A boring machine includes a steering head which is located behind a cutter head. The steering head has a plurality of steering openings spaced around its periphery. A steering component is mounted adjacent to each steering opening, and each steering component includes a steering paddle that is pivotally mounted with respect to the steering head so as to pivot about a paddle pivot axis. Each steering component also includes a linear actuator and a force multiplier. The linear actuator operates to direct an actuating force along a line that is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the steering head, and it cooperates with the force multiplier and the steering paddle so that upon operation of the linear actuator, a pivot force which is the product of the actuating force and a multiplier factor greater than one causes the steering paddle to pivot about the pivot axis.

Subterranean boring machines are used to install a pipe comprised of multiple casing sections or a similar product in the ground without excavating a trench for the pipe. Some boring machines are used to bore a generally horizontal hole and to install a plurality of pipe sections therein between a generally vertical launch shaft or pit and a similarly oriented target shaft or pit. The launch shaft or pit is excavated to a depth to permit the boring machine to be placed in alignment and on grade with the desired underground installation. Boring machines that are commonly placed in such launch pits generally include a track that is located at the bottom of the launch pit and oriented along the desired boring direction, and a carriage that rolls or otherwise travels along the track. The carriage includes a pusher mechanism that is adapted to move the carriage along the track between a start point and a terminal point, and a rotational mechanism that is adapted to rotate a tool carried by the boring machine.
In some conventional boring machines, a pilot hole is first bored along the centerline of the intended product bore. Some such machines use a small pilot head having an inclined face at its leading end. Typically, the pilot system will include a hollow casing, and the pilot head will include an illuminated target on its trailing end. A theodolite mounted at a fixed position in the launch pit apart from the boring machine is aligned so that an operator can view the position of the illuminated target on the pilot head with respect to the cross-hairs of the theodolite. The first section of the pilot casing and the pilot head are pushed into the ground in the boring direction by the pusher mechanism without rotating the pilot head. However, because the inclined face on the pilot head gives rise to a reaction force exerted by the soil through which the head moves, rotation of the head as it is pushed in the boring direction may be required to keep the head on the desired course, as indicated by the position of the target with respect to the cross-hairs of the theodolite. When the carriage reaches the terminal point of the track, the pilot head is disengaged and the carriage is withdrawn to the start point. Multiple sections of pilot casing are added, one by one, to the end of the pilot string and pushed by the pusher mechanism until the pilot head reaches the target pit. After the pilot hole is completed, a boring assembly having an outer diameter that corresponds to the outer diameter of the product casing to be installed is selected. This boring assembly, which comprises a support casing with a cutter head at the leading end and an internal material removal auger or other conveyor located behind the cutter head, is lowered into the launch pit and mounted on the carriage. The boring assembly is attached to the rear end of the pilot casing and aligned with the pilot hole. As the carriage is then pushed or driven along the track following the pilot line, the cutter head is operated to bore a hole centered on the pilot bore, and the conveyor is operated to carry the cuttings back towards the launch pit. A plurality of spoil paddles located in a front section of the carriage sweep the cuttings out of the boring machine and into the launch pit through openings provided for that purpose. When the carriage reaches the terminal point of the track, the support casing and internal conveyor are disengaged and the carriage is retracted to the start point. The pilot head is removed from the pilot casing string in the target pit, and an additional section of support casing with an internal conveyor section is mounted to the carriage and attached to the casing and conveyor sections that were disengaged from the carriage. Then the carriage is engaged to drive the support casing further in the boring direction while operating the cutter head and the internal conveyor. Multiple sections of this cutting assembly are added, and the pilot system is removed, piece by piece, from the target pit, until the cutter head reaches the target pit. Then the support casing and conveyor sections are removed, one by one, as product pipe sections of the same outer diameter as the boring assembly are pushed by the carriage into the bore.
It is known to provide a steering system for conventional tunnel boring and drilling machines that include a cutter head, a plurality of support casings and an auger conveyor or other type of conveyor mounted within the support casings. Some such machines include hinge assemblies between the cutter head and the adjacent support casing, and a push rod or similar mechanism that extends along the top of the support casings. These machines are steered by tilting or pivoting the cutter head about one or more hinges to change the direction of the bore. Such machines are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,134, U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,927 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,688,408. Other conventional machines include one or more hinge assemblies between the cutter head and the adjacent section of support casing, along with one or more axially aligned hydraulic actuators that can be employed to tilt or pivot the cutter head to change the direction of boring. Such machines are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,061,120, U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,768 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,482.
The Bohrtec subsidiary of Herrenknecht sells a machine which may be used for small-diameter tunnels and does not require the formation of a pilot bore. The Bohrtec machine employs a boring assembly, carriage and track such as is employed by conventional machines that use a pilot bore, as well as a guidance system that allows for viewing an illuminated target mounted on the back side of the cutter head through the hollow shaft of an auger conveyor. The cutter head on the Bohrtec machine is mounted to a steering module that is selected to match the diameter of the product casing to be installed. The steering module is attached to a first support casing having a hollow internal auger in such a way that the operator can tilt the steering module with respect to the first support casing (as in conventional tilt steering systems), thereby steering by ground reaction forces as the support casing, steering module and cutter head are pushed by the carriage into the ground along the desired bore path. Cuttings cut by the cutter head are carried by the internal auger through the support casing back to the launch pit. When the carriage reaches the terminal point of the track, the support casing and internal conveyor are disengaged and the carriage is retracted to the start point. An additional section of support casing with an internal auger conveyor section is mounted to the carriage and attached to the support casing and conveyor sections that were disengaged from the carriage. Then the carriage is engaged to drive the steering module and support casing further in the boring direction while operating the cutter head and the internal conveyor. Multiple sections of this cutting assembly are added until the steering module reaches the target pit. Then the support casing and conveyor sections are removed, one by one, as product pipe sections of the same outer diameter are pushed by the carriage into the bore.
International Patent Publication No. WO 96/06264 describes a steering system for an auger boring machine which includes a pair of "wedge-shaped moveable parts" that are located 180° apart on the drilling head. Each wedge-shaped part bears against and supports an annular housing for roller bearings and also bears against the inner surface of a forward pipe section. An axially-oriented actuating cylinder is pivotally attached to both the forward pipe section and one of the wedge-shaped parts. An interconnecting arm connects the wedge-shaped parts and is articulated at opposing points 90° away from the wedge-shaped parts so that if one of the parts is pushed forward by the cylinder, the oppositely located part will move backward by the same amount. This allows the actuation of the cylinder to move the annular housing eccentrically with respect to the forward pipe section.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,863,101 describes a mining machine which includes a cutting assembly having cutting heads that are supported by and steerable with respect to a housing. The cutting assembly includes first steering surfaces which guide the cutting assembly in a vertical plane and second steering surfaces, located on opposite sides of the housing, which provide lateral control. The steering surfaces are controlled by actuators acting on toggle mechanisms, which in turn act on links that extend to the associated steering members.
Notes on Construction
The use of the terms "a", "an", "the" and similar terms in the context of describing the invention are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms "comprising", "having", "including" and "containing" are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning "including, but not limited to,") unless otherwise noted. The terms "substantially", "generally" and other words of degree are relative modifiers intended to indicate permissible variation from the characteristic so modified. The use of such terms in describing a physical or functional characteristic of the invention is not intended to limit such characteristic to the absolute value which the term modifies, but rather to provide an approximation of the value of such physical or functional characteristic. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise specified herein or clearly indicated by context.
The use of any and all examples or exemplary language (e.g., "such as") herein is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and not to place a limitation on the scope of the invention, unless otherwise indicated by the claims. Nothing in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.
Various terms are specifically defined herein. These terms are to be given their broadest possible construction consistent with such definitions, as follows:
The term "boring direction", when used in describing the operation of a boring machine or the relative position of a component of a boring machine, refers to the direction of advance of the cutter head of the machine as the boring operation is carried out.
The terms "front" and "front end" of the boring machine refer to the end of the machine that leads in the boring direction. When referring to a component of the boring machine, the terms "front" and "front end" refer to that portion of the component that is nearer the front end of the boring machine.
The terms "rear" and "rear end" of the boring machine refer to the end opposite the front end. When referring to a component of the boring machine, the terms "rear" and "rear end" refer to that portion of the component that is nearer the rear end of the boring machine.
The terms "forward" and "in front or", as used herein to describe a relative position or direction on or in connection with a boring machine, refer to a relative position towards the front end of the machine or towards the boring direction.
The terms "rearward", "behind" and "rearwardly", as used herein to describe a relative position or direction on or in connection with a boring machine, refer to a relative position or direction towards the rear end of the machine or opposite the boring direction.
The term "linear actuator" refers to an electric, hydraulic or electro-hydraulic device that generates force which is directed in a straight line. One common example of a "linear actuator" is a hydraulic actuator which includes a cylinder, a piston within the cylinder, and a rod attached to the piston. By increasing the pressure within the cylinder on one side of the piston (over that on the opposite side of the piston), the rod will extend from the cylinder or retract into the cylinder.
The terms "product casing", "product casing component", "product casing section" and similar terms refer to a section of pipe or other product that is installed or intended to be installed in a bore. The term "product casing" may also refer to a plurality of sections of pipe or other product or product casing components that are joined, or intended to be joined, together. The term "differently-sized product casings" refers to product casings having different inside diameters and/or outside diameters. The terms "a selected one of the product casings", "selected product casings" and similar terms refer to a product casing having an inside diameter that is selected for installation within a particular bore. The term "corresponds" and similar terms, when used to compare a diameter or other dimension of a component of the auger boring machine with a similar dimension of "a selected one of the product casings", refers to the suitability of the component having such dimension for use in installing the "selected one of the product casings".
The terms "internal casing", "internal casing component", "internal casing section" and similar terms refer to a section of the portion of the boring machine that is adapted to include an auger section which is adapted to rotate with respect to the internal casing. The term "internal casing" may also refer to a plurality of sections of internal casing or internal casing components that are joined, or intended to be joined, together.

