The oscillation-based test method and device is applied to at least partially analog circuits. The at least partially analog circuit is first divided into building blocks each having a given structure. Each building block is then inserted into an oscillator circuit to produce an output signal having an oscillation frequency related to the structure of the building block under test. The oscillation frequency is then measured and a fault in the building block under test is detected when the measured oscillation frequency deviates from a given, nominal frequency. Experiments have demonstrated that the frequency deviation enables the detection of catastrophic and/or parametric faults, and ensures a high fault coverage. In this new time-domain test method, a single output frequency is evaluated for each building block whereby the test duration is very short. These characteristics make the test strategy very attractive for wafer-probe testing as well as final production testing.

1. Field of the invention:
The present invention relates to a method and device for testing analog and mixed-signal circuits.
In the present disclosure and in the appended claims, the term "mixed signal circuit" is intended to designate a circuit including both analog and digital circuitry.
2. Brief description of the prior art:
Due to the development of integrating technologies and the market requirements, the trend of designing mixed-signal ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits) has significantly increased. Analog testing is a challenging task and is considered as one of the most important problems in analog and mixed-signal ASIC design. The specifications of analog circuits are usually very large which results in long testing time and poor fault coverage. A dedicated test equipment is also required. Furthermore, it is very difficult to establish universal fault models equivalent to the so called stuck-at models in digital circuits.
A fault can be either catastrophic or parametric. Catastrophic faults result in complete absence of the desired function. On the other hand, parametric faults result in functional circuit but with degraded performance. Catastrophic faults are easier to test, but when the complexity of the CUT (Circuit Under Test) increases they cause many problems. Parametric faults are the most important and hard to test faults. It should be pointed out that most of the existing test methods address only the catastrophic faults.
Known methods for testing analog blocks comprise functional (or parametric) testing, DC (Direct Current) testing, and power supply current (I.sub.DDQ) monitoring. Functional (or parametric) testing has been described in the following four articles:
[1] C.-L Wey, "Built-In Self-Test Structure for Analog Circuit Fault Diagnosis", IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, 39(3), 1990, pp. 517-521. PA0 [2] L. Milor et al., "Optimal Test Set Design for Analog Circuits", IEEE ICCAD, 1990, pp. 294-297. PA0 [3] P. P. Fasang, D. Mulins and T. Wong, "Design for Testability for Mixed Analog/Digital ASICs", IEEE Custom Integrated Circuit Conf., 1988, pp. 16.5.1-16.5.4. PA0 [4] K. D. Wagner and T. W. Williams, "Design for Testability of Mixed signal Integrated Circuits", IEEE Int. Test Conf., 1988, pp. 823-829. PA0 [5] M. J. Marlett and J. A. Abraham, "DC IATP-An Iterative Analog Circuit Test Generation Program for Generating Single Pattern Tests", IEEE Int. Test Conf., 1988, pp. 839-844. PA0 [6] G. Devarayanadurg and M. Soma, "Analytical Fault Modelling and Static Test Generation for Analog ICs", IEEE ICCAD, 1994, pp. 44-47. PA0 [7] G. Gielen, Z. Wang and W. Sansen, "Fault Detection and Input Stimulus Determination for the Testing of Analog Integrated Circuits Based on Power-Supply Current Monitoring", IEEE ICCAD, 1994, pp. 495-498. PA0 [8] P. Nigh and W. Maly, "Test Generation for Current Testing", IEEE Design & Test of Computers, Vol. 7, No. 2, 1990, pp. 26-38.
DC testing has been suggested in the following two articles:
Power-supply current (I.sub.DDQ) monitoring is discussed in the following two publications:
Various designs for testability (DFT) rules have been used in conjunction with the above mentioned test methods to ease the test problem (articles [3] and [4]). These techniques are employed during the design stage to increase the controllability and observability and to facilitate the test task. Some of these techniques for digital testing have been the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,418 (P. H. Bardell et al.) issued on Apr. 23, 1985 for an invention entitled "Simultaneous Self Testing System" and U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,947 granted to T. R. Gheewala on Jun. 7, 1988 for an invention entitled "Cross-Check Test Structure for Testing Integrated Circuits".
The effectiveness of the above methods depends strongly on the selection of suitable test vectors. Also, they need a large number of test vectors to validly testing the functionality of the CUT. When the complexity of the CUT increases, the problem of determining optimal test vectors becomes critical. Furthermore, the process of choosing a suitable form of excitation signals and evaluation of the results is time consuming. BIST (Built-In Self-Test) strategies based of above methods require the use of specialized input stimuli generation and output evaluation hardware which introduce significant area overhead.

Oscillation-based test method for testing an at least partially analog circuit


Methods for performing packet classification. In one embodiment, packets are classified using a rule bit vector optimization scheme, wherein original rule bit vectors in recursive flow classification (RFC) chunks are optimized by removing useless bits that have no effect on the ultimate rule identified by an associated RFC lookup process. The unique optimized rule bit vectors for associated chunks are then cross-producted to produce an optimized downstream chunk. In another embodiment, a rule database splitting scheme is employed. Under this technique, split criteria is defined to split a rule database, such as splitting based on a particular field value or range. A respective set of downstream chunks is then generated for each partition, beginning with the chunks in a split phase. The applicable rule bit vectors for the chunks associated with a common group and partition are identified, and then unique applicable rule bit vectors for those chunks are cross-producted to produce downstream chunks.

Network devices, such as switches and routers, are designed to forward network traffic, in the form of packets, at high line rates. One of the most important considerations for handling network traffic is packet throughput. To accomplish this, special-purpose processors known as network processors have been developed to efficiently process very large numbers of packets per second. In order to process a packet, the network processor (and/or network equipment employing the network processor) needs to extract data from the packet header indicating the destination of the packet, class of service, etc., store the payload data in memory, perform packet classification and queuing operations, determine the next hop for the packet, select an appropriate network port via which to forward the packet, etc. These operations are generally referred to as "packet processing" operations.
Traditional routers, which are commonly referred to as Layer 3 Switches, perform two major tasks in forwarding a packet: looking up the packet's destination address in the route database (also referred to a the a route or forwarding table), and switching the packet from an incoming link to one of the routers outgoing links. With recent advances in lookup algorithm and improved network processors, it appears that layer 3 switches should be able to keep up with increasing line rate speeds, such as OC-192 or higher.
Increasingly, however, users are demanding, and some vendors are providing a more discriminating form of router forwarding. This new vision of forwarding is called Layer 4 Forwarding because routing decisions can be based on headers available at Layer 4 or higher in the OSI architecture. Layer 4 forwarding is performed by packet classification routers (also referred to as Layer 4 Switches), which support "service differentiation." This enables the router to provide enhanced functionality, such as blocking traffic from a malicious site, reserving bandwidth for traffic between company sites, and provide preferential treatment to one kind of traffic (e.g., online database transactions) over other kinds of traffic (e.g., Web browsing). In contrast, traditional routers do not provide service differentiation because they treat all traffic going to a particular address in the same way.
In packet classification routers, the route and resources allocated to a packet are determined by the destination address as well as other header fields of the packet such as the source address and TCP/UDP port numbers. Layer 4 switching unifies the forwarding functions required by firewalls, resource reservations, QoS routing, unicast routing, and multicast routing into a single unified framework. In this framework, forwarding database of a router consists of a potentially large number of filters on key header fields. A given packet header can match multiple filters; accordingly, each filter is given a cost, and the packet is forwarded using the least cost matching filter.
Traditionally, the rules for classifying a message are called filters (or rules in firewall terminology), and the packet classification problem is to determine the lowest cost matching filter or rule for each incoming message at the router. The relevant information is contained in K distinct header fields in each message (packet). For instance, the relevant fields for an IPv4 packet could comprise the Destination Address (32 bits), the Source Address (32 bits), the Protocol Field (8 bits), the Destination Port (16 bits), the Source Port (16 bits), and, optionally, the TCP flags (8 bits). Since the number of flags is limited, the protocol and flags may be combined into one field in some implementations.
The filter database of a Layer 4 Switch consists of a finite set of filters, filt1, filt2 . . . filtN. Each filter is a combination of K values, one for each header field. Each field in a filter is allowed three kinds of matches: exact match, prefix match, or range match. In an exact match, the header field of the packet should exactly match the filter field. In a prefix match, the filter field should be a prefix of the header field. In a range match, the header values should like in the range specified by the filter. Each filter filti has an associated directive dispi, which specifies how to forward a packet matching the filter.
Since header processing for a packet may match multiple filters in the database, a cost is associated with each filter to determine the appropriate (best) filter to use in such cases. Accordingly, each filter F is associated with a cost(F), and the goal is to find the filter with the least cost matching the packet's header.


A finstock material for heat dissipation, which includes at least one sheet of flexible graphite sandwiched between two outer layers.

