A metal wood golf club head adapted for attachment to a shaft is disclosed, including a shell defining an inner cavity and further including a face. The face of the club head has at least two roll radii disposed adjacent each other and defined about an alignment line on the face that extends from the heel end to the toe end. The roll radius above the alignment line is smaller than the roll radius below the alignment line. The face may also include multiple bulge radii.

The invention relates to a golf club head. More particularly, the invention is related to a golf club head with a multi-radius face.
The design of club heads has long been studied. Among the more prominent considerations in club head design are loft, lie, face angle, horizontal face bulge, vertical face roll, face progression, sole curvature, center of gravity location, and overall head weight. Although all of these aspects may be considered in golf club engineering, several are often accorded more weight in the design process due to their significant impact on club performance.
The shape and sizing of a club face is quite complex. Of particular interest in club head design are two characteristics of the face, the horizontal face bulge and the vertical face roll. Horizontal face bulge radius is measured from the heel to toe or along the horizontal plane of the face, and is important because it compensates for a golfer""s hitting of the ball off of the centerline of the face. If a ball is hit at an off-center location, the bulge effectively compensates for this misalignment that would otherwise cause hooking or slicing. A typical wood has a horizontal face bulge radius of between 8 and 16 inches.
Vertical face roll radius is measured from the top of the face to the bottom of the face in a vertical position, and this factor affects the trajectory of the ball off the face. A typical wood has a vertical face roll radius of between 12 and 18 inches.
The presence of bulge and roll radius, and the degree of radius applied to the face, are critical to the performance of the club. As perfection in the golf swing is not attained by most golfers, off-center hits are common. Yet, proper club head design, particularly with respect to the face geometry, can help compensate for the imperfect swing. There are trade-offs, however, in setting the face geometry. Too much horizontal face bulge, for example, can lead to poor directional control. In addition, club heads having too much vertical face roll can detrimentally exacerbate the trajectory of the ball upon impact.
Typically, golf clubs are designed with a single bulge. However, some club heads have been designed with multiple bulge radii. U.S. Pat. No. 6,093,115 discloses a golf club head having an asymmetric ball striking face such that one side of the face, as measured from the center of the face, has a first bulge radius and the other side of the face has a second bulge radius. One of the heel portion and the toe portion of the ball striking face has a bulge radius of 8 inches, while the other has a bulge radius of 24 inches. U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,405 discloses a hitting surface of a golf club head that is divided into three adjacent portions, each portion forming an arc of a circle with a different radius. The radii of the various portions range between 7 and 20 inches.
Japanese Publication 11042301 discloses a golf club head with three different bulge radii. The central part of the club face has a bulge radius that is greater than that of either adjacent part, with the difference in bulge radii ranging from about 1.27 to 2.95 inches.
Golf clubs are also typically designed with a single roll radius. However, some club heads have been contemplated to include multiple roll radii. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,074 discloses a putter with a face that forms a convex striking surface. The surface is generally parabolic or exponential, and thus does not have a constant roll radius.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,349 discloses a golf club with a striking face that has a central portion with accentuated roll. The central roll portion has a radius of curvature between 0.70 and 1 inch. Grooves extend parallel to the accentuated roll portion on opposite sides thereof, while flat surfaces extend along the striking face above and below the upper and lower grooves respectively. The design is claimed to provide for increased compression of the golf ball resulting in an unexpectedly long drive.
Despite the several aforementioned club head designs, there remains a need for a wood-type golf club with a club face designed to optimize launch conditions for various ball impact locations on the face. In particular, there remains a need for a golf club face with dual roll radii. Such a golf club design allows for improvement in performance such that ball launch conditions degrade less as the impact point of the ball departs from the center of the club face. In addition, there remains a need for a golf club face combining multiple bulge radii with multiple roll radii.
The present invention relates to a metal wood golf club head adapted for attachment to a shaft. The head includes a shell defining an inner cavity and further including a face. The face has at least two roll radii disposed adjacent each other and defined about a horizontal line proximate the center of the face, with a first roll radius above the line and a second roll radius below the line. Preferably, the first roll radius is smaller than the second roll radius. The first roll radius may be less than about seventy percent of the second roll radius. The first roll radius may be between about 4 inches and about 12 inches, and the second roll radius may be between about 8 inches and about 16 inches. In a preferred embodiment, the first roll radius is about 6 inches, and the second roll radius is about 10 inches.
The present invention also relates to a metal wood golf club head adapted for attachment to a shaft, including a shell defining an inner cavity and further including a face. The face has at least two roll radii disposed adjacent each other and defined about an alignment line on the face that extends from the heel end to the toe end. Preferably, a first roll radius above the alignment line is smaller than a second roll radius below the alignment line. A first roll radius above the alignment line may be less than about seventy percent of a second roll radius below the alignment line.
In another embodiment of a metal wood golf club head, the face has at least two roll radii and at least two bulge radii. The roll radii are disposed adjacent each other and defined about an alignment line on the face extending from the heel end to the toe end. Preferably, the face includes a first roll radius above the alignment line and a second roll radius below the alignment line, with the first roll radius being smaller than the second roll radius.
The present invention further relates to a metal wood golf club head adapted for attachment to a shaft. The head includes a shell defining an inner cavity and further including a face. The face has vertical and horizontal center lines proximate its center. The face also has a toe-side alignment line parallel to the vertical center line and disposed about half-way between a toe region of the shell and the vertical alignment line, and a heel-side alignment line parallel to the vertical center line and disposed about half-way between a heel region of the shell and the vertical alignment line. The face has a central region with a first bulge radius between the toe-side and heel-side alignment lines, and peripheral regions adjacent the central region. The first bulge radius of the central region of the face is substantially larger than the bulge radius of the peripheral regions of the face. In one embodiment, the bulge radius of the peripheral regions of the face is about 10% to about 40% smaller than the first bulge radius.
In addition, the present invention relates to a method of forming a metal wood golf club head, comprising the steps of: forming a shell defining an inner cavity and further including a face having a horizontal center line that extends from a heel end to a toe end, the horizontal center line defining an upper portion and a lower portion, and forming the upper portion of the face with a roll radius that is smaller than a roll radius of the lower portion of the face. The method may further include the step of forming substantially the entire upper portion of the face with a first roll radius, and forming substantially the entire lower portion of the face with a second roll radius. The face additionally may be formed with at least two bulge radii disposed about a vertical center line that extends from a crown region to a sole region, the vertical center line defining a proximal portion having a first bulge radius and a distal portion having a second bulge radius.


Various embodiments of the present technology may comprise methods and apparatus for determining a relative state of charge of battery. According to various embodiments, the methods and apparatus may operate to establish continuity between the RSOC values that are computed before and after a change in the charge mode of the battery. During a constant voltage charge mode, the methods and apparatus further estimate the RSOC value according to a linear relationship between the charging current and the RSOC.

Rechargeable batteries, such as a lithium ion battery, are widely used as driving batteries for a variety of devices, such as a cellular phone, a notebook computer, and the like, due to particular battery characteristics, such as having a large capacity, a high energy density, and ability to efficiently charge and discharge.
Lithium ion batteries are generally charged by a combined constant current and constant voltage technique. In particular, the battery may be initially charged with a constant current until the battery voltage reaches a predetermined voltage value. Once this voltage is reached, the charger maintains a constant charge voltage as the current decreases. Charging is complete when the current reaches a terminal current value.
Many battery systems are equipped with circuitry to compute the remaining capacity of the battery (typically measured in Amp-hr). The remaining capacity may be expressed as a percentage of the full charge capacity (maximum capacity) of the battery. This percentage value is referred to as the relative state of charge (RSOC) of the battery. Electronic devices typically display this percentage value to inform a user of the amount of stored energy available for use.
The full charge capacity of the battery, however, decreases with age and cannot be easily measured. Many battery systems have various circuits and components to estimate the full charge capacity of the battery but these estimates contain a margin of error. This margin of error is then propagated to the RSOC value. Conventional battery systems may also employ look-up tables to adjust the RSOC value in an attempt to correct the error. Look-up tables, however, occupy a large storage area and require more power to retrieve data from the look-up table.
Battery systems generally compute the RSOC value of the battery using different methods depending on the charge mode (constant current charge mode or constant voltage charge) of the battery. It is during the switch from one mode to another that the RSOC error is most noticeable.

Methods and apparatus for determining a relative state of charge of a battery

SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC


A connecting material for cold transfer printing paper is provided and includes an acrylic coating agent composition as an isolating layer and an acrylic coating agent composition as an ink-receiving layer. Also provided is a method for preparing the connecting material for cold transfer printing paper, a cold transfer printing paper and a method for printing a pattern or letter on a fabric by using the cold transfer printing paper.

