An optical sensing probe includes a tube having a tip portion configured for placement in an environment in which conditions are to be sensed and an etalon having a known characteristic disposed proximate the tip portion. The tube also includes a head portion remote from the tip portion containing a light directing element for directing light beams at the etalon and receiving reflected light beams from the etalon wherein the received reflected light beams are used for determining an environmental condition proximate the tip portion. A method for measuring a thickness of the etalon may include directing a light beams at different frequencies at the etalon and receiving the light beams from the etalon. The method may also include identifying conditions of the respective light beams condition received from the etalon and then calculating a first thickness of the etalon responsive to the respective conditions and the known characteristic.

The present invention relates to optical sensors and, more particularly, to optical sensors using etalons for remote sensing in extreme environments.
There are numerous vital sensing scenarios in commercial and defense sectors where the environment is extremely hazardous. Specifically, the hazards can be for instance due to extreme temperatures, extreme pressures, highly corrosive chemical content (liquids, gases, particulates), nuclear radiation, biological agents, and high Gravitational (G) forces. Realizing a sensor for such hazardous environments remains to be a tremendous engineering challenge. One specific application is fossil fuel fired power plants where temperatures in combustors and turbines typically have temperatures and pressures exceeding 1000° C. and 50 Atmospheres (atm). Future clean design zero emission power systems are expected to operate at even high temperatures and pressures, e.g., >2000° C. and >400 atm [J. H. Ausubel, "Big Green Energy Machines," The Industrial Physicist, ALP, pp. 20-24, October/November, 2004.] In addition, coal and gas fired power systems produce chemically hazardous environments with chemical constituents and mixtures containing for example carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen, sulphur, sodium, and sulphuric acid. Over the years, engineers have worked very hard in developing electrical high temperature sensors (e.g., thermo-couples using platinum and rodium), but these have shown limited life-times due to the wear and tear and corrosion suffered in power plants [R. E. Bentley, "Thermocouple materials and their properties," Chap. 2 in Theory and Practice of Thermoelectric Thermometry Handbook of Temperature Measurement, Vol. 3, pp. 25-81, Springer-Verlag Singapore, 1998].
Researchers have turned to optics for providing a robust high temperature sensing solution in these hazardous environments. The focus of these researchers has been mainly directed in two themes. The first theme involves using the optical fiber as the light delivery and reception mechanism and the temperature sensing mechanism. Specifically, a Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) present within the core of the single mode fiber (SMF) acts as a temperature sensor. Here, a broadband light source is fed to the sensor and the spectral shift of the FBG reflected light is used to determine the temperature value. Today, commercial FBG sensors are written using Ultra-Violet (UV) exposure in silica fibers. Such FBG sensors are typically limited to under 600° C. because of the instability of the FBG structure at higher temperatures [B. Lee, "Review of the present status of optical fiber sensors," Optical Fiber Technology, Vol. 9, pp. 57-79, 2003]. Recent studies using FBGs in silica fibers has shown promise up-to 1000° C. [M. Winz, K. Stump, T. K. Plant, "High temperature stable fiber Bragg gratings, "Optical Fiber Sensors (OFS) Conf. Digest, pp. 195 198, 2002; D. Grobnic, C. W. Smelser, S. J. Mihailov, R. B. Walker," Isothermal behavior of fiber Bragg gratings made with ultrafast radiation at temperatures above 1000 C," European Conf. Optical Communications (ECOC), Proc. Vol. 2, pp. 130-131, Stockholm, Sep. 7, 2004]. To practically reach the higher temperatures (e.g., 1600° C.) for fossil fuel applications, single crystal Sapphire fiber has been used for Fabry-Perot cavity and FBG formation [H. Xiao, W. Zhao, R. Lockhart, J. Wang, A. Wang, "Absolute Sapphire optical fiber sensor for high temperature applications," SPIE Proc. Vol. 3201, pp. 36-42, 1998; D. Grobnic, S. J. Mihailov, C. W. Smelser, H. Ding, "Ultra high temperature FBG sensor made in Sapphire fiber using Isothermal using femtosecond laser radiation," European Conf. Optical Communications (ECOC), Proc. Vol. 2, pp. 128-129, Stockholm, Sep. 7, 2004]. The single crystal Sapphire fiber FBG has a very large diameter (e.g., 150 microns) that introduces multi-mode light propagation noise that limits sensor performance. An alternate approach [see Y. Zhang, G. R. Pickrell, B. Qi, A. S.-Jazi, A. Wang, "Single-crystal sapphire-based optical high temperature sensor for harsh environments," Opt. Eng., 43, 157-164, 2004] described replaced the Sapphire fiber frontend sensing element with a complex assembly of individual components that include a Sapphire bulk crystal that forms a temperature dependent birefringent Fabry-Perot cavity, a single crystal cubic zirconia light reflecting prism, a Glan-Thompson polarizer, a single crystal Sapphire assembly tube, a fiber collimation lens, a ceramic extension tube, and seven 200 micron diameter multimode optical fibers. Hence this described sensor frontend sensing element not only has low optical efficiency and high noise generation issues due to its multi-mode versus SMF design, the sensor frontend is limited by the lowest high temperature performance of a given component in the assembly and not just by the Sapphire crystal and zirconia high temperature ability. Add to these issues, the polarization and component alignment sensitivity of the entire frontend sensor assembly and the Fabry-Perot cavity spectral notch/peak shape spoiling due to varying cavity material parameters. In particular, the Sapphire Crystal is highly birefringent and hence polarization direction and optical alignment issues become critical.
An improved packaged design of this probe using many alignment tubes (e.g., tubes made of Sapphire, alumina, stainless steel) was shown in Z. Huang. G. R. Pickrell, J. Xu, Y. Wang, Y. Zhang A. Wang, "Sapphire temperature sensor coal gasifier field test," SPIE. Proc. Vol. 5590, p. 27-36, 2004. Here the fiber collimator lens for light collimation and the bulk polarizer (used in Y. Zhang, G. R. Pickrell, B. Qi, A. S.-Jazi, A. Wang, "Single-crystal sapphire-based optical high temperature sensor for harsh environments," Opt. Eng., 43, 157-164, 2004) are interfaced with a commercial Conax, Buffalo multi-fiber cable with seven fibers; one central fiber for light delivery and six fibers surrounding the central fiber for light detection. All fibers have 200 micron diameters and hence are multi-mode fibers (MMF). Hence this temperature sensor design is again limited by the spectral spoiling plus other key effects when using very broadband light with MMFs. Specifically, light exiting a MMF with the collimation lens has poor collimation as it travels a free-space path to strike the sensing crystal. In effect, a wide angular spread optical beam strikes the Sapphire crystal acting as a Fabry-Perot etalon. The fact that broadband light is used further multiplies the spatial beam spoiling effect at the sensing crystal site. This all leads to additional coupling problems for the receive light to be picked up by the six MMFs engaged with the single fixed collimation lens. Recall that the best Fabry-Perot effect is obtained when incident light is highly collimated; meaning it has high spatial coherence. Another problem plaguing this design is that any unwanted mechanical motion of any of the mechanics and optics along the relatively long (e.g., 1 m) freespace optical processing path from seven fiber-port to Sapphire crystal cannot be countered as all optics are fixed during operations. Hence, this probe can suffer catastrophic light targeting and receive coupling failure causing in-operation of the sensor. Although this design used two sets of manual adjustment mechanical screws each for 6-dimension motion control of the polarizer and collimator lens, this manual alignment is only temporary during the packaging stage and not during sensing operations. Another point to note is that the tube paths contain air undergoing extreme temperature gradients and pressure changes; in effect, air turbulence that can further spatially spoil the light beam that strikes the crystal and also for receive light processing. Thus, this mentioned design is not a robust sensor probe design when using freespace optics and fiber-optics.
Others such as Conax Buffalo Corp. U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,619, Dec. 27, 1988 have eliminated the freespace light path and replaced it with a MMF made of Sapphire that is later connected to a silica MMF. The large Numerical Aperture (NA) Sapphire fiber captures the Broadband optical energy from an emissive radiative hot source in close proximity to the Sapphire fiber tip. Here the detected optical energy is measured over two broad optical bands centered at two different wavelengths, e.g., 0.5 to 1 microns and 1 to 1.5 microns. Then the ratio of optical power over these two bands is used to calculate the temperature based on prior 2-band power ratio vs. temperature calibration data. This two wavelength band power ratio method was described earlier in M. Gottlieb, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,362,057, Dec. 7, 1982. The main point is that this 2-wavelength power ratio is unique over a given temperature range. Using freespace optical infrared energy capture via a lens, a commercial product from Omega Model iR2 is available as a temperature sensor that uses this dual-band optical power ratio method to deduce the temperature. Others (e.g., Luna Innovations, V A and Y. Zhu, Z. Huang, M. Han, F. Shen, G. Pickrell, A. Wang, "Fiber-optic high temperature thermometer using sapphire fiber," SPIE Proc. Vol. 5590, pp. 19-26, 2004.) have used the Sapphire MMF in contact with a high temperature handling optical crystal (e.g., Sapphire) to realize a temperature sensor, but again the limitations due to the use of the MMF are inherent to the design.
It has long been recognized that SiC is an excellent high temperature material for fabricating electronics, optics, and optoelectronics. For example, engineers have used SiC substrates to construct gas sensors [A. Arbab, A. Spetz and I. Lundstrom, "Gas sensors for high temperature operation based on metal oxide silicon carbide (MOSiC) devices," Sensors and Actuators B, Vol. 15-16, pp. 19-23, 1993]. Prior works include using thin films of SiC grown on substrates such as Sapphire and Silicon to act as Fabry Perot Etalons to form high temperature fiber-optic sensors [G. Beheim, "Fibre-optic thermometer using semiconductor-etalon sensor," Electronics Letters, vol. 22, p. 238, 239, Feb. 27, 1986; L. Cheng, A. J. Steckl, J. Scofield, "SiC thin film Fabry-Perot interferometer for fiber-optic temperature sensor," IEEE Tran. Electron Devices, Vol. 50, No. 10, pp. 2159-2164, October 2003; L. Cheng, A. J. Steckl, J. Scofield, "Effect of trimethylsilane flow rate on the growth of SiC thin-films for fiber-optic temperature sensors," Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, Volume: 12, Issue: 6, Pages: 797-803, December 2003]. Although SiC thin films on high temperature substrates such as Sapphire can operate at high temperatures, the SiC and Sapphire interface have different material properties such as thermal coefficient of expansion and refractive indexes. In particular, high temperature gradients and fast temperature/pressure temporal effects can cause stress fields at the SiC thin film-Sapphire interface causing deterioration of optical properties (e.g., interface reflectivity) required to form a quality Fabry-Perot etalon needed for sensing based on SiC film refractive index change. Note that these previous works also had a limitation on the measured unambiguous sensing (e.g., temperature) range dictated only by the SiC thin film etalon design, i.e., film thickness and reflective interface refractive indices/reflectivities. Thus maker a thinner SiC film would provide smaller optical path length changes due to temperature and hence increase the unambiguous temperature range. But making a thinner SiC film makes the sensor less sensitive and more fragile to pressure. Hence, a dilemma exists. In addition, temperature change is preferably estimated based on tracking optical spectrum minima shifts using precision optical spectrum analysis optics, making precise temperature estimation a challenge dependent on the precision (wavelength resolution) of the optical spectrum analysis hardware. In addition, better temperature detection sensitivity is achieved using thicker films, but thicker etalon gives narrower spacing between adjacent spectral minima. Thicker films are harder to grow with uniform thicknesses and then one requires higher resolution for the optical spectrum analysis optics. Hence there exists a dilemma where a thick film is desired for better sensing resolution but it requires a better precision optical spectrum analyzer (OSA) and of course thicker thin film SiC etalons are harder to make optically flat. Finally, all to these issues the Fabry-Perot cavity spectral notch/peak shape spoiling due to varying cavity material parameters that in-turn leads to deterioration in sensing resolution.
Material scientists have also described non-contact laser assisted ways to sense the temperature of optical chips under fabrication. Here, both the chip refractive index change due to temperature and thermal expansion effect have been used to create the optical interference that has been monitored by the traditional Fabry-Perot etalon fringe counting method to deduce temperature. These methods are not effective to form a real-time temperature sensor as these prior-art methods require the knowledge of the initial temperature when fringe counting begins. For industrial power plant applications, such a prior knowledge is not possible, while for laboratory material growth and characterization, this a prior knowledge is possible. As shown later in this application, our described sensor designs solve this problem and no longer need the initial temperature data as real-time fringe counting is not used. Prior works in this general laser-based materials characterization field include: F. C. Nix & D. MacNair, "An interferometric dilatometer with photographic recording," AIP Rev. of Scientific Instruments (RSI) Journal, Vol. 12, February 1941; V. D. Hacman, "Optische Messung der substrat-temperatur in der Vakuumaufdampftechnik," Optik, Vol. 28, p 115, 1968; R. Bond, S. Dzioba, H. Naguib, J. Vacuum Science & Tech., 18(2), March 1981; K. L. Saenger, J. Applied Physics, 63(8), Apr. 15, 1988; V. Donnelly & J. McCaulley, J. Vacuum Science & Tech., A 8(1), January/February 1990; K. L. Saenger & J. Gupta, Applied Optics, 30(10), Apr. 1, 1991; K. L. Saenger, F. Tong, J. Logan, W. Holber, Rev. of Scientific Instruments (RSI) Journal, Vol. 63, No. 8, August 1992; V. Donnelly, J. Vacuum Science & Tech., A 11(5), September/October 1993; J. McCaulley, V. Donnelly, M. Vernon, I. Taha, AIP Physics Rev. B, Vol. 49, No. 11, 15 Mar. 1994; M. Lang, G. Donohoe, S. Zaidi, S. Brueck, Optical Engg., Vol. 33, No. 10, October 1994; F. Xue, X. Yangang, C. Yuanjie, M. Xiufang, S. Yuanhua, SPIE Proc. Vol. 3558, p. 87, 1998.


