A network directory and naming service include fields for identifying instances of network resources and other objects by both logical and topological grouping. This combination of information facilitates automated efficient decision making with regard to replication of resources and updating the replicas in response to changes. The combination of logical and topological identification for resources also facilitates selection of a close replica in instances where a client requests access to a resource, such as a server, for which communicatively local and remote instances exist.

Known directory services (DSs) include directory information trees (DITs) arranged to represent and organize directory service (DS) objects according to the location of the particular objects within the network (e.g. remote geographic locations such as Miami office, New York office, and Los Angeles office within an organization, or even non-permanently linked LAN A, LAN B, and LAN C).
Organizing directory services, or any resource locating mechanisms, according to location works well when searches for network resources and attempts to access the network resources are closely tied to network location, such as when the Research and Development resources are maintained at location X, sales and marketing at location Y, etc. Novell Netware 4.0 includes a directory service wherein a network directory of resources is divided at a highest level according to location and then at lower levels to particular organizational groups of resources at each of the locations provided at the highest level.
However, problems arise in locating resources when an organization's groups are not localized (to fit the organization of the directory). In such instances resources associated with a particular group, such as a "research and development" group, within an organization are present at a number of nodes within a DIT for the company due to the "geographic" diversity of the group. Searching for particular resources requires searching the various locations of the DIT.
Known directory service arrangement schemes also include DITs that represent and organize directory service objects according to a business structure of an organization (e.g. research and development, accounting, marketing, sales, etc . . . ). Such DITs enable an administrator to arrange network objects according to the logical (e.g., business) relationships between various objects in the network. When an organization uses such a directory service, the resulting DIT typically embodies and resembles the arrangement of business groups within the organization. An example of a directory service incorporating this type of object arrangement is found within Novell Netware 4.1, wherein a network directory is divided at the highest levels into various administrative groups within an organization. Lower levels represent network objects associated with the particular groups designated at the highest level of the DIT.
Organizing a directory service of objects according to logical (business) grouping provides advantages over geographic grouping of objects when the directory service resources identified within the DIT are typically associated with particular business purposes. For example, a particular client database may be accessed exclusively by a sales department. It is advantageous that such a resource is not listed within, and thus cluttering, a portion of a directory service of objects that is accessed by non-sales users. A directory service model sub-divided at a highest level into organizational groups is particularly useful when most network resources are accessed at a relatively low cost. This is likely to occur only when the network resources and users are well connected via permanent, low cost, and high capacity links. On the other hand, in many organizations, resources associated with a given organizational group are distributed throughout the country or even the world, and these resources are accessed only at great cost.
Yet other known directory service arrangement schemes include DITs providing information relating to both location and organization. However, these known DITs lacked sufficient generality. In particular, a DIT for a corporation spanning a number of remote locations is initially divided according to location. At each location, the directory is sub-divided according to business unit. The specific implementations may vary from system to system depending upon how the system administrator sets up the DIT. In each case, the administrator attempts to minimize the impact of the costs of organizing the tree geographically versus logically.
In order to facilitate quick and efficient access to data, such as databases, directories, and programs, in a network extending to a number of remote locations, the data is replicated (i.e., stored at a number of locations within the network). For example, in a network comprising multiple local area networks (LANs) connected via non-permanent and/or relatively lower bandwidth wide area network (WAN) links, a replicated directory service of network resources may reside upon multiple machines within the communicatively remote LANs.
The use of an information unit to identify a geographic unit, subnetwork, or LAN within a network connected via one or more WAN links has been used in the Exchange Server and System Management Server products of Microsoft Corporation. Routers have also used a similar identification. The Network Link State and Open Shortest Path First protocols provide means for an administrator to assign costs to inter-network links. These costs are used by routers to determine the costs for various paths from a source node to a destination node in a network and use the computed costs to select an appropriate route. However, none of these prior art location-based solutions address or suggest solutions to the problem of designing and implementing directory services of network resources which present directory information in a manner that facilitates automated decision making for efficiently managing and carrying out network directory services.

Method and apparatus for representing and applying network topological data


A mechanically actuated, air release, binding device adapted for use on trucks or trailers, commonly known as a load binder, comprises a horizontally aligned frame, truck air brake cylinder, lever arm and attachment connection. The air brake includes an internal piston and exposed drive shaft which are spring driven outwards from the cylinder. Application of compressed air to the cylinder drives the piston and drive shaft inwards, rotating the lever arm and providing a fully slack condition in binding straps or chains attached to the binder. Release of all or part of the cylinder compressed air draws in upon the lever arm rotating it to a full or floating binding condition automatically. A ratchet and pawl secured to the lever arm mechanically locks the binder and adjusts when the binder becomes slack due to load shift or transportation conditions. The pawl is fully released to permit the binder to provide full load strap slack for attachment or removal.

The variety of conditions associated with shipping heavy loads by truck or flat-bed trailer has resulted in an industry practise of the use of multiple individual load binders for each loaded item. These binders are commonly chains or belts which are attached to the truck or trailer bed at one or both ends with the opposite end secured and tightened in place to secure the load.
Variations in chains and belts plus the variety of load shapes, sizes and tie down requirements necessitate as many as 18 or more individual load binders used on a single shipment. Each of these must be securely fastened to the correct tension by the driver and then monitored in the event that the load might shift during transport. Variations in loading as a result of transport make disassembly of the load binders not only difficult but more dangerous than the original assembly and lock down. Adverse conditions and working requirements make the assembly and removal treacherous, particularly from the top of the load. This is particularly so in modern just-in-time conditions where transport time, arrival time and time at the dock unloading are all critical elements for the trucker, the shipper and the recipient.
In each case the strap or chain is normally manually tightened and then secured by an over-center lever or pawl latch. These require considerable force applied by lever arms which have a long stroke. Arranging and securing the binder requires the driver to climb up and over the load several times while working the lever arm in awkward positions. As a result of these multiple locations and the variety of shipping conditions, there is no common automated mechanism to achieve this task. The trucker, the shipment and the customer remain subject to delays and risk.
There are 2 types of trailer beds in common use. In the 1st, the bed is perforated along its long edges with holes adapted to receive load restraining posts and chain or strap attachment ends. In this case, if straps are used, these straps can pass over the trailer edge for securement about a rotating spool which is driven automatically or manually and restrained by a latching pawl. In the 2nd, the trailer bed has attached loops which engage side posts and a surrounding protective strapping. This provides a continuous spacing and rail for chain or strap attachment.
Also in common use are air brakes wherein the work is provided by an industry standard 'maxi' air pot braking device referred to herein as a pneumatic cylinder. These pneumatic cylinders work in reverse. The internal piston is driven into the pot by a very strong spring (with as much as 50 tons force). This motion closes the brakes towards a fully stopped position. Compressed air is applied to the cylinder chamber and relieves against the spring pressure to drive the piston outward. With air brakes this compressed air progressively releases the truck braking thereby permitting movement. Conversely, release of the air pressure, or failure of the air system entirely, causes braking by allowing the spring to drive the piston inwards and apply a portion or all of the spring pressure to the brakes. By this it is only with the compressed air pressure in operation that the brakes are released and the truck becomes mobile.
Use of the automatic and/or pneumatic load binders saves time and money in the competitive shipping business where customer requirements and 'just-in-time' inventory needs dictate minimum time at the loading dock at just the right moment. This in turn further allows the trucker to increase the number of loads, lower the work requirements per load and greatly increase the safety of the transport both on the loading dock and during transportation. Fewer inspections of binder conditions are required and the trucker can avoid many of the impacts of adverse driving conditions in all kinds of climates.
Examples of prior art binders of the wind-up variety are shown in Williams US published pending application 2007/0048103 published Mar. 1, 2007 and Leggett US published pending application 2007/0269285 published Nov. 22, 2007 both with a ratchet lock.
An example of a direct drive binder is shown in Lasswell U.S. Pat. No. 2,773,700 issued Dec. 11, 1956. This is dependent on maintenance of the hydraulic pressure and motor-pump.
Attempts at pressure relieved spring driven binders are found in Meyers U.S. Pat. No. 3,395,932 issued Aug. 6, 1968, Grau U.S. Pat. No. 3,924,544 issued Dec. 9, 1975 and Neidigk U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,343 issued Nov. 17, 1987. These demonstrate a long and sporadic development period of more than 30 years without success or known practical result beyond rotating spool binders mounted below the trailer bed.
Grau provides a spring loaded binder extending vertically through the load bed in a central location. The stroke is very limited and the binding effect is only operative for a direct vertical connection to a single load item.
Neidigk describes a multi-unit or load independent binder providing spring pressure holding. As far as can be seen from the disclosure the device is independent of the truck and an extra part used, if at all, in a fully exposed position above the bed. No satisfactory lock mechanism is disclosed.
Meyer discloses a binder with air release and spring load. In operation as far as can be understood, Meyer is vertically oriented and completely above the load bed. This requires both a retracted load position and a plurality of specialty parts and mechanisms. Stroking is limited, disclosing a cinder suitable under limited conditions for loads and tie-downs with fixed dimensions and little or no variability. As a result, the load is restricted to an apparently unstable elevated position secured against forward and rotary movement and the Meyers binder is not know to operable in conventional, non-load-specific situations and would be difficult and expensive to manufacture with little utility in long term general use.
The primary binders in use are mechanical wind-up devices mounted below the load bed with or without automatic operation with little or no provision for safe full time binding or quick and safe installation, use or removal.
None of the direct drive or relieved spring prior art devices are known to have reached any substantial commercial use likely due to the to the limited stroke provided by the highly exposed vertical orientation and complex load and use specific structures shown. None of the prior art items provide a simple structure which may be attached and used safely in a multiplicity of locations in both existing and new installations by relatively untrained operatives.


