A Flash-interfaced Fingerprint Sensor is disclosed. The sensor device interfaces directly with a flash memory interface chip. The flash memory interface chip incorporates the system for interfacing with flash memory devices, a fingerprint sensor/detector system, and an encryption subsystem for encrypting data being passed to and from the flash memory devices and the host computing device. The device further employs an advanced encryption approach that entails fingerprint decryption and verification on the host computer rather than on the portable memory apparatus. Once verification at the host computer is complete, memory and host functionality is enabled.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to fingerprint sensors and related devices and, more specifically, to a Flash-interfaced Fingerprint Sensor.
2. Description of Related Art
Miniature portable electronic storage devices have advanced substantially in recent years. An extremely popular version is the USB flash drive. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional USB flash drive 10. The Conventional USB Flash Drive 10, which many times is configured to be attached to a person's keychain, is roughly the size of a package of gum and is defined by a Housing 12 from which a USB Plug 14 extends, with a Cap 16 typically included to protect the Plug 14. This Conventional Drive 10 is used generally to permit the easy storing and transfer of electronic files. The user simply inserts the USB Plug 14 into the appropriate receptacle on a host computer and the computer's operating system generally will discover the new addition and will then allow the user to access the memory on the Flash Drive 10 just as the user would access any other storage device associated with the computer. If we now turn to FIG. 2, we can examine the main components of the Conventional Flash Drive 10.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the conventional USB flash drive of FIG. 1. Within the Housing 12 is a Circuit Substrate 20, which is typically a conventional PC board. On the Circuit Substrate 20 a plurality of Flash Memory Devices 24 are attached and electrically connected. A Flash Interface Device 22 controls access to the Memory Devices 24 by the External Computing Device 18 such as a host personal computer.
The Flash Memory Devices 24 are available in different sizes, and furthermore the number of Devices 24 included in the Flash Drive 10 can be varied in order to provide the amount of memory that is desired by the manufacturer. Turning to FIG. 3, we can examine how the Flash Drive 10 operates.
FIG. 3 depicts the functional orientation of the drive of FIGS. 1 and 2 relative to a host computing device. As shown here, there are four Flash Memory Devices 24A, 24B, 24C and 24D. Each of these Devices 24 communicates directly with the USB Flash Interface Device 22. The Interface Device 22 is designed to control access to the Memory Devices 24 from any outside system. The Device 22 may include the ability to encrypt and/or password protect access to the Memory Devices 24. The USB Flash Interface Device 22 then communicates with the USB Host Interface Device 26 that is contained within the External Computing Device 18. Within the Computing Device 18 there will also be Driver Software Applications 28 that enable the functionality of the USB Flash Drive 10, including some encryption and/or password protection capabilities associated with the USB Flash Interface Device 22.
In an effort to further secure the data contained within the Conventional USB Flash Drive, one manufacturer incorporated a Fingerprint Sensor Device 32. FIG. 4 depicts a system incorporating this device. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a conventional fingerprint-sensing USB flash drive 30. The Conventional Fingerprint Sensing USB Flash Drive 30 comprises a Housing and USB Flash Interface, but in this case the Flash Interface Device 23 has specialized capabilities in order to enable it to interface with the Microcontroller Fingerprint Sensor Device 32 that is used in this Drive 30. Furthermore, because the Fingerprint Sensor Device 32 and Specialized Flash Interface Device 23 would otherwise be an incompatible with the conventional circuit substrate, a Specialized Circuit Substrate 21 must be used for this Fingerprint Sensing USB Flash Drive 30.
The Microcontroller Fingerprint Sensor Device 32 has two main parts; the Fingerprint Sensor System 34 and the Microcontroller Interface 36. If we now turn to FIG. 5, we can discuss the operation of this Drive 30.
FIG. 5 depicts the functional orientation of the drive of FIG. 4 relative to a host computing device. As shown here, each of the Flash Memory Devices 24, rather than communicating directly with the USB Flash Interface Device 23, instead communicate directly with the Microcontroller Fingerprint Sensor Device 32. Specifically, the Microcontroller Interface portion 36 of the Device 32 operates to accept fingerprints that are sensed by the Sensor System 34 and then determine whether or not access will be granted to the Devices 24 via the USB Flash Interface 23. If access is granted, then the USB Host Interface 26 will be allowed access and the Driver Applications 28 will also be allowed to access to the Flash Memory Devices 24.
The problem with this prior system is that it is so customized in its design, that beyond the conventional flash memory devices, virtually every component within the drive is custom. As a result, this device can never be cost competitive with a non-fingerprint sensing USB drive and furthermore is unlikely to be economically feasible. What is needed is a low-cost way of converting conventional USB flash drive architecture to add fingerprint sensing capability.


An implantation method to improve ESD robustness of thick-oxide grounded-gate NMOSFET's in deep-submicron CMOS technologies. Based on standard process flow in DGO, a thick gate-oxide ESD device is improved. Instead of using the standard I/O device, the ESD device uses the thin-oxide N-LDD implantation, and thus its ESD robustness is enhanced. This is performed by updating the logic Boolean operations of thick gate-oxide and thin gate-oxide N-LDD before fabricating the masks. In TGO, the intermediate-oxide ESD uses thin-oxide N-LDD implantation, and the thick-oxide ESD uses intermediate-oxide N-LDD implantation.

The present invention generally relates to electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection devices in complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technologies, and more specifically relates to an implantation method to improve ESD robustness of thick-oxide grounded-gate NMOSFET's (metal-oxide-semiconductor flied effect transistor with n-type channel) in deep-submicron CMOS technologies.
In CMOS technologies, grounded-gate NMOS fingers (ggNMOSFET's) without silicide are widely used as the primary ESD protection device in I/O buffers and power rail clamps because of ESD robustness. However, in order to overcome the hot carrier injection lifetime issue, lightly-doped drain (LDD) doping concentration is very low for 2.5V and 3.3V NMOS devices using thick gate-oxide in process. This often leads to a lower ESD protection performance in thick gate-oxide ggNMOSFET's. Therefore, ESD robustness of standard 2.5V and 3.3V ggNMOSFET's without silicide are limited by LDD implantation.
In order to enhance ESD robustness, ESD implants had been reported and included into process flow to modify the thick gate-oxide device structures for ESD protection. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,672,527 and 5,374,565, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,672,527, the N-type ESD implantation was used to cover the LDD structure and make a deeper junction in thick gate-oxide device structures for ESD protection. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,374,565, the P-type ESD implantation with a higher doping concentration located under the drain junction of thick gate-oxide NMOS device was used to reduce the junction breakdown voltage and earlier turn on the parasitic lateral BJT of the NMOS device. These two approaches are well-known methods used in the foundry processes, especially for stacked-gate NMOS fingers for 5V-tolerant I/O ESD protection. However, an extra ESD implant mask is required for these approaches and thus increase the process cycle time. In these approaches, a longer drain-contact-to-gate spacing (DCGS) is also needed for improvement of ESD robustness.

Implantation method to improve ESD robustness of thick gate-oxide grounded-gate NMOSFET's in deep-submicron CMOS technologies


The disclosure describes methods of identifying a variant of a reference antibody with reduced immunogenicity as compared to the reference antibody. The disclosure further describes variants of a reference anti-TNF-α antibody having reduced immunogenicity as compared to the reference anti-TNF-α reference antibody.

