An exemplary method for making an alignment mark on a substrate includes the following steps. First, a substrate with a recess is provided. Second, a photoresist layer is formed on a surface of the substrate including in the recess. Third, the photoresist layer is exposed and developed to leave a body of remaining photoresist in the recess, with the body of remaining photoresist protruding above the surface of the substrate. Fourth, a metal layer is formed in an unfilled area of the recess and on the surface of the substrate, with the metal layer substantially surrounding the remaining photoresist. Finally, the remaining photoresist is removed to form an alignment mark in the metal layer on the substrate.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a method for making an alignment mark on a substrate, such as a substrate that is subsequently used as a press mold.
2. Description of Related Art
With the ongoing development of optical imaging technology, wafer level lens modules are now widely used in electronic devices such as digital cameras, mobile phones, etc.
Generally, a wafer level lens module includes wafer level optical members, such as lenses, filters, etc, and a wafer level image sensor. In a process of manufacturing a wafer level lens module, a first wafer including many first wafer level optical members arranged in an array, a second wafer including many second wafer level optical members arranged in an array, and a third wafer including many wafer level image sensors arranged in an array are fabricated. Then in assembly, the first wafer is coupled to the second wafer, and subsequently is coupled to the third wafer to form a wafer level lens module array. Finally, the wafer level lens module array is cut into many individual wafer level lens modules by laser cutting. In the process of fabricating each of the first and second wafers, the first (second) wafer level optical members are formed by pressing a precision mold on a base material of the first (second) optical members arranged on a wafer. The precision mold includes a small substrate, which has many mold cavities arranged in an array therein.
When coupling the first wafer to the second wafer, the first wafer level optical members need to be precisely coaxial with the respective second wafer level optical members. Otherwise, so-called eccentricities occur. The eccentricities lower the quality of the wafer level lens modules. For assuring such coaxial alignment, at least one alignment mark is formed on the small substrate of the precision mold by a cutter. The alignment mark of the small substrate forms a corresponding alignment mark on each of the first and second wafers. Then when the first wafer is coupled to the second wafer, the alignment marks of the two wafers are aligned with each other. As a result, the first wafer level optical members can be coaxial with the respective second wafer level optical members.
However, because the edge of the cutter is rather thick, small alignment marks with narrower width cannot be formed on the small substrate of the precision mold.
Therefore, what is needed is a method for making an alignment mark on a substrate, which can overcome the limitations described above.

Method for making alignment mark on substrate


A variable-width memory may comprise multiple memory banks from which data may be selectively read in such a way that overall memory access requirements may be reduced, which may result in associated reduction in power consumption.

Reconfigurable computation devices may be used to perform many different functions. Given a variety of possible functions, there may be different control and/or memory requirements for different functions. In particular, a reconfigurable computational device may be capable of implementing various functions that require different parameters and operations. Such a reconfigurable computational device may be configured, for example, by means of control words that may be provided by, for example, a control unit processor or a state machine. As a result of the different parameters and/or operations, these functions may, for example, require different-length control words.
Furthermore, the amount of power used to access memory is proportional to the memory word length. That is, a longer word requires more power to access than a shorter word. Consequently, if one function does not require a word length as long as that of another function, power may be wasted in accessing an entire word having a length required to accommodate all functions.


In a method for detecting radar objects with the aid of a radar sensor of a motor vehicle, a transmitted signal has a sequence of frequency modulations, to each of which a partial signal of a measuring signal is assigned; first information about the relative velocity and the distance of a radar object is ascertained based on a frequency spectrum of at least one of the partial signals; second information about the relative velocity and the distance of the radar object is ascertained based on a frequency spectrum of a time curve of values of frequency spectra of the partial signals at a frequency position of the radar object in these frequency spectra; and the relative velocity and the distance of the radar object are ascertained based on matching of the first information with the second information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for detecting radar objects with the aid of a radar sensor of a motor vehicle, in which a measuring signal is generated by mixing a transmitted signal with a received signal, the transmitted signal having a sequence of frequency modulations.
2. Description of the Related Art
Radar sensors are used in driver assistance systems for motor vehicles, for example, in ACC (adaptive cruise control) systems or safety systems, for example, collision warning systems, and are used for the purpose of determining the positions and relative velocities of objects, so that a driving situation may be recognized. For example, in the case of an ACC system within the scope of adaptive cruise control, the velocity of one's own vehicle may be adapted to the velocity of a preceding vehicle and the distance to the preceding vehicle may be regulated to a suitable value. For example, a safety system may be configured for the purpose of automatically initiating a braking procedure if the risk of an immediately imminent collision is recognized.
FMCW (frequency-modulated continuous wave) radar sensors are known, in which the transmission frequency of a continuous radar signal is modulated in ramps. A baseband signal to be analyzed, which is analyzed, is generated from a received signal by mixing with the transmitted signal. A radar sensor typically has multiple channels, which each provide a baseband signal.
In the case of an FMCW radar sensor, each radar object in the frequency spectrum of a channel emerges in the form of a peak, whose location is a function of the Doppler shift and the runtime of the radar signals, so that unambiguous determination of the relative velocity and the distance is not yet possible from the baseband signal assigned to a frequency modulation ramp. Rather, the frequency of an obtained peak establishes a relationship between relative velocity ν and distance d in the form of a linear relationship.
The term "linear" is understood hereafter to mean that the relationship thus designated may include a linear factor and an additive term.
In the case of the FMCW method, multiple frequency modulation ramps having different ramp slopes are necessary to identify multiple radar objects and estimate their relative velocities and distances. By comparing the different relationships obtained in the case of the individual frequency ramps, relative velocity ν and distance d of a radar object may be calculated. This comparison is also referred to as matching and corresponds to a search for intersection points of straight lines in the ν-d space. The FMCW method is particularly efficient if only a few radar objects are detected.
Radar sensors are also known which operate according to the method of chirp sequence modulation, in which the transmitted signal includes a sequence of identical, frequency-modulated signal pulses (chirps). This is a pulse Doppler method, in which initially a separation of the radar objects according to their distances takes place and subsequently, on the basis of the differences of phase relations between the reflections of the individual signal pulses, location changes and therefore velocities of the radar objects are ascertained.
Such a method is known from Published German patent application document DE 10 2005 048 209 A1.
Published international PCT patent application document WO 2011/066993 A2 also describes such a method. Three measuring cycles are carried out successively, each having different, limited unambiguous ranges both for the determination of the distance and also for the determination of the velocity. To determine a measured value for the relative velocity, a search is made for corresponding values of the measured values, which are ascertained ambiguously in each measuring cycle, for the velocity. To determine a measured value for the distance, a search is made for corresponding measured values of the various measuring cycles, the object being filtered out as an out-of-range object if no correspondence is found within an unambiguous range of a first measuring cycle.
In order to achieve precision of the determination of the relative velocity and the distance in the chirp sequence method, a high number of steep signal pulses and therefore a great computing effort during the analysis of the measurements are necessary.

Detection of radar objects using a radar sensor of a motor vehicle


An integrated circuit copper wire bond connection is provided having a copper ball (32) bonded directly to an aluminum bond pad (31) formed on a low-k dielectric layer (30) to form a bond interface structure for the copper ball characterized by a first plurality of geometric features to provide thermal cycling reliability, including an aluminum minima feature (Z1, Z2) located at an outer peripheral location (42) under the copper ball to prevent formation and/or propagation of cracks in the aluminum bond pad.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed in general to semiconductor devices and methods for manufacturing same. In one aspect, the present invention relates to wire ball bonding and associated methods of fabricating and testing same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ball bonding is widely employed in the semiconductor packaging industry to form electrical connections between an integrated circuit die and a die carrier such as a lead frame or a substrate. Conventional ball bonding processes use a combination of heat, pressure and ultrasonic energy to form an intermetallic connection or weld between a wire and a connection pad, typically forming a u-shaped bond interface with the thinnest portion of the connection pad being centrally located under the wirebond. However, the connection pad is typically subjected to a number of stressors such as temperature cycling, impact force, contact power, contact force, bond power and bond force during the ball bonding process, leading to mechanical integrity problems, such as cracks between the connection pad and bonding ball that can form during bonding, device operation or device testing, such as highly accelerated stress test (HAST). For example, accumulated stress due to coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch in temperature cycling situations can exceed the aluminum strength, causing aluminum fatigue and aluminum cracking underneath copper ball bonds. While such stress effects are mitigated somewhat with conventional copper ball bonds formed with large ball bond structures (e.g., wire diameters larger than 50 microns and ball diameters larger than 100 microns) formed on high-k dielectric layers in short interconnect stacks (e.g., 1-2 BEOL interconnect levels) without active circuits located beneath the bond structure, such conventional copper ball bond structures are extremely difficult at a practical level to use with state of the art devices.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the drawings have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements are exaggerated relative to other elements for purposes of promoting and improving clarity and understanding. Further, where considered appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the drawings to represent corresponding or analogous elements.

