A bumper cover fixing bracket mounted between a fender panel and a bumper cover includes a main supporting member having an upper end attached to an upper member, an auxiliary supporting member having a lower end connected to the main supporting member so as to form a Y-shape and an upper end attached to a wheel house front member, and a fastening member coupled to a lower end of the main supporting member and having one side and the other side mounted on the fender panel and the bumper cover, respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bumper cover fixing bracket of a vehicle, and more particularly, to a bumper cover fixing bracket of a vehicle, which engages a fender panel and a bumper cover so as to secure stiffness.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, a vehicle has front and rear bumpers mounted at the front and rear sides of a vehicle body. When the vehicle collides with another vehicle or a fixed object, the front and rear bumpers absorb the impact to secure the safety of passengers and to minimize a deformation of the vehicle body.
The front bumper includes a bumper beam formed therein, a stay connecting the bumper beam to the vehicle body, an energy absorber disposed at the front side of the bumper beam so as to absorb an impact, and a bumper cover covering the bumper beam and the energy absorber.
The bumper cover has both ends mounted on the fender panel, and a fixing bracket 100 is interposed therebetween to engage and fix the bumper cover and the fender panel.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the fixing bracket 100 includes a supporting member 101 attached to a wheel house front member 110 and a fastening member 103 attached to a side surface of the supporting member 101. The bumper cover and the fender panel are mounted on the fastening member 103.
The supporting member 101 of the fixing bracket 100 is formed to support a load in an X-axis direction, that is, in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle body.
The above-described supporting member 101 is welded and coupled to the wheel house front member 110 formed in an L-shape at an upper member 120.
The supporting member 101 is made of a thick tube member to secure stiffness thereof, and a separate reinforcement member 130 capable of securing the stiffness of the vehicle body is mounted on an inner surface of the supporting member 101 so as to join the supporting member 101.
Furthermore, the fastening member 103 formed in a triangle shape has one side attached to the side surface of the supporting member 101.
The fender panel and the bumper cover are mounted at one side and the other side of the fastening member 103, respectively.
According to the recent design specification, a variety of fixing brackets with a narrow engine room have been launched on the market. In the fixing brackets, a large head lamp is attached at a front side surface of the vehicle body so as to reduce protrusion of the upper member 120, a distance between the bumper cover and the upper member 120 at the side surface of the vehicle body is increased, and the wheel house front member 110 is formed in an oblique direction at the upper member 120.
Thus, the fixing bracket 100 having the above-described structure has difficulties in dealing with the increased distance between the upper member 120 and the bumper cover and inserting a separate reinforcement member 130 capable of securing stiffness into the inner surface because the fixing bracket 100 has a narrow engine room. Therefore, the stiffness of the fixing bracket 100 supporting the bumper cover and the fender panel inevitably decreases.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.


An ophthalmic illumination system includes planar shapes serially positioned in a path for a collimated beam, along an optical axis. The shapes are rotationally symmetric with one another relative to the optical axis. Each shape has a central rotational axis intersecting the optical axis. Generally wedge-shaped segments of the shapes are spaced apart around and converge at the optical axis to provide generally wedge-shaped apertures to the beam between the segments. The shapes are rotatable on the rotational axes along the optical axis to assume a plurality of configurations to vary intensity of the beam. The beam can fill spatial modes at substantially all radii of the optical fiber entrance pupil.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
When ophthalmic surgery is performed, an ophthalmic illumination system is used to illuminate the interior of a patient's eye so that the surgeon may view the surgical site. In a typical ophthalmic illumination system, light is collimated and focused onto the entrance pupil of an optical fiber that transmits light to an opto-illuminator, or light probe. A tip of the probe is inserted into an incision in the eye.
It is highly desirable to be able to control the brightness of illumination at the surgical site. In illumination systems in which filament lamps have been used, electrical power to the light source may be reduced to lower the brightness of the source and accordingly the illumination of the site. Reducing the power, however, can change the color temperature of the light and affect the quality of illumination. Furthermore, intensities of new, high-brightness light sources such as zenon arc lamps typically are not easily controlled through electrical means.

Controlling beam intensity in ophthalmic illumination systems using serial rotatable shapes


An archery target includes an impact-absorbing core configured to arrest an incoming projectile and a multilayered bag enveloping the impact-absorbing core and defining an outer surface of the target. The multilayered bag includes a flexible fabric layer comprising a plurality of interwoven fibers and a polyurethane coating layer applied to the flexible fabric layer and at least partially overlapping the flexible fabric layer such that the polyurethane coating layer at least partially fills spaces between the plurality of interwoven fibers. The fabric layer may be a woven polyester fabric having a denier rating of at least one thousand. The archery target may further include a marking defining a target area. The marking may be applied to the multilayered bag using a dye sublimation process.

The present description relates generally to an archery target configured to receive a pointed projectile, such as an arrow. More particularly, the present description relates to an archery target having a coated liner which enables detailed printing and extends the target's useful life.
Archery targets exist in a variety of different forms. Generally, archery targets include marking (e.g., a bull's eye, a ring, etc.) indicating a target area which an archer attempts to strike with an arrow. Some archery targets are simple paper targets on which the target marking is printed, drawn, or otherwise provided Such paper targets are typically attached to a foam block or other material capable of stopping an incoming projectile and are usually discarded after a single use.
Other archery targets are intended to be more durable and are capable of reuse. For example, compression bag targets feature a packed material inside a bag. Typically, the bag is formed from a woven polypropylene material and may include a target marking printed on a surface of the woven material. However, after repeated strikes from a pointed projectile, certain portions of such targets (e.g., the portions including the target marking) are likely to deteriorate, thereby requiring the targets to be replaced. For example, with respect to compression bag targets, the woven fibers often break when impacted by an arrow. Such breakage can result in large holes in the target after repeated arrow strikes.
Advances in materials science have produced materials capable of self-repair after being damaged (e.g., punctured by an arrow). Such "self healing" or "self sealing" materials can extend the life of a target by providing some degree of self-repair to counter the deterioration caused by repeated arrow strikes. However, it is difficult to effectively and permanently embed a target marking on such materials.


