A self-pumping hydropneumatic spring strut unit includes a working cylinder filled with oil under pressure and a piston and rod unit displaceable in the cylinder so as to define two working spaces in the cylinder, and high-pressure and low pressure chambers surrounding the cylinder. The strut unit further has a piston pump operable to transport a working medium from the low-pressure chamber into the one working space which is in flow communication with the high-pressure chamber. The piston pump has a cylinder defined by the inner surface of the piston rod unit, and a hollow pump rod coupled to the working cylinder and having a flow channel in communication with the low-pressure chamber. The flow channel has a deregulating opening on the working space and a throttle in flow communication with the deregulating opening. A filter device protects the throttle from impurities carried by the oil during flow from the deregulating opening to the low pressure chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to a self-pumping hydropneumatic spring strut unit with internal level control, especially for motor vehicles. In particular, the invention relates to a MacPherson type strut having a deregulating opening, which can be closed as a function of the position of a working piston in a working cylinder.
2. Description of the Related Art
MacPherson strut units of this type are already known (U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,993), in which the working cylinder is divided into two working spaces by a working piston carried by a hollow piston rod and in which the hollow piston rod forms a pump cylinder, where a pump rod moves back and forth inside this pump cylinder to form a piston pump. The hydraulic piston pump is in continuous operation while the vehicle is being driven, so that the movements of the vehicle axle and of the piston rod attached to it caused by irregularities in the pavement transport oil continuously to the working cylinder. The piston rod is pushed outward until a bypass control establishes the dynamic level. Once this position is reached, the unit cannot be pumped up any further. When the vehicle is unloaded, the vehicle body first travels outward until a deregulating opening in the pump rod establishes a connection between the working cylinder, in which high pressure is present, and the low-pressure space. The disadvantage here is that a deregulating opening in this position also has a throttling function to prevent the level of the unloaded vehicle from sinking too quickly and to prevent too much pressure from being lost while the vehicle is being driven. This results in the danger that the oil flowing back from the high-pressure chamber via the deregulating opening to the low-pressure chamber can plug the deregulating opening, which renders the hydropneumatic MacPherson strut unusable.

Self-pumping hydropneumatic spring strut unit


There is provided an electric field probe that can narrow a receiving range to a desired range when measuring a near electric field. An electric field probe includes a rodlike monopole antenna, and a conductive reflective member provided coaxially with the monopole antenna to cover the monopole antenna. The reflective member is open at its bottom in an axial direction of the monopole antenna.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-141742 (Patent Document 1) described below discloses a technique for increasing distant-field directivity of a half-wavelength dipole antenna. More specifically, Patent Document 1 discloses that a comparatively small half-wavelength dipole antenna with high front-to-back ratio (F/B ratio) can be obtained by setting the half-wavelength dipole antenna at the center in a width direction and a height direction of one or a plurality of reflective plates and setting the height of the reflective plate or plates within the range of 1.3 to 1.7 times the wavelength of a used frequency.


A radio frequency identification (RFID) device programming apparatus includes a transport system (102) to transport media (104) in a transport direction (106), and an RFID device reader (112) to obtain first device identification data from a first RFID device (108) on the media and second device identification data from a second RFID device (110) on the media that is offset from the first RFID device in the transport direction. A first RFID device programmer (114) may program the first RFID device associated with the first device identification data, and a second RFID device programmer (116) may program the second RFID device associated with the second device identification data.

A Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag may be attached to a product and carry information relating to the product within memory. The information may comprise, for example, an electronic product code (EPC) and/or a serial number. The RFID tag may also be associated with a printed label. For example, the printed label may incorporate the RFID tag. The printed label may also include information relating to the product, such as the serial number.


A golf ball having a plurality of dimples arranged on its surface is provided wherein the ball surface is free of a great circle that does not intersect with dimples, at least 7% of the total number of dimples are non-circular dimples, and some non-circular dimples lie across the equator of the ball corresponding to a parting plane of a mold. The ball is improved in flight distance and aerodynamic uniformity.

In most golf balls, a plurality of dimples are arranged on their surface. Many attempts have been made to tailor the shape and arrangement of dimples for the purpose of improving the aerodynamics of the flight of golf balls, specifically maximizing the flight distance while preventing the golf ball from turning aside in a vertical or lateral direction. The common approach employs either dimples of one type which are circular as viewed in a plane or dimples of plural types which differ in diameter and/or depth. In some cases, non-circular dimples such as polygonal or elliptic dimples are combined with circular dimples. The dimples are arranged throughout the ball surface as uniformly as possible by utilizing polyhedral arrangement patterns.
Commonly used in the molding of golf balls is a mold of the type that is divided at an equator plane into a pair of mold sections which are mated to define a spherical cavity, the cavity being provided on the inner wall surface with a plurality of protrusions for shaping dimples. For the convenience of working of such molds, no dimple-shaping protrusions are located in the parting plane where the mold is divided. As a consequence, an endless land where no dimples lie is formed along the equator of the golf ball. This endless land interrupts the continuity of dimple arrangement between one hemisphere and the other hemisphere of the golf ball. Then the golf ball lacks the uniformity of flight performance that the ball when hit travels straightforward independent of the spinning direction in flight.
Golf balls which are improved in flight uniformity by laying dimples on the equator have been proposed as described in JP-A 2001-321460. In golf balls of such prior art approaches, to avoid a complication of mold manufacture, the dimples lying on the equator of the ball in alignment with the parting line of the mold must be limited to circular ones, and the number of the dimples lying on the equator must be minimized. An attempt to further improve the golf ball having some dimples laid on the equator, that is, an attempt to improve the uniformity of dimple arrangement and increase the density of dimple arrangement results in an increased expense of mold manufacture due to complication. Given this drawback, for most of the currently available golf balls, the degree of freedom of dimple arrangement is restricted in consideration of the ease of mold manufacture.


An aeroengine exhaust cone is arranged to extend from upstream to downstream along a longitudinal axis. The cone comprises a structural core of composite material made up of an axisymmetric part having an upstream endpiece at its upstream end and a downstream endpiece at its downstream end. The core provides structural strength to the cone. The cone has an acoustic attenuation system made of composite material and fastened on the structural core.

The present invention relates to the exhaust cones used in the afterbodies of aeroengines.
In order to reduce noise in the flow ducts around the exhaust cones of aeroengines, it is known to provide a portion of the surface of such a cone with acoustic attenuation panels. Such panels are typically constituted both by a skin or a wall having a multiply-perforated surface that is permeable to the sound waves that are to be attenuated and also by a solid reflecting wall, with boxes or a cellular body, such as a honeycomb, being arranged between those two walls. In well known manner, such panels form Helmholtz type resonators that serve to attenuate the sound waves produced in the duct over a certain frequency range.
The component elements of such a panel are generally made of metal. The partitions of the boxes or of the cellular body are generally connected to the walls by brazing, and they contribute to the structural strength of the part on which they are mounted.
Nevertheless, that type of acoustic attenuation system presents several drawbacks. Firstly it increases the overall weight of the exhaust cone, which is penalizing in the field of aviation where saving weight is a constant concern.
Also, that type of system is relatively difficult to fabricate, in particular when it comes to assembling and centering multiply-perforated metal skins on the axisymmetric structure of the cone.
Furthermore, because of the large coefficients of expansion of metal materials, the multiply-perforated skins need to be mechanically decoupled from the internal carrier structure of the cone, thereby causing the acoustic attenuation system to be more complicated to make.

