The present invention relates to dental devices utilized during the restoration of teeth and more particularly a dental wedge, for use in the inter-proximal space between adjacent teeth, the dental wedge comprising: a wedge body; and a guard releasably engaged to the wedge body, wherein the guard is transformable between a first position adjoined the wedge body and a second position disengaged from the wedge body.

To enable the dental professional to place composite fillings, matrices are used. A matrix is a device which wraps around the tooth and acts as a mould to contain composite resins before they are cured. Matrices are generally formed of plastic or stainless steel and are either circumferential or sectional. Sectional matrices fit only in one proximal area of the tooth while circumferential matrix bands fit around the entire circumference of the tooth. Matrices are secured in place by the use of wedges and/or clamps. The prior art wedges are generally made of wood or plastic and are placed between the matrix and an adjacent tooth. Wedges are used to hold the matrix against the tooth being filled and to temporarily separate the tooth being filled and the adjacent tooth.
Preparing for a class II filling poses a major risk of damaging the adjacent tooth. Various studies have concluded that adjacent teeth are damaged during such preparation in anywhere from 66-90% of all cases. Metal shields have been employed to provide a barrier between adjacent teeth during preparation for the filling. However, the shield on many protection devices loosens when the approximal contact point is cut away, thus increasing the risk of accidental aspiration of the shield. In addition, shields in prior art devices must be removed and discarded upon completion of the preparation phase and replaced with a traditional dental wedge during the restoration phase.

Dental wedge with tooth guard and method of restoring a tooth using the same


A system and method are disclosed which may include establishing a stored test vector, including a plurality of data bits, within a vector data engine; transmitting the stored test vector to a memory array; performing at least one arithmetic or logical operation upon the stored test vector by a vector data generator within the vector data engine to update the stored test vector; and repeating the steps of transmitting and performing so as to continuously transmit continuously changing stored test vectors to the memory array.

The present invention relates to systems and methods for AC testing of a memory array.
In general, testing a target circuit, such as an integrated circuit (IC), prior to packaging may reveal problems associated with the individual ICs and also with the IC fabrication process preceding the packaging step. Testing an IC after packaging may reveal problems arising from the packaging process steps, such as die attachment, wire bonding, among other steps.
So-called scan chain testing techniques may be employed for testing IC circuits before and/or after packaging. Existing scan chain test operations for DC testing include scanning a known sequence of bits into a series of respective latches (flip flops) within the IC circuit. The latches are selected to direct the scanned bits to the input(s) of the target circuit, such as combinational logic, Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), etc. The target circuit is provided with a significant amount of time to let the input sequence of bits settle at the input(s) and outputs of the gates, memory cells, etc., such that test output bits are produced in response to the input bits. In other words, no dynamic testing is conducted. The output bits are directed to a selected series of output latches of the IC. Commands are then issued to scan the test output bits from the output latches, and the output bits are compared to a known template to determine whether the target circuit is operational.
Notably, the input latches and output latches are typically already part of the IC and, under normal operating modes, perform functions that permit the IC to operate. The testing designer, however, selects the input and output latches from among the latches of the IC to be used in the scan chain testing process. Selector circuits may be employed to switch the input/output connections of the selected latches between normal operating modes and the scan chain testing mode. Since the DC scan chain testing process does not perform dynamic (AC) testing, virtually any of the existing latches of the IC may be selected as input/output latches for the scan chain test process no matter where (how far) they may be located relative to the inputs/output of the target circuit, the impedances of the interconnections, or potential sources of electromagnetic interference.
Existing systems for AC testing may also involve selecting input and output latches from among existing latches of the IC to be used in an AC testing process. However, since a dynamic test is desired, the input bits to the target circuit must be rapidly provided in order to exercise the target circuit in ways that may uncover defects, such as input/output set up times, propagation delays, impedance characteristics, electromagnetic interference sources, etc. Thus, AC testing techniques typically use a CPU (Central Processing Unit) external to the target circuit to drive data into and out of selected input/output latches adjacent to the target circuit. Generally, the CPU is coupled to respective input and output connections for a portion of a circuit being tested which are generally within a limited, localized region of the test circuit. However, it is cumbersome and complex to connect an external CPU in this manner to all portions of a circuit for which testing is sought.
A special case of circuit testing is that of Array Built In Self Test (ABIST). An ABIST circuit can include an ABIST engine, an array macro, which in turn includes a memory array, and communication links between the ABIST engine and the array macro.
Herein, an array macro may correspond to a circuit that includes a memory array (which may also be referred to as a "memory core") and additional functionality to enable communication between the memory core and devices external to the array macro.
For DC testing, the ABIST engine generates "write data" (for storage in the array) and address values and sends both to scannable latches in the array macro. Thereafter, the storage data are stored in the specified addresses in a memory array within the array macro. The ABIST engine then issues a read instruction to the array macro, retrieves output data from the array macro, and compares the retrieved data to expectation data generated by the ABIST engine. The functionality of the array macro is then determined by comparing the expectation data (which generally corresponds to the original write data) with the data retrieved from the array macro.
While the above process is effective for DC testing an array macro, the speed at which data can be provided to the memory array is limited by the rate at which the write data and address values can be transmitted from the ABIST engine to the scannable latches of the array macro. A few cycles of continuous data transmission to the memory array may be obtained by using multiple sets of (such as two or three) input latches for inputting data to a single set of memory array input lines. However, it is cumbersome to add hardware to the array macro in this manner. Moreover, sending only two or three sets of input "write data" in rapid succession, for AC testing purposes, does not sufficiently exercise the various features of the array macro for circuit evaluation purposes.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to be able to rapidly conduct a large number of continuous data writing operations to the memory array to conduct proper AC testing thereof.

Methods and apparatus for communicating with a target circuit


The invention provides a surface marker for use in ultrasonography. The marker comprises a material which attenuates a portion of the ultrasound energy applied to an ultrasound field including the marker and tissue underlying the marker. When placed on the surface of the skin above a particular tissue structure and then imaged, the marker projects a shadow of reduced sonic energy into the underlying tissue structure. The shadow provides direct visual evidence that the tissue beneath the marker has been imaged. The shadow projected by the marker may also be used to locate the image of an area of particular clinical interest within the tissue structure, such as a tumor or cyst.

High resolution ultrasonography utilizes appropriate low energy sound waves to assess the sound transmission and reflective qualities of human tissue. Ultrasound images are formed by means of echoes among tissues with different acoustic impedance. Acoustic impedance is the product of sound speed and bulk modulus. The bulk modulus expresses the elasticity of an object, and in the human body the value is increased by conditions such as fibrosis and calcification. The sound speed is usually high in elastic tissues and low in water. In the body, it is lowest in the fatty tissues. When ultrasound passes through tissue, it is absorbed as thermal energy and attenuated. When the attenuation rate increases, the posterior echoes are attenuated. However, in tissues with a high water content, such as cysts, the posterior echoes are accentuated.
The machines used for ultrasound examination include a hand-held transducer which houses a crystal that is vibrated electronically. The transducer is placed on the surface of the patient's skin, and the ultrasound produced by the vibrating crystal penetrates the underlying tissue. The returning echoes are displayed as a digital image that represents the intensity of the ultrasound echoed or reflected by the underlying tissue. The tissue is examined in a series of very thin vertical sections or slices, and the depth of any particular tissue element within a section is determined according to the time it takes an echo reflected from that element to return to the transducer.
Modern ultrasound machines have a feature that is referred to as "real time". This consists of a linear array of separate transducers which are activated sequentially and which transmit successive waves of sound. This feature permits the detection of motion of anatomic parts, such as the expansile pulsation of blood. vessels. In obstetrical applications, this ability to detect motion permits recognition of early fetal heart activity and, later, movement of fetal extremities.
In performing an ultrasound examination, the technologist first applies a thick layer of an aqueous gel to the surface of the skin above the tissue area of interest. It is a well-known to those skilled in the art of ultrasonography that while water transmits sound very well, most ultrasound detail lying beneath an air layer or pocket will be obscured. The gel replaces the air at the skin's surface and allows a direct fluid connection between the transducer and the skin.
After the gel has been applied to the area of interest, the technologist moves the transducer through the gel while studying the images on a video monitor. The images are also stored on a permanent recording medium, such as film, a laser print or a photograph. It is important to recognize that, currently, ultrasound examinations are conducted without reference to any consistent, fixed, reproducible or definable landmarks. Only the technologist knows the position and orientation of the transducer when an image is recorded. There are of course standard views, and a serious attempt is made to do transverse and longitudinal scans in some order, but ultrasonagraphy is basically a free hand study.
The surface position of the ultrasound transducer is, by custom, recorded in hand written notes during or after the image is made. Accordingly, the surface position of the transducer is described in a general relationship to well-known or visible surface anatomy or to other descriptive clinical findings. (E.g., "above and lateral to navel" or "below and lateral to palpable mass"). In state of the art equipment, this general information may be inscribed electronically onto the image with accompanying brief references during or after the examination. Later, when the film from the examination is being interpreted, the interpreter must accept the technologist's handwritten and/or electronic notes regarding the position of the transducer as factual. However, in the event that the area being examined is of clinical interest, there is no clear visible evidence included in the image indicating that the transducer is positioned over this area.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a surface marker for use in ultrasonography which provides a distinct image on a video monitor or permanent recording media which locates the position of the transducer with respect to the position of the marker on the surface of the tissue being examined.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a such a marker which does not obscure underlying ultrasound tissue detail.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a marker that will conform to the surface of the anatomical part to which it is applied and which will remain fixed in place during the ultrasound examination.

