A system and method for providing an operator with automated calling functions allows the operator to be on the line when a customer call is placed so that a sales call can begin immediately if a customer answers the call. The system and method could be configured so that the operator can place calls automatically be selecting customers from customer call lists. The system and method may also allow the operator to cause a pre-recorded audio message to be played to a first customer, or the first customer""s answering machine, while the operator proceeds to a second customer call placed over a second telephone line.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to automated calling systems used by sales personnel and other telephone operators to place a series of telephone calls to existing or potential customers.
2. Background of the Related Art
Various computer based automated calling systems have been created to partially automate the process of calling a plurality of customers. Typically, multiple operators will be connected to a central switching device. The central switching device will automatically place telephone calls to individual customers. If a customer, rather than an answering machine/service, actually answers a telephone call, the call is then connected with an operator""s telephony device so that the operator can begin a sales call. If a customer""s answering machine or answering service answers the automatically placed telephone call, the automated calling system will hang up. Alternatively, if an answering machine or answering service answers one of the automatically placed telephone calls, the calling system may wait for the greeting to end, then play a pre-recorded message to the customer""s answering machine.
These types of automated calling systems include computer software which is designed to discriminate between calls answered by live customers, and calls answered by a customer""s answering machine/service. If the automated calling service determines that a live person has answered a call, the telephone line must be switched to a free operator who then begins the customer sales call. There is inevitably a delay period between the time that the customer answers the telephone, and the time that an operator is able to pick up the line and begin the sales call. Customers who have become familiar with these calling systems will immediately hang up their telephone if they perceive that a delay is occurring while their telephone line is switched to a sales operator. This results in missed sales opportunities.
The invention is a system and method for providing automated calling services to a telephone operator. A calling system embodying the invention is configured to automatically place a telephone call to a customer in response to an operator""s command. However, unlike prior art systems, with a system embodying the invention, the operator""s telephony device is actually connected to the telephone line while the sales call is being automatically placed so that the operator can immediately begin the sales call if a live customer answers the telephone call. If a customer""s answering service answers the telephone call, the operator can simply select the next customer on his call list, and the calling system will automatically place a telephone call to the second customer, and switch the operator""s telephony device to the second call. This ensures that the operator is online and can begin a sales call with the second customer is a live customer answers the second call.
An automated calling system embodying the invention may also be configured to play a pre-recorded message over a telephone line connected to a customer, or a customer""s answering machine/service. This could occur in at least two different situations.
In one situation, an operator could conduct a telephone call with a live customer, then inform the customer that he would like to have the customer listen to a prerecorded message. If the customer agrees, the operator can then move onto a new sales call with a second customer, and instruct the automated calling system to begin to play the pre-recorded message to the first customer. This requires that the calling system maintain the connection to the first customer""s telephone line while it plays the pre-recorded message, and simultaneously connect the operator""s telephony device to a second telephone line so that a second sales call can be placed to a second customer.
In a second scenario, if a first customer""s answering machine answers a sales call, the operator can instruct the automated calling system to play a pre-recorded message to the first customer""s answering machine while the operator moves on to a second customer. This would cause the automated calling system to connect the operator""s telephony device to a second telephone line and to automatically place a telephone call to the second customer using the second telephone line. The calling system would also simultaneously monitor the first customer""s telephone line to determine when the first customer""s answering machine message ends. Once the answering machine has completed its message, the system would play a pre-recorded message to the first customer""s answering machine over the first telephone line, and then terminate the call.
A system and method embodying the present invention allows for telephone calls to be automatically placed using a customer calling list. In addition, because the operator is on the line as each call is being placed, customers are less likely to hang up. An automated calling system embodying the invention also provides the ability to play pre-recorded messages to live customers, or customer answering machines, while the operator moves on to a new telephone call. This increases the efficiency of the operator.
Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

System and method for automated customer calling

Convergys Customer Management Group, Inc.


A system for insertion of implants, in particular dental implants, comprises a splint, which is provided with a bore and which is designed for positioning the implant onto an area intended for the insertion, in particular a bone, and can be placed on the latter. The system also includes an insertion or screwing tool for the implant, and the splint has a guide surface. The system is to be further designed such that the precise insertion of the implant can be predefined with a high degree of reliability. For this purpose, the insertion or screwing tool has a head part to which the implant is connected and which has an outer surface for bringing into engagement with the guide surface, the insertion or screwing tool also comprises a first stop or abutment, and that the splint in the area of the bore comprises or at least indirectly acquires a further stop or abutment, on which the first stop or abutment of the screwing tool comes to rest in order to define the depth of insertion of the implant when it is being screwed in.

The invention relates to an arrangement for inserting implants, in particular dental implants.
Known from US 2005/0170311 A1 is such an arrangement, which contains a splint, embodied as a template, for positioning the implant or implants. The splint is produced based on data that are generated by means of computer tomography (CT), X-ray, or some other device that images the bone, in particular the jaw bone, in order to be able to plan and specify in a defined manner the position required for the implant, taking into account anatomical, surgical, and also aesthetic factors. The splint is adapted to the individual situation and factors and contains at least one continuous bore for receiving a guide sleeve having a through-bore, using which it is possible to specify the exact orientation and positioning of the bore for the implant. Furthermore provided is a bore sleeve that has a through-bore, that can be used in the guide sleeve of the splint, and the interior diameter of which is matched to the exterior diameter of the drill bit for adding the bore to the bone. The drill bit contains an annular collar or stop that can be positioned on the free upper edge of the bore sleeve in order to specify the depth of the bore in the bone. Furthermore, the splint is used for adding the implants, to which special fastening bodies are joined by means of screws. The fastening bodies each contain one cylindrical area that faces the implant and the exterior diameter of which is matched to the interior diameter of the guide sleeve fixed in the splint. The fastening body contains an area that faces away from the implant and that has for instance contact surfaces embodied as a hexagon for an insertion tool. In the axial direction between the two aforesaid areas the fastening body has a flange that is positioned against the free upper edge of the guide cylinder to limit the placement depth of the implant.
The flange has a significantly larger diameter than the cylindrical area so that problems can occur when tight space is a problem. The fastening body has an axial length that is not insignificant, so that handling while the implant is being inserted is rendered significantly more difficult in terms of the tight space issues in the oral cavity. Since as is known implant systems have implants that have different diameters, a substantial number of such fastening bodies are needed. The placement and exact positioning of so-called miniature implants or mini-implants having exterior diameters on the order of magnitude of 1 mm and less is not possible with nothing further, that are primarily embodied in a single piece and enable minimally invasive transgingival insertion. In practice, problems result when placing the implants in the implant bed, which has been prepared by means of the aforesaid arrangement, especially with mini-implants, so that it is difficult for the surgeon to control the placement depth of the implant and furthermore, with respect to the quite large distance from the insertion tool to the implant due to the fastening body, undesired tilting moment or rotations can be caused that lead to incorrect positioning.


A centrifugal separator for separating solid particles from a liquid mixture includes a rotor body. The rotor body has a separation chamber with an inlet for the liquid mixture, one or more liquid outlets for a liquid separated from the liquid mixture, a sludge outlet for the separated solid particles, a screw conveyor adapted to rotate in the rotor body, at a speed differing from the rotational speed of the rotor body, for transporting the separated solid particles in the separation chamber towards and out of the sludge outlet, a drive arrangement adapted to rotate the rotor body and the screw conveyor at their respective speeds, and a control unit which is adapted to control the drive arrangement to rotate the rotor body at a first speed during a separation phase and at a second speed, which is lower than the first speed, during a particle discharge phase.

WO 2008/140378 discloses a centrifugal separator initially defined for purifying a fluid from contaminating particles. The particles separated from the fluid deposit themselves on the inside of the rotor body in the form of a layer of sludge, wherein the screw conveyor is arranged for transporting the sludge towards and out of the outlet. However, this layer of sludge may be difficult to transport due to the viscosity of the sludge (the viscosity may be too high or low for good transportation characteristics). Furthermore, when rotating the rotor body at high speed the sludge transportation problem may be worsened. The resulting high centrifugal forces have a compressing effect on the sludge making it more difficult to transport out of the sludge outlet. Failure to discharge the sludge from the rotor body will cause a relatively solid sludge phase to grow radially inwards towards the axis of rotation, impairing the degree of separation and ultimately rendering continued separation impossible because of obstruction.

