A transmitter comprises a channel encoder to encode data bits; a modulator to modulate the encoded data bits, wherein the modulator selects one of a first modulation scheme and a second modulation scheme for each of a plurality of time slots; wherein, for each time slot, the channel encoder: includes a prefix and a suffix at the beginning and end, respectively, of the encoded data bits corresponding to the respective time slot, the prefix and the suffix being selected based on the selected modulation scheme for the respective time slot; and passes the prefix, the encoded data bits, and the suffix to the modulator; wherein, for each time slot, the modulator: modulates the prefix, the encoded data bits, and the suffix received from the channel encoder according to the selected modulation scheme for the respective time slot; and applies a window function to the prefix and the suffix.

In some communication systems, inter-symbol interference may occur when switching between modulation schemes. For example, in a Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) network implementing Enhanced Data rate for GSM Evolution (EDGE), two modulation schemes are defined and supported in the base stations and wireless devices. The transmitters in the base stations and the wireless devices need to switch from one modulation scheme to the other whenever there is a need to do so. For example, a first time slot may use Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying (GMSK) modulation and a second time slot may use GMSK or 8 phase shift keying (PSK) modulation and vice versa. The transition from GMSK to 8PSK and vice versa should be smooth to reduce the creation of frequency spikes due to switching. In other words, phase discontinuity when the modulation switching occurs should be minimized to reduce the creation of high frequency interference.


Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and Hc are enhanced in magnetic devices with a Ta/M1/M2 seed layer where M1 is preferably Ti, and M2 is preferably Cu, and including an overlying (Co/Ni)X multilayer (x is 5 to 50) that is deposited with ultra high Ar pressure of >100 sccm to minimize impinging energy that could damage (Co/Ni)X interfaces. In one embodiment, the seed layer is subjected to one or both of a low power plasma treatment and natural oxidation process to form a more uniform interface with the (Co/Ni)X multilayer. Furthermore, an oxygen surfactant layer may be formed at one or more interfaces between adjoining (Co/Ni)X layers in the multilayer stack. Annealing at temperatures between 180° C. and 400° C. also increases Hc but the upper limit depends on whether the magnetic device is MAMR, MRAM, a hard bias structure, or a perpendicular magnetic medium.

Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM), based on the integration of silicon CMOS with MTJ technology, is a major emerging technology that is highly competitive with existing semiconductor memories such as SRAM, DRAM, and Flash. Similarly, spin-transfer (spin torque or STT) magnetization switching described by C. Slonczewski in "Current driven excitation of magnetic multilayers", J. Magn. Magn. Mater. V 159, L1-L7 (1996), has recently stimulated considerable interest due to its potential application for spintronic devices such as STT-MRAM on a gigabit scale. Recently, J-G. Zhu et al. described another spintronic device called a spin transfer oscillator in "Microwave Assisted Magnetic Recording", IEEE Trans. on Magnetics, Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 125-131 (2008) where a spin transfer momentum effect is relied upon to enable recording at a head field significantly below the medium coercivity in a perpendicular recording geometry.
Both MRAM and STT-MRAM may have a MTJ element based on a tunneling magneto-resistance (TMR) effect wherein a stack of layers has a configuration in which two ferromagnetic layers typically referred to as a pinned layer and free layer are separated by a thin non-magnetic dielectric layer. The MTJ element is typically formed between a bottom electrode such as a first conductive line and a top electrode which is a second conductive line at locations where the top electrode crosses over the bottom electrode in a MRAM device. In another aspect, a MTJ element in a read head sensor may be based on a giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect that relates to a spin valve structure where a reference layer and free layer are separated by a metal spacer. In sensor structures, the MTJ is formed between two shields and there is a hard bias layer adjacent to the MTJ element to provide longitudinal biasing for stabilizing the free layer magnetization.
Materials with PMA are of particular importance for magnetic and magnetic-optic recording applications. Spintronic devices with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy have an advantage over MRAM devices based on in-plane anisotropy in that they can satisfy the thermal stability requirement and have a low switching current density but also have no limit of cell aspect ratio. As a result, spin valve structures based on PMA are capable of scaling for higher packing density which is one of the key challenges for future MRAM applications and other spintronic devices. Theoretical expressions predict that perpendicular magnetic devices have the potential to achieve a switching current lower than that of in-plane magnetic devices with the same magnetic anisotropy field according to S. Mangin et al. in Nat. Mater. 5, 210 (2006).
When the size of a memory cell is reduced, much larger magnetic anisotropy is required because the thermal stability factor is proportional to the volume of the memory cell. Generally, PMA materials have magnetic anisotropy larger than that of conventional in-plane soft magnetic materials such as NiFe or CoFeB. Thus, magnetic devices with PMA are advantageous for achieving a low switching current and high thermal stability. Several groups have studied spin transfer switching in GMR multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and reported their results including the aforementioned S. Mangin publication as well as H. Meng et al. in "Low critical current for spin transfer in magnetic tunnel junctions", J. Appl. Phys. 99, 08G519 (2006), X. Jiang et al. in "Temperature dependence of current-induced magnetization switching in spin valves with a ferromagnetic CoGd free layer", Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 217202 (2006), T. Seki et al. in "Spin-polarized current-induced magnetization reversal in perpendicularly magnetized L10-FePt layers", Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 172504 (2006), and S. Mangin et al. in "Reducing the critical current for spin-transfer switching of perpendicularly magnetized nanomagnets", Appl. Phys. Lett. 94, 012502 (2009). However, in the GMR devices described in the prior art, typical switching current density is above 10 milli-amp/cm2 which is too high for low switching current MRAM. Furthermore, the MR ratio is around 1% which is too small for the readout signal in MRAM. Therefore, improving the spin transfer switching performance in MTJ elements with PMA is extremely important for high performance MRAM applications.
There is a report by M. Nakayama et al. in "Spin transfer switching in TbCoFe/CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB/TbCoFe magnetic tunnel junctions with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy", J. Appl. Phys. 103, 07A710 (2008) on spin transfer switching in a MTJ employing a TbCoFe PMA structure. However, in a MTJ with a TbCoFe or FePt PMA layer, strenuous annealing conditions are usually required to achieve an acceptably high PMA value. Unfortunately, high temperatures are not so practical for device integration.
CoPt and its alloys such as CoCrPt and CoPt—SiO2 are not desirable as PMA materials in spintronic devices because Pt and Cr are severe spin depolarizing materials and will seriously quench the amplitude of spintronic devices if incorporated in the spinvalve structures. Similarly, Co/Pd, and Co/Ir will not be good PMA materials for spintronic devices because of the severe spin depolarizing property of Pd and Ir. Furthermore, Co/Pt, Co/Pd, and Co/Ir configurations typically require a very thick and expensive Pt, Pd, or Ir as a seed layer. Au is associated with high cost and easy interdiffusion to adjacent layers which makes a Co/Au multilayer for PMA purposes less practical.
PMA materials have been considered for microwave assisted magnetic recording (MAMR) as described by J-G. Zhu et al. in "Microwave Assisted Magnetic Recording", IEEE Trans. on Magn., Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 125-131 (2008). A mechanism is proposed for recording at a head field significantly below the medium coercivity in a perpendicular recording geometry. FIG. 1 is taken from the aforementioned reference and shows an ac field assisted perpendicular head design. The upper caption 19 represents a perpendicular spin torque driven oscillator for generating a localized ac field in a microwave frequency regime and includes a bottom electrode 11a, top electrode 11b, perpendicular magnetized reference layer 12 (spin injection layer), metallic spacer 13, and oscillating stack 14. Oscillator stack 14 is made of a field generation layer 14a and a layer with perpendicular anisotropy 14b having an easy axis 14c. The ac field generator in the upper caption 19 is rotated 90 degrees with respect to the lower part of the drawing where the device is positioned between a write pole 17 and a trailing shield 18. The writer moves across the surface of a magnetic media 16 that has a soft underlayer 15. The reference layer 12 provides for spin polarization of injected current (I). Layers 14a, 14b are ferromagnetically exchanged coupled. Improved materials for the reference layer and oscillator stack are needed as this technology matures.
In other prior art references, U.S. Patent Application Pub. 2008/0170329 discloses a seed layer selected from alloys of Cu or Ta and Ti, and also describes a heat treatment to improve underlayer smoothness in a perpendicular magnetic recording medium.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,128,987 describes a perpendicular magnetic medium with each laminated layer consisting of a composite wherein a discontinuous magnetic phase is surrounded by a non-magnetic phase. Fabrication methods may involve a heat treatment or an unspecified surface treatment of the composite layer.
In U.S. Pat. No. 7,175,925, a seed layer comprised of Ta or Cu is used between a magnetically soft underlayer and a crystalline interlayer in a perpendicular magnetic recording medium.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,279,240 teaches a seed layer of Ti or Cu for a laminated perpendicular magnetic recording medium.
However, none of the aforementioned references suggest a high performance, low cost PMA alternative to the commonly used (Co/Pt)Y and (Co/Pd)Y multilayer stacks in the prior art. A low cost multilayer with high PMA and high Hc is needed to enable PMA materials to be more widely accepted in a variety of magnetic device applications.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Multilayer structure with high perpendicular anisotropy for device applications