Nowadays, transfer printing method has become a new technology for daily-use industrial decoration and printing process of fabric. This technology generally includes the following steps: firstly, printing the desired a pattern or letter on a base paper by printing using a proper printing ink to produce a transfer printing paper; then, pressing the surface with the printing ink of the transfer printing paper to a blank fabric; and removing and peeling the printing ink from the transfer printing paper under the action of pressure and wetting, thereby transferring the a pattern or letter from the transfer printing paper to the fabric. Usually, the transfer printing method may be classified into thermal transfer printing method (i.e., hot-melt pressure sensitive transfer printing by heating) and cold transfer printing method (transfer printing at environmental temperature after padding with a pretreatment agent, no heat is needed).
Patent SU937468A1 in 1982 discloses a thickener for fabric printing, and patent SU1018409A1 in 1995 discloses a method for preparing an emulsion from methacrylic acid and butyl acrylate under the initiation of DMF in a solvent. The thickener and the resulting emulsion in the above two patents are different from the present invention not only in their preparation method, but also mainly in that they don't have the hydrotropic rate and peeling rate necessary for transfer printing, and thus can only be used as ordinary printing paste.
Patent JP50053687A in 1975 and patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,858,255B2 in 2005 also respectively relate to a printing paste, which is only used for fibril sizing and coat printing. Since the pastes don't have the technical standard necessary for transfer printing too, the catalyst system, solvent and additive used in the polymerization are different from those in the present invention, and the preparation steps are completely different from those in the present invention.
The most difficulty in transfer printing is that the printing ink can't be totally transferred from the printing paper to the fabric, a large amount of dyes remain on the printing paper, which causes a number of problems, including, for example, on one hand, the waste of a large amount of dyes, environmental pollution, and low regeneration rate of wastepaper, and on the other hand, low dye yield in transfer printing and poor color fastness of the printed fabric. Moreover, conventional transfer printing paper and transfer printing process thereof can be only used for chemical fabrics, especially polyester fabrics, but is not useful for natural fibers such as cotton, wool, silk and cellulose fiber etc., the reason is that natural fibers usually use water-soluble dyes, for example, reactive dyes or weak acidic dyes (cf. Dyeing & Finishing, 1999, No. 3, Wet Transfer Printing of Pure Cotton Fabric with Reactive Dyes), this water-soluble dyes will bond to paper so that it is difficult to transfer the a pattern or letter from the printing paper to the fabric, with a transfer rate of about 60% only. Therefore, there needs a connecting material between base paper and printing ink in a transfer printing paper, which can serve as not only an ink-receiving layer in printing but also an isolating layer in transfer printing, that is, the connecting material can make printing ink stay on the paper well and thus keep a high pattern sharpness, and at the same time can easily transfer the a pattern or letter printed with printing ink from the printing paper to the fabric, with a transfer rate of above 90%, as a result, the environmental pollution caused by ink residue is decreased, and the regeneration and utilization of wastepaper is increased.

Connecting material for cold transfer printing paper and preparation

Shanghai Newtech Fabric Printing Co., Ltd.


An apparatus and methods for deploying, recovering, and servicing an AUV are disclosed. The apparatus includes a linelatch system that is made up of a tether management system connected to a flying latch vehicle by a tether. The linelatch system can be connected to a surface vessel by an umbilical on one end and to an AUV on the other end. In addition to providing a mechanical connection, between the AUV and a surface vessel, the linelatch system can also carry power and data between the surface vessel (i.e., through the umbilical) and the AUV.

Vehicles that operate underwater are useful for performing tasks below the sea surface in such fields as deep water salvage, the underwater telecommunications industry, the offshore petroleum industry, offshore mining, and oceanographic research. (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,099,316 and 4,502,407). One class of underwater vehicle is designated an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). AUVs are so named because they can operate without being physically connected to a support platform such as a land-based platform, an offshore platform, or a sea-going vessel.
Commonly used AUVs are essentially unmanned submarines that contain an on-board power supply, propulsion means, and a pre-programmed control system. In a typical operation, after being placed into a body of water from a surface platform, an AUV will carry out a pre-programmed mission, then automatically surface for recovery. A recovery boat is then dispatched to collect the surfaced AUV. The recovery procedure can be performed directly from the recovery boat or with the assistance of a diver. This procedure entails attaching a lift cable to the surfaced AUV so that it can be hauled out of the water using a crane or winch. Once recovered, the AUV is transferred to the surface platform or other servicing site where data obtained from the mission can be down-loaded, the AUV's batteries recharged, other components serviced, and new mission instructions programmed into the AUV's control device. The AUV is then redeployed into the body of water so that it can carry out another mission.
In this fashion, AUVs can perform subsurface tasks without requiring either constant attention from a technician or a physical link to a surface support platform. These attributes make AUV operations substantially less expensive than similar operations performed by underwater vehicles requiring a physical linkage to a surface support platform (e.g., remotely operated vehicles).
AUVs, however, suffer practical limitations rendering them less suited than other underwater vehicles for some operations. For example, because AUVs typically derive their power from an on-board power supply of limited capacity (e.g., a battery), tasks requiring a substantial amount of power such as cutting and drilling are not practically performed by AUVs. In addition, the amount of time that an AUV can operate underwater is limited by the capacity of the on-board power supply. Thus, AUVs must surface, be recovered, and be recharged between missions.
This recovery, servicing, and redeployment step reduces the productive operating time of an AUV. Moreover, it creates the additional expense associated with deployment of a recovery boat, diver, etc. In addition, the recovery and redeployment processes increase the likelihood that the AUV will be damaged. For example, AUVs can be damaged during surfacing by colliding with objects on the sea surface such as the surface support vessel. AUVs can also be damaged during the recovery process by colliding with the recovery cable, the side of a surface vessel or boat, or a portion of the crane or winch. In rough seas, recovery is hampered and made more dangerous by vertical heave, the up and down motion of an object produced by waves on the surface of a body of water. Severe vertical heave can render AUV recovery impractical.
Because AUVs are not physically linked to a surface vessel during underwater operations, communication between an AUV and a remotely-located operator (e.g., a technician aboard a surface vessel) is limited. For example, AUVs typically employ a conventional acoustic modem for communicating with a remotely-located operator. Such underwater acoustic communications do not convey data as rapidly or accurately as electrical wires or fiber optics. Transfer of data encoding real time video signals or real time instructions from a remotely-located operator is therefore inefficient. As such, AUVs are often not able to perform unanticipated tasks or jobs requiring a great deal of operator input without first being recovered, reprogrammed, and redeployed.

Apparatus and method for deploying, recovering, servicing, and operating an autonomous underwater vehicle


An airway opening device including back elevating inflatable bladder and inflation device in fluid communication with the bladder. The inflation device provides fluid under pressure to inflate the bladder. The airway opening device can be incorporated into a gurney mattress in accordance with the present invention.

Ambulance gurneys have long been used for transporting injured or incapacitated people. Typical ambulance gurneys generally include a mattress resting atop and/or fastened to a supporting surface. The supporting surface is generally mounted atop a wheeled, adjustable frame. The wheels allow the gurney to be pushed or pulled along the ground. The height of the mattress relative to the ground can be varied by adjusting the frame.
Prior to applicant's invention, the length and width of most gurney mattresses were configured to accommodate an adult patient. Harnesses attached to the gurney extended width-wise across the mattress to retain the patient on the mattress. Like the mattress, the harness was sized to accommodate adult patients.
CPR must often be performed on gurney mattresses. Prior to applicant's invention, attendants who performed CPR generally opened a patient's airway by holding a supine patient's head and tilting it back away from the patient's chest. This procedure was considered necessary to open the patient's airway for normal or artificial respiration, however, the procedure placed significant stress on the patient's upper spine. If a patient was suspected to have a spinal cord injury, the attendant faced a dilemma between potentially aggravating a spinal cord injury by tilting a patient's head or not fully opening the patient's airway.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation back support


A method for improving fuel-efficiency during a temporary stop may include dividing, by an engine control apparatus, a neutral control condition into a neutral control entry and a neutral control release during a D-stage temporary stop, determining, a neutral control entry D-stage target RPM at a time of the neutral control entry, and a neutral control release D-stage target RPM at a time of the neutral control release, and RPM shifting the neutral control entry D-stage target RPM to a speed gradient conforming to a transmission clutch release time of a transmission control apparatus at a time of a neutral control after the neutral control entry and RPM shifting the neutral control release D-stage target RPM to a speed gradient conforming to a clutch coupling time of a transmission by the transmission control apparatus at a time of a neutral control after the neutral control release.

