An antenna support structure is in the form of a tree. The structure includes an armature and a plurality of pipes connected to the armature to define a skeleton. A layer of epoxy is applied over the skeleton and is surface molded to resemble the bark of actual tree trunks, limbs and branches. Artificial foliage is then assembled to the limbs and branches to resemble the leaves or needles of a tree. Antenna mounting assemblies are joined to the skeleton and positioned so that the receiving and transmitting antennas mounted thereon are largely hidden from view by the limbs, branches and foliage of the tree. The materials from which the limbs, branches and foliage are fabricated have been specifically selected so as to not interfere with the radio signals being transmitted from or received by the antennas. The antenna support structure is capable of supporting antennas in an inconspicuous manner which does not detract from the aesthetics of the location in which it is installed.

As a result of the relatively recent advent of cellular telephone systems, users are now able to take a telephone with them for communication to or from almost any location. Briefly stated, these systems consist of a plurality of sites, referred to as cell sites, at which transmitting antennas, receiving antennas and attendant electronics are located. Telephone signals are transmitted through free space transmission between cellular telephones, such as mobile phones and portable phones, and these cell sites. Since the signals travel on a line of sight between the user's cellular telephone and the transmitting and receiving antennas, the antennas are typically mounted at relatively high elevations to minimize any interference. Cables and sophisticated switching systems link the cell sites together so that the signals can be transferred from one cell site to another cell site depending upon the movement of the user.
In the infancy of the cellular communications industry, cellular systems were installed in urban areas and needed only a minimum number of cell sites in order to cover these areas and accommodate the relatively low volume of calls they were handling. Because of their urban locations, these cell sites often consisted of the inconspicuous placement of transmitting and receiving antennas on existing tall structures, such as buildings and water towers. Where such structures were not available, separate towers were built to support the antennas at a high elevation. Since these towers had to have superior strength to withstand enormous wind shear forces and environmental exposure, they were and still are typically built from an unsightly latticework of steel, and are most often the tallest, most prominent structures in the area. Fortunately, the placement of these towers in heavily industrialized areas had only minimal impact on the aesthetics of the area and therefore their approval and construction met with little resistance.
The proliferation of cellular communications has now created the need for an expanded area of coverage and for a denser array of cell sites to handle the ever increasing volume of use. Since many of the readily available sites have already been taken, the search for new cell sites has become increasingly difficult. To a large extent, the reason for this has been the need to place these newer cell sites in undeveloped areas and in largely residential suburban locations, neither of which typically has tall buildings or other such structures on which transmitting and receiving antennas can be mounted. Even when such structures are available, cellular companies are most often faced with enormous burdens in attempting to obtain approval to mount the antennas on these structures from reluctant local zoning boards. Where tall structures are not already available, local residents, zoning boards and environmental groups are almost always steadfastly opposed to the construction of tall antenna support towers because of the negative impact these unsightly towers would have on the aesthetics of the undeveloped areas and the aesthetics of their residential communities.
Cellular companies are therefore faced with a dilemma. They must create additional cell sites in order to accommodate the increasing demand for cellular communications, yet the enormous cost, in terms of both money and time, to gain approval for new antenna installations has impeded their ability to provide this expanded coverage.
There therefore exists a need for a way in which the transmitting and receiving antennas of cellular communications systems can be installed inconspicuously at high elevations so as to not raise objections from the governing bodies and residents of local communities or from environmental groups. More particularly, there exists a need for an antenna support tower which is strong and durable, yet which is aesthetically pleasing so as to create a cell site which will not detract from the appearance of the area in which it is installed. Preferably, such antenna support tower will blend inconspicuously into the environment in which it is constructed.


A mounting assembly for mounting a sound-deadening body to a fuselage of an aircraft and a method for attaching a sound-deadening body to a fuselage of an aircraft using the mounting assembly is disclosed herein. In a non-limiting embodiment, the mounting assembly includes, but is not limited to, a retaining member that is configured to engage the sound-deadening body. The mounting assembly further includes an isolating member that is engaged with the retaining member. The isolating member is configured for connection to the fuselage and is further configured to diminish transmission of vibration from the fuselage to and through the retaining member, and therefore to reduce the transmission of sound into the cabin.

The outer skin of the fuselage of an aircraft directly interacts with the atmosphere while the aircraft is flying. This interaction with the atmosphere causes vibrations to radiate throughout the fuselage. These vibrations generate noise that, if unimpeded, would radiate into the cabin of the aircraft and be perceptible to passengers. Because this is undesirable, modern passenger aircraft commonly include a sound-deadening blanket that is positioned between the fuselage of the aircraft and the cabin of the aircraft.
Conventional sound-deadening blankets are attached to the fuselage via retaining spikes. The retaining spikes are mounted directly to any suitable portion of the fuselage, including, but not limited to, the skin and the frame elements of the fuselage. The retaining spikes have elongate cylindrically shaped bodies that penetrate through the sound-deadening blankets to engage both sides of the sound-deadening blanket. In this manner, the retaining spikes are enabled to hold the sound-deadening blankets in place with respect to the fuselage.
While the above described solution system is adequate, there is room for improvement. The retaining spikes are commonly manufactured from relatively hard materials including, but not limited to, metals and plastics. Metals and hard plastics are relatively good transmitters of vibration and sound. Being mounted directly to the fuselage places the retaining spikes in direct contact with the very structure that vibrates and causes the undesired noise. Because the retaining spikes are good transmitters of sound and vibration, because they are directly attached to the structure that generates the undesired noise and vibration, and because the retaining spikes pass through the sound-deadening blanket, the noise and vibration that is generated by the fuselage has a pathway that can effectively bypass the sound-deadening blanket. This bypass can occur in several ways. For example, noise may radiate off of the tip of the retaining spike which is located on the cabin side of the sound-deadening body. Noise may also radiate off of the sound-deadening body that is located near the spike because the spike imparts vibration into the sound-deadening body. Additionally, if the retaining spike is in physical contact with the panels of the cabin, vibrations from the fuselage can pass through the retaining spike directly into the cabin panels which, in turn, radiate noise into the cabin. Also, noise on the fuselage side of the sound-deadening blankets can pass directly through the hole in the sound-deadening blanket if the hole is not snug around the spike. Accordingly, the current arrangement of retaining spikes and sound-deadening blankets in aircraft fuselages increases the likelihood that some amount of undesired noise and vibration from the fuselage will be transmitted into the passenger compartment.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a mounting assembly that diminishes the likelihood that noise and vibration generated by the interaction of the fuselage with the atmosphere will enter the passenger cabin of the aircraft. In addition, it is desirable to provide a method attaching a sound-deadening body to the fuselage of an aircraft that diminishes the likelihood that sound will travel from the fuselage into the passenger cabin. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.

Mounting assembly and method for mounting a sound-deadening body to a fuselage of an aircraft


In accordance with disclosed embodiments, there are provided systems, methods, and apparatuses for implementing maximum likelihood image binarization in a coded light range camera. For instance, a depth camera is described having therein a projector to project a collection of planes, each at a different angle of projection, onto a scene via a plurality of coded pattern images, each of the coded pattern images having encoded therein via a plurality of stripes, the angle of projection for the plane of projection within which the respective coded pattern image is projected; a detector to capture the plurality of coded pattern images from the scene; a processing component to adjust for ambient illumination and reflection properties of the scene; in which the processing component to further output a bit value for each pixel in the captured plurality of coded pattern images and to output a sub-pixel offset for the pixels positioned upon transitions of the plurality of stripes in the captured plurality of coded pattern images; a decoder to decode each of the plurality of coded pattern images and to adjust the decoded plurality of coded image patterns based on the sub-pixel offsets to determine the angle of projection for the corresponding plane of projection; and a triangulator to determine a position of an object in the scene based on an intersection of the determined angle of projection for the corresponding plane of projection with a known ray emanating from the detector that detected the plurality of the coded pattern images from the scene. Other related embodiments are disclosed.

The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also correspond to embodiments of the claimed subject matter.
Conventional cameras capture a single image from a single optical focal point and are enabled to capture pixels corresponding to an object in a scene, but in so doing, such cameras lose the depth information for where within the scene that object is positioned in terms of depth or distance from camera.
Conversely, stereo cameras have two or more lenses, each with a separate image sensor, and the two or more lenses allow the camera to capture three-dimensional images through a process known as stereo photography. With such conventional stereo cameras, triangulation is used to determine the depth to an object in a scene using a process known as correspondence. Correspondence presents a problem, however, of ascertaining which parts of one image captured at a first of the lenses correspond to parts of another image, captured at a second of the lenses. That is to say, which elements of the two photos correspond to one another as they represent the same portion of an object in the scene, such that triangulation may be performed to determine the depth to that object in the scene.
Given two or more images of the same three-dimensional scene, taken from different points of view via the two or more lenses of the stereo camera, correspondence processing requires identifying a set of points in one image which can be correspondingly identified as the same points in another image by matching points or features in one image with the corresponding points or features in another image.
This processing, however, is computationally intensive and therefore requires additional computing hardware to process higher quality imagery or necessitates a delay between image capture and correspondence processing completion from which the depth to an object may be determined and thus eliminates the possibility of real-time image processing as is required with moving video. Moreover, complexities are further introduced through variables such as movement of the camera, the elapse of time and/or movement of objects in the photos, variability in lighting conditions, and so forth. Still further, it may be that the scene from which the depth to an object is to be measured is nearly featureless, and as such, the correspondence processing cannot ascertain points which match to one another in the images. Consider for instance capturing images of a white wall or a featureless scene and trying to identify matching points within the scene. The correspondence processing will likely fail to identify sufficient correspondence points between the images thus making triangulation ineffective.
The present state of the art may therefore benefit from the systems, methods, and apparatuses for implementing maximum likelihood image binarization in a coded light range camera as is described herein.