A thin-film transistor including: a gate electrode that is located above a substrate; a gate insulating layer that faces the gate electrode; a partition that defines an opening and has higher liquid repellency than liquid repellency of the gate insulating layer, the opening having a surface of the gate insulating layer therewithin; a semiconductor layer that faces the gate electrode with the gate insulating layer interposed therebetween and is formed within the opening by an application method; a source electrode and a drain electrode that are electrically connected to the semiconductor layer; and an intermediate layer that is made of the same material as a material of the partition and is located between the gate insulating layer and the semiconductor layer, wherein the intermediate layer is discretely present above the gate insulating layer.

In active matrix driven display panels such as liquid crystal display panels and organic EL display panels, thin-film transistors (TFT) are formed in order to control the display state on a per-sub pixel basis.
Display panels generally use thin-film transistors in which silicon is used as a semiconductor layer, but in recent years, organic thin-film transistors in which an organic material is used as a semiconductor layer are being developed (see, for example, Patent Literature (PTL) 1).
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional thin-film transistor having a semiconductor layer made of an organic material.
As shown in (a) of FIG. 13, a conventional thin-film transistor 1000 is formed by sequentially stacking, on a substrate 1001, a gate electrode 1002, a gate insulating layer 1003, a source electrode 1004 and a drain electrode 1005, and a semiconductor layer 1008. The semiconductor layer 1008 is formed on the gate insulating layer 1003 so as to fill the space between the source electrode 1004 and the drain electrode 1005 and to cover the source electrode 1004 and the drain electrode 1005.
Also, on the gate insulating layer 1003 is provided a partition 1006 for defining adjacent elements. The partition 1006 is provided with an opening 1006a, and the source electrode 1004 and the drain electrode 1005 are formed on the bottom of the opening 1006a so as to be exposed from the opening 1006a. Also, within the opening 1006a of the partition 1006, the semiconductor layer 1008 made of an organic material is formed.
The thin-film transistor 1000 thus configured is formed in each sub-pixel of, for example, an organic EL display panel, and light emission control of light-emitting elements (organic EL elements) is performed by input of a signal into the gate electrode 1002.

Thin-film transistor, display panel, and method for producing a thin-film transistor


A modular tool bit holder system includes an angle tool bit holder, and a flexible shaft tool bit holder. The angle tool bit holder includes a housing containing a first input shaft, a first angle gear rotatably drivable about a first axis, a second angle gear, and a first bit holder rotatably drivable by the first angle gear about a second axis at an angle to the first axis. The flexible shaft tool bit holder includes a second input shaft, a flexible intermediate shaft rotatably drivable by the second input shaft, and a second tool bit holder rotatably drivable by the flexible intermediate shaft. The angle tool bit holder and the flexible shaft tool bit holder are operable separately or in combination. A connection assembly is configured to non-rotatably couple the angle tool bit holder and the flexible shaft tool bit holder when they are operable in combination.

Tool bit holders, such as angled tool bit holders, flexible shaft tool bit holders, and quick release tool bit holders, may be used with power tools to enhance their functionality in driving tool bits, such as drill bits, screwdriver bits, and other fastening bits. These tool bit holders may enable users to access various workpiece regions. However, these existing bit holders may not be able to reach certain difficult to access workpiece regions. In addition, using these existing bit holders in combination can make their operation unstable and subject to high vibration stresses.


Cationic copolymerization of trioxane with glycidyl ester derivatives, preferably glycidyl acrylate derivatives, produces thermally stable, usually cross-linked, acetal copolymer. The resulting acetal copolymer will exhibit side chain ester functionality, and particularly side chain vinyl functionality when glycidyl acrylate derivatives are employed, so as to permit its futher reaction with other chemical moieties to achieve an acetal copolymer of modified chemical and/or physical properties.

Acetal polymers represent an important class of engineering resins due to numerous favorable physical properties. For this reason, acetal polymers have a wide range of commercial applications, for example, as parts for automobiles, as plumbing components and a variety of household and personal products.
It is oftentimes desireable to modify one or more of the inherently advantageous physical properties of acetal polymers so as to meet the needs of specific end-use applications. Normally, to achieve such modified properties, acetal polymers have been blended with a variety of other resins and/or ingredients (e.g., impact modifying agents, flame retardants, light and heat stabilizers, fillers, and the like). Usually the blending of acetal polymers is not without its own problems due principally to the highly crystalline nature of acetal polymers which is evident in a low level of compatibility with other polymers.
Grafting of a different resin and/or a specific chemical moiety onto a polyacetal backbone would present an attractive alternative to blending so as to achieve a block copolymer having the desired modified physical and/or chemical properties. However, with acetal polymers, grafting is usually not possible due to the low level of polyacetal end group functionality--that is, since each acetal copolymer molecule carries a maximum of two functional groups, e.g., hydroxyl end groups.
According to the present invention, however, a novel class of polyacetal copolymers is provided which retain the benficial physical and chemical properties of conventional acetal polymers, while yet also providing greatly increased functionality. Therefore, the acetal copolymers of this invention may be reacted with other resins and/or chemical moieties so as to, for example, permit a variety of acetal polymers to be synthesized having chemically bound (i.e., not merely blended) modifiying agents.
Broadly, the copolymers of the present invention are obtained by the cationic copolymerization of trioxane with a functional glycidyl ester which, in the preferred embodiment in accordance with this invention, is a glycidyl acrylate. The resulting copolymer will therefore exhibit side chain funtionality so as to enable synthesis of, for example, block copolymers comprised of the acetal copolymer of this invention and other specific polymers to achieve desired chemical and/or physical properties.
These, as well as other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more clear after careful consideration is give to the following detailed description of the preferred exemplary embodiments.

Novel polyacetal copolymers of trioxane and glycidyl ester derivatives


The present invention provides a glass lens for a lens module. The glass lens includes an optical portion having an optical axis, and an extending portion surrounding a periphery of the optical portion. The optical portion includes an object-side surface and an image-side surface opposite to the object-side surface, and the extending portion includes a first extending surface extending from the object-side surface towards a direction far away from the optical axis and a second extending surface extending from the image-side surface towards the direction far away from the optical axis. The first extending surface and the second extending surface are respectively provided with a first recess and a second recess filled with a black substance, and the second recess is closer to the optical axis with respect to the first recess.

With the gradual maturity of optical imaging technologies, various imaging products such as cameras, video cameras, telescopes and the like are also popularized to thousands of households, and the design of lens modules has always been the key to the imaging quality of such products. However, due to the overall transparency of the glass lenses used in the current lens modules, stray light caused by each bearing surface and a connecting surface with a lens barrel after a plurality of lenses are stacked will often irradiate into an optical portion, thereby greatly affecting the imaging effect.
Therefore, it is necessary to provide a novel glass lens to solve the above-mentioned technical problems.


A secondary subsystem reads first differential data recorded in a magnetic tape device into a magnetic disk device, and manages such data based on second differential data that was created based on the read first differential data and differential management information. Then, whether differential data exists in partial data is determined based on the differential management information, and, if such differential data exists, the partial data is read into a cache memory, and differential data is applied to the partial data. Meanwhile, if differential data does not exist, the partial data is read into the buffer. Moreover, new full data is recorded by writing the partial data, which was read into the cache memory or the buffer, onto the magnetic tape device in parallel with other read processing.