Field of the Invention
Various embodiments of the present invention relate to improvement in fuel-efficiency during a temporary stop, and more particularly, to a vehicle and a method for improving fuel-efficiency during a temporary stop capable of improving both of fuel-efficiency and noise, vibration, hashness (NVH) by reducing planetary gear noise and vehicle vibration which occur at the time of a neutral control during a D-stage temporary stop.
Description of Related Art
Generally, an automatic transmission for a vehicle includes a shift control apparatus which automatically controls a shift ratio depending on a driving speed and a load of a vehicle, in which the shift control apparatus controls a plurality of clutches and brakes, which are installed in a gear train, in an operation state or a non-operation state to control an RPM of an output stage of a planetary gear, thereby performing a shift.
In particular, under the condition that the improvement in fuel-efficiency of a vehicle has emerged as a very important issue, efforts to improve fuel-efficiency of an automatic transmission vehicle have been conducted. An example of the efforts may include a neutral control method.
The neutral control is a control method of making a clutch in a half neutral state at the time of a D-stage temporary stop in the automatic transmission vehicle configured of planetary gear sets to lower an engine load and lower fuel consumption, thereby improving the fuel-efficiency.
However, the neutral control brings about a rotating planetary gear set by a clutch release among the planetary gear sets which are not rotating by making the clutch in the half neutral state at the time of the D-stage temporary stop to which the neutral control is not applied and induces the gear noise due to the rotation of the planetary gear set. Therefore, at the time of the D-stage temporary stop in the automatic transmission vehicle configured of the planetary gear sets, the neutral control cannot but improve the fuel-efficiency but induce the planetary gear noise.
Usually, the planetary gear noise at the time of the neutral control may be improved by reducing a D-stage engine RPM at the time of the temporary stop and thus reducing the rotation of the planetary gear.
However, since the automatic transmission configured of the planetary gear sets does not usually use the neutral control at the time of the D-stage temporary stop, the D-stage engine RPM is set to be high to avoid a resonance frequency of a vehicle, and thus the low D-stage engine RPM for the neutral control at the time of the D-stage temporary stop cannot but coincide with the resonance frequency of the vehicle and the neutral control implementing vehicle brings about the vehicle vibration due to the coincidence with the resonance frequency of the vehicle.
Therefore, to improve the fuel-efficiency of the automatic transmission vehicle configured of the planetary gear sets, there is a need to solve two conflicting phenomena of the low D-stage engine RPM to reduce the planetary gear noise and the avoidance of the resonance frequency of the vehicle bringing about the vehicle vibration at the time of the neutral control.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

Vehicle and method for improving fuel-efficiency during temporary stop


Polarizing glass having localized regions or patterns of non-polarizing glass is disclosed. The glass is formed by use of reducing gas-blocking material, by local thermal heating of the glass, or by an etching technique.

Hydrogen firing at elevated temperatures to change the color of glasses whose compositions contain reducible ions is well known. A notable commercial application of that technique is found in the Coming Incorporated eyewear product lines marketed under the SERENGETI.RTM. and CPF.RTM. trademarks. The color changes induced are attributed, to the reduction of a portion of the silver and lead ions respectively, in the glass to the atomic state.
Several methods have been suggested for making polarizing glasses. For example, one such method is to redraw a glass above its softening temperature. The glass contains a separate phase which is elongated by the redraw process. The thermal treatment which leads to the phase separation is usually carried out before the redraw process. In a particular version of the above process, the separated phase is initially spectrally non-absorbing material such as AgClBr, CuClBr, AgI, CuI or copper/cadmium halides, which must be subsequently modified to create a desired dichroic property necessary for the polarizing effect. This is accomplished by treating the stretched glass in hydrogen gas at elevated temperatures for sufficient time to effect the chemical reduction of the spectrally non-absorbing materials to their corresponding metal. The chemical reduction process is a combined process involving both the diffusion of hydrogen in the glass, and the chemical reaction of the hydrogen with the halide phase.
It is known that the chemical reaction proceeds very fast relative to the hydrogen diffusion which leads to the condition of a sharp boundary between the reduced region near the surface, and the unreduced region below the surface. The polarizing behaviors derives from the reduced layer. Also, when the polarizing glass is heated to the vicinity of 500.degree. C. for any prolonged period of time, the elongated particles re-spheridize and the polarizing property is lost. That is, the elongated particle returns to its spherical shape. This is explained by the fact that once the glass is soft enough, the interfacial forces act to undo what the redrawing forces had accomplished.
For certain applications, it is desirable to have the polarizing properties restricted to localized regions of the glass. Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide methods of partially or fully blocking the effect of hydrogen reduction over a portion of a glass surface, or other ways of altering the polarizing state.

Polarizing glasses having integral non-polarizing regions


Various polymers are provided that can be polymerized in the lens capsule with the ability to covalently bond an intraocular lens implant to the posterior capsule of the eye such that there is no space available between the intraocular lens implant and the lens capsule for lens epithelial cells to proliferate and thereby significantly reducing posterior capsule opacification.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to artificial lens implants for the eye.
2. State of the Art
An intraocular lens (IOL) is an artificial lens implanted into the lens capsule of the eye in place of the natural crystalline lens of the eye because it has been clouded over by a cataract or injured. When the natural lens is removed from the lens capsule of the eye, lens epithelial cells (LECs) begin to multiply and spread on the posterior capsule and effectively render the posterior capsule opaque. This opacification, commonly referred to as posterior capsule opacification (PCO), causes clouding of vision and can lead to blurring and possibly total vision loss. While the LECs can theoretically spread on the anterior wall as well, due to the large opening in the anterior capsule (the capsulorrhexus), there is no wall for them to spread onto.
The occurrence of PCO is relatively high in traditional IOL implantations where the LECs spread between the IOL and the lens capsule. There have been some IOL designs where the sharpness of the corners of the lens has prevented cellular migration under the lens; however, recent literature suggests that these geometrical features simply retard the progression of PCO. PCO occurs in approximately 40% of IOL recipients within two years of receiving a synthetic lens.
The usual treatment for PCO is laser ablation of the posterior capsule where a laser is used to vaporize the posterior capsule and the cells that adhere to it. However, in terms of health economics, PCO is very expensive to treat. Therefore, it is desirable to avoid PCO at the outset.

Method of implantation using polymer adhesive for an intraocular lens that minimizes posterior capsule opacification


A method for correcting the conicity value in a pneumatic tire based on the average conicity value is used in combination with correcting for lateral force variation, and/or radial run-out variation, and/or radial force variation characteristics of a pneumatic tire by grinding the tread surface. The correcting of the conicity value is accomplished by grinding either the shoulder regions of the tire tread or the central region of the tire tread.

In the art of manufacturing pneumatic tires, rubber flow in the mold or minor differences in the dimensions of the belts, beads, liners, treads, plies of rubberized cords, sometimes cause non-uniformities in the final tire. When non-uniformities are of sufficient magnitude, they will cause force variations on a surface, such as a road, against which the tires roll and thereby produce vibrational and acoustical disturbances in the vehicle upon which the tires are mounted. Regardless of the cause of the force variations, when such variations exceed the acceptable minimum level, the ride of a vehicle utilizing such tires will be adversely affected.
The effects of non-uniformity are best explained by noting that several types of forces, which are of particular importance in the present application, are simultaneously exerted by a tire during its rotation under load against a surface. For example, radial run-out is an intrinsic tire non-uniformity best described as the "out of roundness" of the tire. Also radial forces are exerted in the radial direction of the tire, or in a direction perpendicular to its axis of rotation and non-tangential to the road surface. Additionally, lateral forces are exerted in the axial direction of the tire or in a direction parallel to its axis of rotation. Further, excessive conicity, defined as one-half of the net average lateral force resulting from a non-conical shaped tire, causes a tire to constantly pull to one side.
In a non-uniform tire, the radial run-out, the radial forces, and the lateral forces exerted by the tire will vary or change during its rotation. In other words, the magnitude and/or direction of the radial run-out, and the radial and lateral forces exerted by the tire will depend on which increment of its tread is contacting the surface.
The variations in radial and lateral force during rotation of a tire are usually caused by differences in the stiffness and/or geometry of the tire about its circumference or tread centerline. If these differences are slight, the radial and lateral force variations and therefore the degree of conicity will be insignificant and their effects unnoticeable when the tire is installed on a vehicle. However, when these differences reach a certain level, the radial and/or lateral force variations may be significant enough to cause rough riding conditions and/or difficult handling situations. Also, an excessive conicity value will cause a rolling tire to pull to one side.
Consequently, methods have been developed in the past to correct for excessive force variations by removing rubber from the shoulders and/or the central region of the tire tread by means such as grinding. Most of these correction methods include the steps of indexing the tire tread into a series of circumferential increments and obtaining a series of force measurements representative of the force exerted by the tire as these increments contact a surface. This data is then interpreted and rubber is removed from the tire tread in a pattern related to this interpretation. These methods are commonly performed with a force variation machine which includes an assembly for rotating a test tire against the surface of a freely rotating loading drum. This arrangement results in the loading drum being moved in a manner dependent on the forces exerted by the rotating tire whereby forces may be measured by appropriately placed measuring devices. In a sophisticated force variation machine (FVM), such as a Model No. D70LTW available from the Akron Standard Co. of Akron Ohio. The force measurements are interpreted by a computer and rubber is removed from the tire tread by grinders controlled by the computer. Examples of these methods are disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,739,533, 3,946,527, 4,914,869, and 5,263,284.
As illustrated by prior patents and commercial devices, as described above, efforts are continuously being made to more efficiently correct tire non-uniformity. None of these prior art efforts, however, suggest the present inventive combination of method steps and component elements arranged and configured for correcting the conicity parameter, as well as the order of the routine for correcting variations in lateral forces, followed by radial run-out and finally radial forces as disclosed and claimed herein. Prior methods and apparatus do not provide the benefits of the present invention which achieves its intended purposes, objectives and advantages over the prior art devices through a new, useful and unobvious combination of method steps and component elements, through no increase in the number of functioning parts, at a reduction in operational cost, and through the utilization of only readily available materials and conventional components.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for correcting or shifting the conicity value in a pneumatic tire to obviate the problems and limitations of the prior art methods. Other objects of this invention will be apparent from the following description and claims.

