The present invention is directed to a novel process of making N-isopropyl acrylamide (NiPAm) polymers based upon the reaction of poly(acrylic acid) and N-isopropylamine. The disclosed method of the present invention uses polyacrylic acid as a starting material to synthesize NiPAm polymers. In one embodiment, the present invention discloses a condensation reaction of an intermediate salt to form homopolymers, copolymers and terpolymers of N-isopropyl acrylamide (NiPAm) with acrylic acid and/or alkyl acrylates in a molten state, which is adaptable to a continuous reactive extrusion process. Binder compositions, water-dispersible products and thermoformable articles containing the NiPAm polymers are also disclosed.

NiPAm polymers, including homopolymers, copolymers and terpolymers or higher containing N-isopropyl acrylamide structural units, are temperature responsive polymers due to their Lower Critical Solution Temperature, or LCST. As used herein, the term "LCST" describes the temperature at which the polymer solution experiences a phase transition going from one phase (homogeneous solution) to a two-phase system (a polymer rich phase and a solvent rich phase) as the solution temperature increases. These materials remain relatively inert in warm water or synthetic urine (greater than about 28.degree. C.), but disperse quickly in cold water (less than about 25.degree. C.) with immediate loss in mechanical strength. It has been discovered that due to their inverse solubility, these temperature-triggered materials are particularly useful in water-dispersible products, most particularly flushable personal care products such as diapers, tampons, feminine pads, pantiliners, etc. As used herein, the term "water-dispersible product" means a product which, when exposed to a fluid at a temperature of approximately 22.degree. C. for approximately 2 minutes, dissolves or fragments into pieces all of which pass through a 20 mesh screen.
The conventional synthesis of NiPAm polymers requires the use of an expensive and not readily available monomer, N-isopropyl acrylamide. Temperature responsive, N-isopropyl acrylamide polymers and copolymers are known to be synthesized by free-radical polymerization of N-isopropyl acrylamide or copolymerization of N-isopropyl acrylamide with another monomer. For example, polymerization reactions of (N-isopropyl acrylamide) in benzene (JP 63117016) and ethyl acetate (JP 63117017) are known. Crosslinked poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) hydrogels are prepared by radiation polymerization of N-isopropyl acrylamide as disclosed in Macromolecules, 26(26), 7386 (1993). Similar hydrogels are also synthesized by copolymerization of N-isopropyl acrylamide and methylene bisacrylamide under various conditions. (See Polym. Commun., 32(11), 322 (1991); J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem., 30(10), 2121 (1992).
A number of random, block or graft copolymers containing N-isopropyl acrylamide monomer units have been synthesized by various polymerization methods. For instance, a number of monomers including butyl methacrylate, N-isopropyl methacrylamide and dextran sulfate have been polymerized with N-isopropyl acrylamide to prepare random copolymers (J. Chem. Eng. Jpn., 26(1), 89 (1993); J. Biomater. Sci., Polym. Ed., 5(4), 371 (1994); JP 58174408; JP 58215413)). Hoffman et al. synthesized carboxyl terminated poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) oligomers, which were then reacted with biopolymers to form thermo-reversible polymer-enzyme conjugates (J. Biomater. Sci., Polym. Ed., 4(5), 545 (1993)). Furthermore, poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) macromonomers have been synthesized and subsequently polymerized with other vinyl monomers to yield temperature-responsive copolymers (Makromol. Chem., 194(2), 551 (1993)).
The synthesis of a number of polymers, which do not contain N-isopropyl acrylamide monomer units, particularly polymethacrylamides, by amidation of polymeric acyl chloride is described in Makromol. Chem., 194(2), 363 (1993). This article discloses that poly(acrylic acid) reacts in either aqueous or organic media with low molecular weight amines and polymeric amines to produce polyamides. For example, poly(acrylic acid) is reacted with perfluoroalkylamines to give polymers having a degree of amidation of 4-100% (JP 03243609). DE 3700518 discloses poly(acrylic acid) in aqueous solution treated with long chain alkyl amines to prepare partially amidated polymers. Amidation of poly(acrylic acid) is further disclosed in the following references: Yakhak Hoechi, 30(5), 232 (1986); JP 60079013; Polym. Bull., 13(3), 195 (1985); DE 3009235; DE 2533443; J. Polym. Sci., Polym. Chem. Ed., 13(12), 2859 (1975); Eur. J Biochem., 17(3), 561 (1970).
Poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNiPAm) exhibits a cloud point or inverse solubility property, i.e. the polymer is soluble in water below about 34.degree. C. and insoluble above that temperature. Poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNiPAm) has been cited in several patents where its temperature sensitive properties have been utilized. N-substituted polyacrylamides have been proposed for wound dressings with good absorbing characteristics and easy removal from the wound surface (JP 6233809). Further, flexible laminated films for control of light transmission have been disclosed with PNiPAm (JP 5177757). U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,913 describes the potential use of conventional PNiPAm for applications in flushable personal care products. Two related patents, JP 58174408 and JP 84042005, assigned to the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, disclose copolymers of N-isopropyl acrylamide and N-isopropyl methacrylamide and the use of these copolymers as aqueous adhesives and coatings.
Other temperature-responsive polymers are described. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,913, mentioned above, covers a broad range of temperature and ion sensitive polymers. Stafford et al. describes the use of hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) as a temperature sensitive binder in J. Pharm. Pharmacol. (1978), 30(1), 1. Also, a salt sensitive water soluble polyurethane binder for flushable nonwoven fabrics is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,002,171, issued to Taft. Further, a salt sensitive water soluble terpolymer for making flushable paper diapers, bandages and sanitary towels is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. JP 5125123 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,883 assigned to LION Corp.
What is needed in the art is an inexpensive and environmentally safe way to produce NiPAm polymers for use as binder materials and thermoformable articles that readily disperse in cold water, but remain structurally sound in warm water. Moreover, a method of producing NiPAm polymers having tailored cloud points (i.e., specific cloud points within a desired temperature range) is also needed.

Temperature sensitive polymers and water-dispersible products containing the polymers


Method, base station and control node for exchanging UL interference detection related information are disclosed. A method of exchanging UL interference detection related information among base stations, the method comprising: receiving the UL interference detection related information and distribution information distributed from a first base station; updating the distribution information; checking whether to transmit the UL interference detection related information to other base stations based on the updated distribution information; and transmitting or stopping transmitting the UL interference detection related information according to the checking result.

The following abbreviations are herewith defined, at least some of which are referred to within the following description: Third Generation Partnership Project ("3GPP"), Positive-Acknowledgment ("ACK" or "Ack"), Access Stratum ("AS"), Downlink ("DL"), Evolved Node B ("eNB"), Equipment Identity Register ("EIR"), Frequency Division Multiple Access ("FDMA"), Home Subscriber Server ("HSS"), Long Term Evolution ("LTE"), Multiple Access ("MA"), Mobility Management Entity ("MME"), Mobile Equipment ("ME"), Non-access Stratum ("NAS"), Next Generation Node B ("gNB"), Radio Resource Control ("RRC"), Access Network ("AN"), Radio Access Network ("RAN"), User Entity/Equipment (Mobile Terminal) ("UE"), Uplink ("UL"), Sounding Signal ("SRS"), Line-of-Sight ("LOS"), Semi-Persistent Scheduling ("SPS"), Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ("UAV"), Device to Device ("D2D"), Vehicle to Everything ("V2X"), Reference Signal Received Power ("RSRP"), Channel State Information-Reference Signal Received Power ("CSI-RSRP"), Reference Signal Received Quality ("RSRQ"), Reference Signal-Signal Interference Noise Ratio ("RS-SINR"), and Channel State Information ("CSI").
There has been increasing interest in extending cellular network coverage to include aerial vehicles such as drones. The use cases of commercial drones are growing very rapidly and include: package delivery, search-and-rescue, monitoring of critical infrastructure, wildlife conservation, flying cameras, and surveillance. All of these use cases could undergo rapid growth, and more will emerge in coming years. Many of these emerging use cases could benefit from connecting drones to cellular networks as a UE. LTE is well positioned to serve aerial vehicles such as drones. In fact, there have been an increasing number of field-trials involving the use of LTE networks to provide connectivity to drones. It is predicted that a rapid and vast growth in the drone industry will bring new promising business opportunities for LTE operators.
However, there exist problematic issues which need to be solved.
An aerial UE may interfere with a faraway base station because of line-of-sight ("LOS") propagation. LOS propagation is a characteristic of electromagnetic radiation or acoustic wave propagation which means waves which travel in a direct path from the source to the receiver. Because of the different natures of aerial UEs and legacy LTE UEs (i.e., non-aerial UEs), the aerial UE, that generally flies, may form a LOS propagation with many base stations in addition to its serving base station. Therefore, the uplink ("UL") transmission (i.e. transmission from the aerial UE) may be directed to many other base stations in addition to its serving base station. This uplink transmission to other base stations is an interference to the other base stations
Information used for aerial UE UL interference detection (referred to as "UL interference detection related information") is needed for other neighbor base stations in the scenario that UL/DL reciprocity is not hold. In addition, neighbor base stations need to directly detect aerial UE UL signal. Thus the UL interference detection related information is necessary to be distributed from the serving base station of aerial UE to other neighbor base stations including those faraway base stations, so that neighbor base stations including those faraway base stations can use the information to detect whether specific aerial UE cause UL interference to themselves.
The UL interference detection related information is exchanged via the X2 interface among eNBs (base stations). However, such kind of information exchange may result problems as shown in FIG. 1. Problem 1 is signaling storm on X2 interface. That is, redundancy copies of UL interference detection related information will be received by specific eNBs from other eNBs. For example, an aerial UE may interfere with a base station that is far away from the serving eNB because of LOS propagation. In addition, it is possible that there might no X2 interface between the serving eNB and the far away eNB that would be interfered. The communication between the serving eNB and the far away eNB is necessary to be relayed by eNB(s) located in the middle of the serving eNB and the far away eNB. Because the middle eNB does not know to which eNB(s) it should distribute the UL interference detection related information, a signaling storm may be caused by unlimited information exchange. As shown in FIG. 1, the eNB labeled "Problem 1: many copies are received for specific cell" may receive three identical copies of the same "UL interference detection related information" from different eNBs. Problem 2 is that an eNB does not know when it should stop distribute the UL interference detection related information to other eNBs. As shown in FIG. 1, the eNB labeled "Problem 2: eNB does not know when to stop exchange such information" may distribute to other eNBs (not shown in FIG. 1) that do not need to receive the UL interference detection related information. These two problems might cause severe signaling storm on X2 interface.