A new process and structure for microcomponent interconnection utilizing a post-assembly activated junction compound. In one embodiment, first and second microcomponents having respective first and second contact areas are provided. A junction compound is formed on one of the first and second contact areas, and the first and second contact areas are positioned adjacent each other on opposing sides of the junction compound. The junction compound is then activated to couple the first and second microcomponents.

The present invention relates generally to mechanisms for coupling micro-components, and more specifically to microcomponent interconnection utilizing post-assembly activation.
Extraordinary advances are being made in micromechanical devices and microelectronic devices, including micro-electro-mechanical devices (MEMs), which comprise integrated micromechanical and microelectronic devices. The terms "microcomponent," "microdevice" and "microassembly" are used herein generically to encompass microelectronic components, micromechanical components, MEMs components and assemblies thereof. Generally, microcomponent devices have feature dimensions that are less than about 1000 microns.
Many methods and structures exist for coupling MEMs and other microcomponents together to form a microassembly. One such method, often referred to as "pick-and-place" assembly, is serial microassembly, wherein microcomponents are assembled one at a time in a serial fashion. For example, if a device is formed by coupling two microcomponents together, a gripper or other placing mechanism is used to pick up one of the two microcomponents and place it on a desired location of the other microcomponent. These pick-and-place processes, although seemingly quite simple, can present obstacles affecting assembly time, throughput and reliability, especially when electrically interconnecting microcomponents during microassembly.
For example, it is commonly accepted that about 1 mN of force is required to achieve an electrical contact of sufficiently low resistance between two gold conductors. However, many existing microassembly procedures, including some pick-and-place procedures, operate with application forces much lower than 1 mN. Thus, many existing microassembly procedures do not provide adequate electrical interconnection of microcomponents, thereby reducing the fabrication yield and assembly reliability.
To overcome this disadvantage, microcomponents may be temporarily positioned for coupling, such that electrical contacts to be coupled are in contact with one another, and electrical current may be provided to the contacts. Consequently, localized heating may occur and the contacts may diffuse with one another. As a result, an electrical interconnection of sufficiently low resistance may be achieved between the coupled microcomponents without requiring the 1 mN of force typically required for microassembly.
However, many microcomponents are not designed to withstand the electrical current required to achieve the localized heating necessary to adequately interconnect the microcomponents. Moreover, such a method is labor extensive and consumes part of the useful life of the microcomponents and assembly.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a microcomponent assembly and interconnection method that addresses the above-discussed issues of the prior art.

Method of manufacturing a microcomponent assembly


An organic super-conductive material and a process for producing the same are disclosed, the material comprising a polymer having dispersed therein an organic super-conductive substance comprising an electron donor and an electron acceptor.

Known organic super-conductive substances having a critical temperature (Tc) of 10K or higher include cation radical salts having a low molecular weight, such as a Cu(NCS).sub.2 salt of bis(ethylenedithiatetrathia)fulvalene (hereinafter abbreviated as "BEDT-TTF", the Cu(NCS).sub.2 salt thereof being represented by "(BEDT-TTF).sub.2 Cu(NCS).sub.2 ") (Tc: 10.4K) and deuterated (BEDT-TTF).sub.2 Cu(NCS).sub.2 ((BEDT-TTFd.sub.8).sub.2 Cu(NCS).sub.2 ; Tc:11K) as described in H. Urayama et al., Chem. Lett., p. 55 (1988).
(BEDT-TTF).sub.2 Cu(NCS).sub.2 can be obtained by electrochemical oxidation of BEDT-TTF, effected by applying a direct electrical current through a solution of BEDT-TTF in 1,1,2-trichloroethane in the presence of CuSCN, KSCN, and 18-crown-6-ether as described in H. Urayama et al., Chem. Lett., p. 55 (1988).
However, it has been difficult to process and shape these conventionally known organic superconductive substances into fibers, films, etc., because of their very fine and brittle crystals. The difficulty of processing has been a bar to sufficient industrialization of the organic superconductive substances.

Organic superconductive material and process for producing the same


A semiconductor imaging system preferably having an active pixel sensor array compatible with a CMOS fabrication process. Color-filtering elements such as polymer filters and wavelength-converting phosphors can be integrated with the image sensor.