B-cell epitopes are the sites of molecules that are recognized by antibodies of the immune system. Identification of B-cell epitopes in therapeutic proteins can be useful in designing variants that do not elicit an immune response when adminstered to patients.
B-cell epitopes can be identified by individually mutating amino acids of a protein, typically with alanine (alanine scanning), and determining the effect of each mutation on antibody binding (Onda et al., 2011, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 108(14):5742-7). A disruption of protein-antibody binding following mutagenesis indicates that the mutated residue is part of a B-cell epitope recognized by the antibody. It has been found that even a single mutation in a B-cell epitope can eliminate binding to a panel of antibodies directed to the protein, and that immunogenicity of a protein can be reduced by the introduction of mutations in a B-cell epitope (Nagata and Pastan, 2009, Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews 61:977-985). However, this approach is also time consuming and labor intensive. Moreover, alanine scanning does not necessarily identify mutations that would provide the greatest reduction in immunogenicity.
Thus, there is a need for a simple, non-labor intensive yet comprehensive method which allows for the identification and elimination of B-cell epitopes.

Methods for identifying antibodies with reduced immunogenicity


Nutritional food oil compositions containing all of the essential fatty acids and the highly recommended omega-3 fatty acid DHA in correct proportions making it convenient and easy for consumers to supplement their diets with these fatty acids in the proper amounts, thereby deriving the health benefits of these fatty acids. A nutritional food oil composition is provided comprising alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and linoleic acid (LA), wherein the ratio of the amount of ALA to LA in the composition by weight is in the range of 1.5:1 to 6:1, and together the ALA and LA comprise at least 65% by weight of the composition, and docahexaenoic acid (DHA) from an algal source in an amount greater than 0.5% by weight of the composition.

The present invention relates generally to nutritional food formulations. More particularly, the invention is directed to nutritional food oil compositions containing essential fatty acids that are important for maintaining good health.
Diet is important in determining general health, performance, energy level and appearance. A healthy diet must include proper amounts of essential nutrients, which are nutrients that are incapable of being synthesized by the body and therefore, must be obtained from the diet. Essential nutrients are different for different animals. Of the approximately forty essential nutrients necessary for humans, fourteen are minerals, fourteen are vitamins, ten are amino acids and two are essential fatty acids.
The two essential fatty acids are: linoleic acid (LA), an omega-6 fatty acid; and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega-3 fatty acid. Linoleic acid is a precursor for the omega-6 series of polyunsaturated fatty acids; from LA, gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) and arachidonic acids can be formed in the body. Alpha-linolenic acid is a precursor for the omega-3 series of polyunsaturated fatty acids; eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are metabolites of ALA that have recently received much acclaim in the public and scientific communities for their health benefits.
Omega-3 fatty acids are linked to a wide variety of beneficial health effects in documented studies and are essential constituents of cells, especially brain cells, nerve cells, retina, adrenal glands, and reproductive cells. Long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids such as DHA and EPA are thought to have health benefits for the heart, skin, immune system, and they help regulate inflammatory diseases, attention deficit disorders and infant development. Some studies suggest benefits in preventing Alzheimer's, dementia, and colorectal cancers.
Over the last 150 years, the level of consumption of omega-3 fatty acids (also referred to as n-3) has decreased to one-sixth the level found in our food supply in the 1850s. In comparison, the level of omega-6 fatty acid (also referred to as n-6) consumption has doubled in that time, drastically changing the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid in our food intake. In the 1930s, the ratio of dietary n-6:n-3 fatty acids was about 8:1, and in 1980's that ratio increased to 12:1. In today's North American diets, polyunsaturated fatty acids contribute approximately 7% of total energy intake and approximately 19-22% of energy intake from fats. These levels are within recommended intakes for both men and women. Linoleic acid (LA; n-6) contributes about 84-89% of total energy from polyunsaturated fatty acids, but only about 9-11% of total polyunsaturated fatty acids energy is derived from ALA (n-3). The highly unsaturated fatty acids—EPA and DHA together—provide less or equal to 0.1-0.2% of energy intake. While the cells in our bodies require both n-3 and n-6 fatty acids, the typical North American diet obtains too much n-6 and far too little n-3.
Further exacerbation of the problem is that most North Americans obtain their n-6 fatty acids from cooking oils, which are derived from seed oils but which have been extensively processed with chemicals and at high temperatures in order to extend the shelf life of the oils. The result is that many beneficial substances found in the natural seed oils, including ALA and LA, are removed or damaged by commercial processing methods. For example, it is common in the food oil industry to treat the seed oils with sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid, bleach the oils using clays to remove color pigments, and to deodorize the oils by heating to temperatures over 200° C. As a result, phytosterols, lecithin, and antioxidants are removed from the oil, and a significant number of the fatty acid molecules are damaged or transformed into toxic molecules such as trans-fats. ALA is particularly susceptible to being damaged by excessive heat. The heavy use of these refined cooking oils in North American diets is attributed to increased risk of cancer, inflammation and cardiovascular disease, and other negative health consequences.
Recognizing the imbalance of the ratio of dietary n-6:n-3 in the average North American diet, health professionals recommend increasing the amounts of n-3 fatty acids in one's diet. Certain grains and fish are the predominant sources of the n-3 fatty acid ALA. Of the grains, flax has the highest amount of ALA (about 60%) but it is low in the n-6 fatty acid LA (about 15%). Oils of fatty fish contain approximately 30% of n-6 fatty acids as LA and approximately 30% n-3 fatty acids in the form of EPA and DHA. However, there exists a significant risk of contamination of these oils by heavy metals and other toxic substances, as has been reported in the health industry recently.
In contrast to fish oils, flaxseed oil from organic sources and when properly extracted is free of contaminants. However, the principle disadvantage to flaxseed oil as a source of omega-3 fatty acids is that if it is taken as the only source of dietary essential fatty acids, it will lead to omega-6 fatty acid deficiency and the body will exhibit the classic symptoms such as dry eyes, irregular heartbeats, joint pain and thin, papery skin. Therefore, it is important that the ratio of n-6:n-3 fatty acid intake in the diet be maintained within certain limits.
The body is able to convert ALA to the other n-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, but the conversion of ALA to these other highly unsaturated fatty acids may be somewhat inefficient, and some health professionals have recently recommended augmenting dietary fatty acid intake directly with EPA and particularly with DHA. The prior art teaches that to appreciably boost DHA intake, it will be necessary to increase fish oil consumption since fish oils are the predominant source of this fatty acid.
Of the highly unsaturated fatty acids, DHA is a vital component of the phospholipids of human cellular membranes, especially those in the brain and retina. It is necessary for optimal neural development and visual acuity. Supplemental DHA may have anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating activities. DHA might also be indicated for nursing mothers and women who are pregnant, for individuals with peroxisomal disorders, for individuals with cystic fibrosis, for those with attention deficit disorder, dyslexia, and those individuals with cognitive impairment and dementia (including Alzheimer's disease). Dietary DHA can reduce the level of blood triglycerides, which may reduce the risk of heart disease. Low levels of DHA cause reduction of brain serotonin levels and have been associated with ADHD, Alzheimer's disease, and depression, among other diseases, and there is mounting evidence that DHA supplementation may be effective in combating such diseases
With the numerous recommendations by health professionals to increase omega-3 fatty acid intake, to decrease omega-6 fatty acid intake, to supplement omega-3 fatty acid directly with DHA, and the risk of contamination of fatty fish and fish oils with heavy metals and other toxic substances, consumers are likely to be confused as to which fatty acids to consume, in what amounts, and from what sources. Contributing to the confusion are the multiple sources of nutritional food oils in the market place that contain only one form of essential fatty acid or another. Consumers must obtain their dietary fatty acids from multiple sources, which necessitates that they carefully calculate the appropriate dose amounts of the various fatty acid supplements in order to obtain the essential fatty acids in the correct proportions. Accordingly, there is need for a dietary fatty acid oil supplement that contains all of the essential fatty acids and the recommended omega-3 fatty acids in the correct proportions, from sources free of contamination, so that health conscious consumers are able to obtain all of their dietary essential fatty acids from one convenient source.

