Author: claimsbot

What is claimed is:

1. A constrained layer damping system for use in an integrated air fuel module having a control module mounted thereon, said constrained layer damping system comprising:
a control module coated with an encapsulant;
a wiring harness coated with an encapsulant and extending from said control module;
a first layer of formed material on a first side of said wiring harness and a first side of said control module; and
a second layer of formed material on a second side of said wiring harness and a second side of said control module.
2. The constrained layer damping system of claim 1, wherein said first layer is an intake manifold plenum cover.
3. The constrained layer damping system of claim 2, wherein said encapsulant is silicon gel.
4. The constrained layer damping system of claim 3, wherein said first and said second layers are bonded to said wiring harness and said control module.
5. The constrained layer damping system of claim 3, wherein said second layer is bonded to said control module and said control module is attached to said intake manifold cover with a thermally conductive tape.
6. The constrained layer damping system of claim 4, wherein said wiring harness is attached to said intake manifold plenum cover by fasteners.
7. The constrained layer damping system of claim 4, wherein said intake manifold plenum cover is plastic.
8. The constrained layer damping system of claim 4, wherein said intake manifold plenum cover is metal.
9. The constrained layer damping system of claim 8, wherein said second layer is metal.
10. The constrained layer damping system of claim 8, wherein said second layer is plastic.
11. The constrained layer damping system of claim 10, wherein said wiring harness extends from said control module and connects to at least one ignition coil and at least one fuel injector.
12. A constrained layer damping system, said constrained layer damping system comprising:
a wiring harness coated with an encapsulant;
a first layer of formed material on a first side of said wiring harness; and
a second layer of formed material attached to a second side of said wiring harness such that said wiring harness is between said first and said second layers.
13. A method for reducing the effects of noise emitted from a powertrain and electromagnetic interference on a control module, said method comprising the steps of:
providing a control module with a wiring harness extending therefrom;
encapsulating said control module and said wiring harness with a damping material;
mounting said control module on an air intake manifold plenum cover; and
mounting a constraining layer of material on the side of said control module and said wiring harness opposite said air intake manifold plenum cover.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of cooling said control module by using said air intake manifold plenum cover as a heat sink.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the airflow into said air intake manifold plenum cover dissipates heat from said control module.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein said encapsulant is a silicon gel.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein said air intake manifold plenum cover is metal and serves to reduce the effect of electromagnetic interference on said control module.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein said constraining layer is plastic.
19. The method of claim 17, wherein said constraining layer is metal.

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 method for generating a synchronization clock signal for a receiver, comprising:
partially removing phase with lag from a spread spectrum signal by using an autocorrelation filter;
generating a first correlation and a second correlation using respective correlators configured to receive the output of the autocorrelation filter;
comparing the first correlation and the second correlation using a comparator to locate a peak correlation and produce a corresponding comparator output;
controlling a voltage controlled oscillator by using the comparator output; and
producing the synchronization clock signal by using an output of the voltage controlled oscillator.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
locating the peak correlation by using the comparator to locate the first correlation on the less delayed side of the peak correlation and locate the second correlation on the more delayed side of the peak correlation.
3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:
generating a first delayed input for the first correlation and a second delayed input for the second correlation, the first delayed input and the second delayed input produced using a delay line.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
centering the peak correlation between the first correlation and the second correlation by shifting a plurality of samples of the output of the autocorrelation filter.
5. The method of claim 4 further comprising:
shifting the samples by an integer amount to center the peak correlation between the first correlation and the second correlation.
6. A system for generating a synchronization clock signal for a receiver, the system comprising:
an autocorrelation filter arranged to partially remove phase with lag from a spread spectrum signal;
a first and second correlator arranged to receive the output of the autocorrelation filter and to generate a first correlation and a second correlation, respectively;
a comparator to compare the first correlation to the second correlation to locate a peak correlation and produce a corresponding comparator output; and
a voltage controlled oscillator that is controlled by the comparator output and that produces an output for use as the synchronization clock signal.
7. The system of claim 6, wherein the comparator is configured to locate the peak correlation by locating the first correlation on the less delayed side of the peak correlation and locating the second correlation on the more delayed side of the peak correlation.