Surface marker for ultrasound examination and a method for using the marker


There is disclosed herein an electronic circuit, one embodiment of which comprises: an electronic component 10 having bump terminations 12 on a first surface 14 thereof; a flexible substrate 16 having a plurality of generally round holes 18 therein arranged in correspondence with the bump terminations, wherein each hole has a diameter d smaller than the diameter D of a corresponding bump termination; and an array of conductive circuit traces 20 arranged on a second surface 22 of the substrate, wherein each of the circuit traces terminates generally about one of the holes in the substrate. Each bump termination 12 is fixably inserted into its corresponding substrate hole 18 so as to mechanically connect the electronic component 10 with the substrate 16 and to electrically connect each termination 12 with a corresponding circuit trace 20.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electronic components, and more particularly to a method of attaching an electronic component to a flexible substrate.
2. Disclosure Information
Ball grid array (BGA) chips are surface mount electronic components having ball-shaped "bump" terminations on a bottom surface thereof. These terminations are typically formed by a process known as "ball bumping", which is well known in the art of electronics manufacturing. The bumps may be made of a metal (e.g., gold, aluminum) having a melting point well above any processing temperatures to which the BGA will be exposed, or they may be made of solder (e.g., eutectic tin/lead). In the former case, the bumps may optionally be provided with an outer coating of solder.
BGA chips are typically attached to circuit traces on a substrate by one of three approaches, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The first approach involves providing a BGA 70 having eutectic solder bump terminations 73 with flux 74 applied atop the corresponding circuit trace mounting pads 76, the second approach involves providing a BGA 71 having gold or other high-melting-point metal bumps 75 with solder paste 78 (i.e., solder plus flux) applied atop the mounting pads 76, and the third approach involves providing a BGA 72 having gold/other metal bumps 75 coated with solder 73 with flux 74 applied atop the mounting pads 76. In each approach, the EGA 70/71/72 is placed on the substrate 77 with the bumps 73/75 resting atop their respective circuit trace mounting pads 76 (amid flux 74 or solder paste 78), and then the entire assembly is shuttled through a reflow oven in order to melt, flow, and solidify the solder so as to mechanically and electrically connect each termination with its respective circuit trace.
BGAs are usually attached to rigid, flat, planar substrates made of FR-4 glass/epoxy composite or similar materials, although in some applications BGAs may instead be attached to flexible substrates made of polyimide, polyester, or other like materials. However, flexible substrates are much more sensitive than rigid FR-4 substrates to the elevated temperatures to which the assembly is exposed during reflow. Such elevated temperatures may cause thermal degradation and other problems in the flexible substrate material.
Various methods have been proposed for protecting the flexible substrate from excessive thermal exposure during reflow processing. However, it would be desirable to provide a method for attaching a EGA to a flexible substrate without having to subject the substrate/BGA assembly to the reflow process at all.

Method of attaching a chip to a flexible substrate


A new and distinct cultivar of Magnolia tree named ‘MJK-MC1’, characterized by its upright and columnar in overall tree form; moderately vigorous growth habit and moderate growth rate; relatively large caliper trunk; freely branching habit with numerous lateral branches providing a full and densely foliated appearance; sturdy, thick, leathery and durable green-colored leaves that resist biotic and abiotic damage; late bud break which reduces late frost damage to flowers and leaves; flowering on first year's growth; freely flowering habit with numerous large white and reddish purple-colored flowers; and good landscape performance and cold hardiness.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of deciduous Magnolia tree, botanically known as Magnolia cylindrica, commercially referred to as the Huangshan Magnolia and hereinafter referred to by the name 'MJK-MC1'.
The new Magnolia tree originated from an open-pollination in Stayton, Oreg. in 1999 of an unnamed selection of Magnolia cylindrica, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unknown selection of Magnolia cylindrica as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Magnolia tree was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single plant from within the progeny of the stated open-pollination in a controlled environment in Stayton, Oreg. in July, 2002.
Asexual reproduction of the new Magnolia tree by grafting on Magnolia kobus rootstock in a controlled greenhouse environment in Stayton, Oreg. since May, 2015 has shown that the unique features of this new Magnolia tree are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.


The present invention is directed to inhibitors of S-nitrosoglutathione reductase (GSNOR), pharmaceutical compositions comprising such GSNOR inhibitors, and methods of making and using the same.

The chemical compound nitric oxide is a gas with chemical formula NO. NO is one of the few gaseous signaling molecules known in biological systems, and plays an important role in controlling various biological events. For example, the endothelium uses NO to signal surrounding smooth muscle in the walls of arterioles to relax, resulting in vasodilation and increased blood flow to hypoxic tissues. NO is also involved in regulating smooth muscle proliferation, platelet function, neurotransmission, and plays a role in host defense. Although nitric oxide is highly reactive and has a lifetime of a few seconds, it can both diffuse freely across membranes and bind to many molecular targets. These attributes make NO an ideal signaling molecule capable of controlling biological events between adjacent cells and within cells.
NO is a free radical gas, which makes it reactive and unstable, thus NO is short lived in vivo, having a half life of 3-5 seconds under physiologic conditions. In the presence of oxygen, NO can combine with thiols to generate a biologically important class of stable NO adducts called S-nitrosothiols (SNO's). This stable pool of NO has been postulated to act as a source of bioactive NO and as such appears to be critically important in health and disease, given the centrality of NO in cellular homeostasis (Stamler et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 89:7674-7677 (1992)). Protein SNO's play broad roles in cardiovascular, respiratory, metabolic, gastrointestinal, immune and central nervous system function (Foster et al., 2003, Trends in Molecular Medicine Volume 9, Issue 4, April 2003, pages 160-168). One of the most studied SNO's in biological systems is S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) (Gaston et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90:10957-10961 (1993)), an emerging key regulator in NO signaling since it is an efficient trans-nitrosating agent and appears to maintain an equilibrium with other S-nitrosated proteins (Liu et al., 2001) within cells. Given this pivotal position in the NO-SNO continuum, GSNO provides a therapeutically promising target to consider when NO modulation is pharmacologically warranted.
In light of this understanding of GSNO as a key regulator of NO homeostasis and cellular SNO levels, studies have focused on examining endogenous production of GSNO and SNO proteins, which occurs downstream from the production of the NO radical by the nitric oxide synthetase (NOS) enzymes. More recently there has been an increasing understanding of enzymatic catabolism of GSNO which has an important role in governing available concentrations of GSNO and consequently available NO and SNO's.
Central to this understanding of GSNO catabolism, researchers have recently identified a highly conserved S-nitrosoglutathione reductase (GSNOR) (Jensen et al., Biochem J., 331:659-668 (1998); Liu et al., Nature, 410:490-494 (2001)). GSNOR is also known as glutathione-dependent formaldehyde dehydrogenase (GS-FDH), alcohol dehydrogenase 3 (ADH-3) (Uotila and Koivusalo, Coenzymes and Cofactors., D. Dolphin, ed. pp. 517-551 (New York, John Wiley & Sons, 1989)), and alcohol dehydrogenase 5 (ADH-5). Importantly GSNOR shows greater activity toward GSNO than other substrates (Jensen et al., 1998; Liu et al., 2001) and appears to mediate important protein and peptide denitrosating activity in bacteria, plants, and animals. GSNOR appears to be the major GSNO-metabolizing enzyme in eukaryotes (Liu et al., 2001). Thus, GSNO can accumulate in biological compartments where GSNOR activity is low or absent (e.g. airway lining fluid) (Gaston et al., 1993).
Yeast deficient in GSNOR accumulate S-nitrosylated proteins which are not substrates of the enzyme, which is strongly suggestive that GSNO exists in equilibrium with SNO-proteins (Liu et al., 2001). Precise enzymatic control over ambient levels of GSNO and thus SNO-proteins raises the possibility that GSNO/GSNOR may play roles across a host of physiological and pathological functions including protection against nitrosative stress wherein NO is produced in excess of physiologic needs. Indeed, GSNO specifically has been implicated in physiologic processes ranging from the drive to breathe (Lipton et al., Nature, 413:171-174 (2001)) to regulation of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (Zaman et al., Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 284:65-70 (2001), to regulation of vascular tone, thrombosis and platelet function (de Belder et al., Cardiovasc Res. 1994 May; 28(5):691-4. (1994); Z. Kaposzta, A et al., Circulation; 106(24): 3057-3062, 2002) as well as host defense (de Jesus-Berrios et al., Curr. Biol., 13:1963-1968 (2003)). Other studies have found that GSNOR protects yeast cells against nitrosative stress both in vitro (Liu et al., 2001) and in vivo (de Jesus-Berrios et al., 2003).
Collectively data suggest GSNOR as a primary physiological ligand for the enzyme S-nitrosoglutathione reductase (GSNOR), which catabolizes GSNO and consequently reduces available SNO's and NO in biological systems (Liu et al., 2001), (Liu et al., Cell, (2004), 116(4), 617-628), and (Que et al., Science, 2005, 308, (5728):1618-1621). As such, this enzyme plays a central role in regulating local and systemic bioactive NO. Since perturbations in NO bioavailability has been linked to the pathogenesis of numerous disease states, including hypertension, atherosclerosis, thrombosis, asthma, gastrointestinal disorders, inflammation and cancer, agents that regulate GSNOR activity are candidate therapeutic agents for treating diseases associated with nitric oxide imbalance.
Currently, there is a great need in the art for diagnostics, prophylaxis, ameliorations, and treatments for medical conditions relating to increased NO synthesis and/or increased NO bioactivity. In addition, there is a significant need for novel compounds, compositions and methods for preventing, ameliorating, or reversing other NO-associated disorders. The present invention satisfies these needs.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Pyrrole inhibitors of S-nitrosoglutathione reductase as therapeutic agents