Apparatus, and an associated method, forms an integrated packet radio communication system. An integrated system is formed of portions of a GPRS system as well as portions of a WLAN system, such as that defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard. A WIP (WLAN Integrated Protocol) layer is defined, functionally positioned between upper-level, GPRS layers and lower-level, WLAN layers. Advantages of a GPRS system as well as advantages of the WLAN system are maintained in the integrated system.

Usage of multi-user radio communication systems has become widely popular in recent years. Advancements in communication technologies have permitted the implementation, and portable utilization, of such communication systems, thereby to permit large numbers of users to communicate therethrough.
A radio communication system, similar to other types of communication systems, is formed of a sending station and a receiving station interconnected by way of a communication channel. In a radio communication system, a radio communication channel forms the communication channel. A radio communication channel is defined upon a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.
In contrast, a communication channel defined in a wireline communication system is defined upon a wireline connection extending between the sending and receiving stations. Because a radio communication channel, defined upon a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, is used to communicate data between the sending and receiving stations in a radio communication system, the need for a wireline connection to interconnect the sending and receiving station, required in a wireline communication system, is obviated. The mobility of communications in a radio communication system is inherently greater than that permitted in a typical wireline communication system.
Digital communication techniques have been implemented in radio, as well as other, communication systems. Digital communication techniques generally permit the communication system in which the techniques are implemented to achieve greater communication capacity than the capacity permitted in a communication system utilizes conventional, analog communication techniques.
A cellular communication system is exemplary of a communication system which is widely utilized and which regularly is constructed to make use of digital communication techniques. Communications in a cellular communication system generally are effectuated by way of mobile station carried by a user. A mobile station is a radio transceiver permitting two-way communication of radio signals with network infrastructure of the cellular communication system. The network infrastructure of the cellular communication system is connected, for instance, to a PSTN (Public-Switched, Telephonic Network), thereby to permit communication between the mobile station and a remote station, coupled to the PSTN.
A cellular communication system generally is operable over a fairly large geographical region, sometimes national or even extra-national in scope. A user of the mobile station is able to communicate by way of the cellular communication system when located at virtually any location encompassed by the cellular communication system. And, as the user, together with the mobile station, travels, handover of communications through successive portions of the network infrastructure of the cellular communication system permits continued communications by way of the mobile station.
At least one cellular communication system, the GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) cellular communication system includes the possibility that packet radio services pursuant to GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) shall permit the communication of digital data, packetized into packets of data. Communication of packet data pursuant to GPRS is effectuated at the same level of security, QoS (Quality of Service) level, and global mobility, as that provided for conventional GSM, cellular communications. Conventional proposals for GPRS messaging, however, permit only relatively low data communication rates for multimedia services, particularly when large numbers of users use the system to effectuate conventional cellular communications. Installation of a GPRS system is also relatively costly.
Digital communication techniques are also utilized in conventional LANs (Local Area Networks). LANs conventionally interconnect groups of computer work stations within an office areas or the like, to permit communications therebetween. Wireless networks, operable in manners analogous to wired LANs, referred to as WLANs (Wireless Local Area Networks), have also been developed and are utilized to communicate data over a radio link. Some of such systems are able to provide for voice, as well as nonvoice, communications.
One system, standards of which are set forth in the IEEE 802.11 specification, provides for fast data communications in a WLAN. A WLAN system constructed pursuant to the IEEE 802.11 standard provides a relatively quick data rate to effectuate communication of data as well as a relatively simple infrastructure. However, in contrast to GPRS systems, lessened security provisions are implemented. Additionally, a WLAN inherently does not provide wide-area mobility. If a manner could be provided by which to integrate operation of a GPRS system and a WLAN system, incorporating the advantages of each, the resultant, integrated system would advantageously provide an improved communication system.
It is in light of this background information related to radio communication systems that the significant improvements of the present invention have evolved.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Apparatus, and associated method, for integrating operation of packet radio communication systems


A valve stopping mechanism wherein when hydraulic fluid pressure is low a cylinder operating state is set and a response of a switch from a cylinder stop state to the cylinder operating state is high. An intake valve and an exhaust valve, a first intake valve spring and a first exhaust valve spring are provided for energizing the valves in the direction of closing the valves, valve drive cams, valve stopping mechanisms, on the basis of a stop hydraulic fluid pressure and energization of plunger springs, for selectively generating valve operating and valve stop states. The valve stopping mechanism generates the operating state when the energizing force of the plunger spring is larger than the press force of the stop hydraulic fluid pressure and generates the stop state when the press force of the stop hydraulic fluid pressure is larger than the energizing force of the plunger spring.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an engine having a valve stopping mechanism capable of stopping operation of intake/exhaust valves for opening/closing a communication part between an engine cylinder chamber and an intake or exhaust path.
2. Description of Background Art
An engine is known having a valve stopping mechanism for stopping the operation of a part or all of intake/exhaust valves in a state where a valve drive cam rotates in accordance with an operating state of the engine.
As such a valve stopping mechanism, there is a configuration disclosed in JP-A No. H10-184327 wherein the valve stopping mechanism includes a lifter 11a which is reciprocated in a valve opening/closing direction by a valve drive cam 7, a lifter spring 24 for energizing the lifter 11a so that the lifter 11a abuts on the valve drive cam 7, and a plunger 23 sliding in a cylinder hole 21a formed extending at the right angle with the opening/closing direction in the lifter. In the plunger 23, a through hole 23b in which a valve shaft 5a of an exhaust valve 5 can be inserted and a power transmission face 23g on which the tip of the valve shaft 5a abuts are formed.
In the valve stopping mechanism, when the lifter 11a is reciprocated by the valve drive cam 7 in a state where the plunger 23 energized by the plunger spring 25 is moved to a stop position, the valve shaft 5a is inserted in a through hole 23a, and the exhaust valve 5 is held closed irrespective of the reciprocating movement of the lifter 11a, thereby obtaining a cylinder stop state. On the other hand, when the plunger 23 receives hydraulic fluid pressure on the side opposite to the plunger spring 25, the plunger 23 moves to the operating position against energization of the plunger spring 25. In this state, when the lifter 11a is reciprocated by the valve drive cam 7, the valve shaft 5a abuts on the power transmission face 23g and is reciprocated together with the lifter 11a, and the exhaust valve 5 is opened/closed, thereby obtaining a cylinder operating state.
In such a related valve stopping mechanism, the plunger 23 moves to the stop position by being energized by the plunger spring 25 and moves to the operating position by receiving hydraulic fluid from the opposite side. With this configuration, on start of an engine or the like, it takes time for the hydraulic fluid to become larger than the energizing force of the plunger spring. During the time, the valve is not opened/closed, and the cylinder stop state is obtained. Consequently, there is a problem such that it is difficult to obtain a sufficiently large engine output. To be concrete, for example, in the case of driving a hydraulic pump by an engine and generating the hydraulic fluid from a discharge of the hydraulic pump, when the engine is operated at very low speed on start of the engine or the like, it takes time for the hydraulic fluid to become large. During the time, the cylinder stop state is obtained. There is a problem such that it is difficult to increase an engine output.
To improve the steering feel for the driver, it is also requested to promptly switch from a valve stop state to a valve operating state by hydraulic control in response to a request for increasing an engine output of the driver, that is, to promptly switch from a cylinder stop state (state where the valve stops and the cylinder does not operate) to a cylinder operating state (state where the valve is opened/closed and the cylinder operates).


A model helicopter creates lift using rotor propellers mounted to the rotor arms of a gyroscopic rotor assembly. A controller converts front-back, and left-right inputs into speed control signals used to vary the speeds of the rotor propellers at selected positions of the rotor assembly as it rotates. The varying speed of the rotor propellers at selected rotor positions produces thrust vectors at those positions. The resultant thrust vector determines the direction of the helicopter's flight and enables it to pitch and roll in response to the front-back and left-right inputs. The rotor assembly can have two or more rotor arms, each with a propeller. The helicopter provides left-right yaw control with a yaw propeller on the helicopter body. Electric motors, or motors using other conventional power and speed control methods, can be used to drive the rotor and yaw propellers. Power and speed control signals can be transferred to the rotor motors via commutators on the helicopter body and rotor assembly that make electrical contact as the rotor assembly rotates.

Conventional helicopters vary the pitch of rotor blades to provide directional control. The rotor blades rotate in a plane and are shaped to provide lift. The rotor blades are coupled to the helicopter through a complex mechanical linkage that enables the pilot to control the pitch of the blades. By varying the pitch of rotating blades the pilot can roll the helicopter left and right and pitch forward and backward. The mechanical structure for varying the pitch of the rotor blades is complex, difficult to manufacture, and impractical for use in very small model helicopters.

