The present invention provides a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary cell in which charge/discharge property and energy density are significantly improved. The non-aqueous electrolyte secondary cell according to the present invention is provided with a positive electrode whose active material is Li(Ni.sub.1-y CO.sub.y).sub.1-z B.sub.z O.sub.2 (wherein y and z represent Ni, Co and B composition ratio which satisfies the relationships 0.1y.ltoreq.z<0.05y+0.026, y>0, and 0<z.ltoreq.0.03); a negative electrode capable of doping and de-doping lithium; and a non-aqueous electrolytic solution made from lithium salt dissolved or dispersed in a non-aqueous medium.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a non-aqueous electrolyte secondary cell, and more particularly to an improvement of a material to be used for a positive electrode thereof.
2. Prior Art
In association with a recent remarkable progress of electronic techniques, various portable electronic devices have been developed such as a camera-attached Video Tape Recorder, a pocket telephone, and a lap top computer. There is therefore an increasing demand for portable power sources for such electronic devices, i.e. a strong demand for development of a small-size secondary cell or battery having a higher energy density than the conventional ones. The widely known conventional secondary cells are: nickel-cadmium cells,lead accumulators, and lithium secondary cells.
The lithium secondary cells are expected as cells capable of composing a battery having a high power with a high energy density. Some of the lithium secondary cells are already available in a market. Because lithium has strong reactivity against water, such lithium secondary cells employs lithium salt such as LiPF.sub.6 dissolved in a non-aqueous solvent such as propylene carbonate and diethyl carbonate.
The lithium secondary cell may employ a metallic lithium or a lithium alloy as a negative electrode active material. Recently, however, there is a tendency to employ a material which will not produce a dendrite even charge and discharge are repeated, for example, such as a carbonaceous material which is capable of doping and de-doping lithium ions.
As for a positive electrode active material, a metallic sulfide, and a metallic oxide such as TiS.sub.2, MoS.sub.2, NbSe.sub.2, and V.sub.2 O.sub.5 having no lithium have been used. Recently, however, more and more lithium-nickel composite oxides are used because of a higher energy density and a lower production cost.
It should be noted that a lithium secondary cell using such a lithium-nickel composite oxide for the positive electrode active material has a problem that a charge capacity during an initial charge is greater than a discharge capacity by 40 to 50 mAh/g. Consequently, the ratio between the lithium which has been separated during charge and the lithium which has been returned, i.e., charge/discharge property (initial charge capacity/initial discharge capacity) is lower by 5 to 6% than that of a lithium-cobalt composite oxide which is used in practice. The low charge/discharge property affects the energy density and has been a serious obstacle for realizing a large capacity.


A zoom lens with a close-up lens has first to fifth lens groups arranged in this order from the object side. Each of the first, second and fifth lens groups has a positive power and each of the third and fourth lens groups has a negative power. The first to fifth lens groups are arranged so that the spaces between the second to fifth lens groups change when the zoom lens is zoomed from a shortest focal length to a longest focal length and at the same time the first lens group can be moved along the optical axis in response to change in the optical length between an object point and the first lens group so that the object side focal point of the first lens group coincides with the object point.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a zoom lens with a close-up lens which is used in an enlarger or the like, and more particularly to a conjugate distance variable zoom lens with a close-up lens disposed on the light measuring system side of a prism which splits light bundle transmitted through a negative film into light bundles traveling toward a printing system and a light measuring system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As a color printer for printing a color negative image on a color photographic paper, there has been known one in which light bundle transmitted through a negative film bearing thereon the negative image is led to a light measuring system by a mirror or the like and the pattern, density, color and the like of the color negative image are inspected by a scanner and the intensity of light and color balance of light to be given to a color photographic paper are automatically controlled on the basis of the result of the inspection.
There are various negative films such as Disc film, 135 film, 120 rollfilm and the like which are different in size. Accordingly, when printing an image on a color photographic paper, the printing lens must be changed according to the size of the negative film and at the same time, the scanner lens must be changed or the magnification of the scanner lens must be changed.
Generally the magnification of the scanner lens is manually changed, which can lead to wrong setting of the magnification. In order to avoid such a problem, there has been proposed a system in which the magnification of the scanner lens is automatically changed in response to change of the printing lens.
Since, in such a printer, the print lens is disposed just above the negative film, the scanner lens must inspect the negative film obliquely or by way of a mirror. However, to obliquely mount the scanner lens is more difficult than to mount it vertically or horizontally, and when the mirror is moved in and out each time the negative film is inspected, the number of prints per unit time is reduced.
There has been proposed an optical system in which a split prism is connected to print lenses which are for a small negative film and are frequently used and the light measurement is effected through the prism while in the case of print lenses which are for a large negative film and are used less frequently, the light measurement is effected through a mirror taking into account the cost of a prism.
However such an optical system gives rise to a problem that the conjugate length for a given magnification of the scanner lens changes depending on the presence of absence of the prism. In conventional scanner lenses, focusing of the scanner lens in response to change in the conjugate length results in change of the magnification and deterioration of the lens performance.


A focus detection apparatus performs focus detection of a phase difference method by using signals from an image pickup element including a first pixel and a second pixel sharing one micro lens, and the focus detection apparatus includes a first saturation detector configured to detect saturation of a first signal obtained from the first pixel, a second saturation detector configured to detect saturation of a second signal obtained from the second pixel, a luminance generating portion configured to generate luminance signals of the first signal and the second signal after detecting the saturations of the first signal and the second signal are detected, and a processor configured to perform a correlation calculation based on the luminance signals.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a focus detection apparatus which performs focus detection of a phase difference method by obtaining pupil-divided images through an image pickup element including a plurality of pixels sharing one micro lens.
Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a focus detection apparatus (an image pickup apparatus) including a plurality of divided photoelectric conversion devices (hereinafter, referred to as "PDs") with respect to one pixel corresponding to one micro lens (hereinafter, referred to as an "ML") which perform focus detection of phase difference method while taking an image has been known.
Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2001-83407 discloses a configuration to obtain pupil-divided image signals by divided photoelectric conversion devices (hereinafter, referred to as "divided PDs") to perform focus detection process of a phase difference method. In the configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2001-83407, an imaging pixel signal is obtained by treating an added value output from the divided PDs corresponding to the same micro lens as an output of one pixel.
Japanese Patent No. 4691930 discloses a method of reading a part of the divided PDs (one of the divided PDs) in a non-destructive manner in order to improve characteristics of high sensitivity in a divided pixel structure, and then reading the added value of each of the divided PDs to estimate pixel value of the other of the divided PDs by performing a calculation.
When the divided PDs disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2001-83407 and Japanese Patent No. 4691930 are saturated, excess charges due to the saturation (charges corresponding to the saturation) leaked to adjacent divided PDs. Therefore, deterioration is caused in a phase difference image by a signal of a divided PD corresponding to the same micro lens with a saturated divided PD due to the leakage of the excess charges. In view of this, it is preferred that saturation detection is performed in each divided PD before focus detection to perform a focus detection process by taking saturation of each divided PD into consideration.
However, when a signal of each of the divided PDs is converted into a luminance component signal before the saturation is detected in the configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4691930, the other luminance component signal is to be calculated based on the calculation of the luminance component signals, and thus, an original signal of each of the divided PDs corresponding to the calculated luminance component signal cannot be recognized. As a result, it is difficult to perform highly accurate focus detection.

Focus detection apparatus, image pickup apparatus, image pickup system, and focus detection method


A heat insulating blanket with insulating media fastened at top and bottom of the blanket. The method for making the heat reflecting blanket comprises the steps of providing a first moisture-impervious outer layer having top and bottom edges, providing a second moisture-impervious outer layer having top and bottom edges, arranging at least one layer of insulating material between the first and second outer layers and in a confronting relationship therewith, folding the first and second outer layers with the insulating material therebetween into hems at the top and bottom edges, and securing the hems to form a heat insulating blanket with insulating media fastened at top and bottom. In another aspect of the invention, a heat insulating blanket with insulating media fastened at top and bottom is also described.

During the concrete curing process, chemical changes occur in the presence of water which ensure that the hardened concrete will be water-tight and durable. These chemical changes occur over a considerable period of time requiring that the concrete be kept wet during the curing period. The heat radiating from the concrete during the curing process evaporates the moisture in the concrete, inhibiting the chemical hardening process and compromising the strength and durability of the cured concrete. It is therefore necessary to contain the heat and moisture in the concrete long enough to permit the curing process to be sufficiently completed. The need for heat and moisture retention increases during cold weather applications. One prior art approach to solve this problem is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,956 to Handwerker titled "Heat Reflective Blanket" which is directed to a flexible, multilayer heat reflective blanket.
When curing concrete wall structures, the curing blanket must be disposed vertically, in an orientation parallel to the wall surface being cured. When a heat retaining blanket is disposed in this vertical orientation, the internal insulating media have a tendency to settle toward the bottom of the blanket. This tendency to settle is exacerbated by windy conditions or rough handling that might tend to jostle the blanket.
To overcome this settling tendency, blankets of the prior art often employ a plurality of fasteners to secure the internal insulating media to exterior portions of the heat retaining blanket. Although this process is adequate to secure the insulating media in place, the fasteners add to the material cost of the reflecting blanket and time (and possible machinery) involved in inserting the fasteners adds to the labor cost in fabricating a heat retaining blanket, thus resulting in higher costs to the consumer.
In addition, the fasteners are subject to breakage under the conditions that generally obtain at a construction site. Breakage of the fasteners can lead to slippage of the internal insulating media, thus compromising the effectiveness of the blanket in curing concrete.
Accordingly, a need arises for an improved method for attaching the insulating media to the outer structure of the heat retaining blanket, and an improved blanket constructed in accordance with the method. The improved blanket should be relatively inexpensive to manufacture and should exhibit enhanced durability so that it will function dependably over an extended product lifetime in the construction environment.