A three-way catalyst system for efficiently converting the exhaust gas from a CNG-fueled engine when operated under lean conditions at a redox ratio of 0.02-0.9, the system comprising a first stage catalyst comprising a transition metal-containing zeolite; means for injecting a hydrocarbon into said exhaust gas prior to entry of said exhaust gas into said first stage catalyst, said hydrocarbon having a greater affinity than CH.sub.4 in its ability to react with NO; and a second stage catalyst for treating the effluent from said first stage catalyst and comprising a high surface area alumina impregnated with discontinuous La.sub.2 O.sub.3 and palladium.. The invention also comprehends a method of treating exhaust gases from a lean-burn CNG-fueled engine, operating at a redox ratio of 0.02-0.9; exposing such exhaust gases to a first stage catalyst consisting of copper-ZSM5 zeolite having at least 3% by weight ion-exchange copper; injecting a fast-acting hydrocarbon into said exhaust gas prior to entry of the exhaust gas into said first stage catalyst, the hydrocarbon having a greater affinity than CH.sub.4 in its ability to react with NO; and exposing the effluent from the first stage catalyst to a second stage catalyst comprising palladium supported on alumina containing discontinuous La.sub.2 O.sub.3.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to the technology of treating exhaust from a compressed natural gas (CNG) fueled engine to remove its noxious content, and more particularly to the treatment of exhaust from a CNG engine controlled to operate under lean-burn combustion conditions.
In copending U.S. Ser. No. 07/789,707, filed Nov. 8, 1991, authored by some of the authors of this invention and commonly assigned to the assignee herein, a catalyst is disclosed which enhances the three-way conversion capability of a modified Pd/Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 catalyst in treating the exhaust gas of a compressed natural gas-fueled engine, provided the engine is limited to being operated slightly rich of stoichiometry, i.e., redox ratio (R) of 1-1.2 (R being the ratio of reducing components to oxidizing components in the exhaust gas). Untreated exhaust from a CNG-fueled engine, operated under rich conditions, contains a high content of CO (about 2000-2250 ppm), a high content of NO.sub.x (at least about 450 ppm), and a methane content at least about 300 ppm. Although the enhancement achieved by this disclosure over the prior art is significant, fuel-rich operation affects the fuel economy of the CNG-fueled engine and therefore can be undesirable. At stoichiometry or below stoichiometry (i.e., lean region), the conversion capability of such a catalyst drops dramatically.
If the exhaust gas is pretreated by use of a copper-exchanged zeolite, prior to entering the three-way/CNG catalyst described above, the engine can be operated at stoichiometry to achieve conversion efficiency in excess of 80% for all of CO, NO, and CH.sub.4 (see copending U.S. Ser. No. 07/789,558, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,053 authored by some of the authors of this invention, and commonly assigned to the assignee herein). However, if this combination is used to treat the exhaust from a fuel-lean operated CNG engine, the conversion capability drops again dramatically. Moreover, expensive electronic controls are required to regulate the engine operation at stoichiometry.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Copper-exchanged zeolites have been used to cleanse lean-burn type exhaust, but only from exhaust gases simulating the exhaust from a conventional gasoline-fueled engine. Such gasoline engine exhaust contains very high contents of fast-burning hydrocarbons, a representative of which is propylene (at about 1000 ppm), high contents of slow-burning hydrocarbons, a representative of which is propane (at about 500 ppm), very high contents of NO (about 1000 ppm), and very high content of CO (at about 15,000 ppm), with an absence of methane. A copper-exchanged zeolite catalyst would not be effective, by itself, in treating the total exhaust from a CNG-fueled engine operating under lean conditions, since such an exhaust would contain considerably lower amounts of NO and CO but significant amounts of methane. The conversion efficiency would be well below 80% (see Li et al, "Stoichiometric Catalytic Decomposition of Nitric Oxide Over Cu-ZSM-5 Catalyst", Journal of Physical Chemistry, Vol. 94, p. 6145, 1990; Iwamoto et al, "Influence of SO.sub.2 On Catalytic Removal of NO Over Copper Ion-Exchange ZSM-5 Zeolite", Applied Catalysis, Vol. 69, L 15-L 19, 1991; and Hamada et al, "Highly Selective Reduction of Nitrogen Oxides With Hydrocarbons Over H-Form Zeolite Catalysts In Oxygen-Rich Atmospheres", Applied Catalysis, Vol. 64, L 1-L 4, 1990).
What is needed is a catalyst system that economically and durably converts CO, NO.sub.x, and CH.sub.4 present in the exhaust of a lean-burn CNG-fueled engine.

Exhaust treating system for lean-burn CNG engine


A housing and float assembly allow for vapors or gases displaced during filling storage vessels to be redirected from a normal vent through a vapor or gas activated whistle or alarm without significantly restricting the venting rate of the vessel. The alarm produces a warning for the operator that the storage vessel has reached the predetermined high level to help avoid overfilling of the storage vessel. The device can be fabricated from readily available "off the shelf" parts and mounts into standard pipe threads or on to standard pipe flanges. The device can be provided as a kit to be assembled by the user.

In order to avoid overfill of storage vessels by human error, several devices have been invented and employed to alert the person controlling the filling process when the storage vessel is full. Various means such as compressed gas, electrically actuated horns and mechanical devices have been invented to provide the alert. Devices discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,227,322 and 2,429,280 provide methods of producing an alarm when a float raises a stem to open or close an aperture to allow vapors to pass through a whistle or to cease passing through a whistle. The devices are complex, require special mounting and restrict the venting capacity of the storage vessel.


A method and apparatus for recognizing speech employing a word dictionary in which the phoneme of words are stored and for recognizing speech based on the recognition of the phonemes. The method and apparatus recognize phonemes and produce data associated with each phoneme according to different speech analyzing and recognizing methods for each kind of phoneme, normalize the produced data, and match the recognized phonemes with words in the word dictionary by means of dynamic programming based on the normalized data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for speech recognition which performs recognition of the speech of an unspecified speaker by referring to a word dictionary in which the phonemes of words are stored.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, techniques using phonemes or syllables as a unit have been investigated in speech recognition apparatus. Such techniques depend on the following considerations.
In a speech recognition apparatus targeting large vocabularies, a large memory capacity is required to store the standard patterns for every word. In addition, much labor is required to register these words and it becomes difficult to append new words. In contrast, the method using phonemes and the like as a basic unit for recognition eliminates these problems, since the words written in Roman characters (romaji) or in Japanese syllables (kana) can be stored in a dictionary.
However, since there are variations in the spoken phoneme spectrum, combinations of intonations and difficult to recognize phonemes, such as plosives, speech recognition is not easy. Furthermore, individual differences also affect speech recognition when the speech of unspecified speakers is to be recognized, making it even more difficult.
Therefore, the following techniques have been investigated to deal with these problems:
(1) learning vowels; PA1 (2) the statistical discrimination method; PA1 (3) the hidden Markov model; and PA1 (4) the multi-template method.
However, since each phoneme in Japanese differs from every other in the appearance of phonemes by groups of phonemes, speech is difficult to recognize based upon a uniform method.
For example, vowels are characterized by the relative position of the formant, semivowels, plosives and so on; each of these, in turn, are characterized by a characteristic change in the spectrum over time. Furthermore, although certain changes in the spectrum are characteristic of each semivowel and plosive, there are differences in that the spectrum changes relatively slowly for semivowels. In contrast, the spectrum rapidly changes in a short time for plosives.
In recognizing these differently characterized phonemes, these techniques are defective in that a high recognition rate cannot be obtained because all the phonemes are recognized uniformly using one of the above described methods of the conventional apparatuses. For example, detection of the characteristics of segments aimed at the recognition of continuous speech (Kosaka, et al., Japanese Acoustics Society, Voice Section, S85-53, December 1985) can be cited as the method belonging to the aforementioned method (2). However, although the recognition rates for plosives and so on are high because this method is devised so as to correspond to the changes of the spectrum in time, this method is not suitable for recognizing phonemes, such as semivowels whose spectrum slowly changes and whose time structure changes, because it does not cope with the variation of the change of the spectrum with respect to time.
In addition, there are systems which perform phoneme recognition on each rough classified group by methods different from each other after rough segmentation, like a system devised at MIT Lincoln Institute (ref. Yasunaga Niimi, Speech Recognition, pp. 81-87, Kyoritsu Publishing, October 1979). However, there is a defect that the segmentation is greatly loaded in such a system and the recognition rate greatly depends on the quality of the segmentation.