Helicopter with a gyroscopic rotor and rotor propellers to provide vectored thrust


The present invention provides a vibration-generating stepping motor including: two stator yokes; a bearing that magnetically couples the two stator yokes; a rotor frame that rotates on a circumference of the stator yokes; and an eccentric weight that shifts a gravity center of the rotor frame from a rotation center of the rotor frame.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vibration-generating stepping motor which is equipped with a bearing functioning as a magnetic circuit, so that miniaturization of the motor can be performed, the strength of the bearing can be maintained, and strong magnetomotive force, that is, desired rotation speed can be produced.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, in mobile devices (for example, mobile phones, personal handyphone systems (PHSs), and personal digital assistants (PDAs)), vibration-generating motors are used for call-reception informing functions or for providing vibration sensations. An inexpensive DC (Direct Current) motor with a brush may be used as a vibration-generating motor. However, the service life of the DC motor is short. Since time periods for starting and stopping of the motor are long, it is difficult to control the DC motor. Thus, a stepping motor, which has a relatively long service life, has a simple drive circuit, can be easily controlled, and is advantageous as a vibration-generating motor.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-215397 has proposed a technique for a vibration-generating motor. This vibration-generating motor is an inner rotor type of PM (Permanent Magnet) stepping motor which is equipped with two rotor magnets. The rotor magnets are provided as a first magnet and a second magnet at different positions with respect to a shaft in an axial direction. An eccentric weight, which shifts a gravity center of a rotor, is provided between the two rotor magnets. This vibration-generating motor is equipped with two bearings in the same manner as the two rotor magnets, so that a biased load received by the bearing can be reduced, and the service life of the bearing can be extended.
The sizes of mobile devices (for example, Mobile phones, PHSs, and PDAs) are progressively reduced, and vibration-generating motors provided in the above devices are made more compact and thinner.


An improved AC susceptometer and methodology for its use which is particularly suitable for the characterization of the properties of superconducting materials. Added to the circuitry of a conventional AC susceptometer is frequency domain analytical equipment for measuring the induced magnetic response. The addition of frequency domain measuring equipment permits the determination of the harmonic components of the induced magnetic response. The measurement of the harmonic components of the response also provides novel methodology for studying the phenomena of flux penetration, flux pinning and movement and permits the measurement of parameters such as lower critical field, critical temperatures, and the irreversibility line.

This application is directed to an improved AC susceptometer for measuring the properties of magnetic materials. This application is also directed to methodology for measuring the magnetic properties of materials.
AC susceptometers are widely used in measuring magnetic properties of magnetic materials in general and of superconducting materials in particular. The basic circuit of these systems is described in FIG. 1. It consists of a primary coil 20 coaxial with a pair of balanced coils 22,24, one of which, 24 contains the sample to be measured. A sinusoidal magnetic filed of a given frequency is created by the current output of an oscillator 26 energizing primary coil 20. This alternating field induces oscillations in the magnetization of the material, and as a result an off-balance voltage is induced in the coil pair. The material's response is measured by monitoring this signal at the driving frequency using a two-phase lock-in amplifier 28. The in-phase and the .pi./2 out-of-phase signals are used to derive the real part (.chi.') and imaginary part (.chi.") of the magnetic susceptibility of the material. In the case of materials such as superconductors, required to be maintained at a certain temperature, a cryostat 30 surrounds the coils 20, 22, 24.
This measurement technique is well suited for the characterization of material with a linear magnetic behavior, i.e., materials in which a pure sinusoidal field induces pure sinusoidal oscillations in the magnetization at the same frequency. However, under certain temperature and bias field conditions, materials can exhibit a nonlinear magnetic behavior; namely, a pure sinusoidal field can induce nonsinusoidal oscillations in the magnetization. Thus a nonsinusoidal voltage is induced across the sample coil and components of the voltage at harmonics of the driving frequency are generated. Conventional AC susceptometers measure the response of the material at the driving frequency, ignoring the harmonic components of the response.
In a previous application, of which we are coinventors entitled "Non-Contact Test of Materials for Superconductivity" Ser. No. 380,162 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,726, filed Jul. 14, 1989 a simple device for detecting superconductive transitions was described.

AC magnetic susceptometer with odd harmonic measurement for analyzing superconductive magnetic materials


A lighting device includes a base portion, a diffuser portion having a wall defining an inner cavity, wherein a liquid including liquid globules is contained within the inner cavity of the diffuser portion, a heating system configured to heat the liquid globules, and a lighting system for illuminating the diffuser portion.

The present invention relates to a lighting device, and more particularly to a novelty or decorative lighting device.
Illuminated colored display devices are used to present a visual effect of changing patterns or shapes when viewed by an observer. In some devices, an incandescent bulb is used to heat wax within the device cause the wax to rise and fall, as well as illuminate the display. However, such bulbs often do not change colors to provide for a changing color display.


An apparatus and process for pre-loading an electrically stimulated smart material actuator product to obtain maximum work from the actuator. When a smart material actuator is optimally pre-loaded certain desirable characteristics become apparent, such as work, operational frequency, hysteresis, repeatability, and overall accuracy. When used in conjunction with a mechanically leveraged actuator structure the smart material actuator can be used to its greatest potential. Since the mechanically leveraged actuator can be based on the maximum work provided by the smart material actuator, certain attributes such as the force, and displacement of total system can be adjusted without loss to system efficiency. Pre-loading methods and a determination of the optimal pre-load force are disclosed. Each smart material actuator type has a unique work curve. In the design of an actuator assembly, the process of optimizing uses the unique work curve to optimize the design for the requirements of the particular application. The unique work curve is used by finding the place where the smart material actuator is capable of providing the most work in order to set the optimum pre-load point accordingly. Different mechanical pre-load techniques are provided.

The invention is based on actuator technologies being developed for a wide range of applications including industry. One component used in this type of actuator is an electrically stimulated smart material actuator. These smart material actuators when electrically stimulated change shape. This shape change can be designed such that one axis predominantly changes. As this axis changes dimension it is magnified by a lever integral to the main support structure creating an actuator with a useful amount of displacement. This displacement is useful for general-purpose industrial applications such as grippers, linear motors, and consumer applications such as speakers. Presently, electromechanical devices are used such as motors, solenoids, and voice coils. In general these devices encompass many shortcomings, i.e. they are large and heavy, consume high amounts of power, and do not work in a proportional manner.
Various types of smart material actuators are known to those skilled in the art. Traditionally the smart material actuator is used two ways, first direct acting and second in a mechanically leveraged system. Most of these systems have some sort of mechanical pre-load. This pre-load has largely been used to capture the smart material actuator within the main structure. It has not generally been recognized that the pre-load force applied to the smart material actuator can affect the performance of the actuator.
In such known devices, when the smart material actuator is electrically activated, the geometry of the device expands predominantly along a predetermined axis. When the smart material device is deactivated, the geometry of the device contracts predominantly along the predetermined axis. This expansion and contraction of the smart material can be used to operate an apparatus, e.g. to open or close a gripper or vibrate a speaker cone.

Apparatus and process for optimizing work from a smart material actuator product


A driving assist apparatus 1 that performs driving assist on the basis of a traffic rule of a mobile object includes a traffic rule acquisition unit 11, 12, and 13 acquiring a traffic rule which a mobile object is highly likely to observe in an arbitrary region, and performs driving assist on the basis of the traffic rule acquired by the traffic rule acquisition unit. In particular, the driving assist apparatus includes a region acquisition unit 13 acquiring a traffic rule deviation region where a defined traffic rule in an arbitrary region does not conform to the traffic rule acquired by the traffic rule acquisition unit, or a traffic rule correction unit correcting the traffic rule acquired by the traffic rule acquisition unit when a defined traffic rule in an arbitrary region does not conform to the traffic rule acquired by the traffic rule acquisition unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a driving assist apparatus.
2. Related Background Art
A technique is developed which generates an optimal travel path of a host-vehicle and performs automatic driving control or various kinds of driving assist control on the basis of the travel path. With regard to such control, for safe travel, travel control is performed such that the host-vehicle observes the traffic rules of the road, such as traffic lights, speed limits, stop signs (refer to Patent Document 1).    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-131055.    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-500664.    Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-213970.


A system for determining a plurality of nutritional needs of a user and generating a nutrient supplementation plan using artificial intelligence includes at least a computing device designed and configured to receive, from a user, at least a biological extraction, generate, using the at least a biological extraction and a first machine-learning process, a plurality of nutritional needs of the user, determine a nutritional input to the user, detect at least a nutrition deficiency as a function of the plurality of nutritional needs and the nutritional input, and calculate at least a supplement dose from the plurality of nutritional needs and at the least a nutrition deficiency.

Design of systems for analysis of nutritional data is often frustrated by the extreme complexity and variability of the subject matter between subjects. A vast multiplicity of factors to be considered is further complicated by a complex array of subtle, but crucial data. Worse still, a given factor may vary significantly between subjects, and in ways that can frustrate consistent application of nutritional data to analytical techniques.