Copper ball bond interface structure and formation


A method for predicting a value for a length of a future time interval in which a physical variable changes is described, in which at least one measured value for the length of a past time interval and an instantaneously measured value for a length of an instantaneous time interval are taken into account, m values for lengths of past time intervals being added. A first value precedes the instantaneously measured value by k−1, and an mth value precedes the instantaneously measured value by k−m. The m added values are divided by a value for a length of a past time interval which precedes the instantaneously measured value by k. A ratio of the mentioned values is formed. For determining the value to be predicted, an average error is initially added to the instantaneously measured value, forming a sum. The formed ratio is subsequently applied to this sum.

For controlling engines, typically internal combustion engines, sensors exist which indicate a position or location of a moving component, for example the crankshaft, of the engine. In such engines it is customary to use a sensor wheel, fixedly mounted on the crankshaft, to generate signals at certain angles by a sensor whenever a marking begins or ends on the sensor wheel.
German Publication No. DE 100 63 755 A1 describes a method for ascertaining and verifying the occurrence of a singularity for a rectangular-pulse signal. The singularity is recognized if the sum of the time periods between predefinable signal intervals directly before and after the singularity is smaller than the period of time in which the singularity occurs. This method is used, for example, for evaluating a rotation of a rotating body, having a reference mark, which is connected to the crankshaft or the camshaft of an internal combustion engine. The method is carried out in the control unit of the internal combustion engine.
To be able to carry out a synchronization with the instantaneous engine position, one or multiple markings is/are usually left out in the sensor wheel, as also described in German Publication No. DE 100 63 755 A1. However, since the marking positions only very roughly represent the instantaneous engine position, an angular basis is produced via which intermediate positions may be determined with the aid of a precisely defined number of pulses between two sensor signals. For this purpose it is necessary, among other things, to predict the period of time until the next sensor signal.
A method for determining a differential angle of an internal combustion engine between a first angle event and a second angle event is described in Application No. DE 10 2005 047 922 A1. The first angle event has a defined time interval with respect to the second angle event. In carrying out the method, the tooth times of the preceding teeth are ascertained, beginning with the crankshaft angle of the second angle event, and successively added to the time interval between the first angle event and the second angle event, the tooth angles of the teeth included in the particular tooth times being added to the differential angle, and the tooth times being ascertained from the tooth times of a preceding power stroke multiplied by a correction factor.
It is customary to derive the prediction of the instantaneous time interval from the preceding time interval. In addition, the so-called increment angle prediction (IAP) method for stepwise prediction of an angle, which also describes the relationships of the sensor signals with regard to a 720° rotation of the crankshaft, results in an improvement. Furthermore, for computing injection times it may also be necessary to take multiple future time intervals into account. The so-called multi-increment angle prediction (MIAP) algorithm is used for this purpose. Here as well, the future increments are computed based on the corresponding measured increments in the past, as described in Application No. DE 10 2005 047 922 A1.

Method for predicting the duration of a future time interval


An apparatus and method for compensating output signals of a magnetic encoder are disclosed. The apparatus includes a pre-calibration unit, an advanced phase detector, a loop filter, a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), and a pulse generator. The pre-calibration unit obtains two phase-compensated waveforms through trigonometric function operations, and adjusts the amplitudes of the two phase-compensated waveforms to the same value, thereby generating input sine and cosine waves. The advanced phase detector generates an error output signal through trigonometric function operations. The loop filter sets the filter transfer function of an active lead-lag filter, and then filters the error output signal. The VCO generates a compensated signal. The pulse generator outputs a phase index, and generates two output pulses having a phase difference of 90 degrees in accordance with a pulse generation rule of a look-up table.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a magnetic encoder and, more particularly, to technology for compensating output signals of a magnetic encoder.
2. Description of the Related Art
In various industrial fields, sensors for detecting the rotational angular velocity and location of a rotating object are required. For this purpose, an optical encoder and a magnetic encoder are chiefly used.
An optical encoder has slots rotating in synchronization with a rotating object and passing between an optical source such as laser and an optical receiver, and can generate output signals for detecting the rotational angular velocity and rotational position of an object. The output signal is a pulse train, thus rotational angular velocity and rotational position can be relatively accurately detected by counting pulses and using the number of pulses per hour, and relatively high rotating speeds can be detected. However, the optical encoder is vulnerable to a change in temperature and dust, cannot be easily fabricated in a small size, and is expensive.
In contrast, a magnetic encoder can generate an output signal for detecting the rotational angular velocity and rotational position of a rotating object using induced voltage that is induced by a piece of magnetic material rotating in synchronization with a rotating object. Accordingly, the magnetic encoder, having a relatively simple configuration, is less sensitive to varying temperature and dust occurring in operating environment, and can be fabricated in a small size.
An output signal from the magnetic encoder are composed of a pair of sinusoidal waves: a sine wave and a cosine wave, which are based upon the induced voltage of a rotating magnetic field. A rotational position and a rotational speed can be detected based upon the phases of the two waveforms. However, although the magnetic encoder is inexpensive, two output signals of the magnetic encoder have low resolution because they are vulnerable to noise, phase drift, DC offset, amplitude variation, and waveform distortion.
Recently, there have been several attempts to achieve level of precision of the optical encoders, from the magnetic encoders, having low cost to make and decent mechanical performance, by compensating output signals of the much less expensive magnetic encoders and converting the compensated output signals into a pulse train, as from the optical encoders.
For example, a method using a Kalman filter widely used to eliminate noise from sampling data in a high noise environment, or a method using an observer has been proposed, but a problem arises in that phase drift is unsolvable or an excessive time is required to settle.

Apparatus and method for compensating output signals of magnetic encoder using digital phase-locked loop

Research & Business Foundation SUNGKYUNKWAN UNIVERSITY


In a pixel display system, a plug-to-plug compatible pixel decoder palette is provided which is responsive to a predetermined sequence of commands on an I/O data channel to switch the mode of operation of the pixel decoder palette. The pixel coder palette comprises a random access memory used as a look-up table to store colors to be displayed and the I/O channel is used to store new colors in or read colors out from the random access memory. The different modes of operation of the pixel decoder palette involve operating on intensity values represented by 6-bit bytes and 8-bit bytes and involve continuous edge graphics wherein pixels bridging boundaries between objects are displayed as mixes of the colors on each side of the boundary.