Speech recognition method and apparatus for recognizing phonemes using a plurality of speech analyzing and recognizing methods for each kind of phoneme


A heat dissipation device includes a heat sink (10) and a fan (30). The heat sink includes a plurality of fins (15), and a guiding portion (184) is formed in the fins. The fan is secured to the heat sink. An airflow (F) is generated by the fan for flowing through the heat sink. When the airflow meets with the guiding portion, the airflow is deflected. The deflected airflow is guided to flow across heat-generating elements.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to heat dissipation devices, and more particularly to a heat dissipation device for dissipating heat from electronic elements on a circuit board.
2. General Background
Generally, a typical heat dissipation device includes a heat sink, heat pipes, a frame, and a fan. Each heat pipe has a lower first connecting portion and an upper second connecting portion. The heat sink includes a base, and parallel fins attached to the base. The base includes a top plate, and defines a hermetically sealed chamber. A plurality of apertures is defined in one side wall of the base, the apertures receiving the first connecting portions. Through holes are transversely defined through the fins, the through holes receiving the second connecting portions. The frame includes an upper plate, and two side plates. Two arms of each side plate secure the frame on the heat sink. In operation, liquid in the chamber transfers heat to the top plate and to the second connecting portions by phase transition.
However, a plurality of other associated electronic elements are usually mounted around a main heat-generating electronic element on a circuit board. The heat generated from the associated electronic elements is difficult to dissipate with the typical heat dissipation device.
What is needed, therefore, is to provide a heat dissipation device which can dissipate the heat from not only the main heat-generating electronic element on a circuit board but any other associated heat-generating electronic elements as well.

Bao-an District, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province

Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.


An improved structure for electromagnetic wave shielding in an electric plug for telecommunication. The plug is composed of a main body molded from plastic and metallic shielding sheet. The main body has on each side a depressed side face with a central sliding groove and with a raised border near the end of the main body. The shielding sheet has two side sheet portions coinciding in length and size with the depressed side faces of the main body and having tenons at the front end thereof. The shielding sheet has at the rear top end thereof two protruding tabs. The shielding sheet and the main body are slidingly connected with each other. The protruding tabs are such that they can be fastened by machine. The shielded area of the plug of the present invention is enlarged relative to current technology.

The present invention relates to an improved structure in the electric plug used in telecommunication, and especially relates to a plug of which the electromagnetic wave shielding sheet can be automatically produced, and the shielding area against electromagnetic waves can be increased to provide better quality and reliability.
Communication instruments such as the computer, telephone, FAX machine, district network equipment etc. which take advantage of electronic communication all have plugs and sockets for telecommunication. Such instruments are generally provided with parts which include lug and socket for connecting with another plug provided on the end of a conductor. Such products can often be adversely affected in their function as well as the quality thereof by electromagnetic waves or static electricity, which can impede the transmission of information. A device is needed to prohibit electromagnetic waves as well as static electricity.
A plug for telecommunication equipment is generally ejection molded from plastic to form a main body. The outside periphery thereof is enveloped at an appropriated position with a shielding sheet material to perform the above mentioned function of prohibition of electromagnetic wave. Such shielding sheet normally is made of metallic material which can ground the electromagnetic wave and the static electricity, so as to eliminate the interference of electromagnetic wave or static electricity.
The primary defects of the existing plugs for telecommunication reside in that: the shielding area is too small; and the connection between the shielding sheet and the main body must be effected manually. We are now citing a drawing (FIG. 1) to illustrate the conventional structures:
Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional plug for telecommunication comprises a main body 10 molded integrally from plastic, a metal shielding sheet 11 envelops the outside periphery thereof. The shielding sheet 11 covers generally the rear half of the sides of the main body 10. The front ends of both sides of the shielding sheet 11 are provided with elongated connecting lugs 12 conforming in shape with that of both sides of the main body 10. Two short tongs 13, 14 are provided separately and are behind and at a slightly higher position of the lugs 12.
The short tongs 13, 14 extend vertically upward before the shielding sheet 11, 13 fixed on the main body 10. After the main body 10 and the shielding sheet 11 are joined, the tongs 13, 14 are bent down to a present position (as shown in FIG. 1). Such a structure has at least the following defects:
1. The tongs 13, 14 are very small, and are located in a narrow area. They are difficult to be put into place by a machine.
2. The tongs 13, 14 are conventionally manually bent down gradually from the vertical position. This is wasteful in labor cost.
3. Since the main connecting structure is operated by manual force, the quality thereof is difficult to control.
4. Due to the variations of the quality of the connection, the quality of the conventional structure is uneven. It can be subjected to possible interference with communication transmitting, and the reliability is quite low.
Besides the above mentioned defects, the total shielding area is relatively small, thereby reducing its effectiveness.

Structure for electro-magnetic wave shielding in the electric plug used in telecommunication


Device for sliding on snow, especially a carving ski, having a base running face, which extends over a front, a central and a rear zone and which is waisted in the longitudinal direction, wherein in the front and/or in the rear zone of the base running face, the latter is overlaid by at least one additional running-face segment which, together with a portion, especially the central portion, of the base running face defines a second running face having a second waist with a substantially larger radius of curvature.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for sliding on snow, especially a carving ski, having a base running face, which extends over a front, a central and a rear zone and which is waisted in the longitudinal direction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such devices for sliding on snow are known, for example, from alpine skiing. So-called carving skis, which are characterised by a linear arrangement having a pronounced waist in the longitudinal direction, have in the meantime become successful in such skiing. The advantage of the waisted ski is that, when the ski is set on edge, a curve is described along an active radius defined by the waist. The more waisted a ski is, theoretically the tighter the curve that can be travelled. Skis having a more pronounced waist are therefore very manoeuvrable but have a tendency, when travelling in a straight line, to become very unsteady and unstable. Conversely, a ski that is not very waisted is directionally stable when travelling in a straight line but is distinctly less manoeuvrable, and consequently more difficult to control, when travelling in a curve.
Although the conventional ski, especially the carving ski, has revolutionised travelling in curves in alpine skiing as a result of its waist, it harbours the disadvantage that the variation of curves of different radii is possible only for experienced skiers. Especially in the case of skis having a pronounced waist, even slight edging of the ski causes initiation of a curve. With inexperienced skiers, it is precisely that abrupt change in direction which more frequently leads to falls with consequences that are not less than serious.
A number of publications that seek to solve the problems mentioned above are known from the state of the art.
German Gebrauchsmuster DE 296 05 583 U1, for example, describes a so-called multi-edge ski. This is characterised in that its sliding face is composed of one or more steps, wherein a steel edge can be attached at each transition between steps. The greatest advantage of that multi-edge ski is that a multiple metal-edge length can be integrated with the length of the ski remaining the same. It is in addition also possible, however, to achieve improved manoeuvrability and ability to stay on course by means of varied waisting of the individual steps of the ski. DE '583 thus describes, for example, waisting the lowest step to a small extent, since in that way it generates good and directionally stable straight-line travel, and then making the upper steps increasingly waisted, since they achieve more contact with the snow during edging and thus, in view of their waisted form, provide better manoeuvrability of the ski. A disadvantage of such as arrangement is that differing edges with differing waists extend over the whole length of the ski. This results in the weight being high, in increased resistance when travelling in a straight line as well as when travelling in a curve and, especially in the case of a two-step construction of the ski, again leads to the problem of the abrupt change of direction. Since, depending on the edging, a different edge acts as a guide to the direction, there is no step-free intermediate region formed in that arrangement that allows a different travelling radius according to the edging.
German Offenlegungsschrift DE 101 07 905 A1 likewise describes a carving ski which, in order to solve the problems referred to above, is given a raised running face of which the outer edges run parallel to the middle of the longitudinal axis of the ski. This new, additional running face is somewhat narrower than the waist of the original running face. The ski described therein is therefore likewise of multi-step construction and accordingly has the same advantages already evident from DE '583. That disclosure naturally therefore also has the disadvantages indicated above.
The problem underlying the present invention is therefore further to develop a device for sliding on snow, especially a carving ski, in such a manner that, despite having good manoeuvrability, has straight-line travel that is simple to control even at high speeds. A further problem of the present invention is to develop a device for sliding on snow, especially a carving ski, in such a manner that it can execute curve radii that are changeable in a substantially step-free manner.


Pseudo network polymer is characterized by a network of linear segments which is composed of recurring units of a multivalent branching moiety, a chain-defining moiety, and a coupling moiety. The polymer may be formed into film, fiber and molded articles which exhibit improved mechanical properties in the transverse direction.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,410,683 to Gale teaches aromatic, melt-processable branched polyesters containing at least three linear polyester chains radiating from a single nucleus wherein the chains comprise hydroxy-acid units derived from 4-hydroxybenzoic acid and 6-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid. The reference recites that two essential requirements must be met to achieve the desired branching in the polyesters: (i) the main chain monomer contains only functions which are derived from AB-type compounds, i.e., hydroxy acids, rather than diacids and diols which are AA- and BB-type compounds, respectively; and (ii) the nucleus contains only functions which are either all A- or B-type compounds, i.e. , such species must be exclusively polyacids or polyors, respectively. Gale further teaches that failure Lo meet either requirement may result in additional and/or randomized branching.
Branched polyesters as taught by Gale are limited by low molecular weight and lack of networking ability. Low molecular weight, branched polyesters tend to exhibit poor mechanical properties in both the machine and transverse directions, i.e. , weak over all strength. Due to molecular ordering, liquid crystalline polymers generally exhibit good mechanical properties in the direction of molecular ordering, typically, the machine direction. On the other hand, the inability of known branched polyesters to form high molecular weight structures is believed to contribute to their weak over all strength. While known polyesters characterized by a fully networked structure exhibit relatively good mechanical properties in the machine direction and along the transverse direction, these polymers tend to be thermosetting, i.e., a substantially infusible product when cured by heat or other means which make them undesirable for some thermoplastic applications.