8. The system of claim 7 further comprising:
a delay line arranged to produce a first delayed input for the first correlation and a second delayed input for the second correlation.
9. The system of claim 6 further comprising:
a shifter to center the peak correlation between the first correlation and the second correlation by shifting a plurality of samples of the output of the autocorrelation filter.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein the shifter is further arranged to shift the samples by an integer amount to center the peak correlation between the first correlation and the second correlation.
11. The system of claim 6, wherein the autocorrelation filter includes a delay unit and a correlator array located after the delay unit.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the autocorrelation filter further includes an integrator array located after the correlator array.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein partially removing phase with lag from a spread spectrum signal by using an autocorrelation filter comprises:
providing the spread spectrum signal to a delay unit; and
providing an output from the delay unit to a correlator array.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein partially removing phase with lag from a spread spectrum signal by using an autocorrelation filter further comprises providing an output from the correlator array to an integrator array.

1. A composition comprising one or more immunogenic polypeptides or carbohydrates of interest, the composition comprising:
a) an aqueous vehicle;
b) liposomes comprising
(i) dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (\u201cDMPC\u201d),
(ii) one or more lipids selected from the group consisting of dimyristoylphosphatidylglycerol (\u201cDMPG\u201d), and dimyristoyltrimethylammonium propane (\u201cDMTAP\u201d), and
(iii) at least one sterol derivative,

at relative percentages of 50%-98% (i): 1%-25% (ii): 1%-25% (iii); and
c) said one or more immunogenic polypeptide(s) or carbohydrates covalently linked to between 1% and 100% of said at least one sterol derivative.
2. A composition according to claim 1, wherein said relative percentages are 70%-85% (i): 5%-15% (ii): 10%-15% (iii).
3. A composition according to claim 1, wherein said relative percentages are about 75% (i), about 10% (ii), and about 15% (iii).
4. A composition according to claim 1, wherein said sterol derivative has the following structure:
wherein:
one of R1 or R2 is a covalent linkage to said immunogenic polypeptide or carbohydrate, wherein if R1 is said covalent linkage to said polypeptide, R2 is H, and if R2 is said covalent linkage to said immunogenic polypeptide, R1 is \u2014CH2\u2014CH2\u2014CH2\u2014C(H)(CH3)2.
5. A composition according to claim 1, wherein said liposomes are substantially between 50 and 500 nm in diameter.
6. A composition according to claim 5, wherein said liposomes are substantially between 50 and 200 nm in diameter.
7. A composition according to claim 5, wherein said liposomes are substantially between 50 and 150 nm in diameter.
8. A composition according to claim 1, wherein said one or more immunogenic polypeptide(s) are covalently linked to between about 5% and about 10% of said at least one sterol derivative.
9. A composition according to claim 1, wherein said liposomes further comprise one or more components selected from the group consisting of monophosphoryl lipid A, resiquimod, flagellin, CpG, and a-galactosylceramide.
10. A composition according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said immunogenic polypeptide(s) are covalently linked to said one or more sterol derivative through a lysine residue on said immunogenic polypeptide(s).
11. A composition according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said immunogenic polypeptide(s) are covalently linked to said one or more sterol derivative through a cysteine residue on said immunogenic polypeptide(s).
12. A composition according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said immunogenic polypeptide(s) are covalently linked to said one or more sterol derivative through a aspartate or glutamate residue on said immunogenic polypeptide(s).
13. A composition according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said immunogenic polypeptide(s) are covalently linked to said one or more sterol derivative through a serine or threonine residue on said immunogenic polypeptide(s).
14. A composition according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said immunogenic polypeptide(s) are covalently linked to said one or more sterol derivative through a lysine residue on said immunogenic polypeptide(s).
15. A composition according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said immunogenic polypeptide(s) are covalently linked to said one or more sterol derivative through an N-terminal amine on said immunogenic polypeptide(s).
16. A composition according to any of claims 1, wherein at least one of said immunogenic polypeptide(s) are covalently linked to said one or more sterol derivative through a C-terminal carboxyl on said immunogenic polypeptide(s).
