargeable lithium battery, chalcogenide compounds into or from which lithium ions are intercalated or deintercalated are used. Typical examples include LiCoO2, LiMn2O4, LiNiO2, LiNi1−xCoxO2(0<X<1) or LiMnO2. Manganese-based materials such as LiMn2O4 or LiMnO2 are the easiest to prepare, are less expensive than the other materials, and are environmentally friendly. However, manganese-based materials have a low capacity. LiNiO2 is inexpensive and has a high charge capacity, but is difficult to produce. LiCoO2 is relatively expensive, but widely used as it has good electrical conductivity and high battery voltage. Most rechargeable lithium batteries (about at least 95%) employ LiCoO2.
Although LiCoO2 exhibits good cycle life characteristics and good flat discharge profiles, there are still demands to improve electrochemical properties such as good cycle life and high power density.
One way to satisfy such a demand is to substitute a part of the Co from LiCoO2 with other metals. Sony prepares LixCo1−yMy O2 by doping about 1 to 5 percent by weight of Al2O3 into LiCoO2. A&TB (Ashai & Thosiba Battery Co.) prepares a Sn-doped Co-based active material by substituting a part of Co from LiCoO2 with Sn.
Another way is that a lithiated compound is coated with a coating material.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,292,601 discloses LixMO2 (M is at least one element selected from Co, Ni or Mn; x is 0.5 to 1). U.S. Pat. No. 5,705,291 discloses a method in which a coating material is mixed with a lithiated intercalation compound, and the mixture is annealed at 400° C. or more to coat the compound with the coating material. The coating material is selected from boron oxide, boric acid, lithium hydroxide, aluminum oxide, lithium aluminate, lithium metaborate, silicon dioxide, lithium silicate or mixtures thereof.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 9-55210 discloses that lithium nickel-based oxide is coated with alkoxide of Co, Al and Mn and heat-treated to prepare a positive active material. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 11-16566 discloses lithium-based oxide coated with a metal and/ or an oxide thereof. The metal includes Ti, Sn, Bi, Cu, Si, Ga, W, Zr, B or Mn. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-185758 discloses coating a surface of lithium manganese oxide with metal oxide by using a co-precipitation procedure and heat-treating the same to prepare a positive active material.
Even though these studies have progressed, there are still demands for improving electrochemical properties such as high capacity, long cycle life, high power density and exhibiting good thermal stability. In addition, much research is being conducted on thermal stability of positive active materials to ensure stability and reliability of batteries under abusive condition such as heat-exposure, firing or overcharging.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Positive active material for rechargeable lithium battery and method of preparing same


A wire feeding apparatus is disclosed. The wire feeding apparatus includes a rotable drive shaft, a servo motor in driving relationship with the drive shaft and one or more feed modules. Each feed module is selectively engaged with the drive shaft through the use of a linear actuator. When the linear actuator is engaged, each feed module is driven by the drive shaft such that wire is either fed or retracted.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a wire feeding device for a bulk material baler, and more particularly to a device for feeding wires individually selected from a plurality of wires.
2. Related Art
Wire baling of bulk materials benefits from increased speed and reduced materials cost through automation. Bulk materials include fibrous bulk materials such as cotton and nylon. Fibrous materials are commonly formed into bales by simultaneous compression and binding. There is a continuing need in the automated baling art to improve the efficiency, reliability and accuracy of the bale binding process.
Baling wire performance requirements vary depending upon the bulk material being baled. Such requirements range from industry standard specifications to general operational parameters, such as minimum speeds required for profitability. The Cotton Council issues standard baling constraints specifying particular ranges for the length of wire around the bale and the tension that the wire must withstand.
Current automated baling machines use an articulated track to guide wire around bales of bulk material, while that bale is under compression. Part of the wire guide track in current automated balers must be removable to a second position after the ends of the baling wire have been tied together, in order to allow ejection of the bale and insertion into the baler of the next unit of material for baling. Material to be baled is typically introduced into the automatic baler under vertical compression. Typical pressures for an industry standard 500 pound, 20 by 54 inch bale are in excess of 300 tons. Horizontal plates called follower blocks apply compression through platens which contact the surface of the cotton or other material being compressed. The platens incorporate slots which run laterally to the longitudinal axis of the bale. The Industry Standard number of binding wires for cotton bales is six. Accordingly, there are six slots in the platens. These allow the baling wire to be wrapped around the bale while it is still under compression. The lateral slots have lateral channels behind them for insertion of wire guide tracks in both the upper and lower platens in automatic balers.
It is not uncommon for a wire being looped around the bulk material to bind up in the track or otherwise misfeed. In this case, it is necessary to remove the bound up wire and retie the bale. Presently, there exists no easy or convenient method to re-feed the wire around the bale. Either the wire can be looped manually which presents some hazard to the operator or alternatively the tied wires may be cut and the process begun again. There remains a need for an automatic baling apparatus that can correct mis-feeding errors.
Moreover, in order to loop baling wire around bulk material to be baled, release it from a guide track and knot the ends, tension must be generated in the wire. Likewise, in order to properly knot the ends of the wire, tension must be maintained in the twisting procedure that generates the knot. These tensions must be maintained within prescribed ranges to optimize efficiency and to produce a final bale compliant with industry standards.
Typically, tension is created in the wire by reversing the wire feed mechanism. In other words, the wire feed mechanism reverses, pulling the wire out of the track and drawing it tight against the bail. In the case of a misfeed, it is necessary to not only loop a single wire around the bale, but it is also necessary to tension the wire. There remains a need in the art for a simple but effective apparatus for feeding and tensioning a single wire loop.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,119,536 issued to Berkeley on Jan. 28, 1964 discloses a wire feeding apparatus. The device includes a constantly rotating shaft, a first gear connected to the rotating shaft, and a second gear which is selectively engaged with the first gear. The second gear is mounted on a square bar and is biased upwardly away from the first rotating gear. The Berkeley device uses pivot arms that push the second gear downwardly to overcome the bias and engage with the first gear such that wire is fed. The Berkeley device is relatively complex and expensive due to the number of components it requires. Moreover, the Berkeley device is inefficient in that it utilizes a constantly rotating shaft.
Other prior art devices achieve selective drive of separate wire feed devices by separately powering each of three or more wire feed devices with an individually dedicated servo motor. While this achieves selective engagement of individual wire feeders, it clearly multiplies the expense by using multiple servo motors. There is a need in the art for a device with selective engagability capabilities that is less expensive.
There remains a need in the art for an economical wire feeding apparatus for feeding and tensioning wire that is simple, reliable and inexpensive.