A device isolation trench is formed in a semiconductor substrate by forming spaced apart masking regions on the substrate, leaving an exposed portion of the substrate disposed therebetween. A masking layer is formed on the masking regions and the exposed portion of the substrate. The masking layer and the substrate are then anisotropically etched for an etching time sufficient to remove the masking layer and portions of the substrate disposed between the masking regions and thereby form a device isolation trench in the substrate having rounded edges. Preferably, the step of anisotropically etching includes etching with an etchant that etches the substrate and the masking layer at approximately the same etching rate. More preferably, the substrate is silicon and the masking layer is polysilicon or amorphous silicon. The masking layer may also be high-thermal oxide (HTO) having an etching rate lower than that of the substrate. The masking regions preferably are formed from a third material having an etching rate different from that of the substrate, more preferably silicon nitride. The masking regions may be formed by forming a first layer on the substrate, forming a second layer on the substrate, and patterning the first and second layers to expose an underlying portion of the substrate and form spaced apart masking regions disposed on opposite sides of the exposed portion of the substrate. Preferably, the first layer includes silicon dioxide and the second layer includes silicon nitride.

Increasing the density of integrated circuit devices generally requires reduction of the size of the transistors used in the devices in order to incorporate more transistors into the integrated circuit. To reduce the size of the transistors, it is generally desirable to reduce the area of the active regions in the integrated circuit. In addition, it generally is desirable to reduce the area of the device isolation regions used to separate the active regions of the integrated circuit.
One technique for forming device isolation regions involves the local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS). According to this technique, an insulating oxide layer is grown between active regions by thermally oxidizing silicon substrate regions between the active regions. However, as the oxidation process tends to extend laterally across the face of the substrate as well as vertically into the regions, so-called "bird's beaks" may be produced at the edges of the active regions which may encroach on and undesirably narrow the active regions. In addition, the heat treatment used for oxidation may induce defects in the substrate silicon through heat stress and thermal diffusion of ion-implanted impurities.
An alternative to LOCOS techniques are trench isolation methods wherein a trench is formed in a semiconductor substrate and filled with an insulating material such as silicon dioxide. Although trench isolation can provide effective isolation between devices, the profile of the side walls of the trench may effect the stability of the devices. As illustrated in FIGS. 1A-1B, a transistor isolated by a trench having a sharp upper edge as in FIG. 1A may exhibit the undesirable drain current vs. gate voltage characteristic shown in FIG. 1B. A concentration of the electric field near the sharp edge of the trench may cause a "hump" as illustrated in FIG. 1B. The hump may lead to undesirable operating characteristics, e.g., a stepped gate voltage turn-on characteristic for some source to drain voltage levels. In FIG. 2A, a trench having rounded upper edges is illustrated, with FIG. 2B illustrating improved drain current vs. gate voltage characteristics produced by the rounded-edge trench.
A conventional technique for forming a rounded-edge trench is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,857,477 to Kanamori. As illustrated in FIGS. 3A-3C, this technique includes sequentially forming an oxide layer and a first mask layer on a substrate 10 and patterning the first mask layer and the oxide layer to expose a portion of the substrate 10 between masking regions 14. Spacers 16 are then formed by forming a second masking layer on the substrate and anisotropically etching the second masking layer to leave the spacers 16 disposed adjacent the masking regions 14. The substrate 10 is then etched using the spacers 16 and the mask layer 14 as a mask to form a trench 18. The spacers 16 are then removed, and the exposed substrate portions etched, typically using a rapid dry-etching technique, to form rounded edges A.
Although this technique effectively produces a rounded-edge trench, the processes involved are generally complicated, typically requiring multiple photomasking and etching steps. The large number of steps may undesirably increase the time and expense required to manufacture the integrated circuit.

Methods of fabricating profiled device isolation trenches in integrated circuits


There is provided a bottle having a handle formed by stretch blow molding comprising an improved structure which facilitates carrying even a relatively large bottle in which a bendable handle having a flat shape extending in a transverse direction is integrally formed below a threaded portion of a neck of the bottle, and a connecting portion of said handle includes a narrow portion which is transversally provided by reducing the thickness at an intermediate portion of the connecting portion, whereby making the finger engaging tab bendable at the narrow portion in upper and lower directions, and molecular orientation of the resin material is performed by the narrow portion.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a stretch blow molded bottle having a handle provided on its neck portion.
2. Background Art
It is known to injection mold a preform having a handle which is integrally formed and extended longitudinally and downwardly from a side surface positioned below a threaded portion of a neck of said preform and stretch blow mold said preform into a bottle which has a thin body wall from a distal end of the neck to a bottom so as to obtain a bottle integrally having a handle.
Such a bottle having a handle is disclosed in, for example, GB-A-2041286, EP-A-0061511, U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,598, JP-A-3-268907, EP-A-0479139 etc.
Also in JP-A-56-30828, there is disclosed a bottle formed by stretch blow molding in which a ring shaped handle is integrally formed on a neck in a longitudinal direction.
This conventional handle has a certain thickness so as to acquire a strength. If a resin used as a material for molding a bottle is polyethylene terephthalate, although it has a certain hardness as no further process is provided after the injection molding, it lacks an impact strength. As a result, damage of the handle can occur when the bottle filled with contents accidentally falls down on the ground from a shelf or the like. On the other hand, if the resin used is polypropylene, the handle will not be damaged when falling down the bottle because of its flexibility. However, the hardness of an integral handle is not sufficient and therefore a separately formed handle which is made of polyethylene is mounted afterward.
Another stretch blow molded bottle in which a ring shaped handle, besides the above mentioned handle, is integrally formed in a horizontal direction is disclosed in WO82/02369. However, this ring shaped handle has the same thickness as the ring formed on the neck of the bottle. Thus, if the resin is polyethylene terephthalate as typically used for this type of bottle, the handle lacks flexibility and it is difficult to carry the bottle when it is filled. In addition, there is a possibility of easily breaking of the handle when it is bent.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a newly structured bottle having a handle formed by stretch blow molding, wherein a bendable handle having a flat shape and extending in a transverse direction is integrally formed on a lower side of the neck of the bottle to facilitate carrying even a relatively large bottle.

Bottle having a handle formed by stretch blow molding


A radio resource management system in communication with multiple airport communication systems located at different airports is described. The radio resource management system receives a request to transfer data from an aircraft communication system within an aircraft to an airport communication system of the multiple ground communication systems. The radio resource management system determines an availability of radio resources at each airport communication system of the multiple airport communication systems based on the request. The radio resource management system selects an airport communication system from the multiple airport communication systems to transfer the data based on the determined availability of radio resources at the airport communication system. The radio resource management system reserves an amount of radio resources of the selected airport communication system of the multiple airport communication systems for the aircraft communication system to transfer the data.

Many commercial aircrafts include an in-flight entertainment (IFE) system as part of the aircraft's communication system. The IFE system may receive, store, utilize and generate large amounts of data, such as entertainment content (e.g., movies and video games), beverage and food purchase history information, passenger information, and the like. Airlines operating commercial aircraft may desire to either update the entertainment content of the IFE system and/or download the data generated by the IFE system.
Airlines operating the aircrafts have access to multiple means of communication for airport surface operations, including WIFI at the gate and public cellular networks. For example, FIG. 12 illustrates an example airport in which many aircraft have access to a public cellular network 1200 and WIFI network 1204, in which access points are usually located at the gate. However, those systems are shared and do not provide sufficient bandwidth to download or upload important bulks of data. As an example, for the airlines using wireless ground connectivity, it may in some scenarios take multiple weeks to transmit IFE content updates opportunistically at the gate. 5G cellular systems will increase the data rate but with still relative low bandwidth limitations to transmitting large bulk of data as the resources of those networks are shared with other wireless equipment outside of the airport environment.
Since the current system works in an opportunistic manner, trying to transfer data when connectivity is available typically results in that large bulks of data are generally fragmented into multiple files for transmission at different airports or at different moments during a certain period of time. Those transmissions are not guaranteed, and it is difficult for the airlines operating aircraft transporting the aircraft communication systems to plan the data transfer in a controlled, predictable, and efficient manner.
Therefore, there exists an unmet need in the art for methods and systems to provide an aircraft communication system sufficient bandwidth to transfer data in a non-opportunistic manner when an aircraft comprising the aircraft communication system lands at an airport.