An active pixel sensor ("APS") is a special kind of light sensing device. Each active pixel includes a light sensing element and one or more active transistors within the pixel itself. The active transistors amplify and buffer the signals generated by the light sensing elements in the pixels. One type of such APS devices is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,515 by Fossum et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
APS devices represent an emerging technology in a wide range of imaging applications. APS has a number of significant advantages in comparison with the well-developed and widely used charge coupled devices (CCDs) and other imaging technologies including photodiode arrays, charge injection devices and hybrid focal plane arrays.
CCD devices have a number of advantages because they are an incumbent technology, they are capable of large formats and very small pixel size and they facilitate noiseless charge domain processing techniques (such as binning and time delay integration). However, CCD imagers suffer from a number of disadvantages. For example, CCD imagers operates with destructive signal read-out and their signal fidelity decreases as the charge transfer efficiency raised to the power of the number of stages. The latter requires a CCD imager to have a nearly perfect charge transfer efficiency. CCD devices are also particularly susceptible to radiation damage and usually require carefully-designed light shielding to avoid smear. Furthermore, CCD imagers usually have high power dissipation for large arrays and limited spectral responsivity range.
In order to ameliorate the charge transfer inefficiency problem, CCD imagers are fabricated with a specialized CCD semiconductor fabrication process to maximize their charge transfer efficiency. One limitation is that the standard CCD process is incompatible with complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process, while the image signal processing electronics required for the imager are best fabricated in CMOS. Accordingly, it is impractical to integrate on-chip signal processing electronics in a CCD imager. Thus, the signal processing electronics is off-chip. Typically, each column of CCD pixels is transferred to a corresponding cell of a serial output register, whose output is amplified by a single on-chip amplifier (e.g., a source follower transistor) before being processed in off-chip signal processing electronics. As a result, the read-out frame rate is limited by the rate at which the on-chip amplifier can handle charge packets divided by the number of pixels in the imager.
The other types of imager devices have problems as well. For example, photodiode arrays usually exhibit high noise due to so-called kTC noise which makes it very difficult to reset a diode or capacitor node to the same initial voltage at the beginning of each integration period. Photodiode array, also suffer from lag. Charge injection devices usually exhibit high noise, but enjoy the advantage of non-destructive readout over CCD devices. Hybrid focal plane arrays exhibit low noise but are prohibitively expensive for many applications and have relatively small array sizes (e.g., 512-by-512 pixels).
In contrast, an APS device receives and processes input signals with the active pixel itself, thus eliminating the charge transfer over distances that are inherent in CCDs. Consequently, many drawbacks associated with CCDs are avoided in APS devices. For example, the performance of APS devices can be maintained as the array size increases. The APS readout rate is usually higher than that of CCDs. Since CMOS circuitry is often associated with the image sensor, the power consumption can be significantly reduced. APS devices are inherently compatible with CMOS processes, allowing reduced cost of manufacturing. Many on-chip operations and controls can be relatively easily implemented including timing and analog-to-digital conversion. APS devices are also less vulnerable to radiation damage and can be designed for non-destructive readout. Moreover, the active pixels of APS devices allow random access and on-chip signal processing.
The invention is embodied in an imaging device formed as a monolithic CMOS integrated circuit in an industry standard CMOS process, the integrated circuit including a focal plane array of pixel cells, each one of the cells including a photogate overlying the substrate for accumulating photo-generated charge in an underlying portion of the substrate, a readout circuit including at least an output field effect transistor formed in the substrate, and a charge coupled device section formed on the substrate adjacent the photogate having a sensing node connected to the output transistor and at least one charge coupled device stage for transferring charge from the underlying portion of the substrate to the sensing node.
In a preferred embodiment, the sensing node of the charge coupled device stage includes a floating diffusion, and the charge coupled device stage includes a transfer gate overlying the substrate between the floating diffusion and the photogate. This preferred embodiment can further include apparatus, for periodically resetting a potential of the sensing node to a predetermined potential, including a drain diffusion connected to a drain bias voltage and a reset gate between the floating diffusion and the drain diffusion, the reset gate connected to a reset control signal.
Preferably, the output transistor is a field effect source follower transistor, the floating diffusion being connected to a gate of the source follower transistor. Preferably, the readout circuit further includes a double correlated sampling circuit having an input node connected to the output transistor. In the preferred implementation, the double correlated sampling circuit samples the floating diffusion immediately after it has been reset at one capacitor and then, later, at the end of the integration period at another capacitor. The difference between the two capacitors is the signal output. In accordance with a further refinement, this difference is corrected for fixed pattern noise by subtracting another calibration signal which is a difference sensed between the two capacitors while they are temporarily shorted.
One aspect of the present invention is an implementation of color filtering. Color filters such as polymer filters are preferably integrated with an APS sensor for color separation. Alternatively, a plurality of APS sensors each having a color filter for a different color may to used to achieve maximum imaging resolution.

Active pixel sensors with substantially planarized color filtering elements


An acoustic structure that includes a honeycomb having cells in which septum caps are located. The septum caps are formed from sheets of acoustic material and include a resonator portion and a flange portion. The flange portion has an anchoring surface that provides frictional engagement of the septum caps to the honeycomb cells when the caps are inserted into the honeycomb during fabrication of the acoustic structure. An adhesive is applied to the anchoring surface of the septum caps after the caps have been inserted into the honeycomb cells to provide a permanent bond.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to acoustic systems that are used to attenuate noise. More particularly, the present invention involves using honeycomb to make nacelles and other structures that are useful in reducing the noise generated by a jet engine or other noise source.
2. Description of Related Art
It is widely recognized that the best way of dealing with excess noise generated by a specific source is to treat the noise at the source. This is typically accomplished by adding acoustic damping structures (acoustic treatments) to the structure of the noise source. One particularly problematic noise source is the jet engine used on most passenger aircraft. Acoustic treatments are typically incorporated in the engine inlet, nacelle and exhaust structures. These acoustic treatments include acoustic resonators that contain relatively thin acoustic materials or grids that have millions of holes that create acoustic impedance to the sound energy generated by the engine. The basic problem that faces engineers is how to add these thin and flexible acoustic materials into the structural elements of the jet engine and surrounding nacelle to provide desired noise attenuation.
Honeycomb has been a popular material for use in aircraft and aerospace vehicles because it is relatively strong and lightweight. For acoustic applications, the goal has been to somehow incorporate the thin acoustic materials into the honeycomb structure so that the honeycomb cells are closed or covered. The closing of the cells with acoustic material creates the acoustic impedance upon which the resonator is based.
One approach to incorporating thin acoustic materials into honeycomb is referred to as the sandwich design. In this approach, the thin acoustic sheet is placed between two slices of honeycomb and bonded in place to form a single structure. This approach has advantages in that one can utilize sophisticated acoustic material designs that are woven, punched or etched to exact dimensions and the bonding process is relatively simple. However, a drawback of this design is that the strength of the structure is limited by the bond between the two honeycomb slices and the acoustic material. Also, the bonding surface between the two honeycomb slices is limited to the surface area along the edges of the honeycomb. In addition, there is a chance that some of the holes in the acoustic material may be closed with excess adhesive during the bonding process. It is important that the holes not be closed because this can result in loss of active acoustical area of the resonator.
A second approach uses relatively thick solid inserts that are individually bonded in place within the honeycomb cells. Once in place, the inserts are drilled or otherwise treated to form the holes that are necessary for the inserts to function as an acoustic material. This approach eliminates the need to bond two honeycomb slices together. The result is a strong structure in which the inserts are securely bonded. However, this approach also has a few drawbacks. For example, the cost and complexity of having to drill millions of holes in the solid inserts is a major drawback. In addition, the relatively thick solid inserts make the honeycomb stiff and difficult to form into non-planar structures, such as nacelles for jet engines.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Provided are methods and systems for adjusting subscriber policies. A method for adjusting of subscriber policies may include applying traffic enforcement rules to a data traffic associated with a subscriber. The method can further include determining network conditions associated with the data traffic. The method can include modifying, based on the determination of the network conditions, attributes according to attribute adjustment rules to obtain modified attributes. The method can further include modifying the traffic enforcement rules based on the modified attributes to obtain modified traffic enforcement rules.

The approaches described in this section could be pursued but are not necessarily approaches that have previously been conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
Certain network parameters may be monitored for predefined events and conditions. Such monitoring may involve a human operator. Upon detecting the predefined network events and conditions (for example, a threshold throughput of the network), the network operator may decide that certain changes or adjustments need to be applied to network policies to mitigate the predefined network events and conditions.
Monitoring the network can be a complex task with a great number of parameters that require monitoring, such as, for example, global factors (time of the day, show and sport events, planned and unplanned reconfiguration), a network status (resource availability and resource utilization), subscriber group behavior, subscriber individual behavior, dynamics of subscriber behavior, and so forth. Moreover, the more complex (in view of the number of parameters to be monitored) the network is, the faster the network operator needs to react to avoid network congestions and bad user experiences and to react to rapidly changing user or group behavior.
Additionally, manual intervention by the network operator into the network operational process may be a limiting factor in view of a low-speed reaction of the network operator and in view of a human factor in a semi-automated procedure of monitoring. Furthermore, policies that outline rules for the network operational process may be complex and granular, and mitigation of the network events or conditions may require only small changes in the policies to have a significant impact on network behavior. It can be very challenging for the network operator to monitor the network and to apply changes of any magnitude to granular policies.

Automated adjustment of subscriber policies


A single integrated circuit that supports both power switching and data switching is disclosed. In some embodiments, the integrated circuit comprises a driver circuit configured to drive a switch of an associated line in a power mode or in a data mode and one or more decoupling capacitor ground switches, wherein each decoupling capacitor ground switch connects an associated decoupling capacitor to ground in the power mode and wherein each decoupling capacitor ground switch leaves an associated decoupling capacitor floating in the data mode.

