A bonding tool includes an aluminum metal alloy bar member of a predetermined width, the bar having an upper surface, a lower surface, and opposing longitudinal edges. A resilient material is adhesively joined with the bar, the resilient material having an upper surface, a lower surface and opposing longitudinal edges. The joining of the resilient sponge material to the bar is such that an entire upper surface of the sponge material is coextensive with an entire lower surface of the bar member. The bonding tool is made in several, for example five, sections and is laid on a cable for bonding the cable to a capsule or the like in a separate process. The sections are keyed so as to interlock one to another.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.
(1) Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a cable bonding tool. More particularly, the invention relates to a cable bonding tool having an aluminum alloy portion and an elastomeric sponge portion, the sponge portion in contact with the cable, and thereby preventing damage thereto.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
The current art for cable bonding tools is limited. Prior to the present invention, there was no device specifically intended for the bonding of the Capsule Launching System (CLS) umbilical cable to a capsule. Typically a length of wood such as a 2xc3x974 was utilized to bond the umbilical cable. This resulted in an inferior adhesive bond line thickness as the 2xc3x974 dimensions and the contact surface shape did not match the contour of the CLS capsule outer diameter.
Thus, a problem exists in the art whereby a device for specifically bonding an umbilical cable to a capsule is not known.
The following patents, for example, disclose various types of bonding cables, but do not disclose a tool for the adhesive bonding of an umbilical cable to a capsule.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,786,393 to Grimes;
U.S. Pat. No. 3,518,613 to Alpert;
U.S. Pat. No. 3,883,209 to Kongelbeck;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,047,464 to Rederiksson et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,099,038 to Purdy;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,184,731 to Betzmeir;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,652,404 to Girard; and
U.S. Pat. No. 5,710,388 to Hutchinson et al.
Specifically, the patent to Grimes discloses a monitoring cable release mechanism for a missile having an umbilical plug or connector adjacent one end thereof, a support line attached to the cable, a member to which the support line is attached, a pair of latches pivotally carried by the member for releaseably attaching the member to the missile shell, and means for releasing the latches. The means include a sector shaped release arm pivotally mounted on the member, the release arm having pins received by the latches when the latter are in latching position, a second line having one end attached to the release arm and the other end attached to the plug, whereby when the plug is released, it acts to unlatch the latches thereby permitting the cable to fall clear of the missile.
Alpert discloses a missile umbilical cable adapted to interconnect a missile and a launcher prior to launch and having a mechanical linkage interconnecting the missile and launcher to cause automatic disengagement of the umbilical from the missile upon launch in the absence of shearing forces and consequent destruction of the interconnecting pins or electrical components.
Kongelbeck is directed to a missile connector for providing electrical connections to an aerial missile from a missile launcher of the box type. A novel feature resides in the provision of structure which allows limited shifting movement of the missile in the launcher without disturbing these electrical connections.
Rederiksson et al. disclose a device for breaking the connection between an electric control system and a missile by separating a control cable or umbilical cord joining the missile to its launcher housing during launch. A plurality of continuous, flexible conductors are passed through openings in a non-conductive insert in the surface of the missile. Because the conductors are secured to both the missile and the housing on opposite sides of the insert, they are tensioned against and bent over the outer edge of the opening during launch and broken due to the concentration of tensile and bending stress at the point of contact.
Purdy discloses a peel-away flat cable for providing electrical connection to a missile. First and second flat cables, each having a plurality of spaced conductors, are electrically connected together and are bonded to one another. A breakaway joint is provided in the cable to provide ready separation after the cable has performed its desired function.
Betzmeir relates to an electrical connector designed for use inside a tube such as an ejector tube for the expulsion of bodies from the tube, whereby the electrical connector is ejected from the tube together with the respective body, such as a mine. As soon as the body leaves the tube, the connector automatically separates itself from the ejected body and falls apart. For this purpose the components of the electrical connector are so shaped that they cooperate for making electrical contact only inside the tube.
Girard discloses a device for disconnecting a releasable connector for connecting a flexible connecting element of an umbilical tower to a launcher of the type comprising a base fixed on the launcher and adapted to receive a plug connected to the flexible connecting element and comprising pull-away means for releasing the plug upon firing the launcher connected to an end of a pulling element. The device comprises an element capable of breaking upon firing the launcher for fastening the flexible connecting element to the launcher.
Hutchinson et al. discloses an umbilical cord for connecting the control systems within a control center to the operating systems of a projectile that is located within a launch tube and is to be launched therefrom, the umbilical cord comprising a cable having a plurality of conductors therein and having a control center end and a projectile end, a first connector terminated to the conductors at the control center and at a second connector terminated to the conductors at the projectile end, the second connector having insulation displacement contacts therein where the conductors are terminated and the second connector is captivatively pluggable into a recess in the side of the projectile through a port in the launch tube and upon the launching of the projectile, the connector remains with the projectile and the conductors remain with the launch tube, whereby the conductors are pulled free from the insulation displacement contacts.
It should be understood that the present invention would in fact enhance the functionality of the above patents by providing a simple tool for the adhesive bonding of an umbilical cable to a capsule or the like.
Therefore it is an object of this invention to provide a bonding tool.
Another object of this invention is to provide a bonding tool for adhesively securing a cable to a capsule.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a bonding tool having at least a bar portion and a resilient portion coextensively bonded together.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a bonding tool having a metal alloy bar portion and a resilient sponge portion bonded to the metal alloy.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a bonding tool which is simple to manufacture and easy to use.
In accordance with one aspect of this invention, there is provided a bonding tool including an aluminum metal alloy bar member of a predetermined width, the bar having an upper surface, a lower surface, and opposing longitudinal edges. A resilient material is adhesively joined with the bar, the resilient material having an upper surface, a lower surface and opposing longitudinal edges. The joining of the resilient sponge material to the bar is such that an entire upper surface of the sponge material is coextensive with an entire lower surface of the bar member. The bonding tool is made in several, for example five, sections and is laid on a cable for bonding the cable to a capsule or the like in a separate process.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A Sagnac or loop type interferometer is disclosed which uses a single broadband Erbium-doped fibre source (10) and a single IngaAs detector (150) together with a 40 km long sensor loop (90). A wavelength division multiplexer (50) spectrally slices the broadband light from the source (10) into two sub-bands, with different optical paths being defined between the source (10) and detector (150) for the light in the different spectrally sliced sub-bands. The two optical paths include separate phase modulators (70, 130) which modulate the two signals at different frequencies, and also separate delay loops (60, 130) at different places relative to the sensor loop (90). Effectively, two separate Sagnac loops are provided with a single sensor loop (90), source (10) and detector (150). Standard phase locked loop techniques can be used to extract information from signals that have passed through the two loops and to determine the location of a mechanical or thermal perturbation applied to the sensor loop (90).

