A diaphragm of a cup-shaped flexible external gear of a cup-shaped wave gear device having a high reduction ratio of 100 or higher is given a thickness t in a position of a radius r of the diaphragm whereby the thickness t is a value that satisfies the expression A/r2 when A is a constant. The constant A is preferably a value that satisfies the expression 0.0014 D3<A<0.0026 D3, where D is a pitch diameter of the flexible external gear, and the range of the radius r whereby the thickness t is defined as described above in the diaphragm is preferably set to satisfy the expression 0.6 d<r<0.4 D, where d is a diameter of a discoid rigid boss made continuous with an internal peripheral end of the diaphragm. Stress concentration can be alleviated, and it is possible for the allowable transmission torque to be increased compared to the prior art.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cup-shaped wave gear device having a high reduction ratio of 100 or higher, for example, and particularly relates to a wave gear device in which a diaphragm of a cup-shaped flexible external gear has a cross-sectional shape that is adapted for alleviating stress concentration.
2. Description of the Related Art
Known wave gear devices include a cup-shaped wave gear devices in which a flexible external gear thereof is cup-shaped. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a typical cup-shaped wave gear device, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the structure thereof in cross section in a plane perpendicular to a central axis of the device. As shown in these drawings, a cup-shaped wave gear device 1 is provided with an annular rigid internal gear 2, a cup-shaped flexible external gear 3 disposed in concentric fashion inside the internal gear, and an elliptically profiled wave generator 4 fitted inside the external gear. The flexible external gear 3 is provided with a flexible cylindrical body 11, an annular diaphragm 12 extending towards inside in a radial direction from one end in a central axis direction of the cylindrical body, a discoid rigid boss 13 made continuous with an internal peripheral edge of the diaphragm 12, and external teeth 14 formed in an external peripheral surface portion of the other end of the cylindrical body 11.
The portion of the cylindrical body 11 where the external teeth 14 are formed in the flexible external gear 3 thus shaped is flexed in an elliptical shape by the wave generator 4, and the external teeth positioned at both ends in a major axis direction of this ellipse mesh with internal teeth 15 of the rigid internal gear 2. Since the numbers of teeth in the gears 2 and 3 differ by 2n (n is a positive integer), meshing positions of the gears 2 and 3 move in a circumferential direction when the wave generator 4 is rotated by a motor or other rotational driving source, and relative rotation occurs in the gears 2 and 3 according to the difference in the number of gear teeth. The rigid internal gear 2 is generally fixed, and rotation having a considerably reduced speed is outputted from the flexible external gear 3.
The cylindrical body 11 of the cup-shaped flexible external gear 3 flexed in the elliptical shape by the wave generator 4 has a cylindrical shape in a state prior to being deformed, as shown in FIG. 3(a). After flexure into the elliptical shape by the wave generator 4, the cross-section that includes a major axis thereof reaches a state in which the cylindrical body 11 gradually widens outward in the direction from the side of the diaphragm 12 toward an open end 11a, as shown in FIG. 3(b). As shown in FIG. 3(c), the cross-section that includes a minor axis of the ellipse reaches a state in which the cylindrical body 11 gradually narrows in the direction from the side of the diaphragm 12 toward the open end 11a.
The diaphragm 12 is formed between the cylindrical body 11 and the rigid boss 13 in order to flex the portion of the cylindrical body 11 on the side of the open end 11a into the elliptical shape. Specifically, when the open end 11a of the cylindrical body 11 is flexed in the elliptical shape, the diaphragm 12 bends back as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3(b) about a base portion connected to the boss 13 in the cross-section that includes the major axis of the ellipse. In contrast, in the cross-section that includes the minor axis, the diaphragm 12 tilts toward the open end 11a as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3(c). Therefore, while the diaphragm 12 is subjected to this type of flexural stress towards a central axis 11b, it is also subjected to shear stress due to torque transmission.
Therefore, with the diaphragm 12 under this combination of stresses, the cross-sectional shape thereof is designed so that only a small force is required to deform the part of the cylindrical body 11 on the side of the open end in an elliptical shape, and a large torque can be transmitted. In particular, the cross-sectional shape of the diaphragm is designed so that stress is not concentrated on the diaphragm when it is under this combination of stresses. A cup-shaped flexible external gear whereby stress concentration can be alleviated is disclosed in JP-A 6-17888, for example.
The amount of deformation of the diaphragm 12 towards the central axis 11b varies according to the reduction ratio of the wave gear device 1. In the case of a low reduction ratio, since there is a large amount of elliptical deformation in the cylindrical body 11 on the side of the open end, the amount of deformation of the diaphragm 12 in the direction of the central axis 11b increases by a commensurate amount. In contrast, the amount of deformation decreases when the reduction ratio is high. The optimum cross-sectional shape of the diaphragm 12 thus differs according to the reduction ratio. However, in the prior art, the cross-sectional shape of the diaphragm 12 is not determined with consideration for the reduction ratio, and the optimum cross-sectional shape of the diaphragm is determined based on the large amount of deformation of the diaphragm 12 in the central axis direction at a low reduction ratio.
Specifically, flexural stress occurring in conjunction with the elliptical deformation of the cylindrical body, shear stress caused by transmission torque, and flexural stress caused by assembly error basically act on the diaphragm of the flexible external gear of the wave gear device. However, in the case of the wave gear device having a high reduction ratio of 100 or higher, since the amount of elliptical deformation is small, the flexural stress caused thereby is also small, and the shear stress caused by transmission torque takes precedence.
In the conventional method for setting the cross-sectional shape of the diaphragm, the large flexural stress in the case of a low reduction ratio is assumed. As a result, a maximum allowable transmission torque is limited since an excessive allowable flexural stress is employed and an allowable shear stress is kept low when the cross-sectional shape of the diaphragm of the wave gear device with the high reduction ratio is set.


A quilted border winder apparatus, a quilted border system and a method of making quilted borders that includes two machine halves in which a number of independent wind-up stations are radially mounted and longitudinally spaced about the axis of a main shaft for each half and in which each wind-up station is connected to the shaft by an arm. Each machine half contains an identical shaft and the two shafts are parallel, but are laterally offset one from the other. Each wind-up station is driven by an electric motor utilizing a gear box and a chain/sprocket assembly that is connected to the wind-up station through the interior of the connecting arm.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a quilted border system and a method used in the manufacture of a border section for the outer layer of mattresses and box springs. More particularly, this invention relates to a system, a border winder apparatus and the method for manufacturing quilted borders for mattresses and box springs in a simple, reliable and efficient manner.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the bedding products industry, it is common to produce mattresses and/or box springs having finished outer surfaces constructed with ornate fabric, called "ticking", that is quilted with layers of foam and/or other synthetic resin materials. A typical mattress or box spring has a top surface, a bottom surface and four sides between the top and bottom surfaces. The connecting sides are commonly referred to as the "border" of the mattress or box spring. The border is typically constructed of a strip of quilted ticking and is referred to as a "quilted border."
Traditionally, quilted border material was made with a quilting machine in conjunction with a roll winding machine or "winder." A full-width roll of ticking, approximately eight feet wide is fed into the quilting machine and, upon exiting the now quilted ticking is cut into varying widths, usually 7 to 15 inches, appropriate for use as border material for a mattress or a box spring. After the quilted ticking is cut into widths, each of the resulting border strips is simultaneously wound onto a common shaft of the winder. Upon completion of the quilting, cutting and winding of an entire roll of ticking, the shaft is removed from the winder and each roll of border material is removed from the shaft and is used to construct finished mattresses or box springs or is stored as inventory. During this removal process, the quilting machine, the cutting machine and the winder must be brought to a halt so that the finished border rolls may be removed. Thereafter, the shaft is replaced and a new full-length roll of ticking is fed into the machinery and the process cycle is begun again.
The process just described is moderately efficient when large quantities of a single type of quilted border material are needed for immediate production. However, problems exist with this process. One problem is the time lost during changeovers when one roll of quilted ticking is removed and a new roll of ticking is installed. The operator is required to remove a large, heavy shaft containing a number of border rolls. Another problem occurs because the border material is cut into individual border strips after quilting occurs. A quantity of border material suffers from "run-back skips," a term referring to an edge defect. This defect occurs when a seam in a piece of quilted ticking is cut while the thread comprising the seam is under tension. Because the thread is under tension, it quickly loosens and the edge of the quilted ticking may separate. Another potential problem is that a portion of the strip of quilted ticking may "gather" or "bunch." Either of the last two mentioned conditions renders the resulting border material defective.
In addition to the preceding problems, the demands of the marketplace have led to additional problems. Manufacturers are required to offer a large variety of ticking material of different quality levels and having different weaves and printed patterns. Also, a manufacturer often receives orders for bedding products requesting a variety of such ticking materials. This requires the production of a number of different products within a short period of time. Also, during periods of production of large quantities of bedding products containing more popular ticking material, manufacturers are often required to fill smaller orders for less popular material or even to fill a small order for a product containing a particular of ticking on a "quick-ship" basis.
A manufacturer will also occasionally have to produce additional border material containing a different type of ticking to repair damaged borders on completed mattresses and box springs. When traditional manufacturing techniques are employed, these conditions have increased inventory levels of less popular or unused border material due to the requirement that a full-width roll must be run. Productivity is lowered due to the lost time associated with increased changeovers of rolls and increased material handling given the large number of individual border rolls per full-width roll. Furthermore, aesthetics suffer due to the increased number of splices required in the finishing product because of the increased number of shortened border strips produced when a full-width roll is interrupted for a small order production.
A definite need has existed for solutions to these problems. Until now a workable, efficient solution could not be found.

