The present invention relates to a chimeric nucleic acid molecule encoding a fusion protein having a human lutropin hormone-receptor domain and a human chorionic gonadotropin-β subunit domain, the isolated human lutropin hormone-receptor/human chorionic gonadotropin-β fusion protein, and antibodies which recognize part or all the domains of the fusion protein. Also provided are compositions having the human lutropin hormone-receptor/human chorionic gonadotropin-β fusion protein and a pharmaceutical carrier and compositions including antibodies to the fusion protein and a pharmaceutical carrier. The present invention also relates to methods of treating androgen-excess-mediated disease conditions by administering to a subject an antibody to the human lutropin hormone-receptor/human chorionic gonadotropin-β fusion protein under conditions suitable to treat the conditions, and methods of immunocontraception that involve administering to a subject the chimeric nucleic acid molecule encoding the human lutropin hormone receptor/human chorionic gonadotropin-β fusion protein, the fusion protein in whole or in part, or antibodies thereto.

Pituitary lutropin hormone (LH) is suppressed during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle by negative feedback from ovarian steroids (Leung et al., "Interactions of Steroids and Gonadotropins in the Control of Steroidogenesis in the Ovarian Follicle," Annu Rev Physiol 42:71-82 (1980); Christenson et al., "Maturation of Ovarian Follicles in the Prepubertal Gilt," J Reprod Fertil Suppl 33:21-36 (1985) and Abraham et al., "Simultaneous Radioimmunoassay of Plasma FSH, LH, Progesterone, 17-Hydroxyprogesterone, and Estradiol-17beta During the Menstrual Cycle," J Clin Endocrinol 34:312-318 (1972)). Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a placental hormone produced in the female at the time of implantation, provides a backup for pituitary LH to rescue the corpus luteum of pregnancy. hCG is a heterodimeric glycoprotein hormone consisting of an α and a β subunit that stimulates intracellular levels of cAMP via a G-protein-coupled receptor. A distinct feature of the hCG-β subunit is the presence of a C-terminal extension (CTP) of 24 amino acids, which produce specific antibodies to hCG-β with little cross-reaction with LH. In a gonadal cell, hCG binds to its cell surface receptor (LH/CG-R), resulting in an increase in the concentration of intracellular cAMP (Wu et al., "Protein Engineering of Novel Constitutively Active Hormone-Receptor Complex," J Biol Chem 271:31638-31642 (1996). hCG and hLH (human LH) are identical in structure except for the CTP of the β-subunit of hCG, which is highly glycosylated and has three serine-linked carbohydrate moieties (Cole et al., "The Structures of the Serine-Linked Sugar Chains on Human Chorionic Gonadotropin," Biochem Biophys Res Commun 126 (1):333-339 (1985)). hLH and hCG, by virtue of their structural similarity, bind to the same lutropin receptor (LH-R) in the gonads. The LH-R is also a member of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) family and contains a relatively large, highly glycosylated, N-terminal extracellular domain (ECD) known for high affinity ligand binding (Xie et al., "Extracellular Domain of Lutropin/Choriogonadotropin Receptor Expressed in Transfected Cells Binds Choriogonadotropin with High Affinity," J Biol Chem 265(35):21411-21414 (1990) and Ji et al., "Exons 1-10 of the Rat LH Receptor Encode a High Affinity Hormone Binding Site and Exon 11 Encodes G-Protein Modulation and a Potential Second Hormone Binding Site," Endocrinology 128:2648-2650 (1991)), a seven-transmembrane domain, and a short intracellular cytoplasmic tail (McFarland et al., "Lutropin-Choriogonadotropin Receptor: An Unusual Member of the G Protein-Coupled Receptor Family," Science 245(4917):494-499 (1989)). The extracellular domain is characterized by a motif of imperfect leucine-rich repeats, which contributes largely to the high affinity hormone binding of the receptor (Xie et al., "Extracellular Domain of Lutropin/Choriogonadotropin Receptor Expressed in Transfected Cells Binds Choriogonadotropin with High Affinity," J Biol Chem 265(35):21411-21414 (1990)). cDNAs of LH receptor have considerable interspecies homology among vertebrates (Ascoli et al., The Lutropin/Choriogonadotropin Receptor, A 2002 Perspective," Endocr Rev 23(2):141-174 (2002)). hLH-R and hCG-β are also antigenic at the interspecies level (Ascoli et al., The Lutropin/Choriogonadotropin Receptor, A 2002 Perspective," Endocr Rev 23(2):141-174 (2002); Pal et al., "Active Immunization of Baboons (Papio anubis) with the Bovine LH Receptor," J Reprod Immunol 21(2):163-174 (1992); Pal et al., "Biological Actions of Monoclonal Antibodies to Bovine Lutropin Receptor," J Reprod Immunol 22(1):103 (1992); Remy et al., "Immunization Against Exon 1 Decapeptides From the Lutropin/Choriogonadotropin Receptor or the Follitropin Receptor as Potential Male Contraceptive," J Reprod Immunol 32(1):37-54 (1996); Singh et al., "Effect of Immunization with Lutropin-Receptor on the Ovarian Function of Rabbits," J Immunoassay 16(1):1-16 (1995), Vaitukaitis et al., "A Radioimmunoassay Which Specifically Measures Human Chorionic Gonadotropin in the Presence of Human Luteinizing Hormone," Am J Obstet Gynecol 113(6):751-758 (1972)). Hence, hLH-R and hCG, and their functional epitopes, provide vital targets to be manipulated by genetic engineering to produce unique anti-fertility antigens.
Efficacies of antibodies to the hLH-R and hCG-β individually have been amply demonstrated in the regulation of gonadal function. There are a number of reports that qualify LH-R as a potential anti-fertility antigen (Remy et al., "Immunization Against Exon 1 Decapeptides From the Lutropin/Choriogonadotropin Receptor or the Follitropin Receptor as Potential Male Contraceptive," J Reprod Immunol 32(1):37-54 (1996); Saxena et al., "Modulation of Ovarian Function in Female Dogs Immunized With Bovine Luteinizing Hormone Receptor," Reprod Domest Anim 37(1):9-17 (2002), and Saxena et al., "Effect of Immunization with Bovine Luteinizing Hormone Receptor on Ovarian Function in Cats," Am J Vet Res 64(3):292-298 (2003)). The injection of the recombinant mouse LH-R with hormone binding region to male mice induced immunity against the receptor. The data indicated that the specific anti-gonadotropin receptor vaccination could potentially be used as a fertility control procedure in males (Remy et al., "Immunization Against Exon 1 Decapeptides From the Lutropin/Choriogonadotropin Receptor or the Follitropin Receptor as Potential Male Contraceptive," J Reprod Immunol 32(l):37-54 (1996)). Previous studies showed that actively immunizing female dogs and cats with highly purified bovine LH-R can produce antibodies to the LH-R, which suppresses progesterone synthesis due to the blockade of the gonadal receptor (Saxena et al., "Modulation of Ovarian Function in Female Dogs Immunized With Bovine Luteinizing Hormone Receptor," Reprod Domest Anim 37(1):9-17 (2002) and Saxena et al., "Effect of Immunization with Bovine Luteinizing Hormone Receptor on Ovarian Function in Cats," Am J Vet Res 64(3):292-298 (2003)).
Elucidation of the human genome has provided an impetus for genetic engineering, gene therapy, and stem cell research. Recently, gene based expression of functional recombinant proteins and their epitopes as well as antibodies against them have permitted the topographical mapping of receptors to identify active sites and understand the mechanism of ligand receptor binding. Synthesis of chimeric genes composed of desired functional epitopes of more than one gene to produce recombinant proteins has become possible (Sugahara et al., "Biosynthesis of a Biologically Active Single Chain Containing the Human Common a and Chorionic Gonadotropin β Subunits in Tandem," Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 92:2041-2045 (1995); Sugahara et al., "Expression of Biologically Active Fusion Genes Encoding the Common a Subunit and Either the CGβ of FSHβ Subunits: Role of a Linker Sequence," Mol Cell Endocrinol 125:71-77 (1996); and Heikoop et al., "Structure-Based Design and Protein Engineering of Intersubunit Disulfide Bonds in Gonadotropins," Nat Biotechnol 15(7):658-662 (1997); Heikoop et al., "Evaluation of Subunit Truncation and the Nature of the Spacer for Single Chain Human Gonadotropins," Eur J Biochem 245(3):656-662 (1997)). A single peptide chain containing α and β subunits of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in tandem has been shown to exhibit biological activity (Sugahara et al., "Biosynthesis of a Biologically Active Single Chain Containing the Human Common α and Chorionic Gonadotropin β Subunits in Tandem," Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 92:2041-2045 (1995)). Fusion genes encoding the common α-subunit of hCG and FSH-β subunit also expressed a biologically active protein (Sugahara et al., "Expression of Biologically Active Fusion Genes Encoding the Common α Subunit and Either the CGβ of FSH-β Subunits: Role of a Linker Sequence," Mol Cell Endocrinol 125:71-77 (1996)). Narayan et al., "Yoked Complexes of Human Choriogonadotropin and the Lutropin Receptor: Evidence that Monomeric Individual Subunits are Inactive," Mol Endocrinol 16(12):2733-2745 (2002), constructed two (hCG)-LHR complexes where the two hormone subunits and the receptor were engineered to form single polypeptide chains.
Chemical conjugates to create functional chimeric proteins have been made to enhance their immunogenicity and/or to modulate metabolic clearance rates and biological activity (Klein et al., "Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Single-Chain Recombinant Human Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Containing the Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Carboxyterminal Peptide in the Rhesus Monkey," Fertil Steril 77(6):1248-1255 (2002)). Chimeric proteins have also been produced where the common human α-subunit of human glycoprotein hormone has been non-covalently linked to the hormone specific β-subunits of hCG and hFSH to express respective intact hormones, and their ability to interact with LH-hCG and FSH receptors has been examined (Campbell et al., "Conversion of Human Choriogonadotropin Into a Follitropin by Protein Engineering," Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 88(3):760-764 (1991)). The active sites of human FSH have been chemically modified to alter their activity by using an azidobenzoyl derivative of a glycopeptide isolated from the fetuin digest by photoactivation (Rathnam et al., "Conjugation of a Fetuin Glycopeptide to Human Follicle-Stimulating Hormone and its Subunits by Photoactivation," Biochim Biophys Acta 624(2):436-442 (1980)). Chemical reactions used for the addition, deletion, or replacement of functional epitopes have been fraught with non-specific side reactions and changes in the conformation and function of the proteins. However, the availability of nucleic acid sequences of expressed proteins has opened new avenues to synthesize nucleic acid constructs to express hybrids of two different proteins. This is achieved by the use of site-specific restriction enzymes and ligases to produce chimeric genes, which, in turn, can express the corresponding hybrid proteins. A single-chain construct containing hCG α and β subunits in tandem was fused with the N-terminus of receptor LH-R to investigate their structure-function relationship (Wu et al., "Protein Engineering of Novel Constitutively Active Hormone-Receptor Complex," J Biol Chem 271:31638-31642 (1996)).
What is needed now is a chimeric nucleic acid molecule that encodes a fusion protein having both a lutropin hormone receptor protein, or a fragment thereof, and a human chorionic gonadotropin protein or a fragment thereof, where the lutropin hormone receptor protein or fragment, and the human chorionic gonadotropin protein or fragment thereof, are immunogenic. Such a bifunctional, immunogenic protein would provide a unique antigen for immunocontraception and gonadal regulation in vertebrates, including humans. The present invention is directed to overcoming these and other deficiencies in the art.