Boring machine steering system with force multiplier


A control and control method for a powertrain for a parallel hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) method and system, including a pre-transmission internal combustion engine (ICE), an electric traction motor/generator (motor), and a controller for the motor to emulate the behavior of the internal combustion engine. Emulation strategy allows the use of the same transmission hardware and control for both the engine and the motor in each of several operating modes. The complexity of the parallel HEV powertrain system is reduced, and vehicle performance is consistent with a substantially constant drive force.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a parallel hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) and, specifically, to a method and system of operating a pre-transmission powertrain motor in an engine emulation mode when the engine is not running and is not connected to the powertrain.
2. Background Art
The need to reduce fossil fuel consumption and exhaust emissions from vehicles powered by an internal combustion engine (ICE) is well known. Vehicles powered by electric motors have attempted to address this need. However, electric vehicles have limited range and power capabilities, and they require substantial time to recharge their batteries. An alternative solution is to combine both an ICE and an electric traction motor in one vehicle. Such vehicles typically are called hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). See generally U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,970 (Severinsky).
HEVs reduce emissions and fuel consumption because a smaller engine can be used. Further, under certain conditions, the engine can be turned off.
The HEV has been described in a variety of configurations. Many known HEV designs require an operator to select between electric and internal combustion operation. In other configurations, the electric motor drives one set of wheels and the ICE drives a different set of wheels.
Other more useful configurations include, for example, a series hybrid electric vehicle (SHEV), which is a vehicle with an engine (most typically an ICE) that powers a motor/generator. The motor/generator, in turn, provides electric power for a battery and traction torque for the drive wheels of the vehicle. No mechanical connection exists between the engine and the drive wheels. Further, a parallel hybrid electrical vehicle (PHEV) is a vehicle with an engine (most typically an ICE), battery and electric traction motor that combine to provide torque to the drive wheels of the vehicle. A clutch connects the engine crankshaft to the motor.
A parallel-series hybrid electric vehicle (PSHEV) has characteristics of both the PHEV and the SHEV. The PSHEV is also known as a torque (or power) split powertrain configuration. Here, the engine torque can be used to power a motor/generator and/or contribute to the necessary wheel or output shaft torque. The motor/generator can be used to generate electric power for the battery, or it can contribute to the necessary wheel or output shaft torque. The motor/generator can be used also to recover braking energy for the battery if a regenerative braking system is used.
The desirability of combining the ICE with an electric motor is clear. Fuel consumption and engine exhaust emissions are reduced with no appreciable loss of performance or range of the vehicle. Nevertheless, there remains substantial room for development of ways to optimize HEV operation.
One such area of development involves minimizing the complexity of the HEV powertrain system to achieve an affordable product while ensuring vehicle performance that is consistent, predictable and pleasing to the customer.
One way to minimize HEV cost is to choose a compatible transmission type. Several types are available and known in the prior art including a torque converter transmission, CVT, lay shaft, dual lay shaft and an electric converterless automatic transmission (ECLT). The ECLT, which is used in the embodiment of the invention presently disclosed, is a modified version of a planetary automatic transmission.
A planetary transmission, such as an automatic transmission currently in production, relies on hydraulic pressure to operate its internal pressure actuators and deliver torque from the engine to the drive shaft. In a conventional ICE powertrain application, a pump driven by the engine via the transmission input shaft generates the hydraulic system pressure.
Converterless automatic transmissions (CLT) have potential as a high-efficiency, low-cost transmission for small vehicles, where a torque multiplication function of the converter would not be necessary. The CLT may be a modification of an automatic transmission presently used in the automobile industry wherein the torque converter and its one-way clutch have been removed and the forward/reverse clutch has been modified to function as a drive-away clutch.
While some of the synergies of a CLT with respect to a HEV powertrain are immediately apparent, a CLT appears to be appropriate for a HEV powertrain also for less apparent reasons: 1) the HEV powertrain motor used with a CLT can be used to equal or even exceed the performance of a conventional powertrain, and 2) the high torque at low revolutions per minute (RPM) of the powertrain motor allows clutch engagement at much lower engine rpm, reducing the heat load in the drive-away clutch by approximately 70%.
The ECLT is essentially a conventional transmission integrated with a low-storage requirement (LSR) hybrid. The LSR hybrid is a system that is capable of all hybrid functions except for electric-only propulsion with the ICE turned off. A preferred system, however, would include a xe2x80x9cfull hybridxe2x80x9d product in which the hybrid system is capable of an electric-only drive mode with the ICE turned off.
It may be more efficient to replace the engine-driven hydraulic pump with an electric pump in a HEV. This conclusion rests on two assumptions: 1) the pump will have the ability to modulate the hydraulic pressure to accommodate the actual torque delivered to the transmission (as opposed to simple speed dependent pressure developed by a mechanical pump), which will improve overall system efficiency, and 2) when in an engine-off electric driving mode, the vehicle will be launched and driven at low speed with the drive clutch, if any, locked and the drive motor turning at low speed. In the HEV, an ICE driven hydraulic pump at that time would be turning too slowly to generate enough pressure to allow the transmission to carry torque.
In a prior art pre-transmission configuration of the parallel HEV (wherein the powertrain motor is connected to the transmission input), the power of the electrified hydraulic pump is quite large (e.g., several kilowatts). This necessitates a high voltage pump with associated power electronics. The large motor and power electronics module are expensive, and that expense should be avoided unless it is justified by a very significant fuel economy benefit (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,026,921).
Because electric power needed to run the pump must be generated by the engine when it is on and drawn from the battery when it is off, the finite efficiency of the motor/generator, combined with the turn-around efficiency of the battery, could offset the efficiency improvement of the electric pump itself. Furthermore, the electrified hydraulic pump is physically quite large, presenting a weight and packaging problems.
An objective of the present invention is to minimize the complexity and reduce the cost of a parallel hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) powertrain system. The embodiment of the invention presently disclosed allows the HEV engine and motor to use the same transmission hardware and control. Another object of the present invention is to provide a parallel HEV system and method whereby powertrain performance is consistent, predictable and pleasing to the customer.
Specifically, the present invention comprises an emulation system and control strategy comprising: a source of power comprising an internal combustion engine (ICE) and an electric traction drive motor/generator (motor); a vehicle system control (VSC); a controller within the VSC including a drive force control device for the ICE, whereby engine torque and engine on/off state are controlled; the powertrain source being operatively connected to the input of an electrified converterless transmission (ECLT); a power transfer device connected to the output of the ECLT; and a disconnect clutch in the powertrain between the ICE and the motor. When the vehicle engine is off and disconnected from the powertrain, the drive motor is operated in a manner that emulates the behavior of the internal combustion engine, whereby the motor will react just as the ICE would have reacted when subject to comparable inputs.
This engine emulation offers considerable control advantages. It allows the same transmission control to be used in either an ICE driving mode, a motor driving mode, or a combined driving mode. The modest fuel economy penalty of xe2x80x9cidlingxe2x80x9d the drive motor while the vehicle is at rest may be reduced by lowering the motor speed to the minimum required to maintain hydraulic pressure, this speed being much lower than typical ICE idle speeds. There is no need for a special zero and low-speed transmission control for electric driving, such as the controls found in the prior art. Another advantage of this xe2x80x9cengine emulationxe2x80x9d control scheme is that whenever the necessity arises to start the engine, the transmission input is already at the appropriate speed. The engine can be started by closing the disconnect clutch between the engine and the motor, and a smooth transition to ICE power is ensured.
A typical internal combustion engine with a driver-operated throttle is characterized by a wide range of torque values depending upon the throttle setting. A typical internal combustion engine further is characterized by a wide range of speeds between an idle speed and the upper engine speed limit in a characteristic plot for a typical combustion engine. The effective operating area of the engine exceeds the effective operating area of a characteristic plot of torque and speed for an electric motor. Engine torque emulation, therefore, can be realized when the electric motor is operating within its speed and torque limits.
The torque emulation feature of the present invention comprises a strategy and method for achieving an efficient torque-speed relationship for the motor that corresponds to the torque-speed relationship of the engine within one operating zone in which the internal combustion engine is off and the motor is operative as well as in another operating zone in which the engine is operative and the motor is inoperative. There also is an intermediate operating zone in which the motor may function to deliver driving power, although it does so with less efficiency.
When the driveline is in a static mode and the engine is turned off, the characteristic speed-torque relationships are emulated by the motor controller. The speed-torque data at that time are stored in the ROM portion of the controller memory and accessed by the controller in response to a driver-controlled accelerator position input. In the case of a dynamic state of the operation of the motor, the transmission input is equal to the emulated internal combustion engine torque perceived by the motor control corresponding to the torque commanded by the transmission.
The torque commanded by the transmission would be used to avoid a torque interruption or torque hole during ratio shifts in the transmission; or to add torque, for example, during a transient condition. The torque commanded by the transmission may be a so-called feed-forward torque wherein the control system responds immediately to a demand for torque using a torque feed-forward technique of the kind shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,393,350, and 6,253,140.
The ""350 patent discloses a transmission with an electronic throttle actuator, which communicates with the controller whereby the leading indicator of torque is distributed to the throttle actuator. The engine throttle setting changes quickly in response to the torque request. In the case of the control system of the ""140 patent, a similar torque feed-forward technique is used to improve the response to changes in transmission input torque. In this way, a desired clutch slip of the friction elements of the transmission during a ratio change is effected.
An electronic controller for the transmission friction clutches may respond to changes in engine torque based on a change in throttle position whereby a change in torque is anticipated using a torque feed-forward term to modify the desired torque. The torque values are converted by the controller to a pressure value as a function of the difference between the desired torque and the actual torque.
An example of an automatic transmission that can be used in a powertrain that does not include a torque converter is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,299,565. An example of the use of a transmission of the type shown in the ""565 patent in a hybrid powertrain is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,807. Clutch pressure in that reference disclosure can be modulated to provide for a smooth power transfer with minimal disturbance due to inertia forces.
The patents identified in this description are owned by the assignee of the present invention. They are incorporated by reference in this description.
When the internal combustion engine is operating and the motor is inactive, the transmission input is determined by the speed-torque characteristics for the internal combustion engine. When the engine is inoperative and the motor is operative, the motor generates the same torque that would be developed by the engine if the engine were operating in the same operating zone as the motor. When the torque commanded by the transmission is emulated internal combustion engine torque, the transmission input torque is the same as the transmission input torque that would exist if the engine were operative and the motor were inoperative.

