The fuel cell stack includes sequential fuel cell membrane elements of polymer membrane with a cathode side and an anode side. The polymer membrane is held in place by an elastomeric gasket which includes flow channels leading to manifold passages which deliver hydrogen or other fuel gas to the anode side of the fuel cell membrane element and deliver air or oxygen to the cathode side of the fuel cell membrane assembly. The fuel cells are separated by fuel separator assemblies comprised of metallic foil with strips of porous graphite thereon. Cooling plates which receive cooling water are interspersed within the stack. The entire stack is held in place by a plastic resin shell. The various elements are compressed together by an upper platen with a limited range of travel which is urged toward the cell by air pressure, an air-filled bladder, an array of compression springs, or by similar methods.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to fuel cells with a polymer electrolyte, also known as the proton-exchange-membrane type. More particularly, the invention pertains to a polymer electrolyte fuel cell which includes an injection molded external housing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art, fuel cells have been categorized into five types according to the nature of the electrolyte employed in the cell, namely, alkaline, phosphoric acid, molten carbonate, solid oxide and polymer electrolyte. The present invention pertains to polymer electrolyte fuel cells, also known as the proton-exchange-membrane (PEM) type. In the PEM cell, the electrolyte is comprised of a thin membrane made of a polymer similar to polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE or Teflon.RTM.) with sulfonic acid groups included in the polymer molecular structure. The sulfonic acid groups are acid ions which are the active electrolyte. The membrane has the dual attributes of readily conducting hydrogen nuclei (H.sup.+ ions or protons) from one face through the thickness of the membrane to the opposite face while effectively blocking the flow of diatomic hydrogen molecules through the membrane. Thus, if a chemical reaction can be made to occur on one face whereby diatomic hydrogen gas (H.sub.2) can be reduced to protons (2H.sup.+) and electrons, the protons flow through the membrane, while the electrons can be passed through an external electrical conductor. Then, if a second reaction which oxidizes the protons can be made to occur on the opposite face, a continuous flow of protons across the membrane, and of electrons through the external conductor occurs thereby producing electrical current. In the PEM fuel cell, the two reactions are:
H.sub.2 .fwdarw.2H.sup.+ +2e.sup.- at the anode side of the cell and PA1 O.sub.2 +4H.sup.+ +4e.sup.- .fwdarw.2H.sub.2 O at the cathode side of the cell PA1 1. Hydrogen gas must be distributed uniformly over the active area of the anode side of the membrane. PA1 2. Oxygen or air must be distributed uniformly over the cathode side of the membrane. PA1 3. The membrane must be kept moist to a controlled degree. PA1 4. A catalyst must be uniformly dispersed over the active area on both sides of the membrane in such a manner that each catalyst-particle site is concurrently accessible to the reactant gas, the polymer electrolyte material, and to a third material which forms an electrically conductive path. PA1 5. A means must be provided to collect the electron flow (electrical current) over the entire area of the membrane, and ensure an uninterrupted electrically conductive flow path from the catalyzed surfaces of the membrane to these current-collector devices. PA1 6. The channels or chambers containing the reactant gas must be sealed from one another and from the ambient atmosphere, to prevent both wasteful loss of the gases and potentially dangerous mixing of the reactants inside the cell. PA1 1. It allows reactant gas to diffuse under the graphite plates between the grooves, enabling the inter-groove areas of the membrane to become active and generate current. PA1 2. It forms the electrically conducting path for current generated in the groove regions of the cell to flow laterally to areas where the contacting portions of the graphite plates can conduct it perpendicularly through the stack. PA1 3. It acts as an electrically conducting material between the current-producing, catalyzed sites on the membrane and the graphite plates, resiliently conforming to surface irregularities and improving the electrical contact between these members. PA1 4. It bridges across the grooves in the graphite plates, providing some structure support for the membrane. The membrane is a thin, somewhat fragile material, ranging from 0.0008 to 0.007 inches in thickness.
In order that such a membrane performs as a fuel cell and produces electric current in an effective manner, several functional requirements must be satisfied, to wit:
Single cells produce voltage in the range of 0.4 to 0.8 volts. Practical applications require that multiple cells be assembled to be in series electrically, enabling the delivery of current at voltages from 6 to 120 volts. Such assemblies are referred to as "stacks" and the cells are sequentially physically stacked and clamped together.
FIGS. 1A and 1B show a representative construction of a PEM fuel-cell stack 200 of the prior art which is comprised generally of successive planar elements as described hereinbelow. The exterior of the fuel-cell stack 200 is formed from upper steel clamping plate 201 and lower steel clamping plate 230, with electrically insulating layers 202, 221, respectively, inwardly adjacent therefrom. Similarly, copper current collection plates 203, 222 are inwardly adjacent from the electrically insulating layers 202, 221, respectively, and graphite anode plate 204 and graphite cathode plate 223 are inwardly adjacent from copper current collection plates 203, 222, respectively. The graphite anode plate 204 includes serpentine machined hydrogen distribution grooves 208 (shown in cross section) which are oriented inwardly to be exposed to carbon-cloth gas diffusion anode layer 205 to distribute hydrogen gas over the active area of the top cell formed from carbon-cloth gas diffusion anode and cathode layers 205, 205' surrounding polymer membrane 206. Serpentine machined hydrogen distribution grooves 208 receive hydrogen via horizontal spur passages 211 from gas supply manifold passage 210 which is an aperture extending downwardly through the various planar elements.
Similarly, graphite cathode plate 223 includes serpentine machined air distribution grooves 229 (shown in cross section) which are oriented inwardly to be exposed to cathode carbon-cloth gas diffusion layer 224. Serpentine machined air distribution grooves 229 receive air from an air supply manifold passage and associated passages (not shown) similar in construction to gas supply manifold passage 210.
Polymer membranes 206, 225 and carbon-cloth gas diffusion cathode and anode layers 205', 226 are successively inwardly adjacent from carbon-cloth gas diffusion layers 205, 224, respectively. Sealing gaskets 214 seal the periphery of the various carbon-cloth gas diffusion layers.
The interior of the fuel cell stack 200 includes alternating layers of graphite bipolar plates 207 (which include serpentine machined air distribution grooves 209 similar to elements 229 and serpentine machined gas distribution grooves 213 in fluid communication with spur passage 212, similar to elements 208, 211, respectively) and intermediate cells formed from polymer membrane 220 (similar to polymer membrane 206) surrounded by carbon-cloth diffusion anode and cathode layers 219, 219' (similar to 205, 205').
Carbon-cloth gas diffusion layers 205, 205', 219, 219', 224, 226 provide gas diffusion layers between the grooved surfaces of plates 204, 207, 223 and the polymer membranes 206, 220, 225 and are composed of a cloth woven of carbon fibers, with a slurry of lampblack and a small portion of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE or Teflon.RTM.) impressed and sintered into the interstices of the fabric. Each polymer membrane thereby resides between cushioning "blankets" of carbon cloth infused with carbon and PTFE particles, in turn clamped between grooved, graphite plates. The catalyst, usually platinum, is applied as a slurry or paste of platinum-black and lampblack in a dilute solution of the polymer of which the membrane is comprised. Two different approaches have evolved with regard to the catalyst, the gas-diffusion cloth and the membrane. In the first approach, the catalyst is included in the slurry applied to the surface of the gas-diffusion cloth and the membrane. The two cloth layers are then placed next to the membrane, one on each side, and this three-layer sandwich is hot-pressed together. The polymer component of the slurry bonds to the membrane, uniting the three layers to form an integral structure called the membrane-electrode assembly (MEA). The second approach employs an ink comprised of minute particles of platinum supported on lampblack particles, suspended in a solution of the polymer material. The ink-slurry is applied to both surfaces of the membrane, which is then hot-pressed to bond the ink onto the membrane. The polymer component of the ink intimately bonds to the polymer material of the membrane. The ink-coated membrane is referred to as the MEA in this approach. A layer of un-catalyzed gas diffusion cloth is then placed adjacent to each side of the membrane when the cell is assembled. In this approach, the catalyzed membranes must be accurately located and assembled into the stack structure as an unsupported, thin material.
The gas diffusion layer serves four purposes:
Near both the top and the bottom of the stack are current-collector plates 203, 222, typically made of copper, which collect the current produced over the entire area of the cells. Protruding tabs (not shown) on these plates are connection points for external electrical conductors. At the top and bottom of the stack are rigid clamping plates 201, 230, usually made of steel or aluminum, with apertures 217, 218 through which tie bolts 215 are passed and secured with nuts 216. These members are used to apply a compressive pressure on the order of 120 psi to clamp the stack components together. This is necessary to obtain good electrical connection between all the components over the entire active area of the cells. These clamping plates 201, 230 and inter-connecting tie rod(s) 215 must be electrically insulated from the current-collector plates 203, 222, or the stack 200 will be short-circuited through the tie rod(s) 215. Therefore, electrically insulating layers 202, 221 are interposed between the current-collector plates 203, 222 and the clamping plates 201, 230.
However, the prior art configuration shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B is less than desirable due to its high weight, cost and volume per kilowatt due primarily to the machined graphite plates, the clamping plates and tie bolts. Additionally, sealing between the stacked components has been difficult, both around the perimeter of the cells, and around manifold passages internal to the stack. The polymer membrane has been difficult to handle and position during assembly, as it is merely a thin, unsupported material having rigidity comparable to common plastic wrap.