Centrifugal separator with a control unit for speed control


An image reading system constructed as in the following in order to shorten a time from a turn-on of an original illuminating lamp to a substantial image reading operation and perform a high speed scanning. A position and size of an original which do not require a stable light amount of the original illumination lamp are read during a forwards pre-scanning operation period (tps) during which the light amount is unstable after the start of the pre-scanning. During the period (tacs1) after a timing (t1) when the light amount becomes stable during the forwards pre-scanning operation, an original color information is read from an area of the original from which the color information cannot be read during the backwards pre-scanning operation. Accordingly, the total time required for the pre-scanning operation can be made shorter than that required by a conventional pre-scanning operation which reads the original information and color information only during the forwards pre-scanning operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image reading system including an illuminating means for illuminating an original and a reading means for reading image information of the original from light reflected from the original illuminated by the illuminating means while moving forwards and backwards.
2. Related Background Art
In a color image reading system for reading a color image of an original illuminated by an original illuminating lamp, a pre-scanning is generally performed prior to the substantial scanning in order to confirm a presence/absence of an original, an original size, an original position, original color information and the like.
In an image reading system used with a copier having a variable magnification function or in other apparatuses, a reading optical system for reading an original image to be copied is moved from a home position and accelerated to a motion speed suitable for a read magnification factor, and thereafter the original image is read while the motion speed is maintained unchanged. Most of such image reading systems adopt a stepping motor in view of cost and high precision position alignment.
In order for a stepping motor to drive a scanner at high speed and with low vibrations, it is essential to provide through-up and through-down of the motor. In order to read color information, it is necessary to read the color image at a constant speed and without vibrations. Accordingly, system design generally requires a preliminary drive period of the motor to attenuate vibrations generated during the through-up.
Notches or jags of a read image are formed by using a marginal step angle and drive torque of a stepping motor, the magnitudes of of which are based on the read magnification factor of an original. In most cases, jags can be suppressed by dividing a step angle of the stepping motor into micro-step angles by which the motor is driven.
During the pre-scanning, the original size and the like can be read even in an unstable state of the light amount of an original illuminating lamp. However, in reading original color information, it is necessary to perform the pre-scanning in a sufficiently stable state of the light amount. Prior to starting the pre-scanning read operation, it is therefore necessary to provide a stand-by period until the light amount becomes stable. The distance required for the through-up and through-down to suppress vibrations becomes longer as the motor drive speed increases. This becomes an obstacle against making the image reading system compact.
If a motion distance per one micro-step used for suppressing jags becomes nearly equal to a distance between original read lines, jags by a marginal drive torque become conspicuous. The shortest period of drive pulses is limited by a process time of control software of a microprocessor which drives a stepping motor. Therefore, even if a micro-step is used, the motion distance per one micro-step often becomes nearly equal to the distance between original read lines, and jags of a read image are likely to be formed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image reading system capable of shortening an original reading time and realizing a high speed reading.
In order to achieve the above object, according to one embodiment of the invention, there is provided an image reading system comprising: illuminating means for illuminating an original; reading means for reading an image of the original by using light reflected from the original illuminated by the illuminating means; moving means for relatively moving the reading means and the image in first and second directions, the first and second directions being opposite to each other; and control means for controlling to make the reading means read the image while being relatively moved by the moving means in the first direction, and to make the reading means read the same image while being relatively moved by the moving means in the second direction.
According to an another embodiment of the invention, there is provided an image reading method comprising the steps of: illuminating an original with illuminating means; reading an image of the original by using light reflected from the original illuminated by the illuminating means, by using reading means; relatively moving, by moving means, a relative motion between the reading means and the image in first and second directions, the first and second directions being opposite to each other; and controlling to make the reading means read the image while being relatively moved by the moving means in the first direction, and while being relatively moved by the moving means in the second direction.
The above configurations of the embodiments can shorten an original reading time and realize high speed reading.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.


The present disclosure relates to food preparation appliance with a rotatable tool for chopping and/or mixing a food in a food preparation container, the tool being detachably connected to a shaft, which extends from outside the food preparation container through a passage toward the tool inside the food preparation container in order to be able to drive the tool to rotate. A locking mechanism is provided for producing a locked connection of the tool to the shaft and is equipped so that a releasing and/or a locking of the connection of the tool from/to the shaft can be performed from outside the food preparation container. The present disclosure also relates to an anchoring assembly for the food preparation appliance. It is thus possible to ensure a simple and convenient removal of a prepared food from the food preparation container.

In food preparation appliances such as food processors, a mixing blade unit is often integrated as a tool into a passage in the bottom of the bowl. When a food is being removed, though, the mixing blade can get in the way and the mixing blade can also injure the user. Some food preparation appliances permit the mixing blade unit to be removed from the passage, but this can cause the bowl to leak.

Food preparation appliance with detachable tool


An antenna positioner includes a housing and a hub mounted within the housing. A substantially planar configured support plate is rotatably mounted on the hub. A substantially elongate antenna is pivotally mounted on the support plate. An elevation drive mechanism is mounted on the support plate and interconnects the antenna for pivoting the antenna a predetermined angle and adjusting elevation of the antenna. An azimuth drive mechanism is mounted on the support plate and interconnects the hub and rotates the support plate relative to the hub a predetermined arcuate distance relative to the hub and adjusts azimuth of the antenna. A controller is operatively connected to the elevation drive mechanism and the azimuth drive mechanism and controls the azimuth and elevation drive mechanisms to adjust elevation and azimuth.

Direct broadcast satellite (DBS) signals are often transmitted to aircraft and other moving vehicles. These transmitted signals are often KU-band television signals that are transmitted to commercial aircraft, trains and other moving vehicles, and are typically UHF and VHF band signals, which can be received on small antennas, such as the common 18" disks placed on the sides of houses. The antenna can also be formed as a phased array antenna, and designed as a flat plate, as is known to those skilled in the art. Many different types of housings and positioners have been designed to point the antenna's main beam at the desired direct broadcast satellite while an aircraft maintains various commercial cruise flight dynamics. These dynamics include a role of 5.degree./second and 5.degree./second.sup.2 ; a pitch of 5.degree./second and 3.degree./second.sup.2 ; and a yaw of 5.degree./second and 5.degree./second.sup.2.
One current method has been to use a mechanical device with an in-line jack screw actuator for elevation and a direct drive azimuth. In most types of controls, an antenna controller receives position commands and directs movement of various motors. However, these type of requirements are not adequate because with a mechanical system, the slew rate is slow and motors often overheat in maintaining positions. Also, the controller does not include a rate feed forward, which is desirable. Also, many prior art antenna positioners have mechanical designs that allow control over azimuth and elevation, but the motors and drive mechanics have excessive backlash. Also, many prior art designs do not fit into low profile housings that are adapted for mobile applications, such as mounting on the fuselage of an aircraft.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,025,262 to Abdelrazik et al. discloses a pedestal with a helical element antenna that is mechanically steered with reference to an azimuth axis and elevation axis. A mechanical steering system includes a supporting frame having an azimuth member and an elevation member that is integral with the azimuth member. It includes a longitudinal axis displaced from the azimuth axis.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,689,276 and 5,420,598 to Uematsu et al. disclose an antenna housing for a satellite antenna device, which mounts on a moving body and includes an automatic tracking mechanism. An elevation motor is fixed to a rotary base. A series of pulleys and shafts act as a driving mechanism. A rack has teeth formed along a circle about the rotating axis in elevation direction of the antenna unit A. The teeth of the rack mesh with the pinion gear to be driven circumferentially by the driving torque transmitted to a pinion gear. Thus, the antenna unit is driven for rotation in the elevation direction. An azimuth motor is fixed on the rotary base. Through a sufficient pulley mechanism, the driving torque of the azimuth motor is transmitted to the pinion, which meshes with teeth of a belt such that the driving torque of the azimuth motor is transmitted through the pulleys.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,153,485 to Yamada et al. discloses a high gain antenna that is mounted on board an automobile for reception of satellite broadcasting. The system uses a beam antenna in the form of a flat plate that is secured to an antenna bracket. A turntable has a disk-shaped spur gear that includes a gear around its lateral side. Turntables are rotatably mounted on a stationary base by a bearing. Reduction gearing in a motor is mounted on the support plate and secured to a stationary plate base. The beam antenna can be moved in both azimuth and elevation.
Many of these systems suffer some of the drawbacks noted above.

Low profile antenna positioner for adjusting elevation and azimuth


Chair comprising, a fixed base structure comprising two front legs and two rear legs mutually connected by a cross member, in which the front legs and the rear legs are mutually offset in such a way that the front legs of a first chair can be inserted between the rear legs of a second chair identical to the first, and a seat-backrest assembly borne by the support structure and rotatable around said cross member between a position of use and a position of stowage, in which in the position of stowage the seat-backrest assembly is rotated forwards relative to the position of use.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nestable chair according to the preamble of claim 1.
The chairs that are usable for conventions, conferences and similar events are usually nestable with each other so that, at the end of the event, the chairs can be stored in restricted spaces. A typical solution for nesting chairs provides the possibility of superposing the chairs in vertical direction, with each lower chair nested with respect to the chair immediately above it.
2. Description of the Related Art
Also known are chairs that can be nested together in horizontal direction, in which the front legs of a first chair can be inserted between the rear legs of a second chair, identical to the first one, when the two chairs are approached to each other in the longitudinal direction.


