An image processing apparatus for generating image data to be displayed on a predetermined display screen, comprises an image data generator for receiving polygon information of a polygon including at least position information on the display screen and generating image data corresponding to pixels in the polygon; a frame buffer memory for storing image data pixel by pixel; a blur-value buffer memory for storing information of a degree of influence of the image data of each pixel on pixels therearound, as a blur value, in a predetermined pixel unit; and a blur processor for performing an arithmetic operation on the image data of each pixel, read from the frame buffer memory, in accordance with the degree of influence from surrounding pixels, read from the blur-value buffer memory, to generate image data to be displayed on the display screen, and by a method for this apparatus.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to computer graphics processing, and, more particularly, to an image processing apparatus and method capable of carrying out a blur process for giving a blur effect to an afterimage or the like of an object which is out of focus or moving fast.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
A computer graphics processing technique is used in a simulation apparatus, a game machine and the like. Normally, a simulation or game is implemented by a computer program, each object of an image is moved or the position of an observing point, the angle of visibility or the like is altered in accordance with the manipulation by an operator, and the image is then displayed on a display unit such as a monitor TV.
In this case, for example, position coordinates on the display screen are acquired by perspective transformation from three-dimensional coordinates to two-dimensional coordinates based on the position information of each object which is acquired by performing an arithmetic operation according to a computer program, and image data including pixel-by-pixel color information is obtained by a rendering process (filling process) based on information of the position coordinates and texture data, such as the display colors and patterns of individual objects, and is written in a frame buffer memory. The pixel-by-pixel color data written in the frame buffer memory is displayed on a monitor TV or the like after being subjected to D/A conversion.
As discussed above, main image processing includes a transformation process for the positions of a plurality of polygons which constitute an object and a rendering process for performing color filling on the polygon through both of which pixel-by-pixel image data is acquired and stored in the frame buffer memory. Each of those processes itself requires a lot of computations.
An image to be output after computer-aided image processing is normally a clear image with its all objects in focus without blurring, and may be more realistic if it is blurred depending on the type, movement, position, etc. of each object. To provide depth perception, for example, making an object near the focus clear and blurring an object out of focus in accordance with the depth of field are more preferable to making a closer object larger and a distant object smaller by simple perspective transformation. Further, it is preferable that an object which is moving fast should have some blur to the afterimage of the rear portion of the object, which is called motion blur. It is more realistic that a light source which has an extremely high luminance or an object on which light from such a light source is irradiated has blur around itself. Further, blur on an image opposite to semitransparent glass can present better expression of semitransparency. In some cases, it may be effective to always put blur on a specific object or polygon from the viewpoint of the progression of a game.
As apparent from the above, performing a blur process on a polygon makes an image to be displayed more realistic or more effective.
Conventionally, for example, the blur process spatially overlaps plural pieces of image data one on another, slightly shifting them. Alternatively, plural pieces of image data, shifted from one another over time, are overlapped one on another. Preparing plural pieces of image data however needs a very long image processing time, which results in an insufficient processing time to the preparation of the image data while reproducing ordinary motion on the display screen.


A method for the transformation of image signals that have been obtained by color filtering and have been logarithmically compressed is proposed. The color saturation of the recorded images is increased thereby. According to one aspect of the invention, the transformed image signals are determined as a function of the logarithmically compressed image signals and the logarithmically compressed brightness signals for a spectral color.

The invention relates to a method for the transformation of image signals that have been obtained by color filtering and have been logarithmically compressed, wherein the color saturation of the recorded images is modified. The invention furthermore relates to a saturation stage for carrying out the method and also to a digital camera having such a saturation stage.
In photographic and film camera technology, electronic image recorders, which convert an optical intensity distribution into electronic image signals, are increasingly being used as a replacement for conventional film material. Such image recorders have a regular arrangement of pixels which are each assigned one or more light-sensitive circuits comprising semi-conductor components, these circuits hereinafter being referred to as image cells. Each of these image cells generates an image signal whose voltage value is a function of the intensity of the light impinging on the image cell.
In image recorders for color reproduction, each pixel generally comprises a triad of image cells which are each covered by a color filter for one of the three spectral colors red, green and blue. Each signal of such an image cell reproduces a brightness value relative to the relevant spectral color, so that the totality of the three individual signals contains the color information for the relevant pixel.
If an image represented by such image signals is viewed directly on a monitor, then the result generally deviates more or less significantly from the actual visual impression gained by a person by directly viewing the recorded motif. Therefore, the image signals are generally digitized and, in digital signal processors, subjected to different transformations in order to adapt the recorded images to the actual visual impression.
Such transformations can be used for example to remove color casts (color transformations) or to brighten or darken recorded images overall (brightness transformations). Furthermore, it is possible to modify the color saturation of such electronic images. The saturation of a color is understood here as the difference between the color value and a grey-scale value of the same brightness. Weakly saturated colors are therefore pale or even greyish, while strongly saturated colors have a powerful and brilliant effect.
The description of such transformations is usually based on the so-called RGB color model, since this largely corresponds to the method of operation of image recorders and color monitors. This is because both in the RGB color model and in image recorders and color monitors colors are reproduced by components of the three spectral colors red, green and blue, which can each assume values between 0 and 1 in the color model. In this way, the totality of the representable colors can be represented in a unit cube spanned by a coordinate system on whose axes the three color components are plotted. If the components of the three primary colors have the same magnitude, which corresponds to a point on a spatial diagonal of the unit cube, then a pure grey-scale value is obtained. In the case of a weakly saturated color, the point representing this color lies in the vicinity of this spatial diagonal, i.e. the components of the spectral colors deviate only slightly from one another.
A transformation for the saturation of RGB colors is known from a paper by Paul Haeberli from 1993, which was published on the Internet under the address http://wwp.sqi.com/graphica/matrix/index.html. If R designates an image signal for the spectral color red at a specific pixel, then the transformed image signal R′ is produced, after the transformation described there, from the equationR′=α·(R−L)+L,where L designates a brightness value for the relevant pixel and α designates a saturation factor. Corresponding equations apply with regard to the transformed image signals G′ and B′ for the spectral color green and blue, respectively, the saturation factor α and the brightness value L being identical for all the spectral colors of a pixel. In this case, the brightness value L is determined according to the equationL=R·WR+G·WG+B·WBwhere                WR=0.3086,        WG=0.6094 and        WB=0.0820.
If the saturation factor α is chosen to be less than 1, then this leads to a reduction of the color saturation. Saturation factors α which are greater than 1 produce more strongly saturated colors.
The paper furthermore points out that this transformation leads to correct results only when the image signals R, G and B are linear. Linear image signals are distinguished by the fact that there is a linear relationship between the voltage value of such an image signal and the optical intensity which impinges on the relevant pixel. This is the case for example with the image recorders using CCD technology (CCD=charge coupled device) that are often used in today video cameras. By contrast, if linear image signals are not involved, then according to Haeberli these signals must first be converted into linear signals before it is possible to carry out the above-described transformation for altering the color saturation.
EP 0 632 930 B1 discloses an image recorder which compresses a high input signal dynamic range logarithmically to a considerably smaller output signal dynamic range. Each pixel of this known image recorder thus generates an output voltage which corresponds to the logarithm of the optical intensity impinging thereon. As a result, the extremely high irradiance dynamic range of natural scenes, which is of the order of magnitude of 120 dB, can be acquired by signal technological means. Such an image recorder can thus be used to electronically acquire images whose brightness dynamic range comes extremely close to the actual visual perception of humans. This is primarily due to the fact that the human eye also has an approximately logarithmic visual sensitivity.
While these logarithmically compressed image signals reproduce a brightness dynamic range of about 120 dB, the absolute differences between the image signals of the individual spectral colors are comparatively small, however. It has the result that the images recorded using the known image recorder often have an inadequate color saturation. It therefore appears to be possible to follow the suggestion made in the paper by P. Haeberli cited above and firstly to linearize again the logarithmically compressed image signals after digitization, then to transform them in the manner described there and subsequently to logarithmize them again. However, such linearization (i.e. delogarithmization) and subsequent logarithmization of the image signals is highly complex computationally and can therefore be achieved only with expensive digital signal processors.

Method and apparatus for modifying the color saturation of electronically acquired images


Audio packets occupy spaces in a packet stream so as to reduce packet jitter in a receiver.

