In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, an active imaging system is provided for imaging a target of interest. An imaging assembly includes a light source and an optical assembly comprising a plurality of passive optical components. The optical assembly divides received light into a first beam, having a first polarization and a second beam, having a second, orthogonal polarization, directs the first and second beam along respective first and second optical paths within the optical assembly, and recombines the first and second beams into a combined beam. A sensor detects the combined beam.

A laser weapon system can include a tracking illuminator laser for locating and tracking a moving object, such as a missile or vehicle, a beacon illuminator laser for determining the wavefront aberrations encountered along the optical path to the object, and a high energy laser for detonating or disabling the tracked object. The laser wavelengths can be selected to be slightly different from each other in order to use a shared aperture element to combine the laser trains for outgoing beams delivery. When the illuminator lasers engage a target, the reflected laser light is depolarized depending on laser polarization, target surface roughness, angle of incidence and atmospheric turbulence. The reflected track and beacon laser signals are captured by on board sensors for target tracking and wavefront correction. To simplify boresighting between the several beams and eliminate anisoplanatic effects, it is desirable that the outgoing tracking and beacon illuminator lasers and their respective return signals share the common optical path. Unfortunately, this can complicate the separation of the incoming signals from outgoing beams.

Active imaging system that recaptures and processes a reflected illumination beam

Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp.


Systems and methods for establishing a voice communications link between multiple users accessing a media asset are provided. A media asset is accessed using a first user device, the first user device being associated with a first user at a first location. A second user who is accessing the media asset using a second user device is identified, wherein the second user is associated with the first user and is at a second location. A voice communications link between the first and second user devices that enables the first and second users to speak to each other while accessing the media asset is established. A volume level of audio received via the voice communications link is set based on content of the media asset, causing the audio received via the voice communications link from the second user to be presented to the first user at the set volume level.

Users often enjoy experiencing media, such as watching a football game on television, with other users. When users are not in the same room or unable to get together, they can use Internet-connected appliances and devices to experience media together. For example, a user can use the Amazon Echo's drop-in feature to connect to a friend so both users can speak to each other while watching the Superbowl in separate locations.
Systems exist to connect users with each other while they consume a media asset, but these systems do not consider the distractions associated with user conversations that can detract from a user's viewing experience. Currently, users must go out of their way to avoid these distractions by manually adjusting the volume of either the audio from the other users they are connected to or the media asset that they are experiencing. Constantly needing to manually adjust volumes or otherwise avoid distractions is inefficient and disrupts the viewing experience and enjoyment of the user.

Systems and methods for establishing a voice link between users accessing media


An apparatus and method for forming electrical connections in an acoustic transducer wherein a non-conductive bonding material is interposed between a conductive surface on the transducer and a conductive lead. In one embodiment, the conductive surface is comprised of gold, and the conductive lead is comprised of copper that is plated with at least one metallic layer. The metallic layer may be further comprised of an intermediate metal layer that is overlaid by a layer of gold. The intermediate layer may be further comprised of titanium, or an alloy of nickel and chromium. A non-conductive bonding material is deposited on either the lead or the conductive surface, which are joined to form a bonding interface. Electrical conduction is attained through a plurality of contact points that arise from the surface roughness inherent in the materials that project through the bonding interface. Alternatively, the contact points are impressed in the surfaces.

This invention relates generally to ultrasonic diagnostic systems that use ultrasonic transducers to provide diagnostic information concerning the interior of the body through ultrasonic imaging, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method of forming electrical connections to transducers used in such systems.
Ultrasonic diagnostic imaging systems are in widespread use for performing ultrasonic imaging and measurements. For example, cardiologists, radiologists, and obstetricians use ultrasonic diagnostic imaging systems to examine the heart, various abdominal organs, or a developing fetus, respectively. In general, imaging information is obtained by these systems by placing a scanhead against the skin of a patient, and actuating an ultrasonic transducer located within the scanhead to transmit ultrasonic energy through the skin and into the body of the patient. In response to the transmission of ultrasonic energy into the body, ultrasonic echoes emanate from the interior structure of the body. The returning acoustic echoes are converted into electrical signals by the transducer in the scanhead, which are transferred to the diagnostic system by a cable coupling the diagnostic system to the scanhead.
The acoustic transducer is a piezoelectric element that is generally made of a crystalline material such as barium titanate, or lead zirconate titanate (PZT). The transducer may be a single element, or it may consist of a single piece of piezoelectric material that is cut, or diced into an array of fine elements, with the individual elements of the array transducer generally being rectangular in shape. Array scanheads are operable in ultrasonic scanning modes known as linear array and phased array modes, in which groups of elements are actuated and used for reception in various combinations. When the elements are used to transmit and receive ultrasonic energy at frequencies in excess of 7 MHz, the physical dimensions of the individual elements can be quite small, with width ranging down to only a few thousandths of an inch. Additionally, the numbers of these finely dimensioned elements can be quite large, with numbers ranging, for example, from 128 elements to in excess of 380 elements. When the number of such piezoelectric elements is large and the physical dimension of the individual elements is small, considerable difficulty is encountered in accurately and reliably making the necessary electrical connections to the individual elements of the acoustic transducer.
According to one prior art method, an electrical lead is soldered to each piezoelectric element in an array by first preparing a surface area on the element to receive the lead. This is generally accomplished by depositing a thin layer of gold on a contact area of the piezoelectric element. The electrical lead is generally comprised of a thin copper strip that has been locally electroplated with a low melting point metal, such as indium, in a contact area of the lead. A flux compound is generally applied to either or both of the surfaces to be joined before the soldering operation. The flux material is required to substantially dissolve a thin film of oxides, or other contaminants that may exist on either of the metallic surfaces, or on the surface of the solder, that may interfere with the formation of metallic continuity between the gold surface on the element and the indium surface on the lead. The lead contact area is then positioned onto the gold contact area of the element, and soldered to the element by a thermal conduction method that generally interposes a eutectic solder alloy between the gold and indium metal layers.
A significant drawback present in the foregoing prior art method is the application of a high temperature heat conduction element to the connection to rapidly fuse the solder alloy to form the metallic connection. Since most transducer materials exhibit a sensitivity to elevated temperatures that potentially renders them vulnerable to damage at ordinary soldering temperatures, pulse reflow bonding machines have been widely used in the manufacture of transducer arrays. In pulse reflow bonding, a resistance thermode applies a pressing force to the connection and then rapidly raises the connection to the solder fusion temperature to form the required connection. The successful application of pulse reflow bonding to transducer manufacture requires, however, precise and uniform temperature control, as well as precise control of force applied to the thermode. Accordingly, pulse reflow bonding equipment constitutes a significant capital expenditure, thus increasing the cost of the completed assembly. Additionally, such equipment tends to be large, thus occupying a significant portion of the plant floor area.
An additional drawback present in the foregoing prior art method involves the post-soldering step of washing the remaining flux and various contaminants from the soldered connection. Since most commercially available fluxes are generally comprised of organic or inorganic acids or halogens, undesired concentrations of ionic compounds may remain on the soldered connection after the soldering process has been completed, which may eventually lead to corrosive damage of the connection. As a consequence, the soldered connection is usually subjected to a washing procedure to remove a substantial portion of these ionic contaminants. In washing the connection, water may be used, or various other organic solvents may be employed. As a consequence, the transducer array must be allowed to air-dry, or alternatively, be placed in a drying chamber before further processing of the element array takes place, thus incurring manufacturing delays. Further, the water used in the washing process may contain the various ionic contaminants, thus necessitating the removal of these contaminants from the water prior to disposal of the washing water into the wastewater disposal system.
Another problem associated with the prior art soldering method is ensuring that the gold surface areas remain free of various contaminants prior to the soldering operation. For example, prior to the soldering step, other structures, such as impedance-matching devices are added to the transducer array and they are attached using a variety of well-known adhesive compounds. Since the structures may be located near the gold surface areas on the elements, meticulous care must be taken to avoid the inadvertent spreading of the adhesive onto the gold surface areas during the joining process. If the adhesive spreads onto the gold surface areas, it must be removed, generally by mechanical means, which is followed by washing the affected area with an organic solvent, thus introducing undesired and meticulous rework of the array, before the soldering step occurs. Moreover, the additional handling incurred during rework operations of this kind may significantly enhance the likelihood of imparting physical damage to the array.
Other prior art methods have supplanted the soldering process described above with a variety of conductive adhesives. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,404,489 to Larson, et al. describes the use of a conductive epoxy to attach the electrical leads to the piezoelectric elements. Although this method avoids the use of thermal soldering processes, considerable care must still be exercised in the application of the epoxy during the assembly procedure since the conductive epoxy may form undesired conductive paths to adjacent elements or to grounded structures unless carefully applied.
Still other prior art method employ anisotropic, thermosetting conductive adhesives that contain small, conductive particles that, when compressed and subjected to heat, bond the electrical lead to the conductive pad. Although this method utilizes temperatures that are generally in the range of 80-100 deg. C., which are significantly below typical solder fusion temperatures, pulse reflow bonding equipment is generally utilized in order to apply the required heat and force to the bond, which necessitates a significant capital expenditure, as described above. In addition, the use of anisotropic conductive adhesives generally requires the application of somewhat higher forces to achieve acceptable bonding between the lead and the conductive pad, which generally requires that the application of force must be more carefully controlled, in order to avoid exceeding prescribed material limits.
The invention is directed towards an apparatus and method for forming electrical connections in an acoustic transducer wherein a non-conductive bonding material is interposed between a conductive surface on the transducer and a conductive lead that is coupled to a device that is capable of receiving and transmitting ultrasonic signals. In one aspect, the conductive surface is comprised of gold, and the conductive lead is comprised of copper that is plated with at least one metallic layer, that may be further comprised of an intermediate metal layer that is overlaid by a layer of gold. The intermediate layer may be further comprised of titanium, or alternatively, the intermediate layer may be comprised essentially of an alloy of nickel and chromium. A non-conductive bonding material is deposited on either the metallic layer on the lead or the conductive surface, which are joined to form a bonding interface. Electrical conduction at the interface is attained through a plurality of interfacial contact points that arise from the surface roughness inherent in the materials that project through the bonding interface and establish metallic contact. Alternatively, the interfacial contact points are impressed in the surfaces to augment the metallic contact. In another aspect, the electrical connections and the impedance matching layers are bonded to the piezoelectric material with the non-conductive bonding material at the same processing step to form a transducer array.