Exhaust with an acoustic attenuation system


A spacer (140) suitable for use in a flat panel display is formed with ceramic, transition metal, and oxygen. At least part of the oxygen is bonded to the transition metal or/and constituents of the ceramic to form a uniform electrically resistive material having a resistivity of 105-1010 ohm-cm and a secondary electron emission coefficient of less than 2 at 2 kilovolts.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to flat panel devices such as a flat cathode ray tube (CRT) display. More particularly, this invention relates to a spacer structure for internally supporting a faceplate structure and a backplate structure of a flat panel device.
2. Related Art
Numerous attempts have been made in recent years to construct a flat CRT display (also known as a xe2x80x9cflat panel displayxe2x80x9d) to replace the conventional deflected-beam CRT display in order to provide a lighter and less bulky display. In addition to flat CRT displays, other flat panel displays, such as plasma displays, have also been developed.
In flat panel displays, a faceplate structure, a backplate structure, and connecting walls around the periphery of the faceplate and backplate structures form an enclosure. In some flat panel displays, the enclosure is held at vacuum pressure, e.g., typically 1xc3x9710xe2x88x927 torr or less. The faceplate structure includes an insulating faceplate and a light emitting structure formed on an interior surface of the insulating faceplate. The light emitting structure includes light emissive elements such as phosphor or phosphor patterns which define the active region of the display. The backplate structure includes an insulating backplate and electron-emitting elements located adjacent to the backplate. The electron-emitting elements are excited to release electrons which are accelerated toward the phosphor, causing the phosphor to emit light which is seen by a viewer at the exterior surface of the faceplate (the xe2x80x9cviewing surfacexe2x80x9d).
In vacuum pressure flat panel displays, a force is exerted on the faceplate and backplate structures of the flat panel display due to the differential pressure between the internal vacuum pressure and the external atmospheric pressure. If unopposed, this force can make the flat panel display collapse. The faceplate or backplate structure of a flat panel display may also fail due to external forces resulting from impacts sustained by the flat panel display.
Spacers have been used to internally support the faceplate and/or backplate structures. Previous spacers have been walls or posts located between pixels (phosphor regions that define the smallest individual picture element of the display) in the active region of the display.
Spacers have been formed by photopatterning polyimide. However, polyimide spacers may be inadequate because of: 1) insufficient strength; 2) inability to match the coefficient of thermal expansion of polyimide with the coefficient of thermal expansion of the materials typically used for the faceplate (e.g., glass), backplate (e.g., glass, ceramic, glass-ceramic or metal) and addressing grid (e.g., glass-ceramic or ceramic), resulting in breakage of the display; and 3) low required processing temperatures. With respect to item 3), the low processing temperature requirements prevent the use of higher process temperatures throughout the display assembly. The low temperature tolerance prevents the use of assembly methods and materials in the display that would otherwise be available. Examples of such methods and materials include: high reliability sealing frits, high temperature getter flash methods, and fast, high temperature vacuum bake outs (which reduce manufacturing costs).
Spacers have also been made of glass. However, glass may not have adequate strength. Further, micro-cracks that are inherent in glass make glass spacers even weaker than xe2x80x9cidealxe2x80x9d glass because of the tendency of micro-cracks to propagate easily throughout the glass spacers.
European Patent Publication 580 244 A1 describes glass spacers provided with the following items: (1) a high-ohmic material (109-1014 ohms/square) coated on a spacer edge adjacent to the backplate structure (2) a patterned low-ohmic layer coated on a spacer edge adjacent to the backplate structure, (3) a conducting layer coated on a spacer edge adjacent to the faceplate structure and (4) a coating having a low secondary emission coefficient formed over the entire spacer surface, including any layers provided by items (1), (2) and/or (3). The low secondary emission coefficient coatings of item (4) include polyimide, titanium dioxide (TiO2), or a suspension including chromium oxide (Cr2O3) particles, glass particles and an organic binder such as isopropanol.
For any spacer material, the presence of spacers may adversely affect the flow of electrons toward the faceplate structure in the vicinity of the spacers. For example, stray electrons may electrostatically charge the surface of a spacer, changing the voltage distribution near the spacer from the desired distribution and resulting in distortion of the electron flow, thereby causing distortions in the image produced by the display.
It would therefore be desirable to have a spacer which is capable of adequately supporting and separating the faceplate and backplate structures while controlling the voltage distribution between these structures. It would also be desirable to have a spacer having a thermal coefficient of expansion which can be matched to the thermal coefficients of expansion of the faceplate and backplate structures. It would further be desirable to have a spacer which is easily manufacturable.
The invention provides structures and methods for forming high strength spacers for use in flat panel displays. These spacers are positioned between a faceplate structure and a backplate structure of a flat panel display.
In one embodiment, an electrically resistive spacer is formulated from a mixture of ceramic, such as aluminum oxide (alumina), which contains one or more transition metal oxides, such as titanium oxide (titania), chromium oxide (chromia), iron oxide or vanadium oxide. A wafer is fabricated from the ceramic composition and fired. The wafer is given a desired electrical resistivity by controlling the time, temperature and kiln atmosphere during the firing step and by controlling the ratios of the transition metals to the other components of the ceramic composition.
Face metallization strips are formed along one or more of the outside surfaces of the wafer. After the metallization has been formed, the wafer is cut parallel to the face metallization strips to create the spacers.
As a result, the face metallization strips are positioned on the spacers immediately adjacent to the spacer edges which contact the faceplate and backplate structures. When the spacers are positioned between the faceplate and backplate structures, the face metallization strips provide electrical contacts between the spacers and the faceplate and backplate structures. This advantageously provides an even voltage distribution near the spacer ends.
Additionally, edge metallization strips can be formed over the spacer edges which contact the faceplate and backplate structures. The edge metallization provides an electrical connection between the spacers and the faceplate and backplate structures.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a spacer has an electrically insulating ceramic core with electrically resistive skins connected to the opposing outside surfaces of the spacer. The insulating ceramic core can be alumina, and the resistive skins can be formed from ceramic, such as alumina, containing a transition metal oxide, such as chromia, titania, iron oxide and/or vanadium oxide.
In one variation, a spacer is fabricated by forming a wafer from an electrically insulating ceramic and forming at least one additional wafer from an electrically resistive ceramic composition which includes an insulating ceramic and a transition metal oxide. The ceramic composition wafer may be thinner than the insulating ceramic wafer. The ceramic composition wafer is laminated on the outside surface of the insulating ceramic wafer to form a laminated wafer having electrically resistive skins. The laminated wafer is fired. After firing at the desired temperature and atmosphere, the wafer exhibits the desired electrical resistivity. Face metallization strips are formed on the outside surfaces of the laminated wafer. The resulting structure is cut along the face metallization strips to form the spacers. Edge metallization strips can also be added.
The electrical resistivity of the ceramic composition at the outside surface(s) of the spacers allows stray electrons to flow through this ceramic composition when a voltage is applied across the spacers, thereby preventing charge build-up on the outside surfaces of the spacers. The formulation of the ceramic composition wafer can be chosen to have a low secondary electron emission to further reduce the charging effects. The strength of ceramic compositions, particularly those based on alumina is generally quite high, thereby reducing the number of spacers required in a display of a given size.
In another variation, a spacer is fabricated by forming an electrically resistive coating on an electrically insulating ceramic wafer. The insulating ceramic wafer is typically made of alumina, a filled glass or another ceramic composition. The electrically resistive coating can be insulating ceramic containing a transition metal oxide. The insulating ceramic wafer can be fired either before or after the electrically resistive coating is applied. Face metallization strips are fabricated on the outside surfaces of the resulting wafer structure. The resulting wafer structure is cut parallel to the face metallization strips to create the spacers. Edge metallization can also be added.
The electrical resistivity of the resistive coating at the outside surface(s) of the spacers allows stray electrons to flow through this resistive coating when a voltage is applied across the spacers, thereby preventing charge build-up on the outside surfaces of the spacers. A further advantage of the coating technique is that strength required of the spacer is provided by the ceramic core. This allows a broader selection of coating materials which may be selected to provide the desired combination of secondary electron emission and electrical resistivity to control the charging behavior of the spacer.
In yet another variation, the electrically insulating ceramic core of the spacer is formed from a ceramic composition, such as alumina containing a transition metal oxide, wherein the transition metal oxide is present in the higher oxide states (i.e., a maximal valence oxide). Electrically resistive skins are formed at the outside surfaces of the spacer by chemically reducing the outside surfaces of the spacer. By reducing the outside surfaces of the spacer, the coordination of the transition metal ions at these outside surfaces is altered, thereby causing the transition metal oxide to become electrically resistive at the outside surfaces of the spacer. The spacer core remains electrically insulating. Face metallization strips are formed on the outside surfaces of the wafer, and a firing step is performed in a neutral atmosphere on the resulting structure. The wafer is then cut parallel to the face metallization strips to form spacers. Edge metallization may be added.
The spacers described above, when used in a flat panel display, advantageously reduce power consumed by the spacers while preventing charge build-up at the outside surfaces of the spacers. The thermal coefficients of expansion of the spacers can be controlled to achieve desired values by controlling the percentages of the materials used in the spacers. In general, the wafer can be fired before or after the metallization is formed, depending upon the particular method used. The methods described above provide relatively simple and inexpensive techniques for the fabrication of the spacers.

Spacer suitable for use in flat panel display

Candescent Intellectual Property Services, Inc.


The present invention relates to distributed networking, and in particularly to a message-based networking environment. More particularly, it relates to business applications, which access the network via some middleware within a predetermined load schedule. In order to alleviate the disadvantages of prior art it is proposed to perform, a method with the following sequence of steps: monitoring, metering the current workload, storing metered workload data in a first appropriate data store, store state information data about the plurality of currently used instances in a second appropriate data store, analyzing both, said stored, metered workload data and said state information for compliance with a predetermined quality-of-service policy, adapting the number of instances usable for satisfying the workload to the workload needs as required by said predetermined quality-of-service policy, wherein meta data of newly created instances are managed in a plurality of message stores, the data contents of which are frequently synchronized in order to decouple the plurality of client applications from bindings fixed during their operation to particular service instances.

