A method for controlling a hybrid drive consisting of an internal combustion engine and at least one electric motor which can be driven via an electrical energy source, in which the electric motor can be operated as a generator when required. In order to reduce the fuel consumption and the emission of noxious substances of the internal combustion engine in those operating ranges in which the torque to be output by the internal combustion engine to overcome the instantaneous tractive resistances lies below a torque corresponding to ideal operation of the internal combustion engine with respect to efficiency and/or exhaust gas behavior, the internal combustion engine is operated essentially with the torque corresponding to ideal operation. The differential torque between the torque corresponding to ideal operation and the torque to be output by the internal combustion engine to overcome the instantaneous tractive resistances is used to drive the electric motor which is switched as a generator.

The present invention relates to a method for controlling a hybrid drive which includes an internal combustion engine and at least one electric motor which can be driven via an electrical energy source, and drives a vehicle and in which the electric motor is switched over to generator mode when a preset requirement to generate electricity is present.
German Patent Document DE-OS 25 01 386 discloses a method of the above-described type, in which the electric motor which is provided to drive the vehicle operates when required as a generator driven by the internal combustion engine in order to produce current, for example for charging up the battery feeding the electric motor.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method of the initially described type in which the fuel consumption of the internal combustion engine and its emission of noxious substances are further reduced.
This and other objects are achieved by the present invention which provides a method for controlling a hybrid drive that drives a vehicle, the hybrid drive including an internal combustion engine and at least one electric motor which can be driven via an electrical energy source. The method comprises the steps of switching the electric motor over to a generator mode when a preset requirement to generate electric energy is present, and operating the internal combustion engine substantially at a torque corresponding to ideal operation of the internal combustion engine with respect to at least one of efficiency and exhaust gas behavior when the internal combustion engine is in operating ranges in which an amount of torque to be output by the internal combustion engine for overcoming instantaneous tractive resistances lies below a torque corresponding to the ideal operation of the internal combustion engine. A differential torque between the torque corresponding to the ideal operation and the torque to be output by the internal combustion engine for overcoming the instantaneous tractive resistances is used to drive the electric motor operated as a generator.
Using the method according to the invention, it is achieved that whenever the vehicle is being driven via the internal combustion engine and there is a need to generate electric energy, for example to charge up a battery which is supplying energy for the electric motor or for other electrical loads, the internal combustion engine can be operated over wide ranges always in an operating range which is most favorable with respect to the specific fuel consumption and/or with respect to the emission of noxious substances. The taking up of the torque of the electric motor running in generator mode is controlled in this process in such a way that the precise difference between the torque output by the internal combustion engine in these load ranges and the torque required to overcome the instantaneous tractive resistances, provided this difference is greater than zero, is taken up by the generator to generate electric energy. Both the storage of the electric energy required to operate the electric motor and the drive of the vehicle via the internal combustion engine can thus be achieved in these operating ranges with optimum efficiency and/or with minimum emission of noxious substances.
In certain embodiments of the present invention, the control of the hybrid drive takes place according to a characteristic diagram. This has the advantage that the most varied parameters can be taken into account for the control of the internal combustion engine and of the generator so that changes in individual operating parameters and ambient parameters can be reacted to as quickly as possible.
In certain embodiments of the invention, a battery is coupled to the electric motor and is an energy source to drive the electric motor. The take-up of the torque of the electric motor operating in the generator mode is controlled to a set value which is greater than the torque corresponding to ideal operation, whenever the battery is discharged to a severe degree. With these embodiments, it remains ensured that in the event of the generation of a high electric energy being required briefly, for example when the battery is discharged to a severe extent and a plurality of electrical loads are switched on at the same time, this required electric energy can be provided as quickly as possible.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Method for controlling a hybrid drive which drives a vehicle


A system is provided for automatically measuring paint film thickness of painted bodies for closed loop control of a paint process for painting the bodies in a paint booth. The system includes a cell for receiving painted bodies from the paint booth and a conveyor control system for controlling the movement of painted bodies between the paint booth and the cell. The system also includes an AutoPelt system communicating with the conveyor control system for measuring paint film thickness of the painted bodies in the cells. The system includes an integrated paint quality control (IPQC) monitoring system communicating with the AutoPelt system for receiving data of paint film thickness information and combining the paint film thickness information with automation parameters on a vehicle identification number (VIN) basis of the painted bodies to control paint automation equipment of the paint booth.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to paint film thickness of painted bodies and, more specifically, to a system for automatically measuring paint film thickness of painted bodies.
2. Description of the Related Art
The application of paint to a body of a vehicle is a sensitive process. The quality, durability, and color matching of the paint are critical in producing a high quality product, and therefore require significant quality control efforts. Generally, paint film thickness is monitored by use of hand-held sensors, such as an ultrasonic pulse echo layer thickness (PELT) meter or a magnetic induction meter. These sensors are handled by an operator who must manually apply the sensor against a surface of the body of the vehicle in a position normal to the surface at a plurality of locations on the surface. In the performance of this measurement, it is highly important that the operator position the sensor normal to the particular location being sensed, and it is also critical that the operator position the sensor consistently at the same locations on the surface being sensed. Errors in the angle of the sensor relative to the surface or in the location of the sensor on the surface can adversely affect quality control. Presently, readings are taken manually by an operator, which is time consuming and does not provide sufficient information or sample size to control the paint process. Because a significant reliance is placed upon the operator, a significant amount of error is introduced in the quality control of the paint process.
It is also known to provide a method and apparatus for positioning sensors against a non-planar surface for sensing paint film thickness. An example of such a method and apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,959,211 to Wagner et al., the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. In this patent, the apparatus includes a movable fixture and a plurality of pistons carried by the movable fixture. Each of the pistons is movable independently with respect to the fixture. Each piston includes a distal end and a sensor pivotally mounted to each distal end. Each distal end is spring-biased away from the fixture. Each sensor includes at least two contact points for contacting the non-planar surface on opposing sides of the respective location for orienting the sensor in a position normal to the non-planar surface at the respective location. However, the film thickness is only measured on two vehicle bodies per day and the paint process cannot be controlled with this data.
As a result, it is desirable to provide a system for automatically measuring paint film thickness of painted bodies for closed loop control of the paint process. It is also desirable to provide a system to measure multiple layers of paint film automatically to control the paint process for each layer, which will result in closed loop control of the paint process. It is further desirable to automatically control the paint process to improve paint quality, reduce material costs, and provide a better surface appearance.
Accordingly, the present invention is a system for automatically measuring paint film thickness of painted bodies for closed loop control of a paint process. The system includes a cell for receiving painted bodies from the paint booth and a conveyor control system for controlling the movement of painted bodies between the paint booth and the cell. The system also includes an AutoPelt system communicating with the conveyor control system for measuring paint film thickness of the painted bodies in the cells. The system includes an integrated paint quality control (IPQC) monitoring system communicating with the AutoPelt system for receiving data of paint film thickness information and combining the paint film thickness information with automation parameters on a vehicle identification number (VIN) basis of the painted bodies to control paint automation equipment of the paint booth.
One advantage of the present invention is that a system for automatically measuring paint film thickness of painted bodies is provided for closed loop control of the paint process. Another advantage of the present invention is that the system automatically measures paint film thickness, which is used as feedback information to control the paint process. Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the system automatically controls the paint process significantly, improving paint quality, reducing material costs, and providing a better surface appearance on the painted body of the vehicle.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood, after reading the subsequent description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

System for automatically measuring paint film thickness


A software transactional memory system is provided that creates an array of transactional locks for each array object that is accessed by transactions. The system divides the array object into non-overlapping portions and associates each portion with a different transactional lock. The system acquires transactional locks for transactions that access corresponding portions of the array object. By doing so, different portions of the array object can be accessed by different transactions concurrently. The system may use a shared shadow or undo copy for accesses to the array object.