Apparatus and method of forming electrical connections to an acoustic transducer


An alternator includes a rotor for forming north-seeking (N) and south-seeking (S) poles about a rotational circumference, a stator having a stator core disposed facing the rotor and a polyphase stator winding installed in the stator core, and a bracket supporting the rotor and the stator, wherein the stator core includes a laminated iron core formed with a number of slots extending axially at a predetermined pitch in a circumferential direction, the polyphase stator winding includes a number of winding sub-portions in each which a long strand of wire is wound so as to alternately occupy an inner layer and an outer layer in a slot depth direction within the slots at intervals of a predetermined number of slots, the strand of wire folding back outside the slots at axial end surfaces of the stator core to form turn portions, and the turn portions align in a circumferential direction to constitute coil end groups.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an alternator driven by an internal combustion engine, for example, and in particular, relates to a stator construction for an automotive alternator mounted to an automotive vehicle such as a passenger car or a truck.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, compact high output and improvements in quality have been increasingly required of alternators. In order to achieve compact high output, it is important to design constructions which distribute magnetic loading and electrical loading in the most appropriate manner, and with the highest possible density within a limited volume.
For example, as engine compartments become progressively smaller, mounting space for automotive alternators is becoming less and less free, but at the same time, improvements in alternator output are required because of increases in automotive vehicle loads. Furthermore, there is increased need for noise reduction both inside and outside automotive vehicles, and although engine noise has been reduced, noise from automotive alternators, which run constantly to generate electricity in order to supply the electrical load for the vehicle, has remained a problem. Fan noise and magnetic noise in particular have been problems in automotive alternators which operate in a wide range of rotational frequencies from low to high speed.
Because automotive alternators are constantly generating electricity, they generate a lot of heat due to the joule heat of the output electric current and are subjected to a severe heat environment, requiring extremely high heat resistance.
Furthermore, within the engine compartment, an automotive alternator is often mounted directly onto an engine, where it is exposed to liquids such as engine oil and antifreeze, in addition to rain water, salt water, mud, etc., conditions where the corrosive environment is extremely severe. There are problems due to corrosion which lead to interruptions in power generation, etc., but most causes of interruption to power generation are the result of damage to insulation on a winding which occurs during the process of manufacturing a stator, or due to electrical short-circuiting in structurally exposed portions of the winding.
For compact high output by alternators, in particular, it is necessary to increase the space factor of electrical conductors housed within magnetic circuits of the stator, and to line up and increase the density of bridge portions of the stator winding (bridge portions outside a stator core are called coil ends), and in addition to this, various improvements have been proposed in order to answer the requirements for low noise, heat-resistance, corrosion resistance, etc., mentioned above. Constructions aimed at increasing the space factor of the electrical conductors using short conductor segments for the electrical conductors in the stator or aimed at lining up and increasing the density of the coil ends have been proposed in the publication of WO 92/06527 and in Japanese Patent No. 2927288, for example.
FIG. 29 is a side elevation showing part of a stator of a conventional automotive alternator such as described in Japanese Patent No. 2927288, for example, FIG. 30 is a perspective showing a conductor segment used in the stator of the conventional automotive alternator shown in FIG. 29, and FIGS. 31 and 32 are perspectives from a front end and a rear end, respectively, of part of the stator of the conventional automotive alternator shown in FIG. 29.
In FIGS. 29 to 32, the stator 50 includes: a stator core 51; a stator winding 52 wound onto the stator core 51; and insulators 53 mounted inside slots 51a, the insulators 53 insulating the stator winding 52 from the stator core 51. The stator core 51 is a cylindrical laminated core laminated by stacking thin steel plates; and has a number of slots 51a extending axially disposed at even pitch circumferentially so as to be open on an inner circumferential side. In this case, ninety-six slots 51a are formed so as to house two sets of three-phase winding portions such that the number of slots housing each phase of the winding portions corresponds to the number of magnetic poles (sixteen) in a rotor (not shown). The stator winding 52 is constructed by joining a number of short conductor segments 54 in a predetermined winding pattern.
The conductor segments 54 are formed into a general U shape from an insulated copper wire material having a rectangular cross section, and are inserted two at a time from an axial rear end into pairs of slots 51a six slots apart (a pitch of one magnetic pole). Then, end portions of the conductor segments 54 extending outwards at a front end are joined to each other to constitute the stator winding 52.
More specifically, in pairs of slots 51a six slots apart, first conductor segments 54 are inserted from the rear end into first positions from an outer circumferential side within first slots 51a and into second positions from the outer circumferential side within second slots 51a, and second conductor segments 54 are inserted from the rear end into third positions from the outer circumferential side within the first slots 51a and into fourth positions from the outer circumferential side within the second slots 51a. Thus, within each slot 51a, four straight portions 54a of the conductor segments 54 are arranged to line up in a row in a radial direction.
Then, end portions 54b of the conductor segments 54 extending outwards at the front end. from the first positions from the outer circumferential side within the first slots 51a and end portions 54b of the conductor segments 54 extending outwards at the front end from the second positions from the outer circumferential side within the second slots 51a six slots away in a clockwise direction from the first slots 51a are joined to form an outer layer winding having two turns. In addition, end portions 54b of the conductor segments 54 extending outwards at the front end from the third positions from the outer circumferential side within the first slots 51a and end portions 54b of the conductor segments 54 extending outwards at the front end from the fourth positions from the outer circumferential side within the second slots 51a six slots away in a clockwise direction from the first slots 51a are joined to form an inner layer winding having two turns.
In addition, the inner layer winding and outer layer winding constituted by the conductor segments 54 inserted into the pairs of slots 51a six slots apart are connected in series to form one phase of the stator winding 52 having four turns.
A total of six phases of the stator winding 52 each having four turns are formed in this manner. Then, two sets of three-phase stator winding portions are constructed by connecting three phases each of the stator winding 52 into alternating current connections.
In the conventional stator 50 constructed in this manner, at the rear end of the stator core 51, turn portions 54c of the pairs of conductor segments 54 inserted into the same pairs of slots 51a are lined up in rows in a radial direction. As a result, the turn portions 54c are arranged in two rows circumferentially to constitute a rear-end coil end group.
At the front end of the stator core 51, on the other hand, joint portions formed by joining the end portions 54b of the conductor segments 54 extending outwards at the front end from the first positions from the outer circumferential side within the first slots 51a and the end portions 54b of the conductor segments 54 extending outwards at the front end from the second positions from the outer circumferential side within the second slots 51a six slots away, and joint portions formed by joining the end portions 54b of the conductor segments 54 extending outwards at the front end from the third positions from the outer circumferential side within the first slots 51a and the end portions 54b of the conductor segments 54 extending outwards at the front end from the fourth positions from the outer circumferential side within the second slots 51a six slots away are arranged to line up radially. As a result, joint portions formed by joining end portions 54b to each other are arranged in two rows circumferentially to constitute a front-end coil end group.
In the stator 50 of the conventional automotive alternator, as explained above, the stator winding 52 is constructed by inserting short conductor segments 54 formed in the general U shape into the slots 51a of the stator core 51 from the rear end, and joining end portions 54b of the conductor segments 54 extending outwards at the front end.
Thus, because the front-end coil end group is constructed by circumferentially arranging the joint portions formed by joining the end portions 54b, which have lost their insulation due to soldering or welding, the coil-end construction is easily corroded by exposure to moisture, making corrosion resistance extremely low.
Furthermore, because the front-end coil end group is composed of two rows of ninety-six joint portions, i.e., 192 joint portions, the construction facilitates short-circuiting between the joint portions, increasing the likelihood of short-circuiting accidents.
A large number of the short conductor segments 54 must be inserted into the stator core 51 and their end portions 54b must be joined by welding, soldering, etc., significantly reducing operability. Furthermore, the amount of each conductor segment 54 which is inserted into the slots 51a must be greater than the length of the stator core 51, facilitating damage to the insulation and reducing the quality of the finished product. In addition, when joining the end portions 54b, short-circuiting often occurs between the joint portions due to spilt solder or weld melt, significantly decreasing mass-producibility.
The end portions 54b of the. conductor segments 54 are joined to each other by clamping a portion thereof in a jig, and soldering or welding the tips thereof. Thus, because clamping area is required for the jig and expansion of the soldered portions or welded portions occurs, the height of the coil ends is increased and space between the joint portions is reduced. As a result, coil leakage reactance in the coil end portions is increased, causing output to deteriorate, and wind resistance is increased, exacerbating wind noise.
Furthermore, as a measure against magnetic noise, mutual cancellation of magnetic pulsation forces by winding two sets of three-phase windings into slots in positions offset by an electrical phase difference of 30xc2x0 has been proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. HEI 4-26345, for example. However, when attempts are made to adopt this example of improvement of magnetic noise in small stators, the slot spacing becomes extremely narrow because twice as many slots are required. Thus, it was not possible to apply general winding methods in which a stator winding is constructed by preparing an annular coil by winding continuous wire into an annular shape, then, preparing a star coil by deforming this annular coil into a star shape, then installing straight portions of the star coil into the slots of the stator core. Furthermore, the above-mentioned winding method using the conductor segments 54 could not be applied because buckling, etc., of the conductor segments 54 occurs during insertion into the slots. Additionally, when welding the end portions 54b of the conductor segments 54 to each other, the conductor segments 54 are softened by temperature increases during welding, reducing the rigidity of the stator and decreasing the effective reduction in magnetic noise.
In addition, it is necessary to answer the various demands of automotive alternator output with electromagnetic design. In particular, in order to improve output of an alternator in a low-speed frequency region in response to idling frequency in an automotive engine, it is necessary to shift an output commencement frequency to the low-speed side. To this end, it is necessary to improve the voltage induced by the alternator by increasing magnetomotive force, that is, electric current supplied to a field coil, or by increasing the total conductor count, that is, the number of turns in the stator. Now, with the former, the output commencement frequency can be shifted to the low-speed side by increasing the supply of electric current to the field coil, but this is limited by reductions in the saturation of the magnetic circuits. With the latter, the output commencement frequency can be shifted to the low-speed side by increasing the number of turns, but when attempts are made to increase the total conductor count in a winding based on conductor segments 54, the number of joint portions increases proportionately, leaving no space for joining, and excessive increases in the number of turns cannot be practically applied.
The present invention aims to solve the above problems with the conventional art and an object of the present invention is to provide an alternator having both high serviceability and productivity, capable of satisfying the performance and quality commonly required of today""s alternators.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide an alternator applicable to automotive use which has compactness, high output, and low noise.
In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an alternator comprising:
a rotor for forming north-seeking (N) and south-seeking (S) poles along a rotational circumference;
a stator comprising:
a stator core disposed facing the rotor; and
a polyphase stator winding installed in the stator core; and
a bracket supporting the rotor and the stator,
wherein the stator core comprises a laminated iron core formed with a number of slots extending axially at a predetermined pitch in a circumferential direction,
the polyphase stator winding comprises a number of winding sub-portions in each which a long strand of wire is wound so as to alternately occupy an inner layer and an outer layer in a slot depth direction within the slots at intervals of a predetermined number of slots, the strand of wire folding back outside the slots at axial end surfaces of the stator core to form turn portions, and
the turn portions align in a circumferential direction to constitute coil end groups.