The following explanations of terms are first given in order to introduce to the present invention.
"Web services" (sometimes called application services) are services (usually including some combination of programming and data, but possibly including human resources as well) that are made available from a business's Web server for Web users or other Web-connected programs. Providers of Web services are generally known as application service providers. Web services range from such major services as storage management and customer relationship management (CRM) down to much more limited services such as the furnishing of a stock quote and the checking of bids for an auction item. The accelerating creation and availability of these services is a major Web trend.
Users can access some Web services through a peer-to-peer arrangement rather than by going to a central server. Some services can communicate with other services and this exchange of procedures and data is generally enabled by a class of software known as middleware. Services previously possible only with the older standardized service known as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) increasingly are likely to become Web services. Besides the standardization and wide availability to users and businesses of the Internet itself, Web services are also increasingly enabled by the use of the Extensible Markup Language (XML) as a means of standardizing data formats and exchanging data. XML is the foundation for the Web Services Description Language (WDSL).
Message broker: In a telecommunication network, where programs communicate by exchanging formally-defined messages (that is, through the act of messaging), a message broker is an intermediary program that translates a message from the formal messaging protocol of the sender to the formal messaging protocol of the receiver. Message broker programs are sometimes known as middleware.
Autonomic Management:
Autonomic management is regarded as a next evolution step on top of the preceding challenges in the field of complexity of system control, resource sharing, and operational management. Autonomic management techniques do disadvantageously not address a cooperation of stateful dynamic instances, virtualized services and operational message stores on customer's request, which would be useful in the field of on-demand computing.
Virtualized services: Virtualized services can be viewed as a pool of server resources from which private, secured configurations can be dynamically allocated to support an application and then disbanded if necessary. With this approach, server capacity no longer must be dedicated to individual applications, and services are not tied to specific hardware or network-paths. As a result, clients pay only for the resources they utilize and have access to powerful features such as high availability, disaster recovery and real-time scalability without the expensive over-provisioning required by legacy systems.
Known systems do not provide autonomic management facilities such as a Monitor, Analyze, Plan, and Execute (MAPE) capability. The dynamic allocation of resources is disadvantageously not fully automated and requires human intervention.
Dynamic Instances:
The Web service (WS)-Resource construct is considered to concentrate on means to express the relationship between stateful resources and Web services. The known service includes neither the necessary techniques for autonomic management nor the operation of operational message stores, which would be useful in the field of on-demand computing.
In the before-mentioned field the present invention has special applicability to a networked environment, wherein response time must be reliably short, system availability must be guaranteed, and wherein a large range of message throughput is realized in order to do the required business. A good example relates to financial services offered via Web Services in an information technology (IT) environment, the basic system structure of which is schematically depicted in FIG. 1.
A number of custom applications 110, 112, 114 connect to a bank house's business resources. They are used to provide the user requests to the bank's IT environment for performing the requested user services, like money transfer, trade of shares, etc. via inclusion of a secure banking network 150 connecting to other banks and trade institutions. The banking system environment is depicted in the central portion 102 of the drawing.
Such environment comprises a message broker environment having associated a number of network-connected services 106, which are realized by specific respective message flows. Examples are funds transfer services. Security-con trolling services, Bank-to-bank messaging. The before-mentioned business applications access the services via predefined software interfaces, comprising the management of requests via prior art queue management. This messaging middleware is controlled in latest prior art by means of some middleware interfaced between applications and operating system.
In the known prior art, such middleware defines how many resources 104 are usable for satisfying a given need of traffic involved by the business's peak loads. The peak load determines the number of pre-allocated resources needed to perform the desired services according to the rules defined in a pre-defined schedule of Quality of Service (QoS). Such schedule might contain the following basic rules and requirements, as they are known from electronic banking prior art. An exemplary rule derived from common heuristics in the electronic banking domain is a calendar schedule. Two variants of this approach might be:                3. Annual closing of account:                    Number of online transactions per minute: >800                        4. Quarterly closing of account:                    Number of online transactions per minute: >800
For example a maximum number of hardware servers offering a given need of CPU-power and disk storage capacity are pre-occupied in order to run a respective maximum number of service instantiations for doing the business.
Accordingly, available processing resources must be dimensioned to accommodate peak workload requirements. As a result, resources are significantly over-provisioned to ensure message throughput and delivery of service with acceptable performance and availability characteristics. These resources are typically left unexploited during intervals of low to medium message traffic.
The disadvantage is that this rigid concept of static resource allocation does not flexibly respond to varying loads. Thus, in periods with light traffic, many hardware resources are bound, but they remain unused. Only in peak load periods good system efficiency prevails.

On demand message based financial network integration middleware

International Business Machines Corporation


A three terminal battery equalizer which includes a DC--DC converter has a first filter inductor in the switched, current conducting path connected to the battery ground and a second filter inductor in the switched, current path connected to the non-grounded, non-interconnected terminal of a second battery, and has a capacitor connected between the filter inductors for maintaining the same magnitude of current in the battery equalizer during the time interval when the switching transistors of the DC--DC converter are turned off, as when the transistor switches are turned on. The circuit further includes an error signal feedback circuit for controlling the transistor switches and protective feedback circuits, all providing signals which are integrated to eliminate the effect of alternating voltages, resulting from isolation of the control circuit from the battery circuit. The protective circuits include output current detection for overload protection, reverse polarity protection and temperature compensation.

1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates generally to battery power supply systems, such as used in vehicles, and more particularly relates to an electronic circuit for equalizing the voltage on two or more series connected storage batteries.
2. Description Of The Related Art
Many commercial vehicles, such as buses, utility trucks and tractors, are provided with on board electrical systems, including one or more batteries, for supplying electrical power to a variety of electrical loads, such as lights, specialized equipment and vehicle accessories. Some of these loads are motors, such as a starting motor for a large diesel engine, or for driving air conditioners, which must provide a high torque and therefore have a high power requirement. It is desirable to supply such high power loads at a voltage greater than 12 volts, such as 24 volts, in order to meet the high torque requirements without excessive current and consequent resistive losses. However, storage batteries for use on vehicles are conventionally manufactured with a standard 12-volt nominal battery voltage. Furthermore, lights, fare boxes, radios, transmissions and many accessories and other equipment for use on vehicles are also conventionally manufactured for use with a nominal 12 volt system.
Therefore, it is desirable to take advantage of the cost savings resulting from use of conventionally available 12 volts electrical equipment and 12 volt batteries on a vehicle while also providing a DC supply voltage greater than 12 volts in order to supply the larger loads, such as motors. This has traditionally been accomplished by utilizing two or more 12 volt batteries connected in series. The high power requirements can then be delivered at the sum voltage of the series batteries and yet power can be supplied to the 12 volt loads at the voltage of the 12 volt batteries. In this manner, the 12 volt loads can be supplied by connecting them in parallel to one of the 12 volt batteries, typically the battery which is connected to vehicle ground, and the higher voltage loads can be connected parallel to the entire set of series connected batteries.
Unfortunately, however, in the absence of additional circuitry, such connection causes the battery which is parallel to the 12 volt loads to become undercharged, drained, and reduced in voltage, while the other battery or batteries becomes overcharged and raised to an excessive voltage. This occurs because the alternator is connected parallel to the series connected batteries and consequently all charging current which is used to charge the battery supplying the 12 volt loads must also flow through the other 12 volt battery or batteries. Therefore, a series battery which does not supply the 12 volt loads becomes overcharged and, as a result, the grounded battery which supplies the 12 volt loads cannot be maintained in a charged condition at full voltage.
In order to correct this problem, battery equalizer circuits were developed and are the subject of my previous U.S. Pat. Nos., 4,479,083 and 5,528,122, both of which are herein incorporated by reference. The battery equalizer circuits of those patents are three terminal devices which are connected to the three terminals of two series connected batteries. They cause two series connected batteries of equal voltage to contribute equally to the current supplied to the 12 volt loads as if the two batteries were connected in parallel. The battery equalizer extends battery life by maintaining the voltages of the two batteries equal because the equalizer holds the voltage, at the intermediate terminal between the two batteries, at a voltage which is equal to one-half the sum of the two battery voltages. Therefore, neither battery becomes significantly overcharged or undercharged.
Battery equalizer circuits in the prior art, as well as the present invention, utilize a DC to DC converter circuit. The prior art teaches many varieties of DC--DC converter circuits to which the present invention can be applied. For use in a battery equalizer, a DC--DC converter transfers energy from one battery to the other. This is accomplished by using a reactive, energy transferring circuit element, which is switched in alternating connection to each battery by transistors used as switches. In some DC--DC converters the energy is received from the higher voltage battery and intermediately stored in one or two inductors or capacitors of the energy transferring circuit element during one-half cycle, and then is transferred to the lower voltage battery during the other half cycle. In others, the energy transferring circuit is a transformer which transfers energy by inductive coupling during each half cycle from the higher voltage battery to the lower voltage battery. The DC--DC converter portion of the circuit is not itself the present invention. Many varieties of DC--DC converters are shown in the prior art and the present invention is applicable to most of them.
The prior art also teaches control circuits, particularly pulse width modulation circuits, for controlling the transistor switches. The transistor switches are alternatingly switched on and off with a pulse width or duty cycle which is modulated as an increasing function of a feedback error signal. That error signal is the difference between the desired battery voltage and the actual battery voltage. Typically, the error signal is the difference between one-half the sum of the voltages of two series connected batteries and the voltage of the grounded one of the batteries.
Many common, popular DC to DC converter circuits include a transformer as the energy transferring circuit element. The transformer is switched in alternate connections to the batteries by means of transistor switches. This switching causes substantial transient variations, resulting particularly from a need which arises during higher current operation of the equalizer with a 50% duty cycle (the energy transferring circuit element being connected to the batteries by the transistor switches substantially 100% of the cycle, 50% in each alternate connection). The need is for a time interval between alternate connections of the transformer to the battery, during which all transistor switches are turned off in order to avoid any possibility of a momentary, short circuit through the transistor switches. These switching transients generate spurious noise, which can interfere with electronic instruments and equipment on board a vehicle. Consequently, it is necessary that filtering be provided.
It is an object and feature of the present invention to provide a circuit which maintains an essentially constant current through its main current conducting branches for all switching states of the DC--DC converter switching circuit, thus greatly reducing transient variations and making it possible to use considerably smaller and therefore less costly switching and filtering elements.
It is a related object and feature of the present invention to provide a preferred embodiment in which the current switched by the transistor switches of the DC--DC converter circuit at no time exceeds the current through either battery and therefore allows the use of less expensive transistor switches.
It is another object and feature of the invention to provide an overload detection circuit for detecting an excessive current in the equalizer circuit which could damage the equalizer circuit components, without consuming significant energy in the overload detection circuit.
Because battery equalizers use transformers with a ferromagnetic core, saturation of the transformer core must be avoided. A very small DC offset, such as a 50% duty cycle in one transistor switched current path and a 49% duty cycle for the other, will cause the operating point on the BH curve to migrate incrementally up or down the curve during each cycle. Traditionally, this problem has been addressed by making the switching control circuit as precisely symmetrical as possible, by providing a small dead-time interval, and by providing snubber circuits to leak off the incremental, unbalance of energy.
It is an object and feature of the present invention to prevent such migration of the operating point on the BH curve of the transformer in a manner which is highly effective because it effectively shorts out the transformer during each off-time interval, and yet does not waste energy because the excess transformer energy is returned into the circuit.
It is another object and feature of the present invention to provide an error signal detecting circuit, for detecting the voltage difference between the voltage on one of the batteries and the average of the voltages on all of the batteries, by a simple circuit which avoids problems ordinarily associated with the floating nature of a battery equalizer circuit with filter inductors in its main battery current conducting paths.