Systems, methods, and apparatuses for implementing maximum likelihood image binarization in a coded light range camera


A method for patterning a layer on a substrate can include projecting coherent radiation toward a reflector surface so that the coherent radiation is reflected off the reflector surface to provide a holographic projection of a desired image wherein the reflector surface includes information that corresponds to an inverse of the holographic projection of the desired image. The substrate including the layer can be maintained in the path of the reflected radiation so that the holographic projection is projected onto the layer. Related systems are also discussed.

The present invention relates to the field of microelectronics and more particularly to microelectronic patterning.
As integrated circuit devices become more highly integrated, dimensions of structures such as conductive lines and via holes and spaces therebetween are reduced. Accordingly, patterning processes are needed for smaller patterns. In the past, conventional optical lithography techniques have been used.
In optical lithography, an image of a pattern is optically projected onto a substrate by transmitting radiation through a mask including the pattern thereon. In essence, a pattern from a mask is projected onto a photosensitive material which is then developed so that the developed photosensitive material has the pattern of the mask. As the dimensions of microelectronic structures are further reduced, however, mask projection techniques may limit further reductions in pattern sizes.
Accordingly, there continues to exist a need in the art for improved patterning methods and systems.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Patterning methods and systems using reflected interference patterns

University of Tennessee Research Foundation


The present invention is an apparatus and method of educating the fundamentals of numbers and/or mathematics. The apparatus is designed to replicate mathematical problems appearing on books and other media and includes a base having a front surface. This front surface includes a plurality of recesses, oriented in a column fashion. Each column represents the one's, ten's, and hundred's. The recesses receive numerical plates which are sized according to the specific column. An operator recess for receiving an operator plate is also provided to enable mathematical process to be performed by a user.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an educational mathematical apparatus and more particularly to an educational mathematical apparatus designed and configured to visually and manually enable and encourage students to partake in various mathematical challenges which relate to numbers and to general mathematical processes while providing a fun and enjoyable atmosphere during utilization.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Educational devices, especially those related in the mathematical field, have been used for years for educating and encouraging students in a particular subject matter. These devices are generally designed to provide an alternative form of teaching which is visual and manual, so as to provide for devices which will entice the learning process.
One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,808,111, issued to Pratt. In this patent there is disclosed a mathematics educating device having a number rack and an operator rack. The number rack includes a plurality of number recesses for receiving a plurality of number plates, wherein each number plate bears a numeral. The operator rack includes a plurality of operator recesses for receiving a plurality of mathematical operators. A practice rack is also disclosed having at least three number practice recesses and at least one operator recess. This will enable the user to remove the place at least two numbers from the number rack into the recesses of the practice rack. The user inserts a desired operator into the operator recess. Upon solving the operation identified in the practice rack, the user inserts the appropriate number plate(s) into the third and/or fourth recess for completion. Though this apparatus does enable individuals to visually and manually determine a particular mathematical process, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, it does not successfully address other basic fundamental concepts needed to fully understand the essential scope of numbers, processes and primary mathematics. It is seen that Pratt's apparatus does not teach the relative magnitude of numbers, nor the significance of the number zero, as well as fails to teach nor disclose the number base conversion, all necessary concepts needed to excel and conquer mathematics, in all levels.
Yet another mathematical device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,682, issued to Hildebrandt. In this patent there is disclosed a teaching aid for teaching individuals the process of counting in the tens numbering system. Though successful in this area, Hildebrandt fails to teach the significance of the numeral zero as well as fails to teach basic mathematical operations.
Still another device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,357,116 issued to Bazacos, wherein there is disclosed a mathematical teaching device. This device comprises a board having a plurality of pegs extending outwardly therefrom. Centrally located above the pegs are indicias which represent a particular numeral, such as four dots represents the numeral four. The pegs are designed to receive the particular numeral as identified with the indicia. The concept behind this apparatus is a device which will offer a visual means of learning numbers by allowing the user to match the indicia with the particular number. This device is useful for teaching and identifying numbers one through nine; however, this device fails to disclose the concept of zero as well as fails to disclose basic mathematical computation.
One device which does address mathematical computation is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,290,798 issued to Gilbert. In this patent there is disclosed a teaching device capable of enabling the student to work a variety of problems and answers with relationships by himself. In order to do so, the apparatus includes a first table having a row of mathematical problems and a second table having a plurality of recesses with a mathematical operator located above the recesses. The recesses will accept panels having a numerical representation thereon. This representation signifies the answer identified for the mathematical problem. The recesses are structured so as to accept only one particular panel, and thus immediately allow the user to determine if the answer is correct. Though this device may enable a user to operate the table without supervision, it may inherently teach the individual to recognize shapes rather than basic mathematical concepts, which consequently deters from its intended purpose.
A further device which addresses mathematical computations is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,396,379 issued to Moore. In this patent there is disclosed a board which slidably receives a plurality of numerical panels and mathematical operators. Located above the numerical representation is an indicia for identifying a particular number. For example, located above numeral two will be two dots. This will enable the user to visually see the numerical number and its particular indicia so as to allow the individual to easily and quickly determine the answer, and slidably insert the correct panel within the board. Though it may assist with counting, by allowing the user to count the indicia, it is questionable as to how beneficial this apparatus performs, since the numerical indicia is constantly shown. Further, this apparatus fails to disclose or teach the concept of zero, nor does this apparatus build an understanding about numbers and their relative magnitude.
Accordingly, it is seen that there exists a need to provide for an educational apparatus which will successfully teach the fundamental areas of mathematics, particularly: the significance and value of the number zero; number base conversions; to build an understanding about numbers and their relative magnitude; and manipulating objects to perform mathematical operations. This educational apparatus should be suited for those with a minimal knowledge of numbers, as well as provide for the learning process to be fun, challenging and exciting.
As will be seen, the present invention achieves its intended purposes, objectives and advantages, by accomplishing the needs as identified above, through a new, useful and unobvious combination of component elements, which is simple to use, with the utilization of a minimum number of functioning parts, at a reasonable cost to manufacture, assemble, test and by employing only readily available material.


In a moving picture managing device, a boundary sensor senses the boundary between a cut of the input moving picture consisting of a plurality of frames and another cut on the basis of the difference in the number of blocks at the time of encoding the moving picture for a frame between the frame and an adjacent frame. Based on the boundaries sensed at the boundary sensor, the moving picture is filed in cuts. The moving picture is processed so as to be stored in a memory in a tree structure fashion in which the moving picture is composed of scenes and a plurality of cuts, each scene consisting of cuts. The filing is managed in cuts under the tree structure.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a moving picture managing device capable of performing the electronic input, display, storage, editing, and retrieval of moving pictures.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the recent spread of VTRs and video movies, moving pictures have been one of the most popular media. As more and more moving pictures are recorded to storage media such as videocassettes, it is increasingly difficult to manage them. At present, there is no choice but to inefficiently retrieve stored moving pictures using the label of each cassette.
Since videocassettes are basically sequential access media, to locate a desired scene in a videocassette for retrieval or editing, it is necessary to repeatedly fast-forward and rewind the tape while watching the tape counter until the desired portion is reached.
Therefore, it is difficult not only to find the necessary scene or cut, but also to edit tape in scenes or cuts. Furthermore, cut-by-cut filing is too heavy a burden for the user.


An electronic device includes a board having a first surface on which a heating element is mounted, a heat sink plate disposed to face the first surface of the board, and a heat pipe disposed between the board and the heat sink plate such that one end of the heat pipe is disposed at a position where the one end is in contact with the heating element, and the other end of the heat pipe is disposed to be in contact with the heat sink plate, wherein the heat sink plate has a stacking structure of a first heat sink plate of which a front surface faces the board, and a second heat sink plate disposed on a rear surface of the heat sink plate, and a through hole is formed at a position on the first heat sink plate.