Systems and methods of managing radio resources of an airport communication system


An operating element in a motor vehicle having a hollow gripping section which can be gripped by an occupant, is arranged above the leg space of the motor vehicle and is provided in a ventilatable manner with air outlet openings to which air is guided through an air guiding duct which flows through air outlet openings into the occupant compartment. The air guiding duct starts in the leg space of the occupant compartment, and, from the gripping section heated by the effect of the sun, warmer air can flow off through the air outlet openings into the occupant compartment. By way of the air guiding duct, cooler air from the leg space is taken into the gripping suction.

This application claims the priority of German application 197 35 834.9-21, filed in Germany on Aug. 18, 1997, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to an operating element in a motor vehicle having a hollow gripping section which can be gripped by an occupant, which is arranged above a leg space of the motor vehicle and is provided with air outlet openings in a ventilatable manner, to which air outlet openings air is guided through an air guiding duct which flows out into an occupant compartment through the air outlet openings.
From German Patent Document DE 21 64 976 A1, an operating element is known in the form of a steering wheel for a motor vehicle, whose gripping section on the steering wheel rim is supplied by way of connecting and feeding tubes, which are connected with the warm air and cooling air sources existing in the vehicle, with warm and cold air which can emerge by way of the steering wheel spokes and the steering wheel rim. In this case, for cooling or warming the driver's hands, corresponding air is actively supplied to the steering wheel rim.
In German Patent Document DE 37 13 450 A1, an arrangement is described for tempering steering and switching devices where the heating and cooling energy is supplied in the form of gas, liquid and/or electric energy, for which feeding and removal lines to a steering column are provided in a closed circuit or for an external energy supply.
Also according to an embodiment of a steering wheel in German Patent Document DE 23 22 484 A1, an active air feeding is provided to a steering wheel hub by means of which the fresh air or the heating air is blown against the driver from the baffle plate.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,340 A1, a steering wheel with a heat exchanger is described from which a heated or cooled liquid can be transported into the central tube of the steering wheel rim.
In the embodiment of a steering wheel described in French Patent Document FR 26 82 071 A1, the Peltier effect is used for the cooling or the heating of a steering wheel.
Concerning the general background of the external ventilating of steering wheels, reference is also made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,562,957 A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,730.
An object of the invention consists of reducing the energy consumption for ventilating the gripping section of an operating element of a motor vehicle.
This object is achieved according to preferred embodiments of the invention by providing an arrangement wherein the air guiding duct starts in a leg space of the occupant compartment, and wherein, from a gripping section heated by the effect of the sun, warmer air can flow off through the air outlet openings into the occupant compartment, and, in the process, by way of the air guiding duct, cooler air is taken from the leg space into the gripping section.
Under the effect of the sun, operating elements in a motor vehicle may heat up considerably so that they can hardly be touched in their gripping section without pain.
In sun-irradiated vehicles, the sun radiation in the occupant compartment results in a temperature increase of approximately +20.degree. C. starting from the leg space (30.degree. C.) to the level of the steering wheel.
Because of the operating element which, as the result of the radiation of the sun is often heated by another 30.degree. C. and more, by means of the air guiding according to the invention, the air can emerge from the operating element because of its lower density through the outlet openings into the occupant compartment and in the process--because of the resulting vacuum--sucks up the cooler air through the air guiding duct from the leg space of the occupant compartment. The gripping section of the operating element is cooled because of this passive ventilation.
Particularly for the gripping section of a steering wheel on the steering wheel rim, this passive ventilation has a very positive effect because the uniform tempering of the steering wheel rim surface ensures a secure and pleasant grip around the steering wheel rim in the driving operation.
This effect is particularly noticeable when the vehicle is parked and heated by the sun, where, in a passive manner, relatively cool air is pulled from the floor area into the steering wheel without requiring electric current or a running fan for this purpose. By means of a thermal insulation of the air guiding duct, the cool air from the leg space does not unnecessarily heat up on its way.
Also when a fan is used for the air transport, advantages are achieved in connection with the passive ventilating because the energy required for the fan will be lower.
In certain preferred embodiments, spaced knit under the air-permeable cover of the operating element also has an air-permeable construction and separates the cover with the contact surface thermally from the metallic, considerably heating-up, interior frame of the operating element. Because of the spaced knit, the cover stores little heat or coldness and is adapted more rapidly to the palm temperature of the gripping person.
In certain preferred embodiments, because of the construction of an intermediate layer as a knit, for example, woven from threads, the cover receives from it a high uniform air supply as the result of which the flow-out on the cover is hardly noticeable. In addition, a soft, elastic gripping sensation can be achieved.
For heating up the gripping section of the operating element additionally for the winter, a heating wire can be worked into the spaced knit which, directed against the cover, ensures a rapid heat-up rate while the electric energy consumption is low.


A polygon-shaped air bag comprised of fabric for use in vehicle restraint systems is disclosed. The air bag is constructed from fabric panels in the shape of congruent, n-sided equiangular polygons, where n may be between five and eleven, but is preferably six or eight. The individual panels may be in the form of a single polygon, or in the form of two abutting polygons. The use of polygon-shaped panels allows for economical fabric utilization and increased fabrication efficiency, compared with panels having a circular shape.