The ATSC digital television standard has been extended to allow a field to contain a mix of more robustly coded data (referred to herein as enhanced data) and the data currently provided for in the standard (referred to herein as VSB data). Further similar extensions are being investigated. Preferably, though not necessarily, the data mix is employed on a segment-by-segment basis such that, ignoring the effects of interleaving in the encoder, some segments of a field are used to transmit VSB data exclusively and the remaining segments of the field are used to transmit enhanced data segments exclusively. However, it is possible that all data segments of a field could contain either enhanced data segments exclusively or VSB data segments exclusively. Moreover, it is also possible that some of the enhanced data contained in a field may be coded with one robust coding rate and that other enhanced data contained in the field may be coded at other robust coding rates.
Accordingly, the ATSC digital television standard permits the transmission of enhanced data packets along with the typical main signal packets such as video packets, audio packets, and control packets usually associated with digital television programming. As indicated above, the data in the enhanced data packets is enhanced with extra coding in order to provide greater robustness so as to increase the likelihood that the enhanced data will be properly received in spite of noise, such as noise caused by the transmission channel.
In many transmission schemes for the transmission of enhanced data, the introduction of the enhanced data packets forces the main signal packets to new time locations in the transport stream. This relocation of the main signal packets is commonly called packet jitter.
The term "legacy receiver" is used herein to denote older digital television receivers that have not been built to effectively receive and process a digital television signal containing enhanced data packets. The buffers, particularly the audio buffers, of legacy receivers tend to be too small to permit these legacy receivers to effectively manage a received digital television signal containing enhanced data packets. As a result, the transmission of a digital television signal containing enhanced data causes packet jitter in legacy receivers.
For example, according to ISO 13818-1, the decoder of a receiver includes a transport buffer definition that limits the maximum data rate. Similarly, a main buffer holds a larger portion of data to be processed and essentially defines a minimum data rate burst for a particular type of transport stream. The maximum data rate translates to multiple packet advancement in time, and the minimum data rate translates to packet delay.
A single packet displacement is easily handled by the buffers. However, displacement of larger groups of packets becomes problematic. Therefore, because of the buffer limitations, the packets in the transport stream must be carefully ordered in order to reduce packet jitter.
The present invention overcomes one or more of these or other problems.

Packet jitter mitigation for bursty transmission systems


A level transducer has a power supply module, a tuning fork module, a sensing-phase corrector and a controller. The tuning fork module has a tuning fork, at least one piezoelectric driving element, and at least one piezoelectric sensing element. The at least one piezoelectric driving element and the at least one piezoelectric sensing element are stacked on each other, and are mounted on the tuning fork. The power supply module is electrically connected and outputs a voltage to the at least one piezoelectric driving element to deform the at least one piezoelectric driving element. The at least one piezoelectric sensing element is extruded and outputs a voltage signal. The sensing-phase corrector obtains the voltage signal and outputs a clock signal to feedback control the voltage on the at least one piezoelectric driving element to optimize a deformation frequency of each piezoelectric element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a level transducer and more particularly to a level transducer having a self-modulation function to increase accuracy of the level transducer.
2. Description of Related Art
Level transducers are commonly used in many industries such as food industries, chemical industries, and petrochemical industries to monitor a level change of material stored in a tank to confirm amount or inventory status of the material.
With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, a conventional level transducer comprises a tuning fork unit 60, a control unit 70 and a power supply unit 71. The tuning fork unit 60 has a tuning fork 61, a piezoelectric driving element 62 and a piezoelectric sensing element 63, wherein the piezoelectric driving element 62 and the piezoelectric sensing element 63 are sleeved on the tuning fork 60, and the piezoelectric driving element 62 is stacked on the piezoelectric sensing element 63. The control unit 70 is electrically connected to the power supply unit 71, wherein the control unit 70 and the power supply unit 71 are respectively connected to the piezoelectric sensing element 63 and the piezoelectric driving element 62.
When the level transducer is in use, the power supply unit 71 produces a square wave driving voltage signal VT to the piezoelectric driving element 62. The piezoelectric driving element 62 obtains the driving voltage signal VT and deforms. The tuning fork 61 vibrates with a deformation of the piezoelectric driving element 62. Since the tuning fork 61 is inserted in a stored material, a vibration frequency of the tuning fork 61 is influenced by the nature and a level of the stored material, and the vibration frequency of the tuning fork 61 further influences a frequency of the deformation of the piezoelectric driving element 62.
With further reference to the FIG. 7A, when in a positive voltage period of a function cycle of the power supply unit 71, the piezoelectric driving element 62 obtains a positive voltage and expands. The piezoelectric sensing element 63 is extruded due to the expansion of the piezoelectric driving element 62 and shrinks.
With further reference to the FIG. 7B, when in a negative voltage period of the function of the power supply unit 71, the piezoelectric driving element 62 obtains a negative voltage and shrinks. The piezoelectric sensing element 63 expands with the shrinking piezoelectric driving element 62.
A sine wave sensing voltage signal VR is produced by the piezoelectric sensing element 63 by a deformation of the piezoelectric sensing element 63 and is sent to the control unit 70. A frequency of the sensing voltage signal VR is based on a frequency of the deformation of the piezoelectric sensing element 63. When the tuning fork 61 is exposed in air, the frequency of the sensing voltage signal VR approximately equals a frequency of the driving voltage signal VT. When the tuning fork 61 is inserted in a stored material, though the frequency of the driving voltage signal VT is not changed, the vibration of the tuning fork 61 slows down due to a resistance of the stored material, and the frequency of the deformation of the piezoelectric driving element 62 is also decreased. Therefore, the frequency of the deformation of the piezoelectric sensing element 63 and the frequency of the sensing voltage signal VR are both decreased. The decreases of the sensing voltage signal VR are based on the nature and a level of a stored material in which the tuning fork 61 inserted, such that the control unit 70 can obtain the nature and the level of the stored material by calculating the sensing voltage signal VR.
By the above described, the deformation of the piezoelectric driving element 62 is controlled by the driving voltage signal VT, and the frequency of the deformation of the piezoelectric driving element 62 can be changed by adjusting the driving voltage signal VT. However, when the function cycle of the voltage signal VT transits from the positive voltage period to the negative voltage period, the piezoelectric driving element 62 keeps expanding at the transition moment, and thus, the piezoelectric element 62 does not shrink immediately at the transition moment due to inertia of the expanding. Thus, the vibration of the tuning fork 61 becomes weaker, and oscillation amplitude of the sensing voltage signal VR becomes smaller. The control unit 70 obtains sensing results of the stored material based on the inaccurate sensing voltage signal VR, and thus, accuracy of the sensing results obtained by the control unit 70 is reduced.


A hot melt assist waterborne adhesive having high amplitude bead profile and higher heat resistance is provided. The hot melt assist waterborne adhesive includes an emulsion polymer, a preservative, a plurality of pre-expanded hollow microspheres and water. The hot melt assist waterborne adhesive is suitable as a partial or complete replacement to hot melt adhesives for use in converting paper and packaging process.

Paper converting and packaging operations require bonding cellulosic sheet, e.g., paperboard or cardboard, together with adhesives. Typically, waterborne or hot melt adhesives are applied onto one or both substrates and the substrates are compressed together to adhere to one another to form cases, cartons, bag handles, agricultural boxes, bulk box laminations, glued laps, and the like.
Hot melt adhesives are favored over waterborne adhesives in certain areas of the paper converting and packaging operations, where high compression cannot be achieved. Extruded hot melt adhesive lines have high amplitude with a bead-like profile that allows the substrates of the paper products to bond together even with the presence of small gaps. The rapid setting nature of the hot melt adhesives also allows for fast and efficient through-put packaging or converting operations. However, drawbacks to hot melt adhesives include low heat resistance, high energy usage, and non-repulpability.
Waterborne adhesives are typically utilized in paper converting and packaging operations where thin adhesive films rather than thick beads are applied, and where solid and lengthy compression can be achieved; however, the waterborne adhesives do not readily "gap-fill" between two uneven substrates such as those from the undulation of corrugated papers. Although increasing the viscosity, in particular the low shear viscosity, of the waterborne adhesives will help to overcome bead sagging problem and thus achieve "gap-fill," the viscous adhesives are difficult to extrude due to their high viscosity. Furthermore, water exits (evaporates) from the viscous waterborne adhesive layers or beads ever so slowly that the through-put of such adhesive is much lower than that of hot melt adhesives.
The present invention improves the shortcomings of conventional waterborne adhesives in paper converting and packaging operations through the use of a waterborne adhesive composition with expanded microspheres. The inventive waterborne adhesive may substitute one or more hot melt adhesive bead lines in paper converting and packaging operations as a hot melt assist adhesive for improved performances.

Hot melt assist waterborne adhesives and use thereof


An optical proximity correction (OPC) processing method may include at least one of the following steps: Detecting coordinate values of individual piece patterns constituting a graphic design system (GDS). Merging to the form of a specific pattern, composed of outermost coordinate values, on the basis of the detected coordinate values. Shrinking the merged GDS pattern and forming a GDS pattern having a desired magnifying power. Performing an optical proximity correction (OPC) process on the GDS pattern having the desired magnifying power.

