Author: claimsbot

1. A method of locating one or more reflectors in a region of interest, comprising:
using a transmitter to transmit a radio frequency or acoustic wave to a reflector;
using a set of receivers to receive a set of reflected signals;
calculating the path distance of each reflected signal;
defining an ellipse contour associated with each reflected signal, with the transmitter at one focus and the receiver of that signal at the other;
representing the region of interest as a first cell;
representing the cell as a point in the cell;
calculating the fit of the point to each ellipse contour;
if the point fits a sufficient number of ellipse contours, dividing the cell into smaller cells, each cell represented by a point in the cell;
repeating the calculating step for each new cell; and
determining the location of a reflector from the location of any cell containing a point that fits a sufficient number of ellipse contours.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the dividing step is performed by dividing the cell into four cells.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the calculating step is performed by transforming rectilinear coordinates of the region to a new coordinate space consisting of ellipsoids.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the calculating step is performed by using a scoring function to determine the fit of the selected point to reflector criterion.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the scoring function is based on the smallest region that contains the smallest circular region containing the cell.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the sufficient number of ellipses is the same as the number of receivers.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the cells are square and each cell is represented by a point in the center of that cell.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is performed in two dimensions, such that the cells and ellipses are two dimensional.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is performed in three dimensions, such that the cells and ellipses are three dimensional.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A snowboard binding comprising:
a base plate having a pair of sidewalls integral with said base plate and extending along medial and lateral sides of the base plate, and a central opening formed through said base plate;
a substantially circular center locking plate positioned in said central opening of said base plate, said center plate securing said binding to a snowboard;
a rotatable lever mounted to said medial side and on one of said pair of sidewalls, said lever being movable between a locked position and an unlocked position;
a cable having a first end connected to said lever, and a second end connected to said base plate and extending around a periphery of said center plate, said cable being tightened against said center plate when said lever is rotated to said locked position to prevent rotation of the base plate, and said cable being loosened with respect to said center plate when said lever is moved to the unlocked position thereby enabling the base plate to be rotated about said center plate and placed in a desired angular orientation with respect to the snowboard;
said lever having an axis of rotation extending substantially parallel to an upper surface of the snowboard wherein rotation of said lever in an upwards direction moves the lever to the unlocked position, and movement of said lever in a downward direction moves said lever toward the locked position wherein a greatest amount of force required to rotate the lever from the unlocked to the locked position occurs at an angular point between the locked and unlocked positions, and further wherein the cable rotates with the lever such that the cable moves from a first plane above the upper surface of the snowboard in the unlocked position to a second different plane between the first plane and the upper surface of the snowboard in the locked position; and
said binding further includes (i) a pair of mounting supports spaced from one another and mounted to said sidewall on said medial side, (ii) an opening formed in said lever defining said axis of rotation, and (iii) a pin extending through said opening in said lever to secure said lever between said mounting supports, said lever being rotatable about said pin between the locked and unlocked positions.
2. A binding, as claimed in claim 1, wherein: said cable is secured at said second end to a lower surface of said base plate.
3. A binding, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
said cable extends at least 180\xb0 around the periphery of said center plate and in contact therewith thereby providing adequate frictional resistance to maintain said lever in said locked position.
4. A binding, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
said center plate has upper and lower surfaces substantially parallel to one another, and a thickness substantially equal to a thickness of the snowboard, said center disk further including an upper portion having a first larger diameter, and a lower portion having a second smaller diameter, said lower portion having an outer peripheral surface defining said periphery of said center plate and a groove formed therearound, said cable being routed around said periphery and in said groove.
5. A binding, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
said cable further includes an adjustable tensioning means for selectively adjusting a tension of said cable thereby providing adjustability for an amount of force required to place said lever in said locked and said unlocked positions, and providing adjustability for an amount of force required to prevent said binding from rotating when said lever is in the locked position.
6. A binding, as claimed in claim 1, further including:
a biased safety pin attached to said binding assembly, said pin extending over a portion of said lever to prevent said lever from being rotated upward to said unlocked position, and said pin being retractable to uncover said lever enabling said lever to be rotated downward to the unlocked position.
7. A binding, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
said center plate has an outer peripheral surface and a groove formed thereon for receiving said cable.
8. A binding, as claimed in claim 7, wherein:
said groove formed in said center plate has a frictional layer formed thereon for increasing frictional resistance between said cable and said outer peripheral surface of said center plate.
9. A binding as claimed in claim 1, further including:
at least one index placed on an upper surface of said snowboard and indicating an orientation of said binding with respect to said snowboard.
10. A binding as claimed in claim 9, wherein:
said index includes a line placed on the upper surface of the snowboard and extending in a prescribed direction and extending parallel with one side of the binding plate when the binding is rotated in alignment with the line.