Method of correcting conicity, radial run out, and force variations in a pneumatic tire


A light receiving device including a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type; a first semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type which is formed on the semiconductor substrate of the first conductivity type; and a semiconductor layer of the first conductivity type which elongates from a surface of the first semiconductor substrate of the second conductivity type to reach a surface of the semiconductor substrate of the first conductivity type, the semiconductor layer splitting the first semiconductor layer of the second conductivity type into a plurality of semiconductor regions of the second conductivity type. The portion of the semiconductor layer of the first conductivity type which overlaps with the semiconductor substrate of the first conductivity type is formed as a semiconductor region of the first conductivity type and has a high-impurity density. The semiconductor regions of the second conductivity type, and semiconductor substrate of the first conductivity type below such regions form a plurality of light detecting photodiode portions for detecting signal light. The device further includes a second semiconductor layer of the second conductivity type being buried in a part of the semiconductor substrate of the first conductivity type which constitutes each of the light detecting photodiode portions.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a circuit-incorporating light receiving device which incorporates a circuit for processing a photoelectric conversion signal, and particularly to a structure of a split photodiode, in which a light receiving region is split into a plurality of light detecting portions, which can improve the response speed, and which can reduce the deterioration of properties due to misalignment of optical split positions of the light detecting portions and structural split positions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, for example, such a split photodiode is used as a signal detecting device for an optical pickup.
Recently, with the achievement of miniaturization and high performance of an optical disk apparatus, the reduction in size and weight of an optical pickup has become an important issue to be realized. In order to realize this, an optical module has been proposed which performs the functions of generating a tracking beam, conducting optical branching, and generating an error signal all in one hologram device; a laser diode, a photodiode, etc. are housed in one package (not shown); and the hologram device is disposed on the upper face of the package.
FIG. 3 diagrammatically shows the configuration of the optical system of the optical pickup. The principle of the signal detection in the optical system will be described briefly. Light emitted from a laser diode LD is split into three light beams, i.e., two subbeams for tracking and one main beam for reading a data signal. The light from the laser diode is split by a diffraction grating 30 which is disposed on the back face of the hologram device 31. The diffraction grating 30 is for generating a tracking beam.
The light beams which have passed as zero-order light through the hologram device 31 on the upper face of the package are converted into parallel light beams by a collimator lens 32, and then focused on a disk 34 by an objective lens 33. Reflected light beams which have undergone modulation by pits on the disk 34 pass through the objective lens 33 and the collimator lens 32, and are then diffracted by the hologram device 31. The diffracted beams are guided as first-order light onto a five-split photodiode PD having five split light detecting portions (hereinafter, often referred to as "light detecting photodiode portions") D1 to D5.
The hologram device 31 has two regions having different diffraction periods. Among reflected light of the main beam, a portion entering one of the regions is focused on an isolation line by which the light detecting portions D2 and D3 are split from each other, and a portion entering the other region is focused on the light detecting portion D4. The reflected light of each subbeam is focused on respective ones of the light detecting portions D1 and D5 by hologram device 31. Depending on the change of the distance between the hologram device 31 and the disk 34, the position of the reflected light of the main beam on the photodiode PD is moved in the direction along which the light detecting photodiode portions D2 and D3 are aligned, so that, when the main beam is focused on the disk, the reflected light of the main beam enters the isolation region between the light detecting photodiode portions D2 and D3.
When the outputs of the five-split photodiode PD respectively corresponding to the light detecting portions D1 to D5 are indicated by S1 to S5, the focus error signal FES is given by the following equation: EQU FES=S2-S3
On the other hand, the tracking error is detected by the so-called three-beam method. Since the two tracking subbeams are focused on the light detecting portions D1 and D5, respectively, the tracking error signal TES is given by the following equation: EQU TES=S1-S5
When the error signal TES is 0, it means that the main beam is correctly positioned on a track to be irradiated. The reproduction signal RF is given as the total sum of the outputs of the light detecting portions D2 to D4 receiving the reflected light of the main beam, or as follows: EQU RF=S2+S3+S4
FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the structure of the five-split photodiode PD which is incorporated in the configuration of the above-mentioned optical system. The shape of the five-split photodiode depends on the optical system. In this example, the light detecting portions of the photodiode have a lengthways elongated shape. This shape is determined by the reason described below.
The laser diode LD and the photodiode PD constituting the optical system are incorporated in one package, and the hologram device 31 is adhered to the upper face of the package. The positions of the laser diode and the photodiode are caused to be varied in the processes of positioning them. Moreover, the oscillation wavelength of the laser diode LD is different between devices, and changes due to temperature variations. Variations produced in the processes of positioning the laser diode and the photodiode, and variations of the oscillation wavelength cause the angle of diffraction of diffracted light to be changed. Accordingly, the light receiving face of the photodiode PD is required to have a larger dimension in the Y-direction as shown in FIG. 4, or the direction along which the incidence position of reflected light on the photodiode is changed when the angle of diffraction is changed.
The dimension in the X-direction of the light receiving face which is perpendicular to Y-direction is not affected by the change of the angle of diffraction which is caused by variations of the oscillation wavelength of the laser diode between devices and changes in oscillation wavelength owing to the temperature variation. Since variations produced in the processes of positioning the laser diode and the photodiode can be adjusted by rotating the hologram device 31 when the device is adhered to the upper face of the package, the dimension of the light receiving face in the X-direction is not required to have a large value. Conversely, in the X-direction of the light receiving face, the adjustment in the process of incorporating the optical pickup in an optical disk apparatus is difficult when the three beams arranged in the X-direction are separated from each other. In the photodiode, therefore, the widths of the light detecting portions D1 to D5, and those of the isolation regions between the light detecting portions must be narrowed.
For the above-mentioned reason, the light detecting portions of the photodiode PD naturally have a lengthways elongated shape as shown in FIG. 4.
FIG. 5 shows the cross-sectional structure of the portion of the photodiode along line a-a' shown in FIG. 4. In FIG. 4, 201 designates a five-split photodiode for detecting light which has conventionally been used, 202 designates an anode electrode which is common to light detecting photodiode portions D1 to D5, and 203a to 203e designate cathode electrodes respectively corresponding to the light detecting photodiode portions D1 to D5. In the figure, components formed in steps conducted after the metallization step, such as multi-layer conductors, a passivation film, and the like are not shown.
The photodiode is produced in the following manner. First, P-type buried diffusion layers 2 are formed in regions on a P-type semiconductor substrate 1 which will be formed as the isolation regions used for splitting the light detecting portion (FIG. 6A).
Next, as shown in FIG. 6B, an N-type epitaxial layer 4 is formed on the entire surface of the P-type semiconductor substrate 1. P-type isolation diffusion layers 5 elongating from the surface of the N-type epitaxial layer 4 to the portions corresponding to the P-type buried diffusion layers 2 are then formed so that the light detecting portions D1 to D5 which are electrically isolated from each other are formed.
A P-type diffusion layer 6 is then formed on the surface of the N-type epitaxial layer 4, and also on the surfaces of the P-type isolation diffusion layers 5 which will be formed as the isolation regions for the light detecting portions D1 to D5 (FIG. 6C).
As shown in FIG. 6D, in an oxide film 7 which is formed on the surface in the step of forming the P-type diffusion layer 6, the portion corresponding to the light receiving region of the surface of the P-type diffusion layer 6 is removed. Then, a nitride film 8 is formed on the entire surface. In order that the nitride film 8 will function as an anti-reflection film, the thickness of the nitride film 8 is selected so as to conform to the wavelength of the laser diode.
Next, openings are formed in the nitride film 8 and the oxide film 7 to form electrode windows. Electrode conductors 9a are formed, and at the same time metal films 9 are formed on portions of the surface of the nitride film 8 which are not irradiated with signal light, thereby obtaining the five-split photodiode having the structure shown in FIG. 5. A signal processing circuit (not shown) is formed on the semiconductor substrate 1 by a usual bipolar IC process.
In the thus configured five-split photodiode PD, the PN junctions of the isolation regions for the light detecting portions D1 to D5 are covered by the P-type diffusion layer 6. Even when the nitride film 8 is formed directly on the surface of the photodiode, problems such as increased junction leakage do not arise. In the isolation region between the light detecting portions D2 and D3 of the photodiode on which a focused beam actually impinges, therefore, the reflection of the focused beam at the light receiving face is suppressed to a low level by the nitride film 8. Consequently, the high sensitivity of the photodiode can be realized.
Since the metal film 9 is formed in the portions which are not irradiated with signal light, in the example, the portions between the light detecting portions D1 and D2, and D3 and D5, the photodiode is hardly affected by stray light or the like so that the S/N ratio of the photodiode is improved.
However, particularly, the light detecting portions D2, D3, and D4 which process the reproduction signal RF are required to operate at a high speed. It was found that, in the light detecting portions D2 and D3, the cutoff frequency obtained when the isolation regions of these portions are irradiated with a light beam is lower than that obtained when the center region of the respective light detecting portions is irradiated with a light beam. FIG. 7 shows the experimental results.
The state where the isolation region of the adjacent light detecting portions was irradiated with a light beam was analyzed by using a device simulation system. As a result, it was found that, under this state, optical carriers detour around the P-type buried diffusion layer 2 of the isolation region and reach the junction of the N-type epitaxial layer 4 and the P-type semiconductor substrate 1 so that optical carriers are caused to move a longer distance by diffusion, thereby causing the cutoff frequency to be lowered.
In FIG. 8, directions of currents in the P-type buried diffusion layer 2 of the isolation region and in the vicinity thereof are indicated by arrows. Electrons which function as optical carriers move in directions opposite to those of the arrows.
FIG. 9 shows the potential distribution in the depth direction of the isolation diffusion layer 5 of the isolation region. As seen from the figure, the potential distribution operates as a potential barrier against electrons which function as optical carriers in the substrate and directed toward the surface of the substrate. Therefore, it was found that optical carriers detour around the P-type buried diffusion layer 2. The detour causes the moving distance of electrons to be the order of 10 micrometers.