Nutritional food oil compositions and methods of making same


The present invention relates to surfaces used to reflect light, and particularly to highly light reflectant surfaces that provide even diffusion of light for the purpose of maximizing light efficiency and/or uniformity in a luminaire. By employing an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) comprising a microstructure of polymeric nodes and fibrils, the material of the present invention demonstrates exceptional diffuse reflectivity across a wide spectrum of visible light. Additionally, the material of the present invention provides many properties that have been previously unavailable in highly diffuse reflective material, including a high degree of malleability, moldability and flexibility, and effective reflectivity even at relatively thin cross-sections.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to surfaces used to reflect light, and particularly to highly light reflectant surfaces that provide even diffusion of light for the purpose of maximizing efficiency and/or light uniformity.
2. Description of Related Art
The present invention generally relates to the field of lighting, and more particularly to luminaires which utilize a reflector for redirecting light. The term "luminaire" as used herein is meant to describe a complete lighting unit consisting of a lamp or lamps together with components designed to redirect and distribute light from the lamp(s), along with a housing which positions and protects the lamp(s) and components.
Luminaires can be categorized by numerous methods. Typically, there are indoor and outdoor luminaire applications. Indoor luminaires can be categorized by light output emitted above and below the horizontal. The Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) has various luminaire classifications. These are direct, semidirect, general diffuse, semi-indirect, and indirect. Direct lighting defines light that is at least 90% below the horizontal. Semidirect lighting is predominantly downward at 60-90% of the light below the horizontal. General diffuse light describes output where the downward and upward components are about equal. Semi-indirect are predominantly upward with 60-90% of the light above the horizontal. Indirect lighting describes systems are those where 90-100% of the light is directed toward the ceiling and upper side walls. Within these categories, there are many applications. Some typical applications include recessed luminaires such as fluorescent troffers, incandescent downlighting, and high intensity discharge (HID) downlighting. There are also ceiling-mounted luminaires, track mounted, wall-mounted, suspended, and portable luminaires.
Outdoor luminaires can be categorized by similar methods. Light distribution of luminaires is categorized by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) into five light distribution types. These range from narrow symmetrical distribution to wide non-symmetrical patterns. Some typical applications include pole-mounted luminaires, surface-mounted luminaires, bollard luminaires, and floodlight luminaires.
Other luminaire applications include luminaires for automotive lighting such as head lights, tail lights, daytime running lights, interior lights, instrument panel lights, etc. There are also unique applications such as backlights for liquid crystal displays and light boxes which can be used for a range of inspection needs such as x-ray viewers, tracing tables, etc.
Light sources which are used in the above listed luminaire applications include but are not limited to incandescent filament lamps, fluorescent lamps, high intensity discharge lamps (HID), arc lamps, electrodeless lamps, electroluminescent lamps, light-emitting diodes (LED), nuclear light sources, gaslights, etc.
In virtually all of the luminaire applications mentioned above, light is redirected by the use of a reflective material. The reflection characteristics of these materials can be described as being either specular, diffuse, or a combination thereof. While good mirrored surfaces can provide nearly perfect reflectivity of visible light, the light energy exiting these surfaces does so only at an angle equal to the incident angle of light contact. This type of reflection is referred to as specular reflectance. For many applications it is important that light be reflected with an even distribution of light from the surface. This latter property is referred to as diffuse or "lambertian" reflectance.
Throughout the years, reflective materials for luminaires have been studied, optimized, and specified. Specular materials are typically used in luminaires which are designed to preferentially deliver focused light to specific locations. Diffuse materials are more typically used for even dispersion of light having uniform characteristics without the undesirable high and low intensity light areas which are typically generated through the use of specular reflectors. This is desirable for many applications such as work and home locations where even lighting is preferred. Various methods of utilizing these type of diffuse reflectors are discussed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,192,128 and 5,378,965. There are also many designs which use both specular and diffuse materials to take advantage of both types of reflective characteristics, such as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,051,878 and 5,075,827.
In other applications a diffuse reflector coupled with a fresnel lens is utilized to create a uniform directed beam. This is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,504,889.
In still other applications, a diffuse reflector is used in conjunction with diffusers, lenses, or louvers to preferentially direct the light emitting from the luminaire to specific areas. A diffuser scatters the light exiting the luminaire. A lens typically incorporates a series of prisms to preferentially light specific areas of its field of view. A louver is an array of open cells, the walls of which form reflectors. Any of these diffusers, lenses, or louvers can be utilized to redirect light in a wide range of applications such as 2.times.4 foot fluorescent troffers as well as low and high bay HID warehouse luminaires.
Due to the many requirements, the diffuse reflective material choices are relatively few. The most commonly used diffuse reflective materials are diffuse aluminum, white synthetic enamel paint, and white porcelain enamel paint. According to the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, these three materials exhibit the highest diffuse reflectance through the listed visible wavelengths of 400 nm, 500 nm, and 600 nm. In these wavelengths, diffuse aluminum ranges from 75-84% reflection, white synthetic enamel paint ranges from 48-85% reflection, and white porcelain enamel paint ranges from 56-84% reflection.
Under these criteria, these typical diffuse reflective materials have a visible reflectance maximum of only 85%. At this reflectance level, 15% of the light which impinges upon the reflector is not utilized. Furthermore, in many applications which use diffuse reflectors, there can be additional loss of light stemming from the multiple reflections which are inherently created with diffuse reflective materials. Depending upon the design of the luminaire and the reflector geometry, there can be as many as fifteen or more multiple reflections of a ray of light before it exits the luminaire. At each reflection point, there is a cumulative loss of light associated with the reflection efficiency of the material. Thus an increase of reflectance efficiency of only a few percent can yield an overall luminaire output increase of as much as 10% to 20% or higher.
It is further evident that the percent reflection of each material listed varies significantly within its own measured visible wavelengths of 400 nm, 500 nm and 600 nm. This variation can introduce an undesirable color shift between the incident and reflected light. Thus the optimum diffuse reflective material for luminaire applications is one that has consistently high reflectance throughout the visible spectrum.
Due to the many different applications that exist for reflectant materials, it is not surprising that there are many different commercially available products with a variety of diffuse reflective properties. Until the present invention, the highest reflectance material known with excellent diffuse reflectivity was that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,720 and sold under the trademark SPECTRALON by Labsphere, Inc., North Sutton, N.H. This material comprises lightly packed granules of polytetrafluoroethylene that has a void volume of about 30 to 50% and is sintered into a relatively hard cohesive block so as to maintain such void volume. Using the techniques taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,720, it is asserted that exceptionally high diffuse visible light reflectance characteristics can be achieved with this material, with reflectance over previously available reflectant material increasing from 97% to better than 99%.
Despite the reported advantages of SPECTRALON material, it is considered quite deficient in many respects. First, this material comprises a relatively hard block of material that must be carefully carved or machined to desired shapes and dimensions and it is only available in a maximum size of 30.5 cm.times.30.5 cm. This severely limits how and where this material can be used and greatly increases the cost of using this material in many applications, especially where large single piece reflectors are desired. Therefore, where a pliable material is desired (such as with reflectors for fluorescent troffers), the SPECTRALON material plainly is inadequate. Furthermore, the additional machining process provides yet another source for contamination that can be detrimental to its reflective properties.
Second, the SPECTRALON material is apparently limited, both structurally and in its ability to reflect light, to a relatively thick minimum depth (i.e., a thickness of greater than 4 mm). Again, this serves to limit where and how this material can be used. Moreover, this limitation tends needlessly to increase both the amount of material required for a given application as well as the weight of the material required for such application.
Third, the SPECTRALON material is apparently relatively expensive to manufacture and purchase. These costs are only increased by the material's difficulty in processing into the final shape from the hard form (i.e., excessive amounts of material may have to be machined away and discarded during production) and its minimum thickness requirements. As a result, the SPECTRALON material is too expensive to be used in many applications that might otherwise benefit from its reflective properties.
Other materials currently used for coating reflective cavities are reflective paints or coatings based on barium sulfate, magnesium oxide, aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, and other white powders. One such example is Kodak White Reflectance coating No. 6080 which is available from Scientific Imaging Systems of Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y. This coating is a specially prepared composition of barium sulfate, binder, and solvent. Despite good initial diffuse reflectance, this material maintains its reflectance properties for only a limited period of time (e.g., for only about six months) under normal atmospheric conditions. The material is expected to be stable for even shorter periods of time when exposed to high intensity ultraviolet radiation. Furthermore, application of this coating is extremely laborious requiring 4-8 coats to ensure an adequate thickness for best reflectance. Storage, preparation, and application of the material also requires special care. Even after all of the necessary steps for application, it still does not guarantee uniform results.
Accordingly, there is a distinct need for a highly diffuse reflective surface that can be easily handled and installed and provide other distinct advantages over existing reflective surfaces used in luminaires.