Storage battery equalizer with improved, constant current output filter, overload protection, temperature compensation and error signal feedback


A load assembly for a self-uprighting delineator which moves from a first upright position to a second yielded or deflected position upon impact and returns to the upright position after impact. The assembly has upper and lower cell elements that have cooperating and complimentary alignment members in the form of notches and ridges. When the assembly is twisted, the alignment members cause the upper and lower cells to properly align the spring loaded cables passing through cable passages in the elements.

The present invention relates to an impact recovery delineator system having a delineator post, a signage panel, and a fixed or portable base system which facilitates pivoting from a normally aligned, upright position to a substantially horizontal, yielded position upon being impacted by a moving object such as an automotive vehicle. More specifically, this invention relates to the unique load cell elements designed to reduce the impact force required to pivot the post upon impact, to speed the return of the post to its upright position, and ensure that the pivoting load assembly and the signage panel are properly oriented to direct traffic upon returning to the upright position.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,806,046; 5,199,814; 6,036,400; and 6,416,248, teach the current state of the art for such devices, and each is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. However, certain problems still exist with existing posts and bases, which the present invention seeks to overcome.
While it is well known that delineator posts are frequently accidentally stuck in an incalculable number of directions, the most important factor is that the signage eventually resume its original proper orientation with respect to the direction of oncoming traffic. Further, it seems that certain individuals find pleasure in twisting such signage to confuse and either, intentionally or unintentionally, to endanger drivers approaching the traffic delineator. Unless the delineator is properly designed, such twisting can result in the signage not returning to the proper orientation upon release of the twisting force.
The present invention aims to ensure that irrespective of the origin of the twisting impact upon the delineator, the signage automatically, and consistently, returns to the proper predetermined orientation. The unique arrangement of upper and lower load cell elements of the present delineator with two spaced apart tension cables in separate radiused passages cooperating with alignment edges on the faces of the load cell elements results in achieving the desired results.


A system for reducing trauma in the head or neck of a living being caused by acceleration of the head relative to a torso of the living being within a range of motion. The system includes a support engaging at least one of the head, neck, and shoulder of the living being without limiting the range of motion of the head or neck relative to the torso; a sensor in electrical communication with the system; a user interface in electrical communication with the sensor; and a damper associated with the support that is configured to mitigate the position, speed or acceleration of the head relative to the torso in response to information received by the sensor or user interface.

Concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) caused by a jostling of the brain in the intracranial space. Concussion can be caused both by direct impact to the head and by movement to the body resulting in jostling of the brain. Linear and angular/rotational brain accelerations are the two variables to consider in head injury since most head injuries will involve both linear and angular forces. The kinetic energy is half of the mass multiplied by the squared velocity; therefore, the velocity has a large impact when considering the biophysical aspect of a concussion. When a concussion occurs, there are high strain forces on the midbrain, and cerebral blood flow decreases significantly after injury. Excessive amounts of a neurotransmitter, glutamate, are released in the body and in turn, cause neurons to fire excessively. This results in an imbalance of ions across the cell membrane, affecting action potentials. Current head and neck protection are effective in skull and cervical injuries, but there remains a need for protection to reduce or prevent harmful lateral and rotational forces on the brain.
Other injuries to the neck, including neck strain or sprain, whiplash, other injuries due to neck hyperextension or hyper flexion, and overuse of muscles, may also require preventative or restorative support to the neck, head, and/or back. For instance, stress injuries occur during daily tasks such as sitting at a computer, where incorrect posture is common, and exercising, when improper form places undue stress on the neck muscles. A device is needed that will not impede any and all activities desired by the user while reducing excessive force or strain on the musculature. Recent findings indicate a correlation between neck strength and concussion incidence. As neck strength increases so does the ability of the neck to counteract a force applied to the head. However, in many cases, athletes do not see an impact coming and thus cannot prepare for impact. When the athlete does not see the impact coming, neck strength becomes less relevant as the muscles are not engaged, and concussion incidence is higher.
Many attempts to address these problems are designed to work in conjunction with a helmet. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,517 discloses a foam-like neck collar to be fastened around the neck to reduce and cushion extreme motions of the neck for lessening the occurrence of or eliminating neck injuries. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,896 discloses a neck brace for athletes to be secured to the base of a helmet as well as shoulder pads which functions to limit flexion and extension of the neck. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 7,846,117 discloses a neck brace to be used in conjunction with a helmet that inhibits excessive neck movement during impact, yet otherwise allows a high degree of motion.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,765,412 discloses an inflatable cervical collar functioning to prevent whiplash-like head and neck injury. The collar is connected to a compressed natural gas source for inflation upon impact; therefore, it is not suitable for wear in most circumstances.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,710 A discloses a sports neck guard that protects hockey players from lacerations in the wearer's throat caused by a hockey stick blade or a skate blade. The neck guards protect the player from dangerous blows to the throat, but the neck guard does not protect the wearer from concussions that occur due to neck movement.
Similar to U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,710A is U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,179 that provides air-inflated padding to serve as a throat protector but does not protect the carotid artery nor does it protect the neck to avoid mild traumatic brain injury.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,144,375 discloses a pulsimeter which utilizes a wrist watch as a user interface to detect a pulse wave and has a pulse wave sensor to output a pulse wave signal. The pulsimeter has a control program through a computer device to allow an accurate calculation of pulse rate despite body motion components that overlap pulse wave components. Disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,212,496 A is a molecular physiological monitoring system that measure electrocardiogram, respiration rate, and heart rate and transmits the data with or without the use of wires. The miniature transducer contains electronic circuits that can be implanted subcutaneously or externally on the human body.
Research published in Computers in Biology and Medicine reveals an interactive graphical user interface that analyzes human cardiac monophasic action potentials. The graphical user interface coupled with an algorithm analyzes data from both swine and human hearts can detect ischemic and assess appropriate pharmaceutical interventions.
Polar (www.polar.com) has developed and commercialized many different heart rate monitors and sport watches. These systems have transmitters that measure human physiology, GPS data, speed, distance, etc. and calculate and communicate this information to a user interface such as a watch or smart phone through Bluetooth and other wireless means.
There are also disclosures for adhesive supports such as U.S. Pat. No. D265,828 and other similar kinesiology tapes that function to increase healing and provide support with no appreciable thickness on the skin. This support, however, is quite limited and largely for rehabilitation purposes.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2013/0239310 A1, now abandoned, relates to an anti-concussion compression device meant to protect the neck and spine.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,765,412 relates to an inflatable cervical collar meant to protect the head and neck from whiplash-like injuries.
EP 2637927 A1 relates to a device to be worn around the neck that will compress the veins and restrict brain venous drainage to reduce energy absorption.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,822,642 A1 relates to an apparatus for preventing neck, spinal cord injury, and concussion comprising a helmet and body harness that may limit cervical rotation, lateral bending, flexion, and extension.
PCT Patent No. WO 2009053946 A2 relates to the method to process composite structures with adaptive stiffness integrating shear thickening fluids. U.S. Pat. No. 7,498,276 B2 relates to the use of shear thickening fluids in body armor and protective devices.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2012/0094789 A1, now abandoned, relates to a system and method of using shear thickening materials in sports products.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,679,047 B2 relates to an athletic tape or protective athletic sleeve using shear thickening fluid.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,010 relates to an electrical muscle stimulator used to stimulate one or more muscles through one or more electrodes attached to the body.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,844,340 B2 relates to a device and method for performing transcutaneous electrical stimulation on a human patient.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2006/0173510 A1 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,190,248, issued May 29, 2012), relates to a medical device utilizing electrical stimulation to prevent and/or treat neurological disorders.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,290 A relates to a garment that reduces the risk of bone fracture due to impact forces that may utilize a dilatant material for energy dissipation.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. U.S. 2006/0234572 A1, now abandoned, details a method of containment for shear thickening fluids using polymer composites.
PCT Patent No. WO 2007146703 A2 details a process used to coat a shear thickening fluid onto a material.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,707 describes an electrical stimulation garment with a joint movement sensor that aids a user in gripping objects.
To any extent needed to explain the foregoing technologies, the disclosures of the foregoing publications are incorporated herein by reference. As stated above, most current head and neck protective devices provide significant protection from skull and cervical injuries, but lack substantial ability to manage jostling of the brain especially in sports such as soccer and basketball where concussion incidence is still high despite limited contact. There is, therefore, a need for a wearable device that manages jostling of the brain while remaining suitable for use during activities including non-contact, non-helmeted sports.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Apparatus, system, and method for reducing head or neck trauma


