Methods, apparatus, and products for searching for a directory in a file system are disclosed that include selecting, by a word selection module for inclusion in a word list, a word of text whose frequency of occurrence meets a predefined criterion; inserting, by the word selection module into the word list, the selected word; inserting, by an indexing module into a search index, the selected word in association with the directory name; receiving, by a search module from a user, a search request that includes the selected word; and returning, by the search module to the user in dependence upon the search request and the search index, a search result that includes the directory name. The directory is characterized by a directory name and includes computer storage resources, the computer storage resources including words of text, each word of text characterized by a frequency of occurrence among the computer storage resources.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is data processing, or, more specifically, methods, apparatus, and products for searching for a directory in a file system.
2. Description of Related Art
The development of the EDVAC computer system of 1948 is often cited as the beginning of the computer era. Since that time, computer systems have evolved into extremely complicated devices. Today's computers are much more sophisticated than early systems such as the EDVAC. Computer systems typically include a combination of hardware and software components, application programs, operating systems, processors, buses, memory, input/output devices, and so on. As advances in semiconductor processing and computer architecture push the performance of the computer higher and higher, more sophisticated computer software has evolved to take advantage of the higher performance of the hardware, resulting in computer systems today that are much more powerful than just a few years ago.
One of the areas in which progress has been made is in searching for a directory in a file system. As file systems become repositories for more and more computer storage resources, users have increasing difficulty finding the file system locations that they desire. Users may easily generate hundreds or thousands of documents, images, and movies files in a year. To organize these computer storage resources, many users will create a complex hierarchy of directories. This hierarchy may aid in the initial organization of files, but as months and years pass, the complexity of the directory structure actually obscures the information that it was created to hold. For example, a user may intend to organize vacation photos in /Documents/Travel/Vacations. By the time the user wants to add photos of the next vacation, the structure has been forgotten and the new photos are placed in /Documents/Photos/2006. As a result, related items are scattered throughout the file system, and the carefully organized hierarchy is no help when the user attempts to retrieve all the vacation photos.
Within hierarchical file systems, tools like Google Desktop Search™ and Windows Desktop Search™ have tackled the problem of locating particular files. However, they provide little help for the user who is attempting to find where to insert new files into the system. Alternatively, system designers have attempted to provide file system navigation that eliminates or de-emphasizes hierarchical structure. In the Macintosh™ operating system, Spotlight™ and "smart folders" provide a way to access files and directories without ever knowing where in the file system structure they are located. Although these solutions provide methods for recalling existing files, they are inadequate for users trying to find general "areas" or directories containing similar files in the file system.

Searching for a directory in a file system

International Business Machines Corporation


A rehabilitation evaluation apparatus includes a sensor signal acquisition unit configured to acquire a sensor signal output from a detection sensor, a selection unit configured to select at least one myoelectric signal having a correlation with the sensor signal acquired by the sensor signal acquisition unit from among the plurality of second myoelectric signals on the second-side part acquired by the myoelectric-signal acquisition unit, and a similarity output unit configured to select a first myoelectric signal that has been output from a myoelectric sensor attached in a place that is left-right symmetric to a place of the myoelectric sensor that has output the second correlated myoelectric signal selected by the selection unit from among a plurality of first myoelectric signals on the first-side part acquired by the myoelectric-signal acquisition unit, calculate a similarity between these correlated myoelectric signals, and outputs the calculated similarity.

The present disclosure relates to a rehabilitation evaluation apparatus, a rehabilitation evaluation method, and a rehabilitation evaluation program.
There are patients who suffer from hemiplegia in which a part of one of left and right limbs is paralyzed. Apparatuses that assist such patients in doing rehabilitation training are becoming widespread. A training apparatus for evaluating a level of recovery on a non-paralyzed side by making a patient try to do certain rehabilitation training on the non-paralyzed side as well as on a paralyzed side, and then performing a calculation as to how much myoelectric signals obtained on the paralyzed side resemble those obtained on the non-paralyzed side has been known (e.g., Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2015-73805).

Rehabilitation evaluation apparatus, rehabilitation evaluation method, and rehabilitation evaluation program


A fuel injector mounting assembly including a mounting clip. The mounting clip includes a frame, a first leg, a second leg, a first arm, and a second arm. The frame includes a first side, a second side, and a generally planar surface extending between the first side and the second side. The first arm extends from the first side of the frame. The first arm includes a fuel cup support portion aligned with the first leg and extending in generally the same direction as the first leg, a raised surface of the fuel cup support portion configured to cooperate with the fuel cup, and a flange at an end of the fuel cup support portion, the flange extending away from the first leg. The second arm extends from the second side of the frame and is at least substantially similar to the first arm.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
A typical vehicle combustion engine includes a plurality of fuel injectors, each of which sprays pressurized fuel from a fuel injector rail into a cylinder head of the engine. Each fuel injector is connected to the fuel injector rail with, in part, a fuel cup. A mounting clip engaging both the fuel injector and the fuel cup restricts relative movement between the fuel injector and the fuel cup. While current mounting clips are suitable for their intended use, they are subject to improvement, such as to enhance connection of the mounting clip to the fuel cup.


A method of an embodiment includes forming a capacitor pad for a nonlinear resonator. In an embodiment, the method includes comparing a resonance frequency of the nonlinear resonator to a target frequency to determine whether the resonance frequency falls within a range of the target frequency. A device of an embodiment includes a first capacitor pad comprising a superconducting material, the first capacitor pad configured to couple to a first end of a logic circuit element. In an embodiment, the device includes a second capacitor pad comprising a second superconducting material, the capacitor pad configured to couple to a second end of the logic circuit element. In an embodiment, the second capacitor pad includes a first portion; a second portion; and a bridge configured to electrically connect the first portion and the second portion.