Recently, portable electronic devices such as smart phones, tablets, and mobile PCs have been widely used. Meanwhile, the electronic devices have a tendency that the heating value generated in electronic circuits mounted inside the electronic devices increases with the implementation of the high-speed processing capability and the diversification of the processing. Since an electronic circuit, especially, an integrated circuit is a heating element that generates a large heating value, a case temperature near the heating element inside an electronic device may locally increase. Thus, there is a demand for dissipating or distributing the heat generated from the heating element to suppress the local increase of the case temperature of the electronic device.
As a method of suppressing the local increase of the case temperature, there is a method of providing a heat pipe inside the case of the electronic device to transport the heat generated in the electronic circuit to a heat sink. Here, descriptions will be made on the installation of a heat pipe 1 when the electronic device is a smart phone 10, using FIGS. 1A to 2B.
FIG. 1A is an exploded perspective view illustrating a mounting position of a heat pipe 1 in the smart phone 10 of a comparative technology. The smart phone 10 includes a heat sink plate 4, a board 5, and a battery 6 inside a case 3 provided with a touch panel 2, and a rear cover 7 for sealing the rear side of the case 3. FIG. 1A illustrates a state where a component 8A is mounted on the surface of the rear cover 7 side of the board 5, and a heating element 8 is mounted on the surface of the heat sink plate 4 side of the board 5. The component 8A is a common integrated circuit (IC) and may or may not generate heat. Descriptions of the component 8A are omitted herein.
One end of the heat pipe 1 is superimposed on the heating element present on the heat sink plate 4 side of the board 5, and the other end thereof is curved and disposed along the lateral surface of the battery 6 in order to circumvent the mounted component. FIG. 1B is a perspective view illustrating a state where the heat pipe 1, the board 5, and the battery 6 illustrated in FIG. 1A are attached to the case 3 of the smart phone 10, and represents the position of the heat pipe 1 by a dashed line.
FIG. 2A is a sectional view illustrating an installation position of the heat pipe 1 for dissipating the heat of the heating element 8 mounted on the board 5 in the comparative technology, and illustrates a partial sectional view of the smart phone 10 of FIG. 1B taken along the line X-X in FIG. 1B. However, FIG. 2A illustrates only the heating element 8 mounted on the heat sink plate 4 side of the board 5 and omits illustration of the component 8A on the rear cover 7 side of the board 5.
The heating element 8 mounted on the board 5 is generally a central processing unit (CPU). A shield frame 11 is provided around the heating element 8 in order to avoid the influence of electromagnetic waves, and the opening side of the shield frame 11 is sealed by a shield cap 12. When the heat generated from the heating element 8 is dissipated by the heat pipe 1, the heat pipe 1 is installed between the shield cap 12 and the heat sink plate 4. In this case, heat conducting sheets 13 are provided between the heating element 8 and the shield cap 12 and between the shield cap 12 and the heat pipe 1 so that the heat conduction from the heating element 8 to the heat pipe 1 is improved.
Meanwhile, since electronic devices are becoming smaller and thinner, there is a demand for reducing a distance D between the external side of the board 5 and the external side of the heat sink plate 4 when the electronic devices use the heat pipe. Accordingly, in order to reduce the space for mounting the heat pipe, a thin heat pipe 1A of which the thickness is thinned by increasing the flatness of the heat pipe 1 is used as illustrated in FIG. 2B. By using the thin heat pipe 1A, the distance (d) between the external side of the board 5 and the external side of the heat sink plate 4 may be made shorter than the distance D when the ordinary heat pipe 1 is used.
However, since the thin heat pipe 1A is formed by crushing the heat pipe 1, the heat is hardly transferred when the heat pipe 1 is excessively crushed, and thus the heat conducting effect of the heat pipe 1A is reduced. Further, since the heat pipe 1A is curved to guide the heat of the heating element to the heat sink, the length of the heat pipe from the heating element to the heat sink is long. Accordingly, heat is hardly transferred in the thin heat pipe, and thus the heat conducting effect of the heat pipe is reduced.
The following is a reference document.    [Document 1] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2015-95629.


A medical device for ablation of a target tissue is disclosed. The medical device includes a catheter assembly attached to a balloon for the ablation of the target tissue. The catheter assembly includes a proximal end and a distal end. The catheter assembly includes a plurality of individual shafts placed concentrically or adjacent to each other. Further, the plurality of individual shafts includes a respective lumen, wherein the lumens of the plurality of individual shafts can be configured to supply radio frequency (RF) energy to an RF transmitter placed inside the balloon and also to serve as the passageway for a fluid to travel within the balloon. The fluid flowing within the lumens of the catheter assembly can further help in expanding the balloon and transferring energy from the RF transmitter within the balloon to the ablation site via a plurality of windows attached.

Arterial hypertension is one of the most important causes of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. A possible solution for this problem can be the use of an ablation procedure for ablation of tissues via delivery of radio-frequency (RF) energy.
Some of the existing renal artery RF ablation systems involve energy transfer via an inflated balloon that can be built on an Over-The-Wire (OTW) shaft platform. Some of these balloon concepts can include a fluid circulation loop or flow loops to provide cooling during the ablation cycle. Flow loops can be created to serve several different purposes i.e., temperature regulation, drug delivery, continuous monitoring, etc. The flow paths for the system can be created using several designs. While there can be several advantages to an OTW system, one of the main drawbacks of such catheters can be the difficulty in fine-tuning the fluid inlet and outlet flow rates. Understanding and controlling the inlet flow and the outlet flow (i.e., back pressure) is critical to the catheter system as it directly impacts balloon sizing.
An alternative to OTW catheter systems is the rapid exchange platform. In rapid exchange catheters, a guide wire is positioned adjacent to the inlet and outlet lumens. A rapid exchange port connects the guide wire lumen to the external surface of the catheter body. The rapid exchange port provides a means for quickly removing one type of catheter and threading a new catheter onto the guide wire while maintaining the guide wire in place relative to the target area. An example of a rapid exchange catheter is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,997,899, which is hereby incorporated by reference. Compared to OTW catheters, rapid exchange catheters allow the use of a shorter guide wire and facilitate control of inlet and outlet flow rates. A drawback of rapid exchange catheters is that, compared to the OTW catheters, the rapid exchange configuration requires a larger catheter profile in order to obtain a given flow rate.
Thus, there exists a need for a medical device with multi-shaft and multi-lumen design that can allow independent fine-tuning of the inlet and outlet lumen sizes while providing a separate lumen that can be accessed to form a rapid-exchange wire port. Likewise, there is a need to maximize inflow and outflow cross-sectional areas for fluidic transport while maintaining the lowest possible device profile. In RF ablation catheters, there is also a need to establish circulation in the catheter balloon while maintaining concentricity of the balloon with respect to the RF transmitter.
Without limiting the scope of the invention, a brief summary of some of the claimed embodiments of the invention is provided below. Additional details of the summarized embodiments of the invention and/or additional embodiments of the invention can be found in the detailed description of the invention.
A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification is provided as well for the purposes of complying with 37 C.F.R. 1.72. The abstract is not intended to be used for interpreting the scope of the claims.
All US patents and applications and all other published documents mentioned anywhere in this application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.


A quantization apparatus for quantizing and word length limiting digitized stereo input signals including a stereo dither signal generating unit for generating stereo dither signals synthesized from at least two distinct dither signals not correlated to each other at an arbitrary ratio, a first addition unit for adding one of the stereo dither signals to one of the digital stereo input signals, a second addition unit for adding the other of the stereo dither signals to the other of the digital stereo input signals, a first quantization unit for quantizing and word length limiting an output signal of the first addition unit, and a second quantization unit for quantizing and word length limiting an output signal of the second addition unit. With the present quantization device, the stereo input signals may be quantized while cross-correlation between the left and right channel stereo input signals is maintained.

This invention relates to a quantization apparatus and, more particularly, to a quantization apparatus in which digitized stereo input signals are processed with quantization and word length limitation.
In certain prior-art apparatus for quantization, a dither addition circuit is provided for improving reproducibility by alleviating dropout of the information of weak intensity signals produced on quantization and word length limitation.
With such quantization apparatus, as disclosed in JP Patent Kokai (laid-Open) Patent Publication No. 05-145376 (1993), a dither addition circuit is provided upstream of a quantizer for adding dither signals to digital data in order to prevent failure in the waveform or level shifting and consequent deterioration in reproducibility due to word length limitation by rounding or half-adjustment during quantization of digital data by the quantizer and consequent dropout in the information contained in substantially sinusoidal pre-quantization weak-intensity signals. In this case, if, after quantization of the dither signals added to the digital data, a pre-set number of the lower bits are rounded or half-adjusted, the information proper to the minute or weak-intensity signals contained in the input signal is left in the quantized data for further alleviating the failure in the information of the minute weak-intensity signals induced by the word length limitation.
If, when the right-channel digital stereo signals and the left-channel digital stereo signals are supplied to a quantizer for the right channel and to a quantizer for the left channel, respectively, the same dither signals or dither signals not correlated with each other are supplied to left-channel and right-channel dither addition circuits provided upstream of the quantizers, the correlation between the left and right channels, proper to the stereo input signals, is deteriorated.
For example, if the same dither signals, having the cross-correlation coefficient equal to unity, are supplied to the left and right dither addition signals, the cross-correlation of signal components having inherently low left channel--right channel correlation is increased. Specifically, the ambience feeling created by the reverberating stereophonic components in music signals is not spread sufficiently towards left and right, but is collected towards a center position.
On the other hand, if the dither signals not correlated with each other, such as the dither signals having the cross-correlation coefficient equal to zero, are supplied to the left and right dither addition circuits, the cross-correlation of signal components having the left channel-right channel correlation coefficient equal to unity is decreased. Specifically, the sound image of the sound having a fixed center sound source position feeling becomes; blurred and spread toward left and right.