In many semiconductor applications, semiconductor devices are relatively highly integrated (e.g. the size of semiconductor devices is relatively small). In relatively highly integrated semiconductor devices, an arrangement density may be relatively high. In relatively highly integrated semiconductor devices, critical dimension of a mask pattern may be close to resolution thresholds of optical exposure devices (e.g. an optical light-exposure device).
Optical proximity correction (OPC) may be used to compensate for resolution limitations in a photolithography process. In OPC, a mask pattern for a test may be manufactured as a test pattern. A pattern may be transcribed onto a semiconductor substrate using the mask pattern through photolithography. Etching of the pattern may be performed, such that a semiconductor pattern for a test is manufactured on the substrate.
OPC may be utilized with design rules that are relatively small. However, bridge and/or pinching issues may arise due to OPC limitations, which may result in complications (e.g. a critical yield drop). For example, if a particular OPC can not draw a mask pattern according to a 0.16 μm semiconductor design rule due to photolithography resolution limitations, shrinking (or minimizing) may be performed using a 0.18 μm mask pattern to achieve 0.16 μm dimensions. When shrinking is performed, an off-grid phenomenon may occur.
An off-grid phenomenon may have a negative influence in many OPC applications (e.g. model-based OPC and rule-based OPC). For example, as illustrated in example FIG. 1A, if a mask is designed in a beam spot having a 4 nm size on the basis of a line critical dimension (CD) of 190 nm, a 15 nm off-grid phenomenon occurs at a pitch of 390 nm. However, for example, an off-grid phenomenon may not occur in a pitch between 450 nm and 515 nm.
As illustrated in example FIG. 1B, a graphic design system (GDS) may be divided into several pattern pieces (e.g. pattern piece 1, pattern piece 2, pattern piece 4, pattern piece 5, and/or pattern piece 6) to manufacture a mask pattern 3. The pattern pieces may overlap each other to form mask pattern 3.
Pattern piece 1, pattern piece 2, pattern piece 4, pattern piece 5, and/or pattern piece 6 may have different sizes. If pattern pieces are shrunk, mask pattern 3 may not satisfy a 1 nm grid of a minimum database unit. For example, a CD pattern of 105 nm is shrunk by 90%, the resulting CD pattern will be 94.5 nm. However, in this example, the size of the CD pattern will be randomly either 95 nm or 94 nm, since the size of 94.5 nm can not be drawn. Accordingly, as illustrated in example FIG. 1C, the off-grid phenomenon occurs at highlighted section A and highlighted section B, which may result in an unintended mask pattern.

Optical proximity correction (OPC) processing method for preventing the occurrence of off-grid


A well drilling system for drilling with gaseous drilling fluid, particularly natural gas, in a closed circulation path including an enclosure or bell nipple mounted on a wellhead between the wellbore and a rotary control head for the drillstem. The enclosure redirects the flow of cuttings laden gaseous drilling fluid being circulated out of the well and includes a plurality of fire extinguishing fluid injection nozzles arranged to inhibit or extinguish fire within the enclosure and the rotary control head. Drill cuttings are separated from the gaseous drilling fluid in a pressure vessel which includes separator baffles and a drill cuttings port and valve arrangement for dumping samples and substantial quantities of drill cuttings collected within the pressure vessel during operation of the system. The enclosure and fire extinguishing system may be used in conjunction with operations using conventional liquid drilling fluids and conventional liquid-solids separation equipment. Methods for monitoring pressure surges in the wellbore to control or minimize deviation from a predetermined pressure condition included monitoring fluid flow rate and pressures of drilling fluid flowing into and from the well and controlling the rate of insertion of a drillstem into the well to minimize pressure surges.

The substantial and continuous efforts to recover hydrocarbon fluids from underground reservoirs has brought on the realization that subterranean earth formation damage, which reduces hydrocarbon fluid recovery, can occur through the use of conventional liquid drilling fluids, such as so-called drilling muds. These fluids, which usually comprise water or refined hydrocarbon liquids, a weighting agent, viscosifiers and lost circulation prevention substances, can invade the formation from the wellbore while circulating the fluids during the drilling process and resulting in damage to the formation with respect to efforts to recover hydrocarbon fluids therefrom. Penetration of drilling fluids into the formation occurs, of course, when the pressure forces of the fluids in the well exceed the natural formation pressure. However, conventional drilling techniques include maintaining a so-called overbalanced or net positive pressure of the drilling fluid over and above the formation pressure to minimize contamination of the drilling fluid with formation fluids and to minimize the chance of well blowout.
Efforts to overcome the potential for damage created by drilling with conventional liquid drilling fluids or muds in overbalanced conditions have resulted in the development of so called underbalanced drilling techniques wherein the hydrostatic pressure of the drilling fluid in the well is maintained at a value less than the formation pressure to minimize penetration of the drilling fluids into the formation from the wellbore wall interface. Still further, where formation conditions permit, drilling operations have been carried out with compressed air, natural gas and other gasses as the drilling fluid. When environmental and economic conditions permitted the use of natural gas as a drilling fluid in a so-called open circulation system, this technique was widely used. However, the commercial value of natural gas and environmental considerations have resulted in substantial elimination of drilling operations wherein natural gas is used as the circulation fluid but is vented to atmosphere or "flared" after returning from the borehole with entrained drill cuttings.
Drilling with compressed air as the cuttings evacuation fluid also tends to oxidize formation fluids in situ and raise the hazard of ignition of formation produced combustible gasses, such as natural gas, when mixed with the compressed air in the circulation system. Moreover, heretofore, other problems associated with operating a closed gas circulation system for well drilling have prevented use of these systems with inert gas or compressed air.
Use of natural gas as the cuttings evacuation fluid, in particular, in a well drilling system, has certain advantages in underbalanced operating conditions. Natural gas is often in plentiful supply in hydrocarbon reservoirs and nearby formations and may be a product of the reservoir itself in many formations. The use of natural gas as a drilling fluid reduces the hazards of operating in an overbalanced condition because the gas minimizes formation damage in liquid hydrocarbon as well as hydrocarbon gas producing or storage reservoirs and, in fact, can enhance formation productivity through its miscibility with formation liquids and its effectiveness as a drive fluid.
Moreover, drilling operations carried out in so called underbalanced or substantially underbalanced pressure conditions in the wellbore can possibly bring about the realization of as much as a 10-fold increase in the rate of penetration in geo pressured reservoirs and hard rock formations such as hard sand, dolomite and limestones. This increase in the rate of penetration is accomplished due to the fact that earth formations are much weaker in tension than in compression. Accordingly, by reducing wellbore pressures which would place the formation in compression at the point of penetration of the formation these dramatic increases in the rates of penetration may be realized, particularly with a closed gas drilling fluid circulation system.
However, a closed gas circulation system presents certain problems, including drill cuttings separation and sampling from the gas circulation system, treatment of the gas so that it is suitable for recirculation through the drill string and the wellbore or discharge to a gas transport pipeline, and well control to prevent unwanted blowouts or fire resulting from the presence of a combustible fluid. These problems have been substantially overcome by the present invention as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art from reading the following summary and a detailed description of the system, its components and methods of operation in accordance with the invention.

Method for controlling entry of a drillstem into a wellbore to minimize surge pressure


A device useful for treating an aneurysm having a neck comprises a first inflatable disc and a second inflatable disc, said second inflatable disc being adjacent to said first inflatable disc and in fluid communication therewith. The inflatable discs are sized and constructed such that when the inflatable discs are inflated, the aneurysm neck is engaged there between. The inflatable discs may include at least one wall that is substantially inelastic and may include an internal member limiting expansion of the inflatable disc in a direction parallel to the device axis. The inflatable discs may have an aspect ratio greater than 3.

A vascular aneurysm typically occurs when there is localized stretching or distension of an artery due to a weakening of the vessel wall. The vascular distension itself is often referred to as an aneurysm sac. The opening from the vessel to the aneurysm sack is often referred as the aneurysm neck. Often an aneurysm can be the site of internal bleeding and, if the aneurism ruptures, the site of a stroke.
Several methods for treating aneurysms have been attempted, with varying degrees of success. For example, surgical or extravascular approaches are common in the treatment of intra-cranial berry aneurysms; these are straightforward but fairly traumatic. The method involves removing a portion of the cranium and locating the aneurysm. The neck of the aneurysm is typically closed by applying a specially sized clip to the neck of the aneurysm. The surgeon may choose to perform a suture ligation of the neck or wrap the entire aneurysm. Each of these procedures is performed by a very intrusive invasion into the body and is performed from the outside of the aneurysm or target site. General anesthesia, craniotomy, brain retraction, and a placement of clip around the neck of the aneurysm all are traumatic. The surgical procedure is often delayed while waiting for the patient to stabilize medically. For this reason, many patients die from the underlying disease prior to the initiation of the surgical procedure.
Another procedure, the extra-intravascular approach, involves surgically exposing or stereotaxically reaching an aneurysm with a probe. The wall of the aneurysm is perforated from the outside and various techniques are used to occlude the interior of the aneurysm to prevent it from bleeding. The techniques used to occlude the aneurysm include electro-thrombosis, adhesive embolization, hoghair embolization, and ferromagnetic thrombosis.
Alternative treatments include endovascular occlusion, in which the aneurysm is entered with a guidewire or a microcatheter, which is then used to emplace an occluding means. The occluding means is typically an embolic device, such as one or more coils or other devices, or an amount of an in situ polymerizable compound. An occlusion is formed within the sac, which is intended to reduce blood flow into the aneurysm. Because items are being placed in the aneurysm sack, there is a risk that the sac will be overfilled; that some of emplaced devices may migrate into the parent vessel; and/or that the aneurysm sack may be damaged during the process. Aneurysms that have a wide opening between the aneurysm sac and the parent vessel are particularly difficult to treat.
Another disadvantage of detachable coils involves coil compaction over time. After filling the aneurysm, there remains space between the coils. Continued hemodynamic forces from the circulation act to compact the coil mass resulting in a cavity in the aneurysm neck. Thus the aneurysm can recanalize. In addition, aneurysms that have a wide opening between the aneurysm sac and the parent vessel are difficult to treat. This is particularly true of bifurcation aneurysms such as basilar tip aneurysms.
Another means for forming an occluding mass in an aneurysm sac involves the placement of an elastic inflatable disc in the aneurysm. Detachable occlusion inflatable discs are used in many types of medical procedures. These inflatable discs are typically carried at the end of a catheter and, once inflated, are detached from the catheter. Such an inflatable disc may be positioned within an aneurysm, filled and then detached from the catheter. Besides delivery complications, elastic inflatable discs may be subject to overfilling, which may rupture the aneurysm. Likewise, if the inflatable disc is under-filled, the result may be incomplete occlusion of the aneurysm.
Conventional detachable balloons also suffer disadvantages. For example, detachable balloons, when inflated, typically do not conform to the interior configuration of the aneurysm sac. Instead, the detachable balloon requires the aneurysm sac to conform to the exterior surface of the detachable balloon. Thus, there is an increased risk that the detachable balloon will rupture the sac of the aneurysm. Further, because they engage the aneurysm only poorly, detachable balloons can rupture and migrate out of the aneurysm.
Another means for treating vascular aneurysms involves the placement of a liner in the aneurysm sac. An aneurysm liner includes a liner sac that is placed in the aneurysm sac and filled so as to occlude the aneurysm. A guidewire is typically utilized to carry the liner through the vasculature and to assist in deploying the liner in the aneurysm. While the aneurysm liner concept is intuitively attractive, it has posed a number of technical challenges. One primary challenge involves the difficulty in producing a material that is robust enough to contain embolic material without inhibiting the ability of the embolic device to conform to the aneurysm geometry itself, rather than the geometry of the liner. In many instances, materials currently incorporated into aneurysm liner concepts are not compliant enough to adequately remodel the neck portion of an aneurysm sac. This disadvantage can lead to neck remnants and subsequently recanalization after embolization.
Most current aneurysm liners are physically inconvenient or inappropriate for treatment of large aneurysms. For example, many liner concepts involve forming the aneurysm liner of a woven or braided polymeric material such as polypropylene or polyester. These mesh materials are difficult to use in treating medium to large size aneurysms, for example, aneurysms 5-20 millimeters in diameter. Such mesh materials result in an assembly that is too bulky when collapsed down into the catheter for delivery. In other words, the amount of liner material required to fill a relatively large aneurysm is very difficult to collapse down into a constrained, low profile, delivery configuration small enough to be delivered and deployed without excess friction on the walls of the delivery catheter or other delivery lumen. The bulkiness of these devices makes them inconvenient or inappropriate for intra-cranial delivery.
Various other methods and devices are known in the art. However, currently none produces a satisfactory method for closing the aneurysm opening. Thus, it remains desirable to provide devices that can readily and consistently be placed in an aneurysm opening so as to close the opening without damaging the vessel or risking damage to the aneurysm sack.