A spraying device for introducing a fluid into the working chamber of a construction machine for processing the ground or road surfaces, comprises two fluid delivery apparatuses, a line system and a control unit. The present invention further relates to a construction machine, especially a recycler, a stabilizer or a cold milling machine, comprising such a spraying device and a method for operating such a spraying device.

Many construction machines, especially construction machines for processing the ground or roads such as a cold milling machine for milling off road or ground surfaces, a stabilizer for stabilizing ground of low bearing capacity, and a recycler for repairing road pavements in need of repair, comprise spraying devices in order to reduce the development of dust during the working process and/or add fluid, especially water, to the ground material to be processed in order to obtain desired properties. Such construction machines are usually provided with a working roller with which the ground or the road can be broken up and/or be thoroughly mixed. If the processing comprises an asphalt or concrete road surface, a typical process is milling off the road surface. The working roller is mounted with respect to its cylindrical axis directly or indirectly horizontally on a machine frame of the construction machine and extends transversely to the longitudinal direction and the working direction of the construction machine. The working roller is further usually mounted in a working chamber which is open towards the ground, in which the working roller rotates in operation and comes into contact with the ground to be processed. The working roller is usually shielded off towards the other sides, e.g., by a protective hood or a milling roller box. As a result of the enclosed configuration of the working chamber, it is prevented among other things that the material milled off by the working roller rotating about its longitudinal axis will be ejected in an uncontrollable manner into the ambient environment of the construction machine. The outwardly delimited working chamber is further used for the transport of material in order to enable the controlled removal of material milled off by the milling roller. It is the object of the working chamber in another application to provide a mixing space in which the processed raw material can be mixed with an additive in order to achieve fortification or stabilization of the ground for example. Typical additives in this connection are hydraulic or bituminous bonding agents or water for example.
In order to enable adding a fluid to the working chamber in working operation, the construction machine comprises a spraying device. The spraying device usually comprises a fluid delivery apparatus, by means of which the fluid can be introduced into the working chamber. Such a fluid delivery apparatus can be a valve for example and comprise an outlet opening or an outlet nozzle opening into the working chamber. Frequently, the part of the fluid delivery apparatus via which the fluid enters the working chamber is arranged in the interior of the working chamber. The term of fluid delivery apparatus shall comprise all such means in the following which are provided for direct delivery of the fluid into the working chamber. This therefore concerns at least one suitable fluid outlet opening, e.g., an opening of a nozzle. The fluid delivery apparatus further frequently comprises a valve or a comparable regulation means. It is not mandatory that it forms an integral unit with the at least one fluid outlet opening. The relevant aspect is that the regulation means can regulate the fluid flow through the outlet opening, e.g., it can release or block the same. Furthermore, a line system is present by which the fluid is guided to the fluid delivery apparatus. The line system can optionally comprise further components such as one or several pumps via which the fluid is pumped from the storage reservoir to the line system and finally to at least one outlet nozzle, filter, valves, etc. The supply of the construction machine with fluid occurs either via one or several separately provided fluid tanks and/or by a connection of the construction machine with a suitable tank vehicle. In addition, the construction machine can be arranged for supplying the working chamber with different fluids or a fluid mixture. For this purpose, several fluid tanks can be integrated in the construction machine or suitable connections for a tank vehicle can be provided.
The fluid quantity or the flow quantity of fluid which is to be added to the ground material to be processed can vary widely depending on the respective application. A generic spraying device therefore further comprises a control unit which controls the fluid supply through the line system up to the fluid delivery apparatus. The control unit thus represents the central open-loop and closed-loop control component of the spraying device and is responsible for controlling the spraying device and the individual components of the spraying device. The control device can specifically comprise a respectively programmed microcontroller which triggers the respective components of the spraying device via suitable signal connections. The control unit can further comprise an input unit via which the machine operator can enter control parameters such as ground condition, feed line of the spraying device, type of fluid, etc. Typical control functions which are controlled by the control unit are the activation and deactivation of the fluid supply for example or a respective pump, the regulation of the fluid pressure or the delivered fluid quantity per unit of time which is output by the fluid delivery apparatus, or the flow quantity, the type of fluid, etc.
A typical application in which the introduction of a fluid into the working chamber of the construction machine is desired is the mixture of the material processed by the working roller in the working chamber with water in order to achieve improved material properties of the ground material together with bonding agents such as lime for example which was previously applied to the ground to be processed. Alternatively, or in addition, a reduction in the development of dust in working operation can be achieved by wetting the ground material. Further exemplary applications are the introduction of bituminous bonding agents, the production and introduction of foamed bitumen, etc.
The required fluid quantities can vary widely depending on the conditions of the respective application. In the case of recycling applications, a comparatively low amount of water (e.g., approximately 100 to 300 L/min) is frequently required, whereas up to 700 to 1000 L/min are conveyed by the spraying device into the working chamber in the case of stabilization applications for example. In the case of the conventional spraying devices, considerable fluctuations in pressure and insufficient precision in dosing and an even distribution of the fluid in the working chamber is therefore obtained over the entire application spectrum. Especially in the case of low pressures there are frequently uneven and thus unsatisfactory distribution results in conventional spraying devices. Moreover, there is a likelihood especially at low pressures that the fluid delivery apparatus will clog with the ground material to be processed and will therefore not be available for further use.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a spraying device for a generic construction machine which continuously and reliably ensures the even introduction of a fluid into the working chamber over a wide conveying range, i.e., from low fluid quantities up to comparatively high fluid quantities per unit of time and/or distance. Moreover, the spraying device shall be robust and fail-safe.

Spraying device for a construction machine for processing the ground, a construction machine with a spraying device and a method for operating a spraying device


Methods and systems for performing analog-to-digital conversion are proposed. In one example, An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) comprising a quantizer, the quantizer having a first quantization resolution for a first quantization operation subrange and a second quantization resolution for a second quantization operation subrange. At least one of the first quantization resolution or the first quantization operation subrange is programmable. At least one of the second quantization resolution or the second quantization operation subrange is programmable. The quantizer is configured to: receive an input voltage; and based on whether the input voltage belongs to the first quantization operation subrange or to the second quantization operation subrange, quantize the input voltage at the first quantization resolution or at the second quantization resolution to generate a digital output.