Control system and control method for a hybrid electric vehicle powertrain


A semiconductor device comprising power distribution wires wherein; a portion of said wires have thermal connection to the semiconductor layer and said thermal connection designed to conduct heat but to not conduct electricity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the general field of Integrated Circuit (IC) devices and fabrication methods, and more particularly to multilayer or Three Dimensional Integrated Circuit (3D-IC) devices.
2. Discussion of Background Art
Over the past 40 years, there has been a dramatic increase in functionality and performance of Integrated Circuits (ICs). This has largely been due to the phenomenon of "scaling"; i.e., component sizes within ICs have been reduced ("scaled") with every successive generation of technology. There are two main classes of components in Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) ICs, namely transistors and wires. With "scaling", transistor performance and density typically improve and this has contributed to the previously-mentioned increases in IC performance and functionality. However, wires (interconnects) that connect together transistors degrade in performance with "scaling". The situation today is that wires dominate performance, functionality and power consumption of ICs.
3D stacking of semiconductor devices or chips is one avenue to tackle the issues with wires. By arranging transistors in 3 dimensions instead of 2 dimensions (as was the case in the 1990s), the transistors in ICs can be placed closer to each other. This reduces wire lengths and keeps wiring delay low.
There are many techniques to construct 3D stacked integrated circuits or chips including:                Through-silicon via (TSV) technology: Multiple layers of transistors (with or without wiring levels) can be constructed separately. Following this, they can be bonded to each other and connected to each other with through-silicon vias (TSVs).        Monolithic 3D technology: With this approach, multiple layers of transistors and wires can be monolithically constructed. Some monolithic 3D approaches are described in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/900,379 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/904,119.
Irrespective of the technique used to construct 3D stacked integrated circuits or chips, heat removal is a serious issue for this technology. For example, when a layer of circuits with power density P is stacked atop another layer with power density P, the net power density is 2P. Removing the heat produced due to this power density is a significant challenge. In addition, many heat producing regions in 3D stacked integrated circuits or chips have a high thermal resistance to the heat sink, and this makes heat removal even more difficult.
Several solutions have been proposed to tackle this issue of heat removal in 3D stacked integrated circuits and chips. These are described in the following paragraphs.
Many publications have suggested passing liquid coolant through multiple device layers of a 3D-IC to remove heat. This is described in"Microchannel Cooled 3D Integrated Systems", Proc. Intl. Interconnect Technology Conference, 2008 by D. C. Sekar, et al and "Forced Convective Interlayer Cooling in Vertically Integrated Packages," Proc. Intersoc. Conference on Thermal Management (ITHERM), 2008 by T. Brunschweiler, et al.
Thermal vias have been suggested as techniques to transfer heat from stacked device layers to the heat sink. Use of power and ground vias for thermal conduction in 3D-ICs has also been suggested. These techniques are described in "Allocating Power Ground Vias in 3D ICs for Simultaneous Power and Thermal Integrity" ACM Transactions on Design Automation of Electronic Systems (TODAES), May 2009 by Hao Yu, Joanna Ho and Lei He.
Other techniques to remove heat from 3D Integrated Circuits and Chips will be beneficial.

Semiconductor device and structure for heat removal


Disclosed are copolymers and terpolymers chlorotrifluoroethylene and vinyl chloride having improved properties, and particularly a high glass transition temperature, for use in membranes, coatings, barrier films, and other applications and process for forming such copolymers and terpolymers, which are useful in reverse osmosis desalination, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration, microfiltration, membrane distillation, pervaporation, selective gas separation, batteries and fuel cells.

Polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE) is a semi-crystalline polymer with high transparency to visible light and excellent moisture barrier and oxygen barrier properties. PCTFE also has good chemical and thermal stability. However, PCTFE is not soluble in commonly used organic solvents, which prevents PCTFE from use in many applications, such as coatings and membranes. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a low cost plastic polymer with good chemical stability, but it is brittle. Plasticizers are needed to improve PVC's flexibility and processability.
Chlorotrifluoroethylene (CTFE) has been copolymerized with different co-monomers, such as ethylene and vinylidene fluoride, to obtain the corresponding copolymers with the desired properties. Chlorotrifluoroethylene (CTFE) and vinyl chloride (VC) copolymer is one of these CTFE-based copolymers. Applicants have come to appreciate, however, that the prior CTFE/VC copolymers have certain disadvantages.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,915,506, chlorotrifluoroethylene (CTFE)/vinylidene fluoride (VDF)/vinyl chloride (VC) terpolymers were disclosed. The presence of vinyl chloride in the terpolymers facilitated the ease of cross-linking or vulcanization to a degree not otherwise obtainable if only the copolymer of trifluorochloroethylene and vinylidene fluoride were to be processed. However, the synthesis and composition of chlorotrifluoroethylene/vinyl chloride copolymers is not addressed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,927 discloses a process for suspension polymerization of vinyl chloride and chlorotrifluoroethylene. The object of the process disclosed in the '927 patent is to make a copolymer having a relatively constant weight ration of from about 75 to 95 weight percent vinyl chloride and from 5 to 25 weight percent chlorotrifluoroethylene that is independent of the conversion. The '927 patent discloses that vinyl chloride is known to be more reactive than chlorotrifluoroethylene and as a result the vinyl chloride tends to react more rapidly and the monomer mixture rapidly becomes vinyl chloride-poor. Prior processes, including the process of the '927 patent, therefore used the technique of adding vinyl chloride in a step-wise manner to reconstitute the initial ratio of the vinyl chloride to chlorotrifluoroethylene charge prior to reaching the conversion where the weight ratio of the vinyl chloride and chlorotrifluoroethylene in the copolymer changes. In the process of the '927 patent, the process begins with an initial charge of vinyl chloride in the reactor and then after the polymerization reaction is initiated, additional vinyl chloride was added in a total of from 2 to 5 stages in sufficient quantity to copolymerize from 1 to 20 percent by weight of the unreacted monomers prior to the next addition of vinyl chloride (see Examples 2-7). The process of Example 5 of the '927 patent, for example, utilizes a five-stage VC addition process and achieves an 81.2% overall yield of copolymer and produces a copolymer having a VC/CTFE weight ratio of 80/20, a molecular weight of 66,300, and a glass transition temperature (Tg) of about 33° C.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,961 discloses a method of melt processing stabilized vinyl chloride/chlorotrifluoroethylene copolymer with an organo-metal stabilizer using the process as disclosed in the '927 patent.
Applicants have found that the prior processes for producing VC/CTFE copolymers produce polymeric materials with certain disadvantages. For example, the copolymers produced in accordance with the teachings of the '927 patent have molecular weights below about 70,000 and glass transition temperatures that of about 33° C.-34° C. Applicants have found that it is possible to produce novel copolymers of VC and CTFE that have much higher molecular weights and glass transition temperatures than the copolymers produced by the prior process of the '927 patent. Furthermore, applicants have found that the higher molecular weight and higher Tg copolymers produced by the present invention have significant and important advantages in many applications compared to the copolymers of VC and CTFE produced by the prior processes.

Copolymers and terpolymers based on chlorotrifluoroethylene and vinyl chloride and uses thereof


In a method of sharing location information between a map application and a calendar application, the map application pulls calendar event locations from a calendar event store and presents these calendar event locations as suggested locations for the map application. Likewise, the calendar application pulls map locations from a map location data store and presents these map locations as suggested locations for calendar events. By sharing location information between the map application and the calendar applications, these applications become significantly more useful.

Desktops, laptops, mobile devices and other computing devices are able to run various applications, including calendar applications and mapping applications.
Calendar applications enable users to schedule appointments, meetings or other events. Users can enter event descriptions, event location information, start times, end times, enable reminders, share calendars remotely with other users, send meeting requests, set up recurring events, and perform a variety of other related functions. Typically, the user manually enters information describing an appointment or event (or cuts and pastes this information from another application that may contain this information). A very limited amount of linking to other applications is provided. For example, when setting up a meeting, some applications enable direct access to an address book to pull up names of contacts to be invited (along with their e-mail addresses).
Map applications enable networked users to download map data from a map data server for rendering digital maps onscreen. These maps can be obtained for specific addresses, for the current location (where the device is position-aware), or can simply enable the user to zoom and pan from a starting map of the world or their continent. Typically, a location or address to be mapped is specified manually or by cutting and pasting address information from another source. For example, some applications enable direct mapping of contact address information.
Although calendaring and mapping applications are popular, it remains desirable to provide greater synergy or interactivity between these applications.
It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like features are identified by like reference numerals.

Method of sharing event information and map location information


According to one embodiment, a manufacturing method of thin film transistor includes forming an oxide semiconductor layer on a first insulating film, forming a first conductive layer formed of molybdenum or a molybdenum alloy on the oxide semiconductor layer, forming a second conductive layer on the first conductive layer, forming a resist mask on the second conductive layer, and forming a first conductive portion and a second conductive portion by performing dry etching of the second conductive layer using the resist mask.

As thin film transistors used in display devices such as liquid crystal displays and various control circuits, there are thin film transistors in which an oxide semiconductor is used as a semiconductor layer.
Such thin film transistors include, for example, an oxide semiconductor layer, source electrode, and drain electrode above an insulating substrate. In an etching process to form the source electrode and the drain electrode, the oxide semiconductor layer may be damaged and it may cause a shift in a threshold value voltage and a deterioration in a TFT performance. Therefore, there is a proposed technique to maintain a thin conductive layer between the source electrode and the drain electrode while performing etching of the source electrode and the drain electrode and to cause a chemical action in the semiconductor layer into a semiconductor or an insulating material.

Thin film transistor and manufacturing method of thin film transistor


An illuminator configured to create a radiation beam for the metrology of a substrate surface includes an arc lamp, a parabolic reflector (150), a double cone (160) and a fly's eye integrator (110) in order to create a homogenized beam with a parabolic distribution.

A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a substrate, usually onto a target portion of the substrate. A lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In that instance, a patterning device, which is alternatively referred to as a mask or a reticle, may be used to generate a circuit pattern to be formed on an individual layer of the IC. This pattern can be transferred onto a target portion (e.g. including part of, one, or several dies) on a substrate (e.g. a silicon wafer). Transfer of the pattern is typically via imaging onto a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist) provided on the substrate. In general, a single substrate will contain a network of adjacent target portions that are successively patterned. Known lithographic apparatus include so-called steppers, in which each target portion is irradiated by exposing an entire pattern onto the target portion at one time, and so-called scanners, in which each target portion is irradiated by scanning the pattern through a radiation beam in a given direction (the "scanning"-direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate parallel or anti-parallel to this direction. It is also possible to transfer the pattern from the patterning device to the substrate by imprinting the pattern onto the substrate.
In order to monitor the lithographic process, it is desirable to measure parameters of the patterned substrate, for example the overlay error between successive layers formed in or on it. There are various techniques for making measurements of the microscopic structures formed in lithographic processes, including the use of scanning electron microscopes and various specialized tools. One form of specialized inspection tool is a scatterometer in which a beam of radiation is directed onto a target on the surface of the substrate and properties of the scattered or reflected beam are measured. By comparing the properties of the beam before and after it has been reflected or scattered by the substrate, the properties of the substrate can be determined. This can be done, for example, by comparing the reflected beam with data stored in a library of known measurements associated with known substrate properties. Two main types of scatterometer are known. Spectroscopic scatterometers direct a broadband radiation beam onto the substrate and measure the spectrum (intensity as a function of wavelength) of the radiation scattered into a particular narrow angular range. Angularly resolved scatterometers use a monochromatic radiation beam and measure the intensity of the scattered radiation as a function of angle.
An important consideration when creating beams for metrology measurement is the homogeneity of the beam. Optical systems such as lenses that have been used to focus the radiation beam have not generally contributed to the collimation of the beam; the output direction of travel of the radiation beam is dependent on the input direction of the beam, which may not have been homogenized in the first place.
In scatterometry, misalignments and overlay errors of properties of a substrate are determined by the reflected spectra of a radiation beam having been reflected from the substrate in question. In order that the reflected (and scattered) spectrum is a true representation of the surface of the substrate, it is desirable that the properties of the beam before it is reflected are also known. As measuring the properties of a beam interferes with it, it is desirable to make the beam to precise standards in the first place, with occasional measurements being possible to ensure that the properties of the beam have not changed. The most desirable property of an incident beam is that it is homogenous. Any inhomogeneity in the beam before it is reflected may contribute to inconsistencies in the reflected beam, which may be interpreted as effects caused by the surface of the substrate, rather than by inhomogeneities of the beam. This may lead to errors in the measurement of the surface of the substrate.