A substrate for semiconductor and integrated circuit components including:                a core plate containing a Group VIB metal from the periodic table of the elements and/or an anisotropic material, having a first major surface and a second major surface and a plurality of openings extending, at least partially, from the first major surface to the second major surface; and        a Group IB metal from the periodic table of the elements or other high thermally conductive material filling at least a portion of the space encompassed by at least some of the openings; and        optionally, a layer containing a Group IB metal from the periodic table or other high thermally conductive material disposed over at least a portion of the first major surface and at least a portion of the second major surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to direct mount heat sinks for heat generating devices used in electronic applications and in particular to heat sinks containing Group VIB metals from the periodic table of the elements.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Refractory metals, such as molybdenum, have long been used as direct mount heat sinks for heat generating devices used in electronics. Its high thermal conductivity, on the order of 140 W/M° K, in some cases provide adequate thermal conductivity and a close thermal expansion match (TCE of 5.1 ppm/° C.) to materials like silicon.
Such materials often have poor solderability, which can be improved by applying a thin layer of Ni on to one or both surfaces. Also, layers of Cu are often deposited as a thin layer, such as by cladding, spraying, etc., on to the surface in order to alter the thermal expansion properties to match other devices, such as for example GaAs containing devices (TCE of 6.5 ppm//° C.). Such materials having thin Cu layers (laminates) often have unpredictable expansion characteristics during thermal cycling due to uneven distribution of the material in the surface layer or from layer to layer.
In some instances, metal matrix composites such as powder metal matrices of tungsten or molybdenum infiltrated with copper have provided improved thermal characteristics to meet the requirements of either a closer TCE match or higher thermal conductivity. A powder matrix of this type is limited as to the amounts of higher thermal conductivity materials which can be added without creating thermal expansions that are too high.
Such composite matrix materials are inconsistent in structure and do not perform as predicted by the law of mixtures as the high thermal conductivity copper matrix is often not open enough to conduct heat in an unrestricted fashion (i.e., narrow paths, flow blocked by touching refractory metal particles, etc.). Thus, some of the heat must be transferred through the lower thermally conductive refractory metal matrix. Additionally, low levels of porosity exist in the matrix structure restricting thermal flow.
In many cases laminate or matrix systems of Mo—Cu or W—Cu are made into thin structures by way of standard metallurgical procedures such by sawing, cutting, rolling, grinding, and/or lapping, which induce stresses in the material that cannot be completely relieved. The stresses cause warping of the material at thin gauges when exposed to elevated temperature soldering processes.
Materials commonly used for electronic packaging include Al-Graphite, Cu-Graphite, CuMoCu laminate, CuMoCu laminate with a MoCu powdered metal core, W—Cu metal matrix composites, Mo—Cu metal matrix composites, SILVAR® (available from Engineered Materials Solutions, Inc., Attleboro, Mass.), Al—Si metal matrix composites, Al—SiC metal matrix composites, and Cu—SiC metal matrix composites.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,115 discloses a composite structure and a method of producing said composite structure from a combination of copper and a low coefficient of thermal expansion nickel-iron alloy where the copper clads the nickel-iron sheet and is interposed through the central nickel-iron sheet in such a fashion as to provide a substantially isotropic heat transfer path. However, the rolling process used to forge the copper-clad sheet results in non-uniform elongated holes that can result in non-uniform heat transfer and dissipation. Additionally, the large hole size, 40-60 mil, is generally not appropriate for electronic applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,655 discloses a method of manufacturing a thin metallic body composite structure. An inner layer of a first metal is cleaned to remove oxides and promote metallurgical bonding. The inner layer has a plurality of penetrating holes piercing the thickness of the inner layer. The penetrating holes are filled with metal powder of a second metal. Two outer layers of the second metal are placed on opposite sides of the cleaned and filled inner layer to form a sandwich structure. The sandwich structure is heated to a temperature at which recrystallization will occur in a non-oxidizing atmosphere. The sandwich structure is then hot worked to reduce thickness of the sandwich structure forming the thin metallic body composite structure. Unfortunately, the hot working procedure used to forge the composite structure can result in non-uniform elongated holes that can result in non-uniform heat transfer and dissipation. Additionally, although the composite structure is targeted for use in electronic applications, the large hole size, 40-62 mil, is generally not optimal for such applications. Further, porosity of the powder used to fill the holes detracts from its ability to conduct heat.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,923 discloses a metal composite containing layers of copper and Invar, which are cold pressure rolled with reduction in thickness to be metallurgically bonded together in interleaved relation, and strips of the bonded materials are cold pressure rolled together a plurality of times with reduction in thickness to be metallurgically bonded together. The resulting metal composite breaks up the layers of Invar to distribute portions of the Invar material in a copper matrix, which limit thermal expansion of the composite. However, the composite has a limited ability to dissipate heat vertically or in the z-axis direction.
A particular limitation on the use of composite structures is that they are typically porous and cannot be used, for example, in applications where gas or air leakage needs to be prevented, as for example in satellite applications, especially in structures less than 20 mil thick.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,555,762 discloses a high density, electronic package having a conductive composition for filling vias or through holes to make vertical or Z-connects from a dielectric layer to adjacent electrical circuits. The through holes may be plated or non-plated prior to filling.
The above-described matrix materials are also very difficult to obtain in the desired thickness range of less than 20 mils without considerable processing which builds up stress in the refractory metal matrices, which cannot be relieved by thermal processing because of the low melting point of the high thermally conductive infiltrant.
Obtaining a thin material is extremely important because of the thermal relationship:R=Const. L/KA where R is thermal resistance, L is the distance the heat flows or the thickness of the spreader, K is the thermal conductivity of the thermal spreader and A is area. The lower the thermal resistance, the better the performance as a heat sink, which is impacted as follows:                Shorter distance for heat flow and thinner spreaders provide better performance.        Higher thermal conductivity results in lower thermal resistance.        The greater the area that the heat can be spread over, the lower the thermal resistance.
Luedtke, Thermal Management Materials for High-Performance Applications, Advanced Engineering Materials, 6, No. 3 (2004), pp. 142-144, discusses copper coated molybdenum and copper coated molybdenum-copper matrix materials as heat spreaders. However, these materials only provide effective thermal conductivities between 190 and 250 W/M° K.
Generally, the prior art discloses materials, such as Ni—Fe alloys with vias designed to improve z-axis thermal conductivity, that approach the properties of refractory metals. However, current needs, especially in the electronics industry, are for materials that surpass the properties of refractory metals. For example, materials with more, but smaller uniform holes that can be filled without stressing the material and are able to dissipate heat in all directions with superior properties to currently available refractory metal systems as well as other systems.
Thus, there is a need in the art for heat sink materials useful with heat generating electronic components that are sufficiently thin and can adequately conduct, remove and dissipate the generated heat in all directions while maintaining dimensional stability.