An object of the present invention is to provide a technique to distinguish between Treg cells and activated T cells in a live state. Another object of the present invention is to provide a pharmaceutical composition for immunostimulation that can reduce the number of Treg cells in vivo and effectively express the immune response of activated T cells. In the method of the present invention, Treg cells are detected from test cells containing (i) regulatory T cells and (ii) at least one type of cell selected from the group consisting of naive T cells and activated T cells, wherein expressions of folate receptor 4 on the surfaces of cells are measured and Treg cells are detected using the expressions as an indicator. The present invention uses anti-folate receptor 4 antibody or folate receptor 4-binding fragment as an active ingredient contained in a pharmaceutical composition for immunostimulation.

CD4+CD25+ T cells are called regulatory T cells (hereunder referred to as "Treg cells"), and it is known that such T cells have an immunosuppressive activity and play an important role in maintaining immunological tolerance (for example, see Sakaguchi, S., et al., 1995, "Immunologic self-tolerance maintained by activated T cells expressing IL-2 receptor alpha-chains (CD25). Breakdown of a single mechanism of self-tolerance causes various autoimmune diseases." J. Immunol. 155, 1151-1164). Because such Treg cells give an immune response adverse to that of activated T cells, it is reported that immunoactivation or immunosuppression can be more effectively achieved by distinguishing between Treg cells and activated T cells and applying them clinically (see, for example, Shimizu, J., et al., 1999, "Induction of tumor immunity by removing CD25+CD4+ T cells: a common basis between tumor immunity and autoimmunity.", J. Immunol. 163, 5211-5218). For example, it has been reported that CD25+ T cells derived from normal mice having very low expressions of activated T cells are useful in maintaining immunologic tolerance after organ transplantation (Nishimura, E., Sakihama, T., Setoguchi, R., Tanaka. K., and Sakaguchi, S.: Induction of antigen-specific immunologic tolerance by in vivo and in vitro antigen-specific expansion of naturally arising CD25+CD4+ regulatory T cells. Int. Immunol. 16: 1189-1201, 2004). Similar results have been reported in humans. (Yagi, H., Nomura, T., Nakamura, K., Kitawaki, T., Hori, S., Maeda, M., Onodera, M., Uchiyama, T., Fujii, S., and Sakaguchi, S.: Crucial role of FOXP3 in the development and function of human CD25+CD4+ regulatory T cells. Int. Immunol. 16: 1643-1656, 2004). Therefore, in order to clinically apply Treg cells, it is necessary to establish a technique that distinguishes between Treg cells and activated T cells.
Several methods for distinguishing between Treg cells and activated T cells have been reported using substances expressed on Treg cells as indicators. For example, CD25 is expressed on Treg cells at extremely high levels, and therefore it has been reported that Treg cells can be collected by isolating T cells having extremely high CD25 expressions (Hoffmann P, Eder R, Kunz-Schughart L A, Andreesen R, Edinger M. Large-scale in vitro expansion of polyclonal human CD4(+)CD25 high regulatory T cells. Blood. 104:895-903, 2004). Furthermore, CD25 and GITR have been reported to be expressed on Treg cells at high levels (see Shimizu, J., et al., 2002, "Stimulation of CD25(+)CD4(+) regulatory T cells through GITR breaks immunological self-tolerance", Nat. Immunol. 3, 135-142). However, because CD25 and GITR are expressed not only on Treg cells but also on activated T cells at high levels, it is known that CD25 and GITR cannot be used with high accuracy as indicators for distinguishing between Treg cells and activated T cells. There is another report stating that Foxp3 is specifically expressed in Treg cells (see Hori, S., et al., 2003, "Control regulatory T cell development by the transcription factor Foxp3.", Science 299, 1057-1061). However, since Foxp3 is a transcription factor, which is not expressed on the surface of cells, it is impossible to clinically use a T cell population from which Treg cells have been removed or isolated Treg cells in a live state by employing a method wherein Treg cells are isolated or removed using Foxp3 as an indicator. As described above, it is impossible to isolate or remove Treg cells by detecting and distinguishing the Treg cells from activated T cells in a live state using prior art techniques.
Furthermore, there is no report to date regarding not only a technique for isolating or depleting live Treg cells but also a technique by which the number of Treg cells is selectively reduced in vivo.

Method for detecting regulatory T cells using expression of folate receptor 4 as indicator, method for treating diseases using the detection method, pharmaceutical composition for immunostimulation, and method for treating diseases using the composition


There is disclosed a method of correcting a design pattern considering a process margin between layers of a semiconductor integrated circuit, including calculating a first pattern shape corresponding to a processed pattern shape of a first layer based on a first design pattern, calculating a second pattern shape corresponding to a processed pattern shape of a second layer based on a second design pattern, calculating a third pattern shape using a Boolean operation between the first and second pattern shapes, determining whether or not an evaluation value obtained from the third pattern shape satisfies a predetermined value, and correcting at least one of the first and second design patterns if it is determined that the evaluation value does not satisfy the predetermined value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a design pattern correction method of correcting a design pattern of a semiconductor integrated circuit. Moreover, the present invention relates to a mask pattern producing method of producing a mask pattern of a semiconductor integrated circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the technique of manufacturing semiconductor devices has remarkably advanced, and semiconductor devices having a minimum process dimension of 0.13 μm are mass-produced. The scale-down described above is realized by the great development of micro-pattern forming techniques such as mask process techniques, photolithography techniques and etching techniques.
In the large pattern size generation, an LSI pattern to be formed on a wafer is intactly used as a design pattern, and a mask pattern faithful to the design pattern is produced. The mask pattern is transferred onto the wafer using a projection optical system, thereby forming a pattern approximately equal to the design pattern on the wafer.
However, the scale-down of the pattern advances; for this reason, it is difficult to faithfully form a pattern in individual processes. As a result, a problem arises such that the final processed pattern shape is not provided as the design pattern.
In order to overcome the foregoing problem, so-called mask data processing is very important. More specifically, a mask pattern different from the design pattern is produced so that the final processed pattern dimensions become approximately equal to the design pattern.
The mask data processing includes the following processings. One is MDP processing of modifying the mask pattern using graphical operation and a design rule checker (D.R.C.). Another is optical proximity. correction (OPC) for correcting the optical proximity effect (OPE). The foregoing processings are made, and thereby, the mask pattern is properly corrected so that the final processed pattern dimensions are provided as desired dimensions.
In recent years, a k1 value (k1=W/(NA/λ)) becomes smaller and smaller in the lithography process with the scale-down of device patterns. (In the foregoing equation, W: design pattern dimension, λ: exposure wavelength of exposure system, and NA: numerical aperture of a lens used for the exposure system.) As a result, there is a tendency for the influence of the OPE to increase. For this reason, a very heavy load is given to the OPC.
In order to achieve high accuracy of the OPC, a model-based OPC is mainly employed. According to the model-based OPC, a proper correction value is calculated using a light intensity simulator capable of accurately predicting the OPE. A model-based OPC verification technique using lithography simulation is very important to verify a mask subjected to complicated model-based OPC.
For example, there have been proposed techniques of applying the model-based OPC verification technique to a single layer to detect a dangerous pattern having a small lithography margin (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,470,489 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,415,421). However, according to the foregoing techniques, sufficient detection accuracy is not obtained. In addition, development is still not made with respect to a technique of determining whether or not a sufficient lithography margin is secured between several layers.
Consequently, it is difficult to secure a sufficient processed shape in the conventional case. In addition, if a sufficient processed shape is secured, the problem arises such that the layout area increases; as a result, the chip size also increases.

Design pattern correction method and mask pattern producing method


A portable gun rest has a gun mount head which includes a rotator housing assembly for azimuth directional control and a platen elevation mechanism for elevation control. The rotator housing assembly has a stator and a rotator. A rotator brake is operated to selectively restrict movement between the rotator and the rotary housing. The platen elevation mechanism has two or more platens which are secured together with a flat bearing located there-between. An elevation brake is selectively adjustable to push the two platens together with different amounts of force providing selectable torque required to move one platen relative to another. The platens have a lattice-like structure for attenuating vibratory motion.