A composition for protective film formation capable of forming a protective film excellent in attachability by a tape mounter or the like, with good visibility at a laser-printed portion and heat dissipation properties, allowing a protective film-equipped chip having high reliability to be manufactured, and a sheet for protective film formation and a protective film-equipped chip are provided. The composition for protective film formation contains a polymer component (A), a curable component (B), and a heat conductive filler (C) having an average particle size of 2.0 to 10.0 μm. The content of components that are liquid at 25° C. contained in the composition for protective film formation is 20 to 70 parts by mass relative to 100 parts by mass of the total of the (A) component and the (B) component.

These days, the manufacturing of a semiconductor device using a mounting method of what is called the face-down system is performed. In the face-down system, a semiconductor chip (hereinafter, occasionally simply referred to as a "chip") having electrodes such as bumps on a circuit surface is used, and the electrodes are joined to a substrate. Hence, the surface on the opposite side to the circuit surface of the chip (chip back surface) is exposed.
In order to protect the exposed chip back surface, a protective film formed of organic material is disposed on the chip back surface in some cases, and the protective film-equipped chip having the chip back surface protected with the protective film may be directly incorporated into a semiconductor device in some cases.
With the densification of a semiconductor device installed with a semiconductor chip and the speeding-up of the manufacturing process of the semiconductor device in recent years, the heat generation from the semiconductor device is becoming a problem. There are cases where the heat generation of the semiconductor device causes a deformation, trouble, or breakage of the semiconductor device or causes a reduction in computing speed or a malfunction of the semiconductor device, and this leads to a reduction in the reliability of the semiconductor device. Thus, efficient heat dissipation properties are required for semiconductor chips incorporated into high performance semiconductor devices. Accordingly, the heat dissipation properties are required for the protective film of the protective film-equipped chip.
Since characters are printed on the surface of the protective film by laser marking in some cases, the protective film to be formed is required to have visibility of the laser printed portion.
In the case of a protective film-equipped semiconductor chip being incorporated into a semiconductor device, lifting-off, peeling-off, and cracks occur in the joint portion of the semiconductor chip with the protective film due to temperature change by the repetition of heat generation and cooling, resulting in a problem of reduction in the reliability of the protective film-equipped chip.
In order to form a protective film meeting the requirement, various materials for protective film formation have been proposed.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a film for the back surface of a flip chip type semiconductor, which contains a resin and a specific amount of heat conductive filler having an average particle size and a maximum particle size of specific values or less, respectively, in order to provide a film for the back surface of a semiconductor excellent in heat dissipation properties, with the visibility of the characters on the surface and the adhesion with a semiconductor wafer or the like being maintained.

Protective film forming composition, protective film forming sheet, and chip provided with protective film


A device to allow for emergency operation of an automatic-transmission motor vehicle, having a monitoring device to monitor pre-determined operating parameters, a diagnostic device to detect faults, a control device to activate an alternative function, and an output device by means of which the fault may be presented to the driver. The control device provides the driver an emergency operation capability while providing an alternative function depending on the degree of the fault.

Automatic transmissions, which include automated shift, multi-ratio automatic transmissions that may be shifted under power-train load or with interruption of load, or variable-ratio transmissions, are operated by driver input via a selector lever and/or a programmed shifter, and an electronic control unit that communicates with other electronic power-train control units, or with other vehicle components such as, for example, a drive motor or a braking system, and selects and activates a suitable drive ratio.
In order to recognize failure of electronic and/or mechanical components and to react to them accordingly, motor vehicles with automatic transmissions are usually equipped with a device allowing emergency operation, that monitors pre-determined operating parameters and, upon recognition of a failure, i.e., a deviation of an observation unit or component or a software function, activates an alternative function, which makes it is possible to continue operation of the motor vehicle, with limited operating function, so that the vehicle may be driven under emergency conditions to a repair facility.
Such a device allowing emergency operation is known from EP 0 431 538 B1, for example, whereby a pre-determined drive ratio may be selected using a specialized magnetic valve.
Using a device allowing emergency operation known from EP 0 380 214 A2, the driver is able to select a forward or reverse drive ratio from those normally available when the conventional electronic control unit or the distribution cable fails, provided that the shift actuator is still functional.
Further, a device allowing emergency operation is known from DE 199 19 537 A1, in which the control unit assigned to the transmission is connected with an additional electronic actuation unit, so that, upon a failure, manual control of the transmission is possible via the actuation unit, whereby all available gear ratios may be selected and the vehicle may be driven even for long distances to a repair facility.
The constantly-increasing complexity of automatic transmissions presents ever greater challenges to the diagnosis or monitoring system. Also, safety requirements with so-called shift-by-wire systems are increasing greatly.
With known devices allowing emergency operation, this often leads to a conflict in goals, since, on the one hand, the driver should have the vehicle available as long as possible upon recognition of a fault, and on the other, critical safety situations may arise during extended operation under conditions of alternative functionality that are hard to manage because of system complexity, or that cannot be checked during long-term operation because of the large number of possibilities.
Even eventual indication on a display within the vehicle interior, intended to notify the driver that the system is defective, and that he should drive to a repair facility as soon as possible, cannot prevent the driver from continuing to drive the vehicle under conditions of alternative functionality, for example due to cost constraints.

Limp home device for a vehicle with automatic transmission


The present invention is a process for uniformly depositing nanomaterials having particles smaller than 1 μm (i.e., nanoparticles) onto a surface of a base material (substrate or surface). The process is used to deposit any solid (nanoparticle) of any shape such as nanofibers, nanotubes, nanoclays (e.g., platelet shaped), nano-spheres, or irregularly shaped granules. The base material upon which the nano-particles are deposited can be made of any material. The method substantially prevents the deposition on the base material of larger particles (contaminants or clusters of the nanoparticles) which are often mixed with the nanomaterials. The amount of deposition and the range of particle sizes to be deposited can also be controlled by this method. Maintaining deposition uniformity, controlling the amount of deposition, and the elimination of larger particles enhances the utility of nanomaterials, and by subsequent processing, enables the development of multifunctional composite materials (or other coated substrates) to be used in commercial applications. In the present invention nanoparticles are applied to other base materials by substantially eliminating deposition of larger clusters or aggregates of nano-sized materials or other large impurities of other materials upon or in the base materials by positioning the base material within an upper portion of a deposition chamber.