Refractory metal substrate with improved thermal conductivity

Abstract: The substrate can be used in electronic devices, which can also include one or more semiconductor components.


A composite component such as a seat back for a vehicle comprises a support portion and at least one reinforcing composite layer. The support portion comprises a thermoplastic material and the reinforcing composite layer comprises a polymeric material impregnating a plurality of fibers. The polymeric material of the reinforcing composite layer is integrated with the thermoplastic of the support portion. A method of forming the composite component includes placing the composite layer into a mold, heating the thermoplastic material to a molten state, and disposing the thermoplastic material in the molten state into contact with the composite layer. The method further includes promoting interaction between the thermoplastic material and the polymeric material to integrate the support portion and the reinforcing composite layer. The thermoplastic material supports the reinforcing composite layer and the reinforcing composite layer reinforces the thermoplastic material to prevent failure when subjected to a load.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a composite component including a support portion and a reinforcement composite layer and a method of forming the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A composite component is formed of at least two diverse materials that are combined together to form a single unit. Composite components are used in a variety of settings including seat backs for a vehicle and structural beams. Seat backs for vehicles are assembled in a seat assembly and the seat assembly is disposed in the vehicle, such as an automobile, for supporting occupants of the vehicle.
Seat backs must meet structural requirements by having sufficient stiffness to support repeated loads commonly exerted on the seat back such as loads exerted by passengers. Seat backs must also have sufficient impact strength to withstand cracking or breaking during impacts such as impacts created by cargo moving in the vehicle and occupant loads during crash events. For example, cargo may move in the vehicle if the cargo is not secured and the vehicle is involved in an accident.
As such, the seat back is generally formed from metal such as steel. Steel meets the structural requirements by providing sufficient stiffness and sufficient impact strength to satisfy the above mentioned concerns. However, the steel seat back is comprised of several individual components and the assembly of these components makes such a construction relatively expensive. Additionally, steel is a relatively heavy material. Generally in vehicles, heavy material such as steel is avoided, where possible, in favor of lighter materials. With respect to the seat back, replacing heavy material with lighter material increases fuel economy of the vehicle. In addition, lighter material is more easily handled in the assembly process of the seat back and the assembly process of the vehicle.
It is known in the art to form the seat back from a relatively light material such as plastic. Plastic is beneficial in such an application not only because plastic is lighter than steel, but also because seat back features may be integrated into the frame portion made of plastic. Such seat back features include headrest guides that are integrally formed on the frame portion during an injection molding process. Also, plastic has the benefit of being able to produce a seat back in a single injection molded process.
However, the use of plastic in such applications is limited due to the relatively low stiffness and low impact strength of plastic in comparison to steel. Seat backs made of plastic must be thicker than those made of steel to achieve sufficient stiffness and impact strength. As a result, seat backs made from plastic may be too thick to accommodate packaging constraints in vehicles.
It is known in the art to form seat backs from composite materials to increase the stiffness and impact strength of the seat back. An example of such a seat back includes a plastic support portion and a metal reinforcing portion attached to the support portion for reinforcing the support portion. Adequate interaction between the plastic of the support portion and the metal of the reinforcement portion is difficult to obtain. In addition, further weight reduction could be obtained by replacing the metal reinforcement portion with a lighter material. Further, such a seat back is not easily recyclable because the seat back is formed of both plastic and metal.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to manufacture a composite component such as a seat back having the relatively light weight and the capability of integration of features as provided by the plastic while also having sufficient stiffness and impact strength without significantly increasing the thickness of the seat back. It would also be desirable to manufacture a composite component which is easily recyclable. Further, it would also be desirable to establish a method of increasing the stiffness and the impact strength of the composite component while also improving the interaction between the materials of the composite component.


A method of constructing an elevator installation having a support plate with a drive unit in a first installation position, an elevator car and a counterweight and in which the drive unit is connected by a support cable with the elevator car and the counterweight. A cross member has a chain hoist and is mounted above a second installation position, the chain hoist being connected with the support plate by a chain, the support plate being released from the first installation position, raised by the chain hoist from the first installation position to the second installation position and finally is mounted in the second installation. An elevator installation has at least one recess, which serves for mounting the support plate, formed in a shaft wall.

The present invention relates to a method of constructing an elevator installation and to an elevator installation for that purpose.
In the erection of multi-floor buildings the number of floors to be served in the course of the basic building work, and the travel height of the elevator installation, increase. For each increase in the travel height the engine room of the elevator installation together with the drive unit and cable rollers has to be correspondingly raised.
A method of increasing the travel height of an elevator installation is described in German patent specification DE 1 900 971, in which the engine room is raised by the elevatoring mechanism of a scaffolding company. For that purpose a hook of the elevatoring mechanism is hooked into a wire cable loop provided at the engine room. The entire engine room with elevator car mounted thereon is raised to such an extent that the engine bearers, by which the engine room was fastened in the previous installation position, can be removed. After removal of the engine bearers, the engine room and elevator car are raised somewhat above the new installation position. The engine room is fastened in the new installation position by a new set of engine bearers.
An elevatoring mechanism, for example a building crane, is additionally needed for use of the known method. This elevatoring mechanism is usually provided by the construction company responsible for erection of the building. Provision of the elevatoring mechanism is connected with additional costs not only for the manufacturer of the elevator installation, but also for the party ordering the elevator installation. Moreover, the elevator installation manufacturer is made dependent on the construction company.

Method of constructing an elevator installation, and elevator installation for that purpose


A curable pressure sensitive adhesive composition is made to contain a polymer-containing energy rays-curable component and fine particles having an average particle diameter of not more than 30 nm, wherein the solid content of the fine particles is made to be from 5 to 60 wt %. A stamper-receiving layer or a curable pressure sensitive adhesive layer for bonding a protective layer is formed using this curable pressure sensitive adhesive composition, thus producing an optical disk producing sheet. This optical disk producing sheet has a low volume shrinkage rate upon curing, and has excellent adhesiveness. If this optical disk producing sheet is used, then an optical disk having little warping and excellent inter-layer adhesion can be obtained.

As optical disks, ones constituted from an optical disk substrate made of a polycarbonate, an information recording layer formed on the optical disk substrate, and a protective film bonded to the information recording layer by an adhesive layer are generally known. In the case that the optical disk is read only, a concavo-convex pattern constituting pits is formed on the information recording layer, and in the case that the optical disk is rewritable, a concavo-convex pattern constituting grooves and lands is formed on the information recording layer.
As a method of forming such an information recording layer, for example a method is known in which a photocurable film (corresponding to a stamper-receiving layer) made of a photocurable resin is laminated onto an optical disk substrate made of a polycarbonate, next a stamper is pressed against the photocurable film, and in this state the photocurable film is cured by irradiating with light, and then the photocured film and the stamper are separated from one another, and a light-reflecting layer is formed on the embossed surface of the photocured film (Japanese Patent No. 2956989).
Moreover, as a method of bonding a protective film and an information recording layer together, for example a method is known in which a photocurable resin is coated onto the protective film or the information recording layer to form an adhesive layer, and then the protective film and the information recording layer are stuck together using this adhesive layer (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 10-283683).
Such a photocurable resin shrinks during the curing reaction upon irradiation with light, and due to this cure shrinkage of the photocurable resin, there have been a problem of the adhesive strength of the stamper-receiving layer to the optical disk substrate, or the adhesive strength of the adhesive layer to the protective film or the information recording layer dropping, and hence the layers peeling away from one another during production of an optical disk or during storage of a produced optical disk, and a problem of warping of obtained optical disks occurring.

Curable pressure sensitive adhesive composition, optical disk producing sheet, and optical disk


A planing device with a feed path for moving a material piece. The device includes a cutterhead on one side of the feed path, and a hold down unit on an opposing second side. The hold down unit includes a contact member that is held in a downward position towards the feed path. A cut control member is positioned upstream from the cutterhead. In use, the depth of cut and resulting amount of material removed from the one surface of the piece is dependent upon the thickness of the piece. One or more additional cutterheads may be positioned downstream to remove additional material from the piece.

The present application is directed to a device and method of removing a portion from a surface of a material piece and, more particularly, to removing a portion from the surface based on the thickness of the material piece.
Material such as wood, composites including adhesive and wood strands or fibers, plastics, Styrofoam, etc., may be initially processed into a roughly dimensioned piece. Prior to further using the piece, further processing is required to provide an appropriate finish on at least one of the top and bottom surfaces of the piece, and/or an appropriate thickness measured between the surfaces. One example is a piece of lumber that is initially roughly cut into a board having rough dimensions. The rough lumber may include variations in the thickness, and sections or an entirety of one or both of the top and bottom surfaces may be unfinished. The board requires that additional material be removed from one or both surfaces prior to being usable by a woodworker. Further, the board may need to have a more uniform thickness along its length. Another example is a metal sheet that has rough initial dimensions that requires further processing to obtain the desired thickness and surface finish.
Existing devices and methods of planing a material piece generally include a lower cutterhead to remove material from a bottom surface of the piece and an upper cutterhead to remove material from a top surface of the piece. The depth of cut from the lower cutterhead is set at a fixed amount prior to feeding the material piece into the device. The top cutterhead is set to remove the remaining material from the top surface of the piece. These devices and methods are intended to leave the piece at the desired thickness. A problem with these devices and methods is they do not take into account the typical variation found in rough dimensioned pieces. These devices and methods often remove more material from one surface of the piece than the opposing surface. This often leaves large areas of the piece either unfinished or undersized.