With the development of more and more sophisticated electronic devices, including those capable of increasing processing speeds and higher frequencies, having smaller size and more complicated power requirements, and exhibiting other technological advances, such as microprocessors and integrated circuits in electronic and electrical components, high capacity and response memory components such as hard drives, electromagnetic sources such as light bulbs in digital projectors, as well as in other devices such as high power optical devices, relatively extreme temperatures can be generated. However, microprocessors, integrated circuits and other sophisticated electronic components typically operate efficiently only under a certain range of threshold temperatures. The excessive heat generated during operation of these components can not only harm their own performance, but can also degrade the performance and reliability of the overall system and can even cause system failure. The increasingly wide range of environmental conditions, including temperature extremes, in which electronic systems are expected to operate, exacerbates the negative effects of excessive heat.
With the increased need for heat dissipation from microelectronic devices, thermal management becomes an increasingly important element of the design of electronic products. Both performance reliability and life expectancy of electronic equipment are inversely related to the component temperature of the equipment. For instance, a reduction in the operating temperature of a device such as a typical silicon semiconductor can correspond to an increase in the processing speed, reliability and life expectancy of the device. Therefore, to maximize the life-span and reliability of a component, controlling the device operating temperature within the limits set by the designers is of paramount importance.
One group of relatively light weight materials suitable for use in the dissipation of heat from heat sources such as electronic components are those materials generally known as graphites, but in particular graphites such as those based on natural graphites and flexible graphite as described below. These materials are anisotropic and allow thermal dissipation devices to be designed to preferentially transfer heat in selected directions. Graphite materials are much lighter in weight than metals like copper and aluminum and graphite materials, even when used in combination with metallic components, provide many advantages over copper or aluminum when used to dissipate heat by themselves.
For instance, Tzeng, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,482,520 teaches a graphite based thermal management system which includes a heat sink formed of a graphite article formed so as to have a heat collection surface and at least one heat dissipation surface. Krassowski and Chen take the Tzeng concept a step further in International Patent Application No. PCT/US02/38061, where they teach the use of high conducting inserts in a graphite base. Indeed, the use of sheets of compressed particles of exfoliated graphite (i.e., flexible graphite) has been suggested as thermal spreaders, thermal interfaces and as component parts of heat sinks for dissipating the heat generated by a heat source (see, for instance, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,245,400; 6,503,626; and 6,538,892).
Graphites are made up of layer planes of hexagonal arrays or networks of carbon atoms. These layer planes of hexagonally arranged carbon atoms are substantially flat and are oriented or ordered so as to be substantially parallel and equidistant to one another. The substantially flat, parallel equidistant sheets or layers of carbon atoms, usually referred to as graphene layers or basal planes, are linked or bonded together and groups thereof are arranged in crystallites. Highly ordered graphites consist of crystallites of considerable size: the crystallites being highly aligned or oriented with respect to each other and having well ordered carbon layers. In other words, highly ordered graphites have a high degree of preferred crystallite orientation. It should be noted that graphites possess anisotropic structures and thus exhibit or possess many properties that are highly directional e.g. thermal and electrical conductivity and fluid diffusion.
Briefly, graphites may be characterized as laminated structures of carbon, that is, structures consisting of superposed layers or laminae of carbon atoms joined together by weak van der Waals forces. In considering the graphite structure, two axes or directions are usually noted, to wit, the "c" axis or direction and the "a" axes or directions. For simplicity, the "c" axis or direction may be considered as the direction perpendicular to the carbon layers. The "a" axes or directions may be considered as the directions parallel to the carbon layers or the directions perpendicular to the "c" direction. The graphites suitable for manufacturing flexible graphite sheets possess a very high degree of orientation.
As noted above, the bonding forces holding the parallel layers of carbon atoms together are only weak van der Waals forces. Natural graphites can be treated so that the spacing between the superposed carbon layers or laminae can be appreciably opened up so as to provide a marked expansion in the direction perpendicular to the layers, that is, in the "c" direction, and thus form an expanded or intumesced graphite structure in which the laminar character of the carbon layers is substantially retained.
Graphite flake which has been greatly expanded and more particularly expanded so as to have a final thickness or "c" direction dimension which is as much as about 80 or more times the original "c" direction dimension can be formed without the use of a binder into cohesive or integrated sheets of expanded graphite, e.g. webs, papers, strips, tapes, foils, mats or the like (typically referred to as "flexible graphite"). The formation of graphite particles which have been expanded to have a final thickness or "c" dimension which is as much as about 80 times or more the original "c" direction dimension into integrated flexible sheets by compression, without the use of any binding material, is believed to be possible due to the mechanical interlocking, or cohesion, which is achieved between the voluminously expanded graphite particles.
In addition to flexibility, the sheet material, as noted above, has also been found to possess a high degree of anisotropy with respect to thermal and electrical conductivity and fluid diffusion, comparable to the natural graphite starting material due to orientation of the expanded graphite particles and graphite layers substantially parallel to the opposed faces of the sheet resulting from very high compression, e.g. roll pressing. Sheet material thus produced has excellent flexibility, good strength and a very high degree of orientation.
Briefly, the process of producing flexible, binderless anisotropic graphite sheet material, e.g. web, paper, strip, tape, foil, mat, or the like, comprises compressing or compacting under a predetermined load and in the absence of a binder, expanded graphite particles which have a "c" direction dimension which is as much as about 80 or more times that of the original particles so as to form a substantially flat, flexible, integrated graphite sheet. The expanded graphite particles that generally are worm-like or vermiform in appearance, once compressed, will maintain the compression set and alignment with the opposed major surfaces of the sheet. The density and thickness of the sheet material can be varied by controlling the degree of compression. The density of the sheet material can be within the range of from about 0.04 g/cm3 to about 2.0 g/cm3. The flexible graphite sheet material exhibits an appreciable degree of anisotropy due to the alignment of graphite particles parallel to the major opposed, parallel surfaces of the sheet, with the degree of anisotropy increasing upon roll pressing of the sheet material to increase orientation. In roll pressed anisotropic sheet material, the thickness, i.e. the direction perpendicular to the opposed, parallel sheet surfaces comprises the "c" direction and the directions ranging along the length and width, i.e. along or parallel to the opposed, major surfaces comprises the "a" directions and the thermal, electrical and fluid diffusion properties of the sheet are very different, by orders of magnitude, for the "c" and "a" directions.
However, the flexible nature of graphite materials makes it difficult to form complex structures or shapes with the graphite materials. Such complex shapes are desirable when the materials are to be used, for example, as complex fin shapes or configurations to maximize heat transfer and dissipation. In addition, the attachment of graphite fins to metallic bases is also problematic, since graphite cannot be soldered into place in the same way metallic fins can.
Another issue with the use of graphite in electronic components is the fear, which may be unfounded, that individual graphite particles or flakes may flake off a graphite heat dissipation component. Given the electrical conductivity of graphite, this would have the potential to interfere with the operation of the component in which the graphite material is located.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need for improved designs for finstock for heat dissipation solutions for electronic devices which provide the weight and thermal advantages of graphite elements, with the formability and other advantages of metallic elements.


A diamine absorbent that contains heat stable salts is regenerated using an ion exchange process wherein the cation exchange resin is regenerated using sulfurous acid reflux.

The separation of acid gases such as sulfur dioxide (SO2) or carbon dioxide (CO2) from gas streams such as waste gas streams, e.g. flue gas or hydrocarbon containing streams by means of absorption into aqueous amine solvents is well known. Many of these processes, which are referred to as amine treater processes, are described in "Gas Purification", 5th Edition, Ed. Arthur L. Kohl and Richard B. Nielsen, Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, Tex.
Amine treater processes use a regenerable amine solvent whereby the acid gas is captured into the solvent at one temperature and the acid gas is desorbed or stripped from the solvent, generally at a higher temperature.
The amine solvent for removing a given acid gas component from a feed stream may be chosen so that the acid gas can be removed from the solvent by steam stripping. If steam stripping is utilized, then in order to separate the acid gas from the solvent, the acid gas must be volatile while in solution. Preferably, the acid ionization constant of the conjugate acid of the amine (the pKa) has a value no more than about 3 or 4 units higher than the pKa of the acid gas. If this difference in pKa is larger than about 3 or 4 units, then the salt formed between the amine and the acid is too stable to be practically dissociated by steam stripping.
In commercial operation, acid gas capture processes experience ingress and/or in process generation of acids that are stronger than the acids for which the removal process is designed. These stronger acids form salts with the amine solvent which are not regenerable with steam and are thus termed heat stable amine salts (HSAS), or just heat stable salts (HSS).
If the heat stable salts are allowed to accumulate, they will eventually neutralize all the amine of the solvent, rendering it unable to react with and remove the acid gas component as intended. Accordingly, provision for heat stable salt removal is necessary for systems where strong acids accumulate in the amine solvent.
Various means for removal of heat stable salts from amine gas treating solutions are known. These include distillation of the free amine away from the salt at either atmospheric or subatmospheric pressure (see for example "Gas Purification", p. 255ff), electrodialysis (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,292,407) and ion exchange (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,149; U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,849; U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,344; U.S. Pat. No. 5,045,291; U.S. Pat. No. 5,292,407; U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,818; U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,864 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,245,128).
One problem with ion exchange processes is that the ion exchange medium or resin must be regenerated from time to time. During the loading stage of the ion exchange process, the anion removal capacity is used up as heat stable salts are removed from the amine solvent. Upon exhaustion or reduction of the anion removal capacity of the ion exchange resin by a particular amount, feed of the heat stable salt rich amine solvent to the ion exchange resin is terminated so that the ion exchange resin may be regenerated.