A residential construction estimation process that includes the steps of: inputting conceptual level data, selecting design characteristics, calculating a virtual geometry, selecting assemblies of construction components based on the calculated virtual geometry, selecting component options based on the selected assemblies of construction components, identifying a cost of each of the selected component options, and calculating a cost of the residence, wherein the cost is dynamically linked to each of the selected and inputted information of the preceding steps, such that the cost of the residence can be dynamically modeled at a detailed component level.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a construction cost estimation process, and more particularly to a construction cost estimation process for residential construction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cost estimation of construction projects for both residential and commercial construction is a necessary step in budgeting for, and constructing, a residential or commercial building. Current early stage cost estimation is at best an inexact science, providing a "ball-park" figure that often leads to erroneous assumptions and cost overruns on any given project.
In the commercial construction industry, efforts have been made to develop a uniform standard classification for various building elements known as UNIFORMAT originally developed by the American Institute of Architects and General Services Administration in 1972 for estimating and design cost analysis for commercial buildings. A second generation of the UNIFORMAT system known as UNIFORMAT II defines a standard classification for building elements and related site work and was released in 1993 by the American Society for Testing and Materials under ASTM standard E1557. The UNIFORMAT II standard utilizes elements that are traditionally defined as major construction system components, common to most buildings that perform a given function regardless of the design specification, construction method or materials used. The UNIFORMAT standard provides a common organizing framework linking the building program, specifications, and estimates for a commercial construction project. While the UNIFORMAT standard provides a structure for organizing building elements and construction costs in commercial construction projects, there exists no such standard for the organization of building component elemental classifications and construction costs in residential projects.
Typical construction estimating practices are organized into 3 methodologies. Their use is typically determined by where in the design development process the estimate is occurring; Early, Mid or Final stage. Early stage estimates are most commonly based on a "rule of thumb" average cost per square foot of finished construction area (Cost/SF). This process is highly inaccurate and is the most frequently and easily misapplied method of estimating. It does not model the cost for any specific project and it does not adequately factor the variables for costs of unfinished construction (areas without finish, such as garage and unfinished basement) or adequately factor the variables of different quality levels of construction. Furthermore, it is inherently unable to model costs uniquely relevant to any given project. Early stage estimates may also be based on a historical cost per square foot of finished construction area (Historical Cost/SF) for similar projects. Here costs are derived based on a database or factors of similar type projects but again result in poor accuracy as this methodology is also inherently unable to model costs uniquely relevant to a subject project. This process is also limited by the extent of a given historical database having a very close "historical project" to the subject project being estimated. If the subject project is different than the historical projects, this process is no better than the Cost/SF method.
Mid to Final design stage estimates are based on the traditional detailed Quantity Take-Off (QTO) and unit price estimate method. This process is extremely time consuming and tedious, yields a more accurate cost of a subject project than the previous two methods, but is only able to be performed with significantly complete blueprints and specifications. It requires completed detailed and scaled drawings, notes and specifications to allow the estimator to calculate areas, quantities and to determine quality levels. This method cannot be used for early stage estimates/budgets since the design must be significantly complete and drawn before the estimate can be performed. Any change to the design results in drawings having to be redone and the QTO estimate recalculated.
None of these common estimating practices are able to accurately estimate the costs of construction for a residential project at any point in the design development process (Early, Mid or Final stage), nor are they able to dynamically model the cost impacts of variations to size and quality levels of construction components such that a specific estimate for a unique residence may be derived.
The computer-based residential cost estimation process of the present invention allows the ability to vary the selections related to design decisions, components of construction, quality of construction components, size of the home, quantities of materials and other variables within dynamically linked logical arguments in the computer program, resulting in instant recalculation of quantities and cost. This feature provides the ability to model numerous design and construction quality options, and to determine the cost impact of those options, so that a consumer may determine the cost of a residence or define the design parameters of a residence to meet a predetermined budget.
This invention is unlike other current estimating technologies which are based on manual or Computer Aided Design (CAD) quantity take off methods (QTO) involving computer calculations of areas and quantities of materials derived from fully developed design documentations; or based on a database of "similar" type projects of limited similar attributes to a subject property. This invention provides the technology unlike any other to instantly model the cost of a specific residence to specific design criteria at any stage of design.
The cost estimating structure of this invention is based on a unique building component elemental classification structure emulating the UNIFORMAT elemental classifications standard for only the construction system and select subsystem titles, but include further functionally descriptive materials such as assemblies and subassemblies of construction that are unique to residential buildings. UNIFORMAT is a system for classifying building products and materials by functional system, (e.g., substructure, superstructure, exterior closure). Other estimating structures based on quantity take off methods (QTO) use the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) 16 Division MasterFormat structure that is organized according to construction trade divisions based on construction products and materials. UNIFORMAT structure differs from trade bid structures because it is based on a building systems/subsystems classification structure instead of a product classification system (CSI MASTERFORMAT Divisions 1-16). Trades for multiple CSI Divisions may show up in a given UNIFORMAT system, (e.g., UNIFORMAT System 043-Exterior Doors includes labor, products and materials from multiple trade divisions such as door, hardware, door carpentry framing, exterior and interior trim casings, caulk, weather stripping and painting). The CSI MASTERFORMAT structure is reasonable for final stage QTO estimates based on fully developed and detailed architectural and engineering blueprints and specifications. However, it is inadequate and inappropriate for early or mid stage estimating when drawings are incomplete and when economic comparisons of design alternatives are still being made. Significantly, it is in the early stages of design when reliable cost information on alternatives is most important yet is most difficult to achieve. The satisfaction of that need is one of the advantages of this invention. With the unique elemental classification structure of construction assemblies embodied in this invention, a user is provided the cost data usefully structured, and in real-time, so that economic analysis of design options may be understood.
This invention is a computer based construction estimating process and software, similar in function to a "rules based expert system", allowing analog and digital modes of data collection (e.g., paper or web based interface) and digital and physical user interface of data input (e.g., web based interface or physical input into computer). The present invention fills a significant real world need of providing a means for reliable residential cost estimates for a unique residence at any stage of the design or development process.
Advantages of the present invention include: 1) the ability to estimate costs at any stage of the design development process 2) not based on inaccurate "rules of thumb" estimating practices embodied in cost per square foot ($/SF) of finished construction but rather is based on total finished living area of the residence and the total constructed area of the residence which includes unfinished/non-living areas such as garage, unfinished basement 3) Not based on limiting "similar project databases" but rather on criteria specific to a particular house 4) Intelligent and dynamic allowing effects in cost from changes to any part of the design to be immediately understood and calculated 5) Reliable enough to be used as a cost breakdown for bank financing 6) Computer based construction estimating process is designed to work with an organized and similarly structured data collection tool (e.g., paper or web based interface) allowing consistent data collection to occur in a number of modes including: a) person to person b) remote completion of paper based data collection tool c) internet based completion of electronic data collection tool which directly inputs selections into model.
The Computer based construction estimating process provides functional descriptive output material of sufficient detail that it is used to define building specifications which are directly derived from project criteria and component options selected in development of the cost estimate, as well as the following advantages: 1) Robust ability to model "virtual geometry" of the residence driven by numerous combinations and options of residential home design elements comprising: House style (1 story; 1½ story, 2 story); Roof style (hip/gable) and use of secondary major gable ends; Varying roof pitch; Varying roof overhang; Use of dormers on house and garage; Use of chimney structure(s); Aspect ratio (length to width) of home; Use of covered porch; Use of screened porch; Structural system of home (dimensional framing versus post and beam) and ability to change structural system between major residential elements such as the main house, breezeway, garage; Establishment of individual ceiling heights for all floors of structure; Square foot areas of ground floor elements with areas of upper floor areas driven by the logical arguments of the formulas and prior selections or as modified input from the operator; Window areas; Use of 2 story open space when required; Inclusion or not of vaulted ceiling space for major residential elements of the main house, breezeway, garage; Basement usage including no basement, partial basement, full basement, crawl space and ability to model various basement conditions under major residential elements of the main house, breezeway, garage; Attached or detached garage options, connected or not connected by a breezeway; and Use of "shelled" spaces, i.e., constructed but unfinished areas (which will affect quantity and cost output later in the model).
The process also has the robust ability to model various materials of construction and construction assemblies for the residence and related site-work, through the use of expert system formulas and the ability to permanently include within the component options and cost database, new selections that may be required on a specific residence.
The process of the present invention uses "If-Then-Else" rules of the expert system formulas and are "self-correcting" in that they contain the logical arguments necessary to prevent faulty inputs and selections from being made, alerting the user to unacceptable or non-normal selections. The process also includes "If-Then-Else" rules of the expert system formulas that are "self-directing" in that they contain the logical arguments necessary to enable or preclude other pre-written options from being selected.
Building component elemental classifications are unique and improved over prior technology in that they are based on UNIFORMAT for only the construction system and select subsystem titles but create functionally descriptive material including: New assemblies and subassemblies of construction unique to residential buildings; Cost summary that relates to a standard breakout of costs for the immediate residence and for ancillary residential project costs including site-work and equipment costs. The process has the ability to dynamically model building costs of specially finished spaces at a detailed room by room level providing significant functionality to the model to vary finish materials and sizes of specially finished spaces, thereby providing a more accurate determination of construction costs. The process also has the ability to model geometry, structural systems, various materials of construction and construction assemblies for the residence and related site-work through the use of dynamic expert system formulas that make unnecessary the requirement for generic "Special Construction" categories which require manual input of values as in other estimating systems.
Other advantages of the present invention include: 1) Provisions for user overrides of computer generated quantity default values; 2) The ability to model alternative building selections and resulting costs from a baseline set of selections and resulting costs (required to allow "what-if" option evaluations) and have the computer instantly self document the line item cost impacts of specific changes as they are being made in the alternate mode; 3) Extensive functionally descriptive material database of unit prices used in the calculation of costs include consideration of, and ability to change important factors within the unit price calculations, such as sales tax and subcontractor general conditions; 4) Extensive functionally descriptive material database of unit prices used in the calculation of costs allow the ability to modify sales tax, subcontractor general conditions and geographic location factors (reflecting local market conditions) at a line item level within the unit price database; 5) Extensive functionally descriptive material database of unit prices for components are not comprised of static numbers but are dynamically linked to further supporting functionally descriptive databases of components including subassemblies of the component and costs of the subassembly including labor and material, resulting in the ability to adjust or document the component's unit price; and General Contractor's "General Conditions, Overhead and Profit" are dynamic options and provide ability to model variations to the General Conditions, Overhead and Profit components of the Contractor's cost.
There is therefore a need for a residential cost estimate process that can accurately and dynamically model a plurality of design and construction quality options at any stage during the design development process to determine the cost impact of those options, such that a consumer may determine the cost of the residential structure unique to their specific requirements and be able to define, model and change the home's various design characteristics, components and quality levels of those components to meet a predetermined target budget.

Dynamic residential construction cost estimation process


Methods of controlling an arc welding shop. In the shop, several welding torches are used and each torch is supplied with consumable wire. The wire moves at a wire speed and is subjected to an electrical current. For each torch, either an average wire speed or an average electrical current, as measured over a fixed time period, is determined by a sensor. These values then allow productivity parameters to be selected for the torches. Productivity parameters include the duty factor, the deposition rate, the average duty factor, and the average deposition rate.