As a storage apparatus for storing data, known is a type of randomly accessing the target area of a memory medium, and a type that can only access the target area sequentially. A magnetic disk device is a representative example of the former type, and a magnetic tape device is a representative example of the latter type.
Although a magnetic disk device has a high bit cost, it yields an advantage of being able to position the recording/reproducing head at the target area of a memory medium within the scope of several milliseconds to several ten milliseconds. Meanwhile, although a magnetic tape device takes more than several seconds to several ten seconds to achieve the above, it yields an advantage in that the bit cost is low.
Thus, the remote copy system described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H11-212875 applies a magnetic disk device to a storage apparatus of a primary subsystem, and applies a magnetic tape device to a storage apparatus of a secondary storage apparatus subsystem.
The primary subsystem of the foregoing system records data that was received from a host system on a magnetic disk, and also transfers such data to the secondary subsystem. The secondary subsystem records the received data as differential data on a magnetic tape. If the amount of differential data exceeds a predetermined value, the secondary subsystem synthesizes the old full data and differential data recorded on the magnetic tape to create new full data, and records the new full data on the magnetic tape. Moreover, if a failure occurs in a magnetic disk and data is lost, the secondary subsystem synthesizes the full data and differential data recorded on the magnetic tape to create new full data, and transfers the new full data to the primary subsystem.

Storage system and data storage method using storage system which decides size of data to optimize the total of data size transfer efficiency


A blood collecting tube comprises a tubular member made of synthetic resin which has an open end and a closed bottom, and a closure member which is for closing the open end of the tubular member and allows a puncture needle to pierce therethrough, the interior of said blood collecting tube being kept under reduced pressure, said tubular member being essentially made of a polyester resin mixture of a polyester resin mainly based on a ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid and a polyester resin mainly based on ethylene glycol and isopthalic acid. The tubular member of this blood collecting tube can be suitably made by injection molding and has high gas barrier properties so that the capability of collecting blood decreases little with time.

This invention relates to a blood collecting tube for collecting a blood sample for use in various blood tests.
Various blood collectors have been in clinical laboratory tests such as biochemical examinations and serologic tests. Generally used blood collectors are of the type comprising a blood collecting tube whose interior is kept under reduced pressure, and a tube holder capable of receiving the blood collecting tube therein and provided with a puncture needle at the tip thereof. The blood collecting tube comprises a tubular member made of glass or synthetic resin which has an open end and a closed bottom, and a rubber plug for closing the open end of the tubular member.
A tubular member made of glass can maintain the reduced internal pressure thereof for a long time but it is easily damaged in transportation and operation. The resultant damaged tubular member causes the contamination of the blood sample in the tubular member. Additionally, a glass tubular member is relatively heavy to handle. In contrast to this, a plastic tubular member made of synthetic resin is advantageous because it is light and difficult to damage even when dropped.
A blood collecting tube using a conventional plastic tubular member has, however, the problem that the capability of collecting blood considerably decreases with time because of the insufficient gas-barrier properties of the tubular member. Although there is known a plastic tubular member made of polyethylene terephthalate, it is also disadvantageous because polyethylene terephthalate is easily whitens at the gate position upon injection molding and clogs the gate of the injection molding machine. It results in low productability.


A chair in which a biasing force acting on a back can be changed even if the stroke of a moving member is small, thereby enabling the device to be compact, and the biasing force can be steplessly adjusted with light force. A biasing force transmission member (41) reverses the biasing force of a biasing mechanism acting on a tip portion of the biasing force transmission member (41) which is a point of effort (Q) with a point abutting a fulcrum member (49) working as a fulcrum (P) for a lever, transmits the biasing force to a base end of the biasing force transmission member (41) which is a point load (R) to bias the back in an upright direction, and moves the fulcrum member (49) along a side edge of the biasing force transmission member (41) on a pressure receiving side to be able to adjust the biasing force.

There are conventional adjusting means for adjusting a biasing force of biasing means for biasing the backrest toward an upright position as below:
(A) At a winding end of the coil spring for biasing the backrest toward an upright position, the nut which engages with the thread of the adjusting rod is turned by the handle to change initial load of the coil spring in Patent Literature 1.
(B) A plurality of rubber torsion springs is arranged along the pivot shaft turning with the backrest, and biasing force of the rubber torsion spring selectively acts on the pivot shaft in Patent Literature 2.
(C) On the transmitting path of a biasing force, changing a position where the biasing force acts applies strength and weakness to the biasing force to be transmitted in Patent Literatures 3 and 4.


Embodiments of the present invention relate to high-performance processors, and more specifically, to processors that store all operation information associated with each instruction in a single memory. A processor including multiple programmable logic arrays (PLAs); an instruction pointer queue coupled to the multiple PLAs; and an instruction pointer sequencing logic/predictor component coupled to the instruction pointer queue. The processor further includes a micro-operation cache coupled to the instruction pointer sequencing logic/predictor component; a micro-operation memory coupled to the micro-operation cache; and a trace pipe (TPIPE) coupled to the micro-operation cache and the instruction pointer queue.

Currently, programmable logic arrays ("PLAs") provide micro-operation information for short instruction flows of usually four or less micro-operations while a micro-operation read only memory ("ROM") is used to provide micro-operation information for long instruction flows of more than four micro-operations. This is accomplished in the processor by using a traditional decoder to decode the instructions and a trace cache to hold the short instructions and a micro-operation ROM to store the long instructions. Unfortunately, processor efficiency suffers on long instructions because of the processor switch to the slower UROM to access the long instructions. In addition, making changes to improve the access speed of one memory usually results in decreasing the access speed of the other memory. As a result, there is a large penalty (also referred to as "pipeline bubbles") for switching from one instruction source to the other, for example, from the trace cache to the micro-operation ROM. If they were unified, there would be no penalty. An inherent benefit to using a single structure to store all of the instructions is to reduce the hardware complexity. Having a single storage structure results in less hardware to design, less potential speedpaths, etc.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have all micro-operation information come from a single structure.

Apparatus having a micro-instruction queue, a micro-instruction pointer programmable logic array and a micro-operation read only memory and method for use thereof


Soft feel coating compositions, particularly for plastic substrates, having improved chemical resistance and methods of improving the chemical resistance of soft-feel coatings are provided.

The use of plastic has become ubiquitous in the manufacture of household products, toys, tools, entertainment devices, computer hardware, and automobile components. Plastic substrates are generally low cost, durable and light weight; however, plastic is susceptible to being damaged by sunlight and weathering, impacts, and exposure to chemicals, including common chemicals found in lotions and insect repellants. In recent decades, coatings have been developed for application to plastic substrates that are intended to protect the substrate and provide aesthetic value. More recently, coatings have been surfacing that not only protect the plastic surface but also impart a soft, grippy or rubbery feel to the otherwise hard plastic. These coatings have been generally branded with the term "soft-touch" or "soft feel" coatings.
Vehicle manufacturers, be they automotive, aerospace, or marine manufacturers have been one of the biggest consumers for soft-feel coatings apart from manufacturers of consumer goods and electronics. The automotive companies have developed very exacting, but increasingly demanding specifications for interior coatings. Automakers are continually looking for coatings that exhibit great appearance, excellent resistance properties, rapid cure, ease of application, lower cost and are environmentally friendly.
Soft touch coatings have been subject to increasingly demanding specifications as well. Particularly, soft-feel coatings are being challenged to have improved chemical resistance. The motivation driving this movement is evidence that many chemicals, including those found in lotions and insect repellants, can soften the coating, and will migrate through the coating and into the plastic, causing adhesion loss of the coating to the plastic substrate and, in some instances, damage to the underlying plastic substrate. One approach to resolving this has been a multi-coating system incorporating a primer for chemical resistance and a soft-feel top coat. However, this multi-coating approach is time consuming.
First-generation soft-feel coatings were largely solventborne polyurethanes based on blends of polyols and isocyanates. Environmental regulations and consumer preferences have caused coatings suppliers to develop more environmentally friendly technologies. Therefore, new generations of soft-feel coatings have shifted toward 2K waterborne chemistries, primarily, but not exclusively, utilizing polyurethane dispersions (PUDs). More recently, 1K soft-feel coatings have been under research.
Despite the efforts of formulators, it is still a challenge to provide soft-feel coatings that satisfy the more stringent standards for chemical resistance. To date, efforts at improving chemical resistance have primarily focused on improving or modifying the resin system. A typical waterborne soft touch formulation comprises a water dispersible polyol resin, often a polyurethane polyol dispersion and a water-dispersible isocyanate. The compositions may include other non-functional resin dispersions. Thus, some improvement in chemical resistance may be anticipated from a observant selection of polyols and other resin blends based on resin characteristics, morphologies and properties, like glass transition temperature (Tg), molecular weight or shape, all selected with any eye toward balancing flexibility, softness and resistance to chemicals. Exemplary of "resin-centric" approaches to improving chemical resistance in soft-touch coatings, are the efforts described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,313,837, which generally describe polyurethane soft touch coatings comprising one or more aqueous hydroxyl functional polyurethane dispersions and a polyisocyanate. Aqueous non-hydroxyl functional polyurethane dispersions are taught as useful contributions to the coatings. Another water-borne polyurethane soft touch coating is described in WO/2012/089827, which describes a polyurethane soft touch coating comprising the reaction product of a) a non-hydrolysable polyol binder, such as a polycarbonate or polyether polyol or polyester polyols having sterically hindered ester linkages, which are protected from hydrolysis, and b) and organic polyisocyanate.
Despite numerous research efforts directed at improving chemical resistance through modification of the resin system, there is still a need to improve the chemical resistance of the current generations of soft-touch coatings. The present invention is based on the surprising discovery that certain pigments can be employed in wide variety of soft-touch coatings resulting in coatings that have substantially improved chemical resistance, particularly against lotions and insect repellents, and yet, retain their soft touch feel.