Process for the regeneration of an ion exchange resin using sulfurous acid


An assembly for viewing cells inside tissue of a living organism. The assembly includes a confocal microscope having an objective for magnifying an image positioned at a focal plane of the objective and a light source adapted to direct light through the objective. The assembly also includes a rigid elongate tube extending from the objective to a tip sized and shaped for penetrating the tissue of the living organism. The tube has a hollow interior aligned with the objective. The interior of the tube is free of fiberoptic bundles and cover glasses. The assembly also includes a unitary cylindrical lens positioned in the hollow interior of the tube for transmitting light from the light source to the cells inside the tissue of the living organism adjacent the tip to illuminate the cells. The lens has a focal plane adjacent the tip positioned at a location corresponding to the illuminated cells, an image plane opposite the tip positioned at the focal plane of the microscope objective and a sufficient resolution for transmitting an image of the illuminated cells positioned at the focal plane of the lens to the focal plane of the objective.

The present invention relates to microscopes, and more particularly, to methods and apparatus for viewing and manipulating cells inside living tissue with a microscope.
Before tissue can be viewed using conventional microscopes, it must usually be removed from its host organism, especially when features below the surface of the tissue are viewed. However, living tissue cannot survive long after removal from its host without sophisticated support equipment. Further, the tissue may change if the support equipment does not precisely duplicate its natural environment. Although a few conventional microscopes (e.g., surgical microscopes) have been designed to view living tissue without removing it from its host, these microscopes have limited resolution. Therefore, small features cannot be seen with these microscopes.
Due to the inherent limitations of conventional microscopes, many features of living tissue have not been viewed directly. For instance, physical changes in the human brain resulting from internal processes have not been viewed at the cellular level. As a result, information such as how quickly connections (e.g., synapse connections) are made and lost within the brain is unknown. Further, viewing removed brain tissue does not permit clear understanding of these processes because complex behavior (e.g., speech or learning) cannot be studied when the tissue is removed from its host. The inability of conventional microscopes to view brain cell connections is particularly frustrating because it is envisioned that viewing these connections could answer questions concerning the causes of brain dysfunction such as Alzheimer""s disease.
One of the reasons tissue must be removed from its host before it may be viewed by most conventional microscopes is that the tissue must be highly illuminated to be seen through the microscopes. Confocal optical microscopes eliminate this problem by illuminating the tissue with a laser aimed at the tissue through the lens of the microscope. These microscopes make it possible to view an object without an external illumination source. However, conventional confocal optical microscopes cannot view more than a very short distance (i.e., about 200 nm) below the surface of the tissue. Thus, deeper tissue cannot be viewed without separating the tissue from the living organism.
Conventional microscopes and methods of use have other disadvantages which limit their usefulness when viewing tissue inside a host. For instance, stains are ordinarily applied to tissue before being viewed with microscopes to improve the optical attributes of features within the tissue. However, the amount of stain used to produce suitable optical attributes frequently kills or injures cells in the tissue and sometimes harms the host. Therefore, conventional methods of applying stain are generally not appropriate when examining living tissue inside a host organism.
Among the several objects and features of the present invention may be noted the provision of a microscope attachment capable of viewing internal features of tissue without removing the tissue from its host; the provision of a microscope which enables small amounts of stains and/or other fluids to be precisely directed toward a particular site in tissue within the field of view of the microscope; the provision of a microscope capable of precisely positioning instruments for manipulation of tissue within the field of view of the microscope; and the provision of a microscope having a fluid delivery system which delivers fluid to a site within the field of view of the microscope in amounts which are effective and substantially nontoxic.
Briefly, apparatus of this invention is an assembly for viewing cells inside tissue of a living organism. The assembly includes a confocal microscope having an objective for magnifying an image positioned at a focal plane of the objective and a light source adapted to direct light through the objective. The assembly also includes a rigid elongate tube extending from the objective to a tip sized and shaped for penetrating the tissue of the living organism. The tube has a hollow interior aligned with the objective. The interior of the tube is free of fiberoptic bundles and cover glasses. The assembly also includes a unitary cylindrical lens positioned in the hollow interior of the tube for transmitting light from the light source to the cells inside the tissue of the living organism adjacent the tip to illuminate the cells. The lens has a focal plane adjacent the tip positioned at a location corresponding to the illuminated cells, an image plane opposite the tip positioned at the focal plane of the microscope objective and a sufficient resolution for transmitting an image of the illuminated cells positioned at the focal plane of the lens to the focal plane of the objective.
In another aspect, the invention includes an attachment for use with a microscope. The attachment includes a rigid elongate tube having a hollow interior extending to a tip having a width of less than about three millimeters to permit the tip to be inserted into tissue of a living organism. The attachment further comprises a unitary cylindrical lens positioned in the hollow interior of the tube for transmitting an image of a specimen positioned at a focal plane of the lens adjacent a front end thereof to an image plane of the lens adjacent a rear end thereof opposite said front end. The lens is free of fiberoptic bundles and cover glasses between the focal plane of the lens and the image plane of the lens. The lens has a sufficient resolution to permit cells of the tissue to be viewed through the lens with a microscope. The attachment also has a mount for mounting the tube and lens on a microscope in a position wherein the image plane of the lens corresponds with a focal plane of the microscope objective.
In yet another aspect, the invention includes a method of viewing cells inside tissue of living organisms. The method comprises the steps of mounting a cylindrical lens adjacent an objective of a microscope and adjusting the lens so an image plane of the lens corresponds with a focal plane of the microscope objective. The lens and the objective are simultaneously moved as a unit to penetrate the tissue and position the lens so the cells lie within a focal plane of the lens.
Other objects and features of the present invention will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.


A safety surgical knife has a blade guard and a knife blade holder. The knife blade is covered when the guard is extended to protect it. When the blade is extended to its full operating position the guard is simultaneously retracted. When the blade is retracted the guard is simultaneously extended to return to its protective position. A shaped knife handle acts as an orientation guide and an anti-roll prop keeps the knife from rolling over when placed on a flat surface.

Knives and scalpels used in ophthalmic surgery have small, extremely sharp blades. During eye surgery it is desirable to make the incisions as small as possible to allow for faster healing and to obviate the need for stitching the incision closed after surgery has been completed.
Surgical instruments are typically arranged by a surgical assistant and passed to the surgeon as needed. When the surgeon is finished using a particular instrument, it is customary for the surgeon to pass the instrument back to the assistant who then retains it for further use or, if use is completed, disposes of the instrument.
Operating in as confined a surgical field as the eye requires dexterity, concentration and, often, the use of microscopes or other magnifying devices to allow the surgeon to more clearly visualize the eye tissue. A constant concern during surgical procedures is the accidental cutting of either the surgeon or the assistant by an exposed cutting blade. Accidental cutting may cause serious injury and will also require that the person cut be regloved before surgery can continue.
It is known to provide scalpels and knives with blade covers or blade guards to protect the blade itself prior to surgery and to protect the blade users during surgery. Examples of such blade guards are found in the prior art.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,022,128 (Morawsky) teaches and describes a surgical knife safety handle having a blade guard that can be extended from and retracted into the handle.
U.S. Pat. No. D496,730 (Morawsky et al) teaches and describes an ornamental design for surgical knife safety handle corresponding to the knife described and claimed in the '128 patent.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,626,925 (Newman et al) teaches and describes a shielded surgical scalpel having an extendable and retractable blade guard.
A common drawback to the designs shown in the aforementioned references is the necessity for the surgeon to maintain either an uncomfortable hand position during retraction and extension of the guard, or the need for the surgeon to grip the knife in a first position to operate the blade guard, then change grips, or "walk the handle" to use the knife to make incisions. Repositioning the surgeon's hand after retracting the guard often means that the surgeon's attention and concentration is diverted from the operating field to the knife itself.
It is good surgical procedure to have the guard in place when the knife is passed back and forth between the assistant and the surgeon. Prior knife designs tend to require the surgeon's hand to be repositioned to extend the guard after the surgeon's use of the knife is completed before passing the knife back to the surgical assistant.
Commonly, the assistant already has the next instrument to be used in one hand ready to pass to the surgeon, while receiving the used instrument in the other hand. It would be awkward and dangerous for the surgical assistant to take a knife with the guard retracted and use a single hand to extend the guard before disposing of the knife.
Prior art safety handle designs thus make the extension and retraction of the guard awkward and uncomfortable by requiring repositioning of the user's hand to extend and retract the guard.
The present invention provides a safety knife with a knife blade guard that can be extended to protect the blade and retracted to expose the blade with limited repositioning of the user's hand. When the guard is extended, the blade is simultaneously retracted so that no portion of the blade extends past the guard. When the guard is retracted, the blade is extended to its full operative position.
The present invention also provides a safety knife designed to allow the movement of both the guard and blade with a single actuator.
The present design also provides a guard which allows the blade to be fully observed when the guard is in the extended position and the blade is in the retracted position.
The present invention also provides a safety knife which is economical to manufacture and simple to use.
While the following describes a preferred embodiment or embodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that this description is made by way of example only and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It is expected that alterations and further modifications, as well as other and further applications of the principles of the present invention will occur to others skilled in the art to which the invention relates and, while differing from the foregoing, remain within the spirit and scope of the invention as herein described and claimed. Where means-plus-function clauses are used in the claims such language is intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited functions and not only structural equivalents but equivalent structures as well. For the purposes of the present disclosure, two structures that perform the same function within an environment described above may be equivalent structures.