A communications networking system is disclosed for controlling and monitoring devices within a telephony central office. The networking system includes a high bandwidth local area network (LAN) within the central office for transferring substantially all communications between each central office network element and remote telephony operational support systems (OSSs) that control and monitor network element performance. The LAN simplifies communications within the central office: (a) by substantially eliminating direct connections, between central office network elements and remote OSSs, and (b) by utilizing at least one standardized communication protocol such as TCP/IP, UDP/IP, or OSI when transferring communications over the LAN. The networking system includes a mediation device(s) for translating between network element specific protocols and a standardized protocol used on the LAN. The networking system further includes redundant routers, each acting as an interface between a wide area network (WAN) connecting to the central office and the central office local area network, wherein the WAN provides substantially all of the communications between the central office and the OSSs. One of the routers is used in securing the central office against undesirable access by agents dialing into the central office via the public telephone lines. This router obtains an ID and password from a dial-in agent, and communicates with a remote security center to determine what central office process interfaces the agent may access. The router also prohibits dial-in users from accessing the WAN and thereby accessing other telephony service control sites.

The incremental deployment of progressively newer technologies by telephony service providers has created, in many cases, a wide range of telecommunications equipment and operations that must be integrated to provide reliable service to subscribers. For example, a telephony provider may have network elements and operational support systems (OSSs) that have been in place for years (known in the art as legacy systems) as well as newer network elements and their associated OSSs that allow more efficient and/or more comprehensive operational support. Thus, there have been, in some cases, substantial duplications of the same functionality using different technologies within service sites for telephony service providers.
The above statements are particularly true for telephony provider central offices and the OSSs to which the central offices connect. In particular, referring to prior art FIG. 1, note that although certain OSSs 10 may be physically coalesced in a single data center 14 as shown, there may be a substantial number of different communication technologies used to monitor and control central offices 20 from such remote locations as data center 14. FIG. 1 illustrates six communication technologies typically used in externally communicating with and controlling devices within central offices 20 from remote locations. They are:
(1.1) A TCP/IP wide area network 24 for high bandwidth communications using the well known standardized TCP/IP protocol. Note that the term wide area network (WAN) is hereinafter intended to refer to any physical network technology that spans larger geographical distances (e.g., from tens to thousands of miles). Further note that TCP/IP is an abbreviation for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol wherein the Internet Protocol is known as a "network layer" mprotocol and the Transmission Control Protocol is known as a "transport layer" protocol that is constructed on top of the Internet Protocol. Thus, the Internet Protocol (IP) is responsible for establishing, maintaining, and terminating a network connection between two communicating network nodes. The IP is also responsible for transferring information along an established connection. The TCP, on the other hand, is responsible for providing information between communicating network nodes wherein there is an agreed upon level of communication quality. In particular, TCP transmits data as full duplex data streams across a particular network path or "connection" that has been determined between the communicating network nodes. Further TCP/IP is widely used as a foundation upon which higher level or "application layer" protocols depend. More precisely, TCP/IP is a fourth layer protocol, wherein the higher layers are denoted: the session layer (5.sup.th), presentation layer (6.sup.th) and the application layer (7.sup.th)Thus, (as one skilled in the art will understand) the TCP/IP network 24 maybe utilized for communicating in anyone of a number of telephony network management application protocols, for example: PA1 (1.2) The public telephone network 28 for allowing central office off-site technicians dial access to a central office 20 for monitoring and/or correcting network element 48 malfunctions; PA1 (1.3) An asynchronous proprietary network 52 for establishing communications between network element 48 data ports and "UNIX" based host systems at OSSs 10 of the data center 14, wherein a proprietary network protocol such as "URP" by Datakit is used. Note that a terminal/host computational paradigm may be used between a network element and OSSs when communicating using the network 28. That is, the network element, or more precisely, one of its data ports, behaves like a terminal in that it is controlled by a single host OSS 10 computational device and therefore the data port is dependent on this host for instructing it as to when it should communicate with the host; PA1 (1.4) One or more private point-to-point lines 56 between a central office 20 and a data center 14, wherein transmissions on these dedicated lines may use any number of protocols. However, it may be likely that such transmissions do not use any protocol whatsoever since such point-to-point lines often are viewed as an extension of the network elements 48 so that the operating systems of the network elements are accessible from a remote location such as data center 14; PA1 (1.5) A X.25 network 54 for communicating using the X.25 communication protocol, wherein information is encapsulated in (or converted to) X.25 packets for transmission. Note that a packet assembler/disassembler 56 must be provided at each terminating node of this network to decode and encode X.25 packets from and to the network 54, respectively. Further note that a protocol translator 58 may be connected between packet assembler/disassembler 56 and the network elements 48 for translating the protocol of the disassembled X.25 information into one or more specialized network element 48 protocols such as: PA1 (1.6) One or more synchronous networks 60 for supporting primarily IBM host applications of OSSs 10 that require communications with various legacy devices (i.e., technologically outdated devices) such as devices using 3270 terminal emulation software. Note that in some cases communications on these networks use a bisynchronous polled protocol wherein the absence of constant polling by an OSS 10 renders the legacy devices and printers 64 attached to synchronous cluster controller 66 useless. PA1 (2.1) UDP/IP (i.e., User Datagram Protocol/Internet Protocol) is a communications protocol for sending and receiving packetized data wherein UDP/IP uses IP to perform lower level tasks such as addressing and packet communications without substantial error checking for validating substantial error checking for validating an error free communication transmission. Accordingly, the UDP portion of this protocol uses a feature of the IP that does not require a connection determination and setup process prior to sending data packets over a network (e.g., wide area network). Note that typical telephony applications using UDP/UP are applications providing, for example, public telephone switching network monitoring and alarming services to a telephony service provider. PA1 (2.2) OSI (i.e., Open System Interconnection) is a highly structured protocol based upon the seven layer OSI communications model which defmes communications interfaces and capabilities from the physical interface of a device to a standardized interface for programmed applications. The OSI protocol uses an E.164 network addressing specification which significantly differs from the TCP/IP "four dot", 32 bit address notation (described in detail herein below). PA1 (3.1) each central office's local area network connected to the same wide area network by T-1 communication lines, PA1 (3.2) the local area networks and the wide area network using an identical standardized protocol, and PA1 (3.3) a uniform addressing scheme for network element communication ports across such central offices as discussed above.
(i) CMIP/CMIS, an application protocol for managing telephony network elements. In particular, CMIP/CMIS is used for communicating with network element communication ports, that utilize OSI networking standards as provided by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), ISO-8073, or, PA2 (ii) SNMP (Simple Network Monitoring Protocol), a standardized internet network management protocol for monitoring network elements having communication ports utilizing the IP. PA2 (i) E2A: a telephony protocol developed by AT&T for transmitting state changes and alarm notices between legacy network elements and associated OSSs. PA2 (ii) Synder: a synchronous protocol developed by AT&T for use in controlling digital access to telephony cross connect equipment. PA2 (iii) TBOS: a protocol developed by AT&T for use in providing network element alarms to an OSS. This protocol is based on a structured block of 512 bits. PA2 (iv) BX.25: a protocol defined by AT&T Bell Laboratories for use in providing multiple communication sessions or connections over a single communication channel. This protocol is used only on AT&T manufactured equipment.
Given the lack of integration between external communication connections to a central office 20 as FIG. 1 illustrates, it is not surprising that it is very difficult to provide a uniform or consistent management of the external communications on these connections. Moreover, note that although FIG. 1 shows only a single communication line 80 between various communication ports on network elements 48 and other central office devices communicating with the central office external connections, it is important to note that the thick lines within central office 20 represent a plurality of distinct communication lines having, potentially, a distinct communication line per network element 48. Thus, there is potentially a large number of communication lines 80 internal to each central office 20 to be managed. However, since the communication lines 80 have no device in common, it is substantially not possible to uniformly manage the communication in such a center office.
Further note that due substantially to the lack of uniform management of both external and internal communications of a central office 20, there are minimal security features to prohibit unauthorized access to a central office 20 as well as potentially other telephony provider sites via one of the external connections once access to a central office 20 is obtained. In particular, there may be substantial risk that hackers gain access to, for example, network elements 48 in a central office 20 via an off-site processing unit 72 (e.g., a combination of a personal computer and a modem) and the public telephone network 28. Further, there is a risk that if a hacker gains access to a central office 20, then he/she may be able to also gain access to other central offices 20 or a data center 14 by navigating central office external connections.
Thus, it would be advantageous to have a central office architecture that allows better management and increased security for both internal and external communications of a central office. In particular, it would be advantageous to have a central office architecture wherein the internal communications are routed through one or more common devices allowing both better access permissions checking and reducing the number of distinct communication lines between central office devices. Further, it would be advantageous to have a central office architecture wherein communications between telephony provider service sites are provided substantially by a single wide area network wherein security measures may be applied straightforwardly and uniformly.