Dispersal of nanoparticles into or onto other media has been one of the major research thrusts during the last 5 to 10 years in the materials research community. Enhancing physical and mechanical properties of composite materials that contain nanoparticles depends on our ability to fully disperse them at small length scales. Conventional polymeric composites contain fibers or additives with length scales in the order of 5-50 μm. For example, higher performance polymeric composites contain 6-8 μm-diameter graphite fibers, whereas lower performance and cheaper composites contain 12-15 μm-diameter glass fibers. Fibers made of other materials are used less often in polymeric composites.
Nanoparticles are expected to enhance the properties of conventional composites if larger particulates and clusters are filtered out. Larger macro-particles or clusters are detrimental to the properties of the composite materials since, they: (i) tend to have various types of defects at the atomic or molecular level, (ii) may contain voids or impurities, (iii) facilitate ineffective load transfer at the interface due to their larger size, and (iv) are prone to initiating failure due to their usually irregular shape. For such cases, mixing nanomaterials into other materials, whether they are polymeric or metallic, may degrade some of the original material properties.
Methods of mixing and dispersing nanomaterials into other materials are currently being studied in the field. Various proposed methods include (i) directly mixing nanomaterials with a polymer either in the solid or liquid form by a mechanical mixer, (ii) using a sonicator or ultrasonic energy to enhance dispersion, (iii) using an electric field after mechanical mixing to enhance dispersion (applying AC or DC voltage at various levels has been tried), (iv) solid state mixing such as grinding nanomaterial and polymer together at room temperature, (v) mixing with a polymer during melting in an extruder before the extrusion or molding process (this method benefits from the high shear forces generated in an extruder to enhance dispersion), (vi) cryo-mixing or mixing at very low temperatures to make the polymer brittle enough so that polymer particles can be mixed with nanomaterials at a smaller length scale, and (vii) heating the polymer to higher temperatures to decrease the viscosity of the polymer to enhance the mixing.
The methods mentioned above are processing-based efforts to achieve uniform and nanoscale dispersion/mixing so that functional nanocomposites can be manufactured. There have been dozens, possibly hundreds, of articles published during the last five years studying various aspects of these methods.
The utilization of nanometer scale particulates such as carbon nanotubes and nanoclay with polymers is increasing due to the potential improvements in thermo-physical properties even with minor amounts. Among these nanometer scale particulates, nanoclay is widely used due to its low cost and availability. The utility of nanoclay with thermoplastics is demonstrated with various studies and commercial applications. For instance, researchers at The Toyota Research Labs observed up to 60% increase in strength of nylon 6 samples with the addition of nanoclay. Similarly, Chen et al.1, fabricated nanocomposite samples by melt-compounding nanoclay with maleic anhydride modified polypropylene at loadings up to 50%. The authors observed monotonic improvements in tensile strength and stiffness, reaching 120% and 400%, respectively. In addition to the academic research, several applications utilizing nanoclay such as in side moldings in automobiles have been commercialized.
Contrary to its utilization with neat thermoplastics, potentials of nanoclay could not previously be fully realized in thermosetting resins or thermosetting composites. The reported results in literature are often inconsistent, or indicate degradation of properties such as tensile strength by the nanoclay addition. For instance Abot et al.2 used two commercially available nanoclays, Cloisite® 30B and Nanomer® I.28E to reinforce DGEBA type epoxy resin. The mechanical properties and glass transition temperature of the fabricated samples were characterized. The tensile stiffness was observed to increase by 31% while the strength deteriorated by 28%. In addition to reduction in tensile strength, the authors observed 28% reduction in glass transition temperature. Although x-ray diffraction patterns suggested intercalation for Nanomer® I.28E and exfoliation for Cloisite® 30B, scanning electron micrographs taken at low magnification indicated existence of nanoclay aggregates as large as 10 μm. It is believed that the effect of the nanoclay aggregates suppressed the positive effects of exfoliated nanoclay platelets (nanoparticles) and resulted in reduction of strength. Lam et al.,3 on the other hand, measured the hardness of nanoclay/epoxy composites mixed in an extruder. The authors observed an increase in the hardness of the composites up to 4% nanoclay loading. However, beyond 4% loading, the hardness of the samples decreased drastically. In the same study, increasing nanoclay content is shown to yield significantly larger nanoclay cluster (aggregate) formations in the nanocomposite microstructure.
The strong tendency of nanoparticles to form clumps and clusters ("agglomerates") is a serious technological problem that impedes the effective use of nanoparticles in many applications. Additives which can be used to disperse the nanoparticles can be useful but present their own problems, especially in regard to the purity of the final product.
Thus the inconsistent results and property degradations observed in such nanoclay/thermosetting resin composites is most likely due to insufficient (poor) dispersion and exfoliation of nanoclay platelets within the polymer matrix. Despite a number of available nanoclays with modified surfaces, complete exfoliation of nanoclay in epoxy matrices could not be achieved. Solution blending, melt mixing and in-situ polymerization have been the primary methods to introduce nanoclay into polymer matrix. However, regardless of the method, nanoclay is first mixed into the liquid resin. Several mixing methods such as ultrasonic mixing and shear mixing have been used. Among such studies a three-roll mill machine is used by Yasmin et al.4 to mix nanoclay into epoxy matrix. However expected improvements in thermo-physical properties could not be achieved. Lam et al.5 on the other hand, investigated the effect of sonication time on the hardness of nanoclay/epoxy samples. Interestingly, Lam et al. observed significant deterioration in hardness for sonication times greater than 10 minutes. Aktas et al.6 investigated the effect of several processing parameters such as mixing temperature, nanoclay type and nanoclay content on the quality of dispersion by a combination of image analysis and wavelength dispersive spectrometry. Despite certain improvements in the quality of dispersion for a set of processing parameters, complete exfoliation could not be achieved.
In view of the above, more effective methods of dispersing/mixing nanoparticles on or in substrates or base materials is therefore highly desired.

Methods and apparatus for depositing nanoparticles on a substrate

The Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma


A mixture of spherical graphite, carbon black and binder resin is fabricated. The mixture contains the spherical graphite of not less than 50 parts by weight and not more than 70 parts by weight, the carbon black of not less than 1 part by weight and not more than 15 parts by weight and the binder resin of not less than 15 parts by weight and not more than 40 parts by weight, to 100 parts by weight of the mixture. The binder resin includes thermosetting resin and elastomer, and an average particle diameter of the spherical graphite is not less than 1 μm and not more than 30 μm. The conductive composition including the mixture can be used for a collector such as a fuel cell.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a conductive composition, a conductive composition sheet, a conductive substrate, a collector sheet, a printed circuit board, a fuel cell and a method of manufacturing the conductive composition.
(2) Description of Related Art
Batteries that are small in size and have high capacitance are desired for mobile equipment such as cellular telephones. Therefore, fuel cells capable of providing high energy density compared to conventional batteries such as lithium secondary batteries have been developed. Examples of the fuel cells include a direct methanol fuel cell.
In the direct methanol fuel cell, methanol is decomposed by a catalyst, forming hydrogen ions. The hydrogen ions are reacted with oxygen in the air to generate electrical power. In this case, chemical energy can be converted into electrical energy with extremely high efficiency, so that a significantly high energy density can be obtained.

Conductive composition, conductive composition sheet, conductive substrate, collector sheet, printed circuit board, fuel cell and method of manufacturing the conductive composition


A fault tolerant task dispatching technique schedules a plurality of tasks, monitors the progress of each task on a periodic basis, detects when a task has failed, and initializes a failed task in a manner that does not interfere with the execution of any non-failed task. Task granularity, afforded by the fault tolerant dispatch technique, allows each task (device service routine) to be designed substantially independently of any other task. This, in turn, can ease the design and implementation of individual tasks as well as their integration into a computer system.

The invention relates generally to a fault tolerant task dispatcher.
Embedded controllers are a general class of micro controllers used to support original equipment manufacturer (OEM) specific hardware and software. Typically used in mobile computing platforms (e.g., notebook computers), micro controllers process signals to and from a variety of OEM devices such as keyboards, pointing devices, and thermal management systems. Modem micro controllers are single chip computers that include a central processing unit, read only memory, random access memory, communication ports, digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital converters, and a relatively large number of input-output ports. One function of a microcontroller is to off-load the computational resources (e.g., processor time) used to service an OEM device (e.g., a keyboard) from a computer system's host processor. One way a microcontroller provides this capability is through the execution of a series of device service routines known as a tasks. As shown in Table ZZ, a microcontroller continually executes a single thread wherein a watchdog timer (coupled to generate a microcontroller hardware reset operation when it expires) is repeatably reset while waiting for a device service routine to indicate it has completed. This approach may detect a hardware fault (e.g., microcontroller failing to execute any instructions), but would not detect if a device service routine (or the device itself) has failed.
TABLE ZZ One Method of Processing Tasks Task_Code_Label: : Reload Watchdog Timer : Check for Event from device-N Loop at Task_Code_Label Until Event
Another way a microcontroller may off-load a host processor is shown in Table YY. In this approach, a multi-threaded environment allows a dispatcher thread and a task thread to execute separately from one another. The dispatcher thread schedules the execution of each device service routine in a round robin fashion, and is invoked every time a dispatch timer expires. When invoked, the dispatcher reloads a watchdog timer and then returns control to a specified task thread. The task thread loops waiting for its associated service routine to complete. As in the prior example, this approach would not detect if a device service routine (or the device itself) has failed.
TABLE YY Another Method of Processing Tasks Dispatcher: : Reload Watchdog Timer : Return to Task Execution Task_Code_Label : Check for Event from device-N Loop at Task_Code_Label Until Event
As evidenced by the preceding examples, a problem in many micro controllers is that if one task fails to terminate, the microcontroller becomes incapable of executing any further instructions (i.e., it is "hung"). This type of failure can force an end-user to power cycle the entire computer system (of which the microcontroller is but one component) in order to place it back into an operational state. Accordingly, there is a need for a dispatcher routine that is tolerant of one or more faults.


In a method for manufacturing fibre-reinforced structures with a glass matrix, there is used for the glass matrix an SiO.sub.2 colloid dispersed in water as glass former, with which the fibres are impregnated, and the impregnated fibres are heated in the final form of the structure to the sintering temperature of the SiO.sub.2 colloid.