In pixel based display systems, a display screen is divided into incremental components called pixels and the display of a color image is controlled by controlling the color of each pixel in the display. State of the art pixel display systems make use of a random access memory called a palette RAM as a look up table storing in its address locations different possible colors to be displayed in each of the pixels in the display device. Each location in the palette RAM will store three binary bytes representing a color. For example, the three bytes may represent the red, green and blue intensity components of the color. Alternatively, the three binary bytes may represent the color by values representing hue, brightness, and saturation or in the YIG color representing system. To cause a given pixel to be displayed with a selected color, the storage location in the palette RAM containing the color must be read out causing the stored bytes to be applied to digital-to-analog converters converting the color values to analog signals which become video signals. The palette RAM is part of a pixel decoder palette, also known as a RAMDAC, which receives pixel words representing palette RAM addresses in sequence, reads the color information out from the address locations selected by the received addresses, and converts the output signals read out from the palette RAM to the video signals to be applied to the video display device. In a state of the art system, the pixel decoder palette or RAMDAC is implemented in a single semiconductor chip.
In pixel based display systems, it is desirable to be able to switch the mode of operation of the pixel decoder palette from one mode of operation to another. For example, some pixel decoder palettes employ RAMS with each address location being operable to store 6-bit bytes representing color values. Other pixel decoder palettes employ palette RAMS each capable of storing 8-bit bytes. As a result, some of the pixel software, which is available to be used uses 6-bit color bytes and other pixel software makes use of 8-bit color bytes. Since the 6-bit pixel software is available to be used, it is desirable in systems having an 8-bit palette RAM to be able to switch the RAM to operate in response to either 6-bit data or 8-bit data.
In conventional pixel display systems, each pixel displayed must be one of the colors selected from the palette RAM. As a result, the edge of any object being displayed must always be displayed as occurring at the boundary between pixels. When an object edge is in the form of a diagonal line extending across the display screen, the object will appear distorted as a stair step or jagged edge. The eye is particularly sensitive to such stair step distortion and even when a large number of pixels are used to represent an object, the eye will perceive a diagonal line as a jagged edge. This artifact of pixel based displays is called aliasing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,704,605 issued Nov. 3, 1987 to Steven D. Edelson, a coinventor of this application, discloses a system for smoothing the edges forming the boundaries between objects in pixel based displays to minimize the effect of aliasing. As described in this patent, each pixel through which a boundary or edge passes is controlled to display a color which effectively mixes the colors on each side of the boundary in amounts corresponding to where in the pixel the boundary occurs. By mixing the boundary or edge bridging pixels in this manner, the jaggedness of the edge as perceived by the viewer is substantially minimized. This method of reducing aliasing is referred to as continuous edge graphics. When a continuous edge graphics capability is provided, it is desirable to be able to switch between a conventional pixel display mode and a continuous edge graphics mode of operation.

Mode switching system for a pixel based display unit


The expected performance of a jet-propelled boat is maintained, exhaust control valves are controlled and driven in an improved accuracy on the basis of the traveling speed of the jet-propelled boat. Thus, the fuel consumption is improved and the exhaust gas is purified. A two-stroke cycle engine drives a jet propulsion unit to make the jet propulsion unit suck in water and jet water therefrom to propel a hull of the boat. An exhaust control valve is disposed near the exhaust port of the engine to change the opening ratio of the exhaust port according to the operating condition of the engine. A driving mechanism for driving the exhaust control valve includes a hydraulic actuator. The power of water jetted by the jet propulsion unit represents the traveling speed of the jet-propelled boat accurately. The exhaust control valve is driven for opening and closing according to the pressure of water jetted by the jet propulsion unit to achieve the optimum exhaust control by the exhaust control valve without entailing an excessive increase in the output of the engine.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a jet-propelled boat in which pressure is applied to water by a jet propulsion unit driven by a two-stroke cycle engine to jet water for propelling a hull of the boat. More particularly, to a valve driving mechanism for driving an exhaust control valve installed on the two-stroke cycle engine.
2. Description of Related Art
A jet-propelled boat as mentioned in, for example, JP-A No. 62-35013 and JP-U No. 5-27270, is a small ship in which an operator straddles a saddle type seat. Such a jet-propelled boat provided with a saddle type seat is used as a recreational boat or a rescue boat owing to its sharp steering characteristic and high mobility. Jet propulsion units for ajet-propelled boat mentioned in, for example, JP-A Nos. 62-59194 and 5-246385 have an impeller driven for rotation by an engine, water is sucked from outside the boat, pressurized and jetted by the rotation of the impeller to propel the boat. The jet propulsion unit mentioned in the former cited reference takes pressurized water from the downstream side of the impeller and uses the water as cooling water for cooling the engine. The jet propulsion unit mentioned in the latter cited reference takes pressurized water from the downstream side of the impeller and uses the water as cooling water for cooling a bearing unit supporting the impeller.
As is generally known, a two-stroke cycle engine has a relatively simple construction and is capable of providing a high power output for its size. As mentioned in, for example, JP-A Nos. 56-56915 and 56-60817, such a two-stroke cycle engine is provided with an exhaust control valve for varying exhaust timing on the inner surface of an exhaust passage at a position near the upper edge of an exhaust port. The exhaust control valve is opened to advance the time to start discharging an exhaust gas so that scavenging is promoted while the engine is operating at a high engine speed and the exhaust control valve is half closed to delay the time to start discharging an exhaust gas so that the blowby of a new charge is prevented while the engine is operating at a low engine speed to enhance the output power of the engine and to improve the fuel consumption of the engine.
A two-stroke cycle engine may change the exhaust timing thereof by driving an exhaust control valve by the pressure of engine cooling water increasing with the increase of engine speed.
In two-stroke cycle engines disclosed in JP-A Nos. 7-71279 and 7-180556, an exhaust control valve for opening and closing an exhaust port is disposed on the inner surface of an exhaust passage at a position near the upper edge of the exhaust port, the exhaust port is substantially fullly closed by the exhaust control valve while the two-stroke cycle engine is operating in a low-speed, low-load operation to control the pressure in the cylinder properly, to activate a new charge charged into the combustion chamber by the thermal energy of a combustion gas remaining in the combustion chamber and to make self-ignition combustion in an activation heat atmosphere so that the fuel consumption of the engine is improved and the exhaust gas is purified. Traveling speed, and engine speed and throttle opening representing load on the engine are measured, engine output power is estimated on the basis of a measured traveling speed, a measured engine speed and a measured throttle opening, the exhaust control valve is opened to increase the ratio of exhaust opening while the engine is operating at a high engine speed under a high load, and the exhaust control valve is closed to close the exhaust port while the engine is operating at a low engine speed under a low load.


A self-cooling loudspeaker comprises a speaker frame, a diaphragm connected to the speaker frame, a voice coil connected to the diaphragm and a permanent magnet assembly having a central opening. The permanent magnet assembly comprises a permanent magnet disposed between a top plate and a bottom plate. A pole piece is disposed co-axially within the central opening of the permanent magnet assembly to form an air gap between the pole piece and the permanent magnetic assembly into which the voice coil is disposed. In one embodiment of the present invention, the top plate is stamped to form a plurality of intake air paths in communication with the air gap and a plurality of outtake air paths in communication with the air gap, the plurality of intake air paths having a decreasing cross-sectional area towards the central opening of the permanent magnet assembly, and the plurality of outtake air paths having an increasing cross-sectional area towards the central opening of the permanent magnet assembly. In use, the diaphragm moves linearly to produce sound, the linear movement of the diaphragm creating a unidirectional flow of air through the plurality of intake and outtake air paths. In a second embodiment of the present invention, the bottom plate is also stamped to form additional intake air paths in communication with the air gap and additional outtake air paths in communication with the air gap.