A system for tracking entities at a work site includes an antenna having a scanned boresight. A controller may be configured to determine a relative angle between a reference associated with the antenna and a source of radiation based on a relationship between boresight orientation and relative power values of a signal received by the antenna from the source of radiation for two or more boresight orientations of the antenna.

Workers at work sites, including construction and/or mining sites, may experience dangers from several elements. For example, these sites typically include heavy machinery and equipment, such as bulldozers, cranes, front wheel loaders, soil stabilizers, rippers, and pulverizers. Operators of such heavy machinery and equipment often have a limited field of vision and may not readily detect the presence of other entities (e.g., workers, structures, and/or other machines) at the work site. The lack of knowledge regarding the presence and location of workers and other machines at the work site can lead to accidental collisions. Thus, there is a need for a system of locating and tracking the positions of workers, machines, hazardous sites, infrastructure elements, and other work site obstacles and displaying the positions of these obstacles to the machine operators.
Various systems have been proposed for tracking obstacles at work sites. U.S. Pat. No. 6,614,721 to Bokohour ("the '721 patent") describes one example of a collision avoidance system including a reader device attached to a vehicle. The reader device periodically transmits an ultrasonic pulse. If within range of the ultrasonic pulse, a tag device, worn by a worker or positioned on a machine or obstacle, receives the ultrasonic pulse and transmits a radio frequency (RF) signal to an RF receiver associated with the reader device.
A distance between the vehicle and the worker or obstacle in the '721 patent may be determined by monitoring the elapsed time between the transmission of the ultrasonic pulse and the reception of the corresponding RF signal. While the system of the '721 patent may potentially enable tracking of entities within a certain envelope of operation, the system may suffer from several shortcomings. For example, discerning an exact position (e.g., azimuth and distance) of the tracked entity with respect to the reader may be difficult or impossible. Further, the ultrasonic waves used to monitor the distance to a tracked entity may be vulnerable to interference. The system may also be ineffective at operating in all conditions that may be present at a work site.
The present disclosure addresses one or more of the deficiencies in the prior art.


A blocked highly functional polyisocyanate adduct is described with a melting point of <128.degree. C., preferably 80.degree.-110.degree. C., which is characterized in that the blocked polyisocyanate adduct with a functionality >2 contains 1.1-2 mol of blocking agent per blocked NCO group.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a specific diisocyanate adduct which is blocked with .epsilon.-caprolactam and is based, in particular, on isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), to a process for the preparation thereof and to the use thereof for producing light-resistant polyurethane resin powders (hereinafter PUR powders).
2. Discussion of the Background
Thermosetting powder compositions which are obtained by reacting a resin which contains hydroxyl groups with a masked polyisocyanate form part of the state of the art and are widely used. The isocyanates preferred for thermosetting powder compositions are (cyclo)aliphatic polyisocyanates, specifically because of their excellent ageing characteristics compared with the aromatic isocyanates which have, in particular, the disadvantage of yellowing on storing and ageing.
The PUR powder hardeners which have become particularly widely used are isocyanate-polyol adducts which are blocked with .epsilon.-caprolactam and are based on isophorone diisocyanate. The reason for this is very probably the great difference in the reactivity of the two NCO groups in IPDI, which allows for specific formation of adducts of IPDI with the polyol, providing a narrow molecular weight distribution. A narrow molecular weight distribution of the hardener is the precondition for good levelling of the cured powder.
IPDI blocked with .epsilon.-caprolactam melts at 53.degree.-55.degree. C. As a consequence of the low melting point, caking of the PUR powders prepared from this blocked IPDI occurs on storage. To increase the melting point, IPDI is subjected, before the .epsilon.-caprolactam blocking, to an increase in molecular weight, for example by chain extension with a polyol, or by partial trimerization and/or dimerization.
Specified as chain extenders for IPDI in DE-C 2,105,777 are polyols such as trimethylolpropane, 2,2,4(2,4,4)-trimethyl-1,6-hexanediol, diethylene glycol, in DE-A 2,542,191 are mixtures of di- and trifunctional polyols, and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,931,117 are trifunctional polyols. DE-A 2,735,497 describes the use of partially trimerized IPDI blocked with .epsilon.-caprolactam as PUR powder hardener; partially dimerized aliphatic diisocyanates, specifically IPDI, whose free-NCO groups are partially or completely blocked with .epsilon.-caprolactam are likewise described as PUR powder hardeners (DE-A 2,420,475). DE-A 3,143,060 describes PUR powder hardeners which are obtained by chain extension of IPDI with an aliphatic diamine and subsequent .epsilon.-caprolactam blocking.
It is common to all these PUR powder hardeners that they are straightforward to prepare in a one-pot process. On an industrial scale, there are limits to this one-pot process when the melting ranges of the blocked polyisocyanate adducts are in the vicinity of the unblocking temperature of the reaction product, because partial unblocking of the blocked polyisocyanate adducts must be expected when the reactor is emptied. It is furthermore known that, in the case of PUR powders, the chemical resistance (in the case of a polyol) improves as the functionality of the hardener increases. This association of the effect of the functionality of the blocked polyisocyanate adduct on the properties of the PUR powder coating was shown very impressively in the Powder Coatings Symposium in London on 30.10.1987 (R. Gras; H. Schnurbusch).
The PUR powder hardener with superior properties presented there has an NCO functionality of about 3.3 and a melting range of 145.degree.-148.degree. C. The preparation of a hardener of this type on an industrial scale is, as already described, impossible or possible only with very great difficulty in a simple one-pot process because of the high melting point. This is very probably the reason why this hardener, which makes it possible to produce powder coatings with excellent solvent resistance, is not yet commercially available.
The object of the present invention was thus to prepare blocked highly functional polyisocyanate adducts of good chemical resistance with a melting point <120.degree. C., preferably 80.degree.-110.degree. C., by a simple process which can be carried out industrially.
It has surprisingly been found that compounds of this type with low melting point and good solvent resistance are obtained when the diisocyanate adduct employed for the blocking is reacted with the blocking agent, specifically .epsilon.-caprolactam, not in the NCO: (monofunctional) blocking agent equivalent ratio of 1:1 but in the ratio of 1:1.1-2. It was not predictable and particularly surprising that the excess of blocking agent which, after all, partly remains in the surface coating after hardening has no adverse effect on the coating surface. Exactly the opposite would have been expected.