Heat retaining blanket with insulating media fastened at top and bottom and method for making


Complexes are prepared containing two or more different effector molecules joined to each other by a joining component. One effector molecule is a binding molecule such as an antibody or Fc receptor that binds to a molecular target such as a virus or antibody at a site of infection or tumor, and another effector molecule is a therapeutic molecule such as an enzyme or drug. The joining component may be a liposome, protein or an organic polymer (including a dendrimer type polymer), and may be of sufficient length and/or flexibility to permit the therapeutic molecule to physically interact with the target at the same time as the binding molecule. Supramolecules are formed containing at least two supramolecular component molecules that contain an effector molecule and a nucleic acid chain. A nucleic acid chain on a component molecule is complementary to a nucleic acid chain on another component molecule to enable binding of the component molecules of the supramolecule by the formation of double stranded nucleic acid chains between complementary chains. A targetable antiviral supramolecule is prepared containing spectrin as the joining component. The binding molecule can be an antibody specific for an antigen on a viral particle and the therapeutic molecule can be an enzyme capable of destroying infectivity of the virus by hydrolysis of viral coat protein or viral lipid.

Organized molecular systems are well known in biology and chemistry. For example, pure molecular compounds form crystals, and surface active molecular compounds form monolayers at air-water interphase and vesicles in water. Bilayers of liposomes mimic biological membranes, and biological membranes are good examples of multimolecular organized systems. Viruses, in particular, are highly organized supramolecular assemblies whose complexity surpasses any man-made assembly. Another prime example is the DNA double helix, which is the result of highly selective interaction of two complementary single strand molecules. Man made, or artificial examples of supramolecular systems, include cryptates, i.e., inclusion complexes of macrocyclic receptor molecules, and interrupting two dimensional hydrogen bonded network by a large capping molecule. In these state-of-the-art examples, the structure of all participating molecules are highly specific.
Jean-Marie Lehn has defined supramolecular chemistry as the chemistry beyond individual molecules, i.e., the chemistry of the intermolecular bond. Early work in supramolecular chemistry involved crown ethers and cryptates, compounds based on the interaction of electron pair and ion and possibly additional ion-ion interaction (J.-M. Lehn, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 29 (1990) 1304-1319).
Oligobipyridines form in the presence of suitable metal cations such as copper(II) double-stranded helicates. Auxiliary groups may be attached into bipyridine units. If these groups are nucleotides they may serve as recognition sites for DNA (U. Koert, M. M. Harding and J.-M. Lehn, Nature (1990) 346:339).
Most previously described hydrogen bonded supramolecules are supramolecular polymers, i.e., periodic supramolecules composed of one or two repeating units. In principle the number of repeating units of polymeric supramolecules may be larger than two but until now nobody has used more than two repeating units. Examples of this class of supramolecules includes the chain-like supramolecule formed by co-crystallization of 1:1 mixture of 2,4,6-triaminopyrimidine and a suitable barbituric acid derivative (J.-M. Lehn, M. Mascal, A. DeCian, J. Fisher, J. Chem. Soc. Chem. Commun. (1990) 479).
Polymeric supramolecules formed from a single unit may also be used. For example, a tubular supramolecule has been formed from a single cyclic peptide (M. R. Ghadiri, J. R. Granja, R. A. Milligan, D. E. McRee and N. Khazanovich , Nature (1993) 366:324-327). These polymeric supramolecules are often simply crystals or mixed crystals in which hydrogen bonding plays a predominant role in structure maintenance. Even, if these supramolecules are stable in solution, their size is variable like that of a conventional polymer.
A step towards controlling supramolecular size and shape has been the use of capping molecules to interrupt the molecular association at the desired point (J. P. Mathias, C. T. Seto, J. A. Zerkowski and G. M. Whitesides in "Molecular Recognition: Chemical and Biochemical Problems II" (Ed. S. M. Roberts) Royal Society of Chemistry). A mixture of he isocyanurate derivative (benzCA.sub.2) and trismelamine derivative (trisM.sub.3) gives the supramolecule (trisM.sub.3).sub.2 (benzCA.sub.2).sub.3. This strategy typically produces supramolecules which have `molecular weight` of 4-10 KDa.
No process exists today for creating large molecular assemblies of deliberately chosen molecules in which the location of the molecules in the assembly can be selected accurately with respect to each other. Nonetheless, a dire need exists for such molecular structures since they could have numerous important medical, chemical and physical applications. These applications include, but are not limited to, supramolecular drugs, drug delivery to target organs, capture of viruses and catalysts, sensors and nanotechnological components.
Polypeptides and proteins, especially enzymes, have been attached to oligonucleotides. A peptide or protein has been used as a tag for an oligonucleotide or oligonucleotide is used as a tag for a polypeptide. Techniques such as ELISA allowed to trace enzymes easier than oligonucleotides, enzymes were used as tags for oligonucleotides. PCR provides for assays of extreme sensitivity. Oligonucleotides are often used as a tag for polypeptides or peptidomimetics, so that the fate of the polypeptide can be followed in vitro or in vivo. Synthesis methods which are used to prepare these conjugates are also useful in this invention. (D. Pollard-Knight, Technique (1990) 3:113-132).
Linear single-stranded tRNA forms branched structures because there are several complementary pieces of the sequence are suitably located. Recently, several two and three dimensional structures have been formed using this principle (Y. Zhang and N. C. Seeman, J. Am. Chem. (1994) 116:1661-1669; N. C. Seeman, J. Theor. Biol. (1982) 99:237-247.). These DNA based supramolecules have been bound together to form active structures. Because several steps are typically needed to create these molecules, the overall synthesis yield can be very low (0.1-1') because of these steps alone.
Branched pre-mRNA is found in cells. These molecules have highly specific structures in which adenosine is always linked to guanosine. These branched RNAs have been synthesized (T. Horn and M. S. Urdea Nucleic Acid. Res. (1989) 17:6959-6967; C. Sund, A. Foldesi, S.-I. Yamakage and J. Chattopahyaya, Nucleic Acid. Res. (1991) 9-12). The synthesis of branched nucleic acids has been extended to the synthesis of nucleic acid dendrimers (R. H. E. Hudson and M. J. Damha, J. Am. Chem. Soc. (1993) 113:2119-2124).
Oligonucleotide comb and fork structures have been used for analytical purposes (M. S. Urdea, B. Warner, J. A. Running, J. A. Kolberg, J. M. Clyne, R. Sanchez-Pescador and T. Horn (Chiron Corp.) PCT Int. Appl. No. WO 89/03,891 05 May 1989, U.S. application Ser. No. 109,282, Oct. 15, 1987. 112 pp).
All previously known supramolecular structures have some drawbacks. It is of interest to provide novel supramolecular structures that may be adapted for a variety of uses, including disease therapy, diagnostics, assays, and electronics.

Antiviral supramolecules containing target-binding molecules and therapeutic molecules bound to spectrin


The present invention provides a liquid crystal display device, comprising: a light source, a light guide plate having a light-exiting surface, a substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, a display area of the second surface comprising a pixel area and at least one non-pixel area, and a gap provided between the light-exiting surface of the light guide plate and the first surface of the substrate, wherein, at least one slot is provided on the light-exiting surface of the light guide plate; a part of the light generated by the light source and entering the light-exiting surface of the light guide plate, after being refracted by the slot and the gap sequentially, is refracted by the first surface of the substrate into the substrate, and then enters the pixel area. According to the present invention, it is able to change the light transmission path, thereby to effectively reduce the light entering a non-pixel area.

Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to the field of liquid crystal technology, in particular to a liquid crystal display device.
Description Of The Prior Art
Currently, the uniformity of light emission is mainly considered for the design of a backlight module. For example, a triangle-like (i.e., a shape similar to a triangle, including triangles, deformations and relevant shapes thereof) prism is used to make light emitting from a specific position of a backlight plate, and the light may be emitted mainly from an opening area of a liquid crystal panel through total reflection of the prism. The small-angle light emitted through the total reflection at a small angle, is mainly used for the backlight plate which the light source is side-placed. As shown in FIG. 1, the small-angle light is emitted from the light source, allowed to enter into an upper prism 12 through a lower prism 11, reflected by the total reflection surface of the upper prism 12, and then emerged from an opening of an upper liquid crystal panel 13.
Although the backlight plate in FIG. 1 is capable of emitting the light from a specific area at a small angle (mainly when the light source is side-placed), actually a part of the light will enter a non-pixel area (non-opening area) because a technology that a light beam is modulated to an opening area of the liquid crystal panel by total reflection is used. As a result, this part of the light will be absorbed by a black matrix and various films, which is unable to make effective use of the light.

HEFEI BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


Methods of thinning a plurality of semiconductor wafers and apparatuses for carrying out the same are disclosed. A grinding module within a set of grinding modules receives and grinds a semiconductor wafer. A polishing module receives the semiconductor wafer from the grinding module and polishes the wafer. The polishing module is configured to polish the semiconductor wafer in less time than the grinding module is configured to grind the corresponding wafer.