Various systems, apparatuses, and methods are described herein for enabling secure communication protocols for proximity-based validation in distributed multi-device frameworks. Distributed multi-device frameworks present unique challenges when it comes to ensuring that user communications between various devices and over variable-security communication mediums remain secure. To address the noted challenges, some embodiments of the present invention provide for an apparatus configured to establish secure communications with a central system using wallet identifying data that is configured to secure data transfers between the apparatus and the central system. In accordance with some embodiments, devices communicating on proposed networks are arranged in a manner and using a network architecture that is configured to optimize overall network security and system integrity.

Point-of-sale devices allow consumers to make payments to merchants, such as by providing a credit card, cash, or other form of payment to a merchant at a cash register or table (e.g., for a dine-in restaurant). More recent systems have provided for consumer payments via mobile device in lieu of the more traditional payment techniques. While such systems can provide enhanced convenience and security at the payment stage, the quality of the consumer experience at a merchant shop often depends on other additional aspects of the merchant-consumer interaction. In this regard, areas for improving current systems have been identified. Through applied effort, ingenuity, and innovation, solutions to improve such systems have been realized and are described herein.

Secure communication protocols for proximity-based validation in distributed multi-device frameworks


The present invention provides for method, system, and apparatus for facilitating communication between a first set of networked devices, such as client devices, and a second networked device, such as a server. A query message is transmitted from a representative device of the first set of networked devices, to the second networked device. The representative device may be selected in several ways. A response message may be transmitted from the second networked device, the message comprising an indication of devices from the first set of networked devices for which communications are pending. The response message is processed and devices identified in the response message are notified.

Communication networks are deployed worldwide to carry a variety of digital and analog information such as voice, video, and data between networked devices. Multi-hop and data forwarding, interconnection of networks and sub-networks, and other capabilities enable wide-ranging communication services to be provided to devices communicating over a variety of wired (electrical or optical) and/or wireless networks, for example.
Due to practical considerations, network communication is often limited in one or more ways. For example, servers and store-and-forward networked devices such as routers can only handle communications at a limited rate. When a large number of devices attempt to concurrently communicate with or through such a device, quality of the communications may therefore degrade.
As another example, network or sub-network boundaries may need to be traversed to facilitate a desired communication path. Such boundaries may exist at the interface between technologically disparate portions of a network, for example between a wired and wireless network, or between different types of wired and/or wireless networks. Boundaries may also exist for security or network administration purposes. For example, a network may be protected or regulated by a firewall, or a network address translation (NAT) device may exist at a network boundary.
An example network scenario, potentially illustrating such limitations, is depicted in FIG. 1. Mobile devices 110a-110f, such as wireless phones, PDAs, and laptop computers associated with a first sub-network 120 such as a mobile network operator's (MNO) network may require periodic communication, across a sub-network boundary 130, with devices such as internet protocol (IP) based devices residing outside the first sub-network 120, for example a server 140. The sub-network boundary 130 may include a firewall or network address translator (NAT), for example. The server 140 may be accessible through an external network or sub-network 135, and mobile devices 110a-110f, may each independently communicate with one or more servers 140 to obtain content pertaining to email, device management, news updates, multimedia messages, or other information.
In some instances, mobile devices such as illustrated in FIG. 1 may not have a publicly routable IP address, for example when they are part of a private address space behind the MNO's firewall and/or NAT, wherein in FIG. 1, the NAT can be positioned above the sub-network boundary 130. Applications running on such mobile devices may therefore be designed in such a way that data transactions are initiated by the mobile device to connect to a server which does have a publicly routable IP address. Thus, the server can respond to a mobile device once a transaction is initiated, but cannot initiate a transaction on its own.
However, there are also cases where the ability for the server to initiate a transaction with the mobile device is desired, for example when a device management server wishes to query the mobile devices to retrieve various diagnostics. Server-initiated transactions may be problematic since they may be prevented by the configuration of devices at the network boundary. For example a NAT may block incoming IP-based communications from the server to a mobile device, either due to configuration or technological limitations such as an inability for the NAT to retain an open port indefinitely for access to every mobile device.
To address this and other problems, the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) has standardized the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), including the use of WAP Push. This is a mechanism of waking up a mobile device via Short Message Service (SMS) to prompt it to initiate a session with the server. However, there are cases where SMS is not available or is deemed too expensive either in cost or in latency to be viable for a large number of mobile devices. WAP Push also requires the server to have the security access or authorization to send SMS messages to the mobile device network.
As another approach, applications running on mobile devices, such as email, instant messaging, games, etc. can be configured to circumvent the problem of blocked server-initiated communications. In such applications, mobile devices periodically poll a server to determine if the server has any messages pending for it. The server can typically respond through the NAT or firewall since such mobile device-initiated communication typically opens a temporary return communication path from the server to the mobile device. However, polling solutions necessarily involve a certain amount of latency in delivery of messages to the client, for example the mobile device.
However, there are applications, such as those pertaining to mobile device management, where the server needs to have a short and sometimes predictable amount of latency in getting a message to the mobile device. In general, there is a trade-off between latency and the consumption of system resources. For example, a mobile device which polls very often will reduce the latency, but at the expense of an undesirably reduced battery life. In addition, if multiple mobile devices frequently conduct polling, undesirably heavy demand is placed on both the servers being polled and the devices along the network boundary. For example, such demands over a given time interval can be viewed as roughly proportional to the product of the number of mobile devices and their average polling frequency. Heavy demand can reduce quality of service and work against the desire to reduce latency. That is, such methods are not scalable.
In a related approach, client polling, as described above, is performed often enough to maintain an open return path through the network boundary or NAT, so that the server can send messages back to the mobile device asynchronously as long as the return path remains open. This may require the mobile device, the server, or both to periodically send keep-alive messages to prevent the mapping in the NAT from timing out. This approach still relies on client polling at a minimum frequency, but reduces latency of messages sent to the mobile device since the server can initiate communication through the return path maintained through polling. However, mobile devices are still required to expend a significant amount of energy, and use a significant amount of network resources, to maintain the open return path. Moreover, if several mobile devices perform this approach, the NAT and server may become overwhelmed with polling requests.
More generally, maintaining multiple open communication paths in a point-to-multipoint network, such as a network comprising a server serving multiple clients or mobile devices, may require a degree of network overhead which significantly stresses portions of the network if performed according to the above prior art methods. For example, polling or keep-alive messages may stress servers, routers, firewalls, NATs, and/or clients within the network. As network size increases, requirements such as low latency become increasingly difficult to satisfy due to the need to directly maintain multiple network paths in such a network using traditional approaches.
Therefore there is a need for a method and system for communicating between a first set of networked devices and a second networked device that is not subject to one or more limitations in the prior art.
This background information is provided for the purpose of making known information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.

Method and system for aggregating communications


Methods, apparatuses, and devices for rendering indoor maps on a display device of, for example, a mobile device, are presented. In one example, a processor of a mobile device may receive identifiers, such as alphanumeric identifiers, for points of interest (POI) and map at least portions of the identifiers to colors within a suitable color space, such as a RGB color space.