Blocked highly functional polyisocyanate adducts, a process for the preparation thereof and the use thereof


A standard whole blood composition is disclosed, which is useful as a pooled human hemostasis reference standard in blood coagulation assays including Activated Clotting Time (ACT), Whole Blood Prothrombin Time (WBPT), Whole Blood Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (WBAPTT) and Whole Blood Thrombin time (WBTT). Also disclosed are methods for determining the human standardized potency of heparin and protamine.

This invention relates to a standard whole blood composition, methods for making the composition and methods for determining the potency of blood clotting inhibitory substances.
Fundamental to human life and well being is the ability of human blood, in response to certain stimuli, to thicken and eventually form structures known as blood clots. Blood clotting occurs in response to both external and internal bleeding. Conversely, unwanted clot formation or blood thickening can have undesirable effects among which are circulatory blockages. Certain medical procedures, for example cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), are obviously adversely affected by blood clotting and would not be possible without means to prevent blood clot formation.
Medical science has developed pharmacological agents which modify the inherent clotting characteristics of human blood. These substances are widely used to treat diseases and to perform medical procedures. A substance of major importance is a naturally occurring material known as heparin. Heparin is a polysaccharide sulfuric acid ester found especially in lung, liver and intestinal tissue and has the ability in certain circumstances to prolong the clotting time of blood. Commercially available heparin is derived from animal tissues principally porcine intestine or bovine lung. As presently understood, commercially processed heparin is a complex substance and its pharmacological activity per unit weight may vary depending on the characteristics of a specific batch of material.
Heparin is sold with its biological potency expressed in U.S.P. units. U.S.P. units are related to the clot formation inhibition of heparin mixed with sheep plasma (blood with all cells removed by centrifugation), The United States Pharmacopeia, 21st Edition (1985) pp. 481-482.
It is well known that there are significant differences in the body's clotting systems (i.e., the blood solids including red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets and the circulatory coagulation factor proteins associated with the plasma) among different individuals. While healthy persons may exhibit blood clotting within so called normal ranges, the actual physiological performance of their system may exhibit wide variations. The production and metabolism of the classical coagulation factors, for example, can vary within fairly wide ranges. One can readily see therefore that care must be used in predicting the response of a given individual to medications affecting coagulation or in developing data based on a blood sample from one donor which can be expected to be applicable to the general population.
Whole blood clotting and plasma clotting involve different mechanisms and substances. Plasma lacks many elements present in whole blood, namely platelets, red blood cells, and white blood cells, which are intricately involved in the hemostatic process. Since heparin is known to interact with these elements, it is readily apparent that the failure of traditional laboratory assays that are typically based on analysis of blood plasma, e.g., the prothrombin time (PT) or the Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (APTT) test, to monitor heparin anticoagulation effect is due to the inability to duplicate in the lab the true hemostatic status of the patient. Moreover, human blood plasma and sheep blood plasma (used in the U.S.P. assay) are obviously different in their clotting response. Because of these factors, the blood clotting inhibition response of a particular human to a dose of heparin from a particular manufacturer's batch of heparin is somewhat unpredictable.
Medical science has developed various techniques to measure the clotting ability of a sample of human blood. A commonly used procedure is the determination of the blood's Activated Clotting Time (ACT). See, for example, Hattersley, P., JAMA, 196:150-154, 1966; LaDuca F., et al., J. Extra-Corpor. Technol., 19:358-364, 1987; and Dutton et al., Anaesthia, 38:264-68, 1983. In this method the amount of time required for a 0.5 to 2.0 ml sample of the patient's blood to clot is measured. A normal ACT range is 140 to 180 seconds for a population of patients with cardiovascular disease. The ACT range for the general population is 120 to 140 seconds.
During a CPB procedure heparin will typically be administered to the patient to inhibit clot formation so as to achieve ACT values of greater than 480 seconds. Bull, B., et al., J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg., 69:685-689, 1975. At the conclusion of the surgical procedure the heart lung machine is disconnected and there is no further need to inhibit blood clot formation. While the previously infused heparin would eventually leave the patient's body, one can see that it is medically imperative to restore the patient's blood clotting ability to prevent uncontrolled bleeding. The normal blood clotting state is called clinical hemostasis.
In order to achieve hemostasis, it is common to administer a substance known as protamine to the heparinzed patient. Protamines are simple strongly basic proteins of relatively low molecular weight. These proteins are water soluble, not coagulated by heat and yield only amino acids, chiefly arginine when hydrolyzed.
Protamine is a naturally occurring material and is commercially available to the medical profession as an extract from certain fish (salmon) tissue. The purity and therefore the physiological potency of commercial protamine preparations, for reasons not well understood, have been shown to vary from batch to batch. Protamine is dispensed on a weight basis. Protamine, while of different chemistry than heparin, also has the property of prolonging the blood clotting time in humans.
Heparin and protamine are reactive with each other on a stoichiometric basis. Heparin is an anionic substance and protamine is a cationic substance. When the two substances are mixed in blood (either in vivo or a test tube) they react quantitatively to form a neutral (and physiologically inactive) entity. Medical personnel therefore infuse protamine at the conclusion of, e.g., a CPB procedure, to neutralize heparin in patient's blood and restore normal, baseline blood clotting ability.
Protamine, however, as previously discussed, is itself an anticoagulant and if excess protamine is infused, hemostasis will not be achieved. Further complications can result from the fact that protamine may be toxic to some individuals--Horrow, J., Anesth. Analg., 64:348-361, 1985. Protamine is also reportedly capable of inducing an allergic response in certain patients--Sharath, M., et al., J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg., 90:86-90, 1985.
Surgical teams performing thoracic surgery typically follow one of three procedures to estimate the dosage of protamine required to neutralize the heparin circulating in the patient's blood. One method is to administer protamine based on a ratio of protamine to total heparin infused during the procedure. As previously discussed, the physiological potency of heparin and of protamine vary from batch to batch and one can foresee the potential for inaccuracies.
Another method employs a procedure based on the heparin dose--response curve described by Bull, B., et al., J. Thorac. Cardiovasc Surg,, 69:685-689, 1975. At the end of cardiopulmonary bypass the concentration of heparin remaining in the patient's blood is determined by correlation of the ACT to a dose-response curve of ACT vs. heparin concentration constructed prior to bypass. Once the blood heparin concentration is known, an empirical protamine to heparin ratio is used to calculate a protamine dose which will neutralize the patient's heparin and restore clinical hemostasis.
At the present time the preferred clinical method is heparin vs. protamine titration in vitro wherein varying amounts of liquid protamine are added to heparinized blood to determine the amount of protamine required to normalize whole blood clotting times measured by the Activated Clotting Time (ACT) test. The clinical use of a protamine titration assay based on ACT technology has been limited due to the lack of a convenient and accurate protamine assay.
Irrespective of the availability of the ACT assay, it is not possible to predict how a given patient will respond to a given heparin or protamine preparation. This is primarily due to the fact that, as currently labeled, heparin or protamine preparations do not indicate the potency of the drug in a human characterized blood specimen. Currently the accepted pharmaceutical labeling of potency is the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) designation. As noted above, the USP designation of heparin potency is the anticoagulant inducing effect of heparin in a substrate of animal (sheep) citrated plasma. Conversely, protamine potency is the neutralization of heparin in this same substrate. This is referred to as the heparin neutralizing potency. There are two obvious deficiencies of this system. First the non-human substrate used does not behave the same as human material. Secondly, the substrate is citrated plasma and, for the aforementioned reasons, plasma has not proven an effective substitute for human blood as a tool to predict anticoagulant response. In sum, due to the complexity of the coagulation mechanism, the prior art methods and substances have very serious drawbacks.