Often times in semiconductor wafer fabrication, after completion of various processes a semiconductor wafer has remaining substrate material that must be removed in a backgrinding process. During the backgrinding process, a spindle rotates a grinding wheel, while the substrate is either held stationary or is itself rotated. If there is a substantial amount of substrate to remove, a coarse grinding wheel is used that grinds the substrate to more rapidly remove the substrate material. For more precise control of the amount of substrate to be removed, a fine grinding wheel is used.
Generally after a backgrinding process has taken place, the semiconductor wafer then is polished and cleaned. In some systems, a single spindle is used to perform the coarse grinding, fine grinding and polishing processes sequentially. However, the coarse grinding often takes the greatest amount of time and creates a timing choke point, as the wafers can only be processed as quickly as the coarse grinding process can be performed. Other systems activate a polishing module to polish the wafer in place, but this too can only be carried out as quickly as the backgrinding process can be performed.

Modular grinding apparatuses and methods for wafer thinning

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.


Methods, systems, and media for partial downloading in wireless distributed networks are provided. In some embodiments, methods for selecting numbers of symbols to be transmitted on a plurality of channels are provided, the methods comprising: for each of the plurality of channels, calculating using a hardware processor an increase in power that will be used by that channel if it transmits a symbol; selecting one of the plurality of channels with the smallest increase in power using the hardware processor; and allocating the symbol to the one of the plurality of channels using the hardware processor.

Distributed storage systems are generally used to store data in a distributed manner to provide reliable access to the stored data. For example, a data file of size M can be divided into k fragments, each of size M/k. Each of the k fragments can be encoded and stored in a storage node of a distributed storage system. In such an example, the original data file can be recovered from a set of k encoded fragments. However, conventional approaches to reconstructing data stored in a distributed storage network have limited performance, especially for wireless distributed storage networks. For example, such approaches generally include downloading all of the symbols from a subset of the storage nodes. Such a full-downloading approach becomes inefficient in a wireless network, where wireless channels may not offer sufficient bandwidths for full downloading (e.g., due to channel fading). Moreover, full-downloading suffers from power constraints of the wireless network.

The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York


The present invention provides a transdermal drug delivery system which comprises: a therapeutically effective amount of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; at least one dermal penetration enhancer, which is a safe skin-tolerant ester sunscreen ester; and at least one volatile liquid. The invention also provides a method for administering at least one systemic or locally acting non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug to an animal which comprises applying an effective amount of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug in the form of the drug delivery system of the present invention.

There is a constant need for methods for the safe and effective administration of physiologically active agents, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. For many medications it is important that the administration regime is as simple and non-invasive as possible in order to maintain a high level of compliance by a patient. Oral administration is one administration regime that is commonly used because it is a relatively simple regime to follow. However, the oral administration route is also complicated because of complications associated with gastrointestinal irritation and with drug metabolism in the liver.
Administration of physiologically active agents through the skin ('transdermal drug delivery') has received increased attention because it not only provides a relatively simple dosage regime but it also provides a relatively slow and controlled route for release of a physiologically active agent into the systemic circulation. However, transdermal drug delivery is complicated by the fact that the skin behaves as a natural barrier and therefore transport of agents through the skin is a complex mechanism.
Structurally, the skin consists of two principle parts, a relatively thin outermost layer (the 'epidermis') and a thicker inner region (the 'dermis'). The outermost layer of the epidermis (the 'stratum corneum') consists of flattened dead cells which are filled with keratin. The region between the flattened dead cells of the stratum corneum are filled with lipids which form lamellar phases that are responsible for the natural barrier properties of the skin.
For effective transdermal delivery of a physiologically active agent that is applied to the surface of the skin ('topical application'), the agent must be partitioned firstly from the vehicle into the stratum corneum, it must typically then be diffused within the stratum corneum before being partitioned from the stratum corneum to the viable epidermis and then into the dermal circulation.
To overcome some of the problems with transdermal delivery that are associated with transport across the dermal layers ('percutaneous absorption'), physiologically active agents are commonly formulated with incorporation of one or more dermal penetration enhancers (Finnin and Morgan, J. Pharm. Sci., Vol 88, No. 10, October 1999, pp. 955-958) which are often lipophilic chemicals that readily partition into the stratum corneum whereupon they exert their effects on improving the transport of drugs across the skin barrier.
There is a need for improvements in the transdermal delivery of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Transdermal delivery of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs


A spindle motor (50) is composed of a base (8), a sleeve (4) in cylindrical shape that is fixed on the base (8), a shaft section (1) inserted into a through hole (4b) of the sleeve (4) that is rotatable with respect to the base (8), a hub (7) that rotates together with the shaft section (1), a radial dynamic pressure bearing section (RB) formed between a bushing (13) and the sleeve (4), a flange section (4a) that protrudes in a radial direction on an outer circumferential section of the sleeve (4), a wall section (7a) in annular shape that protrudes with surrounding the sleeve (4), a thrust ring (3) that is fixed on an inner circumferential section of the wall section (7a) being adjacent to the flange section (4a) and the bushing (13) in an axial direction, and a seal plate (17 fixed on an outer circumferential section of the sleeve (4) with sandwiching the thrust ring (3) between the flange section (4a) of the sleeve (4) and the seal plate (17) in an axial direction. The spindle motor (50) is furnished with a first thrust dynamic pressure bearing section (SB1), which is formed between confronting surfaces (3a, 4a1) of the thrust ring (3) and the flange section (4a), and a second thrust dynamic pressure bearing section (SB2), which is formed between confronting surfaces (3b, 17a) of the thrust ring (3) and the seal plate (17).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spindle motor that is furnished with a dynamic pressure bearing, particularly, relates to a spindle motor that is suitably installed in a slim disc device or a laser beam printer for driving it.
2. Description of the Related Art
A spindle motor has been demanded for stability at high velocity revolution and excellent durability. In order to cope with these demanded characteristics, a spindle motor, which is furnished with a dynamic pressure bearing device that employs fluidic lubricant, is generalized in the market.
On the other hand, sliming in profile is also demanded for a disc device such as a hard disc drive and a laser beam printer. As a result, a spindle motor; which is furnished with a dynamic pressure bearing device and installed in such a disc device or a laser beam printer, is obliged to be slimed in profile as thin as possible.
In this connection, the Japanese publication of unexamined patent applications No. 2001-65552 disclosed a spindle motor, which was aimed to be slim in profile. According to the spindle motor disclosed in the Japanese publication No. 2001-65552, a thrust bearing section is disposed on an outer circumferential surface of a sleeve, that is, outside a radial bearing section. Traditionally, such a thrust bearing section has been disposed on an end portion of a shaft.
In a conventional spindle motor, a radial bearing section is provided on an inner circumferential surface of a sleeve.
Further, both axial side surfaces of a protrusion section, which protrudes in the radial direction like a flange, are made to be a pair of thrust bearing sections. It shall be understood that these surfaces for the radial and thrust bearing sections are necessary to be formed with an extremely high degree of accuracy.
On the contrary, it is necessary for the conventional spindle motor to be formed with two extra surfaces for thrust bearing sections on the sleeve, which is already provided with a surface for the radial bearing section, in a direction that is perpendicular to the surface for the radial bearing section.
Accordingly, there exists a possible problem of deforming one surface for one thrust bearing section or the surface for the radial bearing section due to overloading while processing to form the one surface for the one thrust bearing section and to form the other surface for the other thrust bearing section thereafter.
In case the deforming occurs, vertical or horizontal degree of accuracy among the surfaces for the thrust and radial bearing sections is deteriorated, and resulting in increasing eccentricity of a shaft while rotating. In some cases, a rotor may contact with a stator, and possibly resulting in disabling a spindle motor to rotate. Consequently, the spindle motor is degraded in reliability.
Further, dynamic pressure is made to be uneven, and resulting in causing a problem of shortening life of the bearing.
Furthermore, in case such a spindle motor is installed in a disc device so as to drive a disc, error possibly occurs when information is recorded on or reproduced from a disc for recording, and possibly resulting in a problem such that recording or reproducing information in high density is difficult.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A polarity-reversal protector for power sources, in particular for automobile batteries, which is connected between a power source and at least one consumer and/or at least one generator, is described. The polarity-reversal protector is to prevent the reverse polarity current from flowing through the connected systems, so that the systems may not be damaged in case of polarity reversal. For this purpose, the polarity-reversal protector includes means for recognizing whether the two poles of the power source are connected to the appropriate terminals of the consumer and/or generator, and means for decoupling the power source from the consumer and/or from the generator if the two poles of the power source have been transposed during connection to the consumer and/or generator.

A polarity-reversal protector of this type can, in principle, be used in connection with power sources for greatly varying applications. The mode of operation and advantages of such a polarity-reversal protector are explained in the following on the basis of the example of a power source used in motor vehicle technology, specifically an automobile battery and/or a power source which temporarily replaces the automobile battery. The automobile battery is typically only installed and connected to the vehicle electrical system directly before the motor vehicle is put into operation, so that it can supply multiple consumers with power and is also recharged again and again via a generator, the dynamo. During the vehicle manufacturing, the vehicle testing, and even during transport, an external power source, which then temporarily fulfills the function of the automobile battery, is connected to the vehicle electrical system only if necessary. However, even after a motor vehicle is put into operation, it can be necessary to bypass the automobile battery temporarily using an external power source, when a starting aid is used, for example.
In all of these cases, the poles of the particular power source to be connected are transposed again and again in practice, which is referred to as polarity reversal. Overheating of parts of the generator and even destruction of the generator, for example, can occur in this case. In addition, surrounding systems of the vehicle electrical system can be destroyed by the local generation of heat. Overall, polarity reversal represents a danger for the safety of all connected systems and also of the power source itself.