11. A snowboard binding comprising:
a base plate having a pair of sidewalls integral with said base plate and extending along medial and lateral sides of the base plate, and a central opening formed through said base plate;
a locking plate positioned in said central opening of said base plate, said center plate securing said binding to a snowboard;
a rotatable lever mounted to said medial side of said pair of sidewalls, said lever being moveable between a locked position and an unlocked position;
a cable having a first end connected to said lever, and a second end connected to said base plate and extending around a periphery of said center plate, said cable being tightened against said center plate when said lever is rotated to said locked position, and said cable being loosened with respect to said center plate when said lever is moved to the unlocked position thereby enabling the base plate to be rotated about the center plate, wherein rotation of said lever in an upward direction moves said lever to the unlocked position, and movement of said lever in a downward direction moves said lever towards the locked position, wherein said cable is attached to said lever between an axis of rotation of said lever and an exterior edge of said lever, and wherein a greatest amount of force required to rotate the lever from the unlocked to the locked position occurs at an angular point between the locked and unlocked positions, and wherein the cable rotates with the lever such that the cable moves from a first plane above an upper surface of the snowboard in the unlocked position to a second different plane between the first plane and the upper surface of the snowboard in the locked position.
12. A snowboard binding assembly comprising:
a base plate having a pair of sidewalls integral with said base plate and extending along medial and lateral sides of the base plate, and a central opening formed through said base plate;
a substantially circular center locking plate positioned in said central opening of said base plate, said center plate securing said binding to a snowboard;
a rotatable lever mounted to one of said medial and lateral sides of said binding, said lever being movable between a locked position and an unlocked position;
a first cable having a first end connected to said lever, and a second end connected to said base plate and extending around a periphery of said center plate, said first cable being tightened against said center plate when said lever is rotated to said locked position to prevent rotation of the base plate, and said first cable being loosened with respect to said center plate when said lever is moved to the unlocked position thereby enabling the base plate to be rotated about said center plate and placed in a desired angular orientation with respect to the snowboard;
said lever having an axis of rotation extending substantially parallel to an upper surface of the snowboard wherein rotation of said lever in an upwards direction moves the lever to the unlocked position, and movement of said lever in a downward direction moves said lever toward the locked position;
a second cable interconnecting said center plate to said lever, said second cable being routed around the periphery of said center plate in a direction opposite of the first cable, said second cable being tightened against said center plate when said lever is rotated to said locked position, and said second cable being loosened with respect to said center plate when said leveler is moved to the unlocked position thereby enabling the base plate to be rotated about said center plate and placed in a desired angular orientation with respect to the ; and wherein first and second cables each have an end connected to said base plate at different locations thereon.
13. A method of positioning a snowboard binding at a desired angular orientation with respect to a long axis of a snowboard, said method including the steps of:
providing a binding including a base plate, and a center plate placed through a central opening in the base plate, said center plate securing said base plate to the snowboard;
providing a cable having a first end secured to the base plate and a second end secured to a rotatable lever mounted to the base plate, said cable being routed to contact a periphery of said center plate, said rotatable lever being positioned so that it rotates about an axis extending substantially parallel to an upper surface of the snowboard;
rotating the lever to an unlocked position;
rotating the base plate around said center plate while said center plate remains stationary with respect to the snowboard thereby changing the length of the cable in contact with the outer periphery surface of the center plate; and
rotating the lever to a locked position to tighten the cable in contact against the center plate and thereby preventing rotation of the base plate wherein the cable is loosened in the unlocked position, the cable is tightened in the locked position, and the cable being most tightened at a point when the cable is rotated between the locked and unlocked position thereby providing a counter force to prevent inadvertent rotation of the lever from the locked position to the unlocked position, and wherein the cable rotates with the lever such that the cable moves from a first plane above the upper surface of the snowboard in the unlocked position to a second different plane between the first plane and the upper surface of the snowboard in the locked position.
14. A method, as claimed in claim 13, further including the step of:
depressing a biased safety pin prior to said first rotating step thereby enabling the lever to be rotated to the unlocked position, wherein the biased safety pin automatically extends after said third rotating step thereby preventing the lever from inadvertently rotating from the locked position to the unlocked position.
15. A method, as claimed in claim 13, further including the step of:
aligning the binding with one of several indices marked on the snowboard corresponding to particular angular orientations of the binding with respect to the snowboard.

