1. A method of manufacturing an article of fiber-reinforced composite material having at least one locally placed, sharply curved portion, said method comprising:
laying up a plurality of pre-impregnated fiber sheets to form a laminate over a surface of a mold which corresponds to the surface of the article to be formed,
placing a separate, substantially rigid pressure-transferring element over the laminate at the location of the at least one locally placed, sharply curved portion of the mold surface, said pressure-transferring element having an inner surface facing the laminate and configured in correspondence with the profile of said curved portion of the mold,
placing a flexible membrane over the laminate and over outer, separated surfaces of the at least one pressure-transferring element,
evacuating air from a space between the membrane and the laminate so as to cause the membrane to depress the laminate to fully conform to the shape of the mold surface by exerting a pressure directly on the laminate and indirectly by exerting a pressure on the outer, separated surfaces of the intermediate pressure-transferring element, thereby locally depressing the laminate into said sharply curved portion of the mold, and
dismantling the assembly.
2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:
curing the depressed laminate before dismantling the assembly.
3. The method according to claim 2, the curing further comprises subjecting the membrane and the laminate to a supplementary external pressure.
4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the supplementary external pressure is applied in an autoclave.
5. A tool for forming in an article of fiber-reinforced composite material at least one locally placed, sharply curved portion, the tool comprising:
a substantially rigid, pressure-transferring element having a first surface to be faced against a lay-up of the composite material and configured with a profile corresponding to said at least one curved portion to be formed in the article, and a second surface with separated surface sections adapted to be engaged by an evacuateable membrane for enclosing the lay-up of fiber-reinforced composite material and the pressure-transferring element.
6. The tool according to claim 5, wherein the first surface of the pressure-transferring element has a substantially convex web profile and contiguous, substantially concave flange portions for forming a locally curved portion in the lay-up of fiber-reinforced composite material.
7. The tool according to claim 5, wherein the pressure-transferring element has the shape of an elongate, substantially rigid bar.
8. A method for forming in an article of fiber-reinforced composite material at least one locally placed, sharply curved portion using a tool comprising a substantially rigid, pressure-transferring element having a first surface to be faced against a lay-up of the composite material and configured with a profile corresponding to said at least one curved portion to be formed in the article, and a second surface with separated surface sections adapted to be engaged by an evacuateable membrane for enclosing the lay-up of fiber-reinforced composite material and the pressure-transferring element, the method comprising:
laying up a plurality of pre-impregnated fiber sheets to form a laminate over a surface of a mold which corresponds to the surface of the article to be formed,
placing the separate, pressure-transferring element over the laminate at the location of the at least one locally placed, sharply curved portion of the mold surface, said pressure-transferring element is configured in correspondence with the profile of said curved portion of the mold,
placing a flexible membrane over the laminate and over outer, separated surfaces of the at least one pressure-transferring element,
evacuating air from a space between the membrane and the laminate so as to cause the membrane to depress the laminate to fully conform to the shape of the mold surface by exerting a pressure directly on the laminate and indirectly by exerting a pressure on the outer, separated surfaces of the intermediate pressure-transferring element, thereby locally depressing the laminate into said sharply curved portion of the mold, and
dismantling the assembly.
9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the first surface of the pressure-transferring element has a substantially convex web profile and contiguous, substantially concave flange portions for forming a locally curved portion in the lay-up of fiber-reinforced composite material.
10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the pressure-transferring element has the shape of an elongate, substantially rigid bar.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
What is claimed is:
1. A method for providing automatic detection of different microprocessor architectures within a system, said method comprising:
determining whether a first microprocessor architecture or a second microprocessor architecture is resident to said system;
provided said first microprocessor architecture is resident to said system, providing first data to activate first architecture support of said system associated with said first microprocessor architecture; and
provided said second microprocessor architecture is resident to said system, providing second data to activate second architecture support of said system associated with said second microprocessor architecture.
2. The method as described in claim 1 wherein said first architecture support comprises first firmware corresponding to said first microprocessor architecture and said second architecture support comprises second firmware corresponding to said second microprocessor architecture.
3. The method as described in claim 1 wherein said first architecture support comprises first circuitry associated with said first microprocessor architecture and said second architecture support comprises second circuitry associated with said second microprocessor architecture.
