Abstract: Techniques for a personalized Bluetooth headset and a voice interaction control method thereof are described. According to one aspect of the present invention, the Bluetooth headset is caused to maintain a voice contact list. Each item in the voice contact list corresponds to a phone number associated with a set of audio data (e.g., a voice or a predefined audio). When a paired mobile device receives a call, the voice contact list is searched per the caller number. A corresponding audio is played back when an item is located in the voice contact list. As such a user of the Bluetooth headset knows who is calling and determines whether the call shall be answered or not.

Abstract: A method of spot welding a workpiece stack-up that includes a steel workpiece and an adjacent aluminum alloy workpiece involves passing an electrical current through the workpiece stack-up and between facially aligned welding electrodes in contact with opposed sides of the stack-up. The formation of a weld joint between the adjacent steel and aluminum alloy workpieces is aided by an intruding feature located in an aluminum alloy workpiece that provides and delineates one side of the workpiece stack-up and against which a welding electrode is pressed over the intruding feature at the weld site. The intruding feature affects the flow pattern and density of the electrical current that passes through the overlapping workpieces and is also believed to help minimize the effects of any refractory surface oxide layer(s) that may be present on the aluminum alloy workpiece that lies adjacent to the steel workpiece.

Abstract: A method of spot welding a workpiece stack-up that includes a steel workpiece and an adjacent aluminum alloy workpiece involves passing an electrical current through the workpieces and between opposed welding electrodes. The formation of a weld joint between the adjacent steel and aluminum alloy workpieces is aided by a cover plate that is located between the aluminum alloy workpiece that lies adjacent to the steel workpiece and the welding electrode disposed on the same side of the workpiece stack-up. The cover plate, which includes an intruding feature, affects the flow pattern and density of the electrical current that passes through the adjacent steel and aluminum alloy workpieces in a way that helps improve the strength of the weld joint.

Abstract: Sorbents for removal of mercury and other pollutants from gas streams, such as a flue gas stream from coal-fired utility plants, and methods for their manufacture and use are disclosed. Embodiments include brominated sorbent substrate particles having a carbon content of less than about 10%. Other embodiments include one or more oxidatively active halides of a nonoxidative metal dispersed on sorbent substrate particles mixed with activated carbon in an amount up to 30% by weight. Further embodiments include physical blending of a flow modifier into the sorbent composition.

Abstract: Disclosed are wire feeding devices having a wire feeding pipe and a feed unit that pushes a wire through the wire feeding pipe. Either the wire feeding pipe comprises a two- way shape-memory alloy or the wire feeding pipe has an attached, over-lapping, or inserted extension segment extending beyond a distal end of the wire feeding pipe, the extension section comprising a two-way shape-memory alloy. The two-way shape-memory alloy has a trained shape in a martensite phase having a passageway for a wire and a trained shape in an austenite phase having a passageway for a wire that is narrower than the martensite phase passageway. When heated to the austenite phase of the two-way shape-memory alloy, the narrower passageway applies pressure to straighten a bend in the wire.

Abstract: Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a contact formed to a source or drain region of a “finned” field-effect transistor (FinFET). An epitaxial material is formed over the source or drain region, which includes a diamond-shaped cross-section with top and bottom surfaces. A capping layer is formed over the top and bottom surfaces. The source or drain region is subjected to a first etch to remove the capping layer surrounding the top surfaces of the diamond-shaped cross-section. A protective layer is formed within the top surfaces. A second etch of the capping layer is performed to remove the capping layer surrounding the bottom surfaces of the diamond-shaped cross-section, while using the protective layer to prevent etching of the top surfaces by the second etch. A contact is formed to the source or drain region, which surrounds the source or drain region on the top and bottom surfaces.

Abstract: A method of resistance spot welding a steel workpiece and an aluminum or aluminum alloy workpiece (“aluminum workpiece”) together includes several steps. In one step a workpiece stack-up is provided. The workpiece stack-up includes a steel workpiece and an aluminum workpiece. Another step involves forming a protuberance in the steel workpiece. In another step a first and second welding electrode is provided. Yet another step involves clamping the first and second welding electrodes over the workpiece stack-up and over the protuberance. And another step involves performing one or more individual resistance spot welds to the workpiece stack-up.

Abstract: A system and method for stabilizing the molten pool in a laser welding operation by suppressing a laser-induced plume which occurs when zinc coated steels are laser welded. The plume is a result of vaporization of zinc, and the zinc vapor in the plume disturbs the molten pool and causes blowholes, spattering and porosity. The stabilization is achieved by applying a gas such as air through a nozzle to the weld area, where the gas has sufficient velocity and flow rate to blow the zinc vapor away from the molten pool. Dramatically improved weld quality results have been demonstrated. Configuration parameters which yield optimum results—including gas flow rate and velocity, and nozzle position and orientation relative to the laser impingement location on the steel—are disclosed.

Abstract: A portable unit with an endfire antenna and operating at 60 GHz makes an optimum communication channel with an endfire antenna in an array of antennas distributed over the area of a ceiling. The portable unit is pointed towards the ceiling and the system controlling the ceiling units selects and adjusts the positioning of an endfire antenna mounted on a 3-D adjustable rotatable unit. Several transceivers can be mounted together, offset from one another, to provide a wide coverage in both azimuth direction and elevation direction. These units can be rigidly mounted as an array in a ceiling, apparatus. The system controlling the ceiling array selects one of the transceivers in one of the units to make the optimum communication channel to the portable unit. The system includes the integration of power management features by switching between Wi-Fi in favor of the 60 GHz channel.