A method of producing a film of carbon nitride material, including the steps of providing a precursor of the carbon nitride material in a reacting vessel and a substrate substantially above the precursor of the carbon nitride material; heating the reacting vessel, the precursor of the carbon nitride material and the substrate at the first predetermined temperature; and quenching the reacting vessel to reach the second predetermined temperature; wherein the film of carbon nitride material is formed on a surface of the substrate during the quenching of the reacting vessel.

Electronic devices such as transistors and photonic devices may be fabricated on different substrates by using thin film technologies. For example, multiple layers of different materials may be sequentially deposited or coated on the substrate, and an operational device may be fabricated when each of the deposited layers are properly patterned.
By using suitable technologies, thin films of different materials may be deposited on a substrate. For example, a metal-oxide layer may be deposited on a substrate using chemical vapour deposition. In another example, a polymer layer may be deposited on a substrate using a solution method.

Method and an apparatus for producing a film of carbon nitride material


A spindle motor according to an aspect of the invention may include: a base on which a sleeve is mounted; a rotor bound together with a shaft rotatably mounted on the sleeve and rotating by electromagnetic interaction with the stator; a pulling plate mounted on the base to generate a magnetic force in a rotary axis direction of the rotor; and an escape portion provided on the base at a position corresponding to the pulling plate and providing a space into which an adhesive may escape when bonding the pulling plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to spindle motors, and more particularly, to a spindle motor that improves the rotational characteristics of a rotor when a stator and a rotor are coupled with each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a spindle motor, installed inside a hard disk drive, rotates a disk so that a magnetic head can read data recorded on the disk.
Small, lightweight, and thin hard disk drives are now required. In particular, there is an increasing need for ultra-thin, slim spindle motors having a spindle structure, used in laptop computers, which can maintain the performance of a motor and at the same time, increase price competitiveness.
This spindle motor may include a shaft that serves as the rotary center rotating by hydrodynamic bearings and a metal sleeve assembled with the shaft to form a sliding surface.
The spindle motor in the related art is configured so that a magnetic field is generated in the axial direction of the bearings. To this end, a pulling plate may be arranged under a magnet at a position corresponding to the magnet.
However, as for the spindle motor in the related art, the pulling plate may be inappropriately bonded to a base if an adhesive is unevenly applied in a process of bonding the pulling plate to the base. Therefore, there is a need for techniques to solve these problems.


A communication method and a device are provided, to properly utilize resources. The communication method includes: configuring, by a network device M first channels in a first time unit for a terminal, indicating, by the network device, N second channels in the first time unit to the terminal by using a downlink control channel, where the second channel is used to send second acknowledgement information and second scheduling request information in the first time unit, a quantity of first channels is M, M+N is greater than or equal to 2×B, M is less than N, the second acknowledgement information is an element in a second acknowledgement information set, B is a quantity of elements in the second acknowledgement information set.

In a long term evolution (LTE) system, a terminal may need to simultaneously send an acknowledgement (ACK)/a negative acknowledgement (NACK) and a scheduling request (SR). In this case, to maintain a low peak to average power ratio (PAPR), the SR is carried in a manner of channel selection in the LTE system. To be specific, if the terminal sends an ACK/a NACK on an SR channel, it indicates that the terminal sends an SR at the same time. If the terminal sends an ACK/a NACK on an ACK channel/a NACK channel, it indicates that the terminal sends no SR. Therefore, to cope with a case in which the terminal simultaneously sends an ACK/a NACK and an SR, a quantity of ACK/NACK channels reserved for the terminal needs to be the same as a quantity of SR channels reserved for the terminal in the LTE system. Generally, one SR channel and one ACK/NACK channel are reserved for one terminal. In this way, the terminal may send an ACK/a NACK through the ACK/NACK channel when no SR needs to be sent, may send an SR through the SR channel when no ACK/NACK needs to be sent, or may send an ACK/a NACK through the SR channel when both an SR and an ACK/a NACK need to be sent.
In a fifth generation mobile communications technology (5G) new radio (NR) system, how to configure an SR channel and an ACK/a NACK channel for a terminal to properly utilize resources becomes an issue that urgently needs to be resolved.


The inventive arrangement of bundles of fibrils in a part of a spin draw texturizing or draw texturizing machine presents a fan-type arrangement of these bundles of fibrils in which preferentially the longitudinal axes of the texturizing nozzles taking up the bundles of fibrils extend coaxially with a connecting line extending from a delivery point on a draw roll to the outlet of each individual texturizing nozzle.

The present invention concerns the guidance of bundles of fibrils through a part of a spin draw texturizing machine or a draw texturizing machine comprising of a texturizing unit disposed downstream from a pair of draw rolls. The texturized unit has individual texturizing nozzles incorporating a transportation portion and a texturizing portion in which the bundles of fibrils are texturized.
In a texturizing method from the European patent application EP 0 784 109 A1, a plurality of individual bundles of fibrils simultaneously are drawn on a pair of draw rolls and subsequently are texturized in a texturizing unit with a plurality of texturizing nozzles arranged side by side. In this method, it is found that the individual bundles of fibrils are guided on the pair of draw rolls spaced by smaller mutual distances than the distances required from one texturizing nozzle to the next.
As on the other hand, the design height of the machine is to be kept as low as possible in order to permit stringing up of the filament bundles. These filament bundles are sucked in at high speed by means of a so-called suction gun and transported as quickly as possible from one end of the machine to the other end. For this purpose, the distances between the individual operating units are to be kept as small as possible.
These requirements concerning the spacing distances prove particularly disadvantageous in guiding the bundles of fibrils between the supplying draw roll and the texturizing unit. As mentioned, the spacing distance from one bundle of fibrils to the next is to be kept as small as possible, whereas the distance from one texturizing nozzle to the next for various reasons, e.g. concerning lay-out dimensions, must be substantially larger. Thus, the bundles of fibrils must fan out considerably from the draw roll and must be deflected upstream from, or directly at, the inlet into each individual texturizing nozzle.
In this arrangement, the smaller spacing distance from one bundle of fibrils to the next within a group of bundles differs from the somewhat larger distance from one group to the next.
In order to maintain the group distance between the last group, second to last group, and outermost group, in spite of the fanning out of the bundles, guide elements must be provided between the individual draw rolls of a pair of draw rolls. These guide elements guide the last group of bundles of fibrils on the draw roll distanced far enough from the second to last group of bundles of fibrils that, in spite of the delivery width of the last bundles of fibrils from the roll to the texturizing unit, the distance between groups can be provided acceptably large enough that neither rolls of excessive length are required. Also, the danger does not arise that the fanned-out bundles of fibrils of the last group overlap the bundles of fibrils of the preceding group still located on the roll.
The above mentioned guide elements, be it deflecting elements arranged between the rolls or deflecting elements arranged upstream from the inlet of each individual texturizing nozzle, present the disadvantage that they inherently generate a uncontrollable extent of damage to the individual bundle of fibrils, e.g. deformations to the fibril cross-section. The extent of damage is uncontrolled in so far as the deflection, particularly the deflections upstream from the inlet to each individual texturizing nozzle, differs from one texturizing nozzle to the next. These deflections happen in such a manner that differences in the texturizing effect can be generated, which possibly will be visible in the finished product, e.g. in a carpet.
Furthermore, it is known from the Swiss patent application CH 680 140A5 that texturizing nozzles are laid out at their inlet portion. The texturizing and transporting air for taking over the bundle of fibrils is injected into these texturizing nozzles in such a manner that the air injected imparts a twist to the bundle of fibrils. This twist is propagated against the direction of transport of the bundle of fibrils up to a twist stop and is called a false twist. A false twist of this type is generated in order to impart compactness to the bundle of fibrils in such a manner that individual fibrils sticking out are better tied into the bundle in order to obtain an evening effect in the bundle of fibrils.
It has been found, however, that in case the bundles of fibrils are transferred from a draw roll directly into the inlet of the texturizing nozzle, the false twist mentioned above tends to move the individual bundles of fibrils on the roll surface corresponding to the twist direction in the axial direction of the roll. This movement happens in such a manner that a certain migration of the bundles of fibrils in axial direction occurs up to the zone of the roll surface. Owing to the tensile force in the thread on the roll surface, a contacting pressure is generated, which presses the bundles of fibrils against the roll surface in such a manner that a twist stop is formed.
If now, as mentioned already, the bundles of fibrils must be guided in a fan-type arrangement from the roll towards the individual texturizing nozzles, the twist has different effects depending on the angle position of the respective bundle of fibrils in the fan type arrangement. For example, a certain position of a bundle of fibrils can counteract the migration along the envelope line of the roll, whereas another position assists this migration further resulting in a jittery movement of the respective bundle of fibrils.
The disadvantages of the arrangement mentioned above consist in that due to the different compacting action exerted onto the individual bundles of fibrils by the twist or by the jittery movement, respectively, an uneven texturizing effect varying from one bundle of fibrils to the next may be generated. The uneven texturizing results, as mentioned before, are visible and disadvantageous differences in the finished product, e.g. in a carpet.