Portable gun rests have been provided for sports hunting, target shooting and sharp shooter use. Portable gun rests usually provide for azimuth and elevation adjustments. Azimuth and elevation are generally polar coordinates, with azimuth referring to a direction in horizontal plane in which a weapon is pointed and elevation referring to an angle between a direction and the horizontal plane. Gun rests typically include a stand, a gun mount head secured to the stand, and a platform fixed to the stand for receiving a firearm. The gun mount head provides relative movement between the platform and the stand, providing control of the azimuth and elevation of the direction in which the weapon is pointed. The stand can be a tripod, a bipod or a single post. The gun mount head is often secured to the stand by a single ⅜ inch diameter threaded bolt. Tracking a target with a fifteen to thirty-five pound firearm on a gun rest on which the gun mount head is secured to a stand with a ⅜ inch diameter threaded bolt results in vibrations which cause significant optical distortion in rifle scopes, resulting in frequent loss of the target viewed through the scopes. This is often made worse due to inadvertent jostling by the user. Additionally, when the firearm is discharged, the resulting percussion provides a sharp jolt the whole gun mount assembly and target acquisition is lost and must be reacquired. Tracking a target and firing the weapon results in multiple harmonic frequencies which require the expense of critical time between shots for the vibrations to dampen and the scope to become stable enough to sufficiently reduce optical distortion to allow reacquisition of the target through a scope.
Heavier gun rests have been provided which restrict movement of the weapon when tracking a target and when fired, providing more restrictive control for maintaining acquisition of the target both during movement of the target and after the weapon is discharged. One such prior art gun rest is the SPEC-REST® gun mount shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,730,824, entitled Precision Tactical Mount, invented by Robert O. Black, and issued on Jun. 8, 2010. The SPEC-REST® gun mount is a tactical gun rest which, although providing sufficient restrictive control for maintaining acquisition of the target, is heavy and not rapidly deployable, and requires significant space to set up when moving to a new location. Although an excellent gun rest for precision, stationary circumstances, a light weight, rapid deployable gun rest is desirable when rapid deployment and redeployment is required.

Portable gun rest with adjustable stability control


A drive system for an electric battery powered vehicle including a chassis having a rigid frame, a front axle and a rear axle; a battery system mounted on said chassis; left and right wheels on left and right sides of each of the front axle and the rear axle; one or more motors attached to at least one of the wheels. Each of the one or more motors is driven by rotation of a respective wheel to produce a charge for said battery system.

A significant amount of research and development has been undertaken to develop electrical and hybrid vehicles as an alternative to traditional gas powered combustion engine vehicles. The primary roadblock in implementing electric battery power on a large scale has been the limited amount of energy that can be stored in a battery system of reasonable size and weight that can be carried on a vehicle, in combination with the lack of a suitable charging system for the size and weight of a battery system that can be carried on a vehicle. Thus, the range of electric battery powered vehicles is limited to the range of travel possible between charges, and that range to date has been particularly limited. There is therefore a need in the art for an electric battery powered vehicle with an increased driving range between charges.
Another problem with electric vehicles is the problem of recharging the battery system. Charging stations are expensive to install and even when installed, they consume energy derived from other traditional sources. Thus, the electrical demands on public power systems can potentially be significantly increased. Thus to realize the full potential of electric battery powered vehicles, there is a need in the art for such vehicles that require fewer charges, and further to provide for more efficient charging systems that can interact with the battery systems on these vehicles.
Various solutions have been provided in the prior art relating to the materials used and optimizations of size, and arrangements of the battery system in other ways, but there remains a need in the art for an improved drive system, charge system and battery system for electric vehicles that will improve upon one or more of the above-identified problems with the prior art.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a novel drive system for use with electric battery powered vehicles.


A check-out device includes an input section having a customer operating panel, for sequentially inputting article codes of articles to be purchased, upon request from the customer operating panel, and a settlement section spaced away from the input section, for performing registration and settlement of the purchased articles according to the article codes input by the input section. The check-out device further includes a control section for causing the input section to terminate inputting of the articles in the case where a blank period during which no article code is input exceeds a preset time length.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a check-out device for performing registration of purchased articles according to the article codes recorded thereon in a machine-readable form and, more particularly, to a check-out device wherein a customer participates in the process of inputting the article codes.
2. Description of the Related Art
A check-out device is installed in, for example, a supermarket as a self-service check-out counter. A customer puts articles he or she wants to purchase in a shopping cart, brings them to an input section of the check-out device, and depresses a start button on a customer operation panel of the input section so as to start registration of the articles. Thereafter, the customer lifts an article out of this cart, places it in front of an article code reader or a scanner of the input section in order for the article code affixed thereto to be input by means of a scanning operation performed by the scanner, and sets the read article on an entry conveyer provided above an electronic weigh scale. The scanner optically scans the article to read the article code thereof, and supplies the read article code to an electronic cash register spaced away from the input section. The electronic weigh scale measures the weight of the article set on the entry conveyer, and supplies a result of the measurement as measured weight data to the electronic cash register. The electronic cash register has an article data table containing article data of all the articles for sale, each of which is constituted by an article code, article name data, price data, and reference weight data, for example. The electronic cash register uses the read article data, the measured weight data, and the article data table to determine that the article whose article code is read by the scanner has definitely been set on the entry conveyer, and also uses the read article code to register the article as a purchased article after the determination. The article is conveyed from the entry conveyer to an outfeed conveyer after the determination, and then conveyed to a bagging area by means of the outfeed conveyor and an inclined chute. After scanning of all the articles to be purchased, the customer depresses a stop button on the operation panel to finish the article registration, at which time the electronic cash register performs settlement of the purchased articles with reference to the article data table. A cashier informs the customer of the total cost of the purchased articles obtained in the settlement, and stores the cash paid by the customer in a drawer of the cash register. After payment, the customer places the articles in the bagging area in a bag, and takes them away.
A process of the aforementioned determination is performed every time the electronic weigh scale measures the weight of an article. In this process, the cash register receives the measured weight data supplied from the electronic scale and data of the read article code supplied from the scanner, and checks whether the article code is correctly read or not. When it is correctly read, the measured weight data is compared with reference weight data of an article specified by the article code. If both the weight data coincide, the specified article is registered as a purchased article, using the read article code.
In the check-out device described above, the customer takes a task of inputting article codes of the purchased articles by means of the scanner, and the cashier takes a task of operating the cash register to process the input article codes. Therefore, the amount of time the customer is kept waiting without doing anything is shortened in comparison with the case where the cashier takes the task of inputting the article codes and the task of operating the cash register. The cashier's workload is reduced by the customer's cooperation. In addition, a use of the scanner prevents input errors such as occur in key operations for inputting the article codes. Thus, the problem of long queues of customers waiting at check-out counters is largely alleviated. Further, whether or not an article whose article code has been read and an article on the entry conveyor are the same, is checked by comparing the weight data, thereby preventing dishonesty by customers. Published Examined Japanese Patent Application No. 1-52794 discloses a device similar to the above-described check-out device.
However, the customer sometimes goes away from the input section of the check-out device to do something else for a while before finishing registration of all the articles to be purchased. In such a case, the cashier has to move to the input section to operate the stop button for the customer. If one cashier is in charge of a plurality of check-out lanes, the cashier's workload is increased in the movement to the input section.

Check-out device with activity sensor terminating article input


A method for transferring time-synchronous data, particularly voice and video data, over a network, particularly the Internet, between at least two terminals, where between the terminals a connection is established using a SIP server and where the SIP protocol is used for establishing the connection, is—with respect to high Quality of Service for transferring time-synchronous data and with a technically simple and cost effective design—developed in a way that the SIP server analyzes the connection and/or the terminals or the like and that based on the analysis it determines an ideal bandwidth for optimizing the transfer of time-synchronous data.