Exchange of UL interference detection related information


An electronic siren apparatus has a primary horn with a throat which splits into matched secondary horns each having sides, an output end, a longitudinal axis, and a circumference. The secondary horns are folded back toward and around the primary horn and throat and the portions of the circumference of each end are joined. The folded secondary horns and the joined portions form a cavity which houses the primary horn and throat. A driver is operatively joined with the throat and is contained within the cavity for generating sound which is transmitted through the throat and primary horn, and then into each secondary horn and out the output ends in phase and amplitude matched relation. The area of the primary horn and the combined areas of the secondary horn, satisfy the equation ##EQU1## where x is the distance measured along the axis from the throat, cosh is the hyperbolic cosine function, d is the diameter of the primary horn and the combined diameters of the secondary horns, d.sub.T is the diameter of the throat, and x.sub.0 is determined by the equation ##EQU2## where f.sub.c is the cutoff frequency and c is the speed of a free sound wave front.

1. Field of Use
This invention pertains to high powered electronic alerting and warning apparatuses for producing high volume siren tones. More particularly, the present invention pertains to a high efficiency electronic siren having multiple phase and amplitude matched horns fed by a common driver.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Electronic alerting and warning apparatuses comprise one or more loudspeakers or drivers, each having a diaphragm that is usually enclosed in a rigid housing which cooperates with the diaphragm to define in front of it an acoustical impedance chamber with a restricted output port. The housing also defines a closed chamber behind the diaphragm that contains a permanent magnet secured to the housing and the coil secured to the diaphragm. When the coil is energized with an alternating current, it cooperates with the magnet to cause vibration of the diaphragm that imparts acoustical energy to the air in front of the diaphragm. If the diaphragm of such a driver were to confront free air, very little load would be imposed upon it, and the excursions of the diaphragm, controlled only by its own stiffness and mass, could attain such amplitude that the diaphragm would be damaged. Instead, the acoustical impedance chamber in front of the diaphragm, with its restricted output port, imposes a load upon the diaphragm that limits its excursions to safe amplitude values. The impedance chamber also improves transfer of energy from the diaphragm to the free air. In conventional apparatuses, such energy transfer is further improved by connecting the driver to an appropriately designed horn that has a narrow throat portion and diverges to a flaring mouth. Typically, each horn has its own driver or set of drivers. The output port of the driver impedance chamber opens coaxially into the throat portion of the horn, which provides a restricted channel that further loads the diaphragm. The divergent portion of the horn is designed for projection of the sound output in a desired beam width.
To achieve the necessary high tonal volume desired of alerting and warning apparatuses, the prior art has addressed the problem by simply adding more horns, each horn having its own driver or set of drivers. Because the properties of air are such that there tends to be an upper limit to the load that can be imposed upon a driver diaphragm by acoustical impedance means, and correspondingly there tends to be an upper limit to the electrical power that can be safely applied to the driver, the necessity for increased volume has been addressed by increasing the number of horns and drivers. Incorporating a number of electronic drivers into outdoor alerting and warning apparatuses is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,009 which discloses a warning device having numerous electronic drivers attached to a resonance chamber having one or two coaxial outlet ports each opening into the throat of a horn. This type of approach is typical of the prior art and simply involves throwing more power at the problem rather than increasing efficiency. Increasing power generated by a warning apparatus has also been addressed by improved energizing means for drivers as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,334.
In addition to the necessity of maximizing the volume of the tones emitted from the sirens, it is also increasingly desirable to control the directionality of such tones especially in areas where only a portion of the population needs to be warned of impending danger. In conventional apparatuses, multiple independent sets of sirens are required to implement a warning system that can provide anywhere from highly directional to omni-directional emission of warning tones. For example, in a situation where there exists one quadrant of the warning area that need not receive the warning tones, the installer must typically nonetheless purchase an apparatus that is omni-directional and emits an omni-directional warning tone or purchase an apparatus that was intended for omni-directional use but is partially disabled or left incomplete at the factory to accomplish the desired directionality. In each case, the installer typically pays for structure, such as an omni-directional resonance chamber, that is not needed or used.
Improved directionality of warning tones is typically addressed in conventional warning apparatuses by taking a conventional resonance chamber such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,009 discussed above, and adding horns in the desired direction of the tonal transmission. As discussed above, this approach is wasteful because much of the area of the resonance chamber is left unused, much of the materials used to construct it are wasted, and the cost for this unnecessary structure is passed on to the customer.

High efficiency phase and amplitude matched multiple horn electronic siren


A light comprising at least a housing for a light module and a controller being electrically connected to a cable and to the light module may be mounted very easily if the housing comprises a cable duct for housing the at least one cable, wherein the cable duct comprises at least a first electrical connector being attached to the cable duct and if the controller comprises at least a second electrical connector and a third electrical connector, wherein the second electrical connector is complementary to the first electrical connector, and if the cable duct and/or the controller comprise a first support structure for attaching the cable duct with the controller, wherein the first support structure attaches the cable duct with the controller, when the first electrical connector and the second electrical connector get plugged.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a modular LED-light comprising a housing for a controller and a light module.
2. Description of Relevant Art
US 2006/0262545 discloses a modular LED light. The LED light has a housing with a compartment for insertion of a controller. The controller is connected by wirings to a power line and to a data bus, e.g. Ethernet via RJ45 jacks. The controller is connected to a LED module by an output wiring. The output wiring may end in a socket for a connector of a LED module. The socket is attached to a base, the latter being supported by the housing. For mounting the LED light, the housing is inserted into an aperture in a ceiling and fixed to the ceiling. Subsequently the wiring is connected to the power line, a control input wire and inserted via an opening of the housing into the compartment. When the controller reaches its final position, it is attached to the housing by a clamping element.
US 2009/268435 A1 discloses a downward illumination assembly, i.e. a light. The light has a housing which removably supports a power supply module in a receptacle tray with side panels. The receptacle tray is fixed to the housing by threaded post integrally extending from tray mounting tabs. The power supply module has two mounting tabs each with a slot for receiving one of said threaded posts. Wing nuts thread on the respective posts and thereby clamp the module mounting tabs to the housing wall.
US 2004/0184264 A1 discloses a light with a support module, supports to hang down from the support module and to suspend a light fixture body module.


An electronic assembly includes an electronic module, a rigid board, a first flexible board, a second flexible board and a conductive adhesive layer. The first flexible board extends from the electronic module and has a first connection end and a first pad arrangement at the first connection end. The first pad arrangement has a plurality of first pads. The second flexible board is connected to the rigid board and has a second connection end and a second pad arrangement at the second connection end. The second pad arrangement has a plurality of second pads. The first pads are structurally and electrically connected to the second pads through the conductive adhesive layer.