Spin draw texturizing or draw texturizing machine


An inertance tube for a pulse tube refrigerator which can be tuned to optimize performance. Apertures in the inertance tube fluidly communicate the inertance tube with a fluid reservoir. The effective length of the inertance tube is changed by alternatively closing or opening the apertures. Changing the effective length of the inertance tube causes a phase shift between the mass flow and pressure waves in the working gas which, in turn, changes the acoustic power. Controlling the phase angle improves Carnot efficiency. The cooling load capacity of the pulse tube refrigerator is a function of the acoustic power.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to pulse tube refrigerators, including pulse tube cryogenic coolers, and more specifically to pulse tube refrigerators equipped with reservoirs and inertance tubes.
2. Background Art
Pulse Tube Refrigerators ("PTRs") play an important role in satisfying the need for cryogenic cooling of space-based infrared detectors as well as many other applications requiring coolers with high reliability, low vibration and high efficiency. PTRs employ three types of phase shifting processes to control the phase shift between the mass flow and pressure. The most conventional is used in Orifice Pulse Tube Refrigerators ("OPTRs"), wherein the mass flow and pressure are in phase at the orifice. In Double Inlet Pulse Tube Refrigerators ("DIPTRs"), a bypass valve between the warm end of the pulse tube and the warm end of the regenerator provides phase shifting. In Inertance Tube Pulse Tube Refrigerators ("ITPTRs"), which are the focus of this innovation, phase shifting is controlled by an inertance tube replacing the orifice.

Pulse tube refrigerator with tunable inertance tube

The United States of America as Represented by the Secretary of the Air Force


A packaging system includes a bottle that holds a dental hygiene product. A closure is configured to be removably coupled to the bottle. The bottle defines an opening when the closure is removed from the bottle. The timing mechanism is coupled to at least one of the bottle and closure. The timing mechanism includes a sensory device and a timer. The timing mechanism measures a time period and provides an output after a preset period of time has elapsed.

1. Field of the Inventions
These inventions relate in general to consumer products and, particularly, to packaging for containing dental hygiene product with a timing mechanism.
2. Description of the Related Art
Oral care products, such as dental hygiene products, are used to clean teeth, destroy harmful microorganisms found in the mouth, reduce unpleasant mouth odors, and the like. A person's mouth may harbor many types of unwanted microorganisms, such as bacteria. These microorganisms contribute to both the initiation and progression of gingivitis, plaque build up, periodontal disease, and/or breath malodor. Dental hygiene products can be used to kill these microorganisms, loosen or removed plaque, and reduce breath malodor.
For example, mouthwash containing antibacterial agents may be employed to treat a person's mouth. The efficacy of mouthwash may depend on the duration of time that a person uses or "rinses" with the mouthwash. Unfortunately, mouthwash often has an unpleasant taste and smell, which are attributable to its antibacterial agents. To increase the number of microorganisms destroyed during the rinsing process, a person may have to rinse with a particular mouthwash for an optimum amount of time, which may depend on the chemical composition of the mouthwash. People may not rinse with mouthwash for a suitable amount of time for destroying a desirable number of microorganisms.

Bottle for dental hygiene product with timing mechanism


A computer system cache monitors the effectiveness of data inserted into a cache by one or more sources to determine which source should receive preferential treatment when updating the cache. The cache may be part of a computer system that includes a plurality of host systems, each host system includes a host cache, connected to a storage system having a storage system cache. Ghost caches are used to record hits from the plurality of host systems performing operations for storing and retrieving data from the storage system cache. The storage system cache includes a cache controller that is operable to calculate a merit figure and determine an insertion point in a queue associated with the storage system cache based on the merit figure. The merit figure is calculated using a weighting algorithm for weighting hits from the plurality of sources recorded in the ghost caches.

The invention pertains to the field of computer systems. More particularly, this invention relates to data caching techniques.
A typical computer system includes one or more data caches. A data cache is a portion of computer memory that is used to hold (typically) part of the data that is also held on a second computer memory that is typically slower than the memory used for the data cache.
For example, many computer systems contain one or more host systems and one or more storage systems. A storage system usually provides relatively large-scale, non-volatile storage of information that may be accessed by one or more host systems. A host system typically accesses a storage system by performing write and read operations to and from the storage system via a communication link between the host and storage systems.
A typical host system includes a host processor and a host cache (i.e., a higher-level cache). A typical host cache temporarily holds information obtained from a storage system and provides the host processor with relatively fast access to information held in the host cache. A storage system commonly includes a storage medium and a storage system cache. A typical storage system cache (i.e., a lower-level cache) temporarily holds information obtained from the storage medium and provides one or more host systems with relatively fast access to the information contained in the storage system cache. A shared, lower-level cache may include, but is not limited to, a block cache or a file system cache (e.g., a disk array block cache or a file server cache; either may shared by multiple client machines having their own cache) or a memory cache attached to a memory board shared by several central processing unit (CPU) caches in a multiprocessor system.
In general, data is put into a cache so that it can be retrieved (referenced) again in the future, more rapidly than accessing the data from the backing store, which is typically slower to access than the cache memory. Since the size of the cache (i.e., the amount of data it can hold) is typically limitedxe2x80x94and much smaller than the lower level data storexe2x80x94it is important that the data kept in the cache is (as far as possible) the data most likely to be re-referenced. This is accomplished by the combination of an insertion policy (which things are to be placed into the cache) and a replacement policy (which things are to be dropped from the cache to make space for new data). A commonly used replacement policy (or replacement algorithm) is to manage the data in the cache by a technique known as Least Recently Used (or LRU)xe2x80x94data that has not been referenced for the longest time is the first to be discarded when new space is needed.
A commonly used insertion policy is to treat all data that is inserted into the cache as likely to be of equal future value (i.e., equally likely to be re-referenced in the time it spends in the cache); thus new data is added at the end furthest away from the xe2x80x9cnext to be droppedxe2x80x9d end of the replacement policy. It is common to implement the resulting cache management data structure (or cache metadata) as a list of pointers to the blocks: at one end (the head) are the pointers to the blocks next to be discarded; at the other end (the tail) are the blocks most recently referenced or inserted. Those skilled in the art will recognize that there are many possible structures that can be used for this metadata, and this is just one example.
Unfortunately, some data in a cache are never referenced during their time in the cache. (The cache lifetime, or cache residency time, is a measure of how long the data resides in the cache before being selected for replacement.) This wastes space in the cache that could have been used to hold other data that is referenced in the future, and thus reduces the effectiveness of the cache. A mechanism that could selectively decide which blocks are worth inserting in the cache (i.e., which ones are more likely to be referenced more often during their lifetime in the cache) could increase the effectiveness of the cache.
Additionally, some data added to a cache is either referenced quickly, or not at all. This means that a mechanism that can selectively decide to insert data into the cache in a way that limits its cache lifetime in the absence of a reference will also enable the space taken up by the data to be reused more quickly, and thus increase the cache""s effectiveness.
When multiple clients share a common cache, it has proved difficult to achieve appropriate choices for which data from which client are most likely to be referenced in the futurexe2x80x94either by the same client or by other clients. Thus, a mechanism that can provide preferential treatment for cache clients that insert data that is more likely to be referenced is likely to result in a more effective cache.
Data is inserted into a cache by many processes: it can be read in response to a client read from the lower-level store; it can be written to by a client; it can be read-ahead in anticipation that it might soon be requested by a client; and it might be xe2x80x9cdemotedxe2x80x9d by a client from its own cache to the lower-level cache, in case more space is available there. In all cases, the data is retained in the cache in the hope that it will be referenced. However, existing approaches are unable to exploit the fact that different processes may result in cached data with different valuexe2x80x94i.e., different likelihood of being referenced in the future.
Similarly, it may also be the case that different clients, using the same insertion processes, may insert data into the cache that has different likelihood of being referenced, yet existing approaches do not distinguish these cases.
All these diverse processes for placing data in the cache are called xe2x80x9cinsertion sourcesxe2x80x9d in what follows. Those skilled in the art will recognize that many other possibilities for identifying insertion sources exist, and can, be employed in what follows.
As a consequence, methods are needed to identify which data is most likely to be re-referenced in the future, and which insertion sources are most likely to insert data into a cache. Furthermore, methods are needed to guide the replacement policy to selectively favor deleting data that is not likely to be referenced from the cache, and such methods are needed in situations where there are multiple clients sharing a common cache.
An embodiment of a method for storing data in a cache is disclosed. The method comprises steps of creating at least one ghost cache recording hits from at least one source; calculating a merit figure associated with hits in the at least one ghost cache; and identifying an insertion point in metadata associated with the cache based on the merit figure.
Another embodiment of a method for storing data in a cache is disclosed. The method comprises steps of creating at least one ghost cache recording hits from at least one source; calculating a merit figure associated with hits in the at least one ghost cache; segmenting the cache into a plurality of sections; and identifying an insertion point in metadata associated with one of the plurality of sections based on the merit figure.
A caching system is disclosed that comprises a cache, a cache controller connected to the cache, one or more sources operable to store data in the cache, and at least one ghost cache recording hits from at least one of the sources. The cache controller is configured to calculate a merit figure based on a hit rate in the ghost cache and determine an insertion point in metadata associated with the cache based on the merit figure.
The methods of the present invention include steps that may be performed by computer-executable instructions executing on a computer-readable medium.
In comparison to known prior art, certain embodiments of the invention are capable of achieving certain aspects, including some or all of the following: data can be accessed faster by a cache clients, including those in multi-client systems. Those skilled in the art will appreciate these and other aspects of various embodiments of the invention upon reading the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment with reference to the below-listed drawings.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