In existing electronic designs, power and data lines comprise two separate connections. That is, a power line is turned on and off using a dedicated power switch while a data line is turned on and off using a dedicated data switch. In some newer designs, the power plane has been used for limited data communication. In such cases, a power line may be used as a low speed data line to relay system management information but is not appropriate for high speed data communication. Thus, electronic systems typically require separate power and data lines and switches.


Embodiments comprise a stackable vehicle which may be supported from, or serve as support to, another like vehicle. The vehicle includes a frame and a body supported from the frame. The body includes a weight bearing roof Wheel assemblies are mounted for rotation on the frame. The body includes recesses from the roof of the body to accommodate location of wheel assemblies of a like vehicle supported on the roof Support and mounting points are located on the roof and on the frame respectively to fix location of a vehicle to be carried on top of a supporting vehicle.

Military and emergency services frequently require vehicles which can be readily transported by ship, heavy lift aircraft or train to remote locations. Motor vehicles are typically relatively light per unit of volume, and accordingly place a greater demand on available space as compared to the weight carrying capacity of the means of conveyance. Available space may be considered in terms of both floor area and volume. There is a need to arrange vehicles in a compact fashion.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,082,082 to Hvolka proposed a Multi-Purpose Service Vehicle which was based on a U-shaped frame allowing vehicles to be interlocked. This arrangement was intended to provide a compound vehicle of increased pulling power, though it also allowed a group of vehicles to be stored occupying an area somewhat smaller in size than the external dimensions of the vehicles would suggest, though this aspect of the system was not discussed.
Intermodal containers have often been stacked to minimize floor or deck area occupied. U.S. Pat. No. 6,729,817 extended this concept to integrating such containers with vehicle trailers, allowing the trailers to be stacked. Supporting wheels for the trailer were disposed rearward from the container so that a supporting container did not interfere with projection of the wheels below the upper surface of the supporting container/trailer combination. The lower vehicle supports the stacked vehicle at corner "hard points" referred to in the art as corner castings or corner fittings. U.S. Pat. No. 7,354,231 taught an intermodal truck allowing stacking from like trucks. Essentially the upper surfaces of the vehicles were strengthened and modified to allow a second vehicle to be placed on a first supported on its wheels. The vehicles also provide corner fittings to allow a container to be directly stacked on a vehicle.

International Truck Intellectual Property Company, LLC


The present invention is directed to a system for reducing condensation on the inner surface of a vehicle light cover, and preventing or deicing ice build up on the exterior of the cover. In an embodiment, a heater is mounted to a carrier and the heat produced by the heater prevents the occurrence of condensation on the inner surface of the light cover or build up of ice on the outer surface. In an embodiment, one or more vents may be provided in the carrier and one or more corresponding holes may be provided in the heater so as to increase the flow of air across the inner surface of the light cover. A controller may be provided to control activation of the heater.

Automobiles function in a range of environments and often encounter condensation or ice forming on surfaces. Ice build up on exterior vehicle components, such as headlamps and rear lights, is a common problem. In the case of condensation, warmer air can hold more moisture than colder air, thus the combination of relatively warm moist air with a cooler surface tends to generate condensation on the cooler surface. While it is possible for condensation to form on many parts of the automobile, condensation is most noticeable and objectionable on transparent surfaces such as an automobile windshield. Condensation tends to form on surfaces like windshields because interior air is relatively warm and moist, while the windshield is relatively cool due to the flow of cool exterior air over the windshield. Once the relatively warm and moist interior air contacts the windshield it tends to cool and condense on the inside of the windshield. Methods of controlling the formation of condensation (i.e., causing the condensation to evaporate) include lowering the level of moisture in the interior air, increasing the airflow across the inside of the windshield and further heating the air.
Automobiles are designed with a pair of headlamps and a pair of rear lights. Condensation and ice build up on vehicle light assemblies is quite common. In the past, headlamps were based on incandescent bulb technology, an example being a halogen bulb. Halogen bulbs were placed within an enclosure having a cover and light generated by the bulbs was directed out through the cover. Halogen bulbs generate heat along with the light. Although generating some heat, this heat is not sufficiently effective to prevent the formation of condensation on the cover. To improve illumination efficiency light emitting diode ("LED") based bulbs were designed to replace the halogen bulbs. LED based bulbs provide beneficial reductions in power consumption and generally last longer than other types of bulbs, but do not generate sufficient heat to prevent the accumulation of condensation on the inside of the cover. In addition, due to packing requirements and attempts to increase efficiency, the amount of air flowing through the headlamp enclosure has been substantially reduced. Therefore, substantial condensation issues exist, including not only the unsightly formation of condensation, but also the potential for reduced driver visibility. The present invention is directed at solving these and other known problems by providing a system that will inhibit the formation of condensation on the transparent cover of the headlamp assembly.


The sensor device includes a sensor unit that detects information of an object, an attachment portion detachably attached to one or more attachment positions on the object, and an acquisition unit that acquires information indicating the attachment position to which the attachment portion is attached.

In recent years, attempts have been made to apply information processing technology in various fields. One example is the technique of visualizing the movement of the player's body in the field of sports. It is possible for the player to check whether the action corresponding to the sport is performed smoothly by measuring and recording the movement of his/her body using various sensor devices. This makes it possible for the player to improve easily his/her posture or the like with reference to the visualized body movement.
Techniques for visualizing the body's movement have various approaches including motion capture. In one example, Patent Literature 1 mentioned below discloses a technique of measuring the acceleration by an acceleration sensor mounted on the hand of a player and calculating the speed of the tip of game playing equipment that the player swings on the basis of the measurement result.

Sensor device, sensing method, and information processing device


A low profile implant, system and method of deployment includes a frame comprising an elongate body having ends that overlap to form an annular configuration of the frame. A circumference of the frame may be modified by varying an extent of the overlap between the ends of the elongate body. The elongate structure may extend through a sleeve of a number of respective anchor housings of the implant along a first axis, and anchors may be deployed through bores in the anchor housings along a second axis to secure the anchor housings to tissue. The implant may be deployed about and anchored to a valve annulus, and the circumference of the frame, and associated anchored tissue, may be adjusted to reconfigure the valve annulus.

Mitral insufficiency (MI) (also referred to as mitral regurgitation or mitral incompetence) is a form of heart disease where the mitral annulus dilates excessively and the valve leaflets no longer effectively close, or coapt, during systolic contraction. Regurgitation of blood occurs during ventricular contraction and cardiac output may decrease as a result. Surgical and endoluminal annuloplasty techniques have been introduced that aim to restore a mitral valve to its native configuration, for example by implanting an annuloplasty ring around a valve annulus. One problem encountered by such implants is that their size may cause unintended contact between the implant and the cardiac wall, reducing the efficacy of the implant. It is desirable to minimize the size of an implant to reduce the opportunity for such contact and it is with these considerations in mind that the improvements of the present disclosure may be useful.

Low profile ribbon frame for valve repair devices


A novel class of aminidate complexes can be used as an ingredient of a catalyst system. The catalyst system can be used in polymerizations of ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon monomers.

Rubber goods such as tire treads often are made from elastomeric compositions that contain one or more reinforcing materials such as, for example, particulate carbon black and silica; see, e.g., The Vanderbilt Rubber Handbook, 13th ed. (1990), pp. 603-04.
Good traction and resistance to abrasion are primary considerations for tire treads; however, motor vehicle fuel efficiency concerns argue for a minimization in their rolling resistance, which correlates with a reduction in hysteresis and heat build-up during operation of the tire. (A reduction in hysteresis commonly is determined by a decrease in tan δ value at an elevated temperature, e.g., 50° or 60° C. Conversely, good wet traction performance commonly is considered to be associated with an increase in tan δ value at a low temperature, e.g., 0° C.)
Reduced hysteresis and traction are, to a great extent, competing considerations: treads made from compositions designed to provide good road traction usually exhibit increased rolling resistance and vice versa.
Filler(s), polymer(s), and additives typically are chosen so as to provide an acceptable compromise or balance of these properties. Ensuring that reinforcing filler(s) are well dispersed throughout the elastomeric material(s) both enhances processability and acts to improve physical properties. Dispersion of fillers can be improved by increasing their interaction with the elastomer(s), which commonly results in reductions in hysteresis (see above). Examples of efforts of this type include high temperature mixing in the presence of selectively reactive promoters, surface oxidation of compounding materials, surface grafting, and chemically modifying the polymer, typically at a terminus thereof.
Various elastomeric materials often are used in the manufacture of vulcanizates such as, e.g., tire components. In addition to natural rubber, some of the most commonly employed include high-cis polybutadiene, often made by processes employing catalysts, and substantially random styrene/butadiene interpolymers, often made by processes employing anionic initiators. Functionalities that can be incorporated into catalyzed polymers often cannot be incorporated into anionically initiated polymers and vice versa.
Of particular difficulty to synthesize are interpolymers of olefins and polyenes, particularly conjugated dienes, due in large part to their very different reactivities, i.e., susceptibility to coordinate with catalytic metal atoms and thereby polymerize. Although difficult to synthesize, such interpolymers have many commercial uses.

Metal complex catalysts and polymerization methods employing same


A vehicle electric supply system includes a semiconductor safety switch that interruptibly couples the vehicle battery to electric consuming devices that are supplied by an electric socket on board the vehicle. A programmable control unit controls opening and closing of the switch, as a function of a monitored vehicle parameter, such as elapsed time, battery charge state or current consumption via the vehicle socket.