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing fibre-reinforced structures with a glass matrix.
Fibre-reinforced structures with a glass matrix have in comparison with structures with a synthetic resin matrix in particular the advantage of greater heat resistance, and also of greater resistance to external forms of attack such as oxidation, erosion, attack by acids and similar.
A method is known in which the glass forming the matrix is added to the reinforcing fibres, in particular silicon carbide or carbon fibres, in the form of a fine glass powder. The reinforcing fibres are there passed through a suspension which contains the glass powder and may also contain solvents and/or binders. In this wet method, known as "slurry technique", the reinforcing fibres are wound with the adhering glass powder on reels and then dried. A fibre layer wound in this way is then separated and processed to prepregs for the manufacture of laid fabrics. The laid fabrics made from such prepregs are then compressed under pressure and heat (of the order of magnitude of >100 bar, >1000.degree. C.) by so-called hot press moulding. The glass powder adhering to the reinforcing fibres thereby melts and infiltrates the reinforcing fibres. The matrix is formed in this way. There may then be imparted to the laid fabrics during the hot press moulding the form which is envisaged for the finished structure. The use of glass ceramics for the formation of the matrix is moreover also known (K. M. Prewo "The development of fibre reinforced glasses and glass ceramics", Tailoring Multiphase and Composite Ceramics, Proc. of the 21st University Conference on Ceramic Science, Pergamon Press, New York (1986), pp. 529-547; K. M. Prewo et al., Z. Ceramic Bulletin, Vol. 65, No. 2 (1986), pp. 305/306).
A method is also known in which, during the winding of the reinforcing fibres on reels, a quartz glass monofilament is wound in the dry state together with the latter as a filler. Said quartz glass monofilament forms the source for the glass matrix. The expensive slurry technique is therefore avoided (K. M. Prewo, loc. cit., p. 531; E. Fitzer "Fibre reinforced ceramic and glasses", Proc. of International Symposium on Factors in Densification and Sintering of Oxide and Non-Oxide Ceramics, 1978, Japan, pp. 650/651).
The addition of the glass fibres to the reinforcing fibres in particular in the form of fabrics in mat form as intermediate layers is also known (DE-PS 39 37 769 C1).
All the known methods require hot press moulding at pressures of the order of magnitude of >100 bar and temperatures >1000.degree. C. Hot press moulding methods are extremely expensive and the size of the structures which can be manufactured by hot press moulding is limited on equipment grounds.
The manufacture of glasses, in particular pure quartz glasses, by means of the colloid-gel method is also known. In this method the glass-forming raw material is provided as an extremely fine powder --SiO.sub.2 colloid--which forms a gel when mixed with water. The structures "cast" from said gel are dried and then heated to sintering temperature (Z. Glastech. Ber. 60 (1987), No. 4, pp. 125-132; Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 47 (1982), pp. 435-449). The addition of metal oxides to the gel in order to obtain particular glass properties is also known (Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 63 (1984), pp. 183-191).
The alkoxide-gel method is also known, in which mixtures of alkoxides are hydrolysed with water and a low-viscosity gel thereby formed, from which highpurity glasses and ceramics, surface coatings and thin films can be manufactured by sintering.
A method is moreover also known for the manufacture of whisker-reinforced composite bodies with glass matrix in which the whiskers are wetted with alkoxides. Small drops are produced from the wetted whiskers by spraying and dried. Extremely small droplets are thereby obtained, from which the desired structures are hot press moulded in moulds under pressure or sintered without pressure at extremely high temperatures of 1550.degree. (EP- 0 275 652 A1; Patents Abstracts of Japan, C-576, Mar. 14 1989, Vol. 13/No. 107, JP-A 63-282131 of Nov. 18 1988).
A method is also known for the manufacture of continuous strand-reinforced composite bodies in which the fibre strands (rovings) are wetted with alkoxides, dried and then sintered. Because of the very low SiO.sub.2 content in the hydrolysed alkoxides and the very high shrinkage during the drying, multiple wetting--approx. 16-fold--is necessary here and consequently--as a result also of the cost-intensive manufacture of the alkoxide gel--economic fabrication is not possible (Dr. Armin Pfeiffer "Chemical development of a composite glass body reinforced with continuous strands for application above 800.degree. C.", Dissertation 1989, Universitat Karlsruhe).
In the case of fibre-reinforced structures with a glass matrix it is necessary, as in the case of fibre-reinforced structures with a matrix of polymers, to see to it that the matrix completely fills the spaces between the fibres and completely encloses the fibres themselves. In the case of the known method in which the reinforcement fibres are impregnated with a suspension containing glass powder, glass with a grading curve of 3 to 30.mu. and above is used. The particle size of the glass therefore lies in the order of magnitude of the fibres, which in the case of SiC fibres comes to 10 .mu.m. The fibres are therefore after the impregnation by the finely ground glass held mechanically at a distance from one another, and many and large cavities are formed. This is one reason why, in the case of the known method for manufacturing fibre-reinforced structures with a glass matrix, hot press moulding under high pressure (final temperature approx. 1220.degree. C. and final pressure 10 MPa) has to be carried out, in which the softened glass is pressed between and around the fibres. The same applies to the known method in which the glass portion is introduced in the form of glass mats (woven or non-woven fabrics). Hot press moulding requires moulds which are designed for the temperatures and pressures occurring, and is therefore extremely expensive.

Method for manufacturing fibre-reinforced structures with a glass matrix

Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fur Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V.


The airborne recovery system for aircraft with disabled landing gear includes a cradle holder removably secured to a rescue aircraft and a wheeled cradle removably secured atop the cradle holder. The rescue aircraft carries the cradle holder and cradle the rescue aircraft. The cradle holder is extended above the rescue aircraft for clearance as the rescue aircraft approaches the disabled aircraft. The forward portion of the cradle is also extended to support the forward fuselage of the disabled aircraft. The disabled aircraft is flown to mate with the cradle, and the cradle is separated from its cradle holder on the rescue aircraft. The disabled aircraft is then flown to a landing, supported by the wheels of the underlying cradle. The landing gear of the disabled aircraft is then lowered and repaired, and the cradle is removed for reinstallation upon the cradle holder of the rescue aircraft.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to aviation safety systems, and particularly to an airborne recovery system for aircraft with disabled landing gear.
2. Description of the Related Art
Relatively high speed aircraft generally incorporate retractable landing gear in order to reduce aerodynamic drag and to increase efficiency and fuel economy in flight. While this is primarily true of airplanes, i.e., fixed wing powered aircraft, it is also true of higher performance helicopters, and even many types of gliders or sailplanes insofar as increasing aerodynamic efficiency is concerned.
The designers and manufacturers of aircraft with such retractable landing gear systems endeavor to design and construct such systems to have the highest practical reliability. Nevertheless, the occasional landing gear system failure can and will occur with such aircraft. This may be due to any of a number of causes, such as depletion of hydraulic fluid due to a leak, a mechanical component becoming disconnected or jammed by foreign matter, etc. In such instances, the flight crew of the aircraft has no alternative but to land the aircraft with the landing gear retracted, assuming that it has not locked or jammed at some intermediate position. Such potential occurrences have been planned for at all certified air carrier airports, so that firefighting vehicles are on hand capable of deploying foam on a runway to reduce the chance of fire during or after the wheels-up landing.
Nevertheless, landing a retractable gear aircraft with the landing wheels retracted is still a risky operation. The larger and heavier the aircraft and the number of passengers being carried and the greater the landing speed, the greater chance there is of significant damage to the aircraft and/or injury to passengers. Even in the event of a successful wheels-up landing by a large air carrier aircraft, there will be significant damage to the aircraft structure due to the significantly greater forces and speeds encountered during such a landing. Such damage may well result in repair costs greater than the value of the aircraft, even when the obvious external damage to aircraft skin panels does not initially appear to be great.
Thus, an airborne recovery system for aircraft with disabled landing gear solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

Airborne recovery system for aircraft with disabled landing gear


A sports bra has base and cover layers of four-way stretchable material providing a first level of radial compression to the torso, a wide elastic band gripping the midriff to resist rotational and vertical motion of the bra relative to the torso and crisscrossed bands of elastic material spanning the back portion of the bra. Laterally-stretchable, vertically-shape-retaining foam panels overlap the base layer to support the breasts from below and power-mesh is sandwiched between the base and cover layers to increase radial compression of the breasts from above. The components all cooperate to limit bounce of the breasts during vigorous physical activity by the wearer. Adjustable shoulder straps and a zippered front are optional.

This invention relates generally to athletic wear for women and more particularly concerns bras, commonly known as sports bras, worn by women for support during moderate to vigorous activities.
Women participating in moderate to vigorous activities, including but not limited to athletics, have need for greater breast support than is afforded by known bras, even those said to be intended for athletic activities.
Common sense and life experience suggest that lack of adequate front support for the bust area may be the cause of pain in the bust area, and increasingly so for larger busted women. Similarly, lack of adequate back support may be the cause of pain in the back. However, back pain following vigorous activity may also be attributable, at least in part, to lack of adequate front support for the bust area, again increasingly so for larger busted women.
Sports bras have been designed which are intended to upgrade the support provided. Still, the continuing and common concern among women about the after-effects of "excessive bounce" suggests that each unique design is directed to correcting only the particular deficiencies of concern to its designer. Each woman's body being unique, any uniquely directed support may be of limited benefit to a very limited group of women. And some seemingly helpful solutions are not only insufficient but also counterproductive. For example, providing uplift to reduce bounce actually increases the range of bounce.
Not surprisingly, some women choose to wear multiple bras, hoping to gain the intended benefits of each by the combination. Obviously, the combinations will be bulkier and uncoordinated. Perhaps not so obviously, the combination may actually counteract the intended benefits of the unique designs.