Light receiving device with isolation regions


An improved unified cooling system for an internal combustion engine that generally includes a cylinder head and a cylinder block, in which the cylinder head and cylinder block are maintained at different operating temperatures despite using only a single coolant pump. The coolant pump pumps fresh coolant through the cylinder head and cylinder block. Coolant valves, which may be thermostatic valves or electrically actuable proportional valves, lie downstream of the cylinder head and cylinder block and individually control the amount of coolant flowing through the cylinder head and cylinder block so as to maintain a lower operating temperature for the cylinder head than for the cylinder block. Coolant is directed, in various configurations, through any or all of an oil cooler, a heat exchanger for a heater for a vehicle interior, and a coolant radiator, before being directed back to the coolant pump.

This application claims the benefit of German patent application 10061546.5, filed Dec. 11, 2000, herein incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooling system for an internal combustion engine, such as for a motor vehicle, which is cooled by means of a liquid coolant. The cooling system of the present invention generally includes a coolant pump, a coolant radiator, coolant conduits in a cylinder head, coolant channels in a cylinder block, and a regulating device, which permits the cylinder head and the cylinder block to have different temperatures based upon regulation of the coolant flow.
2. Background of the Invention
Cooling systems of the type described above are known as dual-circuit cooling systems. One such cooling system is described in German patent no. DE 34 40 504 C2. The purpose of a dual-circuit cooling system is to permit the cylinder head and the intake ports to have a different temperature from that of the cylinder block. More than half of the frictional resistance of an internal combustion engine normally occurs in the cylinder block, and it is desirable to increase the efficiency of the engine by reducing frictional resistance. One means of reducing that frictional resistance is to increase the operating temperature of the cylinder block by controlling the coolant flow.
Typically, the cylinder head does not bear the same degree of frictional resistance as the cylinder block. Some beneficial reduction in friction in the cylinder head does occur with a higher operating temperature, specifically with a higher oil temperature, but there are other attendant problems with a higher temperature in the cylinder head and intake ports. For instance, the fill level of the cylinder (the degree to which air for the combustion process is introduced into the cylinder) drops when the cylinder head and intake ports are at a higher temperature. Because less oxygen is present for combustion purposes, the efficiency of the combustion reaction is reduced, wiping out any gains in efficiency that might have been had through reduction of frictional resistance in the cylinder head.
Consequently, it is desirable to achieve an operating condition of the engine such that the cylinder head has a temperature that is, overall, lower than a maximum safe operating temperature and, specifically, lower than that of the cylinder block. The usual solution to this design challenge is to provide a pair of coolant circuits, each of which is provided with its own coolant pump. The coolant circuits can be connected with each other in different ways by means of a valve control group. During warm-up, the two coolant circuits are switched in series, wherein the coolant radiator is bypassed by means of a short-circuit. Once the desired temperature of the cylinder head has been reached, the radiator is connected to the cylinder head coolant circuit, while the cylinder block coolant circuit remains short-circuited across the radiator. Then, when both coolant circuits are at their desired operating temperatures, a portion of the coolant from the cylinder head coolant circuit is admixed with coolant from the cylinder block coolant circuit, which has passed through the radiator. Additionally, temperature sensors are provided in the two coolant circuits in order to signal an electric drive motor of a blower for the coolant radiator to be switched on.
As can be seen from the above description, the design and operation of prior-art dual circuit cooling systems can be complex. Such complexity leads to increased design and manufacturing costs, as well as to an increased likelihood of failure in operation.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to improve upon, by simplification, prior art dual-circuit cooling systems as described above, and specifically to provide for a unified dual-temperature cooling system that includes a single coolant pump.
In order to meet this object, individual thermostatic valves are connected downstream of the cylinder head and the cylinder block, which valves operate to regulate the flow of coolant individually through the cylinder head and cylinder block based upon the temperature of the coolant flowing through the valves. For instance, when the coolant flowing through the cylinder head to one of the valves is below a predetermined temperature, the valve remains closed and no coolant (or only a trickle flow of coolant) is allowed to be drained from the cylinder head and replaced by cooler-temperature coolant. Likewise, coolant flowing through the cylinder block to the other valve is blocked until the coolant is at a separately determined temperature. In this manner, coolant flowing from a single coolant pump through the cylinder head or the cylinder block is individually regulated. By selecting the opening temperature for the cylinder head valve at a lower temperature than that at which the cylinder block valve is set, the effect of a dual-circuit cooling system is achieved more simply.
Moreover, the two thermostatic valves may have different flow cross-sections, so that when both valves are in their fully opened states, different amounts of coolant flow through one the individual valves and their corresponding engine members. In particular, a lower operating temperature for the cylinder head than for the cylinder block may be achieved, even when both valves are fully open, if the flow cross-section of the cylinder head valve is greater than that of the cylinder block valve. Consequently, more coolant flows through the cylinder head than flows through the cylinder block.
Further features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the claims and the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the drawings.

Cooling system for an internal combustion engine cooled with a liquid coolant


The pompon includes a mass of soft fibrous material. A number of pieces of flexible material is interspersed through the mass. The flexible material crinkles or rustles when it is touched by a cat and may be aluminum foil, acetate paper, polyethylene or polypropylene. The fibrous material may be wool or acrylic.

This invention relates to toys for cats and more particularly to a pompon or ball of soft material which rustles or crinkles when it is touched.
Most kittens love to play with small soft balls. They will bat it if it is attached to a string and will pounce on it if it is thrown. Balls for this purpose are conventionally composed of soft material such as sponge rubber or wool so that the kitten can bite into it without injury.
It is known to incorporate some device that will make a noise into a ball for kittens. A noise-making device is thought to make the ball more appealing to a kitten. Balls are known, for example, which are composed of a hollow sphere of soft rubber having a bell in its interior. Such balls however have a number of short comings one of which being that they tend to be somewhat heavy. If they are free to swing on a string they can strike a kitten rather hard thereby discouraging the kitten from continuing to play with it. In addition the noise made by the bell is often too loud and frightening to a kitten.


An integrated motor-driven pump includes an electromagnet disposed in the pump casing opposite a magnet mounted to an impeller of the pump. The impeller is rotatably supported within the casing, and is rotated by inducing a repulsion force in the magnet. In addition, a bearing rotatably supporting the impeller is provided in a portion of the casing formed with a flow passageway which leads working fluid handled by the pump flow to both sides of the bearing so that the bearing can be lubricated and cooled by the working fluid.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motor-driven pump applicable as a booster of combustible fluid such as liquid fuel in a rocket, and low-temperature or very-low-temperature fluid such as liquid oxygen or liquid helium.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One example of a heretofore known motor-driven pump is shown in FIG. 9. The heretofore known pump is operated with its rotary shaft 03 directly connected to a power source such as an electric motor or a turbine to be driven. In order to prevent fluid from flowing from the inside of the pump to the outside thereof or into an electric motor, the shaft is sealed by a packing 04. Reference numeral 05 designates a rotor of the electric motor, numeral 06 designates a stator, numeral 07 designates a bearing, and numeral 08 designates a packing gland.
As described above, the shaft of the pump in the prior art is sealed by packing 04 so that fluid will not flow from the inside of the pump to the outside or into an electric motor. Therefore, power loss and abrasion are caused by relative sliding movement between the rotary shaft 03 and the packing 04. Also, it is difficult to perfectly prevent fluid from leaking from the pump, and hence, combustible fluid could ignite or low-temperature and very-low-temperature fluid could freeze if leaked from the pump.