Quilted border winder apparatus, system and method


Improved pitching machines capable of providing accurate, repeatable, and various pitches for training or simulation purposes (e.g., batting and catching). The pitching machine of the present invention may be operable to deliver pitches that each have a different predetermined trajectory, location, velocity (speed to target), and rotational velocity with repeatable precision and accuracy. Additionally, the pitching machine may be programmable and capable of simulating a pitch sequence, as thrown by a pitcher in a game situation, which provides a novel and effective tool for training batters.

Pitching machines have long been used for propelling, or throwing spherical balls, such as baseballs, softballs, and tennis balls for example, or oval balls such as a football. Primarily pitching machines are used for throwing baseballs and softballs during activities such as batting practice, where the pitching machine is used to simulate a human pitcher. Modern pitching machines are purported to be able throw multiple pitch types, such as fastballs and curveballs. However, the pitches thrown by such pitching machines do not reliably simulate pitches thrown by human pitchers.
Additionally, such pitching machines require time-consuming setup for each type of pitch thrown, and must be reset for each time the pitch type is changed. For instance, if it is desired to throw fastballs to a batter, the pitching machine is setup to throw fastballs. When it is desired to throw another type of pitch to the batter, such as curveballs, the machine is stopped and then re-sets for throwing balls of the new pitch type.
Another disadvantage of conventional pitching machines is that the batter knows exactly what type of pitch is being thrown and can adjust his or her swing and stance for the anticipated speed and location of the pitch. In a game situation, the batter must be prepared for any type of pitch that may be thrown by the pitcher. Thus, pitching machine capable of consecutively throwing different types of pitches, without requiring re-setup for the different type pitches to effectively simulate a game situation, would be advantageous over the prior art.
The existing pitching machines are deficient in providing effective game-simulation training for baseball and softball players, and are in need of improvement. It is therefore desirable to provide novel pitching machines and related methods.


An automatic fertilizing device for introducing lawn care chemicals such as fertilizer, herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides into a sprinkler system, comprising a container having a control plate insert to divide the container into an upper and lower volume, wherein the container and control plate are mounted to a flow head, such that the flow head controls the amount of chemicals drawn from the container and dispersed into the main water line. This device may also be employed in pool systems for dispersing chlorine.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a device for introducing lawn care chemicals into an irrigation system, and in particular, to a pressurized container which is compatible with a main water supply line for dispersing fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides through a sprinkler system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The proper treatment and care of lawns is highly desirable to prevent destruction from insects and deterioration from malnutrition. The mixture and application of treatment solutions, however, is a time consuming procedure that requires close attention to chemical-water ratios and their distribution. Since proper care equates to scheduled maintenance, many lawns and gardens become neglected, resulting in unnecessary refurbishing costs. Moreover, lawns, gardens, and vegetation still fall victim to improper maintenance, despite consistent care when poorly balanced solutions are administered.
The prior art contemplates numerous devices for dispersing materials that tend to be too complicated, ineffective, or expensive to be commercially reasonable. U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,913, issued to Riding, teaches a water treatment device for dissolving solid water soluble chemicals, such as fertilizers, into an irrigation system. The Riding device directs water into an upright container having an inlet pipe located above an outlet pipe, wherein both pipes are tied into the supply line. The supply pipe directs a stream of water into the container, over pellets, and back into the main line. This device, however, is only designed for solid chemicals, is easily clogged, and maintains no feature for controlling concentration. As a result, lawns are susceptible to inadequate protection from solutions that are too diluted and to damage from highly concentrated solutions.
The fertilizer container disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,512, issued to Craig, feeds water from a supply line into the top of a fertilizer container, downwards over the fertilizer, and through an outlet bore. However, the outlet perforations disclosed in Craig easily clog, causing non-uniform flows of fertilizer are released from the container.
U.S Pat. No. 4,898,202, also issued to Craig as a continuation-in-part of U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,512, introduces a fertilizer container for sprinkler systems that employs an external container, a pressurized chamber, and a plurality of tubes. Water percolates through the chamber and over the fertilizer, lifting a concentrated solution upward then down through tubes and into an outlet bore. Unfortunately, undissolved particles clog the tubes or even pass through the tubes, allowing undiluted chemicals to burn vegetation. Furthermore, since this system passes water directly through the fertilizer, it is not adequate for liquid chemicals or for controlling concentrations.
A variety of other systems presently known in the art which have attempted to introduce chemicals into a water supply line have resulted in complicated, awkward, and inefficient design. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 3,974,847, issued to Hodges, U.S. Pat. No. 3,943,960, issued to Syrenne, U.S. Pat. No. 3,118,462, issued to Pannutti, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,855,323, issued to Sirch incorporate complex valves, intricate linkages, and expensive fittings to disperse and apply chemicals. These designs employ an overabundance of hardware which increase manufacturing cost, consumer price, and maintenance fees. Furthermore, these complicated designs tend to be unreliable and inefficient. As a result, the foregoing have met with little consumer approval.
While the aforementioned devices disclose various designs to introduce water solvent chemicals into a main water line, no such device teaches the benefits of a low profile design capable of accurately introducing chemicals into a water sprinkler system for distribution in lawn care. Furthermore, these devices tend to concentrate only on solid additives that do not always adequately dissolve and that tend to cause blockage. Therefore, there exists a need for a system that automatically filters fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides into a sprinkler system in a convenient, efficient manner. This invention is intended to address and solve these problems, which are not adequately resolved by the prior inventions.


A fuel supply system includes a pressure regulator (16) regulating the pressure of fuel supplied from a fuel pump (14). A valve device (18) is associated with the pressure regulator (16) for controlling the pressure of the fuel regulated by the pressure regulator (16). The valve device (18) supplies a part of the fuel as a control fluid to the pressure regulator (16). The part of the fuel supplied from the valve device (18) as the control fluid is not discharged into a fuel tank (12) when the pressure regulator (16) regulates the pressure of the fuel to have a higher value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fuel supply systems used mainly for engines of vehicles.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional fuel supply system is shown in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-90624. FIG. 6 is a schematic structural view showing the conventional fuel supply system disclosed in this publication. As shown in FIG. 6, fuel supply system 200 includes a fuel tank 201, from which fuel is drawn and pressurized by a fuel pump 202 and passes through a fuel filter 204 and a supply pipe 203. Then the fuel is injected from each injection valve 205 into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine (hereinafter called "engine"). A fuel pressure regulating device 207 opens and closes a reflux control valve 224 in accordance with control signals from a control unit 229, and accordingly, pressure of fuel (hereinafter called "fuel pressure") supplied to each injection valve 205 may be switched between high pressure and low pressure.
More specifically, the fuel pressure regulating device 207 opens the reflux control valve 224, for instance when the engine starts to introduce the fuel into a control pressure chamber 208B of a pressure regulator 208, for increasing the pressure inside the control pressure chamber 208 B. Accordingly, the fuel pressure inside a fuel pressure regulating chamber 208A of the pressure regulator 208 is increased, and fuel pressure inside the supply pipe 203 communicating with the fuel pressure regulating chamber 208A is increased. Due to this, the fuel pressure supplied to each injection valve 205 becomes high to enhance atomization of the injected fuel, and accordingly, starting performance of the engine is improved. The fuel inside the fuel regulating chamber 208A is then refluxed into a fuel tank 201 via a delivery pipe path 223. The reflux control valve 224 is closed after starting the engine so that the pressure inside the pressure control chamber 208B of the pressure regulator 208 is decreased. Therefore, the fuel pressure inside the fuel regulating chamber 208A and the supply pipe 203 is decreased. Accordingly, the fuel pressure supplied to each injection valve 205 becomes low, and therefore, load on the fuel pump 202 etc. is reduced.
In the conventional fuel supply system (see FIG. 6), the fuel introduced into the fuel pressure regulating chamber 208A of the pressure regulator 208 during the pressurization, flows into the fuel tank 201 via the delivery pipe path 223. As a result, the efficiency of pump is decreased due to the large loss of fuel flow volume.
Therefore, there has been a need for a fuel supply system that can prevent the loss of fuel flow volume during the pressurization, which can improve the efficiency of the pump.


The present disclosure provides a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof. The manufacturing method comprises: providing a substrate comprising a storage region, forming stacked gates of storage transistors on the substrate; forming side walls on two sides of each stacked gate wherein the top surfaces of side walls are arranged to be lower than the top surfaces of the stacked gates; performing ion implantation in the storage region defined by the side walls; and performing an ashing process and a wet cleaning process using the side walls as protective layers of the stacked gates to remove a photoresist remaining after the ion implantation. The present disclosure further provides a semiconductor device formed according to the manufacturing method. According to the semiconductor device and the manufacturing method thereof, the problem of stacked gate collapse from the ion implantation process can be solved, thereby improving the yield.