The invention relates to probiotic bacteria and particularly, although not exclusively, to anti-bacterial compositions derived from probiotic bacteria. Disclosed are compositions comprising material secreted from probiotic bacteria, uses thereof, and methods using the compositions. Particularly contemplated are compositions comprising material secreted from Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and uses thereof.

The concept that probiotics are beneficial to gut health has been investigated for a number of years. Studies have demonstrated that probiotics potentially improve gut function through a number of mechanisms including increasing epithelial barrier function (40) and modulation of the immune response (6, 51). There is also evidence that probiotics can prevent colonisation of the gut by pathogens. This can be via mechanisms such as down regulation of virulence factors and inhibition of pathogen adherence to the epithelium (2). For example, lactobacillus species inhibit the adhesion of Enterobacter sakazakii to intestinal mucus by competitive exclusion (32). Other studies demonstrated that some probiotics increase the production of intestinal mucin thus inhibiting pathogen adherence to intestinal epithelial cells (31). Probiotics are also able to produce antimicrobial peptides (bacteriocins) and acids. Collectively, there are numerous probiotic mediated mechanisms that limit pathogen colonisation (33).
Since probiotics may have positive impacts on the gut, their potential effects on other systems, such as the mouth (18) and the urogenital tract (44) have also begun to be investigated. A study in 2001, examining the impact of oral administration of Lactobacilli in a clinical trial of women with bacterial vaginosis, showed that Lactobacilli could indeed inhibit the colonization of uro-epithelial cells by pathogens (44). Recently, the topical application of probiotics to the skin has been investigated in a limited number of studies. Topical application of sonicated Streptococcus salivarius strains to patients suffering from atopic dermatitis resulted in improved barrier function apparently through increasing the level of ceramides in the stratum corneum (13). Topically applied L. plantarum for treatment of infected wounds resulted in improved tissue repair in a mouse burn model and prevention of infection in chronic leg ulcers and burns in humans (41, 42). However, in general the mechanisms underlying these effects are not well understood.
Staphylococcus aureus is both a transient coloniser of skin and a major opportunistic skin pathogen, causing diseases ranging from impetigo to life threatening conditions such as sepsis (25). Previously, our lab demonstrated that the probiotic L. reuteri could protect epidermal keratinocytes from the toxic effects of S. aureus via competitive exclusion of the pathogen from keratinocyte binding sites (43). The inventors have now identified L. rhamnosus GG as a second probiotic with the ability to protect skin cells from the effects of S. aureus. However, L. rhamnosus GG uses multiple mechanisms to protect against infection including inhibition of S. aureus growth, competitive exclusion and displacement of the pathogen from keratinocytes.

Anti-bacterial lysate of probiotic bacteria


A mount for mounting vehicle lights below and forward of the conventional vehicle headlights. The mount has a central portion which forms a license plate mount and a pair of wing portions which extend outwardly in opposite directions from the bottom of the central portion. The central portion is attached to the bumper of the vehicle. The wing portions run over the top of the bumper. A light is mounted on each of the wing portions providing illumination close to the road which greatly improves visibility especially in low visibility conditions such as in rain or fog.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to vehicle lights and more particularly to a device for mounting additional lights on a vehicle below and forward of the regular vehicle lights.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vehicle driving lights forward of and below the regular headlights are frequently added to passenger and commercial type vehicles to supplement the vehicle""s regular headlights. This is particularly useful when driving on dark unlighted roads at night or in other low visibility situations such as in fog or rain. Such lights are generally mounted forward of and below the regular lights so that they are closer to the road and thus provide a better view of the road. Prior art systems for mounting such lights are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,983 issued Dec. 8, 1998 to Schmidt and U.S. Pat. No. 2,239,015 issued Apr. 22, 1941 to Powell. In the Powell device, the lights are mounted directly on the bumper while in Schmidt a tube on which the lights are mounted has downward extending end pieces which are attached as their ends to the bumper.
The device of the present invention provides an improvement over the prior art by combining the mount for the lights with the license plate holder. The license plate holder is fabricated of strong central flat plate which is firmly attached to the bumper. A pair of arms extend outwardly in opposite directions from the base of the central plate. A light is mounted on each of the arms. The lights are thus firmly supported on the bumper by means of the mount with the central flat plate being firmly attached to the bumper and forming a support for the license plate.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved mount for supplemental vehicle lights.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a mount for supplemental vehicle lights which also provides a license plate support;
It is still a further object of this invention to provide a mount for supplemental vehicle lights which has stronger support than prior art devices.
Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


A drive system for the internal combustion engine of a large work vehicle, such as a self-propelled agricultural combine. The drive system comprising three concentric drive shafts that are housed in a housing for driving three separate usage assemblies. The outer and middle drive shafts are provided with bevel gear assemblies having output axes perpendicular to the drive shafts axis. The bevel gear assembly of the outer drive shaft is coupled to a series of four sequentially mounted hydraulic pumps, whereas the bevel gear assembly of the middle drive shaft is coupled to a forwardly extending drive shaft. An internal clutch is provided for operatively engaging and disengaging the middle drive shaft from the drive train.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a compact drive system for a large work vehicle, such as an agricultural combine. The drive system is provided with three concentric drive shafts which direct power to three separate usage assemblies.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Large work vehicles, such as agricultural combines, may have a single internal combustion engine for both propelling the vehicle and powering various usage assemblies for performing work. In a relatively traditional design, an agricultural combine is provided with a transversely mounted engine having a drive sheave that extends outwardly through the side sheet of the combine. The drive sheave is coupled to countershafts through belts which in turn drive the various usage assemblies. These usage assemblies include the propulsion motors, the threshing and separating means, and the harvesting means. The propulsion motors may either be driven by a belt directly or through an intermediate hydrostatic pump.
Although belt drive systems have proven to be effective means of transmitting power to the combine's various operating means, they do increase the transverse front of the machine. In Europe, there are strict regulations regulating the maximum allowable transverse front of a machine at three meters. As such, a combine with a transverse engine and transverse mounted operating means must sacrifice transverse threshing and separating area to accommodate the power transmitting systems.


Techniques described and suggested herein include systems and methods for optimizing network connections by using attributes of one or more of the connected entities. For example, a routing engine may be implemented to determine, based on various attributes of a client device, its desired destination, and/or the networks capable of connecting the client device and the destination, optimized parameters and routes for the network connection. Such optimization may involve the selection of an optimal network, the negotiation of an optimal connection type, and the like. The optimization may be made for one or more disparate criteria, such as data security, bandwidth, network latency, geographical proximity, and so forth.

The use of network computing and storage has proliferated in recent years. The resources for network computing and storage are often provided by computing resource providers who leverage large-scale networks of computers, servers and storage drives to enable clients, including content providers, online merchants and the like, to host and execute a variety of applications and web services. Content providers and online merchants, who traditionally used on-site servers and storage equipment to host their websites and store and stream content to their customers, often forego on-site hosting and storage and turn to using the resources of the computing resource providers. The usage of network computing allows content providers and online merchants, among others, to efficiently and to adaptively satisfy their computing needs, whereby the computing and storage resources used by the content providers and online merchants are added or removed from a large pool provided by a computing resource provider as need and depending on their needs.
However, network computing may rely on a large number of resources, many of which may have different performance characteristics, geographic location, security requirements, and the like, and a given destination of a network computing provider may be reached by several networks or network paths. A consumer of network computing services desiring to interact with such a destination may thus have difficulty determining which network or network path would provide an optimal connection, in terms of performance, stability, security, or some other criterion.

Context-sensitive techniques for optimizing network connectivity


A system for controlling one or more jet engine thrust reversers includes a motor, a speed sensor, and a controller circuit. The motor is coupled to one or more jet engine moveable thrust reverser components for moving the one or more moveable thrust reverser components to at least a deployed position. The speed sensor is operable to sense the a rotational speed of the motor. The controller circuit has an output coupled to the motor for selectively energizing and deenergizing the motor in response to the speed sensor sensing that the rotational speed of the motor is, respectively, at or above a first predetermined rotational speed and at or below a second predetermined rotational speed. The system controls the deployment operation of the jet engine thrust reversers such that unwanted mechanical and electrical loads are avoided.