This application claims the priority of German patent document 101 28 136.6, filed Jun. 9, 2001, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to a safety switch for preventing an unintentional vehicle battery discharge, for example, by external electric consuming devices connected to a vehicle socket, such as a cigarette lighter.
The unintentional discharge of a vehicle battery to a level at which the vehicle can no longer be started is a frequently occurring problem. Usually, the driver is at fault, because he has either forgotten to switch off the vehicle headlights, or to switch off or disconnect external consuming devices from vehicle sockets. For example, a cell phone charger may remain plugged into the cigarette lighter socket, or a vehicle refrigerator or ice box may not be disconnected from a specially provided socket (for example, in a van).
To solve this problem, it has been suggested to connect the vehicle sockets to the ignition so that, when the vehicle is parked or the ignition is "OFF", the voltage supply to the vehicle sockets is also interrupted. However, this solution is not without problems if, for example, sensitive medications are transported in a vehicle refrigerator, which are to be cooled for a certain time period even after the vehicle has been parked.
Even if, for this reason, a continuous voltage supply is maintained to the vehicle sockets, a plug-in site for an additional relay for the cigarette lighter must be provided in each vehicle since, for example, in Australia, due to the risk of fire, it is required that the socket for the cigarette lighter be connected to the ignition. This causes additional material costs and additional expenditures in vehicle production.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,691,619, discloses the use of a relay as an automatic safety switch, which disconnects all electric consuming devices (other than the starter) from the battery, if the voltage drops below a defined threshold value. However, this solution has the disadvantage that, because of the use of a relay, an excessively high quiescent current flows in the range of approximately 100 mA.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,395,288, it is suggested that a Zener diode be used as a switch. However, because of their high current consumption, Zener diodes are also unsuitable for a use as such safety switches.
In view of the above, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved safety switch for preventing unintentional discharge of a vehicle battery.
This and other objects and advantages are achieved by the switch arrangement according to the invention, in which a semiconductor switch is used as the safety switch which disconnects the vehicle sockets from the vehicle battery, for example, as a function of time elapsed after the ignition is switched off, or as a function of the actual charging condition of the battery.
The use of a semiconductor switch as the safety switch according to the invention has the advantage that its wattless control requires no quiescent current, even in the switched-on condition. Another advantage of the safety switch according to the invention is that the need to provide a relay (required, for example, for Australia) can be eliminated in all vehicles. That is, when the safety switch according to the invention is used, the Australian requirement to disconnect the cigarette lighter socket from the voltage supply by way of the ignition will then be met by programming of an electronic control unit (which controls the safety switch) implemented, during or after the production of the vehicle.
In a preferred embodiment, the semiconductor safety switch according to the invention is adjusted to a continuous voltage supply (for example, for the connection of a refrigerator for medications) even after the ignition is switched off, by an individual programming of the corresponding vehicle control unit. Although in this preferred embodiment, responsibility for monitoring the battery condition is transferred to the driver, this rare individual need can be met by means of the same safety switch which, during the normal use according to the invention, prevents an unintentional discharging of the battery. That is, the use of the semiconductor switch according to the invention has the advantage that the same hardware is suitable for and adaptable to different needs, and such special cases need not be taken into account during the production of the vehicle (for example, by the installation of different hardware components); rather, they can be satisfied subsequently by reprogramming the control unit for the semiconductor safety switch.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Safety switch for preventing an unintentional vehicle battery discharge

Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft


A tapered roller bearing includes: an inner ring; an outer ring provided on an outer peripheral surface of the inner ring via an annular space so as to be disposed on the same center line as the inner ring; a plurality of tapered rollers rollably disposed in the annular space; and a cage retaining the plurality of tapered rollers. The tapered roller bearing is configured such that: liquid lubricant flows through the annular space; and among the inner ring, the outer ring, the tapered rollers, and the cage, at least one rotating component configured to rotate at the time of bearing rotation is provided with a vaporization promotion mechanism configured to decrease a pressure of the lubricant at the time of bearing rotation so that the pressure of the lubricant reaches a saturation vapor pressure at which the lubricant changes from a liquid phase to a vapor phase.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tapered roller bearing and a power transmission device using the tapered roller bearing.
2. Description of Related Art
A tapered roller bearing is an excellent rolling bearing having a large load capacity and a high rigidity. However, the tapered roller bearing includes a sliding portion (e.g., a sliding portion between a large end face of a tapered roller and a guideway of a cone back face rib portion of an inner ring) due to sliding contact, and in consideration of occurrences of torque loss and burning due to slide friction of the sliding portion, the tapered roller bearing has limitations in terms of use as a rolling bearing for high-speed rotation. Further, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-91053 (JP 2010-91053 A), there is such a power transmission device using a tapered roller bearing that a cooling member made from metal having a good heat dissipation property is disposed between a lubricant-inlet-side end part of an outer ring of the tapered roller bearing and a support member for supporting the outer ring. When lubricant flows into the tapered roller bearing from an inlet, the lubricant passes through the cooling member so as to be cooled off.

Tapered roller bearing and power transmission device using tapered roller bearing


A UE, a MeNB, a SeNB and respective methods performed thereby are provided. The UE, the MeNB, and the SeNB are operable in a wireless communication system, the wireless communication system being adapted to provide for dual connectivity between the SeNB and a UE, and between the UE and a MeNB. The method is performed for providing system information of the wireless communication system to the UE and for the UE to acquire the system information. The method performed by the UE comprises receiving (110), from the SeNB, a MIB of a cell of the SeNB; and acquiring (120) a System Frame Number, SFN, from the MIB.

In a typical cellular radio system, wireless terminals (also referred to as user equipment unit nodes, UEs, mobile terminals, and/or mobile stations) communicate via a radio access network, RAN, with one or more core networks, which provide access to data networks, such as the Internet, and/or the public-switched telecommunications network, PSTN. The RAN covers a geographical area that is divided into cell areas, with each cell area being served by a radio base station (also referred to as a base station, a RAN node, a "NodeB", and/or enhanced NodeB "eNodeB" or "eNB"). A cell area is a geographical area where radio coverage is provided by the base station equipment at a base station site. The base stations communicate through radio communication channels with wireless terminals within range of the base stations.
Cellular communications system operators have begun offering mobile broadband data services based on, for example, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, WCDMA, High Speed Packet Access, HSPA, and Long Term Evolution, LTE, wireless technologies. Moreover, fuelled by introduction of new devices designed for data applications, end user performance requirements are steadily increasing. The increased adoption of mobile broadband has resulted in significant growth in traffic handled by high-speed wireless data networks. Accordingly, techniques that allow cellular operators to manage networks more efficiently are desired.
Techniques to improve downlink performance may include 4-branch MIMO, multi-flow communication, multi carrier deployment, etc. Since spectral efficiencies per link may be approaching theoretical limits, next steps may include improving spectral efficiencies per unit area. Further efficiencies for wireless networks may be achieved, for example, by changing a topology of traditional networks to provide increased uniformity of user experiences throughout a cell. Currently, so-called heterogeneous networks are being developed for 3GPP as discussed, for example, in: RP-121436, Study on UMTS Heterogeneous Networks, TSG RAN Meeting #57, Chicago, USA, 4-7 Sep. 2012; R1-124512, Initial considerations on Heterogeneous Networks for UMTS, Ericsson, ST-Ericsson, 3GOO TSG RAN WG1 Meeting #70bis, San Diego, Calif., USA, 8-12 Oct. 2012; and R1-124513, Heterogeneous Network Deployment Scenarios, Ericsson, ST-Ericsson, 3GPP TSG-RAN WG1 #70bis, San Diego, Calif., USA, 8-12 Oct. 2012.
A homogeneous network is a network of base stations (also referred to as NodeB's, enhanced NodeB's, or eNBs) in a planned layout, providing communications services for a collection of user terminals (also referred to as user equipment nodes, UEs, and/or wireless terminals) in which all base stations may have similar transmit power levels, antenna patterns, receiver noise floors, and/or backhaul connectivity to the data network. Moreover, all base stations in a homogeneous network may offer unrestricted access to user terminals in the network, and each base station may serve roughly a same number of user terminals. Current cellular wireless communications systems in this category may include, for example, Global System for Mobile communication, GSM, WCDMA, High Speed Downlink Packet Access, HSDPA, LTE, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, WiMAX, etc.
In a heterogeneous network, low power base stations (also referred to as low power nodes, LPNs, micro nodes, pico nodes, femto nodes, relay nodes, remote radio unit nodes, RRU nodes, small cells, RRUs, etc.) may be deployed along with or as an overlay to planned and/or regularly placed macro base stations. A macro base station, MBS, may thus provide service over a relatively large macro cell area and each LPN may provide service for a respective relatively small LPN cell area within the relatively large macro cell area. Power transmitted by an LPN (e.g. 2 Watts) may be relatively small compared to power transmitted by a macro base station (e.g. 40 Watts for a typical macro base station). An LPN may be deployed, for example, to reduce/eliminate a coverage hole(s) in the coverage provided by the macro base stations, and/or to off-load traffic from macro base stations (e.g., to increase capacity in a high traffic location, also referred to as a hot-spot). Due to the lower transmit power and smaller physical size, an LPN may offer greater flexibility for site acquisition.
In initial discussions among members of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project, 3GPP, regarding the development of Release 12 specifications for LTE, one of the proposed items for study is the possibility of simultaneously serving a User Equipment (UE) from more than one eNB. In the disclosure that follows, this is called "dual connectivity."
There is a need for a procedure between a Master eNB, MeNB, and a Second eNB, SeNB, to agree on UE radio resource configuration. For instance, a procedure is needed to enable the setup, the modification or the handover of a UE bearer for which radio resources are provided by a radio network node (SeNB) that is different from the radio network node (MeNB) that hosts the RRC connection and the connection to the core network.
The MeNB and SeNB roles are defined from a UE point of view. This means that an eNB that acts as a MeNB to one UE may act as SeNB to another UE.