The ultra-wideband impedance sensor (UWBZ sensor, or Z-sensor) is implemented in differential and single-ended configurations. The differential UWBZ sensor employs a sub-nanosecond impulse to determine the balance of an impedance bridge. The bridge is configured as a differential sample-and-hold circuit that has a reference impedance side and an unknown impedance side. The unknown impedance side includes a short transmission line whose impedance is a function of the near proximity of objects. The single-ended UWBZ sensor eliminates the reference side of the bridge and is formed of a sample and hold circuit having a transmission line whose impedance is a function of the near proximity of objects. The sensing range of the transmission line is bounded by the two-way travel time of the impulse, thereby eliminating spurious Doppler modes from large distant objects that would occur in a microwave CW impedance bridge. Thus, the UWBZ sensor is a range-gated proximity sensor. The Z-sensor senses the near proximity of various materials such as metal, plastic, wood, petroleum products, and living tissue. It is much like a capacitance sensor, yet it is impervious to moisture. One broad application area is the general replacement of magnetic sensors, particularly where nonferrous materials need to be sensed. Another broad application area is sensing full/empty levels in tanks, vats and silos, e.g., a full/empty switch in water or petroleum tanks.

The invention relates generally to ultra-wideband sensors, and more particularly to ultra-wideband range-gated proximity sensors.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,345,471 by McEwan describes an ultra-wideband (UWB) receiver which has both differential and single-ended configurations. The UWB receiver is range-gated and has a variety of micropower impulse radar applications, including motion sensing (U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,070), hidden object locators (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,457,394 and 5,512,834), and medical monitoring (U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,012). U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,059 describes a guided wire micropower impulse radar system for material level sensing. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/379,044 describes an RF switch for material level sensing. U.S. Pat. No. 5,521,600 desribes a range gated field disturbance sensor and U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,256 describes a range gated strip proximity sensor.
It is desirable to have a simple, low cost UWB sensor which can detect changes in impedance to replace conventional impedance sensors for use in a variety of applications. Magnetic proximity sensors are useless where nonferrous materials are to be sensed. Capacitive sensors are affected by interferences, e.g., moisture. Conventional microwave CW impedance bridges can be affected by spurious Doppler modes from large distant objects.

The Regents of the University of California


A cervical collar is formed by folding a blank of resilient foamed elastomer or synthetic resin along a longitudinal centerline and enclosing the folded blank in a stretch fabric cover. The rounded, folded edge contributes increased deflection resistance through the vertical dimension of the folded blank and is configured for placement against the jaw areas of a wearer. Openings in the blank allow installation of plugs or air bladders to adjust the vertical dimension and deflection resistance of the collar to accommodate application to necks of various heights and strengths.