The present invention relates to a system and method for controlling the movement of one or more jet engine thrust reverser components. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for controlling the movement of one or more jet engine thrust reverser components during a deployment operation of the thrust reversers.
When jet-powered aircraft land, the landing gear brakes and imposed aerodynamic drag loads (e.g., flaps, spoilers, etc.) of the aircraft may not be sufficient to slow the aircraft down in the required amount of distance. Thus, jet engines on most aircraft include thrust reversers to enhance the stopping power of the aircraft. When deployed, thrust reversers redirect the rearward thrust of the jet engine to a forward direction, thus decelerating the aircraft. Because the jet thrust is directed forward, the aircraft will slow down upon landing.
Various thrust reverser designs exist in the art, and the particular design utilized depends, at least in part, on the engine manufacturer, the engine configuration, and the propulsion technology being used. Thrust reverser designs used most prominently with turbofan jet engines fall into three general categories: (1) cascade-type thrust reversers; (2) target-type thrust reversers; and (3) pivot door thrust reversers. As will be discussed more fully below, each of these designs employs a different type of xe2x80x9cmoveable thrust reverser component,xe2x80x9d as that term is defined herein below.
Cascade-type thrust reversers are normally used on high-bypass ratio jet engines. This type of thrust reverser is located at the engine""s midsection and, when deployed, exposes and redirects air flow through a plurality of cascade vanes positioned on the outside of the engine. The moveable thrust reverser component in this design may include several translating sleeves or cowls (xe2x80x9ctranscowlsxe2x80x9d) that are deployed to expose the cascade vanes. Target-type reversers, also referred to as clamshell reversers, are typically used with low-bypass ratio jet engines. Target-type thrust reversers use two doors as the moveable thrust reverser component to block the entire jet thrust coming from the rear of the engine. These doors are mounted on the aft portion of the engine and form the rear part of the engine nacelle. Pivot door thrust reversers may utilize four doors on the engine nacelle as the moveable thrust reverser component. In the deployed position, these doors extend outwardly from the nacelle to redirect air flow.
The primary use of thrust reversers is, as noted above, to enhance the stopping power of the aircraft, thereby shortening the stopping distance during landing. Hence, thrust reversers are primarily deployed during the landing process. More specifically, once the aircraft has touched down, the thrust reversers are deployed to assist in slowing the aircraft. Thereafter, when the thrust reversers are no longer needed, they are returned to their original, or stowed position.
When the thrust reversers are moved to the deployed position, the transcowls or doors are moved until the actuator elements to which they are attached reach a mechanical hard stop at the end of travel. In order to prevent structural damage, the actuator elements should come to a controlled stop against the mechanical hard stop. One problem associated with electromechanical thrust reverser systems in which the motive force for moving the thrust reversers is provided by electric motors, is that the aerodynamic loads imposed during aircraft landing tend, after a certain point during the deployment process, to accelerate the motors. Thus, if power is removed from the motors too soon before the actuator elements reach their mechanical hard stop, the motors will xe2x80x9cfree-wheel,xe2x80x9d being driven by the aerodynamic loads, up to speeds that may cause system damage. Conversely, if power is supplied to the motor until the actuator elements hit the mechanical hard stop, the motor will try to drive the actuator elements past the hard stops and impose unwanted mechanical and electrical loads on the system.
Hence, there is a need for a system and method for controlling the deployment of one or more jet engine thrust reversers that solves one or more of the problems identified above. Namely, a system and method for controlling jet engine thrust reverser deployment that avoids one or more of the following: unwanted motor accelerations due to aerodynamic loads imposed during thrust reverser deployment operations, unwanted motor actuation too near to or after the hard stops have been reached to avoid unwanted mechanical and electrical loads and related system damage.
The present invention provides a system and method for controlling jet engine thrust reverser deployment that avoids unwanted mechanical and electrical loads, and/or thrust reverser system damage. Specifically, and by the way of example only, the rotational speed of a motor that is provided for moving the thrust reversers to the deployed position is continuously sensed and compared to predetermined rotational motor speed values. The speed that the motor is controlled to rotate at is reduced from a non-zero value to zero when the thrust reversers reach a predetermined position. When the sensed rotational speed is at or above a first, upper predetermined rotational speed, power is applied to control the speed of the motor to decelerate the motor to zero. When the sensed rotational speed is at or below a second, lower predetermined rotational speed, power to the motor is removed. When power to the motor is removed, if the thrust reversers are not against their mechanical stops, the aiding aero loads will cause the motor to accelerate to, or above, the first predetermined rotational speed. This will cause power to be supplied to the motor, thereby causing it to decelerate toward the second predetermined speed. When the rotational speed reaches the second predetermined speed, the motor will again be deenergized. Thus, when the thrust reversers reach the predetermined position, the thrust reversers will limit cycle between the two predetermined speed limits until the mechanical stop is reached in a controlled manner.
In one aspect of the present invention, a jet engine thrust reverser control system includes an electric motor, one or more moveable thrust reverser components, a speed sensor, and a controller circuit. The moveable thrust reverser components are coupled to the motor, and are moveable between a stowed position and a deployed position. The speed sensor is operable to sense at least a rotational speed of the motor and produce a speed feedback signal. The controller circuit is coupled to receive the speed feedback signal and is operable, in response thereto, to energize and deenergize the motor when the rotational speed of the motor is, respectively, at or above a first predetermined rotational speed and at or below a second predetermined rotational speed.
In another aspect of the present invention, a jet engine thrust reverser control system includes moving means, speed sensing means, and controller means. The moving means is for moving one or more moveable thrust reverser components to at least a deployed position. The speed sensing means is for sensing a rotational speed of the moving means. The controller means is for (i) energizing the moving means when the speed sensing means senses that the rotational speed of the moving means is at or above a first predetermined rotational speed and (ii) deenergizing the moving means when the speed sensing means senses that the rotational speed of the moving means is at or below a second predetermined rotational.
In still another aspect of the present invention, a method of controlling a jet engine thrust reverser system includes powering a motive force providing component to move one or more moveable thrust reverser components toward at least a deployed position. At least a movement speed of the motive force providing component is sensed. Power to the motive force providing component is selectively applied and removed in response to the sensed movement speed of the motive force providing component being, respectively, at or above a first predetermined movement speed and at or below a second predetermined movement speed.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.

Method for controlling the deployment of jet engine thrust reversers


A method of forming a package structure includes disposing a semiconductor device over a first dielectric layer, wherein a first redistribution line is in the first dielectric layer, forming a molding compound over the first dielectric layer and in contact with a sidewall of the semiconductor device, forming a second dielectric layer over the molding compound and the semiconductor device, forming a first opening in the second dielectric layer, the molding compound, and the first dielectric layer to expose the first redistribution line, and forming a first conductor in the first opening, wherein the first conductor is electrically connected to the first redistribution line.

The semiconductor industry continues to improve the integration density of various electronic components (e.g., transistors, diodes, resistors, capacitors, etc.) by continual reductions in minimum feature size, which allow more components to be integrated into a given area. These smaller electronic components are also configured with smaller packages in some applications. Some smaller types of packaging for semiconductors include quad flat pack (QFP), pin grid array (PGA), ball grid array (BGA), flip chips (FC), three dimensional integrated circuits (3DICs), wafer level packages (WLPs), bond-on-trace (BOT) packages, and package on package (PoP) structures.

Package structure and method of forming package structure

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.


A semiconductor device which does not require solder resist to be applied to the surface. Leads 54 are formed on one surface of a polyimide film 10, external connection terminals 11 are formed on the leads 54 to project from the other surface of the polyimide film 10 through via holes 30, and an IC chip 15 is adhered to the first surface, so that the leads 54 are covered by the IC chip 15, and the application of a solder resist can be omitted.

There is no formal definition of chip size/scale package (CSP), but generally this refers to an IC package in which the package size is the same as or only very slightly larger than the chip size. The development of CSP technology is very important for improving packaging density.
CSP differs from a quad flat package (QFP) having outer leads only around the periphery of the package, in having external connection terminals arranged in a plane, and capable of being surface mounted. More specifically, a conventional CSP comprises a polyimide substrate on which wiring is formed, external connection terminals formed on this wiring, and a semiconductor chip attached on the surface of the polyimide substrate opposite to that on which the external connection terminals are formed, and the wiring is connected to the electrodes of the semiconductor chip. Moreover, solder resist is applied to the surface of the wiring, and oxidation of the wiring is prevented.
When solder resist adheres not only to the wiring but also to the external connection terminals, during mounting bad electrical connections occur. Because of this, solder resist adhering to the external connection terminals must be removed, or the solder resist must be applied to avoid the external connection terminals, complicating the process.
The present invention seeks to solve the above mentioned problems, and has as its object the provision of a film carrier tape, semiconductor assembly, semiconductor device, and method of manufacturing the same, mounted board, and electronic instrument to which CSP technology is applied, but in which the application of solder resist to the surface is avoided.

Film carrier tape, semiconductor assembly, semiconductor device, and method of manufacturing the same, mounted board, and electronic instrument