1. Field
The subject matter disclosed herein relates to mobile electronic devices, and more particularly to methods, apparatuses, and articles of manufacture which may be used in association with rendering maps on a display device of a mobile electronic device.
2. Information
GPS and other like satellite positioning systems have enabled navigation services for mobile handsets in outdoor environments. However, since satellite signals may not be reliably received and/or acquired in an indoor environment, different techniques may be employed to enable indoor navigation services. For example, a mobile device may typically obtain a position fix by measuring ranges to three or more terrestrial wireless access points that may be positioned at known locations. Such ranges may be measured, for example, by obtaining a MAC ID address from signals received from such access points and measuring one or more characteristics of signals received from such access points such as, for example, signal strength, round trip delay, just to name a few examples.
In some implementations, an indoor navigation system may provide a digital electronic map to a mobile device as a mobile device may enter a particular indoor area. Such a map may show indoor features such as doors, hallways, entry ways, walls, etc. A digital electronic map of an indoor area may also show points of interest (POIs) such as bathrooms, restaurants, cafés, stores, kiosks, etc. Such a digital electronic map may be stored at a server to be accessible by a mobile device through selection of a universal resource locator (URL), for example. By obtaining and displaying such a map, a mobile device may place a current location of the mobile device and a location of an associated user on the displayed map to provide the user with additional context.
However, digital electronic maps displayed on a mobile device may occasionally become cluttered with multiple POIs, which may reduce the readability of the mobile device display. In such instances, a user may find themselves straining to discern a specific POI, in which the user may have a particular interest, from other POIs that may be of lesser interest to the user.


Perpendicular recording and magnetoresistive sensing transducers are disclosed having additional coil windings carrying current in an opposite direction to windings encircled by a core. The magnetic influence of the recording transducer on the sense transducer is reduced or eliminated. The inductance of the coils used to drive the recording transducer is reduced, facilitating high-frequency operation. Moreover, the magnetic flux induced by the coils and transmitted by the recording pole tip is increased, improving recording capabilities.

The present invention relates to electromagnetic transducers for information storage and retrieval systems, such as disk or tape drives.
Current commercially available disk drives employ magnetoresistive (MR) sensors for reading data, and store data in domains having magnetizations that are substantially parallel to concentric media tracks, the parallel magnetic storage sometimes called longitudinal recording. It has been predicted that such longitudinal magnetic storage will become unstable at normal operating conditions when the domains reach a minimal size, termed the superparamagnetic limit. In order to store the data at higher density, the drive system may instead be designed to store data in domains that are substantially perpendicular to the disk surface, which may be termed perpendicular recording.
Prior art systems for perpendicular recording include an inductive transducer positioned in close proximity to a surface of a disk. The inductive transducer has a U-shaped core formed of high-permeability, low-coercivity or xe2x80x9csoftxe2x80x9d magnetic material and the media has a soft magnetic underlayer, the core and underlayer forming a magnetic circuit that traverses a higher coercivity media layer, for magnetizing the media layer or reading the magnetization of the media layer. The core has magnetic pole tips that differ in area so that the magnetic signal is concentrated in the smaller pole tip for reading or writing data. The pole tips are sufficiently separated to encourage magnetic flux to travel through the media, instead of across a submicron nonmagnetic gap that is typically employed for longitudinal recording.
MR sensors sense a change in magnetic field at the sensor with a change in resistance of the sensor, which may be measured as a change in current or voltage across the sensor. In an attempt to limit the sensing of a MR sensor to the individual bit directly adjacent the sensor, magnetic shields are disposed in the transducer adjacent the sense element, shielding the sense element from the magnetic fields emanating from adjacent bits.
The present inventors have discovered, however, that the shields can form a magnetic circuit with the media underlayer used in perpendicular recording, causing problems in reading and writing. Moreover, the relatively large distance between the trailing perpendicular recording pole tip and a MR sensor disposed on an opposite side of the flux return pole tip can cause misalignment of the MR sensor and the recording pole tip. In addition, increasing the density of bits on each track and the disk speed requires higher frequency recording, for which inductance of the coils and core may become problematic.
In accordance with the present invention, embodiments of a merged perpendicular recording and magnetoresistive sensing transducer are disclosed in which the magnetic influence of the recording transducer on the sense transducer and the shields is reduced. As one example, the magnetic flux produced by the recording coil may be essentially zero at the sense transducer. Another advantage of the invention is that the inductance of the coils used to generate magnetic flux in the recording transducer is reduced, facilitating high-frequency operation. Moreover, the magnetic flux generated by the core and transmitted by the recording pole tip may be increased, improving recording capabilities. In brief, various embodiments of a merged transducer are disclosed having increased recording flux, reduced inductance and reduced influence of the recording elements on the sensing elements, for greatly improved performance.