Since doctor Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments invented an integrated circuit in the early days, scientists and engineers have made many inventions and improvements on semiconductor devices and processes. In the past 50 years, the sizes of semiconductor transistors have been significantly reduced, which has led to a growing processing speed and continuously reduced power consumption. So far, the development of semiconductors roughly follows the Moore's law. The Moore's law generally refers to doubling of the number of transistors in integrated circuits about every two years. Now, the semiconductor process is developing towards 20 nm or below, and some companies are starting 14 nm processes. Here is only a reference: a silicon atom is about 0.2 nm, which means that the distance between two independent components produced by the 20 nm process is only about one hundred silicon atoms. The manufacturing of semiconductor devices has thus become increasingly challenging and advanced towards physically possible limits.
NAND flash devices have received a lot of attention due to their advantages of high storage density and continuous size reduction. As described above, with the development of semiconductor technology, nodes of the NAND flash technology have been constantly advancing, and the sizes of storage gates and gaps between the storage gates have been constantly reduced. As a result, the height-width aspect ratio of the gate has significantly increased.
In the manufacturing process of the traditional NAND flash device, after gates are formed, a side wall oxide layer needs to be deposited to facilitate the subsequent protection of the interlayer dielectric layers of the gates while defining a subsequent ion implantation range and the gaps between adjacent gates. However, because the oxide layer on the side walls has hydrophilic characteristic, the subsequent wet cleaning process produces a large torque to the gates. Particularly, in the case where the sizes of gaps between adjacent gates are inconsistent, the difference in gap sizes on both sides of the gate will cause torque imbalance on two sides of the gate, thereby intensifying the impact of the torque on the gate itself. This imbalanced surface tension is very likely to incline the gate structures, and even more seriously cause the problem of collapse of the gate structures.
The problem of collapse of the gate structures in the existing process is illustrated in conjunction with FIGS. 1A-1H. After a gate etching process, gate structures of different sizes are formed, including gates as storage transistors in a storage region A and a gate as a peripheral device in a peripheral region B. The stacked gates 200 of the storage transistors in the storage region A have large height-width aspect ratios. In order to remove the polymer remaining after etching, a wet cleaning process is required, as shown in FIG. 1A. The stacked gate structure after etching sequentially includes polysilicon of a floating gate 210, an interlayer dielectric layer 220 (mainly composed of silicon oxide and silicon nitride), and polysilicon of a control gate 230 arranged from bottom to top. It could be appreciated that, due to process requirements, a silicon nitride mask layer 240 and an insulating layer 250 (silicon oxide material) that is left after etching may be further formed above the stacked gate 200, and the stacked gate 200 and the silicon nitride mask layer 240 and insulating layer 250 thereon constitute a stacked film structure. Since silicon oxide is a hydrophilic material, the chemical reagent used in wet cleaning will produce tension on the upper portion of the stacked film structure.
After the above wet process, although the wet cleaning reagent 400 produces tension on the upper portion of the stacked film structure, the remaining insulating layer 250 and the silicon nitride mask layer 240 are thin, and the resulting torque is small, so the stacked film structure is still normal after the above wet process, as shown in FIG. 1B.
Silicon oxide of side walls 310 is then deposited on. The silicon oxide medium is deposited on the side and upper of the stacked film structure and the region above the substrate, as shown in FIG. 1C. The side walls 310 can protect the interlayer dielectric layers of the gate in the subsequent process while defining a subsequent ion implantation range and the distance between the gates.
In the existing NAND flash process, ion implantation is required for the storage region A. In this step, coating with a photoresist 500 and patterning are required to completely open the storage region A, as shown in FIG. 1D. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 1E, the region that is not blocked by the photoresist 500 is subjected to the ion implantation process. After the ion implantation process, as shown in FIG. 1F, the photoresist is completely removed.
As shown in FIG. 1G, after the ion implantation process, a wet cleaning is required to remove the residual photoresist. It can be seen by comparing FIG. 1A with FIG. 1G that, in the presence of the side walls 310 of the silicon oxide material, especially the presence of side wall silicon oxide on the top of the stacked film structure, the reagent increases the torque of the stacked film structure. That is, the effect of the surface tension of the reagent on the stacked film structure is enhanced. In addition, because the sizes of the gaps on both sides of the stacked film structure are different (the influence of even-odd effect), the reagent tension torque received by the stacked film structure is different, and after the surface tension is enhanced, the stacked film structure easily collapses, as shown in FIG. 1H.
In view of this, a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof are urgently needed, which can retain the effects of protecting interlayer dielectric layers of gates and defining a subsequent ion implantation range and the distance between the gates by side walls, and eliminate the problem of collapse of the stacked gates in the stacked film structures due to the intensification of tension torque by the side walls.

Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof

SHANGHAI HUALI MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION


A metallic material for an electrical electronic includes a CU—Sun alloy layer (2) provided on a conductive base (1). A Cu concentration of the Cu—Sn alloy layer gradually decreases from the base side to the surface (3) side.

A plating material provided with a plating layer of tin (Sn), a tin alloy and others on a conductive base such as copper (Cu) and a copper alloy (referred to as a base hereinafter) is known to be a high-performance conductor having excellent conductivity and strength of the base and excellent electrical connectivity, corrosion resistance and soldering quality of the plating layer. The plating material is widely used for various terminals and connectors used in electric/electronic devices. The plating material is normally undercoated with nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), iron (Fe) and others having a barrier function on the base to prevent an alloy component (referred to as a base component hereinafter) such as zinc (Zn) from diffusing in the plating layer.
When the plating material is used as a terminal in a high-temperature environment such as an inside of an engine room of a vehicle, for example, although an oxide coating film is formed on a surface of the Sn plating layer because the Sn plating layer on a surface of the terminal is oxidizable, the oxide coating film is brittle and breaks down when the terminal is connected and a non-oxidized Sn plating layer is exposed, thereby obtaining favorable electrical connectivity.
Because a fitting-type connector is multipolarized lately with advancement of electronic control, a considerable force is necessary for plugging a male terminal group into/out of a female terminal group. In particular, plugging such a connector is difficult in a narrow space such as the engine room of the vehicle, and it has been strongly demanded to be able to reduce the force for plugging in/out such a connector. Still more, as workability in connecting the connector is improved by reducing the force for plugging in/out the connector, it has been demanded to reduce the force for plugging in/out the connector also from this point of view.
In order to reduce the plugging-in/out force, the Sn plating layer on the surface of the connector terminal may be thinned to weaken contact pressure between the terminals. However, because the Sn plating layer is soft, a fretting phenomenon may occur between contact faces of the terminals, thereby causing inferior conduction between the terminals.
In the fretting phenomenon, the soft Sn plating layer on the surface of the terminal wears and is oxidized, becoming abrasion powder having large specific resistance, due to fine vibration between the contact faces of the terminals caused by vibration and changes in temperature. The lower the contact pressure between the terminals, the more the fretting phenomenon is prone to occur.
In order to assure a low plugging force, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-226645 Gazette, for example, has proposed a method of forming a hard Cu—Sn intermetallic compound layer that hardly causes the fretting phenomenon on the outermost surface by plating Sn on Cu or a Cu alloy, implementing a reflow process and then treating by heat in an atmosphere at an oxygen concentration of 5% or less. However, the method has had a problem that workability of the plating process is inferior. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-226645 Gazette has no description about a concentration of Cu—Sn in the Cu—Sn intermetallic compound layer and has had a problem that it is difficult to perform the reflow heat-process in producing in line to adequately form an oxide coating layer with a controlled thickness on the surface of the Cu—Sn intermetallic compound layer.
Further, in order to assure the low plugging force and others, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-68026 Gazette describes a conductive material for a connecting component that hardly causes the fretting phenomenon, in which a surface plating layer composed of a Ni layer and a Cu—Sn alloy layer is formed on a surface of a base composed of Cu or a Cu alloy in this order. However, the material is also inferior in terms of workability of plating process. Still more, it is difficult to perform the reflow heat-process in producing in line because of the Cu—Sn alloy layer controlled by an average value of the concentration of Cu—Sn.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-339555 Gazette describes forming a metal plate layer by plating metal on a surface of a metallic base and forming a plated material mixed with soft regions spreading like a net and a hard region surround by the net of the soft region by a reflow process. However, the plated material has a problem that the Cu component in the base diffuses to the plate uppermost surface and is oxidized, further increasing a contact resistance value.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-77307 Gazette describes a conductive material for a connecting component in which a Cu—Sn alloy coating layer composed of particles of several μm in diameter is formed along irregularities of a surface of a base. Further, a Sn coating layer is melt and smoothed, and a part of the Cu—Sn alloy coating layer is exposed on the surface of the material.
When there is no Cu layer in a substrate and a Ni substrate exists, there would be no problem. However, when the Cu layer exists or no Ni substrate exists, even if there would be no problem in an initial state, under an environment in which a connecting component is mounted in an actual car and sliding and thermal loads are applied at the same time, the pure Sn portion is scraped due to sliding and Cu diffuses up to a surface and oxidized, thereby increasing resistance.

Metal material for electrical electronic component


Crosslinked elastomeric acetal polymers are made by the copolymerization of 1,3-dioxolane with a smaller amount of one or more bifunctional monomers. The two functional groups of the bifunctional monomer react under the same cationic polymerization conditions as the 1,3-dioxolane. The elastomeric acetal polymer does not crystallize even when the temperature is as low as -50.degree. C. The elastomeric acetal polymer is particularly useful for blending with crystalline acetal polymers to yield a composition with improved impact resistance.