The invention refers to an apparatus for driving a load with a drive signal. The apparatus includes an AC voltage source, a DC voltage source, a capacitor and a control apparatus. The AC voltage source outputs an AC voltage. The DC voltage source outputs a DC voltage. The capacitor includes a first terminal and a second terminal. The AC voltage source is connected to the first terminal, and a signal output is connected to the second output. The control apparatus controls, depending on a voltage present at the signal output, a connection between the DC voltage source and the second terminal. Furthermore, the invention refers to a corresponding method as well as to a device.

The invention refers to an apparatus for driving a load with a drive signal and to a corresponding method. Furthermore, the invention refers to a device comprising, in particular, a load to be driven.
In general, an (electronic) load is a component, assembly or device that receives an (electrical) drive signal. Examples of loads are actuators (or driving elements) that convert electrical drive signals into mechanical motion or into other physical quantities—e.g. pressure or temperature—and thus actively affect processes or components.
For example, piezo actuators comprising at least one piezoelectric element are special actuators. They take advantage of the fact that some solid bodies comprise a relationship between a change in electrical polarization—and therefore the occurrence of an electrical voltage at the solid body—and elastic deformation. According to another example, the load is a part of a sensor that is activated by the drive signal and whose measuring behavior is influenced by the drive signal.
One field of application for piezo actuators are micropumps. Micropumps are pumps for conveying liquids, gases or free-flowing substances that have been generated using micro system technology methods. The piezo actuators move—using the inverse piezo effect—diaphragms in order to convey the media in certain directions.
An AC voltage signal with a high positive amplitude (up to several hundred volts) and a small negative amplitude (down to −100 volts) is usually used for driving the piezo actuators. Depending on the application, the magnitude values of the two amplitudes differ and are independent of each other, resulting in an asymmetrical drive signal. With micropumps, the amplitudes are to be specified, e.g., depending on the thickness of the piezoelectric element on the diaphragm.
Furthermore, for example in micropumps, certain applications—e.g. medical applications—involve that the diaphragm electrically connected to the piezo actuator is contacted with the electrical ground potential. Thus, a differential drive of the piezo actuator, in which the two contact sides of the piezo element are each connected to an electrical drive circuit, is not possible.
In addition, it is advantageous if the electronic components for driving the micropumps are as compact as possible and are advantageously realized largely on an integrated circuit (IC). This simplifies application and use, e.g. in mobile phones or medical devices. Furthermore, in this way costs may be reduced and some applications are made possible in the first place.
Different concepts for driving piezo actuators are described, for example, in the dissertation by Gunnar Gnad, entitled "Ansteuerkonzepte für piezoelektrische Aktoren", from 2005.

Apparatus and method for driving a load and device

FRAUNHOFER-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FÖRDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG E.V.


Disclosed herein are phenylindane dicarboxylic acid (PIDA) monomers, polymer compositions comprising the PIDA monomers, and methods of preparing PIDA monomers. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure.

Development of alternatives to existing polycarbonates, polyesters and polyestercarbonates that maintain properties (e.g., low cost, low color, high transparency and good melt stability) of the corresponding polymers are of great interest in the plastics industry and for the manufacturing industry. To achieve this, a suitable monomer for polymerization reactions is necessary to produce a polymer with the necessary properties.
Preliminary studies of phenylindane dicarboxylic acid (PIDA) monomers indicate that PIDA could serve as a potential alternate monomer in synthesizing new polymers with the necessary properties. However, traditional synthesis methods of PIDA, which require rigorous reaction condition requirements, for example, use of propylene gas, high pressure, and high temperature, coupled with the lack of chemo-selectivity of PIDA, restricts the scale-up of PIDA in large quantities.
Accordingly, there remains a need for improved, efficient, scalable, and cost effective methods for the synthesis of PIDA, which in turn can be readily used in the production of environmentally-friendly alternatives to existing polycarbonates, polyesters and polyestercarbonates. These needs and other needs are satisfied by the various aspects of the present disclosure.

Dicarboxylic acid monomers and methods of making and using the same


The present invention relates to a cleaning device for cleaning a surface (20), comprising: —a brush (12) rotatable about a brush axis (14), said brush (12) being provided with flexible brush elements (16) that are substantially uniformly distributed over the periphery of the brush (12), wherein the brush (12) is at least partly surrounded by a nozzle housing (28) and protrudes at least partially from a bottom side (30) of said nozzle housing (28), which, during use of the device (100), faces the surface to be cleaned (20), wherein the brush elements (16), during the rotation of the brush (12), substantially form a sealing with the housing (28) at a first position (33) where the brush elements (16) leave the housing (28) during the rotation of the brush (12), and contact the surface to be cleaned (20) during the rotation of the brush (12) at a second position (35) for picking up dirt particles (22) and liquid (24) from said surface (20), thereby defining a suction area (34) in a space between the brush (12), said housing (28) and said surface to be cleaned (20) which is at least partly sealed at said first and second positions (33, 35), —a single squeegee element (32) which is spaced apart from the brush (12) and attached to the bottom side (30) of the nozzle housing (28) on a side of the brush (12), where the brush elements (16) enter the housing (28) during the rotation of the brush (12), wherein said squeegee element (32) is adapted for pushing or wiping dirt particles and liquid across or off the surface to be cleaned (20) during movement of the cleaning device (100), thereby defining a suction inlet (36) between the squeegee element (32) and the brush (12)that opens into the suction area (34), —a drive means for driving the brush (12) in rotation, and —a vacuum aggregate (38)which is arranged at a suction outlet (47)of the suction area (34) for generating an under-pressure in said suction area (34) for ingesting dirt particles (22) and liquid (24) from the suction inlet (36).

Hard floor cleaning these days is done by first vacuuming the floor, followed by mopping it. Vacuuming removes the coarse dirt, while mopping removes the stains. From the state of the art many appliances, especially targeting the professional cleaning sector, are known that claim to vacuum and mop in one go. Appliances for the professional cleaning sector are usually specialized for big areas and perfectly flat floors. They rely on hard brushes and suction power to get water and dirt from the floor. Appliances for home use often use a combination of a hard brush and a squeegee nozzle. Like the appliances for the professional cleaning sector these products use the brush to remove stains from the floor and the squeegee in combination with an under-pressure to lift the dirt from the floor.
Said squeegee elements are usually realized by a flexible rubber lip that is attached to the bottom of the cleaning device and merely glides over the surface to be cleaned thereby pushing or wiping dirt particles and liquid across or off the surface to be cleaned. An under-pressure, usually generated by a vacuum aggregate, is used to ingest the collected dirt particles and liquid.
A squeegee device for a vacuum cleaner system is, for example, known from EP 0 576 174 A1. A sweeper that uses an above-mentioned combination of a brush and a squeegee is, for example, known from U.S. Pat. No. 7,665,172 B1. The power floor sweeper described therein comprises a foot assembly with a motor driven primary agitator and a pair of edge agitators coupled to wheels such that manual propulsion of the sweeper rotates the wheels and thereby the edge agitators. The sweeper, however, does not include a vacuum source and is therefore not able to pick-up water from the floor to be cleaned. The performance on drying the floor is thus rather low.
Another vacuum cleaner that is known from the prior art and also uses a combination of a rotating brush and a squeegee is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,864,682 A. This vacuum cleaner comprises a self-adjusting wiper strip assembly that automatically adjusts for the type of floor surface on which the vacuum cleaner is being used. The assembly used therein requires a high suction power in order to receive a satisfactory cleaning result. The brush which is used in this vacuum cleaner is an agitator (also denoted as adjutator) with stiff brush hairs to agitate the floor, e.g. a carpet. These stiff hairs show a rather good scrubbing effect, which enable to use the brush particularly for removing stains. However, the performance on drying the floor is rather low, since such an agitator is not able to lift liquid from the floor.
Vacuum and mop in one go devices known from the prior art often use brush elements that are actively sprayed with water or a cleaning rinse in order to improve the removal of stains. Such devices usually use a double squeegee element having two squeegees that are arranged on one side of the brush, as this is exemplarily shown in the attached FIG. 12. An additional vacuum source generates a suction in a channel between said double squeegee arrangement in order to remove the cleaning water from the floor again.
However, in order to remove the actively sprayed cleaning water from the floor again these devices always have to be moved in a forward direction in which the brush is, seen in the direction of the device movement, located in front of the double squeegee arrangement. Moving the device in an opposite backward direction would leave the floor wet, since the cleaning water which is dispersed with the brush is not removed from the squeegees in this backward stroke.
To get a good cleaning result in a forward as well as in a backward stroke of the device known cleaning devices are therefore provided with a double squeegee nozzle on both sides of the brush. Such an arrangement is exemplarily shown in the attached FIG. 13. Even though such double squeegee arrangements on both sides of the brush show good cleaning results, the nozzle of these devices become fairly bulky. This again results in a non-satisfying, limited work capability. Especially in household appliances where often narrow corners need to be cleaned, such bulky nozzles are, due to their limited liberty of action, uncomfortable to use.
Besides that, the use of double squeegee arrangements as shown in the attached FIGS. 12 and 13 has several further disadvantages. Due to the constant contact of the squeegees with the floor during the movement of the device, such double squeegees may generate a high scratch load to the floor. Especially when the double squeegee arrangements are used on each side of the brush (see FIG. 13), this will lead to an increased risk of inducing scratches on the floor. Furthermore, such squeegee arrangements include the disadvantage that they are not open for coarse dirt like e.g. hairs or peanuts, since coarse dirt is often entangled within the squeegees or pushed away from the squeegees, and is thus not able to enter the suction inlet. This situation is shown in the attached FIG. 15 in a schematic way. Therein, reference numerals 90 and 90′ denote the two squeegees. If, during the movement of the vacuum cleaner, the squeegee 90′ approaches a coarse dirt particle 92, this particle will be entangled in front of the squeegee 90′ and will not be able to enter a suction area that is defined in the space between the two squeegees 90, 90′, since the squeegees are in constant contact with the floor. Apart from that, such double squeegee nozzles are hard to clean and do not have the ability to clean themselves.
In order to overcome these disadvantages other devices known in the art use two separate brushes that are arranged in parallel to each other (schematically shown in attached FIG. 14). A cleaning device of this kind is exemplarily known from U.S. Pat. No. 1,694,937. Said document discloses a floor scrubbing machine, which is capable of picking up dirt from a floor by two cylindrical floor brushes disposed parallel and close together. These brushes rotate at high speeds, one running clockwise and the other one counterclockwise. In this way, the adjacent peripheries travelling together with a sufficiently high velocity to project the dirt vertically upwards with a considerable force in the form of a substantially flat jet. A wiper or a squeegee is applied in addition to the brushes in order to dry the floor. Due to the two separate brushes and the additional squeegees the nozzle becomes also according to this solution fairly bulky, which again ends up in a non-satisfying liberty of action for the consumer.