The present disclosure provides communication apparatuses and communication methods for 5G NR based V2X communications. The communication apparatuses include a communication apparatus which comprises a receiver, which in operation, receives from a base station a first resource information indicating a first resource allocated by the base station; and a transmitter, which in operation, transmits to a target communication apparatus or a plurality of target communication apparatuses including the target communication apparatus a second resource information indicating a second resource allocated to at least the target communication apparatus, the second resource including a whole or a part of the first resource.

V2X communications allows vehicles to interact with public roads and other road users, and is thus considered a critical factor in making autonomous vehicles a reality.
To accelerate this process, 5G NR based V2X communications (interchangeably referred to as NR V2X communications) is being discussed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to identify technical solutions for advanced V2X services, through which vehicles (i.e. interchangeably referred to as communication apparatuses or user equipments (UEs) that support V2X applications) can exchange their own status information through sidelink with other nearby vehicles, infrastructure nodes and/or pedestrians. The status information includes information on position, speed, heading, etc.
The NR V2X communications is expected to complement Cellular V2X communications for the advanced V2X services and support interworking with Cellular V2X communications.
Cellular V2X deployment details largely depend on agreements between regulators, operators and manufacturers (e.g. car original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), automotive ecosystem manufacturers, etc.) and may vary across countries and regions. It is envisioned that:                For basic safety-related V2X services, communications would occur over publicly accessible spectrum (e.g. USA: 5850-5925 MHz).        For specialised services (e.g. HD video/sensor sharing between platoon members), public spectrum may be supplemented with licensed resources obtained from operators.
Typically, resources assigned (which are considered as licensed resources) by base stations of operators are relatively semi-static or slower compared to dynamic requirements of certain advanced V2X scenarios such as collective perception of environment. There has been no discussion so far on how an operator can grant additional (licensed) resources to a subscriber UE (e.g. a communication apparatus/module of a vehicle that has subscribed to the operator's communication services) that can be further shared with one or more target UEs (e.g. communication apparatuses/modules of one or more vehicles that form a platoon with the subscriber UE or in certain proximity with the subscriber UE).
There is thus a need for communication apparatuses and methods that can solve the above mentioned drawbacks to allow subscriber UEs to flexibly sub-allocate and transmit licensed resources to one or more target UEs. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the disclosure.

Communication apparatuses and communication methods for 5G NR based V2X communications

Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America


A system is provided for supplying reductants to an emission treatment unit. The system comprises a fuel tank adapted to directly or indirectly supply a first premixed fuel stream and a second premixed fuel stream, wherein each fuel stream comprises a primary fuel component and an oxygenate reductant component. An engine is in fluid communication with the fuel tank, wherein the engine is configured to receive the first premixed fuel stream and create an exhaust stream. The system further includes an emission treatment unit to treat the exhaust stream. A separation unit is configured to receive the second premixed fuel stream, separate the second premixed fuel stream into a first fraction stream and a second fraction stream, and supply the first fraction stream to the emission treatment unit, wherein the first fraction stream comprises a higher concentration of the oxygenate reductant component than the second fraction stream.

Current emission control regulations necessitate the reduction of pollutant species in diesel engine exhaust. NOx, principally NO and NO2, contributes to smog, ground level ozone formation and acid rain. NO is produced in large quantities at the high combustion temperatures associated with diesel engines. NO2 is formed principally by the post oxidation of NO in the diesel exhaust stream. Exhaust after treatment devices achieve NOx reduction by using a reductant agent. The reductant agent is added to the exhaust gas entering the after treatment device and reacts with NOx over a catalyst in a process of selective catalytic reduction (SCR). Typical reducing agents may include light hydrocarbons and oxygen bearing compounds like alcohols.
Known methods of supplying the reductants may involve supplying the reducing agents and the fuel separately or may involve chemically producing the reducing agent in situ from the fuel itself. Such methods typically employ complex subsystems such as special purpose pumps, filters, storage tanks and the like. Additionally, these systems also require valuable space and specialized materials, thereby involving additional expenses. Accordingly, there is need for an improved system and method for supplying reductants to provide better overall economy and ease of operation.

System and method for supplying oxygenate reductants to an emission treatment system


A device for clamping thick, textured, coiled or kinky hair includes first and second curved components, each with an outer edge and an inner concave curved edge between first and second ends. The inner concave edges include a plurality of inwardly directed, spaced-apart teeth. A hinge joins the first ends of the curved components, enabling the second ends of the components to open and close around a bundle of hair with the teeth penetrating into the bundle. A cooperating closure maintains the device in position around the bundle of hair. The ends of the teeth define an opening even when the device is closed around the bundle of hair. The first and second curved components are preferably integrally formed from molded plastic. The cooperating closure may include first and second hook shapes. The device may come in different sizes to accommodate different hair textures and styles of children and adults.