This invention relates to a fibre optic sensor and in particular to a cyclic or Sagnac type ring interferometer for sensing mechanical or thermal disturbances, for example.
The Sagnac or cyclic interferometer is one of several types of well known interferometer. Initially, such interferometers used a plurality of mirrors arranged so as to reflect light beams around a loop. Subsequently, the advent of laser diodes and fibre optics has allowed the development of Sagnac interferometers having a much longer path length. A light source can be injected into a wave guide which is formed by a fibre optic in the shape of a loop.
In recent years, a number of proposals have been put forward to locate mechanical or thermal disturbances occurring at any non-central location in the loop. One such arrangement is shown in xe2x80x9cA novel distributed optical fibre sensing system enabling location of disturbances in a Sagnac loop interferometerxe2x80x9d, by J. P. Dakin, D. A. Pearce, A. P. Strong, and C. A. Wade in Proceedings SPIE, vol 838 (1987). The technique is based upon the counter-propagating nature of light in the Sagnac interferometer. When a phase perturbation, xcfx86, occurs at a distance z from the sensor loop centre, it phase-modulates the light travelling in one direction before light travelling in the other. This results in a net phase modulation, xcex94xcfx86, between the two returning counter-propagating wavetrains which interfere, when combined at the output of the loop. As set out in the above referenced paper by Dakin et al, xcex94xcfx86 is given by       Δ              xe2x80x83            φ              xe2x80x83                  (      t      )        ≈                    2                          xe2x80x83                        z                    V        g                        xe2x80x83                                    ⅆ          φ                                  xe2x80x83                                  (          t          )                            ⅆ        t
where Vg is the group velocity of the guided light.
In initial arrangements, the value of dxcfx86/dt was found by interfering a fraction of the light that had travelled in one direction in the Sagnac loop, with light directly from the source. In order to reduce phase noise from frequency fluctuations of the source, the latter was suitably delayed via a fibre loop to form a balanced path fibre Mach-Zehnder arrangement.
More recently, various architectures using twin-Sagnac configurations have been suggested, to avoid the need for accurately balanced paths. Some of these architectures permit the location of disturbances over sensor loop lengths of up to 800 m, although only under laboratory conditions. For example, twin-source (wavelength multiplexed) devices are shown in the papers xe2x80x9cDual wavelength Sagnac-Michelson distributed optical fibre sensorxe2x80x9d, Proceedings SPIE pp2838-2834 (1996) and xe2x80x9cA distributed dual wavelength Sagnac sensor impact sensorxe2x80x9d, Microwave and optical technology letters, vol 17, No 3, pp 170-173, (1998), by S. J. Spammer, A. A. Chtcherbakov, and P. L. Swart. Other intrinsically lossy arrangements with directional 3 dB couplers and twin detectors are shown in, for example, S. J. Spammer, P. L. Swart, A. Boosen, xe2x80x9cInterferometric distributed fibre optical sensorxe2x80x9d, Applied Optics, Vol 35, No 22, pp 4522-4523, (1996), E. Ronnekleiv, K. Blotekjaer, K. Krankes, Distributed fibre sensor for location of disturbances, Proceedings 9th OFS, PD7, (1993) X. Fang, xe2x80x9cA variable loop Sagnac interferometer for distributed impact sensingxe2x80x9d Optics letters, vol 21, No 6, (1996), and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,848.
The minimum theoretical loss of a dual Sagnac system with 3 dB couplers is 24 dB in each Sagnac.
According to the present invention there is provided a Sagnac interferometer for sensing a disturbance, the interferometer comprising: a light source arranged to generate a light signal over a range of wavelengths xcexs; an optical receiver arranged to receive light signals generated by the light source; a fibre optic loop sensor in optical communication with both the light source and the optical receiver; first optical splitter means, in optical communication with the said source, for spectrally slicing the light signal received from the source into first and second split signal channels, the first split signal channel having a range of wavelengths centred at xcex1, and the second split signal channel having a range of wavelengths centred at xcex2, wherein both xcex1 and xcex2 are subsets of xcexs and wherein the electromagnetic energy contained in the range of wavelengths centred at xcex1 substantially does not overlap with the electromagnetic energy contained in the range of wavelengths centred at xcex2; first optical combiner means, in optical communication with the optical detector; the first split signal channel being defined along a first optical path between the optical splitter means and the optical combiner means via the loop sensor, and the second split signal channel being defined along a second optical path, different from the first optical path, between the optical splitter means and the optical combiner means via the loop sensor; the first optical path including a first optical phase angle modulating means arranged to modulate the phase angle of light in the first split signal channel at a first frequency, the first optical path having a total optical path length whose centre lies at a first non-central location around the loop sensor; the second optical path including a second optical phase angle modulating means arranged to modulate the phase angle of light in the second split signal channel at a second frequency different from the said first frequency, the second optical path having a total optical path length whose centre lies at a second non-central location different from the said first location around the loop sensor; the first optical combiner means being arranged to combine phase modulated light in the first and second split signal channels into a composite signal; the optical receiver being arranged to receive the composite light signal and to extract therefrom signal variations arising from light traversing the said first and second optical paths, whereby the distance of the disturbance around the loop sensor may be determined on the basis of the said signal variations.
The present invention provides a Sagnac loop interferometer architecture having two separate optical paths but with a single light source and a single detector. The resultant architecture has significantly lower minimum theoretical losses and is also cheaper to produce than previous arrangements which use multiple light sources and/or detectors.
Preferably, the first split signal channel defines the first optical path between the optical splitter means and the optical combiner means by traversing, in order, the first optical phase angle modulating means, the sensor loop and a first length of fibre defining a first delay loop such that the centre of the first optical path is offset relative to the centre of the sensor loop.
In that case, the second split signal channel may define the second optical path between the optical splitter means and the optical combiner means by traversing, in order, a second length of fibre defining a second delay loop, the sensor loop and the second optical phase angle modulating means, such that the centre of the second optical path is offset relative to the centre of the sensor loop in the opposite direction to the direction of offset of the centre of the first optical path.
The optical splitter means may be, for example, a wavelength division multiplexer (WDM). The light source may be a single superluminescent fibre source pumped by a laser diode producing broadband, low coherence length light. The detector may be a single p-type intrinsic n-type (PIN) semiconductor photodiode, and the first and second phase modulators may for example be piezo electric (PZT) devices.
Preferably, the first frequency of the first phase modulator and the second frequency of the second phase modulator are each Eigenfrequencies of first and second interferometer loops defined between the light source and the detector via the first and second optical paths respectively.
The optical receiver may comprise, for example, a photodiode optical detector, a low noise preamplifier and suitable signal processing software or hardware. This allows those amplitude modulated components corresponding to the variation in the optical signal amplitude to be extracted from the composite detected signal. The variations in the optical signal amplitude in turn arise from the disturbance as well as the phase modulations imparted by the phase biasing means.
Preferably, the distance z on the loop sensor at which the disturbance has occurred is determined by calculating the ratio of the fundamental and second harmonic components arising from the light which was phase modulated at the first frequency to the fundamental and second harmonic components arising from the light which was phase modulated at the second frequency
In that case, the ratio may be given by:   ratio  =                    J        1                          xe2x80x83                          (                  x                                xe2x80x83                                          a            1                          )                          xe2x80x83                                    J          2                                  (                      x                                      xe2x80x83                                                  a              2                                )                                  xe2x80x83                          (                  L          +                      L            1                    -                      2                                      xe2x80x83                                    z                          )                            J        1                          xe2x80x83                          (                  x                                xe2x80x83                                          a            2                          )                          xe2x80x83                                    J          2                                  (                      x                                      xe2x80x83                                                  a              1                                )                                  xe2x80x83                          (                  L          -                      L            2                    -                      2                                      xe2x80x83                                    z                          )
where x is the bias modulation depth, a1 and a2 are constants, L is the length of the sensor loop, L1 is the length of the first delay loop, L2 is the length of the second delay loop, and J1 and J2 are first and second order Bessel functions respectively.
In further aspects of the present invention, a new configuration for an optical fibre disturbance location system is provided, based on a Sagnac loop, where light from a single broadband source is split into two separate spectral components of different wavelength, and said components of the light are directed, using wavelength-dependent splitting elements (for example, optical fibre based wavelength division multiplexer components) such that the light travels through two separate Sagnac loops, each path determined according to the wavelength region of the said components of the light, and where the light in each wavelength region is phase-modulated at a different frequency by each of two phase-biassing element, each operating at a different modulation frequency and at point in the fibre path unique to one of each of the two selected wavelength-dependent paths, and where each wavelength component passes through different optical delay paths, either before or after it passes through a common sensing section of fibre or fibre cable, where detection of disturbance is desired and where eventually all the output light from the two dependent paths is then combined onto a single optical detector, and the separate outputs from the two loops are then decoded by detection of the modulation components at the phase-biassing frequencies of the phase modulators.
The invention also extends to a Sagnac loop, where two separate optical paths are arranged between a single light source and a single optical detector and where the signals travelling around these separate paths are separated, after the initial optical detection, by virtue of frequency-dependent electronic detection of the output of the optical detector, using separate electronic lock-in amplifiers each driven by different electronic reference signals, each of said reference signals corresponding to the different phase modulation components and the second harmonic of the phase modulation components applied to the optical signals travelling in each of the two different optical paths.


An electron emitter has an emitter section formed on a substrate, and a cathode electrode and an anode electrode formed on a same surface of the emitter section. A slit is formed between the cathode electrode and the anode electrode. A drive voltage from a pulse generation source is applied between the cathode electrode and the anode electrode, and the anode electrode is connected to the ground. A collector electrode is provided above the emitter section at a position facing the slit. The collector electrode is connected to a bias voltage source through a resistor. The emitter section is made of a piezoelectric material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of emitting electrons from an electron emitter having a first electrode and a second electrode formed on an emitter section.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, electron emitters having a cathode electrode and an anode electrode have been used in various applications such as field emission displays (FEDs) and backlight units. In an FED, a plurality of electron emitters are arranged in a two-dimensional array, and a plurality of fluorescent elements are positioned at predetermined intervals in association with the respective electron emitters.
Conventional electron emitters are disclosed in Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 1-311533, Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 7-147131, Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2000-285801, Japanese patent publication No. 46-20944, and Japanese patent publication No. 44-26125, for example. All of these disclosed electron emitters are disadvantageous in that since no dielectric body is employed in the emitter section, a forming process or a micromachining process is required between facing electrodes, a high voltage needs to be applied between the electrodes to emit electrons, and a panel fabrication process is complex and entails a high panel fabrication cost.
It has been considered to make an emitter section of a dielectric material. Various theories about the emission of electrons from a dielectric material have been presented in the documents: Yasuoka and Ishii, "Pulsed electron source using a ferroelectric cathode", J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 68, No. 5, p. 546–550 (1999), V. F. Puchkarev, G. A. Mesyats, "On the mechanism of emission from the ferroelectric ceramic cathode", J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 78, No. 9, 1 November, 1995, p. 5633–5637, and H. Riege, "Electron emission ferroelectrics—a review", Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A340, p. 80–89 (1994).
In the conventional electron emitters, electrons trapped on the surface of the dielectric material, at the interface between the dielectric material and the upper electrode, and in the dielectric material by the defect level are released (emitted) when polarization reversal occurs in the dielectric material. The number of the electrons emitted by the polarization reversal does not change substantially depending on the voltage level of the applied voltage pulse.
However, the electron emission is not performed stably, and the number of emitted electrons is merely tens of thousands. Therefore, conventional electron emitters are not suitable for practical use. Advantages of an electron emitter having an emitter section made of a dielectric material have not been achieved.
In particular, the difference of electron emission characteristics depending on the emitter section formed of different materials, such as piezoelectric materials, anti-ferroelectric materials, and electrostrictive materials has not yet been researched.