Cleaning device for cleaning a surface comprising a brush and a squeegee element


A personal computer card which includes four tone generators connected to a radio frequency synthesizer which, in turn, is connected to a 400 MHz hcal rubber coated antenna. Each of the four tone generators may be programmed to generate any one of twenty Interrange Instrumentation Group standard decoder tones which are used for testing the flight termination receivers and decoder in certain weapons systems such as a missile. The standard decoder tones generated by each of the four tone generators are supplied to the radio frequency synthesizer. The radio frequency synthesizer frequency modulates the IRIG tones onto a carrier signal in the flight termination band which is in a range from 400 MHz to 440 MHz. The modulated radio frequency signal is then supplied to the antenna for transmission to the weapons system being tested.

This invention relates generally to apparatus for testing a weapon such as a missile. More particularly, the present invention relates to a tone generator circuit and a flight termination transmitter which are included in a flight line test set adapted for testing flight termination systems in a missile. 2. Description of the Prior Art
The Interrange Instrumentation Group (IRIG) of the Department of Defense, now known as the Range Commanders Counsel, has defined a set of standard decoder tones to be used with flight termination receivers and decoders on board missiles such as the Standoff Land Attack Missile. The flight termination system on board the missile is activated upon receiving these decoder tones from an external source and having the tones decoded by the missile's on board decoders.
The termination of missile's flight such as during a test flight, may occur when the missile veers off course and threatens to impact a populated area causing severe damage and a possible loss of life.
At present there is not commercially available tone generator and transmitter which will generate and then transmit the IRIG tones for use by a missile's on board flight termination system which when decoded will terminate the flight of the missile.
Accordingly, there is a need for a tone generator to generate the IRIG standard decoder tones for use by a missile's on board flight termination system to terminate the flight of missile should the missile veer off course. There is also a need for a transmitter to be coupled to the tone generator for transmitting the IRIG standard decoder tones to the missile's on board flight termination receiver for processing by the flight termination system including its tone decoder.

Tone generator and transmitter card for use in a flight line test set

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A motorcycle armrest and back rider seat are provided. The seat includes an armrest mounting bracket adapted for being removably mounted to a motorcycle at a position above a rear wheel and proximate to a back rider seat bottom and seat back and a forearm support carried by one end of the armrest mounting bracket and adapted to extend horizontally forward in a back rider forearm supporting position when the armrest mounting bracket is mounted on the motorcycle.

This application discloses an armrest and seat for the back rider of a motorcycle that does not have fittings necessary to accommodate an armrest for a sissy bar or similar back rider seat. In general, the invention is an armrest that attaches in any manner to a sissy bar or a luggage rack of a motorcycle without regard to the manner of attachment. The armrest may be bolted to the motorcycle, or attached using quick attachments whereby the armrests may be quickly and easily installed for use, and easily and quickly removed when not needed. The novel armrest includes mounting brackets for mounting the armrests to a rear fender, luggage rack or frame of the motorcycle or to a padded metal back rest, whether factory or aftermarket. The invention of this application is distinct from "full dresser" types of motorcycles that have fully padded back and wrap around armrests integrated into one unit. The armrests are also disclosed as part of a back rider seat.


The probes of the invention are made up of a target recognition moiety and a signal generation moiety. In the first step of the preparatory method of the invention, the 5' or 3' terminus or both of the target recognition moiety is chemically altered to incorporate a reactive functionality which will allow chemical linkage of this target recognition moiety with one or both termini of the signal generation moiety of the probe. Suitable functionalities vary widely, but may, in general be described as those that allow chemical attachment of the two moieties either at the 5' or 3' end of the target recognition moiety. The two moieties should not detach from each other upon hybridization of the target moiety to the target analyte. Thus, when the probe is hybridized to target analyte, it will then carry with it, signal moiety, to label this complex, which label is then later detected.

Specific oligonucleotide sequences are very useful tools in detecting complementary nucleotide sequences. The two requirements of the nucleic acid probe are a sequence specific signal and the formation of elements which will convert single hybridization events into multiple detectable events. In current enzymatic methods for preparing labeled probes, radioactive or biotinylated nucleotides are introduced into the probes by the use of polymerizing enzymes like DNA polymerase or terminal transferase. Methods are also available for introducing single enzymes or hapten molecules into DNA chemically, but these singly tagged probes do not generate enough signal, thus lacking the sensitivity needed for detecting complementary sequences in biological samples.
For example, Ward et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,955, discloses a procedure for derivatizing nucleotides with chemical determinants. The derivatized nucleotides are then enzymatically polymerized. Thus, these analogs function as substrates for nucleic acid polymerases. For this purpose, it is crucial that the chemical determinants not be placed on ring positions that sterically, or otherwise, interfere with normal Watson Crick hydrogen bonding potential of the bases.

High specific activity nucleic acid probes having target recognition and signal generating moieties


A self-leveling staircase. The staircase has a first flight of self-leveling steps having a first end adjacent to the ground and a plurality of stair treads pivotally attached at a right edge to a first pair or stair rails and at a left edge to a second pair of stair rails. A self-leveling platform is pivotally attached on a second end of the first flight of self-leveling steps and to the first and second pair of stair rails. A second flight of self-leveling steps having a first end is pivotally attached to an opposite side of the self-leveling platform from the first flight of self-leveling steps. The second flight of self-leveling step has a plurality of stair treads pivotally attached at a right edge to a third pair of stair rails and pivotally attached at a left edge on front and back ends thereof to a fourth pair of stair rails.