Hereinafter, a "Q" or "q" prefix in a word or phrase is indicative of a reference of that word or phrase in a quantum computing context unless expressly distinguished where used.
Molecules and subatomic particles follow the laws of quantum mechanics, a branch of physics that explores how the physical world works at the most fundamental levels. At this level, particles behave in strange ways, taking on more than one state at the same time, and interacting with other particles that are very far away. Quantum computing harnesses these quantum phenomena to process information.
The computers we use today are known as classical computers (also referred to herein as "conventional" computers or conventional nodes, or "CN"). A conventional computer uses a conventional processor fabricated using semiconductor materials and technology, a semiconductor memory, and a magnetic or solid-state storage device, in what is known as a Von Neumann architecture. Particularly, the processors in conventional computers are binary processors, i.e., operating on binary data represented in 1 and 0.
A quantum processor (q-processor) uses the odd nature of entangled qubit devices (compactly referred to herein as "qubit," plural "qubits) to perform computational tasks. In the particular realms where quantum mechanics operates, particles of matter can exist in multiple states—such as an "on" state, an "off" state, and both "on" and "off" states simultaneously. Where binary computing using semiconductor processors is limited to using just the on and off states (equivalent to 1 and 0 in binary code), a quantum processor harnesses these quantum states of matter to output signals that are usable in data computing.
Conventional computers encode information in bits. Each bit can take the value of 1 or 0. These 1s and 0s act as on/off switches that ultimately drive computer functions. Quantum computers, on the other hand, are based on qubits, which operate according to two key principles of quantum physics: superposition and entanglement. Superposition means that each qubit can represent both a 1 and a 0 at the same time. Entanglement means that qubits in a superposition can be correlated with each other in a non-classical way; that is, the state of one (whether it is a 1 or a 0 or both) can depend on the state of another, and that there is more information that can be ascertained about the two qubits when they are entangled than when they are treated individually.
Using these two principles, qubits operate as more sophisticated processors of information, enabling quantum computers to function in ways that allow them to solve difficult problems that are intractable using conventional computers. IBM has successfully constructed and demonstrated the operability of a quantum processor (IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines corporation in the United States and in other countries.)
A superconducting qubit may include a Josephson junction. A Josephson junction is formed by separating two thin-film superconducting metal layers by a non-superconducting material. When the metal in the superconducting layers is caused to become superconducting—e.g. by reducing the temperature of the metal to a specified cryogenic temperature-pairs of electrons can tunnel from one superconducting layer through the non-superconducting layer to the other superconducting layer. In a superconducting qubit, the Josephson junction—which has an inductance—is electrically coupled in parallel with one or more capacitive devices forming a nonlinear resonator.
In a superconducting state, the material firstly offers no resistance to the passage of electrical current. When resistance falls to zero, a current can circulate inside the material without any dissipation of energy. Secondly, the material exhibits Meissner effect, i.e., provided they are sufficiently weak, external magnetic fields do not penetrate the superconductor, but remain at its surface. When one or both of these properties are no longer exhibited by the material, the material is said to be no longer superconducting.
A critical temperature of a superconducting material is a temperature at which the material begins to exhibit characteristics of superconductivity. Superconducting materials exhibit very low or zero resistivity to the flow of current. A critical field is the highest magnetic field, for a given temperature, under which a material remains superconducting.
Superconductors are generally classified into one of two types. Type I superconductors exhibit a single transition at the critical field. Type I superconductors transition from a non-superconducting state to a superconducting state when the critical field is reached. Type II superconductors include two critical fields and two transitions. At or below the lower critical field, type II superconductors exhibit a superconducting state. Above the upper critical field, type II superconductors exhibit no properties of superconductivity. Between the upper critical field and the lower critical field, type II superconductors exhibit a mixed state. In a mixed state, type II superconductors exhibit an incomplete Meissner effect, i.e., penetration of external magnetic fields in quantized packets at specific locations through the superconductor material.
The Meissner effect results from the generation of persistent currents at the surface of the superconductor material. Persistent currents are perpetual electric currents which do not require an external power source. The persistent currents generate an opposing magnetic field to cancel the external magnetic field throughout the bulk of the superconductor material. In a superconducting state, persistent currents do not decay with time due to the zero resistance property.
The information processed by qubits is emitted in the form of microwave energy in a range of microwave frequencies. The microwave emissions are captured, processed, and analyzed to decipher the quantum information encoded therein. For quantum computing of qubits to be reliable, quantum circuits, e.g., the qubits themselves, the readout circuitry associated with the qubits, and other types of superconducting quantum logic circuits, must not alter the energy states of the particles or the microwave emissions in any significant manner. This operational constraint on any circuit that operates with quantum information necessitates special considerations in fabricating semiconductor and/or superconductor structures that are used in such a circuit.
The readout circuitry is generally coupled with a qubit by electromagnetic resonance (usually a microwave or radio-frequency resonance) using a resonator. A resonator in the readout circuitry comprises inductive and capacitive elements. Some qubits are fixed-frequency qubits, i.e., their resonance frequencies are not changeable. Other qubits are frequency-tunable qubits. A q-processor can employ fixed-frequency qubits, frequency-tunable qubits, or a combination thereof.
The illustrative embodiments recognize that a fixed-frequency qubit is designed to be fixed in frequency to improve immunity to noise. The illustrative embodiments recognize that when the resonance frequencies of two neighboring qubits on a chip are the same or within a threshold band of frequencies, or their higher transition frequencies are on resonance or close to resonance, then negative effects can happen such as, crosstalk, quantum decoherence, energy decay, creation of mixed states, unintended information transfer, quantum state leakage and so on. The illustrative embodiments further recognize that such qubits can also negatively affect the performance or utility of certain quantum gates, such as cross-resonance gates which have stringent requirements on the spectrum of resonance frequencies of qubits upon which the gate is operating on. The illustrative embodiments further recognize that one challenge in quantum processors that are based on fixed-frequency qubits is frequency crowding or frequency collision between adjacent qubits.
The illustrative embodiments recognize that another challenge in quantum processors that are based on fixed-frequency qubits is low On/Off ratios between when microwave signals turn On an interaction (On interaction strength) and the interactions between neighboring qubits when these signals are disabled (Off interaction strength). The illustrative embodiments further recognize that yet another challenge in quantum processors that are based on fixed-frequency qubits is enabling a gate of interest without producing unwanted interactions at other gates. The illustrative embodiments further recognize that imperfections in the fabrication and the materials used in the presently available fabrication methods for fixed-frequency qubits leads to deviations from an intended resonance frequency.
FIG. 1 depicts a scaled image of a qubit with a capacitive coupling to external circuits. Image 100 shows a portion of a qubit chip. Coupling capacitors 102 couple with transmission lines (not visible) that bring the electromagnetic signal out from Josephson junction 104. Capacitor pads 106 are capacitive devices driving Josephson junction 104 and forming a nonlinear resonator. A ground-plane (not visible) typically surrounds all or a portion of this structure.
The illustrative embodiments recognize that a qubit's resonance frequency is inherently fixed at the time the qubit is fabricated, i.e., when the Josephson Junction and the capacitive element of the qubit-oscillator are fabricated on a q-processor chip. The illustrative embodiments further recognize that in the simplest implementation of a q-processor, at least two qubits are needed to implement a quantum logic gate. Therefore, a q-processor chip is typically fabricated to have at least 2, but often 8, 16, or more qubits on a single q-processor chip.