The present invention relates generally to loudspeakers and, more particularly, to loudspeakers which can be self-cooled through the natural vibratory motion of the loudspeaker diaphragm during normal operation.
Loudspeakers, or speakers, are well known and are commonly used in a wide variety of applications, such as in home theater stereo systems.
Loudspeakers typically comprise a coil of wire, typically referred to as a voice coil, which is suspended between the pole pieces of a permanent magnet. In operation, an alternating current is passed through the voice coil which produces a changing magnetic field around the voice coil. The changing magnetic field around the voice coil interacts with the magnetic field produced by the permanent magnet to produce reciprocal forces on the voice coil. The voice coil is disposed within the speaker so that it can oscillate in accordance with the reciprocal forces. The voice coil is attached to a cone shaped diaphragm which vibrates in response to the forces applied to the voice coil. The vibration of the diaphragm produces sound waves in the air.
Voice coils are constructed of a conductive material. As a consequence, when an electrical signal is passed through the voice coil, the coil will conduct heat. Because the voice coil is typically suspended between the pole pieces of the permanent magnet, which is often a relatively small enclosed volume, it has been found that, in operation, dissipated power in the voice coil leads to significant temperature rise, particularly in high-powered loudspeakers.
Significant temperature rise in the voice coil creates numerous disadvantages.
As a first disadvantage, it has been found that significant temperature rise can increase the resistance of the voice coil. This, in turn, results in a substantial portion of the electrical input power of the loudspeaker to be converted into heat rather than into acoustical energy, thereby limiting the level of performance of the loudspeaker, which is undesirable. In particular, it has been found that increased resistance of the voice coil in the loudspeaker can lead to non-linear loudness compression effects at high sound levels.
As a second disadvantage, it has been found that significant temperature rise can melt bonding materials in the voice coil. This can result in permanent structural damage to the loudspeaker.
As a third disadvantage, it has been found that significant temperature rise can burn out the voice coil. This can result in permanent structural damage to the loudspeaker.
As a consequence, numerous attempts have been made in the art to prevent significant temperature rise in the voice coil.
It is well known in the art to utilize additional components to prevent significant temperature rise in the voice coil. For example, a metallic voice-coil bobbin is often used to conduct heat away from the region of the voice coil. As another example, the voice coil is often coated with a low viscosity fluid to transfer heat produced by the voice coil into the magnetic structure from which it can more easily radiate into the surroundings. As yet another example, heat radiating fins are often mounted on the permanent magnet to improve secondary cooling.
It is also well known in the art to use cooling fans to prevent significant temperature rise in the voice coil. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,547 to T. J. Danley, there is disclosed an air cooled speaker in which an electrical blower is used to pass cooling air through a loudspeaker driver. The blower is connected in parallel to the leads between the amplifier and speaker such that the blower speed and cooling increases with increased power consumption and heat generation by the driver.
The use of additional components to prevent significant temperature rise in the voice coil introduces numerous drawbacks. In particular, the use of additional components significantly increases the complexity of the speaker and consequently increases the overall cost of the speaker.
Accordingly, it is well known in the art for loudspeakers to utilize venting techniques to prevent significant temperature rise in the voice coil. Specifically, it is well known in the art for loudspeakers to include ventilating paths, or openings, in the permanent magnetic or in the loudspeaker diaphragm through which cooler air is permitted to pass through the loudspeaker and thereby lower the temperature of the voice coil. Loudspeakers which utilize venting techniques have significant advantages. In particular, such a loudspeaker only requires a change in the shape of the magnetic component or diaphragm and therefore requires no additional components, thereby minimizing complexity and cost.
It is known in the art for loudspeakers to utilize the self-pumping action of the loudspeaker diaphragm during operation to create a flow of air through ventilating paths which, in turn, lower the temperature of the voice coil. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,072 to D. J. Button, there is disclosed a self-cooled electrodynamic loudspeaker wherein the magnetic structure or pole piece has channels whereby cool air may be introduced and hot air may be exhausted to cool a voice coil by movement of the speaker diaphragm. This self-cooling results in greater power handling and output of the speaker.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,586 to D. D. Nordschow et al, there is disclosed a flow-through air-cooled loudspeaker system. The loudspeaker and enclosure are provided with aerodynamically-shaped passages providing low-pressure regions for inducing flows of air into and about the driver motor of the loudspeaker in response to vibratory movement of the speaker cone. An aerodynamically-shaped body is disposed within the pole piece to define a venturi passage for exchange of air between an interior chamber defined by a coil former and the back of the speaker. Aerodynamically-shaped openings are provided through the pole piece for inducing flow of air about the voice coil in the voice coil gap between the pole piece and permanent magnet. The speaker frame support is provided with aerodynamically-shaped openings to induce air flow into the interior chamber. In this manner, low-pressure regions established by the aero-dynamic shapes induce flow of cooling air about the voice coil and pole piece in response to vibratory movement of the cone. Aerodynamic shapes are disposed in the intake and exhaust vents of the speaker enclosure to exchange air between the enclosure and atmosphere in response to vibratory movement of the speaker.
Loudspeakers which utilize venting techniques typically experience at least one of the following drawbacks.
As a first drawback, it has been found that loudspeakers which utilize venting techniques are experience difficulty in drawing in cooler air and in passing out warmer air. Specifically, it has been found that the same warm air particles which are pushed away from the voice coil during one half of the self-pumping cycle of the loudspeaker are pulled back in towards the voice coil during the second half of the self-pumping cycle. After a period of use, a state of near equilibrium gets established and produces an oscillating column of air within the permanent magnet which has the same temperature as the voice coil, thereby preventing the air from significantly lowering the temperature of the voice coil.
As a second drawback, it has been found that loudspeakers which utilize venting techniques tend to draw stray particles into the proximity of the voice coil. In particular, it has been found that stray magnetized particles are often drawn to the voice coil. As such, it has been found that the stray magnetized particles can get trapped along the voice coil due to the high flux density magnetic field of the loudspeaker. This can cause stray magnetized particles to accumulate along the voice coil to the point that significant mechanical noise is introduced and to the point that movement of the diaphragm is interfered therewith.


The present invention relates to a powertrain control system (1) for a motor vehicle. The vehicle comprises an internal combustion engine (5) and an adjustable suspension system (9) operable in accordance with first and second ride height settings, said settings being associated with respective first and second vehicle ride heights. The powertrain control system (1) comprises a stop/start controller (11) for issuing an engine stop request signal and an inhibitor (15) for inhibiting operation of the stop/start controller (11) in dependence on a selected ride height setting.

It is known to provide motor vehicles with an engine stop/start system with a view to improving fuel economy. The stop/start system is designed to turn the engine off automatically when pre-defined engine-stop conditions are met, e.g. that the vehicle is being held stationary with a driver-operated brake pedal depressed. The condition in which the vehicle is held stationary with the engine automatically switched off during a drive cycle is known as an 'eco-stop' condition.
When the driver releases the brake pedal the engine may be restarted and transmission of torque to the drive wheels of the vehicle may be re-engaged. That is, under 'no fault' normal operating conditions, release of the brake pedal by the driver triggers the engine to be restarted, the driveline to be closed and torque to be transmitted to the drive wheels. The condition of restarting the engine during a drive cycle is known as an 'eco-start' condition.
Whilst it is acceptable to stop and start the engine in this manner during normal operation of a vehicle, the Applicant has recognised that it can compromise composure of the vehicle and prove unsettling for the driver in certain circumstances, for example when driving an off-road vehicle over steep and/or undulating terrain especially when driving across difficult off-road terrain.
The present invention sets out to address the afore-mentioned shortcoming.


A method of supplying both an oxygen steelmaking process and an ironmaking process with oxygen. The oxygen is separated from air by rectification of the air. A first stream of oxygen from the rectification to the steelmaking process. A second stream of oxygen is also supplied from the rectification to the ironmaking process. The first and second streams of oxygen are both withdrawn from essentially the same stage of the rectification and both contain from about 97 to about 98% by volume of oxygen and less than about 100 parts per million of nitrogen.

This invention relates to oxygen steelmaking.
Oxygen steelmaking is one of the main building blocks of a modem industrial economy. There are a range of different oxygen steelmaking processes, including the open hearth process, bottom blown steelmaking processes, including the Bessemer and Q-BOP processes, top blown converter processes including the LD-AC process (also known as BOS (basic oxygen steelmaking) or BOP (basic oxygen process)), and electric arc furnace processes which include the step of lancing molten ferrous metal with oxygen.
High purity oxygen (i.e. oxygen having a purity of greater than 99%) has always been used in such oxygen steelmaking processes because nitrogen has a deleterious effect on steel. In order to form the high purity oxygen air is separated by rectification. The composition of air is such that in order to achieve such purity levels, a rectification column from which the oxygen product is taken has a section for separating argon from oxygen. Since argon and oxygen have similar volatilities to one another, this section contributes substantially to the total height of the rectification column and to the total energy requirements of the air separation process.
It is a general aim of modern air separation processes to minimise the power consumption of the air separation plant without adding unduly to its capital cost.
It is sometimes required that the same air separation plant should supply both a steelmaking and an iron making process. The iron making process may employ a conventional blast furnace which is fed with a charge comprising iron oxide, coke and at least one slagging or fluxing agent, or be a so-called direct reduction process in which coal is used instead of coke. In a direction reduction process, the charge is fed to a reduction vessel in which the iron ore is reduced by a gas mixture comprising hydrogen or carbon monoxide and the resulting iron is melted in a second vessel in which the coal is simultaneously gasified so as to produce the reducing gas mixture. 95% pure oxygen is typically used for the gasification of the coal. As a result, the capital and operating costs of the air separation plant are less when an oxygen product of greater than 99% purity is also required. Once, however, there is this requirement to produce such a pure oxygen product, there is a need to reboil the high purity liquid oxygen at the bottom of the rectification column from which the oxygen products are taken. The higher the purity of the oxygen, the higher is its reboiling temperature at a given pressure. As a result, the pressure of the gas used to reboil the high purity oxygen increases with increasing oxygen purity and therefore more work is expended in raising the pressure of this gas. Further, when oxygen products of different purity are required, there are increased costs associated with additional pipework and distributors.
The present invention addresses these problems.