Most hair styling accessories are designed for straight hair, and they cannot accommodate thick textured or coily hair. Hair ties, including "scrunchies," are difficult to get around and remove from thick gatherings of textured hair, and since the teeth of "banana clips" overlap, the jaws are too small. Again, banana clips are really intended for straight hair.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Device for clamping thick, textured or coily hair


Systems and methods may provide for communication between a plurality of client devices of a broadcast system. The communication may be, for example, a recommendation of a program that is communicated from one subscriber to another subscriber or subscribers via their client devices. The communication also may be a comment regarding a program, for example, recently viewed at the client device of the one subscriber. In general, the communication may be a message from one subscriber to another subscriber or subscribers. Further, the communication may be configured to perform a function on one or more other client devices. Such a function may include, but is not limited to, setting a timer to record a program, ordering or purchasing a program or service, cancelling an ordered/purchased program or service, setting or altering user preferences, controlling access to channels, etc.

The proliferation of subscription television programming, the increasing number of available channels, and the corresponding increase in television programming have led to continued development of onscreen program directories and guides. This has also lead to continued development of other user interactive features, such as the ability to set timers to record programs, the ability to set user preferences, for example, for how information is displayed, and the ability to lock or otherwise control access to channels.
Recent developments include the expansion of such features to include remote task scheduling via the Internet. Such approaches typically allow a subscriber of television services to interact with their client device remotely via a website that provides various functions to permit the subscriber to instruct their client device to perform certain activities, such as setting a timer to record a program or initiating recording based on an instruction scheduled through the website. In general, such approaches aim to allow the subscriber to perform various functions remotely that are conventionally performed by the subscriber directly using the client device.
Conventional client devices are configured to receive programs and program information from one or more sources, generally referred to as the service provider or broadcast service. The programs and the program information may be provided to the client device via one or more communication channels. For example, in a cable broadcast system, the programs and the program information may be provided to the client device via a coaxial cable connected to an input of the client device. In a satellite broadcast system, the programs and the program information may be provided to the client device via a satellite dish that is connected to an input of the client device via a coaxial cable. Alternatively or additionally, the program information may be provided to the client device via a telephone line connected to another input of the client device. The connection to the telephone line may also provide a communication channel for feedback to the service provider, for example, regarding programs viewed via the client device, and/or for allowing pay programs to be ordered or purchased using the client device.

Systems and methods for communications between client devices of a broadcast system


An electrical connector with plug contact elements of plate material is disclosed. The electrical connector comprises a housing of electrically insulating material, provided with at least one contact element of electrically conducting material designed as a plug contact. The plug contact is made up of two substantially oppositely spaced elongated plate parts. An end of each plate part is fixedly connected to a base part of the connector, while free ends of the plate parts are in physical contact. The contact element may be secured in a channel of the housing by a lip-shaped member fixedly joined in a resilient manner to the base part. The contact element is provided with a terminal end adapted for electrically interfacing with other electrical components. A method of making the contact element as a whole by a single punching process from a sheet of electrically conducting material is also disclosed.

The invention relates to an electrical connector comprising a housing of electrically insulating material, provided with at least one contact element of electrically conducting material having a contact end, extending from a base part and designed as a plug contact, for making contact to a further contact element, in which the contact end is made up of two oppositely spaced elongated plate parts extending from the base part, with one end fixedly joined thereto.
An electrical power connector provided with contact elements having a contact end designed as a plug contact of the type mentioned above is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,905.
Plug contact elements are usually made by pressing, flattening or another suitable mechanical processing from stiff, solid electrically conducting material. Embodiments of plug contacts are also known which are made up of two or more solid parts, each having, for example, a circular-sector-shaped cross section. These known plug contacts have the common characteristic that they form a stiff entity.
It has been found that such stiff plug contacts have a number of disadvantages which, in particular, weigh heavily in producing connectors having reduced dimensions for which there is a still growing requirement in view of the current trend for scale reduction (miniaturization) of electronic components.
In contrast to a plug contact element made up of stiff solid material, plug contacts formed from plate material, have certain flexible properties. The two plate parts can be moved in the direction towards and away from one another and can also be displaced with respect to one another. This results in a self-aligning action on making contact to a further contact element having a contact end designed, for example, as socket contact when the two contact ends are not exactly in line with one another. In particular, in the case of connectors having relatively large numbers of plug contacts, for example 80 or more, this self-aligning action has a beneficial effect on achieving as low as possible an insertion force for the making of connector contact. Moreover, this self-aligning action promotes the contact reliability between the contact elements which are to make contact.
In the plug contact element known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,905 the two oppositely spaced elongated plate parts are joined to the base part in a cantilevered manner. That is to say, the free ends of the plate parts are not in physical contact with one another. When contacting a further contact element, i.e. a socket contact element, the plate parts are deflected towards each other which produces a certain mechanical stress in the contact element. In order to reduce the amount of deflection and stress without affecting the thickness, length and material constant of the contact element, the width of the plate parts has to be enlarged. This however contraverses the current trend for scale reduction in the electronics field, i.e. designing small pitch miniature connectors.
DE-A-1,540,643 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,371,152 disclose contact elements having connecting ends for wire wrap applications, comprising adjacently spaced elongated plate parts. However these plate parts are connected via an intermediate strip in longitudinal direction. For miniaturisation purposes these connecting ends have an insufficient self-aligning action on mating with a receiving contact element, due to said intermediate connecting strip.

Electrical connector with plug contact elements of plate material


The present invention provides a perpendicular magnetic recording medium 11 having a perpendicular magnetization film 22 formed on a substrate 20, wherein a high perpendicular orientation film 24 having higher perpendicular orientation than that of the perpendicular magnetization film 22 is formed over or/and under the perpendicular magnetization film 22.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a perpendicular magnetic recording medium used as a magnetic disc.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, with progress of personal computers and work stations, the hard disc has been required to have a large capacity and small size, i.e., a high density. However, in order to realize a high recording density in the conventional longitudinal direction recording method, there are various problems. For example, if the recording bit is made smaller, there arises a problem of thermal fluctuation of recording magnetization and a problem of high coercive force which may exceed the recording capability of the recording head. To cope with this, a perpendicular magnetic recording method has been studied as means to significantly increase the recording density.
FIG. 156 is a cross sectional view of such a conventional magnetic recording medium. In this perpendicular magnetic recording medium 50, a perpendicular magnetization film 54 having a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy is formed on a substrate 56. For example, CoCr alloys are used for the perpendicular magnetization film (Journal of Magn. Soc. Japan, Vol. 8, No. 1, 1984, pp. 17–22).
However, in such a conventional perpendicular magnetic recording medium, there has been a problem that medium noise characteristic is very bad in a low recording density region. This is because the perpendicular magnetization film 54 is magnetized perpendicularly, and a demagnetizing field caused by the magnetic poles generated on the medium surface generates a reversed-magnetic domain. The lower is the recording density, the more the reversed-magnetic domains are generated. This has been the main cause to deteriorate the medium noise characteristic in the low recording density region. This medium noise increase in the low recording density region becomes a big trouble when forming a high-density information recording apparatus.
In order to reduce the effect of the demagnetizing field generated by the magnetic pole generated on the medium surface, there has been suggested to provide a soft magnetic layer under the perpendicular magnetization film so as to reduce the magnetic poles generated at the boundary between the perpendicular magnetization film and the soft magnetic layer (Japanese Patent Publication (examined) B58-91). This is generally known as a perpendicular two-layered magnetic recording medium.
However, in this two-layered perpendicular magnetic recording medium, if a perpendicular magnetization film is provided on a soft magnetic layer such as NiFe (Permalloy), there arises a problem that the soft magnetic layer generates a spike-shaped noise, disabling to obtain a preferable medium S/N ratio.
To cope with this, Japanese Patent Publication (unexamined) A59-127235, Japanese Patent Publication (unexamined) A59-191130, Japanese Patent Publication (unexamined) A60-239916, Japanese Patent Publication (unexamined) A61-8719, and Japanese Patent Publication (unexamined) A1-173312 suggest use of a perpendicular magnetization film on a backing layer made from Co or a Co alloy which is more advantageous than use of the permalloy soft magnetic layer.
However, the inventor of the present invention has found that when these soft magnetic films are used, these films easily absorb an external magnetic field generated by a magnetic disc rotation spindle motor. This results in concentration of the magnetic flux in a magnetic head and losing of recording signals. That is, the perpendicular magnetic recording medium of the two-layered film configuration can reduce the effect of the demagnetizing field caused by the magnetic poles generated on the medium surface, but this cannot be a solution for medium noise reduction.