A composition comprising (A) at least one mercapto-functional organosilicon compound having an average of a least two mercapto groups per molecule and (B) a cure initiator. The mercapto-functional organosilicon compound may include mercapto-functional organosilanes, mercapto-functional organosiloxanes, and mercapto-functional copolymers. The compositions of the present invention polymerize or cure to form compositions comprising reaction products of components (A) and (B). The cure initiator is a metal salt that produces a uniform cure throughout the composition, regardless of the amount of oxygen present. The cured products range in properties from soft gels to though elastomers to hard resins and are useful as molded articles, electrical encapsulants, and sealants.

Oxygen-curable compositions comprising mercapto-functional compounds are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,267,296 to Homan discloses oxygen-curable compositions obtained by mixing, substantially in the absence of oxygen, at least one mercapto-functional organosilicon-organic copolymer; a mixture of at least two different types of components selected from the group consisting of at least one organosilicon-organic copolymer, at least one mercapto-functional organic compound, and at least one mercapto-functional organosilicon compound; at least one filler; a catalytic amount of an iron carbonyl catalyst; and a proton donor acid that is compatible with the mixed composition and has a dissociation constant in aqueous solution greater than 10.sup.-5.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,674 to Homan et al. teaches oxygen-curable mercaptoorganosiloxane compositions obtained by mixing, substantially in the absence of oxygen, at least one mercapto-functional organosiloxane having an average of at least two mercapto-functional siloxane units per molecule; optionally, a filler; and a catalytic amount of a cobaltocene.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,932 to Homan et al. discloses oxygen-curable mercaptoorganosiloxane compositions formed by mixing, substantially in the absence of oxygen, at least one mercapto-functional organosiloxane having an average of at least two mercapto-functional siloxane units per molecule; optionally, at least one filler; and a catalytic amount of a metal carbonyl compound.
Peroxide-curable compositions comprising mercaptoorganopolysiloxanes are also known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,792 to Homan et al. teaches compositions prepared by mixing a mercaptoorganopolysiloxane having an average of greater than two mercapto-containing siloxane units per molecule; a stannous salt of carboxylic acid having the formula Sn(OR.sup.1).sub.2 wherein R.sup.1 is a monovalent acyl radical; and optionally, an organic peroxide and/or a filler.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,505 to Homan et al. discloses siloxane elastomers containing sulfur prepared by mixing a polydimethylsiloxane consisting essentially of methylvinylsiloxane units; a mercaptoorganopolysiloxane having an average of at least two sulfur containing siloxane units per molecule; an organic peroxide; and, optionally a filler.
However, the prior art does not disclose compositions comprising at least one mercapto-functional organosilicon compound and a cure initiator, which cure uniformly regardless of the amount of oxygen present.

Compositions comprising mercapto-functional organosilicon compounds


A field-installable multi-fiber ferrule has two portions and one portion has optical fibers already secured therein. The second portion receives optical fibers to mate with the secured optical fibers. A tool is provided to assist in inserting the optical fibers into the multi-fiber ferrule by aligning and holding the optical fibers while they are secured in the multi-fiber ferrule.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a field-installable fiber optic ferrule, a tool that can be used with the fiber optic ferrule and a method of assembling a multi-fiber ferrule using the tool.
2. Technical Background
Multi-fiber ferrules are used in a vide variety of optical interconnect applications, including bulkhead feed-through connectivity, optical back planes, and outside feed plant passive optical networks. The typical MT ferrule is comprised of at least one fiber array with up to twelve 125 micron diameter fibers on a 250 micron centerline spacing. The MT ferrule has rectangular cross section of 2.4 millimeters by 6.4 millimeters and depth of 8 millimeters. The ferrules are generally molded from a highly glassed-filled, thermoplastic or thermoset resin, which combines the durability and stability required of a connector with the precision necessary to maintain low-loss single mode core-to-core alignment across multiple fibers. While these can be easily manufactured and assembled in a factory setting, it is more difficult to do so in the field, where field installable connectors are often used either to provide quick installations or to repair damaged connectors. A field installable MTP connector is available, but not a field installable MT ferrule.
To assemble the MT ferrule in the field, a number of optical fibers, typically 12 optical fibers, need to be aligned with the fiber holes or micro holes in the multi-fiber ferrule. Although not impossible, lining up the optical fibers with the micro holes can be difficult to do in the field. It is also difficult to secure the optical fibers in the holes while maintaining the optical fibers in placement relative to one another.
It would be desirable therefore to provide a field installable multi-fiber ferrule and a tool that can be used with the multi-fiber ferrule to assist in inserting and securing the optical fibers in the multi-fiber ferrule.

Field installable ferrule and tool and method for installing optical fibers in the ferrule using the tool


An aspect of the invention relates to a machine comprising a rotor mounted so it can rotate about a rotational axis, and a superconductive winding located in a winding support. Further, connection devices are provided to retain the winding support inside a rotor external housing. To compensate changes caused by the expansion of the winding support, a connection device should have at least one connection element that extends axially with one end of the element connected to the winding support in a fixed manner, and the opposite free end connected to a centering retaining element of the rotor eternal housing in a non-positive radial fit, so it can be displaced axially.

One aspect of the invention relates to a machine having a rotor mounted rotatably about an axis of rotation, a rotor outer casing fixed to axial rotor shaft parts and surrounds a winding support having a superconductive winding. The rotor also has a holding to support the winding within the rotor outer casing, comprising, on a torque-transmitting side, a first rigid connecting device between the winding support and the rotor outer casing, and on the opposite side, a second connecting device, compensating for changes caused by the axial expansion of the winding support. Also provided is a cooling and thermally insulating unit to cool and thermally insulate the superconductive winding. According another aspect of the invention, a method to cool and thermally insulate the superconductive winding is provided. A corresponding machine is disclosed in DE 23 26 016 B2.
Electrical machines, in particular generators or motors, generally have a rotating field winding and a fixed stator winding. By using cryogenic and, in particular, superconductive conductors it is possible in this case to increase the current density and thus the specific output of the machine, for example, the output per kilogram of the machine's weight, and also to increase the efficiency of the machine.
Cryogenic windings of electrical machines generally have to be thermally insulated from the surroundings and kept at the required low temperature by a coolant. Effective thermal insulation, in this case, can only be achieved if the cryogenic parts of the machine are separated from the hot exterior as much as possible by a high vacuum with a residual gas pressure of generally below 10−3 mbar and if the connecting parts transfer as little heat as possible between these cryogenic parts and the hot exterior.
Two variants are known, in particular, for vacuum insulation of rotors having cryogenic armature windings and hot stator windings: In a first embodiment, the rotor has a hot outer casing and a closed-off vacuum space which rotates with the rotor. The vacuum space is intended here to surround the cryogenic area on all sides (cf., for example, "Siemens Forsch. u. Entwickl.-Ber." (Siemens Research and Development Report), Vol. 5, 1976, No. 1, pages 10 to 16). However, there is an undesirable heat transfer to the cryogenic parts via supports extending through the vacuum space. In a second embodiment, the essentially cold rotor rotates in a high vacuum. Here, the outer boundary of the high-vacuum space is determined by the internal hole in the stator. Such an arrangement does however require high-vacuum-tight shaft seals between the rotor and the stator (cf., for example, DE 27 53 461 A).
In the case of the machine as described in the DE-B2 specification cited at the beginning, the first-mentioned embodiment is implemented. According to the rotor of this machine, the superconductive winding is located in the interior of an armature cryostat which forms, with the flange shafts attached, an outer casing for the rotor. Due to the fact that known superconductor material is used for the conductors of the winding, helium cooling is provided at an operating temperature of around 4 K. In contrast, the outer contour of the rotor outer casing is approximately at room temperature and may even be above this temperature when operating. The useful torque of the machine is generated in the rotor winding. The rotor winding is arranged in a cold winding support which is suspended or held in the rotor outer casing, acting as the cryostat, such that it is for its part insulated. Here, this suspension or holding on the drive side of the rotor must be stable enough to transmit the torque from the cold winding support to a drive-side shaft part. A corresponding, rigid connecting device for transmitting the torque must therefore be designed to be comparatively sturdy and be connected in a force-fitting manner to the winding support and the drive-side shaft part. At the same time, this connecting device undertakes the drive-side centering of the cold winding support. Hardly any torque is transmitted on the opposite rotor side, which is also referred to as the non-drive or operating side, since connections which are important for the operation of the machine, such as, for example, a coolant supply line, are provided on this side. Therefore, essentially only the functions of centering and thermal insulation need to be fulfilled here. Since, however, in a transition from room temperature to the operating temperature the axial length of the winding support is reduced by at least one millimeter in relation to the corresponding expansion of the rotor outer casing, the operating-side suspension must also ensure that there is a corresponding linear compensation. In the case of the machine disclosed in the DE-B2 specification cited at the beginning, radially extending disk-shaped connecting elements which permit a corresponding bending in the axial direction to compensate for expansion are therefore provided between the rotor outer casing and the winding support.
Similarly, in the case of the rotor disclosed in DE 27 17 580 A, too, of an electrical machine having a superconductive excitation winding, a corresponding radially extending connecting element which permits axial deformation is provided between a rotor outer casing and a winding support.
In addition to the metallic superconductor materials which have long been known, such as, for example, NbTi or Nb3Sn, as are used in the abovementioned machines, metal-oxide superconductor materials having transition temperatures of over 77 K have also been known since 1987. Conductors containing such high-Tc superconductor materials, which are also referred to as HTS materials, are being used in attempts to create superconductive windings for machines. Machines having this type of conductor also require a corresponding compensation for expansion in the axial direction due to the differences in temperature between the operating temperature of the superconductor material and the external temperature of the hotter rotor outer casing.