Recombinant bifunctional protein of human lutropin receptor and human chorionic gonadotropin B-subunit and uses thereof


A liquid crystal display apparatus includes a backlight unit, a second polarization layer, a liquid crystal layer disposed between the backlight unit and the second polarization layer, a first polarization layer disposed between the backlight unit and the liquid crystal layer. In an embodiment, a surface of the first polarization layer facing the backlight unit includes a reflective surface and a surface of the first polarization layer facing the backlight unit includes an absorbent surface. In another embodiment, the first polarization layer includes grids, which include a metal, and absorbing members, which include dielectric materials. In another embodiment, the first polarization layer includes grids, each of which includes a first component including a dielectric material and a second component including a metal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display apparatus, and more particularly, to a liquid crystal display apparatus that improves contrast and light efficiency.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, existing display apparatuses have been replaced by portable thin flat panel display apparatuses. Among flat panel display apparatuses, liquid crystal display apparatuses have the advantage of low power consumption, and thus have been spotlighted as next generation display apparatuses. Also, liquid crystal display apparatuses have the advantage of low radiation of electromagnetic waves that are harmful to the human body.
However, liquid crystal display apparatuses are not self-emitting flat panel display apparatuses, and thus produce an image by using a separate light source, e.g., a backlight unit. However, backlight units have low light efficiency because an amount of light generated by a backlight unit is lost while being transmitted through a liquid crystal layer. In particular, light loss further increases due to a polarization layer disposed between the backlight unit and the liquid crystal layer.
In order to improve light efficiency, a reflective polarization plate may be used. However, in this case, contrast is reduced.

Liquid crystal display apparatus having grids


Herein disclosed a method and apparatus for recovering user data from a data set comprising a plurality of sub data sets, wherein each data set contains a valid data length information, which is compared with an amount of valid user data collected from the data set prior to a sub data set in which an error occurred.

The present invention relates to the field of data storage.
In known data storage systems for storage of digital data, for example linear tape data storage devices according to the linear tape open format (LTO), data is stored as a number of data sets, each of which consists of 16 sub data sets, each sub data set having 25,272 bytes.
Referring to FIG. 1 herein, there is illustrated schematically in perspective view, a tape data storage device suitable for installation into a host computer for performing tape data storage and back-up operations, the device comprising a casing 100 having a front panel 101 containing a port 102 configured to accept a linear tape data storage medium stored on a cassette cartridge; internally a read/write head, tape drive mechanism for transporting the tape past the read/write head, memory, and firmware for encoding/decoding data to be read from and written to the tape data storage medium and an interface for interfacing recovered data to a host computer device.
Referring to FIG. 2 herein, there is illustrated schematically a read channel of a digital data tape storage device operating in linear tape organization (LTO) format. The read channel comprises a read head 200 for reading digital data from a linear tape cassette to a C1 error corrector, for applying C1 error correction to a data stream output from read head 200; a C2 corrector 202 for applying C2 correction to the C1 corrected data stream; a buffer memory 203 for collecting complete sub data sets upon which C2 error correction may be performed; a decompressor 204 for applying decompression to C2 error corrected sub data sets; and a data history buffer memory 205 for accumulating a rolling data window of sub data sets accessible to said decompressor 204 for applying decompression. An output of the read channel comprises an error corrected decompressed data stream comprising a series of data sets, each comprising 16 sub data sets.
Referring to FIG. 3 herein, in a known LTO (linear tape organization) structure, 404,352 bytes of data; forms a data set, of which 403,884 bytes are user data and 468 bytes form a data set information table (DSIT), the data set being sub divided into 16 sub data sets. Each sub data set contains 25, 272 bytes of data.
Referring to FIG. 4 herein, each sub data set comprises 25,272 bytes of user data; C1 correction bytes; and C2 correction bytes.
The prior art digital tape storage device performs a read operation as follows:
when data is read back through a read channel of a tape drive device, the read channel typically checks the correctness of the 25,272 bytes user data by verifying first of all the C1 error correction code as the data is read from tape into the tape drive unit, and once the whole sub data set is stored in a buffer of the tape drive device, reads the C2 error correction code.
In the prior art device, if any of the 16 sub data sets is found to be in error, then the hardware or firmware of the tape data storage unit will indicate that the whole data set is in error. However, a 16 bit value is generated indicating which of the 16 sub data sets is found to be in error within the data set.
In the prior art system, if any one of the 16 sub data sets is found to be erroneous, then the whole data set from which that data sub set originated is deemed to be erroneous and is discarded. If the host system attempts to read anything within that data set, then a read error is generated.
Therefore in the prior art system, although each sub data set is effectively independent, the prior art format assumes dependency between all 16 sub data sets in the data set, and stipulates that if any sub data set is found to be erroneous, then the whole data set is deemed to be erroneous.
This feature is based on the assumption that once a bad block of data in a sub data set has been found, any data within the same data set after that corrupted sub data set cannot be trusted to be correct, because compression is applied to the data, and the compression algorithm used relies on a knowledge of preceding data to apply the compression. Therefore, to decompress the data, all the preceding data is required, and if some of that preceding data is erroneous then decompression cannot be effected. The assumption is that for any portion of data within the data set, in order to decompress that data, the compression algorithm generally requires all data in the same data set which has preceded that section of data.
Further, at the beginning of a data set, data from a preceding data set is required in order to decode data at the beginning of the current data set. Therefore, successive data sets are to some extent inter dependent upon each other. For a series of successively read data sets, a sequence of sub data sets needs to be available which includes the access point immediately prior to the required users data, and all intervening sub data sets, for the prior art compression algorithm to decompress the data in the known prior art linear tape open data format.
However, the decompression algorithm itself, has a 1 Kbyte rolling data window. Therefore it does not need to have all 16 sub data sets, and will build up a data history as it reads along the data sets.
The prior art system has a disadvantage that even where required user data has already been correctly read from a data set, and an error occurs in subsequent data within the same data set, which is not required, the required correctly read user data must still be discarded, because the error occurred later on in the subsequent data within the same data set. Useful correctly read data may be discarded, because of errors in unwanted data occurring within the same data set in the prior art system.
The prior art format currently performs a series of read retry operations in order to try to recover a whole data set. However, if all these attempts fail, then the data set is deemed to be unrecoverable and a read error is reported to a host computer resulting in a failed data restore operation.
Specific implementations according to the present invention aim to provide a method and apparatus which can recover valid user data within data set containing erroneous sub data sets.
Specific implementations of the inventions may operate to check individual sub data sets marked as erroneous within a data set, to determine whether they contain user data. If not, then errors within those sub data sets can be ignored, and a users data can be restored from the data set to a host computer entity.
According to first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of recovering user data from a data storage medium, wherein said user data is stored on said data storage medium in the format:
a data set comprising a plurality of sub data sets;
each said sub data set comprising a data portion capable of storing user data, a C1 error correction code, and a C2 error correction code; and
said data set comprising a valid data length data describing a number of bytes of said data set comprising said user data within said data set;
said method comprising the steps of:
reading at least one said data set;
performing C2 error correction;
determining whether a result of said C2 error correction is successful;
if said result of said C2 error correction is unsuccessful, reading said valid data length data;
calculating an amount of good data from a start of said data set;
comparing said amount of good data with said valid data length data; and
depending upon a result of said comparison, accepting user data contained in set data set as valid or rejecting user data contained in said data set as invalid.
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a data storage device capable of recovering user data from a data storage medium, wherein said user data is stored on said data storage medium in the format:
at least one data set comprising a plurality of sub data sets;
each said sub data set comprising a data portion capable of storing user data, and an error correction code; and
said data set comprising a valid data length data describing a number of bytes of said data set comprising said user data within said set;
said data storage device comprising:
a read head and circuitry for reading said data sets;
an error corrector for performing error corrections;
a read controller for determining whether a result of said error correction is successful;
if said result of said error correction is unsuccessful, reading said valid data length data;
calculating an amount of good data from a start of said data set; comparing said amount of good data with said valid data length data; and
depending upon the result of said comparison, generating a signal for accepting user data contained in set data set as valid or rejecting user data contained in set data set as invalid.
According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of recovering user data from a series of a plurality of data sets read from a data storage medium, each said data set comprising a plurality of sub data sets, each sub data set comprising a data field for storage of data, and an error correction code for error correcting a whole of said sub data set; said method comprising the steps of:
reading a first said data set;
determining whether any sub data sets within said first data set have errors which are uncorrectable by said error correction code;
if a sub data set having uncorrected errors is found, then determining an amount of correctly recovered data from data fields of other sub data sets, within a same data set as said erroneous sub data set in which said error occurred;
reading a valid data length data from a data field within said data set;
comparing said amount of correctly recovered data within said valid data length; and
if said valid data length is less than an amount of correctly recovered data, then treating said data set as valid.
The invention includes a computer program comprising program instructions for:
reading a first data set;
determining whether any sub data sets within said first data have errors which are uncorrectable by an error correction code;
if a sub data set having uncorrectable errors is found, then determining an amount of correctly recovered data from other sub data sets within said first data set;
reading a valid data length from a data field within said first data set;
comparing an amount of data correctly recovered from said first data set with said valid data length; and
if said valid data length is less than an amount of correctly recovered data, then treating said data set as valid.
The invention includes a computer program comprising program instructions which, when loaded into a re-configurable tape data storage device control said tape data storage device to:
read a first data set;
determine whether any sub data sets within said first data set have errors which are uncorrectable by an error correction code;
if a sub data set having uncorrected errors is found, then to determine an amount of correctly recovered data from data fields of other sub data sets of said first data set;
read a valid data length data from a data field within said data set;
compare said amount of correctly recovered data with said valid data length; and
if said valid data length is less than an amount of correctly recovered data, then treat said data as valid.