This invention relates to cervical collars, and more particularly to a cervical collar of improved support and comfort characteristics for use primarily in the workplace, home and while traveling, and to a method for making the same.
There are two basic forms of cervical collars. One is a costly, multi-component, rigid structure for use in medical emergency situations that require immobilization of the head and neck by medically trained personnel. The second form of cervical collar is an inexpensive, one-piece, resilient strip of foamed rubber or synthetic resin that can be wrapped and secured about the neck by the wearer to provide support for the head while permitting a limited degree of freedom of movement of the head. The present invention relates to cervical collars of this second form.
Workplace tasks, such as a computer work station, require the operator to position the hands for manipulating a keyboard and to otherwise assume a relatively fixed posture of the body and head in front of the display. This static condition results in muscular fatique and consequent discomfort in the neck and shoulders. The use of a cervical collar of the second form described above, even for a few minutes periodically through the work hours, overcomes the muscular fatigue and results beneficially in improved comfort and consequent productivity.
One-piece cervical collars of the second form described above have been provided heretofore. Since they have utilized conventional foamed synthetic resins, typically foamed polyurethane resin, they have had to incorporate some means to increase the density of the foam, or otherwise decrease the resilience thereof, sufficiently to provide increased deflection resistance to adequately support the head and neck.
One such means for decreasing the resilience of the foamed synthetic resin, described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,374,785 is to re-form the foamed material into small cubes and thereafter bond the cubes together with a binder. This bonded mixture then is heated to a softened condition and forced into a mold and cured to form a shaped core material of increased density. The core material is covered with a porous fabric and mating fasteners are secured to the opposite ends of the core for attaching the collar about the neck. This elaborate procedure contributes adversely to excessive manufacturing cost.
Another means for decreasing the resilience of foamed synthetic resin is to provide one or more reinforcement components of non-foamed synthetic resin which also support the foamed resin collar in annular shape. This construction is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,964,474. The two piece construction described therein is characterized by excessive manufacturing cost and is rather uncomfortable to wear while working.
Still another means for providing a cervical collar of suitable head and neck-supporting capability is to form the collar of a corrugated plastic material in which the corrugations extend parallel to the axial dimension of the neck. Such a collar is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,637. A similar construction, formed with an axially extending splint assembly fastened to the outer side of a soft foamed resin collar, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,581. These structures also are rather expensive to manufacture and are rather uncomfortable to wear while working.
Other such cervical collars utilize specially foamed synthetic resins of higher than normal density to achieve the required head and neck support. Illustrative of these are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,850,164 and 4,987,891. This high density foamed resin is costly to manufacture and it presents an unsatisfactory degree of discomfort to the wearer.


When substantially all features in a layout for a layer of material in an integrated circuit (IC) are defined using a phase shifting mask, the related complementary mask that is normally used to define the remaining features and edges can be improved if intensities in an aerial image from openings on the complementary mask that are below threshold are increased to ensure that each opening meets or exceeds threshold. Such increase of intensities improves effectiveness of critical openings that are otherwise too small to print. Absent intensity increase, such openings could limit the application of optical lithography using phase shifting masks to ever shrinking technologies. The intensities are increased in some embodiments by enlarging some openings in the complementary mask in directions not constrained by features to be formed in an integrated circuit (by use of the phase shifting mask).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to fabricating semiconductor chips. More specifically, the invention relates to a method and an apparatus for increasing the maximum intensity of poorly-defined regions in an image formed by a complementary mask that is normally used to expose (and remove) unwanted regions located between phase shifters of a phase shifting mask during an optical lithography process used in fabricating a semiconductor chip.
2. Related Art
Optical lithography process begins with the formation of a photoresist layer on the surface of a semiconductor wafer. A mask composed of opaque regions, which are generally formed of chrome, and light-transmitting clear regions, which are generally formed of quartz, is then positioned over this photoresist layer. (Note that the term "mask" as used in this specification is meant to include the term "reticle.") Light is then shone on the mask from a visible light source, an ultraviolet light source, or more generally some type of electromagnetic radiation source together with suitably adapted masks and lithography equipment.
This image is reduced and focused through an optical system containing a number of lenses, filters, and mirrors. The light passes through the clear regions of the mask and exposes the underlying photoresist layer. At the same time, opaque regions of the mask block the light leaving underlying portions of the photoresist layer unexposed.
The exposed photoresist layer is then developed, through chemical removal of either the exposed or non-exposed regions of the photoresist layer. The end result is a semiconductor wafer with a photoresist layer having a desired pattern. This pattern can then be used for etching underlying regions of the wafer.
As integration densities continue to increase, it is becoming desirable to use phase shifters to define more and more features within a layout. This can lead to problems in some situations. For example, a desired feature can be formed using zero-degree phase shifter and 180-degree phase shifter of a phase shifting mask (PSM), and normally there remains a small region between shifters which is not intended to print. Such regions on a wafer under fabrication which result from use of the phase shifting mask are normally cleared by a complementary, or trim, mask during the optical lithography process.
A complementary mask 101 shown in FIG. 1B (also known as a trim mask) for use with a phase shifting mask (not shown) provides a number of openings at appropriate locations to fully expose any unwanted photoresist that may be left from use of the phase shifting mask. For example, opening 101A on complementary mask 101 is located to remove unexposed photoresist that would cause bridging between features 102Q and 102R (see left side of FIG. 1B). Note that the features to be formed are shown in FIG. 1B superposed on complementary mask 101 for ease in illustrating the locations of openings and features relative to one another. Also note that although a limited number of openings are shown in the attached figures for illustrative purposes, it will be understood that any number of such openings may be present in a complementary mask and/or phase shifting mask, depending on, for example, circuitry in a wafer to be formed using the masks.
As technology dimensions shrink to 65 nm and smaller, the intensity of radiation through one or more of openings (also called "cuts" or "cutouts") 101A–101H in trim mask 101 (FIG. 1A) drops to such a low level as to become ineffective in exposing (and therefore removing) unwanted photoresist. The issue of insufficient intensity through the trim mask openings imposes limits on the overall performance of full phase technology using such a trim mask (following the use of a phase shifting mask).
For an example of this problem, see aerial image 103 (FIG. 1C) illustrating the effects of openings 101A–101H in trim mask 101 (FIG. 1A). Image 103 was obtained from a trim-level test cell layout with 65 nm design rules and aerial image simulation at the following image settings: λ=193 nm, 0.8 NA, and 0.2 σ (partial coherence) at best focus. FIG. 1C shows a contour plot of the aerial image, with levels of intensity being marked by solid or dotted lines. Note that image 103 has its brightest intensity in region 104E (FIG. 1C) which is surrounded by a slightly lower intensity region 103E. Regions 103E and 104E are portions of a continuum of intensities with the highest intensity at the center of region 104E.
As shown in FIG. 1C, opening 101A (which may be, for example, a square of 10 nm on each side) produces a region of very low intensity, namely region 103D (FIG. 1C) which is shown by a dotted line. For this reason, region 103D will be "poorly defined" on a wafer. Due to unacceptably low intensity in several regions (e.g. regions 103A and 103D), their respective openings (e.g. openings 101A and 101D) are ineffective in exposing—and therefore permitting removal of—unwanted photoresist in conjunction with the use of a phase shifting mask. For example, when such a trim mask 101 (FIG. 1A) is used, features 102Q and 102R (FIG. 1B) are likely to remain connected to one another despite the presence of opening 101A, because of insufficient intensity in the corresponding regions of the aerial image generated by mask 101.
In some embodiments the complementary, or trim, mask may include phase shifters, e.g. attenuated background.