Resonance frequency adjustment for fixed-frequency qubits

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


Provided is an information processing apparatus that allows program updating to be promptly completed. In the information processing apparatus, a memory of at least one of a plurality of devices or a storage portion stores program updating order information specifying an order for updating a program in each device group. Upon an acquisition portion acquiring update data, in accordance with an order of priority in each device group represented by the program updating order information, each of the plurality of devices classified into a plurality of device groups performs program updating with respect to itself.

The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus, an image forming apparatus, and a method for controlling the information processing apparatus.
Conventionally, there is known an information processing apparatus that fulfills its functions by using a plurality of control portions (devices each including a CPU, a memory, and so on). Such an information processing apparatus is used for, for example, controlling a job execution portion of an image forming apparatus.
An image forming apparatus is composed of, for example, a main control portion that performs control of the entire apparatus, an engine control portion that controls a printing operation with respect to a paper sheet, and a scanner control portion that controls a scanning operation with respect to an original document. Each of the control portions of the image forming apparatus includes, for example, a CPU, a memory, and so on and stores a program for executing a job corresponding to the each of the control portions.
By the way, the image forming apparatus may be equipped with a multitude of optional devices such as a large-capacity paper feed device, a finish processing device that performs stapling processing, punching processing, and so on, and an original document conveying device that conveys an original document to a reading position for performing scanning. Typically, each of the optional devices includes a control portion that is composed of a CPU, a memory, and so on, and each of the control portions of the optional devices by itself retains a program for executing a job corresponding to the each of the control portions.
In the configuration described above, for example, the control portion of the paper feed device (hereinafter, referred to as a paper feed control portion) and the control portion of the finish processing device (hereinafter, referred to as a finish processing control portion) are connected to the engine control portion. Furthermore, the control portion of the original document conveying device (hereinafter, referred to as an original document conveying control portion) is connected to the scanner control portion. In this case, for example, the engine control portion acts as a supervisory control portion that, based on a command from the main control portion, provides a command to each of the paper feed control portion and the finish processing control portion, and each of the paper feed control portion and the finish processing control portion acts as a subordinate control portion that is subordinate to the engine control portion. Similarly, the scanner control portion acts as a supervisory control portion that, based on a command from the main control portion, provides a command to the original document conveying control portion, and the original document conveying control portion acts as a subordinate control portion that is supervised by the scanner control portion.
Upon undergoing bug fixing, addition of a function, or the like, each of the programs of the control portions of the image forming apparatus is updated from an old version to a new version. An update program for updating each of the programs of the control portions is sent to the image forming apparatus via a network or the like. Alternatively, there is also a case where a portable storage medium storing such an update program is provided to a user of the image forming apparatus.
Herein, in the conventional technique, in a case of updating the programs of the plurality of control portions of the image forming apparatus, in accordance with a predetermined updating order, the main control portion sequentially commands the plurality of control portions, one at a time, to perform program updating. In other words, the main control portion commands one of the control portions ranked higher in the updating order to perform program updating, and after completion of the program updating at the one of the control portions, commands another one of the control portions ranked lower in the updating order to perform program updating. The reason for this is that, for example, in a case where a supervisory control portion has a processing program for performing program updating with respect to each subordinate control portion linked to itself, if program updating with respect to the supervisory control portion (namely, updating of the processing program) is performed first, program updating with respect to the each subordinate control portion may become unable to be performed.
In this case, for example, if the number of control portions to be subjected to program updating is small, it does not take so much time to complete program updating with respect to all the control portions. In a case of an image forming apparatus equipped with a large number of optional devices, however, the number of control portions that possibly become control portions to be subjected to program updating is increased.
For example, in a case where there exist a large number of control portions to be subjected to program updating, if all the control portions are sequentially subjected, one at a time, to program updating, it takes a lot of time to complete program updating with respect to all the control portions, which is disadvantageous.

Information processing apparatus, image forming apparatus, and method for controlling information processing apparatus


A method and apparatus for a server that includes a file processor that interprets each requested data file, such as a web page, requested by a client in a process analogous to that of a browser application or other requesting application. The file processor initiates the loading of each referenced data item within the requested document in anticipation that the client will make the same requests upon receiving the requested data file. Each referenced data item is loaded into the server cache. When the client browser application requests these referenced data items they can be returned to the client browser application without accessing a slower persistent data storage. The requested data items are loaded from the server cache, which has a faster access time than the persistent data storage.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a client interaction with a web server. The client 101 is a computer that is communicating with a web server 109 over a network. The client 101 is executing a browser 103. A user interacts with a browser 103 to request a web page 105. The sequence of requests and responses 111A-H is illustrated with the requests in a sequence with the first request 111A at the top of the set of requests and the last response 111H at the bottom.
The web browser 103 generates a request 111A for a web page 105. The request 111A is sent to the web server 109 that provides the web page 105. The web server 109 responds to the request 111A by retrieving the web page 105 from a storage location and returning the web page 105 in a response 111B. The web browser 103 then interprets the web page 105 to determine each element of the web page 105 that must be requested from the web server 109 to complete the web page 105 for display to the user. The example web page 105 includes an image 107A and two frames 107B, C.
The web browser 103 generates a request for each embedded item found while interpreting the received web page 105. In the example, the image 107A is found first and a request 111C is sent to the web server 109 to obtain the image 107A. The web server 109 receives the request 111C and retrieves the image 107A from a storage location and generates a response 111D to provide the image 107A to the client 101.
The web browser 103 continues to interpret the web page 105 and generates requests 111E, G for the two frames 107B, C. The web server 109 receives these requests 111E, G and retrieves the data requested for each frame 107B, C and generates responses 111F, H to provide this data to the browser 103.
FIG. 2 is a diagram of a system for providing web pages and related content to a client. The client 101 is a computer connected to the web server 109 over a network 207. The network is typically the Internet. The web server 109 is a dedicated server computer that executes a web server program. The web server 109 also provides a page cache 201. The page cache 201 is a part of the system memory of the web server 209 that is utilized by the web server 109 to store recently or frequently accessed data.
The web server 109 is in communication with a database 203 and a dynamic content provider 205. The web server 109 interacts with the database 203 and dynamic content provider 205 to service requests. The database 203 stores data including static web pages and multimedia. The dynamic content provider 205 is an application or set of applications that provide web pages and embedded content in web pages that changes in response to changes in input parameters. For example, a dynamic content provider may be a news feed or stock ticker embedded in a web page.
The client 101 requests each web page and embedded item separately as it receives a user input such as a uniform resource locator (URL) identifying the requested data and as it interprets a received web page that contains additional URLs for embedded content as the client attempts to render the requested web page for a user.