Transducers for perpendicular recording with inductive cancellation at MR sensor


Disclosed is a method for generating a space-time trellis code (STTC) for maximizing space-time diversity gain and coding gain in a mobile communication system including at least two transmission antennas and generating a second number of STTC codes with an information data bit stream upon receiving the information data bit stream comprised of a first number of bits. The method comprises calculating a minimum effective length for each of the STTC codes; calculating product distances between all STTC codes having the same length as the minimum effective length, wherein for each of pairs of all initial states and all end states for each of the STTC codes, initial states are identical to end states; summing reciprocals of product distances between all the STTC codes for each of the STTC codes, and calculating minimum average product distances by determining a reciprocal of the summation result; and selecting an STTC code corresponding to a minimum average product distance having a maximum value among the minimum average product distances as an STTC code corresponding to the information data bit stream.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for generating a space-time trellis code (hereinafter referred to as "STTC") in a mobile communication system, and in particular, to an apparatus and method for generating STTC for maximizing space-time diversity gain and coding gain.
2. Description of the Related Art
Unlike a wired communication system, a mobile communication system based on a wireless communication system uses limited frequency resources. The wireless mobile communication system must use a multilevel modulation scheme in order to transmit information at high speed. In the multilevel modulation scheme, a data rate can be increased as the number of modulation levels is increased. Thus, the multilevel modulation scheme is advantageous in that high-speed information can be sent within a limited bandwidth. However, the multilevel modulation scheme, if it experiences a fading environment, has abrupt performance degradation. Generally, the mobile communication system is configured so that several mobile stations (MSs) communicate with one another via one base station (BS). However, in the mobile communication system, the phase of a received signal can become distorted due to a fading phenomenon occurring on a radio channel during high-speed data transmission. The fading reduces the amplitude of a received signal by several dB to several tens of dB. If a phase of a received signal distorted due to the fading phenomenon is not compensated for during data demodulation, the phase distortion becomes an information error cause of transmission data transmitted by a transmission side, causing a reduction in quality of a mobile communication service. Therefore, in order to transmit high-speed data without a decrease in the service quality, the mobile communication system must overcome fading, and various diversity techniques have been proposed to cope with performance degradation due to the fading.
Generally, a CDMA mobile communication system adopts a rake receiver that performs diversity reception by using delay spread of a channel. While the rake receiver applies reception diversity for receiving a multipath signal, a rake receiver applying the diversity technique using the delay spread is disadvantageous in that it does not operate when the delay spread is less than a preset value. In addition, a time diversity technique using interleaving and coding is used in a Doppler spread channel. However, the time diversity technique is disadvantageous in that it can hardly be used in a low-speed Doppler spread channel.
Therefore, in order to compensate for the fading, a space diversity technique is used in a channel with low delay spread, such as an indoor channel, and a channel with low-speed Doppler spread, such as a pedestrian channel. The space diversity technique uses two or more transmission/reception antennas. In this technique, when a signal transmitted via one transmission antenna decreases in its signal power due to fading, a signal transmitted via the other transmission antenna is received. The space diversity can be classified into a reception antenna diversity technique using a reception antenna and a transmission diversity technique using a transmission antenna. However, since the reception antenna diversity technique is applied to a mobile station, it is difficult to install a plurality of antennas in the mobile station in view of a size of the mobile station and its installation cost. Therefore, it is recommended that the transmission diversity technique should be used in which a plurality of transmission antennas are installed in a base station.
Particularly, in a 4th generation mobile communication system, a data rate of about 10 Mbps to 150 Mbps is expected, and an error rate requires a bit error rate (hereinafter referred to as "BER") of 10−3 for voice, BER of 10−6 for data, and BER of 10−9 for image. The STTC is based on a combination of a multi-antenna technique and a channel coding technique, and is a technique bringing a drastic improvement of a data rate and reliability in a radio MIMO (Multi Input Multi Output) channel.
In addition, a space-time code (hereinafter referred to as "STC"), based on a combination of a multi-antenna scheme and a channel coding scheme, is a code capable of improving frequency efficiency and reliability in a radio environment. The STC allows a receiver to obtain space-time diversity gain by extending a transmission signal to a 2-dimensional area of time and space. In addition, a coding scheme using the STC, unlike the existing channel coding scheme, can obtain coding gain without additional extension of a bandwidth by accommodating redundancy generated due to coding in a space-time dimension, thereby contributing to a remarkable improvement in channel capacity.
The STTC, a kind of the STC, obtains a receiver's space-time diversity gain by extending a space-time dimension of a transmitter's transmission signal. In addition, the STTC can obtain coding gain without a supplemental bandwidth, contributing to a large improvement in channel capacity. Therefore, in the transmission diversity technique, the STTC is used. When the STTC is used, coding gain having an effect of amplifying transmission power is obtained together with diversity gain which is equivalent to a reduction in channel gain occurring due to a fading channel when the multiple transmission antennas are used. A method for transmitting a signal using the STTC is disclosed in Vahid Tarokh, N. Seshadri, and A. Calderbank, "Space Time Codes For High Data Rate Wireless Communication: Performance Criterion And Code Construction," IEEE Trans. on Info. Theory, 1998, 3, (2), pp. 744-765, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
In the above reference, Vahid Tarokh has proposed a pairwise error rate of STTC in a fast Rayleigh fading environment, and STTC design criteria based on the pairwise error rate. Vahid Tarokh set a design criterion for coding gain among the STTC design criteria by a minimum product distance among all codewords corresponding to a minimum effective length. Thereafter, in a paper entitled "Space Time TCM With Improved Performance On Fast Fading Channel" submitted by Firmanto. W., Vucetic. B. S., and Yuan. J. (see Firmanto. W., Vucetic. B. S., Yuan. J., "Space Time TCM With Improved Performance On Fast Fading Channel," IEEE Commun. Lett., 2001, 4, (4), pp. 154-156), Firmanto has proposed STTC that optimally satisfies a minimum product distance design criterion of Vahid Tarokh. Afterward, in a paper entitled "Space Time Codes For Fading Channels" submitted by Yongacoclu. A., and Siala. M. (see Yongacoclu. A., Siala. M., "Space Time Codes For Fading Channels", Proc. VTC, Rhodes, Greece, 2001, pp 1132-1136), Yongacoclu has proposed a method of concatenating a space time block code (hereinafter referred to as "STBC") and an existing trellis code modulation (hereafter referred to as "TCM") scheme in order to maximize coding gain and diversity gain, and has asserted that the method of concatenating the STBC and the TCM scheme can obtain higher diversity gain and coding gain as compared with when only the STTC is used.
It will be assumed herein that in a mobile communication system using STC, a transmitter transmits a signal through two transmission antennas and a receiver receives a signal through one reception antenna. In such a mobile communication system, a signal received at a particular time t is represented by
                              r          t                =                                                            E                S                                                                                ∑                                  i                  =                  1                                2                                                                            h                  t                  i                                                                  c                  t                  i                                                              +                      n            t                                              Equation                                                            (          1          )
In Equation (1), rt denotes a signal received at a particular time t, hit denotes a complex fading coefficient from an ith transmission antenna with mean zero and variance 0.5 per dimension, ES denotes energy per symbol, cit denotes a space-time coded symbol transmitted via an ith transmission antenna, and nt denotes a complex Gaussian noise with mean zero and variance NO/2 per dimension.
A description will now be made of a comparison between a case where the method of concatenating STBC and a TCM scheme, proposed by Yongacoclu, is used and a case where only STTC is used in the mobile communication system sated above.
First, with reference to FIG. 1, a description will be made of the case where the method of concatenating STBC and a TCM scheme, proposed by Yongacoclu, is used in the mobile communication system.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a general transceiver structure of a mobile communication system using the method of concatenating STBC and a TCM scheme. Referring to FIG. 1, when information data bits are received, the information data bits are provided to a TCM encoder 111. Although a TCM scheme is used as an encoding scheme in FIG. 1, a multiple trellis coded modulation (hereinafter referred to as "MTCM") scheme can also be used as an encoding scheme. The TCM encoder 111 encodes the received information data bits in the TCM scheme, and then provides the encoding result to a symbol interleaver 113. Here, it is assumed that a signal output from the TCM encoder 111 is an M-ary symbol, and the M-ary symbol, i.e., a codeword, is x=(x1, x2, . . . , xt, . . . , x1). The symbol interleaver 113 interleaves a codeword x=(x1, x2, . . . , xt, . . . , x1) output from the TCM encoder 111 in a predetermined interleaving scheme, and then provides the interleaving result to an STBC encoder 115. A block size of the symbol interleaver 113 is N for a symbol duration, and is defined by the predetermined interleaving scheme, i.e., a mapping function f(t).
The STBC encoder 115 encodes a signal output from the symbol interleaver 113 into STBC, and then transmits the encoding result to a receiver through the two transmission antennas, i.e., a first transmission antenna Tx.ANT1 and a second transmission antenna Tx.ANT2. For example, when an output of the symbol interleaver 113 was s0s1, the STBC encoder 115 encodes the s0s1, into STBC, and outputs symbols (s0s1) and (−s1*,s0*) as shown in Table 1 below.
TABLE 1Tx.ANT1Tx.ANT2ts0s1t + T−s1*s0*
In Table 1, t represents a particular time, and t+T represents a time when a time T has passed since the particular time t.
Signals transmitted through the first transmission antenna Tx.ANT1 and the second transmission antenna Tx.ANT2 experience a radio channel environment. Therefore, as described in conjunction with Equation (1), both a channel that the signal transmitted via the first transmission antenna Tx.ANT1 experiences and a channel that the signal transmitted via the second transmission antenna Tx.ANT2 experiences have a complex fading coefficient hit. It will be assumed that a complex fading coefficient hit of the channel that the signal transmitted via the first transmission antenna Tx.ANT1 experiences and a complex fading coefficient hit of the channel that the signal transmitted via the second transmission antenna Tx.ANT2 experiences have continuity between two consecutive symbols for STBC decoding, i.e., hi2n−1=hi2n.
Meanwhile, a receiver receives a signal transmitted by the transmitter through one reception antenna Rx.ANT, and the received signal is provided to an STBC de coder 117. The STBC decoder 117 decodes the received signal with STBC, and then provides the decoding result to a symbol deinterleaver 119. The symbol deinterleaver 119 deinterleaves a signal output from the STBC decoder 117 according to the interleaving scheme applied in the transmitter, and then provides the deinterleaving result to a TCM decoder 121. Since the interleaving scheme applied in the transmitter is a mapping function f(t), the symbol deinterleaver 119 deinterleaves the signal output from the STBC decoder 117 according to an inverse function, f1(t), of the mapping function f(t). The TCM decoder 121 decodes a signal output from the symbol deinterleaver 119 in a TCM scheme, and outputs information data bits. The TCM scheme is used as a decoding scheme, since it is assumed in FIG. 1 that the TCM scheme is used as an encoding scheme. However, an MTCM scheme can be used as the decoding scheme when the MTCM scheme is used as the encoding scheme.
If it is assumed that when the codeword x=(x1, x2, . . . , xt, . . . , x1) is transmitted, a length of the codeword x is 1 and xt is a trellis coded symbol, then pairwise error probability that a maximum likelihood decoder can select a defective codeword x′=(x1′, x2′, . . . , xt′, . . . , x1′) is represented by
                                          p            1                                          (                                          x                ->                                                      x                    ′                                    |                                      h                    1                                                              ,                              h                2                                      )                          =                  exp          (                                    -                                                E                  S                                                  4                                                        N                    O                                                                                ∑                                  t                  ∈                  η                                                                                (                                                                                                                                  h                                                                                f                                                              -                                1                                                                                (                              t                              )                                                                                1                                                                                            2                                        +                                                                                                                    h                                                                                f                                                              -                                1                                                                                (                              t                              )                                                                                2                                                                                            2                                                        )                                                                                                                                                  x                        t                                            -                                              x                        t                        ′                                                                                                  2                                                              )                                    Equation                                                            (          2          )
In Equation (2), hi is assumed as hi=(hi1hi2 . . . hit . . . hiN), and η indicates a set of all 't's with xt≠xt'. Generally, it is assumed that a codeword length 1 is set to a value much less than a block size N of an interleaver, i.e., the symbol interleaver 113, (1<<N), and for all 't's with tεη, |hƒ−1(t)1| and |hƒ−1(t)2| are independent samples of Rayleigh distribution random variables on fast fading channels. If an average of Equation (2) is calculated through a probability density function (PDF) of h1 and h2, the pairwise error probability is represented by
                                                                                p                  1                                                                  (                                      x                    ->                                          x                      ′                                                        )                                            ≤                                                                            ∏                                      t                    ∈                    η                                                                                (                                          1                      +                                                                                E                            S                                                                                4                                                                                N                              O                                                                                                                                                                x                                t                                                            -                                                              x                                t                                ′                                                                                                                                    2                                                                                )                                                        -                    2                                                                                ≤                                                                            ∏                                      t                    ∈                    η                                                                                (                                                                                E                          S                                                                          4                                                                                N                            O                                                                                                                                                                x                              t                                                        -                                                          x                              t                              ′                                                                                                                                2                                                              )                                                        -                    2                                                                                Equation                                                            (          3          )
Secondly, a description will be made of the case where STTC is used in the mobile communication system.
Unlike when the STBC is concatenated with the TCM scheme, when the STTC is used, STTC encoding is performed so the cit is an STTC coded symbol. If a codeword c=(c1, c2, . . . , ct, . . . , c1) is transmitted and it is assumed that ct=c1tc2t, then pairwise error probability that a maximum likelihood decoder can select a defective codeword c′=(c1′, c2′, . . . , ct′, . . . , c1′) is represented by
                                          p            1                                          (                          c              ->                              c                ′                                      )                          ≤                              ∏                          t              ∈              η                                                                    (                                                                    E                    S                                                        4                                                              N                      O                                                                                                                                                  c                        t                                            -                                              c                        t                        ′                                                                                                  2                                            )                                      -              1                                                          Equation                                                            (          4          )
In Equation (4), η represents all 't's with ∥ct−ct′∥≠0.
As described above, the result asserted by Yongacoclu is equal to the result obtained through simulation of a Monte-Carlo technique, and there is not enough theoretical basis regarding that the method of concatenating STBC and a TCM scheme affects which parameter among system parameters, thus improving performance. According to the minimum product distance design criterion actually proposed by Vahid Tarokh, the method proposed by Yongacoclu cannot explain a performance difference between STTCs. Accordingly, there is a demand for an STTC generation method for achieving both diversity gain and coding gain even in a fast fading environment.