Safety knife with retractable and extendable blade and guard


In a hard-disc drive, a defect region on the hard disc is classified as corresponding to either thermal asperity (TA) or media defect (MD) by generating two statistical measures. A first measure (e.g., α1) is based on (i) the magnitudes of one or both of signal values (e.g., equalizer input or output signal values) and the corresponding expected values of those signal values and (ii) the signs of one or both of the signal values and the expected signal values. A second measure (e.g., α2) is based on the magnitudes of one or both of the signal values and the expected signal values, but not the signs of either the signal values or the expected signal values. The two measures are then compared to determine whether the defect region corresponds to TA or MD.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hard-disc drives, and, in particular, to techniques for detecting defect regions on a hard disc of a hard-disc drive and classifying whether the defect regions correspond to thermal asperity or media defect.
2. Description of the Related Art
This section introduces aspects that may help facilitate a better understanding of the invention. Accordingly, the statements of this section are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is prior art or what is not prior art.
An ideal hard disc of a hard-disc drive has a data-storage surface that is perfectly flat and of perfectly uniform material composition. In reality, however, hard discs are not perfectly flat and have varying material composition. As a result of this, as well as for manufacturing reasons, different types of defects can be present on hard discs. It can be difficult to recover data read from defect regions, and the intensity of difficulty depends on the type of defect. In drop-out type defect regions, the amplitude of the analog read-head output signal is significantly lower than the read-head output signal amplitude for normal regions that are relatively flat and of relatively uniform material composition. Data written on such defect regions may be recovered if the read-head output signal is appropriately amplified and conditioned by the electronics that process the read-head output signal. In this document, we refer to such drop-out type defects as "media defects" (MD). It is desirable to determine the locations of MD regions on hard discs so that the signals read from those MD regions can be properly processed to recover the data accurately.
Sometimes, the topography of a hard-disc region is so varied that the read head will come into physical contact with certain regions when the read head is positioned over these regions of the spinning hard disc due to the asperities present on the disc. Such regions are referred to as thermal asperity (TA) regions, due to the frictional heat generated from the physical contact between the read head and the varied hard disc. It is desirable to determine the locations of TA regions on hard discs so that those regions can be avoided during both data write and data read operations to prevent damage to the read head.
Current and older hard-disc drives employed MR (magneto resistive) read heads or GMR (giant MR) read heads. For such read heads, read-head output signals corresponding to MD regions have amplitudes that are significantly smaller than the signal amplitudes for normal regions, while read-head output signals corresponding to TA regions have amplitudes that are significantly greater than the normal-region signal amplitudes due to a shift in baseline resulting from the TA effect. As such, MD regions can be located on a hard disc of a hard-disc drive employing an MR/GMR read head by looking for lower-than-normal signal-amplitude regions, while TA regions can be located on the hard disc by looking for significant increases in signal baseline compared to normal signal-amplitude regions.
Newer hard-disc drives employ TMR (tunneling MR) read heads. For TMR read heads, TA regions can be mistaken for MD regions because read-head output signals corresponding to both MD regions and TA regions have amplitudes that are significantly smaller than the signal amplitudes for normal regions. As such, the conventional signal-processing techniques used to detect and classify MD and TA regions for hard-disc drives employing MR/GMR read heads cannot be used to detect and classify MD and TA regions for hard-disc drives employing TMR read heads.

Amplitude-based approach for detection and classification of hard-disc defect regions


A robust and reliable multi-speed gear system for use on pedally or other manually propelled vehicles, comprising simple epicyclical sections 82, 83, 23 in a complex structure, an internal axial tunnel enabling use of a detachable, vertical shear force load carrying through-bolt 15, a rotatable shift axle 25, a main shaft 7 non-rotatably mounted to the vehicle frame 10, axially floating shift mechanisms 20, 22, 65, and a hub shell 1 fully enclosing the gear mechanisms. The multispeed hub is robust, light, easily manufactured, offers many speeds and great gear width, and is rigidly securable to the vehicle frame.

The present invention relates to epicyclical multispeed internally geared hubs for bicycles, tricycles and other wholly or partially pedally or otherwise manually propelled vehicles. The advance of the sport of mountain biking has brought with it a need for gear units with a broad selection of different speeds for use in particularly mountainous terrain, sufficiently robust for use in rough terrain, and with features enabling high performance in competitive application. However, a problem herein lies in that internally geared hubs of today are not in these regards considered attractive. Such hubs are limited by their insufficient robustness, number of speeds, gear width, lateral rigidity, number of gear ratio alternatives, ease of operation, and their complexity and manufacturing costs. The present invention provides a hub gear that overcomes these issues.


A thermoelectric material including: a thermoelectric matrix; and a plurality of metal nanoparticles disposed in the thermoelectric matrix, wherein a difference between a work function of thermoelectric matrix and a work function of a metal particle of the metal nanoparticles is about −1.0 electron volt to about 1.0 electron volt.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a nano-complex thermoelectric material, and a thermoelectric module and a thermoelectric apparatus including the nano-complex thermoelectric material, and more particularly, to a nano-complex thermoelectric material, and a thermoelectric module and a thermoelectric apparatus including the nano-complex thermoelectric material having a high Seebeck coefficient, high electrical conductivity, and low thermal conductivity.
2. Description of the Related Art
The thermoelectric effect is a reversible, direct energy conversion from heat to electricity and vice versa, which occurs when electrons and holes move in a material. Examples of the thermoelectric effect include the Peltier effect, which is used in cooling systems operating based on a temperature difference between ends of a material caused when an electrical current is applied thereto, and the Seebeck effect, which is used in power-generation systems operating based on an electromotive force generated due to a temperature difference between ends of a material.
Currently, thermoelectric materials are used in active cooling systems of semiconductor equipment and electronic devices for which use of a passive cooling system is inefficient. In addition, demands for thermoelectric materials in areas such as precise temperature control systems in DNA applications where conventional refrigerant gas compression systems are ineffective have increased. Thermoelectric cooling is an environmentally friendly cooling technique that does not use a refrigerant gas, which can cause environmental problems, and does not generate vibration or noise. If highly efficient thermoelectric cooling materials are developed, they could be used in general cooling systems such as refrigerators or air conditioners. In addition, thermoelectric materials are regarded as a renewable energy source because thermoelectric materials can be used to capture energy that would have otherwise been lost from heat dissipation, for example from a vehicle engine or an industrial plant.
Thus there remains a need for an improved thermoelectric material.

Nano-complex thermoelectric material, and thermoelectric module and thermoelectric apparatus including the same


An adjustable and angled seat assembly having a base supportable on a ground surface, a wedge support member with a wedge length separating the front and rear ends thereon and a wedge height separating upper and lower ends thereon, with the lower end directly coupled to a support plate and tapering in the wedge height spanning along the wedge length to define a wedge angle θ defined by the upper and lower ends of the wedge support member. The assembly also includes a seat cushion having a seat-support surface disposed above the base and a seat-support angle relative to the base support plane and a lower surface directly coupled to the upper 704 of the wedge support member and a chest cushion having a chest-support surface disposed above the seat-support surface, coupled to the support plate, and disposed at an at an acute angle with respect to the seat-support surface.

Adjustable chairs are known in various therapeutic settings. However, such chairs are configured for use by a primary user intended to receive therapy, as well as, use by a secondary user intended to provide said therapy to the primary user. Accordingly, adjustment features and controls are often positioned so as to provide access to the secondary user who is in control of positioning the primary user. In addition, such chairs are not designed specifically to provide ergonomic benefits to the primary user that addresses prolonged use by the primary user on a day-to-day basis. Stated another way, such therapeutic chairs are not designed for users to use on a daily basis for several hours as a work chair for home or office use. Therapeutic chairs are specifically designed for limited use by therapy patients and not for continued daily use. On the contrary, chairs designed for such daily and/or prolonged use in the home or office should preferably provide support for body parts that may be potentially stressed over prolonged periods of sitting and efficient access and operation for single occupant-users.
Another drawback of adjustable therapeutic chairs is that they include arm, leg, and/or facial rest surfaces that obstruct the user's view or vocalization and therefore could not be functionally used with a desk in order to work, type on a keyboard, conduct telephone conversations or video conferences, view computer display screens, and the like.
Other types of adjustable chairs exist that allow a user to selectively adjust various chair members as desired by the user. However, these types of adjustable chairs do not provide fixed positioning of certain chair members, such as a seat and a chest support, in order to ensure that the user is seated in an optimally ergonomic position to properly support the user's spine. Advantageously, this would ensure proper spine support for the user, even if the user is ignorant as to the most optimal spine support sitting position. Furthermore, many known ergonomic chairs have a lumbar support, which help create a good ergonomic position for the spine. However, these known chairs require the user to lean back away from their workplace in order to create the spine alignment, while also angling the hips/pelvis at an optimal angle as when standing.
Furthermore, those known therapeutic and/or ergonomic chairs fail to provide users with a structurally secure seat assembly capable of maintaining an angled seat position with a user's body weight thereon.
Therefore, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above.


A plow cutter having a cutter foot that includes a cutter shank and a cutter head, the plow cutter including at least one face cutting edge, a plurality of wear-resistant face cutting edge pins each anchored in a respective recess located in the face cutting edge, at least one of the plurality being located on either side of a center plane of the cutter head, and a floor blade that includes at least one wear-resistant floor blade pin. Each of the plurality of the face cutting edge pins and the floor blade pin is made of a highly wear-resistant material, and has a conical pin head and a curved dome shape external surface.