Standard whole blood composition for determining the potency of blood clotting inhibitory substances


A method for the wet-chemical treatment of a semiconductor wafer involves: a) rotating a semiconductor wafer; b) applying a cleaning liquid comprising gas bubbles having a diameter of 100 μm or less to the rotating wafer such that a liquid film forms on the wafer; c) exposing the rotating semiconductor wafer to a gas atmosphere containing a reactive gas; and d) removing the liquid film from the wafer.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for the wet-chemical treatment of a semiconductor wafer.
2. Background Art
Semiconductor wafers required for producing electronic components regularly have to be cleaned of particles and metal contaminants. Such cleaning steps are customary, and are performed both by the manufacturers of the electronic components and by the suppliers thereof: the manufacturers of the semiconductor wafers. Individual-wafer cleaning and batch cleaning methods are known. The present invention relates to individual-wafer cleaning methods.
Individual-wafer cleaning is based on the principle of a rotating semiconductor wafer, wherein a liquid film forms on the surface of the semiconductor wafer which is to be cleaned. Individual-wafer cleaning is advantageous for numerous reasons, one such reason being a smaller consumption of cleaning liquid. Aqueous solutions containing hydrogen fluoride (HF) and ozone (O3) have proven to be effective cleaning liquids, see e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,759,971.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,037,842 B2 describes a method in which a surface of a rotating semiconductor wafer is sprayed with an aqueous cleaning liquid containing e.g. HF and O3. By way of example, hydrogen (H2) and nitrogen (N2) are also known as alternative constituents of the cleaning liquid.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,021,319 B2 discloses exposing the rotating semiconductor wafer to sound waves in order to increase the effectiveness of the cleaning process. In the center of the semiconductor wafer rotating about its central axis, a bulge of the liquid film occurs on account of the surface tension and the vanishing centrifugal force there, which can be reduced by adding an alcohol and reducing the surface tension. As an alternative, the bulge is reduced by physical forces, for example by blowing N2 gas onto the bulge.
A suitable apparatus for carrying out an individual-wafer cleaning method is described in US 2002/0050279 A1. The systems of the design series Raider SP from Semitool/USA are particularly well suited for these methods. US 2002/0050279 A1 also discloses a method which serves to enable sufficient diffusion of a gas through a liquid film applied to a rotating semiconductor wafer. The thickness of the liquid film is reduced by the fast rotation of the semiconductor wafer. The thinner the film, the faster a gas can diffuse through the film. However, for this reason, the thickness of the liquid film is a limiting parameter for the concentration of the gas component on the surface of the semiconductor wafer.

Method for the wet-chemical treatment of a semiconductor wafer


A method for forming a cabling media includes providing a wire pair including first and second conductor members. Each of the first and second conductor members includes a respective conductor and a respective insulation cover surrounding the conductor thereof. The first and second conductor members are twisted about one another to form a twisted wire pair having a twist length that purposefully varies along a length of the twisted wire pair. The method may include: imparting a purposefully varied pretwist to the wire pair using a wire pair twist modulator; and imparting additional twist to the wire pair using a wire pair twisting device downstream of the wire pair twist modulator.

Along with the greatly increased use of computers for homes and offices, there has developed a need for a cabling media, which may be used to connect peripheral equipment to computers and to connect plural computers and peripheral equipment into a common network. Today's computers and peripherals operate at ever increasing data transmission rates. Therefore, there is a continuing need to develop cabling media that can operate substantially error-free at higher bit rates, but that can also satisfy numerous elevated operational performance criteria, such as a reduction in alien crosstalk when the cable is in a high cable density application.
Co-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/690,608, filed Oct. 23, 2003, entitled "LOCAL AREA NETWORK CABLING ARRANGEMENT WITH RANDOMIZED VARIATION," issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,875,928, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discloses cabling media including a plurality of twisted wire pairs housed inside a jacket. Each of the twisted wire pairs has a respective twist length, defined as a distance wherein the wires of the twisted wire pair twist about each other one complete revolution. At least one of the respective twist lengths purposefully varies along a length of the cabling media. In one embodiment, the cabling media includes four twisted wire pairs, with each twisted wire pair having its twist length purposefully varying along the length of the cabling media. Further, the twisted wire pairs may have a core strand length, defined as a distance wherein the twisted wire pairs twist about each other one complete revolution. In a further embodiment, the core strand length is purposefully varied along the length of the cabling media. The cabling media can be designed to meet the requirements of CAT 5, CAT 5e or CAT 6 cabling, and demonstrates low alien and internal crosstalk characteristics even at data bit rates of 10 Gbit/sec.

Methods and apparatus for forming cable media


The present invention is an improved method of production of graphenic materials used to store energy and the energy storage systems using such produced graphenic materials. Provided herein is a method of producing graphene oxide that includes oxidizing graphite powder in a mixture of H3PO4 and H2SO4 in the presence of KMnO4, wherein the ratio of graphite powder to KMnO4 is about 1:9 by weight and the ratio of H3PO4 to H2SO4 is about 1:9 by volume, to produce graphene oxide; dispersing the graphene oxide in water at an acidic pH (e.g., about 0) to form a solution; adjusting the solution to about a neutral pH; and isolating the graphene oxide. An energy storage device is provided herein that includes the graphene oxide made by the disclosed methods or that includes the population (plurality) of reduced graphene oxide particles having the properties disclosed herein, such as batteries and supercapacitors.