This invention discloses a flame and heat resistant work glove that includes improved articulation systems for easier flexing of the finger joints and impact protection to safeguard the wearer's hands.

The art of work glove design has developed many gloves with improvements in the areas of comfort and flexibility, flame and heat resistance, and impact protection. One challenge faced by designers of work gloves is that, oftentimes, as flame and impact protection are increased, comfort and flexibility are compromised. Thus, work glove designers seek improvements that allow greater flame and impact protection while also improving comfort and flexibility. These improvements are especially desirable in the design of extrication gloves, where flexibility for dexterous movement of the fingers is desirable along with flame resistance and impact protection.
In the area of comfort and flexibility, numerous work gloves have been developed that allow the wearer's finger joints to flex more easily while in the glove. One such development is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,000,524 to Rinehart, which discloses an articulated glove construction. The fingers of Rinehart's glove are enhanced for greater flexibility in the joints by the inclusion of telescopic pleats at each of the finger joints in order that the fingers may be easily flexed. While disclosing an articulating mechanism, Rinehart fails to provide a means for combining greater flexibility with the advantages of flame and heat resistance and impact protection, which are desirable in extrication gloves.
Another such articulating mechanism is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,415,443 to Schierenbeck et al., which discloses a protective glove with enhanced finger joints for firefighters. The glove is enhanced by including wider sections at the finger and thumb joints, which facilitate easier flexing of the fingers. The Schierenbeck glove, however, fails to disclose a means by which the wearer's hand is also protected against impact.
Another such glove is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,249 to Mattesky, which discloses a heavy duty work glove that includes greater flexibility and enhanced friction gripping by including strips of friction grip enhancing elements sewn across the palm of the glove. Mattesky's glove, however, also fails to disclose a means for improving flexibility while maintaining flame and impact protection.
Another articulating mechanism is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,732,378 to Novak, which discloses a glove with tucks located at the fourchette of each finger in order to improve flexibility. While directed towards improving flexibility and reducing hand fatigue of the wearer, Novak's glove fails to disclose a system that includes effective flame and heat resistance and impact protection. In summary, while representing improvements in the area of flexibility and comfort, the above designs fail to disclose a glove design that is flexible, while maintaining flame and heat resistance and impact protection.
Another class of work gloves has been developed in order to protect the wearer from flame and heat resistance. U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,611, for example, to Tschirch et al. discloses a fireproof glove that includes a layer of flame resistant elastomer. Tschirch's glove, however, fails to disclose a means of combining flame resistance with enhanced flexibility and impact protection.
Another such glove is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,349,705 to Ragan, which discloses a multi-layered firefighter's glove. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,551 to Walker discloses a multi-layered protective glove with a liquid impenetrable layer beneath a flexible outer layer. Both Ragan and Walker's gloves, however, fail to disclose a system that includes enhanced flexibility and impact protection.
One flame resistant glove that includes enhancements for improved flexibility is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,796 to Harges, Jr. et al. Harges, Jr. discloses a protective glove for firefighters that includes a relatively thin inner-protective glove which is covered by an outer portion of fire resistant material and insulation batting. In one embodiment of the invention, the Harges, Jr. glove includes lateral indentations, flex joints, accordion folds, or lateral cut-outs at the finger joints in order to enhance flexibility. The Harges, Jr. glove, however, fails to disclose a glove that includes a system for impact protection. Also, because the insulating batting material is relatively thick, the glove is better suited to work such as fighting wildland fires, where subtle movement of the fingers is not necessary. Thus, the glove is unsuitable for certain applications, such as extrication, where impact protection and dexterous movement of the fingers are desirable.
Another class of gloves has been developed to prove the wearer with impact protection for work and sports applications. U.S. Pat. No. 4,272,849 to Thurston, et al., for example, discloses a work glove with steel plates included between the layers of the glove and protecting the proximal, middle, distal phalanx. Because the steel plates do not extend to the finger joints, they do not substantially interfere with the flexing of the finger. The Thurston glove, however, is relatively heavy and unwieldy because of the inclusion of metallic materials and fails to disclose a system for flame resistance.
Several gloves, particularly for the sport of hockey, have been developed, which offer the wearer a great deal of impact protection by including a layer of pads that covers the outside of an inner glove. The pads, however, are bulky and tend to limit the flexibility of the glove. U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,147 to Gazzano et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,739 to Cardinal disclose mechanisms for improving the flexibility of these padded sports gloves. Gazzano's glove features beveled edges at the protective pads in order to allow easier flexing of the wearer's joints. Cardinal's glove, meanwhile, features a flexible web of material at the finger joints in order to allow easier flexing, while protecting the joints of the finger. Both of these gloves, however, a relatively heavy and unwieldy and, thus, unsuited to applications, such as extrication, where dexterous movement of the fingers is required. Also, neither glove discloses a design that is flame or heat resistant.
Several other gloves have been developed specifically for extrication and include varying degrees of impact protection and flame and heat resistance. None of these gloves, however, discloses a means for providing the wearer with enhanced flexibility of the fingers while maintaining flame and impact resistance.
Thus, there remains a long-felt need in the art for a heavy-duty work glove that affords the wearer flame resistance and impact protection, and includes a system for easier articulation of the finger joints.