The productivity of a welding shop is a combination of several factors and may thus be expressed in several ways, especially in the form of a deposition rate, that is to say the amount of material deposited in one hour by a welder, said amount of material corresponding to the amount of consumable wire used to produce the welded joint.
Current, wire speed, welding speed or shop efficiency parameters are all related to the efficiency of the welding.
If we consider that the size of the weld beads produced meets the specifications, then by increasing the wire speed, and therefore the current for the process, the rate of displacement of the arc is increased, which therefore means a longer weld bead deposited per unit time.
Likewise, any increase in the level of utilization of the shop or in the effective time during which the arc is ignited will have a favorable impact on the deposition rate of the shop.
The efficiency of a welding shop may be improved provided that there are suitable diagnostic and monitoring tools for identifying the causes of inefficiencies, such as too low a wire speed, too low a current, too low a level of utilization of the welding machines, too short an effective arc ignition time, etc.
At the present time, lacking a suitable measurement or monitoring system, most manual welding professionals use the total manufacturing time or the number of workpieces produced, over a given time period, as parameters for producing estimates, for defining the overall scheduling of the welding shop and above all to try to improve the productivity of their welding processes.
Unfortunately, using only such parameters it is not possible to take into account the actual utilization of the welding process, the efficiency of which depends not only on the duty factor of the process, namely the ratio of the time during which the electric welding arc is ignited to the total work time, but also on optimizing the welding parameters, when the arc is in operation, such as voltage, wire speed, current, type of gas mixture used and flow rate of the shielding gas used, angle of the torch with respect to the workpiece to be welded, direction of displacement, cleanliness of the workpieces, etc.
To improve the productivity of the shop, to produce accurate estimates and to manage the scheduling of the shop, it is therefore necessary to have accurate measurable values that are directly connected to the actual welding activity.
Although at the present time product shop management software products are commercially available, it turns out that these do not make it possible for measurable and reliable data that directly reflect the welding activity to be obtained automatically.
There are also what are called "multiparameter" measurement systems that extract measurable data associated with the process (current, voltage, wire speeds, etc.) and use them for traceability and quality assurance purposes, but not for strictly speaking managing and improving a welding shop in which several torches are employed simultaneously by different operators.
In addition, these multiparameter systems necessarily employ several sensors for measuring the desired data, in particular the current, the voltage, the wire speed and the gas flow rate. However, it turns out that the cost of all these sensors and the system that uses them is usually high and therefore often dissuasive.
In short, all the systems that currently exist are too complex and/or their cost is several times greater than that acceptable from the industrial standpoint and/or give only mediocre or imperfect results.
At the present time, there are no simple and economical systems for the effective management of a welding shop in which several torches are employed simultaneously by different operators, that is to say one for making the link between a measured parameter and the management elements of the shop, namely the duty factor and/or the deposition rate.

System and method for improving the productivity of a welding shop

L'Air Liquide Societe Anonyme a Directoire et Conseil de Surveillance pour l'Etude et, l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges, Claude


An oral inflation and relief tube for connection to an inflatable article. The oral inflation and relief tube includes an elongated tube having an oppositely positioned first opened end and second opened end, with a flanged opening positioned therebetween at ninety degrees for connection to the inflatable article. The flanged opening comprises a mounting flange and boss integrally formed through a wall of the elongated tube. The oral inflation and relief tube also includes an inflation valve sealingly positioned within the first opened end as well as a relief valve sealingly positioned within the second opened end. The elongated tube comprises an in-line configuration. The inflation valve and the relief valve and the tube comprise a generally-cylindrical configuration with a common axis, with the boss positioned substantially adjacent to the second opened end away from the first opened end such that when the mounting flange of the flanged opening is connected to the inflatable article, the in-line configuration of the elongated tube lies substantially parallel to the inflatable article. This permits the first opened end to be grasped and rotated about the boss and orally inflated. The inflation valve and the relief valve each have a coil spring with the coil spring of the relief valve having a high cracking pressure than the inflation valve.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to oral inflation tubes for inflating inflatable articles such as personal flotation devices, rafts, buoys and emergency signalling equipment. Additionally, this invention relates to relief valves used in connection with such inflatable articles.
1. Description of the Background Art
Presently, there exists many types of inflatable articles such as personal flotation devices (life vests, rings and horseshoes), life rafts, and emergency signalling equipment. Typically, such inflatable articles include an inflator, to which is connected a compressed gas cartridge, for inflating the article either manually or automatically, a relief valve to vent air from the article in the event of over inflation, and an oral inflation tube to permit oral inflation. U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,288 discloses a manual inflator and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,997,079, 4,223,805, 4,267,944, 4,260,075 and 4,627,823 disclose automatic inflators which automatically inflate the inflatable article upon being immersed in water, such as sea water. Automatic inflators are particularly desirable when the inflatable article is intended to be utilized during an emergency situation to inflate the inflatable article without a person's assistance or intervention. Illustrative examples of emergency signalling and rescue articles of this nature are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,264,321, 3,754,291, 4,498,879, 4,560,356 and 4,627,823.
Inflatable articles often include a relief valve connected through the wall of the inflatable bladder of the article The relief valve of this type typically comprises a spring-loaded valve seat which opens when the pressure inside the inflatable bladder exceeds a preset limit, thereby venting the inflatable bladder. Relief valves are most common for inflatable articles employing inflators, both automatic and manual, to prevent rupturing of the inflatable bladder upon inflation. Indeed, the volume of air contained within the gas cartridge may exceed the maximum volume of the inflatable bladder. In such instances, relief valves are essential.
Unfortunately, most relief valves include a specially-configured design which allows them to be molded through the wall of the inflation bladder. These specially-configured relief valves are more costly to manufacture than other types of available relief valves
Even when inflators are employed, most inflation articles include an inflation valve to permit oral inflation of the article in the event of inflator malfunction. Oral inflation valves are also needed to permit oral inflation and deflation of the inflatable article when the article needs to be slightly inflated or deflated, such as when the day cools off in the evening or warms up in the morning causing a decrease or increase, respectively, of the volume of air in the bladder.
Oral inflation tubes are commonly used in connection with inflatable articles. Conventional oral inflation tubes typically comprise a tubular configuration having one end integrally formed in a flange to be sealingly connected through the wall of the inflation bladder. An inflation valve is positioned in the other end of the tube. The inflation tube is designed to make it easier for the inflatable article to be inflated by a person. For example, a life vest typically includes an inflation tube which extends from a middle or lower portion of the life vest upwardly toward the face of the person wearing the life vest. In this arrangement, upon the simple bending of the person's neck, the end of the tube may be easily mouthed to inflate the bladder. The person therefore need not remove the life vest simply to inflate the same.
In addition to facilitating easy inflation, oral inflation tubes allow conventional inflation valves to be utilized. Specifically, because the inflation tube comprises a circular cylindrical configuration, many of the large variety of cylindrically-shaped inflator valves may be utilized by simply pressing the inflator valve into the end of the tube. The use of such conventional inflation valves results in a substantial cost savings over other types of valves, such as relief valves, that are specially designed to be sealed through the wall of the inflation bladder.
As should be appreciated, a relief valve and an oral inflation tube with its inflation valve, are two separate components, both of which must be sealingly installed through the wall of the bladder. As separate components, the cost of assembly is double and the risk of a leak during assembly or later during use, is doubled Hence, there presently exists a need for a way to combine the functions of both the relief valve and the inflation tube with its inflation valve so as to minimize the cost of assembly and to minimize the chance of a leak, thereby maximizing reliability and safety.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improvement which overcomes the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art devices and provides an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the oral inflation tube art.


An electrical connector includes an insulative housing having a number of walls formed with passageways thereof. An insulative cover defines a plurality of windows corresponding to the passageways. A shield frame has openings corresponding to the passageways and shield walls formed with the openings. A number of contacts are disposed in the passageways and have spring portions at upper portions. The shield frame is located between the insulative housing and the insulative cover. The spring portions of the contacts extend upwardly out of the openings and the windows.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to the electrical connector having a shield frame to control or reduce electromagnetic interference (EMI) that occurs during operation of the electrical connector with the electronic package.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. patent publication No. 20130017721 issued to Mason et al. on Jan. 17, 2013 discloses an electrical connector assembly including an interposer having a side surface and an array of electrical contacts exposed along the side surface. The electrical contacts are located within a contact region that extends along the side surface. The electrical contacts are configured to engage an electronic module mounted on the contact region. The connector assembly also includes a shield wall that is attached to and extends along the side surface. The shield wall separates the contact region into shielded sub-regions. The shield wall includes a conductive material and is electrically coupled to an interposer. At least one electrical contact is located within the shielded sub-region. The shield wall extends between adjacent electrical contacts to shield the adjacent electrical contacts from electromagnetic interference. However, the shield wall exposed to exterior can lead short circuit with other electrical elements.
Therefore, an improved electrical connector is needed.


Electrosurgical apparatus including a plurality of electrodes adapted to deliver radio frequency (RF) energy to a tissue and a manipulator in operable connection with the electrodes adapted to move the electrodes. In one embodiment, the electrodes comprise helical electrodes, which may be configured as a pair of bipolar concentric (sharing a common center) or eccentric (off-center) helices, for example.