The background of this invention will address Electrical Energy Storage Systems, Electrochemical Capacitors and Graphene Oxide matters.
Electrical Energy Storage Systems
Electrical energy storage systems using electrochemical capacitors and batteries have been used in the past, but such systems have been woefully inefficient and ineffective in their performance and economic aspects. For instance, electrical energy storage systems that use batteries rely on chemical reactions between the components to produce electricity. In the chemical reaction, a battery releases electrons from certain constituent components and chemicals to generate electricity. The most common reactions between the chemical components in a battery involve acid or base reactions with metal components.
Batteries have a very limited life-span with most batteries functioning until the battery components or chemicals have been depleted of their available electrons, which usually necessitates discarding the battery. While some batteries can be re-charged, most batteries (even rechargeable ones) tend to lose their ability to hold an electrical charge over time, which necessitates the replacement of the depleted battery.
Chemical energy storage systems supported by battery power are measured by their levels of energy density, which translates to the energy stored per weight of the storage system. With the advent of miniaturized electronic devices, chemical energy storage systems have not kept pace with the need for smaller, faster, and longer lasting electrical energy storage systems that provide faster, higher capacity portable energy for miniaturized electronic devices. High capacity is particularly important in the context of renewable energy for such miniaturized electronic devices, as well as applications for larger devices and appliances.
Electrochemical Capacitors
Electrochemical capacitors have provided, in the past, a means of electrical charge, energy storage and electrical energy delivery, but the mode of storing a charge in an electrochemical capacitor operates much differently than in battery supported energy storage systems. Electrochemical capacitors (which are also been referred to as supercapacitors, electric double-layer capacitors or electrochemical double-layer capacitors), store energy either within an electrochemical double-layer at the electrode-electrolyte interface or through fast surface redox reactions.
In an electrochemical capacitor, current flows until complete charge balance is achieved between the two electrodes connected in an external current path. The capacitor can be returned to its charged state by application of voltage, and the process of recharging (or discharging) is fast and reversible because the charge is stored physically without reliance on chemical or structural phase changes, which allows the charging/discharging cycle to occur quickly and repeatedly.
Electrochemical capacitor devices can have very high specific and volumetric capacitances due to their larger surface area and the thin layers making up their construction. The capacitors can have both electrodes formed of the same type of high-capacity carbon material or a capacitor can have one electrode of high-capacity carbon and the other electrode of a different high capacity material. For operations requiring higher voltage, electrochemical capacitors can be connected as a series in the same manner as battery cells.
The market for electrochemical capacitors has been steadily increasing, in part, because of the longer life-cycle for such devices compared to battery life-cycles, as well as the enhanced dependability of the energy storage capacitors over batteries. Electrochemical capacitors are better suited than batteries for many devices, such as portable electronics, because such electronic devices require high cycle life and rapid charge/discharge cycle times. In some applications, supercapacitors and batteries can be used together advantageously, providing both rapid charging/discharging in addition to high energy density.
Over their life-cycle, electrochemical capacitors can be transitioned through the charge/discharge cycle thousands of time with minimal change in performance. Various materials, such as carbon materials, mixed-metal oxides, and conducting polymers, have been employed as electrodes for supercapacitors.
Graphene Oxide
Carbon substances have been used to fabricate electrode components in supercapacitors, including graphene or graphenic materials. Graphene is a carbon allotrope having a sheet-like structure of a single-layer or a relatively small number of layers, and the sheet-like structure comprises sp2 hybridized carbon atoms. The sp2 hybridization occurs when the 2s and 2p orbitals of carbon overlap leading to a "hybridized" sp2 orbital configuration.
The chemical, electrical, and textural properties of graphene, which are critical to capacitance, can vary with the method of synthesis and the conditions of fabrication. Pure graphene can perform close to, or at, the theoretical maximum supercapacitance of 550 F g−1.
Graphenic materials are similar to, or derived, from graphene, and a graphenic material that has gained interest in the field is graphene oxide, which is sometimes referred to as GO. Graphene oxide has a chemical structure with an sp2 orbital configuration, but the graphene sheet in graphene oxide has been disrupted by the presence of epoxides, alcohols, carbonyls, and carboxylic acid functional groups. The properties of graphene oxide depend on the type and density of these surface functional group disruptions because such functional groups alter the ratio of sp2/sp3 hybridized carbon atoms, which in turn define chemical and physical behaviors of the graphene oxide.
The disrupted sp2 structure of graphene oxide can be partially restored by reducing the graphene oxide through different treatment methods to produce so-called reduced graphene oxide (rGO). While reduced graphene oxide (rGO) has a graphene-like structure, chemical reduction processes cannot result in complete restoration of the sp2 surface structure because substantial defects, such as holes or gaps, in the graphene lattice are still generated and present after the chemical restoration process. These lattice defects have a significant impact on the mechanical and electrical properties of graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO).
A long-felt and unresolved problem with the use of graphene, graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as a component in electronic equipment is that only a small quantity of graphene can be synthesized from graphite from existing processes, such as mechanical exfoliation or chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Commercially viable methods of large scale production of graphene, graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) are not achievable with known systems and methods. The large-scaled synthesis of graphene or graphenic material having the desired properties has proven to be a difficult problem to solve, and many skilled experts in the field have failed to find a proper solution to this problem. The lack of a process and system capable of such large scale synthesis of graphene and graphenic material is a long felt need in the state of the technology, which is entirely unresolved at the present time.
Many failed attempts have been made to solve the large-scale synthesis of graphene and graphenic materials through the use of mechanical exfoliation or chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods and systems. These attempts to use mechanical exfoliation or chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods and systems have not satisfactorily resolved the need for commercially-viable large scale synthesis of graphenic materials.
In mechanical exfoliation, thin (e.g. single or a few layers) graphene sheets are prepared by separating layers from the multi-layered graphite starting material. Techniques like the "scotch tape method" have been used to peel thin layers of graphenic material, including flakes, using adhesives, or alternatively, "shearing" methods using wedges have been used to separate thin slices of graphenic material away from the bulk graphite. To achieve the thin layers of graphene needed for supercapacitor electrodes, however, multiple mechanical exfoliation steps are required, with each step producing thinner layers until the desired thin sheet (single layer or a few layers) is attained. Although the mechanical exfoliation methods can produce high quality single layer graphene, it is not commercially viable due to the high production costs involved.
Graphene produced by mechanical exfoliation has a high degree of purity, but it is time-consuming and can be difficult to produce sheets that are large enough for many applications, which (combined with other difficulties) have been largely insurmountable problems encountered when attempts have been made to scale up mechanical exfoliation processes into a large-scale production method or system. Until the advent of the present invention, the large-scaled synthesis of a consistent graphene or graphenic material having the desired properties has proved to be a difficult task that is a long felt need in the state of the technology, and the prior art mechanical exfoliation processing techniques have failed to achieve large-scale synthesis of a uniform graphene or graphenic material by resolving the significant production problems associated with this technique.
Moreover, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is used to deposit a thin-film coating of graphene onto a substrate. In one such CVD process, a metal substrate is heated under vacuum and reacted with gaseous methane, which leaves a solid thin-film coating on the substrate. Upon cooling, the carbon crystallizes into a graphene layer on the metal substrate.
The CVD method is relatively effective at producing sheets of the required size, but the graphene produced by this method carries a significantly high level of impurities (mainly from the catalyst used in the process). Such CVD processes have proven to be time-consuming and largely economically infeasible (expensive), which have been significant unresolved problems in the past when attempts are made to scale up CVD processes into a large-scale production method or system. The large-scaled synthesis of a consistent graphene or graphenic material having the desired properties has proved, prior to the present invention, to be a difficult task that is a long-felt need in the state of the technology, and past CVD processing techniques have failed to achieve large-scale synthesis of a uniform graphene or graphenic material by resolving the significant production problems associated with this technique.
Prior failed attempts have been made to solve the large-scale synthesis of graphene and graphenic materials through the use of chemical exfoliation of graphite methods and systems, including the Hummer's method and the IGO variation on the Hummer's method. These prior art chemical exfoliation techniques have failed to achieve large-scale synthesis of a uniform graphene or graphenic material by resolving the significant production problems associated with this technique. As such, these prior art chemical exfoliation methods and systems have not resolved the need for commercially-viable large scale synthesis of graphenic materials.
Bulk quantities of graphene oxide flakes have been synthesized by chemical exfoliation of graphite, primarily through the Hummer's method. In Hummer's approach, specific types of strong oxidizers are placed with graphite, which is thereby modified to produce graphene oxide (GO). This resultant graphene oxide (GO) is a hydrophilic and electrically insulating material. Another method for producing improved graphene oxide (IGO) was described in U.S. Patent Application No. 2012/0129736. In this improved graphene oxide (IGO) method, NaNO3 is not used, so this method does not produce problematic by-products such as NO2, N2O4, and/or Cl2O.
Graphene and graphene oxide (GO) produced by these chemical exfoliation techniques has a high degree of impurities and produces problematic by-products. These prior art techniques are also time-consuming and have proven difficult to produce large-scale sheets of graphene or graphenic material that are sufficiently-sized for many applications. These unresolved problems continue to exist when attempts are made to scale up these chemical exfoliation processes into a large-scale production method or system. The large-scaled synthesis of a consistent graphene or graphenic material having the desired properties has proven to be a difficult task that is a long felt need in the state of the technology, and the prior art chemical exfoliation processing techniques have failed to achieve large-scale synthesis of a uniform graphene or graphenic material by resolving the significant production problems associated with this technique.

Graphene oxide particles and method of making and using them

KING ABDULLAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


A method of characterizing the overlap of two media segments is provided. In an instance where there is some amount of overlap of a file and a data sample, the file could be an excerpt of an original file and begin and end within the data sample. By matching identified features of the file with identified features of the data sample, a beginning and ending time of a portion of the file that is within the data sample can be determined. Using these times, a length of the file within the data sample can also be determined.

Today's digital media have opened the door to an information marketplace where although it enables a greater degree of flexibility in digital content distribution and possibly at a lower cost, the commerce of digital information raises potential copyright issues. Such issues can become increasingly important due to the highly increasing amount of audio distribution channels, including radio stations, Internet radio, file download and exchange facilities, and also due to new audio technologies and compression algorithms, such as MP3 encoding and various streaming audio formats. Further, with tools to "rip" or digitize music from a compact disc so readily available, the ease of content copying and distribution has made it increasingly difficult for content owners, artists, labels, publishers and distributors, to maintain control of and be compensated for their copyrighted properties. For example, for content owners, it is important to know where their digital content (e.g., music) is played, and consequently, if royalties are due to them.
Accordingly, in the field of audio content identification, it is desirable to know, in addition to an identity of audio content, precisely how long an excerpt of an audio recording is, as embedded within another audio recording that is being broadcast. For example, performing rights organizations (PRO) collect performing rights royalties on behalf of their members, composers and music publishers when licensable recordings are played on the radio, television, and movies, and the amount of the royalties is typically based upon an actual length of the recording played. The PRO may then distribute these royalties to its members, minus the PRO's administration costs.
The music industry is exploring methods to manage and monetize the distribution of music. Some solutions today rely on a file name for organizing content, but because there is no file-naming standard and file names can be so easily edited, this approach may not work very well. Another solution may be the ability to identify audio content by examining properties of the audio, whether it is stored, downloadable, streamed or broadcast, and to identify other aspects of the audio broadcast.

Method of characterizing the overlap of two media segments


A method of having a frontside contact to a SOI wafer is described. Before any device processing steps a trench is etched through the SOI layers to the substrate. This trench is maintained during device processing and opened during source/drain implantation. At metallization an ohmic contact is made to the substrate.

This invention relates to device processing of Silicon-On-Insulator wafers, and more particularly, relates to a method of forming a frontside contact to the silicon substrate of a SOI wafer.
SOI technology has been shown to have many advantages over bulk silicon technology. These advantages include higher speed, lower power and immunity to single event radiation upset. However, there are certain challenges encountered in actual product fabrication of silicon-on-insulator devices. One of these challenges is the need to bias or ground the silicon substrate. In many packaging processes, the substrate is in electrical contact with the package ground. Relying on this approach has several drawbacks such as extra processing must be done to the backside of the wafer to ensure a good electrical contact to the package. In some packaging techniques the silicon chip is flip chip bonded so that the substrate does not make contact with the package ground. In certain instances it is desirable to apply a bias to the substrate which is different than the package ground pin.
The goals of alleviating the drawbacks of not grounding the substrate, providing for ease of contacting the substrate from the frontside of a SOI wafer, and allowing for biasing the substrate through the electrically isolating buried oxide layer has resulted in the present invention.

Method of forming a frontside contact to the silicon substrate of a SOI wafer

International Business Machines Corporation


A container for bulk items of food, particularly hot dogs, comprising a box with a bottom side mountable on the top of a standard cup/can holding a beverage. A drinking straw is inserted through a side sleeve in the container and an opening in the top of the cup/can into the beverage. A lid is provided which, in one version, is attached along one edge to an edge of the tray. In one position, the lid covers the contents in the tray and in another position, the lid is laid open so that sauces are available for dipping an end of the hot dog in the sauce.

Hot dogs have long been associated with one another like doughnuts and coffee, peanut butter and jelly, bacon and eggs. However, a unique problem exists with dispensing hot dogs and soft drinks in that they are often eaten when the diner is "on the move" such as through a crowd, shaking hands at a party.
Another problem with the "open dish" method of dispensing hot dogs is that, in the minds of many, the present practice of eating on the move is not conducive to protecting against the spread of bacteria.