1. Field of the Application
The present application relates to an electronic assembly. More particularly, the present application relates to an electronic assembly which includes a combination of a flexible board and another flexible board.
2. Description of Related Art
Hand-held devices, such as smart phones and tablet computers, have advantages such as multiple functions and carrying convenience, such that this type of hand-held devices gain more and more popularity among consumers. The hand-held devices are usually equipped with a variety of electronic modules which contains different functions, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) module and a camera module. These electronic modules may be connected to a motherboard through a flexible board (i.e., a flexible circuit board or a flexible printed circuit (FPC)), which is configured to carry a rigid board (a rigid circuit board) of electronic components, so as to accommodate to a limited space of a housing of the hand-held device.
The aforesaid flexible board usually extends from the electronic module and has a connection end. When the connection end of the flexible board is inserted into a slot connector which has been installed to the motherboard, pad arrangements of the connection end are in contact with elastic terminal arrangements of the slot connector, thus an electrical connection is established. However, when appearances or interior configurations of the hand-held devices change with respect to position changes of the connection end of the flexible board of the electronic module, the flexible board of the electronic module has to be designed, fabricated and assembled one more time. However, this increases production costs. In addition, the slot connector of the motherboard is provided with elastic terminals for contacting the pad arrangements of the connection end of the flexible board, such that certain deformation space is needed for the elastic terminals of the slot connector, and proper distances are kept among the elastic terminals, which are reasons why a size of the slot connector cannot be further minimized.


The present invention relates to a transformer substation (6) comprising high-voltage switchgear (1), a low-voltage switchboard (3) and a transformer (2) which are electrically interconnected on the upper cover (5) of the transformer (2) through a shielded direct single-pole connection. The high-voltage electric connection (4) is carried out by means of a connection device (8) which, in combination with a control/protection device (10), allows carrying out the safe and integral protection of people and property against possible malfunctions in the transformer substation (6), limiting said malfunctions and preventing disturbances of the high-voltage and low-voltage network.

Electric transformer substations are basically formed by three essential elements or parts or functional units, though functionally independent from one another, one of which parts consists of high-voltage switchgear, whereas a second part consists of a transformer, the third part being formed by a low-voltage switchboard, such that these parts are independent and are electrically connected. In this sense, in said transformer substations in which the functional units are independent, each of them has independent insulation and cooling means that is not shared with other units.
According to a common configuration, high-voltage switchgear comprise a line connection and an outgoing feeder, forming a loop, as well as a third protection position supplying the transformer, from which the low-voltage electric power in turn exits, this outgoing feeder of the transformer being connected to the low-voltage switchboard or module having the corresponding bases for the connection of outgoing feeder cables for the distribution and corresponding low-voltage power supply of the installation or building in question.
The transformer substation is supplied through the high-voltage line connection of the first feeder switchgear, which is connected, through the outgoing feeder of the loop, with the second feeder switchgear, which allows isolating a building or an installation without the power supply to the remaining installations being cut off as a result. The electric power is led from this second feeder switchgear to the next transformer substation, which will logically supply another installation.
The transformer is supplied through the third position or switchgear, carrying out the electric connection between both elements by means of external cables, as is shown, for example, in patents ES2228264B2, EP1267367A1, FR2881001B1, FR2826194B1, FR2905532A1 and DE9202127U1, which are exposed, being able to lead to unwanted breakdowns and accidents. Furthermore, this wiring must be carried out "in situ", which requires specialized operators for correctly carrying out the various connections. Specifically, the connections between the high-voltage switchgear and the transformer are carried out by means of cables with terminals at their ends, the terminals usually being constructed at the building site, therefore they are not subjected to the relevant tests to check the quality of the coupling.
The connection between the transformer and the switchgear can also be carried out by means of a direct connection without using cables, as is shown, for example, in patents ES2155037B1, EP1326313A1, WO2004012312A1, WO03032458A1, WO02075757A1 and FR2782418B1.
The third position, referred to as protection switchgear, incorporates protection of the transformer, usually by means of fuses or even by means of a circuit breaker. These fuses are usually installed inside the high-voltage switch gear, but there are also solutions in which they are integrated in the tank itself of the transformer, immersed in the oil itself of the transformer, or inside a bay independent of the high-voltage switch gear and the transformer, as defined for example in patent FR2782418B1.
The function of said fuses is to prevent electric failures that may occur downstream, i.e., in the low-voltage distribution network, in the low-voltage switchboard, in the high-voltage interconnection or in the transformer, from affecting the substation, thus limiting the extent of the incident.
In this sense, patent FR2782418B1 protects both embodiments with regard to the arrangement of the fuses, both inside the tank of the transformer and inside a bay independent from the high-voltage switch gear and the transformer. In each of the embodiments of said patent, the fuses are accompanied by a breaker, which is also arranged together with the fuses inside the tank of the transformer or inside the mentioned independent bay. In the first case, the fuses and the breaker are insulated in the dielectric liquid itself of the transformer, and in the second case, in a dielectric gas comprised in the mentioned bay. In this latter case, the bay is assembled on the cover of the transformer and on the high-voltage switch gear, the transformer—bay—high-voltage switchgear interconnection being carried out by means of bushings comprised in the transformer, the mentioned bay and the high-voltage switch gear. Therefore, this French patent uses the interconnection between transformer and high-voltage switch gear to include in it part of the protection of the transformer substation, which in the remaining mentioned patent examples is included inside the switchgear or high-voltage switch gear, except in WO03032458A1. In a possible embodiment of this last patent document, part of the protective elements, such as fuses, is also arranged inside an independent protection module.
The assembly determined by the high-voltage switchgear, the transformer and the low-voltage switchboard are usually arranged in a closed room which, in most cases, corresponds to the basement or storage area of the building which is to be supplied, or else in a shed outside and close to the building, which must offer sufficient safety and ergonomic conditions for operators, made in suitable accesses or spaces appropriate for the operation and installation of the equipment.
The main requirement with respect to space is the need to have a clear front of approximately one meter wide both in the high-voltage switch gear and in the low-voltage switch gear, as well as an access corridor and safety distances to elements which are energized and can be accessible by operators or third persons. This means that in practice, a large amount of space is necessary for the placement of all the components of the substation, which involves an enormous cost for the power supply company. This is why there is great interest today in compact equipment which occupies increasingly smaller spaces.
In this sense, the solution of patent FR2782418B1 involves the drawback that due to installing the fuses inside the transformer, this transformer has larger dimensions and therefore occupies greater space than a conventional transformer does. The same space problem is involved in the case in which the fuses are installed inside a bay which is assembled on the cover of the transformer and on the high-voltage switch gear, because yet another projection is added to the transformer substation. Furthermore, due to the dielectric medium used in said bay and therefore due to the insulation distances to be respected between phases, said bay can occupy considerable space, and accordingly the transformer substation can be bulkier. Likewise, due to using a gas as a dielectric medium in said bay, in the event that any of the fuses melts, said bay must be replaced with a new one, which entails in addition to the disassembly of said bay, draining the internal gas, this gas being a toxic gas and it can contribute to the greenhouse effect, so a more complicated, more expensive and more meticulous replacement process is required.
Likewise, the solution of patent FR2782418B1 involves the drawback that due to installing the high-voltage and low-voltage switch gear on a vertical plane of the transformer, the cooling fins corresponding to said vertical side or plane of the transformer are eliminated, which involves reducing the useful cooling surface of the transformer, and therefore the increase of the operating temperature thereof. The same problem is repeated in the solution of ES2155037B1.
In relation to the transformers used in the solutions of WO03032458A1, WO02075757A1 and ES2155037B1, these transformers are "special" transformers because in the solution in WO02075757A1, the low-voltage bushings are arranged in a vertical side of the transformer, whereas in the case of the solution in ES2155037B1, both the low-voltage and the medium-voltage bushings are arranged in a vertical side. This configuration of the transformer complicates the assembly tasks during its manufacture because in the operation of cribbing a "standard" transformer, all the elements thereof (windings, magnetic circuit, bushings, etc.) are secured to the cover itself of the transformer, all the necessary electric connections between the elements being carried out beforehand, and they are introduced in the tank once the cover is in place in order to then screw said cover to the tank and subsequently fill it with oil. In this sense, in the case of WO02075757A1 and ES2155037B1, the assembly operations are complicated due to the complexity of carrying out the connections inside the tank between the bushings and the windings.
In the state of the art, as is shown in the mentioned patent examples, in which the interconnection between the transformer and the high-voltage switchgear is used to include part of the protection of the transformer substation, said part of the protection is formed by the fuses and the breakers or switches. The remaining elements forming the protection system of the transformer substation is arranged integrated in the same high-voltage switchgear, such as, for example, electronic relays and measurement and control means associated with said electronic relays, such as, for example, voltage sensors, intensity sensors, voltage transformers, means for receiving/transmitting signals via PLC, means for detecting partial discharges, etc.
As is known, electronic relays and the measurement and control means associated therewith form the intelligent part of transformer substations, i.e., they form an integral protection unit preventing disturbances of the high-voltage and low-voltage network, by isolating a transformer substation in a malfunction. In current transformer substations, the fuse itself is the protection for said substations. The fuse protects the equipment, and if malfunctions of another type not protected by the fuse are to be seen, a relay combined or associated with the fuses can be provided. Likewise, the breaker or switch also acts under the orders of the electronic relay, which orders the opening of said breaker or switch as a consequence of a fault event.