Electron emitting method of electron emitter


Systems and methods for allocating resources, such as contact center agents, computer servers and recorders, among geographically distributed sites are provided. In this regard, a representative method comprises: creating a workload forecast, such as contact volume, and resource utilization, such as average interaction time, of events for a specified time frame as if the geographically distributed sites were co-located, performing discrete event-based simulation to assign or allocate the events to the resources as if the resources were co-located, and determining recommended allocations of the resources among the geographically distributed sites based on a relative distribution of events assigned to resources at each of the geographically distributed sites.

Resource allocation and planning, including the generation of schedules for employees, is a complex problem for enterprises. Telephone call center resource allocation and scheduling is an example of a problem with a large number of variables. Variables include contact volume at a particular time of day, available staff, skills of various staff members, call type (e.g., new order call and customer service call), and number of call queues, where a call queue may be assigned a particular call type. A basic goal of call center scheduling is to minimize the cost of agents available to answer calls while maximizing service.
Traditionally, call center scheduling is performed by forecasting incoming contact volumes and estimating average talk times for each time period based on past history and other measures. These values are then correlated to produce a schedule. However, due to the number of variables that may affect the suitability of a schedule, many schedules need to be evaluated.
Recently, call centers have evolved into "contact centers" in which the agent's contact with the customer can be through many contact media. For example, a multi-contact call center may handle telephone, email, web callback, web chat, fax, and voice over internet protocol. Therefore, in addition to variation in the types of calls (e.g., service call, order call), modern contact centers have the complication of variation in contact media. The variation in contact media adds complexity to the agent scheduling process.
Additional complexity results when multiple sites are involved. That is, multiple geographically distributed call centers may be owned by a single organization, or calls may be distributed to multiple locations dependent on whether a contact is for technical support, sales, etc.

Systems and methods for determining allocations for distributed multi-site contact centers


A recessed lighting system is provided. The recessed lighting system a universal light module to emit light through a light transmissive cover, a plurality of trims wherein each trim has the same means for attaching to the light module and the same size opening that aligns with the light transmissive cover of the module, but have different flange widths; and a plurality of different size recessed lighting fixture housings that each include an annular cavity to receive the light module attached to one of the trims. Each of the cavities is differently sized and is coupled to the trims using support brackets on the trims.

Recessed lights are light fixtures that are typically installed or mounted into a hollow opening of a ceiling or a wall. When installed, the light from the recessed fixtures appears to shine from a hole in the ceiling, concentrating the light in a downward direction as a broad floodlight or narrow spotlight. Recessed lighting systems generally consist of a trim, a light module, and a housing.
The housing is a casing that is mounted to support members in the building and lines up with a hole in the ceiling. The light module is inserted into the housing and is sturdily coupled to the housing. Electrical connections are also made between the light module and the rough wiring in the building. Thereafter, the trim is coupled to the combined light module and housing unit to provide a finished look.
Although current recessed lighting systems come in a variety of shapes and sizes, switching between sizes requires the purchase of a new trim, a new light module and a new housing as these systems are specifically designed to interoperate with only similar sized parts. This lack of interchangeability leads to increased costs for consumers who must purchase new components to make a trim size change and for manufacturers who must produce and store every combination of trim, light module, and housing to meet consumer's needs. Thus, there is a need for a recessed light module system that provides interchangeability between different sized components.

Recessed lighting module with interchangeable trims


A spraying device for a washing machine includes a body including a wall having an outer surface, a water inlet and a channel defined therein. The channel is in flow communication with the water inlet, and a plurality of nozzles extend through the wall and in flow communication with the channel. The washing machine includes a wash tub and a basket mounted within the wash tub. The basket is configured to rotate. The nozzles include an inlet, an outlet, an inner diameter, and an outer diameter. At least a portion of the outlet includes a surface substantially perpendicular to a flow of water through the nozzle, and the nozzles have a length longer than a thickness of the wall. At least a portion of the outlet is unitary with the wall outer surface.

This invention relates generally to washing machines, and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for reducing water consumption in washing operations.
Washing machines typically include a cabinet that houses an outer tub for containing wash and rinse water, a perforated laundry basket within the tub, and an agitator within the basket. A drive and motor assembly is mounted underneath the stationary outer tub to rotate the laundry basket and the agitator relative to one another, and a pump assembly pumps water from the tub to a drain to execute a wash cycle.
Traditionally, rinse portions of wash cycles include a deep-fill process wherein articles in the laundry basket are completely submerged in water and the water is agitated. As such, a large amount of water mixes with detergent remaining in the laundry after they are washed. While the concentration of detergent in the water is relatively small, a large amount of detergent can be removed from the laundry due to the large amount of water involved. It has become increasingly desirable, however, to reduce water consumption in washing operations.
At least some types of washing machines have reduced water consumption in rinsing operations by using a re-circulating rinse water flow. In this type of system, rinse water is collected in a bottom of the tub and pumped back to a plurality of spray nozzles located above the basket. The rinse water is re-circulated for a predetermined length of time before being discharged to a drain. While such systems are effective to reduce water consumption, they increase the costs of a washing machine by employing pumps, conduits etc. that result in additional material and assembly costs.


Provided is a method for preparing an electroconductive mayenite type compound with good properties readily and stably at low cost.

A mayenite type compound has a typical composition of 12CaO.7Al2O3 (hereinafter referred to as "C12A7") and a characteristic crystal structure composed of three-dimensionally linked voids or cages with a diameter of about 0.4 nm. The framework of the cages has a positive electric charge and there are 12 cages per unit lattice. One sixth of the cages are occupied by oxygen ions in order to satisfy an electrically neutral condition of the crystal, and these oxygen ions are particularly called "free oxygen ions" because they have properties chemically different from those of the other oxygen ions constituting the framework. For the reason described above, the C12A7 crystal is denoted as [Ca24Al28O64]4+.2O2− (Non-patent Document 1).
Another known mayenite type compound is 12SrO.7Al2O3 (hereinafter referred to as "S12A7"), and there also exists a mixed crystal compound of C12A7 and S12A7 with any optional mixing ratio of Ca and Sr (Non-patent Document 2).
Hosono et al. found that a powder of the C12A7 crystal or its sintered product was heat-treated in an H2 atmosphere to make clathrate H− ions in the cages, and then irradiated with ultraviolet light to make clathrate electrons in the cages, thereby inducing permanent electroconductivity at room temperature (Patent Document 1). The clathrate electrons are weakly bound to the cages and can freely move in the crystal, whereby electroconductivity is imparted to the C12A7 crystal of the mayenite type compound. However, the electroconductive mayenite type compound obtained by this method cannot include an enough amount of clathrate electrons, so that the electroconductivity cannot be sufficient.
Hosono et al. also found that when a C12A7 single crystal was subjected to a reducing treatment with an alkali metal vapor, the free oxygen ions in the cages were replaced by electrons to obtain a single-crystal electroconductive mayenite type compound (Patent Document 1). However, this method takes a long period of time to prepare the single crystal and to conduct the reducing treatment with calcium, and it is thus difficult to industrially apply the method.
Heretofore, it was known that a glass with the C12A7 composition could be obtained by the melting and rapid quenching method which was a usual production method of glass (cf. Non-patent Document 3), and that the glass was re-heated to crystallize, thereby preparing C12A7 of the mayenite type compound. Li et al. reported that a temperature required for re-crystallization of the C12A7 glass obtained by the melting and rapid quenching method in air was from 940 to 1,040° C.; a main crystal phase produced was the C12A7 crystal of the mayenite type compound; and a CaAl2O4 crystal was produced as a by-product (Non-patent Document 4). The mayenite type compound thus obtained was, however, an insulator having free oxygens in the cages.
Hosono et al. found that a transparent glass prepared by melting the C12A7 crystal in a carbon crucible was subjected to a re-heating treatment at 1600° C. and in an atmosphere with an oxygen partial pressure as extremely low as 10−11 Pa for one hour or at 1000° C. in vacuum for 30 minutes to crystallize, thereby producing an electroconductive mayenite type compound (Non-patent Document 5). It was, however, difficult to industrially produce the compound at low cost and on a large scale by this method because the re-heating treatment required the re-heating process at the high temperature to re-melt the glass and, in the atmosphere of extremely low oxygen partial pressure or in vacuum.
Patent Document 1: WO2005-000741
Non-patent Document 1: F. M. Lea and C. H. Desch, The Chemistry of Cement and Concrete, 2nd ed., p. 52, Edward Arnold & Co., London, 1956.
Non-patent Document 2: O. Yamaguchi, A. Narai, K. Shimizu, J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 1986, 69, C36.
Non-patent Document 3: Minoru Imaoka, Glass Handbook (compiled by Sakka, Takahashi, Sakaino), Asakura Publishing, 880 pages (1975)
Non-patent Document 4: W. Li, B. S. Mitchell, J. Non-Cryst. Sol. 1999, 255 (2, 3), 199.
Non-patent Document 5: S. W. Kim, M. Miyakawa, K. Hayashi, T. Sakai, M. Hirano, and H. Hosono, J. Am. Chem. Soc., http://pubs.acs.org/journals/jacsat/, Web Release Date: 15 Jan. 2005).