An artificial neural network performs error correction on an input signal vector. The input signal vector is process in a forward direction through synapses in each of a plurality of neurons for providing an output signal from each of the neurons. The output signals from the neurons are monitored until the one having the greatest activity level is identified. A reverse flow signal having a predetermined magnitude is processed in the reverse direction through the neuron having the greatest activity level for updating the input signal vector. Alternately, the output signals of competing neurons may be applied through synapses weighted to favor the neuron having the greatest output signal activity. Thus, the neuron with synapses most closely matched to the elements of the input signal vector overpowers the remaining neurons and wins the competition. Once the winning neuron is identified, its output signal is reverse processed through the respective neuron for providing an improved input signal vector with reduced noise and error. The improved signal is reprocessed in the forward direction through the neural network for providing higher confidence output signals.

This invention relates in general to neural networks and, more particularly, to a circuit and method of enhancing the contrast of an input signal vector with the recognition properties of an artificial neural network.
Neural networks are well known in the art for contrast enhancement and recovery of distorted signals in the presence of noise. When a noisy or corrupt input signal vector is applied at the synaptic inputs of a neural network, for example a pre-trained Kohonen feature map, the neuron, or group of neurons, having synapses most closely matched to the elements of the input signal vector maintains the highest level of output signal activity relative to the other neurons in the feature map. Even though one or more elements of the input signal vector are corrupt or missing, the feature map still recognizes the data pattern. Thus, neural networks generally possess the property of averaging-out the noise and missing data such that the closest transformation of an ideal input signal vector may still be realized at the output of the feature map. Of course, the cleaner the input signal vector, the higher the output signal activity of the matching neuron(s) and the more confidence in the recognition level of the neural network.
Most neural networks provide a non-recursive, single pass of the input signal vector through the neurons in a particular feature map layer. The neural network accepts the input signal vector as the best available information from which to decode and recognize the associated information. Neural networks in the prior art generally lack the feature of using the inherent recognition properties of the network to pre-condition and clean up the input signal vector by removing noise and identifying missing or corrupt elements.
Another limitation with conventional neural networks is that self-organized neural networks traditionally cannot do supervised training. However, they have other advantages including rapid learning and a simple local learning rule which would be useful for supervised learning.
Hence, a need exits for an improved neural network having increased resolution of the input signal vector by reducing the noise content thereof by replacing missing or corrupt elements of information. It would be advantageous to optionally select supervised training only, self-organized training only, or some combination thereof in the same neural network.

Circuit and method of error correcting with an artificial neural network


A keyboard arranged for enhanced typing speed and easy memorization includes a home row provided with a series of simple words which incorporate the most commonly used letters of the alphabet. Arranged in a central zone above the home row are tab and delete keys, to allow for faster and easier utilization. Various word processing function and symbol keys are placed along the top row and down opposing sides of the keyboard. Each symbol and function key can preferably perform multiple functions, when pressed along with one of various shift command keys. Preferably, three different shift command keys are located at a bottom central portion of the keyboard, along with enter and space keys.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns a user friendly keyboard, for use with a computer or any other device capable of providing word processing services, having command keys arranged to allow for faster activation of common word processing functions. In addition, the letter keys are arranged to promote easier learning and faster typing.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Since the invention of the typewriter, there have been various proposals concerning different key arrangements. The first key arrangements had the letter keys placed in alphabetical order. Regardless of the arrangement of the keys, when a key was pressed in such an earlier typewriter, a metal hammer would be lifted to strike a ribbon which left an image on the paper. If the typist was too quick, multiple hammers would be positioned in a strike zone at the same time and collide, thus jamming. Jamming would force the typist to manually separate the lodged hammers.
The QWERTY keyboard, the industry standard, was designed to eliminate this problem. QWERTY located the most commonly used letters away from the home row (where the fingers rest) to slow the typist down, thus the hammers no longer jammed. The result? The QWERTY keyboard jams the fingers rather than the hammers. In typing on a QWERTY keyboard, the fingers are required to travel much longer distances than the fingers would be required to do if the most common letters were placed on the home row of keys. This extra flexing of the fingers greatly reduces typing speed, increases injury, and limits use by certain disabled typists. Plus, the disarray of the keys themselves (the lack of a grid pattern) forces the fingers into awkward positions which further exacerbates typing fluidity. In QWERTY, the keys that are located under the two strongest fingers, i.e., the index and middle fingers, are among the least often used keys. In addition, by moving the keys out of their alphabetical format made learning to type frustratingly slow because of the length of time needed to master the placement of the keys. This lack of pattern, alphabetical or otherwise, is very intimidating for the beginner typist. Thus, typists have been unnecessarily burdened with an inefficient keyboard.
The QWERTY keyboard worked well when typewriters used hammers to strike platens. However, the majority of today's keyboards do not use hammers, but are associated with a computing source and a printer. When keys are pressed, the hardware within the computer determines which symbol should be displayed and later printed on the page, without any of the mechanical movements associated with traditional typewriters. When QWERTY keyboards are used, today's typists are slowed down just as the first users of the QWERTY keyboard were. Certainly, the modern typist should be able to type without being slowed down by the physical arrangement of the keys. But, because the majority of the keyboards being used are of the QWERTY type, there is an unnecessary impediment to fast typing.
Various keyboards have been developed to eliminate the problems associated with the QWERTY keyboard. That is, a number of keyboard systems have been invented which utilize a variation of the QWERTY keyboard. Most keyboard alterations generally represent reorganizations of the letter keys, but retain the basic function keys, i.e., space-bar, enter, shift, delete and tab keys, in their traditional positions. For instance, it has been proposed in the art to position the most commonly used keys in the center or home row on the keyboard in order to enhance potential typing speeds. Unfortunately, the letters have not been arranged in a most advantageous manner. It has also been proposed to allow a keyboard user to select and program the letter keys into different configurations, while maintaining the positions of the basic function keys. This is a problem because, as discussed above, the shift and enter keys are used very often and are located closest to the weakest fingers. Also, in order to get into position to press the shift and enter keys, the correct finger must travel a great distance across the keyboard, which slows down any typing.
When the traditional keyboards are used for word processing, many of the commands must be selected by a menu system or by a series of keys. Again, this restriction also decelerates the typing speed. For example, with the common word processing applications and the standard QWERTY computer keyboards, in order to insert page numbers, the user is often required to select the correct listing from a menu and then find the correct selection which activates the page numbering function. Other simple functions, such as switching from paragraph text to block text, cannot be executed via one simple keystroke. Instead, the user must go through several steps for the desired result.
There are also shortcuts designed to save a step, but the typist must remember the proper sequence of each particular shortcut. In general, it is essentially considered that each common command sequence which requires more than one simple keystroke is an unnecessary expenditure of typing time especially when the same functions are selected repeatedly.
Based on the above, there exists a need in the art for an enhanced keyboard arrangement which will enable the user to type and process words more quickly, efficiently, and effortlessly. More specifically, there exists a need for a user friendly keyboard wherein the order of the letter keys are optimized and a number of function keys are provided to easily perform a typing task employing the most common word processing commands and can be easily understood by the beginner. This is imperative given the demands in today's society to be computer literate.


A solid state high power microwave amplifier module. The module incorporates a stacked assembly of integrated low temperature cofired ceramic substrates forming a monolithic structure containing all the microwave circuitry required to combine the output power of a large number of monolithic microwave integrated circuit power amplifier chips, a heatsink and a power supply. One substrate defines an input radial power divider circuit for dividing the input signal into input signals for each power amplifier chip. The second substrate includes the power amplifier chips and a radial combiner circuit. The output of the combiner to coupled to an output waveguide in the heatsink. The module is lightweight and small in size, and of high reliability since the number of wire bonds is greatly reduced since most of the microwave circuitry and connections can be formed as part of the integrated structure.

The present invention relates to solid state high power microwave amplifier modules such as are used in radar array systems.
High power microwave power amplifier applications have in the past often employed travelling wave tubes to provide the power magnification. Such applications require highvoltage power supplies, are quite heavy and consume considerable space.
Solid state power amplifier modules have been proposed or built, which employ radial combiner circuits to combine the outputs from a number of solid state amplifiers using conventional microwave integrated circuit technology. A. Fathy and D. Kolokitis, in their paper "Analysis and Design of a 30-Way Radial Combiner for Ku-band Applications," RCA Review, Vol. 47, December 1986, pages 487-508, describe a radial combiner circuit which can be employed in a solid state power structure. The physical problem of interconnecting the power divider, amplifiers, and combiner circuits results in a relatively large structure as can be seen in the circuit and in previous implementations. This invention describes a method of overcoming this problem and results in a much more compact circuit.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a solid state power module which has cost, size and reliability improvements over the above approaches.