Apparatus and method for generating space-time trellis code for maximizing space-time diversity gain and coding gain in a mobile communication system


The divider device is used in a digital communication network to detect bit errors by dividing a first polynomial corresponding to a first bit sequence by a second polynomial, called a generator polynomial, represented by a second bit sequence. The device performs, by means of an iterative process, an n-bit parallel division of the first bit sequence by the second one, i.e. n bits at a time. It includes an addition circuit A to n first inputs 17/IO of which the n bits are applied and a divider circuit D to n inputs of which n respective outputs of A are coupled back via a register circuit R and n outputs of which are coupled to n second inputs of A. The remainder of the division is generated at n outputs of R.

Such a device is well known in the art, for instance from the book "Digital Communications - Fundamentals and Applications" by Bernard Sklar, Prentice-Hall International Editions 1988, paragraph 5.6.4.
The device described therein performs the polynomial division on a bit by bit basis making use of clocked shift registers, thus implying that the rate of a clock controlling these shift registers has to be equal to the arrival rate of the bits of the first sequence at an input of the device. In current communication systems where such a device is used to detect bit errors by using for instance a cyclic redundancy check algorithm wherein such a division is performed, this rate can be relatively high, e.g. 600 Mbit/s, for an ATM network.

Divider device to divide a first polynomial by a second one


A folding cart for disc golf has frame elements allowing the cart to be folded with the elements in close, parallel planes, for storage or transport. In various models, the folding cart has a bag carrier implemented especially for a disc bag, the bag carrier foldable into a parallel plane, a seat also foldable into a parallel plane, a hand-operated brake, and an electric motor drive for driving one of the wheels of the cart.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of disc golf carts.
2. Description of Related Art
The popularity of the game of disc golf has seen an exponential rate of growth in recent years. What was traditionally a simple game of players throwing flying discs, such as those manufactured by Frisbee, with a goal to hit various objects, such as trees or posts, has evolved immensely. Today, a typical player may carry three different discs that each serve a purpose: a putter, a midrange, and a driver. Each disc has a different shape, and varying mass to make the disc suitable for specific purposes. More involved players may carry an even greater number of discs, a conservative estimate being approximately 12 discs, to factor in not just intended travel distance for a disc, but also wind conditions, disc flight path characteristics, a player's throwing style, or even disc speed. Taking into consideration other things such as a spare jacket, water bottle, umbrella, a folding stool, or one person carrying discs for multiple people and the carrying load may quickly add up.
Presently, discs are generally carried around in a specialized backpack or duffel bag. A player may set their bag down to pick a disc, throw their disc, and may pick up their bag again as they move to pick up their previously thrown disc and play from a next position. After an extended session of disc golf, the player may feel strain resulting from carrying around a bag of discs as well as the repeated action of bending to pick up their bag. Not to mention soiling of one's bag in dusty or muddy conditions. Therefore, what is clearly needed is a way for disc golf players to conveniently transport their equipment while playing.


An improved method and apparatus is used with a group of bales. The group of bales is gripped with a bale handling apparatus. A flexible strip is positioned around the group of bales. The group of bales is then moved while the group of bales is gripped by the bale handling apparatus and while the flexible strip extends around the group of bales. The flexible strip is positioned relative to the group of bales by a positioning member which is connected with the bale handling apparatus.

The present invention relates to a new and improved method and apparatus for use with a group of bales.
After a crop stock has been cut, the crop stock is collected and formed into bales to facilitate subsequent handling. The crop stock may be hay, alfalfa, oats, straw, soybeans, or other crops. An apparatus for use in forming a group of bales of a crop stock is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,275,904. Of course, a group of bales may be formed in a manner other than by using the apparatus disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Patent.

Method and apparatus for use with a group of bales


In some embodiments, a system includes a chassis having a group of horizontal slots in which a first group of line cards is disposed and a group of vertical slots in which a second group of line cards is disposed. Each port of a line card from the first group of line cards is operatively coupled to a different line card from the second group of line cards when the system is in a first configuration. A first set of ports and a second set of ports of a line card from the first group of line cards are operatively coupled to a first line card and a second line card from the second group of line cards, respectively, when the system is in a second configuration.

Embodiments described herein relate generally to switch fabrics and more particularly, to the packaging and cabling infrastructure of switch fabrics such as Clos networks.
Clos networks are multi-stage switch networks that provide non-blocking connections between multiple input ports and multiple output ports. A non-blocking network is a network in which a data path through the network can always be established between an idle input port and an idle output port. A three-stage Clos network, for example, has a middle stage connected between an input stage and an output stage. Each stage includes multiple modules. Each input stage module has multiple input ports (n) and is operatively coupled to each middle stage module. Similarly, each output stage module has n output ports and is connected to each middle stage module.
Multiple connections are used to operatively couple the middle stage modules between the input stage modules and the output stage modules. Some known Clos networks use cables to connect the modules. Such cabling can be complex, unorganized and thus, difficult to properly connect and maintain. Other known Clos networks use a midplane disposed between line cards associated with the input stage and the output stage, and line cards associated with the middle stage. In such Clos networks, every position on the midplane to which a line card associated with the middle stage can be coupled includes a line card associated with the middle stage. Accordingly, in switch fabrics that do not use the full capacity of the switch fabric, many middle stage line cards remain underutilized. Such underutilized line cards can take up space, can increase power usage and can be costly.
Thus, a need exists for a switch fabric that is easily connected and maintained. Additionally, a need exists for a switch fabric that can properly and easily be scaled to include the number of switch fabric modules actually used.