The disclosure relates generally to analog-to-digital conversion, and more specifically to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) having one or more programmable quantization resolutions.
Analog-to-digital conversion generally refers to generating a digital representation of an analog signal by an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). Analog-to-digital conversion can be performed for various reasons. For example, the digital representation can be generated for transmission, storage, and/or for subsequent processing (e.g., filtering), both of which can be more easily and reliably performed in digital domain than in analog domain. For example, the transmission of digital information over a bus, as well as the storage of digital information in a memory device, is more reliable and are less susceptible to the effect of charge leakage and noise than the transmission and storage of an analog voltage. Also, the processing of digital information can be performed based on various digital signal processing algorithms using a hardware processor, such as a digital signal processor (DSP), which typically is much more compact and requires much less power than the analog circuits (e.g., operational amplifiers, passive devices such as resisters, capacitors, and inductors) needed to implement similar processing in the analog domain.
ADC can be found in many applications, such as image processing. For example, an image sensor, such as a pixel cell, may include a photodiode to sense incident light by converting photons into charges (e.g., electrons or holes). The image sensor further includes a floating node configured as a capacitor to collect the charges generated by the photodiode during an exposure period. The collected charges can develop an analog voltage at the capacitor. The analog voltage can be buffered and fed to an ADC, which can quantize the analog voltage into a digital value representing the intensity of the incident light received at the photodiode. An image of a scene can be obtained based on the digital values generated by multiple pixel cells, with each digital value corresponding to incident light received from part of the scene. The digital values of the image can also be stored and post-processed for different applications.
There can be a difference between an analog voltage and its quantized value. The difference leads to quantization error. The quantization errors between the analog voltages (which are developed from the accumulated charges in the image sensors) and their quantized values can add noise to the image and degrade the fidelity of representation of the scene by the image. The quantization errors can be reduced by increasing the quantization resolution of the ADC.

Analog-to-digital converter having programmable quantization resolution


The present disclosure is directed to merging data acquired from differently configured catheters on a common map. In use, physical characteristics of catheters influence recorded electrical signals/responses such that differently configured catheters (e.g., different electrode sizes, shapes, materials, spacings, etc.) may record different responses to measurements taken at the same location in response to the same excitation signal. To allow merging of data from differently configured catheters in a common map, the present disclosure applies a corrective coefficient or transfer function to the recorded electrical signals of one or both catheters to counter-balance variable influences of catheter specific characteristics on recorded signals.

A number of mapping and navigation options have been developed to enable electrical mapping of a patient's heart as well as navigation of an instrument, such as an electrode catheter, to a desired site for ablation or other treatment. For example, the EnSite Precision™ Cardiac Mapping System is a catheter navigation and mapping system capable of displaying the 3-dimensional (3-D) position of electrophysiology catheters, as well as displaying cardiac electrical activity as waveform traces and as dynamic 3-D isopotential maps of the cardiac chamber. The contoured surfaces of these 3-D maps are based on the anatomy of the patient's own cardiac chamber. The EnSite system and similar systems are generally based on the principle that when electrical current is applied across two surface electrodes, a voltage gradient is created along the axis between the electrodes. Although any suitable number of electrodes may be utilized, typically six surface electrodes are placed on the body of the patient and in three pairs: anterior to posterior, left to right lateral, and superior (neck) to inferior (left leg). The three electrode pairs form three orthogonal axes (X-Y-Z), with the patient's heart being at least generally at the center.
The noted six surface electrodes are connected to a mapping system, which alternately sends an electrical signal through each pair of surface electrodes to create a voltage gradient along each of the three axes, forming a transthoracic electrical field. Electrophysiology catheters may be connected to the mapping system and advanced to the patient's heart. As a catheter enters the transthoracic field, each catheter electrode senses voltage, timed to the creation of the gradient along each axis. Using the sensed voltages compared to the voltage gradient on all three axes, the mapping system calculates the three-dimensional position of each catheter electrode. The calculated position for the various electrodes may occur simultaneously and may repeat multiple times per second.
The mapping system may display the located electrodes as catheter bodies with real-time navigation. By tracking the position of the various catheters, the mapping system may provide non-fluoroscopic navigation, mapping, and creation of chamber models that are highly detailed and that have highly accurate geometries. In the latter regard, the physician typically sweeps an appropriate catheter electrode across the heart chamber to outline the structures by relaying the signals to the computer system that then generates the 3-D model. This 3-D model may be utilized for any appropriate purpose, for instance to help the physician guide an ablation catheter to a heart location where treatment is desired/required. In order to generate an accurate and highly detailed map of a patient's heart, an electrode catheter may be swept across various surfaces of the heart while obtaining data as described above.

Methods and tools to merge mapping data acquired from multiple catheters

ST JUDE MEDICAL CARDIOLOGY DIVISION, INC


A device for transforming a digital signal into an acoustic signal, making use of a standard phase modulation, that comprises a modem chip (1) with a phase modulation of known kind, used until now for the data transmission via cable, conceived and used only for a cable connection, for acquiring a digital signal through a serial inlet RS232 and for modulating the same according to a standard record V.22, and an acoustic transducer (2) of the piezoelectric kind guided by the modem chip (1).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a device that transforms a digital signal into an acoustic signal, making use of a standard phase modulation, and having the purpose of transmitting data through a fix or mobile/cellular telephone line.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known that, at present, the transmission of data through acoustic coupling, performed e.g. with a common telephone, has become a quite simple operation, in particular when a standard record is used. However, the known art sets unavoidable limits for making use of said system the reliance whereof remains in any case low. The limits derive from two critical points the technique has not yet been able to overcome:                the need of a perfect alignment between transmitter and receiver (telephone). In fact, when said alignment is not perfect, the data transmission shows a high percentage of error, as it also happens when the two surfaces are not in perfect contact one with the other.        high sensibility to acoustic noise (surrounding) and to vibrations. During transmission it is necessary to remain silent and reduce (or eliminate wherever possible) the surrounding noise because it may alter the acoustic signal to be transmitted.
The need derives from above described situation to adopt special precautions for reducing above mentioned inconveniences to the minimum, whereby they can never be completely eliminated. Some of the devices used for said purpose are listed herein below:    a. rubber bands, or similar accessories, for fixing the transmitter and the receiver so as to assure a better mechanical coupling. In particular, the transmitted must be coupled with the microphone of the telephone receiver, for receiving and consequently transmitting on the telephone line.    b. gaskets, adapters, supports etc. for assuring the sealing between the transmitter and the telephone, in consideration of the great variety of possible shapes of the latter. In fact, some "particular" telephone shapes (especially of the microphone) may even make the coupling impossible. Just think of a telephone with a modem design in which the receiver has a design in the shape of a point, like a pyramid.    c. the so-called acoustic cloth puts between the transmitter and the telephone so as to attenuate the vibrations between the two "machine bodies", which are a sure source of transmission errors.
As far as the kind of modulation used, there exist different modulation techniques, which are characterized in the modulation records used, in error probabilities and transmission speed. There are, e.g., two kinds of modulation used also for the transmission of data through the telephone line:                frequency modulation (FSK)        phase modulation (PSK).
The frequency modulation (FSK) is the one mostly used for transmitting data through an acoustic coupling; it shows the advantage of not being owner and to be able to use a common standard modem; on the other side, it has a low efficiency in terms of relationship signal/noise at equal transmission speed towards other modulation techniques.
The phase modulation (PSK) is a rather efficient modulation technique which allows, in theory, the data transmission at extremely high speed or, if used at a relatively low speed, with an extremely high efficiency. Due to this latter feature, it is widely used for low speed cable transmissions, where a great safety in the data transmission is required (e.g. counters for automatic drawing). Today, the phase modulation is used for the data transmission without cable only in a few cases in which a special owner record has been developed for the acoustic coupling. This implies the disadvantage that, for receiving, a non standard modem must be used that needs, for entering the net, a special approval for the telephone lines o each single Country and this is a limit that slows down the commercial development thereof. Even in the case of an acoustic coupling realized with a phase modulation and a non standard modem, the present art has not been able to solve the above mentioned inconveniences (the need of a perfect alignment between microphone and transducer and the high surrounding noise sensibility).

Device for transforming a digital signal into an acoustic one, and that makes use of a standard phase modulation


A novel device for pole splitting which can be employed in multistage amplifiers having a final stage and a prior stage. The device comprises a first capacitor connected between the output of the prior stage and the output of the final stage, a source follower, and a second capacitor connected between the output of the prior stage and the source follower. The source follower provides an offset voltage that reduces variation of the total capacitance of the first and second capacitors. In a preferred version of the present invention, the first and second capacitor each comprise a MOSFET transistor having a certain threshold voltage. The offset voltage is set to be at least the threshold voltage of the MOSFET transistors. In a preferred version, the source follower comprises a plurality of MOSFET transistors, which includes a MOSFET transistor having a gate connected to the first capacitor and a source connected to the second capacitor.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device and method for pole splitting, which is typically used to increase the bandwidth and stability of amplifiers.
2. Description of the Related Art
The frequency response of amplifiers and other circuits is determined by a transfer function, which is completely specified in terms of its poles and zeros together with a multiplicative constant. The upper frequency response limit, or bandwidth, of an amplifier typically depends upon a dominant pole. Amplifier stability, that is, whether the amplifier will be subject to undesired oscillations, also depends upon the dominant pole.
One conventional method for frequency compensation to increase amplifier bandwidth and stability involves connecting a feedback capacitor to an output stage in the amplifier. This causes the pole formed at the input of the amplifier to shift to a lower frequency and thus become dominant, while the pole formed at the output of the amplifier is moved to a very high frequency and thus becomes unimportant. This shifting of poles is known as pole splitting.
Amplifiers are often components of integrated circuits (chips). Digital chip fabrication processes are often preferable to analog processes since digital processes are cheaper and can be developed faster. However, in digital processes it is difficult to create capacitors with high capacitance value in a small chip area. The conventional method of pole splitting using a feedback capacitor is typically implemented with poly capacitors, metal poly sandwiched capacitors, and other capacitor types, with relatively high capacitance value. These capacitors consume a very large, inefficient amount of chip area when fabricated with digital processes.
Sometimes a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) is used as a feedback capacitor. The problem with this prior art scheme is that the capacitance of the MOSFET transistor varies widely with the input signal; the capacitance may drop to a value which is too low for effective frequency compensation. Additionally, an amplifier suffers from undesired oscillations when the compensation capacitance drops too low. What is needed is a pole splitting device which has low variation in compensation capacitance.
Therefore, objects of this invention include providing a device for pole splitting which has a high value of effective capacitance while using very little chip area, and low variation in compensation capacitance.