Acetal polymers have been in commercial use for many years. These polymers have oxymethylene repeat units as a major part of their backbone. They are widely used in molding compositions, which have been utilized in many applications, such as automobile bumper extensions and instrument panels; plumbing supplies, such as valves, shower assemblies, flush tank components, faucets and pipe fittings; tool components; and household and personal products.
These crystalline acetal polymers have excellent physical properties. However, for certain applications, improved impact resistance would be highly desirable. Typically, impact strength of a crystalline polymer is improved by blending the crystalline polymer with an elastomer to form shock-absorbing rubbery domains in the crystalline polymer. This approach to impact resistance is most successful when there is a strong interaction between the surface of the rubbery domains and the crystalline polymer.
A limited number of acetal copolymers have recently been synthesized wherein the compositions yield a noncrystalline acetal. The chemical structures are similar enough to the crystalline acetals to interact well with them. For example, commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,788,258 discloses acetal copolymers derived from trioxane and 1,3-dioxolane, with the 1,3-dioxolane content being between about 65 and 75 mol percent of the polymer based on the total monomer composition. These polymers have a glass transition temperature that is less than about -60.degree. C. Blends of these non-crystalline copolymers with crystalline acetal polymers show improved impact resistance over that of the unblended crystalline acetals. Copending and commonly assigned U.S. Ser. No.406,641 discloses acetal copolymers made from 1,3-dioxolane and 1,3-dioxepane. These copolymers are non-crystalline and have glass transition temperatures which are as low as -120.degree. C. and below. Blends of these copolymers with crystalline acetal polymers also exhibit improved impact resistance.
The elastomeric acetal polymers described above are thermoplastic materials which readily deform under stress. Very few elastomeric acetal polymers have been reported which are crosslinked or can be crosslinked. One example of a crosslinkable acetal polymer has been disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,608. This polymer is synthesized from trioxane, 1,3-dioxolane, and a formal of a monoethylenically unsaturated aliphatic diol. This polymer can be cured with a multifunctional crosslinking monomer in the presence of ultraviolet light to yield an insoluble, rubbery, non-tacky polymer which is useful for blending with crystalline acetal polymers.
A crosslinked elastomeric acetal polymer composition has also been disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,925. The polymer is made from trioxane, 1,3-dioxolane, and about 0.005% to about 0.15% of a bifunctional monomer, such as 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether or butadiene diepoxide. This polymer exhibits improved elastomeric properties. When it is blended with crystalline acetal polymers, the blend has improved properties compared with the properties of the unblended acetal polymer.
Additional elastomeric acetal compositions are needed, especially ones that are crosslinked so that they are not thermoplastic. These are particularly useful for the purpose of expanding the range of impact-modified blends of crystalline acetal polymers. A novel, crosslinked elastomeric acetal is disclosed herein. The fact that this material is non-crystalline is particularly surprising and unexpected, since the analogous composition which does not incorporate a crosslinking monomer is crystalline.


In accordance with the present invention a hobbyist-useable apparatus and method for fabricating decoratively shaped writing instruments is disclosed. The apparatus for fabricating decoratively shaped writing instruments having a casing includes a heater unit and a shaper unit. The heater unit includes a heat source, and a heating compartment having an opening for inserting and removing the writing instrument casing. The heat source provides heat to the heating compartment. The shaper unit includes a platform having an elongated slot, an exterior mold assembly attachable to the platform and moveable in the elongated slot; an exterior shaping surface coupled to the exterior mold assembly; and an interior mold insert having an interior shaping surface. The interior mold insert is attachable to the platform such that the movement of the exterior mold assembly in the elongated slot moves the exterior shaping surface towards and away from the interior shaping surface. The writing instrument casing is heated in the heating compartment, then the heated casing is placed on the platform and is compressed between the interior shaping surface and the exterior shaping surface by movement of the exterior mold assembly in the elongated slot.

Writing instruments, such as pens, pencils and the like have an elongated tubular shape. The tubular shape can have anyone of a variety of cross-sectional configurations, including circular, hexagonal, triangular or the like. Anyone who has ever visited a stationery store, walked down the school supply aisle of a mass merchandiser, or spent time in an office supply store recognizes that writing instruments such as pens and pencils, in a wide variety of shapes and sizes exist, and also recognizes that most writing instruments are primarily linear in their configuration.
Back in the mid-1980s, the Applicant happened upon an idea to make writing instruments, such as pencils into decorative shapes. These decorative shapes were achieved by starting with a standard, linear pen or pencil that was made from a thermo-formable material. In this regard, standard pencils were not useable, since most pencils have a the wood casing that is not bendable or shapeable under the influence of heat. The Applicant heated one end of the generally linear writing instrument to a point wherein the material from which the body of the instrument was made became "soft" enough to be bendable, and thereby formable into a decorative shape.
The Applicant found that an interior mold-type device could be used as a template around which to bend the heated and softened writing instrument to form the writing instrument into a desired shape that was consistent from pencil to pencil. Among the first shapes that the Applicant made were pencils having an eraser end portion that was formed into a shape that resembled a heart. The finished pencil had a heart-shaped top portion, and a generally linearly bottom portion, that was capable of being sharpened and used as a conventional writing instrument.
Although the Applicant first employed his design with pencils, he later found that stick-type pens could also be employed to create pen-type writing instruments having decorative shapes. In this regard, the Applicant found, through experimentation, that the best results were achieved by employing elongated stick-type pens that had a length longer than a standard stick pen, so that the final product would comprise a pen having a normal length linear portion to which was added the decorative head portion.
In the ensuing years, the Applicant has employed a wide variety of molds to create a wide variety of shapes, including shapes as diverse as hockey sticks, alligators, T-shirts, numerals, sharks, pets and inanimate objects. A sampling of the variety of shapes that the Applicant has employed in his decorative writing instruments can be viewed at www.bentcil.com.
One interesting use to which the Applicant's writing instruments have been placed is in connection with fund-raising efforts. In this regard, the Applicant's customers have included groups that have requested the Applicant to construct a decorative pen having a shape that bears some relation to the activity, mascot or other characteristic of the group. For example, a hockey team might order a pen having a top portion that resembled a blade of a hockey stick. Similarly, an association of attorneys might order a batch of pens having a shark-shaped top portion. The group would then order a quantity of pens that were sold by the members of the group to help raise funds for the group, and to promote the groups' activities.
It occurred to the Applicant that another way to exploit the value of the decorative pencils, both as a fund raising tool and as an educational experience, is to create a device that could be used by the hobbyist or child-type consumer to produce his or her own decorative pencils which could then be resold for fund-raising purposes, or enjoyed by the maker. For children, this would have the benefit of providing the children with some manufacturing experience.
Producing such a device created a substantial challenge, as a consumer-useable device faces engineering constraints that are not found in devices that are used in industrial settings. In particular, the industrial devices used by the Applicant in his factory would not be suitable for use by consumers, both because the tooling used in industrial devices is much too expensive to be priceable at an attractive price point for consumers, and also because the industrial devices are designed for use by trained technicians, and, hence, might not be suitable for use by untrained consumers, and especially children.
Therefore, one object of the present invention is to create a consumer-useable device, of the type that might be used by a casual hobbyist, or elementary-school-aged child, to enable the child to convert generally linear writing instrument blanks into finished writing instruments having a decorative shaped portion.

Hobbyist-useable apparatus and method for fabricating decoratively-shaped writing instruments


A cache architecture (16) for use in a processing device includes a RAM set cache for caching a contiguous block of main memory (20). The RAM set cache can be used in conjunction with other cache types, such as a set associative cache or a direct mapped cache. A register (32) defines a starting address for the contiguous block of main memory (20). The data array (38) associated with the RAM set may be filled on a line-by-line basis, as lines are requested by the processing core, or on a set-fill basis which fills the data array (38) when the starting address is loaded into the register (32). As addresses are received from the processing core, hit/miss logic (46) the starting address register (32), a global valid bit (34), line valid bits (37) and control bits (24, 26) are used to determine whether the data is present in the RAM set or whether the data must be loaded from main memory (20). The hit/miss logic (46) also determines whether a line should be loaded into the RAM set data array (38) or in the associated cache.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates in general to processing devices and, more particularly, to a cache architecture for a processing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most processing devices use a cache architecture to increase the speed of retrieving information from a main memory. A cache memory is a high speed memory that is situated between the processing core of a processing device and the main memory. The main memory is generally much larger than the cache, but also significantly slower. Each time the processing core requests information from the main memory, the cache controller checks the cache memory to determine whether the address being accessed is currently in the cache memory. If so, the information is retrieved from the faster cache memory instead of the slower main memory. If the information is not in the cache, the main memory is accessed, and the cache memory is updated with the information.
As processing cores increase in speed relative to memory designs, the efficiency of the cache architecture becomes more significant. One way to increase efficiency is to increase the size of the cache. Since a larger cache memory can store more information, the likelihood of a cache hit is similarly increased. In most cases, however, increasing cache size has diminishing returns after a certain point. Further, increasing the cache size will increase the size of the chip (assuming the cache is integrated with the processing core). Even more importantly, access time will be increased, defeating the initial purpose of the cache. Accordingly, merely increasing the size of a cache will in many cases not produce worthwhile results.
In many devices, certain routines will have critical time constraints or will otherwise need a predictable execution time. In these cases, it can be critical to eliminate latencies due to cache misses. Some cache systems provide mechanisms for locking entries in a cache, so that the cache entries will not be overwritten as other locations are accessed. This mechanism is useful for entries that will be used repeatedly; however, locking entries of a cache reduces the size and associativity of the cache. For instance, in a 2-way set associative cache, locking some entries will result in a portion of the cache acting as a direct map, greatly reducing the efficiency of the cache. A similar solution uses a local memory working in parallel with the cache system. This solution requires address decoding for the local memory and a cache disabling mechanism, which can result in latencies. Further, while an implementation with a local RAM may work with routines specifically written to use the local RAM, other routines, specifically OS (operating system) routines not written in anticipation of the specific local RAM configuration will not be able to control the local RAM in the manner that the cache is controlled.
Therefore, a need has arisen for a cache architecture that increases cache performance and predictability.