A method for testing the integrity of a memory with defective sections under a plurality of operating environments includes testing the memory with defective sections under a plurality of operating environments, recording results of each operating environment test, and comparing the results of the tests. If the results of are the same, the memory with defective sections is declared to have integrity. If not, the memory with defective sections is declared to not have integrity.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for determining the integrity of memory and more particularly, to a method for determining the integrity of defective memory under a plurality of operating environments.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An essential component in today's electronic devices, such as switches, routers, or the like, is memory, such as a header table or a packet buffer. Because of the important role that memory plays in electronic devices, it is standard practice to only use memory that is free from defects in electronic devices. However, it is not to say that memory must be defective free in order to be incorporated for use. Given the right techniques, manufacturers could use memory with defective sections in a product and still have the product retain the same functionality as a product that uses defective free memory.
However, before a defective memory is employed in the use of a product, a manufacturer should be certain about the memory's integrity. That is to say, a manufactured memory should have consistency throughout a certain range of operating environment condition settings. In this case, a memory with integrity is a memory in which the number of defects and their respective locations are consistent under all the operating environments an electronic device is intended to perform under. For example, imagine a product is intended to run under two operating environments in regards to a voltage condition—low and medium. After testing processes it is discovered that a defective memory that the manufacturer plans to use in the product has two defects one at section 1, the other at section 5—when under a low voltage environment. In order for the memory to be declared as having integrity, the memory would have the two defects at the same sections when under a medium voltage environment. Any other case, and the memory lacks integrity (For example, there are three defects under the medium voltage, or there are two defects but one is at section 3 and the other at section 6).
A defective memory's integrity is important to check because a defective memory lacking integrity and used in an electronic device can cause operating problems in the electronic device. For example, imagine a memory lacking integrity is used inside a switch, such as a header table memory or a packet buffer memory used in a switch; the number of defects increases when the circuits (including the memory) of the switch operate above a threshold temperature. When the switch is first turned on, the circuits are below the threshold temperature. However, after operating for a certain amount of time, the circuits of the switch reach the threshold temperature. The switch then tries to access a section of the memory that was accessible when under the threshold temperature but now has become defective because the threshold temperature has been reached, resulting in malfunction, e.g. difficulty in forming and utilizing a linked list associated with the header table or the packet buffer.

Method for determining integrity of memory


A noise removal circuit of the present invention comprises a 180-degree odd multiple shifting section for outputting a 180-degree shifted signal that is phase-shifted from an input signal by an odd multiple of 180 degrees and difference output section for outputting a difference between the input signal and the 180-degree shifted signal. The noise removal circuit comprises a 360-degree shifting section for outputting a 360-degree shifted signal that is phase-shifted from an input signal by an integral multiple of 360 degrees and sum output section for outputting a sum of the input signal and the 360-degree shifted signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a noise removal circuit and a noise removal method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Prior art related to signal noise removal are covered in signal recording and reproduction devices such as a hard disk and an optical disk. For instance, optical disks that allow data recording using laser beam are classified into write-once optical disks such as CD-R, DVD-R and DVD+R and rewritable optical disks such as CD-RW, MD, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW and MO.
A recording and reproduction device for such optical disks (hereinafter written as an "optical disk device") comprises, as an example, an optical pickup, a WBL (wobble signal) detection unit, an LPP detection unit, a write clock generation unit, a decoder, a spindle motor, a spindle servo circuit, an optical pickup servo circuit, a processor, an interface unit, an encoder, a laser control unit and a ROM.
Of all the components, the aforementioned WBL signal extraction circuit is shown in FIG. 11. An optical pickup 11 irradiates an optical beam onto the recording track of an optical disk 1 based on a laser control signal. A WBL detection unit 12 comprises a wobble (WBL) signal B.P.F. (Band Pass Filter) circuit 12a, a comparator 12b and so on. A radial push-pull signal SDT, detected based on a reflected light of an optical beam B, is input to the wobble signal B.P.F. circuit 12a. The wobble signal B.P.F. circuit 12a removes a high-frequency noise component and extracts a WBL signal component A_WBL from the radial push-pull signal SDT (See, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2000-293855).
A binary-valued WBL signal is output by comparing the WBL signal component A_WBL (negative side) and a reference voltage (positive side) using the comparator 12b. The binary-valued WBL signal is output to the write clock generation unit, the spindle servo circuit 17 and so on.
In extracting the WBL signal component A_WBL, the wobble signal B.P.F. circuit 12a removes the high-frequency noise component from the radial push-pull signal SDT. Nevertheless, some noise component has remained in the WBL signal component A_WBL after passage through the wobble signal B.P.F. circuit 12a.
Jitter occurs in the clock during optical disk recording or reproduction in the event of an increase in this noise component. Occurrence of the jitter has hindered synchronization of the optical disk rotation speed and the clock, resulting in recording or reproduction failure and other problems.
The wobble signal may become amplitude-modulated depending on the disk or pickup condition, occasionally resulting in the wobble signal being impossible to read correctly.
Further, the wobble signal may be lost as a result of disk damage or other cause, occasionally adversely affecting the control system using the wobble signal.
Still further, an AC signal may be superposed onto the wobble signal at disk rotation cycles due to effects such as unevenness or double refraction in disk protective film and pickup condition, occasionally resulting in the wobble signal being difficult to read correctly.

Noise removal using 180-degree or 360-degree phase shifting circuit


A cooking appliance includes a cooktop with a number of gas burners positioned below a grate. The grate is hinged to the cooktop so as to be pivotable between a raised position and a lowered position.

A gas cooking range is used to cook foodstuffs on a cooking surface. The range uses natural gas or propane fuel to create a flame to generate heat for cooking. Metal grids or grills form a cooking surface to support cooking vessels over an open flame created by a burner on the range.