Winding support of a superconductive rotor, comprising a structure to compensate for axial expansion of the support


Disclosed is a circuit breaker, including a housing; a trip rod and locking device being disposed in the housing. The locking device includes a lock head, a mounting portion, a sliding member and at least one elastic element. The mounting portion includes a base plate and a first side plate. At least one protruding portion is provided on the base plate and a through-hole is formed in the first side plate. The lock head includes a first driving member. The sliding member includes a body and a push rod. A second driving member and at least one mounting slot are formed on the body. The second driving member is mated with the first driving member and the protruding portion is located in the mounting slot. The push rod is formed on the body and can pass through the through-hole to trigger the trip rod.

Circuit breaker attachments are being used ever more widely to expand and supplement the functionality of circuit breakers. Circuit breaker locking devices are one example of circuit breaker attachments. When a circuit on the load side of a circuit breaker requires maintenance or is not permitted to pass a current, a circuit breaker locking device can be used to lock the circuit breaker in the OFF position, in order to prevent other people from mistakenly closing the circuit breaker, and thereby ensure the safety or maintenance personnel or the reliable operation of electrical equipment. However, existing circuit breaker locking devices have quite complex structures, and must be installed and secured in place with a high degree of precision, making installation inconvenient.


An optical information recording and reproducing apparatus for recording and reproducing an information signal on/from both concave portions and convex portions of guide grooves formed on a recording medium is disclosed. The optical information recording and reproducing apparatus includes: an optical portion for focusing a light beam emitted from a light source on the recording medium; a focusing control portion for controlling a focal point of the light beam; a tracking control portion for controlling the position of the light beam; a selection portion for selecting which of the concave portions and the convex portions of the guide grooves are used for recording or reproducing; a polarity inverting portion for inverting the polarity of an output signal from the tracking control portion depending on a result selected by the selection portion; a waveform setting portion for setting a modulation pattern for the light; and a signal reproduction portion for demodulating the information signal from a light reflected or transmitted by recorded marks recorded on the recording medium; wherein at least one of the focusing control portion, the tracking control portion, the waveform setting portion and the signal reproduction portion has at least two kinds of operation conditions for recording and reproducing the information signal on/from the concave portions and the convex portions of the guide grooves, and wherein the operation conditions are selected depending on the result selected by the selection portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical information recording medium and an optical information recording and reproducing apparatus for recording and reproducing information by using a light beam. More particularly, the present invention relates to an optical information recording medium and an optical information recording and reproducing apparatus allowing for obtaining a higher track density by recording a signal on both lands and grooves of the guide grooves thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical disks, optical cards, optical tapes and the like are well-known as recording mediums (or recording members) for recording and/or reproducing information by the use of an optical means. In order to record information on such a recording medium, a laser beam is generally used as a light source. More specifically, information is recorded by precisely focusing a light beam through a lens so as to irradiate the light beam on a recording thin film of the recording medium.
An optical disk, one of the above-cited recording media, includes a circular substrate on which spiral or concentric guide grooves having a plurality of convex portions and concave portions are provided, and a recording thin film formed thereon. By irradiating a light beam, which is intensity-modulated in accordance with each information signal, along the direction of these guide grooves, information is recorded on the recording thin film.
The recording thin film is required to exhibit such characteristics that the physical properties thereof are varied upon the irradiation of light, and that the difference between the states before and after the variation may be optically detected. The variations in the physical properties of the recording thin film, are for example, the deformation of the thin film owing to the absorption of the light, the phase change of the thin film owing to the light irradiation, and the like. The recording media showing such variations are known as a deformation type recording medium and phase-change type recording medium, respectively. A signal indicating the variations of the physical, properties as difference in the amounts of the reflected light is reproduced.
A magnetooptic recording medium is also well-known as another optical type recording medium. In a magnetooptic recording medium, information is recorded thereon by the application of a magnetic field as well as light irradiation, and the difference in the magnetization directions on the recording thin film is detected by utilizing a Kerr effect, thereby reproducing a signal.
Optical type recording media such as those described above have been put into practical use depending on the respective applications thereof. In addition, in order to further increase the memory capacity for information, various kinds of researches on the increase of the recording density have been earnestly conducted.
As an exemplary method for increasing the recording density of an optical type recording medium, a method for recording a signal both on the convex portions and concave portions of the guide grooves is proposed so as to replace a conventional method for recording a signal on either the convex portions or the concave portions of the guide grooves (e.g., Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 32 (1993), pp. 5324–5328). According to the method disclosed therein, by using a substrate in which the width of a concave portion of each guide groove is approximately equal to that of a convex portion thereof, and the depth of the concave portion is optimized, an information signal may be recorded and reproduced on/from both of the concave portion and the convex portion. In this specification, a convex portion with respect to the light incident direction is called a "groove", and the operation of recording information on a convex portion is called a "groove recording". In the same way, a concave portion with respect to the light incident direction is called a "land", and the operation of recording information on a concave portion is called a "land recording". If a method for recording a signal on both of lands and grooves is employed, a track density is considered to become double as compared with a conventional method in which information is recorded on either one side of each guide groove.
In recording and reproducing information in accordance with this method, the same kinds of optical systems and optical type recording systems as conventional ones may be used in principle. This method may be realized easily by additionally providing a tracking polarity switching means so as to correspond to each concave portion and each convex portion of the guide grooves, and by irradiating an intensity-modulated light beam on the two kinds of regions based on the information signals. However, the comparison of the two kinds of signals recorded on the two kinds of portions of the recording medium reveals that difference exists in the amplitude and the frequency characteristics of the two kinds of reproduced signals corresponding to a land and a groove, respectively. Such difference in the amplitude of the signals is also caused depending on the configuration of the respective recording thin films. Therefore, even if a signal recording may be satisfactorily performed on either one of a land track and a groove track during a step of demodulating a reproduced signal, a great deal of error is generated on the other kind of track in some cases. Also, even in recording thin films having the same configuration, if the shape of the edges of the guide grooves or the groove width become different from each other, the levels of the reproduced signals become different on the two kinds of tracks.
Accordingly, in a conventional recording medium for performing a land/groove recording, there exists problems to be solved in that the configuration of a recording thin film is required to be optimized and that the guide grooves on the substrate must be shaped with high precision.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Optical information recording medium and optical information recording and reproducing apparatus

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


The present invention relates to an improved method of forming a trailer receiver for use in connection with a trailer hitch assembly for towing trailers, campers, boats and the like. The invention relates to an improved method for forming a trailer receiver that utilizes cold forward extrusion and a tooling arrangement to efficiently and cost effectively produce custom trailer receivers.