Solid state microwave power amplifier module


An immersion probe for determination of the concentration of a gas dissolved in molten metal includes a probe body in the form of an elongated hermetically sealed housing. The body has a first end adapted to be connected to a gas inlet and a gas outlet, which first end may be hermetically sealed by a temporary sealing means. The body has a second end adapted to be immersed in molten metal, the second end is spaced from and in fluid flow communication with the first end and has a gas-permeable, liquid metal-impervious plug. The second end and the plug are hermetically sealed by a molten metal-soluble cap until melted during immersion into molten metal. An inert, dry carrier gas such as nitrogen or argon may be sealed within the probe body. A metal sleeve around the probe body, preferably of a composition fusible in and compatible with a molten metal being monitored may be used to provide a gas impermeable seal for the probe body. After a short cycle of purging with an inert gas after immersion, a vacuum is drawn and a gas concentration is determined by an analysis device.

Various devices have been developed heretofore to measure the content of dissolved gases such as hydrogen in molten metals such as molten aluminum or molten steel. An early device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,861,450 issued to Ransley et al. The device shown therein referred to as the Telegas device. This device included in immersion head of generally a bell-shaped configuration and entailed discharging or debouching a carrier gas into the molten metal and recapturing bubbles using the bell-shaped device. The nitrogen reached an equilibrium with the dissolved hydrogen, which thus enabled monitoring and measurement of the dissolved hydrogen content in the metal.
An improved measurement system is described in Marten et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,440, assigned to Alcan International, Ltd. In that patent, a probe is disclosed whose sensor is formed from a block of gas permeable, liquid metal-impervious material such as alumina. A carrier gas is caused to flow within the block. The block enabled entrainment of dissolved gases which diffused to the interior of the block from the ambient molten metal. The device, thus, no longer required discharge of gas bubbles into the metal nor recapturing of such bubbles.

Hydrogen sampler for molten metal and method


A hand-held rain towel suitable for cleaning and drying golf clubs and other implements in wet weather. A towel folded in an elongate configuration and provided with a pliable rainproof cover defines a pocket open on one side and at the bottom, which receives an object such as a golf-club handle, wipes water droplets off the object, and then absorbs residual moisture from the handle in the folds of the towel.

This invention relates to a hand-held dryer cloth for cleaning and drying implements, and particularly to an accessory towel to be carried and used outdoors in rainy weather.
Dryer towels carried and used outdoors for drying hands and for cleaning and drying implements become quickly sodden and ineffective for their intended use in wet, rainy weather. Towels stored inside waterproof containers are known, however such stored towels are usually collapsed into a tightly packed configuration for storage, and it is inconvenient to remove the towel from the container and unfurl it to make it ready for use.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the invention to provide an improved weatherproof dryer towel;
It is another object of the invention to provide an improved hand-held dryer towel having a water impervious cover for use outdoors in wet or rainy weather.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved dryer towel that is protected from the weather while remaining ready for use.
It is a further object of the instant invention to provide an improved dryer towel that wipes excess water from an object as it is being inserted into the towel for drying, prior to the towel absorbing residual moisture from the object.

Towel having a protective covering for use in wet weather


A module for a tape head assembly includes a first substrate having active elements and a second substrate having active elements. The active elements on the first and second substrates can be read elements, write elements, or a combination of read and write elements. The second substrate is positioned over the first substrate. In one embodiment, the active elements of the first substrate are aligned between the active elements of the second substrate when the second substrate is positioned over the first substrate. In a second embodiment, the active elements of the first substrate are aligned directly across the active elements of the second substrate when the second substrate is positioned over the

The present invention relates to the field of dynamic magnetic information storage or retrieval. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of magnetic tape heads. In still greater particularity, the present invention relates to magnetic tape head modules. By way of further characterization, but not by way of limitation thereto, the present invention relates to a module of a tape head assembly having adjacent substrates in which each substrate includes write and/or read elements.
In magnetic recording technology it is constantly desired to improve the areal density at which information can be recorded and read. This desire has lead a trend toward shrinking track widths of a magnetic media such as tape. A tape drive having a head assembly is used to write and read data to and from magnetic tape. The head assembly includes modules connected together. Each module has a substrate of active elements such as write and read elements. Typically, a mechanical closure piece is bonded over the substrate for each module.
In order to record and read data to and from magnetic tape having closely spaced tracks, the head assembly will need to have more tracks per inch (TPI) in the head, i.e., more write and read elements per unit length, and smaller gap to gap spacings between the elements to reduce the effects of media deformation and read/write alignment on track mis-registration. Efforts to increase TPI at the wafer level lead to vastly increased complexity on the wafer build process and subsequent yield loss. Efforts to decrease gap to gap spacing by reducing substrate and closure thickness result in an increased fragility of the head assembly and subsequent yield loss. These requirements can be addressed by using an adjacent substrate assembly process for a head assembly in which a substrate of active elements is used in place of the mechanical closure piece that is typically used in the head assembly.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tape head module having adjacent substrates in which each substrate includes write and/or read elements.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tape head module having adjacent substrates in which each substrate includes write elements.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a tape head module having adjacent substrates in which each substrate includes read elements.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a tape head module having adjacent substrates in which one substrate includes write elements and the other substrate includes read elements.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a tape head module having adjacent substrates in which one substrate includes a combination of write and/or read elements and the other substrate includes a complimentary combination of write and/or read elements.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a tape head module having adjacent substrates in which each substrate includes horizontal and vertical alignment marks to enable the adjacent substrates to be properly aligned with respect to one another.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a tape head module having adjacent substrates each provided with substrate pads for connecting the active elements of the substrates to the external environment in which the substrate pads are offset with one another.
In carrying out the above objects and other objects, the present invention provides a module for a tape head assembly including a first substrate having active elements and a second substrate having active elements. The second substrate is positioned over the first substrate. In one embodiment, the first substrate has a row of spaced apart write elements and the second substrate has a row of spaced apart write elements. The write elements of the first substrate are aligned between the write elements of the second substrate when the second substrate is positioned over the first substrate. In another embodiment, the first substrate has a row of spaced apart read elements and the second substrate has a row of spaced apart read elements. The read elements of the first substrate are aligned between the read elements of the second substrate when the second substrate is positioned over the first substrate. In a further embodiment, the first substrate has a row of write elements and the second substrate has a row of read elements. The write elements of the first substrate are aligned directly across with the read elements of the second substrate when the second substrate is positioned over the first substrate.
Preferably, the first and second substrates have front surfaces with the active elements of the first and second substrates located on the front surfaces of the first and second substrates. The front surfaces of the first and second substrates face each other when the second substrate is positioned over the first substrate. The front surfaces of the first and second substrates each include a set of substrate pads and conductive leads. Each conductive lead connects an active element to a corresponding substrate pad. The substrate pads connect the active elements to an external device. Each set of substrate pads are positioned on one side of the substrates such that each set of substrate pads are offset with respect to one another when the second substrate is positioned over the first substrate. Each substrate includes a window on the other side of the substrates for exposing the offset substrate pads when the second substrate is positioned over the first substrate.
Preferably, the first and second substrates include horizontal alignment marks for horizontally aligning the first and second substrates when the second substrate is positioned over the first substrate. The horizontal alignment marks are referenced with respect to the active elements. Preferably, the first and second substrates include vertical alignment marks for vertically aligning the first and second substrates when the second substrate is positioned over the first substrate. The vertical alignment marks are referenced with respect to the active elements.
In carrying out the above objects and other objects, the present invention further provides a method for assembling the module of the tape head assembly of the present invention.
The above objects and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description of the best mode for carrying out the present invention when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Tape head modules having adjacent substrates each provided with write and/or read elements