Computer programs may be written to allow different portions (e.g., threads) of the program to be executed concurrently. In order to execute different portions of the program concurrently, the computer system or the program typically includes some mechanism to manage the memory accesses of the different portions to ensure that the parts access common memory locations in the desired order.
Transactional memory systems allow programmers to designate transactions in a program that may be executed as if the transactions are executing in isolation (i.e., independently of other transactions and other sequences of instructions in the program). Transaction memory systems manage the memory accesses of transactions by executing the transactions in such a way that the effects of the transaction may be rolled back or undone if two or more transactions attempt to access the same memory location in a conflicting manner. Transaction memory systems may be implemented using hardware and/or software components.
Transactional memory systems that extend an object-oriented language typically detect conflicts between memory accesses of different transactions at an object granularity. Such systems detect a conflicting access to an object even when different transactions are referencing different fields within the object. Where an array is considered a single object (i.e., an array object), the systems detect concurrent accesses to different elements of an array object a conflict and cause the accesses to be serialized. By serializing accesses to an array object, the system forgoes opportunities for exploiting parallel or concurrent accesses to the array object.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The present invention relates to an array substrate for a fringe field switching (FFS) mode liquid crystal display device and a method for fabricating the same. The liquid crystal display device may include a gate line formed on the substrate; a data line crossed with the gate line to define a pixel region; a thin-film transistor (TFT) formed at an intersection of the gate and data line; an organic insulating layer formed to have an opening portion for exposing the TFT; a common electrode having an area formed at an upper portion of the organic insulating layer, and an auxiliary electrode pattern connected to the TFT through the opening portion; a passivation layer formed to expose the auxiliary electrode pattern connected to the TFT; and pixel electrodes electrically connected to the TFT through the exposed auxiliary electrode pattern.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device, and more particularly, to an array substrate for a fringe field switching (FFS) mode liquid crystal display device and a method for fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, the driving principle of a liquid crystal display device is based on optical anisotropy and polarization of liquid crystals. Liquid crystals having an elongated structure exhibit directivity in molecular arrangement, and thus the direction of their molecular arrangement can be controlled by artificially applying an electric field to liquid crystals.
Accordingly, if the molecular arrangement direction of liquid crystals is arbitrarily controlled, then the molecular arrangement of liquid crystals may be changed, and light is refracted in the molecular arrangement direction of liquid crystals by optical anisotropy to exhibit image information.
At present, an active matrix liquid crystal display device (AM-LCD; hereinafter, abbreviated as a "liquid crystal display device") in which thin-film transistors and pixel electrodes connected to the thin-film transistors are arranged in a matrix form have been widely used due to its resolution and video implementation capability.
The liquid crystal display device may include a color filter substrate (i.e., upper substrate) formed with common electrodes, an array substrate (i.e., lower substrate) formed with pixel electrodes, and liquid crystals filled between the upper and lower substrates, in which liquid crystals are driven by an electric field applied in the vertical direction between the common electrode and pixel electrode, thereby having excellent transmittance and aperture ratio.
However, the driving of liquid crystals by an electric field applied in the vertical direction has a drawback of providing insufficient viewing angle characteristics. Accordingly, a driving method of liquid crystals by in-plane switching has been newly proposed to overcome the foregoing drawback, and the driving method of liquid crystals by in-plane switching has excellent viewing angle characteristics.
Such an in-plane switching mode liquid crystal display device may include a color filter substrate and an array substrate facing each other, and a liquid crystal layer is interposed between the color filter substrate and the array substrate.
A thin-film transistor, a common electrode and pixel electrode are provided for a plurality of pixels, respectively, defined on a transparent insulating substrate on the array substrate.
Furthermore, the common electrode and pixel electrode are configured to be separated from each other in parallel on the same substrate.
In addition, the color filter substrate may include a black matrix at a portion corresponding to a gate line, data line, and a thin-film transistor on a transparent insulating substrate, and a color filter corresponding to the pixel.
Moreover, the liquid crystal layer is driven by a horizontal electric field between the common electrode and pixel electrode.
Here, the common electrode and pixel electrode are formed with a transparent electrode to secure brightness.
Accordingly, a fringe field switching (FFS) technique has been proposed to maximize the brightness enhancement effect. The FFS technique allows liquid crystals to be controlled in a precise manner, thereby obtaining high contrast ratio with no color shift.
A method of fabricating a fringe field switching (FFS) mode liquid crystal display device according to the related art will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1 is a schematic plane view illustrating a fringe field switching (FFS) mode liquid crystal display device according to the related art.
FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a fringe field switching (FFS) mode liquid crystal display device, as a cross-sectional view along the line II-II of FIG. 1.
An array substrate for a fringe field switching (FFS) mode liquid crystal display device according to the related art may include a plurality of gate lines 13 extended in one direction on a transparent insulating substrate 11 to be separated from one another in parallel; a plurality of data lines 21 crossed with the gate lines 13 to define pixel regions in the crossed areas; a thin-film transistor (T) provided at an intersection of the gate line 13 and the data line 21, and made of a gate electrode 13a extended from the gate line 13 in the vertical direction, a gate insulating layer 15, an active layer 17, an ohmic contact layer 19, a source electrode 21a and a drain electrode 21b; a second passivation layer 27 formed on a front surface of the substrate including the thin-film transistor (T); a pixel electrodes 29 having a large area formed on the first passivation layer 27 and connected to the thin-film transistor (T); a second passivation layer 31 formed on the first passivation layer 27 including the pixel electrode 29; and a plurality of pixel electrodes 37 formed on the passivation layer 35; a plurality of common electrodes 33 formed to be separated from one another on the second passivation layer 31 to correspond to the pixel electrodes 29, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.
Here, the pixel electrodes 29 having a large area are disposed in a pixel region in which the gate line 13 are data line 21 are crossed with each other.
Furthermore, the common electrode 33 is overlapped with the pixel electrode 29 by interposing the second passivation layer 31 therebetween. Here, the pixel electrode 29 and the plurality of common electrodes 33 are formed of Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) which is a transparent conductive material.
In addition, the pixel electrode 29 is electrically connected to the drain electrode 21b through a drain contact hole 27a formed on the first passivation layer 27.
Moreover, though not shown in the drawing, a color filter layer (not shown) and a black matrix (not shown) disposed between the color filter layers to block the transmission of light are deposited on a color filter substrate (not shown) bonded to the insulating substrate 11 formed with the pixel electrode 29 and a plurality of common electrodes 33, and an overcoat layer (not shown) may be formed on the black matrix and color filter layer to planarize between the black matrix and color filter layer.
Furthermore, though not shown in the drawing, a liquid crystal layer (not shown) may be formed between the color filter substrate (not shown) and the insulating substrate 11 bonded to each other.
As described above, according to a FFS mode liquid crystal display device in the related art, a drain contact hole should be formed to connect a pixel electrode and a drain electrode of the thin-film transistor to the passivation layer, and a liquid crystal disclination region hole is created at the circumference of the drain contact hole during the formation of the drain contact hole, thereby causing light leakage.
Accordingly, in the related art, in order to prevent light leakage caused by creating a liquid crystal disclination region at the circumference of the drain contact hole, the entire circumference portion of the drain contact hole should be covered by using a black matrix (BM), and thus an opening region thereof, namely, an area of the transmission region, may be reduced, thereby decreasing the transmittance of a pixel. In particular, the drain contact hole should be covered with a black matrix (BM) by taking a bonding margin into consideration as much as a distance to prevent light leakage caused by a disclination region of liquid crystals created by the drain contact hole, and thus the transmission region of a pixel may be reduced as much as the distance, thereby decreasing the transmittance to the extent.
Furthermore, it has a structure with no contact hole as well as a structure in which the common electrode is disposed at the uppermost portion, thereby causing a problem such as CT or horizontal line due to interference between data pixels.
Accordingly, in case of a structure in which the common electrode is disposed at the uppermost portion, it has a structure in which the pixel is located adjacent to the data line, thereby causing interference between the data line and pixel electrode.

Array substrate for fringe field switching mode liquid crystal display device and method for fabricating the same


A system and method for providing network information using a short-range wireless communication path between a communication device and a terminal device is described. In some examples, authentication information is required from the terminal device prior to communication of the network information. In some examples, the short-range wireless communication path is disconnected and reestablished in which one of the terminal device and the communication device changes operation modes of a short-range wireless interface.

A known information processing device performs communication with a communication terminal using a Near Field Communication ("NFC") wireless communication protocol. The information processing device changes an operating mode of an NFC-enabled device, which is connected to the information processing device, to appropriate one of a passive tag mode and a Peer-to-Peer ("P2P") mode, to perform communication using the NFC wireless communication protocol with the communication terminal.

Communication device and terminal device


A self-darkening shield for replaceably attaching to a torch. The self-darkening shield includes a shield and apparatus. The shield replaceably attaches to the torch, is self-darkening, and is a plate that is substantially inverted U-shaped to straddle the torch to provide shielding not only above the torch but also to its sides. The apparatus is operatively connected to the shield and replaceably attaches the shield to the torch.