Methods and systems for determining a plurality of nutritional needs to generate a nutrient supplementation plan using artificial intelligence


A conductive compound of formula (I) below, an electrode coated with the conductive compound, a sensor including the electrode, and a target molecule detection method using the sensor are provided:

This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 2003-14482, filed on Mar. 7, 2003, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel conductive compound, an electrode coated with the compound, a sensor including the electrode, and a target molecule detection method using the sensor.
2. Description of the Related Art
There have been many studies on the development of biomolecule detecting sensors based on the electrochemical principles. One advantage of using the electrochemical principles lies in that sensors can be miniaturized. Accordingly, there have been great advances in research into electrochemical sensors, such as ionic sensors, gas sensors, biosensors, etc. In the fields of genomics and proteomics, it is very important to monitor information on the hybridization of DNA, among other biological molecules, and to monitor conformational changes of proteins. To this end, there have been developed sensors using electrochemically active organic substance and sensors using conductive polymers. In particular, intercalator-based sensors are ready to be released on the market as a result of extensive research thereon.
In conductive polymer sensors, only a few representative monomers capable of being polymerized on electrodes are available, and it is difficult to control the physical properties of polymers. As a result, research into the conductive polymer sensor has been relatively slow. Representative conductive polymer sensor materials include pyrroles, thiophenes, anilines, and the like. However, because anilines can only be used in acidic conditions, pyrroles and thiophenes have been the main focus of research.
However, pyrroles cannot be used for a long duration due to low redox potential (U.S. Pat. No. 6,201,086). Thiophenes have a higher redox potential but are more hydrophobic than pyrroles, so they are unsuitable for water-based biomolecule systems (Bauerle P. and Emge A., Adv. Materi., 3:324 (1998)).
Another problem arising with conductive polymer sensors lies in that the chain length of polypyrroles or polythiophenes cannot be controlled, disabling formation of an even, thin polymer layer. Therefore, such conductive polymer sensors are unsuitable for detecting trace of a target molecule, such as DNA, which is essentially dispersed. Moreover, due to the difficulty in controlling the chain length of the conductive polymers, signals generated as a result of a reaction between the target molecule and the conductive polymer layer are not reproducible.

Conductive compound, electrode and sensor containing the same, and target molecule detection method using the sensor

Abstract: wherein Y is a carbonyl or —NH—; R is one of H, OH, a leaving group, and a probe group; l is an integer from 3 to 6; m is an integer from 1 to 4; and n is an integer from 0 to 3.


An integrated circuit equalizes a data signal expressed as a series of symbols. The symbols form data patterns with different frequency components. By considering these patterns, the integrated circuit can experiment with equalization settings specific to a subset of the frequency components, thereby finding an equalization control setting that optimizes equalization. Optimization can be accomplished by setting the equalizer to maximize symbol amplitude.

Serial communication links that employ channels that exhibit low pass filter effects often use transmit pre-emphasis, receiver equalization, or a combination of the two to overcome the loss of high-frequency signal components. Adaptive transmit pre-emphasis or receive equalization may be used for marginal links or links whose transfer characteristic change over time. In either case, the received signal quality may be measured at the receiver. Adaptive transmit pre-emphasis schemes may therefore use some form of back-channel communication to relay indicia of signal quality back to the transmitter. Unfortunately, the need for a back-channel renders the design and implementation of adaptive pre-emphasis challenging and complex. Also important, some integrated circuits that receive data via a serial link may not include a compatible backchannel receiver with which to communicate. The transmit and receive circuitry may be parts of integrated circuits from different vendors, for example, in which case the two vendors would have to agree in advance upon a backchannel communication scheme and design their circuitry accordingly. Such collaboration may be impractical.
Adaptive receive equalization does not require backchannel communication, and thus avoids many of the problems inherent in adaptive transmit pre-emphasis. Optimum pre-emphasis and equalization settings are data specific, however, because different data patterns have different spectral content, and thus are affected differently by low-pass characteristics of the channel. As a first-order approximation, the higher the frequency, the greater the attenuation. Transmitters "know" the transmitted data pattern in advance, and thus can tailor the transmit pre-emphasis to the data; in contrast, receivers do not know the received data pattern in advance, so adaptive equalization that addresses changes to the incoming data is much more difficult.
Some adaptive receive equalization schemes measure the power density of received signals at two frequencies and adjust the receive equalizer to maintain some desired ratio of the two power densities. Unfortunately, such schemes may not provide appropriate levels of equalization for frequencies other than those monitored. Furthermore, noise at a monitored frequency contributes to the measured power density, and consequently results in erroneous equalizer settings. There is therefore a need for receive equalization systems and methods that are more responsive to received data patterns and less sensitive to noise.

Methods and circuits for adaptive equalization


A floor preparation machine that uses a number of vertical needles positioned in a tight rectangular pattern. The needles vibrate against the floor surface to prepare the floor surface. The needles are driven by a cam and cam follower. As the cam is turned by a motor, a number of ribs repeatedly contact the cam follower, which in turn repeatedly pushes the needles down. Under the top plate that supports the needles, is a rubber form that acts as a “spring” to force the needles up after they have been pushed down by the cam follower. In practice, the system produces a sustained vibration of the needles that breaks the surface to a depth of 1/16 to ⅛ of an inch.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates floor refinishers and particularly to a floor refinisher using needles to break epoxy coatings.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Modern floors in commercial buildings are often finished with epoxy coatings. This produces a durable smooth finished surface. Overtime, however, these surfaces wear and need to be resurfaced. Before a new surface layer of epoxy coating can be poured, the original surface must be prepared. This is normally accomplished by roughing up the surface to break up the old coating. This is normally done to a depth of between 1/16 and ½ of an inch. This prepared surface is then able to take a new coating of epoxy that is smooth and like new.
The current method used to prepare the surface of the floors involves the use of a shot blaster. A shot blaster is a device that uses small steel balls (shot) that are blasted into the floor surface. A machine holds the shot and provides the force for blasting them into the floor. The machine has a powerful vacuum to pull the shot back into the machine as they are blasted out. This machine does produce a properly prepared floor for refinishing. However, they have some problems. First, they are large. Even the smaller units are too large to fit easily into corners. This means that the edges of the floor have to be broken up by hand. This is a slow and difficult process that can result in injuries to workers. Another problem is that the use steel shot—typically a thousand pounds of shot or more are required for a typical job. This increases shipping costs, especially to rural areas. Furthermore, despite the powerful vacuum, the machine does not recover all of the shot pellets. This means that workers must take time to clean up the shot pellets after the job. It also requires extra quantities of shot be kept on hand to refill the machine as needed. This further increases the cost of the job.
Another device that can be used for floor preparation is a head scabbler. This device uses carbide percussive cutting heads to pound the floor surface. The heads are circular and have four protrusions per head that contact the floor surface. The heads are also positioned in a rectangular spaced-apart pattern. The device is small it has a 12 inch wide cutting path. This is a powerful machine that can do the job, but still is not large enough to do large areas efficiently. Moreover, the spaced-apart pattern of cutting heads requires the operator to mover over an area multiple times to ensure a properly prepared surface. Finally, the spaced-apart pattern does nothing to help prepare the edges of a room. This means that these areas must be done by hand also.

Machine for preparing floors for refinishing


A crossflow filtration system including at least one quick dry change crossflow filtration cartridge designed to rotatably interface with a manifold assembly. The quick dry change crossflow filtration cartridge can comprise a membrane element, for example an ultrafiltration membrane, microfiltration membrane, nanofiltration membrane or reverse osmosis membrane element enclosed within a housing. The quick dry change cartridge includes an inlet stream, a permeate stream and a concentrate stream. The manifold assembly includes three similar flow paths; an inlet stream, a permeate stream and a concentrate stream. When engaged, the cartridge and manifold assembly define continuous inlet flow paths, permeate flow paths and concentrate flow paths that connect across the interface. Thus, all of the connections to the water filtration system can be made onto the manifold, and the resulting connected system is compact and easy to connect.

Water filtration systems designed for use in the home are well known. Due to increasing concerns with regard to water quality, be it supplied by a well or a municipality, the popularity of such systems has increased markedly. Some water filtration systems incorporate reverse osmosis filtration.
Typical reverse osmosis systems include a reverse osmosis membrane assembly, a pressure tank, a control element, a purified water faucet and a tubing/piping assembly defining the various flow paths. In general, an inlet water source is supplied to the membrane assembly where it is separated into a purified water stream (commonly referred to as permeate) and a concentrated waste stream (commonly referred to as concentrate). The permeate may flow to a pressure tank where it can subsequently be accessed through the pure water faucet. The concentrate is typically piped directly to drain. The control element working in conjunction with a series of valves in the tubing/piping assembly and the pure water faucet generally operates the system and may include various monitoring sensors, for example conductivity/resistivity and flow sensors to insure the system is functioning properly.

Crossflow filtration system with quick dry change elements


An actual real-time reactive power output reserve of a generator is calculated by determining a real-time reactive power output of the generator at present operating conditions, determining a maximum reactive power output of the generator at the present operating conditions based on a maximum volt-ampere output capability of the generator, a real-time transmission voltage level of a transmission system connected to the generator, and a real-time maximum acceptable generator terminal voltage, and subtracting the real-time reactive power output from the maximum reactive power output. A future near-term reactive power output reserve of the generator is calculated by determining an expected maximum reactive power output of the generator at rated operating conditions based on a rated maximum volt-ampere output capability of the generator, a scheduled transmission voltage level of a transmission system connected to the generator, and a maximum acceptable generator terminal voltage, and subtracting the real-time reactive power output from the expected maximum reactive power output.