17. A composition according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said immunogenic carbohydrate(s) are covalently linked to said one or more sterol derivative through a hydroxyl on said immunogenic carbohydrate(s).
18. A composition according to claim 1, wherein said covalent linkage to said immunogenic polypeptide comprises an (alkylene oxide)n moiety having an average length n of between 40 and 1000.
19. A composition according to claim 1, wherein said covalent linkage to said immunogenic polypeptide has the structure \u2014R3-X, wherein:
R3 is C0-12 straight or branched chain alkyl, or C0-6 straight or branched chain alkyl-(alkylene oxide), C0-6 straight or branched chain alkyl, wherein
n is on average between 40 and 1000;
each said straight or branched chain alkyl optionally comprises from 1-3 chain heteroatoms and one or more substituents independently selected from the group consisting of halogen, trihalomethyl, \u2014C1-6 alkoxy, \u2014NO2, \u2014NH2, \u2014OH, \u2014CH2OH, \u2014CONH2, and \u2014C(O)(OR4) where R4 is H or C1-3 alkyl; and
X is said immunogenic polypeptide or carbohydrate.
20. A composition according to claim 4, wherein R1 is \u2014CH2\u2014CH2\u2014C(O)\u2014X, wherein X is said immunogenic polypeptide, and R2 is H.
21. A composition according to claim 4, wherein R1 is \u2014CH2\u2014CH2\u2014CH2\u2014C(H)(CH3)2, and R2 is \u2014C(O)\u2014CH2\u2014CH2\u2014C(O)\u2014X, wherein X is said immunogenic polypeptide.
22. A composition according to claim 1, wherein the lipid in (ii) is DMPG.
23. A composition according to claim 1, wherein said sterol derivative(s) isare derivative(s) of cholesterol, cholesteryl chloroformate, stigmasterol, sitosterol, ergosterol, lanosterol, desmosterol, or campesterol.
24. A method for preparing compositions comprising one or more immunogenic polypeptides or carbohydrates of interest, comprising:
(a) covalently coupling one or more immunogenic polypeptides or carbohydrates to one or more sterol derivatives to provide one or more conjugated sterol derivatives; and
(b) combining
(i) dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (\u201cDMPC\u201d),
(ii) one or more lipids selected from the group consisting of dimyristoylphosphatidylglycerol (\u201cDMPG\u201d), and dimyristoyltrimethylammonium propane (\u201cDMTAP\u201d), and
(iii) one or more sterol derivatives, wherein between 1% and 100% of said sterol derivative(s) is(are) said conjugated sterol derivative(s) to provide a lipid mixture; and

(c) preparing liposomes from said lipid mixture.
25. A method for preparing compositions comprising one or more immunogenic polypeptides or carbohydrates of interest, comprising:
(a) combining
(i) dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (\u201cDMPC\u201d),
(ii) one or more lipids selected from the group consisting of dimyristoylphosphatidylglycerol (\u201cDMPG\u201d), and dimyristoyltrimethylammonium propane (\u201cDMTAP\u201d), and
(iii) at least one sterol derivative to provide a lipid mixture;

(b) preparing liposomes from said lipid mixture; and
(c) covalently coupling one or more immunogenic polypeptides or carbohydrates to said at least one sterol derivative, wherein said one or more immunogenic polypeptide(s) or carbohydrate(s) are covalently linked to between 1% and 100% of said at least one sterol derivative.
26. A method according to claim 25, wherein preparing liposomes from said lipid mixture comprises:
drying said lipid mixture;
hydrating said dried lipid mixture in an aqueous vehicle; and
sonicating said hydrated lipid mixture to form liposomes.
27. A method according to claim 25, wherein said relative percentages are 70%-85% (i): 5%-15% (ii): 10%-15% (iii).
28. A composition according to claim 25, wherein said relative percentages are about 75% (i), about 10% (ii), and about 15% (iii).
29. A method according to claim 25, wherein said sterol derivative has the following structure:
wherein:
one of R1 or R2 is a covalent linkage to said immunogenic polypeptide or carbohydrate, wherein if R1 is said covalent linkage to said polypeptide, R2 is H, and if R2 is said covalent linkage to said immunogenic polypeptide, R1 is \u2014CH2\u2014CH2\u2014CH2\u2014C(H)(CH3)2.