Combination hot dog and beverage dispenser


The instant invention provides a chambered fishing lure having a releasable hook. The chambered fishing lure includes a main body; within the interior of the main body is a reloadable leader lure assembly chamber constructed and arranged to hold a reloadable leader lure assembly. A portion of the hook, as well as all the leader line, is housed within the internal chamber as well in the non-deployed state. Upon a fish strike and connection, the hook is released from the internal cavity, extending a desirable distance from the main body of the fishing lure and exposing the leader line to the external environment, defining the deployed state. The reloadable leader lure assembly is constructed and arranged to provide the user the ability to retract the leader line coupled to the hook back into the internal chamber of the device.

The broad concept of a fishing lure having a releasable hook is known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,151 describes a fishing lure in which the hook and body separate when a strike occurs. The fishing lure comprises of a lure body, a hook, and a wire member. The body has a slot extending therethrough with a shoulder located along the slot. The hook includes an elongated shank with a projection therein which normally engages the shoulder on the lure body, so the hook remains engaged with the lure body. The wire member extends therethrough the lure body and is attached on one end to a hook eyelet and to the fishing reel on the opposite end. The hook is housed in the slot with the re-bent bight portion extending outside the lure body. The lure body shoulder is releasably engaged with the shank and projection of the hook, where upon a strike, the body and hook separate with the lure body sliding up the wire member.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,233 describes a fishing lure which exhibits a relative lost motion between the body of the lure and the hook upon a fish strike. The fishing lure comprises of a lure body, a limb, an elastomeric band, a fishing line, and a hook. The lure body has a leading end and a trailing end. The limb, having an eye formed on one end thereof, is coupled to the trailing end of the lure body. The eye on the limb is outwardly extending from the trailing end of the lure body. The hook includes a shank with an eyelet formed thereon. The hook is tethered to the limb using a length of fishing line fastened at the hook's eyelet at one end and the limb's eye at the opposite end thereof. An elastomeric band confining surrounds and releasably holds the hook, limb, and fishing line in a juxtaposed position rearwardly remote from the trailing end of the lure body. Upon a fish strike at the hook, the hook and fishing line move out from the band and the hook proceeds in the opposite direction to travel with the fish.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,303 discloses a fishing lure that does not have an exposed hook until sufficient tension is placed on the line. The lure comprises of a lure body, a fishing line, and a hook. The body has an aperture therethrough and at least one channel. The fishing line extends through the aperture and is attached to the shank of the hook. The hook is placed into a channel, changing the direction the fishing line runs from in the aperture, so that the fishing line in the channel runs in the opposite direction of that in the aperture. Using this configuration, the hook will be dislodged from the body if sufficient tension is placed on the fishing line.


An upper bundle cleaning system of steam generator is disclosed which can clean heat transfer tubes and a plurality of tube support plates that support the heat transfer tubes and have slots, using a cleaning device transferred along a guide rail installed to an upper hand hole of the steam generator. The cleaning device is installed to an ascending/descending mechanism which is vertically transferable. The cleaning device includes a frame, at least one or more guide component, a spray component, and a hinge unit, such that the cleaning device is ascended and descended by the ascending/descending mechanism to clean the heat transfer tubes and the tube support plates.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cleaning system of a steam generator and, more particularly, to a cleaning system which is capable of cleaning the heat transfer tubes and a plurality of tube support plates supporting the heat transfer tubes, which are installed to the inside of a steam generator, using a cleaning device transferred along a guide rail installed to an upper hand hole of the steam generator, in which the cleaning device is installed to an ascending/descending means which is vertically transferable, such that the plurality of tube support plates and the upper bundle of the heat transfer tubes can be cleaned.
2. Description of the Related Art
The steam generators, specially which are Westinghouse F-Models, are presently installed in Gori nuclear power plant, Units 2, 3, and 4 and Young Gwang nuclear power plant, Units 1 and 2, in the Republic of Korea. The steam generator serves to generate steam to drive a turbine generator by heat exchange. More specifically, as radioactive water containing heat energy generated in a reactor flows in thousands of heat transfer tubes in a high temperature and high pressure state, and transfers its heat energy to the non-radioactive water flowing outside the heat transfer tubes, the non-radioactive water is changed into steam.
On the other hand, when the steam generator is operated in a state where the heat transfer tubes are damaged, the radioactive water flowing in the heat transfer tubes leaks and mixes with the non-radioactive water. Then, the steam converted from the non-radioactive water contaminated by the radioactive water causes radioactive pollution in the steam receiving areas. Because of this, it is important to secure the integrity of the heat transfer tubes so as not to cause such radioactive pollution.
The steam generator is configured such that: thousands of heat transfer tubes, which are U shaped, i.e., U-tubes, are formed as a bundle, which is called a tube bundle; both ends of each U-tube are fixed to a tube sheet located at the lowest part of the tube bundle; and the heat transfer tubes are supported by tube support plates at seven stages which are spaced every about 1 m from the bottom to the top. However, the conventional steam generator is disadvantageous because impurities are inputted from various paths while operation soft water passes through the paths or generated therein. These impurities can change into scales on the outer surfaces of the heat transfer tubes causing the heat exchange efficiency to be decreased. Also, when scales are deposited between the heat transfer tubes and the tube support plates become a sludge that gradually solidifies, denting occurs between the tube support plates and the heat transfer tubes that damages the heat transfer tubes. Therefore, removal of the scales and the sludge is necessary to secure the efficiency of the steam generator and the integrity of the heat transfer tubes.
However, the conventional systems installed in the nuclear power plants are cleaned by a cleaning device inserted though a hand hole in the steam generator that just removes sludge on the tube sheet, to which the heat transfer tubes are fixed.
Therefore, it is necessary to clean the plurality of tube support plates and the heat transfer tubes of the upper bundle.

Upper bundle cleaning system of steam generator


A housing that retains a fuel cell stack includes a casing that defines a cavity. A first plate is retained within the cavity at a first end of the casing. A second plate is partially received into the cavity at a second end of the casing and is secured to the casing. The fuel cell stack is disposed between the first and second plates. The first and second plates exert a compressive force on the fuel cell stack.

Fuel cell stacks typically comprise a plurality of fuel cells stacked together and held in compression with respect to each other. The plurality of fuel cells form a fuel cell stack. Typically, each fuel cell comprises an anode layer, a cathode layer and an electrolyte interposed between the anode layer and the cathode layer. The fuel cell stack requires a significant amount of compressive force to squeeze the fuel cells together. The compressive force is required to counteract internal pressure generated by reactants within the fuel cells and to maintain good electrical contact between the internal components of the fuel cells.
Traditionally, fuel cell stack housings include side plates that are connected by tension tie bars. During assembly, the side plates and fuel cell stack are pressed together to a pre-defined compression force. The side plates are fastened together using the tie bars. The compression force is relieved and the fuel cell stack relaxes as tensile force is taken up by the tie bars.
Traditional fuel cell stack housings retain specific disadvantages. Because of the post-compression relaxation, the initial compression force must be greater than that which is finally achieved after relaxation. This larger initial compression force negatively impacts on the durability of the fuel cell stack. Traditional fuel cell stack housings fail to shield electromagnetic interference (EMI) generated by the fuel cell stack. Further, traditional fuel cell stack housings do not provide a weather-tight environment, do not compensate for build tolerances between fuel cell stacks and require a significant amount of assembly components including fasteners.


A circuit board for receiving and operably connecting a plurality of electrical components generally comprises: a flexible substrate of a predetermined length and having a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge; a conductive trace applied to the flexible substrate; and a plurality of integral tabs arrayed along the first lateral edge, one or more electrical components being operably connected to the conductive trace at a respective tab, and wherein each tab can be manipulated from a first position in which the tab is aligned with the remainder of the substrate to a second position in which the tab is oriented at an angle relative to the remainder of the substrate.

The present invention is a tabbed circuit board populated with electrical components and method for manufacturing same.
Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are useful in various lighting applications. Since the development of LEDs, many attempts have been made to utilize them in innovative ways. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,592,238 and 6,953,262, which are incorporated herein by this reference, each describe the use of LEDs in an illumination device to simulate neon lighting. The use of LEDs offer many advantages compared with neon lighting including, for example, better durability and reduced costs. As described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,592,238 and 6,953,262, a circuit board is typically populated with LEDs and placed in a housing adjacent the light-receiving surface of a rod-like member or waveguide. The rod-like member/waveguide is made of a material that preferentially scatters light entering the light-receiving surface such that the light intensity pattern exiting a light-emitting surface of the rod-like member/waveguide is substantially uniform.
In many cases, it is desirable to have a particular compact configuration for such an illumination device, i.e., a low-profile illumination device. Accordingly, in order to fit a circuit board populated with LEDs into a smaller housing, it is common to manipulate the legs of the LEDs until the LEDs are oriented approximately parallel to the remainder of the circuit board. However, the legs are weakened and may become susceptible to breaking when so manipulated. Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, manipulating the legs in this manner may stress the LED itself and/or damage the internal components of the LED or its housing. Accordingly, there remains a need for a circuit board populated with LEDs that is suitable for a compact configuration of an illumination device.

Tabbed circuit board and method for manufacturing same