A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shield, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a self-darkening shield for replaceably attaching to a torch.
B. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous innovations for torch shields have been provided in the prior art that will be described. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they differ from the present invention in that they do not teach a transmission cross member for accommodating a dual exhaust system and replacing an existing transmission cross member accommodating a single exhaust system.
(1) U.S. Pat. No. 1,217,838 to Schmidt.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,217,838 issued to Schmidt on Feb. 27, 1917 teaches eye shields for protecting the eyes and face from flying pieces of metal, emery, and the like from lathes, grinding wheels, and the like.
(2) U.S. Pat. No. 2,235,594 to Smith.
Another example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,235,594 issued to Smith on Dec. 19, 1939 teaches a shield primarily adapted for use on wielding torches such as are used in oxygen-acetylene welding or the equivalent, and it aims generally to provide such a shield as will protect the face and eyes from flying sparks, bright lights, glare, heat and the like.
(3) U.S. Pat. No. 4,155,122 to Budmiger.
Still another example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,155,122 issued to Budmiger teaches a welder's helmet having a window with an upper section of invariable light-attenuation characteristics and a dimmable lower section including an ultraviolet filter, an infrared filter, and an electro-optical shutter, such as a liquid crystal sandwiched between a polarizer and an analyzer. A control circuit including a UV-sensitive photocell—upon sensing a welding arc or flame—operates the shutter to reduce the amount of light transmitted through the lower section of the window.
(4) U.S. Pat. No. 5,241,154 to Estrate.
Yet another example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,241,154 issued to Estrate on Aug. 31, 1993 teaches a shield for a welding torch. The shield can be adjusted to positions above, beneath, and to either side of the tip of the torch.
(5) U.S. Pat. No. 5,854,461 to Sorenson.
Still yet another example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,854,461 issued to Sorenson on Dec. 29, 1998 teaches a shield for the protection of a welder's gloved hand and/or a welding instrument during a welding operation and has dual plates defining an air channel allowing a cooling flow of air through the air channel and past the plate that is in closest proximity to the welding operation.
(6) U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,264 issued to Hamilton et al.
Yet still another example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,264 issued to Hamilton et al. Teaches a welding helmet including a shutter assembly with an electronically controlled liquid crystal shutter in a compact housing for physical mounting near the face area of a protective shell. The electronic controls provide for the customary auto-darkening function as well as two user selectable fixed shade settings that permit the user to fix the shutter shade in one of a plurality of preselected and factory set shade settings. When fixed at a shade setting, the user is given a visual indication that the helmet is not in an auto-darkening mode. The housing allows for two PC boards to be mounted above and below the optical shutter, with a flexible cable interconnecting the two PC boards so as to not interfere with or obscure the user's vision. The controls are all single function, readily accessible, and continuous so that multiple operation of any one control does not switch the associated function off allowing a user to continuously operate any control repeatedly to ensure its selection. As the electronics and shutter are self-contained in a single housing, ready assembly and field change out are accommodated.
(7) U.S. Pat. No. 6,161,590 issued to Wulff.
Still yet another example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,161,590 issued to Wulff on Dec. 19, 2000 teaches a portable wind guard for use on a pipe to shield a weld being applied from wind. The wind guard includes a collar, a Velcro™ belt for attaching and securing the collar to the pipe, and a shield extending generally perpendicularly from the collar. The shield can be collapsible, hence readily transportable from site to site.
(8) U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,334 issued to Harris et al.
Yet still another example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,334 issued to Harris et al. on Jan. 9, 2001 teaches a welding device to enable a welder to maintain an upright position when welding at floor level. The device is a rigid handle having a pistol-type handgrip and telescoping tubes. The telescoping tubes can be easily adjusted and interlocked, thus providing a handle that is adjustable to a plurality of lengths. The handgrip is angled approximately 90° to the longitudinal axis of the handle, and provides for a comfortable and secure grip. The electrode holder used in the welding process can be releasably attached to the distal end of the device. In a preferred embodiment, the telescoping tubes and handgrip are hollow, so that a power cable can be fed through the device and connected to the electrode holder. Mounted on the device is a welding shield made of welder's glass, which shields the welder's eyes from the welding flame and protects the welder from sparks arising from the welding site, thus eliminating the need on the part of the welder to wear a welding hood with mask. The device provides for increased safety and comfort of the welder.
It is apparent that numerous innovations for torch shields have been provided in the prior art that are adapted to be used. Furthermore, even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.

Self-darkening shield for replaceably attaching to a torch


An image projector system includes an LED controller and first and second LEDs, a dichroic mirror. The LED controller controls the first and the second LED to emit first and second color lights, respectively. The second color light is of high luminance and is decomposed by a dichroic mirror into third and forth color lights having luminance close to that of the first color light. Each color light is guided through a light valves to adjust the spectral transmittance of the color light. A light-combining device, such as an x-cube, receives and combines the first color light, the third color light, and the forth color light, to form light images, and transmits the images to a display through a projector lens.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image projection system, and more particularly, to an image projection system having multiple color light sources.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Multimedia projectors usually use an ultra high performance lamp (UHP lamp) as a light source. The UHP lamp has advantages of high efficient and high luminance, which has good performance in the light flux of the projectors. However, the UHP has a very high energy consumption is very huge, which in turn generates a great amount of heat. The lifetime of the UHP lamp is often effected by the huge and intense heat and is thus short (about 1,000-3,000 Hours) so that it needs frequent maintenance and replacement. In addition, and the UHP lamp is so expensive that the overall cost of the projector is largely increased. Further, the UHP lamp is a white light source, and thus, the projector needs an additional color filter to decompose the white light into primary color lights in order to process chromatic signals. If the distribution of the white light in the color spectrum does not meet the requirement of the color balance, the projector has to restrain the high-luminance primary color light. This leads to a low efficiency of light utilization.
The current trends for the projector is "thinner, smarter, and smaller", with reduced amount of heat generated in order to improve the efficiency and the reliability. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are gaining advantages over the UHP as the main stream of light source for the projectors due to reduced amount of heat generation, low costs, and extended service life. Compared with the UHP lamps, the LED is much thinner and smaller than the UHP lamps, and the energy consumption of the LED is much lower. In addition, the LED is so endurable (more than 20,000 hours) that there is nearly no need for maintenance and replacement, and the light wave is adjustable.
However, the conventional projectors using LEDs as light sources surfer drawbacks of color shifting. The conventional projector uses three single primary color LEDs to generate primary color lights, which are then composed together to form chromatic images with a light-combining element. However, the LEDs of different colors have different luminance. The luminance of the red LED is usually larger than that of the green LED, and the luminance of the blue LED is the least. This causes problems of color shifting. Thus, the projector has to set light valve elements to adjust the luminance of the red LED and the green LED, which lows down the efficiency of light utilization.
Referring to FIG. 2 of the attached drawings, a conventional projector that employs LEDs as light sources is shown. The projector has a blue LED 102, a green LED 104, a red LED 106, an x-cube 108, and a projector lens 110. Each LED 102, 104, 106 emits a corresponding primary color light. The blue LED 102 emits a blue light (Bi); the green LED 104 emits a green light (Gi); and the red LED 106 emits a red light (Ri). These color lights propagate into the x-cube 108, which combines the color lights into chromatic images. As the luminance of the three LEDs is different from each other, the chromatic images generated by such a projector often suffer color unbalance.
Hence, an improved image projection system is required to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.


Provided are a decorative surface structure of a synthetic resin molded article which has excellent wear resistance, design and texture, a method for producing the same, and a synthetic resin molded decorative article. Specifically provided are a decorative surface structure of an automobile interior part, which is capable of various design representations having an excellent three-dimensional appearance, while ensuring antidazzling property, and does not spoil glossy finish, a method for producing the same, and an automobile interior part. The decorative surface structure is comprised of a base coating region formed on a surface of a synthetic resin molded article by a coating layer and one or more convex portion formed on the base coating member.

In recent years, a synthetic resin molded article with light weight and excellent impact resistance is used in various fields such as computer housings, light electrical components such as a cellular phone, and interior materials, and also is used for an automobile interior part. Many automobile interior parts such as instrument panels, center consoles and door trims are manufactured by initially, processing various synthetic resins to molded articles having desired shapes by an injection molding machine and the like, and then applying a color base coat containing a color material on the surface of the molded article to form a coating layer. If necessary, a plurality of coating layers are formed on the surface of the molded article, for example, by conducting a clear coating for improvement of weather resistance and wear resistance. Through these steps, the molded article having excellent weather resistance, wear resistance and decorative property are provided in the market.
However, as the synthetic resin molded article manufactured by such a method are treated by base coating or clear coating, the coating surface is eventually flat and even. Unfortunately, sufficient visual variations are not obtained on the surface of the synthetic resin molded article, resulting in poor designs.
When the synthetic resin molded article is used as an automobile interior part, the molded article on which an emboss pattern composed of fine concavo-convex shapes is molded to provide various design variations is widely utilized. For example, the patent document 1 discloses a method for providing a smooth texture by forming fine concavo-convex shapes on the surface of automobile interior parts and the like.
When base coating is conducted on a molded article with fine concavo-convex shapes, since the surface has different levels of heights in convex regions and concave regions, coatings flow into the concave regions, and thus it is very hard to make a coating thickness of convex regions and concave regions uniform. As a result, irregular-coating and irregular-coloring are formed.
Automobile interior parts are required to have functions which provide a comfortable internal environment for passengers. That is, the interior parts are required to have attractive appearances; high-quality design representations such as texture and color tone highlighted by providing a three-dimensional pattern and gloss; and good balance with designs of other interior parts.
Many of automobile interior parts include injection-molded articles derived from PP and ABS resin as substrates, and therefore, a high-quality appearance is created in the internal environment of an automobile by putting a high quality-looking material on the surface of the substrate. In recent years, since a trend of cost reduction is strongly increased, a low cost approach in which coating is directly conducted to molded articles of interior parts is often utilized. Lately, there are increasing demands for high-quality and individual decoration in these interior parts, and in many cases, the surfaces of interior parts are provided with decorations and covered with protective coating, and the surfaces of interior parts are treated by coating, transcribing by hydraulic pressure, decorating, and then glossy finish on the top surface layer.
Although various drawing patterns can be represented by coating and transcribing, they are only flat patterns. It is possible to represent designs with excellent three-dimensional patterns and more high-quality by combining drawing patterns with three-dimensional patterns. One example of these representations includes a method in combination with a step of applying fine concave and convex shapes by a metallic mold and a step of applying drawing patterns by transcription. In this method, matching of the concave and convex shapes to the drawing pattern is very difficult and the representation of concave and convex shapes is also very limited. As a result, three-dimensional patterns corresponding to the drawing patterns to be applied can not be obtained, and the design representations are largely limited.
Other example of factors for maintaining comfort of the internal environment of automobile includes prevention of discomfort for passengers such as noticeable stains caused by sebum from fingerprints on interior parts.
On the other hand, automobile interior parts are required to have functions such as safety and durability during driving in addition to providing a comfortable internal environment for passengers. To ensure safety during driving, antidazzling functions, i.e. functions to protect driver's eyes from reflective light in which incident light from the outside such as sunlight is reflected on the surface of the interior part or to prevent driving troubles with narrow range of view by entering reflective light into a front window are required. In durability, interior parts are required to be free from wearing and degradation with long-time use.
When the surface of the interior part is treated by glossy finish to create high-quality in consideration of comfort of internal environment, antidazzling function is impaired and a problem with safety is caused. Therefore, the surface of the interior part, which easily comes into driver's sight, such as an instrument panel is commonly ensured to have antidazzling property by matting on its whole or partial surface or forming fine concave and convex shapes on a clear coating layer to scatter light for matting. In a method for forming fine concave and convex shapes, patent document 2 discloses a technique in which fine concave and convex patterns are formed on a coating layer formed on the surface of the automobile interior part by indentation molding.
Although antidazzling property is ensured in the above method, design representations with excellent three-dimensional appearances and gloss appearances are limited. In a coating layer treated with a mat coat which is used to ensure antidazzling property, the mat effects are decreased gradually and a problem with durability is caused. As described in the patent document 2, in the case of fine concave and convex shapes for matting, matting only a desired part is difficult in terms of matching with a pattern. Thus, there is a problem that matting corresponding to decorative representations such as color pattern and drawing pattern cannot be conducted.