The present invention relates generally to inflatable cushions used in vehicle occupant restraint systems. More particularly, this invention relates to a cushion constructed from fabric in the form of two congruent equiangular polygons that may or may not share a common side and that, during the construction process, are superimposed in congruent fashion and joined along their respective coincident edge portions to form a polygon-shaped cushion.
An inflatable restraint cushion, or air bag, plays an important role in protecting the occupants of a vehicle from injury due to collision against the car body. Typically, the air bag is disposed within a supporting structure such as a dash panel, steering wheel, door panel, or other fixed portion of a car body in opposed or adjacent relationship to a seat in the vehicle. When inflated rapidly by the pressure of a reaction gas released from an inflator during a collision, the air bag serves as a protective barrier between the vehicle occupant and the steering wheel or other portion of the vehicle body against which the occupant might otherwise be thrown.
Air bags have been used in the past to protect both the vehicle operator and vehicle passengers. Systems for the protection of the vehicle operator are typically mounted in the steering column of the vehicle and utilize cushion constructions that deploy directly towards the driver. These driver-side air bags can be of a relatively simple configuration in that they function over a small, well-defined area between the driver and the steering column. Typically, driver-side air bags are circular or substantially circular in shape when viewed from the front or the back. Such circular air bags are frequently constructed by superimposing, aligning, and joining, along their respective coinciding edges, two generally circular fabric sections that are separately cut from a web or blank of air bag fabric. While such circular air bags are functionally effective, the circular shape of the front and back fabric sections or panels from which the air bags are constructed does not lend itself to the efficient utilization of fabric during the manufacturing process. Specifically, the arrangement of these circular pieces or panels on a given blank of air bag fabric does not result in efficient fabric utilization or yield. Fabric is wasted in producing such circular cushions since the circular templates do not have straight edges which can be aligned with the edges of the fabric blank or which can be juxtaposed in close proximity on the fabric to provide common or nearly common adjacent edges with minimal fabric waste between neighboring cut sections. Furthermore, because use of circular or other curved panels frequently results in oddly-shaped sections of fabric between neighboring cut panels, utilizing such inter-panel fabric to make other necessary parts of the air bag (e.g., various reinforcements, etc.) is often difficult.
As used herein, it is intended that the following terms be defined as indicated: The term xe2x80x9cpolygonxe2x80x9d is a plane geometric figure having n sides and n vertices. An equiangular polygon is a polygon in which all the angles comprising the vertices are equal. A regular polygon is an equiangular polygon in which all sides are of equal length. A convex polygon is one for which no side, if extended, will enter the polygon. Unless otherwise specified, the term xe2x80x9cpolygonxe2x80x9d shall refer to a convex, equiangular polygon. The term xe2x80x9ccongruentxe2x80x9d shall be used to mean capable of being superimposed so as to have a perimeter that is coincident throughout. The term xe2x80x9cfabricxe2x80x9d shall be used in a broad sense to describe any woven or non-woven fabric, film, polymer, combinations or composites thereof, or other suitable material from which the individual panels comprising an air bag may be constructed.
It is common, particularly in air bags designed for the protection of vehicle drivers, to find such air bags fabricated from the seaming or joining of two similarly-dimensioned circular panels along their respective perimeter edges after such circular panels have been cut from a blank of suitable air bag fabric and superimposed in congruent fashion. The instant invention provides for the use of relatively simple polygonal starting geometries for the fabric panels in order to reduce air bag fabric waste by reducing the quantity of fabric between the panels on a fabric blank. Additionally, fabric waste may be reduced because, when such polygons are used, the inter-panel fabric (which might otherwise have to be discarded when circular panels are used) tends to have a straight-sided shape from which the fabrication of other components needed for air bag construction (e.g., reinforcements and the like) may be more easily constructed, thereby saving on the area of uncut fabric blank that must be used in the construction process.
It has been found that fabric utilization can be significantly improved by substituting polygon shapes, and particularly equiangular polygons having n sides, where n is at least five, for the circular-shaped panels of the prior art. In one preferred embodiment, two such panels are individually cut and the cushion is constructed by superimposing the panels in congruent fashion (i.e., with coincident edges) and joining each of the n sides of one of the polygon-shaped panels to the respective coincident nth side of the other panel. In another preferred embodiment, a single panel is cut in the form of a pair of abutting, congruent n-sided equiangular polygons that share a common uncut side, i.e., a single, dual-lobed panel, having a perimeter comprised of 2nxe2x88x922 sides, in which each lobe resembles an n-sided polygon having nxe2x88x921 cut edges. This single piece panel may be folded about an axis that coincides with the shared uncut side to allow the lobes to be superimposed in congruent fashion. By joining the respective nxe2x88x921 coincident cut edges, a polygonal cushion similar to the two-panel cushion of the first embodiment may be formed, but without the need for a joining operation along the shared side due to the lack of any cut edge.
The polygon shapes can be placed in close proximity to one another on the fabric blank from which they are cut, thus minimizing fabric waste and cost, and providing a useful advancement over the present art. The fabric between polygon-shaped panels (the inter-panel fabric) tends to have straight sides and is therefore easier to utilize in the manufacture of other air bag components (e.g., reinforcements or other components). The advantages of the present invention include better fabric utilization and an overall simplification of the manufacturing process. By providing congruent polygonal fabric panels having linear edge segments, this invention facilitates seaming operations by improving in the ease, effectiveness, and efficiency with which the cut pieces can be aligned and joined during the seam formation process. Prior designs tend either to result in relatively poor material utilization due to the use of unusual panel shapes or to require more complex aligning, folding or sewing operations during the seaming process than is found in the instant invention. Accordingly, cost is lowered due to the improved yield per fabric blank as well as the increased efficiency with which the cutting and joining operations can be performed.
All of these advantages apply to the embodiment using two separate n-sided congruent polygon panels as well to the embodiment using a single, dual-lobed panel, with congruent lobes in the shape of the same n-sided polygon. However, an additional advantage of the latter embodiment of this invention is the additional simplification in cutting and sewing operations this embodiment provides. Because of the common uncut boundary shared by the n-sided polygons comprising the lobes, the number of coincident perimeter panel edges requiring joining (after the panel is folded and the lobes are superimposed in congruent fashion) generally is equal to nxe2x88x921. Sewing along the entire length of the perimeter of the finished air bag is not required, due to the presence of an intact section of fabric that forms an uncut transition between the respective lobes that become the face and rear panels of the air bag after the panel is folded along an axis coinciding with the common uncut side between the two polygonal lobes and the two lobes are superimposed in congruent fashion. This folding operation causes the respective cut edges of each lobe to coincide, thereby forming a layered, n-sided polygon having only nxe2x88x921 cut sides. Sewing is required on only the nxe2x88x921 cut sides of the folded panel, where n is the number of sides in each polygonal lobe. Each reduction in the number of sewn seams reduces the opportunity for rupture along a seam area, and reduces the number of necessary manufacturing steps.
Accordingly, this invention, in each of its embodiments, is believed to represent a useful advancement over the present art.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of this invention to provide an air bag that can be formed from fabric panels that are cut from a fabric blank with a minimum amount of wasted fabric. The blank may be of woven or non-woven fabrics, films, or combinations or composites thereof, as may be prescribed by those skilled in the art.
It is another object of this invention to provide a vehicle occupant restraint cushion or air bag that can be formed from two polygonal panels, or from a single panel comprised of two abutting polygonal lobes, without the need for any additional attachments, shape-forming members, or reinforcements to define the surface of the air bag.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide an inflatable restraint cushion that, in one embodiment, is comprised of two congruent polygonal-shaped fabric panels in the shape of the same n-sided equiangular polygon, where n is at least five. The panels are superimposed and aligned in congruent fashion to make the n edges coincident. The edges are then joined along their respective n cut sides by a perimeter seam comprised of a series of easily-sewn or joined straight seams, with no need to fold either of the panels prior to the formation of the perimeter seam, and no need to orient the perimeter seam with respect to any fold line that may be used to facilitate storage of the uninflated air bag in an operative position within the vehicle.
It is still another object of this invention to provide an inflatable restraint cushion that, in another embodiment, is comprised of a single panel of fabric comprised of two congruent polygonal lobes that share a common uncut side. The two polygonal lobes are each in the shape of the same n-sided equiangular polygon, where n is at least five, i.e., each lobe is configured in the shape of a pentagon, hexagon, heptagon, octagon, or the like, each lobe having nxe2x88x921 cut sides. During assembly of the air bag, the two lobes are folded along an axis coinciding with the uncut n side shared by the two polygons, and superimposed to form a flat, layered, polygonal structure with an aligned, congruent perimeter comprised of n straight sides, of which nxe2x88x921 are comprised of coincident cut edges. The folded polygonal structure is seamed or otherwise joined together along the nxe2x88x921 cut sides by sewing or other suitable techniques. Because the shared side of the polygonal structure comprising the nth side is uncut fabric, seaming along this side may be regarded as optional. Although seaming operations usually use sewing, it is contemplated that if coated or other suitable fabrics are used, the coincident cut edges of the two lobes can be welded or otherwise secured together by techniques known to those skilled in the art.
Applicable to both embodiments, it is contemplated that additional layers of fabric or other materials may be interposed or placed alongside one or both of the layers, either fully or partially, as the specific design may dictate. Upon appropriate inflation, the resulting flat cavity will form a restraint cushion or air bag that, when incorporated into an appropriate air bag system, is suitable for protecting the occupants of a vehicle involved in a collision.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method for forming the inflatable cushion of the present invention from two separate polygon-shaped panels is provided. This method comprises the steps of: (a) cutting from a fabric blank a first fabric panel in a chosen n-sided equiangular polygon shape; (b) cutting from a fabric blank a second fabric panel in a congruent n-sided equiangular polygon shape; (c) superimposing the first and second panels in congruent fashion, thereby forming an n-sided, layered polygonal structure in which the respective n cut sides of each polygon are coincident, and (d) joining or sealing together the coincident cut sides along each of the n sides of the polygonal structure
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method for forming the inflatable cushion of the present invention from a single panel is provided. This method comprises the steps of: (a) cutting from a fabric blank a single panel having a dual-lobed shape comprised of a pair of congruent, n-sided equiangular polygons that share a common uncut side, each lobe thereby having the shape of a polygon having nxe2x88x921 cut sides and an nth uncut side along which it is seamlessly joined to the other lobe; (b) folding this dual-lobed panel along an axis that coincides with the uncut nth side shared by the pair of polygons, thereby forming a layered polygonal structure in which the two polygonal lobes are superimposed in congruent fashion, thereby aligning each of the nxe2x88x921 cut sides of each lobe with the corresponding cut side of the other lobe to form a perimeter substantially comprised of a layered edge in which the nxe2x88x921 cut sides are coincident; and (c) forming a perimeter seam along each of the respective nxe2x88x921 cut sides.
Both the cutting and sealing operations may be achieved by manual, automated, or any other methods known by those skilled in the art. As is conventionally done, suitable holes may be cut in the rear panel or lobe to form gas inlet means, gas vents, or for other purposes. It should be noted that various other structural devices or reinforcements may be incorporated into the design of the air bag which may result in the resulting polygonal structure or cushion having more than two layers.


The invention relates to a measuring cell for an ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FTMS). The invention provides a measuring cell which, on the one hand, consists of two ion-repelling RF grids at the front ends as trapping electrodes and thus produces a pure cyclotron motion of the ions without the usually co-existing magnetron motion and, on the other hand, measures a multiplied cyclotron frequency by means of a plurality of detection electrodes, whereby either a higher mass accuracy or a shorter measuring time can be achieved.

In ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometers (ICR-MS), the mass-to-charge ratios m/z of ions are measured by their cyclotron movements in a homogeneous magnetic field with high field strength. The magnetic field is usually generated by superconductive magnetic coils cooled in liquid helium. Nowadays, they provide usable cell diameters of around 6 to 12 centimeters at magnetic field strengths of 7 to 12 Tesla.
The orbital frequency of the ions (ion cyclotron frequency) is measured in ICR measuring cells located within the homogeneous part of the magnetic field. The ICR measuring cells normally comprise four longitudinal electrodes which extend in a cylindrical arrangement parallel to the magnetic field lines and surround the measuring cell like a sliced sleeve. Usually, two of these electrodes are used to bring ions, introduced close to the axis, into their cyclotron orbits (into their cyclotron motion), ions with the same mass-to-charge ratio being excited as in phase as possible in order to obtain a synchronously orbiting cloud of ions. The two other electrodes serve to measure the orbiting of the ion clouds by their image currents, which are induced in the electrodes as the ions fly past. The term "image currents" is normally used even though it is actually the induced "image voltages" which are measured. The processes of introducing the ions into the measuring cell, ion excitation and ion detection are carried out in successive steps of the method.
Since the mass-to-charge ratio of the ions (referred to below simply as "specific mass", and sometimes simply as "mass") before the measurement is unknown, the ions are excited by a complete and homogeneous mixture of excitation frequencies. This mixture can be a temporal mixture with frequencies increasing with time (called a "chirp"), or it can be a synchronous, computer-calculated mixture of all frequencies (a "sync pulse"). By specially selecting the phases, the synchronous mixture of the frequencies can be formed so that the amplitudes of the mixture remain restricted to the dynamic region of the digital-to-analog converter, which produces the temporal analog voltage sequence characteristics for the mixture.
The image currents induced by the ions in the detection electrodes are amplified, digitized and analyzed by Fourier analysis for the orbital frequencies present therein. The Fourier analysis transforms the original measurements in the "time domain" into a "frequency domain", hence the term Fourier transform mass spectrometry (FTMS). The specific masses of the ions and their intensities are then determined from the signals, which can be recognized as peaks in the frequency domain. Owing to the extraordinarily high constancy of the magnetic fields used, and the high accuracy for frequency measurements, it is possible to achieve an extraordinarily accurate mass determination. At present, Fourier transform mass spectrometry is the most accurate of all types of mass spectrometry. Ultimately, the accuracy depends only on the number of ion orbits which can be detected by the measurement.
The longitudinal electrodes usually form a measuring cell with a square or circular cross-section. The cylindrical measuring cell contains four cylinder segments as longitudinal electrodes. Cylindrical measuring cells are the ones most commonly used because they produce the best utilization of the magnetic field, although the image currents of focused clouds of ions with the same mass (image voltages) come close to a rectangular curve.
Since the ions can move freely in the direction of the magnetic field lines and possess, from the filling phase, all velocity components in the direction of the magnetic field, they must be prevented from leaving the measuring cell. To prevent ion losses, the measuring cells are therefore equipped at both ends with electrodes, known as "trapping electrodes". These are supplied with ion-repelling DC voltage potentials in order to keep the ions in the measuring cell. There are widely differing forms for this electrode pair, the simplest being planar electrodes with a central aperture. The aperture serves to introduce the ions into the measuring cell.
The ion-repelling potentials form a potential well in the interior of the measuring cell, with a parabolic potential profile along the axis of the measuring cell. The potential profile is only weakly dependent on the shape of these electrodes. The potential profile along the axis is at its minimum at precisely the mid-point of the measuring cell if the ion-repelling potentials across both electrodes have the same value. The ions introduced will therefore execute oscillations in this potential well in the axial direction—so-called trapping oscillations—because they still posses kinetic energy in the axial direction from their introduction. The amplitude of the trapping oscillations depends on their kinetic energy.
The electric field outside the axis of the measuring cell is more complicated to describe. It inevitably contains field components in the radial direction which generate a second type of ion motion: magnetron circular motion. The magnetron gyration is also a circular motion about the axis of the measuring cell, but much slower than the cyclotron circular motion. The additional magnetron circular motion causes the mid-points of the cyclotron circular movements to gyrate around the axis of the measuring cell at the frequency of the magnetron motion, with the result that the trajectory of the ions describes a cycloidal motion.
The superposition of magnetron and cyclotron circular motion is an undesirable phenomenon which leads to a frequency shift in the cyclotron frequency. Furthermore, it leads to a reduction in the usable volume of the measuring cell. The measured frequency ωm (the "reduced cyclotron frequency") amounts to
            ω      m        =                            ω          c                2            +                                                  ω              c              2                        4                    -                                    ω              t              2                        2                                ,where ωc is the undisturbed cyclotron frequency, and ωt the frequency of the trapping oscillation. The trapping oscillation determines the effect of the magnetron circular motion on the cyclotron circular motion. A measuring cell without magnetron circular motion would be very advantageous because the cyclotron frequency could be directly measured and no corrections would have to be applied.
The vacuum in the measuring cell must be as good as possible because, during the measurement of the image currents, the ions should not collide with molecules of residual gas. Each collision of an ion with a molecule of residual gas brings the ion a bit out of the orbiting phase of the other ions with the same specific mass. The loss of phase homogeneity leads to a reduction in the image currents and to a continuous decrease in the signal-to-noise-ratio, which reduces the usable measuring period. The measurement period should amount to at least a few hundred milliseconds, ideally a few seconds. This requires a vacuum in the region of 10−7 to 10−9 Pascal.
Apart from the vacuum, the space charge in the ion cloud can also adversely affect the measurement. The Coulombic repulsion between the ions themselves and, above all, the elastic reflection of the ions moving in the cloud lead to a plurality of disturbances, which also lead to an expansion of the cloud. In present-day instruments, the space charge, alongside the effects of pressure, represents the greatest limitation on achieving a high mass accuracy.
For higher specific ion masses, the decrease in the cyclotron orbital frequency of the ions is inversely proportional to the mass. The resolution, however, is proportional to the number of measured orbits; it is therefore lower for ions of high specific masses than for those of low specific masses, although a high resolution and, correspondingly, a high mass accuracy is particularly desirably for ions of high masses. Since the introduction of ion cyclotron mass spectrometers, repeated attempts have been made to increase the resolution, particularly for higher specific ion masses, by using a larger number of detection electrodes to increase the frequency of the image currents in relation to the cyclotron frequency. If a total of sixteen detection electrodes are used instead of two, then the image currents are each measured sixteen times instead of two times, and the measured frequency increases by a factor of eight. It is to be expected that resolution and mass accuracy are also increased by a factor eight if measured over the same measuring time.
Unfortunately, these experiments have had only moderate success, and so they have regularly been abandoned. The reasons for the moderate success have not been adequately explained. It can be assumed that the ion clouds do not hold together well enough and that, for this reason, they cannot be brought close enough to the detection electrodes. Narrow electrodes require that the ion clouds are brought up very close to the detection electrodes, since otherwise it is scarcely possible to induce the image currents at full strength.
Recently, measuring cells for ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry have been elucidated in which practically no magnetron circular motion can develop. (E. Nikolaev, Lecture at the International Mass Spectrometry Conference (IMSC) in Edinburgh, September 2003). In this case, the trapping electrodes are replaced with fine electrode structures, to which an RF voltage is applied and which thus reflect ions of both polarities because of their pseudopotential if the ions possess a specific mass above a mass threshold. The mass threshold can be adjusted by the RF voltage. Electrode structures of this type have been elucidated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,035 (J. Franzen). The pseudopotential has a very short range of the order of magnitude of the widths of the structural elements of this electrode structure. The reflection resembles a hard reflection on a matt screen, the scattering effect of the matt screen decreasing as the angle of incidence flattens out.
An RF field around the tip of a wire decreases outwards proportional to 1/r2; the RF field of a long wire decreases at 1/r, where r is the distance from the tip or axis of the wire. Both RF fields repel both positive and negative particles. The particle oscillates in the RF field. Regardless of its charge, it experiences the strongest repelling force when it is located near to the wire, i.e. at the point where the field strength is highest. It experiences the strongest attractive force when it is at the furthermost point, i.e. at the point on its oscillation path where the field strength is lowest. Integration over time results in a repulsion. This time-integrated repulsion potential is known as the "pseudopotential", sometimes also as the "effective potential" or "quasi-potential". The pseudopotential is proportional to the square of the RF field, i.e. it decreases outwards at 1/r2 in the case of a long wire. Moreover, the pseudopotential is inversely proportional to the specific mass m/z of the particles and to the square ω2 of the RF frequency ω. There is a lower mass threshold for the reflection of the particles.
The relatively easily manufactured surface, made of a grid of parallel wires, already has a very short range pseudopotential. The RF field of a grid with wires of 0.1 millimeter, one millimeter apart, falls to 5% in one millimeter, to 0.2% in two millimeters and to 0.009% in three millimeters. The pseudopotential, which is proportional to the square of this field, falls off much more quickly: At a distance of one millimeter, there is a pseudopotential of only 0.25%.
The ions are stored in these new measuring cells in the form of a fine ion string with no magnetron motion. Owing to their kinetic energy, the ions can move to and fro in the axial direction in the ion string; they undergo hard reflection at each of the trapping electrodes, and the slightly scattering reflection leads to minuscule cyclotron helical movements of the ions. The ion strings as a whole can now be excited via suitable chirp or sync pulses so that they perform a cyclotron circular motion. In the orbiting ion string, the scattering effect of the reflections also decreases, so that the diameter of the ion string only increases very slowly. These long ion strings can consist of significantly more ions than previous measuring cells without the space charge adversely affecting the cyclotron circular motion. The space charge also allows the diameter of the ion string to increase only very slowly.

Measuring cell for ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer


A wear shoe for an auger having a pair of spaced apart tapered openings extending therethrough is secured to an auger flight using a tapered nut having an axial extent as the tapered opening and dimensioned to fit into and contact each tapered opening to provide a substantially planar upper surface and a headed threaded bolt. The wear shoe has an arcuate recess formed in the upper surface thereof and a hardened member has an arcuate body portion secured in the arcuate recess.

It is common practice to replace wear shoes on augers. In one such practice, the wear shoe is replaced using a plow bolt. A pair of spaced apart openings are provided in the wear shoe and these openings have a tapered portion and a square portion. The wear shoe is attached by passing a plow bolt through each of the openings in the wear shoe and an opening in an auger flight and secured using a threaded nut. The plow bolt has a cylindrical threaded stem, a square portion, a conical portion and a rounded top. When installed, the plow bolt has an air space left at the rounded top and the upper surface of the wear shoe. This causes an interruption of the material flow in the area of the rounded top much like turbulent flow in water over a rough surface. With abrasive material, this results in a washing out effect behind the bolt that reduces the wear life of the wear shoe. Once the wear shoe has worn down to the rounded top, the wear rate is still uneven since the plow bolt is harder than the wear shoe. When the plow bolt wears down to the square portion, there is nothing to hold the wear shoe on the auger flight. This uneven wear also requires more torque to rotate the auger.