The invention concerns a method for time-synchronous data transfer, particularly of voice and video messages, over a network, particularly the Internet, between at least two terminals where a connection between the terminals is set up using the SIP protocol and at least one SIP server.
Methods for transfer of time-synchronous data, such as voice data, over networks, particularly over the Internet, are gaining importance, because for private users as well as for enterprises cost saving on telephone calls are possible. For conducting telephone calls between two terminals over a network, particularly using the Internet protocol, means for signalling call set-up and tear-down are required. SIP, the Session Initiation Protocol is one of the protocols used for this purpose. It was standardized by the IETF, the Internet Engineering Task Force.
A caller may send a SIP message for setting up a call by using his/her terminal. The message notifies the callee that the caller intends to set up a call. The terminal of the callee would then for example ring and notify the terminal of the caller by another SIP message that ringing has started. If the callee operates her/his terminal such that it accepts the call, then the terminal sends another SIP message to the terminal of the caller for notifying it that now transmission of time-synchronous data, for example voice or video data, can start. The SIP protocol is also used for signalling tear-down of a connection.
Establishing a concrete voice connection and coding and sending time-synchronous voice data is not supported by SIP. For this, the terminals communicate with each other, for example, by negotiating about the kind of connection or data transfer to use and a coding method for voice data. SIP supports establishing a connection insofar, as it includes an exchange of terminal properties. This includes the kinds of voice coding that the terminals support, the addresses of the terminals to which voice traffic is to be sent, and some other terminal specific properties.
Another functionality of SIP is finding a callee at his/her current location. The first message from a caller to a callee if typically not sent directly to the callee's terminal, but to a SIP server, which is usually configured as SIP proxy server. At this server, a company XYZ provides an address sip://firstname.lastname@example.com to one of its customers.
Now, the customer can register her/his current terminal at the SIP proxy server provided by company XYZ. His current terminal might be his work phone, his home phone, his mobile phone, or any other SIP-enabled phone. The terminal of the caller then sends the first message to sip://firstname.lastname@example.com. There the proxy server forwards this message to the terminal that the customer has registered. The SIP server would also forward the reply of customer's terminal in the opposite direction.
As for the conventional technique, the following references are known.
Reference for Differentiated Services:                "RFC 2475 An Architecture for Differentiated Service," S. Blake, D. Black, M. Carlson, E. Davis, Z. Wang, W. Weiss, December 1998 (Format: TXT=94786 bytes) (Updated by RFC3260) (Status: INFORMATIONAL)
Reference for RSVP:                "RFC 2205 Resource ReSerVation Protocol (RSVP), Version 1 Functional Specification," R. Braden, Ed., L. Zhang, S. Berson, S. Herzog, S. Jamin, September 1997 (Format: TXT=223974 bytes) (Updated by RFC2750) (Status: PROPOSES STANDARD);        "RFC 2210 The Use of RSVP with IETF Integrated Services," J. Wroclawski, September 1997 (Format: TXT=77613 bytes) (Status: PROPOSED STANDARD)
Reference for SIP:                "RFC 3261 SIP: Session Initiation Protocol," J. Rosenberg, H. Schulzrinne, G. Camarillo, A. Johnston, J. Peterson, R. Sparks, M. Handley, E. Schooler, June 2002 (Format: TXT=647976 bytes) (Obsoletes RFC 2543) (Updated by RFC 3265) (Status: PROPOSED STANDARD).
For the known methods of transferring time-synchronous data over the basic Internet, there is the particular problem that they give no guarantees for Quality of Service (QoS), for example available bandwidth and packet delay of a connection. This may lead to bad quality of voice transmission, because packets containing the coded voice arrive in an order different to the one they were sent in, because packets are damaged or dropped during transfer, or because packets are transferred with high delay. For time-synchronous data, such as voice or video, this leads to bad QoS. The lack of QoS is one of the reasons for the limited acceptance of time-synchronous services, particularly Internet telephony, so far. Also SIP does not have any built-in mechanism to support Quality of Service (QoS) to the time-synchronous data transfer it signals.
Enhancements of the basic Internet, such as Integrated Services and Differentiated Services support QoS for Internet connections, but it requires additional signalling and network management functions. Integrating SIP signalled IP telephony or video transfer with these methods for QoS provisioning would be a significant technology improvement and it would increase the acceptance of Internet telephony, but its available is very limited, so far.
Existing suggestions on how to perform this integration are based on the idea that the telephony terminals themselves try to reserve resources for their calls by using other means of signalling, independent of SIP. An example is the Resource reSerVation Protocol (RSVP) of Integrated Services. However, this approaches do not scale sufficiently with an increasing number of users, such that existing QoS provisioning systems cannot deal with a high rate of reservation requests.

Method for time-synchronous data transfer


A method for generating a CPT resonance, includes applying an electric current to a laser light-emitting element, to emit laser light having at least two wavelengths. The value of a direct current component of the electric current applied to the laser light-emitting element in a first period is greater than an oscillation threshold for the laser light-emitting element, and the value of the direct current component of the electric current applied to the laser light-emitting element in a second period, following the first period, is less than the value of the direct current component of the electric current in the first period. An alkali metal atom is irradiated with the laser light, the laser light generated in the first period and the laser light generated in the second period entering the alkali metal atom repeatedly a plurality of times to generate a Ramsey resonance.

1. Field of the Invention
The disclosures herein generally relate to a CPT resonance generation method, a CPT resonance detection method, a CPT resonance generation apparatus, an atomic oscillator and a magnetic sensor.
2. Description of the Related Art
An atomic clock is an extremely accurate clock. Technologies for reducing the size of the atomic clock are being studied. The atomic clock is an oscillator based on the transition energy of an electron included in an atom of alkali metal or the like. In particular, the electron transition energy of an alkali metal atom is found to be quite accurate if the process is not influenced by any disturbance. Accordingly, stability of the frequency, which is an improvement of several orders of magnitude compared with a crystal oscillator, can be obtained.
Because a conventional atomic oscillator requires a structure of a microwave oscillator, the atomic oscillator of the related art has a large size and requires a large amount of electric power. However, by using an atomic resonance called a CPT (Coherent Population Trapping), the oscillator becomes unnecessary, and it becomes possible to manufacture an atomic oscillator having quite a small size. A prototype of the CPT type atomic oscillator was manufactured in 2007, and products of the CPT type atomic oscillator have been sold by Symmetricom, Inc., U.S.A. since 2011.
The CPT type atomic oscillator includes, as shown in FIG. 1, a light source 910 such as a laser light-emitting element, an alkali metal cell 940 in which alkali metals are encapsulated, and a light detector 950 which receives laser light that passes through the alkali metal cell 940. The laser light from the light source 910 is modulated by sideband wavelengths appearing on both sides of a carrier wave which are specific wavelengths, and excites electrons in alkali metal atoms with two simultaneous transitions of the electrons.
The transition energy of the above transition is constant. When the sideband wavelength of the laser light coincides with a wavelength corresponding to the transition energy, a transparency phenomenon occurs, in which absorption of light by the alkali metal is reduced. Then, while a wavelength of the carrier wave is adjusted so that the absorption of light by the atomic metal is reduced, a signal detected by the light detector 950 is fed back to a modulator 960, and a modulation frequency of the laser light from the light source 910 such as a laser element is adjusted by the modulator 960. The laser light is emitted from the light source 910 and is transmitted onto the alkali metal cell 940 via a collimator lens 920 and a quarter wavelength plate 930, and enters the light detector 950.
Although, the CPT atomic oscillator is smaller and consumes less power in comparison to oscillators of the related art, oscillators of the related art exhibit better frequency stability, and further improvement of frequency stability in CPT oscillators is desired. As a powerful method for improving the frequency stability, a method for pulsing a laser light has been studied.
For the CPT type atomic oscillator, there are mainly two methods of pulsing laser light. A first method of pulsing laser light is to use an external apparatus. In the first method, a laser light-emitting element is caused to continuously emit light and the wavelength of the laser light-emitting element is caused to coincide with the absorption line of the atom, and thereby the frequency is stabilized. The laser light is pulsed by causing an external device such as an Acousto-Optic Modulator (AOM) or a liquid-crystal polarizer to intervene. In the first method, it is easy to stabilize the laser wavelength, but there is a problem of increasing a volume, cost and power consumption.
A second method of pulsing laser light is to use a direct modulation. The second method does not require a specific device other than the laser light-emitting element, and enables reducing the size, cost and power consumption of the entire apparatus, compared with the case of using an external device. As an example of the second method, a technique of superposing a microwave with a direct electric current input to the laser light-emitting element to perform modulation is proposed (for example, see US Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0056458).

CPT resonance generation method, CPT resonance detection method, CPT resonance generation apparatus, atomic oscillator and magnetic sensor


A technique is described providing offline support to business applications. Offline support allows a business application running on a portable electronic device without connectivity to a backend server to operate as though the business application has access to a backend server. The technique receives a sync request for content from the portable electronic device. A sync task is generated from the sync requests and processed to generate a package that contains the desired content. Once the package is generated, the package is stored in a package repository and a download notification is transmitted to the portable electronic device to notify the user that the package is ready. The package can in turn be delivered to the portable electronic device when a download request is received from the portable electronic device.

In today's fast-paced business environment, users frequently travel around to conduct business. For example, a sales representative can visit many customer locations throughout the day. Due to the nature of the business, there can be periods of time during the day where the user has limited or no internet connectivity, thereby resulting in an inability to access important data stored on backend servers. This can result in lost productivity.

Asynchronous download for application offline support


The present invention is to provide a circulating-type dispersing system (1) and method for uniformly, effectively, and repeatedly dispersing a large amount of a mixture, and to thereby obtain a processed mixture in a short time. The circulating-type dispersing system (1) for circulating and dispersing a slurry or liquid mixture comprises a device (3) for continuously dispersing the mixture, a first tank (4) connected to an outlet of the device (3) for continuously dispersing, a second tank (5) connected to an inlet of the device (3) for continuously dispersing, piping (6) that connects the device (3) for continuously dispersing, the first tank (4) and the second tank (5) in series and formed as a circle, and an adjusting valve (7) provided on the piping (6) between the first tank (4) and the second tank (5) for adjusting the levels of the mixture in the first and second tanks.