The disclosure relates to systems, methods and apparatus to convert speech to text and vice versa. One apparatus comprises a vocoder, a speech to text conversion engine, a text to speech conversion engine, and a user interface. The vocoder is operable to convert speech signals into packets and convert packets into speech signals. The speech to text conversion engine is operable to convert speech to text. The text to speech conversion engine is operable to convert text to speech. The user interface is operable to receive a user selection of a mode from among a plurality of modes, wherein a first mode enables the speech to text conversion engine, a second mode enables the text to speech conversion engine, and a third mode enables the speech to text conversion engine and the text to speech conversion engine.

A cellular phone may include an audio capture device, such as a microphone and/or speech synthesizer, and an audio encoder to generate audio packets or frames. The phone may use communication protocol layers and modules to transmit packets across a wireless communication channel to a network or another communication device.

Voice and text communication system, method and apparatus


A method and system for simulating a wireless environment is provided including a central RF combining component; a plurality of connection nodes, each connection node in RF connection with the central RF combining component through a programmable attenuation component; wherein the programmable attenuation components are controlled by a controller console, the controller console maintaining information regarding simulated spatial positioning of the plurality of connection nodes in the simulated wireless environment, and adjusting the programmable attenuation components to appropriately simulate the simulated spatial positioning of the connection nodes in the simulated wireless environment. Additionally, an RF module for creating and receiving RF signals in a test environment is provided.

The present disclosure relates generally to the testing of communication devices and more particularly to a method and system for testing wireless computer network communication devices under various simulated operating conditions.
Computer networks are well known and are widely used in a variety of businesses. Currently, there are many different types of wired computer networks available for personal and business use, such as Ethernet, Token-Ring, Gigabit Ethernet, ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode), IP, with wired Ethernet being the most popular by far. The emerging Local Area Networks (LANs) are typically based on the IEEE 802.11 standard. Due to the popularity of the Ethernet network, a number of devices and methods were developed to test the Ethernet communication systems. However, as wireless computer network communication systems become less expensive to implement and maintain, they are becoming more prevalent and more widely used to communicate data among nodes of a local area network (LAN). One advantage the wireless network system has over other existing types of network communication systems is the lack of communication wire/cable. Wireless network systems allow for a large number of computer nodes to be communicated together without all of the cumbersome communication wires (such as Ethernet wires) required by non-wireless communication systems and thus provides for a more efficient use of space. Another advantage the wireless network system has over other existing types of network communication systems is that, in buildings which do not already have a wired network infrastructure, wireless systems are much easier and cheaper to implement.
However, unlike with the Ethernet network system, wireless communication networks lack sufficient means and methods for verifying performance, interoperability and compliance with the wireless standards. Although there are many reasons for the lack of testing devices and methods, development on testing devices and methods appeared to be mostly hindered by several factors, including the increased complexity of the wireless communication system as compared to the wired communication system. This increased complexity is a necessary element required to increase the reliability of the wireless system and to achieve a useful level of performance. An additional hindering factor includes the network boundaries. Unlike wired systems, wireless systems have vague network boundaries and thus, the testing of wireless networks require special considerations in order to avoid interference with other wireless systems not involved in the testing procedure. Another factor is that the communication protocols have not matured and are thus in a constant state of flux due to continued standards activity. Lastly, because many wireless equipment manufacturers began by designing and manufacturing traditional wired network systems, they typically lack an expertise with wireless equipment and thus with wireless communications issues.
As such, current methods for testing wireless communications equipment typically range from simply setting up the test in an open air environment to connecting the wireless equipment together via cables, to assembling test setups disposed within radio frequency (xe2x80x9cRFxe2x80x9d) shielded rooms. Although open air test setups have the advantage of being simple to construct, they typically suffer from a variety of problems. First, the open air environment is difficult to control. It is not possible to precisely control signal levels and test topologies in order to verify protocol implementation. Often, due to intermittent interference, specific tests cannot be repeated with consistent results. Second, each test system takes up at least one radio channel and because radio channels are regulated and allotted by the government they are a scarce resource. Thus, an active test lab may use all of the allotted channels for one test setup thereby preventing multiple independent test setups from operating simultaneous and preventing multiple engineers or production workers from working side by side. However, one way to overcome the limitations of the open air test setup is by connecting the test setup to wireless equipment through an RF cable system having RF cables, RF combiners and RF attenuators. Using this approach, transmitter signals can be communicated to the wireless system receivers via the RF cable system. Not only does this allow the signal power levels to be controlled using RF attenuators, but the setup can support flexible network topologies in a controlled environment under repeatable test conditions.
While this may be an improvement over the open air test setup, interference issues are still present. One of these interference issues involves the ability to set up a test system in a small area while allowing other test systems to operate nearby, such as on an adjacent test bench. Unfortunately, because a great number of wireless systems have extremely sensitive receivers in order to operate over a useful range of distances between transmitter and receiver, this is impractical. Flexible cables that are used for these test setups do not provide a sufficient level of RF isolation to allow for more than one interference-free test setup in the same lab. Thus, if multiple test setups are used, signals from the transmitters of one test setup can leak from the cables and infiltrate the receivers of the other test setups, greatly degrading the reliability and validity of the test results.
Although RF shielded rooms can provide for an isolated environment, these rooms are expensive to build and maintain and typically require a substantial amount of space. Additionally, the problem of running multiple test setups in the same shielded room remain because although the shielded room isolates the test setup from RF interference sources located outside of the shielded room, it does not isolate the test setup from RF interference sources within the shield room. Moreover, because of the expense of the shielded rooms, they are typically shared among many engineers who may have different needs for the room. Thus, because assembling and disassembling a test setup may range from many hours to several days, there is an incentive to not change the test setup very often, thus limiting the productivity of the test organization. Furthermore, an additional cost of testing wireless systems includes the purchase of specialized equipment for performing, coordinating, automating and synchronizing the tests. The current art requires that the test system be assembled from commodity components and because these components were most likely not designed to solve the whole problem, the components typically must be integrated into a working system. Once the test system has been assembled, test software typically must be developed in order to automate the testing process and, depending on the complexity of the test setup, a significant effort may be needed to develop the control software. This takes additional time, effort, expertise and represents a significant labor cost.
Moreover, unless tight regulations are developed and maintained, each test setup will be different and because each setup was constructed from components not specifically suited to the job, each component of the test setup can have its own method of programming. As a result of this lack of basic integration, it is very difficult to arrange tests that require coordination of RF transmissions. This whole effort is typically very expensive, time consuming and inefficient for the wireless equipment manufacturers. Moreover, the cost of this setup is further exacerbated by the cost of equipment integration, calibration and customized test software development. Tests that involve overlapping BSSs (Basic Service Sets), roaming and hidden stations are difficult to set up and perform because they typically require flexible control over wireless network topology thus requiring wireless stations and access points to be carried around or wheeled on carts.
Thus, there is a need for a test system that provides a flexible cabled environment for RF testing, wherein the flexible cabled environment allows for flexible topological configurations and wherein the test environment provides a shielded test platform which will allow for close proximity testing of different wireless systems without interference.
The present disclosure addresses the above-identified need by providing a system for simulating a wireless environment, comprising: a central RF combining component; a plurality of connection nodes, each connection node in RF connection with the central RF combining component through a programmable attenuation component; wherein the programmable attenuation components are controlled by a controller console, the controller console maintaining information regarding simulated spatial positioning of the plurality of connection nodes in the simulated wireless environment, and adjusting the programmable attenuation components to appropriately simulate the simulated spatial positioning of the connection nodes in the simulated wireless environment.
Additionally, an RF module for creating and receiving RF signals in a test environment is provided wherein the RF module includes a data network connection to transmit and receive data over a wired data packet network, at least one mounting surface, to connect a wireless network interface card, the mounting surface including connections so that a mounted wireless network interface card is in RF connection with a programmable attenuation component, wherein the programmable attenuation component is in RF connection with an RF port on the RF module; a controller, interfacing to the data network connection and including connections at the mounting surface, the controller to control a mounted wireless network interface card.
Furthermore, a test module, for simulating traffic in a wireless network is provided and includes a transceiver component, in RF connection with an RF port to the wireless network; a modulator/demodulator component, in communication with the transceiver component; a receive filter and distributor (RFD) component, in communication with the modulator/demodulator component, the RFD component to process data frames received from the wireless network; a transmit arbitrator component, in communication with the modulator/demodulator component, the transmit arbitrator component to process and transmit data frames to the wireless network; an access control unit, in communication with the RFD component and the transmit arbitrator component and at least one virtual client, the virtual client in communication with the RFD component, the transmit arbitrator component, and the access control unit, the virtual client maintaining state information regarding communications in the wireless network.
Also, a method of simulating traffic in a wireless network is provided wherein the method includes providing a modulator/demodulator component in communication with a transceiver component, the transceiver component transmitting and receiving in the wireless network; creating a plurality of virtual clients in connection with the modulator/demodulator, wherein the virtual clients transmit and receive data frames in the wireless network in compliance with a selected wireless communications standard, and wherein the virtual clients maintain individual state for communication protocol as required by the selected wireless communications standard.