Connection device for transformer substation modules


A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device having a build-up layer for wiring between semiconductor elements and external connection terminals is disclosed. The method comprises steps of forming a rewiring layer on a wafer, placing the wafer on a stretchable dicing tape, dicing the wafer placed on the dicing tape, forming a clearance between adjacent semiconductor elements by stretching the dicing tape, forming a semiconductor device continuous body by forming a build-up layer on the semiconductor elements and the clearance, and forming semiconductor devices by dicing the semiconductor device continuous body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, and particularly relates to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device having a build-up layer for wiring between semiconductor elements and external connection terminals.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, LSI technologies as a key technology for multimedia devices have been steadily advanced to improve data transmission speed and capacity. With the advancement of the LSI technologies, high-density mounting techniques for interfaces between LSIs and electronic devices have also been developed. Among semiconductor packages, CSPs (Chip Size Package), whose size is substantially equal to the chip size, can offer high-density mountability.
Although there are a variety of types of CSPs, most of the CSPs are configured to have an interposer between semiconductor elements and connection terminals (e.g. solder bumps) for external connection. This is because pads on semiconductor elements are highly accurately formed by a wafer process whereas external connection terminals only need to be accurate enough to satisfy pitch based on wiring rules and therefore do not have accuracy as high as the accuracy of the pads. Therefore, an interposer is provided between the semiconductor elements and the external connection terminals.
Resin substrates have been used as interposers, and a wire bonding method or a flip-chip bonding method has been employed for connecting semiconductor elements to an interposer. However, as density of semiconductor elements grows and their size decreases, it is becoming difficult to form electrodes on a resin substrate to correspond to pads of semiconductor elements due to an accuracy difference between the semiconductor elements and the resin substrate. As a result, resin substrates are becoming less appropriate as interposers for CSPs.
In view of these circumstances, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-16173 discloses a semiconductor device manufacturing method wherein an interposer for a CSP is formed by a build-up method. According to this semiconductor device manufacturing method, a wafer is divided into semiconductor elements by a dicing process. Each of the semiconductor elements is mounted on a recessed part formed on a substrate. Then, an insulating layer having an inter-layer conductive part is formed thereon. Further, a build-up layer electrically connected to the inter-layer conductive part is formed by a build-up process.
However, in the case where a build-up process is performed after dividing a wafer into semiconductor elements and mounting the semiconductor elements on the substrate as described above, the semiconductor elements need to be accurately positioned on the substrate if the semiconductor elements have high density and high accuracy. Therefore, positioning of the semiconductor elements becomes difficult. Besides, when the semiconductor elements are separated before the build-up process, handling of the separated semiconductor elements is troublesome.
A solution for these problems may be semiconductor device manufacturing methods based on a wafer level process that are designed to form a build-up layer at a wafer level, i.e., before dividing semiconductor elements provided on a wafer. According to the methods based on the wafer level process, however, the area of a build-up layer has the same size as the area of semiconductor elements separated by the dicing, and cannot be formed wider than that. This results in low flexibility of wiring arrangement of the build-up layer.

Method of manufacturing semiconductor device


An electrical connector system includes a header and a carrier assembly attachable with the header. The header includes a leading end having a plurality of signal pins that are insertable into an electronic device and a stripline ground plate extending from the leading end toward a mating end. The carrier assembly is coupleable with the mating end of the header and includes a plurality of termination devices. Each termination device includes a cable terminated to a contact that electrically couples with one of the signal pins of the header, an insulator disposed around the contact, and a tubular shield disposed around the insulator. When the carrier assembly is connected to the header, the tubular shield contacts the stripline ground plate to commonly ground each signal pin/contact connection within the electrical connector system.

Headers are modular electrical connectors that provide signal paths for signals, such as differential signals, between a main board (e.g., a mother board) and a secondary board (e.g., a daughter board) or other electrical components.
Headers are typically employed to electrically connect a large number of electrical signals between a series of daughter boards connected with a mother board in a manner that electrically interconnects different components in an electrical system. Other applications employ a header connected with a backplane or other connection board of an electronic system, where the header provides interconnection between the backplane and a carrier assembly attached to the header.
The connectors attached to a printed circuit board or a backplane connect with conducting traces on the board/backplane, and the conducting traces connect to signal pins of the header to route the signals between conductors in the board/backplane (or electronic components) to the electronic system.
Electronic systems have evolved to process more data and pack an increased number of circuits into the same area (or an even smaller area). Consequently, electrical connectors are challenged with carrying an increased number of electrical signals, each potentially having increased signal frequency. However, as signal frequencies increase, there is the possibility that electrical noise generated by signal connections, crosstalk, or electromagnetic interference could undesirably increase within the interconnection.
It is desirable to provide carrier assemblies that attach to headers in a manner that minimizes crosstalk between signal paths and provides controlled electrical impedance for each signal path. It is further desirable to provide electrical interconnectors and interconnection assemblies having high circuit switching speeds, increased signal line densities with controlled electrical characteristics, and improved/controlled signal integrity suited to meet the evolving demands of end-users.

Carrier assembly and system configured to commonly ground a header


A miniature assembly is disclosed which includes a housing assembly with a cover configured to be sealably secured to a box-like receptacle. The receptacle comprises openings on opposing sides for the seating therein of communications connectors. Enclosed within housing is custom-sized circuit board for supporting, at least, a standard communications interface and at least one electronic device.

1. Field
Present invention relates generally to miniature housing assemblies for control of electronic devices, and, in particular, to miniature housing assemblies that incorporate a standard communications interface for control of multiple electronic devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Smart sensors, data recorders, electronic drives and other devices are often controlled by a programmable logic controllers, or PLC's. As the term is used herein, a PLC is an industrial control computer, typically implemented to run automated processes. PLC's tend to be relatively large structurally, e.g., on the order of about 4 to 5 inches in length and 3 to 4 inches in width, or greater, and a single PLC is often used to control a single electronic, or electromechanical device. The controlled devices are often separate from the PLC. Design of such systems requires consideration of thermal dissipation in the environment in which they operate to avoid failure due to over heating. Therefore, the layout of a system incorporating a PLC controlling electronic devices often dictates a certain amount of space. Further, depending on the number of devices to be controlled, communications among the devices may be complex also dictating a certain spatial size.
To meet desires to cut costs under austere funding rubrics, the weight and size of such systems is ever decreasing, particularly in flight and space flight systems. Decreased weight also enhances flight kinematics. Decreasing space requirements mandate a decrease in size of the constituent components, or a more efficient system integration, or both.
Moreover, PLC's may need to be "ruggedized," or, adapted to housings that make the PLC resistant to vibration, shock and other hazards. This also increases the weight as well as the cost of production.
Therefore, a need exists for an assembly that allows for the control of multiple electronic devices, possibly from a single control processor. The assembly needs to be of a miniature size and incorporate a communications interface that permits communications between the control processor and the device to be controlled. A need further exists for such an assembly to be easily thermally dissipated. Finally, such an assembly needs to be vibration and shock resistant.

Miniature housing with standard addressable interface for smart sensors and drive electronics

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration


To improve the performance for determining obstruction of a stereoscopic system using two cameras or more, a hybrid of local and semi-global methods is provided. For each stereoscopic image formed from simultaneous left and right images, a breakdown of each left and right image into corresponding sectors is applied. Obstruction level is determined by a disparity map by sector, based on left or right images, and in which a disparity is assigned to each pixel corresponding to the best matching score. A determination of density by sector of the disparity map is carried out by reference to a fraction of pixels with a disparity considered to be valid. A state of obstruction of at least one camera is determined based on a weighted average of the probabilities of obscuring of the sectors of the disparity map obtained by comparison between the density of the sectors and a predefined density level.