The disclosure discloses a rapidly assembling/disassembling device including a fixing frame, partitions, pushing brackets, and a fastening member. The fixing frame includes a first side plate and a second side plate. Fan modules are sequentially arranged between the first and second side plates. The second side plate abuts against a second side of the adjacent fan module. Each of the partitions abuts against the second side of the corresponding fan module. Each of the pushing brackets is pivotally connected in the fixing frame. Each of the pushing brackets includes a pushing arm. The fastening member is disposed on the first side plate. When the fastening member pushes the adjacent pushing bracket to abut against a first side of the adjacent fan module, each of the other pushing brackets is pushed by the corresponding pushing arm to abut against the first side of the corresponding fan module.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a rapidly assembling/disassembling device and an electronic equipment. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a rapidly assembling/disassembling device that is capable of rapidly assembling/disassembling a fan module in an electronic equipment.
2. Description of Related Art
Whether a rack server or a storage equipment (e.g., a cloud network equipment) stably performs largely depends on the cooling capability. Currently, using a fan module to dissipate heat is the most commonly and effective way of cooling. Hence, a plurality of fan modules are often arranged and installed in a rack server or a storage equipment.
However, the fan modules are easy to be torn and worn in the rack server or the storage equipment, and thus need to be frequently maintained or replaced. The rack server or the storage equipment generally operates 24 hours without stopping, so that the procedures of maintaining or replacing the fan modules must be simple and convenient. If the fan modules can be maintained or replaced with the simple and convenient procedures, not only the time of maintaining or replacing the fan modules can be reduced, but the influences to the rack server or the storage equipment caused during the maintenance or replacement can be minimized.
Accordingly, how to rapidly assemble/disassemble the fan modules in the rack server or the storage equipment to solve the foregoing problem becomes an important issue to be solved.

Rapidly assembling/disassembling device and electronic equipment


A method for populating a register view data structure by using register template snapshots. The method includes receiving an incoming instruction sequence using a global front end; grouping the instructions to form instruction blocks; using a plurality of register templates to track instruction destinations and instruction sources by populating the register template with block numbers corresponding to the instruction blocks, wherein the block numbers corresponding to the instruction blocks indicate interdependencies among the blocks of instructions; populating a register view data structure, wherein the register view data structure stores destinations corresponding to the instruction blocks as recorded by the plurality of register templates; and using the register view data structure to track a machine state in accordance with the execution of the plurality of instruction blocks.

Processors are required to handle multiple tasks that are either dependent or totally independent. The internal state of such processors usually consists of registers that might hold different values at each particular instant of program execution. At each instant of program execution, the internal state image is called the architecture state of the processor.
When code execution is switched to run another function (e.g., another thread, process or program), then the state of the machine/processor has to be saved so that the new function can utilize the internal registers to build its new state. Once the new function is terminated then its state can be discarded and the state of the previous context will be restored and execution resumes. Such a switch process is called a context switch and usually includes 10's or hundreds of cycles especially with modern architectures that employ large number of registers (e.g., 64, 128, 256) and/or out of order execution.
In thread-aware hardware architectures, it is normal for the hardware to support multiple context states for a limited number of hardware-supported threads. In this case, the hardware duplicates all architecture state elements for each supported thread. This eliminates the need for context switch when executing a new thread. However, this still has multiple draw backs, namely the area, power and complexity of duplicating all architecture state elements (i.e., registers) for each additional thread supported in hardware. In addition, if the number of software threads exceeds the number of explicitly supported hardware threads, then the context switch must still be performed.
This becomes common as parallelism is needed on a fine granularity basis requiring a large number of threads. The hardware thread-aware architectures with duplicate context-state hardware storage do not help non-threaded software code and only reduces the number of context switches for software that is threaded. However, those threads are usually constructed for coarse grain parallelism, and result in heavy software overhead for initiating and synchronizing, leaving fine grain parallelism, such as function calls and loops parallel execution, without efficient threading initiations/auto generation. Such described overheads are accompanied with the difficulty of auto parallelization of such codes using state of the art compiler or user parallelization techniques for non-explicitly/easily parallelized/threaded software codes.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for populating register view data structure by using register template snapshots


A set of iron clubs where each club in the set has the same or substantially the same ground roll. The set is produced by adjusting at least two club design characteristics of the clubs based upon measured or assumed player swing data. The design characteristics of the clubs include club length, static clubhead loft, location of the center of gravity, shaft flexibility, and groove volume. Preferably, club length and static clubhead loft are adjusted for coarse adjustments, while the other characteristics are used to fine-tune the design.

The invention relates generally to a set of iron-type golf clubs. In particular, the invention relates to a set of irons with substantially constant ground roll.
In a set of irons, various design characteristics are varied from one club to the next. For example, individual iron club heads in a set typically increase progressively in face surface area and weight as the clubs progress from the long irons to the short irons and wedges. The shaft length shortens as the clubs progress from the long irons to the wedges, and the loft angle typically increases through the same progression. These design variables and others can be modified so that a particular club, for example a 3-iron, produces certain flight characteristics. Specifically, the clubs are designed to produce specific launch angles and to impart a certain amount of backspin to the ball, when the ball is struck correctly, i.e., with an anticipated speed and at the nominal hitting point, typically a point on the hitting face about 18 mm or less above the ground when the club is in the address position. When struck in the appropriate manner, the combination of ball speed, launch angle and backspin produces an anticipated flight path, with the ball achieving a specific height at the maximum point of the parabolic arc of the path and a specific carry distance.
In traditional iron sets, flight path height (distance above ground) and carry distance are generally the performance parameters which a golf club is designed to achieve. However, another parameter, ground roll of the ball, is relatively neglected in the overall design of the club, with ground roll being dependent upon the design characteristics selected to achieve a specific flight path. As such, traditional iron sets result in longer shots having the ball roll more on a green than do the shorter shots. This creates difficulty in hitting long shots which will stop on a green. Also, some short shots can roll backwards on the green. As a result, precisely controlling the total distance achieved by a shot may prove difficult if the player cannot accurately account for ground roll distance. A shot hit with a club from an iron set would be easier to control, i.e., the distance attained for a shot from each iron would be more predictable, if each would roll a prescribed distance.
Therefore, a need exists for a set of iron clubs having predictable ground roll. Such a set of clubs may have the same ground roll for each club in the set.

Set of iron clubs with constant ground roll


A method for generating an electron beam includes prescribing a location, and generating an envelope of electrons, the envelope having a waist, wherein the generating is performed such that the waist of the envelope is at or adjacent to the prescribed location. A device for generating an electron beam includes a gun source for generating electrons, and a plurality of electromagnetic cavities coupled in series to form a body, the electromagnetic cavities configured to accelerate at least some of the electrons to create a beam of electrons at an energy level having a value between 5 MeV and 20 MeV, the beam of electrons having a cross sectional dimension that is 0.02 λ (or 2 mm) or less.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to standing wave electron beam accelerators, and more particularly, to electron accelerators for generating x-ray and electron beams of different energies.
2. Background of the Invention
Standing wave electron beam accelerators have found wide usage in medical accelerators where the high energy electron beam is employed to generate x-rays for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. Electron beam generated by an electron beam accelerator can also be used directly or indirectly to kill infectious pests, to sterilize objects, to change physical properties of objects, and to perform testing and inspection of objects, such as radioactive containers and concrete structures.
When using an electron beam accelerator for various applications, it is desirable that the generated electron beam has a small cross sectional dimension, and a sharp, well-focused high energy spectrum. It is also desirable to capture as many electrons as possible to thereby reduce current demands on the electron source (electron gun), to bunch the electrons efficiently to obtain desirable spectrum, and to confine the electrons by reducing defocusing effects. This in turn, will result in a generated electron beam that has a desirable output radiation yield. However, existing accelerators may not be able to generate electron beams having all these characteristics. For example, while an accelerator may generate an electron beam having a desirable cross sectional dimension, the output radiation yield associated with the generated electron beam may not reach a prescribed/desirable level.
Also, existing electron beam accelerators generally use external solenoids (or magnets) for focusing a particle beam. Use of external solenoids adds substantial weight to existing accelerators, increases cost of manufacturing, and makes it difficult to maneuver the accelerators (especially when the accelerator is being used to perform testing). As such, it would be desirable to have an electron beam accelerator that does not require external solenoids, while capable of generating electron beam having desired characteristics (e.g., well focused electron beam having high output radiation yield).
Further, many existing accelerators utilize electron sources that use high voltage (e.g., above 50 kV). However, such electron sources increase the size and weight of the overall accelerator, and complicate design and operation of the accelerator. Also, use of injection voltages over 50 kV may require insulation other than air, such as pressurized gas, vacuum, or oil, and use of injection voltages in the range of 20 to 50 kV may require detailing of the accelerator to reduce leakage, corona, and flashover (arcs). Generally, the higher the injection voltage used, the more effort is required to ensure personnel safety. As such, it would also be desirable to have an electron beam accelerator that uses a low voltage electron source while producing a well focused electron beam.