Method for printability enhancement of complementary masks


A workpiece deflector shield includes a flexible web arranged for extension and retraction relative to separable mold halves that are arranged in operative relationship relative to one another from a first engaged positioned to a second spaced relationship, wherein in the spaced relationship, the flexible shield structure provides for deflection of a workpiece ejected from the separated mold members.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention relates to injection mold apparatus, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved workpiece deflection shield apparatus wherein the same is addressed to the deflection of an ejected workpiece from mold structure to an underlying receiving position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Injection molding is known in the prior art, wherein cooperative injection molds are indicated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,968,829 to Nakata. U.S. Pat. No. 4,543,021 to Adler indicates the use of a rigid shield structure relative to a work station such as a drill press and the like.
The instant invention attempts to overcome deficiencies of the prior art by incorporating a flexible web structure arranged to extend and retract relative to a web housing between cooperative injection molds that are arranged for reciprocation relative to one another and in this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.

Workpiece deflector shield for an injection molding apparatus


The optimal allocation of resources—power and bandwidth—between training and data transmissions is considered for time-selective Rayleigh flat-fading channels under the cutoff rate criterion. The transmitter, assumed to have statistical channel state information (CSI) in the form of the channel Doppler spectrum, embeds known pilots symbols into the transmission stream. At the receiver, instantaneous, though imperfect, CSI is acquired through minimum mean square estimation of the channel based on some subset of pilot observations. The cutoff rate is computed and the optimal resource allocation is developed using, for example, a Gauss-Markov correlation model of a communication channel or a Jakes model.