Motor vehicles often employ a hitch assembly for towing a trailer. The typical hitch assembly is mounted to the rear of the motor vehicle and includes a hitch receiver or receiver tube and a removable hitch bar. The hitch receiver tube is fixedly mounted to the motor vehicle using brackets and/or welds, and is sized to receive the hitch bar therein. The hitch bar typically has a ball or tongue onto which the trailer is mounted.
In most conventional hitch assemblies, the hitch receiver tube includes a reinforcing collar or ring mounted on the end of the hitch receiver tube into which the hitch bar is inserted. The protective collar or ring protects the inside shape of the tube from being deformed. Typically this protective collar or ring is welded onto the hitch receiver tube. While this method of construction has served well in the past, welding of the collar or ring onto the hitch receiver tube has several disadvantages. For one, the weld, which is visible from the rear of the motor vehicle on which the receiver is installed, is not aesthetically pleasing. Second, the weld increases the likelihood of water and debris such as road salt being retained in the receiver, which can result in the formation of rust and reduce the overall useful life of the receiver. Finally, using a multiple piece assembly for the hitch receiver tube results in greater shipping, handling, and manufacturing costs than does employing a single piece assembly.
An additional problem associated with prior art receivers is that their method of manufacture frequently resulted in voids in the inside wall of the receiver. These voids tend to weaken the strength of the receiver and serve as gathering locations for moisture and other debris such as road salt which, over time, lead to corrosion and tend to shorten the useful life of the receiver.
To overcome the abovementioned problems associated with prior art receivers, including multi-piece receivers, some have developed a method of forming a one-piece trailer receiver tube using hollow forward extrusion, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,931,904 (the "'904 patent"), More specifically, the '904 patent discloses a method of forging a trailer receiver tube by providing a die having an inner surface defining a first portion and a second portion, a hollow tube having an outer surface, and a punch having a body and a shaft extending therefrom sized to fit within the hollow tube. The hollow tube is loaded within the first portion of the die, and the punch is then inserted into the hollow tube such that the body abuts an end of the hollow tube and the shaft extends therethrough. The punch and the hollow tube is then advanced through the die such that a portion of the hollow tube is extruded into the second portion of the die and the outer surface of the hollow tube conforms to the inner surface of the die to thereby form the trailer receiver tube.
However, this method of forging is undesirable for a number of reasons. First, the method of forging a trailer receiver tube described in the '904 patent does not address the customer driven request for a rounded or smooth outer edge on the head portion. Rather, the method taught by the '904 patent results in a receiver with a sharp edge on the head portion which can cause injury to an operator engaging or disengaging the trailer tube assembly, which is both dangerous and undesirable. In an effort to remove said sharp edge, some operators have incorporated post processing techniques such as grinding down the edge, which is both costly and time consuming and therefore inefficient.
Second, prior art devices such as the one used in the '904 patent tend to fail prematurely. It is believed that this premature failure is due in part to excess pressure buildup in the cavity of the device Once the device fails, the operator must either repair or replace the failed device, which can be both costly and time consuming and therefore inefficient.
So that the structure, method, operation and advantages of the trailer receiver of the present invention can be best understood, a prior art method of forming a trailer receiver tube using cold forward extrusion is described below and shown in FIGS. 1 through 4. Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is illustrated receiver tube 10 formed in accordance with the method described in the '904 patent. Receiver tube 10 is intended to be mounted beneath the floor pan or bumper of a motor vehicle (not shown), and is configured to receive a conventional hitch bar (not shown) of a type that is well known in the art. Receiver tube 10 is unitarily formed and has a generally rectangular lateral cross section and comprises outer surface 11, head portion 12 and body portion 14. As illustrated in FIG. 1, head portion 12 transitions to body portion 14 through chamfered portion 16.
Head portion 12 is located at a distal end of receiver tube 10 for receipt of a hitch bar (not shown) and provides a protective collar around receiver tube 10. Body portion 14 extends from head portion 12 in the direction of the motor vehicle (not shown) and is adapted for mounting on said vehicle. Body portion 14 further comprises hole 18 formed therein for receiving a locking pin (not shown) once the hitch bar (not shown) has been inserted into receiver tube 10.
As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, receiver tube 10 is formed using hollow forward (direct) extrusion. Die 19 is provided that defines inner surface 24 having first portion 26 and second portion 28. First portion 26 is characterized as defining an opening that is somewhat larger than that of second portion 28. Chamfer forming portion 30 extends between first portion 26 and second portion 28, and is used to form chamfered portion 16 as described more fully below.
Tubular blank 32 is provided, which is made from a unitary piece of material, such as an ATSM A500 grade steel, or some other suitable material. Tubular blank 32 is illustrated to have a rectangular cross-sectional area, but those skilled in the art will appreciate that various other shaped cross sections may be employed. During the loading stage, as depicted in FIG. 2, tubular blank 32 is placed in die 19 within first portion 26. Tubular blank 32 is sized relatively larger than second portion 28 of die 19 and, as such, remains within first portion 26 during the loading stage.
Punch 40 is provided having body 42, shaft 44 that extends from an end of body 42 and base 46 that is formed on an opposite end of body 42. Contact surface 48 is formed at the transition between body 42 and shaft 44, and body 42 is sized to fit within first portion 26 of die 19. Shaft 44 is sized to fit within tubular blank 32.
During the loading stage as shown in FIG. 2, punch 40 is inserted into tubular blank 32 such that shaft 44 extends into tubular blank 32 and contact surface 48 engages loading end 36. As illustrated in FIG. 2, shaft 44 extends completely through tubular blank 32 at this stage.
Receiver tube 10 is formed by hollow forward extruding blank 32 through die 19 using the punch 40 as illustrated in FIG. 3. Preferably, punch 40 is urged into die 19 under ambient temperature conditions by a press ram (not shown). Alternatively, punch 40 may be urged into die 19 at elevated temperatures. The contact surface 48 engages tubular blank 32 and forces tubular blank 32 into second portion 28 of die 19.
Fixed between shaft 44 of punch 40 and die 19, tubular blank 32 is subjected to compression forces as it is urged into second portion 28 causing tubular blank 32 to increase in longitudinal length while simultaneously decreasing in wall thickness. The portion of tubular blank 32 that is extruded into second portion 28 forms body portion 14 of receiver tube 10.
Punch 40 is urged into die 19 by a press ram (not shown) until such time as shim blocks (not shown) or a stroke limit on the press ram terminates the movement of punch 40. A portion of tubular blank 32 remains within first portion 26 of die 19 (i.e. is not extruded through second portion 28) and thus forms head portion 12. Accordingly, head portion 12 retains the characteristics of blank 32 prior to insertion into die 19, and acts as a reinforcing area for newly formed receiver tube 10. Chamfer forming portion 30 forms chamfered portion 16 which acts as the transition between head portion 12 and body portion 14. Punch 40 is then retracted from die 19 by a reverse stroke of the press ram (not shown). At that time, a knock-out stroke is initiated by the press ram to remove receiver tube 10 from die 19. Using the above extrusion method, outer surface 11 of receiver tube 10 is defined by inner surface 24 of die 19.
Turning now to FIG. 4 which depicts the cross-sectional view of head portion 12, chamfered portion 16, and body portion 14 of receiver tube 10 and illustrates the alignment of the grain within receiver tube 10 after forming using the method described above. Specifically, the grain of the material within head portion 12 and body portion 14 extends parallel to the longitudinal axis of receiver tube 10 (e.g. in the direction of the cold forward extrusion), and the grain in chamfered portion 16 runs at an angle to the longitudinal axis of receiver tube 10 and parallel to the outer surface of chamfered portion 16. The grains within body portion 14 are also compressed and closer together than the grains within head portion 12. By preserving the grain flow of tubular blank 32 within head portion 12, characteristics such as grain ends or voids are eliminated, and using cold forward extrusion to form body portion 14 preserves directional grain alignment.
Notwithstanding, the forgoing, the method of forming a trailer receiver tube described in the '904 patent results in a receiver with a number of undesirable characteristics. More specifically, the method described in the '904 patent does not address the customer driven request for a rounded or smooth outer edge on the head portion thereby necessitating secondary processing techniques such as grinding, which is both time consuming and costly, to avoid potential injury to the receiver operator due to the sharp surface. The method also does not address the customer driven demand for an angle between head portion 12 and chamfered portion 16 that is in excess of 30 degrees.


A device is disclosed. The device includes a first semiconductor fin, a first source-drain epitaxial region adjacent a first portion of the first semiconductor fin, a second source-drain epitaxial region adjacent a second portion of the first semiconductor fin, a first gate conductor above the first semiconductor fin, a gate spacer covering the sides of the gate conductor, a second semiconductor fin below the first semiconductor fin, a second gate conductor on a first side of the second semiconductor fin and a third gate conductor on a second side of the second semiconductor fin, a third source-drain epitaxial region adjacent a first portion of the second semiconductor fin, and a fourth source-drain epitaxial region adjacent a second portion of the second semiconductor fin. The device also includes a dielectric isolation structure below the first semiconductor fin and above the second semiconductor fin that separates the first semiconductor fin and the second semiconductor fin.

Stacked Tri-gate (Fin-on-Fin) transistors require a dielectric layer to isolate top and bottom fin channels. In some approaches bonding is used to create dielectric isolation between the top and the bottom fin channels. However, sub-30 nm dielectric isolation is not achievable using such approaches. The inability to reduce the thickness of the dielectric isolation between the top and the bottom fin channels imperils performance as transistors are scaled to smaller sizes.

Stacked trigate transistors with dielectric isolation between first and second semiconductor fins


A cw terahertz image beam is upconverted by a nonlinear optical process (e.g., sum- or difference-frequency generation with a near IR cw upconverting beam). The upconverted image is acquired by a near IR image detector. The bandwidths and center wavelengths of the terahertz image beam and the upconverting beam are such that wavelength filtering can be employed to permit an upconverted image beam to reach the detector while blocking or substantially attenuating the upconverting beam.