Recovery of user data from partially incorrect data set in tape data storage system

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Provided is a susceptor, capable of preventing occurrence of scratches on the back surface of a wafer attributable to lift pins, and reducing unevenness of the in-surface temperature distribution of the wafer. A susceptor according to one embodiment of this disclosure has a susceptor main body and a plate-shaped member, and when a wafer is conveyed, the front surface of the plate-shaped member ascended by lift pins supports the central part of the back surface of the wafer by surface contact. A separation space between the plate-shaped member and the susceptor main body, in a state in which the plate-shaped member is placed on the recessed part, enters further into the central side of the plate-shaped member, in a direction from the front surface to the back surface of the susceptor.

An epitaxial wafer is formed by growing an epitaxial film on the surface of a semiconductor wafer by vapor phase growth. For example, when crystal integrity is further required, when a multi-layer structure of different resistivity is needed, or the like, an epitaxial silicon wafer is produced by growing a single crystal silicon thin film on a silicon wafer by vapor phase growth or epitaxial growth.
For epitaxial wafer production, a single wafer type epitaxial growth device (apparatus) is used for example. Here, a typical single wafer type epitaxial growth device will be described with reference to FIG. 10. As illustrated in FIG. 10, an epitaxial growth device 200 has a chamber 10 including an upper dome 11, a lower dome 12, and a dome mounting body 13, and the chamber 10 defines an epitaxial film forming chamber. The chamber 10 is provided with a gas supply opening 15 and a gas exhaust opening 16 for supplying and exhausting a reaction gas at opposing positions on the side surface thereof. Meanwhile, a susceptor 20 for placing a wafer W thereon is arranged within the chamber 10. The susceptor 20 is supported by a susceptor support shaft 50 from below. The susceptor support shaft 50 includes a main column 52, and three arms 54, including one not illustrated, radially extending from this main column 52 with an equal distance between them. Three supporting pins 58, including one not illustrated, at the tip of the arms are fitted to and support the outer circumferential part of the back surface of the susceptor 20. Moreover, three penetration holes, including one not illustrated, are formed in the susceptor 20, and a penetration hole is also formed in each of the three arms 54. Lift pins 44 are inserted through these penetration holes of the arms and the susceptor. The lower end of the lift pins 44 is supported by an ascending/descending shaft 60. When the wafer W carried into the chamber 10 is being supported, when this wafer W is being placed on the susceptor 20, and when the epitaxial wafer after vapor phase growth is carried out of the chamber 10, by the ascending/descending shaft 60 ascending and descending, the lift pins 44 ascend and descend while sliding with the penetration holes of the arms and the penetration holes of the susceptor, and ascend and descend the wafer W at the upper end thereof.
In such an epitaxial growth device, the water W is directly supported and lifted by the lift pins. Therefore, to a part of the back surface of the wafer W abutting against the lift pins, the lift pins ascend and abut, and contact with the upper end of the lift pins is continuously maintained. Thus, there has been a problem that scratches or pin marks occur in the above mentioned part of the back surface of the wafer W.
In response to this problem, JP H11-163102 A (PTL 1) discloses the technique of lifting a wafer directly by a part of a susceptor, instead of supporting and lifting the wafer directly by lift pins. More specifically, FIG. 5 to 8 of PLT 1 disclose a susceptor 19 constituted of a base part 21, and a placement part 20 accommodated in a central recessed part 22 provided in the center of this base part. At the time of vapor phase growth, the wafer is accommodated in a peripheral recessed part 23 formed of the base part and the placement part, and when the wafer is carried out of the chamber, the placement part 20 ascends, and lifts the wafer.


A system and method for inspecting a composite structure, such as to assess thermal degradation or resin curing, are provided in which the dielectric constant of the composite structure is determined using a microwave inverse scattering technique. The dielectric constant of the composite structure may be compared to the dielectric constant of one or more sample structures to determine the presence of thermal degradation or improper curing in the structure. In this regard, a system for inspecting a composite structure comprises a transmitter, a receiver, and a controller. The transmitter may be capable transmitting microwave energy directed toward the structure. The receiver may be capable of receiving microwave energy scattered from the structure. The controller may be capable of determining a dielectric constant of the structure using an inverse scattering algorithm and comparing the dielectric constant of the structure to a dielectric constant of at least one sample structure.