The present invention relates to electrosurgical apparatus for tissue ablation generally, and particularly to electrosurgical apparatus for radio frequency (RF) tissue ablation.
Radio frequency (RF) tissue ablation is a well-known technique for making thermal lesions in the vicinity of an uninsulated tip of an electrode due to tissue coagulation caused by resistive heating. The electrode can be applied directly on superficial structures, surgically, endoscopically, laparascopically, or even via a transcatheter access such as a treatment for symptomatic cardiac arrhythmias. If the electrode is formed as a needle, then the electrode may be inserted interstitially, and guided by imaging.
As is known in the art, resistive heating is proportional to the square of the current density, the latter being inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the ablation electrode. Therefore, resistive heating decreases from the ablation electrode with the distance to the fourth power. In other words, significant resistive heating only occurs within a narrow rim (of a few millimeters) of tissue in direct contact with the ablation electrode. Deeper tissue heating occurs as a result of passive heat conduction from that rim.
A general problem in RF tissue ablation is limitation in lesion size. Increasing the power to the electrode or exposure time to the tissue increases the amount of energy delivered around the electrode and thereby increases the lesion size. However, at high temperatures (e.g., above 100xc2x0 C.) at the electrode-tissue interface, the impedance increases significantly because of desiccation followed by charring around the electrode tip. This leads to an abrupt fall in lesion current (and delivered effect) and no further energy is delivered around the electrode, and no further tissue heating occurs. This phenomenon tends to limit lesion size in the transverse direction around the electrode. The longitudinal dimension of the lesion is basically dependent on the length of the uninsulated part of the electrode.
Tissue adhesion and limited lesion size are just two examples of problems associated with RF tissue ablation. Another problem occurs when attempting to ablate tissue in difficult-to-reach locations, such as the lower esophagus. It is difficult to control the depth of the ablation into the tissue and to obtain a uniform ablation over the entire surface area that needs to be ablated. Surface irregularities, folds into the tissue, and variations in the anatomical configurations of body cavities increase the difficulty of achieving uniform RF tissue ablation. As a result, only a portion of the tissue to be ablated may be destroyed, and in some areas, more tissue may be ablated than was intended.
Attempts have been made in the prior art to overcome the abovementioned problems. One known solution is that of xe2x80x9celectrolyte-assistedxe2x80x9d ablation. This form of ablation relies on contacting the tissue to be ablated with an electrolyte, such as a fluid or gel. Electrical energy is applied through the electrolyte to the tissue in contact with the electrolyte. Because the electrical resistance of the electrolyte-tissue interface is significantly high relative to the resistance of the electrolyte itself, most of the energy will be dissipated at this interface in the form of heat, leading to thermal ablation of the superficial tissue at this interface. Introduction of a conducting and/or cooling liquid into the treated area generally increases the coagulated volume and tends to reduce tissue adhesion. Electrolyte-assisted ablation is also effective in difficult-to-reach locations, because the liquid or gel electrolyte effectively bathes the entire surface area of the tissue that is to be ablated.
One example of electrolyte-assisted ablation is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,123 to Kelleher et al., assigned to Endonetics, Inc., San Diego, Calif., USA, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Kelleher et al. describes electrolyte-assisted tissue ablation of metaplasia in the esophagus by means of a shaft with an expandable barrier that is deployable from the shaft""s distal end. An electrode and a temperature/impedance sensor are mounted on the shaft. The shaft may be a catheter formed with several lumens that are used independently for housing optical elements and for transferring fluid.
In the operation of the device, the distal end of the shaft or catheter is placed in the esophagus proximal the cardia. The barrier is then deployed to the cardia and expanded to seal the esophagus from the stomach. The esophageal volume between the barrier and the catheter is partially flooded with a conducting medium and the electrode is deployed into the conducting medium. The sensor is also deployed into contact with the tissue to be ablated. Using open-loop control, or using temperature, impedance, or visual monitoring for closed-loop control, the metaplasia is ablated by passing RF energy from the electrode and through the conducting medium for contact with the tissue being ablated.
Kelleher et al. limits the RF power to a moderate level by using the closed-loop control, wherein the output of the temperature sensors near the electrode is used to control power delivery. However, a disadvantage of Kelleher et al. is that enlargement of the coagulated volume is at the expense of slower coagulation speed and prolonged treatment time.
Another example of electrolyte-assisted ablation is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,554 to Imran et al., assigned to Cardiac Pathways Corporation, Sunnyvale, Calif., USA, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Imran et al. includes a catheter constructed of an elongate member having proximal and distal extremities. A metal conducting electrode is secured to the distal extremity of the elongate member and has a chamber formed therein. A conductor extends through the elongate member from the proximal to the distal extremity for supplying RF energy to the electrode. The elongate member has a lumen in the distal extremity, which is in communication with the chamber. A coolant is disposed in the chamber and in contact with the electrode for dissipating heat created in the electrode by the application of RF energy thereto. A disadvantage of Imran et al. is that the coagulated volume is limited due to the relatively small diameter of the electrode used.
Other examples of cooled electrodes include U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,388 to Behl et al., which describes a catheter having a conductive material delivery lumen and a distal tip heating element, suitable for hollow body organs, such as the gall bladder. U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,214 to DeFord et al., describes an RF ablation device specifically designed to selectively ablate prostatic tissue about the prostatic urethra. The disclosures of these patents are incorporated herein by reference. A disadvantage of Behl et al. or DeFord et al. is that the structure of these devices is custom-made to fit a particular anatomy and is not generally suitable for any other anatomy in the body. They also suffer from limited coagulated volume that is possible with the electrode.
In order to overcome the limitation of the small coagulated volume associated with a fine linear needle electrode, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,431,649 and 6,016,809 to Mulier et al., assigned to Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn., USA, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference, propose a hollow helical electrode, with injection of a cooled conducting liquid.
In general, Mulier et al. is directed to treatment of tachyarrhythmias, wherein one or more chambers of the heart exhibit an excessively fast rhythm. In particular, Mulier et al. is directed to treatment of tachycardias, which are due to the presence of ectopic foci within the cardiac tissue or due to the presence of aberrant condition pathways within the cardiac tissue. In Mulier et al., a catheter is provided with a hollow, helical electrode, which is screwed into cardiac tissue at a desired ablation site and connected to a source of RF electrical energy to ablate the tissue adjacent the electrode. Prior to ablation, it is essential to inject a conductive fluid through the hollow needle, which cools the tissue adjacent the needle and increases the conductivity of the tissue in the area of the electrode.
The helical electrode provides an enlarged surface area as compared to relatively straight or needle-like electrodes for insertion into the endocardium, and also serves to stabilize the location of the catheter during the application of the RF signal. In addition, there is essentially no bleeding following removal of the helical electrode, so it can safely be placed in multiple locations for mapping and ablation purposes.
Mulier et al. uses a non-toxic, non-arrhythmogenic, conductive solution such as Ringer""s solution to the area of the electrode, before and during application of RF energy. The helical electrode is hollow, and the conductive solution is applied through one or more apertures in the electrode. The conductive solution injected prior to application of the RF signal is believed to displace blood in the vicinity of the electrode. Ringer""s solution, for example, has a much higher conductivity than blood (approximately 3-4 times higher) or cardiac muscle (approximately 7 times higher). Overall resistance to the induced electrical current is reduced, which is believed to assist in expanding the size of the lesion, by spreading the effective area of application of the electrical current over a wider area. Application of the conductive solution during the burn helps prevent overheating of the tissue, allowing for a prolonged application of the RF signal, extending beyond the point at which burning or charring would otherwise normally occur.
However, liquid handling and adjusting the electrode length to that of the treated area are shortcomings, especially for a relatively large volume. Moreover, a monopolar helical electrode is limited in its ability to deliver power inside the helix and to control the treated boundary outside the helix. Furthermore, local temperature along a long electrode is generally difficult to control, because local temperature varies according to local variations of tissue impedance and current density.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,132,426 to Kroll, assigned to Daig Corporation, Minnetonka, Minn., USA, describes an RF ablation catheter that incorporates therein a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) temperature sensor. The PTC sensor provides a built-in fail-safe current limiter to avoid over-ablating the target tissue, and to prevent coagulation adherence to the catheter electrode tip and damage to the catheter and patient from overheating. However, disadvantages of Kroll include slower coagulation speed and prolonged treatment time.
Some prior art mentions rotation of the ablating electrode. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,476 to Saadat, assigned to AngioTrax, Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif., USA, describes a device for creating transmural channels for transmyocardial revascularization. The device includes a cutting head that may ablate or cut tissue with RF energy. The cutting head may be coupled to a drive tube and rotated at high speeds by a motor and gearing. However, the rotation of the cutting head is not used to prevent tissue adhesion, rather rotation is used to facilitate entry of the cutting head into the cardiac tissue and to help form transmural channels. Once the electrode has arrived at the desired location, RF energy is applied to the electrode to ablate tissue. Saadat does not mention ablating while rotating the electrode.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,066,134 to Eggers et al., assigned to ArthroCare Corporation, Sunnyvale, Calif., USA, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes an electrosurgical probe that includes a shaft having an electrode array at its distal end and a connector at its proximal end for coupling the electrode array to a high frequency power supply. The shaft includes a return electrode recessed from its distal end and enclosed within an insulating jacket. The return electrode defines an inner passage electrically connected to both the return electrode and the electrode array for passage of an electrically conducting liquid. By applying high frequency voltage to the electrode array and the return electrode, the electrically conducting liquid generates a current flow path between the return electrode and the electrode array so that target tissue may be cut or ablated.
Eggers et al. mentions manually reciprocating or rotating the probe in a light brushing motion, so as to maintain the supply of electrically conducting fluid in the region between the active electrodes and the tissue. The dynamic movement of the active electrodes over the tissue site is used by Eggers et al. to enable the electrically conducting liquid to cool the tissue surrounding recently ablated areas to minimize damage to this surrounding tissue. Eggers et al does not mention ablating while reciprocating or rotating the electrode. Moreover, the dynamic movement is not used by Eggers et al. to prevent tissue adhesion. Identical use of reciprocation of the probe during electrosurgical tissue revascularization is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,046 to Weinstein et al., also assigned to ArthroCare Corporation, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention seeks to provide novel electrosurgical apparatus for RF tissue ablation that solves the abovementioned problems of the prior art.
The electrosurgical apparatus of the present invention comprises a manipulator that moves electrodes in a controlled manner while RF power is delivered to the electrodes. Unlike the prior art, the RF electrode may ablate during controlled motion thereof. This motion helps prevent tissue-electrode adhesion. The motion may be unidirectional along the length of the treated volume, or alternatively may comprise reciprocating motion, vibration or combinations of different kinds of motion. The motion of the electrode is preferably along the electrode trajectory, i.e., linear motion for linear electrodes and helical motion for helical electrodes.
The electrode is at the distal tip of an electrically insulated support. The electrode may be monopolar or bipolar, hollow or non-hollow. The electrode may be linear or may be a short segment at the tip of a helical, insulated support. The electrode itself may be helical. For example, the electrode may be configured as a monopolar electrode, with a single or multiple-helix as the active (current emitting) electrode, or as a bipolar electrode with single or multiple helix-pairs. Alternatively, a bipolar electrode may comprise a single or multiple-helix as one electrode and a conducting central rod as the other electrode.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the electrodes are configured as a pair of bipolar concentric (sharing a common center) or eccentric (off-center) helices. A plurality of electrodes may be mounted on the same helical insulated support. A central insulated rod may be added to helical electrodes for motion stabilization. Additional possible electrodes configurations may be obtained by using straight needles instead of helices.
The helical electrode assembly may coagulate a cylindrical envelope of tissue, while at the same time sparing a cylinder of tissue at the center of the helix. For example, the helical arrangement may be used to coagulate prostate tissue around the urethra without causing coagulation of the urethra itself. In other treatment plans, it may be desirable to cause necrosis of the inner cylindrical volume of the helical electrode assembly. In such a case, the helical electrode assembly may coagulate the tissue surrounding the inner cylindrical volume in such a way such that the blood supply to the inner non-coagulated cylindrical tissue is cut off. The non-coagulated cylindrical tissue is then left to die due to the absence of a sufficient blood supply from the coagulated cylindrical envelope, thereby increasing the amount of tissue that undergoes necrosis and shortening treatment time.
The manipulator, controlled by a controller, preferably inserts electrodes into the tissue target site (X-direction) at a predetermined YZ position using linear and/or rotational motion. The manipulator may then impart reciprocating motion to the electrodes by reversing the insertion motion. The velocity of the electrode motion may be controlled in various manners, such as by an impedance measurement in a closed-loop fashion. The manipulator may translate the electrodes to a different YZ position prior to subsequent insertion. The electrode assembly may be disposable, and may be easily replaced and attached to the manipulator.
Treatment planning software, based on user interaction with a display of registered anatomical images obtained prior to the treatment, may generate a treatment plan that includes positioning and power delivery instructions to the controller and manipulator.
Imaging apparatus, mechanically or otherwise coupled to the manipulator, determines electrode position during intra-corporeal motion in order to facilitate power delivery according to the treatment plan.
There is thus provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention electrosurgical apparatus including an electrode adapted to deliver radio frequency (RF) energy to a tissue, an RF energy source in communication with the electrode, a manipulator in operable connection with the electrode, adapted to move the electrode, and a controller in communication with the RF energy source and the manipulator, adapted to control operation of the manipulator and the electrode in accordance with a mode of operation that includes at least the following steps:
a) delivering RF energy to the electrode from the RF energy source sufficient to cause ablation of a tissue, and
b) moving the electrode so as to at least diminish adherence of tissue to the electrode.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the electrode has a longitudinal axis and the manipulator is adapted to move the electrode generally along the longitudinal axis.
Further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the manipulator is adapted to move the electrode in a reciprocating movement.
Still further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the manipulator is adapted to vibrate the electrode in at least two directions.
Additionally in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the electrode includes an insulating support, and the electrode and insulating support are configured as an electrode assembly that has a generally helical shape.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the manipulator is adapted to screw the electrode assembly into a tissue, wherein the electrode is adapted to cut a helical path into the tissue. The manipulator is preferably adapted to move the electrode back and forth along the helical path.
Further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention a plurality of the electrode assemblies are provided. A helical pitch of one of the electrode assemblies may be shifted axially with respect to a helical pitch of another of the electrode assemblies.
Still further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the electrode has a generally hollow lumen formed therein.
Additionally in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention a fluid source is in fluid communication with the lumen, wherein the lumen is formed with at least one outlet for passage therethrough of the fluid.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention imaging apparatus is in communication with the manipulator and/or the controller, the imaging apparatus being adapted to sense motion of the electrode.
Further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention a central rod passes through a helix of the electrode. The central rod may be electrically conducting or insulating.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention a sensor is placed at a distal portion of the electrode, the sensor being in communication with the controller.
Further in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention one of the electrode assemblies is disposed within an inner volume of another of the electrode assemblies. One of the electrode assemblies may be concentric or eccentric with another of the electrode assemblies.