Polarity-reversal protection circuit for energy sources


A crush resistant cartridge case comprises a case shell having left and right halves. Each halve of the case shell contains a rigid insert having a flat portion with a rib extending substantially around the perimeter of the flat portion. The rigid inserts in the left and right halves of the case shell come together when the case shell is closed and provide resistance against crushing.

Removable disk cartridges for storing digital electronic information typically comprise an outer casing or shell that houses a magnetic, magneto-optical or optical disk upon which electronic information can be stored. The cartridge shell often comprises upper and lower halves that are joined together to house the disk. The disk is mounted on a hub that rotates freely within the cartridge. When the cartridge is inserted into a disk drive, a spindle motor in the drive engages with the disk hub in order to rotate the disk within the cartridge at a given speed. The outer shell of the cartridge typically has an aperture near one edge to provide the recording heads of the drive with access to the disk. A shutter or door mechanism is often provided to cover the aperture when the cartridge is not in use to prevent dust or other contaminants from entering the cartridge and settling on the recording surface of the disk.
Removable disk cartridges are often carried in cases by users, and are also often sold in cases to protect the cartridge during shipment, etc. Prior art cartridge cases do not provide sufficient protection against crushing. For example, typical prior art cartridge cases have flat cardboard inserts that provide stiffness for the top and bottom surfaces of the cartridge case, but do not provide a means of protecting the contents from crushing. Accordingly, there is a need for a crush resistant cartridge case. The present invention satisfies this need.


Surgical tools and kits are disclosed for repairing hyaline or meniscal cartilage, using membrane segments to protect and promote the growth and activity of cartilage-generating cells. These kits include: (i) a set of dilator tubes, adapted from similar tubes used in spinal surgery except shorter, that will allow a surgeon to progressively enlarge an insertion tunnel for inserting a membrane segment into an articulating joint that is being repaired; and, (ii) an assortment of membrane “tamping” devices, with smooth rounded “tamping heads” (or tips, etc.), and with a size and length that allow the tool tip to pass through the longest dilator tube while being held by the surgeon. Additional components (including disposable supplies) that can help facilitate these types of surgery can be included in any such kit, or in “supplemental” kits that can be bundled and shipped with these “primary” kits.