A municipal water supply control system includes an underground water main, at least one water consumer station downstream from the water main, and an underground water delivery channel joining the water main to the water consumer. Underground valve means may be located either in the underground water main, the underground water delivery channel or in between the two for controlling the passage of water to each water consumer. Underground valve actuation means responsive to an activation signal activate the underground water valve means between a closed condition and an open condition. A data channel means establishes a wired or wireless data channel between a valve activation control means for issuing the activation signal and the underground valve actuation means.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the control of municipal water supplies, and more particularly to the control of the delivery of water to a municipal water consumer.
2. Description of the Related Art
When buildings, such as industrial and commercial structures (known to the trade as the ICI market), as well as residential structures such as homes, are built and water delivery and plumbing systems installed, a connection is made between the municipal water main and a water service pipe to the building. A shut-off valve (commonly referred to as a curb stop), is installed along the water service pipe at a position between the water main and the building. The curb stop typically has a valve body which is mounted on a concrete slab about eight feet below the ground surface. In order to actuate the curb stop, an extension service box must span the eight feet to the ground surface and provide a fitting which is manipulated by a wrench.
The curb stop and the extension service box must be installed early in the construction of the building. Typically, a pipe is placed over the service box. In a residential subdivision, for example, the pipe is then supported by one or more 2×4 stud driven into the ground, while in the industrial market, the pipe is usually freestanding. The heavy equipment used in new construction can often damage the service box, which remains fully exposed on the surface and prone to such damage until the construction area is complete.
Over time, the earth tends to settle which leads the service box to project above its preferred flush location at the ground surface. Frost also tends to cause the service box to shift or heave. This usually results in remedial work. Municipalities typically incur large costs to repair damaged service boxes and surrounding ground surface features as a result of settling and heaving. Municipalities also face potentially severe liabilities arising from personal injuries caused by damaged service boxes.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel municipal water delivery control system.

Municipal water delivery control systems


A prismatic secondary battery includes: an electrode group including electrodes formed of positive electrodes and negative electrodes each having an active material layer coated on a surface of a metallic foil, the electrodes formed of positive and negative electrodes are flatly wound together with a separator intervening with the positive and negative electrodes, the positive and negative electrodes being each formed with a metallic foil exposed section at one end in a direction of a winding axis L; and connection plates that electrically connect the electrode group and electrode terminals. The metallic foil exposed sections of the electrode group and the connection plates are press-joined. At least a portion of the press-joined sections constituted by the metallic foil exposed sections and the connection plates is covered with a resin material.

Lithium-ion secondary batteries high in energy density have traditionally been developed for use as motive power sources for electric automobiles, for example. Notably, prismatic secondary batteries having high volumetric densities are known as secondary batteries that are mounted on vehicles and the like. These prismatic secondary batteries are formed as follows: a positive electrode pre-coated with a positive electrode active material on both sides of a positive electrode foil, and a negative electrode pre-coated with a negative electrode active material on both sides of a negative electrode foil are flatly wound together with a separator intervening the positive and negative electrodes. And then, this wound body (electrode group) is stored in a prismatic battery casing.
In such a prismatic secondary battery, after a positive electrode metallic foil and a negative electrode metallic foil at both ends of the wound body are exposed in a direction of its winding axis, metallic foil exposed sections are formed. Then connecting electrode terminals and current-collector bodies to the metallic foil exposed sections by welding or the like minimizes lengths of current-flow pathways to thereby cause lower connection resistance.
In a case where a horn and an anvil are used to hold a metallic foil exposed section and current-collector body and weld them, pressing force upon the horn would deform the anvil and cause a welding defect to occur between the metallic foil exposed section and the current-collector body when, for example, the anvil is cantilever-supported.
To solve such a problem, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for welding a metallic foil exposed section and a current-collector body together after dividing the metallic foils of the metallic foil exposed section of a wound body into two sections to reduce the number of metallic foils sandwiched by the horn and the anvil.


A method of controlling in a twin roll strip caster the thickness of as-cast strip by determining and operating at a target depth of the casting pool and a target speed of the casting rolls. The as-cast strip may be cast to a customer-specified thickness or may be subsequently rolled to a customer-specified thickness.