The invention relates to an appliance for cooking under pressure, the appliance comprising:                a bowl and a lid; and        opening safety means suitable for going between a neutral position, in which they allow the lid to be unlocked, and a blocking position, in which they prevent the lid from being unlocked, said safety means being designed to find themselves in the blocking position when the pressure prevailing inside the vessel is greater than or equal to a predetermined value or “rise pressure”, and/or when the temperature prevailing inside the vessel is greater than or equal to a predetermined value or “rise temperature”;

Pressure-cooking appliances of the pressure cooker type are already known that are provided with opening safety means. Such opening safety means are well known per se. They make it possible for positive opening safety to be provided by allowing the lid of the appliance to be released relative to the bowl only when the pressure level prevailing inside the vessel reaches a level acceptable from the point of view of user safety, i.e. a pressure level that is low enough to avoid any sudden expulsion of the lid or any spraying of scalding-hot cooking substances.
Such known opening safety means are generally constituted by a pressure-gauge rod that is sensitive to the pressure prevailing inside the cooking vessel, and that is mounted to move between a low position in which it allows the lid to be unlocked, and a high position, in which it co-operates with the locking/unlocking means for locking/unlocking the lid in a manner such as to prevent said means from going from the locking position to the unlocking position.
In such known appliances, the pressure-gauge rod moves upwards and downwards automatically and as a function of the pressure prevailing inside the cooking vessel only. The pressure-gauge rod in such a prior art appliance also has a weight/size compromise calculated to be favorable to the rod moving upwards into its high position early, e.g. as soon as the pressure inside the pressure cooker reaches or exceeds 0.5 kilopascals (kPa).
Early upward movement of the rod is desirable in order to enable the pressure to increase as quickly as possible, which is not possible so long as the pressure-gauge rod is in the low position, which is a non-leaktight position.
Unfortunately, even when the rod is ideally shaped and dimensioned to be favorable to said rod rising into its high position early, it is observed, in practice, that it is generally necessary to subject the appliance to a heat source having high power in order to ensure that the rod does indeed rise "early".
In addition, if the weight/size compromise of the known pressure-gauge rods is chosen to be favorable to early rising of the rod, the same compromise is unfavorable to the rod moving downwards from its high position to its low position. In practice, it is observed that, in particular due to the very small weight of the rod, which weight is chosen to be favorable to the rod rising, the rod moving downwards is often random, and, in any event, takes place at a pressure that is generally considerably lower than the pressure that caused it to rise.
Therefore, the user must generally wait for a relatively long time between the moment at which the user triggers decompression of the appliance, and the moment at which the user can actually separate the lid from the bowl, in order to access the food.
Such a relatively long time also prevents a pressure cooker from being used as a conventional cooking pot, with which the user can very easily and quickly open and close the lid at will during cooking, for the purposes of inspecting the food directly, of seasoning it, or of tasting it, for example.
The opening safety means equipping known cooking means thus considerably slow down the overall time of the cooking cycle, by requiring a latency time at the beginning and at the end of cooking.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Pressure-cooking appliance including opening safety means

Abstract: said appliance being further comprising actuating means for actuating the safety means, which actuating means are arranged to make it possible to place the safety means in the blocking position. The invention is applicable to household appliances for cooking under pressure.


A method and system for cost-effectively converting a feedstock using thermal plasma, or other styles of gassifiers, into an energy transfer system using a blended syngas. The feedstock is any organic material or fossil fuel to generate a syngas. The syngas is blended with any fuel of a higher thermal content (BTU) level, such as natural gas. The blended syngas high thermal content fuel can be used in any energy transfer device such as a boiler for simple cycle Rankine systems, an internal combustion engine generator, or a combined cycle turbine generator system. The quality of the high thermal content fuel is monitored using a thermal content monitoring feedback system and a quenching arrangement.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to processes and systems for generating a blended syngas having a thermal (BTU) content high enough to operate power transfer devices such as combined cycle turbines, internal combustion engines, or simple cycle boilers with a minimum of modifications, the blended syngas being derived from renewable sources of feedstock in a plasma-based or other heat-based gassifier.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is significant interest in renewable energy projects. Thermal plasma has consistently distinguished itself as a high efficiency, low emissions gasification process for just about any feedstock, and has been identified as one of the most desirable processes for use in producing energy from renewable fuels.
Other heat based processes such as inductive systems have also proven to be very efficient.
If an analysis of plasma municipal solid waste (MSW) or other renewable fuels relative to other energy facilities is conducted, it becomes apparent that the lack of existing plasma projects is not exclusively the result of technological problems, but also results from the relatively poor economics associated with this technology. Plasma and inductive technologies are not inexpensive when compared to disposition of waste using landfill, incineration, or conventional gasification.
Many plasma and other high technology projects fail at the onset, notwithstanding extensive initial marketing efforts, usually as a result of inadequate financing and low or nonexistent profitability. Recently some states have allocated bonuses for development and use of renewable energy, and such efforts have stimulated the use of plasma systems and other technology systems in the production of energy. Unfortunately, it is expected that this modest boon to the usage of plasma and other technologies will be short lived, as they represents an artificial market that is a poor model on which to build a business. This is particularly problematical when one considers that these facilities are expected to produce power cost-effectively for at least fifty years.
Many plasma projects in the past have pinned false hopes on high tipping fees for hazardous waste without fully understanding the complications that are associated with such materials. The handling of these materials is not only complex and expensive, but also potentially dangerous if not properly engineered. The entire process and the facility itself thus become unduly expensive.
Most counties emphatically state that they do not desire that large quantities of hazardous waste be transported through their communities. However, large quantities of such waste must be generated if the facility is to achieve profitability. The production and delivery of the hazardous waste have to be carefully coordinated since it is dangerous to store biological and other hazardous waste feedstock.
The process and system of the present invention overcomes the economic hurdles noted above for a plasma, inductive, or other high technology gasification system. It is to be understood, however, that the invention herein described is not limited to the use of a plasma gassifier. In some embodiments of the invention, conventional gassifiers can be employed. The use of a plasma gassifier in the practice of the present invention, however, increases overall system effectiveness.
The system of the present invention is simple, flexible, and very energy efficient. In short, it produces a large amount of renewable power from a feedstock such as Municipal Solid Waste ("MSW"), for a very small capital investment. Any feedstock can be used, including, for example, biomass or algae. MSW is but a common example of a renewable feedstock.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a simple and cost-effective renewable energy system.
It is another object of this invention to provide a renewable energy system that can consume virtually any feedstock.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a simple and cost-effective renewable energy system that can use a conventional gassifier.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a simple and cost-effective renewable energy system that can use a plasma gassifier.
It is additionally an object of this invention to provide a process and system for enhancing the thermal (BTU) content of a product syngas.
It is yet a further object of this invention to utilize the enhanced thermal content product fuel in a power plant such as a simple cycle turbine, an internal combustion generator system, or a combined cycle power plant.