This invention is in the field of disposable supplies and equipment for use during specialized types of orthopedic surgery and "sports medicine".
Extensive work has been done by surgeons and researchers to develop ways to treat and repair damaged hyaline and meniscal cartilage in articulating joints. Articulating joints include joints in which two relatively thin layers of cartilage (which cover specialized bone surfaces called "condyles") press and slide against each other, in a manner which is lubricated by synovial fluid (accordingly, articulating joints also are called synovial joints). Articulating joints include knees, hips, shoulders, elbows, ankles, wrists, fingers, etc. They exclude spinal joints and spinal discs, which contain a very different type of cartilage that prevents, rather than enables, sliding motion, since sliding motion involving spinal discs would severely damage the spinal cord. In addition, the types of cartilage that are present in noses, ears, and windpipes are excluded from any discussion or coverage herein, since those types of cartilage are not involved in the types of "articulating" motion that involve compression and sliding.
Hyaline and meniscal cartilage do not have a normal blood supply, and if they become damaged due to injury or disease, they have only a very limited (and in most cases inadequate) ability to regrow, regenerate, or repair themselves, in ways comparable to other types of bodily tissues or bones. Accordingly, the various approaches that have been developed for surgically repairing and/or replacing damaged cartilage, in articulating (synovial) joints, can be divided into two main categories, which can be referred to as either mechanical or biological methods.
As suggested by the name, mechanical methods generally involve: (i) removal of the damaged cartilage, and (ii) replacement with a mechanical device. These types of operations are exemplified by conventional knee replacement implants (which are used in a type of surgery that is often referred to as "total knee replacement" or "TKR" surgery), and conventional hip replacement implants. In either situation, two cartilage segments will be involved, and in nearly all cases, both segments will need to be replaced, since a damaged surface on either segment will quickly begin to abrade and damage the other cartilage segment which the damaged surface presses and slides against. Accordingly, when damaged knee cartilage must be repaired by means of a "total knee replacement", the cartilage segments (as well as a segment of supporting bone, directly beneath the hyaline cartilage layers) on both the "femoral runner" (i.e., at the bottom end of the thigh bone) and the "tibial plateau" (i.e., at the top end of the shin bone) usually must be repaired, and the surgeon will decide whether to also replace the patellar (kneecap) cartilage during that same operation.
In contrast, biological methods for cartilage repair that are of interest today involve transplanting certain types of specialized cells (usually harvested from elsewhere in the body of the same patient, to avoid rejection by the immune system) directly onto a damaged cartilage surface. The types of cells that are used for these types of purposes are able to generate and secrete the specialized types of collagen that create the main structures of hyaline or meniscal cartilage. Several such types of cells are known, and they include cells referred to as mesenchymal cells, subchondral cells, and "bone marrow stem cells". If desired, any of these types of cells can be called "stem cells" or "precursor cells", since they are "partially differentiated" cells that can be induced, by certain types of known hormones, to rapidly complete a "maturation process" that will cause them to convert, fully and finally, into cartilage-generating cells. Alternately, they can be referred to as "stromal precursor cells"; the root word "stroma" refers to "structural", and "stromal precursor cells" have reached a stage of differentiation where they can mature into any of various types of "structural" cells, including the types of cells that can help regenerate cartilage.
Accordingly, most biological approaches for repairing cartilage usually involve the following steps:
(1) harvesting a batch of cells that will contain a substantial number of one of more types of stem (precursor) cells that can mature into cartilage-generating cells. This can be done via a "bone marrow aspiration", which uses a relatively large needle that is inserted into the marrow region inside a large bone, such as the pelvic bone, usually under local anesthesia;
(2) treating the aspirated cell mixture, in one or more ways that will concentrate the stem cells from the initial batch of cells while reducing unwanted materials (such as extracellular fat, lymph fluid, and unwanted types of cells);
(3) contacting the concentrated stem cell preparation with at least one hormone which will help convert the semi-mature stem cells into cells that will actively generate and secrete the type of collagen fibers that form hyaline or meniscal cartilage; and,
(4) implanting the hormone-treated cells into the damaged joint, in a manner that will be intended to cause the cells to be positioned in the desired location, and to remain in that location for a sustained period of time, even after the repaired cartilage segment is subjected to compressive loadings and sliding-type motion.
A recent medical advance has created a new and apparently improved way to help surgeons achieve the fourth numbered step listed above (i.e., emplacing the hormone-treated cells on a damaged cartilage surface, in a manner that will help them stay in that targeted location, even after the cartilage segment is subjected to compressive loadings and sliding-type motion). That advance involves the use of certain types of membranes that can be harvested from human placentas, and/or from the so-called "amniotic sac" which surrounds and encloses both the fetus, and the amniotic fluid which surrounds the fetus, inside a mother's womb (i.e., uterus).
The placenta is the mass of tissue (occasionally referred to as "the only disposable mammalian organ") which forms the interface between a growing fetus, and the internal surface of the maternal womb/uterus. In a normal and healthy childbirth, the placenta detaches from the uterine wall soon after the baby is born, and it is then expelled from the uterus (usually with the aid of a surgeon or midwife exerting a gentle tugging force on the umbilical cord) as a generally gelatinous mass of tissue (which is often called "the afterbirth"). In most births, it is simply discarded, as a form of medical waste. However, some years ago, some researchers and companies began analyzing and experimenting with placental tissue, motivated by the realization that it contains a rich supply of "multi-potent" and even some "omni-potent" (or "toti-potent") stem cells that might become very useful, for various medical and biological purposes, if harvested and processed carefully. Furthermore, research into placental tissue also disclosed that it is generally shielded and protected against attack by a host's immune system, if it is transplanted into some other adult human. This is entirely logical, within the field of biology, since otherwise, any embryo that begins to grow within any female might otherwise be recognized (and then attacked) as a foreign invader, by the mother's immune system.
The amniotic sac is classified as a type or category of placental tissue, by doctors; therefore, amniotic membranes are included within any references to placental tissues or membranes.
Similarly, the umbilical cord also is a type or category of placental tissue. Therefore, any membranes derived from an umbilical cord also are included within any references to placental tissues or membranes.
Accordingly, various types of membrane segments derived from placental tissues (including amniotic or umbilical membranes, as noted above) can be harvested and treated in ways that render them potentially useful for tissue transplant recipients. Several companies have been created which specifically sell placental membranes for use in surgery; examples include Skye Biologics Inc. (skyebiologics.com); Amniox Medical Inc. (amnioxmedical.com); MiMedx Group Inc. (mimedx.com); Alliqua BioMedical Inc. (alliqua.com); Osiris Therapeutics Inc. (osiris.com); Applied Biologics Inc. (appliedbiologics.com), Burst Biologics LLC (burstbiologics.com), and BioD LLC (biodlogics.com). In addition, relevant articles have begun to appear in the medical literature, including 2 recent review articles (Riboh et al 2016, and McIntyre et al 2017), which review and describe various reports on early efforts to test and use placental membranes to repair tendon or ligament injuries in adults.
Another class of tissue-repair membranes that also merit evaluation and testing for this type of use can be called "collagen-derived" membranes. These types of membranes can be manufactured by using, as a starting material, collagen fibers from a natural source. Since collagen is the fibrous extra-cellular protein that holds together soft tissues in all mammals, large supplies of collagen are readily available in tissues that can be harvested, in sanitary conditions, in specialized tissue-harvesting facilities that can be installed in slaughterhouses that process cattle or pigs. As just one example, the Stryker company (stryker.com) sells "TissueMend Soft Tissue Repair Matrix" membranes, with collagen obtained from tendons in cow legs, for use in treating injured tendons or ligaments. Accordingly, any such membrane with biologically-derived collagen which has been shown to be useful in helping heal and regenerate one or more types of wounds or injuries, in mammals, can be used with the types of tools and devices described herein.
Most current uses for placental and/or collagen-derived membranes in human patients involve treating chronic soft-tissue wounds or defects, such as lingering skin ulcers, urological repairs, and repairs for injured tendons or ligaments. However, a few researchers recently have begun trying to extend the use of placental or similar membranes into a new and different medical field, involving the repair of hyaline cartilage in articulating joints. As of early 2016, all such research involving cartilage repair, as reported in respected medical journals, apparently has been limited to animal tests. Examples of such reports include Garcia et al 2014 (tested on sheep), Liu et al 2014 (tested on rats), and Nogami et al 2016 (tested on rats); all of those tests involved knee joints, since cartilage surfaces inside knee joints are close to the outer skin surface, and are relatively easy to access and manipulate. All of those reports (and various others in the field of cartilage repair) indicate promising results, but they also indicate that this particular line of research will need a great deal of additional testing and evaluation, before it is ready to be seriously proposed and considered for clinical trials on humans.
Despite the very early and exploratory status of that work, it has drawn the attention of the Applicant herein, a surgeon and Doctor of Osteopathy who specializes in the branch of medicine that has become widely known as "sports medicine." He is the Team Physician for two different professional teams (in two different sports) that compete at the highest levels of professional sports in the US, and he has devoted a large part of his career to searching for the best possible ways to use various types of stem (precursor) cells to help professional athletes, and regular people, recover and regain strength, mobility, and unimpaired performance as quickly as possible, after injuries. Accordingly, based on his knowledge of how different types of precursor cells work, and how they can and should be handled in arthroscopic surgery and "sports medicine", he already has become convinced that placental membranes offer great promise in treating injured or diseased cartilage, if the right types of tools and techniques can be developed to enable their optimal use and application (and that is the focus and purpose of this invention).
As a brief digression, the medical specialty called "sports medicine" focuses on treating muscles, joints, bones, and other structural tissues (as distinct from internal organs) in ways that minimize cutting, as much as possible, and that uses tools such as needles, syringes, and thin tubes as much as possible, rather than blades or cutting. Cutting through any soft tissue or bone (even when done with highly specialized tools and instruments, as in arthroscopic surgery) will always and inevitably disrupt the vasculature (i.e., the complex network of blood vessels, including capillaries and other "micro-vasculature" components that are too small to see without magnification), as well as nerve fibers and the neuromuscular interfaces that are present in the affected tissues. The tissue damage and disruption caused by cutting can be minimized (and in many cases avoided completely) if the same or similar results can be obtained by using hypodermic needles, syringes, and similar "minimally invasive" devices to withdraw and/or emplace fluids or fluidized materials (including cell preparations which are so densely packed that they may have a paste-like consistency) from (or into) precisely targeted locations.
As a rule of thumb, a needle puncture can and will heal within a day or two, completely, and with essentially no lasting damage of any sort, so long as it was performed properly. By contrast, if an injured tissue site that includes muscles, tendons, and ligaments must be cut open, by a scalpel blade, the site will take at least a week (and often much, much longer) to heal; and, because of factors such as scar tissue formation and misalignment of collagen fibers that had to be severed and then "rejoined by approximation", the complex arrangement of muscles, tendons, and ligaments at that site will almost never will heal as strongly and as "properly" as they were, in their pre-injured, pre-cut condition.
Accordingly, the Applicant is working at the forefront of efforts to develop and adapt new discoveries into supplies, equipment, and methods that will make it easier for hundreds or even thousands of surgeons and other doctors to begin using new types of tools and agents, quickly, efficiently, and in ways that will minimize the damage caused by outdated, no-longer-optimal surgical methods, as well as the risks and frequencies of oversights, errors, and other problems that arise when outdated, non-optimal surgically-invasive procedures are used.
One of the most common and well-known ways to accomplish that goal is through devices called "surgical kits", or simply "kits". These devices (which fall with the "article of manufacture" category in patent terminology, and which can also be called assemblies, assemblages, packaged (or sealed) assemblages, etc.) typically gather together all of the disposable supplies and reagents that a surgeon will need, in order to perform a specific type of surgical and/or injection procedure, as well as any items or supplies that a typical surgical clinic and/or operating room would not routinely have on hand. All of those components are gathered together in one or more watertight, airtight, sterile, sealed envelopes. In essentially all cases, unless a specific need compels some other arrangement, any surgical kit will have a clear plastic sheet on its upper surface, and all of the items will be arrayed in a clear and organized manner beneath that clear layer, so that a surgeon or assistant can clearly see everything that is contained in that particular kit, before opening it (which loses the assurance of sterility, and which would effectively render a kit worthless if it must be returned to the manufacturer or distributor, in opened form).
Those common traits apply to essentially all types of surgical kits. However, after that set of shared traits passes into the background, any other traits that apply to surgical kits designed for specific usages can vary widely. Some types of kits can be mass-manufactured, and can have shelf-lives of months or even years, while some other types of kits (such as kits that contain viable cells, membranes, or other biologic materials) must be custom-manufactured, and must be assembled, packaged with dry ice to keep certain components frozen, shipped via urgent delivery methods, and used within (for example) 18, 24, or 48 hours, depending on the types of cells or other biologic materials. Indeed, some kits can be completely unique, and can include cells or tissues that were harvested a few days earlier from the same patient who will then receive them back again, in modified form; those types of kits can be custom-assembled by a specialist at a high-tech specialty laboratory, based on detailed discussions with the surgeon who will be performing the procedure, to enable a single specific operation on a known individual patient. The common thread, in determining whether something falls within the industry definition of "surgical kit", is whether a set of components, tools, supplies, reagents, compounds, or other materials or devices, is gathered together within one or more sealed sterile packages which are designed and intended to render it easier for a surgeon to make sure that all of the supplies, tools, reagents, or other non-standard items that the surgeon is likely to need, while performing some specific procedure, are on hand and readily available at the start of a surgical procedure.
Based on his past experiences, encounters, and expertise in this field (which include performing numerous operations of this same general type, but with different types of biological materials), the Applicant herein has recognized that:
(i) certain types of tools adapted from other fields of orthopedic surgery (notably including spinal surgery, which is very different from knee surgery; almost no surgeons attempt to perform both types of surgery) could become very useful, if modified in ways that would render them better-suited for use in surgery involving articulating joints and hyaline cartilage, rather than spines; and,
(ii) certain additional types of tools also should be added to and included within the types of kits contemplated herein, to make it easier for surgeons to handle and emplace segments of placental membranes, and possibly other types of membranes that may be discovered and/or developed in the future for promoting the transplantation of cartilage-generating cells into articulating joints.
Prior to listing the objects of this invention, several items of terminology should be addressed briefly.
"Surgery" (and any related terms, such as surgical, surgeon, etc.) are used herein to refer to any type of medical procedure that is used to repair hyaline or meniscal cartilage, if the procedure involves the manipulation of one or more types of cohesive tissue (such as a segment of placental membrane) or tissue substitute (such as a synthetic membrane which is designed and manufactured as a cell implantation aid for cartilage repair). Minimally invasive surgery (i.e., arthroscopic) surgery qualifies; however, injections of liquefied substances (even if they contain cells) through needles are not included in "surgery" as used herein.
Hyaline cartilage includes any type of cartilage that presses and slides against another segment of cartilage in an "articulating" manner (i.e., which normally is lubricated by synovial fluid) in an articulating joint. It does not include cartilage of the type that forms spinal discs.
As used herein, for brevity and convenience, the term "hyaline cartilage" is deemed to also include the meniscal cartilage segments that are found in knee joints, and the labral cartilage segments that are found in hip and shoulder joints. Meniscal and labral cartilage segments have three traits that distinguish them from the type of true hyaline cartilage that directly covers a bone surface. Those three traits are:
(1) meniscal and labral cartilage segments have substantially thicker cross-sections, compared to the relatively thin layers of hyaline cartilage which form a direct coating on a "condyle" surface of a bone. In general, a hyaline cartilage coating, which functions as a lubricated protective surface, is comparable to a coat of paint, on a piece of wood, and it needs to be thin, to reduce the chance that it will become damaged or torn. By contrast, the role and purpose of the much thicker meniscal and labral segments of cartilage is to keep the bones within a movable-but-constrained path of motion, within a complicated joint (i.e., the knees, the hips, and the shoulders).
(2) As a direct result of the point made above, the meniscal and labral cartilage are made from a different type of cartilage (called fibro-cartilage) which has much longer internal reinforcing protein strands than hyaline cartilage; and,
(3) meniscal and labral cartilage have different supporting structures, to attach those longer, thicker, more complex segments to their supporting bones, compared to hyaline cartilage.
Nevertheless, meniscal and labral cartilage segments are crucial components of the knee, hip, and shoulder joints, and because of the frequency of injuries to meniscal or labral cartilage, any surgeon who repairs knee, hip, or shoulder joints must and will be able to work on meniscal or labral cartilage. Therefore, the same types of kits disclosed herein for repairing hyaline cartilage will be equally useful for repairing injured or damaged meniscal or labral cartilage, and any references herein to procedures or kits for repairing hyaline cartilage are merely shortened for convenience, and to avoid repetition, and are intended to also apply to repair of (and to kits for repairing) meniscal or labral cartilage segments, as well.
Accordingly, one object of this invention is to disclose improved types of surgical kits that can make it easier to surgeons to rapidly and reliably carry out hyaline, meniscal, or labral cartilage repairs involving transplanted cells and biological materials, rather than just mechanical parts.
Another object of this invention is to disclose improved surgical kits that are specifically optimized for handling hyaline or meniscal cartilage repairs that utilize placental membrane segments.
These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent through the following summary and description.