In wireless communications employing coherent detection, imperfect knowledge of the fading channel state imposes limits on the achievable performance as measured by, e.g., the mutual information, the bit-error rate (BER), or the minimum mean square error (MMSE). Typically, a fraction of system resources—bandwidth and energy—is devoted to channel estimation techniques (known as training) which improve knowledge of the channel state. Such schemes give rise to a tradeoff between the allocation of limited resources to training on one hand and data on the other, and it is natural to seek the optimal allocation of resources between these conflicting requirements. Such an optimization is of particular interest for rapidly varying channels, where the energy and bandwidth savings of an optimized scheme can be significant.
In this context, Pilot Symbol Assisted Modulation (PSAM) has emerged as a viable and robust training technique for rapidly varying fading channels. In PSAM, known pilot symbols are multiplexed with data symbols for transmission through the communications channel. At the receiver, knowledge of these pilots is used to form channel estimates, which aid the detection of the data both directly (by modifying the detection rule based on the channel estimate) and indirectly (e.g., by allowing for estimate-directed modulation, power control, and media access). PSAM has been incorporated into standards for IEEE 802.11, Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), Wideband Code-Division Multiple-Access (WCDMA), and Military protocols, among others, and many theoretical issues are now being addressed. For example, optimized approaches to PSAM have recently been studied from the perspectives of frequency and timing offset estimation, BER, and the channel capacity or its bounds.
Current studies consider PSAM design for continuously time-varying, time-selective Rayleigh fading channels, under the channel capacity or its bounds. In each, the transmitter is assumed to have knowledge of the Doppler spectrum, and the receiver makes (instantaneous) MMSE estimates of the channel based on some subset of the pilot observations. In one study, three estimators (of varying complexity) are proposed and used to predict the channel state for a Gauss-Markov channel correlation model. Optimal binary inputs are used, and it is determined that for sufficiently correlated channels (i.e., slow enough fading), PSAM provides significant gains in the constrained capacity over the no pilot approach. Analysis was carried out through numerical simulation, and the optimization of energy between pilot and data symbols was not attempted.
However, in practice, there exists a need for analytic solutions that provide guidance on the optimal allocation of training and bandwidth. Any such algorithm can be sufficiently simple so as to be amenable to implementation in a consumer grade wireless device, such as a cellphone or personal digital assistant.
In other studies, authors assume a bandlimited Doppler spectrum and derive closed-form bounds on the channel capacity, using the estimator that exploits all past and future pilot observations. Closed-form results are derived for the optimal allocation of training and bandwidth in some cases.
However, in practice, the wireless communications channel available to the system designer is typically digitally sampled, and may not exhibit bandlimited Doppler spectra. Further, practical estimators are limited to using just a few past and future pilots, as using all past and future pilots is prohibitively complex and not feasible in real-world designs. Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned inadequacies.

Training for time-selective wireless fading channels using cutoff rate

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


Embodiments of the Concrete Form include a form tube, chamfer disk, and one or more form cross-members. The form cross-members are comprised of a center pivot, two bolt guides, which are formed by the cross-members, and an optional clamp. The chamfer disk is a disk that sits atop of the form tube and forms side chamfers when placed upon the form tube when the concrete cures. The chamfer disk is a separate formed or molded piece that will sit on top of the tube form in order to form a chamfer in the concrete. The chanfer disk is a ring-shaped device with the chamfer formed in positive relief under the ring of the chamfer disk. The optional clamp can be used to hold any conduit, tube or any other item during the pour.

The background of the embodiments of the Concrete Form is the broad use of concrete forms. When forming a support pylon for objects including lamp posts, signs, and structural piers, it is common to use concrete form tubes to contain the concrete while it is curing. Usually the form is a simple, water-resistant tube that the concrete is poured into and allowed to contain the concrete during cure. This simple form does not permit finer finishing of the concrete including the formation of a chamfer on the outer edges of the concrete.

Concrete pier foundation anchor bolt support and chamfer form


In a computer-implemented method for generating a response to an aggregate query request on a source database, a random sample of records is extracted from the source database to generate a sample database. Then an aggregate query is performed on the sample database to generate a sample result, and an estimate of the aggregate query request on the source database is derived from the sample result.

The present invention relates generally to database systems, and more particularly to aggregate queries in database systems.
A database is a collection of information. Relational databases are typically illustrated as one or more two-dimensional tables. Each table arranges items and attributes of the items in rows and columns. Each table row corresponds to an item (referred to as a record), and each table column corresponds to an attribute of the item (referred to as a field). In a relational database a collection of tables can be related (or "joined") to each other through a common attribute or "key". The common key enables information in one table to be automatically cross-referenced to corresponding information in another table.
A complex search may be performed on a database with a "query". A query specifies a set of criteria (e.g., the names of customers from a particular state) to define information for a database program to retrieve from the database. An aggregate query is a query which requests information concerning a group of records in the aggregate. For example, in a database which stores credit card transactions, an aggregate query may request the total purchases for all customers in a particular state. Each aggregate query may include a set of criteria to select records (e.g., grouping by state), and an operation to perform on the group of selected records (e.g., summing the transaction amounts).
Typical operations for aggregate queries include counting (e.g., determining the total number of transactions in a particular state), summing (e.g., determining the total of the purchases within the state), averaging (e.g., determining the average value of all purchases within the state), and finding minimum and maximum values (e.g., finding the largest and smallest purchases within the state).
To perform an aggregate query, a conventional database program examines every record in the database to determine whether or not the record matches any criteria. It constructs a query table from the records that match the criteria. Then the program performs the required operation over the appropriate fields from each record in the query table.
In some circumstances, a conventional database program may be unacceptably slow when performing an aggregate query. For example, a data warehouse for a credit card company might include a record of every transaction for every customer for the entire history of the credit card company. In such a data warehouse it would require an impractical amount of time or processing power to perform an aggregate query.
Several techniques have been developed to reduce the time required to process aggregate queries. One technique is to pre-compute partial answers to related queries. For example, a transaction total may be pre-computed in each individual zip code. Then, if the user requests the transaction total for a specific state, the database program adds the pre-computed transaction total for each zip code within the specific state. Because there are fewer zip codes than transactions, the transaction totals for the zip code may be added together more quickly than the transaction amount in the transaction records. Unfortunately, the advantages of this technique may be lost if the user submits a query to which no partial answer has been prepared.