Decorative surface structure of synthetic resin molded article, method for producing the same and automobile interior part


A hand tool for lifting and moving a car stop, the tool having a handle, a rod member with a main section perpendicularly fixed to the handle, and an engagement section angled relative to the main section. A bracing member is fixed to the rod member for prevention of movement of the car stop relative to the rod member. According to one alternative embodiment of the invention, a pointed nosepiece is fixed to the rod member and may be used for clearing the retaining holes of a car stop of debris.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hand tools. More specifically, the present invention is a hand tool that allows a worker to quickly lift one end of a car stop and, in combination with a second worker lifting another end, move the car stop to a new location.
2. Description of the Related Art
A car stop, or parking curb, is a durable, elongated block—typically concrete or heavy plastic—that is tall enough to stop most non-commercial vehicles travelling at speeds typical during the act of parking. These car stops, which typically have beveled surfaces angled relative to the parking surface, catch the tires of the vehicle and impede further movement. In addition, in order to effectively resist the repetitive impact from parking vehicles, car stops typically include at least two retaining holes from the top surface through the body of the car stop to the bottom surface positioned near the opposite ends of the car stop. Lag screws or spikes may be disposed through the holes and into the parking lot surface in order to prevent theft and/or inadvertent repositioning of the car stops.
Car stops are most often positioned at the interior end of a parking space—that is, the end toward which the vehicle is advanced—to limit the movement of a car past a predetermined position within the space. For example, for a parking space abutting a sidewalk, a car stop may be placed proximal to the sidewalk to limit how far a car moving into the space can advance, thus protecting the front of the car if the sidewalk is particularly high or some other obstruction which could damage the car. Such placement would also protect those using the abutting sidewalk from inadvertently being hit by a car. Similarly, when two parking spaces are positioned opposite each other so that their interior ends abut, such that a car advancing into one space could impact a car already occupying the opposite space, a car stop is frequently placed at the interior end of the spaces to prevent unintentional contact of one vehicle with the already-parked vehicle.
It is frequently necessary to lift and move car stops. For example, this occurs when car stops are transported from the manufacturer to a location where they are to be placed. Likewise, car stops are moved and replace when a parking lot is resurfaced.
In order for car stops to perform the desired function, they are heavy and not readily movable. As a result, injuries to workers are not uncommon. For example, concrete car stops typically weigh between 175 and 200 pounds. Prior to the present invention, car stops were most typically lifted by hand. Setting and resetting the car stops expose fingers and toes to crushing and mutilation, as well as the possibility of a severe back injury. Moreover, because of their weight and bulkiness, significant time is required to move car stops. It may take a four-man crew a full day to set 200 car stops on an asphalt surface. By using the present invention, a four-man crew could cut that installation time to less than half a day.
Equally as important, use of the present invention will decrease the probability of a worker suffering injury as a result of the heavy lifting, which minimizes lost man-hours as well as medical expenses, which can range from hundreds of dollars for finger and toe injuries to thousands of dollars for back injuries.
Devices exist that are specifically designed for lifting concrete, masonry blocks, and other heavy objects. None of the existing devices, however, can be effectively used to lift and move a car stop. Thus, a need exists for a tool to facilitate the safe and efficient setting and resetting of car stops.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,314 discloses a device for lifting catwalk grates that comprises an elongated bent member attached to a handle at a first end and having a pair of notched braces and a hook at a second end. The braces and hook together lock on to a grate and firmly hold the grate during the transfer process. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,314 col. 3 1.54 to col. 4 1.15. Furthermore, by positioning a tool at both ends of a section of grating to be moved, two workers are able to safely lift the grate section and relocate it without significant risk of injury.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,354,084 also discloses a lifting device having an elongate shaft member. A hook member is supported on a first end of the shaft member, and the substantially perpendicular configuration of the hook member permits a worker to lift heavy objects, such as concrete sidewalk slabs and the like, by supporting them on the hook member. See U.S. Pat. No. 7,354,084 FIG. 9A, FIG. 9B, FIG. 9C.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,386,608 shows a block lift for use with keystone-type blocks. The lift includes an elongated rod having a first end coupled to the top surface of a plate. The plate is positioned through an aperture in a block and turned so that it is moved under the block's bottom surface. The block may be thereafter lifted by lifting the elongated rod.
While these and other references disclose inventions that may be used for lifting heavy and cumbersome objects, none of the above inventions, taken either individually or in combination, discloses the present invention as claimed.

Hand tool for lifting and moving a car stop


Cartons are formed from die cut carton blanks two at a time from two feed magazines each holding a stack of carton blanks, two adhesive application means having optical sensors for sensing adhesive application to the carton blanks, a centrally mounted rotary table having prefolding means which engage and prefold tabs on the carton blanks, folding means comprising apertures interengaging the blanks and forming the cartons therefrom, two transfer means for transferring carton blanks from the feed magazines to the rotary table, two reciprocating forming rams cooperatively associated with the folding means on the rotary table and effecting the formation of cartons thereon, means for holding the formed cartons in their final shape while the adhesive sets, a computer with resident software for coordinating and synchronizing the operation of the above listed components to form cartons, the software receiving feedback signals from the various components and issuing commands depending on the nature of said feedback signals.

Cartons of various sizes, shapes and types, made from various materials, are important throughout commerce and industry in applications too numerous to catalog. One particular example is the food service industry, where such containers are routinely used by the millions to package prepared foods, such as hamburgers, french fries and the like, for convenient handling and transport prior to consumption.
Given the vast demand for such cartons it is imperative that they be produced cheaply, quickly and reliably, while minimizing the need for inspection of the finished product. Due to the further demand for continuously changing carton designs involving different sizes, shapes, features and materials, it is also important that a machine which manufactures such items be readily adaptable to manufacture the new designs and accommodate different materials and features. Finally, the machine itself should be of simple construction, easy to operate and maintain, operate reliably and have a minimum of moving parts.
Although carton fabrication machines have been long in existence, they have generally not satisfied the aforementioned objectives, especially with regard to versatility or simplicity of construction. U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,325 to DiMarzio et al, for example, describes a carton forming machine with distinct limitations imposed on the machine's adaptability to different carton designs. A change to a new carton design might require different adhesive application points. For the DiMarzio machine such a change would entail extensive reconfiguration of the adhesive application system, requiring new parts and significant down time while the machine is rebuilt to handle the new cartons. Similarly, a new carton might require a change in the timing and coordination of the various moving parts of the machine. The DiMarzio machine makes no provision for readily changing the timing, all the moving parts are rigidly synchronized by a single control cam and various linkages and associated followers. Timing changes would entail extensive redesign of the cam and the linkages, requiring essentially a new machine.
The machine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,573 to LeFebvre et al suffers the same problems as the DiMarzio machine and, in addition, is exceedingly complex. The LeFebvre machine has many moving parts such as the belt transfer means, pinch belts, pinch rollers, nip rolls and idler rollers, all of which typically require adjustment, lubrication, inspection and replacement for wear. Of particular complexity is the endless cam track actuating multiple cam follower rods held in a series of bifurcated arms which rotate synchronously with a rotary table. Such complexity leaves significant room for improvement in the state of the art, as is displayed in the present development.