Method for preparing electroconductive mayenite type compound

Abstract: A production method of an electroconductive mayenite type compound comprising a step of subjecting a precursor to heat treatment, is a method for preparing an electroconductive mayenite type compound, comprising a step of subjecting a precursor to heat treatment; wherein the precursor is a vitreous or crystalline material, which contains Ca and Al, in which a molar ratio of (CaO:Al2O3) is from (12.6:6.4) to (11.7:7.3) as calculated as oxides, and in which a total amount of CaO and Al2O3 is at least 50 mol %, and wherein the heat treatment is heat treatment comprising holding the precursor at a heat treatment temperature T of from 600 to 1415° C. and in an inert gas or vacuum atmosphere with an oxygen partial pressure PO2 in a range of

Abstract: PO2≦105×exp [{−7.9×l04/(T+273)}+14.4] in the unit of Pa.


Examples relate to a linear shaped charge support structure configured to support a linear shaped charge in a canted configuration with at least part of the linear shaped charge canted about a longitudinal axis of the linear shaped charge. Examples relates to a linear shaped charge, the linear shaped charge support structure comprising a linear shaped charge, and a support frame comprising the linear shaped charge support structure and a non-linear shaped charge support structure.

Linear shaped charges may be used to precisely cut structures, for example metal structures such as a hull of a ship, a fuselage of an aircraft, or a structural support. It is often desirable to use linear shaped charges to breach walls, such as those made of concrete which may be reinforced. Reinforced concrete usually comprises a reinforcement structure, such as a steel grid, embedded within the concrete. Thus, to breach a wall of this type the linear shaped charge must cut through both concrete and a steel structure within. This is a difficult task for a linear shaped charge due for example to the nature of the concrete and steel materials.
It is desirable to improve cutting of, for example, targets of a reinforced concrete material using a linear shaped charge.


Methods and systems for managing directory information, such as onboarding a LDAP server, employing a processor coupled to memory and other computer hardware and software components for receiving a request related to one or more applications from a requestor in pre-determined business logic, acknowledging the request by an approver function without requiring the requestor to negotiate, for example, with an LDAP administrator to justify the request, and provisioning the request into the enterprise LDAP server in the pre-determined business logic.

Traditionally, the function of extending an application directory schema, which typically involves adding and/or defining attributes, was exclusively an administrative function. Such administrative functions take a considerable amount of time to perform, and most application owners are not current app experts. Further, while the application owners know the business want these authorization attributes, they do not want to be concerned with how it is being done. Currently, the process requires a discussion or negotiation between an administrator and the application owner with a considerable amount of justification that is cumbersome and time-consuming and leads to costly delays.
There is a present need for methods and systems for managing directory information that address and overcome the problems of existing implementations and allow operational personnel to approve requests without lengthy negotiations with administrators.


Compact solid state laser apparatus that includes a laser diode pump, beam forming optics, a laser gain medium and optical resonator, a photodetector to vary the power supplied to the laser diode pump to suppress relaxation oscillations that might otherwise appear in the laser gain medium output light beam, an optical isolator and laser output optics. Each of the optical components has an independently activatable heater to allow optical alignment of that component. Each of the laser diode pump and laser gain medium has an independently activatable thermoelectric cooler to allow optical alignment (laser gain medium only) and to provide thermal tuning of the output wavelength of that device. An optical platform, which is thermally conductive, electrically non-conductive and has low thermal expansion, supports the other components, provides a substrate for electrical traces that provide power for operation of the apparatus and contains the heaters for the optical components.

Small solid state laser assemblies have several optical components that require alignment after the assembly components are in place. The optical components are often supported spatially and aligned with six-dimensional fixtures. The components are then frozen into the chosen location and orientation, using a component-holding solder that heats and/or freezes the components in the assigned positions. One method of accomplishing this is disclosed by Kane in U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,842.
The optical, temperature control, beam processing and other components may be small and rugged and often take advantage of known designs. For example, Kane et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,793, disclose a non-planar ring laser formed by a multi-faceted crystal, such as Nd:YAG. Kane, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,896, discloses a non-planar ring laser that is contained in an evacuated chamber to eliminate thermal currents that might detune the crystal. The crystal is thermally tuned by a special heater in thermal contact with the crystal.
Scerbak et al disclose use of an Nd:YAG laser rod that is mechanically supported from the envelope of a laser diode that pumps the laser rod through a gradient index lens, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,485. Rotatable wedges in contact with the laser rod allow adjustment of the tilt of the laser rod optical axis. A sheet of piezoelectric material, bonded to a crystalline optical resonator to tune the laser resonant frequency, is disclosed by Kane in U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,532. Kane, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,402, discloses optical pumping of a laser gain medium by a semiconductor, where the shape and focus of the light beam produced by the semiconductor are varied by reflection of this light beam by two mirrors before the light beam arrives at and pumps the laser gain medium.
What is needed is a compact laser assembly that (1) makes efficient use of the small space allotted thereto, (2) allows easy and independent alignment of optical components that are part of the assembly, and (3) provides efficient heat sinking and heat sourcing to control the thermal response of the assembly.


The invention relates to a method for correcting positioning errors in rock drilling, and a rock drilling equipment. Deviation of the boom position from the theoretical position is measured as a function of the position of at least one boom joint, the measured deviations are stored in the memory of the drilling rig, and when the boom is positioned to the drilling position, its position is corrected on the basis of the stored deviation. The drilling equipment includes a memory for storing the deviations between the true position of the boom and the theoretical position calculated on the basis of the joint sensor values, and a calculating device for correcting the boom position on the basis of the deviations stored in the memory of the drilling rig.

The invention relates to a method for correcting positioning errors in rock drilling, where a boom, attached from one end to a carrier and turnable in relation to it about joints, and a rock drill, mounted turnable to the other end of the boom, are arranged in the drilling position for drilling a hole in a way that the boom is controlled using control devices of the drilling rig in relation to various movements until the boom is in its set position, wherein the deviation of the boom's actual position from the calculated theoretical position is measured, and the boom's position is corrected on the basis of the measured deviation.
Further, the invention is related to a rock drilling equipment, with a carrier, a boom attached turnable about joints in relation to the carrier, a rock drill attached turnable to the other end of the boom, joint sensors indicating the positions of the various boom joints, and control devices for controlling the boom to the drilling position for drilling a hole.
Higher and higher precision is required of the operation of a rock drilling rig so that excavating could be made as economic as possible. Today, automatic drilling boom positioning and controlling devices are more often used with the purpose of enabling the holes to be drilled as precisely as possible at their intended positions. For practical controlling purposes, various types of joint sensors are attached to booms, and the aim is to take into account the geometrical dimensions of the booms and their kinematics as well as possible when calculating the drill position and direction. The problem with automatic control solutions realized in this manner is, however, that different types of deflections, clearances and other things causing error result in that the actual position of the drill bit may considerably differ from the position where it should be according to the plan.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,570 presents a solution where the aim is to correct errors of known equipment by dividing the operating range of the drilling boom, i.e., the reach of the boom in one carrier position, into squares and with a specific correction value assigned for each square in all directions of the coordinate system. This is achieved in practice by setting the equipment to control the boom and the feed beam so that the drill bit is, in theory, at the center of the square in question, after which the errors in the different directions are measured and fed into the memory of the control equipment. In normal drilling use, the rig corrects the boom and feed beam positions in accordance with the square at which the intended hole position is located on the basis of the stored, fixed correction values of the square in question. The problem with this solution is that a tight grid must be used for the area to be drilled in order to get sufficient correction data for the various boom positions. Further, as the drill bit can be positioned at one specific location using a number of different boom positions, a correction system based on the mere location of the drill bit is unable to compensate for the different errors based on different boom positions and, thus, the intended precision is not reached.

Method for correcting positioning errors in rock drilling, and rock drilling equipment


A high-finesse Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) is introduced into a coherent Brillouin RFL configuration to thereby produce a frequency stabilized random laser.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to random fiber lasers. (RFLs).
2. Related Art
Despite its unique characteristics and lasing mechanisms, the field of random fiber lasers (RFLs), which is based on multiple optical scattering in a disordered gain medium, remains young with few realized applications. This is largely due to the lack of lasing directionality which creates difficulty in achieving a stable, high-quality laser in bulk materials.