Non-destructive inspection (NDI) of structures involves thoroughly examining a structure without harming the structure or requiring its significant disassembly. Non-destructive inspection is typically preferred to avoid the schedule, labor, and costs associated with removal of a part for inspection, as well as avoidance of the potential for damaging the structure. Non-destructive inspection is advantageous for many applications in which a thorough inspection of the exterior and/or interior of a structure is required. For example, non-destructive inspection is commonly used in the aircraft industry to inspect aircraft structures for any type of internal or external damage to or defects (flaws) in the structure. Inspection may be performed during manufacturing or after the completed structure has been put into service, including field testing, to validate the integrity and fitness of the structure. In the field, access to interior surfaces of the structure is often restricted, requiring disassembly of the structure, introducing additional time and labor.
Among the structures that are routinely non-destructively tested are composite structures, such as composite sandwich structures and other adhesive bonded panels and assemblies and structures with contoured surfaces. These composite structures, and a shift toward lightweight composite and bonded materials such as using graphite materials, create a need for devices and processes to ensure structural integrity, production quality, and life-cycle support for safe and reliable use. As such, it is frequently desirable to inspect structures to identify any defects, such as cracks, discontinuities, voids, or porosity, which could adversely affect the performance of the structure. For example, a defect in composite sandwich structure comprising one or more layers of lightweight honeycomb or foam core material with composite or metal skins bonded to each side of the core, may include disbonds which may occur at the interfaces between the core and the skin or between the core and a buried septum.
Advanced composite materials, such as carbon fiber composites, are increasingly used in the manufacture of aircraft. Carbon fiber composite panels may be used to create, for example, the fuselage, the nose, and/or the wing structures of aircraft. Carbon fiber composite panels are typically created by combining layers of carbon fiber with a resin, such as a polyester epoxy resin, that binds the fibers together. The resin is typically heat cured, at temperatures and for lengths of time that are precisely predefined. All materials have acceptable operating ranges or envelopes for their properties. Composite materials in general and more particularly composite materials used for aircraft surfaces and structures have defined operating envelopes for their properties. Materials satisfying the envelope criteria are acceptable for use. Materials that exceed the envelope criteria may need to be refurbished, repaired or replaced. Material properties can be altered by any of a number of factors. Heat based influences include fire, lightning, or exhaust impingement. Mechanical influences can include actual impact as well as other stresses to the composite structure such as pressure. Environmental degradation due to sunlight, rain, or salt spray may also occur.
When composite sections are repaired in place (i.e., without removing the damaged or degraded section from the aircraft) and when a particular part warrants additional inspection, it may be desirable to inspect the repaired material to ensure that the properties of the resulting material are within the operating envelope. Inspection may help insure that the repaired composite material as well as the original manufacture of the composite material and their constituent resins were cured in accordance with specifications. In addition to carbon fiber composites, other composite materials, such as fiberglass and ceramic composites, may also benefit from inspection for material property changes due to for instance heat degradation or mechanical stress and/or improper curing during repair.
Current methods exist to detect discrete damage in composite materials. However, existing methods of non-destructively detecting heat degradation are only capable of detecting heat degradation to the surface of the composite structure. In order to measure heat degradation that may exist below the surface, the plies of the composite structure need to be removed sequentially in order to determine how deep the damage is.

System and method for microwave non-destructive inspection


A mechanism for integrating Universal Serial Bus (USB) devices is disclosed. A method of the invention includes retrieving an identifier of the USB device connected to a computer system, matching the identifier with a device identification stored in a systems library of the computer system. The systems library includes an application identifier corresponding to the device identification and an attribute corresponding to the application identifier. The method also includes executing instructions associated with attribute corresponding to the application identifier associated with the device identification matched to the identifier.

When a new device is connected to a computer system, it requires installation of a special application on the computer to ease interaction with the new device. Some examples of such devices are MP3 players, digital cameras, and mobile phones. The installed applications associated with the devices may, for example, organize music, import photos, and so on.
Once the applications are installed and started, they generally sit active in the system tray and wait for their associated device to be connected to the computer system. As a result, the applications are running in a loop in the background, which can take up enormous amounts of system resources, such as memory and Central Processing Unit (CPU) load and time. Thus, the more devices that are connected to a computer system, the more applications consume system resources, leaving fewer resources for other important applications. Moreover, it is not necessary to have these applications running (even in the background) because the device is generally connected to the system for a short time.
Conventional solutions to the above-described problem include data synchronization applications, such as Microsoft ActiveSync, which enable a computer system to synchronize the handheld devices. Typical problems with such synchronization applications is that they proactively search for connected devices and run other processes that are known to have a negative impact on a computer's performance. Furthermore, when not in use, these synchronization applications still can consume CPU load and time.

Integrating universal serial bus devices to a computer system


The present invention provides a method and system for a DHCT coupled to a display to enable a user to access functionality of a service infrastructure of an interactive television network by a middleware markup language. In one implementation, the DHCT presents a user one or more selectable link representations in a uniform resource identifier protocol that correspond to a separate services. The DHCT receives input of a selected link representation label from one of the selectable link representations for activation of one of the services corresponding to the selected link representation label. Thereafter, the DHCT translates the selected link representation label from the uniform resource identifier protocol to an executable call and activates the interactive television application for presentation to the user by the executable call.

This invention relates in general to the field of television systems, and more particularly, to an access scheme for accessing services in television systems.
With the recent advent of digital transmission technology, cable television systems are now capable of providing much more than the traditional analog broadcast video. In implementing enhanced programming, the digital home communication terminal (xe2x80x9cDHCTxe2x80x9d), otherwise known as the settop box, has become an important computing device for accessing video services and navigating a subscriber through a maze of services available.
DHCTs now support an increasing number of services which are not analog, but rather digital; are not basic broadcast, but rather two-way communication such as video-on-demand; and are not basic video, such as e-mail or web browsers. These are all in addition to the host of other television services which are increasingly being demanded by consumers, examples of which include audio and audio/visual programming, advanced navigation controls, impulse pay-per-view technology, and on-line commerce. In addition to the interactive services, the increased bandwidth available through a digital television system has made it possible for a subscriber to have access to hundreds, or even thousands, of channels and/or services. Thus, in order to provide these more powerful and complex features, the simple conventional channel abstractions need to be extended beyond those which have traditionally been provided.
With the advent of interactive television and other television enhancements, middleware layers are added to the software supporting applications in the television network in effort to increase the functionality of the DHCT. However, there is a problem in instituting the middleware languages to access the underlying application platform of the DHCT in support of the native applications on the network. There is additionally a problem in making the functionality that supports the lifestyle of an application (i.e., installation, provisioning, download, activation, suspension, and termination) available to the middleware applications. A problem also exists in combining Internet applications (and other services not traditionally associated with television) in the DHCTs so that they access the application and service management infrastructure inherent in the television environment. Implementing middleware markup languages to activate applications with limited resources in a shared resource environment of the DHCT also presents a problem that must be overcome.
Briefly described, the preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a method and system for accessing services in a television system. In one implementation, a DHCT coupled to a display enables a user to access functionality of a service infrastructure of an interactive television network by a middleware markup language. HTML-based applications execute on the DHCT and present a user one or more selectable link representations using a uniform resource identifier protocol that corresponds to separate services. An application receives input denoting a selected link label corresponding to the selected link representation. Thereafter, the middleware platform translates the associated uniform resource identifier into to an executable call and activates the corresponding by the executable call.

Method and system for uniform resource identification and access to television services


A windrower having an adjustable axle to vary a width of steerable caster-mounted rear wheels operably connected by right and left steering cylinders mounted to right and left reaction arms pivoted to respective rods coupled to steering arms fixed to respective spindles mounted within a cylindrical receptacle at outer ends of the adjustable axle. One embodiment each reaction arm has a bracket coupled to a fixed portion of the rear axle when telescopic end sections of the axle are in a narrow width position, and selectively mounted to outer ends of the telescopic end sections of the axle when in a wide width position. A second embodiment has the reaction arms mounted to spindle receptacles at outer ends of the axle sections to provide the reaction arms with an infinite number of angular positions about the spindle receptacles for different tread widths of the steered rear wheels.

Self-propelled windrowers typically include a main frame supported on a pair of front wheels, which are separately driven hydrostatically so as to afford steering to the windrower by driving the wheels at different speeds, and a pair of rear wheels which are mounted to opposite ends of a rear axle so that they pivot about an upright caster axis. Some windrowers are capable of delivering conditioned crop to one side of the vehicle to form a windrow in a region which may be located at least partially in the track behind the front wheel at that side of the vehicle in order to group the windrow with a previously formed windrow laid down along a path at the center of the vehicle between the front and rear pairs of wheels. The axle sections to which the rear wheels are telescopically mounted within a remaining middle section of the rear axle and are fixed in selected positions so as to change the distance between the rear wheels, with the rear wheel on the discharge side of the vehicle being adjusted inwardly towards the center of the vehicle so that the adjusted wheel will not run upon the crop windrow. An example of such a self-propelled windrower is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,028,459.
A hydraulic steering assist system (see U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/957,800, filed on 17 Dec., 2007 and assigned to the assignee of the instant application) has been developed for steering the rear wheels of a self-propelled windrower in conjunction with the steering of the driven front wheels in order to give an operator more control over the self-propelled windrower when operated at relatively high road or transport speeds. The steering cylinders of this steering assist system are respectively secured to cylinder mounting assemblies respectively fixed at opposite end locations of a tubular middle section of the rear axle and into opposite ends of which opposite end sections of the axle are telescopically received for adjustment, with the rod ends of the cylinders being coupled to steering arms respectively fixed to top end regions of the upright spindles of the caster-mounted wheels. A drawback of this assist system is that, while the rear axle is disclosed as being adjustable in length, no provision is made for adjusting the position of the steering assist cylinder in order to accommodate for the change in axle length, and, hence, the change in the distance between the steering arm at the top of the caster spindle and the fixed steering cylinder.
The problem to be solved is to provide a simple cylinder mounting structure for resisting steering assist cylinder reaction loads and for also allowing the cylinder to be repositioned for maintaining steering function when the axle length has been adjusted.