A clock circuit including a first delay circuit comprising an input terminal and a series of logic circuits, each of the logic circuits including an output terminal and first and second input terminals. The input terminal is coupled to the first input terminal of a first logic circuit in the series and the output of the first logic circuit is coupled to the second input terminal of a second logic circuit in the series. The output of the second logic circuit is coupled to the first input terminal of a third logic circuit in the series, and subsequent logic circuits in the series have alternately the first or second input terminal coupled to the output terminal of an immediately preceding logic circuit in the series. The circuit also includes a second delay circuit comprising an output terminal and a series of logic circuits, each of the logic circuits including an output terminal and first and second input terminals. The output terminal of the first logic circuit in the series is coupled to the second input terminal of a second logic circuit in the series. The output of the second logic circuit is coupled to the first input terminal of a third logic circuit in the series. Subsequent logic circuits in the series have alternately the first or second input terminal coupled to the output terminal of an immediately preceding logic circuit in the series. The circuit also includes a control circuit coupling the output terminals of the series logic circuits in the first delay circuit to corresponding input terminals of the series logic circuits in the second delay circuit.

In electronic devices such as synchronous dynamic random access memory circuits (SDRAMs), microprocessors, digital signal processors, and so forth, the processing, storage, and retrieval of information is coordinated with a clock signal. The speed and stability of the clock signal determines to a large extent the data rate at which a circuit can function. A continual demand exists for devices with higher data rates; consequently, circuit designers have begun to focus on ways to increase the frequency of the clock signal. In SDRAMs, it is desirable to have the data output from the memory synchronized with the system clock that also serves the microprocessor. The delay between a rising edge of the system clock (external to the SDRAM) and the appearance of valid data at the output of the memory circuit is known as the clock access time of the memory. A goal of memory circuit designers is to minimize clock access time as well as to increase clock frequency.
One of the obstacles to reducing clock access time has been clock skew, that is, the delay time between the externally-supplied system clock signal and the signal that is routed to the memory's output circuitry. This skew in the clock signal internal to the integrated circuit is caused by the delays incurred in the signal passing through the clock input buffer and driver and through any associated resistive-capacitive circuit elements. One solution to the problem of clock skew is the use of a synchronous mirror delay as described by T. Saeki, et al. in "A 2.5-ns Clock Access, 250-MHz, 256-Mb SDRAM with Synchronous Mirror Delay," IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, vol. 31, No. 11, November, 14, 1996, pp. 1656-1665, and also by T. Saeki, et al. in "A 2.5 ns Clock Access 250 MHz 256 Mb SDRAM with a Synchronous Mirror Delay," 1996 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference, pp. 374-375. The synchronous mirror delay (SMD) is a digital circuit that consists of two delay circuit arrays and one control circuit. The SMD detects the clock cycle from two consecutive pulses, generates a clock-synchronized delay, and eliminates the clock skew, all within two clock cycles.
One problem with the synchronous mirror delay approach is that the delay circuit arrays used to measure and then eliminate clock skew are serially-coupled NAND gates and inverters. The output of one NAND gate drives the input of the next NAND gate (through the inverter). Indeed, the prior art SMD is configured such that the output of each NAND gate drives the same input of the successive NAND gate. In other words, the NAND gates have first and second inputs, and the output of the preceding NAND gate is always connected to the first input of the succeeding NAND gate, for example. Since the same input is driven throughout the chain of NAND gates, any asymmetry in the NAND gate is magnified when the signal reaches the end of the series. Thus, the propagation times of signals through the series logic may be different depending upon which input of the multiple input logic gates are cascaded. The difference in propagation time might be large enough that the signal pulse eventually disappears by over-running itself or by simply dissipating because not enough signal strength exists to keep it going. Aspects of the inventive concepts address these problems.


A method for forming a void-free and gap-filling doped silicon oxide insulator layer upon a patterned substrate layer within an integrated circuit. Formed upon a semiconductor substrate is a patterned substrate layer. Formed upon the patterned substrate layer is a doped silicon oxide insulator layer. The doped silicon oxide insulator layer is formed through a Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) deposition method undertaken simultaneously with a Reactive Ion Etch (RIE) etch-back method. The Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) deposition method and the Reactive Ion Etch (RIE) etch-back method simultaneously employ a Tetra Ethyl Ortho Silicate (TEOS) silicon source material, a dopant source material, an oxygen source material and an etching gas.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to insulator layers within integrated circuits. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods for forming void-free and gap-filling doped silicon oxide insulator layers upon high aspect ratio narrow line-width patterned substrate layers within integrated circuits.
2. Description of the Related Art
As integrated circuit technology has advanced and integrated circuit device and conductor element dimensions have decreased, it has become increasingly important within advanced integrated circuits to form void-free and gap-filling insulator layers upon high aspect ratio narrow line-width patterned substrate layers. Most commonly, void-free and gap-filling insulator layers are desired to be formed upon high aspect ratio narrow line-width patterned conductor layers. As is known in the art of integrated circuit design and manufacture, voids typically form within an insulator layer formed upon a high aspect ratio narrow line-width patterned substrate layer at or near the apertures between the patterns within the high aspect ratio narrow line-width patterned substrate layer due to inhomogeneous filling of those apertures with insulator layers deposited through many conventional methods. The difficulty in forming void-free and gap-filling insulator layers upon high aspect ratio narrow line-width patterned substrate layers within integrated circuits typically increases as: (1) the width of the apertures between the patterns of the narrow line-width patterned substrate layers decreases, and (2) the aspect ratio of the apertures between the patterns of the narrow line-width patterned substrate layers increases.
Also important within advanced integrated circuit manufacture is the ability to form upon high aspect ratio narrow line-width patterned substrate layers void-free and gap-filling insulator layers which are easily planarized. When planarized, such void-free and gap-filling insulator layers are desirable since in addition to being merely void-free and gap-filling they also provide an insulator layer requiring minimal additional processing prior to forming upon the insulator layer additional integrated circuit layers.
Several methods have been disclosed in the art for forming and planarizing upon high aspect ratio narrow line-width patterned substrate layers within integrated circuits void-free and gap-filling insulator layers. For example, it is known in the art that void-free and gap-filling insulator layers may be formed and planarized upon high aspect ratio narrow line-width patterned substrate layers of decreased aperture width and increased aperture aspect ratio through multiple successive deposit and etch cycles of insulator layers which may be deposited through methods and materials which are otherwise conventional in the art. Unfortunately, the use of multiple successive deposit and etch cycles for forming such insulator layers typically requires substantial additional integrated circuit processing time.
As a time saving alternative for forming and planarizing void-free and gap-filling insulator layers upon high aspect ratio narrow line-width patterned substrate layers within integrated circuits, there has recently been disclosed in the art insulator layers formed at least in part through a Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) method employing oxygen, ozone and Tetra Ethyl Ortho Silicate (TEOS) source material mixtures at comparatively high deposition pressures and low deposition temperatures. For example, Wang et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,947 disclose a method for forming a planarized silicon oxide insulator layer upon a patterned substrate layer within an integrated circuit through planarizing through an isotropic etch method a highly conformal void-free and gap-filling silicon oxide insulator layer formed through a Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) method employing ozone, oxygen and Tetra Ethyl Ortho Silicate (TEOS) source materials at a reactor pressure in excess of 10 torr. Additional refinements upon the conditions under which may be formed this highly conformal void-free and gap-filling silicon oxide insulator layer are disclosed by Wang et al. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,354,715. Further, Korceynski et al., in "Improved Sub-Micron Inter-Metal Dielectric Gap-Filling Using TEOS/Ozone APCVD," Microelectronics Manufacturing Technology, January 1992, pp.22-27, disclose an analogous Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) method which employs ozone, oxygen and Tetra Ethyl Ortho Silicate (TEOS) source materials for forming void-free and gap-filling silicon oxide insulator layers at atmospheric pressure. The increased pressures employed by these Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) methods in forming void-free and gap-filling silicon oxide insulator layers provide shorter paths through which active species must travel prior to forming upon a high aspect ratio narrow line-width patterned substrate layer those silicon oxide insulator layers. Thus, the silicon oxide gap-filling insulator layers so formed are much more likely to be formed void-free.
From the foregoing it is thus desirable in the art to provide additional alternative methods and materials through which may be efficiently formed void-free and gap-filling insulator layers upon high aspect ratio narrow line-width patterned substrate layers within integrated circuits. It is towards that goal that the present invention is directed.

Simultaneous deposit and etch method for forming a void-free and gap-filling insulator layer upon a patterned substrate layer

Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, Ltd.