The present invention is directed to a method, apparatus, and system for monitoring and predicting reactive power output. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a method, apparatus, and system for monitoring present reactive power output in real time and predicting near-term future reactive power output.
Electric power is generated and transmitted through complex regional networks in order to provide electricity to consumers in an efficient and reliable manner. These networks contain hundreds and often thousands of generating sources that supply power to millions of users via one or more transmission systems.
Devices using electricity require a voltage level that is regulated within a certain range. Most of these devices are inductive loads and consume reactive power. Due to the dynamic load size and the need for a regulated transmission system voltage level, power systems must be designed to account for continuously changing demand for reactive power, among many other concerns.
Reactive power generated by power plants is commonly expressed in Volt-Ampere-Reactive (VAR) units. The amount and direction of VAR flow in the transmission system in part determines the voltage profile on the transmission system. Voltage levels may be increased by producing additional VARs at the generating units. Similarly, voltage levels may be decreased by absorbing VARs into the generating units. For regulating transmission voltage levels, it is necessary to understand the phenomena that control and limit the VAR flow between a generator and the transmission system.
Generating units (power plants) include several major parts that may each place limits upon the VAR flow related to the unit. An exemplary power plant is shown in FIG. 1. The power plant includes an alternating current generator 100 that enables the generating unit to either produce or absorb reactive power. The operation of a generating unit requires electricity to support miscellaneous plant equipment, including motors, in the station auxiliary system 110. Often, this electricity is provided by connecting a series of power transformers to the output leads of the generator. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the station auxiliary system 110 includes station service transformers connected to the output of the generator 100. The internal plant equipment, e.g., the motors, supplied by these transformers must be operated within a certain acceptable voltage range. Maintaining this range may result in a restricted operating voltage range at the generator output terminals. The generating unit must also be connected to a transmission system 130, represented in FIG. 1 as a transmission line, in order to transmit electricity to consumers.
The output terminals of the generator 100 are typically connected to the high-voltage transmission system 130 through a step-up transformer 120. Operating conditions of the generator 100, station auxiliary system 110, and transmission system 130 change continuously and play a significant role in determining the VAR capability of a generating unit.
The generator is the central component of the unit and provides a means by which mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy. The generator includes two primary parts: the rotor and the stator. The rotor includes coils of electrical conductors that form a rotor winding. The stator also contains coils of electrical conductors. The generator output terminals are connected to the stator windings. Mechanical energy turns the rotor inside the stator while a current is passed through the rotor winding, inducing a voltage on the stator winding. By controlling the amount of mechanical energy used in turning the rotor, the real power flow in watts from the stator is adjusted. The rotor winding current, also known as the field current, is used to control the reactive power flow in VARs from the stator. Real or reactive power flows can be increased in the stator by boosting mechanical energy to the rotor or by boosting the field current, respectively. These power flows are often limited by the design parameters of the generator. For example, the generator output, stator and field current limits are due to heating effects associated with increased current.
To counteract these heating effects, hydrogen gas is used in most large generators as a cooling medium. Increasing the gas pressure, and thus the flow, of the cooling medium may increase the stator and field current capability limits.
Generator manufacturers normally express the VAR capability limits of a generator unit in a machine specific capability curve, such as that shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 illustrates a typical capability curve as provided by the manufacturer of the generator. For hydrogen cooled machines, a family of capability curves at various hydrogen pressures up to rated pressure may be provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the capability curve shows the leading and lagging MegaVARS (MVARS) for given Megawatts (MWATTS). Plant operators use these types of curves to monitor the output MVARS and MWATTS to ensure that they stay within the capability limits, thereby preventing harm to the plant, while the MVARS output is adjusted to maintain the transmission voltage schedule.
Many devices and software programs have been built to display the capability curve at the rated hydrogen pressure and the present operating point. However, the use of such devices to determine an available VAR reserve is unacceptable, since the true capability may be somewhat less than the rated capability, due to real-time hydrogen pressure, the transmission system voltage level or station service system limitations.
Generating unit operators often operate hydrogen cooled machines at pressures below the rated design conditions to eliminate unnecessary gas leakage. Observing signals from temperature measurement devices within the generator allows the operator to regulate hydrogen pressure to an optimal level. Depending on how far below the rated hydrogen pressure the generating unit is operated, there may be significant sacrifice of reserve VAR capability. This reserve VAR capability may be needed to regulate generator terminal voltage in the event of transmission system changes, such as large load additions, large load trips, transmission line trips or reclosures. Therefore, real-time capability curves at the present hydrogen pressure are needed to estimate the VAR reserve.
Boosting field current to produce VARs generally results in raising the generator terminal voltage magnitude. Decreasing field current to absorb VARs generally results in lowering the generator terminal voltage magnitude. Most generator designs allow a terminal voltage range between 95% and 105% of rated voltage. Therefore, the real time generator terminal voltage is needed to estimate the VAR reserve.
The station auxiliary system voltage must be regulated within a range specified by equipment manufacturer guidelines or established utility procedures. The minimum and maximum acceptable voltages of this system can have a direct impact on the allowable 95% to 105% generator terminal voltage operating range due to the interconnection of these two systems through a unit auxiliary transformer (UAT). Station auxiliary systems commonly restrict this range from its 10% bandwidth to a window of approximately 6-8% (unless load tap changers are used on the transformers). Since the station auxiliary system usually contains a series of transformers to achieve multiple voltage levels, the generator terminal voltage may be limited by equipment at any of these voltage levels. In many cases, equipment specifications on a low voltage bus (480 or 600 V) may restrict the generator operating range. Knowledge of this restriction may allow the plant engineer to design a solution by redistributing loads within the facility.
In order to minimize the limitations on the generator terminal voltage range, optimal transformer taps must be determined through a coordinated study of the entire station auxiliary system. Restriction of the generator voltage range is a function of transformer impedance, voltage ratio, tap selection, and real time loading on the transformer. Therefore, real time loading of the major station service transformers is needed to determine the VAR reserve.
The generator step-up transformer transformation ratio, including tap settings and present transmission system voltage, can have a major impact on the generator""s VAR reserves. Tap settings are established during the initial generating unit start-up and are seldom changed unless significant system changes occur. Transmission system voltages change throughout each day and determine the present VAR flow of a unit given its system design and present operating conditions.
Thus, there is a need for a technique for determining a reactive power output in real time and predicting a future near-term reactive power output.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique for determining a reactive power output in real time and predicting a future near-term reactive power output.
This and other objects are met by a method, apparatus, and system for determining an actual real-time reactive power output reserve of at least one generator and predicting a future reactive power output reserve of the generator.
According to a first aspect of the invention, the actual real-time reactive power output reserve of the generator is calculated by determining a real-time reactive power output of the generator at present operating conditions, determining a maximum reactive power output of the generator at the present operating conditions, and subtracting the real-time reactive power output from the maximum reactive power output. The real-time reactive power output may be determined based on a maximum volt-ampere output capability of the generator at the present operating conditions, a real-time transmission voltage level of a transmission system connected to the generator, and a real-time maximum acceptable generator terminal voltage, including any real-time voltage limits associated with station service load buses connected to the generator.
According to another aspect of the invention, the near-term future reactive power output reserve of the generator is calculated by determining an expected maximum reactive power output of the generator at rated operating conditions and subtracting the real-time reactive power output from the expected maximum reactive power output. According to this embodiment, the real time reactive power output may be determined based on a rated maximum volt-ampere output capability of the generator at the rated operating conditions, a scheduled transmission voltage level of a transmission system connected to the generator, and a maximum acceptable generator terminal voltage, including any real-time voltage limits associated with station service load service buses connected to the generator.
According to exemplary embodiments, the determining of the reactive power output reserve may be repeated at regular near real-time intervals. Also, the reactive power output reserve may be determined for a plurality of generators.
Other information and benefits that may be gained from the invention will become more evident from the following description, especially when studying the figures and graphical displays.

Method, apparatus, and system for real time reactive power output monitoring and predicting


A manual disconnect system includes a battery part, a disconnect part, a circuit assembly and a fuse assembly with a fuse connector and a circuit connector connected to the battery part. The battery part has a main compartment and a fuse assembly subcompartment. The disconnect part is releasably connected to the battery part. The fuse assembly is releasably received by the fuse assembly subcompartment. When the disconnect part is connected to the battery part, the fuse assembly and the fuse connector are electrically connected together and the circuit assembly and the circuit connector are electrically connected together. Upon detaching the disconnect part and the battery part from each other, the circuit assembly and the circuit connector are electrically disconnected from one another while the fuse assembly remains releasably connected to the battery part in the fuse assembly subcompartment and electrically connected to the fuse connector.

Manual disconnect units that facilitate electrical disconnection, particularly from high current connections, are known in the art. One such manual disconnect unit is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,773,307. This high current disconnect unit includes a fuse, a current limiting resistor, a manual disconnection device and a pair of connection elements for connecting the high current disconnect system to an electrical circuit. The manual disconnect unit is wired in series with the fuse and provides a user selectable circuit interrupt. The current limiting resistor is wired in parallel with the manual disconnection unit and in series with the fuse. The manual disconnection unit is wired in series with the fuse and provides a user selectable circuit.
However, there are drawbacks in prior art manual disconnect units. For instance, the disconnect unit is not sealed. Also, the disconnect unit requires a large footprint for installation. Further, this particular disconnect unit requires a hand tool or a power tool to remove the connector.
It would be beneficial to provide a manual disconnect system that, if desired, can be sealed, occupies a relatively small footprint and enables a user to remove the connector without using any tools. The present invention provides these benefits.