1. An ac generator for a vehicle comprising:
a rotor;
a stator opposed to the rotor and having an output lead;
a rectifying device connecting to the output lead of the stator;
a regulator that controls output voltage;
a common connector including internal terminals that connect the regulator with an internal circuit of at least one of the rectifying device and the rotor; and
an individual connector connected to the common connector, the individual connector including external terminals that receive and transmit electric signals from and to an external circuit,
wherein the common connector and the individual connector further include intermediate terminals contacting with each other and engaging portions engaging with each other, the engaging portions being formed of projections and recesses, the engaging portions of the common connector including a first engaging portion that is disposed to extend in an axial direction of the rotor and a second engaging portion that is disposed to extend in a radial direction of the rotor, and the engaging portion of the individual connector is disposed to extend in one of the axial direction and the radial direction.
2. The ac generator according to claim 1, wherein the number of the intermediate terminals of the common connector is equal to or greater than that of the individual connector.
3. The ac generator according to claim 1, wherein the regulator is mounted on the individual connector.
4. The ac generator according to claim 1, wherein the external terminals of the individual connector connect the external circuit with the regulator.
5. An ac generator for a vehicle comprising:
a rotor;
a stator opposed to the rotor and having an output lead;
a rectifying device connecting to the output lead of the stator;
a regulator that controls output voltage;
a common connector including internal terminals that connect the regulator with an internal circuit of at least one of the rectifying device and the rotor; and
an individual connector connected to the common connector, the individual connector including external terminals that receive and transmit electric signals from and to an external circuit,
wherein the common connector and the individual connector further include intermediate terminals contacting with each other and engaging portions engaging with each other, the en a in portions being formed of projections and recesses,
wherein the engaging portions of the common connector include a first engaging portion in a direction parallel to the intermediate terminals of the common connector and a second engaging portion in a direction perpendicular to the first engaging portion, and the engaging portion of the individual connector is disposed in a direction perpendicular to the external terminals, wherein the engaging portion of the individual connector engages with one of the first engaging portion and the second engaging portion of the common connector.
6. The ac generator according to claim 5, wherein the intermediate terminals of the individual connector are disposed to extend in one of a direction parallel to the external terminals and a direction perpendicular to the external terminals.
7. The ac generator according to claim 5, wherein the regulator is mounted on the individual connector in parallel to the external terminals.
8. An ac generator for a vehicle comprising:
a rotor;
a stator opposed to the rotor and having an output lead;
a rectifying device connecting to the output lead of the stator;
a regulator that controls output voltage;
a common connector including internal terminals that connect the regulator with an internal circuit of at least one of the rectifying device and the rotor; and
an individual connector connected to the common connector, the individual connector including external terminals that receive and transmit electric signals from and to an external circuit,
wherein the common connector and the individual connector further include intermediate terminals contacting with each other and engaging portions engaging with each other, the engaging portions being formed of projections and recesses,
wherein the common connector is connectable with each of a plurality of individual connectors having different shapes and the plurality of individual connectors includes a first individual connector having the external terminals in an axial direction of the rotor and a second individual connector having the external terminals in a radial direction of the rotor.
9. An ac generator for a vehicle comprising:
a rotor;
a stator opposed to the rotor and having an output lead;
a rectifying device connecting to the output lead of the stator;
a regulator that controls output voltage;
a common connector including internal terminals that connect the regulator with an internal circuit of at least one of the rectifying device and the rotor; and
an individual connector connected to the common connector, the individual connector including external terminals that receive and transmit electric signals from and to an external circuit,
wherein the common connector and the individual connector further include intermediate terminals contacting with each other and engaging portions engaging with each other, the engaging portions being formed of projections and recesses,
wherein the engaging portion of the common connector forms the projections and the recess between the projections, and the engaging portion of the individual connector forms the projection, wherein the projection of the individual connector is located in the recess of the common connector.
10. An ac generator for a vehicle comprising:
a rotor;
a stator opposed to the rotor and having an output lead;
a rectifying device connecting to the output lead of the stator;
a regulator that controls output voltage;
a common connector including internal terminals that connect the regulator with an internal circuit of at least one of the rectifying device and the rotor; and
an individual connector connected to the common connector, the individual connector including external terminals that receive and transmit electric signals from and to an external circuit,
wherein the common connector and the individual connector further include intermediate terminals contacting with each other and engaging portions engaging with each other, the engaging portions being formed of projections and recesses,
wherein each of the intermediate terminals of the common connector and each of the intermediate terminals of the individual connector are opposed to and paired with each other, and the intermediate terminals of one of the common connector and the individual connector are straight and the intermediate terminals of the opposite one of the common connector and the individual connector are bent.