Steelmaking method with oxygen from rectification of air


In one example, a data processing method is provided for the time-optimized calculation of a large number of result data sets at the end of a period. The calculation can be based on data. A time span can be determined for which the underlying data are to be taken into consideration. For each result data set, the probability that the data underlying the calculation of the respective result data set are changed between the calculation of the result data set and the end of the period can be detected. Result data sets within the time span can be calculated. Those result data sets of which the data underlying the calculation have a minor probability of being changed can be calculated prior to those result data sets of which the data underlying the calculation have a higher probability of being changed. The data sets can be stored.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a data processing method for a time-optimized calculation of a large number of result data sets at the end of a period.
2. Description of the Prior Art
From prior art it is known that, at particular times of the day, large amounts of data have to be processed regularly on mainframe computer systems of large enterprises. Such data accruing regularly in large amounts will occur, for instance, when, in the course of a business day, the data of transactions that have taken place have been collected. At the end of a business day, these data are processed in a so-called end of day processing.
The information accruing during the individual business processes is collected in the fields of data sets that are stored in files.
The processing of such a file may, for instance, be the performance of the booking processes necessary for the business process, or the administration of a data stock, which have to be processed by a further system. Processing usually does not or not exclusively take place on the computers on which the data are collected and the files are created. Instead, the files are transferred to a central computer for processing, where the files that have been created in many similar systems are collected and processed centrally. In these central systems, the corresponding accounts of the parties participating in a business process are also kept, so that all the data pertaining to the business processes are merged at one central point in the central system.
It is often necessary to process the data sets collected in the course of a business day within a predetermined time slot so as to ensure that, for instance, particular booking processes are terminated on the same business day. Therefore, the files are transferred to and processed in the central computer at such an early time that a processing of the data on the same day is guaranteed. The result of this is that the data are transferred to the central system not before the end of a day and that the central system has to process the data by the end of the day. The processing comprises, for instance, the recording of business processes as a booking process into an account, or the recording of a transaction into an account, so that one or several transactions have to be recorded for one account.
It is further known that, at the end of particular periods, for instance at the end of a month, a quarter, or a year, particular final processings have to be performed on such mainframe computer systems to establish e.g. financial statements for the period of time that is just ending. For regular current accounts, for instance, a monthly financial statement has to be established at the end of a month, quarterly financial statements have to be established at the end of a quarter, and, at the end of a year, the respective annual financial statement additionally has to be established e.g. for the savings accounts, where, for instance, the interests for the ending year are calculated and booked into the account. To this end, software modules available on the mainframe computer system are started. These software modules calculate, for instance, first of all the medium balance of a savings account for the ending period so as to determine, as a function thereof, the fees that are due. By means of the interest numbers, the interests for the given period are calculated. Likewise, a further software module determines, for instance, the account management charges for the same period. The values determined such are then booked as transactions into the respective account. These transactions are thus not supplied to the mainframe computer system from outside as a business process in the scope of the daily business, but are generated on the mainframe computer itself by software modules running there. The booking of these transactions that are generated by the mainframe computer system itself is, however, identical to the booking of the transactions supplied to the system from outside and is performed by the same software modules.
At the end of such a period, the amount of data accruing daily thus has to be processed, on the one hand, which is performed in a so-called end of day processing, and, on the other hand, the financial statements of accounts and the like required at the end of the respective periods have to be established, which are referred to as end of month, or end of quarter, or end of year processing.
With respect to the end of day processing and the end of month, end of quarter, or end of year processing, it has to be noted that they cannot be performed independently of each other. All the results, i.e. bookings and transactions, that took place on the last day of the respective period will not only have to be taken into consideration on this very day in the end of day processing, but also for the final processing for the period that is just ending since the business processes are not just part of to this very day, but also of the period. Consequently, the end of month, end of quarter, or end of year processing can only take place when the end of day processing of the respectively preceding days has been terminated.
If the end of month, end of quarter, or end of year processing starts before the end of day processing has been terminated, there will be the risk that, for instance, a business process for an account is booked only after the calculation of the end of month, end of quarter, or end of year processing for this account and is thus not taken into consideration there. The results of the end of month, end of quarter, or end of year processing would thus be incorrect.
To ensure that all the business processes of one day are not only taken into consideration in the end of day processing, but also in the end of month, end of quarter, or end of year processing, it would be possible to start the end of month, end of quarter, or end of year processing only when the end of day processing has been terminated.
This might result in that the end of month, end of quarter, or end of year processing is started only shortly before the end of the last day of the ending period and thus can, due to the large amount of data, not be terminated prior to the end of the day and thus not in time. However, there exists the necessity that a monthly, quarterly or annual financial statement e.g. of an account has to be terminated by the end of the respective period.


A system and method for providing data network-assisted conference service to a wireless terminal. Conference-related information is received from a conference originator and stored. Prior to conference establishment time, a conference notification message is sent to the wireless terminal. A conference connection request is sent by the wireless terminal in response to the conference notification message, and a conference connection is established between the wireless terminal and a conference bridge that connects all conference participants.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to wireless telecommunication systems. More particularly, the invention concerns the establishment of conference calls to wireless terminals in a wireless telecommunication system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In wireless telecommunication systems, establishing a conference call to wireless terminals involves several steps. First, a conference coordinator needs to convey a conference bridge number and conference code to all participants. Second, all participants need to retain the bridge number and conference code until conference establishment time. Third, all participants need to manually dial the bridge number and enter the conference code at conference establishment time.
It would be advantageous to provide a more efficient way to establish conference calls to wireless terminals in a wireless communication system. What is required is a system and method that preferably eliminates some or all of the manual steps currently required to establish such calls.

Data network-assisted conference establishment


Aspects of the disclosure provide for selecting viewports. A viewport is a sub-portion of an image. For example, a request to select a viewport for a particular image may be received. A set of potential viewports are identified within the particular image, and features are identified within the viewports of the set of potential viewports. A score is calculated for each given viewport of the set of potential viewports based at least in part on a weight vector having a set of feature weights and the identified features within that given viewport of the set of potential viewports. A viewport of the set of potential viewports is selected based on the calculated scores. The selected viewport is then provided in response to the request to select the viewport for the particular image.

Various systems provide users with images of different locations. Some systems provide users with panoramic images or panoramic images having a generally wider field of view. For example, panoramic images may include an image or collection of images having a field of view which is greater than that of the human eye, e.g., 180 degrees or greater. Some panoramic images may provide a 360-degree view of a location.