Portable stairs are used for a variety of applications in construction, home building stores, unloading platforms and the like. Most portable stairs are designed for a particular application and are not readily usable for alternate locations. For example, a construction site might require stairs that reach a particular height. Another location of the same job site might require stairs of a different height. Also, many of the portable stairs now available are difficult to transport from one location to another. What is needed is a light-weight portable staircase that can be used for a variety of heights.
While an adjustable height staircase is of primary concern, there is also a need for an adjustable height staircase that can be used as a platform or ramp. A prior art self-adjusting staircase 10 and step therefor is illustrated in FIGS. 1-4. The self-adjusting staircase has a plurality of treads 12 pivotally attached on each end thereof to a pair of upper and lower side rails 14A and 14B. The pivotal feet 16A and 16B are attached to terminal ends of the side rails 14A and 14B to move the side rails 14A and 14B and trads 12 attached to the side rails so that the treads 12 remain parallel to the ground. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, even when the pair of upper and lower side rails 14A and 14B are adjacent to one another, the treads 12 are slightly raised on one end and thus do not provide a smooth ramp. Each tread 12 as shown in FIG. 4 contains a planar top surface 18 and a pair of holes 20 on each end that lie in a plane parallel with the top surface 18. Accordingly, since one of the pair of side rails 14A or 14B lies above the other side rail to which one end of the tread 12 is pivotally attached, the tread 12 will remain at an angle regardless of how close each side rail is to the other side rail in the pair of side rails 14A or 14B. As the angle of the stairs is increased, each side rail of the pair of side rails 14A or 14B moves further from the other side rail in order to keep each tread 12 parallel to the ground. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved self-leveling staircase that is lightweight, versatile and provides improved safety features.
In view of the foregoing an embodiment of the disclosure provides a self-leveling staircase. The self-leveling staircase includes a first flight of self-leveling steps having a first end adjacent to the ground and a plurality of stair treads pivotally attached on a right side on front and back ends thereof to a first pair or stair rails and pivotally attached on a left side on front and back ends thereof to a second pair of stair rails. A self-leveling platform is pivotally attached on a second end of the first flight of self-leveling steps and to the first and second pair of stair rails. A second flight of self-leveling steps has a first end pivotally attached to an opposite side of the self-leveling platform from the first flight of self-leveling steps. The second flight of self-leveling steps includes a plurality of stair treads pivotally attached on a right side on front and back ends thereof to a third pair of stair rails and pivotally attached on a left side on front and back ends thereof to a fourth pair of stair rails. An adjustable support is pivotally attached to opposing sides of the platform for contacting the ground.
In some embodiments, the self-leveling staircase includes a first foot pivotally attached to a first end of the first pair of stair rails and a second foot pivotally attached to a first end of the second pair of stair rails, wherein the foot is adjacent to the ground.
In other embodiments, each of the first and second flight of self-leveling steps is collapsible into a planar ramp shape.
In still other embodiments, removable handrails are provided for the self-leveling staircase.
In another embodiment, each stair tread has first pivot arm for a first pivot rod attached to a front stair rail and a second pivot arm for a second pivot rod attached to a rear stair rail of each pair of first and second stair rails. The front stair rail defines a first plane and the second stair rail defines a second plane parallel to the first plane. The first pivot rod is attached to the first pivot arm in the first plane and the second pivot rod is attached to the second pivot arm in the second plane that is offset from the first plane so that a tread surface of the stair tread is substantially parallel with the first and second planes.
In some embodiments, the first and second pair of stair rails, the platform and the stair treads are made of an aluminum material. In other embodiments, the first and second pair of stair rails, the platform and the stair treads are made of a fiberglass material.
In still other embodiments, there is provided a stair tread for a self-leveling staircase having a front stair rail and a rear stair rail on each side of the stair tread. The stair tread includes a tread surface and a first pivot arm disposed opposite the tread surface for pivotally attaching the stair tread to the front stair rail and a second pivot arm disposed opposite the tread surface for pivotally attaching the stair tread to the rear stair rail. The front stair rail defines a first plane and the second stair rail defines a second plane parallel to the first plane. The first pivot arm is pivotally attached to the first stair rail in the first plane and the second pivot arm is pivotally attached to the to the second stair rail in the second plane offset from the first plane so that the tread surface of the stair tread is substantially parallel with the first and second planes.
An advantage of the embodiments of the disclosure is that it provides improved safety with an ability to extend the staircase a much greater distance that possible with staircases devoid of an intermediate platform. The unique design of the stair tread also enables the staircase to be use as a ramp over uneven ground or for slight inclines.


A method is provided for a data processing system configured to include multiple logical partitions, wherein resources of the system are selectively allocated among respective partitions. In the method, an entity such as a Partition Load Manager or a separate background process is used to manage resources based on locality levels. The method includes the step of evaluating the allocation of resources to each of the partitions at a particular time, in order to select a partition having at least one resource considered to be of low desirability due to its level of locality with respect to the selected partition. The method further comprises identifying each of the other partitions that has a resource matching the resource of low desirability, and determining the overall benefit to the system that would result from trading the resource of low desirability for the matching resource of each of the identified partitions. Resources are reallocated to trade the resource of low desirability for the matching resource of the identified partition that is determined to provide the greatest overall benefit for the system, provided that at least some overall system benefit will result from the reallocation.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention disclosed and claimed herein generally pertains to a method for trading or exchanging resources among logical partitions (LPARs) in a data processing system, wherein access to resources such as memory may be non-uniform with respect to latency or access time. More particularly, the invention pertains to a method of the above type wherein resources are traded to improve efficiency in the use of available resources by respective partitions. Even more particularly, the invention pertains to a method of the above type wherein trading and reallocation of resources among respective partitions is guided by a policy directed to improve overall system quality in the use of resources by respective partitions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Increasingly, large symmetric multi-processor data processing systems are not being used as single large data processing systems. Instead, these types of data processing systems are being partitioned and used as smaller systems, also referred to as logical partitioned (LPAR) data processing systems. A logical partitioned functionality within a data processing system allows multiple copies of a single operating system or multiple heterogeneous operating systems to be simultaneously run on a single data processing system platform. A partition, within which an operating system image runs, is assigned a non-overlapping subset of the platforms resources. These resources can be allocated, and may include one or more architecturally distinct processors and their interrupt management areas, regions of system memory, and input/output (I/O) adapter bus slots. The resources of the partition are represented to the operating system image by the platform firmware. Hardware resources in partitioned data processing systems may include, for example, input/output (I/O) adapters, CPUs, non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), and hard disk drives. Hardware resources can be moved from one partition to another, as needs change.
When a partition is created, several different memory regions may be called upon to provide partition memory. Depending on the hardware, it is possible that each of these memory regions will have different latencies, or access times. Some of these latencies may be comparatively short, where the memory regions are local to the partition. Other memory regions, that are distant from the partition, will have latencies that are excessively long. For some work loads, this can be undesirable. For example, if the central processing unit (CPU) of a partition is assigned memory on the same card as the CPU, the memory is local to the CPU, and the time required for the CPU to access the memory is comparatively short. On the other hand, if the memory is on a different card, the CPU must go through a buffer to access the memory, so that latency will be longer. If the CPU is engaged in activity such as extensive computations, wherein locality between the CPU and memory is important, the quality using the remote memory will be less than the quality using the local memory. On the other hand, if the CPU was only accessing I/O devices, locality may not be important. Moreover, there can be levels of locality or remoteness for a memory region. This is illustrated by considering alternative arrangements, wherein the memory is attached to the CPU cache controller, the memory is not directly attached to the controller but is in the same node as the CPU, or the memory is in the same frame as the CPU but access to the memory must go through one or more buffers.
It has been found that non-uniformity in memory access time, as discussed above, can significantly affect the overall throughput of a partition system. Frequently, discrepancies are noted in the performance of different logical partitions that are running the same workload. For example, a 10% performance difference was observed between two partitions which appeared identically configured, in regard to their respective amounts of memory, CPUs and operating systems. In addition, moving a CPU into a partition can increase the number of remote memory accesses, if the partition is not local with respect to the memory allocations. Similarly, the number of remote accesses could be increased if the CPU was taken from a partition that was local with respect to some or all of the allocated memory.
Notwithstanding undesirable effects such as those described above, which can result from variations in the comparative locality of memory resources, current practice generally requires that once the memory has been allocated to a partition and the partition is running, the partition is expected to make the best use of whatever resources it has received. Very often, this means distributing the memory access across the allocations, which creates an average memory latency value. The average memory latency value depends on the mix of access times and on how much memory each region contributed. As a further example of current practice, during a dynamic reassignment memory could be given away to a more needy partition. In this situation, an arbitrary range of memory is taken from one partition and given to another partition. Locality is not considered in the sense that the request to take or steal memory is a targeted operation against a particular partition. Locality of the memory is not taken into account in this situation.
It is anticipated that overall quality of a partitioned system could be improved, and resources could be used with significantly greater efficiency, if the allocation of resources to respective partitions took into account the comparative importance of resource locality.

Method for trading resources between partitions of a data processing system

International Business Machines Corporation


A toothbrush device having a bent handle and a longitudinal brush head about the bent handle for perfectly cleaning the tooth without causing any inconvenience to the lips and the mouth.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toothbrush device for cleaning the teeth and more particularly, to a toothbrush device having a longitudinal brush head about a bent handle for perfectly cleaning the teeth without causing any inconvenience to the lips and the mouth.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of toothbrushes are well known in the art. Such toothbrushes have a vertical brush head about a straight handle or a bent handle. Also, although such toothbrushes have a longitudinal brush head about a bent handle, they do not include an adequate bent handle. However, such toothbrushes suffer from a many of disadvantages such as, for example, frequent interference occurred between the hand holding the toothbrush and the chin cannot avoid, and it is difficult for such toothbrushes to perfectly clean the inner surface of the teeth.


A guiding method for aircraft docking process, which is used to detect an aircraft when docking to a stop line along a J-line on apron, includes steps as followed. According to response distances of different positions from a laser scanner, a distance between the aircraft and the stop line and offset angle during the docking process are detected. To show the distance and offset angle on a data display panel as guiding reference when a pilot of the aircraft operates the aircraft. The guiding method further has a waiting stage, a positioning stage, and a distinguishing stage and a guiding stage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a guiding method for aircraft docking process; in particular, to a guiding method which detects an aircraft preparing to stop at a stop line along a J-line on an apron.
2. Description of Related Art
Prior methods of identifying aircrafts include sending and receiving laser pulses to sense different points across a range of distance (every 1 meter from 10 meters to 100 meters) and angles (every 0.1 degrees from minus 5 degrees to plus 5 degrees). A 100 by 100 distance chart is created, and is compared with stored aircraft shapes to identify the type of aircraft and accordingly guide said aircraft to the appropriate stop line.
However, regarding the abovementioned method of sending and receiving laser pulses, some of the laser detection equipment is no longer supported, and the processing details is overly complicated and unable to focus the system operation on the task of identification and guiding. Additionally, the abovementioned processing method requires building of distance charts containing large amount of data, and requires storage of aircraft shapes also containing large amounts of data for comparison. This results in large amount of data for processing and complicates the calculations.
Hence, the present inventor believes the above mentioned disadvantages can be overcome, and through devoted research combined with application of theory, finally proposes the present disclosure which has a reasonable design and effectively improves upon the above mentioned disadvantages.

Guiding method for aircraft docking process