Renewable blended syngas from a plasma-based system


This invention relates to mixtures of organosilane-polysulphanes of the general formula EQU (RO).sub.3 Si(CH.sub.2).sub.x S--S.sub.z --S(CH.sub.2).sub.x Si(OR).sub.3 (I). in which. R means alkyl, linear or branched, having 1-8 C atoms, in particular 1-3 C atoms PA1 x means an integer from 1-8 PA1 z means 0 to 6,. wherein sum of the proportions of polysulphanes in which z=0 and z=1 amounts to .gtoreq.80% by weight, providing that the proportion of compounds in which z=0 remains below 80% and the proportion of organosilanepolysulphanes in which z means an integer from 2 to 6 does not exceed a proportion of 20 wt. % in the mixtures, and to the rubber compounds produced using these mixtures, in particular for tire treads.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to mixtures of organosilane-polysulphanes having an elevated proportion of disulphanes and to a process for the production of rubber compounds containing these compounds.
2. Prior Art
Due to increasing environmental awareness, economies in fuel consumption and a reduction in pollutant emissions are today becoming a greater priority [Auto 91/92, Verband der Autombobilindustrie e.V., Frankfurt, ADAC-Motorwelt 11791, 50 (1991]. The challenge to tire manufacturers is to develop tires which are distinguished by very low rolling resistance combined with excellent wet skid resistance and good abrasion resistance.
Proposals have been made in numerous publications and patents with regard to reducing tire rolling resistance and thus fuel consumption. Proposals which may be mentioned include reducing the carbon black content in the compound and using special carbon blacks (U.S. Pat. No. 4,866,131, U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,420). However, none of these proposed solutions has resulted in a satisfactory balance between the desired low rolling resistance and other important tire characteristics such as wet skid resistance and abrasion resistance.
The use of highly active silica fillers in combination with organosilane bis(triethoxysilylpropyl)tetrasulphane (TESPT) to replace the carbon black normally used in rubber compounds is known to allow production of a tire having rolling resistance substantially reduced in comparison with standard tires, while simultaneously retaining or even improving the other two above-stated tire characteristics [EP 0 501 227, U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,425; G. Agostini, J. Berg, Th. Materne: New Compound Technology, October 1994, Akron, Ohio, USA; S. Wolff, U. Gorl, M. J. Wang, W. Wolff: Silica based on tread compounds--background & performance, paper presented at TYRE TECH '93, October 1993, Basel, Switzerland; Ph. Cochet, L. B. Barriquand: Precipitated silica in tire tread, paper presented at ACS Meeting of the Rubber Division, October 1995, Cleveland, Ohio, USA].
At the 1986 ACS meeting in New York S. Wolff [S. Wolff: The influence of fillers on rolling resistance, presented at the 129.sup.th meeting of the Rubber Division, American Chemical Society, Apr. 8-11, 1986, New York] presented a paper showing that it is possible to reduce rolling resistance in comparison with a carbon black filled standard compound while largely retaining wet skid resistance by using silica in combination with TESPT both in a passenger vehicle tire tread based on an emulsion styrene/butadiene rubber (E-SBR) and in a truck tire tread based on natural rubber.
This system was further optimized with regard to all three characteristics by using specific styrene/butadiene polymers produced using a solution polymerization process (EP 0 447 066 A1), sometimes blended with other polymers, in particular polybutadiene and additionally using novel grades of silica (U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,425) and polymer blends specifically tailored to this application (EP 0 620 250 A1) sometimes with three to four different starting polymers [G. W. Marwede, U. G. Eisele, A. J. M. Sumner: paper presented to the ACS Meeting of the Rubber Division, October 1995, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.].
It is stated in all the publications and patents that, in order to achieve a lower rolling resistance while retaining or improving wet skid resistance and abrasion resistance, it is necessary to replace a large proportion of or the entire content of the normally used carbon black filler with a highly active silica [S. Wolff: The influence of fillers on rolling resistance, presented at the 129.sup.th meeting of the Rubber Division, America Chemical Society, Apr. 8-11, 1986, New York; U. LeMaitre: Tire rolling resistance, AFCEP/DKG Meeting, 1993, Mulhouse, France]. However, this replacement results in the desired objective only if the organosilane bis(triethoxysilylpropyl)tetrasulphane (TESTP) is used as a "coupling" agent between the silica and the polymer.
It is known [S. Wolff: The role of rubber-to-silica bonds in reinforcement, presented at the First Franco-German Rubber Symposium, Nov. 14-16, 1985, Obernai, France; S. Wolff: Silanes in tire compounding after ten years--review, Third Annual Meeting & Conference on Tire Science & Technology, The Tire Society, Mar. 28-29, 1984, Akron, Ohio, USA] that the properties which may be achieved by using organosilanes in rubber compounds are dependent upon two independent reactions. Firstly, during production of the compound, preferably during the first compounding stage, a reaction occurs at elevated temperature between the silanol groups of the silica and the trialkoxysilyl groups of the silane with elimination of alcohol (hydrophobing or modification reaction). A complete reaction is of decisive significance to subsequent properties.
Like all chemical reactions, this reaction proceeds faster at elevated temperatures [U. Gorl, A. Hunsche: Advanced investigations into the silica/silane reaction system, paper presented at ACS Meeting, Rubber Division, October 1996, Louisville, Ky., USA], such that the rubber compounder, desiring short compounding times, prefers to use the highest possible compounding temperature. The use of such high compounding temperatures is, however, limited by the fact that the second, so-called rubber-reactive group of TESPT consists of a group which is on average a tetrasulphane group having a significant proportion of longer sulphane chains (S.sub.5 -S.sub.8) [S. Wolff: Silanes in tire compounding after ten years--review, Third Annual Meeting & Conference on Tire Science & Technology, The Tire Society, Mar. 28-29, 1984, Akron, Ohio, USA].
This rubber-reactive group is generally considered to give rise to a so-called filler/rubber bond, which determines the technical rubber properties of the finished article (for example tires). This reaction, which is desired during vulcanization, is influenced by the thermal lability of the tetrasulphane group and higher sulphane units. Practical experience has, however, shown that the reaction causes serious problems if it occurs during production of the unvulcanised compound, during which only the reaction between the filler and the silane should normally occur.
If sulphur is eliminated from the long-chain sulphane units, it is incorporated into the polymer chain. This then brings about "scorching" and stiffening of the sheeted compound, which can even render the unvulcanized compound unprocessable. Scorching can be measured by determining the viscosity of the compound. EP-A1-0 732 362, which is not a prior publication, describes the use of organosilanedisulphides in rubber compounds.
However, these sulphur compounds must be very pure or have a disulphide content of at least 80%.