Using image features to extract viewports from images


For generating of magnetic resonance exposures of an examination subject, a dielectric element with high dielectric constant is positioned on the examination subject to locally influence the B1 field distribution, the dielectric element being formed primarily of material whose magnetic resonance line(s) is/are shifted by at least a specific degree relative to the magnetic resonance line of water protons for a given magnetic field. In a measurement for generation of a magnetic resonance exposure a measurement sequence is used, such in the acquisition of the raw image data the dielectric material of the dielectric element supplies no signal contributions for the image generation and/or the signals caused by the dielectric material of the dielectric element can be separated from the signals caused by the examination subject.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a method for generating magnetic resonance exposures (i.e. acquiring magnetic resonance data) of an examination subject, of the type wherein a dielectric element with high dielectric constant is positioned on the examination subject to locally influence the B1 field distribution. Moreover, the invention concerns a corresponding dielectric element for positioning on an examination subject for locally influencing the B1 field distribution during magnetic resonance data acquisition and a corresponding magnetic resonance system for implementation of the method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Magnetic resonance tomography has become a widespread technique for the acquisition of images of the inside of the body of a living examination subject. In order to acquire an image with this method, i.e. to generate a magnetic resonance exposure of an examination subject, the body or a body part of the patient to be examined must initially be exposed to an optimally homogenous static basic magnetic field (usually designated as a B0 field) which is generated by a basic field magnet of the magnetic resonance scanner. During the acquisition of the magnetic resonance data, rapidly switched gradient fields that are generated by gradient coils are superimposed on this basic magnetic field for spatially coding the data. With a radio-frequency antenna, RF pulses of a defined field strength are radiated into the examination volume of the scanner in which the examination subject is located. The magnetic flux density of these RF pulses is typically designated with B1. The pulsed radio-frequency field therefore is generally called a B1 field for short. By means of these RF pulses, the nuclear spins of the atoms in the examination subject are excited such that they are moved out of state of equilibrium spins, which are oriented parallel to the basic magnetic field B0, by what is known as an "excitation flip angle (also called "flip angle" for short in the following). The nuclear spins then precess in the direction of the basic magnetic field B0. The magnetic resonance signals thereby generated are acquired by radio-frequency reception antennas. The reception antennas can be either the same antennas with which the RF pulses were radiated, or separate antennas. The magnetic resonance images of the examination subject are ultimately created based on the received magnetic resonance signals. Every image point in the magnetic resonance image is associated with a small body volume, known as a "voxel", and every brightness or intensity value of the image points is linked with the signal amplitude of the magnetic resonance signal received from this voxel. The connection between a radiated excitation RF pulse with the field strength B1 and the flip angle α achieved by this pulse is given by the equation
                    α        =                              ∫                          t              =              0                        τ                                          γ            ·                                          B                1                                                          (                t                )                                      ·                                                                            ⅆ              t                                                          (        1        )            wherein γ is the gyromagnetic ratio, which can be considered as a fixed material constant for most magnetic resonance examinations, and τ is the effective duration of the radio-frequency pulse. The flip angle achieved by an emitted RF pulse, and thus the strength of the magnetic resonance signal, consequently also depends on (aside from the duration of the RF pulse) the strength of the radiated B1 field. Spatial fluctuations in the field strength of the excited B1 field therefore lead to unwanted variations in the received magnetic resonance signal that can adulterate the measurement result.
In the presence of a high magnetic field strength—that unavoidably exists in a magnetic resonance tomography scanner due to the necessary magnetic basic field B0—the RF pulses disadvantageously exhibit an inhomogeneous penetration behavior in conductive and dielectric media such as, for example, tissue. The B1 field thus can significantly vary within the measurement volume. In particular, in examinations known as ultra-intense field magnetic resonance examinations, in which modern magnetic resonance systems are used with a basic magnetic field of three Tesla or more, particular measures must be taken in order to achieve an optimally homogenous distribution of the transmitted RF field of the radio-frequency antenna in the entire volume.
A simple but more effective approach to the solution of the problem is to modify the electrical environment of the examination subject in a suitable manner in order to compensate unwanted inhomogeneities. For this purpose, dielectric elements with defined dielectric constant and conductivity can be positioned in the examination volume, for example directly at the patient or on the patient. The material of these dielectric elements should exhibit an optimally high dielectric constant, preferably ∈≧50. The dielectric material thus produces a dielectric focusing. Conversely, the material of the dielectric element should not exhibit too high a conductivity, since due to the skin effect a conductivity that is too high leads to high eddy currents, in particular in the surface region of the dielectric element, producing a shielding effect that weakens (attenuates) the dielectric focusing effect. For example, using such dielectric elements the typical RF field minima that occur in magnetic resonance examinations of a patient in the chest and abdomen region can be compensated by placing appropriate dielectric elements, which compensate the minima by producing a local increase of the penetrating radio-frequency field, on the chest and abdomen of the patient.
Distilled water with a dielectric constant of ∈≈80 and a conductivity of approximately 10 μs/cm and filled into a plastic film pouch has been used as such a dielectric element. Unfortunately, the use of such "dielectric pillows" filled with water has the unwanted side effect that they are visible in the magnetic resonance exposures. In addition, due to fold over effects the dielectric element may not be imaged within the magnetic resonance exposure at the location at which it is actually positioned in real space. Thus, for example, due to foldover effects the pillow can be shown at the upper edge of an MR image instead of at the lower edge. This leads to the impression being created on the magnetic resonance exposures that the dielectric element is located inside the body of the patient, rather than on the body of the patient. It is in principle possible to acquire an image using an oversampling method such that the dielectric element is at the correct position. In such a case, the dielectric element can be excised by image processing an image section can be selected which does not contain the dielectric element at all. These oversampling methods, however, are quite time-consuming and therefore prolong the measurement time. Moreover, independent of the oversampling methods, given movement (for example due to breathing of the patient) the MR signal from the pillow can also lead to interfering image artifacts within the region of the magnetic resonance exposure depicting the body.

Method, dielectric element, and MR system for generating an MR exposure


An electrical card connector (100) includes an insulative housing (1), a plurality of contacts (2) retained in the insulative housing (1) for mating with an electrical card and a block (3). The insulative housing (1) defines a front mating face (14), a receiving space (10) extending backwardly from the mating face (14) and an installing wall (11) located at a rear end of the receiving space (10). The block (3) is retained in the insulative housing (1) for positioning the contacts (2). The installing wall (11) defines a through hole (111) for receiving the block (3). The block (3) has a pair of elastic segments (36) located at lateral sides thereof and a pair of slots (341) located beside the elastic segments (36) respectively for supporting elasticity of the elastic segments (36).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical card connector for making a plurality of contacts to be positioned in the electrical card connector steadily.
2. Description of Related Art
Usually, electrical device such as digital camera and PDA deploys an electrical card for increasing the storage of the electrical device. An electrical card connector is used for connecting the electrical card to the electrical device. The electrical card connector includes an insulative housing and a set of contacts retained in the insulative housing. The insulative housing defines a front mating face and a receiving space extending backwardly from the mating face. The contacts include a set of first and second contacts.
Each of the first contacts includes a first retaining portion retained in the insulative housing, a first contacting portion extending into the receiving space from the first retaining portion and a first soldering portion extending backwardly from the first retaining portion. Each of the second contacts includes a second retaining portion retained in the insulative housing, a second contacting portion extending into the receiving space from the second retaining portion and a second soldering portion extending backwardly from the second retaining portion. The first and second retaining portions have a number of barbs for making the contacts be fixed in the insulative housing steadily. However, the first and second contacts need to be installed on the insulative housing respectively, it will increase cost and working procedure.
Hence, an improved electrical card connector is desired to overcome the above problems.


A module unit is to be mounted to the exterior surface of a trunk door or rear door of a vehicle for displaying a license plate. Without requiring a key or special tool, the module unit protects the license plate from being removed by an un-authorized person. The license plate can only be removed when a locking unit in the module unit is unlocked by activating a release unit from the interior side of vehicle. Such a module unit also protects the annual registration stickers from being removed by an un-authorized person.