Apparatus and methods related to the packaging and cabling infrastructure of a distributed switch fabric


An image forming apparatus has a developing device and a feeding device. At least a part of the feeding device is supported so that it can be horizontally pulled out by a pulling-out member. The pulling-out member can hold at least a part of the feeding device at a first position away from an image holding member. The feeding device has a supporting member which can support the developing device pulled out toward the first position.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an image forming apparatus for forming an image.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image forming apparatuses of an electrophotographic type have been developed to a digital hybrid apparatus (MFP: multifunction printer) having a plurality of functions or a full-color MFP for overlaying multi-color toner images and simultaneously transferring them owing to such a digitizing process for directly writing electronic information by a laser beam and forming an image. While small and low-cost home-use printers have been widespread, an apparatus for business use which has advanced functions and can cope with the printing of a high speed and a large quantity is also demanded.
In the image forming apparatuses of the electrophotographic type, as well as toner as a developer, a developing unit for supplying the toner onto the surface of a photosensitive drum and developing an electrostatic latent image is also consumable. Therefore, a structure for taking out the developing unit on the assumption that a periodic exchange and maintenance work are executed is provided.
A taking-out structure of a developing unit also serving as a jam process of sheets has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H05-080597. In such a structure, a casing structure in which a sheet conveying surface is divided into upper and lower portions and can be opened and closed is used, the developing unit is dropped and arranged into the lower portion of the casing structure, and the developing unit can be pulled out upward by rotating upward and opening the upper portion of the casing structure.
A taking-out structure of a developing unit in which a right side surface of an image forming apparatus is opened and the developing unit is taken out in the upper oblique direction has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H05-341642.
A developing unit in which a knob is attached to an upper surface of the developing unit and the developing unit can be lifted upward has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H07-181753.
An image forming apparatus in which a developing unit is arranged under a developer storing portion which can supplement a developer to the developing unit has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-122192. The developing unit can be taken out to a side surface side of the image forming apparatus through a portion under the developer storing portion.
An image forming apparatus in which a slide rail is arranged to thereby enable a developing unit to be horizontally pulled out has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-078737.
In a copying apparatus or a multifunction printer of the electrophotographic type, an image reading apparatus (so called an image scanner) is arranged in an upper portion of an apparatus main body for forming images. Therefore, the constructions in which the casing structure is divided into the upper and lower portions and the developing unit is taken out upward as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. H05-080597 and H07-181753 cannot be used. This is because the divided upper portion becomes very large and heavy due to the image reading apparatus and the like and it is extremely unreasonable in terms of the structure, a setting space, and a working space.
In the case of realizing the high-speed and large-quantity printing by providing the developer storing portion over the developing unit as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-122192, the construction in which the side surface of the image forming apparatus is opened and the developing unit is taken out in the upper oblique direction as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H05-341642 cannot be used. This is because the large developer storing portion has been arranged in the upper oblique position of the developing unit.
According to the apparatus which can cope with the high-speed and large-quantity printing as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-122192, since the developing unit has a developing sleeve and an agitating mechanism, it is large and fairly heavy. It is, therefore, difficult for an ordinary person to move the developing unit in the horizontal direction in a groping state while supporting it by hand.
At present, a sales style in which an option apparatus is provided for the apparatus main body with the common specifications in accordance with circumstances of the individual user is a main stream. This is because if the apparatus main body and various kinds of parts are used in common, both of the cost reduction and the improvement of quality and reliability can be accomplished and it is also advantageous for reduction in amount of stocks and shortage of a deadline for delivery. However, if the option apparatus is attached to the side surface of the apparatus main body, an access to the inside of the apparatus including the pull-out of the developing unit becomes inconvenient.
For example, there is a case where a developer supplementing apparatus (152: FIG. 1) is externally attached to an upper portion of the side surface of the apparatus main body in order to cope with a large-quantity continuous process. In such a case, the developer supplementing apparatus becomes an obstacle when the developing unit is pulled out. It is not easy to bypass the developer supplementing apparatus and pull out the developing unit in the groping state while supporting the heavy weight of the developing unit. Each time the user hits the developing unit to an ambient portion, the toner drops out to the surroundings.
There is also a case where a multi-feeding unit (4: FIG. 1) is arranged to the side surface of the image forming apparatus in order to cope with large long sheets or the like which cannot be enclosed in a cassette built in the image forming apparatus, OHP sheets or the like with little opportunity, hard sheets which cannot be conveyed by an ordinary conveying path, sheets which are easily bent and cannot be conveyed by the ordinary conveying path, and the like.
The multi-feeding unit supplies the sheet to the photosensitive drum through a rectilinear short conveying path without using the sheet cassette arranged in a lower portion of the casing structure. However, in such a case, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2003-122192 and H10-078737, it is difficult to horizontally take out the developing unit to the side surface of the image forming apparatus. This is because the multi-feeding unit has been arranged at the side position where the developing unit is to be taken out.

Image forming apparatus featuring pull-out developing and sheet feeding devices


A method of operation of a measurement system includes: providing a specimen having a film; controlling a beam generator to direct a charged particle beam into the specimen; detecting a reference signal emitted from the specimen; normalizing the reference signal to create a film L-ratio; and determining a thickness of the film by correlating the film L-ratio to a calibration curve.

The rapidly growing market for portable electronic devices, e.g. cellular phones, laptop computers, and tablet computers, is an integral facet of modern life. The multitude of portable devices represents one of the largest potential market opportunities for next generation manufacturing. These devices have unique attributes that have significant impacts on manufacturing integration, in that they must be generally small, lightweight, and rich in functionality and they must be produced in high volumes at relatively low cost.
As an extension of the semiconductor industry, the electronics manufacturing industry has witnessed ever-increasing commercial competitive pressures, along with growing consumer expectations and the diminishing opportunities for meaningful product differentiation in the marketplace.
Manufacturing, materials engineering, and development are at the very core of these next generation electronics insertion strategies outlined in road maps for development of next generation products. Future electronic systems will be more intelligent, have higher density, use less power, operate at higher speed, and include mixed technology devices and assembly structures at lower cost than today.
There have been many approaches to addressing the advanced manufacturing requirements of microprocessors and portable electronics with successive generations of semiconductors. Many industry road maps have identified significant gaps between the current semiconductor capability and the available supporting electronic manufacturing technologies. The limitations and issues with current technologies include increasing clock rates, electromagnetic interference, thermal loads, second level assembly reliability stresses, and cost.
As these manufacturing systems evolve to incorporate more components with varied environmental needs, the pressure to push the technological envelope becomes increasingly challenging. More significantly, with the ever-increasing complexity, the potential risk of error increases greatly during manufacture unless monitoring during the fabrication process is performed.
Thin films are an essential part of fabricating electronics. Thickness measurements for thin films are normally done by optical or X-ray based techniques in a fast and non-destructive fashion. The X-ray or optical techniques can include Ellipsometry, X-Ray Reflectivity (XRR), or X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF). The common inherent disadvantage of such techniques is the big measurement spots, the sizes of which are usually from several millimeters to several tens of microns. Therefore, for the purpose of tuning and monitoring of the thin film deposition processes, such measurements are usually performed either on blank substrates (e.g., silicon wafer) or on specially designed monitor pads on patterned wafers.
Since the behavior of the thin film deposition processes on small patterned structures is often different from their behavior on the large monitor areas, the thickness results obtained cannot be used directly to assess the thickness on the small patterned structures. Due to such a limitation of the above mentioned thickness measurement techniques, scanning electron microscopy or transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging coupled with focus ion beam (FIB) or manual cross section, is often used to directly measure the thickness of the thin films on the small patterned structures.
The cross section imaging is performed either on finished devices or on specially designed sacrificial patterns on patterned wafers. Either solution can be very expensive. Another disadvantage of the cross section imaging is that it is extremely slow. The whole process of cross section imaging of even one sampling spot often takes several hours to finish; therefore, it cannot achieve the statistical precision that can be achieved by the optical and X-ray based metrology techniques.
An additional metrology challenge is measurement close to a substrate edge. As the integrated circuit (IC) manufactures strive to utilize more of the usable area of the wafer, film uniformity close to the very edge of the wafer is required and consequently measurements with two millimeters (mm) or even one-millimeter edge exclusion are demanded. The optical and X-ray based metrology tools have difficulty fulfilling such requirement because of their large spot sizes and the requirement of a flat substrate at the very edge of the wafer.
In view of the ever-increasing commercial competitive pressures, along with growing consumer expectations and the diminishing opportunities for meaningful product differentiation in the marketplace, it is critical that answers be found for these problems. Additionally, the need to reduce costs, improve efficiencies and performance, and meet competitive pressures adds an even greater urgency to the critical necessity for finding answers to these problems.
Thus, a need remains for thickness measurements of thin films on patterned wafers and especially those on the small patterned structures. Solutions to these problems have been long sought but prior developments have not taught or suggested any solutions and, thus, solutions to these problems have long eluded those skilled in the art.

Measurement system with thickness calculation and method of operation thereof