A number of systems and methods for generation, detection, or imaging with terahertz-frequency radiation have been disclosed previously. Some of those are disclosed in:                U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,145 entitled "Method and apparatus for terahertz imaging" issued Apr. 22, 1997 to Nuss (Lucent Technologies Inc.);        U.S. Pat. No. 5,710,430 entitled "Method and apparatus for terahertz imaging" issued Jan. 20, 1998 to Nuss (Lucent Technologies Inc.);        U.S. Pat. No. 5,789,750 entitled "Optical system employing terahertz radiation" issued Aug. 4, 1998 to Nuss (Lucent Technologies Inc.);        U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,125 entitled "Near field terahertz imaging" issued Aug. 18, 1997 to Brener et al (Lucent Technologies Inc.);        U.S. Pat. No. 5,939,721 entitled "Systems and methods for processing and analyzing terahertz waveforms" issued Aug. 17, 1999 to Jacobsen et al (Lucent Technologies Inc.);        U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,721 entitled "Electro-optical sensing apparatus and method for characterizing free-space electromagnetic radiation" issued Sep. 14, 1999 to Zhang et al (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute);        U.S. Pat. No. 6,078,047 entitled "Method and apparatus for terahertz tomographic imaging" issued Jun. 20, 2000 to Mittleman et al (Lucent Technologies Inc.);        U.S. Pat. No. 6,414,473 entitled "electro-optic/magneto-optic measurement of electromagnetic radiation using chirped optical pulse" issued Jul. 2, 2002 to Zhang et al (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute);        Pub. No. WO 2003/042670 entitled "Method and system for performing three-dimensional terahertz imaging on an object" published May 22, 2003 in the names of Ferguson et al (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute);        U.S. Pat. No. 7,272,158 entitled "Highly efficient waveguide pulsed THz electromagnetic radiation source and group-matched waveguide THz electromagnetic radiation source" issued Sep. 18, 2007 to Hayes et al;        U.S. Pat. No. 7,339,718 entitled "Generation of terahertz radiation in orientation-patterned semiconductors" issued Mar. 4, 2008 to Vodopyanov et al (Microtech Instruments, Oregon State University, Stanford University);        U.S. Pat. No. 7,349,609 entitled "Terahertz radiation generation and methods therefor" issued Mar. 25, 2008 to Vodopyanov et al;        U.S. Pat. No. 7,929,580 entitled "Inexpensive Terahertz Pulse Wave Generator" issued Apr. 19, 2011 to Moeller (Alcatel-Lucent USA Inc.);        U.S. Pat. No. 8,035,083 entitled "Terahertz tunable sources, spectrometers, and imaging systems" issued Oct. 11, 2011 to Kozlov et al (Microtech Instruments Inc.);        U.S. Pub. No. 2012/0008140 entitled "Terahertz sensing system and method" published Jan. 12, 2012 in the names of Khan et al (Massachusetts Institute of Technology; now U.S. Pat. No. 8,514,393 issued Aug. 20, 2013);        U.S. Pat. No. 8,599,474 entitled "Alignment and optimization of a synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator for nonlinear optical generation" issued Dec. 3, 2013 to Kozlov et al (Microtech Instruments);        U.S. Pat. No. 8,599,475 entitled "Alignment and optimization of a synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator for nonlinear optical generation" issued Dec. 3, 2013 to Kozlov et al (Microtech Instruments);        U.S. Pat. No. 8,599,476 entitled "Alignment and optimization of a synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator for nonlinear optical generation" issued Dec. 3, 2013 to Kozlov et al (Microtech Instruments);        Wu et al; "Two-dimensional electro-optic imaging of THz beams"; Applied Physics Letters Vol. 69 No. 8 p. 1026 (1996);        Jiang et al; "Terahertz imaging via electrooptic effect"; IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques Vol. 47 No. 12 p. 2644 (1999);        Jiang et al; "Improvement of terahertz imaging with a dynamic subtraction technique"; Applied Optics Vol. 39 No. 17 p. 2982 (2000);        Nahata et al; "Two-dimensional imaging of continuous-wave terahertz radiation using electro-optic detection"; Applied Physics Letters Vol. 81 No. 6 p. 963 (2002);        Sutherland et al; Handbook of Nonlinear Optics 2ed (2003); New York: Marcel Dekker;        Yonera et al; "Millisecond THz imaging based on two-dimensional EO sampling using a high speed CMOS camera"; Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics, Paper No. CMB3 (2004);        Ding et al; "Phase-Matched THz Frequency Upconversion in a GaP Crystal"; Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics, Paper No. CTuL3 (2006);        Ding et al; "Observation of THz to near-Infrared parametric conversion in ZnGeP2 crystal"; Optics Express Vol. 14 No. 18 p. 8311 (2006);        Hurlbut et al; "Quasi-Phasematched THz Generation in GaAs"; Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics, Paper No. CTuGG (2006);        Cao et al; "Coherent detection of pulsed narrowband terahertz radiation"; Applied Physics Letters Vol. 88 p. 011101 (2006);        Vodopyanov; "Optical generation of narrow-band terahertz packets in periodically inverted electro-optic crystals: conversion efficiency and optimal laser pulse format"; Optics Express Vol. 14 No. 6 p. 2263 (2006);        Lee et al; "Generation of multicycle terahertz pulses via optical rectification in periodically inverted GaAs structures"; Applied Physics Letters Vol. 89 p. 181104 (2006);        Khan et al; "Optical detection of terahertz radiation by using nonlinear parametric upconversion"; Optics Letters Vol. 32 No. 22 p. 3248 (2007);        Schaar et al; "Intracavity terahertz-wave generation in a synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator using quasi-phase-matched GaAs"; Optics Letters Vol. 32 No. 10 p. 1284 (2007);        Khan et al; "Optical detection of terahertz using nonlinear parametric upconversion"; Optics Letters Vol. 33 No. 23 p. 2725 (2008);        Vodopyanov et al; "Resonantly-enhanced THz-wave generation via multispectral mixing inside a ring-cavity optical parametric oscillator"; Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics, Paper No. CTuG1 (2009);        Pedersen et al; "Enhanced 2D-image upconversion using solid-state lasers"; Optics Express Vol. 17 No. 23 p. 20885 (2009).        Hurlbut et al; "THz-wave generation inside a high-finesse ring-cavity OPO pumped by a fiber laser"; Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics, Paper No. CWF3 (2010);        Tekavec et al; "Efficient high-power tunable terahertz sources based on intracavity difference frequency generation"; Paper No. IRMMW-THz in 36th International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter and Terahertz Waves (2011); and        Tekavec et al; "Terahertz generation from quasi-phase matched gallium arsenide using a type II ring cavity optical parametric oscillator"; Proc. SPIE 8261, Terahertz Technology and Applications V, 82610V;        doi:10.1117/12.909529 (2012);        Clerici et al; "CCD-based imaging and 3D space-time mapping of terahertz fields via Kerr frequency conversion"; Optics Letters Vol. 38 No. 11 p. 1899 (Jun. 1, 2013);        Fan et al; "Room temperature terahertz wave imaging at 60 fps by frequency up-conversion in DAST crystal"; Proc. SPIE 8964, Nonlinear Frequency Generation and Conversion: Materials, Devices, and Applications XIII, 89640B (Feb. 20, 2014); doi:10.1117/12.2038685;        Fan et al; "Real-time terahertz wave imaging by nonlinear optical frequency up-conversion in a 4-dimethylamino-N′-methyl-4′-stilbazolium tosylate crystal"; Applied Physics Letters, 104, 101106 (2014); doi:10.1063/1.4868134; and        Tekavec et al; "Video Rate 3D THz tomography": post-deadline paper, Conference on Lasers and Electro-optics (Jun. 8-13, 2014, San Jose, Calif.); incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.

Systems and methods for high-contrast, near-real-time acquisition of terahertz images


An apparatus for imparting a movement to an actuation of an object, such as a brake, and comprising a bracket (2) with an operating device (4), preferably in the form of a handle (24), a stirrup, an arm or a lever which is disposed in connection with the object via a connecting device (5), the connecting device (5) including an element (6) which is rotatably disposed in the bracket (2) about a first pivot (9), a shaft or the like, and a coupling device (7) which is anchored with the said element (6) in a portion (8) a distance from the said first pivot (9), and that the operating device (4) is secured with the said element (6).

The present invention relates to an apparatus for imparting a movement to and actuating an object and comprises a bracket with an operating device, preferably in the form of a handle, stirrup, arm or lever and which is disposed in connection with the object via connection devices. The object may, for example, consist of a brake for a wheel on a vehicle, implement or other wheeled apparatus.


In a gear main body (1), a mouth opening portion (6) through which a mouth portion can be seen is formed in addition to and separately from an eye opening portion (5) through which both eyes can be seen. A part above the eye opening portion (5) covers a forehead portion, a part between the eye opening portion (5) and the mouth opening portion (6) covers cheek portions and a nose portion, and a part below the mouth opening portion (6) covers a lower jaw portion. A surface-side skin material (2) and a back-face-side skin material (3) are split in a vertical direction between the eye opening portion (5) and the mouth opening portion (6) to form a gap (9). At this gap (9), end portions facing each other at the gap (9) are connected by connecting means in such a manner that left and right spaces between the surface-side skin material (2) and the back-face-side skin material (3) communicate with each other. A shock absorbing material (4) is filled also in the communicating space at the gap (9).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a headgear, specifically to a headgear used in various fighting sports such as karate and boxing, and particularly to a headgear worn on a head portion of a player and used for protecting mainly a face of the player from hits by an opponent.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, in matches and practice of karate and boxing, a player M wears a headgear 61 on his/her head portion so as to protect mainly his/her face from hits given by an opponent as shown in FIG. 6. In a case of a prior-art headgear 61, as shown in FIG. 7, a shock absorbing material 64 is filled between a surface-side skin material 62 and a back-face-side skin material 63 and an opening portion 65 through which eyes of the player M can be seen is formed in the front. The player M continues to play while watching movement of the opponent through the opening portion 65, impacts of the hits by the opponent lessened by the shock absorbing material 64 filled between both the surface-side and back-face-side skin materials 62, 63 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-267313).
On the other hand, at a peripheral edge of the opening portion 65 through which the eyes of the player M can be seen, the surface-side skin material 62 and the back-face-side skin material 63 are sewn together substantially without exposing sewing thread on a surface side. By finishing the peripheral edge of the opening portion 65 by sewing the surface-side skin material 62 and the back-face-side skin material 63 together with the sewing thread and then turning them inside out, a seam of the sewing thread is positioned on a back side of the surface-side skin material 62 at the peripheral edge of the opening portion 65. A periphery of the opening portion 65 positioned right in front frequently receives hits from the opponent and is conspicuous, the sewing thread and the seam between the front-side and back-face-side skin materials are hidden behind the peripheral edge of the opening portion 65 to thereby prevent damage to the sewing thread and increase beauty without making the sewing thread and the seam conspicuous.
However, in the case of the above prior-art headgear 61, it cannot be said that protection of a nose portion of the player is sufficient and also it is difficult for the player to speak or breathe. Reversely, if the whole nose portion of the player is protected sufficiently and also a front face of a mouth portion is opened so that the player can easily speak and breathe, protection of a lower jaw portion becomes insufficient.
Moreover, although the shock absorbing material 64 filled between both the surface-side and back-face-side skin materials 62 and 63 is made thick to thereby recess the nose portion of the player inside the opening portion 65, the nose portion of the player is not covered with the shock absorbing material 64 and therefore the nose portion directly receives a hit from the opponent sometimes.
On the other hand, because the mouth portion of the player is mostly covered with the headgear 61 so as to protect as broad an area as possible of the face of the player, the player feels pressure on his/her mouth portion and has difficulty in speaking and breathing.