30. A method according to claim 25, wherein said liposomes are substantially between 50 and 500 nm in diameter.
31. A method according to claim 30, wherein said liposomes are substantially between 50 and 200 nm in diameter.
32. A method according to claim 30, wherein said liposomes are substantially between 50 and 150 nm in diameter.
33. A method according to claim 25, wherein said one or more immunogenic polypeptide(s) are covalently linked to between about 5% and about 10% of said at least one sterol derivative.
34. A method according to claim 25, wherein said liposomes further comprise one or more components selected from the group consisting of monophosphoryl lipid A, resiquimod, flagellin, CpG, and a-galactosylceramide.
35. A method according to claim 25, wherein at least one of said immunogenic polypeptide(s) are covalently linked to said one or more sterol derivative through a lysine residue on said immunogenic polypeptide(s).
36. A method according to claim 25, wherein at least one of said immunogenic polypeptide(s) are covalently linked to said one or more sterol derivative through a cysteine residue on said immunogenic polypeptide(s).
37. A method according to claim 25, wherein at least one of said immunogenic polypeptide(s) are covalently linked to said one or more sterol derivative through a aspartate or glutamate residue on said immunogenic polypeptide(s).
38. A method according to claim 25, wherein at least one of said immunogenic polypeptide(s) are covalently linked to said one or more sterol derivative through a serine or threonine residue on said immunogenic polypeptide(s).
39. A method according to claim 25, wherein at least one of said immunogenic polypeptide(s) are covalently linked to said one or more sterol derivative through a lysine residue on said immunogenic polypeptide(s).
40. A method according to claim 25, wherein at least one of said immunogenic polypeptide(s) are covalently linked to said one or more sterol derivative through an N-terminal amine on said immunogenic polypeptide(s).
41. A method according to claim 25, wherein at least one of said immunogenic polypeptide(s) are covalently linked to said one or more sterol derivative through a C-terminal carboxyl on said immunogenic polypeptide(s).
42. A method according to claim 25, wherein at least one of said immunogenic carbohydrate(s) are covalently linked to said one or more sterol derivative through a hydroxyl on said immunogenic carbohydrate(s).
43. A method according to claim 25, wherein said covalent linkage to said immunogenic polypeptide comprises an (alkylene oxide)n moiety having an average length n of between 40 and 1000.
44. A method according to claim 25, wherein said covalent linkage to said immunogenic polypeptide has the structure \u2014R3-X, wherein:
R3 is C0-12 straight or branched chain alkyl, or C0-6 straight or branched chain alkyl-(alkylene oxide)n-C0-6 straight or branched chain alkyl, wherein
n is on average between 40 and 1000;
each said straight or branched chain alkyl optionally comprises from 1-3 chain heteroatoms and one or more substituents independently selected from the group consisting of halogen, trihalomethyl, \u2014C1-6 alkoxy, \u2014NO2, \u2014NH2, \u2014OH, \u2014CH2OH, \u2014CONH2, and \u2014C(O)(OR4) where R4 is H or C1-3 alkyl; and
X is said immunogenic polypeptide or carbohydrate.
45. A method according to claim 29, wherein R1 is \u2014CH2\u2014CH2\u2014C(O)\u2014X, wherein X is said immunogenic polypeptide, and R2 is H.
46. A method according to claim 29, wherein R1 is \u2014CH2\u2014CH2\u2014CH2\u2014C(H)(CH3)2, and R2 is \u2014C(O)\u2014CH2\u2014CH2\u2014C(O)\u2014X, wherein X is said immunogenic polypeptide.
47. A method according to claim 25, wherein the lipid in (ii) is DMPG.
48. A method for immunizing an animal with one or more immunogenic polypeptides or carbohydrates of interest, comprising:
delivering to said animal by a parenteral or enteral route an effective amount of a liposomal composition of claim 1.
49. A method according to claim 48, wherein said animal is a mammal.
50. A method according to claim 48, wherein said animal is a human.
51. A method according to claim 48, wherein said liposomal composition is delivered via an enteral route of administration.