Frequency stabilized coherent brillouin random fiber laser


A method for paging an idle MS includes: a PC sends a Paging Announce message to the BS, starts a timer and sets a paging count threshold; the BS pages the MS; if no paging response is received from the MS before expiry of the timer, the PC compares the number of times of paging with the set paging count threshold, and re-sends the Paging Announce message or cancels the paging operation, according to the comparison result. A method for stopping paging to an idle MS includes: a BS in a PG pages an MS, and a network side sends a paging stop message to at least one other BS; and at least one other BS stops the paging process. A paging includes a central processing unit for setting a paging count threshold and judging whether a paging response is received.

The idle mode is a working mode of an MS in a mobile broadband Radio Access System (RAS) defined by the IEEE 802.16e standard. In the idle mode, an MS moves in a large area, and receives the downlink broadcast service information at a specific interval. Broadcast messages are used to notify the MS whether any downlink service needs to be transmitted. While roaming in an area, an MS does not need to get registered on the Base Station (BS) of the roaming cell. Meanwhile, while roaming in different cells, the MS does not need to perform usual operation processes such as handover, which is conducive to saving MS power and air interface resources.
Multiple BSs make up a group, a Paging Group (PG). A PG is intended to constitute a continuous area, inside which the MS does not need to send uplink services but can use downlink paging channels to judge whether any downlink service is sent to the MS.
In the normal operation process on a serving BS, the MS may request to enter the idle mode by sending a message. Likewise, a serving BS can require an MS to enter the idle mode by sending a message. No matter whether the MS requests to enter the idle mode through a message or the serving BS requires the MS to enter the idle mode through a message, the MS needs to finish deregistration and enter the idle mode within the specified time segment.
The Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) standard under development now defines a paging reference model in the idle mode. In the WiMax NWG standard draft, the function entities closely related to the idle mode and paging include:
a Paging Controller (PC), as a network entity for controlling activity of an MS in the idle mode, is designed to manage the activity and paging of the MS in the idle mode in a network. A PC may be located in an Access Service Network Gateway (ASN GW) which is a physical Network Element (NE) in a WiMAX network, or located in another stand-alone physical NE. For each MS in the idle mode, only one PC works to manage its activities, and is called anchor PC; and one or more PCs work to relay the messages from the MS to the anchor PC, and are called relay PC;
a Paging Agent (PA) is located in an ASN, and is designed to handle interaction for executing paging-related functions in the PC and the BS; and
a Location Register (LR) is a distributed database, which stores information about the MS in the idle mode. A PC needs to send paging messages according to the PG currently containing the MS. Therefore, an LR is required for saving the state information, paging information and service stream information of the MS. Generally, each LR corresponds to one PC, and two logic entities work in the same logic entity.
As required, a Network Access Point (NAP) divides a network into several Paging Groups (PGs). One PG consists of one or more PAs (BSs), and is managed by the network operator. One PG must reside in a NAP. A BS and the related PAs may be entities in multiple PGs.
Regardless of other physical NEs and logic entities in the WiMAX network, the following description is made with respect to the WiMAX paging reference architecture shown in FIG. 1 (the technical solution under the present invention includes but is not limited to the application in a WiMAX system).
According to the paging reference model shown in FIG. 1, when an MS requests to enter the idle mode on BS1 (a serving BS), or BS1 instructs the MS to enter the idle mode, message interaction is performed between the MS and the BS1, between the BS1 and the back-end NE "ASN GW" to notify the PC that the MS enters the idle mode (this is implemented in the ASN GW1). The state information, paging information and service stream information of the MS are saved in the corresponding LR. After the MS enters the idle mode, the corresponding R4 and R6 interfaces need to be released, but the R3 interface between the Home Agent (HA) and the Foreign Agent (FA) must be reserved.
In the prior art, after a service occurs on the MS, the process of paging an MS at the network side is: The FA receives a downlink packet sent by the HA to the MSS, detects that the Mobile Subscriber Station (MSS) is in the idle mode, and hence sends an MSS Info Req message to the anchor PC, instructing the PC to page the MSS. After obtaining the information about the MSS, the anchor PC/LR replies with an MSS Info Rsp message. The anchor PC sends a Paging Announce message to the PA under its direct management; and sends a Paging Announce message to the relay PC that manages the PA if the PA is not directly managed by the anchor PC but is located in the corresponding PG After receiving the Paging Announce message, the PC forwards the message to the corresponding PA. After receiving the Paging Announce message, the PA initiates paging to the MS from an air interface.
In the prior art, however, an attempt of paging results in drastic waste of air interface resources, and increases complexity for allocation of the air interface resources. Moreover, the prior art does not describe how to instruct other BS to stop paging after the MS is paged successfully.

Method for paging and stopping paging to an idle MS and a paging apparatus


A disc unit includes a head that records information onto and/or reproduces information from a disc, a suspension that includes a top surface and a side surface, and supports the head on the top surface, a flexible printed circuit board attached to the side surface of the suspension through an air gap, the flexible printed circuit board transmitting a signal indicative of the information to and from the head, and a damper that damps oscillation of the flexible printed circuit board.

The present invention relates generally to a disc unit, and more particularly to a vibration proof mechanism for use with a suspension that supports a head, and a vibration proof disc unit having the suspension. The present invention is suitable, for example, for a magnetic disc unit that realizes high-speed accesses to mass storage capacity for use with a server.
Recent explosively increasing electronic information content has demanded small, low-profile, and fast-access magnetic disc units, such as HDDs, of mass storage or high surface recording density. A typical HDD includes plural discs to be driven by a spindle motor, plural suspensions each mounted with a magnetic head, a head arm or an actuator connected to the suspension to drive them, and means for transmitting a signal to and from the head.
The magnetic head includes a minute head core that records and reproduces signals, and a slider that supports the head core. Each disc is inserted between a pair of suspensions. The head arm is attached to a proximal wide end of the suspension, and the slider is attached to a distal narrow end of the suspension. The suspension has a triangular shape and serves as a flat spring that presses the slider against a disc. A recent suspension has a printed circuit to be connected to the head, and this type of suspension is known as a wireless suspension.
Plural strap-shaped trunk flexible printed circuit boards ("FPC") and one main FPC are typically used as the above signal transmission means. The trunk FPC is connected to the main FPC and soldered to the printed circuit of the suspension. The trunk FPC transmits a signal to and from the head. The main FPC is connected to the plural trunk FPCs, attached to the head arm, and mounted with a preamp IC that amplifies the signal. The trunk FPC is attached to a side surface of the suspension, while the head is provided on a top surface of the suspension. The printed circuit covers from the top surface to the side surface of the suspension. This is because the suspension that arranges trunk FPC on its top surface would be so thick that the disc unit cannot be thin or cause collisions between the trunk FPC and the disc. In an illustrative example, an interval between the suspension and the disc is 0.4 mm and a thickness of the trunk FPC is about 0.1 mm.
When the disc stops, the slider contacts the disc due to the compression force by the suspension. When the disc rotates, the associative airflow occurs between the slider and the disc and floats the slider from the disc surface (contact start stop ("CSS")). A balance between the floating force and the compression force spaces the slider from the disc at a certain distance from the disc. The head arm typically swings and moves the magnetic head to a target position on the disc.
Stable recording and reproducing require the suspension to stabilize seeking by eliminating torsional vibration of a head. The torsional vibration would offset a position of a head from a target position on the disc, causing delayed track servo or inaccessibility.
However, the conventional magnetic disc unit cannot disadvantageously reconcile a demand for miniaturization and a demand for fast access using a high-density disc. The trunk FPC strap is as thick as the side surface of the suspension to avoid influence of the airflow. An air gap exists between the trunk FPC and the side surface of the suspension, because the soldering joint between the printed circuit and the trunk FPC juts out from the side surface of the suspension. This air gap causes turbulence with the airflow, vibrating the trunk FPC. The fast access demand increases a rotational speed of the disc by the spindle motor, and enhances the airflow associated with the rotation. The trunk FPC is thus susceptible to the airflow generated by a rotation of the disc when the suspension swings in a direction orthogonal to the trunk FPC, and would be a vibration source of torsional vibration. The trunk FPC excited by the airflow vibrates the suspension, and deteriorates a positional error signal used to position the head to the target position. Further, the increased surface recording density requires higher precision in positioning the head to a target track. According to the inventors' studies, this vibration of the trunk FPC becomes non-negligible when the rotational speed is higher than 10,000 rpm or higher, the capacity becomes about 70 GB or higher so that the surface recording density is higher than 60,000 dpi or higher.