A process for the production of a panel with a protective acoustic damping layer. The protective layer includes at least one porous core covered, on the one side, with a porous acoustic damping layer and on the other side with a total acoustic reflector. The porous damping layer is emplaced by striping or draping. The porous damping layer consists of parallel strips. Edges of the strips of the porous damping layer are positioned facing a strip deposited by striping or draping and containing a thermoplastic, thermosetting or thermofusible material adapted, by subsequent heating, to ensure the securement of the edges of said strips of the porous damping layer with the adjacent strip of thermoplastic, thermosetting or thermofusible material.

The present invention relates to panels with acoustic attenuation and more particularly to those lining the annular fan channels formed in the nacelles of turbo motors, particularly of aircraft.
Such panels form the envelope, on the fan channel side, of the nacelle, behind the air inlet lip and have a structure adapted to attenuate the noise produced by the central portion of the motor surrounded by the nacelle and particularly the noise produced by the fan.
In practice, these panels include a porous core such as a honeycomb structure covered, on the fan channel side, with an acoustic damping layer and, on the opposite side, a rear reflector.
The acoustic damping layer is a porous structure with the role of dissipating, which is to say partially transforming, the acoustic energy of the sound wave passing through it, into heat.
This porous structure can be, for example, a metallic cloth or a cloth of carbon fibers whose weave permits fulfilling its dissipating function.
These acoustic panels must also have sufficient structural properties particularly to receive and transfer aerodynamic and inertial forces and forces connected with supporting the nacelle, toward the nacelle/motor structural connections, and so it is necessary to impart structural properties to the acoustic damping layer.
To this end, there can, as shown in British patent 2 130 963, provide an acoustic damping layer with two components, namely a structural layer, on the honeycomb side and a porous surface layer, or else use as the damping layer a cloth combining both the acoustic function and the structural function by selecting a diameter of the filaments of the cloth giving to this latter a high resistance to forces coupled with good acoustic damping.
For making such panels, there is known the process consisting in producing the annular assembly forming the wall of the fan channel in two interfitting half channels comprising, for each half panel, the following steps:                predeforming a layer of porous structure on a form identical to a half panel, with the help of jaws stretching the porous material to its elastic limit,        acoustically measuring the shape thus produced so as to qualify the mean value of the acoustic porosity,        adapting to the mean value above, the spacing of winding of the carbon filaments adapted to be deposited on the porous layer to constitute a structural layer,        emplacing on a suitable mold the predeformed shape,        then making the half panel by known techniques of winding said carbon fibers, and emplacing the porous core and the rear reflector.
This process has drawbacks.
Thus, the shape to be produced not being a figure of revolution, there exists in the deformed layer inhomogeneous regions, which is to say regions stretched and regions stressed, which degrade the general acoustic quality of the porous structure. The interval of winding the carbon fibers being adapted to the mean value of acoustic porosity of the structure, the inhomogeneous regions introduce variations in the acoustic attenuation of the noise generated by the motor.
Moreover, the presence of interfitting connections of the two half panels introduces two regions of acoustic refraction in the final acoustic panel, which is prejudicial to the quality of damping the noises generated by the motor.
To overcome these drawbacks, there can, as taught by French patent 2 767 411 in the name of the applicant, be emplaced an acoustic damping layer by winding with a porous material present in the form of strip.
This manner of proceeding not only permits avoiding inhomogeneous regions of the porous layer from an acoustical standpoint, as indicated above, in the conventional manner of fabricating the two half panels, but also eliminates the necessity of interfitting, the winding of the porous layer being adapted to form other layers, namely the structural layer, the porous central core, the rear reflector, so as to produce a complete acoustic panel in a single piece, without interfitting.
The absence of interfitting permits increasing the effective acoustic surface of the panel, of decreasing its weight and reducing the time and cost of production.
However, an acoustic panel of such a structure uses constituent strips of the porous layer in direct contact with the flow of aerodynamic fluid in the fan channel. When these strips are made of metallic cloth, they are easily peeled back at their edge in contact with the aerodynamic flow, the more so as they are disposed substantially perpendicular to the direction of said flow.
Thus, not only the acoustic qualities of the panel are degraded, but moreover, the panel itself is degraded and must be changed, which gives rise to maintenance and down time costs of the aircraft.
The present invention has for its object to overcome these drawbacks by improving the winding technique described in FR 2 767 411.

Process for making a panel with a protected acoustic damping layer


The present invention relates to the isolation of novel glucan particles but also to mannoprotein from natural sources such as yeast cell walls, novel isolation methods, and the use of products thereof.

The cell walls of unicellular organisms and of plants mainly consist of polsaccharides, partly associated with proteins. Important functions are: Rigidity, physical protection of the cells, osmotic stability, selective permeability support, cell/cell adhesion, binding of compounds and extracellular enzyme support. Since the polysaccharides form a three dimensional network, cell walls may serve as a resource for particles that maintain certain useful properties of the native cell wall such as selective adsorption capacity. The final properties of the particles depend on the starting material (e.g. yeast strain or other microbial or plant cells) and on the level of preservation of the structural integrity during isolation.
Therefore, a prerequisite for the isolation of functional particles are non-denaturing isolation procedures.
In the following the structure and composition of the yeast cell wall, an important potential resource of said particles, is outlined.
The precise structure and composition of the yeast cell wall strongly depends on the type of yeast strain and culture conditions (R. Bonaly, H. Moulki, A Touimi Benjellouen, M. Pierrefitte, Biochhn. Biophys Acta 244,484 (1971)). A shortage of amino acids, for example, reduces the protein content in the cell wall. Yeasts are unicellular organisms with a rigid cell wall made of polysaccharides. The cell shape is oval to round with an average diameter of 5-13 μm. The cell walls show a thickness of about 70 nm and account for 15-25% of the yeast dry weight (J. S. D. Bacon, V. C. Farmer, D. Jones, I. F. Taylor, Biochem J. 114,557 (1969)). As mentioned, the overall composition of the cell wall varies and depends on the special strain and on culture conditions. This forms the basis for the isolation of a great number of cell wall particles with different properties.
In general, the main components of the yeast cell wall are mannan (typically about 30% by weight), glucan (also about 30% by weight), protein (15% by weight), lipids (about 10% by weight) and chitin (about 2% by dry weight). The latter is exclusively located in the budding scar of the yeasts.
The Mannoprotein Component
By definition mannan, is a polymer that is exclusively composed of mannose units. In yeasts, mannan is associated with protein in both, the external surface of the yeast cell wall, as a muscigenous polysaccharide and in the inner cell membrane. It accounts for 20-50% of the dry weight (C. E. Ballou, Adv. Microbiol. Physiol. 14, 93 (1976). Mannan is linked to a core-peptide chain as an oligomer or polymer (R. Sentandreu, D. H. Northcote, Biochem J. 109,419 (1968)). The complex consists of 5-50% proteins. Oligomeric mannan is bonded directly to serine and threonine (R. Santandreu, D. H. Northcote, Carbohydr. Res. 10, 584 (1969)) whereas polymeric mannan is bonded to aspargine via N-acetylglucosamine. The many individual aspects relating to the mannoprotein complex, including that the mannose units are linked by α-1,6, α-1,2 and α-1,3-linkages were compiled and reviewed by Ballou et al. (C. E. Ballou, Adv. Microbiol. Physiol. 14, 93 (1976); C. E. Ballou, Adv. Enzymol. 40, 239 (1974)).
The Glucan Component
Glucan is a glucose polymer and accounts for 30-60% of the dry weight. The majority of the polyglucoside is linked via β-1,3 glycosidic linkages and only 10-20% by β-1,6 glycosidic linkages (S. Peat, J. R. Turvey, J. M. Evans, J. Chem. Soc. 3868 (1958)). If glucan is treated with approximately 3% caustic soda at 75° C., a maximum of one-third of the glucan is solubilized (J. S. Bacon, V. C. Farmer, D. Jones, Biochem. J. 114, 557(1969)). Consequently the glucan is divided into (1) an alkali insoluble fraction (glucan A), and (2) an alkali soluble fraction (glucan B) (G. H. Fleet, D. J. Manners, J. Gem Microbiol. 94, 180 (1976)).
Glucan A accounts for 80-85% of the cell wall glucan and consists primarily of β-1,3, glycosidic linkages as well as of about 3% β-1,6 glycosidic linkages. 80-85% of the glycosidic linkages of glucan B (15-20% of the total glucan) are β-1,3 and 8-12% are β-1,6 glycosidic linkages 3-4% of the glucose units are branchings. The β-1,6 glycosidic linkages are selectively hydrolysed by acetylosis. It is proposed that the β-1,3 glucan chains are linked via β-1,6 intermediate chains (J. S. D. Bacon, V. O. Farmer, D. Jones, Biochem. J. 114, 557 (1969)). Using electron microscopy it was possible to demonstrate a fibrillar structure for the β-1,3 component and an amorphous structure of the 1,6 component (M. Kopecká, J. Basic Microbial. 25,161 (1985)).
Chitin and Lipid Components
Chittin (N-acylated poly-glucosamine) is located exclusively in the budding scars, where it forms a ring (E. Cabib, B. Browers, J. Biol. Chem. 246, 152 (1971)). As a lipid compound dolichol phosphate was isolated from the cell walls (P. Jung, W. Tanner, Eur. J. Biochem. 37, 1 (1973)). The rest of the lipid component consists of glycerol esters of various fatty acids.
The Structure of the Yeast Cell Wall
Electron microscopic investigation of the process of biosynthesis and assembly of the glucans in Candida albicans reveals the development of the fibrous network of the cell wall. The triple helices which appear as microfibrils with a diameter of approx. 2 nm are self-assembled end-to-end and side by side and are twisted together leading to fibrils of 4-8 nm in diameter. These fibrils finally associate to flat ribbon-shaped bundles, 8-16 nm thick and 100-200 nm wide and thus form the basic network structure of the cell wall. The interfibrillar spaces of the network at this stage have dimensions of about 100-200 nm and most likely mark the origin of the pores which are present in the cell wall at the final stage and which constitute the structural basis for their ability to adsorb compounds with great significance in a large number of different areas. They are gradually filled with the additional components and manno-proteins which are known to form anchors to the membrane lipids.
Isolation of Yeast Cell Wall Components
Fractionation of the cell walls, as e.g. of Saccharomyces cerevisiae starts either from whole cells or from cell walls e.g. obtained by autolysis; both starting materials may be used in dry or wet form. In some cases the cells or cell walls are pre-treated mechanically (by sonification or by treatment with glass beads). The starting material as well as the mechanical disruption greatly influence the purity of the resulting fraction. A large number of different methods were reported for the isolation of cell wall components (F. M. Klis, Yeast 10, 851 (1994)). They can be grouped (1) in methods for the isolation of mannoprotein, and (2) in methods for the isolation of glucan.
A common reagent of chemical methods for the isolation of mannoprotein is sodium hydroxide of varying concentrations and using a wide range of temperatures and treatment times (Int. Patent WO 94/04163 (1994); D. L. Williams, R. B. McNamee, E. L. Jones, H A. Pretus, H. E. Ensley, I. Williams, N. R. DiLuzio, Carbohydr. Res. 219, 203 (1991)). Depending on the reaction conditions, such treatments also solubilize more or less glucan (see above definition of soluble and insoluble glucan), In some cases, organic bases like ethylene diamine and buffers like citrate salts find application to solubilize mannoproteins (R. Sentandreu, D. H. Northcote, Biochem. J. 109, 419 (1968); T. Nakajima, C. Ballou, J. Biol. Chem. 249, 7679 (1974)). Extraction with a 2% boiling sodium-dodecyl-sulfate (SDS) in the presence or absence of reducing agents, like mercaptoethanol, represents a widely used approach to free gluten from mannoproteins and other proteins (E. Valentin, E. Herrero, F. I. J. Pastor, R. Sentandreu, J. General Microbiol. 130, 1419 (1984); F. I. J. Pastor, E. Valentin, E. Herrero, R. Sentandreu, Biophys. Acta 802, 292 (1984)). Treatment of whole cells with pure water at temperatures of up to 135° C. was also applied, yielding a highly contaminated mannoprotein fraction (S. Peat, W. J. Whelan, T. E. Edwards, J. Chem. Soc. 29 (1961); N. Shibata, K. Mizugami, S. Susuki, Microbiol. Immunol. 28, 1283 (1984); Y. Okubo, T. Ichikawa, S Susuki, J. Bact. 136, 63 (1978)).
Enzymatic methods were alternatively used for releasing the manno-proteins. For this purpose, proteases and glucanases are used, acting on the protein part of the mannan or the glucan fixing the mannoprotein (β-1,6 glucan).
The mannan-free glucan is further purified by procedures that include acid treatment such as acetic acid or HCI.
The summarized chemical procedures for isolation and purification of cell wall components will more or less affect the nativity of the polymers, which is primarily reflected in the occurrence of increased amounts of soluble glucan and in a disturbance of the structure of the insoluble glucan fraction. It is especially the latter negative impact of existing glucan isolation procedures that make the insoluble glucan less suitable for adsorbent applications. When such chemical treatments are used under milder conditions, the pores of the glucan skeleton are not properly activated, i.e. freed from physically or chemically bound pore filling material. This also yields insoluble glucan not optimal for adsorption.