A polarization film including a polarizer polarizing incident light in a polarization direction and having a first polarization groove recessed from an upper surface of the polarizer and extending in a first direction; a first transparent support at the upper surface of the polarizer; and a second transparent support at a lower surface of the polarizer.

1. Field
Aspects of the present invention relate to a polarization film and a display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A display device is a device for displaying an image. One example of a display device is an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display.
Since the organic light emitting diode (OLED) display has a self-light emitting characteristic so that a separate light source is not required, which is unlike a liquid crystal display (LCD), a thickness and a weight thereof may be reduced.
The organic light emitting diode (OLED) display may include a first substrate, an organic light emitting diode disposed on the first substrate, a second substrate facing the first substrate with the organic light emitting diode interposed therebetween, and a polarization film attached to the second substrate. If the first substrate and the second substrate include a flexible substrate such as a resin, a laminate of the first substrate, the organic light emitting diode, and the second substrate may be implemented to form a flexible display panel that can be bended, folded, or rolled.
However, the polarization film, which may be formed of a polarizer for polarizing incident light and a transparent support attached to the polarizer, may have low flexibility as compared to the flexible display panel. Accordingly, the flexibility of the entire display device to which the polarization film is attached may be deteriorated.
While simply reducing a thickness of the polarizer may improve flexibility, an optical characteristic of the polarizer is likely to be deteriorated.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the described technology and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.


A reticle for use in an extreme ultraviolet (euv) lithography tool includes a trench formed in the opaque border formed around the image field of the reticle. The trench is coated with an absorber material. The reticle is used in an euv lithography tool in conjunction with a reticle mask and the positioning of the reticle mask and the presence of the trench combine to prevent any divergent beams of radiation from reaching any undesired areas on the substrate being patterned. In this manner, only the exposure field of the substrate is exposed to the euv radiation. Pattern integrity in neighboring fields is maintained.

Extreme ultraviolet, euv, technology is a rapidly advancing lithography technology for patterning semiconductor and other devices. Euv lithography uses an extreme ultraviolet, euv, wavelength of radiation generally at about 13.5 nm. Euv lithography enables the creation of more accurate patterns with better resolution and smaller feature sizes. Euv lithography operations utilize reflective optics, including a reflective mask, also referred to as a reticle.
Reflective surfaces are used, instead of lenses, to guide the euv light beams from the euv light source to the reticle, because all matter absorbs euv radiation and glass lenses would immediately absorb euv photons.
The reticle used in euv lithography is a complex optical element with many parameters that affect the critical dimensions and precision of the features formed on the substrate. The reticle contains a reflecting multilayer that may be tuned to the wavelength of light used, and an absorber which defines the dark areas. A pattern of the reflective multilayer and absorber is formed on the reticle and this pattern is transferred to the substrate being patterned as the euv light radiation reflects off of the reticle. The euv light beam is incident upon the reticle at an oblique angle and reflects off of the reticle to reach the substrate. The euv light beams that reflect from the reticle should ideally have the same angle with respect to the reticle as the incident euv light beam. When there is a variance in the angle of the reflected euv light beam, this divergent, off-axis illumination is referred to as "flare." Flare in EUV systems can be caused by surface roughness in the reflective surface which causes incident light to be scattered in multiple directions in addition to the specular direction.
The euv light beams that are reflected from the reticle and impinge upon the substrate surface chemically alter the exposed photoresist. The euv beam that reflects off of the reticle is scanned across the substrate to form patterns on the individual integrated circuits, i.e. die, of the substrate. A number of scans of the euv light beams are used to pattern the entire substrate. The portion of the pattern being scanned onto the substrate is known as the scanning field. A number of scanning fields are used to pattern the complete substrate. When a patterning operation is being carried out in one scanning field, it is critical that other portions of the substrate outside the present scanning field, are not subject to light reflected off of the reticle. Non-telecentric optics, imperfect absorber or reflective layers on the reticle and other conditions can result in flare and cause the euv radiation to be undesirably reflected onto neighboring fields not desired to be exposed. When such light is reflected outside the scanning field, this divergent light introduces patterning distortions and can alter or destroy features outside of the scanning field. The light that reaches areas outside the scanning field causes patterning problems such as CD (critical dimension) variation of device features on regions of the substrate that neighbor the field being scanned. This scattered light in the projection optics could result in several nanometers of on-wafer dimensional variation, if left uncorrected.
It would be desirable to reduce the divergent radiation associated with euv patterning.

System, method and reticle for improved pattern quality in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography and method for forming the reticle

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


Optical devices, systems, and methods can produce and/or measure cylindrical (as well as spherical) lens shapes throughout a range of both powers and cylindrical axes. Fluid focus lenses employ electrical potentials to vary the shape of a fluid/fluid interface between two immiscible fluids having differing indices of refractions by controlling localized angles between the interface and a surrounding container wall. Spherical power, cylindrical power, and cylindrical access alignment may be varied with no moving parts (other than the fluids).

The present invention is generally related to optical devices, systems, and methods, and in one embodiment provides a fluid lens capable of being adjusted in spherical and/or cylindrical power so as to allow, for example, correction of refractive errors of the human eye.
Refractive errors of the human eye are measured in a variety of ways, including both subjective and objective approaches. Subjective measurements of the eye may be made by placing corrective lenses or a corrective optical system before the eye and conducting a controlled test of the resulting corrected vision. These eye tests are commonly used to identify a sphero-cylindrical correction that provides improved vision to a subject while that subject is reviewing a suitable target image.
When conducting subjective refraction measurements, a series of individual trial lenses may be positioned before the eye of the test subject. In many subjective refraction tests, the subject looks through a phoropter, an instrument having a bank of lenses. The lenses of the phoropter can be positioned sequentially in front of the eye, with the subject often choosing between two or more alternative lens arrangements so as to provide the most improved visual acuity. Although some modern phoropters have motorized mechanisms that move or select the lenses, most remain manual devices.
In addition to the subjective measurements of human refractive errors, there are a variety of structures intended to produce objective measurements of the human eye. Objective measurements may be made by a variety of automatic refractors, for example. These instruments often have variable correcting optical trains that can correct either spherical errors alone, or that can correct sphero-cylindrical errors of the eye throughout an adjustment range. Automatic refractors alter the spherical (and often the cylindrical) power of an optical train using motors, gears, slides, bearings, pulleys, and/or the like. These moving components tend to make automatic refractors complex, bulky, susceptible to wear and damage, and quite expensive.
In light of the above, it would be advantageous to provide improved optical devices, systems, and methods. It would be particularly beneficial if these improvements allowed adjustment, correction, and/or measurement of spherical, cylindrical, toroidal, and possibly other errors, particularly for measurement of errors of the human eye. It would be particularly advantageous if these improvements could be realized without relying on a large number of alternative lenses and without the motors, gears, slides, bearings, pulleys, and other moving parts of known eye measurement systems.