4. The method as described in claim 1 wherein said determining whether said first microprocessor architecture or said second microprocessor architecture is resident to said system comprises detecting a difference between said first microprocessor architecture and said second microprocessor architecture.
5. The method as described in claim 1 wherein said determining whether said first microprocessor architecture or said second microprocessor architecture is resident to said system comprises utilizing a voltage sensor at a microprocessor pin common to said first microprocessor architecture and said second microprocessor architecture.
6. The method as described in claim 1 wherein said determining whether said first microprocessor architecture or said second microprocessor architecture is resident to said system comprises reading memory resident to said first microprocessor architecture or said second microprocessor architecture.
7. The method as described in claim 1 wherein said first microprocessor architecture or said second microprocessor architecture are not electrically coupled to said system simultaneously.
8. The method as described in claim 1 wherein said system comprises a computer system.
9. A system for automatically detecting different microprocessor architectures within a computer system, said system comprising:
means for ascertaining whether a first microprocessor architecture or a second microprocessor architecture is coupled to said computer system;
means for furnishing a first data to said computer system to activate first architecture support of said computer system associated with said first microprocessor architecture, provided said first microprocessor architecture is coupled to said computer system; and
means for furnishing a second data to said computer system to activate second architecture support of said computer system associated with said second microprocessor architecture, provided said second microprocessor architecture is coupled to said computer system.
10. The system as described in claim 9 wherein said first architecture support comprises first architecture-specific firmware associated with said first microprocessor architecture and said second architecture support comprises second architecture-specific firmware associated with said second microprocessor architecture.
11. The system as described in claim 9 wherein said first architecture support comprises first circuitry associated with said first microprocessor architecture and said second architecture support comprises second circuitry associated with said second microprocessor architecture.
12. The system as described in claim 9 wherein said means for ascertaining whether said first microprocessor architecture or said second microprocessor architecture is coupled to said computer system comprises detecting a difference between said first microprocessor architecture and said second microprocessor architecture.
13. The system as described in claim 9 wherein said means for ascertaining whether said first microprocessor architecture or said second microprocessor architecture is resident to said system comprises utilizing a voltage sensor at a microprocessor pin common to said first microprocessor architecture and said second microprocessor architecture.
14. The system as described in claim 9 wherein said means for ascertaining whether said first microprocessor architecture or said second microprocessor architecture is resident to said system comprises reading memory resident to said first microprocessor architecture or said second microprocessor architecture.
15. The system as described in claim 9 wherein said first microprocessor architecture or said second microprocessor architecture are not electrically coupled to said system simultaneously.
16. A computer readable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for causing a system to perform:
deciding automatically whether a first microprocessor architecture or a second microprocessor architecture is electrically coupled to a computer;
provided said first microprocessor architecture is electrically coupled to said computer, presenting first data to said computer to enable first architecture support of said computer associated with said first microprocessor architecture; and
provided said second microprocessor architecture is electrically coupled to said computer, presenting second data to said computer to enable second architecture support of said computer associated with said second microprocessor architecture.
17. The computer readable medium as described in claim 16 wherein said first architecture support comprises firmware associated with said first microprocessor architecture and said second architecture support comprises firmware associated with said second microprocessor architecture.
18. The computer readable medium as described in claim 16 wherein said first architecture support comprises first circuitry associated with said first microprocessor architecture and said second architecture support comprises second circuitry associated with said second microprocessor architecture.
19. The computer readable medium as described in claim 16 wherein said deciding whether said first microprocessor architecture or said second microprocessor architecture is electrically coupled to said computer comprises detecting a difference between said first microprocessor architecture and said second microprocessor architecture.
20. The computer readable medium as described in claim 16 wherein said determining whether said first microprocessor architecture or said second microprocessor architecture is electrically coupled to said computer comprises utilizing a voltage sensor at a microprocessor pin common to said first microprocessor architecture and said second microprocessor architecture.
21. The computer readable medium as described in claim 16 wherein said determining whether said first microprocessor architecture or said second microprocessor architecture is electrically coupled to said computer comprises reading memory of said first microprocessor architecture or said second microprocessor architecture.
22. The computer readable medium as described in claim 16 wherein said first microprocessor architecture or said second microprocessor architecture are not electrically coupled to said computer simultaneously.