A device for a batch-type dispersion or a device for continuously dispersing has been used for dispersing solids in a liquid, such as a slurry or a mixture of a liquid and solids. However, by device for a batch-type dispersion a raw material may not evenly pass through a region for generating a shearing force for dispersing. Thus a part of the raw material may accumulate at a particular location in a vessel. That results in a longer time to obtain a uniformly dispersed material as a whole. By a device for continuously dispersing an insufficiently dispersed material may be obtained, since the raw material just one time passes through the region for generating shearing forces for dispersing.
To solve these problems, a system is known that comprises a tank for supplying a mixture to the device for continuously dispersing, a tank for receiving the mixture that has been dispersed by the device for continuously dispersing, and multiple paths for alternately changing the tank for supplying and the tank for receiving (see Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2009-51831). However, changing the paths for the tanks is troublesome. Thus a circulating-type dispersing system that includes a device for continuously dispersing was proposed. However, if the inlet and outlet of the device for continuously dispersing were just connected by piping, just a very small amount of the mixture could be processed. Therefore, a storage tank may be provided along the piping to increase the amount of the mixture to be processed (see Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2004-267991).
In that system some of the mixture may pass through the storage tank in a short time and some may stay there for a long time, before flowing out of the tank. Thus not all of the mixture may be processed by the device for continuously dispersing to the same degree. Thus a long time is required to obtain a uniformly processed mixture. That has been a problem.
The object of the present invention is to provide a system and a method for dispersing a large amount of a raw material uniformly and effectively by circulating it. By that system or method, a processed mixture can be obtained in a short time.

Circulating-type dispersing system and a method therefor


An impedance matching circuit in accordance with the principles of the present invention employs series-connected transmission lines to match a high reflection coefficient source impedance with a load impedance. The matching circuit is formed on a dielectric substrate material and accommodates the relatively limited capabilities of photo-lithographic circuit production. The new impedance matching circuit may be constructed of three series-connected transmission line sections. A first section, the section that is to be connected to the source, transforms the high source impedance into a relatively low valued impedance that is substantially resistive. The reflection coefficient of the first section is substantially equal to the reflection coefficient of the source. A second may be implemented as a quarter-wave transformer that transforms the low impedance developed by the first section into an intermediate impedance value. The third section transforms this intermediate value impedance into an impedance that substantially matches that of the load.

In order to reduce reflections, improve signal quality, and supply the greatest power from a source to a load, the impedance "looking into the load" from the source should match the output impedance of the source. Additionally, since a mismatched line has different properties at different frequencies, a mismatched circuit is generally unsuitable for broadband or multi-frequency use. Consequently, relatively broadband circuit applications are particularly needful of impedance matching circuits.
Impedance matching is discussed in The Art of Electronics, Paul Horowittz and Winfield Hill, Cambridge University Press, Second Edition, New York, 1989 pp. 879-882 and in R. E. Collin, "Foundations For Microwave Engineering", McGraw-Hill, 1992.
Matching the impedance of a load having a high reflection coefficient is particularly difficult, sometimes requiring complex circuits that are particularly difficult to implement using conventional technologies. For example, in order to produce a matching circuit having the appropriate impedance, a conductor line on a printed circuit board may need to be thinner than may be accommodated by conventional photoligthographic techniques. The term, "a load having a high reflection coefficient" refers to a load that has a high reflection coefficient with respect to a conventional fifty-ohm system impedance. Additionally, the terms load and source may be interchanged, depending upon one's perspective so that, for example, an antenna and an RF tag circuit may be respectively viewed as source and load, or load and source, depending upon perspective. Related applications and issued patents
Related U.S. Patents assigned to the assignee of the present invention include: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,528,222; 5,550,547; 5,552,778; 5,554,974; 5,538,803; 5,563,583; 5,565,847; 5,606,323; 5,521,601; 5,635,693; 5,673,037; 5,682,143; 5,680,106; 5,729,201; 5,729,697; 5,736,929; 5,739,754; and 5,767,789. Patent applications assigned to the assignee of the present invention include: application U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,037; Ser. No. 08/621,784, filed on Mar. 25, 1996 entitled, "Thin Radio Frequency Transponder with Leadframe Antenna Structure" by Brady et al. (pending); application Ser. No. 08/626,820, Filed: Apr. 3, 1996, entitled, "Method of Transporting RF Power to Energize Radio Frequency Transponders", by Heinrich et al.; application Ser. No. 08/694,606 filed Aug. 9, 1996 entitled, "RFID System with Write Broadcast Capability" by Heinrich et al.; application Ser. No. 08/681,741, filed Jul. 29, 1996 entitled, "RFID Transponder with Electronic Circuit Enabling and Disabling Capability", by Heinrich et al.; application Ser. No. 08/592,250 (See also PCT International Application No. PCT/EP95/03903 filed Sep. 20, 1995, and U.S. application Ser. No. 08/330,288 filed Oct. 27, 1994, now abandoned, on which the PCT application is based); U.S. Pat. No. 5,729,201; application Ser. No. 08/909,719; application Ser. No. 08/621,784; application Ser. No. 08/660,249; application Ser. No. 08/660,261; application Ser. No. 08/790,640; application Ser. No. 08/790,639; and application Ser. No. 08/681,742. The above identified U.S. Patents and U.S. Patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference. Additionally, Patent Applications entitled, "Radio Frequency Identification Transponder Having a Spiral Antenna", "Radio Frequency Identification Transponder Having a Helical Antenna", "RFID Transponder Having Improved RF Characteristics", and "Radio Frequency Identification Transponder Employing a Patch Antenna", filed on the same day as this application and assigned to the same assignees as this application is assigned are also hereby incorporated by reference.
The applicants claim priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (e) for provisional applications having attorney docket numbers YO897 660P1, YO897-661P1, and YO997-038P1, respectively filed on March 16, 17, and 13.

Distributed impedance matching circuit for high reflection coefficient load


A data storage method and an apparatus are provided in a distributed storage system including a computing node and a plurality of storage nodes. The computing node writes the N data slices and the M check slices into the R storage nodes in each storage node group to improve reliability and stability of data in a data center.

With development of cloud computing and big data, an increasing quantity of enterprises process applications, data, and systems together. However, the enterprises are confronted with risks when data is centralized, and when a disaster occurs, how to ensure service continuity of a core service of an enterprise for 7×24 hours becomes a concern in the industry. To resolve the problem, enterprises start to use an "active-active data center".
Specifically, in the active-active data center, when writing data into a storage node in a first data center, a computing node in the first data center further sends the data to a computing node in a second data center, and the computing node in the second data center writes the data into a storage node in the second data center, so as to implement active-active data access in the active-active data center.
However, when data fails to be written into any data center in the foregoing active-active data center, the data center loses an active-active feature.


In one aspect, there is provided a method. The method may include loading, into a first address space of a primary server of a database, a metadata library of an application function library. The application function library may include an application function for performing operations on data held at the database. The metadata library may include a description of the application function. The primary server may determine, based on the metadata library, that executing a database query requires running the application function. The database query may be routed, based on the determination, to a secondary server of the database. The database query may be routed to trigger a loading the application function library into a second address space of the secondary server. Related methods and articles of manufacture are also provided.

Application functions can be database procedures that can be called to perform a variety of operations on data held in a database. For example, application functions may perform operations that cannot be implemented using structure query language (SQL) scripts and are therefore written in a programming language such as, for example, C++ and/or the like. Multiple application functions can be grouped into a single application function library (AFL). For instance, a predictive analysis library can include application functions that perform predictive analysis, data mining, and/or the like.

Upgrading an application function library


A LED lamp assembly includes a rectangular electrical box formed of two symmetrical U-shaped frame panels that are detachably fastened together by a tongue-and-groove joint and holding therein a control circuit board that is affixed to two parallel mounting grooves in one U-shaped frame panel by screw nails, a back cover plate and a bracket affixed to the electrical box at two opposite sides for mounting, and an elongated, rectangular light source unit affixed to the bracket and controllable by the control circuit board to emit light.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates LED lighting technology and more particularly, to a LED lamp assembly designed for use in a subway tunnel or a wind tower of a wind turbine generating system, which is conveniently detachable, facilitating maintenance and repair works.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. application Ser. No. 13/156,988, discloses a LED lamp design entitled "LED LAMP ASSEMBLY FOR USE IN A LONG PASSAGE", which comprises a holder frame carrying a plurality of male/female connectors and a switch and having a rectangular top face, an elongated, rectangular lighting unit having a light-transmissive face and a circuit board therein, the circuit board carrying multiple LEDs and a control circuit that controls the LEDs to emit light through the light-transmissive face, a rectangular plate mounted at the bottom side of the lighting unit and selectively affixed to the holder in one of four equiangularly spaced positions, and a mounting plate extended out of the holder frame. The mounting plate has mounting holes for fastening to support means in a long passage in a parallel manner or at any desired inclined angle relative to the long passage by fastening members.
FIG. 1 illustrates another prior art design of LED lamp assembly. As illustrated, this design of LED lamp assembly comprises an electrical box 91, a back cover plate 92, a mounting plate 93, a light source unit 94, and a control circuit board 95.
According to the aforesaid prior art design, the electrical box 91 is a hollow rectangular frame tube adapted for accommodating the control circuit board 95. The electrical box 91 is a one-pieced member, not detachable. This design of LED lamp assembly requires much installation time and labor, not convenient for maintenance or repair.