Method and apparatus for performing an aggregate query in a database system


Benzoimidazole compounds, compositions, and methods of using them in leukocyte recruitment inhibition, in modulating H4 receptor, and in treating conditions such as inflammation, H4 receptor-mediated conditions, and related conditions.

Histamine was first identified as a hormone (G. Barger and H. H. Dale, J. Physiol. (London) 1910, 41:19-59) and has since been demonstrated to play a major role in a variety of physiological processes, including the inflammatory "triple response" via H1 receptors (A. S. F. Ash and H. O, Schild, Br. J. Pharmac. Chemother. 1966, 27:427-439), gastric acid secretion via H2 receptors (J. W. Black et al., Nature 1972, 236:385-390), and neurotransmitter release in the central nervous system via H3 receptors (J.-M. Arrang et al., Nature 1983, 302:832-837) (for review see S. J. Hill et al., Pharmacol. Rev. 1997, 49(3):253-278). All three histamine receptor subtypes have been demonstrated to be members of the superfamily of G protein-coupled receptors (I. Gantz et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 1991, 88:429-433; T. W. Lovenberg et al., Mol. Pharmacol. 1999, 55(6):1101-1107; M. Yamashita et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 1991, 88:11515-11519). There are, however, additional functions of histamine that have been reported, for which no receptor has been identified. For example, in 1994, Raible et al., demonstrated that histamine and R-α-methylhistamine could activate calcium mobilization in human eosinophils (D. G. Raible et al., Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 1994, 149:1506-1511). These responses were blocked by the H3-receptor antagonist thioperamide. However, R-α-methylhistamine was significantly less potent than histamine, which was not consistent with the involvement of known H3 receptor subtypes. Therefore, Raible et al. hypothesized the existence of a novel histamine receptor on eosinophils that was non-H1, non-H2, and non-H3. Most recently several groups (T. Oda et al., J. Biol. Chem. 2000, 275(47):36781-36786; C. Liu et al., Mol. Pharmacol. 2001, 59(3):420-426; T. Nguyen et al., Mol. Pharmacol. 2001, 59(3):427-433; Y. Zhu et al., Mol. Pharmacol. 2001, 59(3):434-441; K. L. Morse et al., J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 2001, 296(3):1058-1066) have identified and characterized a fourth histamine receptor subtype, the H4 receptor. This receptor is a 390 amino acid, seven-transmembrane, G protein-coupled receptor with approximately 40% homology to the histamine H3 receptor. In contrast to the H3 receptor, which is primarily located in the brain, the H4 receptor is expressed at greater levels in eosinophils and mast cells, among other cells, as reported by Liu et al. (see above) and C. L. Hofstra et al. (J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 2003, 305(3):1212-1221). Because of its preferential expression on immunocompetent cells, this H4 receptor is closely related with the regulatory functions of histamine during the immune response.
A biological activity of histamine in the context of immunology and autoimmune diseases is closely related with the allergic response and its deleterious effects, such as inflammation. Events that elicit the inflammatory response include physical stimulation (including trauma), chemical stimulation, infection, and invasion by a foreign body. The inflammatory response is characterized by pain, increased temperature, redness, swelling, reduced function, or a combination of these.
Mast-cell de-granulation (exocytosis) releases histamine and leads to an inflammatory response that may be initially characterized by a histamine-modulated wheal and flare reaction. A wide variety of immunological stimuli (e.g., allergens or antibodies) and non-immunological (e.g., chemical) stimuli may cause the activation, recruitment, and de-granulation of mast cells. Mast-cell activation initiates allergic (H1) inflammatory responses, which in turn cause the recruitment of other effector cells that further contribute to the inflammatory response. The histamine H2 receptors modulate gastric acid secretion, and the histamine H3 receptors affect neurotransmitter release in the central nervous system.
Modulation of H4 receptors controls the release of inflammatory mediators and inhibits leukocyte recruitment, thus providing the ability to prevent and/or treat H4-mediated diseases and conditions, including the deleterious effects of allergic responses such as inflammation. Compounds according to the present invention have H4 receptor modulating properties. Compounds according to the present invention have leukocyte recruitment inhibiting properties. Compounds according to the present invention have anti-inflammatory properties.
Examples of textbooks on the subject of inflammation include J. I. Gallin and R. Snyderman, Inflammation: Basic Principles and Clinical Correlates, 3rd Edition, (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, 1999); V. Stvrtinova, J. Jakubovsky and I. Hulin, "Inflammation and Fever", Pathophysiology Principles of Diseases (Textbook for Medical Students, Academic Press, 1995); Cecil et al., Textbook Of Medicine, 18th Edition (W.B. Saunders Company, 1988); and Steadmans Medical Dictionary.
Background and review material on inflammation and conditions related with inflammation can be found in articles such as the following: C. Nathan, Points of control in inflammation, Nature 2002, 420:846-852; K. J. Tracey, The inflammatory reflex, Nature 2002, 420:853-859; L. M. Coussens and Z. Werb, Inflammation and cancer, Nature 2002, 420:860-867; P. Libby, Inflammation in atherosclerosis, Nature 2002, 420:868-874; C. Benoist and D. Mathis, Mast cells in autoimmune disease, Nature 2002, 420:875-878; H. L. Weiner and D. J. Selkoe, Inflammation and therapeutic vaccination in CNS diseases, Nature 2002, 420:879-884; J. Cohen, The immunopathogenesis of sepsis, Nature 2002, 420:885-891; D. Steinberg, Atherogenesis in perspective: Hypercholesterolemia and inflammation as partners in crime, Nature Medicine 2002, 8(11):1211-1217.
Inflammation herein refers to the response that develops as a consequence of histamine release, which in turn is caused by at least one stimulus. Examples of such stimuli are immunological stimuli and non-immunological stimuli.
Inflammation is due to any one of a plurality of conditions such as allergy, asthma, chronic obstructed pulmonary disease (COPD), atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel diseases (including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis), psoriasis, allergic rhinitis, scleroderma, autoimmune thyroid diseases, immune-mediated (also known as type 1) diabetes mellitus and lupus, which are characterized by excessive or prolonged inflammation at some stage of the disease. Other autoimmune diseases that lead to inflammation include Myasthenia gravis, autoimmune neuropathies, such as Guillain-Barré, autoimmune uveitis, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, pernicious anemia, autoimmune thrombocytopenia, temporal arteritis, anti-phospholipid syndrome, vasculitides, such as Wegener's granulomatosis, Behcet's disease, dermatitis herpetiformis, pemphigus vulgaris, vitiligio, primary biliary cirrhosis, autoimmune hepatitis, autoimmune oophoritis and orchitis, autoimmune disease of the adrenal gland, polymyositis, dermatomyositis, spondyloarthropathies, such as ankylosing spondylitis, and Sjogren's syndrome. Regarding the onset and evolution of inflammation, inflammatory diseases or inflammation-mediated diseases or conditions include, but are not limited to, acute inflammation, allergic inflammation, and chronic inflammation.
Cited references are incorporated herein by reference.