The invention provides isolated nucleic acids molecules, designated 27875, 22025, 27420, 16319, 55092 and 10218 nucleic acid molecules. The invention also provides antisense nucleic acid molecules, recombinant expression vectors containing 27875, 22025, 27420, 16319, 55092 and 10218 nucleic acid molecules, host cells into which the expression vectors have been introduced, and nonhuman transgenic animals in which a 27875, 22025, 27420, 16319, 55092 and 10218 gene has been introduced or disrupted. The invention still further provides isolated 27875, 22025, 27420, 17906, 16319, 55092 or 10218 proteins, fusion proteins, antigenic peptides and anti-27875, 22025, 27420, 17906, 16319, 55092 or 10218 antibodies. Diagnostic and therapeutic methods utilizing compositions of the invention are also provided.

Cardiovascular disease is a major health risk throughout the industrialized world. Atherosclerosis, the most prevalent of cardiovascular diseases, is the principal cause of heart attack, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease resulting in significant disability and limb loss, and thereby the principle cause of death in the United States.
Atherosclerosis is a complex disease involving many cell types and molecular factors (described in, for example, Ross (1993) Nature 362: 801–809). The process, in normal circumstances a protective response to insults to the endothelium and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) of the wall of the artery, consists of the formation of fibrofatty and fibrous lesions or plaques, preceded and accompanied by inflammation. The advanced lesions of atherosclerosis may occlude the artery concerned, and result from an excessive inflammatory-fibroproliferative response to numerous different forms of insult. Injury or dysfunction of the vascular endothelium is a common feature of many conditions that predispose an individual to accelerated development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. For example, shear stresses are thought to be responsible for the frequent occurrence of atherosclerotic plaques in regions of the circulatory system where turbulent blood flow occurs, such as branch points and irregular structures.
The first observable event in the formation of an atherosclerotic plaque occurs when blood-borne monocytes adhere to the vascular endothelial layer and transmigrate through to the sub-endothelial space. Adjacent endothelial cells at the same time produce oxidized low density lipoprotein (LDL). These oxidized LDLs are then taken up in large amounts by the monocytes through scavenger receptors expressed on their surfaces. In contrast to the regulated pathway by which native LDL (nLDL) is taken up by nLDL specific receptors, the scavenger pathway of uptake is not regulated by the monocytes.
These lipid-filled monocytes are called foam cells, and are the major constituent of the fatty streak. Interactions between foam cells and the endothelial and smooth muscle cells which surround them lead to a state of chronic local inflammation which can eventually lead to smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration, and the formation of a fibrous plaque.
Such plaque may totally or partially block blood flow through a blood vessel leading to a heart attack or stroke. Plaque can also weaken the arterial wall, resulting in an aneurysm. Moreover, occlusion of the blood vessels caused by plaques restrict the flow of blood, resulting in ischemia. Ischemia is a condition characterized by a lack of oxygen supply in tissues of organs due to inadequate perfusion. Such inadequate perfusion can have a number of natural causes, including atherosclerotic or restenotic lesions, anemia, or stroke. Many medical interventions, such as the interruption of the flow of blood during bypass surgery, for example, also lead to ischemia. In addition to sometimes being caused by diseased cardiovascular tissue, ischemia may sometimes affect cardiovascular tissue, such as in ischemic heart disease. Ischemia may occur in any organ, however, that is suffering a lack of oxygen supply.
The P2X receptors are a family of ligand-gated membrane ion channels activated by the binding of extracellular adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP). Seven different P2X receptor subunit cDNAs have been identified (P2X1, P2X2, P2X3, P2X4, P2X5, P2X6, and P2X7) (MacKenzie, et al. (1999) Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 868:716–729). They are characterized by two transmembrane domains with a large extracellular loop where 10 cysteine residues are preserved; and by intracellular N- and C-terminals (Burnstock (2000) British Journal of Anesthesia 84:476–880). P2X receptors are widely distributed in various tissues of mammals, including smooth muscle of the urinary bladder and arteries, kidney, pancreas, lung, cardiac myocytes, sensory and sympathetic ganglia, brain and spinal cord, and each subtype seems to be preferentially expressed in different tissue (Yamamoto, et al. (2000) Am. J. Pilysiol. Heart Circ. Physiol. 279:H285–H292).
The human P2X4 gene was cloned from the brain and forms functional homomeric ATP-activated channels when expressed in heterologous cellular systems (Garcia-Guzman, et al. (1997) Molecular Pharmacology 51:109–118). This receptor has been found to be expressed in human endothelial cells, and is involved in ATP-induced Ca2+ influx in endothelial cells (Yamamoto, et al. (2000) Am. J. Physiol. Heart Circ. Physiol. 279:H285–H292).
Calcium concentration plays a role in cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerosis. Calcium channel blockers (CCB) have been used to effectively modulate high blood pressure. It has been postulated that CCB's could also be used to avoid calcium deposits in arterial walls, which is one of the main components of atherosclerotic plaques (Perez (2000) J. Hum. Hypertens. 14 Suppl 1:S96–9). Intracelllular calcium levels have also been correlated with late phase platelet aggregation and formation of a hemostaic plug, which has been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis (Covic, et al. (2000) Biochemistry 39:5458–5467). Recent studies also have focused on the role of free radicals on calcium signaling. Vascular calcium signaling is altered by oxidant stress in ischemia-related disease states (Lounsbury et al. (2000) Free Radical. Biol. Med. 28:1362). Extracellular calcium has been shown to function as an ionic chemokinetic agent capable of modulating the innate immune response in vivo and in vitro by direct and indirect actions on monocytic cells. Therefore, calcium deposition may be both a consequence of and/or a cause of chronic inflammatory changes at sites of injury, infection, and atherosclerosis (Olszak, et al. (2000) J. Clin. Invest. 105:1299–305).


A method, computer program product, and system for executing and administering queries in a data management system, and particularly a relational data management system. Logical objects can be queried by providing a translation from a logical query in a pre-defined logical schema to a physical query against the physical data management system, such as by translating a database query constructed using an Object Query Language (OQL) into a query in Structured Query Language (SQL) without the user needing to know the details of the physical data management system such as the structure of the underlying relational databases.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to a logical object search framework and application programming interface (API), and more particularly to using a logical object search framework and API to execute and administer queries in a data management system.
2. Discussion of Related Art
In today's information-driven economy, the ability of an enterprise to efficiently store, update, and use information can be critical to the enterprise's ability to serve its customers and compete in the economy. An entity such as a business enterprise can model a concept of an entity relating to that enterprise and use such modeling information to maintain and use information relating to that entity. Some examples of entities that can be modeled by an enterprise include customer, product, bill of materials etc. An enterprise can maintain and model data relating to these entities in either a relational programming environment or in an object-oriented environment such as the commonly used Java environment. In a relational system, data is maintained in one or more data tables, where each row refers to an instance of the entity. In an object system, an entity concept is modeled using classes, where each instance of the class, called an object, refers to an instance of the entity, with characteristics of those objects being known as "attributes" of that object. In order to bridge the two systems, object-relational modeling (ORM) techniques are used to enable an enterprise to use data maintained in relational databases in an object-oriented environment.

Logical object search framework and application programming interface


Methods and systems for processing Ethernet data are disclosed and may comprise receiving Ethernet data via a single gigabit Ethernet IP telephone chip. A secure application key may be received from a secure server by an OSM integrated within the gigabit Ethernet IP telephone chip for processing the received Ethernet data. The received Ethernet data may be processed by the gigabit Ethernet IP telephone chip based on the received secure application key. A unique security identifier internal to the single gigabit Ethernet IP telephone chip may be communicated off-chip to the secure server. The unique security identifier may identify the single gigabit Ethernet IP telephone chip. The secure server may authenticate the gigabit Ethernet IP telephone chip based on the unique security identifier internal to the single gigabit Ethernet IP telephone chip, prior to the receiving of the secure application key.

High-speed digital communication networks over copper and optical fiber are used in many network communication and digital storage applications. Ethernet and Fiber Channel are two widely used communication protocols, which continue to evolve in response to increasing demands for higher bandwidth in digital communication systems.
The Ethernet protocol may provide collision detection and carrier sensing in the physical layer. The physical layer, layer 1, is responsible for handling all electrical, optical, opto-electrical and mechanical requirements for interfacing to the communication media. Notably, the physical layer may facilitate the transfer of electrical signals representing an information bitstream. The physical layer (PHY) may also provide services such as, encoding, decoding, synchronization, clock data recovery, and transmission and reception of bit streams.
As the demand for higher data rates and bandwidth continues to increase, equipment vendors are continuously being forced to employ new design techniques for manufacturing network equipment capable of handling these increased data rates. In response to this demand, the physical layer, or PHY, has been designed to operate at gigabit speeds to keep pace with this demand for higher data rates. These gigabit PHYs are now becoming quite popular in home and office use.
Gigabit Ethernet, which initially found application in gigabit servers, is becoming widespread in personal computers, laptops, and switches, thereby providing the necessary infrastructure for handling data traffic of PCs and packetized telephones. However, network switches, which may be located in a central location within an office, run multiple cable mediums for network and voice data from the switch location to individual office locations, for example. In this regard, multiple cable mediums are now utilized to carry voice and network data. In the alternative, a single cable medium for voice and network data may run from the network switch to individual office locations. However, this scenario is costly as each office location will require a separate switch to route voice data to a telephone and network data to a PC.
Furthermore, existing 10/100 Base Ethernet IP telephones place a bottleneck on the gigabit path between gigabit Ethernet enabled PCs and gigabit Ethernet wiring switches, since the Ethernet IP telephone is not adapted to process data utilizing gigabit speeds. Data may be communicated in gigabit speeds from a gigabit Ethernet switch to the Ethernet IP telephone, but the Ethernet IP telephone may only handle data at speeds lower than one gigabit. In this regard, existing telephones may only process gigabit Ethernet data speeds with an external gigabit Ethernet transceiver which increases connection complexity.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

Method and system for a gigabit Ethernet IP telephone chip with integrated security module


Disclosed are systems and methods for detecting malicious applications. An exemplary method may comprise detecting that a first process has been launched on a computing device. The method may comprise receiving, from the first process, an execution stack associated with one or more control points of the first process. The method may comprise applying a machine learning classifier on the execution stack, wherein the machine learning classifier is configured to classify whether a process is malicious based on activity on control points captured on a given execution stack, and wherein a feature of a malicious process is detection of a system call to create a remote thread that runs in a virtual address space of a shared-service process configured to import third-party processes to be embedded as separate threads. The method may comprise generating an indication that the execution of the first process is malicious/non-malicious.