Varian Medical Systems Technologies, Inc.


A standard cell used for the logic synthesis and the routing of layout is configured by a logic circuit on an output side and a logic circuit on an input side, and a driving capacity of the logic circuit on the output side is made large while gate input capacitance of the logic circuit on the input side is made small.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device having a functional circuit. In particular, the invention relates to a lightweight, thin, high-functional and low-cost semiconductor device. Further, the invention relates to a display device having a functional circuit on the same substrate, in particular to a lightweight, thin, high-functional and low-cost display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a technology development regarding a thin film transistor (hereinafter referred to as a TFT) using polycrystalline silicon thin film as an active layer has been rapidly advanced. For example, a display device having a pixel portion of which switching element is formed of a TFT and an active matrix display device having a circuit for driving a pixel, which is formed of a TFT are actively researched and developed. Such display devices have major advantages in low-cost, thin design, lightweight, high definition, low power consumption and the like.
Further, research and development for forming a functional circuit by a TFT and mounting it on the same substrate as a display device are advanced as a TFT becomes higher in function. A central processing unit (CPU), an image processing unit, a memory and the like are included in a functional circuit, which are required to be formed without spoiling the advantages of a display device using a TFT as described above.

Semiconductor device and a display device

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


An adhesive composition is provided for adhering together roofing materials such as EPDM rubber and thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO). The adhesive composition includes a rubbery polymer comprising a blend of a thermoplastic block copolymer selected from the group consisting styrene-butadiene-styrene, styrene-isoprene-styrene, styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene, styrene-ethylene-propylene-styrene, styrene-ethylene-propylene, ethylene-propylene, and combinations thereof, and a paraffinic hydrocarbon polymer. Roofing articles incorporating the adhesive composition are also provided. The composition is a pressure sensitive adhesive that allows roofing articles to be applied in a peel and stick manner.

The present invention relates to an adhesive composition that is useful to attach roofing membranes or underlayments to a roof area. Specifically, the present invention relates to an adhesive composition that is pressure sensitive and may be utilized to apply a roofing membrane in a peel and stick manner. Additionally, the present invention relates to a roofing membrane or underlayment having the adhesive composition of the present invention applied to at least one major face.
Roof sheeting materials such as ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer (EPDM), butyl rubber, neoprene, polyvinyl chloride, chlorinated polyethylene, thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) and modified bitumen and the like are often used as single-ply roofing membranes or underlayments because they are well known in the art as having barrier properties against moisture. The roof sheeting materials are customarily attached to the roof area using an adhesive. The roof sheeting materials may be exposed to stresses such as roof movement, heavy winds, freeze-thaw cycles and thermal cycles. Therefore, the adhesive must be able to withstand such possible stresses.
Currently, roofing membranes and underlayments are adhered to roof decks or insulation boards utilizing a variety of methods. One such method involves the use of liquid based adhesives that employ natural and/or synthetic elastomers and resins in organic solvent systems. These liquid based adhesives do not always provide good bond strength and long-term durability. For example, if conditions during application are windy, dust or other debris may adhere to the adhesive and impair the quality of the bond. High temperatures may cause the adhesive to dry out too quickly. These environmental problems may complicate installation procedures. Additionally, liquid based adhesives often utilize organic solvents such as toluene and xylene. These solvents pose a health and fire hazard, and their use is undesirable.
Other methods of adhering roofing membranes include the use of slow drying water based adhesives. Additionally, asphalt based adhesives that must be heated to a molten state and then swabbed onto the roofing surface may also be used. However, these asphalt adhesives require special equipment and can pose a fire risk. Heat welding of thermoplastic materials and nailing have also been utilized to secure roofing membranes or underlayments to roof decks or insulation boards. Cover strips, flashings or other accessories have also been secured utilizing these processes. These processes may be extremely time consuming, hazardous or provide an inferior seam.
Thus, there is a need for an adhesive composition that effectively adheres roofing membranes or underlayments to a variety of materials with ease of application. The adhesive should provide high bond strength and excellent long-term heat aging, weathering resistance and low temperature properties while providing a moisture proof seam. Additionally, the adhesive should pose no environmental hazard.

Hot melt pressure sensitive adhesive composition for attaching roofing membranes


An approach is provided for priority ranking of satellite images. The approach, for example, involves processing a plurality of images using a feature detector to determine a set of features on each image of the plurality of images. The approach also involves determining a count of feature correspondences between each pair of images of the plurality of images based on the set of features of said each image. The approach further involves computing a ranking of the plurality of images based on the count of features correspondences between said each pair of images. The approach further involves providing the ranking of the plurality of images as an output for selecting one or more images of the plurality of images for feature creation.

Modern location-based services and applications (e.g., autonomous driving) are increasingly demanding highly accurate and detailed digital map data (e.g., centimeter-level accuracy or better) across wide geographic areas. To achieve such levels of coverage, map service providers have relied on data (e.g., imagery) collected from a variety of sources including satellites. With advanced, efficient, and cost-effective remote sensing acquisition systems and increased number of satellites in orbit, the amount of satellite data has increased dramatically. Map service providers can identify common semantic features (e.g., lane markings, signs, etc.) across the satellite image views for map making, localization, and/or other similar location-based services. Since satellite imagery covers vast swaths of areas they can be used for derivation of different kinds of features on the earth surface at a city scale without the need to commission a fleet of vehicles. Some satellite images are better candidates for derivation of features than others. However, ranking the individual satellite images presents significant technical challenges because of the amount of data that has to be processed.

Method, apparatus, and system for priority ranking of satellite images


This invention provides composite materials that combine the material properties of hydrophobic polymers with internal structure and order provided by polymerization of lyotropic liquid crystals (LLCs). Composites, particularly nanocomposites, are made by forming a LLC assembly that has hydrophobic regions and hydrophilic regions, combining hydrophobic polymer in the assembly and polymerizing the polymerizable LLC monomers in the assembly. The hydrophobic polymer, polymerized LLC assembly or both can be crosslinked in the composite. Nanoporous composites, particularly those with uniform-sized pores and/or with uniform pores distribution can be prepared in this way. In addition, complex polymers in which a second polymeric material, which may be organic or inorganic, can be introduced into the pores or other structural features of the composite can be prepared. Adding flexible hydrophobic polymers to the LLC assembly increases the flexibility and toughness of the resultant polymerized composite material to provide improved composite materials for use as membranes and in other applications. Hydrophobic polymer addition can also increase the diffusion resistance in the organic phase of the composite. Of particular interest are composites in which the hydrophobic polymer is butyl rubber or related synthetic rubber.