An apparatus for the treatment of a medical liquid has a liquid treatment machine and a cassette that is insertable in the machine. The cassette has a rigid base body with fitted chambers and passages and a foil that covers the chambers and passages. Actuators and sensors are arranged in the liquid treatment machine for the operation of the apparatus with the inserted cassette such that cassettes are insertable in different integration shapes.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for the treatment of a medical fluid comprising a fluid treatment machine and a cassette insertable therein substantially consisting of a rigid base body of the cassette with fitted chambers and passages and a foil covering them.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Corresponding cassettes are used in medical engineering, in particular to convey dialysis fluid, blood and the like. Cassettes of this type are described e.g. in DE 198 37 667, WO 84/02473, WO 98/22165 or WO 00/33898.
A cassette is, for example, thus known from DE 198 37 667 A1 which consists of a base body of a cassette with fitted chambers and passages and which is closed by a flexible foil to cover the passages and chambers. It is already described there that the cassette is inserted into a special receiving chamber, e.g. in a dialysis machine. This chamber can, for example, be opened via a pivotable door. The cassette can be inserted into the chamber, with the flexible foil lying opposite a corresponding mating piece at the machine so that the cassette can be operated with the aid of actuators and sensors on the machine side.
Although such apparatus with cassettes have generally been described, the conventional extracorporeal blood circuits or blood tubing systems are usually present in a differential construction. This means that a functional division onto different components is present. Such components, for example bubble traps, flow chambers or injection positions, are connected to one another by tubes and are as a rule connected individually to the respective dialysis machine. The design of such blood tubing systems is very complex in manufacture and handling, with the corresponding effort naturally being extremely time consuming with more complex systems such as an online hemodiafiltration.
On the other hand, conventional extracorporeal blood circuits which are installed in this differential construction have the advantage that they can be designed substantially more flexibly for the respective treatment depending on the demand. The previously known apparatus for the use of cassettes namely had the problem associated with it that they are only usable for a very specific application.


A display assembly has a planar region and an edge bending region that are connected to each other. The display assembly includes a display panel, and a first support portion fixedly connected to a portion of the display panel located in the edge bending region. The first support portion includes a plurality of first support bars, and the plurality of first support bars are spaced apart in a width direction of the edge bending region. Materials of the plurality of first support bars are rigid materials.

With development of display technologies and ever-increasing requirements for the user experience, curved display apparatuses emerge as the times require. A display panel of a curved display apparatus is in a curved shape with a certain radian. Compared with a flat display apparatus, the curved display apparatus has a larger viewing angle and may provide users with better visual experience.