Steering cylinder mounting arrangement used with a length-adjustable axle


Polyolefins may be prepared using a cocatalyst conforming to the formula:AIRz(Xz)nLzm wherein Rz is a linear or branched organic moiety having at least 5 carbons and Xz is a linear or branched organic moiety having at least 5 carbons or a heterocyclic moiety having at least 4 atoms and can be anionic or di-anionic. The aluminum complex may also be in the form of an adduct complex where Lz is a Lewis base and m=1-3. The cocatalyst Rz components are selected such that they do not react with water under polymerization conditions to form a species that is highly soluble in the polymerization diluent. Use of the specified cocatalyst reduces fouling during metallocene-catalyzed runs and “post-metallocene hangover” when the same production equipment is transitioned to non-metallocene catalyst runs using catalysts such as chromium.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to polymers. More particularly, it relates to processes for the preparation of polymers using metallocene catalysts.
2. Background of the Art
Over the last several years it has been shown by a number of researchers that use of metallocene catalysts offers improvements in polymer properties when compared with production of similar polymers using Ziegler-Natta catalysts. For example, metallocene catalyzed polypropylene materials typically have lower xylene solubles than Ziegler-Natta catalyzed polymers. Such polyolefins typically have narrow molecular weight distributions. For example, films produced using metallocene catalyzed polyethylene resins may be used to produce films with increased clarity as compared to otherwise similar films produced with Ziegler-Natta resins. At least some of the improvements are attributable to the increased control of stereochemistry, molecular weight distribution, and comonomer incorporation obtainable with the metallocenes. This control enables tailoring of the final polymer and may offer improvements in areas as diverse as optical performance, strength performance, and the like.
Frequently cocatalysts are employed with metallocene catalysts. Frequent and effective choices for metallocene production runs are, for example, tri-isobutylaluminum ("TIBAl") and tri-ethylaluminum ("TEAl"). Such catalyst systems may be employed in conventional polymerization equipment such as, for example, loop reactors.
Unfortunately, TIBAl, for example, tends to decompose at elevated temperatures to form isobutylene. Isobutylene is a molecule that is very similar in molecular weight and boiling point to the isobutane diluent often employed in polymerization reaction mixtures. The result of this similarity is that a high steady-state isobutylene level may result during polymerization because the isobutylene is not readily separated from the isobutane diluent in the recycle purification system. In some cases, these materials can lower catalyst mileage. Additionally, the presence of alkenes not readily removed from the diluent can lead to production issues as this results diluent contaminated with alkene byproduct, in the case of TIBAl isobutylene, being sent to portions of the process where olefins can detrimentally affect the product process, for example, the catalyst feed and flush systems as well as various mechanical seal flushes.

Cocatalysts for reduction of production problems in metallocene-catalyzed polymerizations


A process for preparing a high-density and, low-silica catalyst, supported on a siliceous matrix, based on vanadium, oxygen and alkali metals, wherein the V.sub.2 O.sub.5 content ranges from 6 to 9% by weight, the K.sub.2 O content ranges from 8.5 to 12% by weight and the particle density ranges from 0.90 to 1.40 g/cm.sup.3 and wherein furthermore:. the volume of the pores is from 0.30 to 0.70 cm.sup.3 /g and the surface area is from 0.30 to 3 m.sup.2 /g, the average radius of the pores being from 650 to 2200 nanometers; PA0 the SiO.sub.2 content is equal to or lower than 75% by weight and the Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3 content is equal to or greater than 0.90% by weight.

Vanadium-based catalysts, carried on a siliceous substrate, are usually utilized to oxidize sulphur dioxide to sulphur trioxide; see, for example, British Pat. Nos. 808,639; 898,985; 972,402 and 1,520,336, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,448,061 and 4,485,190 and European Pat. Nos. 47,540 and 151,823, the content of which is an integral part of the present description. As a siliceous matrix there were used so far a fossil meal (diatomaceous earth) and finely particled silica gel, but it is possible to obtain good results also by using alpha quartz (cristobalite), silicalites, vanadium silicalites or titanium silicalites. For the meaning of these terms, reference should be made to Italian Pat. application No. 22,220 A/87 and to British Pat. No. 2,024,790. These catalysts can be approximately represented by rough formula (I): EQU V.sub.x K.sub.y Na.sub.z O.sub.w S.sub.t (I)
where x, y, w, z and t are broadly varying indexes (depending on the operative conditions and on the ageing degree) and where z can be also equal to zero. Iron (Fe) and other elements (Cs, Al, Mn, Mg etc.) are present too. Still further elements (As, Cl, F, Se etc.), although in very small amounts, are surely poisons for this catalysis. The catalyst, utilizable in both fixed beds and fluid beds, exhibits amounts of vanadyl-alkaline sulphates and pyrosulphates, the concentration of which varies as a function of time. The yields obtainable with these catalysts are high, mainly if use is made of a series of several catalytic layers (at least 3 or 4), of the axial or radial type. Usually, the catalyst is prepared by impregnating a fossil meal or a different siliceous support (average diameter=about 1-40 micrometers), with an aqueous solution of NaOH and of potassium metavanadate (KVO.sub.3) and/or of ammonium metavanadate (NH.sub.4 VO.sub.3), whereafter the meal is thickened, for example by means of carboxy-methylcellulose or a polyacrylamide. There follows an extrusion, whereby differently shaped particles (solid, hollow or polylobed cylinders, optionally having helical grooves, etc.) are formed. Prior to use, the catalyst is activated in a SO.sub.2 flow and a final activation is operated by the same process fluid, containing SO.sub.2, SO.sub.3, O.sub.2 and N.sub.2, at the reaction temperature (350.degree.-650.degree. C.) During the oxidation of SO.sub.2 to SO.sub.3 the activated catalyst material is in the form of a liquid film on the support pores surfaces. The average life of these catalysts ranges from 5 to 10 years with a progressive decrease of the vanadium content (for example from about 7% to about 5% by weight). The possibility of regenerating and re-using the exhausted catalyst would represent an advantage of great industrial importance. However, it was not possible so far to carry into effect any of the various supposed alternatives.
According to a first alternative [see Journal of Catalysis 43, 243-251 (1976)], the exhausted catalyst should be attacked by a strong acid (HCl), capable of solubilizing the vanadium, and the same vanadium should be recovered by extraction. This method, however, was not practised due to the presence of an insoluble siliceous gangue which effectively retains a not negligible vanadium amount. The difficulties encountered in the separation of the gangue could not be overcome so far, at least from an industrial viewpoint.
A second alternative (see again said article in Journal of Catalysis) comprises heating the exhausted supported catalyst to very high temperatures (500.degree. C.), in order to remove arsenic and the other poisons, and a subsequent grinding of the calcination residue. It is then necessary to knead the ground residue with sulphur and with an ammonium sulphate solution, whereafter an activation with air at 750.degree.-800.degree. C. is carried out. Neither this method, however, is free from drawbacks. Compression strength, ageing resistance and abrasion resistance are not fully satisfactory. Furthermore, the SO.sub.2 conversion yields often sink to not acceptable values.
A third alternative, at last, contemplates a possible recovery from an exhausted catalyst having a silica (SiO.sub.2) content higher than 80% by weight. In this case, however, as a consequence of a too long exploitation of the catalyst, a non-negligible amount of the catalytic activity gets irremediably lost.
The Applicant has now found that it is possible to prepare an excellent catalyst (free from said drawbacks), in an utmost rapid and simple manner, by starting from an already exploited and now exhausted catalyst.

Process for preparing a high-density and middle-porosity catalyst, supported on a siliceous matrix, based on vanadium


A digital photographing apparatus with a display unit on a front surface thereof and a method of controlling the same. The method includes setting a self photographing mode; generating countdown information for self photographing; determining a subject distance; and displaying the countdown information together with a captured image on the display unit when the subject distance is shorter than a reference distance. Thereby, a photographer may see a preview along with the countdown information so that a desired self-photographed image may be acquired.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments relate to a digital photographing apparatus and method of controlling the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a photographer takes a photograph of himself as a subject using a digital photographing apparatus that includes a front display unit, countdown information from a timer is displayed on the front display unit. The countdown information is displayed on the front display unit so as to inform the subject when the photograph will be taken. In particular, the countdown information is typically displayed using white-colored numbers on a black background so as to be visible at a long distance from the camera. After the photograph is taken, the subject may view it on a display unit on the rear surface of the camera. However, there is no way for a subject, such as a subject that is close to the camera during the countdown, to see a live preview image before the photograph is taken to indicate whether the image being acquired is acceptable.

Digital photographing apparatus and method of controlling the same


A method and system for error handling by incorporating functionality to identify errors at two levels of context. A first level providing the user with an error message, and the second level identifying where in the process the error occurred. The method and system comprise a reusable piece of code and building blocks providing universal use of a variety of applications that captures errors at different levels of context. Additionally, the method and system takes the building blocks and pushes the functionality out to the Internet.