In the field of automobile safety and driving assistance, video systems carried on board vehicles are used for the detection of obstacles—objects or persons—or of events outside this vehicle. Using two onboard cameras, the video system managed by a digital processing system allows the distance between the vehicle and these obstacles to be determined. It is then possible to undertake various functionalities, for example: the detection of obstacles, the detection of hazards, the detection and the recognition of road signs, the continuous white line not to be crossed, or else the detection of cars coming from the other direction. The latter detection may be associated with the management of the lights of the vehicle.
The recognition of these obstacles or events is, furthermore, brought to the attention of the driver by warning of intervention from driving assistance systems. The reliability of the cameras is thus critical and can become decisive, for example when it is required to know in real time whether, in the absence of obstacles detected, the road really is free of obstacles or whether one of the cameras is at least partially obstructed. The detection of the obstruction of the cameras is therefore as important as the determination of good visibility. It should be noted that a frequent cause of obstruction is the condensation of water on the optics of the camera. In general, a detection of obstruction leads to warning the driver of the presence of such condensation and may trigger demisting/defrosting means.
The determination of an amount of obstruction of an onboard camera is dealt with in the patent document US 2013/0070966. In this document, the screen is divided into sectors and the probability of obstruction is analyzed by sector based on a measurement of the number of objects detected by their contour within each sector. This is a method of analysis by image sector.
The detection of the camera obstruction according to this method only offers limited performances: a partial obstruction of the camera is only detected in 75% of cases, the average distance for carrying out this detection being 200 meters. Moreover, at start-up, an average distance of 30 meters is needed to determine the status of the obstruction of the camera.
Using the same approach by sector, the idea of the patent document U.S. Pat. No. 8,116,523 is to generate image data by an "edge map extraction" and a detection of characteristic points based on this data. The characteristic points are categorized according to three detection scan regions respectively arranged at a near distance, a medium distance and far away from the vehicle: a region dedicated to roads, another for the side roads and junctions and a region intended for blind alleys or obstacles. In this way, the number of image processing steps is reduced with respect to the detection of fixed models with a scan of the whole image in order to verify the correspondence of the image to the models.
Other methods have been developed for stereoscopic systems with two cameras allowing additional information on depth of the objects and obstacles of the scene observed by the driver to be provided. The depth of a pixel of an element of this scene is inversely proportional to the shift, otherwise referred to as "disparity", of the matching pixels from the left and right images corresponding to the initial pixel of the scene and respectively detected by the left and right cameras. A disparity map is composed of the set of disparities between the pixels thus matched.
The generation of the successive disparity maps over time allows the performance of the driving aid applications to be enhanced using depth information for the scene. The use of disparity maps is for example illustrated by the patent documents US 2010/0013908, EP 2 381 416 or FR 2 958 774.
The problem is to correctly match the pixels of the left and right images. Conventionally, the generation of a disparity map is carried out in two steps: the determination of various degrees of matching, also referred to as "matching scores", for each pair of pixels and the extraction of an estimation of disparity for each pair of pixels.
The first step is carried out by taking into account, for each pixel of a pair being analyzed, pixels within its environment. The scores correspond to the degree of similarity between the pixels of the pair under analysis. The second step allows the most probable disparity, estimated based on the matching scores of this pixel, to be assigned to each pixel from one of the two left or right images, called reference pixel. The set of pixels from the reference image onto which the retained disparities have been transferred constitutes the disparity map of the stereoscopic image.
Generally speaking, three types of method have been developed for producing disparity maps depending on the mode of determination of the scores and the mode of expression of the disparities: local, global and semi-global methods.
Local methods are based on the matching scores of each pair of pixels from each image obtained between the pixels immediately surrounding two pixels to be matched. Various correlation functions may be used (sum of the squared differences, sum of the absolute differences, centered normalized intercorrelation, etc.) in order to then determine the disparities of the matched pixels. For each pair of pixels analyzed, the disparity corresponding to the best score is selected.
These local methods are the simplest and hence occupy fewer resources. They generate high-density disparity maps, in other words with a large fraction of pixels with a disparity considered to be valid, the validity being based on a coherence criterion between the disparities of paired pixels. However, these local methods suffer from a high error rate, notably in the areas of occlusion and in the areas with little texture—for example for a new road.
Global methods consist in optimizing an energy function defined over the whole reference image. The energy function defines the constraints with which the disparity map must comply, for example the continuity of the disparity over the objects. Subsequently, the set of the disparities which minimize this energy function is sought. The Graph-Cut method and Belief Propagation are the most studied global methods.
These methods yield dense disparity images comprising few errors. They are, however, complex to implement and require very significant processing and memory resources which are not very compatible with the onboard hardware constraints.
Semi-global methods are based on the same principle as the global methods but on subsets of the image, namely lines or blocks. The breakdown of the problem of optimization of the energy function into subproblems allows the requirements in processing and memory resources to be decreased with respect to the global methods, but leads to the recurrence of the appearance of artifacts on the disparity map, with a non-negligible error rate and an average—to mediocre-density disparity map (which results from the presence of artifacts).

Method for determining a state of obstruction of at least one camera installed in a stereoscopic system


The present invention provides a device and method for protecting the motor of a hermetic refrigeration compressor. The device comprises a motor, input power lines, and a motor protector connected to the input power lines to control the power to the motor. The motor protector includes a microprocessor, an input power measurement device, and a switch means for controlling the connection of the power lines to the motor. The input power measurement device includes a motor power input signal to the microprocessor. The microprocessor includes memory having instructions for storing an operating input power limit range based on the torque limits of the motor and for comparing the power input signal to the operating input power limit range of the motor. The microprocessor controls the switch means to open when the input power signal is outside of the operating input power limit range of the motor. The method includes the steps of providing a motor protector having a microprocessor with memory and an input power switch, storing an operating input power limit range based on the torque limits of the compressor motor in the memory of the microprocessor, measuring the input power to the compressor motor, providing the measured input power to the microprocessor, comparing the measured input power value to the operating input power limit range of the compressor motor, and opening the input power switch to remove power from the compressor motor when the measured input power value is outside of the operating input power limit range.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to motor protectors for hermetic refrigeration compressors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Present hermetic compressor motor microprocessor protection devices monitor motor line voltages, line currents, and other inputs such as temperature and motor speed to determine the state of an operating compressor. Motor speed is sometimes used as an estimate of torque, but as seen in FIG. 4 in the normal operating range of torque, the motor speed can vary significantly depending upon the motor operating temperature. Software algorithms are used to determine whether the compressor is operating within acceptable electrical, load, and thermal limits.
The present invention involves a method and device for protecting a refrigeration compressor motor from operating outside of its torque or load operating limits by using the input power to the motor. Input power correlates strongly to motor torque especially in the normal operating range of the motor. An input power range is determined for the compressor motor by measuring the input power at the extreme operating limits of the compressor over the torque or load range of the compressor. The motor input power is either directly measured in hardware or calculated in software using other hardware measurements such as input voltage and current. The attained motor input power is used as an input to a software algorithm to determine if the compressor is operating within acceptable torque operating limits. If the measured input power is found to be outside the determined input power range indicating the compressor motor is operating outside of its acceptable torque limits, the compressor motor will be shut down keeping the compressor motor from operating outside its torque operating range. Loss of refrigerant can cause an under-torque condition and loss of the condenser fan can cause an over-torque condition.
The present invention provides a motor protector system for a compressor. The system comprises a motor, input power lines, and a motor protector connected to the input power lines to control the power to the motor. The motor protector includes a microprocessor, an input power measurement device, and a switch means for controlling the connection of the power lines to the motor. The input power measurement device includes a motor power input signal to the microprocessor. The microprocessor includes memory having instructions for storing an operating input power limit range based on the torque limits of the motor and for comparing the power input signal to the operating input power limit range of the motor. The microprocessor controls the switch means to open when the input power signal is outside of the operating input power limit range of the motor.
The present invention provides a second embodiment of a motor protector system for a compressor. The system comprises a motor, input power lines, and a motor protector connected to the input power lines to control the power to the motor. The motor protector includes a microprocessor, voltage measurement device, current measurement device, and a switch means for controlling the connection of the power lines to the motor. The input voltage measurement device includes a motor voltage input signal to the microprocessor. The input current measurement device includes a motor current input signal to the microprocessor. The microprocessor includes memory having instructions for storing an operating input power limit range based on the torque limits of the motor, for calculating a power input value by using the voltage input signal and the current input signal, and for comparing the power input value to the operating input power limit range of the motor. The microprocessor controls the switch means to open when the input power value is outside of the operating input power limit range of the motor.
The present invention further provides a method of providing torque protection to a compressor motor. The steps comprise providing a motor protector having a microprocessor with memory and an input power switch, storing an operating input power limit range based on the torque limits of the compressor motor in the memory of the microprocessor, measuring the input power to the compressor motor, providing the measured input power to the microprocessor, comparing the measured input power value to the operating input power limit range of the compressor motor, and opening the input power switch to remove power from the compressor motor when the measured input power value is outside of the operating input power limit range.

Hermetic refrigeration compressor motor protector


A railway monitoring system for detecting degradations, anomalies, changes, and other states of the railway that may indicate an increased probability of derailment, the need for maintenance, or the impedance of railway operation. The railway monitoring system broadly includes a sensor, a data storage component, a data collection and processing component, and a location positioning component. The sensor and other equipment are mounted in a specially designed or modified rail car and cooperatively collect data representative of railway conditions or states and detect changes in the conditions or states by comparing the collected data to previously collected data points.