This invention relates to a composite materials formed from polymerizable surfactants and hydrophobic polymers. The invention relates in particular to nanoporous composites.
Liquid crystals (LC) are a class of molecules that posses some form of anisotropy. This anisotropy can be achieved in two ways: either the LC molecules have one molecular axis that is very different from the other axes of the molecule, or the LC molecules possess portions with very different solubilities. Lyotropic liquid crystals have portions with very different solubilities (i.e. surfactants). Lyotropic liquid crystals (LLC) are a subset of liquid crystals which are materials that exhibit properties between those of liquids and crystals. There are various kinds of liquid crystals with varying degrees of order. Some LCs exhibit only orientational order, other LCs exhibit both orientational order and positional order in one or two dimensions. The composite materials of the present invention contain lyotropic liquid crystals in which portions of the LLC have very different solubilities. Typically, but not always, a solvent is required to induce the liquid crystal order.
More specifically, LLC mesogens are amphiphillic molecules containing one or more hydrophobic organic tails and a hydrophilic headgroup (Collins, P. J, 1990). The amphiphillic character of these molecules encourages them to self-organize into aggregate structures, often in the presence of polar solvents, such as water, with the tails forming hydrophobic regions and the hydrophilic headgroups defining the interface of phase-separated polar or aqueous solvent domains. These LLC assemblies can be relatively simple individual structures, such as micelles and vesicles (as illustrated in FIG. 1 of Gin et al., 2001, top row) which are termed LLC aggregates herein or highly ordered, yet fluid, condensed LLC assemblies with specific nanometer-scale geometries, known collectively as LLC phases (as illustrated in FIG. 1 of Gin et al., 2001, bottom row) (Collins, 1990; Tiddy, 1980.) LLC assemblies can include both LLC phases and LLC aggregates.
Biological materials, such as bone and shell, exhibit unusual properties that have been associated with nanometer-scale structural features present in these materials. Considerable effort has been expended in attempts to develop method that allow the introduction of nanoscale structures into synthetic composite materials with a view to producing new materials with unusual properties. It has not been possible, in general, to employ conventional materials processing to readily achieve nanometer-scale structural control in the production of synthetic materials. Thus, the development of methods for constructing synthetic composites with nanometer scale organization has become the focus of significant levels of research in materials science. Covalent stabilization, e.g., through polymerization, of two and three-dimensional structures of self-assembled molecules has been applied to form materials with desired nanoscale structure (Clark et al., 1999.) U.S. Pat. No. 6,264,741, for example, relates to a method of making nanocomposites using polymerization of self-assembled components.
LLC assemblies can provide the geometry control needed for production of nanostructured materials (Gin et al. Syn Lett. 1999; and Miller et al., 1999.) The architectures of LLC aggregates and phases can incorporate hydrophobic and hydrophilic compounds in separate domains with well-defined nano-scale geometries. The amphiphillic self-assembly process localizes the headgroups of the LLC mesogens exclusively at the hydrophobic/hydrophilic interface (headgroups toward the hydrophilic phase).
The organization of LLC assemblies (both phases and aggregates) are primarily dependant on the concentrations of the LLC surfactant and polar or aqueous solvent, however, like thermotropic liquid crystals, the ordered structures are also a function of temperature. Heating a material having a LLC phase or aggregate above the clearing point of the LLC will form a homogeneous, isotropic melt. Cooling the isotropic LLC material below the clearing point will cause the LLC phase to reform. When an external force is exerted on an LLC phase, the material will flow and the shear can affect the phase orientation and crystal domain size. Adding (or removing) solvent can cause the phase to change, and adding enough solvent to dilute the surfactant to below the critical micellar concentration results in an isotropic solution.
LLC assemblies can be employed as templates for materials preparation. U.S. Pat. No. 6,054,111, for example, reports the use of LLC phases of amphiphillic block copolymers as templates for the preparation of mesoporous inorganic solids or metals by polymerization or other chemical reactions of precursors combined with the LLC copolymers (mesoporous is defined therein as having a pore diameter ranging from 2 to 60 nm). Preparation of the mesoporous solid is completed by removal of the LLC phase template.
While LLC assemblies can provide nanoscale structure, the assemblies are inherently fluid and often lack the robustness required for most materials applications. Jung et al., 2001 reports on the polymerization of monomers inserted into the hydrophobic portion of LLC phases of dioctadecyldimethylammonium bromide. In general discussion of the use of LLC (and other LC) phases as templates for materials preparation, the authors state that "complex phase changes" during polymerization "can frustrate the concept of direct 'templating'." The reference reports the results of styrene polymerization in cubic LLC phases. After polymerization the phase structure is maintained only if the system is kept at constant temperature. The authors report that as a result of phase separation the polymerization does not provide a stable copy of the LCC template phase.
The use of polymerizable or crosslinkable LLC mesogens allow LLC assemblies to be more generally employed as templates for materials having nanoscale structures.
Polymerizable or crosslinkable LLC mesogens are reactive amphiphiles which aggregate into the same type of LLC assemblies as their non-polymerizable analogues, but which can be covalently linked to their nearest neighbors in situ to form robust polymer networks that retain the original LLC structure even when the temperature is raised past the clearing point of the unpolymerized system or when excess solvents are added (Gin, D. L et al. Acc. Chem. Res.,2001; U.S. Pat. No. 5,849,215).
Micelles (Paleos, 1992), inverse micelles (Barton, 1996) and microemulsions (Capek, 1999) can be polymerized with retention of phase microstructure. U.S. Pat. No. 5,238,992 reports the preparation of polymer blends of controlled porosity by polymerization of monomers in micoremulsions. Larnellar assemblies such as vesicles (Ringsdorf et al., 1998), lipid microtubules (Schnur et al., 1987) and the lamellar (L) phase (Ringsdorf et al., 1998) have also been successfully polymerized. The polymerization of more geometrically complex, non-lamellar LLC phases has also been achieved. Several complex phases including the normal hexagonal phase (HI), and the inverted hexagonal phase (HII) (Gin et al., Acc. Chem. Res. 2001; Thundathil et al, 1980; Shibasaki et al., 1992; McGrath, 1996; Smith, et al.1997; and Srisiri et al., 1997) have been polymerized with retention of phase structure. Polymerization of the most geometrically complex, bicontinuous cubic (QII, Pn3m) phase was reported by Lee, Y. S. et al., 1995.) Resel et al. 2000 report a structural study of polymerized LLC phases of certain LLC salts. It is reported that the structural properties of polymerized films can be affected by the length of the hydrophobic tail of the LLC and the nature of the metal counterion used.
Polymerizable surfactants are molecules having at least a pair of hydrophobic and hydrophilic components and at least one polymerizable group, such as a vinyl group, in their structure (Karas(ed.), 1999.) Polymerizable surfactants have been employed in several technologies including polymer emulsions, particulate encapsulation, etc. As noted above, polymerizable surfactants can be used to form LLC phases in the production of useful materials with highly regular nano-scale architectural features (i.e. pores, etc.). Polymerizable groups such as acrylate, methacrylate or diene groups have often been employed because groups can be easily photopolymerized. Photopolymerization is the preferred polymerization scheme because it can be initiated "on command" by irradiation of light over a wide temperature range. Using photopolymerization methods, the sample can be heated or cooled (if necessary) to a temperature where the desired LLC phase exists and then photopolymerized by exposure to ultraviolet (uv) light. Generally, a small amount of an initiator molecule is used in the photopolymerization to absorb uv light and generate free radicals which polymerize the surfactants. Non-photopolymerization reactions using, for example, thermal initiators and/or other spontaneously decaying initiators can also be used to polymerize LLC assemblies. For thermal initiated systems, the initiator molecule must have a suitable half-life decay at a temperature that is below the clearing point for the LLC phase or aggregate.
Srisiri et al.,1997 report a method to produce phospholipid dienoyl molecules as polymerizable surfactants. Srisiri et al. report that the reactive diene group could be located on either or both lipid tails near the lipid backbone, i.e. the glycerol unit in the case of phospholipids.
Pindzola, et al., 2001 report that surfactants with a terminal diene can be polymerized and maintain their liquid crystal structure. Optionally, a divinylbenzene could be used to crosslink the diene monomers.
O'Brien et al., 1998 is a review article on polymerization of preformed self-organized assemblies. Examples of polymerizable lipids are provided. Polymerization of nonlamellar phases including the HII hexagonal phase and several bicontinuous cubic phases the structures of which are illustrated. The authors note that polymerization of bicontinuous cubic phases (bicontinuous means that the phase contains continuous polar (hydrophilic) and nonpolar (hydrophobic) regions) should yield materials with interpenetrating water channels (polar regions). FIG. 7 of the reference illustrates exemplary structures of such channel networks.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,849,215 (Gin et al.) and Gin et al., Acc. Chem. Res., 2001 report a method for synthesizing composites with architectural control on the nanometer scale. The patent reports an ordered nanocomposite of a matrix component and a filler component. The matrix component comprises polymerized inverse hexagonal phase-forming lyotropic liquid-crystalline (LLC) monomers and defines a hexagonally-packed array of tubular channels. The filler component, which is contained in the tubular channels of the material, is a solid or semi-solid component which provides structural integrity or adds other beneficial properties. Filer components are hydrophilic and compatible with the aqueous phase in the tubular channels. The polymerizable surfactant monomer system is used as an organic template, providing the underlying matrix and order of the composite system. Polymerization of the template in the presence of an optional crosslinking agent with retention of the liquid-crystalline order was followed by a second polymerization of a hydrophilic polymer precursor within the tubular channels of the polymer template.
The present invention relates to adding hydrophobic polymer to the organic (hydrophobic) domains of the LLC phase for the purpose of imparting physical of chemical properties to the nanocomposite such as forming an elastomeric material or an organic matrix or high chemical resistance. Subsequently, the surfactant molecules react with themselves to form covalent bonds.
While nanocomposites have been prepared employing polymerizable LLCs there remains a need in the art for composite materials with varying properties.

Nanoporous composites of polymerized lyotropic liquid-crystalline monomers, and hydrophobic polymers


Analytics system onboarding of web content is described. In one example, an analytics onboarding system is configured to process web content to generate recommendations, automatically and without user intervention. The recommendations are configured to assist in mapping of web content variables in web content to data elements supported by an analytics system to generate metrics that describe occurrence of events as part of user interaction with web content.

Analytics systems have been developed to generate insights regarding user interaction with web content. These insights may be leveraged for a variety of purposes, such as to control operation of computing devices that implement the web content (e.g., load balancing and resource provisioning), control output of digital content by the computing devices (e.g., recommendations, digital marketing content), and so forth.
To do so, petabytes of data may be generated that describe a wide variety of aspects of this user interaction, which are referred to as data elements. Examples include characteristics of the content, characteristics of the user that interacts with the content, a device used by the user, characteristics of a physical environment in which the device is disposed, temporal characteristics, and so on. The data may then be leveraged to support a variety of metrics, such as percentage of users at a particular location consume web content and any actions that may results from that consumption, e.g., conversion of a good or service.
Conventional techniques used to "onboard" web content to support operations with the analytics systems (e.g., to generate analytics data processed by the analytics systems) are time and resource intensive. For example, onboarding of web content by conventional analytics systems typically takes half a year and use of sophisticated data scientists thereby limiting availability of these techniques. This may be caused by the complexity of the web content as well as a vast amount of web content that is to be onboarded for use with the analytics system, even from a single website. Consequently, this results in an inefficient use of human resources (e.g., the data scientists tasked with manually onboarding web content) as well as computational resources employed by the data scientists.


A prosthetic valve for regulating fluid flow through a body vessel is provided. The valve includes an expandable support frame and a valve leaflet, and includes at least one opening that permits a controlled amount of retrograde flow through the valve when the valve is in a closed configuration.