Test system for simulating a wireless environment and method of using same


A method and device for determining an adaptive filter having multiple filter parameters, wherein a first filter parameter has a first level of adaptivity and a second filter parameter has a second, different level of adaptivity. Parameter values for the first filter parameter are determined among a first set of allowable filter parameter values. Parameter values for the second filter parameter are correspondingly determined among a second, different set of allowable filter parameter values. The different levels of adaptivity in the filter parameters are achieved because the second set includes more allowable filter parameter values than the first set. The adaptive filter is advantageously used in filtering in intra- or inter-predication during video encoding and decoding.

Temporal and spatial redundancy can be exploited using predictions to make a compact representation of the video signal possible. Pixel prediction is an important part of video coding standards such as H.261, H.263, MPEG-4 and H.264 [1]. In H.264 there are three pixel prediction methods utilized, namely intra, inter and bi-prediction. Intra prediction provides a spatial prediction of the current pixels block from previously decoded pixels of the current frame. Inter prediction gives a temporal prediction of the current pixel block using a corresponding but displaced pixel block in a previously decoded frame. Bi-directional prediction gives a weighted average of two inter predictions.
The inter prediction method of H.264 can achieve fractional-pel resolution in the motion estimation. A fixed half-pel filter with filter taps [1 −5 20 20 −5 1]/32 is first applicable to obtain initial half-pel resolution. A bilinear filter can then be applied on a full-pel sample and a half-pel sample to achieve quarter-pel resolution. These fractional-pel interpolation filters used in H.264 are fixed, implying the same filter taps are used regardless of which particular block that is encoded.
Many techniques have been suggested to improve the inter prediction over the years, for instance by employing adaptive interpolation filters. Such an approach has been suggested by first determining displacement vectors using the fixed H.264 interpolation filter for each image block to be coded. With the obtained displacement vectors, a calculation of adaptive filter coefficients of a two-dimensional non-separable adaptive Wiener interpolation filter [2], a separable adaptive interpolation filter [3], a directional adaptive interpolation filter [4] or an adaptive interpolation filter [5] is then done afterwards.


When content data are distributed from an information center via a predetermined communication line to a terminal apparatus loaded with a recording medium recorded with its identifier and prepaid information, the information center manages the usable remaining amount of money in the recording medium loaded in the terminal apparatus and updates this usable remaining amount of money every time content data are distributed. Further, if the usable remaining amount of money is smaller than the price of the content data distributed from the information center, the information center instructs the terminal apparatus to load another recording medium having a usable remaining amount of money sufficient to cover the content data to be distributed. Still further, a remaining recordable capacity of a recording medium loaded in the terminal apparatus is transmitted to the information center, and the information center compares the remaining recordable capacity with the size of the data content to be distributed. If the remaining recordable capacity is smaller than the size of the content data, the information center instructs the terminal apparatus to load a new recording medium having a recordable capacity enough for the content data to be distributed.

The present invention relates generally to an information distribution system, a terminal apparatus, an information center, a recording medium, and an information distribution method for distributing and recording content such as music for example to a recording medium of a user.
Today, services for providing various kinds of content such as music, video, and text to users for pay are commercially available by means of communication networks such as the Internet.
In terms of music distribution for example, a user connects his terminal device such as a personal computer to a music download site for pay on the Internet. By looking at a distributed music purchase menu displayed on that site, the user selects desired music content and request the site for its downloading. The selected content is downloaded to such a recording medium of the user's terminal device as a hard disk for example.
For the payment for the downloaded content, it is often settled by inputting a user's credit card number for example.
Also available are systems by which users purchase music content from a dedicated terminal device installed at a music shop or a convenience store for example. In this case, each user goes to a music shop or a convenience store with a recording medium such as a Mini Disc (trademark) (a magneto-optical disc) on which music content can be recorded and loads it into the dedicated terminal device.
This dedicated terminal device, connected to a music content server, allows users to download music content. To be specific, a user selects desired music titles at the dedicated terminal device and the selected music titles are recorded on a Mini Disc for example loaded by the user.
The payment for the downloaded music content may be settled by inputting the user's credit card number as described above or by throwing in money as with an automatic vending machine for example.
However, the related-art settlement for the payment of downloaded content involves the following problems.
In the credit card settlement, the users having no credit card cannot obtain the content downloading service, thereby limiting this service only to those users who own credit cards.
This way of settlement also presents a credit card security problem.
The settlement by dedicated prepaid cards is also known. However, the acquisition of prepaid cards is troublesome for users and the use of prepaid cards requires some knowledge. Further, in applying prepaid cards to automatic vending machines, users must always carry a recording medium and a prepaid card, thereby it is not convenient. In addition, each automatic vending machine must have both a prepaid card insertion slot and a recording medium loading slot.
In the settlement by credit cards or prepaid cards, some knowledge is required about a card inputting procedure and about the system of payment settlement, which is unfriendly for users who are not well familiar with computer operations, thereby sometimes defeating their attempt to purchase content.
Although the above-mentioned dedicated terminal device allows the settlement by cash, users may feel inconvenience in not only loading a recording medium but also throwing in money every time content is downloaded.

Information distribution system, terminal apparatus, information center, recording medium, and information distribution method