This invention relates to a coal plow cutter with a cutter foot that forms a cutter shank and a cutter head that comprises at least one coal face cutting edge, whereby the coal face cutting edge has at least one pin as a cutting body that is made of highly wear-resistant material and is anchored in a recess in the cutter head.
The closest prior art is the plow cutter described in DE 295 037 43 U1 with a floor blade and a coal face cutting blade, in which the floor blade is formed from a cutting insert that is made of highly wear-resistance material such as hard carbide in particular, and the coal face cutting blade is formed from highly wear-resistant pins that are inserted in borings. In the coal plow cutter of the prior art, as a result of the presence of the pins on the coal face cutting blade, during operation of the plow the solder seams of the cutting insert, which has a large surface area, are subjected to lower stresses on the floor cutting blade, as a result of which the useful life of the coal plow cutter is improved. The purpose of soldering the pins is to prevent the erosion of the support material, and the purpose of the inserted pins is to prevent damage to the cutting edges even when the plow is moving in reverse.
The object of the invention is to improve the useful life of coal plow cutters of the prior art using economical measures, even under the increasing loads that result from higher rates of face advance or greater cutting depths.
The invention teaches that the pin has a conical pin head, whereby the external surface of the cone-shaped pin head has a curved dome shape, and/or the cutter has a floor blade that comprises at least one pin that is made of highly wear-resistant material. The conical pins with a curved, dome-shaped external surface that are provided in accordance with one aspect of the invention not only have a better cutting action than the pins with rounded pin heads that are used in the prior art, but they also result in fewer blowouts on the solid cutting insert made of hard carbide that may optionally be present on the front side.
In the preferred configuration, both the pins located on the floor blade as well as the pins located on the coal face blade have a conical pin head with a curved, dome-shaped external surface. The pins can be glued, clamped or preferably soldered into the recesses that preferably consist of blind holes in the plow head.
In the particularly preferred configuration, on the upper side of the cutter head farther from the cutter foot there is at least one pin that has a conical pin head with a conical dome-shaped external surface. This pin head that is located on the upper side results in an increased cutting capacity of the cutter and simultaneously protects the surface of the plow head and additional cutting heads or cutting inserts when the plow is moving in reverse. During the reverse movement, the plow is moved along the working face in the direction opposite to the cutting direction for the respective coal plow cutter. The pin on the upper side of the cutter head can in particular form a component of the floor blade, and can project with its pin tips beyond the upper edge of a frontal cutting body of the floor blade, so that during operation of the plow, the stresses on the frontal cutting bodies in the main cutting zone are reduced. The frontal cutting body can be a cutting insert, for example, whereby the cutting insert can have larger dimensions than configurations of the prior art because the forces that are exerted on the cutting insert are lower. The tip of the pin head of the pin that is associated with the floor blade projects on the upper side beyond the upper edge of the cutting insert preferably by a minimum of 1 mm and a maximum of approximately 2 mm. In an alternative configuration, the frontal cutting body can also consist of an additional pin, the pin head of which then preferably has a larger diameter than the pin heads of the other pins that are made of highly wear-resistant material.
In the particularly preferred configuration, the pin heads of the pins on the upper side of the cutter head are oriented diagonally relative to the direction of movement or cutting of the plow, whereby the external surface of the respective pin head that points in the cutting direction of the pins on the upper side is inclined more steeply with respect to the cutting direction than the external surface on its rear side. On account of the inclined position of the pins, a greater cutting capacity is achieved, and simultaneously a more favorable application and introduction of the working forces into the cutter head and the anchoring of the pins. On account of the greater forces that can absorbed with the inclined position of the pins on the upper side, the forces that are introduced into a frontal cutting insert are also further reduced.
In one configuration of a coal plow cutter that preferably forms a bottom blade, the upper side of the cutter head can be bordered by two essentially flat arms that run toward each other at an angle on an apex line, whereby the pin or pins on the upper side is/are located on the apex line. On a symmetrical cutter, the apex line hereby runs in the center, and on an asymmetrical cutter it runs eccentrically. Also advantageously, in one configuration, the cutting insert that forms the frontal cutting bodies can be realized in a triangular shape, whereby the arms on both sides of the cutting insert and/or behind the cutting insert in the cutting direction are provided with pins that are realized as taught by the invention to reduce the loads exerted on the cutting insert. The borings in the cutter head into which these pins are inserted are preferably inclined by 45° relative to the center plane of the cutter foot. The cutting insert can in particular be soldered with wire mesh into a countersunk edge in the cutter foot. The pins are preferably made of hard carbide and the cutter bodies with the cutter head and cutter shank are realized in one piece from a forging.


The invention relates to a skin for a motor vehicle trim element, intended to delimit an outer surface of the trim element and comprising at least one region with a substantially constant thickness. The skin comprises at least one first zone in which the skin comprises an outer layer, formed by a first translucent polyurethane material, and an inner layer, covered by the outer layer and formed by a second polyurethane material, different from the first polyurethane material, and at least one second zone, in which the skin comprises only said outer layer.

As described in FR 2 937 928, it is known to provide trim elements equipped with a skin of the aforementioned type, making it possible to display icons directly on the skin, said icons indicating certain functions or states of the vehicle. Such trim elements are in particular used to trim the dashboard of the motor vehicle, situated under the windshield of the vehicle.
The zone forming the icon is generally arranged opposite a light source intended to backlight the icon.
One critical point is the diffusion of the light transmitted by the light source through the skin. The skin must in fact have good resistance over time, and in particular good resistance to abrasion and aging, to allow satisfactory diffusion of the light throughout the lifetime of the vehicle.
Aliphatic polyurethane has satisfactory performance in terms of light diffusion and resistance to abrasion and aging. However, aliphatic polyurethane is a very expensive material, which cannot be adapted to certain lines of motor vehicles.
One aim of the invention is to provide a skin of the aforementioned type, locally adapted to diffuse the light coming from a backlight source, offering good resistance to abrasion and aging, and having a reduced cost.
To that end, the invention relates to a skin of the aforementioned type, comprising, in said region, at least one first zone in which the skin comprises an outer layer, formed by a first translucent polyurethane material, and an inner layer, covered in all locations of the skin by the outer layer, and formed by a second polyurethane material, different from the first polyurethane material, and at least one second zone, in which the skin comprises only said outer layer.
The skin according to the invention can comprise one or more of the following features, considered alone or according to all technically possible combination(s):
the first material is aliphatic polyurethane;
the second material is aromatic polyurethane.
The invention also relates to a trim element comprising a skin as defined above, and a substantially rigid substrate, the skin covering said substrate.
The trim element according to the invention may comprise one or more of the following features, considered alone or according to all technically possible combinations:
the substrate delimits at least one through opening, a light source being positioned opposite the opening, on one side of the substrate, the skin extending from the other side of the substrate, and the second zone of the skin is positioned opposite the opening;
said trim element comprises a relatively flexible layer of foam inserted between the substrate and the skin, said foam layer delimiting at least one cavity between the opening of the substrate and the second zone of the skin positioned opposite said opening.
The invention also relates to a motor vehicle comprising a trim element as defined above.
Lastly, the invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a skin as defined above, characterized in that it comprises the following steps:
providing a mold;
spraying the first material on an inner surface of the mold, through a spraying head moving at a first speed in a first region of the mold, and at a second speed in at least one second region of the mold, the second speed being slower than the first speed, so as to form the outer layer; and
applying the second material on the outer layer, with the exception of the part of the outer layer situated in the second region of the mold.
The method according to the invention may comprise one or more of the following features, considered alone or according to all technically possible combinations:
the second material is sprayed;
when the second material is sprayed, a removable protective mask is applied on the part of the outer layer situated in the second region of the mold.

Skin for a motor vehicle trim element, corresponding trim element and vehicle, method for manufacturing such a skin