Many vessels in animal bodies transport fluids from one bodily location to another. Frequently, fluid flows in a unidirectional manner along the length of the vessel. Varying fluid pressures over time, however, can introduce a reverse flow direction in the vessel. In some vessels, such as mammalian veins, natural valves are positioned along the length of the vessel and act as one-way check valves that open to permit the flow of fluid in the desired direction and close to prevent fluid flow in a reverse direction, i.e., retrograde flow. The valves can change from an open position in response to a variety of circumstances, including changes in the cross-sectional shape of the vessel and the fluid pressure within the vessel.
While natural valves may function for an extended time, some may lose effectiveness, which can lead to physical manifestations and pathology. For example, venous valves are susceptible to becoming insufficient due to one or more of a variety of factors. Over time, the vessel wall may stretch, affecting the ability of the valve leaflets to close. Furthermore, the leaflets may become damaged, such as by formation of thrombus and scar tissue, which may also affect the ability of the valve leaflets to close. Once valves are damaged, venous valve insufficiency may be present, and can lead to discomfort and possibly ulcers in the legs and ankles.
Current treatments for venous valve insufficiency include the use of compression stockings that are placed around the leg of a patient in a effort to force the vessel walls radially inward to restore valve function. Surgical techniques are also employed in which valves can be bypassed, eliminated, or replaced with autologous sections of veins having competent valves.
Minimally invasive techniques and instruments for placement of intraluminal medical devices have developed over recent years. A wide variety of treatment devices that utilize minimally invasive technology has been developed and includes stents, stent grafts, occlusion devices, infusion catheters and the like. Minimally invasive intravascular devices have especially become popular with the introduction of coronary stents to the U.S. market in the early 1990s. Coronary and peripheral stents have been proven to provide a superior means of maintaining vessel patency, and have become widely accepted in the medical community. Furthermore, the use of stents has been extended to treat aneurysms and to provide occlusion devices, among other uses.
Recently, prosthetic valves that are implantable by minimally invasive techniques have been developed. Frequently, a graft member is attached to a support frame and provides a valve function to the device. For example, the graft member can be in the form of a leaflet that is attached to a support frame and movable between first and second positions. In a first position, the valve is open and allows fluid flow to proceed through a vessel in a first direction, and in a second position the valve is closed to prevent fluid flow in a second, opposite direction. Examples of this type of prosthetic valve are described in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,833 to Pavcnik for a MULTIPLE-SIDED INTRALUMINAL MEDICAL DEVICE, U.S. patent application Publication No. 2001/0039450 to Pavcnik for an IMPLANTABLE VASCULAR DEVICE, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/642,372, filed on Aug. 15, 2003, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. In other examples of prosthetic valves, a tube that terminates in leaflets is attached to one or more support frames to form a valve. The leaflets open to permit fluid flow in a first direction in response to fluid pressure on one side of the leaflets, and close to prevent fluid flow in a second, opposite direction in response to fluid pressure on opposite sides of the leaflets. An example of this configuration is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,494,909 to Greenhalgh for AN ENDOVASCULAR VALVE, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Natural valves can be somewhat 'leaky', allowing a relatively small quantity of fluid to flow in a reverse direction when the valve is in a closed position. It is believed that this leakiness is beneficial for several reasons. For example, it is believed that a small amount of retrograde flow limits the pooling of blood around the natural valve during periods of low pressure, which can reduce the formation of thrombus adjacent the valve leaflets and, therefore, increase the effective lifetime of the valve.
Prior art prosthetic valves, however, do not permit a controlled amount of retrograde flow. Indeed, most prior art valves have been designed to prevent leakage as much as possible. Accordingly, there is a need for a prosthetic valve that permits a controlled amount of retrograde flow.

Prosthetic valve that permits retrograde flow


A tensioning arrangement to an endless linkage of a drive train is provided. The tensioning arrangement includes a tension arm and a spool mounted at the tension arm. The spool includes a rib generally centrally located between opposing first and second endwalls of the spool. The rib includes a greater outer diameter relative to an outer diameter of adjacent cylindrical portions abutting the rib. Both opposing first and second endwalls of the spool are of greater outer diameter so as to steer the endless linkage therebetween in general alignment with the rib. A spring includes a hook free end engaged at the tension arm, and a linear shaped free end engaged at the frame so as to bias the spool against the endless linkage.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to agricultural planters, and more particularly, relates to an arrangement to provide tension in a endless chain of a chain drive associated with driving a metering assembly so as to regulate a distribution of particulate product from the planter to the field.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Conventional planters typically include a series of evenly spaced row planter units connected to a tool bar so as to be towed across a field. The row planter units are generally configured to plant particulate product (i.e., seed, herbicide, pesticide, fertilizer, etc.) in evenly spaced individual rows. The planter is usually towed by a propelling vehicle such as a tractor or other prime mover across the field.
A typical row planter unit includes a furrow opening mechanism followed by a furrow closing mechanism, a hopper in communication with a chute, and a drive mechanism operatively connected to a metering mechanism at the row planter unit so as to selectively control a distribution rate (e.g., planting rate, etc.) of the particulate product across the field. The drive train generally includes a sprocket operatively coupled to the meter mechanism, a sprocket operatively coupled to a hydraulic or mechanical drive configured to be selectively controlled by the operator, and an endless chain or belt interconnecting around the sprockets in a conventional manner such that the drive operatively controls the distribution rate of the metering mechanism. The planter row unit further includes certain tensioning mechanism developed to apply or increase tension so as to remove slack in the endless chain or belt, thereby enhancing engagement of the sprockets with the endless chain or belt.
However, these certain known tensioning mechanisms have drawbacks. For example, operators using certain known tensioning mechanisms have indicated occurrences of binding events that inhibit performance of the metering mechanism of the associated row planting unit. Also, the endless chain is known to track off to one side or the other of known tensioning mechanisms, increasing the likelihood of the binding events described above.
Therefore, there is a desire for a tensioning mechanism that reduces a likelihood of binding events during operation of the row planter unit. The tensioning arrangement should also be versatile so as extend its lifetime and minimize replacement. Also, the tensioning arrangement should be simple in design so as to reduce costs associated with labor and manufacturing.

Tensioning arrangement for an endless linkage


A cervical orthosis is provided which supports the weight of the head with a chin support having a pair of transverse members extending rearward from the chin support to the wearer's shoulder. The transverse members are joined at the shoulder to a pair of vertical members which travel down the wearer's back. The orthosis is secured to the wearer by means of a belt attached to the lower ends of the transverse member which is fastened about the wearer's torso. In a preferred embodiment the orthosis is formed of one continuous piece of a suitably rigid material and conforms to the contours of the wearer's body. A method of forming a customized orthosis to conform to the contours of a wearer positioned in a desired posture is also provided.

This invention relates to cervical orthopedic devices. More particularly, the invention relates to rigid devices for supporting the weight of the head through application of a supporting force by a supporting member in contact with the underside of the chin, and to devices for the control of cervical flexion, cervical extension, and cervical rotation, as well as kyphotic back.
It is sometimes necessary to restrict the range of motion of a patient's head, or to support the weight of a patient's head using orthotic means. This is typically accomplished by encircling the neck with a semi-rigid collar which supports the head while restricting or preventing cervical flexion, extension, and rotation. When securely fixed about the neck, such collars form chin supporting surface beneath the chin upon which the weight of the head is rested. Such a device is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,756,226 to Calabrese, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,759 to Morgenstern. It is sometimes necessary to use the collar in combination with a larger stabilizing device which is fastened about the chest and to which the collar is fixed to form a load-bearing member between the collar and the chest. Such a device is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,502,471 to Owens.
Cervical collars have inherent disadvantages to the wearer. Collars generally have a large surface area in contact with the skin, resulting in the undesirable trapping of perspiration and retention of body heat which cause discomfort to the wearers. Collars are also bulky and cannot be worn beneath clothing. In addition, cervical collars are typically constructed of semi-rigid materials which are not sufficiently resilient to retain their shape for more than several days of continuous use, and often are not stiff enough to provide full support even in the course of normal use.
Stabilizers, which are designed to transfer the entire weight of the head directly from the chin through the collar to the chest, may be awkward and uncomfortable for some wearers because they impinge directly on the wearer's chest. In addition, stabilizers may not fit or stabilize other patients with certain physical characteristics such as kyphosis.
Additionally, collars by their design are effective only as barriers to cervical flexion and extension. Consequently, they are inadequate for providing proper positioning of the head for wearers whose problems result from improper positioning of the thoracic spine. For example, a cervical collar is not effective to provide proper positioning for a wheelchair-bound patient who tends to slump forward in his chair. In a similar sense, collars are unable to compensate for other abnormal forward curvature of the upper spine such as kyphosis.
It is therefore the object of this invention to provide a cervical orthosis which avoids use of the chest as a load bearing surface, which improves wearer comfort through minimization of surface area of the device in contact with the skin, which may be worn beneath clothing with minimal cosmetic effects to the wearer, which avoids the creation of uncomfortable load bearing pressure points, and which further may be employed to control the position of the head when such requires a repositioning of the forward curvature of the thoracic spine. It is a further object of this invention to provide a cervical orthosis which will function effectively irrespective of the presence of kyphosis.

The Research Foundation of State Univ. of NY