Current error handling processes and systems do not foster a shared environment involving multiple functionalities. They generally exist for particular applications and cannot be utilized by multiple applications across business lines that are necessary to carry out the many activities within an organization. Additionally, the functionality of current error handling processes exists generally in mainframe systems and are not available via the Internet. Further, these systems handle errors at only one level of context.
For example, within business organizations, programming is often occurring in a componentized manner where there are different business units across an organization that are responsible for programming certain functionalities. These functionalities are required to be shared among the different units, so there is a need to move from one component to another component to conduct many of the automated business tasks.
In the framework of the insurance business, components involving software code and associated data, are developed, for example, for creating an insurance policy and for administering an accounting system. A customer may access the insurance company's website in an effort to add a new policy. The task of adding a new policy may also involve invoking or "calling" the accounting component, where the customer's existing account information is maintained.
In this process, if the customer or an insurance agent, for example, incorrectly enters data or if there is a problem associated with either the accounting or "Add Policy" software, an error message may appear that states, for example, "Your attempt to add a policy failed." This is only one level of context. It identifies that the customer failed to add a policy but does not further explain whether the failure was a result of a problem with the account processing or incorrectly entered data. A message identifying an account processing failure or incorrectly entered data would be the second level of context and describes, for example, where the failure occurred.
Alternatively, if only the more detailed level of context is returned, without also providing a higher level of context, confusion may result, especially when a user is not aware of underlying processes that may have been invoked and are at the root of the problem. In the simple example provided above concerning the "Add Policy" scenario, there may not be much confusion with the lower level context, but when a structure of components calling several other components is implemented on a large scale, a failure may occur in a place the user was not even aware programming was being executed, and the more detailed context may not effectively communicate that the requested task was never performed due to an error.
Accordingly, there is a need for a standardized method and system for capturing errors at different levels of context across shared functionalities, that is simple to implement, and enables universal use of a variety of applications via a network.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An excavation support database 40 includes a display table 47 and a display specifics table 48, which serve as storage means dedicated for display. The state of a working region per mesh is stored in the display table 47, and a discriminative display method (display color) is stored in the display specifics table 48 corresponding to the state per mesh. Reference is made to the display specifics table 48 on the basis of the state (height) per mesh, which is stored in the display table 47, to read the corresponding display color from the display specifics table 48, thereby displaying the state of the working region in a color-coded manner. Operation support and management realized with this system can easily be employed in different types of working machines in common and can inexpensively be performed with ease.

Aiming at an improvement of working efficiency, some of working machines, such as hydraulic excavators, are equipped with work supporting devices in a cab or an operating room for remote control. In particular, due to facilitation in three-dimensional position measurement using the GPS, it has recently been proposed to measure the three-dimensional position of a working machine and to display the measured position together with, e.g., a target position of work.
One example of such a support device is disclosed in JP,A 08-506870. In a self-propelled landform modifying machine, such as a truck-type tractor or a ground leveling machine, the disclosed support device is used to display a desired site landform (target landform) and an actual site landform (current site landform) in superimposed relation, to determine a target amount of work from the difference between the desired site landform and the actual site landform, and to control the machine. In addition, the disclosed support device graphically displays the difference between the desired site landform and the actual site landform in a plan view.
Also, JP,A 8-134958 discloses a remote-controlled work supporting image system in which data of landform under working and design data as a target value are displayed in superimposed relation on an operating display installed in an operating room.
Further, JP,A 2001-98585 discloses an excavation guidance system for a construction machine having an operating mechanism for excavation, which is operated to carry out the excavation for modifying a three-dimensional landform into a target three-dimensional landform. In the disclosed excavation guidance system, a position where a plane passing a current three-dimensional position of a bucket crosses the target three-dimensional landform and the bucket position are displayed on the same screen.

Work support and management system for working machine

Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.


A single low side power transistor switch is used to efficiently control a brushed motor in a forward rotational direction. A boost voltage power supply is used to supply voltage to the brushed motor in a reverse rotational direction and/or braking from the forward rotational direction. A digital device controls the brushed motor rotational speed and rotational directions.

A typical bi-direction motor speed control relies on an arrangement of switching devices called an H-Bridge. The H-Bridge arrangement allows current through the motor to be steered in one of two directions permitting forward or reverse rotation of the motor. In the H-Bridge arrangement, current in the motor flows through two switching devices at all times. Each switching device causes a loss in efficiency. Typical brushed motor speed controls use a solid state H-bridge to reverse the voltage across the motor. This H-bridge can also be used for motor braking. Unfortunately, the H-bridge causes two switching devices to be in series with the motor which can reduce the operating voltage, increase power dissipation, and decrease efficiency. In many applications, reverse rotation of the motor does not need to have the same performance as forward rotation of the motor. One example is in an electric car. In these cases, forward rotation is much more important to provide the maximum efficiency than for an auxiliary reverse rotation.
Referring to FIG. 1, depicted is a schematic block diagram of a prior technology H-bridge for controlling a motor in forward and reverse directions. A switching configuration for controlling current direction through a motor 102, (i.e., for switching voltage polarities at the motor 102 terminals) comprises power transistors 102, 104, 106 and 108 arranged in an H-bridge configuration. The power transistors 104 and 110 are adapted to couple the motor 102 to a voltage source 112 (VBUS) and the power transistors 106 and 108 are adapted to couple the motor 102 to a return (ground or common) 114 of the voltage source 112, e.g., battery (see FIG. 7), depending upon the desired direction of rotation of the motor 102. The power transistors 102, 104, 106 and 108 may be controlled on and off by control signals at gate inputs 124, 126, 128 and 130, respectively.
Referring to FIG. 2, depicted is a schematic block diagram of the H-bridge of FIG. 1 configured for the forward direction of the motor. When it is desired for the motor 102 to rotate in a forward direction (e.g., arbitrarily selected herein for illustrative purposes), the power transistors 110 and 106 are switched on by the control signals 130 and 126, respectively, and the power transistors 104 and 108 are switched off by the control signals 124 and 128, respectively. This switched configuration will allow current to flow through the motor 102 in a direction 250 (also indicated by heavier lines of the schematic).
Referring to FIG. 3, depicted is a schematic block diagram of the H-bridge of FIG. 1 configured for the reverse direction of the motor. When it is desired for the motor 102 to rotate in a reverse direction (e.g., arbitrarily selected herein for illustrative purposes), the power transistors 104 and 108 are switched on by the control signals 124 and 128, respectively, and the power transistors 110 and 106 are switched off by the control signals 130 and 126, respectively. This switched configuration will allow current to flow through the motor 102 in a direction 350 (also indicated by heavier lines of the schematic) opposite to the current flow direction 250 shown in FIG. 2.
By switching the current flow to either direction 250 or direction 350 (i.e., reversing the motor 102 terminals coupled to the voltage source 112 and the voltage source return 114) the motor 102 rotation may be reversed. However, there are always two of the power transistors in the current flow path, thus creating power losses through these two power transistors.

Brushed motor control with voltage boost for reverse and braking


An apparatus and method for distributing data transmission from a plurality of data input queues in a memory buffer to an output. The method includes associating a priority indicator with each data input queue, determining a priority indicator having a highest priority level among the plurality of priority indicators and selecting the data input queue associated with the priority indicator having the highest priority level to transmit to the output.