11. An ac generator for a vehicle comprising:
a rotor;
a stator opposed to the rotor and having an output lead;
a rectifying device connecting to the output lead of the stator;
a regulator that controls output voltage;
a common connector including internal terminals that connect the regulator with an internal circuit of at least one of the rectifying device and the rotor; and
an individual connector connected to the common connector, the individual connector including external terminals that receive and transmit electric signals from and to an external circuit,
wherein the common connector and the individual connector further include intermediate terminals contacting with each other and engaging portions engaging with each other, the engaging portions being formed of projections and recesses,
wherein the intermediate terminals of the individual connector include a first group of intermediate terminals and a second group of intermediate terminals, the first group of intermediate terminals is disposed to make contact with the intermediate terminals of the common connector when the individual connector is connected to the common connecter such that the external terminals extend in an axial direction of the rotor, and the second group of intermediate terminals is disposed to make contact with the intermediate terminals of the common connector when the individual connector is connected to the common connector such that the external terminals extend in a radial direction of the rotor, wherein the second group of intermediate terminals is removed when the individual connector is connected such that the external terminals extend in the axial direction, and the first intermediate terminals are removed when the individual connector is connected such that external terminals extend in the radial direction.
12. An ac generator for a vehicle comprising:
a rotor;
a stator opposed to the rotor and having an output lead;
a rectifying device connecting to the output lead of the stator;
a regulator that controls output voltage;
a common connector including internal terminals that connect the regulator with an internal circuit of at least one of the rectifying device and the rotor; and
an individual connector connected to the common connector, the individual connector including external terminals that receive and transmit electric signals from and to an external circuit,
wherein the common connector and the individual connector further include intermediate terminals contacting with each other and engaging portions engaging with each other, the engaging portions being formed of projections and recesses,
wherein the common connector includes plural groups of intermediate terminals, the individual connector is connectable with the common connector in different directions so that the intermediate terminals of the individual connector make contact with at least one group of intermediate terminals of the common connector, and the remaining group of intermediate terminals of the common connector are removed.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. An organic light-emitting display apparatus comprising:
a substrate;
an organic light-emitting device formed on the substrate, wherein the organic light-emitting device has a stack structure which comprises a first electrode, an organic light-emitting layer, and a second electrode;
a sealing layer formed on the substrate so as to cover the organic light-emitting device, wherein the sealing layer comprises an inorganic layer; and
a porous layer interposed between the sealing layer and the organic light-emitting device.
2. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the porous layer contacts the second electrode of the organic light-emitting device.
3. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one of an inorganic layer and an organic layer, which is interposed between the organic light-emitting device and the porous layer.
4. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sealing layer is configured to prevent the organic light-emitting device and the porous layer from being exposed out of the organic light-emitting display apparatus.
5. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inorganic layer of the sealing layer contacts the porous layer.
6. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the porous layer comprises a first porous layer and a second porous layer, and
wherein the density of the first porous layer is different from the density of the second porous layer.
7. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 6, wherein the first porous layer faces the second electrode, and
wherein the density of the first porous layer is lower than the density of the second porous layer.
8. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the porous layer has a density gradient that substantially gradually changes in a direction corresponding to its cross-section.
9. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the porous layer comprises an inorganic material with a lower density than the inorganic layer of the sealing layer.
10. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the porous layer comprises an organic material.
11. An organic light-emitting display apparatus comprising:
a substrate;
an organic light-emitting device formed on the substrate, wherein the organic light-emitting device has a stack structure which comprises a first electrode, an organic light-emitting layer, and a second electrode;
a first layer contacting the organic light-emitting device, wherein the first layer comprises a porous layer; and
a second layer formed on the substrate so as to cover the organic light-emitting device and the first layer, wherein the second layer contacts the first layer and comprises an inorganic layer.
12. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first layer contacts the second electrode of the organic light-emitting device.
13. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 11, further comprising at least one of an inorganic layer and an organic layer, which is interposed between the organic light-emitting device and the first layer.
14. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 11, wherein the second layer is configured to prevent the organic light-emitting device and the first layer from being exposed out of the organic light-emitting display apparatus.
15. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 11, wherein the inorganic layer of the second layer contacts the first layer.
16. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 11, wherein the porous layer comprises a first porous layer and a second porous layer, and
wherein the density of the first porous layer is different from the density of the second porous layer.
17. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 16, wherein the first porous layer faces the second electrode, and
wherein the density of the first porous layer is lower than the density of the second porous layer.
18. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 11, wherein the porous layer has a density gradient that gradually changes in a direction corresponding to its cross-section.
19. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 11, wherein the porous layer comprises an inorganic material with a lower density than the inorganic layer of the second layer.
20. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first layer comprises an inorganic material.
21. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first layer further comprises an inorganic layer that contacts the porous layer.
22. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 11, wherein the porous layer comprises an organic material.