UE, a secondary ENB and a master ENB and respective method performed thereby for providing system information of a communication system to the UE


A water washable protective coating composition for application to surfaces subjected to contact with airborne paints which composition comprises an ionomer of a copolymer of an acrylic acid and an alpha-olefin. The composition forms a protective, clear low-slip coating layer upon surfaces, and is readily removable with heated water.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to protective coating compositions for application to surfaces subject to contact with airborne paints wherein said composition is washable from the surfaces and is used to protect the surfaces from contact with the airborne paint. 2. Description of the Prior Art
The manufacture of many articles requires the application of a spray coating of a paint upon exposed surfaces. Typically, such articles include consumer and industrial articles such as automobiles, automobile panels and parts, appliances, machinery, and the like.
For the application of the sprayed paint to such articles, it is well known to the art to use a "spray booth". Generally, a spray booth comprises a sealable chamber which is large enough to hold the article upon which the sprayed paint is to be applied. The article is placed therein, the chamber closed and then by means by human operators operating pressurized spray guns and/or through the use of robotic operators operating spray guns or spray nozzles, a desired coat of paint may be applied to the exposed surfaces of the article. The spray booth functions to retain any sprayed paint which may be "oversprayed" and does not adhere to the article, which oversprayed paint is entrained in the air, thus becoming "airborne", within the spray booth and which may ultimately deposit upon a surface within the spray booth other than the surface of the article. The spray booth may be seen to act as an isolation chamber isolating the air within the spray booth from the exterior environment.
One shortcoming in the use of spray booths is that due to the nature of the spray painting operations carried therein, it is very difficult to control or to limit the surfaces upon which the sprayed paint may ultimately come to rest. As such, the paint which is desirably sprayed only upon the article is deposited not only on the article being sprayed, but also upon any exposed surface within the sprayed booth. Such surfaces include the walls, ceiling, any gratings, the operators themselves, and any equipment or apparatus within the spray booth. This is highly undesirable as during possible subsequent applications of different types of sprays or different colors of sprays, there was a risk of contamination from a prior applied sprayed paint, and as such a possible distraction from the appearance of the article being painted. Further, consequent to the fact that many paints which are used in such spray painting operation contain volatile organics their possible health risk to human operators who operate within the confines of the spray booth, it is desirable to maintain cleanliness within the spray booth particularly of paint deposited upon surfaces in the spray booth and thereby limit the exposure of human operators to these volatile organics.
Various methods are presently known to the art for limiting the retention of over sprayed paint within the spray booth. One such method referred to as a "water curtain" method finds us in protecting the vertical walls of the spray booth. In such a method, a thin laminar film of water constantly flows from the top edge and the bottom edge of the spray booth walls; thereby, limiting the contact of any entrained paint in the air with the wall surfaces. While this method is known and highly effective in limiting the deposition of the wall surfaces, it nonetheless limited only to wall surfaces and cannot be used for example upon the ceilings, floors, or in covering the equipment and apparatus contained within the spray booth.
Coating compositions comprising acrylics which are used to coat surfaces within the spray booth prior to the application of a sprayed paint to an article are also known to the art. One such acrylic is a pigmented acrylic which may be applied to exposed surfaces which are desirably protected. The pigmented acrylic provides an effective coating against entrained paint, however, it itself is not readily removable from the surfaces upon which it is applied. A further acrylic coating known to the art is a clear acrylic coating composition which may, in a similar manner to the pigmented acrylic noted, may be applied to surfaces within the spray booth. The clear acrylic provides the benefit of non-discoloration of the surfaces within the spray booth. However, is slippery and is known to have poor resistance to a wide variety of organic solvents which find common use as constituents in spray painting compositions. Both of these acrylic containing compounds are also known to comprise a proportion of volatile organic constituents, which, while effective in forming these acrylic comprising compositions also provide a further supplemental health hazard to human operators operating within the spray booth.
Therefore, it is apparent that there is a continuing need in the art for further improved compositions for protective coatings which may be readily applied to surfaces which are subject to contact with airborne paints, wherein such coating composition is readily washable, has little or no volatile organics within its composition, and which does not discolor the surfaces upon which it is applied.

Removable protective coating composition for spray painting areas


Methods, apparatuses and systems of operating digital memory where the digital memory device including a plurality of memory cells receives a command to perform an operation on a set of memory cells, where the set of memory cells contains fewer memory cells than the device as a whole and where the device performs the operation including selectively precharging on the front end of the operation, in response to the received command, only a set of bit lines associated with the set of memory cells.

Electronic systems are used in numerous devices including Personal Computers (PC), servers, routers, hubs, switches, line cards, cellular telephones, Personal Data Assistants (PDA), electronic gaming devices, High Definition Televisions (HDTV), as well as industrial devices, automotive devices, and others. The primary technology drivers for these electronic systems are digital logic and control, semiconductor memory, Input/Output (I/O) and mixed signal (analog and digital) technologies. Examples of stand alone products include micro processors/controllers, Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), SRAM, flash EEPROM, A/D converters etc. Examples of embedded products include multiple integrated circuits (IC) as SIC (System-In-Chip) or monolithic IC as SOC (System-On-Chip).
For well over three decades, semiconductor memories—such as, for example, DRAM'S, SRAM'S, ROM'S, EPROM'S, EEPROM'S, Flash EEPROM'S, Ferroelectric RAM'S, MAGRAM'S and others—have played a vital role in many electronic systems. Their functions for data storage, code (instruction) storage, and data retrieval/access (Read/Write) continue to span a wide variety of applications. Usage of these memories in both stand alone/discrete memory product forms, as well as embedded forms such as, for example, memory integrated with other functions like logic, in a module or monolithic IC, continues to grow. Cost, operating power, bandwidth, latency, ease of use, the ability to support broad applications (balanced vs. imbalanced accesses), and nonvolatility are all desirable attributes in a wide range of applications.
From a few kilobits (kb) of storage on a monolithic IC in the 1970's, semiconductor technology has come very far in density per memory chip. 1 Gigabit (GB) per monolithic IC is practical today in volatile Read/Write RAM'S like DRAM'S, as well as nonvolatile Read/Write memories like flash EEPROM. However, the granularity of access has not kept pace. Even though multibank IC's are available today, no more than 32 bits can be accessed at a time. Effectively, only one bank is available at a time for R/W; the other banks are non-accessible for substantially simultaneous operations. Access and cycle times have improved providing higher bandwidth with restrictions like 'column pre-fetch', 'open page' and 'specialized I/O interface' (DDR, QDR, RambusTM) etc. However, random latency—the ability to access any random location anywhere in the memory—is still an issue. With low voltage and battery operation becoming mandatory for portability, significant strides have yet to be made towards reducing power and latency. For example, mobile SDRAMs, such as for example those offered by Micron and others, have made some steps in reducing "stand by power". However, reducing operating power still remains an issue in such memories.
In a commercially available DRAM, organized row by column such as in a matrix, when a row is opened (equal to one "page") between one to four kilobits are available for fast random access once the "page" is opened. However, communications memories are not efficient with open page architecture for various reasons. First, unlike unbalanced Read/Write in computing system memory where Reads may dominate Writes by better than three to one, communication memories require balanced Read/Write where the number of Reads roughly equal the number of Writes. Second, the egress (outgoing) of packet memory content is completely random and unpredictable in communications memory. Thus, for these reasons random latency for any packet, or part of a packet, dictates useful bandwidth rather than the ability to quickly access a restricted addressing space such as in an open page. Additionally, before a new page can be opened (as in a DRAM), the existing or current page has to be closed, and the entire bank precharged. Hence, if an individual bank has 64 Mb density, even if one needs to only access 16 new bits in a row, one has to precharge the whole bank, which uses power and increases the temperature of the memory device.
Although, bandwidth, latency, cost, power, and form factor are all important, low power is key for mobile applications. Reducing operating power, as density and speeds increase for new generation devices, is a major concern. Asynchronous operation in DRAM'S, SRAM'S and flash EEPROM'S is the currently preferred option to reduce operating power—however, it penalizes access time and performance. Synchronous operation, on the other hand, requires 'activation and precharge of millions of nodes in an integrated circuit (IC) thereby incurring high power costs. In CMOS designs, for example, operating power is approximately equal to CV2f, where f is the frequency, C is the capacitance (of all kinds) and V is the voltage. Reducing V and C has limits. For better performance generally f has to increase, making it more difficult to reduce operating power at the same time.
Multibank memories are common in DRAM, SRAM and flash. Predetermined (e.g. prefetched) bursts of data and "open page", have been common in both DRAM and SRAM (such as for example Rambus™, DDR, QDR and others) to improve bandwidth. RLDRAM™ and FCRAM™ are two examples of bandwidth and latency-thrust. Round-robin schemes may also be used to reduce power but do not allow for random row access since access is restricted to each memory bank in a predetermined order. Thus, random row access time is lengthened on average.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,828,610 dated Oct. 27, 1998 issued to Rogers et al, a Static RAM (SRAM) is disclosed. The SRAM is described as being capable of selectively precharging a data word prior to a read access operation on that data word, in order to conserve power. However, there is no teaching or suggestion for selectively precharging prior to a write access operation. It also does not teach or suggest a method of selectively precharging a single column of memory cells. Further, despite showing selective precharging, the operation of Roger's SRAM, as well as other standard memory not utilizing selective precharge, requires that one access cycle complete before another memory segment can be accessed. This manner of operation results in added latency. Additionally, SRAM in general is not as dense as other forms of memory, such as DRAM. Therefore, SRAM is less affected by soft errors than are more dense forms of memory such as modern DRAM. Beside sensitivity to soft errors, traditional SRAM unlike DRAM, typically does not have to support various kinds of burst mode operations


A sheet post-processing apparatus includes a loading section for loading a sheet, and a punching device for punching the sheet loaded in the loading section at a punching position. A sheet bundle forming device is provided for forming a sheet bundle of the sheet punched by the punching device and a sheet not punched by the punching device. A binding device drives a staple into the sheet bundle at the punching position as a bound position to bind the sheet bundle.