A control unit generates packet signals to be transmitted. The control unit uses either a first packet format, where a second known signal defined by a second radio communication system different from a first radio communication system is assigned anterior to a first known signal defined by the first radio communication system, or a second packet format, where the first known signal is assigned in an anterior part. Subcarriers to be used in the first known signal contain subcarriers to be used in the second known signal, and the first known signal and the second known signal are defined by different values.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to radio apparatuses, and it particularly relates to a radio apparatus using multiple subcarriers.
2. Description of the Related Art
An OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) modulation scheme is one of multicarrier communication schemes that can realize the high-speed data transmission and are robust in the multipath environment. This OFDM modulation scheme has been applied to the wireless standards such as IEEE802.11a/g and HIPERLAN/2. The burst signals in such a wireless LAN are generally transferred via a time-varying channel environment and are also subject to the effect of frequency selective fading. Hence, a receiving apparatus generally carries out the channel estimation dynamically.
In order for the receiving apparatus to carry out the channel estimation, two kinds of known signals are provided within a burst signal. One is the known signal, provided for all carries in the beginning of the burst signal, which is the so-called preamble or training signal. The other one is the known signal, provided for part of carriers in the data area of the burst signal, which is the so-called pilot signal (See Reference (1) in the following Related Art List, for instance).
Related Art List
    (1) Sinem Coleri, Mustafa Ergen, Anuj Puri and Ahmad Bahai, "Channel Estimation Techniques Based on Pilot Arrangement in OFDM Systems", IEEE Transactions on broadcasting, vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 223-229, September 2002.
In wireless communications, adaptive array antenna technology is one of the technologies to realize the effective utilization of frequency resources. In adaptive array antenna technology, the directional patterns of antennas are controlled by controlling the amplitude and phase of signals, to be processed, in a plurality of antennas, respectively. One of techniques to realize higher data transmission rates by using such an adaptive array antenna technology is the MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) system. In this MIMO system, a transmitting apparatus and a receiving apparatus are each equipped with a plurality of antennas, and a plurality of packet signals to be transmitted in parallel are set (hereinafter, each of a plurality of packets is called "stream" and the unit of a plurality of streams together or each thereof is called "packet signal"). That is, streams up to the maximum number of antennas are set for the communications between the transmitting apparatus and the receiving apparatus so as to improve the data transmission rates. Moreover, combining this MIMO system with a technique such as the OFDM modulation scheme results in a higher data transmission rate. In this MIMO system, too, the known signal is generally assigned in a header portion. However, since the packet signal is formed by a plurality of streams, the known signals need to be defined by taking the relations therebetween into account.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A sensor system with performance compensation testing capability includes a sensor device, a resistance bridge, a signal conditioning circuit, a first test connector, and a second test connector. The resistance bridge circuit is disposed on the sensor device and includes an excitation terminal, a circuit common terminal, and two output terminals, and is configured, upon being energized, to supply a bridge output voltage across the two output terminals. The signal conditioning circuit is electrically coupled to the excitation terminal, the circuit common terminal, and the two output terminals, and is configured to supply a sensor output signal representative of bridge output voltage. The first test connector is electrically coupled to one of the two output terminals and is configured to be coupled to an impedance test device. The second test connector is electrically coupled to the circuit common terminal and is configured to be coupled to the impedance test device.

Sensors are used in myriad systems and environments to sense various physical phenomena. Many sensors are implemented using one or more variable resistances connected together to form a resistance bridge circuit. The resistance bridge circuit is typically coupled to a signal conditioning circuit. The signal conditioning circuit typically provides excitation voltage to the resistance bridge circuit, and additionally implements various functions to appropriately condition the resistance bridge circuit output signal.
One of the functions that the signal conditioning circuit implements includes performance compensation that results from non-linearity or temperature-based shifts in the output of the resistance bridge circuit. Moreover, the signal conditioning circuit itself may need to be compensated for its own performance shifts. To properly implement the performance compensation for operation, the sensor system (i.e., sensor and signal conditioning circuit) undergo performance compensation testing.
It is preferable to simultaneously conduct performance compensation testing on the sensor and signal conditioning circuit. However, for some sensor system applications this is not practical. For example, when the sensor system needs to undergo relatively high pressure and/or high temperature, and/or wide ranges of pressure and/or temperature, providing a suitable test setup can be relatively complicated, costly, and time-consuming. Thus, in many instances, the signal conditioning circuit undergoes separate performance testing, which increases overall cycle time, process costs, and testing costs.
Hence, there is a need for a system and method that readily facilitates simultaneous performance compensation testing of both the sensor and signal conditioning circuit of a sensor system. The present invention addresses at least this need.

Systems and methods that allow for simultaneous sensor and signal conditioning circuit performance testing


A wireless communication control device which can stably communicate with another device without interruption by continuously and optimally adjusting a transmission reception direction of a wireless transmission reception unit so as to track the another device even when mobile terminals move while changing relative position between them. A device body (11) of the wireless communication control device comprises a wireless transmission reception unit (13) which transmits and receives a wireless signal, a device displacement amount detection unit (14) which detects a displacement amount of the device body (11), an another device displacement amount extraction unit (15) which extracts the displacement amount of the another device (12) that is a transmission source from the wireless signal received by the wireless transmission reception unit (13), a direction calculation unit (16) which calculates the transmission reception direction of the wireless signal according to the displacement amount of the device body (11) and the displacement amount of the another device (12), and a direction control unit (17) which controls the transmission reception direction of the wireless transmission reception unit (13) according to the calculated direction. Accordingly, the transmission reception direction of the device body (11) can be adjusted so as to track the another device (12).

The use of higher communication frequencies in recent years has brought ongoing commercialization of highly directional communication between mobile devices such as portable information terminals. A problem with such communication is interruption of communication due to slight changes in the positions or angles of the mobile devices.
Meanwhile, the miniaturization of gyro sensors has led to gyro sensors beginning to be installed in mobile devices. Correcting the direction of directivity based on a displacement amount of a mobile device acquired by a gyro sensor installed in that mobile device enables more stable and optimal communication to be implemented than with conventional mobile devices.
An antenna control apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known as such a technology, for example. The antenna control apparatus disclosed in Patent Document performs high-precision satellite supplementation by means of an antenna installed in a vehicle. Specifically, this apparatus uses a means of detecting GPS information and yaw angle (azimuth angle) information and an inclinometer that detects the angle of inclination of the vehicle to perform high-precision drive control of the azimuth angle and elevation angle directions of the antenna.
An antenna control apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 is also known, for example. The antenna control apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 has a gyro, a movement amount sensor, and a radio field intensity detection and evaluation section. The gyro detects the orientation of the apparatus. The movement amount sensor detects an amount of movement of the apparatus. The radio field intensity detection and evaluation section determines whether or not a radio wave received from another apparatus that is a communicating party is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value. The antenna control apparatus of Patent Document 2 performs a direction scan in order to identify the direction in which the other apparatus is located. Then, if the radio field intensity detection and evaluation section outputs an indication that a radio wave from the other apparatus is greater than or equal to the threshold value after performing a direction scan twice, this apparatus decides the orientation of the directional antenna based only on the output of the gyro and the movement amount sensor—that is, without performing a direction scan.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. HEI 7-118607    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-211154


A fishing pole and accessory caddy assembly includes a base having a base wall with a front edge, a back edge and a pair of side edges. A front support is attached to the front edge. An axle is positioned adjacent to the back edge and has a pair of wheels attached thereto. A handle is attached to and extends upwardly from the base wall. The handle includes a vertically orientated elongated member. A housing has an upper wall, a lower wall and a perimeter wall extending between the upper and lower walls. The housing is vertically divided into a first half and a second half. Each of the first and second halves is hingedly coupled to the elongated member such that the housing may be selectively positioned between a closed position over the base and an open position extending outwardly from the base.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fishing carts and more particularly pertains to a new fishing cart for providing a convenient transport system to efficiently transport various fishing equipment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of fishing carts is known in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,885 describes a fishing cart apparatus for holding fishing equipment. Another type of fishing cart is U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,815 having an apparatus for carrying fishing equipment, which includes shelves for facilitating storage of tackle boxes. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 323,413 describes an ornamental design for a fishing equipment cart. U.S. Pat. No. 3,997,181 describes a fisherman""s cart for storage of and transporting of fishing equipment. Other related patents include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,703,944, and 4,355,818.
The object of the present invention is to provide a new fishing cart that would aid the fisherman in keeping fishing gear organized and readily available.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new fishing cart that would eliminate the need to carry rods and tackle boxes separately, thereby eliminating the need to make several trips to and from a vehicle.
To this end, the present invention generally comprises a base including a base wall that has a front edge, a back edge and a pair of side edges. A front support is attached to and extends downward from the front edge. An axle is attached to the base wall and is positioned adjacent to the back edge. A pair of wheels is attached to opposite ends of the back edge. A handle is attached to and extends upwardly from the base wall. The handle includes a vertically orientated elongated member has a first end and a second end. The first end is attached to the base wall adjacent to the back edge. A housing includes an upper wall, a lower wall and a perimeter wall extending between the upper and lower walls, and each of the upper and lower walls has a generally rectangular shape. The housing is vertically divided into a first half and a second half. Each of the first and second halves is hingedly coupled to the elongated member such that the housing may be selectively positioned between a closed position over the base and an open position extending outwardly from the base.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty, which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

Fishing pole and accessory caddy assembly


A digital tape reading device comprises an arrangement wherein when a buffer full signal is generated the tape continues to move until the end of a group of data. When buffer space becomes available, the device recovers the tail end of the group of data. Upon reaching the end of the group of data, the device repositions the tape to the beginning of the group to recover only the unread data, skipping the previously read data.