The present invention relates generally to computing systems and more specifically to methods and apparatus for routing data.
Routers are machines that facilitate the movement of data from a source to a destination in a reliable manner. Routers perform two fundamental functions, determine routing information for moving data packets along a route to a destination, and forward the data packets using the routing information to a next hop along the route toward the destination. The data packet forwarding process can include moving packets of data from a router input interface, through a switch fabric, to an appropriate router output interface, based on the routing information.
In some router implementations, a switch fabric includes a common memory buffer for storing the data portion of packets while the header portion is processed by routing software to determine a next hop toward the destination. Often, routers have a number of input interfaces receiving data at different rates and competing for the availability of a common output. In such devices, the memory buffer in the switch fabric is divided into a number of data input queues, each receiving data from a different input interface at a different rate.
When a number of input queues receiving data at different rates are vying for access to an output of limited bandwidth, it is important to properly manage each queue""s ability to access and monopolize the output. If a input data queue in the memory buffer is not able to access the output frequently enough, the input data queue will fill, be unable to accept new data for forwarding, and a traffic pile-up will result in those segments of the network which are forwarding data to its associated input. Similarly, if an input data queue is permitted to access the output too frequently, the input data queue will under-utilize the buffering capability of the router, and over-utilize the output interface at the expense of the other data input queues.
What is needed is an efficient method for dividing output bandwidth among a number of data input queues receiving data from a number of input devices at different data rates, such that no one input queue under-utilizes or over-utilizes the output.
In one aspect, the invention comprises a method for dividing output bandwidth among a number of data input queues receiving data from a number of input devices at different data rates. In one aspect, the invention includes a method for dividing the bandwidth of an output network line interface among a number of data input queues receiving data from a number of input network line interfaces implementing different network services and receiving data at different rates.
The output bandwidth is divided by initially assigning a priority indicator to each input queue and periodically incrementing the assigned priority indicator by a programmable weight that is proportional to the sum of the weights of all of the queues. The input queue with the highest priority indicator is generally the queue selected to transmit data to the output. However, if the queue is delineated as being rate capped, the queue will not be selected to transmit to the output though it has the highest priority indicator. The queue may not be selected whenever its priority indicator has a value that is less than an initially assigned value. Finally, whenever a byte of data is transmitted out of a queue its priority indicator is decremented.
When a queue""s priority indicator reaches a maximum allowable credit, the priority indicator is reset to the higher of the queue""s initial credit allocation or the highest priority indicator associated with the other data input queues. Similarly, when a queue""s priority indicator reaches a minimum allowable credit, it is reset to the lower of the queue""s initial credit allocation or the lowest priority indicator associated with the other data input queues.
In another aspect, the invention provides a method for distributing data transmission from a plurality of data input queues in a memory buffer to an output. The method includes associating a priority indicator with each data input queue, determining a priority indicator having a highest priority level among the plurality of priority indicators and selecting the data input queue associated with the priority indicator having the highest priority level to transmit to the output.
Aspects of the invention can include one or more of the following features. The step of associating a priority indicator with a data input queue can include setting the priority indicator to an initial priority level. The method can include determining an increment level for a data input queue. The increment level can be proportional to the output bandwidth to which the data input queue requires access. The method can include periodically increasing the priority indicator associated with the data input queue by the increment level.
The step of increasing a priority indicator can include limiting the priority indicator to a value less than a maximum priority level. The step of limiting a priority indicator to a value less than a maximum priority level can include detecting an overflow condition indicating that a priority indicator has a value greater than the maximum priority level, selecting a highest priority level among the priority indicators which is less than the maximum priority level and setting the priority level of the overflowed priority indicator to the larger of the indicator""s initial priority level and the maximum priority level.
The step of selecting a data input queue to transmit to the output can include detecting a transmit condition indicating data is being transmitted from the selected data input queue to the output and decrementing the data input queue""s priority indicator by an amount of data transmitted. The step of decrementing a priority indicator can include limiting the priority indicator to a value greater than a minimum priority level. The step of limiting a priority indicator to a value greater than a minimum priority can include detecting an underflow condition indicating that a priority indicator has a value less than a minimum priority level, selecting a lowest priority level among the priority indicators which is greater than the minimum priority level and setting the priority level of the underflowed priority indicator to the smaller of the indicator""s initial priority level and the minimum priority level.
The method can include associating a rate cap flag with a data input queue and setting the rate cap flag to indicate that the data input queue is to be rate-capped. The step of selecting a data input queue to access the output can include determining whether a rate cap flag associated with a selected data input queue is set, determining whether the priority indicator associated with the selected queue has a value less than the queue""s initial priority level and selecting another data input queue to transmit to the output.

Data rate division among a plurality of input queues


A method and an apparatus for providing a Quality of Service (QoS)-based service in a wireless communication system are provided. The method includes providing a Mobile Station (MS) with at least one QoS plan indicating a price policy for a QoS acceleration service having a higher QoS than a default QoS designated for a user of the MS in response to a request from the MS, providing the MS with an authorized token and a QoS quota based on a selected QoS plan in response to a purchase request of the MS, providing the MS with service contents selected by the user through a radio bearer for the QoS acceleration service, notifying the MS, if a usage of the QoS acceleration service reaches a threshold, of an impending expiration of the QoS acceleration service, and notifying the MS of the expiration of the QoS acceleration service.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wireless communication system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing a Quality of Service (QoS)-based acceleration service in a wireless communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mobile Stations (MSs) or users of MSs desiring to transmit or receive data traffic in a wireless communication system may require a guarantee for a desired Quality of Service (QoS) (e.g., a desired data rate), a low latency, and stable communications, for high-speed data communication. Additionally, a cellular service operator (or a cellular operator) may operate and/or provide a variety of data and QoS plans in order for users to meet the QoS requirements and may use a QoS-based billing system.
Examples of operator services for QoS-based billing may include operator-sponsored charging provided as an operator promotion for selected services, services by paid applications known to users, such as a turbo service guaranteeing high-speed data communication, and time-based services such as online data coupons.
In a relate-art mobile communication system, different flat-rate plans, including a fixed amount of data, are selected by different users. Accordingly, a user may no longer enjoy the data service when the user has exhausted the fixed amount of data allocated according to the plan the user selected. In this case, the user may want to temporarily enjoy data services further without changing his or her plan, or may want to be provided with a high-QoS data service for specific service or data content while using a plan that is incapable of the high-QoS data service. However, the related-art mobile communication system may not support these diverse needs of users.
Therefore, a need exists for a system and method for performing a self diagnosis of a device without the inconvenience caused when manually selecting a self diagnosis item from a computer or a user interface.

Method and apparatus for providing QoS-based service in wireless communication system


A unitary, molded plastic junction clamp having a generally T-shaped final configuration for securing the wiring junction between a trunk portion and a split out branch portion of a wiring harness includes a flexible plastic main panel having a generally rectangular trunk section and a crossing generally rectangular branch section, a pair of flexible cable ties disposed on opposite sides of the trunk section and being integrally molded therewith and a pair of flexible cable ties associated with the branch portion. As a one piece molded unit the junction clamp begins as a substantially planar member and is able to be readily formed around the trunk portion of the wiring harness. The opposite pair of cable ties encircle the trunk portion at which point they are secured and tightened. The forming of the trunk section of the main panel so as encircle the trunk portion of the wiring harness disposes the branch section of the main panel in position upwardly and around the split out branch portion of the wiring harness. The cable ties associated with the branch section are then drawn around the branch portion and secured so as to tighten the branch section around the branch portion and create the generally T-shaped junction securing the trunk portion and split out branch portion of the wiring harness together.

The present invention relates in general to wiring, cabling, wiring harnesses and cable ties. More particularly the present invention pertains to the assembly and routing of wires in a cable or wiring harness when a generally right-angled junction or similar wiring breakout is required to be made from the trunk in order to form a branch line.
Wiring harnesses are typically used for situations where the number of wires to be routed through a unit is significant and whereas a result of the number of wires, space considerations must be specifically addressed. In stationary units such as electrical equipment cabinets and consoles the multiple strands of insulated wire can usually be left uncovered and secured together by nylon wire ties. The conventional wire ties typically include a saw-tooth band and a receiving and interlocking head. These two components are typically molded as a one-piece unitary member. When the proper orientation is established and the band correctly inserted into the head, the saw-teeth of the band become interlocked with the locking tab on the interior of the head, thereby preventing the band from being loosened. The saw-tooth configuration allows the band to be tightened into a smaller encircling loop thus allowing the tie to be extended around a bundle of wires and tightened so as to hold that bundle of wires together. When the secured wiring harness is routed through the unit these wiring ties may be used with mounting blocks or anchor blocks which may either be fastened to the walls or floor of the console by threaded fasteners or adhesively attached so as to fix the wire tie to a specific location on the surface or side wall of the cabinet or console. By the use of such anchor blocks the wiring harness is fixed in position including the main trunk and all branch lines which are split out from the trunk.
With stationary cabinetry and units of the type described there is typically very little movement, virtually no vibration and no exposure to contaminant fluids or chemicals. In these situations there is little if any concern that the insulation on the individual wires will become abraided or cut. Even if a small break or cut occurs, without the presence of fluids or chemicals, electrical shorts to the chassis are unlikely.
When a wiring harness is created for a motor vehicle there are concerns that the movement of the vehicle, shock impacts and vibrations could lead to cuts and abrasions to the insulation of the wires, especially in those areas where the wiring harness must be routed up and over or around an edge or sharp corner. There is also a concern that various liquids and chemicals may splash up or leak onto the wiring harness and thus any breaks in the insulation of the individual wires could result in electrical shorts. While some electrical shorts may not be significant, others could be significant, resulting in motor vehicle failure or an inoperative condition to some critical portion of the vehicle.
In order to minimize these concerns a conduit or sheath is typically used in motor vehicle wiring as an enclosing sleeve over the trunk and branches of the wiring harness. Although this enclosing sleeve is frequently slit lengthwise in order to allow breakout exiting of some of the wires from the main trunk in order to create a branch line, this enclosing sleeve does protect the harness wires from cuts or abrasions to the wire insulation.
When wires are pulled from the trunk for a breakout branch, there is still a desire to run these branch wires through a protective enclosing sleeve. It is also important for the branch sleeve to be secured in position up against the trunk sleeve. There are presently three basic ways to address these needs. One way is to securely tape the branch sleeve directly to the trunk sleeve. Another way is to use a rigid, clam-shell, T-junction clamp. A third way, but one which is really not suitable due to the possible damage to the wires, is to use several wire ties for the trunk sleeve on either side of the breakout branch as well as for the branch sleeve.
The drawbacks with the taping method include the time which it takes and the non-uniformity of the junction. Since taping techniques vary widely with different assembly workers the wiring harness junction will vary from harness to harness, even with the same worker. There simply is no standard as to the taping practice nor any established or predictable quality level. The drawbacks with the snap-fit, clam-shell structure include its size and rigidity and its fixed design. The rigidity of the structure forces either an oversizing so that one size will fit a majority of the trunk-branch junctions or alternatively a large number of different units must be manufactured so that they can be more closely sized and tailored to the specific junction. The greater the number of different sizes, the greater the molding costs and the greater the inventory inefficiencies. If there would be ten or twelve standard sizes for this clam-shell junction clamp, then these would have to be inventoried and provided with a wiring harness size range so that the assembly worker would know specifically which style to use at which point in the wiring harness.
With the wiring harness junction clamps there is a desire for some flexibility as it may be, if not necessary at least preferred, to move or flex the branch line slightly relative to the trunk so as to establish a preferred fit or routing through certain clearance areas and around specific components. The rigid clam-shell design does not permit such flexibility and movement in the orientation of the split-out branch.
In the art of T-junctions and connections for trunk lines and breakout branch lines there are several patent references. Many of these references pertain to pipe joints and a representative sampling of such patent references is listed below:
______________________________________ Patent No. Patentee Issue Date ______________________________________ 5,020,832 Coblentz June 4, 1991 4,168,091 Boomgarden et al. September 18, 1979 4,691,945 Cottrell et al. September 8, 1987 3,944,260 Petroczky March 16, 1976 4,227,667 Dickerson October 14, 1980 ______________________________________
In order to address all of the concerns which have been mentioned, the present invention has been created. The present invention provides as a one-piece, unitary unit a flexible covering panel for the trunk and for the branch at their junction location. This flexible covering panel is molded in combination with wiring ties in order to secure one portion of the covering panel to the trunk and to secure another portion of the covering panel to the branch. Several variations are possible and contemplated within the scope and teachings of the present invention.