Disc drive actuator assembly with trunk flexible printed circuit board damping configuration


A radial bearing structure for radially supporting a turret (14) rotatably carried by a vessel (10) including a plurality of arcuately spaced radial bearing assemblies (74) for radially supporting a rail (38) about the circumference of the turret (14). Each radial bearing assembly (74) has a roller (104) and a follower (94). A pair of concentric spring assemblies (92, 98) continuously urge follower (94) and roller (104) toward rail (38) so that roller (104) remains in contact with the rail (38) at all times. As shown in FIG. 7, inner springs (92) have reached maximum radial travel toward rail (38) and do not exert a radial force against follower (94) and roller (104). During maximum lateral movements of the turret (14), outer coil spring (98) forces follower (94) and roller (104) a distance (D) relative to and beyond inner springs (92) to maintain a spring loading against roller (104) for maintaining contact of roller (104) against rail (38). As shown in FIG. 8, the inner spring assembly may comprise an elastomer spring (92A) having a plurality of elastomeric pads (93A) separated by metal discs (95A).

Heretofore, vessel mooring systems have been provided in which a vessel may weathervane about a turret which is normally anchored to the sea floor. The turret is supported for rotation on bearing structures secured to the vessel. Both horizontal and vertical loads are transferred between the turret and the fixed structure of the vessel. Vertical and radial bearing structures have been provided heretofore for transferring the horizontal and vertical loads between the turret and the vessel. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,446 dated Aug. 31, 1993, shows a mooring system which includes a rotatable turret mounted on the vessel. The turret is supported in a well of the vessel and has a radial bearing structure or assembly. A plurality of radial bearing assemblies are spaced about the outer periphery of the turret and have bearing blocks engaging a support ring about the outer periphery of the turret. The bearing blocks may pivot to fit any uneven adjacent surfaces of the turret.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,957 dated Nov. 1, 1994 likewise discloses a turret for a vessel with the turret having fixed radial arms which are supported by both radial and axial bearings. The radial bearings includes rollers or wheels which run against a rail fixed to the vessel. A wedge device moves the rollers in and out in a radial direction. The rollers are mounted in very close relation to each other to limit flexure in the rail section.
Radial bearings react horizontal loadings from the turret structure to the ship structure. Radial flexures and radial deformations must be compensated by the radial bearings. Such radial bearings heretofore have also included Belleville type springs to compensate for radial flexures or deformations in radial bearings for turrets in which rollers on a turret side against a rail fixed to the structure of the vessel. The Belleville springs absorb a substantial horizontal loading with only a relatively small deflection required. However, a disadvantage in the utilization of Belleville springs occurs when a relatively large horizontal loading is being reacted from only one side of the turret with the rollers and rail on such one side in contact, while the rollers and rail on the opposite side of the turret are out of contact as a result of the relatively small travel or deflection provided by the Belleville springs. As a result, once the turret returns or travels back to its neutral center, the horizontal rail and rollers on the opposite side recontact each other but the rollers have to "climb" up the crown of the rail until the rail and rollers return to their original radially centered position. During return to the original radially centered position, the bearing system undergoes or experiences an increased rolling resistance which requires an increased torque in order for the vessel to weathervane about the turret. Thus, a need exists for a spring assembly to take up any slack occurring when a relatively large horizontal loading is being reacted from only one side of the turret which may result in a spacing between the rollers and rail on the opposite side of the turret.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a spring urged radial bearing structure for a turret which remains in contact with the turret during maximum lateral excursions of the turret.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a spring structure for a radial bearing structure including a pair of spring device with one spring device being effective after the other spring device is ineffective thereby to maintain the radial bearing structure in contact with the turret during maximum lateral excursions of the turret.


A method minimizes a driveline vibration and reduces stopping distances in a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) having a plurality of drive wheels, a friction braking system having antilock braking system (ABS) capability, and an electronically variable transmission (EVT) with two EVT modes. The method automatically shifts the EVT to a predetermined high speed/low torque EVT mode when the ABS is active and when a calibrated maximum deceleration rate is not exceeded. An HEV has a friction braking system with ABS capability and an EVT including a plurality of modes. A controller automatically activates the friction braking ABS in response to a threshold level of slip between the drive wheels and the road surface when the brake pedal is actuated. An algorithm automatically shifts the EVT into one of the high speed/low torque EVT modes when the ABS is activated and the calibrated maximum deceleration rate is not exceeded.

A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) selectively utilizes multiple sources of energy in order to improve overall fuel economy, as well as to reduce certain vehicle emissions. An HEV includes a rechargeable energy storage system (ESS), which is ordinarily configured as a battery or a battery pack having a relatively high energy density. The ESS is electrically connected to at least one of the multiple energy sources. The multiple energy sources most often include a gasoline, diesel, or alternative fuel internal combustion engine and at least one electric motor/generator. Other HEV designs may alternately employ a fuel cell and/or another power source in place of or in conjunction with the internal combustion engine in order to further reduce vehicle emissions and improve operating range of the HEV.
In certain HEV designs, the drive wheels remain continuously connected to the driveline of the HEV to enable regenerative braking, thus providing a relatively efficient means of capturing useful braking energy. As is known in the art, regenerative braking can occur when an electric motor/generator is allowed to act as in its capacity as a generator during a regenerative braking event. When acting as a generator, the electric motor/generator can recharge the ESS while concurrently applying a negative torque to the drive wheels, thus slowing the HEV. Likewise, during normal driving operations the electric motor/generator can be operated as a motor, thus drawing power from the ESS and potentially powering the HEV and/or its various onboard systems.
As long as the drive wheels remain in continuous contact with the road surface, noise and driveline vibration are generally minimized within the vehicle interior. However, the coefficient of friction of certain road surfaces may be relatively low, such as on icy, snowy, oily, or wet pavement. The low coefficient of friction surface causes a disparity in the relative rotational speeds of the drive wheels with respect to the vehicle speed, or between the desired output torque and the actual torque imparted to the drive wheels.
In an HEV equipped with antilock braking system or ABS capability, slip occurring between the drive wheels and the road surface when a threshold braking force is applied to a brake pedal causes a controller to automatically activate the ABS. When the ABS is activated, a friction braking system is automatically pumped or cycled at a rapid rate in order to prevent the drive wheels from locking. However, depending on the particular road conditions as quantified by the coefficient of friction of the road surface, a perceptible driveline disturbance or vibration may result during the active ABS braking event, potentially leading to a less than optimal braking feel and performance.

Method and apparatus for optimizing braking control during a threshold braking event


A device for inhibiting power supply voltage fluctuation that is caused by fluctuation of a load current generated by a load circuit. The device includes a current consumption circuit, a data generation circuit, and a D/A converter. The current consumption circuit is connected to a power supply and the load circuit to generate a consumption current that flows parallel to the load current of the load circuit. The data generation circuit controls the consumption current of the current consumption circuit in order to inhibit fluctuation of an output current of the power supply, which is the sum of the load current and the consumption current, when the load current rises and when the consumption current falls. The D/A converter converts the digital signal to an analog signal and provides the analog signal to the current consumption circuit.

The present invention relates to a power fluctuation inhibiting device, and more particularly, to a power fluctuation inhibiting device for suppressing fluctuation of power supply voltage in a semiconductor device.
Semiconductor devices incorporated in recent portable electronic equipment are configured to function in a power down mode in order to reduce power consumption. Internal circuits stop operating during the power down mode to reduce power consumption. In a conventional semiconductor device, the load applied to the power supply fluctuates when the semiconductor device shifts between the power down mode and a normal mode. This causes the power supply voltage to fluctuate. Such power fluctuation may result in erroneous functioning of circuits. Thus, the fluctuation of power supply voltage must be inhibited.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-55947 describes a power supply device that supplies power to an air conditioner. In accordance with fluctuations in the load applied to the air conditioner, which functions as a load circuit, the power supply device inhibits power fluctuation by opening and closing a switch of a converter circuit. However, the power supply device cannot sufficiently follow complicated load fluctuations. Accordingly, even if the technical concept of the power supply device is applied to a semiconductor device, power fluctuations cannot be inhibited by following load fluctuations of multiple load circuits.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-90370 describes a technology that detects the operation rate of a pulse generation circuit, which functions as a load circuit of a power supply, and operates a current consumption circuit based on fluctuations in the operation rate to reduce transient current. However, it is difficult to match the timing at which the operating rate of the pulse generation circuit fluctuates with the timing for operating the current consumption circuit. It is also difficult to offset the fluctuated amount of the current consumed by the pulse generation circuit with the value of the current consumed by the current consumption circuit.
Accordingly, deviation of the operating timing of the current consumption circuit or an inappropriate value of the current consumed by the current consumption circuit may result in power fluctuation.
FIG. 1 illustrates power fluctuations that occur when activating and inactivating internal circuits in a prior art semiconductor device. For example, when multiple analog circuits start to operate as a first control signal CS1 goes low, the power supply voltage Vs fluctuates.
The power supply voltage Vs also fluctuates when multiple digital circuits start to operate as a second control signal CS2 goes high. Further, when the first and second control signals CS1, CS2 synchronously inactivate the analog and digital circuits, the power supply voltage Vs fluctuates.
FIG. 2 is a block circuit diagram showing a prior art device that inhibits fluctuation of the power supply voltage Vs. As shown in FIG. 2, the power supply voltage Vs is supplied to two load circuits 1a, 1b via switch circuits 2a, 2b, respectively. An activation signal AC1 opens and closes a switch circuit 2a. The delay circuit 3 delays an activation signal AC1 to generate an activation signal AC2 that opens and closes the switch circuit 2b. The load circuits 1a, 1b are activated and inactivated in an asynchronous manner. This inhibits fluctuation of the power supply voltage Vs.
FIG. 3 illustrates a specific example of the load circuit shown in FIG. 2. The load circuit is a current mirror circuit that includes transistors Tr1–Tr3. When a switch circuit 4a goes on and a switch circuit 4b goes off, the transistors Tr1, Tr2 function as a current mirror circuit. When the switch circuit 4a and a switch circuit 4c go on and a switch circuit 4d goes off, the transistors Tr2, Tr3 function as a current mirror circuit.
The switch circuit 4a receives an activation signal AC3. The switch circuit 4c receives an activation signal AC4, which is generated by delaying the activation signal AC3 with a delay circuit 5a. The switch circuit 4b receives an activation signal AC5, which is generated by inverting the activation signal AC3 with an inverter circuit 6. The switch circuit 4d receives an activation signal AC6, which is generated by delaying the activation signal AC5 with a delay circuit 5b.
The switch circuit 4c goes on after the switch circuit 4a goes on. Thus, the transistors TR2, TR3 start to function as a current mirror circuit after the transistors Tr1, Tr2 start to function as a current mirror circuit. To inactivate the current mirror circuits, after inactivating the switch circuit 4a and activating the switch circuit 4b, the switch circuit 4c is inactivated and the switch circuit 4d is activated.
Accordingly, after the transistors Tr1, Tr2 stop functioning as a current mirror circuit, the transistors Tr2, Tr3 stop functioning as a current mirror circuit. The transistors Tr1, Tr2 and the transistors Tr2, Tr3 are activated and inactivated in an asynchronous manner. Thus, fluctuation of the power supply voltage is inhibited.
In the circuit of FIG. 3, the switch circuits 4a–4d are especially required to offset the operating timing of the current mirror circuits. However, the switch circuits 4a, 4c may especially fluctuate the gate voltage of the transistors Tr1, Tr3. Thus, when the current mirror circuit requires accuracy, the switch circuits 4a–4d cannot be employed.