The present invention presents methods for reducing the amount of noise inherent in the reading of a non-volatile storage device by applying an episodic agitation (e.g. a time varying voltage) to some terminal(s) of the cell as part of the reading process. Various aspects of the present invention also extend to devices beyond non-volatile memories. According to one aspect of the present invention, in addition to the normal voltage levels applied to the cell as part of the reading process, a time varying voltage is applied to the cell. A set of exemplary embodiments apply a single or multiple set of alternating voltages to one or more terminals of a floating gate memory cell just prior to or during the signal integration time of a read process. In other embodiments, other reproducible external or internal agitations which are repeatable, and whose average effect (from one integration time to the next integration time) remains sufficiently constant so as to have a net noise reduction effect is applicable.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to transistors and small electronic devices including computer readable memory devices which can be read both statically, as found in-static RAM sensing schemes, or dynamically, as in dynamic RAMs which use precharge followed by signal development, and, more specifically, to methods for reducing noise when reading their information content.
2. Background Information
In non-volatile semiconductor memories, such as an EEPROM or Flash memory, the amount of data stored per memory cell has been increased in order to increase storage densities. At the same time, the operating voltages of such devices have decreased to reduce power consumption. This results in a greater number states stored in a smaller range of voltage or current values. As the voltage or current separation between data states decreases, the effects of noise become more important in the reading of these cells. For example, variations in the threshold value that are acceptable in a binary storage EEPROM cell operating at 5 volts may no longer be acceptable in a device operating at 3 volts with four or more bits storable per cell. Some consequences of noise, and methods for dealing with it, in a non-volatile memory are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,044,019, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Traditionally, physically larger transistors have been used for sensitive analog application, whereas digital circuits using physically small digital transistors operating in a binary mode have not been sensitive to the existing low levels of noise. Even 4 level storage non-volatile memories (2 bits/cell) have had large enough sensing margins to be generally immune to this noise in the majority of instances. However, as the scale of memory devices has continued to shrink, non-macroscopic effects, such as single electron or quantum effects, have become increasingly important and have exacerbated the noise problem.
Various aspects of the operation of such small scale devices are discussed in the following references, which are all hereby incorporated by reference:
[1] "Random Telegraph Noise in Deep-Submicrometer MOSFETS" by K. K. Huang, et. al., IEEE Electron Device Letters, Vol. 11, No. 2, February 1990;
[2] "Effects of oxide traps, interface traps, and border traps on metal-oxide-semiconductor devices" by D. M. Fleetwood, et. al., J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 73, No. 10, 15 May 1993;
[3] "Quantum Effects on the Extraction of MOS Oxide Traps by 1/f Noise Measurements" by Andrea Pacelli, et. al., IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 46, No. 5, May 1999, p. 1029ff;
[4] "In Depth Exploration of Si—SiO2 Interface Traps in MOS Transistors Using the Charge Pumping Technique" by Daniel Bauza, et. al., IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 44, No. 12, December 1997, p. 2262ff;
[5] "Critical Discussion on Unified 1/f Noise Models for MOSFETs" by Ewout P. Vandamme, et. al., IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 47, No. 11, November 2000, p. 2146ff;
[6] "A Solution for Current-Voltage Characteristics of Multiple Coupled Mesoscopic Tunnel Junctions", by N. Mokhlesi et al., Superlattices and Microstructures, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 15–19 (1997);
[7] "Capacitive nature of atomic-sized structures", by G. J. Iafrate et al., Physical Review B VOL. 52, Number 15, pp. 10 733, Oct. 15, 1995-I;
[8] "1/f noise reduction of metal-oxide-semiconductor transistors by cycling from inversion to accumulation", by I. Bloom, et al., Applied Physics Letters 58(15) 15 April 1991;
[9] "The decrease of "random telegraph signal" noise in metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors when cycled from inversion to accumulation", by B. Dierickx, et al., Journal of Applied Physics, 71 (4), Feb. 15, 1992;
[10] "MOSFET 1/f Noise Measurement Under Switched Bias Conditions", by A. P. van der Wel, et al., IEEE Electron Device Letters, Vol. 21, No. 1, January 2000;
[11] "Reducing MOSFET 1/f Noise and Power Consumption by Switched Biasing", by Eric A. M. Klumperink, et al., IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, Vol. 35, No. 7, July 2000,
although no specific practical noise reduction technique for use in memory systems has been presented in these papers.
Although the consequences of noise can be decreased by techniques such as those in U.S. Pat. No. 6,044,019 incorporated by reference above, or treated, with error correction code (ECC) or other equivalent error management such as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,752 which is hereby incorporated herein by this reference, memories could benefit from methods to reduce noise arising in the mesoscopic region between the macro- and microscopic ranges.

Noise reduction technique for transistors and small devices utilizing an episodic agitation


An apparatus for bonding a mask includes a body and a pressing unit on the body. The pressing unit has a gas outlet for spraying pressing gas toward the bonding area of the mask.

At present, OLED displays have attracted more and more attention due to their advantages of low power consumption, high contrast, high color gamut, and flexible display.
The OLED display is fabricated by vapor deposition of the OLED material onto the TFT backplane according to a predetermined procedure, and formation of a red pixel unit, a green pixel unit and a blue pixel unit on the LTPS backplane with a pattern on the metal mask. In the manufacturing process of the metal mask, the metal mask needs to be welded on the metal mask receiving frame to form the mask. However, in the related art, the metal mask needs to be expanded and contracted in different directions before welding, and this is easy to cause wrinkles on the surface of the metal mask, causing gaps between the metal mask and the mask frame, in such a way that the bonding is not tight, which thus leads to cold solder during welding the metal mask and degradation of the quality of the mask.
It should be noted that the information disclosed in the background section above is only for enhancing the understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and thus may include information that does not constitute related art known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

ORDOS YUANSHENG OPTOELECTRONICS CO., LTD.


A power transmission for a motor vehicle. The transmission includes a plurality of transmission ratio steps defined by pairs of gear carried on parallel shafts, and final output mechanisms for engaging desired transmission ratio steps. The final output mechanisms are operable for controlling the engagement of respective transmission ratio steps to minimize tractive force interruption by allowing rapid gear changes to be effected to reduce the times between shifts of gears. By sensing accelerator pedal position and vehicle speed a new transmission ratio step to be subsequently engaged can be pre-selected while an engaged gear remains engaged.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a transmission, especially for a motor vehicle. More particularly, the invention relates to a transmission that has a plurality of sets of gears forming transmission ratio steps, wherein the gear sets are each formed by one gear that is non-rotatably carried on one shaft and by an idler gear connectable with another shaft, whereby transmission ratio steps can be selected, and in which an idler gear is connected with its associated shaft by an output element that is part of a final output mechanism that is actuated by a final actuation mechanism, whereby the selection sequence of the transmission ratio steps is not established in the final actuation mechanism.
2. Description of the Related Art
A final output element is the element that is moved in order to set a transmission ratio condition. That is, it is the element, such as, for example, a coupling sleeve, that produces the connection between two power transmission means. The final output element is part of the final output mechanism, which includes adjacent to the coupling sleeve a shift fork, for example, which is connected with the coupling sleeve and is movable by a shift finger that can be operatively connected with it so that the coupling sleeve is moved to engage or disengage a transmission ratio step. The shift finger is part of the final actuation mechanism that actuates the final output mechanism. The entire kinematic chain between the shift or selection actuation and the final output mechanism is designated as the final actuation mechanism.
In state-of-the-art transmissions, the interaction between the final output mechanism and the final actuation mechanism takes place in such a way that engagement of a transmission ratio step can only take place when no other transmission ratio step is engaged. In order to engage a transmission ratio step, all other transmission ratio steps must previously be positively disengaged. The shift fork jaws, with which the shift finger can be connected in order to shift the coupling sleeve with the respective shift fork, are constructed such that the shift finger can only be connected with another shift fork if the coupling sleeve with whose shift fork it is then connected is in the neutral position. In reference to a known manual transmission with an H-shift pattern, that manifests itself in that a selection movement of the gear shift lever from one shift passageway into another can occur only in the neutral passageway, whereby during a shift lever movement from one shift passageway into the neutral passageway the same transmission ratio step that was engaged at the time is disengaged. Moreover, the transmission ratio steps that can be shifted by the same coupling sleeve cannot be selected simultaneously. Consequently, it is necessary in a shift procedure to disengage a previous transmission ratio step, to conduct a selection movement, and then to engage a new transmission ratio step. During that time, the flow of torque is interrupted by a disengaged drive clutch, because the drive branch must be load-free. In the event that selection of a shift passageway is necessary, the shift process turns out to be relatively long, which can be disturbing and relevant to safety, especially with automated shift transmissions with tractive force interruption, for example during passing, turning, and the like.
Especially with load-shiftable transmissions, in which the transmission ratio steps form groups or are assembled into groups between which tractive-force-interruption-free load shifts can be conducted, for example in which the transmission ratio steps are included in different parallel power branches, the various output elements are arranged with a friction clutch so that a continuous change of torque from one branch to another branch can be brought about by an actuation of a friction clutch during gradual changes. Configurations of the connection of the final output mechanism and the final actuation mechanism have become known, which permit engaging one transmission ratio step without having to disengage another transmission ratio step that may already have been engaged. In that way, it is possible to engage several transmission ratio steps simultaneously in several power branches using a single final actuation mechanism by first selecting one transmission ratio step in one branch, then allowing the shift finger to connect with other shift forks—without having to disengage the relevant transmission ratio step—in order to select further transmission ratio steps. In that connection, published German application DE 100 20 821 A1 owned by the applicant is relevant, the contents of which are incorporated in the disclosure of the present application.
Usually two groups of transmission ratio steps are formed, whereby successive transmission ratio steps belong to different groups with respect to the division of their gear ratios. For example, one transmission includes one reverse gear and six forward gears, one group includes gears 1, 3, and 5 and the other groups gears R, 2, 4, and 6.
Such a transmission offers the possibility of selecting one transmission ratio step using the friction clutch in the power branch included in the torque flow, and then engaging in another—still open branch—the transmission ratio step into which a shift is subsequently to take place by diverting the torque flow to the relevant branch. During acceleration, for example, it is possible to shift into fourth gear in one branch during an upshift while in the closed power branch the third gear is engaged. In the event that now suddenly nonetheless a downshift into second gear is to take place, the fourth gear must first be disengaged and then the second gear must be engaged, which in particular causes a very great loss of time if the second and fourth gears must be shifted by different coupling sleeves.
Furthermore, a negative situation can arise for a transmission shift in which, with an open power branch, more than one transmission ratio step is engaged, which represents a very great safety risk because as soon as that branch is tied into the torque flow, several transmission ratio steps with different transmission ratios become operative, which can lead to the transmission becoming blocked or even destroyed.
Additionally, so-called controller drum transmissions have become known, in which the final output mechanisms of the transmission ratio steps are actuated using a rotatable controller drum. For example, link-like grooves are incorporated in the controller drum, which extend circumferentially as well as axially on the surface of the cylindrical controller drum, so that by rotating the controller drum about its longitudinal axis shift forks, which are connected kinematically with the controller drum by means of sliding elements in the grooves, undergo movement in the axial direction of the controller drum. The shift sequence of the transmission ratio steps with reference to the rotation of the selector shaft is established by the shapes of the grooves. By appropriate configuration of the grooves, controller drum transmissions of that type make possible an overlapping disengagement of a previous transmission ratio step and engagement of a new transmission ratio step, whereby a certain time advantage is achieved during a shift process, and consequently the duration of the tractive force interruption can be reduced. Nonetheless, shifts are only possible sequentially. For example, a direct shift from first gear into third gear is just as impossible as a direct downshift from fifth gear into first gear.
An object of the invention is to provide a transmission, for example an automated shift transmission, a load-shifting transmission, a double-clutch transmission, and the like, with transmission ratio steps distributed between at least two different shafts, in which the shift sequence of the transmission ratio steps is not established in the final actuation mechanism, in which shift times are substantially reduced, and safety is substantially improved. The transmission should furthermore have a simple design, with as few components as possible, and be simple to operate without additional safety measures.