Sphero cylindrical eye refraction system using fluid focus electrostatically variable lenses


A method for auto enlarging bend portion width and a computer readable recording medium for storing program thereof are provided. The method can enlarge the bend portion width from an original width to an intended width in layout. Wherein, the terminals of the center line of the bend is a first turn point and a second turn point, respectively. The method includes following steps. First calculating the original width, the intended width, the coordinates of the first turn point and the second turn point to obtain a plurality coordinates of the corner-points of the polygon. Wherein, the width of the polygon is the intended width. Then add the polygon into the original layout.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a method of electric circuit layout, and particularly to automatic enlarging width of bend portion, and computer readable recording medium for storing program with aforesaid method.
2. Prior Art
In electric circuit layout, it is needed to implement a plurality of longitudinal and latitudinal circuit lines (leads) to obtain electric connection between the devices. Generally, aforesaid longitudinal and latitudinal electric lines interconnect by 90 degree angle. In considering on some electric characteristics or electric circuit area, a bend portion is usually needed to be implemented in the electric circuit sometimes. For example, in an integrated circuit, a gate electrode of transistor is designed to be a circuit line with 45 degree bending for saving electric circuit area.
FIG. 1 is a top view, schematically illustrating a conventional transistor which has a gate electrode with bend portion by 45 degrees. Referring to FIG. 1, the gate line 120 of the transistor 100 is designed to have 45-degree bend portion 121, then the source contact window 110 and the drain contact window 130 are respectively implemented at two sides of the bend portion 121. Therefore, the area of the transistor 120 can be significantly reduced.
However, during forming the gate line 120 with a line width W0, it is often that the edge of the bend portion 121 is over etched due to processing effect. As a result, the line width of the bend portion 121 is reduced to W1. If the line width W0 is large enough, the influence of over etching is limited (W1 is approximate to W0), thus, characteristic of the transistor 100 (ratio of length to width of the channel) has no change almost. But, when more an advanced process (for example, process with line width smaller than 0.25 microns) is used to fabricate the transistor 100, because the line width W0 is thinner, the difference between W0 and W1 cannot be ignored. In order to ensure the ratio of length to width for the channel of the designed transistor 100, a conventional method is to pre-enlarge the line width of the bend portion 121 to W2.
In the present practice, after circuit layout is finished by using the tool of electronic design automation, the 45 degree bend portion is manually searched one by one, and then the electronic design automation tools are manually manipulated to pull each edge of the 45 degree bend portion outward to be wider. Hence, in order to enlarge the line width of the 45 degree bend portion, often, much time is spent on circuit layout modification in layout engineering.

Method for auto enlarging bend portion width and computer readable recording medium for storing program thereof


Some embodiments provide a method for visualizing a realization status of configuration changes for a set of logical entities of a logical network. The method generates a first presentation of a list of logical entities and a realization status for each logical entity in the list, where the realization status indicates whether all configuration changes for the logical entity have been realized. In response to a selection of a particular logical entity in the displayed list for which at least one configuration change has not been realized, the method generates a second presentation comprising a view of pending configuration changes for the selected particular logical entity.

In a physical network, network functions and services are defined by network standard protocols and implemented by physical network devices. When a network issue occurs, a user (e.g., a network administrator) can diagnose the physical network using diagnosis tools provided by the device vendors. However, in a distributed virtual network (e.g., a logical network), network functions and services are implemented by logical entities (e.g., a set of logical forwarding elements such as logical switches and logical routers) that span multiple different physical nodes. A definition for each logical entity is received from the user, and based on that definition, data that defines the logical entity is stored at the management plane of the logical network. This defining data, referred to as the desired state, is then processed and distributed by the control plane of the logical network to hypervisors executing on the physical nodes to realize the logical entities (e.g., to configure and implement the logical entities). Currently, there is no way for a user to visualize in real time whether the desired state for a specific logical entity, or for a specific configuration change, has been realized in the physical network infrastructure.

Visual tracking of logical network state


There is presented a device for operating a valve handle in an underground location spaced from a ground surface, the device having brace means for preventing rotation of a housing portion thereof during operation of a turning portion thereof. The brace means includes two body portions, each substantially flat on an upper surface thereof and adapted to receive a foot of an operator so as to bring the weight of the operator to bear on the brace means which engage the ground surface.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to wrenches and is directed more particularly to a wrench for turning handles of valves located underground, as in water or gas lines.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Valves disposed underground often are left unattended for years at a time and become difficult to open or close when the need arises. Because of the location, often at the bottom of a hole dug to gain access to the valve, it is difficult to bring leverage to bear on the valve handle. U.S. Pat. No. 1,626,719, issued May 3, 1927, to Claud Callison, illustrates the use of a gear box in a wrench. The effectiveness of such torque wrenches may be further increased by the use of a power means to supply the input of with a valve handle engaging socket disposed on the free end of the shank portion of the T-shaped bar. The shank is long enough to permit the socket to be positioned on the valve handle while positioning the bar handle at an appropriate height for manual manipulation. Further, it is known to aid the exercise by having in the valve turning tool a gear box which increases the torque applied to the valve handle. U.S. Pat. No. 1,626,719, issued May 3, 1927, to Claud Callison, illustrates the use of a gear box in a wrench. The effectiveness of such torque wrenches may be further increased by the use of a power means to supply the input of the torque gear box, as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,885,962, issued Dec. 12, 1989 to Ronald L. Summers.
Such wrenches usually do not have means for holding the gear box securely in a stationary position while the wrench handle is turned. It is known to provide torquing lug wrenches for loosening and tightening automotive wheel nuts, with means to prevent rotation of the tool. Such provision is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,992,964, issued Nov. 23, 1976, to M. Wayne Osmond, and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,297, issued Jun. 30, 1992, to Dawn Bai, et al. Such devices comprise an arm extending radially from the wrench and adapted to engage the ground adjacent the affected wheel to prevent rotation of the tool. Such devices are inappropriate for the wrenches of the type used for underground valves.
Another problem encountered in the use of wrenches for underground valves results from the fact that the terrain above the valve may not be level, making it difficult to manually restrain the gear box while at the same time turning the handle of the tool.


Disclosed herein are embodiments of vehicles having forward folding door mirror assemblies. One such embodiment of a vehicle comprises a mirror assembly mounted to a vehicle door and configured to rotate about a substantially vertical axis between at least a first position in which the mirror assembly is extended away from the vehicle door for use while driving and a second position in which the mirror assembly is folded forward toward a front end of the vehicle. The vehicle also comprises a mechanism coupled to the mirror assembly and to a vehicle body and responsive to an opening of the vehicle door to rotate the mirror assembly about the substantially vertical axis from the second position to the first position when the door is opened. Also disclosed herein are mirror assemblies and methods of protecting door-mounted mirrors on vehicles.

Side view mirrors customarily provide the driver of a vehicle with vision of traffic and other objects to the rear and side of the vehicle. Side view mirrors extend from either side of the vehicle, typically mounted on the vehicle door. To provide a smaller span of the vehicle to, for example, fit into tight spaces, side view mirrors are known to fold in toward the rear of the vehicle. The mirrors can be manually moved by a user or can be automated to move, for example, when the user touches a switch or button. The capability to fold in toward the rear of the vehicle can also prevent damage to the mirror such as when a vehicle is parked in the street.
Some side view mirrors can also be moved toward the front of a vehicle. However, the forward movement is typically limited and is not enough to prevent damage to the mirror if hit on the reflective surface side of the side view mirror. The limitation on the degree of forward folding is due in part to the forward folded mirror's interference with opening the door when too far forward.


A method of improving data obtained by radar by interpolation over frequency bands jammed by narrow-band interference, at which the following steps (A)-(J) are carried out. (A) It is determined what frequency values are affected by narrow-band interference. (B) Every radar return which is continuously connected in time and represented by a time-discrete real or complex signal f(t.sub.i), containing N sample, i=1, 2, . . . , N, is Fourier-transformed into a frequency-discrete function F(.omega..sub.i), given by N sample. (C) A series of integers N.sub.1, N.sub.2, . . . , N.sub.M is fixed, such that 1.ltoreq.N.sub.1 <N.sub.2 < . . . <N.sub.M <N. (D) The signal processing device sets F.sub.k (.omega..sub.i)=H.sub.k (.omega..sub.i) within intervals having narrow-band interference. (E) H.sub.1 (.omega..sub.i) is equated to 0 and H.sub.k (.omega..sub.i) for k.gtoreq.2 is constructed according to the following steps (F)-(H). (F) F.sub.k-1 (.omega..sub.i) is inversely Fourier-transformed into a time-discrete function f.sub.k-1 (t.sub.i). (G) The signal processing device sets h.sub.k (t.sub.i)=f.sub.k-1 (t.sub.i) for i=1, 2, . . . , N.sub.k-1, wherein .vertline.f.sub.k-1 (t.sub.i).vertline. constitute the N.sub.k- greatest values of .vertline.f.sub.k-1 (t.sub.i).vertline. and h.sub.k-1 (t.sub.i)=0 for the remaining N-N.sub.k-1 values of the function. (H) h.sub.k-1 (t.sub.i) is Fourier-transformed into a frequency-discrete function H.sub.k (.omega..sub.i). (I) Steps (D)-(H) are repeated M times, wherein 1.ltoreq.k.ltoreq.M. (J) F.sub.NM (.omega..sub.i) is inversely Fourier-transformed to give the finally filtered radar return f.sub.NM (t.sub.i).

Method to improve data obtained by a radar.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of improving data obtained by radar.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A problem that may arise in the context of radars is that the reception of radar signals can be jammed by radio and television transmissions. Especially in wide band low-frequency radar of the type that is called CARABAS.RTM. (Coherent All Radio Band Sensing) and is the subject matter of Swedish Patent No. 8406007-8 (456,117) and European Patent 86900306.1 (202,320), this is a crucial problem. The signal intensity of at least local radio and TV stations is, at the frequencies thereof, much higher than the signal intensity of CARABAS at the corresponding frequencies. Moreover, it is impossible to increase the output power of a radar station to a sufficient degree to compete with the radio and TV signals. Besides, this is illegal. Instead it is convenient to exclude, if possible, such frequencies in the output signal or at least neglect the received signal at these frequencies.