The present invention relates to a dual zone type air conditioner for vehicles, which includes two air volume controlling doors mounted on an air inflow port of an air-conditioning case where the cross section of an air passageway is uniform and a flow of air is relatively uniform, a sealing wall mounted between the air volume controlling doors, and a controlling part mounted for selecting a more air volume side as a level of a blower when an air volume set by a driver and an air volume set by a passenger are different from each other and controlling the air volume controlling doors to supply the set air volumes to a driver's seat side and a passenger's seat side.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dual zone type air conditioner for vehicles, and more particularly, to such a dual zone type air conditioner for vehicles, which includes two air volume controlling doors mounted on an air inflow port of an air-conditioning case where the cross section of an air passageway is uniform and a flow of air is relatively uniform, a sealing wall mounted between the air volume controlling doors, and a controlling part mounted for selecting a more air volume side as air volume level of a blower when an air volume set by a driver and an air volume set by a passenger are different from each other and controlling the air volume controlling doors to supply the set air volumes to a driver's seat side and a passenger's seat side, thereby controlling right and left air volumes accurately and minutely, reducing a noise according to positions of the air volume controlling doors, symmetrically using setting values of working positions of the air volume controlling doors of the driver's seat side and the passenger's seat side and using a setting value of each air-conditioning mode as it is without changing the setting value by each air-conditioning mode since the air volume controlling doors are mounted at places each having a uniform cross section of the air passageway, reducing a development period of the air conditioner, simplifying a working logic of the air volume conditioning doors, and preventing errors.
2. Background Art
In general, an air conditioner for vehicles is a car interior component, which is installed in the vehicle heat for the purpose of cooling the inside of the vehicle in the summer season or the winter season or removing frost from a windshield in rainy season or winter season to thereby secure a driver's front and rear visual field. Since such an air conditioner typically includes a heating device and a cooling device together, so that it heats, cools or ventilates the inside of the vehicle through the steps of selectively introducing the inside air or the outside air to the air conditioner through a blower unit, heating or cooling the introduced air, and blowing the heated or cooled air into the vehicle.
Such an air conditioner is classified into a three-piece type where a blower unit, an evaporator unit, and a heater core unit are disposed independently, a semi-center type where the evaporator unit and the heater core unit are embedded in an air-conditioning case and the blower unit is mounted separately, and a center-mounting type where the three units are all embedded in the air-conditioning case.
Meanwhile, recently, a dual zone type air conditioner has been applied to a vehicle. The dual zone type air conditioner is a device for separately heating or cooling a driver's seat and a front passenger's seat of the vehicle by providing the driver's seat and the front passenger's seat with air of different temperature as occasion demands.
FIG. 1 is a configurative view of a dual zone type air conditioner for vehicles according to a prior art.
As shown in the drawing, the dual zone type air conditioner 1 includes: an air-conditioning case 20 having an air inflow port 27 formed on an inlet thereof, a plurality of air outflow ports 28 mounted on an outlet thereof, and air passageways 26a and 26b formed inside the air-conditioning case 20 in such a way as to communicate the air inflow port 27 and the air outflow ports 28 with each other; an evaporator 2 and a heater core 3 spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval and mounted on the air passageways 26a and 26b in order; a partition wall 30 for partitioning the downstream side air passageways 26a and 26b of the evaporator 2 into right and left air passageways 26a and 26b; and a blower 10 mounted on the air inflow port 27 of the air-conditioning case 20.
Here, the air-conditioning case 20 is divided into right and left cases relative to the partition wall 30 and the divided cases are assembled with each other.
Furthermore, temperature-adjusting doors 25 for adjusting temperature are respectively mounted on the right and left air passageways 26a and 26b between the evaporator 2 and the heater core 3, and each of the air outflow ports 28 of the right and left air passageways 26a and 26b has a plurality of mode doors 24 to thereby perform various air-conditioning modes (a vent mode, a bi-level mode, a floor mode, a mix mode, and a defrost mode) while adjusting a degree of opening of the corresponding air outflow port 28.
Moreover, the blower 10 includes: inside and outside air inlets (not shown) mounted on an upper portion thereof and opened and closed by an inside and outside air converting door (not shown) to selectively introduce inside and outside air; and a blast fan 15 mounted therein for blowing the air introduced through the inside and outside air inlets toward the air-conditioning case 20.
Additionally, an air volume controlling door 40 is mounted in front of the evaporator 2 to independently control the air volume blown from the blower 10 to the right and left air passageways 26a and 26b of the air-conditioning case 20.
In the conventional dual zone type air conditioner 1 having the above configuration, the inside or outside air introduced to the inside of the air-conditioning case by the blower 10 is cooled while passing through the evaporator 2 (when the air conditioner is turned on), separately introduced into the right and left air passageways 26a and 26b by the partition wall 30, selectively heated by the heater core 3, and provided to the driver's seat or the passenger's seat inside the vehicle through each of the air outflow ports 28 formed in the downstream of the air passageways 26a and 26b to thereby independently heat or cool the driver's seat space or the passenger's seat space inside the vehicle.
In addition, the temperature-adjusting doors 25 respectively mounted on the right and left air passageways 26a and 26b of the air-conditioning case 20 and the air volume controlling door 40 mounted in front of the evaporator 2 can independently control temperature and volume of the air discharged to the driver's seat and the passenger's seat.
However, as shown in FIG. 1, since only one air volume controlling door 40 is mounted in front of the evaporator 2 where a flow of air is relatively uneven due to a uneven cross section of the air passageways, it is difficult to control the air volume of the right and left sides accurately and to control the air volume minutely, and a noise is generated due to a narrow area of the air when the air volume controlling door 40 is located at the minimum air volume spot.
Furthermore, when the air volume controlling door 40 is mounted at a place where the cross section of each air passageway is uneven, in order to set a working position of the air volume controlling door 40, the driver's seat side (left side) is set by air volume level (for instance, from the first level to the seventh level) of the blower, and then, the passenger's seat side (right side) is set by air volume level of the blower. Moreover, the conventional dual zone type air conditioner 1 has another problem in that it takes much time to develop the air conditioner since the driver's seat side and the passenger's seat side must be set by air volume level of the blower according to the air-conditioning modes.

Dual zone type air conditioner for vehicles and method of controlling the same

Halla Visteon Climate Control Corporation


A dishwasher includes a number of spray arms, a circulation pump with a pump housing, an impeller, a suction port, and a number of discharge ports on the pump housing. The discharge ports are associated with the spray arms. A water diverter is located on a delivery side of the pump and generates a flow leading from the suction port selectably to one or more of the discharge ports. The water diverter includes a blocking element having a number of diaphragm openings positionable to one or more outlet positions by a drive via a rotation of the blocking element in a circumferential direction.

The circulation pumps employed in devices through which water flows, particularly for conveying washing water in dishwashers used in households or in industry, are normally centrifugal pumps which are mounted at the bottom of the washing tub. Such a pump serves to circulate the washing solution by pumping it out of the washing tub and then back into it again through the spray arms of the system and over the items to be washed. In this context, for purposes of achieving economical and energy-saving operation, it is a generally known procedure to regulate the feed of washing solution to the spray arms as a function of the load in the dish rack in the washing tub and/or as a function of the program set for the type of items to be cleaned. Thus, for instance, it is common practice for the washing or cleaning solution that is circulated by the dishwasher's built-in circulation pump to be alternately fed to the spray arms associated with the dish racks or else for certain spray arms to be disconnected from the supply of washing water, for instance, the lower spray arm when the lower rack is not loaded.
Switching to one spray arm or another or else completely closing the water conduits in the washing system is regulated in a known manner as a function of a program by a so-called water diverter (see German utility model DE 88 16 597 U1) located downstream from the delivery side of the circulation pump.
In the case of a circulation pump that has only one discharge port that branches off to the upper and the lower spray arm feed lines downstream from the pump, it is common practice to arrange the water diverter in the branching-off point so that the water diverter then supplies either the upper, the lower or else both spray arms with washing solution as a function of the cleaning program that has been pre-selected. If there are, for example, three or more spray arms of which at least one is always supposed to be supplied with washing solution, then the water diverter can also be arranged in a branched-off spray arm feed line as an additionally switchable line branch.
Moreover, German utility model DE 75 14 342 U1 discloses a pump that is connected via its discharge ports to hydraulic aggregates such as, for example, a control cylinder, a venting mechanism, an admixer, etc. A shut-off device is provided so that the connected aggregates can be switched off. The shut-off device has plate-like blocking elements that are affixed to a bracket. The bracket with its blocking elements is arranged in the pump chamber and can be moved in the circumferential direction by means of a manual lever provided outside of the pump in order to close or open the discharge ports, whereby the blocking elements are arranged in such a way that either all of the discharge ports are open or all of them are closed.
DE 211 4978 describes a pump having blocking elements arranged in its pump chamber, said elements being connected to each other by means of a bracket. The blocking elements, preferably two, are each located upstream from a discharge port provided on the circumference. By means of a rod, which is connected to a blocking element and which protrudes from a bore in the pump housing, the blocking element can be pushed into the pump chamber so that the corresponding discharge port can be opened, while the blocking element closes off the corresponding discharge port on the other side of the bracket.

Dishwasher having spray arms and a circulation pump


In the fabrication of a semiconductor integrated circuit device, a 2D-3D inspection technique for solder printed on a substrate is provided which permits easy preparation of data and easy visual confirmation of a defective portion. In a substrate inspecting step, first, a 3D inspection is performed, followed by execution of 2D inspection, whereby a 2D picked-up image of the portion of a pad determined to be defective can be displayed on a larger scale simultaneously with the end of inspection, thereby providing an environment for efficient visual confirmation of the defect. Further, by subjecting a raw substrate to measurement at the time of preparing inspection data, a relation between an original height measurement reference generated automatically by the inspection system and the height of a pad upper surface is checked, whereby it is possible to measure the height and volume of printed solder based on the pad upper surface.

The present invention relates in general to a technique for use in fabricating a semiconductor integrated circuit device; and, more particularly, the invention relates to a technique applicable effectively to an inspection process in which solder printed on a substrate is inspected in three dimensions (hereinafter referred to as "3D") and in two dimensions (referred to as "2D" hereinafter).
For example, in connection with the fabrication of a semiconductor integrated circuit device, solder inspecting techniques are described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-193432 (Patent Literature 1) and No. 2000-22326 (Patent Literature 2).
Patent Literature 1, in connection with a technique for measuring bumps formed on a silicon wafer, describes a technique that is used for measuring the height and area of solder in 2D and 3D and in which a 2D measurement step is added before or after a series of 3D measurements.
Patent Literature 2 describes a solder inspecting technique in which a pad surface on a substrate is measured in 2D, and whether the state of solder is good or bad is detected from the result of the measurement and also from the state detected after application of solder on the pad surface. Then, if the pad surface is error-free, it can be further inspected in 3D as a second step.
[Patent Literature 1]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication
No. 2000-193432
[Patent Literature 2]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication
No. 2000-22326

Method of fabrication of semiconductor integrated circuit device


A publisher accessible e-publishing system and method, configured to enable a publisher to construct and make an app available for permitting enhanced viewing and interactive utilization of e-published content on various mobile devices with various software platforms, the system comprising a front end and a back end with the front end being configured to be used by a publisher to provide content and selection of parameters for display and use with the e-published content and the back end being a system which is configured to store the content and meta data for the content and which is configured to configure the content into an end user app specifically conformed to the specific viewing platform and device being used by the end user to view and interact with the e-published content.