Isolation of glucan particles and uses thereof


Visual feedback may be provided. First, a continuous contact with a first point on a surface may be detected. The surface may comprise, for example, a touch screen or a touch pad. The continuous contact may be caused by a selecting element comprising, for example, a stylus or a digit of a subject. Then a menu may be displayed in response to the detected continuous contact. The menu may comprise a plurality of menu selectable elements. Next it may be detected that the continuous contact has moved from the first point on the surface to a second point on the surface. The second point may correspond to a one of the plurality of menu selectable elements. Then a control may be displayed corresponding the one of the plurality of menu selectable elements.

Conventional touch-based input solutions commonly utilize a "point and click" approach to interaction. Visual elements on a screen (e.g. icons, hyperlinks, buttons, or edit boxes) present the opportunity for a user to give a system information or input. The user taps on touch-sensitive portions of the screen to simulate what is often achieved by hovering a mouse cursor over the control and clicking.
A problem often encountered when deploying touch-based devices is calibrating the touch-screen so that when the user taps on an "OK" button, the use does not end up actually missing the control, or triggering a nearby control without intending. This is sometimes mitigated by creating oversized controls that are harder to miss because of their larger target area. On mobile devices, however, people usually use a stylus instead, continuing to rely on small buttons with precision of the touch input via the stylus.
Often, a set of cascading menus or tab controls is used to put similar options or controls into groupings. This results in the user having to tap on small areas of the screen multiple times in order to access the control data, or option that they are looking to view or change. On a small portable device, this can be tedious and cause the user to lose patience with the device.


An electrically connecting terminal structure of a circuit board and a manufacturing method thereof are disclosed. The method includes: providing a circuit board defined with first and second predetermined areas; forming the first electrically connecting pad in the first predetermined area and the second electrically connecting pad in a portion of the second predetermined area; forming an insulated protecting layer on the circuit board, forming openings on the insulated protecting layer for exposing the first and second electrically connecting pads and a pad-uncovered portion of the second predetermined area; forming a conductive layer on the insulated protecting layer and forming openings of the insulated protecting layer; forming a resist on the conductive layer, forming openings on the resist above the openings of the insulated protecting layer; and forming first and second metals in the openings above the first and second electrically connecting pads and the pad-uncovered portion of the second predetermined area.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrically connecting terminal structures for a circuit board and a manufacturing method of the structures, and more particularly, to a method for manufacturing an electrically connecting terminal structure of a circuit board by electroplating.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Flip chip package technology was introduced into the industry by IBM in the early 1960s. Unlike wire bonding technology, flip chip package technology involves implementing electrical connection between a semiconductor chip and a circuit board by solder bumps instead of gold wires. Flip chip package technology spares the use of long gold wires and thereby enables reduction of impedance. In view of this, the technique of applying high-temperature solder to a ceramic substrate, or control collapse chip connection (i.e., "C4"), has been in use for years. Recent years saw an increasing demand for high-density, high-speed, low-cost semiconductor components and a trend toward miniaturization of electronic products, and thus there is explosive growth in installing flip-chip components in low-cost circuit boards and disposing resin underfill beneath a chip to decrease the thermal stress resulting from a thermal expansion difference between a chip and an organic circuit board.
With the existing flip chip technology, an integrated circuit (IC) chip is equipped with electrode pads that match electrically connecting pad of an organic circuit board, and solder bumps or any other conductive surface-mounted materials can be disposed between the chip and the circuit board as appropriate, and thus the solder bumps or the other conductive surface-mounted materials provide electrical input/output (I/O) and mechanic connection between the chip and the circuit board.
As shown in FIG. 1, flip chip technology involves forming a plurality of metal bumps 11 on electrode pads 12 of a chip 13, forming a plurality of presoldered bumps 14 (made of a solder material) on electrically connecting pads 15 of a circuit board 16, reflowing the presoldered bumps 14 at a reflow temperature such that the presoldered bumps 14 and the corresponding metal bumps 11 together form solder joints 17, and disposing an underfill material 18 beneath the chip 13 so as to ensure the integrity and reliability of the electrical connection between the chip 13 and the circuit board 16.
To enhance electrical performance of an electronic device, it is necessary to install passive components, such as resistors, capacitors, and inductors, in the electronic device. In general, the passive components are mounted on a circuit board by surface mount technology (SMT), and thus presoldered bumps and surface-mounted soldered components are found on the circuit board concurrently, with a difference between both in terms of the height and size of a presolder material formed.
Afterward, during an encapsulation process performed on the circuit board, semiconductor chip, and passive component, it is necessary to implant a plurality of solder balls beneath the circuit board so as to electrically connect the circuit board with any external electronic device. To mount the solder balls on circuit board efficiently, it is necessary to form a presolder material on the electrically connecting pads of the circuit board so as to allow the solder balls to be mounted on the electrically connecting pads of the circuit board by means of the presolder material.
A presolder material is usually formed on electrically connecting pads of a circuit board by electroplating. FIGS. 2A-2F are cross-sectional views showing a conventional method for electroplating a solder material onto electrically connecting pads of a circuit board.
As shown in FIG. 2A, the conventional method comprises: providing a circuit board 2 having a surface formed with a plurality of first electrically connecting pads 20 and second electrically connecting pads 22 of different sizes, wherein the surface of the circuit board 2 is formed with a circuit structure (not shown), the first electrically connecting pads 20 are, for example, presoldered bump pads intended to be connected to a flip chip, and the second electrically connecting pads 22 are, for example, surface-mounted (SMT) pads for connection with passive components or ball pads for ball implantation. The first and second electrically connecting pads 20 and 22 are formed on either the same surface or different surfaces of the circuit board 2.
As shown in FIG. 2B, the conventional method further comprises forming an insulated protecting layer 23 on the circuit board 2, forming in the insulated protecting layer 23 a plurality of openings 230 for exposing the first and second electrically connecting pads 20 and 22 on the circuit board 2.
As shown in FIG. 2C, the conventional method further comprises forming a conductive layer 24 on the insulated protecting layer 23 and the openings 230 thereof, forming a resist 25 on the conductive layer 24, forming in the resist 25 a plurality of openings 250 corresponding in position to the openings 230 of the insulated protecting layer 23 and exposing the conductive layer 24 on the first and second electrically connecting pads 20 and 22.
As shown in FIG. 2D, the conventional method further comprises electroplating metal bumps 26 and a presolder material 27 onto the first electrically connecting pads 20 in sequence, electroplating metal bumps 28 and a presolder material 29 onto the second electrically connecting pads 22 in sequence, using the conductive layer 24 as an electrical conduction path.
As shown in FIG. 2E, the conventional method further comprises removing the resist 25 and the conductive layer 24 thereunder.
As shown in FIG. 2F, the conventional method further comprises performing a reflow process on the presolder materials 27 and 29 at a melting temperature thereof such that solder structures 27′ and 29′ of different heights and sizes are formed on the first and second electrically connecting pads 20 and 22, wherein the solder structure 27′ of a relatively great height functions as a presoldered bump for mounting a semiconductor chip, and the solder structure 29′ of a relatively small height is to be mounted with a passive component, such as a surface-mounted device, or is to be implanted with solder balls.
Although the aforesaid conventional process enables the metal bumps 26 and 28 and the solder materials 27 and 29 to be formed on the first and second electrically connecting pads 20 and 22 with different sizes on the circuit board 2, the relatively large-sized second electrically connecting pads 22 are formed with the metal bumps 28 of a considerable height; as a result, whatever presolder materials subsequently formed on the metal bumps 28 are too high, thus allowing an overflow or shift to occur to the solder materials on the second electrically connecting pads 22 during a subsequent reflow process, and compromising the quality and reliability of the solder materials. In consequence, the reliability of a subsequent process of mounting passive components on the electrically connecting pads of the circuit board or a subsequent ball implantation process is affected to a great extent.
In addition to poor quality and reliability of the solder materials of a circuit board, the prior art does have another drawback, that is, the fine pitch requirements for the electrically connecting pads of high-level electronic products cannot be met.
Accordingly, an issue calling for immediate solution involves developing a method for manufacturing an electrically connecting terminal structure for a circuit board so as to solve the drawbacks of the prior art, that is, poor quality of the solder materials fabricated by a reflow process and failure to meet the fine pitch requirements.