Device and method for inhibiting power fluctuation


Thin films of the lead titanate system expressed by the general formula: Pb(Zr.sub.x Ti.sub.1-x)O.sub.3, where 0.ltoreq.x<1, are produced by (a) preparing a complex alkoxide including at least lead and titanium atoms by a liquid-phase reaction of lead carboxylate with at least one alkoxide of titanium and zirconium alkoxides, (b) dissolving the resultant complex alkoxide in water to prepare an aqueous solution of the complex alkoxide, and (c) immersing a substrate in the resultant aqueous solution to deposit a thin film of the lead titanate system on said substrate by hydrolysis of the complex alkoxide. The resultant thin film may heated to a temperature ranging from 400 to 900.degree. C. to produce thin films with a perovskite structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a production of thin films of a lead titanate system and, more particularly, a process of producing thin films of a lead titanate system useful as a material for electronic parts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A ceramic material of a lead titanate system, expressed by the general formula: Pb(Zr.sub.x Ti.sub.1-x)O.sub.3, where 0.ltoreq.x<1, possesses good properties required for a ferroelectric material, a piezoelectric material, or a pyroelectric material and has widely been used for various electronic parts such as, for example, ceramic capacitors, actuators and pyroelectric infrared sensors. With increasing demands for miniaturization and high performance of electronic equipments, it is common to use such a ceramic material of a lead titanate system in the form of thin film. To this end, there have been proposed various processes of producing thin films of ceramics, such as sputtering (JP-B-62-41311, JP-B- 63-238799), chemical vapor deposition (CVD, JP-A-63-178408), vacuum evaporation (JP-A-1-6306, JP-A-1-74778), cluster ion-beam process (JP-A-1-222046), plasma process (JP-A-2-57686), coating (JP-A-3-283583), fusion process (JP-A-60-84712), a sol-gel method (JP-A-26087), and hydrothermal synthesis (Proceeding papers, pp. 88-89, The eighth meetings of application of ferroelectrics). These processes may be divided into two groups, i.e., a vapor phase process in which the fabrication of thin films is carried out in a vapor phase, and a liquid phase process in which the fabrication of thin films is carried out in a liquid phase.
However, these processes have various problems awaiting a solution. For example, the vapor phase process (i.e., sputtering, chemical vapor deposition and vacuum evaporation, cluster ion-beam process, plasma process) requires use of complex and expensive equipment, resulting in considerable increase of production cost of the thin films. Further, the fabrication of the thin films is carried out in a gas stream of the raw materials, thus making is impossible to form thin films on the whole surface of the substrates, especially back of the substrate or on substrates with the complex configuration. In addition, there is a limit to the material of the substrates as the film fabrication is carried out at a high temperature.
On the other hand, in the liquid phase process, for example, the coating is too troublesome to operate as it requires coating and baking operations repeatedly. In addition, the coating process cannot be applied to substrates of a complex configuration. The sol-gel method has the disadvantage that it is inevitable to produce cracking in the thin film during firing. If the substrate has a many-tiered surface, it is difficult to produce uniform thin films. The hydrothermal method requires use of a substrate made of metallic titanium or coated with metallic titanium, thus making it difficult to increase applications thereof. In the fusion process in which a substrate with a fused solution is subjected to rapid cooling, there is a limit to the material of the substrates as the substrate is required to have a high heat resistance.

Production of thin films of a lead titanate system


A magnetic sputtering target which contains B and is obtained by a melting and casting method, wherein the B content is 10 at % or more and 50 at % or less, and the remainder is one or more elements selected from Co, Fe, and Ni. Based on the method of the present invention, the sputtering target, in which gaseous impurities are few, there are no cracks and fractures, and segregation of its main constituent elements is minimal, is obtained. Consequently, when sputtered with a magnetron sputtering device comprising a DC power supply, this sputtering target yields a significant effect of being able to inhibit the generation of particles during sputtering, and improve the production yield upon forming thin films.

The present invention relates to a sputtering target which contains boron (B) and is produced via the melting and casting method, and in particular relates to a target effective for use in a magnetic head, a magnetoresistive element (MRAM) or the like, in which gaseous impurities are few, compositional segregation is minimal, and there is no problem in mechanical properties such as cracks.
As the next-generation high-speed storage element, a magnetoresistive element (MRAM) is being developed, and a magnetic material containing boron (B) is being used as the material for use in layers configuring the MRAM. For example, known are compositions made from elements such as Co, Fe and Ni, and boron, even specifically Co—B or Co—Fe—B, or compositions in which Al, Cu, Mn, Ni and the like are added thereto.
Generally speaking, the magnetic layers configuring the MRAM are prepared by sputtering a target having a composition made of Co, Fe, Ni and the like and boron.
Since this kind of magnetic sputtering target comprises B as a main component, particularly if the composition ratio of B is increased and exceeds 10%, extremely fragile Co3B, Co2B, and CoB compound phases are formed. Consequently, the ingot becomes cracked or fractured, and it is difficult to obtain a sputtering target from the ingot.
When the ingot is prepared via slow cooling in order to prevent the foregoing problem, it is possible to inhibit the generation of cracks and fractures, but there is a problem in that compositional segregation will increase. Thus, targets have been obtained by subjecting powders to sintering and molding, but since the surface area of the powders is large and the adsorbed gas has trouble escaping, the amount of gaseous impurities, particularly oxygen, will increase. Consequently, there is a problem in that the characteristics of the film that is obtained via sputtering will be unstable.
Here, there are various types of sputtering devices, but a magnetron sputtering device comprising a DC power supply is widely used in the deposition of the foregoing magnetic film in light of its high productivity. The sputtering method is to place a target as the negative electrode opposite to a substrate as the positive electrode, and generate an electric field by applying a high voltage between the substrate and the target in an inert gas atmosphere.
Here, the inert gas is ionized to form plasma made of electrons and positive ions. When the positive ions in the plasma collide with the surface of the target (negative electrode), the atoms configuring the target are sputtered, and the sputtered atoms adhere to the opposing substrate surface and thereby form a film. This stands by the principle that the material configuring the target is deposited on the substrate as a result of this sequence of processes.
As described above, when using a sputtering target that is produced by sintering raw material powders, there is a significant drawback in that large amounts of oxygen are contained in comparison to the melted and casted material and that the density is low. The existence of large amounts of gas components such as oxygen generates particles during the sputtering of the target, and causes the magnetic properties of the magnetic film to be unstable. Accordingly, a method of adding B to a magnetic raw material for deoxidation has been proposed (refer to Patent Document 1).
Nevertheless, in the foregoing case, deoxidation is performed by adding B to an alloy mainly based on Co and melting the product, rapid solidification treatment and powderization are performed thereto, and sintering is further performed to the obtained powder in order to obtain a powder sintered target. In Patent Document 1, boron is added in an amount of 10% or less in order to eliminate oxygen from the raw metal such as Co, and this is to aim for deoxidation by adding B in a midway process. However, since the powder sintering method is ultimately adopted, as shown in the Examples and Comparative Examples of Patent Document 1, the results are inferior in terms of oxygen content and density in comparison to the melting and casting method, and it cannot be used for producing a target in which the composition of B needs to be controlled.
Normally, the oxygen content achieved by the powder sintering method is 150 wtppm or more. In order to further reduce the oxygen content, processes of the high costs need to be devised, and this is undesirable from the perspective of actual production.    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-107226