Users consume written or graphic content in various ways. Traditionally such consumption has been by way of reading or viewing of physically printed materials on paper. Recently, reading on physical print media has been overtaken by electronic reading on the web (or off-line by downloaded reading content), by means of a desktop computer, laptop or electronic reading devices. Sales of e-books have, in fact, overtaken sales of the traditional paper based books.
As a more recent phenomena, consumption of content, in digital form, including newspapers and magazines, on tablet computers and other mobile devices has grown exponentially. It is expected that in the very near future, mobile/touch devices will be the overwhelming primary medium with which users will be reading content.
Impeding such transition is the fact that currently not all content is presented in a mobile and touch friendly manner. Actual formatting of the converted print material or even electronic or digital or e-type of materials from one type of electronic device (e.g., from pc or laptops to readers or tablets), or the web, is often perceived as being unprofessional, uneven, and viewably sloppy. This results in a negative perception and a poor user-experience and a lack of acceptance, which affects perception of the publisher. In many instances, content in its current form, is not even viewable on mobile devices or specialized versions in different unsatisfying formats are made specifically for the mobile device.
It has therefore become imperative that content publishers, having a printed, electronic, digital or e-material content base or web content base, in order to economically survive, need to incorporate into their publishing strategy, facilitated procedures for e-publishing the originally content (whether printed or in electronic or digital form or as web content). This is of particular importance with respect to publishing on mobile/touch devices, such as smartphones and, on the increasingly popular tablet computers or readers. The publishing strategy needs to also include not only making content available on these devices but also the enhancing of an e-reading experience, by adding device centric capabilities such as touch gestures, accelerometer uses or use of the GPS functions.
However, publishers who are scrambling to make their content presentable on mobile devices have very limited operational choices available to them. Most often the publishers are required to hire mobile developer specialists to code applications to work on the devices. This is however, very costly and time consuming and not economically available to smaller publishing outfits, and is even less available to individuals. A need has therefore arisen for the development of a platform and process by which tablet and mobile publishing can be made economically and viable available to all sources of e-publishable content and even to those who are not technically proficient.

Publishing on mobile devices with app building


In a clutch apparatus, a clutch cover assembly can be reused after replacement of a clutch disk assembly. The clutch apparatus includes an input flywheel and a clutch cover assembly. The input flywheel is provided at its outer peripheral surface with a plurality of engagement portions which are circumferentially spaced from each other and project radially outwardly. The clutch cover assembly has a clutch cover, a fixing member, a pressure plate and a biasing member. The clutch cover is provided at its outer periphery with a bent engagement portion which is circumferentially engageable with the engagement portion of the flywheel for preventing axial movement relative to the flywheel. The fixing member is removable, and fixes the flywheel and the clutch cover for integral rotation. The pressure plate is disposed between the clutch cover and the flywheel. The biasing member is supported by the inner peripheral portion of the clutch cover, and biases the pressure plate toward the flywheel.

A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clutch apparatus for use in motorized vehicles, the clutch apparatus having a unique configuration which allows for ease of disassembly, the clutch apparatus being provided with a vibration dampening mechanism that includes an undulated spring and the clutch apparatus having a minimal axial thickness.
B. Description of the Related Art
A typical clutch apparatus includes a flywheel fixed to a crankshaft of an engine, a clutch cover assembly fixed to the flywheel, and a clutch disc disposed between the flywheel and the clutch cover assembly, the clutch disc being connected to an input shaft of a transmission. The clutch cover assembly includes a dish-like clutch cover, a pressure plate covered by the clutch cover and opposed to the flywheel, and a diaphragm spring supported by the clutch cover for biasing the pressure plate toward the flywheel. The clutch disk is disposed between the flywheel and the pressure plate. When a release device axially moves the diaphragm spring, a biasing force against the pressure plate is released, and the pressure plate moves away from the clutch disk.
The clutch apparatus is such that the clutch disc is not provided with a damper mechanism, and the flywheel is made up of several members or portions, between which a damper mechanism is arranged. In accordance with this structure, the flywheel includes an input part and an output part, where the output part is opposed to the input part with a damper mechanism therebetween. The flywheel is such that it has an increased moment of inertia, so that a resonance frequency of the clutch apparatus is lower that an idling rotation speed of the engine.
The above described clutch apparatus has several drawbacks, one being its axial thickness. The configuration of the apparatus is such that its axial length is prohibitively greater that a clutch apparatus configured with a damper mechanism within the clutch disc instead of within the flywheel. It is desirable to minimize the axial dimensions of a clutch apparatus for use in small motorized vehicles and in front wheel drive vehicles where the motor is transverse mounted within the engine compartment of the vehicle.
In another clutch apparatus, a flywheel may include several elements such as a plate member having a thin axial thickness. An inertia member is fixed to an outer peripheral portion of the plate member for increasing the moment of inertia to a desirable level. Further, the inertia member may have an axially elongated structure for preventing radial protrusion. Another portion of the flywheel may include seats or mounts for the connection with the clutch cover, so that the inertial member is arranged radially outside the seats. This results in increase in the overall radial dimensions of the clutch apparatus.
Another flywheel configuration is not provided with a clutch cover seat, and instead the clutch cover is rigidly fixed to an outer peripheral portion of the flywheel by caulking, welding or shrink fitting. Elimination of the clutch cover seats reduces the whole radial dimension of the clutch apparatus. However, in such an arrangement, when the clutch disc in the clutch apparatus is worn and must be renewed due to wear or abrasion, the entire clutch apparatus must first be removed from the crankshaft before the clutch apparatus can be disassembled. Further, to disassemble the clutch apparatus, the caulking, welding must be removed or cut first, or the apparatus must be heated if assembled using a shrink fitting method. In this case, reuse of the disassembled clutch cover may be impossible and the clutch cover must be replaced with the clutch disc.
Another aspect of the clutch apparatuses described above is that a plurality of strap plates are typically used to secure an outer peripheral portion of the pressure plate to the clutch cover. The strap plates are provided for ensuring that the pressure plate rotates together with the clutch cover. In the conventional clutch cover assembly, the clutch cover is provided at its outer peripheral portions with recesses for disposing the strap plates at circumferentially equally spaced three positions. These recesses reduce a strength of the clutch cover.

Clutch apparatus having a vibration dampensing mechanism, a reduced axial thickness and an undulated spring disposed within the vibration dampening mechanism