This invention relates to the production of thin steel strip in a strip caster.
In a twin roll caster, molten metal is introduced between a pair of counter-rotated horizontal casting rolls which are internally cooled so that metal shells solidify on the moving roll surfaces and are brought together at the nip between them to produce a solidified strip product delivered downwardly from the nip between the rolls. The term "nip" is used herein to refer to the general region at which the casting rolls are closest together. The molten metal may be poured from a ladle into a smaller vessel from which molten metal flows through a metal delivery nozzle located above the nip, forming a casting pool of molten metal supported on the casting surfaces of the rolls above the nip and extending along the length of the nip. This casting pool is usually confined between side plates or dams held in sliding engagement with end surfaces of the casting rolls to dam the two ends of the casting pool against outflow, although alternative means such as electromagnetic barriers have also been proposed. The casting of steel strip in twin roll casters of this kind is for example described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,184,668; 5,277,243; and 5,934,359.
When casting steel strip in a twin roll caster, the strip leaves the nip at very high temperatures of the order of 1400° C. and if exposed to air, the strip suffers very rapid scaling due to oxidation of the strip at such high temperatures.
It has therefore been proposed to shroud the newly cast strip within an enclosure containing a non-oxidizing atmosphere until its temperature has been reduced significantly, typically to a temperature of the order of 1200° C. or less so as to reduce scaling. One such proposal is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,126 according to which the cast strip is passed through a sealed enclosure from which oxygen levels are reduced by initial oxidizing of the strip passing through the enclosure. Thereafter the oxygen content in the sealed enclosure is maintained at less than the surrounding atmosphere by continuing oxidizing of the strip passing through the enclosure and controlling the thickness of the scale on the strip emerging from the enclosure. The emerging strip may be reduced in thickness in an in-line rolling mill and then generally subjected to forced cooling, for example by water sprays, and the cooled strip is then coiled in a conventional coiler.
As more fully described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/967163 and International Application PCT/AU01/01215, steel strip can be produced from molten steel of a given composition with any of a wide range of microstructures, and in turn a wide range of yield strengths, by continuously casting the strip and thereafter selectively cooling the strip to transform the strip from austenite to ferrite in a temperature range between 850° C. and 400° C. It is understood that the transformation range is within the range between 850° C. and 400° C. and not that entire temperature range. The precise transformation temperature range will vary with the chemistry of the steel composition and processing characteristics.
Specifically, from work carried out on low carbon steel, including low carbon steel that has been silicon/manganese killed or aluminum killed, it has been determined that selecting cooling rates in the range of 0.010° C. /sec to greater than 100° C. /sec, to transform the strip from austenite to ferrite in a temperature range between 850° C. and 400° C., can produce steel strip that has yield strengths that range from 200 MPa to 700 MPa or greater. By selection of an appropriate cooling rate it is possible to produce a microstructure which governs the yield strength selected from a group that includes microstructures that are (1) predominantly polygonal ferrite; (2) a mixture of polygonal ferrite and low temperature transformation products and (3) predominantly low temperature transformation products. The term "low temperature transformation products" includes Widmanstatten ferrite, acicular ferrite, bainite and martensite.
This development enables production of thin steel strip from molten steel of a given chemistry to meet differing customer-specified yield strength requirements by varying the conditions under which the as-cast strip is cooled through the austenite to ferrite transformation range.
As described in U.S. application Ser. No. 60/236390, it is also possible to change other process parameters in the strip casting process to produce strip meeting varying customer requirements from a given strip casting line.
By the present invention, the thickness of the as-cast strip is controlled by changing the depth of the casting pool. This enables the casting rolls to be operated at a generally constant heat flux, which permits maximum throughput without generating excessive temperatures at the casting surfaces while varying the strip thickness. Accordingly, a single-roll profile may be used for casting rolls with a substantially constant throughput to produce a broad range of different cast strip thicknesses. Also, with the present invention, a constant as-cast microstructure can be maintained in the cast strip, which can consistently and predictably be modified and controlled by the subsequent cooling regime to produce strip having customer-specified properties. Further, increased flexibility in varying the thickness of the as-cast strip is provided that enables the subsequent reduction in the in-line rolling mill to be selected primarily for optimum control of strip surface roughness.
According to the invention there is provided a method of casting cast steel strip from a casting pool of molten steel using the casting surfaces of a twin roll caster to produce strip of differing thicknesses in the as-cast condition, comprising:
(a) determining for each desired thicknesses of the as-cast strip, a target casting speed which will avoid over-heating of the casting roll surfaces;
(b) determining from each target casting speed a target casting pool depth to produce a cast strip of the desired thickness when the twin roll caster is operated at the target casting speed; and
(c) operating the caster to cast strip based on the determined target casting speed and the determined target depth to produce cast strip generally of the desired thickness.
The method may be performed with a single, twin, or multi-roll roll caster. The as-cast strip may have differing thicknesses, which may be customer-specified, or may be reduced, as by for example in-line rolling, to a desired customer-specified thickness.
In determining the target casting speed and the target casting pool depth, predetermined characteristics of the casting rolls of the roll casters such as the diameter of the casting rolls and heat flux rate through the casting surfaces may be factors to be considered. The casting rolls may include copper or copper alloy sleeves defining the casting surfaces of the rolls. In this case, the casting roll characteristics may include the diameter of the rolls and the thickness of the sleeves, which affect the relation between the casting speed and the casting surface temperature for a particular heat flux.
If these physical characteristics of the casting rolls remain essentially the same, then the caster can be operated at substantially the same production throughput rate, hence it is possible to calculate the target casting speed (u) for a given cast thickness, and then the target casting pool depth is varied to control the as-cast thickness of the strip, i.e., the target casting pool depth is decreased to decrease the as-cast thickness of the strip.
The casting pool depth is measured from the nip of the casting roll, where the strip departs from the casting surfaces of the casting rolls, vertically to the level of the casting pool The target pool depth may be determined from the target casting speed in accordance with the following equation:R*sin−1(h/R)=u*d2/(k2)  (Eq. 1)where, h=pool depth (mm),                R=casting roll radius (mm),        d=half strip thickness (mm).        k=roll k-factor (mm/min0.5),        u=casting speed (mm/min).
The roll k-factor is determined empirically by determining solidification rates in accordance with the formulad′=k√{square root over (t)}where d′ is the half strip thickness, and t is time.
The invention also provides a method of producing a steel strip to customer-specified thickness comprising operating a twin roll caster in the manner defined above either to produce as-cast strip of differing customer-specified thicknesses or to produce as-cast strip of a thickness greater than the customer-specified thickness and then rolling the cast strip in line with the caster to reduce its thickness to the customer-specified thickness.
The as-cast thickness may be greater than the customer-specified thickness by an amount in the range 0% to 30%. Typically the reduction may be of the order of 15%.
The present invention further provides a method of producing steel strip to a customer-specified thickness by casting strip from a casting pool of molten steel using a pair of casting rolls of a twin roll caster and optionally rolling the as-cast strip to reduce its thickness, comprising:
(a) setting a target as-cast strip thickness based on the customer-specified thickness;
(b) determining a target casting speed based on the selected target as-cast thickness and casting roll characteristics while avoiding over heating of the casting roll surfaces;
(c) determining from the target casting speed a target pool depth to produce a strip of the target thickness when the casting rolls are operated to cast the strip at the target casting speed;
(d) operating the twin roll caster to cast strip based on the target casting speed and the target pool depth; and
(e) optionally in-line rolling the as-cast strip delivered from the caster to reduce its thickness to the customer-specified thickness.
The certain factor for setting the desired as-cast strip thickness may be chosen such that in-line rolling achieves a surface roughness target. The desired as-cast strip thickness may be the customer-specified thickness.


A terminal retainer system is disclosed for an electrical connector assembly. The system includes a dielectric connector housing having a plurality of terminal-receiving passages and a retainer slot adjacent the passages. A plurality of conductive terminals are insertable in an insertion direction into the terminal-receiving passages. Each terminal includes an engaging portion. A terminal retainer is insertable into the retainer slot in a direction generally parallel to the insertion direction of the terminals to a pre-load position allowing insertion of the terminals into the passages. The terminal retainer is movable in a direction transverse to the insertion direction of the terminals from the pre-load position to a retaining position in engagement with the engaging portions of the terminals to retain the terminals in the passages.