A ring laser gyroscope (RLG) includes moveable mirrors and a Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) actuator coupled to the moveable mirrors to cause a respective displacement thereof that induces a phase modulation on counter-propagating light beams relative to one another. The induced phase modulation creates an optical path difference between the counter-propagating light beams corresponding to a virtual rotation that reduces the lock-in of the RLG.

Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to ring laser gyroscope designs, and in particular to the use of Micro Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) technology in ring laser gyroscope designs.
Description of Related Art
Ring laser gyroscopes (RLGs) are instruments that measure the angular rotation rate of a certain platform. An RLG typically includes a laser system designed and fabricated to work in a ring configuration. The most familiar form of an RLG is built using a helium-neon (HN) ring laser with a diameter in the range of 30 cm.
The operating principle of an RLG is based on the beating between two counter propagating beams of light in the ring laser cavity. At stationary state, the two beams travel the same distance around the cavity, and thus have the same operating wavelength (optical frequency). When the system is rotated with a certain specific angular rotation rate, one beam experiences a larger distance around the cavity than the other due to the Sagnac effect, and as a result, the two beams are generated at two different wavelengths. The optical path difference between the two beams is directly proportional to the rotation rate of the cavity, and similarly, the optical frequency difference. Such a difference can be detected as a beating frequency between the two waves propagating in the ring laser in the clockwise (CW) and counter clockwise (CCW) directions.
To reduce the cost and size of RLGs, semiconductor lasers have recently been suggested to be used. However, as the scale factor of the RLG is directly proportional to the area enclosed by the rotating beams, the miniaturization of the RLG by using integrated semiconductor ring laser technology may greatly affect its performance. Therefore, semiconductor lasers have been proposed to be used with an optical fiber ring to increase the area of the device, and consequently improve its scale factor and sensitivity.
One of the main problems in RLG systems is coupling and lock-in between the two propagating beams at low rotation rates. Due to the nature of the optical cavity, a scattering mechanism takes place at the reflector interfaces. Such scattering causes energy to be coupled from the CW beam to the CCW beam and vice-versa. This coupling can cause the two beams to be pulled to the same frequency in a phenomenon called mode locking, which seriously limits the sensitivity of RLG devices.
Various approaches to eliminate or reduce lock-in in RLG have been suggested in recent years. One approach uses a mechanical dithering mechanism as a DC bias for the rotation. However, this approach necessarily increases the size, weight and cost of the RGL.
Another approach introduces anisotropy in the ring using magnetic mirrors or phase modulation. Such an approach is based on using two or more reflectors, vibrating linearly in a certain synchronized mechanism. Yet another approach moves the reflectors in a tilting fashion. To eliminate the mechanical noise from the mechanical movement of the reflectors, a solution based on quantum well mirrors has also been proposed. However, all of these approaches utilize a volume optic configuration, which necessarily increases the size and cost of the RLG. In addition, due to the increased size, optical alignment and synchronization of the different mirror configurations may be difficult.
Therefore, there is a need for an RLG with a reduced size and cost that also reduces lock-in.

MEMS based ring laser gyroscope with reduced lock-in

KING ABDULAZIZ CITY FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


A method of systematizing a process for a user, in which the process has steps. Each step has a corresponding tab. The user sequentially performs the steps of the process in a sequence defined by an order of tabs. One step is linked to a subsequent step. Performing the step will affect the subsequent step.

1. Field of the Invention
The concept of a "process" is well known. In life, processes abound. Some are natural--as in the conception, gestation and birth of a child. Some are formulated and established by individuals in their daily lives--a person preparing for the start of a workday by going through a series of steps starting with awakening and ending with arrival on the job. A Process is a collection or series of related steps.
It is advantageous that 1) a process be comprised of consecutively performable steps; 2) the instructions on how to perform a process be a part of the Process1tself; 3) that a step be capable of holding documents; and that 4) when documents are stored in or removed from or altered during a step, the resulting documents are immediately available to all physically linked steps, which may include steps of other processes
The title of a step in a process should be the primary function to be performed and should preferably begin with a one-word action verb such as `submit . . . ` or `receive . . . ` or `gather . . . `. Further, as a user enters a step of a process, the user should have at hand any necessary documents, accumulated from set-aside documents of predecessor steps and documents found directly in the step about to be performed. It should be pointed out that a step of a process may be devoid of documents or contain `null` documents such that only the action provided by the step is necessary to accomplish the step. Such a step of a process might be: `Verify that the lights are on in the warehouse`.
If the documents of a step within a process are to be used by any steps within any other related processes, it is of great value to have the steps linked, so that the documents developed by one step are readily available to other linked steps without further physical movement of developed documents. In this sense, a Process is a collection of documents--multiply titled by action verbs, each of which represents an ordered step of a Process1n which said documents are acted upon.
2. The Prior Art
Process Management often involves the development of documents. A well-established approach of prior art is to focus on the efficient collection and organization of documents for ease of accessibility by the use of organizers, while the instructions on how to process such documents are kept separate from the documents themselves. A process management system is most often comprised of two separate major pieces; 1) the apparatus or the set of devices employed to develop documents and 2) the `how to` instructions or method(s) on how to employ the apparatus. Therefore, most often, a user must come to a process management with some prior instructional knowledge on how to perform the associated process or processes.


A mouthpiece assembly for a woodwind musical instrument comprising a mouthpiece body defining an air conduit extending therethrough, a reed placement surface defined on the mouthpiece body adjacent said air conduit, a pair of extensions, integral to and extending from the body of the mouthpiece on opposed sides of the reed placement surface with respect to an opening of the air conduit, and a mechanism for selectively applying a compressive force to a reed placed over the opening of the air conduit, with respect to the body of the mouthpiece, generating to a tensile force applied to each of said pair of extensions, to selectively retain the reed in position. The present design provides advantageous acoustic properties for the mouthpiece, and further provides for advantageous placement of an electronic pickup for receiving the output of the instrument.