Surgical tools and kits for cartilage repair using placental, amniotic, or similar membranes


In one embodiment, a method comprises adding a plurality of soybeans to an extractor, the soybeans having an average protein:oil ratio of greater than 2.3, heating the soybeans, removing hulls from the plurality of soybeans, and grinding the plurality of soybeans with water at a temperature between 180° F. and 190° F. to yield a soy extract having hexanal levels of less than 50 parts per billion (ppb).

Soy-based food products (e.g., soymilk) may have beany and/or cereal-like taste characteristics that may be unfavorable to consumers. These taste characteristics may be the result of lipid oxidation during processing, packaging, and/or storage of the products. One indicator of lipid oxidation may include hexanal levels in the soy extract used to create the soy-based food products. Past methods of reducing hexanal levels have focused on methods such as the use of Ultra High Temperature (UHT) pasteurization for a few seconds followed by vacuum cooling. However, these methods have produced limited results in lowering hexanal levels in soy-based food products.

Taste characteristics in soy-based food products using high-protein soybeans


A fault recovering method for substituting an instruction processor (IP) for a system supporting processor to execute processing thereof when the system supporting processor fails. An apparatus implementing this processing method comprises a plurality of processors, at least one of which is operated as a system supporting processor (SSP) and the rest of which are operated as instruction processors. When the SSP fails, an interrupt is generated to an OS running on at least one IP. The OS recognizes that a fault occurred in the IP, abnormally terminates an application program which has been running on the IP when the interrupt was generated, or stops instruction processing as the IP falling into a hardware failure state, or input a command for disconnecting an alternate instruction processor for the system supporting processor, so that the IP takes over functions of the SSP.

The present invention relates generally to a processor fault recovering method for an information processing system of a multiprocessor configuration, and more particularly to a processor fault recovering method for an information processing system which recovers a failed processor control program when a fixed fault occurs in a processor.
In recent years, the advance of computer systems enhances the utilization of computer systems in a variety of fields, and utilization forms thereof have become increasingly complicated. Thus, a system down would cause larger influences on the society, so that a high reliability is required to the computer systems.
Known as techniques for providing a high reliability required for the computer systems are a recovery technique implemented by retry or the like for intermittent faults of processors, a relief technique utilizing redundancy of components for eliminating fixed faults of processors, and so on in an information processing system having a multiprocessor configuration in which a single operating system runs on a plurality of processors.
In addition, as the prior art related to a processing execution control method, there is, for example, JP-A-2-266457 and so on. This prior art method is applied to a multiprocessor-based information processing system, when a fixed fault occurs in a processor, for creating a virtual processor with a normal processor such that the virtual processor takes over the processing so far executed by the failed processor to avoid a system down and prevent the processing under execution from being interrupted.
On the other hand, as the prior art related to a processing succession method for a computer system having a loosely coupled multiprocessor configuration, techniques described, for example, in JP-A-60-54052 and so on are known. This prior art method utilizes a shared memory through which another normal processor takes over management information from a failed processor, thereby allowing the processing to be continuously executed.
Further, as the prior art related to the relief of the processing affected by a fixed fault of a processor, techniques described, for example, in JP-A-5-108391 and so on are known. Specifically, the disclosed method is applied to a computer system having a multiprocessor configuration, wherein an instruction so far executed by a processor affected by a fixed fault is executed by another normal processor to relieve the processing which has been once interrupted by a fault, without using embedded correction codes.
Furthermore, as the prior art related to a fault tolerant computer system having multiple processors, techniques described, for example, in JP-A-2-202636-203638 and so on are known. The disclosed techniques are such that a multiprocessor configuration is employed to multiplex processing and data to achieve a fault tolerant system.
Additionally, techniques described, for example, in JP-A-4-213736 and so on are known as further prior art techniques. This prior art describes a data processing apparatus having a dual processor configuration which is composed of an active processor and a backup processor such that when the active processor fails, the backup processor resumes the processing taken over from the active processor from the reliable latest check point.
As mentioned above, a fault tolerant computer system generally relies on a processor or software redundant configuration and a mutual diagnosis on faults to enable a backup processor to continue the processing when a fault occurs or when a processor is switched to another one. The fault tolerant computer system has a plurality of processors which run the same operating system and execute the same process to improve the reliability. However, because of its redundancy, the fault tolerant computer system has an extremely complicated system configuration.

Processor fault recovering method for information processing system


A logic circuit device includes a superconductive body formed of a ceramic superconductive material. The ceramic superconductive material has random grain boundaries which act as weak couplings. The ceramic superconductive material also has a magneto-resistive property. There is at least one conductor arranged near the ceramic superconductive body in order to exert a magnetic field on the ceramic superconductive body. The ceramic superconductive body changes its resistance in response to the magnetic field generated by the conductor. The ceramic superconductive body can be used as part of a logic circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to logic circuit device using at least one superconductor material.
2. Description of Prior Art
A Josephson device is well known as a logic circuit device which uses a superconductor and it has a layered structure so an extremely thin insulation film is sandwiched between superconductors made of a Nb or Pb alloy.
However, it becomes necessary to make the thickness of the insulation film thin to an order of 10 .ANG.s in order to obtain an effective Josephson devices since a very high technique for manufacturing the thin film is needed.
Although Josephson device has a technical advantage in that it shows a very quick response, it is not advantageous for practical use since a change in the output level thereof is small.


A receiver, such as a miniaturized microwave-photonic coherent receiver (MMPR) is disclosed. The receiver includes an antenna to output an electrical RF signal received on a section of the antenna, a laser to produce an optical signal, a photonic modulator to receive the optical signal and the electrical RF signal and produce an EO-RF signal and to receive the optical signal and an electrical LO signal and produce an EO-LO signal, a signal combiner to provide a combined EO-RF and EO-LO signal and a photodiode to receive the combined signal and produce an IF signal. A method of detecting an object using the MMPR includes receiving an electrical RF signal corresponding to the object, outputting the electrical RF signal to a photonic modulator, modulating the electrical RF signal onto an optical carrier, demodulating the electrical RF signal to produce an IF signal and processing the IF signal.

1. Field
The subject matter presented herein relates generally to receivers, and more particularly, to radar receivers employing photonic components.
2. Description of Related Art
Miniature missiles for hit-to-kill defense against mortars and rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) are desired with on-board seekers, achieving end-game accuracy without external target illumination assets. Storage of many rounds for frequent encounters in raid or urban environments and minimizing collateral damage are drivers for smaller hit-to-kill missiles. Size restrictions of miniature missiles are extreme, with 1″-2″ diameters making grams and cubic millimeters valuable. However, known systems can suffer from multipath effects in urban/RPG environments (monopulse centroid displacement) and wide noise bandwidth.


Various solutions for maintaining a radio resource control (RRC) connection with respect to user equipment and network apparatus in mobile communications are described. An apparatus may establish an RRC connection with a network node. The apparatus may transmit a layer 2 packet to maintain the RRC connection after a period of time without data transmission. The apparatus may transmit uplink data via the RRC connection without re-establishing the RRC connection.

Unless otherwise indicated herein, approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims listed below and are not admitted as prior art by inclusion in this section.
In Long-Term Evolution (LTE), a user equipment (UE) may establish an RRC connection with a network apparatus. The UE may be able to transmit uplink (UL) data or receive downlink (DL) data via the RRC connection in a RRC connected mode. When there is no data transmission, the UE may enter into an RRC idle mode for power saving. Alternatively, after a period of time without data transmission, the network apparatus will release the RRC connection to save radio resources and UE's power.
When the UE is in the RRC idle mode or the RRC connection is released, the UE is not able to perform UL/DL data transmissions. The UE may need to establish/re-establish the RRC connection for further UL/DL data transmissions. However, the establishment/re-establishment procedure may cause extra latency. For some scenarios or applications, such extra latency may seriously affect the performance of the UE or the user experiences.
Accordingly, how to reduce end-to-end latency for certain scenarios or applications may become a new issue in developing a communication system. It is needed to provide proper mechanisms to maintain the RRC connection between the UE and the network apparatus for avoiding additional latency due to connection re-establishment procedures.