52. A method according to claim 48, wherein said liposomal composition is delivered via an parenteral route of administration
53. A method according to claim 48, wherein the method comprises delivering multiple doses of an immunogenic polypeptide or carbohydrate to said animal according to a prime-boost immunization protocol.
55. A method according to claim 53, wherein the prime-boost immunization protocol is a heterologous prime-boost protocol.
56. A method according to claim 25, wherein said sterol derivative(s) isare derivative(s) of cholesterol, cholesteryl chloroformate, stigmasterol, sitosterol, ergosterol, lanosterol, desmosterol, or campesterol.
57. A functionalized sterol derivative, comprising:
a reactive group attached directly to a sterol derivative ring atom via a covalent linkage having the structure St-R5-X, wherein:
St is a ring atom of the sterol derivative;
R5 is C0-18 straight or branched chain alkyl, or C0-12 straight or branched chain alkyl-(alkylene oxide)n-C0-12 straight or branched chain alkyl, wherein n is on average between 40 and 1000, wherein each said straight or branched chain alkyl comprises from 0-4 chain heteroatoms and one or more substituents independently selected from the group consisting of halogen, trihalomethyl, \u2014C1-6 alkoxy, \u2014NO2, \u2014NH2, \u2014OH, \u2014CH2OH, \u2014CONH2, and \u2014C(O)(OR6) where R6 is H or C1-3 alkyl; and
X is a reactive group selected from the group consisting of an amine linking group, a sulfhydryl linking group, a carboxyl linking group, a photoaffinity linking group, an arginine linking group, and a carbonyl linking group.
58. A functionalized sterol derivative according to claim 57, wherein said functionalized sterol derivative is formulated in liposomes, said liposomes comprising:
(i) dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (\u201cDMPC\u201d),
(ii) one or more lipids selected from the group consisting of dimyristoylphosphatidylglycerol (\u201cDMPG\u201d), and dimyristoyltrimethylammonium propane (\u201cDMTAP\u201d), and
(iii) at least one sterol derivative,
at relative percentages of 50%-98% (i): 1%-25% (ii): 1%-25% (iii), wherein between 1% and 100% of said at least one sterol derivative(s) is(are) said functionalized sterol derivative.
59. A functionalized sterol derivative according to claim 58, wherein said relative percentages are 70%-85% (i): 5%-15% (ii): 10%-15% (iii).

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 electro-mechanical energy converter that generates vibration by applying an AC voltage to a plurality of electrode films formed on a surface, the electro-mechanical energy converter comprising:
four electrode films formed on the surface of the electro-mechanical energy converter, each electrode film separated from its neighbor by a boundary of non-conductive part,
wherein a cross section cut in parallel with the electrode film of the electro-mechanical energy converter is a polygon and the boundary of non-conductive part is provided in an area that does not include the vertex of the polygon.
2. The electro-mechanical energy converter according to claim 1, wherein the divided electrode films are formed in an area that includes the vertex of the polygonal area.
3. The electro-mechanical energy converter according to claim 2, wherein the polygonal area is a square and the electrode film boundary is provided on a perpendicular from the mid-point of each side of the square.
4. An electro-mechanical energy converter provided with a plurality of layers alternately laminated with a layer having a plurality of electrode films and a material having an electro-mechanical energy converting function, that generates vibration by applying an AC voltage to the plurality of electrode films, the electro-mechanical energy converter comprising:
four electrode films on the same plane, each electrode film separated from its neighbor by a boundary of non-conductive part,
wherein a cross section cut in parallel with the electrode film of the electro-mechanical energy converter is a polygon and the boundary of non-conductive part is provided in an area that does not include the vertex of the polygon.
5. The electro-mechanical energy converter according to claim 4, wherein the divided electrode films are formed in an area that includes the vertex of the polygonal area.
6. The electro-mechanical energy converter according to claim 4, wherein a conductive part configured to bring the plurality of electrode films having different layers into conduction is formed in an area where a distance from the center of the polygonal area is shorter than that from the vertex of the polygonal area.
7. The electro-mechanical energy converter according to claim 4, wherein the polygonal area is a square and the electrode film boundary is provided on a perpendicular from the mid-point of each side of the square to the center of the square.