Generally, an electrical connector includes a dielectric housing mounting at least one electrically conductive terminal therein. The terminal is electrically connected to another circuit component, such as a discrete wire. Connectors often are employed in mateable pairs such that each terminal and the housing of one connector are mateable with a corresponding terminal and the housing of another connector.
Electrical connector assemblies are used in a wide variety of applications, such as in automotive applications, where it is necessary to electrically interconnect a plurality of electrical cables to perform various functions. The terminals of electrical connectors frequently are small components, such as components that are stamped and/or formed from thin sheet metal material. A poor quality electrical connection may occur if one or more terminals are not properly seated in its respective housing. The improper seating of a terminal in a housing may occur if the terminal is not fully inserted into the housing during the initial assembly of the connector or if the terminal is vibrated or pulled out of its fully seated condition during use of the connector. Failures of this type are of a particular concern in the automotive industry where electrical components are subjected to vibration almost continuously during normal use and are subjected to direct force during some maintenance. A pulling force on an electrical conductor secured to a terminal may cause a temporary break in the electrical contact between the terminal and another terminal of a mating connecting device.
More severe pulling forces on the terminal may cause a partial or complete disconnection. In either event, even a momentary break in the electrical connection may result in spurious operation of an electrically driven device or an electrical circuit associated with the connector.
To avoid these problems, in certain environments, such as in the automotive industry, it often is required to provide connectors with some form of a terminal position assurance (TPA) system to detect incomplete insertion of the terminals. In some environments, not only are locking means required on the connector housing for locking the terminals, but a TPA system or device also is required to perform this function. In such applications, the locking means on the housing typically is referred to as the primary lock, and the TPA device is referred to as the secondary lock. TPA devices sometimes are referred to as "terminal retainers".
In using a typical terminal retainer or TPA device, if the retainer detects that one or more terminals are not fully seated, the connector is inspected to locate the incompletely inserted terminal. In some instances, the TPA device not only detects an incompletely inserted terminal, but the device, itself, is used to move the incompletely inserted terminal to its fully inserted position. Regardless of whether the terminal retainer or TPA device is used in a "detect" system or in a "detect and correct" system, the electrical connector assemblies often are made unduly complicated to accommodate these safety components, or the connector assemblies are required to be unduly enlarged to accommodate the extra components. The present invention is directed to solving the various problems described above in a simple and efficient structural combination.

Electrical connector assembly with terminal retainer system


A method of cleaning an oral appliance allows a dental patient or other oral appliance wearer to clean the appliance while the appliance is in place in the wearer's mouth. The appliance wearer dispenses a quantity of foamed, cleanser formulation into to his or her mouth, swishes the cleanser around in the mouth for a desired amount of time, and then expectorates any remaining cleanser. A cleaning kit for an oral appliance is also provided and includes a mixture of water, hydrogen peroxide, and at least one surfactant in a foam-dispensing bottle.

Dental appliances, such as orthodontic retainers, dental aligners (such as Invisalign®, ClearCorrect™, and other brands), dentures, sleep apnea appliances, sports mouth guards, etc., are often worn anywhere from 30 minutes to 23 hours a day or longer and accumulate food particles, saliva, dead gingiva (skin), and other detritus. Over time (ranging from minutes to hours), the dental appliance begins to smell bad and discolor. Currently, oral appliance cleaners are designed for use outside the mouth and require the appliance—dentures, retainers, mouth guards, etc.—to be soaked in the cleaning solution and sometimes cleaned in a sonic or ultrasonic cleaning device. Within 20 minute of being returned to the mouth, however, the appliance becomes dirty or contaminated again with food debris and microorganisms. A need exists for an oral appliance cleaner that can be used on the go, throughout the day if necessary, without requiring the appliance wearer to keep the appliance out of his or her mouth during the cleaning process.


An electronic component feed system capable of feeding an electronic component mounting apparatus with a variety of electronic components such as chips, lead-type electronic components and the like in various forms. A plurality of feeder modules corresponding to sorts of electronic components to be mounted on printed circuit boards are stored in a storage kit and transferred through the storage kit to an electronic component feed section of the mounting apparatus on which a printed circuit board is held. Then, the electronic components are mounted on the printed circuit board by means of a mounting head.

This invention relates to feeding of electronic components such as chip-type electronic components (hereinafter referred to as "chips"), electronic components having lead wires (hereinafter referred to as "lead-type electronic components") and the like to an electronic component mounting apparatus, and more particularly to feeding of electronic components which is adapted to feed a mounting head of the mounting apparatus with electronic components by means of a storing unit such as a feeder module adapted to be detachable with respect to the mounting apparatus.
A electronic component feeder which has been conventionally used for an electronic component mounting apparatus is adapted to be fixedly arranged with respect to the mounting apparatus. Therefore, when it is required to mount a wide variety of electronic components on printed boards, the number of feeders to be arranged on the mounting apparatus must be increased, leading to large sizing of the electronic component mounting apparatus.
A conventional mechanism for feeding electronic components to the mounting apparatus includes feeder units corresponding to sorts of electronic components to be mounted on printed circuit boards. The conventional feeding mechanism causes each of the feeder modules to be emptied of electronic components when a mounting head of the mounting apparatus repeatedly carries out an operation of taking out electronic components from the feeder unit to successively mount them on printed circuit boards. In such situation, it has been conventionally carried out that the emptied feeder unit is replenished with electronic components by hands or the like or replaced with a feeder unit filled with electronic components. Further, the conventional mechanism often causes electronic components to be undesirably left in the feeder unit when a required mounting operation is completed. This causes interruption of the electronic component mounting apparatus to be required during manufacturing of printed circuit boards for one lot or much time and labor to be required for recovering and storing excessive electronic components after the manufacturing.
Also, the conventional electronic component feeding system fails to feed a variety of electronic components in various forms to the electronic component mounting apparatus, although such feeding is desired to develop an electronic component mounting apparatus which permits various kinds of electronic components fed in a variety of forms to be mounted on printed circuit boards. Such feeding forms include a package, a taping which comprises a tape and electronic components such as chips or lead-type electronic components held, for example, in a row on the tape. Also, the feeding is desired to be rapidly accommodated to change in lot of printed circuit boards during the manufacturing.
Recently, a tape, a magazine, a package and the like which have been conventionally used as a chip storing means has been replaced with a bulk-type storing case, which is constructed so as to randomly house chips in a case body and deliver the chips one by one from the case body and adapted to be mounted in the form of a chip feed means on a chip mounting apparatus. Such a bulk-type storing case is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publications Nos. 280129/1987 (62-280129), 22378/1988 (63-22378), 82974/1988 (63-82974) and 82975/1988 (63-82975).
The conventional bulk-type storing case is generally adapted to randomly store chips in a space defined in the case body and deliver the chips from a lower portion of the space through a delivery passage formed in the case body so as to communicate with an exterior of the case.
Unfortunately, the conventional bulk-type storing case causes the chips to be caught in the delivery passage, to thereby fail in smooth delivery of the chips; because the chips are outward delivered from the space of the case body formed into a large volume sufficient to randomly store the chips therein through the delivery passage substantially decreased in sectional area so as to permit only one chip to pass therethrough.
The assignee proposed a chip package wherein chips are stored in a spirally continuous packing path formed in a casing of the package, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 140994/1989 (1-140994). The chip package is manufactured and sold under a tradename "DISC PACK" from the assignee and adapted to concurrently exhibit both of a chip storage function and a chip feed function which have been deemed to contradict each other. For this purpose, the chip package is constructed so as to store chips in a row in the packing path of the casing and feed compressed air to the packing path to deliver the chips in order from a delivery port defined at an end of the packing path.
Unfortunately, when the chip package is used as a chip feed means for a chip mounting apparatus, the above-described construction of the chip package causes replacement of the chip package due to emptying of chips from the chip package or the like to be manually carried out. Thus, in order to ensure continuous running of a chip mounting apparatus, it is desired to accomplish automatic replacement of the chip package.