A stacked electronic component comprises a first electronic component adhered on a substrate via a first adhesive layer, and a second electronic component adhered by using a second adhesive layer thereon. The second adhesive layer has a two-layer structure formed by a same material and having different modulus of elasticity. The second adhesive layer of the two-layer structure has a first layer disposed at the first electronic component side and a second layer disposed at the second electronic component side. The first layer softens or melts at an adhesive temperature. The second layer maintains a layered shape at the adhesive temperature. According to the stacked electronic component, occurrences of an insulation failure and a short circuiting are prevented, and in addition, a peeling failure between the electronic components, an increase of a manufacturing cost, and so on, can be suppressed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stacked electronic component constituted by stacking a plurality of electronic components, and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, to realize a miniaturization and a high-density mounting, and so on, of semiconductor devices, a stacked-type multi chip package in which a plurality of semiconductor elements (semiconductor chip) are stacked and sealed in one package is put into practical use. In the stacked-type multi chip package, the plurality of semiconductor elements are stacked sequentially on a circuit board via an adhesive such as a die attach material. Electrode pads of the respective semiconductor elements are electrically connected to electrode portions of the circuit board via bonding wires. Such a stacked structure is packaged with a sealing resin, and thereby, the stacked-type multi chip package is constituted.
In the stacked-type multi chip package as stated above, when the semiconductor element at an upper side is smaller than the semiconductor element at a lower side, the semiconductor element at the upper side does not interfere with the bonding wire of the semiconductor element at the lower side. However, in such a structure, the applicable semiconductor element is largely restricted. Therefore, it is proceeding that an applicable scope of the stacked-type multi chip package is spread to the semiconductor elements of the same shape, or further to the structure in which a larger semiconductor element is stacked at the upper side than that of the lower side (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. 2001-217384).
At this time, when the same shaped semiconductor element or a large shaped semiconductor element is stacked at the upper side compared to the lower side, the bonding wire of the semiconductor element at the lower side may be in contact with the semiconductor element at the upper side. Herewith, it becomes important to prevent occurrences of an insulation failure, a short circuiting, and so on, caused by the contact of the bonding wire. Consequently, a spacer in which a thickness is set so that a lower surface of the semiconductor element at the upper side is to be higher than a height of the bonding wire connected to the semiconductor element at the lower side, is disposed between the upper and lower semiconductor elements (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-179200, Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. 2003-218316).
However, a usage of such a thick spacer disturbs to make a package (semiconductor device) thinner. Besides, it is considered to give a spacer function to an adhesive layer in itself between the semiconductor elements, but in this case, the package is disturbed to be thinner. It is suggested that an insulating layer is formed at the lower surface side of the semiconductor element at the upper side, and thereby, the occurrences of the insulation failure, the short circuiting, and so on, can be suppressed when the bonding wire of the semiconductor element at the lower side is in contact with the semiconductor element at the upper side (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. Hei. 8-288455 and Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. 2002-222913).
In Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. Hei. 8-288455, a structure in which an insulating resin layer and a fixing resin layer are sequentially formed on the semiconductor element at the lower side, and thereafter, the semiconductor element at the upper side is disposed and fixed, is described. In Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. 2002-222913, a structure in which an insulating layer composed of a polyimide resin and an adhesive layer composed of an epoxy resin are stacked into a sheet, the sheet is bonded to a rear surface of the semiconductor element at the upper side, and the semiconductor element at the upper side is adhered on the semiconductor element at the lower side by using the adhesive layer of the sheet, is described. An application of this insulating layer shows an effect for the suppression of the insulation failure, the short circuiting, and so on. However, there is an objection that a peeling off is easy to occur between the stacked semiconductor elements caused by, for example, a difference of thermal expansion coefficient between the insulating layer composed of a polyimide resin and the adhesive layer composed of an epoxy resin.
Further, when a larger semiconductor element is stacked at the upper side than that of the lower side, the semiconductor element at the upper side is disposed protruding from the semiconductor element at the lower side, and therefore, below the protruding portion becomes to be in a hollow state. Besides, when the semiconductor elements of the same shape are stacked, the position of the semiconductor element at the upper side is offset, a part thereof becomes to be protruded from the semiconductor element at the lower side. If a wire bonding is performed to the semiconductor element having such protruding portion, a deflection occurs to the semiconductor element by a loading at that time. Such the deflection may be a cause of occurrences of a crack, and so on, of the semiconductor element, and a cause for a connection failure of the bonding wire. Besides, a reliability at a wire connection portion may be deteriorated by diffusing an ultrasonic output at the bonding time, into the hollow portion below the protruding portion.
Incidentally, in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. 2001-217384, there is described the stacked-type semiconductor device in which the semiconductor element at the lower side is mounted on a substrate, then it is resin sealed, and on this resin sealed portion, the semiconductor element at the upper side is mounted, in a structure that a larger semiconductor element than that of the lower side is stacked at the upper side. According to this structure, the resin sealing portion is existing under the semiconductor element at the upper side, and therefore, a bonding failure, the crack of the semiconductor element, and so on, can be prevented, but on the other hand, it is required to perform a resin sealing process after mounting the respective semiconductor elements, and therefore, there is the objections that the number of manufacturing processes or a manufacturing cost is increasing. Further, the respective resin sealing portions becomes to be disturbing factors to make the stacked-type semiconductor device thin or small.
As stated above, in the semiconductor device applying a conventional stacked-type multi chip package structure, the insulating layer provided at the lower surface side of the semiconductor element at the upper side shows an effect for suppressing the insulation failure, the short circuiting, and so on, but it causes the peeling between the elements resulting from the difference of the thermal expansion coefficient between the insulating layer and the adhesive layer, the increase of the manufacturing cost, and soon. Further, when a larger semiconductor element, and so on, is stacked at the upper side than that of the lower side, a part of the semiconductor element at the upper side protrudes from the semiconductor element at the lower side, and below the protruding portion is inevitable to be in the hollow state. The stacked structure with the protruding portion has problems that the crack of the semiconductor element, the connection failure of the wire, and so on, are easy to occur. These problems occur for a stacked-type electronic component in which various electronic components are stacked and packaged as well as for the semiconductor device in which the plural semiconductor elements are stacked.

Stacked electronic component and manufacturing method thereof


A system to detect occlusion of an intravenous catheter may include a housing, which may include a distal end configured to couple to a proximal end of a catheter adapter and an inner lumen forming a fluid pathway. The system may also include one or more transmitters, which may be disposed within the housing. The transmitters may be configured to transmit first energy waves along a length of an intravenous catheter at a first frequency, and a portion of the first energy waves that are reflected back from the catheter may be detected by the system. Based on the portion of the first energy waves that are reflected back from the catheter, the transmitters may transmit second energy waves along the length of the catheter at a second frequency, which may be greater than the first frequency and configured to reduce formation of blood clots within the catheter.

In some instances, an intravenous (IV) catheter, including a peripheral IV catheter, may become unusable or compromised prior to completion of infusion or blood withdrawal using the catheter. One reason the catheter may become unusable may be due to occlusion of the catheter over time. Occlusion may result from non-use of the catheter and/or diffusion of blood from the vein slowly into a distal tip of the catheter. In response to the catheter becoming occluded, the catheter may need to be removed and replaced with a new catheter. Catheter occlusions may be thrombotic, resulting from formation of a blood clot or thrombus within or surrounding the distal tip of the catheter. Catheter occlusions may also be non-thrombotic, resulting from precipitates, mechanical obstructions, and other factors. Further, catheter occlusions can lead to catheter infection, pulmonary embolism, post-thrombotic syndrome, and other negative health outcomes.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for devices, systems, and methods that prevent catheter occlusion. Such devices, systems, and methods are disclosed in the present disclosure.

Systems and methods to prevent catheter occlusion


A remoting client can be configured to offload various graphics-based remoting protocol processes to the GPU to thereby free up the CPU for performing other remoting tasks. In this way, a remoting client can be executed on a client terminal that has a less powerful CPU even when a graphics-rich desktop is virtualized on the client terminal. When the remoting client receives remoting communications containing graphics display data, the remoting client can write the graphics display data to a location in memory that is accessible to the GPU and can then pass the graphics display data to the GPU for further processing. The CPU is therefore freed from having to fully process the graphics display data including from having to copy the graphics display data to a display buffer.

The present invention is generally directed to a remoting client for use within a desktop virtualization environment (commonly referred to as virtual desktop infrastructure or VDI). In particular, the present invention is directed to a remoting client that is configured to offload various graphics-based remoting protocol processes to a graphics processing unit (GPU).
In a desktop virtualization environment, a desktop is hosted on a server but is made accessible on a client terminal by sending the desktop's graphical output to the client terminal for display. In this specification and the claims, the term "remoting" will be used to refer to this process of virtualizing a desktop on a client terminal. Remoting can be accomplished using a number of available protocols including ICA, RDP, VNC, PCoIP, etc. A remoting client executing on a client terminal can employ a remoting protocol to communicate with a corresponding remoting service executing on the server.
Regardless of the specific remoting protocol that is employed, the remoting service will send communications to the remoting client containing graphics display data and the remoting client will employ this graphics display data to render the desktop for display on the client terminal. In many cases, a large amount of processing must be performed by the remoting client to receive and handle these communications as well as to perform the other remoting tasks/processes. For example, the remoting protocol may employ encryption and/or compression techniques on all communications transferred to the remoting client. The remoting client may therefore need to decrypt and decompress any communication in order to identify the contents of the communication. Additionally, in many implementations, the contents of the communications may be graphics display data that is encoded. In such cases, the remoting client will be tasked with decoding the graphics display data to allow it to be displayed. Furthermore, in some implementations, there may be multiple different streams of communications that contain graphics display data (e.g., video data may be transported over one virtual channel while regular graphics data or cursor update data may be transmitted over another virtual channel) which can increase the amount of processing required to fully update the display of the desktop on the client side. In short, a remoting client typically must perform a substantial amount of processing to virtualize a desktop on the client terminal which can place a significant burden on the CPU.
It is becoming increasingly common to employ a VDI environment in corporate and other settings since it allows low cost client terminals (e.g., thin or zero clients) to be employed. However, these low cost client terminals oftentimes have CPUs with reduced processing power. In many cases, the CPUs on these low cost client terminals may not be capable of handling the load associated with virtualizing a desktop that provides a rich graphics experience. In particular, when graphics display data is transferred in an encoded format, the CPU may become overloaded during the decoding process which may cause the display to be updated less frequently than is desired, may cause keyboard and mouse input to lag, and/or may cause other performance issues.