A unique biomechanical balancing and exercising device for rehabilitating body muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints in the ankles, legs, knees, and back in order to strengthen these areas to prevent injury. The balancing and exercising device comprises a rectangular shaped platform with a central opening therethrough to accommodate a semi flexible ball member. The platform utilizes a semi flexible ball member so that the individual has the ability to balance in numerous directions and have the angle of drop much steeper. A pair of ball-shaped rigid members are mounted on the platform and located adjacent to and on opposite sides of the central opening for balancing on and securing the semi flexible ball member therebetween. The platform is placed on top of the semi flexible ball member such that the central opening accommodates a top portion of the semi flexible ball member, and thereby allows the platform to be independently tilted or pivoted front-to-back up to a 25.degree. angle and vice versa and side-to-side approximately up to a 50.degree. angle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of exercise devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of balancing and exercising boards.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known in the art that balancing and exercising devices consist of a disk or a square shaped object which has one or more holes in the disk to accommodate a balancing means such as a circular ball. In most cases, the balls are made of hard material such as wood and do not have any resilience in them, and therefore are harder to balance and harder to simulate a sports action, and therefore the disk and ball do less to truly assist in stimulation of proprioceptors (little sensors at the end of the nerves) in the muscles, tendons, and joints. Other types of prior art devices comprise a ball or a hemispherical object which is screwed onto the bottom of the plate and the individual balances thereon. Another prior art device is a ball which is a separate item from the plate and fits into an opening within the plate on which to balance. The disadvantage with these prior art devices is that if someone stands on the prior art plates and it tilts all the way to the left or right sides of the plate, the side of the plate touching the ground forms an angle approximately in a range of 5.degree. to 15.degree. for a circular object and when a square shaped object is used, the angle once again is typically approximately 20.degree., in which the angle of drop is not steep at all, and thereby does not provide enough stimulation of proprioceptors in the muscles, tendons, and joints.
The following sixteen (16) prior art patents are found to be pertinent to the field of the present invention:
1. U.S. Pat. No. 3,024,021 issued to Coplin et al. on Mar. 6, 1962 for "Amusement And Exercising Toy" (hereafter the "Coplin Patent");
2. U.S. Pat. No. 3,298,687 issued to Douglas on Jan. 17, 1967 for "Manually Operated Therapeutic Roller And Exercising Device" (hereafter the "Douglas Patent");
3. U.S. Pat. No. 3,716,229 issued to Van Der Cleyen et al. on Feb. 13, 1973 for "Recreational Apparatus" (hereafter the "Van Der Cleyen Patent");
4. U.S. Pat. No. 3,806,116 issued to Malmberg et al. on Apr. 23, 1974 for "Balancing Device"(hereafter the "Malmberg Patent");
5. U.S. Pat. No. 3,862,768 issued to England on Jan. 28, 1975 for "Rollable Fulcrum Balancing Board Recreational And Exercise Device Provided With Non-Linear Stabilization Features" (hereafter the "England Patent");
6. U.S. Pat. No. 3,984,100 issued to Firster on Oct. 5, 1976 for "Exerciser Apparatus For The Human Extremities" (hereafter the "Firster Patent");
7. U.S. Pat. No. 3,604,726 issued to Tracy on Sep. 14, 1971 for "Balance Ball For Amusement And Exercise" (hereafter the "Tracy Patent");
8. U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,318 issued to Francke on Jan. 1, 1985 for "Variable Speed Balance Or Teeter Board" (hereafter the "Francke Patent");
9. U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,748 issued to Seel et al. on Mar. 31, 1987 for "Biomechanical Ankle Platform" (hereafter the "Seel Patent");
10. U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,950 issued to Goo on Apr. 4, 1989 for "Video Game Control Unit And Attitude Sensor" (hereafter the "Goo Patent");
11. U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,629 issued to Vaughan on Nov. 5, 1991 for "Surfing Simulator" (hereafter the "Vaughan Patent");
12. U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,421 issued to Stanalajczo on Jul. 12, 1994 for "Closed Kinetic Chain Exercise Device And Method" (hereafter the "Stanalajczo Patent");
13. U.S. Pat. No. 5,342,266 issued to Dailey on Aug. 30, 1994 for "Slalom Ski Trainer" (hereafter the "Dailey Patent");
14. U.S. Pat. No. 5,399,140 issued to Klippel on Mar. 21, 1995 for "Balancing Sport Board" (hereafter the "Klippel Patent");
15. Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) No. WO 94/08664 issued to Smith on Apr. 28, 1994 for "Apparatus And Method For Developing Balancing Skills" (hereafter the "Smith Patent"); and
16. German Patent No. DE 3620-706 for "Sports Or Therapy Appliance-Consists Of Flat Covering Plate To Which Faceted Base Is Fixed" (hereafter the "'706 German Patent").
The Coplin Patent discloses an amusement and exercising toy. It comprises a base member which is in the form of a ball. A standing plate is supported on top of the base member by a rubber pad. The rubber pad is disposed in a rounded indentation in the plate for receiving the rubber pad and the ball. The large ball makes the plate too easy to balance. In addition, the degree of tilt for this plate is approximately 5.degree. to 15.degree. at most. Therefore, there is less muscle activation.
The Douglas Patent discloses a manually operated therapeutic roller and exercising device. It comprises a cylindrical roller which is covered by a flexible material with a hollow shaft disposed in an axial passage of the roller and supported by the roller for rotation of the shaft relative to the roller. The shaft extends from both ends of the roller to provide hand grips. An extensible device is disposed in part within the shaft and has two pulling handles and an elastic cord for pulling each handle.
The Van Der Cleyen discloses a recreational apparatus. It comprises a hollow inflated resilient ball and an annular foot support which encircles the inflated ball. The apparatus is assembled by positioning the deflated ball within the annular platform and then inflating the ball until the ball fits tightly within the annular platform and constricted thereby, so as to bulge out on either side of the platform. An individual stands on top of the platform to bounce the apparatus on the floor surface and therefore the apparatus is used for bouncing and not balancing. The device is strictly used as a recreational toy on which to bounce up and down and cannot be used as a balancing device from which to build muscle.
The Malmberg Patent discloses a balancing device which comprises a rigid platform with a plurality of recesses of different configurations and a solid spherical support member for supporting the platform. The platform is preferably circular shaped with a 24 inch diameter. The Malmberg's device is too hard to operate to combine balancing and spinning at the same time as well as rolling or moving to simulate a sport. In addition, the degree of tilt for the platform is approximately 5.degree. to 15.degree. at most.
The England Patent discloses a rollable fulcrum balancing board recreational and exercise device provided with non-linear stabilization features. The rollable fulcrum is confined within a cavity formed by a protuberant center portion occupying about two-thirds of the length of the balancing board. The balancing board is constructed to resemble a sombrero hat and adapted to balance and ride on a spherically-shaped fulcrum. The relative action between the curved bearing undersurface of the hat shaped balancing board and the fulcrum ball is retarded or slowed in part by the special shape of the concave dome shaped undersurface of the hat shaped balancing board and is slowed or controlled in part by the ratio of the radii of curvature of the concave undersurface to the radius of the sphere shaped fulcrum ball. The balancing board has a degree of tilt, which is approximately 5.degree. to 10.degree.. Further, the device is on a rollable fulcrum which makes it difficult to simulate a sport.
The Firster Patent discloses an exerciser apparatus for the human extremities. It comprises a platform and a rounded member which is ball-like and is attached to the platform by a threaded stud. An attachment rests on the top surface of the platform and is a wedge-like element that places a foot at an angle to the top surface of the platform.
The Tracy Patent discloses a balance ball for amusement and exercise. It comprises a disk-shaped platform on a freely rotatable ball and a dome-shaped housing extends over the rotatable ball, where the rotatable ball engages with ball bearings for allowing the platform to move. Secured to the housing is the disk-shaped platform on which the user stands.
The Francke Patent discloses a variable speed balance or teeter board. It comprises a platform and a fulcrum extending downwardly from the bottom of the platform. Two or more damping members are always attached to the bottom of the platform for controlling the speed of tilt of the platform. There is no skill involved to balance the platform and activation of the leg muscles. It is like riding a bicycle with training wheels. The degree of tilt for the platform is approximately 10.degree. to 15.degree. at most.
The Seel Patent discloses a biomechanical ankle platform. It comprises a flat platform and a hemispherical member secured to the bottom surface of the platform at its diametric planar surface. The platform can only accommodate one foot at a time.
The Goo Patent discloses a video game control unit and attitude sensor. It comprises a surfing video game in which a surfing figure on a monitor moves over simulated waves to gain playing rewards. A foot operated video game controller comprises a surfboard mounted parallel to a supporting surface supported by a suspension system biased to maintain the board in a horizontal position. The suspension system has a fulcrum surrounded by a resilient member, such as an inner tube of a tire or an annular ring of resilient foam, which acts to dampen tilting movement of the platform and to return the platform to a horizontal position. The object is to tilt the mechanism to score points and no real balancing is required. The maximum tilt is approximately 5.degree..
The Vaughan Patent discloses a surfing simulator. The surfing simulator comprises a ball bearing turntable, an adjustable spring plate assembly, a flexible mounting pad and an elongated contoured riding deck. The riding deck is connected to a stationary supporting base. The user steps onto the riding deck near its center and as the user's feet are moved apart into the surfing stance, the user's weight can be shifted and rotational forces applied to create and sustain a complex rhythmic motion combining spin, tilt and rocking.
The Stanalajczo Patent discloses a closed kinetic exercise device and method. It comprises a support platform including side to side and front to rear enhanced friction surfaces arranged to position the feet of a user with each foot on one side of a pivot plate in a variety of locations on either side and along the length of a pivot plate. The pivot plate has a height that is selected to produce a predetermined angular movement that will translate into a desired manipulation of a particular pair of joints depending upon the positioning of the user's feet at fore and aft and side to side locations on the enhanced friction surfaces. A locking member is directed through the pivot plate and the support platform intermediate the opposite ends thereof, intersecting the curved surfaces to interlock them against fore and aft movements therebetween without constraining pivoting movements therebetween.
The Dailey Patent discloses a slalom ski trainer. It comprises a main channel member with a vertical upright member which is rigidly mounted substantially perpendicular at one end. A ski rope is connected to the vertical upright member at a free end and remote from the main channel member. A ski board is slidably and swivally mounted to the main channel member. A resilient sliding resistance means is attached to the main channel member at a location distal from the vertical upright member and the ski board for the purpose of providing a substantially elastic resistance to the sliding longitudinal displacement of the ski board.
The Klippel Patent discloses a balancing sport board. It comprises an elongated platform for receiving a user. A lower surface of the platform is attached to two sectors which are rotatable about two shafts positioned along a common horizontal axis of rotation. Each shaft is secured about a sector post anchored to a horizontal planar board. The lower surface of the board is attached to a pivot means with the board being pivotable about a vertical axis of rotation. The pivot means is attached to a rectangular plank movable along a linear horizontal axis. Elastic means are attached about the front and rear of the plank and tend to urge the plank toward a center location of the sport platform when used, and thereby the platform is revolvable about horizontal and vertical axes of rotation, and is movable laterally along a linear axes.
The Smith Patent discloses an apparatus and method for developing balancing skills. It comprises a platform and a rod threaded through and perpendicular to the platform.
The German Patent discloses sports or therapy appliance which consists of a flat covering plate to which a faceted base is fixed.
It is desirable to have a very efficient and also very effective design and construction of a balancing and exercising device which enables an individual to achieve a balance comparable to the type of balance that will be needed for surfing and snowboarding. It is also desirable to provide a more difficult device that can be balanced and assimilate sports for activating more muscles than the prior art devices since the angle to the ground can be much steeper than with prior art devices. The balancing and exercising device accomplishes this by activating more proprioceptors, thereby getting muscles to work in cooperation with one another better for good bone movement.