LuK Lamellen und Kupplungsbau Beteiligungs KG


Provided is a method for manufacturing fullerene 1,3-dioxolane conveniently at high yield. Fullerene 1,3-dioxolane is manufactured by reacting a fullerene oxide and a carbonyl compound in the presence of a catalyst.

Fullerene and its derivatives have attracted attention in the fields of cluster science relating to clathrates and application to pharmaceuticals and photoelectronic devices. Of these, fullerene 1,3-dioxolane is an electron acceptor and has attracted attention as a high-functionality material.
The method of manufacturing 1,3-dioxolane by the reaction below from an epoxide and a carbonyl compound is known. The use of a Lewis acid catalyst in this reaction has been proposed.
For example, the method of manufacturing 1,3-dioxolane by the following reaction employing BF3 etherate as a catalyst is described in Reference 1 (B. N. Blackett, J. M. Coxon., M. P. Hartshorn, A. J. Lewis, G. R. Little and G. J. Wright, Tetrahedron, 26, 1311-1313 (1970)).

Further, the method of manufacturing 1,3-dioxolane by the following reaction using anhydrous CuSO4 as a catalyst is described in Reference 2 (R. P. Hanzlik and M. Leinwetter. J. Org. Chem., 43, 438 (1978)).

The method of manufacturing 1,3-dioxolane by the following reaction is described in Reference 3 (H. Steinbrink, Ger. Patent (DOS) 1086241, Chemische Werke Hüls AG (1959)).

The method of manufacturing 1,3-dioxolane by the reaction is described in Reference 4 (F. Nerdel, J. Buddrus, G. Scherowsky, D. Klamann, and M. Fligge, Justus Liebig Ann. Chem. 710, 85 (1967)).
As catalysts, KSF clay is employed in Reference 3 and tetraethylammonium bromide is employed in Reference 4.
The mechanisms of the reactions described in the above-cited references are as follows. Due to the stereochemistry of products obtained by the method described in Reference 1 and based on the results of tests employing 018 acetone, as is indicated below, it is thought that following a backside attack by the carbonyl oxygen, the CC bond is rotated, producing a second CO bond and thereby producing 1,3-dioxolane. However, in this reaction, there is a problem in that a side reaction of epoxy and aldehyde reduces the yield of 1,3-dioxolane. Further, the catalyst employed is highly hygroscopic and difficult to handle.

A method for manufacturing 1,3-dioxolane by the following reaction using a pyridinium salt as a catalyst is described in Reference 5 (S-B. Lee, T. Tanaka, and T. Endo, Chem. Lett., 2019-2022 (1990)).
The reaction mechanism of the method described in Reference 5 is presumed to be similar to that set forth above.
References 6 to 8 report methods of obtaining fullerene 1,3-dioxolane using fullerene as a starting material (Reference 6: Y. Achiba et al., Tetrahedron Lett., 34, 7629-7632 (1993); Reference 7: C. S. Foote et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 31, 351-353 (1992); Reference 8: S-H. Wu et al., J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun., 1995, 1071). However, in the methods described in References 6 to 8, fullerene 1,3-dioxolane is often obtained together with other fullerene derivatives. Thus, these methods do not permit the obtaining of fullerene 1,3-dioxolane with high yields. There is a further problem in that the reagents employed, such as peroxides, are difficult to handle.

Method for manufacturing fullerene derivatives

Institute of Medicinal Molecular Design, Inc.


A sealing device (10) for providing a fluid-tight sealing of a joint comprising a first part (30) and a second part (32) with a relative movement in between. The sealing device (10) comprises: an outer sealing part (12) designed to contact the first part and the second part, an inner sealing part (14) designed to contact the first part and the second part, and a spacing structure (16) connecting the outer sealing part (12) and the inner sealing part (14). The outer sealing part (12) and the inner sealing part (14) define an intermediate space (18) between the outer sealing part (12) and the inner sealing part (14). The outer sealing part (12) and the inner sealing part (14) are being configured to seal off the intermediate space (18) from both an exterior and an interior of the joint, and the intermediate space (18) is configured to be influid contact with both the first part (30) and the second part (32).

Equipment used in the food processing of protein industry (i.e. meat, poultry, fish, seafood and dairy) is subject to strict hygiene requirements and must be washed down daily using hot high pressure water and chemical agents. A robot intended for food processing in wash down applications should have a complete stainless-steel frame which is hygienically designed to be easy to clean. The robot needs to have a high water protection rating—Ingress Protection 69K (IP69K). The IP69K rating defines what is needed to provide protection against ingress of dust and high temperature, high pressure water—making products with this certification suitable for use in conditions where equipment must be carefully sanitized. In industries such as food processing, where hygiene and cleanliness is paramount, equipment must be able to withstand rigorous high pressure, high temperature wash-down procedures. In many industries, where dust and dirt can be an issue, it is important to ensure that dust cannot penetrate the casing of a product and cause it to fail. The IP69K rating is the highest protection available.
EHEDG (European Hygienic Engineering and Design Group) stands for the highest hygienic design criteria for food equipment/machine in the world. EHEDG has been strong in "closed equipment" (e.g. for dairy industry) but just started to look at "open equipment" such as motors, gears and robots. The best dynamic sealing solution that EHEDG prefers today is what they described in EHEDG Guidelines "Hygienic design of closed equipment for processing of liquid food", doc 10, Second Edition, May 2007, p. 13 as a "double shaft seal for aseptic equipment" which is used in some closed equipment. The seal is fitted between a rotating shaft and a stationary part, to reduce the volume of an annular gap around the shaft and thereby improve cleanability. The space between the seals of the double shaft seal must be flushed with a sterile fluid (e.g. condensate, sterile water or steam) to scavenge micro-organisms that enter the space between the seals. Which flushing fluid should be used will depend on the product (food) and the process.
To get an EHEDG certificate on the hygienic design of a robot would be a great market advantage.