The invention concerns a method (200) and system (100) for selectively coupling a communication unit (110) to a hearing enhancement device (112). The method includes the steps of—in the communication unit—selecting (212) between an acoustic coupling setting and an inductive coupling setting, in response to the selecting step, switching (214) an audio output of the communication unit to an acoustic coupling path (136) or an inductive coupling path (138), and outputting (226) through either the acoustic coupling path or the inductive coupling path an audio signal to the hearing enhancement device.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to methods and systems for coupling a communications unit to another electronic device and more particularly, coupling the communications unit to a hearing enhancement device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, communication units, such as cellular telephones and personal digital assistants, have become commonplace. Many users of such units may wear hearing enhancement devices, commonly referred to as hearing aids. Many hearing aids contain two types of coupling paths: (1) acoustic coupling and (2) inductive coupling. For acoustic coupling, a microphone that is within the hearing aid receives audio from an external source and transfers it to an amplification stage of the hearing aid. Regarding inductive coupling, the hearing aid typically includes an axial or radial telecoil, or T-coil. A magnetic field that is generated by an external, sound-producing device can cause a signal to be induced in the T-coil of the hearing aid, and this signal is transferred to the amplification stage. The hearing aid normally includes a switch that permits a user to select one of these coupling paths.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mandated that cellular telephone manufacturers soon produce cellular telephones that are compatible with hearing aids. The compatibility is based on standards set forth by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). In addition, the compatibility applies to both acoustic coupling and inductive coupling.
The acoustic path for most cellular telephones, however, includes a housing, and the acoustic characteristics of the housing affect the audio frequency response of a cellular telephone. To limit the effect of the housing on the audio frequency response, many cellular telephones include an audio equalizer, which can be used to manipulate the audio signal being fed to a speaker of the cellular telephone. The audio equalizer can produce an optimal acoustic frequency response, one that is satisfactory for users who do or do not wear hearing aids. Additionally, this frequency response meets industry standards for an acoustically-coupled hearing aid.
Unfortunately, this manipulation of the audio signal produces a less-than-optimal frequency response for an inductively-coupled hearing aid. In fact, this less-than-optimal frequency response fails to meet the FCC's compatibility requirements for magnetically coupled hearing aids. Additionally, if the audio signal is adjusted to produce an optimal frequency response for an inductively-coupled hearing aid, the frequency response for an acoustically-coupled hearing aid will suffer and will fail to meet the FCC's compatibility requirement.

Method and system for selective coupling of a communication unit to a hearing enhancement device


A system for applying accurately metered, minute quantities of concentrated additives from bulk sources of supply to successive masses of material presented for treatment includes a pass-through chamber within which separate streams of a liquid carrier and the additive substance are merged together. As the liquid carrier passes through the chamber, the additive, in either dry or liquid form, is likewise directed into the chamber in a metered flow to incrementally combine with the liquid stream and form the combined product. A suction pump at the downstream end of the chamber draws the prepared product out of the chamber and advances it toward an ultimate delivery site. The carrier liquid is prevented from accumulating into a pool within the chamber by the suction pump that cooperates with the upright orientation of the chamber to cause the carrier liquid to swirl smoothly through the chamber. A suction vortex may be created as the product exits the chamber, within which vortex the additive may be directed so as to complete its entrainment with the carrier without causing turbulence. The system can be easily flushed with the liquid carrier after each batch and then dried with an optional air blower.

My prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,801,210 titled Method and Apparatus for Continuous Mixing of Small, Precise Quantities of Bulk Materials with a Liquid Stream discloses and claims a method and apparatus for mixing relatively small, metered amounts of innoculant powder or the like with a moving carrier stream of oil or the like. While this system eliminates the need for vats and mixing bowls, and all of their attendant disadvantages, my earlier system is designed to be pressurized throughout all regions of the system, which has the disadvantage of adding undue expense and complexity to the system.

Method for making a product from separate bulk sources of supply of a liquid carrier and an additive


The disclosure relates to devices for the completely automated detection and characterization of a resin flash in a part consisting of a composite material, the device including an OCT measuring head including an OCT measuring module, a manipulator capable of moving the OCT head in space, a control for the manipulator, and a computer including a memory for acquiring the definition of the geometry of the area to be tested, for recording the measurements, for storing a criterion file, and for performing calculations pertaining to the comparison of the recording with the criterion file. The disclosure also relates to a method for detection and characterization of such a resin flash.

The constituent elements of the structure of a vehicle, and of an aircraft in particular, must be tested to check that flaws that are inherent to the process of their manufacture, and that would be liable, in particular, to decrease the structural withstand properties of these parts in service, are absent therefrom. The size of these flaws is, generally, several orders of magnitude smaller than the size of the parts thus tested. More particularly, in the case of composite parts comprising a resin reinforced by a fibrous reinforcement taking the form of continuous fibers, these parts form integral subassemblies of the structure, which are unitarily formed by molding, and which may have complex shapes.
In the prior art, it is known to test this type of part with techniques that use the propagation of ultrasound through the thickness of the part to detect therein cracks, delamination, resin deficiencies, etc. These ultrasonic testing techniques advantageously use one or more laser beams, which are focused on the surface of the part and moved over this surface by a robot or a manipulator, to create an excitation and to obtain an interferometric measurement. These nondestructive testing techniques allow automatic "dry" testing of the entirety of the volume of the part to be performed, no acoustic coupling agent being used between the sensors and the surface on which the testing is carried out.
However, in the case of a part formed from a composite material reinforced by long or continuous fibers, flaws that are liable to have an influence on the mechanical properties of the part, but the presence of which is not detected by ultrasonic testing, or which require, in order to be detected by such testing, operating conditions that are not compatible with industrial conditions, or indeed the detection and above all characterization of which requires destructive testing, exist. Thus, flaws such as pleating or corrugation of the fibers can only be detected in micrographic sections or by nonautomatable visual methods such as the detection of an orangey "flash" when the tested zone of the part is illuminated with a white light. The visual method referred to as the "resin flash" method takes advantage of the fact that fiber pleats or corrugations create bodies of resin, mainly on the surface, in the zones in which these pleats are observed, i.e. zones in which the fibers must follow tortuous paths and in which the course of the path does not allow a tension to be applied to the fibers, such as in the concave zones of the fillet radii between two faces. These bodies of resin are detected by illuminating the surface, the light of this illumination being modified by the translucent resin that, in the absence of local reinforcement, generates a bright spot. This detection technique is as old as the use of composites comprising fibrous reinforcements in an organic matrix, to the point that the flaw and its detection technique are not often differentiated, both commonly being designated by the term "resin flash".
Now, analysis of micrographic sections only provides local information that is not representative of the extent, and therefore the severity, of the flaw, and the flash method does not enable quantitative characterization of the flaw, the latter method in addition being highly subjective and depending on the experience of the operator implementing it.

Method and device for nondestructive testing of material health especially in the fillets of a composite part


A warehouse terminal building shelter defining a truck dock and seal, wherein a head pad assembly includes a head pad pivot assembly which is anchored forwardly, within the head pad assembly and secured in spring-biased relation thereto. Opposed side pads are covered and reinforced by tension tie straps secured to the blockouts forwardly thereof and in coactive sealing disposition beneath the pivot assembly. Each side pad is of L-shape configuration in cross-section, the side pads being deformable inwardly, relative to the shelter and its head pad.

In loading and off-loading trucks, including, tractor-trailer trucks, it is desirable to seal the area between terminal dock and truck against inclement weather. At the same time, it is important to provide such a combined shelter and dock seal as will withstand periodic vehicle misalignment and/or abuse. Accordingly, the present invention is adapted to provide at a warehouse or building dock a protective unit that presents a weather-tight seal when engaged by trailer or truck, whereby truck rear doors may be opened beyond the dock into the interior of the building. It is desirable that such a dock shelter not only permit complete and unobstructed open door access, but also provide fail-safe weather protection.
The shelter herein is mounted along the outer perimeter of the dock opening of the warehouse or terminal building. It is imperative that such a shelter permit free loading/unloading access to the open interior of the truck. Likewise, the truck body should be sealable by a head pad assembly within the shelter. More specifically, the invention is an interdependent head pad and side L-pad dock seal unit. The unit is sufficiently versatile to accommodate a truck/trailer which is out of position relative to dock center as defined by the building construction. The dock center is determined by bumpers and dock sills which are fixed, adjacent the door opening of the building.

Storage terminal shelter, including head pad and side pad assemblies for truck closure at docking stations