The present invention relates to a sheet post-processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus, and in particular, to a sheet post-processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus for forming and binding a bundle of sheets with images.
A sheet post-processing apparatus has been known for aligning ends of a plurality of sheets and forming the sheets into a bundle. The sheets are discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a facsimile machine after images are printed on the sheets. The sheet post-processing apparatus uses a stapler to staple and bind the sheet bundle (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Such a sheet post-processing apparatus discharges a bundle of sheets with the ends thereof aligned with one another after being bound. Consequently, the finished sheet bundle appears neat, and it is not necessary to manually align and bind the sheets discharged by the image forming apparatus.
Such a sheet post-processing apparatus comprises a stapler unit for stapling a sheet bundle. The stapler unit generally has a minimum number of sheets that can be bound, for example, 20 or 30 sheets. A print grade (cost) and power consumption depend on the number of sheets that can be bound using the stapler unit. In a binding apparatus, leg portions of a bind member such as a staple are penetrated into the sheet bundle at punched positions (for example, refer to Patent Documents 2 and 3).    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2003-267622    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 11-20363    Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 11-20364
In the conventional sheet post-processing apparatus, it is necessary to increase a load on a staple penetrating a sheet bundle when a large number of sheets are bound. Accordingly, when the sheet bundle has a large thickness, leg portions (tip portions) of a staple may not withstand the load and may be bent, thereby causing inappropriate binding. Further, for example, color print sheets have coated surfaces and a thickness larger than normal (monochrome) sheets. Accordingly, for a certain type of sheets, the load on the staple becomes greater, thereby causing a problem similar to that associated with a large number of sheets.
To solve the problems, it is possible to increase the strength of the staple. However, in this case, a driving force greater the load is required to drive the staple into the sheet bundle. Consequently, the stapler unit and the sheet post-processing apparatus must have a large size. Noise or vibration also increases when the staple is penetrated into the sheet bundle, and power consumption increases. When a bundle of sheets is bound with a strong staple, it is difficult to remove the staple, thereby making it difficult to handle the sheet post-processing apparatus.
In view of the problems described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet post-processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus capable of reliably binding a sheet bundle without increasing a size of the apparatus. It is also possible to reduce noise, vibration, and power consumption even if a large number of sheets or thick sheets are processed.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.

Sheet post-processing apparatus and image forming apparatus


A steering device of a small watercraft is disclosed. The device includes a steering column oriented substantially in the vertical direction, wherein the steering column includes an upper component and a lower component, the components being coupled together so as to be movable relative to each other in the longitudinal direction thereof, and a fastening device configured to lock the relative movement of the components. One of the components includes an elongated hole which penetrates in the left-and-right direction and is elongated in the vertical direction. The other component includes a protrusion extended in the left-and-right direction so as to be accommodated in the elongated hole and to be guided by the hole in the vertical direction. The components each include a contact surface having a plurality of teeth arranged in the vertical direction, and engage with each other in the front-and-rear direction by engaging the teeth.

Unexamined Patent Publication No. SHO 61-229690, Unexamined Patent Publication No. SHO 61-275095, U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,311 and Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. HEI 2-105099 disclose adjustable steering devices or structures of small watercraft. Each steering device is configured to be adjustable for a physique or riding posture of an operator, or a storage space. The steering devices include a steering column and the steering column is typically configured to be dividable in two parts, an upper steering column component and a lower steering column component, substantially in the vertical direction. The upper steering column component and the lower steering column component are coupled together with a telescopic mechanism or a tilt mechanism.
The disclosed techniques in Unexamined Patent Publication No. SHO 61-229690, U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,311, and Unexamined Utility Patent Publication No. HEI 2-105099 include a tilt mechanism, however, they do not include a telescopic mechanism. On the other hand, the disclosed technique in the Unexamined Patent Publication No. SHO 61-275095 includes a telescopic mechanism, however, it does not include a tilt mechanism. Thus, the prior art references only disclose either one of the adjusting mechanisms and do not suggest or teach the combination of the both mechanisms.
The telescopic function is advantageous when adjusting for physique and riding posture of an operator. On the other hand, the tilt function is advantageous when transporting watercraft with height restrictions. For this reason, a steering device including both telescopic function and tilt function has been desired.


A thermal transfer printer capable of providing an image with high recording quality without dullness even in the event of recording on paper using an ink ribon of heat-melt ink or heat-sublimation ink comprises a platen 2, a carriage 4, and a thermal head 7. The thermal transfer printer records a desired image on paper by transferring the heat-melt ink or heat-sublimation ink on an ink ribbon 17 onto the paper, and subsequently smoothes the image recorded on the paper by pressing the thermal head 7 against the surface of the recorded image with the heat-resistant film 27 introduced between the surface of the thermal head 7 and the recorded image.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printer, and particularly to a thermal transfer printer which obtains a high-quality printed image that is not dull, by means of smoothing the surface of the image following printing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Thermal transfer printers which are a type of recording apparatus are generally and widely used a output devices for computers, word processors, and the like, due to characteristics thereof such as high recording quality, low noise, low cost, and ease of maintenance.
Such known thermal transfer printers are constructed such that a carriage is enabled to reciprocally move along a platen, a thermal head formed of an array of a plurality of heat-emitting devices is provided to this carriage, and a ribbon cassette storing an ink ribbon of a desired color is detachably mounted thereto.
The ink ribbon fed from the aforementioned ribbon cassette and the printing paper are held between the aforementioned platen and thermal head, the thermal head is caused to move reciprocally with the carriage along the platen, and by means of selectively causing electroconducting of the heat-emitting devices of the aforementioned thermal head based on recording information while spooling the aforementioned ink ribbon, the ink of the ink ribbon is partially transferred into the paper, thereby recording the desired characters or images thereon.
Also, in the case of performing full-color printing on the paper, three ribbon cassettes storing ink ribbons formed of ink of at least the three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan, are provided. Each of the ribbon cassettes are automatically exchanged between the carriage for recording.
Regarding such known thermal transfer printers, a widely known method is to record on recording paper using an ink ribbon comprised of a resin film of a material such as PET (polyethylene-terepthalate) coated with heat-melt ink, but in recent years, a method has come to be known in which an ink ribbon coated with heat-sublimation ink is used for recording on paper.
Of these, in the event that the method of recording on paper using the ink ribbon comprising heat-melt ink is employed, the user can record of a wide variety of mediums, such as plain paper, cardboard, postcards, etc. In this way, this method exhibits excellent useability.
On the other hand, in the event that the ink ribbon comprising heat-sublimation ink is used, or in more specific terms, in the event that recording on paper is performed using an ink ribbon formed by coating a base of material formed from a resin film such as PET or the like with heat-sublimation ink, the amount of sublimation of the heat-sublimation ink can be adjusted by means of controlling the energy applied to the thermal head, thus allowing adjustment of the concentration of the image recorded on the paper. Hence, a full-color image rivaling the image quality of silver-salt photography can be obtained by using a special paper of which surface has been treated. Thus, thermal transfer printers using ink ribbons comprised of heat-sublimation ink have come to be widely used as high-quality video printers.
However, regarding thermal transfer printers which use ink ribbons comprised of the aforementioned heat-melt ink, and particularly regarding thermal transfer printers which use ink ribbons comprised of heat-melt ink wherein resin has been used as a coloring agent and also a binder, the surface of the ink transferred onto the paper may be uneven due to peeling of the ink ribbon at the time of transferring/recording, the edge portion of the transferred dots may be peeled back, and further in the event that recording of full-color images using ink of the three colors, yellow, magenta, and cyan is performed, a great deal of unevenness has been generated on the surface of the image recorded on the paper, owing to up to three ink colors being overlaid.
Accordingly, unevenness on the surface of the image causes irregular reflection of white light at this portion, deterioration of saturation creates the problem of dullness, and this has been an obstruction in obtaining a recorded image of higher quality.
Also, regarding thermal transfer printers which use ink ribbons comprised of the aforementioned heat-sublimation ink, in the event that heat-sublimation ink is transferred onto the paper to record the desired image on the paper, the amount of energy supplied to the thermal head for heat-sublimation of the heat-sublimation ink on the ink ribbon is small at portions where the color of the recorded image is light and the concentration is low, and as a result, the heat-sublimation ink transferred onto the paper is smooth and the obtained image is glossy and vivid. On the other hand, the amount of energy supplied to the thermal head for heat-sublimation of the heat-sublimation ink on the ink ribbon is great at portions where the recorded image is black and the concentration is high, and as a result, so-called matting wherein the image transferred to the paper becomes dull due to thermal warping of the surface of the paper, and consequently, glossy portions and dull portions exist in the recorded image in a mixed manner, and this has been an obstruction in obtaining a recorded image of higher quality.
Also, there has been the problem that this matting is exhibited even more markedly in the event that recording of full-color images using heat-sublimation ink of the three colors, yellow, magenta, and cyan is performed.