The present invention provides an ionic and electronic insulator interposed between a BASE tube and a tube mounting member in an AMTEC cell for preventing shunt currents from forming between BASE tube electrodes. In a first embodiment of the invention, an insulator is formed integral with the BASE tube by leaching out an alkali metal ion component of the BASE tube at a desired location. In a second embodiment of the present invention, an alpha alumina ring is brazed to the end of the BASE tube. In a third embodiment of the present invention, a glass material seal is formed between the BASE tube and the mounting member.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to alkali metal thermal to electric conversion (AMTEC) cells and more particularly to means for reducing or eliminating undesirable shunt currents in solid electrolyte structures.
2. Discussion
An AMTEC cell is a thermally regenerative concentration cell typically utilizing sodium or potassium as a working fluid and a beta-alumina type solid electrolyte as an ion selective membrane. The electrolyte permits a nearly isothermal expansion of sodium to generate high-current/low voltage power at high efficiency. Most AMTEC cells employ at least one beta-alumina type solid electrolyte (BASE) element which is exposed to high-pressure sodium on an inner surface and low-pressure sodium on an outer surface.
The BASE element's inner and outer surfaces are overlaid with permeable electrodes which are connected to each other through an external load circuit. Neutral sodium atoms incident on the BASE element's inner surface give up their electrons at the inner electrode (the anode). The resulting sodium ions pass through the tube wall under the applied pressure gradient, and the emerging sodium ions are neutralized at the outer electrode (the cathode) by electrons returning from the external load. Thus, the pressure gradient drives sodium through the base element thereby creating an electrical current which passes through the external load resistance.
Early AMTEC cells employed a single BASE tube with liquid sodium on the high-pressure side of the tube and sodium vapor on the low-pressure side. The pressure differential drove the sodium ions through the ionically conductive BASE tube wall. Recently, however, it has been determined that under many circumstances, AMTEC cell efficiency can be significantly improved and output voltage enhanced by employing multiple BASE tubes connected in series.
Commonly, each of the several BASE tubes in a cell is series-connected to an adjacent tube by an external load circuit at its upper end. The top of each cell's outer electrode is connected to the top of the next tube's inner electrode. As such, the resulting multi-tube cell only requires a single terminal lead and feed-through.
Multi-tube cells use sodium vapor on both sides of the tube wall in an effort to prevent shorting of the BASE tubes within each cell. The inner surface of the BASE tubes is exposed to high-pressure sodium vapor and the outer surface is exposed to low-pressure sodium vapor. A high temperature evaporator near the hot end of the cell produces the high pressure and a low temperature condenser at the cold end of the cell produces the low-pressure.
By connecting BASE tubes in series within a single cell chamber, an increased voltage is applied to each downstream tube in the series string. It has now been found that this leads to the presence of an undesirable shunt current between the electrodes of some of the BASE tubes and the cell ground. The shunt current degrades the overall voltage of the string and lowers the power output of the cell.
It has now been found that the shunt current occurs due to the conduction of alkali metal ions through the BASE tube inner electrode to a conductive mounting bracket which interconnects the BASE tube and the bottom of the cell. To prevent this from occurring it is desirable to form an ionically and electronically insulating layer between the BASE tube and the mounting bracket so as to produce a connection which will not support an alkali metal ion current.

Ionically insulating seal for alkali metal thermal to electric conversion (AMTEC) cells


An axial piston machine having a housing (1) the interior housing chamber of which includes a leakage chamber (37) and accommodates a stroke disc (3) and a rotatably mounted cylinder drum (6) having cylinders (26, 28) and pistons (29) reciprocally movable in the cylinders, the ends of which pistons projecting out of the cylinders (26, 28) bear on the stroke disc (3). In order to avoid piston seizures, while maintaining the efficiency of the axial piston machine, there is provided a cooling circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an axial piston machine.
Such axial piston machines are known in practice. In particular with swash plate machines, the normal force supporting each piston at the swash plate contains a radial component which acts upon the piston as on a beam mounted in the cylinder drum and skewing the piston within the cylinder. In particular with a lack of piston lubrication, such as occurs for example during the start-up phase, this leads to metallic contact between piston and cylinder wall with the consequence of corresponding heating through the frictional forces arising, and the danger of seizing of the piston.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
From DE-OS 14 03 754 there is known an axial piston machine with which, for the purpose of avoiding the metallic contact between piston and cylinder, there are formed at the periphery of each cylinder or of the associated piston symmetrically formed pressure pockets which are connected via respective chokes and axial through-bores in the piston with the working chamber of the cylinder. The piston is lubricated and hydrostatically balanced by means of the oil, under high pressure, flowing into the pressure pockets from the working chamber during the compression stroke, and in this way the piston is centrally guided in the cylinder without the danger of skewing. The quantity of oil necessary for the hydrostatic balancing is absent from the working circuit of the axial piston machine and thus leads to a reduction of the efficiency of the machine.
The axial piston motor described in DE-OS 18 04 529 has the same advantages and disadvantages, in which axial piston motor there is formed in the wall of each cylinder a circumferential groove which is connected via connection channels in the cylinder drum and in the connection block to the high pressure line of an axial piston pump driving this axial piston motor.
It is the object of the invention to so further develop an axial piston machine of the kind mentioned in the introduction that while maintaining the efficiency of the machine, seizing of the pistons in the cylinders is avoided.

Axial piston machine having a cooling circuit for the cylinders and pistons


Equalizing method and apparatus for single carrier system having an improved equalization performance is disclosed, which includes: a section setting unit for setting filter taps having a predetermined section corresponding to the predicted multi-path; a repeat setting unit for setting filter taps of a repetition section by making the set predetermined section repetitive periodically; and a filter unit for filtering the multi-path by updating the coefficients of the filter taps of the set repetition section. The repeat setting unit sets the filter taps of the repetition section corresponding to an operation characteristic of the filter unit. Accordingly, the apparatus can improve equalization performance by setting filter taps corresponding to the predicted multi-path and updating only the set coefficients of the filter taps. Further, the apparatus can improve equalization performance in dynamic channel circumstances in which the multi-path changes.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to an equalizing apparatus in a single carrier system, and more particularly to an equalizing method and apparatus which can improve equalization performance in dynamic channel circumstances.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As generally known in the art, linear equalizers or decision feedback equalizers are used as equalizing apparatuses in a single carrier system.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram regarding a linear equalizer 10. A linear equalizer 10 includes a filter unit 11 having a FIR-type filter and a switching unit 15 for operating selectively according to an operation mode of the equalizer. Equalization is performed by repeating a process which obtains an equalization error value corresponding to the operation mode selected by the switching unit 15 and updates coefficients of all filter taps.
When the operation mode is a blind mode, an error calculating unit 17 calculates the equalization error value using an output signal of the filter unit 11 and an output signal of a level decision unit 16 selected by the switching unit 15. Also, when the operation mode is a training mode, the error calculating unit 17 calculates the equalization error value using the output signal of the filter unit 11 and a field sync signal selected by the switching unit 15.
As described above, the equalization error values obtained from each of the operation modes are inputted to the filter unit 11. The filter unit 11 updates coefficients of all the filter taps using the inputted equalization error values. Accordingly, multi-path of a received signal is removed.
FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram regarding a decision feedback equalizer 20. The decision feedback equalizer 20 includes a FF (feed forward) section 21 having a FIR-type filter for removing a pre-ghost and post-ghost of a received signal, a FB (feed back) unit 23 having a IIR-type filter for removing a post-ghost of the received signal and a switching unit 25 for operating selectively according to an operation mode of the equalizer 20, which is either a blind mode or a training mode. An equalization is performed by obtaining an equalization error value corresponding to an operation mode selected by the switching unit 25 and updating each coefficient of a filter tap of the FF unit 21 and the FB unit 23.
When the operation mode is a blind mode, an error calculating unit 27 calculates the equalization error value using an output signal of an adder 22 adding output signals of the FF unit 21 and the FB unit 23 and an output signal of a level decision unit 26 selected by the switching unit 25.
Also, when the operation mode is a training mode, the error calculating unit 27 calculates the equalization error value using the output signal of the adder 22 adding the output signals of the FF unit 21 and the FB unit 23 and a field sync signal selected by the switching unit 25.
As described above, the equalization error values obtained from each of the operation modes are inputted to the FF unit 21 and the FB unit 23, respectively. The FF unit 21 and the FB unit 23 update coefficients of all the filter taps using the inputted equalization error values. Accordingly, multi-path of a received signal is removed.
The equalization process of a conventional equalizer described above compensates for the channel distortion of the received signal by updating over and over coefficients of all the filter taps of the FF unit and the FB unit on the basis of the equalization error values obtained from each of the operation modes. However, the conventional equalizer is problematic in that equalization speed decreases since the coefficient of the filter tap corresponding to the multi-path as well as the coefficients of all the filter taps are updated.