The present invention relates to railway monitoring systems.
Railway monitoring systems monitor degradation of train tracks and other railway assets and detect the presence of impedances of rail rights-of-way. These systems are often designed to be operated at stationary positions along the railway or onboard rail-modified vehicles and commercial equipment (e.g., "hi-rail" and "road rail" vehicles). Specially trained crews are required to operate the vehicles, perform visual inspections, take photographs, and operate stationary light detection and ranging (LiDAR) equipment for monitoring sections of the railway. As such, these systems are costly to operate, interrupt normal rail service, pose safety risks, and require significant analysis and/or data processing, which delays corrective action and maintenance.
Recently, automated rail monitoring systems that operate onboard moving trains on normal scheduled routes have been designed. These systems typically include specialized sensors mounted to the rail and communication equipment mounted on a rail car that can relay information via radio to a railway operator. These systems are cost-prohibitive due to the number of sensors required, the labor required in installing the sensors, and the maintenance required to keep the sensors in working condition. Thus, automated rail monitoring systems are only used on a small percentage of railways.
Photography based rail monitoring systems that do not require the installation of fixed sensors are available. However, the large amount of data required to transmit and store photographs is inefficient and requires substantial post-processing. This again delays corrective action and maintenance.


The voltage generator circuit includes a regulator, a first sensor circuit, and a second sensor circuit. The first sensor circuit includes a first transistor, a first resistor, and an error amplifier. When V1>Vth, the error amplifier senses an overcurrent condition to provide feedback to the operational amplifier to limit an output current. The second sensor circuit includes a second transistor, a second resistor, and a sensing transistor. When the output current exceeds a sense threshold current, the sensing transistor is turned ON to provide feedback to the operational amplifier 12 to limit the output current. The second sensor circuit has a higher setting of sense threshold current than does the first sensor circuit, while having a higher setting of sensing speed than does the first sensor circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an overcurrent protection circuit, and more particularly to a circuit protection technique for protecting a voltage generator circuit used as a power supply circuit from overcurrents.
2. Description of the Related Art
In regulators for stabilizing voltages or the like, used as an output transistor is the power MOSFET (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor), the IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor), the bipolar power transistor or the like. These transistors are designed to have a sufficient margin between the maximum allowable current and a current flowing during normal operation.
However, even with the transistor designed to have such a sufficient design margin, a short circuit may be developed in the output load circuit. In this case, there was a problem that a large overcurrent exceeding the maximum allowable current would flow through the transistor, thereby affecting the reliability thereof. Furthermore, even when the overcurrent was equal to or below the maximum allowable current of the transistor, it was desired, in some cases, to limit current in order to protect the load circuit connected to the transistor.
In this context, it was a conventional practice to provide the regulator with a protection circuit having a current limiting function in order to protect the transistor from overcurrents or limit the current flowing through the load circuit (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 5-315852).
However, as pointed out in the aforementioned document, the protection circuit having the current limiting function for sensing the current flowing through the transistor for feedback raised a problem of having adverse effects on the stability of the circuit. That is, a wider frequency band of a feedback loop to improve the capability of tracking variations in output current would introduce instability to the circuit, thereby causing the circuit to readily oscillate. In contrast to this, to assign a higher priority to the stability of the circuit, the gain of the feedback loop and the frequency band could be reduced to make the circuit resistant to oscillation. In this case, however, there raised a problem of being unable to track a sudden change in output current and requiring a long time before the current was actually limited, during which a large current flow would result. That is, the protection circuit having the current limiting function can be said to have a trade-off relation between the stability of the circuit and its sensing speed.


A magnetic resonance apparatus has an integrated gradient and radio frequency coil unit that includes at least one antenna rod with a conductor and a gradient coil unit. At least one electrical connection exists between the conductor and an electrical contact region arranged at an adjoining region of the gradient coil unit. The electrical connection is formed by a flexible circuit board that is electrically connected both with the conductor and with the contact region. Such an electrical connection of the antenna rod is insensitive to strong vibrations.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a magnetic resonance apparatus of the type having an integrated gradient and radio frequency coil unit, the gradient and radio frequency coil unit includes at least one antenna rod with a conductor and a gradient coil unit, with at least one electrical connection between the conductor and an electrical contact region located at an adjoining region of the gradient coil unit. The invention also concerns such a gradient and radio frequency coil unit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Magnetic resonance technology is a known modality to, among other things, acquire images of the inside of a body of an examination subject. Rapidly-switched gradient magnetic fields are superimposed on a static basic magnetic field that is generated by a basic field magnet in a magnetic resonance apparatus (MR apparatus). These rapidly-switched gradient magnetic fields are generated by a gradient coil unit. To excite MR signals, radio frequency signals (RF signals) are radiated into the examination subject with a radio frequency antenna. Integrated gradient and radio frequency coil units are used in order to minimize the space requirement of the gradient coil unit and the radio frequency antenna. These integrated gradient and radio frequency coil units are subject to strong vibrations in operation. This can lead to damaging of components, for example to interruption of a solder contact. This danger exists in particular for the connection of antenna elements to the gradient coil unit or to the radio frequency shield (RF shield) mounted at that location.
In a hollow-cylindrical MR apparatus, the gradient coil unit is fashioned such that a gap or open space in which the antenna rods are arranged exists in the midway along in the axial direction. Radio frequency currents that generate the radio frequency field flow through these connections. The gradient coil units typically are at least partially jacketed by the RF shield. The antenna rods are sealed with the integrated gradient coil unit in a pouring method. In the operation of the MR apparatus, relative to the antenna rod the gradient coil now vibrates with amplitudes in the micrometer range. The movement/vibrations of the antenna rods relative to the RF shield that is sealed with the gradient coil lie in the frequency range of up to approximately 4 kHz given a maximum amplitude (deflection) of about 10 μm in the frequency range around 900 Hz.
The connection of the antenna rods to the RF shield is stressed due to the relative movement. The type of the electrical connection has the purpose of an optimally low-inductivity and low-loss connection. Wide solder bands that are rigidly soldered both on the circuit board and on the shield are used for this purpose. The rigid soldering is also achieved with electrical components (for example an RF choke), these being additionally secured by adhesion.
It is generally necessary for the electrical connection to have an optimally small influence on the antenna properties (no detuning effect, high frequency stability, etc.
A reinforced or rigid connection is most advantageous from an electrical point of view. The connection as part of the antenna influences the tuning of the antenna interim of performance and the resonance frequency. The effective inductivity of the connection (which should be optimally low) as well as the losses in the connection are of decisive importance. Overall the properties of the connection should not be changed by the vibrations or movements.
Such connections exhibit disadvantages. For example, if "thick" copper (for example 1 mm) is used for the connection, the connection at the solder points on the circuit board or the RF shield can crack or break since there only copper thicknesses of 9 μm or 18 μm must be used in order to suppress gradient eddy currents. If "thinner" copper band (0.1 . . . 0.2 mm) is used, cracks can occur within the connection.
Various measures have been proposed to reduce the vibrations in order to be able to maintain such a "rigid" solution. The surfaces of the RF shields are treated in order to improve the connection with the sealing compound [pottant] and to increase the bonding overall. Furthermore, reinforcement anchors (reinforcement ties; stiffening ties) can be installed on the circuit boards/RF shields and additionally through the RF shields—the latter being possible only in a limited manner since the RF shield cannot be permeable. The rigidity of the gradient coil also can be increased by the introduction of glass and glass fiber reinforced plastic rods. All of these measures still do not achieve the desired reliability of the electrical connection.

Magnetic resonance apparatus and gradient coil/radio frequency unit therefor with fracture-resistant electrical connections


Magnetic data storage disks, particularly along dedicated transducing head contact regions, are laser textured according to a process in which beam shaping optical components impart an elliptical or otherwise elongated cross-section to the laser beam. Consequently, individual texturing features such as rims and nodules are elliptical or elongate, with more gradual height gradients in directions parallel to their major axes. The texturing features further are oriented with respect to the direction of transducing head accelerations and decelerations, which yields high performance in terms of reduced dynamic friction, reduced stiction and better wear characteristics. Texturing features are formed in a variety of patterns, including patterns with adjacent features contacting one another. A further refinement involves forming features with substantially different slopes on opposites sides of a maximum height region.