Malicious software, also referred to as "malware," can infiltrate or damage a computer system by corrupting software code, resulting in abnormal operation or even termination of applications and the operating system. Usually, malware can be recognized by analyzing the processes running on a system, and suspicious processes are recognized and blocked by security systems. However, conventional malware detection techniques have several drawbacks. Static analysis techniques involve scanning software code to identify suspicious commands and to compare the code with known characteristic properties of other viruses from an antivirus database. However, static analysis may be ineffective in situations where the active malware has been significantly modified or obfuscated from previous known versions, or in situations where the active malware has not been previously analyzed or even seen before, as is the case with zero-day attacks. Dynamic analysis techniques involve executing suspicious software code in a monitored, virtual environment, such as in a virtual machine. However, dynamic analysis techniques may be vulnerable to anti-emulation tricks embedded in the malware specifically designed to thwart analysis in the virtual environment. Examples of such anti-emulation tricks include the use of undocumented or uncommon Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), or the loading of a library for the operating system which is not emulated, which generally result in the failure of the emulator (e.g., virtual machine).
In another approach, one of the conventional signs by which a process is qualified as dangerous or safe/trusted is the presence or absence of a valid digital signature (e.g., generated by a trusted party). At the same time, processes that do not have such a digital signature may be considered suspicious and are monitored by security systems (e.g., they are blocked, place on a blacklist, etc.) However, there is a danger that a malicious process may run inside any known trusted process. As a result, a process that has access to user data and to a functioning system appears to be injected, that is, essentially infected with malicious code that, when access user data, corrupts or even encrypts them (e.g., ransomware). In this case, the usual protection systems and anti-virus programs may not be able to detect the danger, so the problem of protection from "injected" has been deemed more complex than the definition of independent malicious processes.

Systems and methods for detecting malicious processes


The high performance tank systems relate to producing efficient, inexpensive, durable corrosion proof galvanized mild-steel tanks for transporting fluids on land transport vehicles. The tanks can be used to transport fluids of many types. Due too the annealing process used the tanks are stress relieved and less prone to fractures.

This invention relates to providing a system for improved high performance tank systems. More particularly this invention relates to providing a system for manufacturing large tanks used in the transportation of fluids. Stainless steel as a tank material is a quality option providing durable and corrosion resistant characteristics; however, it is very expensive and is prone to problems if welding procedures are not performed correctly.
Plastic tanks are lightweight and inexpensive; however plastic is not found to be as durable in this specific application. Plastic can undergo degradation from ultra violet sunlight and from rough handling that may lead to compromises in the tank's integrity and resulting in leaks. Plastic tanks typically have a shorter life span expectancy than metal tanks making them an unattractive option.


A pulsed circuit topology including a pulsed domino flip-flop. A circuit includes a domino logic gate having a domino output node responsive to input data during an evaluate pulse. Reset circuitry initiates and self-terminates a reset pulse during which the domino output node is precharged. A latch responsive to a first pulsed clock input signal is provided to latch data indicated at the domino output node.

1. Field
An embodiment of the present invention relates to the field of high frequency integrated circuits and, more particularly, to high frequency integrated circuits that include domino logic.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Advances in semiconductor manufacturing technologies have enabled circuit designers to continue to integrate more transistors on a single die. At the same time, computer architecture, and more specifically, processor architecture, continues to focus on shorter and shorter cycle times.
Domino logic is frequently used in an effort to reduce power, die area and output capacitance as compared to static full complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) logic. The reduction in parasitic capacitance provided by domino CMOS logic permits higher speed and lower power operation.
As clock speeds continue to increase (and thus, cycle times continue to decrease) and/or where certain parts of a chip operate at a much higher frequency, limitations of conventional logic circuits, including conventional domino logic circuits, may prevent such circuits from operating properly at the higher clock speeds. Further, many conventional domino logic circuits operate using a two-phase clock. For very high operating frequencies, it may not be feasible to generate and distribute a two-phase clock due to noise, clock jitter and/or other issues.
Where a pulsed clock is used instead of a conventional two-phase clock, the logic may be more susceptible to functional errors due to race conditions making such circuits more difficult for design engineers to work with.

Pulsed circuit topology including a pulsed, domino flip-flop


The present disclosure teaches magnesium scrap cleaning processes that remove surface oil, grease, hydrocarbons, and other contaminants from dirty, magnesium scrap produced from different machining operations and provide clean magnesium scrap ready for re-melting. The magnesium scrap cleaning processes can reduce the dross produced during re-melting of the magnesium scrap.

Magnesium offers unique material qualities and advantages that make it desirable for several manufacturing and industrial applications. Recycling magnesium scrap from various manufacturing processes or post-consumer use helps reduce costs and the amount of waste sent to landfills. These various manufacturing operations produce different types of magnesium scrap, i.e. high-grade scrap and low-grade scrap. High-grade scrap includes contaminant-free scrap such as runners, gates, and drippings from die cast operations. Low-grade scrap includes post-consumer scrap such as surface contaminated scrap with oily film, dirt, and/or other grime from machining operations, magnesium dross from melting operations, oxidized magnesium scrap from die cast operations, or other post-consumer products like used car parts.
To recycle high-grade and low-grade magnesium scrap, magnesium scrap may be melted down to be recast into magnesium ingots. If melted down for reuse, low-grade magnesium scrap produces molten magnesium contaminated with dross, slag, and other impurities that needs to be separated from the molten magnesium. Removing unwanted dross and impurities is very difficult and contributes to high melt losses. The resulting high melt losses reduce the efficiency of recycling magnesium scrap and increases the cost to do so. To this end, processes incorporating methods for removing contaminants from magnesium scrap before reuse are desirable. However, designing and implementing such processes presents significant challenges because of the highly flammable characteristic of magnesium and disposing of the organic byproducts, such as oil, grease, and hydrocarbons, in an environmentally responsible manner.

System and method for cleaning magnesium scrap for re-melting with reduced environmental impact


A method and document conversion apparatus for converting text of one language or dialect into text of another language or dialect without losing the tag symbols included in the text. The system includes a unit for storing the source text, a unit for storing data which shows the display properties of the source text and the location to which the properties are attached, a unit for converting the text body of the source language into the text body of the target language, a unit for storing the converted text body, a unit for storing information which shows the relations between words in the target text and words in the source text, a unit which processes the target text body and prepares data which shows the display properties of the target text and the location to which the properties are attached, a unit for preparing the target text by attaching tag symbols to the target text, and a display unit for displaying the text.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to a data processing apparatus which translates text data written in one language into another language or converts text data written in one dialect into text of another dialect in the same language, or, more precisely, pertains to an apparatus which conducts translation/conversion while maintaining the display properties attached to the text data before translation/conversion.
(2) Related Art
It is becoming more and more common these days to send and receive text data to and from abroad via international communication networks like the Internet. Text data is normally made up of tag symbols and the text body without tag symbols. Tag symbols are composed of start tags and end tags. Start tags are formed by entering the tag name between a "<" and a ">", while end tags have a "/" before the tag name. For example, HTML uses B for bold, I for italic, and U for underline. Also, in text data received from the Internet, anchor tags can be used as start tags to show a pointer to another file. Anchor tags are written in the format .
When text data is received from abroad through the Internet, the text body written in a foreign language must be translated into one's native language. Machine translation software is used for this.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Application #6-44296 is a well-known conventional machine translation apparatus. This conventional apparatus is made of a separation unit which separates the text data received from the Internet into the text body and the tag symbols, a memory unit which stores the tag symbol and associates the symbol with its accompanying word, a dictionary lookup/morphological analysis unit which conducts dictionary lookups and morphological analyses on the text body, a syntactic analysis unit which conducts syntactic analyses on the text body after morphological analysis, a conversion unit which converts the result of syntactic analysis and generates a parsing tree of the target language, and a translation text generation unit which refers to the contents of the memory unit in order to generate a translated text in the target language based on the parsing tree of the target language, with tags inserted.
However, there is a drawback with the conventional machine translation apparatus. The apparatus attaches tag symbols to the target language word Corresponding to the word with tag symbols in the source language. As long as the display properties of the source language are the same as those of the target language, there is no incongruity. But often there are times when the tag symbol is attached to only some of the letters in a word. When this happens the display properties attached to text data in the source language are ignored in the text date of the target language, and therefore fails to be displayed. For example, when the text data of the source language is "Ihave a pen.", the tag symbols in text data of the target language are dropped, so that the text body becomes without the tag symbols. This results in an unnatural translation.
Also, text data received from the Internet contains pointers as anchor tags which display links to other files. If the anchor tag is attached to only some of the letters in the word, then the tag symbols are dropped in the document data of the translation, so one cannot move to the link destination file using the translated text.
Although the above problem appears when translating from one language to another, a similar problem may appear when converting one dialect into another dialect of the same language.