Electrically connecting terminal structure of circuit board and manufacturing method thereof

Phoenix Precision Technology Corporation


An exhaust gas purification apparatus of an engine, capable of preventing erroneous detection of an injection nozzle clogging, and having a reducing catalytic converter disposed in an exhaust system, for reducing and purifying nitrogen oxide in the exhaust gas using urea water; a urea water tank storing the urea water; a urea water supply unit sucking up the urea water from the urea water tank and mixes it with high-pressure air for delivery; and an injection nozzle injecting the urea water mixed with the high-pressure air, into an exhaust gas moving upstream side of the reducing catalytic converter in an exhaust gas passage, and further having a clogging detection unit capable of detecting clogging of the injection nozzle based on each detection output of a pressure of the air introduced into the urea water supply unit, and a temperature of the injection nozzle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an engine exhaust gas purification apparatus that reduces and removes nitrogen oxide (NOx) exhausted from a diesel engine, gasoline engine or the like installed in a moving vehicle, by injecting a reducing agent, which is mixed with high-pressure air, into the exhaust gas upstream side of a reducing catalytic converter through an injection nozzle. In particular, it relates to an exhaust gas purification apparatus that prevents erroneous detection of clogging by detecting clogging of the injection nozzle based on the pressure of the high-pressure air and the temperature of the injection nozzle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Several exhaust gas purification apparatuses have been proposed as system for removing harmful matter, especially NOx, from exhaust gas discharged from an engine, to purify the exhaust gas. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-27627 discloses a typical exhaust gas purification apparatus for a diesel engine. In such an exhaust gas purification apparatus, a reducing catalytic converter is provided in an exhaust system of an engine, and a reducing agent, which is mixed with high-pressure air, is injection-supplied to an exhaust gas passage on the upstream side of the reducing catalytic converter to thereby create a catalytic reduction reaction between the NOx in the exhaust gas and the reducing agent in order to purify the NOx to harmless elements. The reducing agent is stored in a reducing agent tank in a liquid state at normal temperatures, and the required amount is injection-supplied from the injection nozzle. In the reduction reaction, ammonia, which has good reactivity with NOx, is used, and as the reducing agent, a urea water solution, an ammonia water solution, or other reducing agent water solution, that is hydrolyzed and produces ammonia easily, is used.
In this type of exhaust gas purification apparatus, there are situations in which the reducing agent, urea for example, is deposited during injection, and clogging the injection nozzle, so that sufficient reducing agent cannot be injection-supplied to the exhaust gas passage. To counter such a problem, an incorporation of such a system for detecting the pressure change in the high-pressure air can be considered in order to determine if the injection nozzle is clogged.
However, in the case where clogging of the injection nozzle is determined by detecting the pressure change in the high-pressure air, there is concern that the above-mentioned incorporation of the pressure detecting system may also be sensitive to detecting pressure changes in the high-pressure air produced by minute clogging, which is not a major cause of damage to the injection-supply of reducing agent, for example clogging in which deposited reducing agent will be melted easily by an increase in temperature in the injection nozzle and disappear, so that the system erroneously detects this as clogging of the injection nozzle.


An apparatus for producing a metal sheet with a corrugation configuration that is of a first corrugation height, wherein the sheet has transversely or at an angle relative to the corrugation configuration a microstructure having a second, substantially smaller corrugation height. The apparatus includes a device for producing the microstructure, and a pair of mutually meshing corrugation rollers that are disposed downstream of the device for producing the microstructure. Wherein the corrugation rollers have at their outer surfaces recesses which are suitably disposed and sufficiently large to receive the microstructures, so that the microstructures are not deformed by the corrugation rollers in the operation of corrugating the metal sheet.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention concerns a process and apparatuses for producing a metal sheet with a corrugation configuration that is of a first predetermined corrugation height, wherein the sheet, transversely or at an angle to the corrugation, has a microstructure with a second, substantially smaller corrugation height. Metal sheets of this kind are processed in particular to form honeycomb bodies for catalytic converters as are used in particular in exhaust gas systems of motor vehicles. The invention however is not limited to that use as for example uses in heat exchangers are also possible.
Details in regard to the form and the advantages of such microstructures are described for example in International
Patent Applications WO 90/08249, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,010, or WO 96/09892. As is already the case in the state of the art, a microstructure in a corrugated sheet denotes a structure which is of substantially smaller height than the corrugation configuration of the sheet. In particular a microstructure can project from a sheet at one or both sides, more specifically for example by at least 15 .mu. or 0.01 to about 0.3 times the corrugation height of the metal sheet.
Corrugated metal sheets are generally produced in the state of the art by corrugation rollers which mesh with each other and which preferably have an involute tooth configuration or a tooth configuration of a similar configuration. Other corrugation shapes, for example a trapezium shape, a zig-zag shape etc. are also known. In a honeycomb body through which exhaust gas flows, in particular in a catalytic converter, microstructures which extend transversely or angled relative to the flow direction, so-called transverse structures (referred to as the TS-configuration), provide for a better transfer of heat between the exhaust gas and the honeycomb body and an improvement in the diffusion procedures which are important in regard to the catalytic effectiveness of the honeycomb body.
The state of the art therefore provides for disposing microstructures at given spacings in succession in the flow direction, in particular at spacings of less than 20 mm and in particular less than 10 mm.
As the microstructures are relatively small in comparison with the typical thickness of the sheets for the honeycomb bodies, it was hitherto assumed that they do not cause problems to a substantial degree in the further manufacturing procedure so that processing was effected using the usual corrugation rollers and moreover with known production steps for forming the honeycomb body.
It has been found however that, when corrugating a sheet that already has microstructures, those microstructures are in part pressed flat again, while in addition that also occurs irregularly, depending on the clearance of the corrugation rollers relative to each other. In that kind of production procedure the microstructures firstly had to be produced with a larger corrugation height than was wanted in the final result, in order to compensate for that effect. When dealing with quite a number of starting materials the cold shaping effects that occur in that situation could only be achieved with difficulty, without causing damage. That problem becomes more acute when dealing with ever thinner sheets and ever smaller corrugation heights. Honeycomb bodies with for example 500 cells per square inch (cpsi) and more are in demand, in which case sheets having a thickness of below 30 .mu.m are used resulting in more serious difficulties in terms of manufacturing procedures.

Process and apparatuses for producing a metal sheet with a corrugation configuration and a microstructure disposed transversely with respect thereto

EMITEC Gesellschaft fuer Emissionstechnologie mbH