Method and apparatus for maintaining radio resource control connection in mobile communications


An MOSFET (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor) and a method for fabricating the same in which charge trap is prevented at sidewall spacer of a gate insulating film are disclosed, the MOSFET including a gate insulating film and a gate electrode successively formed on a semiconductor substrate of first conductivity type; an insulating sidewall spacer formed on sides of the gate electrode; a vacuum region formed between the semiconductor substrate and the insulating sidewall spacer; and source/drain regions formed beneath surface of the semiconductor substrate at side of the gate electrode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method for fabricating the same and, more particularly, to an MOSFET (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor) and a method for fabricating the same in which charge trap is prevented at sidewall spacer of a gate insulating film.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
It is constructed in a general MOS (metal oxide semiconductor) device that a oxide (SiO.sub.2) film is formed on the surface of semiconductor (silicon) and metal is formed thereon. In an FET (field effect transistor), a gate insulating film made of oxide and a gate electrode are successively formed on a silicon substrate of first conductivity type, and source and drain regions are formed beneath the surface of the silicon substrate.
An MOSFET serves to control current (channel current) flowing between source and drain by potential of a gate electrode.
A background MOSFET will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a background MOSFET, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure of the MOSFET taken along line I-I' of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure of a the MOSFET taken along line II-II', and FIGS. 4A to 4D are cross-sectional views showing process steps of a method for fabricating the MOSFET taken along line I-I'.
In an n channel MOSFET, a field oxide film 2 is formed on a p type semiconductor substrate 1 of a field region. A gate insulating film 3, a gate electrode 5, and a cap gate insulating film 5 are formed on the substrate 1 of an active region. A sidewall spacer 7 is formed on sides of the gate insulating film 3, the gate electrode 4, and the cap gate insulating film. n type lightly doped impurity regions 6 are formed beneath the surface of the semiconductor substrate 1 beneath the sidewall spacer 7. n type heavily doped impurity regions 8, which are used as source and drain regions, are formed at side of the sidewall spacer 7.
A method for fabricating a background n channel MOSFET having the aforementioned structure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring initially to FIG. 4A, a field oxide film 2 is formed on a p type semiconductor substrate 1 of a field region. A gate insulating film 3, made of an oxide film, is formed on the substrate 1 of an active region.
Referring to FIG. 4B, a gate electrode 4 and a cap gate insulating film 5 are formed on a predetermined area of the gate insulating film 3. With the gate electrode 4 and the cap gate insulating film 5 serving as masks, n type impurity ions are lightly implanted.
Referring to FIG. 4C, an insulating film is deposited on the entire surface and then anisotropically etched, thus forming an insulating sidewall spacer 7 on the sides of the gate electrode 4 and the cap gate insulating film 5.
Referring to FIG. 4D, n type impurity ions are heavily implanted with the cap gate insulating film 5 and the insulating sidewall spacer 7 serving as masks, so that n type impurity regions 8, which are source/drain regions, are formed beneath the surface of the semiconductor substrate 1 at the side of the insulating sidewall spacer 7.
The operations of such a background MOSFET will be described below.
A background MOSFET is an LDD MOSFET in which a gate insulating film 3 is formed between a semiconductor substrate 1 and a gate electrode 4 and an insulating sidewall spacer 7 and source/drain regions include lightly doped impurity regions 6 and heavily doped impurity regions 8. Thus, if a voltage of bigger than a threshold voltage is applied to the gate electrode 4, a channel is formed at the semiconductor substrate under the gate electrode 4 so that current flows between source and drain.
In this LDD MOSFET, drain electric field at edge of the gate electrode can be decreased by the resistance of lightly doped impurity regions in comparison with an SD (single drain) structure. Thus, the device performance declined due to hot carrier can be improved.
The background MOSFET has the following problems. Since an oxide film is formed between a substrate and an insulating sidewall spacer, charge trap is generated at the interface of the insulating sidewall spacer and the oxide film and in the oxide film so that the device performance becomes deteriorated.

Semiconductor device and method for fabricating the same


Fabrication methods and resulting structures for single and double diffusion breaks are provided. Aspects include forming one or more fins on a substrate, the substrate including a first region and a second region, forming a plurality of sacrificial gate structures over channel regions associated with the one or more fins, forming a single diffusion break cavity in the first region of the substrate, forming a double diffusion break cavity in the second region of the substrate, depositing a first dielectric material in the single diffusion break cavity, and depositing a second dielectric material in the double diffusion break cavity.

The present invention generally relates to fabrication methods and resulting structures for semiconductor devices. More specifically, the present invention relates to fabrication methods and resulting structures for single and double diffusion breaks.
A metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) is a transistor used for amplifying or switching electronic signals. The MOSFET has a source, a drain, and a metal oxide gate electrode. The metal gate is electrically insulated from the main semiconductor n-channel or p-channel by a thin layer of insulating material, for example, silicon dioxide or glass, which makes the input resistance of the MOSFET relatively high. The gate voltage controls whether the path from drain to source is an open circuit ("off") or a resistive path ("on"). A fin type field effect transistor (FET) is a type of nonplanar MOSFET. FinFET devices include an arrangement of fins disposed on a substrate. The fins are formed from a semiconductor material. A gate stack is arranged over the fins and defines a channel region of the fins, while regions of the fins extending outwardly from the channel region define active source and drain regions of the device. Various state-of-the-art techniques can be used for forming the fin.

Forming single and double diffusion breaks

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A door closer comprises a housing containing a cylinder and two movable pistons. When the associated door is opened, both of the pistons and the cylinder are moved relative to the housing to draw oil into the cylinder. Expulsion of oil from the cylinder through an orifice on closing of the door controls the closing movement.

From one aspect, the present invention relates to the use of a damper for controlling the swinging of a pivoted door. There are known dampers which are used for controlling the swinging of a door and which comprise a cam and follower mechanism, the cam being connected with the door to turn with the door and the follower being urged by a spring towards the cam so that the spring is compressed when the door is opened and the spring urges the door to swing towards the closed position. The damper restricts the speed of closing.
A damper which is suitable for controlling the swinging of a door in either of two opposite directions from a closed position is disclosed in United Kingdom specification 852213 published Oct. 26th 1960. The damper disclosed in this specification comprises a housing within a body is guided for reciprocation relative to the housing. Springs urge the body in one direction relative to the housing. A pair of cylindrical chambers are formed in the body, these chambers having respective axes which are inclined to each other and to the direction of reciprocation of the body. Each chamber contains a piston carrying a respective follower which bears on a common cam. The cam is rotatable relative to the housing with an operating member of the damper. Damping action is achieved by restricting the rate at which oil can escape from one of the cylindrical chambers through a respective orifice. The volume of the chambers is small, as compared with that of the housing.
For closing and holding closed large and heavy doors, there is a requirement for a door closer having a strong spring. There is also a requirement to restrict the overall dimensions of the door closer. It is possible to provide a strong spring in a housing of acceptable size. However, it is more difficult to provide an adequate damping action in a door closer having a cam and follower mechanism and a strong spring, if the throw of the cam is restricted by the overall dimensions of the door closer. Typically, the throw of the cam of a door closer having acceptable overall dimensions cannot be more than about 20 mm. To compensate for the limited throw of the cam, it has been proposed to amplify the movement by means of a lever and apply the amplified movement to the damper. An example of a damper incorporating a lever is disclosed in United Kingdom specification 905686 published Sep. 12th 1962. However, this arrangement is not entirely satisfactory. The present invention provides an alternative damper arrangement which is more satisfactory than is the use of a lever.