Fastener stringer may include a knitted fastener tape, and a fastener element attached to the fastener tape. The fastener tape may include a first side-edge portion where the fastener element is provided, a second side-edge portion provided at an opposite side of the first side-edge portion, and a tape main portion provided between the first and second side-edge portions. The first side-edge portion may include one or more chain-stitch yarns formed in one or more wales. The second side-edge portion may not include a chain-stitch yarn. The tape main portion may include M or more chain-stitch yarns formed in M or more wales. M may indicate a natural number equal to or greater than one third of the total number of wales included in the fastener tape. Difference in yarn density may be caused between the tape main portion and the second side-edge portion.

International Publication No. 2011/007411 discloses, as would be understood by comparison of FIGS. 3 and 6, a chain-stitch yarn at wale W13 is dissolved, thus enhancing stretch properties or softness of a fastener tape. Further, this document discloses that reinforcing chain-stitch yarns are provided at 4th to 6th wales W4-W6 of a tape main portion 11a, thus enhancing durability against a physical contact by a flange of a slider (See para. 0064).
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-211913 discloses that identification yarns are knitted into a tape fabric so that slide fasteners can be distinguishable.


The present invention relates to a compliant leaded interposer for resiliently attaching and electrically connecting a ball grid array package to a circuit board. The interposer may include a substrate, a plurality of pads, and a plurality of pins. The plurality of pads may be positioned substantially on the top surface of the substrate and arranged in a predetermined pattern substantially corresponding to the solder ball pattern on the ball grid array package. The plurality of pins may be positioned substantially perpendicular to the substrate and may extend through the substrate and the plurality of pads. The interposer may be configured to attach the ball grid array package to the circuit board such that each of the solder balls on the ball grid array package contacts at least a portion the plurality of pins and at least a portion of the plurality of pads and such that the each of the plurality of pins also connects to a contact on the circuit board.