The present invention relates to laser texturing of magnetic data storage media and more particularly to processes for controlling the shapes and orientations of texturing features formed in such texturing processes, as well as the resulting storage media.
Laser texturing of magnetic disks, particularly over areas designated for contact with data transducing heads, is known to reduce friction and improve wear characteristics as compared to mechanically textured disks. Texturing involves focusing a laser beam onto a disk substrate surface at multiple locations, forming at each location a depression surrounded by a raised rim, as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,021 (Ranjan) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,781 (Ranjan). Alternatively, as shown in International Publication No. WO 97/07931 published Mar. 6, 1977 (Meyer), the laser beam also can be used to form a bump or nodule at each of the multiple locations. In some cases, a dome or bump is surrounded by a ring.
In any event, the individual topographical features are circular or axisymmetric, more particularly symmetrical about a vertical central axis in the case of features formed on a horizontal surface. While textures based on these features exhibit considerable improvement over mechanically formed textures, the ongoing quest for lower transducing head flying heights and shorter times for accessing data lead to more stringent tribological textures, the ongoing quest for lower transducing head flying heights and shorter times for accessing data lead to more stringent tribological requirements.
Meeting these requirements has been difficult in view of certain structural characteristics of the circular, axisymmetric rims and nodules. These features include a relatively small radius of curvature, a relatively large nodule height as compared to diameter, and large rim height compared to rim width. The resulting abrupt changes in surface elevation cause turbulence at the head/media interface. This results in undesirably high levels of acoustic energy at take-off and landing of the transducing head, i.e. at disk accelerations and decelerations. The closed, rim-like features have exhibited a tendency to collect debris, and their radial component can generate a drag force thought to contribute to dynamic friction.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide magnetic data storage media with transducer contact regions textured for improved wear and reduced dynamic friction.
Another object is to provide a process for using a laser to texture the surfaces of magnetic data storage media, with more control over the shape and orientation and texturing features formed by the laser to impart a desired roughness.
A further object is to provide a laser texturing process that affords more consistency in forming asymmetrical features such as rims and nodules on textured magnetic media.
Yet another object is to provide magnetic media in which the orientation of non-circular, non-axisymmetric topographical features is determined with reference to the direction of transducing head accelerations and decelerations, to increase the performance benefits derived from the asymmetries.
To achieve these and other objects, there is provided a process for surface texturing a magnetic data storage medium, including the following steps:
a. directing a coherent energy beam from a source thereof toward a magnetic data storage medium;
b. locating beam shaping optics between the source and the storage medium, thereby shaping the beam to provide a shaped beam segment along which sections taken through the beam perpendicular to beam propagation have a selected non-circular sectional shape; and
c. causing the coherent energy beam to impinge upon a selected surface of the storage medium at a plurality of locations thereon, altering the topography of the selected surface at each of the locations by forming a non-circular texturing feature, while orienting the features with major axes thereof substantially aligned in a predetermined direction.
The features formed according to this process are of the same general types as previously mentioned forms, including nodules, bumps and rims, having a smooth, rounded or rotund character that leads to reduced friction and increased wear. In a departure from prior forms, features formed by the present process are non-circular or non-axisymmetric in the sense of being substantially elongated in a direction parallel to the major plane of the data storage medium. Thus, the nodules or bumps are oblong or oval, and the rims are elliptical rather than circular. In general, each feature has a major or xe2x80x9clongxe2x80x9d axis in the direction of elongation and a minor or short axis that is perpendicular to the major axis. The aspect ratio, i.e. the major axis/minor axis ratio, can be in the range of about 1.5 to about 10, and more preferably is in the range of about 4-6.
The formation of elongated features provides several advantages. One of these, specific to rim-like features is a reduced tendency to entrap material. The elongated, elliptical rims exhibit a height gradient in the direction of the major axis, from a maximum height along medial regions intersected by the minor axis, to minimal heights at opposite end regions intersected by the major axis. At sufficient elongation, the rim height at these end regions becomes negligible, forming interruptions or gaps in the otherwise elliptical rim. These gaps allow any material collected within the rim to escape, e.g. during storage medium accelerations and decelerations.
More generally, all forms of the elongated texturing features exhibit more favorable profiles when elongated. In particular, each nodule, rim or other feature has a height profile that varies, from a maximum height gradient or steepest profile in the vertical plane containing the minor axis, to a minimum height gradient or most gradual profile in the plane containing the major axis. Other planes yield intermediate gradients and profiles, with the maximum or minor-axis profile most like that of a similarly sized but axisymmetric feature.
Thus, a maximum benefit is realized when the elongated topographical features are correctly oriented, i.e. with their major axes to the extent possible aligned with the direction of transducing head travel relative to the storage medium during accelerations and decelerations. In disk-shaped storage media, this direction is circumferential with respect to the disks. As a result of this orientation, the transducing head, when moving on or over the dedicated contact region, encounters more gradual changes in height. This reduces turbulence at the head/medium interface, reduces dynamic friction, reduces stiction, and permits lower head flying heights. Wear characteristics are improved, because the elongated features, when properly oriented, more effectively withstand contact with the transducing head.
The beam shaping optics can take a variety of forms, the most simple being a single wedged prism, with a pair of cylindrical lenses being more suitable. The most preferred version of beam shaping optics comprises a pair of complementary wedged prisms. The wedged prisms are preferred due to their plane surface refraction of the coherent energy beam, which preserves beam collimation and propagation factor M2 while minimizing aberrations and distortions. This enables a smaller focal spot size, suitable for forming smaller texturing features, while also enhancing control over the shape of the features.
Regardless of whether wedged prisms or cylindrical lenses are employed, using beam shaping optics to provide a specially shaped, non-circular (in section) laser beam affords effective control over the shape and orientation of elongated texturing features, and affords a high degree of flexibility in terms of selecting aspect ratios. This is in contrast to tilting the laser beam, a possibility mentioned in the foregoing Ranjan patents and Meyer international publication, for which an aspect ratio as low as 2 would require a severe tilt of 60 degrees from the preferred orientation perpendicular to the treated surface. The improved control and flexibility afforded by optically shaping the laser beam allow a customizing of texturing heretofore unavailable, not only in selecting the degree of elongation, but in the consistency with which features conform to the desired asymmetry.

Magnetic media with texturing features formed by selectively non-uniform laser beams


The data transcription processing unit is prepared. This unit is beforehand provided with the document-structure definition information on the structured documents, i.e., the processing target, the structure definition information on the program language, and the correspondence information between the document-structure definition and the structure definition. Then, a reading/writing request is issued from the application program to the data transcription processing unit. The issue of the request accomplishes the data transcription on each element basis between the structured documents and the structure of the program language.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and a method for processing external data by a program language. More particularly, it relates to a system, a method, and a program for processing structured documents by the program language.
2. Description of the Related Art
The structured documents the representative of which is of XML (extensible Markup Language) are used in a variety of purposes. In particular, when the structured documents are used as a data-exchanging format between companies, the data needs to be processed using a program language.
Although the structured documents themselves have no other physical structure than strings of characters, the structured documents represent a structure by grammatical rules within the character strings. A syntax equipped with a start-tag and an end-tag is prepared, and the character string data is surrounded by these tags, thereby expressing an element included in the structured documents. Another element surrounded by a start-tag and an end-tag may be located inside the content of the surrounded character string data. This eventually represents a recursive nested-structure. This nested-structure is, logically, a tree structure. When viewing the nested-structured elements as the tree structure, the directly surrounded elements are defined as child nodes, and an element surrounding a child node directly is defined as a parent node, and the nodes sharing one and the same parent node are defined as brother nodes.
When manipulating such structured documents from a program language, there has existed no method for directly transcribing, into a structure of the program language, the tree-structured data included in the structured documents.
As a conventional technology, there has existed a method in which, after expanding the entire structured documents within a main storage as a tree structure where the respective elements are regarded as the nodes, this tree data structure is manipulated. For example, World Wide Web Consortium has recommended Document Object Model (http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-DOM-Level-1/), thus defining the various types of data-manipulating interfaces to the data structure expanded within the main storage as the tree structure.
Also, there exists a method in which, while scanning the structured documents, events are generated, thereby manipulating the structured documents in an event-driven manner. Namely, Simple API for XML (http://www.megginson.com/SAX/) had been developed in XML-DEV Mailing List, and has become the de-facto industry standard in processing the XML documents. In Simple API, while scanning the structured documents written in XML, the events are generated one after another for the encountered tags or the like, and the control is passed to a specific event-processing routine (which is referred to as "call back routine"), thereby making it possible to manipulate the structured documents.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,085,196 and 6,279,015, there has been proposed an object-oriented system for mapping one structured information format to another structured information format. This system, however, has nothing to do with the program language processing system.
As will be explained below, there existed the following problem: When creating an application for processing the structured documents, creating the application is difficult with a program language that has no pointer-manipulating function or that has no function of registering the call back routine called up by an event.
Of the above-described prior arts, in the method of expanding the structured documents into the tree structure so as to manipulate the documents from a program language, the dynamical data structure is processed. For this reason, the language specification of the program language must include the pointer-manipulating function, or an object-reference manipulating function if the program language is an object-oriented language. Also, in the method of processing the structured documents in the event-driven scheme, the language specification of the program language must provide a unit for setting the call back routine called up for each event. Accordingly, with the above-described program language, e.g., the program language COBOL (JIS X 3002-1992, the computer program language COBOL) that, as the language specification, has no conceptions of the pointer for the data and of the pointer for the procedure routine, it is difficult to implement the programming in the event-driven scheme as well as the processing of the dynamical data structure.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a function of allowing the data included in the structured documents to be processed even in the program language that has no pointer-manipulating function or that has no function of registering the routine to be called up.