Traditional woodwind instrument mouthpieces comprise a body, a ligature, and a reed. The body, which is typically made of plastic, rubber or metal, has a smooth upper surface which is intended to rest against the upper lip and teeth, and a lower surface which is intended to mount the reed, which has a small gap from the body, allowing flowing air to vibrate the reed and produce a tone, whose frequency is generally controlled by the remainder of the instrument. The player may also control the reed by applying pressure with the lip and teeth.
Various configurations have been designed for mouthpieces and reeds for musical instruments, usually woodwind instruments, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 147,202 patented Feb. 3, 1874 to C. W. Vogel on "Reed-Organs"; and U.S. Pat. No. 477,661 patented Jun. 28, 1892 to H. Janes on a "Vibrator For Reed Musical Instruments"; and U.S. Pat. No. 488,828 patented Dec. 27, 1892 to C. S. Mudge on a "Musical Instrument"; and U.S. Pat. No. 555,561 patented Mar. 3, 1896 to G. R. Cadwallader on a "Reed Supporter For Clarinets"; and U.S. Pat. No. 1,506,364 patented Aug. 26, 1924 to H. M, Chiron et al on a "Reed For Saxophone Or Clarinet Mouth Pieces"; and U.S. Pat. No. 1,535,537 patented Apr. 28, 1925 to W. Majeski an "Adjustable Reed In Wind Instruments"; and U.S. Pat. No. 1,615,549 patented Jan. 25, 1927 to B. Miller on a "Mouthpiece For Reed Instruments"; and U.S. Pat. No. 1,667,836 patented May 1, 1928 to F. Brockman, Jr. on a "Reed For Musical Wind Instruments"; and U.S. Pat. No. 1,776,566 patented Sep. 23, 1930 to H. B. Newton et al on a "Mouth Reed For Musical Instruments"; and U.S. Pat. No. 1,779,522 patented Oct. 28, 1930 to C. O. Widmayer on a "Reed For Clarinets And Saxophones"; and U.S. Pat. No. 1,789,639 patented Feb. 20, 1929 to Selmer on a "Mouthpiece for Wind Instruments"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,106,016 patented Jan. 18, 1938 to H. T. Prescott on a "Reed For Musical Instruments"; and U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 112,783 patented Jan. 3, 1939 to O. C. Noble and assigned to Tygart Valley Glass Company on a "Jar"; and U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 119,602 patented Mar. 26, 1940 to A. A. Verville on a "Reed For A Musical Instrument"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,268,641 patented Jan. 6, 1942 to A. Brilhart on a "Reed For Musical Instruments"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,287,529 patented Jun. 23, 1942 to M. Maccaferri on a "Reed Of Cane, Plastic, Or Any Other Material For Clarinets, Saxophones, And Like Musical Instruments"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,342,836 patented Feb. 29, 1944 to A. Brilhart and assigned to Arnold Brilhart Ltd. on a "Reed For Musical Instruments"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,375,934 patented May 15, 1945 on a "Reed"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,467,921 patented May 28, 1947 to Werner on a "Saxophone Mouthpiece"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,492,366 patented Dec. 27, 1949 to A. L. Ohnhaus on a "Wood-Wind Reed"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,669,897 patented Feb. 23, 1954 to J. Topor on a "Reed For Musical Instruments"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,183,760 patented May 18, 1965 to A. Michel on "Reeds For Application In Musical Instruments Particularly In Electronic Musical Instruments"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,202,032 patented Aug. 24, 1965 to A. R. Strathmann on a "Mouthpiece For Saxophones And Clarinets"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,564,965 patented Feb. 23, 1971 to J. A. Carlini on a "Ligature For Reed Musical Instrument"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,268 patented Sep. 16, 1975 to J. G. Gamble on "Reeds For Saxophones, Clarinets And Other Woodwinds"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,056,997 patented Nov. 8, 1977 to P. L. Rovner on a "Reed Holding Device For Musical Instruments"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,949 patented Mar. 27, 1979 to F. A. Kilian on a "Musical Reed"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,482 patented Oct. 30, 1979 to H. M. Gomez on a "Method And Apparatus For Adjusting Single Reeds For Musical Instruments"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,223 patented Jul. 15, 1980 to Runyon on a "Mouthpiece for Woodwind Musical Instruments"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,337,683 patented Jul. 6, 1982 to J. G. Backus on a "Synthetic Woodwind Instrument Reed And Method For Its Manufacture"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,503 patented Aug. 24, 1982 to Runyon on an "Interchangeable Tone Chamber"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,560 patented Oct. 26, 1982 to D. W. Shaffer on a "Reed Construction"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,439 patented May 22, 1984 to F. E. Wells on a "Mouthpiece For Woodwind Instruments"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,572,257 patented Feb. 25, 1986 to E. B. Laker on an "Apparatus For Profiling Reeds For Double-Reed Musical Instruments"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,644,649 patented Feb. 24, 1987 to R. C. Seaman et al on an "Apparatus For Trimming Reeds Of Musical Instruments"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,507 patented Jan. 10, 1989 to T. L. Stibal on a "Reed Holding Device"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,385 patented Jul. 17, 1990 to C. O. Johnson on a "Tone Plate And Clamping Device For A Musical Instrument Mouthpiece"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,483 patented Feb. 12, 1991 to R. Petit on a "Mouthpiece For Wind Instrument, And Corresponding Ligature And Mouthpiece Cover"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,073 patented Mar. 19, 1991 to D. Hite on a "Construction For Supporting A Reed Upon The Mouthpiece Of A Musical Wind Instrument And Method Of Fabricating The Same"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,425 patented to P. L. Rovner on May 28, 1991 on a "Mouthpiece System For Woodwind Instruments"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,350 patented Jul. 23, 1991 to A. Galper on a "Single Reed Mouthpiece"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,701 patented Apr. 21, 1992 to J. Hall et al on a Clarinet Mouthpiece"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,752 patented Mar. 1, 1994 to E. Barbaglia on a "Device For Fastening The Reed On The Mouthpiece of Wind Instruments"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,582 patented Mar. 21, 1995 to G. T. Smith and assigned to Mobile Music, Inc., Gary Smith and Joseph Stefano on a "Wire Clamping Ligature For Use With A Single Reed Mouthpiece For A Musical Instrument"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,152 patented Oct. 10, 1995 to Cusack et al. on a "Mouthpiece for Woodwind Instruments Having a Raised Lay Portion"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,842 patented Jan. 2, 1996 to W. H. Ostermeyer on "Flavored Musical Instrument Reeds"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,648,623 patented Jul. 15, 1997 to Silverstein et al., on a "Ligature of Woodwind Instruments"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,020,545 patented Feb. 1, 2000 to J. J. Consoli on a "Ligature For The Mouthpiece Of A Woodwind Musical Instrument"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,501,010 patented Dec. 31, 2002 to Sullivan on a "Reed and Mouthpiece Assembly"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,673,992 patented Jan. 6, 2004 to Runyon on a "Saxophone Mouthpiece", each of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
In reeded woodwind instruments, such as clarinets and saxophones, a moistened reed beveled is utilized during the performance thereof. Such reeds are typically installed and removed before and after each playing session and also during performances if they become unusable for any reason. The flow of air from the player's mouth causes the reed to resonate, at a principal frequency determined by the remainder of the instrument.
The reed must be properly aligned with respect to the mouthpiece in such a manner that proper tone is produced by the instrument. This alignment is typically provided by a sight or touch alignment.
The reed is typically fixed to the body by a ligature, which encircles the reed and body. Known ligatures have one or more thumbscrews which tighten the band, locking the reed in place.
Traditional ligatures have known deficiencies, including slippage, especially with changes in temperature and breath-induced moisture. The thumbscrews may loosen. Over time, the ligature may degrade, for example by stretching or stripping of the threads. Because the ligature encircles the body, as the mouthpiece assembly is mounted on the instrument, or the instrument tuned, the ligature may be displaced or slip.
Because the tonal quality of the woodwind is substantially influenced by the mouthpiece assembly, the ligature affects the tone and resonance of the instrument as a whole.


A vibration damper including a mounting member fixed to a subject body whose vibration is to be damped, a first mass assembly disposed such that the first mass assembly is displaceable relative to the mounting member in a direction of vibration of the subject body, a first elastic member elastically connecting the first mass assembly to the mounting member, a second mass assembly disposed such that the second mass assembly is displaceable relative to the mounting member and the first mass assembly in the direction of vibration, a second elastic member elastically connecting the second mass assembly to the mounting member, and an oscillating device for generating an oscillating force acting on the first and second mass assemblies so as to cause relative displacement therebetween.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vibration damper installed on a subject body for reducing vibration of the subject body. More particularly, the present invention is concerned with such a vibration damper incorporating suitable oscillating means.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A dynamic damper is widely known as vibration damping means for damping or reducing vibration of a desired subject body such as a body of an automotive vehicle, which is subject to a vibrational load. In recent years, an active-type vibration damper has been proposed as disclosed in JP-A-61-220925 and JP-A-3-292219. Such an active-type vibration damper as disclosed in these publications is adapted to reduce or control the vibration of the subject body, by using an actuator which generates an oscillating force to be applied to the subject body.
However, the conventional dynamic damper is not capable of exhibiting a desired damping effect in an operating environment in which the frequency of the vibration to be damped changes depending upon various factors. Where the subject body is the body of an automotive vehicle, for instance, the vehicle body is subject to various kinds of vibrations which are generated under different running conditions of the vehicle, for example, depending upon changes in the operating speed of the vehicle engine and the running speed of the vehicle.
Further, the vibration damping effect provided by the known dynamic damper is not satisfactory, since it functions as a secondary vibration system adapted to reduce the vibration of the subject body constituting a primary vibration system, by absorbing the vibration energy of the subject body.
In the active-type vibration damping device, it is required to employ an actuator capable of generating an oscillating force which is large enough to assure a high damping effect with respect to the subject body. Where the subject body has a large size and high rigidity, as in the case of the vehicle body, the energy of the vibration of the subject body is accordingly large. Accordingly, the actuator is required to be large-sized, and the electric power consumed by the actuator is inevitably increased. In addition, it is difficult to apply a sufficient oscillating force to the large and highly rigid subject body. Thus, the conventional active-type vibration damping device is not satisfactory in its damping effect.
Another type of known active-type vibration damping device is disclosed in JP-A-6-235438 and JP-A-7-190139, wherein a vibration system is constituted by a mounting member fixed to the subject body, and an inertia mass member elastically connected to the mounting member through a suitable spring member. The vibration damping device includes an electromagnetic drive mechanism for applying an oscillating force to the inertia mass member of the vibration system, so that a large oscillating force is applied to the subject body, by utilization of a resonance action of the vibration system.
In the known active-type vibration damping device utilizing the resonance action of the vibration system described above, however, the frequency of the vibration of the subject body that can be effectively damped by application of the oscillating force to the subject body is limited to a resonance frequency range whose upper and lower limits are relatively close to the resonance frequency of the vibration system. Where the vibration of the subject body has the frequency outside the resonance frequency range, the vibration cannot be effectively damped by application of the oscillating force to the subject body. Therefore, the damping device is not capable of exhibiting a desired damping effect, particularly where the damping device is used for damping the vibration of the body of a motor vehicle, which is generally subject to the vibration whose frequency changes over a relatively wide range.

Vibration damper incorporating oscillating means for generating oscillating force for relative displacement of first and second mass assemblies


An electron beam tube device such as an inductive output tube of the integral cavity type has a RF window which re-enters the interaction space within the cavity thereby defining a space that is within the interaction cavity but is outside the vacuum. An output coupler in the form of an output coupling loop protrudes into this space and thus couples with the electromagnetic field within the interaction space, whilst remaining outside the vacuum envelope. This allows the coupling loop to be adjusted without any additional seal arrangement between the coupling loop and walls of the output cavity.