Early attempts at mounting and connecting integrated circuits and semiconductor chips to printed wiring boards (PWBs) frequently resulted in unreliable connections. More particularly, attempts at connecting commercial-off-the-shelf ("COTS") large-size, high-pin-count ("HPC") plastic ball grid arrays (PBGAs) to PWBs included additional difficulties during attachment and use due certain characteristics to the PBGAs. Some of the COTS PBGAs display warpage and non-coplanarity, which may cause shorting and/or structural weaknesses after soldering. These difficulties may be enhanced or exaggerated when the PWBs are exposed to harsh environments, such as environments having thermal cycling and mechanical vibrations.
Non-coplanarity in a PBGA is measured by the largest distance between a given ball and a theoratical plane formed by three highest balls. Non-coplanarity may be observed by placing a PBGA on a flat plate or surface where only three balls make contact with the flat plate. The non-coplanarity prevents other balls from contacting the surface, leaving a gap. Non-coplanarity may, however, change during thermal cycling, depending in some cases on the thermal coefficient of expansion mismatch of the materials used in the PBGA, such as silicon, substrate, encapsulant, and die adhesive and structural inconsistencies.
In some cases, the COTS PBGAs, "as received" from the manufacturer, include non-coplanarity characteristics even at room temperature. COTS components, despite following commercial standards, may display deviations of 0.004 inch for a small-size COTS PBGA, which for 0.020 inch diameter solder balls indicates a 0.004/0.020 deviation or 20% non-coplanarity. For small-size COTS PBGA, this deviation, equaling approximately ⅕th of the height of the joint, results in a weak joint between corresponding contacts on the PBGA and the PWB. For large-size COTS PBGA, the problem may be exaggerated with the deviation from coplanarity exceeding 0.006 in some cases. The PGBAs may experience additional warpage during soldering when localized temperatures may increase dramatically. For example, the soldering temperature may range from about 215° C. to about 220° C. for Tin 63%:Lead 37% solder and about 245° C. to about 250° C. for lead-free Tin:Silver:Copper (SAC) alloy. At these soldering temperatures, previously planar PBGAs may experience new warpage and originally warped PBGAs may further deform, exacerbating the issue.
FIG. 1A shows an example of a PBGA prior to soldering to a PWB. As shown in FIG. 1, a PBGA 10 may include an encapsulant 11, a substrate 12 and solder balls 13. Although the PBGA 10 may be coplanar at room temperature when received from the manufacturer, the PBGA may warp during soldering when localized temperatures increase. As shown in FIG. 1A, for most COTS PBGA the encapsulant 11 does not extend across the entire upper surface of the substrate 12. As such, the substrate 12 has been shown to experience localized warpage of the outer portions of the substrate 12 without the encapsulant 11 during soldering of the solder balls 13.
FIG. 1B shows the effects of warpage on the quality of the solder joints. As shown, the PBGA 10 may warp during or after soldering, especially at the edges of the PBGA 10, with the substrate 12 departing from coplanarity. For example in FIG. 1B, at the edges of the PBGA 10, a distinctive downward curve is shown. This downward warpage may cause shorts in the electrical circuits if the solder balls 13 flatten and touch one another as shown in FIG. 1 when the PBGA is soldered to the PWB 30. Alternatively, if the PBGA is warped with an upward curve (not shown in the figures), the solder ball may fail to make contact with the PWB, resulting in a gap or open circuit.
If a warped or non-coplanar PBGA is received from the manufacturer and soldered to a PWB in the normal process, the warpage may be exaggerated during the soldering process and compound the problem. In COTS HPC PBGA, the warpage due to the soldering process may be difficult to predict due to several variables associated with the materials and processes. For example, the PBGA typically warps at the usual 215° C. to 220° C. soldering temperature. However, even when cooling from about 183° C., the temperature at which typical solder solidifies, to room temperature, the PBGA may continue to warp, inducing stress into the solder joints. Further, repeated thermal cycling, such as for example from −40° C. to +100° C., during actual use may induce additional warping in the PBGA and result in stressed solder joints due to repeated warping and unwarping actions.
Even if the induced warpage or non-coplanarity is not sufficient to cause a short or gap, a non-coplanar PBGA may induce greater stress and strain on the solder joints used to attach the PBGAs to the PWBs. Typically, PBGAs and PWBs have different thermal coefficients of expansion (TCE), resulting in problems when exposed to harsh thermally cyclic environments and vibration. When warped or non-coplanar PBGAs experience thermal expansion and contraction, the individual solder joints the PBGA to the PWB often experience different amounts of stress and strain. Stresses induced by thermal cycling, vibration and shock during use limit the life of the solder joint and the reliability of the system. Highly stressed, weak solder joints inherently include a lower life expectancy. Over time, degradation and cracking results at the solder joints from temperature cycling, especially where localized warping of the PBGA has already induced stress on the solder joints. As a result, the thermal expansion and contraction experienced by the solder joints increases with the amount of warpage of the PBGA, resulting in possible mechanical and electrical failure over time.
Previous attempts to connect certain components to PWBs have included the use of compliant leaded interposers. Such compliant leaded interposers have included etched leads, formed from thin copper leaf, which directly connect the electrical contacts on lightweight components, such as chip scale packages, to the electrical contacts on the PWB. An example of such a compliant leaded interposer is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,830,177. However, the thin etched leads of previously taught interposers are incapable of supporting larger components, such are large area grid array components. More particularly, the previously taught interposers fail to provide sufficient mechanical support and robustness for heavy PBGA components used in may advance electronic packages.
Therefore, it would be desirable to compensate for warpage or non-coplanarity in PBGA and to provide a robust mechanical and electrical connection between the PBGA and the PWB after soldering.

System and method of using a compliant lead interposer

General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, Inc.