Method of printing a high-quality image, using a thermal transfer printer


The present invention relates to method and apparatus of providing data stream together with program specific information (PSI) requisite for data stream selecting, separating, and decoding of a digital TV set. The present invention, when transmitting PSI to a digital TV set, measures time length of the PSI, creates time information preceding a transport time of the first TP belonging to data stream by the measured time length, converts PSI to at least one TP the created time information is added to, and transmits the converted PSI TPs before data stream TPs. Owing to the PSI provided along with a digital data stream, the digital data stream from a recording medium can be selected, separated, and decoded at a digital TV set without data loss. Furthermore, even though PSI is additionally provided, continuity among time information written successive TPs of PSI and data stream is always ensured.

In today's world, a digital television (TV) set presenting high-quality pictures via a digital TV broadcast signal is gradually gaining popularity. The digital TV broadcast signal received by the digital TV set contains not only digital video and audio data but also intermittently inserted PSI to provide a variety of information about broadcast programs. The PSI is also referred to as PSIP (Program System Information Protocol).
The digital TV set selects a channel, then separates and decodes digital stream of the selected channel to match pictures and sound with reference to the intermittently received PSI.
In the meantime, a high-density disk device, being developed to reproduce a HDVD with its recording standard under discussion, is expected to be connected to a digital TV set through IEEE 1394 standard as shown in FIG. 1. However, when receiving and presenting the data stream from the disk device 100, the digital TV set 200 still requires PSI to select the data stream and to control presentation of the selected data stream.
Therefore, when the disk device 100 reproduces MPEG-formatted data stream recorded on a HDVD and sends it to the digital TV set 200 connected through a digital interface such as IEEE 1394 standard, it must provide a PSI. For a digital TV set 200 in the format of transport stream (TS) consisting of 188-byte-long transport packets (TPs), a PSI may consist of a program association table (PAT), a program map table (PMT), a conditional access table (CAT) and so forth as shown in FIG. 2.
To periodically feed the digital TV set with PSI for recorded data stream via a digital TV broadcast signal, the PSI is recorded dispersedly and repeatedly in a data recording area (i.e. 'AREA 1') on a HDVD as shown in FIG. 3, and the repeatedly written PSI is retrieved and transmitted sequentially along the data stream.
However, if PSI is recorded dispersedly and repeatedly on a data recording area of a disk, the recording area for a real data, namely video and/or audio data, is greatly reduced, decreasing the recording efficiency of a disk.
In addition, the digital TV set cannot present the received data stream until it receives PSI retrieved in regular sequence from the PSI recorded dispersedly in the data recording area. This is despite the fact that data reception is resumed after a reproduction point is moved according to a key command of a user or a digital interface, such as after the IEEE 1394 standard is reset. Because the digital TV set cannot select data stream to decode real pictures and/or sound until the PSI, which is prepared for the data stream, is received inevitably there is a temporary discontinuity in video and/or audio.
In the meantime, the digital TV set determines when to decode and present TPs received based on PCRs (Program Clock References) intermittently in the TPs. Thus, if PCRs are discontinuous, errors might occur in decoding and presenting received TPs. Accordingly, to prevent such possible malfunction, PSI time information must be in sync with the PCRs. PCRs are included in consecutive TPs and contain real data when PSI is converted to TPs and inserted into TS of real data.

Method for providing program specific information recorded on high density disc medium


A laundry machine has a wash enclosure to which a supply of water is admitted through a hot water valve and a cold water valve. A temperature sensor senses the temperature of the combined water flow from the hot and cold valves or the temperature of the water collected in the water enclosure. The hot and cold water valves are preferably controlled in accordance with a programme executed on a microprocessor. In a wash operation the controller opens the hot water valve and monitors the temperature indicated by the temperature sensor. The controller only opens the cold valve once the sensed temperature has reached or exceeded a threshold temperature. The effect of the cold water contained in the hot water pipes of a household water supply on wash temperature or wash volume is reduced.

i) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to laundry machines and/or methods of operation of laundry machines, and in particular to improvements in the admission of water thereto.
ii) Summary of the Prior Art
In a laundry machine, whether a horizontal axis or vertical axis type machine, the machine performs a series of cycles, usually beginning with a wash cycle, proceeding through one or more rinse cycles and ending with a spin cycle. In the wash cycle water is admitted to the machine, usually to a tub or other water container within which a perforated drum or bowl rotates and contains the laundry. The wash cycle may fill or partially fill a container to submerge the washing load in a deep wash, or a lesser volume of water may be admitted and this may be recirculated through the laundry load by a recirculation pump and appropriate spray nozzle. These washing methods are well known in the art for both horizontal axis and vertical axis machines.
It is recognised that the recirculation type washing method uses significantly lower volumes of water, particularly in a vertical axis machine. Furthermore it is thought that the greater detergent concentration in the wash liquid during a recirculating type wash leads to better soil removal and/or lower total detergent usage. Accordingly a relation type wash is becoming a preferred wash particularly for vertical axis machines, Horizontal axis machines, by virtue of their nature tend to already have a low water volume in the water container with the clothes being dipped through the water pool by rotation of the horizontally aligned perforated drum.
For proper detergent activation without potentially damaging clothes which are susceptible, for example, to shrinkage or dye loss, it is necessary to have accurate control of the temperature of the body of wash liquid that is in the machine. With the significantly reduced volumes in the machine this is made significantly more difficult if there are fluctuations in the temperature of the water supply.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a laundry machine and/or methods for the operation of a laundry machine which go someway towards overcoming the above disadvantages or which will at least provide the public with a useful choice.
In a first aspect the invention consists in a laundry machine including a washing enclosure to which a supply of water is admitted in use, first and second valve means for connection to hot and cold water supply sources respectively, temperature sensing means which sense the temperature of either a combined water flow from the first and second valves or the water collected in the water enclosure, and a controller which, in a washing operation, executes an initial fill program comprising the steps of opening only the hot water valve and monitoring the temperature indicated by the temperature sensing means, followed by a warm fill program once the sensed temperature has reached or exceeded a threshold temperature.
In a second aspect the invention consists in a laundry machine including a washing enclosure to which a supply of water is admitted in use, first and second valve means for connection to hot and cold water supply sources respectively, temperature sensing means which sense the temperature of either a combined water flow from the first and second valves or the water collected in the water enclosure, and control means which, in a washing operation, perform the steps of opening the hot water valve and monitoring the temperature indicated by the temperature sensing means, and only opening the cold valve once the sensed temperature has reached or exceeded a threshold temperature is calculated based on the initial temperature of the supply of water flowing through said first valve.
In a third aspect the invention consists in a laundry machine including a washing enclosure to which a supply of water is admitted in use, first and second valve means for connection to hot and cold water supply sources respectively, temperature sensing means which sense the temperature of either a combined water flow from the first and second valves or the water collected in the water enclosure, and control means which, in a washing operation, perform the steps of determining a wash temperature, opening the hot water valve and monitoring the temperature indicated by the temperature sensing means, and only opening the cold valve once the sensed temperature has reached or exceeded a threshold temperature, said threshold temperature being less than said wash temperature.


A power converter and method of operating the same for use in a power conversion system capable of receiving power from various sources, including renewable sources, for application to a load. Power type detection circuitry is provided for identifying the type of power source at the input of each power detector, based on attributes of the time-varying power received. The power converter is constructed of a boost stage followed by a galvanically isolated DC-DC converter stage. If a renewable input power source is detected, the boost stage is controlled to operate at a maximum power point, and the DC-DC converter stage is operated in an open loop manner. If the AC grid is detected as the input power source, the boost stage is controlled to attain maximum power factor, and the DC-DC converter stage is placed under feedback control of the output voltage. Operating modes are also switched in response to low load demand.

This disclosure relates to the field of electric power distribution. Disclosed embodiments are directed to power converters and systems of power converters capable of receiving power from various types of power sources.
The generation of electrical power from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, water, and geothermal has become more popular in recent years. Solar and wind energy have become especially attractive in providing electrical power to loads near the generation site, such as at cellular telephone towers, telecommunication central offices, home or business locations that are independent from the electrical power grid, and the like. However, the electrical power generated by solar and wind-generated electrical power tends to fluctuate over time (e.g., day vs. night for solar power), and in response to weather and other environmental conditions.
To reduce the expense of metered power from the AC grid or bio fuels and to reduce environmental impact, among other reasons, it is often beneficial to use power from renewable sources such as solar cell arrays, wind-powered generators, and the like when that power is available. For example, this preference is useful at remote or otherwise self-contained installations of both a renewable power source and the load powered by that power source, such as at cell towers. However, the power generated by different types of power sources, particularly renewable sources, exhibit different attributes from one another. These differences render it difficult to arrive at a power converter architecture that can optimally and efficiently convert power from this wide array of input power sources. Additional issues are addressed below.

Power converter operable from various power sources