A CPU executes initialization for allocating a storage area of an auxiliary storage device for a program execution area after a particular application program is loaded into the program execution area and becomes executable. Subsequently, the CPU loads a plurality of application programs into the program execution area.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a static memory allocation scheme has been widely used as a memory allocation scheme for information processing apparatuses. In the static memory allocation scheme, an entire program is loaded into a main storage device such as a random access memory (RAM) from an auxiliary storage device such as a hard disk. Then, the program is executed in the main storage device.
In recent times, operating systems employed in the information processing apparatuses support a virtual memory system. A most commonly-used virtual memory system is a paging system. Operating systems such as Windows® and Linux® employ the paging system as a memory allocation scheme.
According to the paging, which is discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-244958, a physical storage area and a virtual storage area are divided into pages having a certain fixed-length of memory (for example, 4 kilobytes) and a relation between the physical storage area and the virtual storage area is mapped by a page table. The physical storage area includes the physical storage area of the main storage device as well as the physical storage area of the auxiliary storage device. The page table is used for managing a plurality of physical storage areas, which are divided into the main storage device and the auxiliary storage device, as a single virtual storage area.
According to the paging, instead of a whole of the file or the execution program, only a part of a file or an execution program is located in the physical storage area of the main storage device. When a page in the virtual storage area is accessed by an application program, if the accessed page is not allocated in the physical storage area of the main storage device, then a page fault occurs. In this case, the operating system starts a page-in process. In the page-in process, a page stored in a physical storage area of an auxiliary storage device is read based on the page table.
When the page-in process is started, the operating system searches for a free page in the physical storage area of the main storage device. If the operating system finds the free page, the operating system loads the program which has been read out from the auxiliary storage device into the free page. After updating the page table, the operating system returns to the normal process and executes the program in the virtual storage area.
An information processing apparatus which supports the virtual memory system can execute a program regardless of the storage capacity of the main storage device. Thus, such an information processing apparatus is advantageous when concurrently executing a great number of application programs on the operating system. However, when the information processing apparatus is started, if the virtual storage area includes the physical storage area of the main storage device and the physical storage area of the auxiliary storage device, initialization of the virtual storage area will take time. The initialization is performed, for example, by writing a predetermined value, such as 0, in the physical storage area included in the virtual storage area. If a great number of application programs is to be concurrently executed on the operating system of the information processing apparatus, it is useful if an area larger then the physical storage area of the main storage device is reserved as the physical storage area of the auxiliary storage device.
On the other hand, it is useful for an operator of the information processing apparatus if standby time (start-up time) is short. The standby time is time from when power is supplied to the information processing apparatus and the apparatus is activated, to when the apparatus becomes capable of executing some type of application program.

Allocation of storage units for execution of application programs


Aspects of the disclosure provide a method of determining types of user geographical locations. A target geographical location corresponding to a plurality of uploading times can be obtained. At least one time-location type mapping relationship table can be obtained. Based on the obtained at least one time-location type mapping relationship table, for each of location types in the at least one time-relation type mapping relationship table, a sum of probability values of the respective location type can be calculated to obtain a degree that the target geographical location belongs to each of the location types. Each of the probability values corresponds to one of the uploading times of the target geographical location. Which of the location types corresponds to the target geographical location can be determined according to the degrees that the target geographical location belongs to each of the location types.

With the development of Internet technologies, Internet platforms and applications based on location based service (LBS) becomes more common. In the applications, a handheld device of a user usually is configured with a Global Positioning System (GPS) apparatus The handheld device obtains a geographical location (e.g., latitude and longitude information of a user location) of the user by using GPS equipment and uploads it to a server, and then the server provides a corresponding push service according to the geographical location of the user.

Method and apparatus for identifying types of user geographical locations

TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED


A method determines the position of a vehicle on a carriageway, in which method data of a satellite signal sensor, of a digital map, of a line detection sensor and of a vehicle movement dynamic sensor and/or of a surroundings sensor are combined in such a way that the position of the vehicle on the carriageway is determined with at least lane-specific accuracy. In particular, the method can also be used to determine the number of lanes. A device determines the position of the vehicle on a carriageway, and a motor vehicle has such a device.

The invention relates to a method for finding the position of a vehicle on a carriageway and to an apparatus therefor. Furthermore, the invention relates to an automobile having such an apparatus.
Electronic navigation systems assist a vehicle driver in driving his vehicle on a suitable route from a starting location to a destination. In this case, the global position of the vehicle is usually ascertained by a satellite signal sensor, e.g. a GPS (global positioning system) sensor, and presented on a map on a monitor. The vehicle is positioned on the schematically presented road by virtue of the GPS position in combination with suitable map matching methods. The reason is that the precision of the position finding in the vehicle by the satellite navigation is only approximately 20 m, which means that the vehicle position on the carriageway cannot be indicated with lane precision, for example. The number of lanes on the carriageway which are to be expected for the respective position is read from the digital navigation map, for example. For this purpose, the digital map comprises what are known as map attributes, which provide information about junctions, lane markings, road signs, etc. For turn-off maneuvers, it is thus possible to indicate the target lane, for example, to the driver. Besides the map presentation on a monitor, there is usually additionally a voice announcement.
DE 10 2009 008 959 A1 discloses a driver assistance system which combines a wide variety of information in order to assist a driver in vehicle navigation. To this end, satellite signals, vehicle sensor signals, ambient sensor data and traffic telematics information are merged in order to indicate the vehicle position with a higher level of precision. As part of map verification these data are compared with a stored digital map and are used to find the actual vehicle position.
DE 10 2008 053 531 A1 discloses a method for rating data from a digital map, which method is based on dedicated map quality information or measurement data from an ambient sensor system. For the purpose of validating the map material, the number and profile of the lanes is recorded using a camera, for example. In addition, it is possible to detect objects e.g. guardrails, with radar sensors and to use this information for checking the map data.
DE 10 2008 021 380 A1 discloses a method for predicting the profile of a carriageway ahead of a vehicle.
In a carriageway section close to the vehicle, the profile of the carriageway is captured by a camera, with lane markings also being able to be recognized. A position recognition system makes it possible to establish that section of the carriageway on which the vehicle is located, and the driver assistance system then allows lane tracking. For a carriageway section remote from the vehicle, the carriageway profile is additionally extracted from a map, classified and taken into consideration by the driver assistance system.
DE 10 2006 040 334 A1 discloses a method which can be used to sense lane markings. The lane profile is described by using a plurality of sensor and information sources, e.g. GPS data, radar and video signals and digital maps. The motion of vehicles in front can also be captured and used for determining the lane. A mathematical method allows the lane to be reconstructed.
DE 103 49 631 A1 also discloses a driver assistance device which uses lane information. This information is obtained from the trajectory of other vehicles, the profile of carriageway edge boundaries, GPS data and the position of particular objects. In particular, image recording and analysis methods are used.
US 2008/00773322 A1 discloses a navigation apparatus for a vehicle. The navigation apparatus comprises a position finding device for finding the position and the direction of travel of the vehicle. Furthermore, the navigation apparatus comprises a lane recognition device. In addition, a device for carrying out a map matching method is provided.
WO 2009/098154 A1 describes the sensing of at least one object in the environment of a vehicle with a sensor. In this case, the position captured with the sensor is aligned with a satellite navigation system and a digital map.
Finally, JP 2004 205527 A discloses a navigation system for a vehicle which informs the driver of his position in a lane on a carriageway. The navigation system comprises a lane recognition device, a position finding device, a satellite based locating system and a digital map.

Method and device for determining the position of a vehicle on a carriageway and motor vehicle having such a device