The invention relates to a digital data tape reading device. Data is stored by magnetic, optical or magnetic-optical techniques on disks. For large amounts of data, tape is a more convenient storage medium physically. Only magnetic techniques are used currently for tape storage, although other techniques can be envisaged.
In order to read or write data the storage medium (disk or tape) must be moved relatively to a read/write head arrangement. Repositioning with respect to the head arrangement is frequently necessary and in the case of tape devices, repositioning means stopping and restarting the tape. Repositioning causes wear of the tape drive mechanism and should be kept to a minimum. Repositioning is necessitated by differences in the data transfer rate of equipment to or from which the tape data is being supplied. Thus, a computer coupled to a tape storage device may have an inherent data transfer rate which is permanently less than the native transfer rate of data to or from the tape, or the computer data transfer rate may fluctuate because of other demands made on the computer processor.
Temporary fluctuations in relative data transfer rates may be handled by an electronic buffer between the computer and the tape device, the buffer being capable of accepting and feeding out data at differential rates. Permanent differences between the computer data transfer rate and the native tape data transfer rate will cause the buffer to empty or fill, depending on the direction of data flow. Then repositioning would normally become necessary. In order to avoid this when writing to tape it has been proposed to allow the tape to continue to run and to write to the tape, while awaiting the arrival of more data, "amble" tracks which include no data. The "amble" tracks are ignored when the tape is read.
The present invention, on the other hand, addresses the problem of reading data from a tape into equipment having an inherent data transfer rate which is lower than the native data transfer rate of the tape.


A transistor comprising a gate electrode formed on a gate dielectric layer formed on a substrate. A pair of source/drain regions are formed in the substrate on opposite sides of the laterally opposite sidewalls of the gate electrode. The gate electrode has a central portion formed on the gate dielectric layer and over the substrate region between the source and drain regions and a pair sidewall portions which overlap a portion of the source/drain regions wherein the central portion has a first work function and said pair of sidewall portions has a second work function, wherein the second work function is different than the first work function.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing and more specifically to a metal insulated semiconductor field effect transistor having a laterally modulated gate work function.
2. Discussion of Related Art
FIG. 1 illustrates a metal insulated insulating semiconductor field effect transistor (MISFET) 100. MISFET 100 includes a gate electrode 150 formed on a gate dielectric layer 120 which in turn is formed on a silicon substrate 102. Transistor 100 includes a pair source/drain regions formed on substrate 102 along laterally opposite sidewalls of gate electrode 150. The source/drain regions each typically include a shallow source/drain extension or tip region 140 and a relatively deep source/drain contact region 110 as shown in FIG. 1. A pair sidewall spacers 130 are formed along laterally opposite sidewalls of gate electrode 140. Sidewall spacers 130 are used to mask the source/drain tip implants from the heavy source/drain implants. The portion of the silicon substrate 102 located beneath the gate electrode and between the source/drain extension 140 defines the channel region 114 of the device. The gate electrode 150 typically slightly extends over the source/drain extension or tip regions 140 as shown in FIG. 1. Gate electrode 150 is typically formed from doped polycrystalline silicon. Alternatively, the gate electrode can be formed from a metal film. Metal gate electrodes 150 are likely to become mainstream technology in coming generations due to the elimination of poly depletion effects and subsequent improvement in gate control over the channel. The gate electrode can be formed from a single film or a composite stack of films. The gate electrode 150, however, has a constant or uniform work function across the device. That is, the work function of the gate electrode is constant from one source/drain region across the channel region to the other source/drain region.

Semiconductor device having a laterally modulated gate workfunction and method of fabrication


A method of processing a job is presented. A packet selector determines a candidate job list including an ordered listing of candidate jobs. Each candidate job in the ordered listing belongs to a communication stream. Jobs in the candidate job list that are eligible for execution are identified by determining whether a preceding job belonging to the same communication stream as the candidate job is present in the candidate job list, and, for each candidate job in the candidate job list, determining whether a preceding job belonging to the same communication stream as the candidate job is being prepared for execution. The packet selector determines a priority for each eligible candidate job in the candidate job list by at least comparing the communication stream of each candidate job to a communication stream of a first job executing within the data processor.

In many data processing applications, including those used in networking and communication applications, input data is provided to the processing system in a number of packet streams or flows. Packets that belong to the same stream are typically processed using the same ancillary data, sometimes referred to as commands and context. The commands and context can include state information, operands, and other data used in processing the packets of a particular stream. Example ancillary data can include security keys or tokens (e.g., for use in processing streams associated with encrypting and/or decrypting data), initialization vectors, protocol information, and other metadata used to process a stream of data packets. Often, the data processing operations are offloaded from the main processing architecture to specialized hardware configured to perform the various data processing operations.
Systems that handle a large number of data streams usually attempt to store the ancillary data for a number of streams in low-latency local storage devices in order to shorten processing time. However, because the systems only have a limited memory capacity, the systems are often required to repeatedly swap out ancillary data from local storage devices to slower, external storage devices. As a result, while processing a number of different streams or flows, the systems are often required to reload the ancillary data from these other, slower, storage devices. This adds a significant amount of time to packet processing and increases congestion on internal and external memory busses.

System and method for improved job processing of a number of jobs belonging to communication streams within a data processor


The invention relates to a strippable adhesion composition, and it has the advantage of good stripability. The invention also provides a strippable material and method for manufacturing the same and an electronic device and method for manufacturing the same.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a resin. Particularly, the invention relates a strippable adhesion composition and uses thereof. When applying the strippable adhesion composition in soldering an electrical device on a printed circuit board or in spraying or plating a printed circuit board, the strippable adhesion composition can protect the surface can be mechanically strippable and removal after the procedure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, the strippable adhesive composition for protecting the surface when soldering the electronic device on the printed circuit board commonly has the following two major purposes: (1) in the flow soldering process (by directly contacting the printed circuit board with the molten solder bath), the strippable adhesive composition mainly protects the parts where the flux or solder are not easily attached, such as the terminal, contact, or variable resistor; (2) in the reflow soldering process (by welding with the melting solder at a high temperature after temporarily fixing the electronic device), in order to protect the wire part or terminal from oxidation, the strippable adhesion composition avoids the impedance increasing and the pollution of the contact materials caused by oxidized or carbonized surface of the metal such as copper and gold, even at the high temperature of welding. Furthermore, after such operations, the strippable adhesion composition can be easily stripped with the mechanical equipments such as clamps.
To achieve the aforementioned purposes, the thermoplastic type of strippable adhesive composition mainly comprising polyvinylchloride and a plasticizer are now widely used in the field. In the manufacturing the strippable adhesive composition, the polyvinylchloride powder is dispersed in the plasticizer to form a paste, the paste is coated on the desired part through wire screen printing or brushing, and then heated at 100° C. to 150° C. for a few minutes to several tens of minutes, and the a film by fusing polyvinylchloride and the plasticizer is obtained.
Among the various thermoplastic resins, although polyvinylchloride has good heat resistance and is inexpensive, it is accompanied by dehydrochlorination and then decomposition when exposed to 240° C. to 270° C. for a long period of time. Such phenomenon not only causes resin discoloration, but also causes burning-out on the circuit board due to increased hardness and brittle and difficult stripping.
To solve these problems, an optimized additive plasticizer or stabilizer is generally used. However, even the stability of the polyvinylchloride film is improved in this way, the stripability is still poor after heat treatment. Therefore, the stripping must be performed immediately after welding to avoid poor stripability.
Therefore, overcoming the problem of poor stripability to meet the current requirements is the target in the field of the present invention.

Strippable adhesion composition and uses thereof