Document conversion apparatus for carrying out a natural conversion


Antimony-based semiconductor devices are formed over a substrate structure (10) that includes an antimony-based buffer layer (24) and an antimony-based buffer cap (26). Multiple epitaxial layers (30–42) formed over the substrate structure (10) are dry etched to form device mesas (12) and the buffer cap (26) provides a desirably smooth mesa floor and electrical isolation around the mesas.

This invention relates generally to semiconductor integrated circuit fabrication techniques and, more particularly, to techniques for ensuring adequate electrical isolation of multiple semiconductor devices formed on a common substrate. Device isolation is important in any integrated circuit (IC) and is critical to the design of integrated circuits that operate at higher frequencies, such as microwave monolithic integrated circuits (MMICs). In MMICs, a typical transistor device is the high electron mobility transistor (HEMT), which behaves much like a conventional field effect transistor (FET), but incorporates a conducting channel created by a heterostructure that confines charge carriers to a thin layer. The concentration of the carriers and their speed in this layer enables the transistor to maintain a high gain at very high frequencies. The heterostructure in a HEMT typically comprises multiple semiconductor layers formed epitaxially and appropriately etched to form a mesa projecting above the substrate. Device connections are made through contacts at the top of the mesa and device isolation is attained by ensuring that there is sufficient geometric clearance between adjacent devices.
The mesas of HEMTs or similar semiconductor structures are formed on a substrate that, for purposes of electrical isolation, must include areas of a relatively non-conducting material. This requirement is relatively easy to meet if the semiconductor structures are based on materials that are inherently semi-insulating, such as structures based on gallium arsenide (GaAs). There are, however, significant advantages, in terms of improved electrical properties, in using semiconductor heterostructures that include antimony-based layers as electron barriers. Unfortunately, there is no compatible semi-insulating substrate material for antimony-based semiconductors, and growing any antimony-based layer on a semi-insulating substrate of another material, such as GaAs, results in lattice defects, referred to as threading dislocations, in the antimony-based layer because the lattice parameter of the layer does not match that of the substrate. One way to mitigate the effect of the threading dislocations is to include a relatively thick metamorphic buffer layer of an antimony-based material, such as aluminum antimonide (AlSb). This effectively "buries" the dislocations, which become less pronounced towards the top of the buffer layer. Although the desired antimony-based layers may be formed epitaxially on the antimony-based (AlSb) buffer, this approach suffers from a significant disadvantage in that the AlSb material is not stable in air. Components or electrodes formed over an AlSb buffer inevitably suffer serious damage as the AlSb buffer disintegrates with exposure to air.
Accordingly, there is still a need for a technique for achieving mesa isolation in antimony-based semiconductor structures. The present invention satisfies this need.

Method for etching mesa isolation in antimony-based compound semiconductor structures


A user-removable stabilizer for a toner cartridge assembly comprises of at least one member that becomes inserted in the toner cartridge assembly for capturing a first movable section of the toiler cartridge assembly and interconnecting at least the first movable section with a second movable section of the toner cartridge assembly, and a stopping member protruding upwardly from the at least one member for limiting insertion of the stabilizer into the toner cartridge assembly. A method of stabilizing movable sections of a toner cartridge assembly is also provided.

Electrophotographic image forming devices ("EP devices"), such as photocopiers, laser printers, and facsimile machines, may employ the use of removable toner cartridge assemblies. Such cartridge assemblies are removable because the serviceable lifetime of certain cartridge components is often shorter than the serviceable lifetime of the EP device that the cartridge supplies. Cartridge assemblies for these image forming devices often include a photoconductive drum and a developer housing located adjacent to the photoconductive drum for the purpose of providing toner. The toner is often housed in a molded plastic reservoir. The cartridge assembly also may include a toner adder roller, a charge roller, a doctor blade, and a gear train that mates to a set of gears in the EP device. The gears are used, among other things, to drive the photoconductive drum in conjunction with the toner adder roller. A waste toner reservoir may also be attached to one side of the cartridge. Toner cartridges may be supplied to a user in a conventional all inclusive assembly or in a separable multi-part assembly.
In recent years, the size of the image forming device has become a significant issue. For instance, with regard to laser printers, demands of desk space in the digital office have dictated the reduction in size of the printers. Size restrictions, both in regard to desktop space, and in shipping costs have limited the overall size of the corresponding toner cartridge. For this reason, it has become advantageous to both manufacturer and user of the EP device in many cases to split apart the toner storage component of the cartridge from the image forming housing component of the cartridge. Generally, the image forming component of the cartridge contains the photoconductor drum, while the toner storage component of the cartridge contains the toner. These so called two-part toner cartridges provide the user a longer service life of key components of the cartridge, while limiting the space required for toner storage within the image forming device.
For larger office image forming systems, desktop space is not the issue. However, a two-part cartridge can still have various benefits. For instance, the photoconductive drum and toner can be separated, such that if the photoconductor drum section is damaged, toner may be spared. Likewise, if toner usage is great, the photoconductive drum may be used in more than one toner container cycle.
Cartridges of the two-part variety are used today to provide toner to both monochrome and color EP devices. For instance, in color laser printers, the number of cartridges is increased due to the additional toner requirements for producing the large array of colors needed in color image forming print jobs. For example, while monochrome laser printing requires a single cartridge of black toner, a color laser printer will require four cartridges such as a black, magenta, cyan, and yellow.
One problem sometimes encountered in two-piece cartridges relates to damage during shipping. Specifically, movement of the cartridge components during shipping can create cartridge failure. This failure is often associated with breakage of the cartridge housing and massive toner leakage. Such failure can ultimately deem the shipped cartridge unusable by the user. Obviously, this creates additional cost for the manufacturer relating to replacement of the damaged cartridge, as well as delay in delivering a usable cartridge to the user.
Several options have been contemplated for minimizing movement of components of the two-piece cartridge. One option relates to including additional packing material around the cartridge. However, packaging methods that add bulk, such as adding cushioning to the shipping material, are not desirable due to the significant added cost of the shipping material and the relatively insignificant improvement of such methods. Likewise, additional holding methods of conventional packaging materials such as cardboard, STYROFOAM blocks, plastic shipping trays, and the like, are not feasible due to their relative ineffectiveness in preventing movement and subsequent breaks in the cartridges during shipping. Furthermore, additional packaging bulk material creates greater complexity and frustration for the end user to remove the material and dispose of the same.
Accordingly, the need exists for a device and method for minimizing cartridge damage during movement of the cartridge. The device would allow for simple assembly by an individual or machine and disassembly by the end-user. The device would be relatively easy to form and low cost.

Stabilizer for a toner cartridge and related method


A new and distinct cultivar of Verbena plant named ‘Balendakle’, characterized by its dark purple-colored flowers, dark green-colored foliage, and vigorous, prostrate-trailing growth habit, is disclosed.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Verbena plant botanically known as Verbena×hybrida and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'Balendakle'.
The new cultivar originated in a controlled breeding program in Arroyo Grande, Calif. during May 2010. The objective of the breeding program was the development of Verbena cultivars that are durable to environmental stresses, have dark green-colored foliage, and a trailing growth habit.
The new Verbena cultivar is the result of cross-pollination. The female (seed) parent of the new cultivar is the proprietary Verbena×hybrida breeding selection coded PVB-764-c, not patented, characterized by its light pink-colored flowers, medium green-colored foliage, and vigorous, mounded-trailing growth habit. The male (pollen) parent of the new cultivar is the proprietary Verbena×hybrida breeding selection coded PVB-755-b, not patented, characterized by its dark pink-colored flowers, dark green-colored foliage, and moderately vigorous, mounded-trailing growth habit. The new cultivar was discovered and selected as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the above stated cross-pollination during April 2011 in a controlled environment in Arroyo Grande, Calif.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal stem cuttings since April 2011 in Arroyo Grande, Calif., and West Chicago, Ill. has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all of the characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.


Disclosed is a semiconductor package comprising a semiconductor chip, a first chip pad on a bottom surface of the semiconductor chip and adjacent to a first lateral surface in a first direction of the semiconductor chip, the first lateral surface separated from the first chip pad from a plan view in a first direction, and a first lead frame coupled to the first chip pad. The first lead frame includes a first segment on a bottom surface of the first chip pad and extending from the first chip pad in a second direction opposite to the first direction and away from the first lateral surface of the semiconductor chip, and a second segment which connects to a first end of the first segment and then extends along the first direction to extend beyond the first lateral surface of the semiconductor chip after passing one side of the first chip pad, when viewed in the plan view.

The present inventive concepts relate to a semiconductor package, and more particularly, to a semiconductor package with a lead frame.
In the semiconductor industry, integrated circuit packaging technology has been developed to satisfy requirements for small-form-factor devices and high package reliability. For instance, package techniques capable of achieving a chip-sized packages are actively being developed to satisfy the requirements for small-form-factor devices, and package techniques capable of promoting efficiency in a package process and improving mechanical and electrical reliability of a packaged product have attracted considerable attention in terms of high package reliability.
Chip-on-film (COF) technology is a new type of package that has been developed on a display driver IC with the trend of light, thin, and compact-sized communication equipment. When a high-resolution display device is implemented with the COF technology, driving frequencies of televisions and monitors are increased to increase driving loads of the driver IC, which results in heat generation from integrated circuits. As an approach to address these issues, a thermal radiation plate may be formed on a bottom surface of a dielectric layer so as to externally discharge heat produced from a semiconductor device formed on a top surface of the dielectric substrate. However, other or additional approaches may be desirable.