System and method for mapping structured document to structured data of program language and program for executing its method


The invention provides a process for preparing a filled halobutyl elastomer, which includes mixing a halobutyl elastomer with at least one mineral filler that has been reacted with at least one organic compound containing at least one basic nitrogen-containing group and at least one hydroxyl group and, optionally, with at least one silazane compound before admixing the filler with the halobutyl elastomer and optionally curing the filled elastomer with sulfur or other curative systems.

It is known that reinforcing fillers such as carbon black and silica greatly improve the strength and fatigue properties of elastomeric compounds. It is also known that chemical interaction occurs between the elastomer and the filler. For example, good interaction between carbon black and highly unsaturated elastomers such as polybutadiene (BR) and styrene butadiene copolymers (SBR) occurs because of the large number of carbon-carbon double bonds present in these copolymers. Butyl elastomers may have only one tenth, or fewer, of the carbon-carbon double bonds found in BR or SBR, and compounds made from butyl elastomers are known to interact poorly with carbon black. For example, a compound prepared by mixing carbon black with a combination of BR and butyl elastomers results in domains of BR, which contain most of the carbon black, and butyl domains which contain very little carbon black. It is also known that butyl compounds have poor abrasion resistance.
Canadian Patent Application 2,293,149 teaches that it is possible to produce filled butyl elastomer compositions with much improved properties by combining halobutyl elastomers with silica and specific silanes. These silanes act as dispersing and bonding agents between the halogenated butyl elastomer and the filler. However, one disadvantage of the use of silanes is the evolution of alcohol during the manufacturing process and potentially during the use of the manufactured article produced by this process. Additionally, silanes significantly increase the cost of the resulting manufactured article.
Co-pending Canadian Patent Application 2,339,080 discloses filled halobutyl elastomeric compounds containing certain organic compounds containing at least one basic nitrogen-containing group and at least one hydroxyl group enhance the interaction of halobutyl elastomers with carbon-black and mineral fillers, resulting in improved compound properties such as tensile strength and abrasion (DIN).
Co-pending Canadian Application CA-2,368,363 discloses filled halobutyl elastomer compositions containing halobutyl elastomers, at least one mineral filler in the presence of organic compounds containing at least one basic nitrogen-containing group and at least one hydroxyl group and at least one silazane compound. However, said the CA 2,368,363 does not teach or suggest mineral fillers which are pre-modified with organic compounds containing at least one basic nitrogen-containing group and at least one hydroxyl group and silazane compounds.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Filled elastomeric compounds and methods for preparing same


It is an object of the present invention to prevent damages to a contact. A contact 130 having penetrated the substrate 110 is inserted into the female housing 30, and is electrically connected to a female contact 40. When the slider 1 is pressed down ward during this state, the first movable body 70 and the second movable body 80 are pressed down by the slider 1. This causes a lower stage 73 of the first movable body 70 and a lower stage 83 of the second movable body 80 to move below an upper wall 94 of the housing 90, and outer surfaces of the lower stages 73 and 83 no longer contact the upper wall 94. Then, expansion of a spring 120 moves the first movable body 70 and the second movable body 80 away from the contact 130.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a connector including a housing that leads a contact into a contact insertion hole formed on a substrate.
2. Background Art
As a connector mounted in an automobile or the like, there has been known one such that a counterpart contact is inserted from underneath into a connector placed on a substrate through the substrate. The counterpart contact passes through a contact insertion hole formed on the substrate and goes into the connector. However, misalignment of the counterpart contact and the contact insertion hole, due to the tolerance or the like at the time of manufacturing, the counterpart contact may not be smoothly inserted into the contact insertion hole. Such a problem becomes a more significant concern, with an increase in the number of counterpart contacts.
To address this issue, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 146873/2010 (Tokukai 2010-146873; hereinafter PTL 1) discloses a housing which guides a counterpart contact into a contact insertion hole. The housing has a guide hole (through hole). This guide hole is arranged below the contact insertion hole, when the housing is arranged below the substrate. The guide hole has a funnel-like shape such that its diameter increases with an increase in the distance from the contact insertion hole. The diameter at the lower end of the guide hole is larger than the diameter of the contact insertion hole. This facilitates insertion of the counterpart contact into the guide hole despite misalignment of the counterpart contact and the contact insertion hole due to tolerance or the like at the time of manufacturing. The counterpart contact is then guided to the contact insertion hole through the guide hole.


A high pressure fluid valve including a valve body (16), a valving member (18), a first handle (20), a yoke (15), and a second handle (128). The yoke (15) is sized and shaped to fit over the valve body (16) and has a throughhole (116) sized, shaped, and positioned to be brought into register with an end of a passageway (26) in the valve body (16). The second handle (128) is manually manipulatable from the exterior of the valve body (16), is operably connected to the yoke (15) such that movement of the second handle (128) in one direction causes the throughhole (116) in the yoke (15) to be brought into register with the end of the passageway (26) in the valve body (16), and is sufficiently spaced from the first handle (20) to permit easy manual manipulation of both the first handle (20) and the second handle (128).

Standard high pressure gas valves for opening and closing high pressure gas cylinders have handles that are "in line" with the opening from the high pressure gas container. This arrangement has several disadvantages. In particular, the size of the handle is limited by the yoke dimensions, thereby making it difficult for older or arthritic persons to turn the handle. In addition, because of the small size of the handle, a wrench must sometimes be used to operate the valve.


A method for forming a multicore fiber laser array includes inserting a plurality of rare-earth doped rods into a corresponding plurality of hollow capillaries, and arranging the resulting plurality of filled capillaries into a preform pattern. The plurality of filled capillaries are collapsed into an initial preform structure, wherein a portion of the material of the capillaries forms an initial inner cladding. The initial preform structure is inserted into a cylinder, wherein the cylinder and the initial preform structure are fused so as to form a final preform structure with a final inner cladding having an increased thickness with respect to the initial inner cladding. At least one flat surface is formed along the length of the final preform structure, and a fiber is simultaneously drawn from the final preform structure and a layer of outer cladding material.

The present invention relates generally to optical fiber manufacturing and, more particularly, to a method for forming a high-density, multicore phase-locked fiber laser array.
There are many applications for high power lasers in areas such as marking, drilling, cutting, welding, ablation, sensing, imaging, medical/dental surgery, as well as military applications. For example, clad-pumped fiber lasers use rare earth ions (e.g., Ytterbium (Yb)) as the lasing medium, operating at wavelengths below 1.5 microns (μm). Additionally, using Erbium (Er) and Holmium (Ho) ions (which have eye-safe wavelengths above 1.5 μm), lasing occurs between a first excited state and the ground state. As such, lasing cannot be sustained unless the cavity loss due to the ground state absorption at the lasing wavelength is offset by co-doping the system(s) with either Ytterbium to form Yb—Er or Thulium to form Tm—Ho.
Attempts to increase clad-pumped fiber laser power have included the use of multiple cores. However, the output power of previously formed multiple core lasers (or large mode area LMA fiber lasers in particular) in the kilowatt range is usually either incoherent or distributed in multiple beam spots (commonly referred to as "higher-order modes") as a result. Another problem with clad-pumped fiber lasers is that the pump power is usually injected into the inner cladding of a double-clad fiber laser through two end facets. Furthermore, the same energy eventually to be absorbed by the core(s) (so as to pump the lasing medium) is also traveling a great distance within the cladding, which can also absorb a significant amount of the energy as the length of the fiber becomes too long.
Therefore, although increasing the length of the laser fiber will increase the exposure of the core to the energy to be absorbed thereby, the increased length also increases the amount of energy absorbed in the cladding, by some efficiency ratio. Although lasers formed in coils of lengths in the kilometer regime have been known, they are not very efficient. To mitigate this problem, side-pumping through multiple ports along a long length of a clad-pumped fiber laser has been introduced.
Furthermore, earlier approaches to fabricating multicore fiber laser arrays have employed techniques such as precision-machining a glass clad rare-earth doped rod into a hexagonal shape and then cutting the rod into many pieces. The cut pieces are bundled together and fused to form a multicore preform. Other techniques include precision hole drilling a large glass rod and filling the holes with rare-earth doped cores. However, as the number of desired cores increases, such methods become very labor-intensive and are difficult to apply. Because these earlier arrays were produced by abrasive methods, the introduction of micro-fractures in the core region is also a distinct possibility.
Accordingly, there is a need for forming a multicore high-power fiber laser array in an economical and non-abrasive manner, such that the array features a substantially defect-free, isometric multicore structure. Moreover, the cores of the fiber should be disposed at a relatively equal distance from one another, and should be configured in a manner to produce a phase-locked output beam in favor of the fundamental in-phase supermode emerging as a high-brightness beam from the multicore fiber laser array.

Method for forming high-density multicore phase-locked fiber laser array