A video data recording apparatus detects a change in an attribute of a signal input with video data, generates management information showing a position in which the change was detected, and records the management information to a recording medium. The video data playback apparatus reads and plays back the video data up to the position shown in the management information recorded on the recording medium.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital video recording apparatus and a method for recording audio and to video signals to a recording medium digitally.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, when using a function of digital video recording apparatuses which stops recording of commercials (hereinafter "commercial cut recording"), a time lag occurs between recording and until recording actually stops, meaning that sound and images are recorded during this time lag.
The following is an explanation of a digital video recording apparatus that records and plays backs broadcasts.
FIG. 1 is a function block diagram of a digital video recording apparatus.
In the figure, a digital video recording apparatus 10 is composed of a user interface unit 11, an input unit 12, an output unit 13, a detection unit 14, an encoder unit 15, a decoder unit 16, a storage unit 17, and a system control unit 18.
The user interface unit 11 receives requests from the user to record, play back, and so on, and sends the requests to the system control unit 18. Specifically, the user interface unit 11 is an input device such as keys and an output device such as a display panel.
The input unit 12 converts sound and video signals into frame data (field data) using an A/D converter. These signals (hereinafter "audio/video signals") are included in a signal input through an external input terminal such as an antenna terminal and a tuner (not illustrated) or an audio/video input terminal. The input unit 12 sends the converted signals to the encoder unit 15.
The output unit 13 receives frame data (field data) from the decoder unit 16, and converts the frame data into an audio/video signal using a D/A converter. Then, the output unit 13 outputs the audio/video signal to a monitor (not illustrated) through an external output terminal such as an audio/video output terminal.
The detection unit 14 monitors the audio mode signal included in the signal input into the input unit 12 and notifies the system control unit 18 if the attributes of the audio mode signal change.
Here, the audio mode signal is a signal distinguishing whether the sound is monaural or stereo. The attributes of the audio mode changing refers to the audio mode signal changing from monaural to stereo, or from stereo to monaural.
The encoder unit 15 starts encoding on receiving an instruction from the system control unit 18 to start encoding (hereinafter "encode start instruction"), and stops encoding on receiving an instruction to stop encoding (hereinafter "encode stop instruction")
Here, encoding refers to a procedure for generating data in an MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) program stream format by encoding frame data (field data) sent from the input unit 12. This generated data will be referred to as a "VOB" (Video Object) hereinafter. Note that the encoder unit 15 sends the generated VOB to the storage unit 17.
The decoder unit 16 starts decoding on receiving an instruction to start decoding (hereinafter "decode start instruction") from the system control unit 18, and stops decoding on receiving an instruction to stop decoding (hereinafter "decode stop instruction").
Here, decoding refers to a procedure for decoding and making a VOB sent from the storage unit 17 back into frame data (field data). Note that the decoder unit 16 sends the decoded frame data (field data) to the output unit 13.
The storage unit 17 writes the VOB received from the encoder unit 15 to a recording medium on receiving an instruction to write (hereinafter "write instruction") from the system control unit 18, and reads a VOB from a recording medium on receiving an instruction to read (hereinafter "read instruction") from the system control unit 18. Note that the storage unit 17 sends the read VOB to the decoder unit 16.
Here, the recording medium refers to a medium that such as a DVD-RAM (Digital Versatile Disk Random Access Memory) or an HD (Hard Disk).
Note that a DVD-RAM uses ZCLV (Zone Constant Linear Velocity) physical format, and a UDF (Universal Disk Format) logical format.
The system control unit 18 controls the encoder unit 15, the decoder unit 16, and the storage unit 17. Specifically, the system control unit 18 controls encoding by giving encode start instructions and encode stop instructions to the encoder unit 15, and decoding by giving decode start instructions and decode stop instructions to the decoder unit 16. Furthermore, the system control unit 18 controls reading and writing of VOBs by giving write instructions and read instructions to the storage unit 17.
In addition, the system control unit 18 records on receiving a request from the user interface unit 11 to start recording, and plays back on receiving a request from the user interface unit 11 to play back.
Here, recording refers to the system control unit 18 giving an encoding start instruction to the encoder unit 15 and having the encoder unit 15 encode, and giving a write instruction to the storage unit 17 and having the storage unit 17 write the VOB generated by the encoding.
Here, playback refers to the system control unit 18 giving a read instruction to the storage unit 17 and having the storage unit 17 read a stored VOB, and giving a decode start instruction to the decoder unit 16 and having the decode unit 16 decode the read VOB.
Note that the system control unit 18 is a function realized by hardware such as a microcomputer, a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a ROM (Read Only Memory), and software such as a system control software.
<How Time Lag Occurs>
The following explains how time lag occurs in the digital video recording apparatus 10 having the above-described structure, using commercial cut recording as an example.
Note that commercial cut recording makes use of the switch in the attributes of the audio mode signal included in an input signal. That is, the audio mode signal switches from monaural to stereo when a broadcast proceeds from a program to a commercial, and from stereo back to monaural when the program starts again.
<Commercial Cut Recording>
FIG. 2 shows a commercial cut recording sequence.
As can be seem from the diagram, detection unit 14 monitors the attributes of the audio mode signal included in an input signal, and detects a switch in the attributes from monaural to stereo (step S21). Note that the detection unit 14 monitors the attributes continuously.
Here, the detection takes 0.5 frames (16 msec).
Then, the detection unit 14 judges that the program has stopped and a commercial has started (step S22), and notifies the system control unit 18 that the commercial has started (step S23).
Here, the judgement takes 1 frame (32 msec). This is because the attributes of the audio mode signal equal to one frame are monitored from when the switch is detected until the signal is confirmed to be stereo.
The system control unit 18 receives notification from the detection unit 14 that the CM has started (step S24), and gives an encode stop instruction to the encoder unit 15 (step S25).
Here, the system control unit 18 takes 0.5 frames (16 msec) from when it receives the notification to when it gives the encode stop instruction.
The encoder unit 15 receives the encode stop instruction from the system control unit 18 (step S26) and stops encoding (step S27).
Here, the encoder unit 15 takes 3 frames (96 msecs) from when it receives the encode stop instruction to when it actually stops encoding. This is because it takes an amount of time equal to 3 frames to mute the audio.
This completes the explanation of the sequence that takes place until recording stops. Next, the sequence from recording to playback will be explained.
The detection unit 14 detects a switch from stereo to monaural in the attribute of the audio mode signal (step S28).
Here, the detection takes 0.5 frames (16 msec).
Then, the detection unit 14 judges that the commercial has stopped and the program has started (step S29), and notifies the system control unit 18 that the program has started (step S30).
Here, the judgement takes 1 frame (32 msec). This is because the attributes of the audio mode signal equal to one frame are monitored from when the switch is detected until the signal is confirmed to be monaural.
The system control unit 18 receives notification from the detection unit 14 that the commercial has finished (step S31), and gives an encode start instruction to the encoder unit 15 (step S32).
Here, it takes the system control unit 16 0.5 frames (16 msec) from when it receives notification to give the encode start instruction.
The encoder unit 15 receives the encode start instruction from the system control unit 18 (step S33) and starts encoding (step S34).
In this way, the digital video recording apparatus 10 has a time lag of 5 frames until it stops recording, and 2 frames before it starts recording. Sound and video of the 5 frames until recording actually stops are recorded.
Naturally, time lag varies according to the manufacturer, model, and processing contents of the video recording apparatus.
Note that when there is a copyright protection function the sequence varies from the above-described sequence in that the detection unit 14 monitors the attributes of the copy protect signal, and detects switches in the attributes of the copy protect signal from copy free to copy prohibit. In such a case it is the detection of the switch in attributes of the copy protect signal, rather than the switch in the attributes of the audio mode signal, that takes time.
However, as explained above, a problem arises that when a broadcast that has been recorded using the commercial cut recording is played back, the 5 frames of the commercial that were recorded are also played back.
In other words, the problem is that when commercial cut recording or copyright protection functions are used, frames of sound and video that the user does not wish to play back are played back due to time lag unique to digital video recording apparatuses.
Furthermore, in commercial cut recording in analog video tape recorders (hereinafter "VTR(s)"), a technique is used in which the tape is rewound an amount equivalent to the time lag when recording stops, and this portion of the tape is overwritten (deleted) when recording restarts. This means that effectively video signal equivalent to the time lag is not recorded. It is possible to apply this technique to digital video recording apparatuses and delete the end portion of the VOB equivalent to the time lag, but the processing load would be large, meaning that this technique cannot be easily realized. This is because a VOB is recorded in GOP units in which I, P, and B pictures are mixed. Therefore, it would be necessary for the decoder unit 16 to decode the frame data (field data) into the GOP which includes the end portion, and the encoder unit 15 delete the decoded frame data (field data) which includes the end portion, and re-encode the remaining data. This is a heavy processing load for the system control unit 18 to control. In addition, it is possible that the procedure may not finish in time for recording to restart if the time available for deletion is too short.

Digital video recording apparatus and method

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A system and method for automated vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft emergency landing is disclosed. The system receives a plurality of inputs from onboard modules including aircraft state, vehicle health, acceptable landing zone (LZ), emergency landing path, and 3D world model to prepare an emergency landing procedure when necessary. If functional onboard an unmanned VTOL aircraft, the vehicle health module determines an emergency landing requirement, the system commands a damage tolerant autopilot to perform the emergency procedure and automatically control the VTOL aircraft. If functional onboard a manned VTOL aircraft, an operator or the vehicle health module initiates the emergency landing. Regardless of initiation, the emergency landing system controls, or provides guidance for manned control of, the VTOL aircraft from the point of initiation through touchdown at a threat differentiated preferred LZ via failure-based flight control inputs for automatic landing, or autonomous autorotation entry, glide, and flare.

A flight control systems (FCS) may be extensively utilized on vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicles to provide varying levels of stability augmentation. Simple systems like stability augmentation systems (SAS) may merely provide basic damping of the aircraft and therefore require pilots to essentially remain in complete control of the vehicle. Autopilots, on the other hand, may control the vehicle with full authority effectively allowing the vehicle to fly on its own with minimal guidance and oversight necessary from a pilot. While such systems have been effective for legacy or existing piloted operations, some operators have highlighted the need for future systems to facilitate increased levels of automation, reduced pilot workload, reduced crew operations, and advanced autonomy.
Many efforts in industry and academia have investigated various control methods for vehicles but many of these assume "fair weather conditions" (vehicle is undamaged or otherwise in a healthy state). Additionally, many currently fielded systems (both in mechanical and fly-by-wire settings) tend to have a fail-passive approach where an FCS disengages control and returns it to a pilot in dangerous situations. None of this can be relied upon in future systems. Potential future systems must be fail-active and appropriately respond to emergency situations with effective contingency actions.
Therefore, a need remains for a system and related method which may overcome these limitations and provide an automated emergency landing system that can provide reliable, automatic guidance and control to a safe landing zone in the event of reduced vehicle performance (e.g., damage, component failure, etc.)

VTOL emergency landing system and method