The present invention relates to a holder assembly for retaining and displaying a vehicle license plate outside of a trunk door or rear door of a vehicle. The present invention particularly relates to a vehicle license plate holder that, without requiring a key or special tool, protects the license plate from being removed by an un-authorized person.
By law, a vehicle license plate must be displayed at least at the rear end of vehicle. Mechanical fasteners such as screws have always been used for fastening the plate to vehicle body. This presents a risk that the license plate can be removed by an un-authorized person. To prevent such a risk, a variety of lockable devices have been proposed in prior art that require a key or a special tool for removing the license plate. Using key or special tool is inconvenient and undesirable because the vehicle owner must maintain an extra key or special tool. This presents another risk of losing or missing the key or special tool when needed. Furthermore, most of the proposed lockable devices are unattractive in appearance.
Therefore, there is still a need for an improved license plate holder that, without requiring a key or special tool protects the vehicle license plate from being removed by an un-authorized person. The present invention suggests a locking and releasing units to be installed in the holder assembly. The releasing unit penetrates through the vehicle body of trunk door or rear door of the vehicle. To remove the license plate, the locking unit must be unlocked by activating the releasing unit from the interior side of vehicle. The present invention adopts such a novel strategy for protecting the license plate from being removed by an un-authorized person, which has never been disclosed in prior art. The present invention is also capable of protecting the annual registration stickers of the license plate from being removed by an un-authorized person. By law, such annual registration stickers must be displayed at the top right and left corners of the license plate.


A washer game with an upright tube has two targets spaced apart to test people's skill at throwing washers. The targets are round with concentric rings upon a flat base within a perimeter wall. Score value increases as ring diameter decreases. The centermost ring has a diameter to receive an upright tube. The upright tube extends perpendicular to the target and may have arms branching off the upright tube. In addition to the targets and tubes, the game has a plurality of washers or bean bags. Players of the game can add or remove the tubes to vary the difficulty of the game.

The washer game with an upright tube relates generally to games and more specifically to throwing games involving a target at a distance.
People play games for entertainment and to develop coordination. Games have rules and usually scoring to measure skill. As coordination develops, skills and scores generally improve. At machine shops, auto shops, and hardware stores, washers accumulated often. Workers and customers would toss spare washers occasionally. In the last thirty years, a game developed in throwing washers at a distant target for score akin to horseshoes thrown at picnics.
Traditionally, washer games have two spaced apart scoring boxes that receive tossed washers. The prior art boxes are typically manufactured from wood, metal, plastic and other materials in a square form with an open top. The square boxes received washers from all directions and permitted scoring of washers along a diagonal of the box similar to along the longitudinal and lateral axes of the box. The structure of the box allowed scoring at greater distances but perhaps at lesser skill. Further limitations of the prior art included scoring for only washers within the box, not precisely at the center and few features to reduce rebounding of the washers as they contacted the scoring box. This prior art limitation sometimes allowed well tossed washers to bounce out of the scoring box, thereby heightening the skill required at the game beyond mere throwing accuracy. Players would have to account for the spin and angle of impact of the washer with the box. The prior art had little recognition for a perfect center ringer toss.
Presently, people throw washers outdoors and indoors upon surfaces resistant to chipping, like concrete. The outdoor surfaces absorb impact of washers as in earth or people tolerate damage as in wooden surfaces or concrete. With washers thrown between targets, or boxes, the area proximate to the target sustains the impact from the washers. When used indoors, surfaces limit the play of the washer game to those surfaces deemed chip resistant. A target of sufficient area would protect an indoor surface while still allowing competitive scoring of games.


A combination meal bag and placemat has front and rear thermoplastic bag walls each having first and second side edges, a top edge and a bottom edge. The walls are integrally joined to a bottom gusset at the bottom edges and fastened together along the first and second side edges with first and second side seals that fasten first and second outer edges of the bottom gusset to the first and second side edges, respectively. First and second side perforations are spaced from the first and second side edges and extend from the top edge to the bottom edge. When the front wall is pulled away from the rear wall, the first and second side perforations will part, permitting the front and rear walls and bottom gusset to open into a flat placemat. First and second strap handles or die-cut handles are positioned adjacent the top edges of the bag.

Diners purchasing meals to go from restaurants, fast food outlets, delicatessens and similar establishments are often planning to eat their food at some location other than their dining room tables. Often they plan to eat in their cars, at a picnic table, at a sporting event or even in front of their televisions. All of these locations lack a clean and convenient place to rest their food while eating it. It would be desirable to have a large and impervious placemat on which to eat the food transported to such a location. Rather than pack along a separate placemat, several attempts have been made to convert a bag used to transport the food into a placemat. Some of these attempts to solve this problem are discussed here.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,998,882, issued to Fisher et al., discloses a bag suitable for carrying sandwich-type foods from a fast food or convenience store. The bag has an open end and an opposite closed end with a front panel and a back panel that are connected together by gusseted side panels. The front panel is provided with lines of perforations forming a weakness the lines being parallel and spaced apart a small distance. Perforations are designed to allow for consistent opening while minimizing premature opening or tearing of the panel. The narrow strip between the perforations is a ripping strip to ease opening of the bag the ripping strip has a pull-tab. Pulling the tab and ripping the ripping strip exposes the bag's interior and the food items therein. The torn bag can be used as a placemat or a receptacle for the food items.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2007/0258662, published for Venditti is directed to a container that can be readily transformed into a mat providing a safe resting surface for the contents of the container. The container preferably made out of paper, cardboard, plastic, foil, metal, or wood is in the form of a bag or box. The container can be used for food or automotive products, hardware products, medical products, toys, and the like. The container has a flat bottom, opposing spaced apart first and second sides and opposing spaced apart first and second faces. A first line of perforations vertically extend from the open end of the container to a second line of perforations that are horizontally disposed about the perimeter of the container near the bottom. For use of the container the perforations are opened leaving the items in the container in the resulting bottom tray. The sides of the container can be used as a mat providing a clean surface for the contents of the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,618,992, issued to La Grotteria illustrates two embodiments of a bag that is convertible to a placemat. The first embodiment is a bag with a flat bottom having a vertical line of perforations on one sidewall and a line of perforations at the bottom of three of the sidewalls. When it is desired to have a placemat the bag can be set down with the contents inside and the perforations separated forming a placemat. The second type of bag has a folded end rather than a flat bottom. The bag has a vertical line of perforations on one sidewall and a line of perforations near the bottom. When both lines of perforations are separated the bag can be laid flat forming a placemat.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,901, issued to Geddes et al. disclose a perforated package of composite material for packaging and maintaining foodstuffs in a hot and palatable condition. The invention is a perforated package made from a composite integral sheet material formed into a bag which has at least one area of perforation allowing a portion of the bag to be drawn back providing easy access to the article contained therein. Preferably the perforated area comprises two parallel lines preferably located along or closely adjacent to the edges of the package. In use the food product preferably hot is put into the bag, the opened end is sealed and the bag with the foodstuff in it is given to a customer. The bag may be used in a variety of ways by the customer. If the customer pulls the side panel down along the perforations he provides a surface upon which the food article rests. The bag provides a sanitary surface which has not been previously handled.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,350, issued to Gordon is directed to a glueless paper bag that is formed from a single sheet of paper or similar flexible sheet material. The blank is formed or otherwise provided with eight relatively spaced apart parallel fold lines that extend longitudinally the full length of the blank. The blank is folded along the lines to form a rectangular open ended tube. The tube is folded transversely along a pair of relatively spaced transverse fold lines forming generally rectangular and relatively adjoining sections, a forward open-mouthed bag section, a multiple ply backing section and a multiple ply tuck and locking section. By folding the backing section upwardly against the rear or inner wall of the bag section and then tucking the locking section downwardly into the open mouth of the bag section and into overlying relation to the backing section provides a condition with the smooth and interrupted outer panel of the blank is outermost and relatively interlocking, interleaved, free edges of the blank are fully covered and held against accidental separation. The device may be used as a carryout bag for food items and upon arrival at a convenient eating spot may be easily unfolded into its flat length condition and used as a doily, napkin or bib.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a convenient and spacious carry bag formed of impervious material for the transport of food items. It is a further objective to provide such a bag that can be readily converted to a sanitary placemat suitable for dining upon. It is a still further objective of the invention that the resulting placemat be completely flat and suitable for folding and storage for later use. Finally, it is an objective of the present invention to provide such bag that is inexpensive to manufacture and easy to carry when loaded and yet stores flat when empty.
While some of the objectives of the present invention are disclosed in the prior art, none of the inventions found include all of the requirements identified.


An FMS with the capability of automatically adjusting the view of the flight path as the flight progresses while maintaining a set viewing direction. The vertical dimension of the flight path display chosen to fill the display and provide increased readability.