Abstract: Sorbents for removal of mercury and other pollutants from gas streams, such as a flue gas stream from coal-fired utility plants, and methods for their manufacture and use are disclosed. Embodiments include brominated sorbent substrate particles having a carbon content of less than about 10%. Other embodiments include one or more oxidatively active halides of a nonoxidative metal dispersed on sorbent substrate particles mixed with activated carbon in an amount up to 30% by weight. Further embodiments include physical blending of a flow modifier into the sorbent composition.

Abstract: Sorbents for removal of mercury and other pollutants from gas streams, such as a flue gas stream from coal-fired utility plants, and methods for their manufacture and use are disclosed. Embodiments include brominated sorbent substrate particles having a carbon content of less than about 10%. Other embodiments include one or more oxidatively active halides of a nonoxidative metal dispersed on sorbent substrate particles mixed with activated carbon in an amount up to 30% by weight.

Abstract: A portable unit with an endfire antenna and operating at 60 GHz makes an optimum communication channel with an endfire antenna in an array of antennas distributed over the area of a ceiling. The portable unit is pointed towards the ceiling and the system controlling the ceiling units selects and adjusts the positioning of an endfire antenna mounted on a 3-D adjustable rotatable unit. Several transceivers can be mounted together, offset from one another, to provide a wide coverage in both azimuth direction and elevation direction. These units can be rigidly mounted as an array in a ceiling apparatus. The system controlling the ceiling array selects one of the transceivers in one of the units to make the optimum communication channel to the portable unit. The system includes the integration of power management features by switching between Wi-Fi in favor of the 60 GHz channel.

Abstract: A resistance spot welding method may involve spot welding a workpiece stack-up that includes a steel workpiece and an aluminum alloy workpiece that overlap one another to provide a faying interface. A pair of opposed welding electrodes are pressed against opposite sides of the workpiece stack-up with one welding electrode contacting the aluminum alloy workpiece and the other welding electrode contacting the steel workpiece. The welding electrodes are constructed so that, when an electrical current is passed between the electrodes and through the workpiece stack-up, the electrical current has a greater current density in the steel workpiece than in the aluminum alloy workpiece to thereby concentrate heat within a smaller zone in the steel workpiece. Concentrating heat within a smaller zone in the steel workpiece is believed to modify the solidification behavior of the resultant molten aluminum alloy weld pool in a desirable way.

Abstract: A method of resistance spot welding a steel workpiece and an aluminum or aluminum alloy workpiece together includes several steps. One step involves inserting a cover between the aluminum or aluminum alloy workpiece and an adjacent welding electrode. In another step, the adjacent welding electrode is pressed against cover, and another opposed welding electrode is pressed against the steel workpiece at a weld site. In yet another step, electrical current is passed between the welding electrodes, passed through the cover, and passed through the workpieces in order to initiate and grow a molten weld pool within the aluminum or aluminum alloy workpiece.

Abstract: Resistance spot welding of a thin-gauge steel workpiece to another steel workpiece is achieved by through the combined use of specific spot welding electrodes and a pulsating welding current. Each of the spot welding electrodes has a weld face that is smaller in diameter than a typical steel spot welding electrode. And the pulsating welding current that is used in conjunction with the smaller-sized spot welding electrodes includes at least two stages of electrical current pulses.

Abstract: Sorbents for removal of mercury and other pollutants from gas streams, such as a flue gas stream from coal-fired utility plants, and methods for their manufacture and use are disclosed. Embodiments include brominated sorbent substrate particles having a carbon content of less than about 10%. Other embodiments include one or more oxidatively active halides of a nonoxidative metal dispersed on sorbent substrate particles mixed with activated carbon in an amount up to 30% by weight.

Abstract: A method for improving a resistance spot weld includes stacking two or more metal sheets and positioning first and second opposed electrodes on opposite sides of the metal stack. At least one of the metal sheets is chilled in the region where the weld is to be made. Weld current is applied to the electrodes and passes through the metal sheets to create the electric resistance spot weld only after the chilling of the at least one metal sheet reduces the temperature at the faying interface at least 5° C., thereby improving the formation of the weld nugget and quality of the weld joint. The chilling can be obtained by flowing chilled gas onto the surface of one or both of the outermost metal sheets, or by contacting the outermost metal sheets with the chilled electrode for a period of time prior to applying the weld current.

Abstract: Hollow porous metal oxide microspheres are provided. The microspheres may be used as a support for a catalyst, particularly an exhaust treatment catalyst for an internal combustion engine. Also provided are methods of making the microspheres, methods of using the microspheres as catalyst supports, and methods of exhaust treatment using catalyst articles comprising the microspheres.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for controlling microloading, such as within cell microloading between adjacent cells or isolated/dense microloading between areas of isolated or dense features during shallow trench isolation (STI) fabrication processes, or other trench fabrication processes, are provided herein. In some embodiments, a method for fabricating STI structures may include providing a substrate having a patterned mask layer formed thereon corresponding to one or more STI structures to be etched; etching the substrate through the patterned mask layer using a plasma formed from a process gas to form one or more STI structure recesses on the substrate; and pulsing the plasma for at least a portion of etching the substrate to control at least one of a depth or width of the one or more STI structure recesses.

Abstract: Sorbents for removal of mercury and other pollutants from gas streams, such as a flue gas stream from coal-fired utility plants, and methods for their manufacture and use are disclosed. Embodiments include brominated sorbent substrate particles having a carbon content of less than about 10%. Other embodiments include one or more oxidatively active halides of a nonoxidative metal dispersed on sorbent substrate particles mixed with activated carbon in an amount up to 30% by weight. Further embodiments include physical blending of a flow modifier into the sorbent composition.