The present invention relates to linear beam tube devices, in particular, to electron beam tube devices such as IOTs and Klystrons.
Linear beam tube devices such as electron beam tube devices are used for the amplification of RF signals. There are various types of linear electron beam tube device known to those skilled in the art, two examples of which are the klystron and the Inductive Output Tube (IOT). Linear electron beam tubes incorporate an electron gun for the generation of an electron beam of an appropriate power. The electron gun includes a cathode heated to a high temperature so that the application of an electric field between the cathode and an anode results in the emission of electrons. Typically, the anode is held at ground potential and the cathode at a large negative potential of the order of tens of kilovolts.
Electron beam tubes used as amplifiers broadly comprise three sections. An electron gun generates an electron beam, which is modulated by application of an input signal. The electron beam then passes into a second section known as the interaction region, which is surrounded by a cavity arrangement including an output cavity arrangement from which the amplified signal is extracted. The third stage is a collector, which collects the spent electron beam.
In an inductive output tube (IOT) a grid is placed close to and in front of the cathode, and the RF signal to be amplified is applied between the cathode and the grid so that the electron beam generated in the gun is density modulated. The density modulated electron beam is directed through an RF interaction region, which includes one or more resonant cavities, including an output cavity arrangement. The beam is focused by a magnetic means, typically electromagnetic coils to ensure that the electron beam passes through the RF region and delivers power at an output section within the interaction region where the amplified RF signal is extracted. After passing through the output section, the beam enters the collector where it is collected and the remaining power is dissipated. The amount of power which needs to be dissipated depends upon the efficiency of the linear beam tube. Efficiency refers to the difference between the power of the beam generated at the electron gun region and the RF power extracted in the output coupling of the RF region.
The difference between an IOT and a Klystron is that in an IOT, the RF input signal is applied between a cathode and a grid close to the front of the cathode. This causes density modulation of the electron beam. In contrast, a klystron velocity modulates an electron beam, which then enters a drift space in which electrons that have been speeded up catch up with electrons that have been slowed down to form bunches of electrons. The bunches are thus formed in the drift space, rather than in the gun region itself.
Linear beam tube devices typically have one of two output arrangements: an external output cavity or an integral output cavity. An external output cavity is one in which the output coupling, typically using a coupling loop, is external to the vacuum envelope of the drift tube interaction region. An integral output cavity is one in which the coupling loop protrudes into the interaction region.
We have appreciated the need to adjust the coupling arrangement of a linear beam tube device. We have further appreciated that this is relatively simple for external cavity devices in which the coupling loop is outside the vacuum envelope, but is problematic for prior integral cavity devices.

Linear electron beam tube having a dome shape RF window


A screw compressor for a utility vehicle has at least one female screw, at least one male screw that meshes with the female screw, and at least one screw compressor drive which drives the female screw.

The present invention relates to a screw compressor for a utility vehicle, having at least one female screw, at least one male screw which meshes with the female screw, and having at least one screw compressor drive.
Screw compressors for utility vehicles are already known from the prior art. Such screw compressors are used to provide the compressed air required for the brake system of the utility vehicle, for example.
In this context, in particular oil-filled compressors, in particular also screw compressors, are known, in the case of which it is necessary to regulate the oil temperature. This is generally realized by virtue of an external oil cooler being provided which is connected to the oil-filled compressor and to the oil circuit via a thermostat valve. Here, the oil cooler is a heat exchanger which has two mutually separate circuits, wherein the first circuit is provided for the hot liquid, that is to say the compressor oil, and the second circuit is provided for the cooling liquid. As cooling liquid, use may for example be made of air, water mixtures with an antifreeze, or another oil.
This oil cooler must then be connected to the compressor oil circuit by means of pipes or hoses, and the oil circuit must be safeguarded against leakage.
This external volume must furthermore be filled with oil, such that the total quantity of oil is also increased. The system inertia is thus increased. Furthermore, the oil cooler must be mechanically accommodated and fastened, either by means of brackets situated in the surroundings or by means of a separate bracket, which necessitates additional fastening means and also structural space.
DE 41 11 110 C2 has already disclosed a rotary displacement machine of screw-type construction and a method for the surface coating of the rotors thereof. Here, the rotary displacement machine, which may be in the form of a screw compressor, has an arrangement in which both rotors can be driven.
It is the object of the present invention to advantageously further develop a screw compressor for a utility vehicle of the type mentioned in the introduction, in particular such that a screw compressor for a utility vehicle can be operated in a relatively efficient manner and with little generation of noise.
This object is achieved according to the invention by a screw compressor for a utility vehicle, having at least one female screw, at least one male screw which meshes with the female screw, and at least one screw compressor drive, wherein the screw compressor drive drives the female screw.
The invention is based on the underlying concept that, normally, the female screw in a screw compressor rotates more slowly than the male screw. The compressed-air generating power is however dependent on the rotational speed of the screws, which in turn influences the rotational speed of the drive. At certain rotational speeds of the screw compressor drive, in particular in the event of particular rotational speeds being overshot, the characteristics are such that the generation of noise by the screw compressor drive increases considerably. By virtue of the more slowly-rotating screw being driven, it can be achieved that, with the same rotational speed of the screw compressor drive, a higher rotational speed of the non-driven male screw is attained, whereby, overall, a higher compressor power of the screw compressor can be attained with the same level of noise generation.
In particular, provision may be made for the number of teeth of the female screw to be higher than that of the male screw. In this way, it is made possible for the ratio of the rotational speeds of the female screw and of the male screw to be set correspondingly in relation to one another.
Furthermore, provision may be made for the transmission ratio of female screw to male screw to be two to three. It is thus made possible for the speed ratios to likewise be set in the ratio two to three.
Here, the female screw may have 6 teeth and the male screw may have 4 teeth. In this way, it is made possible to realize a relatively simple design and a highly effective transmission ratio. Simple production is possible, and relatively quiet operation with high compressor power can be achieved.
The female screw and the male screw may have substantially the same nominal diameter. In this way, the meshing of the male screw and of the female screw with one another is simplified. Furthermore, the mounting of the screws in the housing of the screw compressor is also improved in this way.
In particular, provision may be made for the male screw to be driven exclusively by the female screw. A simple embodiment of the screw compressor is achieved in this way. Also, the efficiency of the screw compressor is improved overall in this way.
The transmission of torque from the screw compressor drive to the female screw may take place substantially coaxially. In this way, it is made possible for the introduction of radial forces and radially acting moments into the female screw to be reduced. An improvement of the service life is made possible in this way. Furthermore, it is thus possible to better realize higher rotational speeds.
Further details and advantages of the invention will now be discussed in more detail on the basis of an exemplary embodiment illustrated in the drawings.

KNORR-BREMSE Systeme fuer Nutzfahrzeuge GmbH


The present invention relates to an electronic test device for at least one avionic function to be tested, intended to be embedded in an aircraft, the aircraft comprising at least one avionic equipment item,

In order to develop a new avionic function, it is known to carry out different steps, in order to develop and test this function. These steps generally comprise the maturation of the function from simulated flight data, then flight data recovered on flight tests, this maturation being done on the ground. The development of such a function comprises making an operational prototype comprising the matured function, and integrating the operational prototype into an aircraft in order to test it in flight, the operational prototype having been previously certified as compliant following tests on the ground, before being integrated into the aircraft.
However, such a development method is complex. Indeed, it in particular requires a significant flight database, the flight database having to be as exhaustive as possible to guarantee the effectiveness of the development of the avionic function. This development method also requires a selection of relevant flight data for the maturation of the avionic function among the data from the flight database, as well as a significant maturation time of the avionic function before being able to make the operational prototype for the in-flight tests.

Avionic function test device, associated aircraft, method and computer program

Abstract: the test device being intended to be connected to the at least one avionic equipment item and comprising:                an acquisition module, configured to acquire flight data from the at least one avionic equipment item, and        a computing module, configured to compute simulated output data, from acquired flight data and via an implementation of the avionic function to be tested, the avionic function to be tested being able, from the flight data, to deliver the output data.


A computing system may comprise a processor and a memory controller hub coupled by an external bus such as the front side bus. The processor may also comprise a cache. The processor may operate in SMM and the memory coupled to the memory controller hub may comprise SMM spaces such as compatible, HSEG, and TSEG areas. A software-based attack may write malicious instructions into the cache at an address corresponding to the SMM spaces. The illegal processor memory accesses that occur entirely inside the processor caches due to the cache attack may be forced to occur on the external bus. The memory controller hub may be capable of handling the memory accesses occurring on the external bus thus, protecting the SMM spaces against cache attack.

A computer system typically comprises a processor, chipset, memory, and I/O devices. The processor may operate in a normal mode and a protected mode such as the system management mode (SMM). SMM allows system developers to provide functions such as power management or security, in a manner that is transparent to the operating system (OS) and other application programs. A hardware interrupt referred to the System Management Interrupt (SMI) may initiate the processor to enter SMM.
After receiving the SMI, the processor may store the current execution state referred to as the 'context' to a System Management Random Access Memory (SMRAM) before executing a software routine, such as a SMI handler. The SMRAM may comprise pre-specified memory areas referred to as SMM spaces. While the processor is operating in SMM, an intruder may write a malicious piece of code at an address, which may correspond to the SMI handler. As a result of such cache attacks, the malicious piece of code may take control of the processor.

Protecting system management mode (SMM) spaces against cache attacks