In recent years, avionics engineers have endeavored to provide pilots and flight crews with the information necessary for safe flight. One approach has been to provide the flight crew with a constantly updated flight plan display as the flight progresses.
While this approach does have several beneficial aspects, it has several shortcomings. A purely mechanistic approach in which the display is constantly being totally rewritten can result in confusing or hard to read displays, especially during times of performing maneuvers which are dramatic with respect to the earlier segment of the flight.
Consequently, there exists a need for an improved system for displaying flight path information.

Automatic view adjusting flight plan display


A high speed voltage switching circuit comprises symmetrically arranged voltage relay transistor circuits coupled between voltage input terminals and a switched voltage output terminal. A first voltage relay transistor circuit relays a first voltage at the first input terminal to the output terminal in response to the controlled application of current directly to the output terminal from a first switched current source. A second voltage relay transistor circuit relays a second voltage at the second input terminal directly to the output terminal in response to the removal of current from the output terminal by way of a second switched current source. Each voltage relay transistor circuit preferably comprises pairs of bipolar transistors having their base-emitter junctions coupled in series between the first voltage input terminal and the output terminal. To prevent reverse application of the high and low voltages to the voltage input terminals of the switching circuit, a reverse voltage protection circuit is coupled between the first and second voltage relay transistor circuits.

Automatic test equipment (ATE) manufacturers employ pin driver circuits for controllably applying respective high and low voltages to an output terminal to which a device under test is coupled. FIG. 1 schematically illustrates the basic components of a commercially available pin driver circuit employed in an ATE system manufactured by Fairchild Corporation, in which first and second diode bridge circuits 11 and 13 are respectively coupled between a high voltage VH input terminal 15 and an output terminal 20, on the one hand, and between a low voltage VL input terminal 17 and the output terminal 20, on the other hand. The capacitance associated with output terminal 20 is shown in the figure as a capacitive load 21. Switchably coupled to opposite ends of each diode bridge are respective current sources 22 and 24.
When it is desired to couple the high voltage input VH at terminal 15 to output terminal 20, controlled switching elements 27, 28 are operated to steer each of current sources 22, 24 to diode bridge 11, while diode bridge 13 for the low voltage VL is electrically isolated from the current sources. The high voltage VH at terminal 15 is thus coupled to output terminal 20 through diode bridge 11. Conversely, when it is desired to couple the low voltage input VL at terminal 17 to output terminal 20, controlled switching elements 27, 28 are operated to steer each of current sources 22, 24 to diode bridge 13, while diode bridge 11 is electrically isolated from the current sources. The low voltage VL at terminal 15 is thus coupled to output terminal 20 through diode bridge 13.
Because it can be expected that semiconductor processing of the circuit design will match the characteristics of the diodes of the respective upper portion and lower portion of a bridge, the circuit shown in FIG. 1 will enjoy low offset voltage between the voltage input terminals and output terminal 20. However, because of the inherent capacitance of the diodes, there is a substantial switching delay, and the uneven biasing of the diodes during a transition from low to high (or high to low) will cause current from the source to which the diodes are connected to be apportioned through each diode, which necessitates that buffer circuits be coupled to the input voltage terminals to absorb the current component apportioned to the input terminal.
In the case of diodes 11-1 and 11-2 of the upper portion of diode bridge 11, for example, when output terminal 20 is to transition from a low voltage state (e.g. VL=0) to a high voltage state (e.g. VH=1), diode 11-1 is initially reverse-biased (input terminal 15 is at VH=1), whereas diode 11-2 is forward biased (output terminal 20 is initially at VL=0). Thus, at the start of a low to high transition, the entirety of the current flow path is through diode 11-2 to output terminal 20. As current from source 22 continues to flow and charge capacitive load 21, the forward bias of diode 11-2 begins to decrease, so that the current from source 22 begins to split between diodes 11-1 and 11-2, whereby part of the current will flow to output terminal 20 and part of the current will flow into terminal 15. Because of the inherent capacitance of diodes 11- 1 and 11-2, there is an increase in the switching delay in bringing output terminal 20 to the input voltage (e.g. VH=1). Moreover, in order to accommodate the flow of current through the diodes that are connected to the voltage input terminals (e.g. through diode 11-1 to VH voltage input terminal 15), it is necessary to provide respective output buffers for each of voltage input terminals 15 and 17 capable of absorbing substantial current (e.g. milliamps). Thus, the pin driver of FIG. 1 suffers from slow switching speed and the need for additional buffer circuitry components.

Symmetric, high speed, voltage switching circuit possessing reverse voltage application immunity


An apparatus for converting a standard electric bass guitar to play as a classical upright bass guitar. A bass guitar stand up apparatus may include a mounting stand such as a tri or uni-pod, an adapter, an arm, and a stabilizer. The apparatus may be adjustable for height selection. The apparatus may be quick release for convenience. The arm may facilitate positioning. The stabilizer may mount to lower strap mount. The apparatus may be easily removed and guitar may be played, docked, or transported in standard guitar configuration. The apparatus can also be configured to a supportive belt to afford mobility to a musician while supporting and playing a standard electric bass guitar.

1. Technical Field of Invention
The present invention generally relates to a guitar auxiliary device. In particular, the invention relates to an adapter.
2. Background of the Invention
Traditionally players of bass guitars had to choose between two types of instruments; classical upright acoustic and standard electric (strap type). The upright style is preferable in playing position to most musicians who do not strum the bass as a standard (6 or 12 string non-bass) guitar. The classical type of playing a bass (where the musician plucks and individually manipulates the large strings) requires deftness and strength at the musician's finger tips. An over the shoulder-strap arrangement on a standard electric bass guitar demands the musician, using classical playing techniques, hyper flex his (or her) wrists resulting in compromised playing positions and causing long term tendon problems. Recently custom designed versions of electric bass guitars in an upright configuration have been offered. These include Dean Pace (www.deanguitars.com), and N.S. Design, U.S. Pat. No. 5,537,906 issued to Steinberger. Pace guitars offers an upright electric bass that has a custom body and stand that will not adapt to any standard bass guitar body limiting choices and increasing costs additionally, Pace electric upright bass guitars cannot be played while sitting or mobile. N.S. Design offers a similar custom guitar that will not adapt to any standard bass guitar body limiting choices, increasing costs, and cannot be played while seated. N.S. Design does offer a mobile harness for their electric upright bass however, N.S. Design's mobile harness is uniquely mounted to N.S. Design guitars and not usable with any standard bass guitar additionally, is supported over a player's shoulders increasing load on the player's spine.
Wilfer U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,715 dtd. Jul. 8, 2003, U.S. Pat. No. 6,559,365, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,540,182 discloses a stand for musical instruments. The disclosure of Wilfer allows for docking or parking support of a guitar solely and is not intended to lend support when played. This embodiment will not afford stand up adaptation of a standard electric bass guitar to upright playing. Erismann in U.S. Pat. No. 6,525,246 dtd. Feb. 25, 2003 discloses a detachable body support for a guitar. This embodiment will not afford stand up adaptation of a standard electric bass guitar to upright playing. Little in U.S. Pat. No. 6,034,308 dtd. Mar. 7, 2000 discloses an ergonomic string instrument. While there may be advantages to Little's disclosure this embodiment will not afford stand up adaptation of a standard electric bass guitar to upright playing. Agostino in U.S. Pat. No. 5,824,924 dtd. Oct. 20, 1998 discloses a five postion bow playable, electric bass guitar. While Agostino does offer multiple position playing of a bass guitar his embodiment offers cramped playing (too close to player's body) and non-triangulated support in the upright configuration. This embodiment also requires custom mounting and body configuration causing higher costs and poor transportation characteristics. Additionally, Agostino offers no docking type capabilities. Uhrig in U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,161 dtd. Sep. 15, 1987 discloses an apparatus for supporting a musical instrument. While this apparatus will support a guitar it is not for use while playing. Clevinger in U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,002 dtd. Dec. 30, 1986 discloses a rigidly constructed portable electric double bass. While Clevinger's design is an upright bass that is portable he requires a custom body and traveling case demanding additional costs and no docking or mobile capability.