Mixture of organosilanepolysulphanes and a process for the production of rubber compounds containing these mixtures


Disclosed is a method of rapidly hydrating a hydratable polymer, which method involves irradiating with radio frequency electromagnetic radiation, a mixture of at least the polymer and an aqueous hydrotreating medium to form a viscosified mixture of at least aqueous hydrotreating medium and hydrated polymer. Related methods of treating a subterranean formation and continuously hydrotreating a subterranean formation are also revealed.

Water-soluble polymers are frequently used as components in well treatment fluids. Such fluids have useful physical and chemical properties making them particularly useful, for example, in hydraulic fracturing and/or gravel packing of subterranean well formations. Due to the volumes of fluid employed in these or similar operations, and the residence times and/or shear conventionally required to hydrate such polymers in commercial and so-called "on-the-fly" applications, it often has been necessary in commercial practice to undertake hydration using large vats or tanks and other sophisticated shearing equipment at significant operational cost. While it has been known to be desirable to increase the rate of polymer hydration for such purposes, few practical and economical solutions have been developed for use in commercial and industrial applications, including well treatment operations.


A device for obtaining internal energy from liquid by utilizing buoyancy includes: an inner body (2); a sealing strip (3); a shell body (5); an axle (1) and liquid, wherein the sealing strip (3) is mounted between the shell body (5) and the inner body (2), a liquid entrance (6) is provided at a bottom portion of the shell body (5), the inner body (2) is connected to the axle (1), an energy transformer is connected to the axle (1) or the shell body (5). Internal energy not used in the liquid is transformed into mechanical energy by a combination of the liquid, the inner body (2) and the axle (1). The present invention also provides a method for obtaining internal energy from liquid by utilizing buoyancy.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a device for obtaining internal energy from liquid by utilizing buoyancy and method thereof, and more particularly to a device for obtaining internal energy from liquid which utilizes buoyancy and features of doing work and method thereof.
2. Description of Related Arts
As we all know, an immersed object has a feature called 'weightlessness'. When an object moves up and down in water, it does no work to the outer system. This means that the total amount of energy in this system remains constant in such progress. Water displaced by this object will move up and down relatively and its potential energy is changing at the same time, which means the change of internal energy of the water. And the movement of the object is presented in extra energy form without doing work to the outer system, wherein the extra energy is not involved in the total amount of energy which remains constant. This is some kind similar to the electronics' energy exchange between kinetic energy and potential energy. The energy of the object moving up and down remains constant while the potential energy of the water displaced by this object changes continuously, which is defined by Bernoulli's equation. Similarly, when the position of the object is changing, the force on the object changes as well as the internal energy of the object. All these intimate the existence of extra energy in an internal energy form.
There is no practical way to make use of this extra energy in an internal energy form in the water now.

Device for obtaining internal energy from liquid by utilizing buoyancy and method therefor


A device capable of retaining a portable electronic component includes a frame having a rear surface with a circular depressed region. A handle coupled to a handle retainer is movable between a retracted position and a plurality of extended positions. The device includes a circular plate residing within the depressed region of the frame, the circular plate having an opening and a recessed handle receiving well having a depth capable of housing at least a portion of the handle in its retracted position. A rotatable handle retainer is seated within the opening of the circular plate to be retained between the circular plate and the rear surface of the frame in a plurality of rotational positions. A locking ring engages with the frame in order to retain the circular plate within the depressed region of the frame in manner that permits the circular plate to rotate.

There are many types of portable electronic components and devices including personal digital assistants (PDAs) computers, smartphones, mobile phones, satellite phones, cellular phones, pagers, music players, digital cameras, global positioning systems, and portable game consoles. Typically, these devices are battery powered, so that people can carry and use the devices during their daily lives. Because such portable electronic devices are somewhat fragile and used to carry valuable personal information, many people protect their devices using some form of protective case. Depending on the particular case design, these cases protect the back, side, and front of the devices from scratches, dings, drops, and other physical damage.
Use of protective cases may diminish the ability to effectively use the portable electronic device by, for example, restricting access to the screen, jacks, ports, or other input/output features of the device. In addition, certain cases may diminish the ability of the device to receive and send electromagnetic waves, which carry communication to and from the device. Other forms of devices unduly increase the overall size of the device or make the device more cumbersome to hold, store, or use. A need exists, therefore, for an improved case for portable electronic devices. Preferably, the improved case would protect the device and increase its usefulness.

Device for retaining a portable electronic component


A piston pump includes a main body having an inlet, an outlet, and a chamber fluidly connected to form at least a portion of a first fluid flow path for receiving a flow of fluid therein. The pump also includes a second fluid flow path to provide fluid communication between the chamber and a point upstream of the inlet of the main body. A piston is disposed in the chamber of the main body and reciprocatingly moves therein to cause the flow of the fluid through at least one of the first fluid flow path and the second fluid flow path. An adjustment element is disposed in the main body and configured to adjust an effective flow of the fluid through the first fluid flow path.

Conventional piston-type pumps (i.e. piston pumps) include a piston that is caused to reciprocate in a chamber, thereby creating a displacement of a fluid in the chamber. An inlet check valve allows the fluid to enter the chamber from an inlet conduit and an outlet check valve allows the fluid to exit the chamber through an outlet conduit. Typically, a conventional piston pump displaces the same amount of the fluid with each stroke of the piston. For example, each time the piston moves to a bottom dead center in the chamber, a volume of the fluid flows into the chamber. Likewise, each time the piston moves to a top dead center in the chamber, the volume of the fluid in the chamber is expelled through the outlet check valve.
It would be desirable to develop a piston pump with an adjustable effective flow of a fluid from the pump, without altering the stroke of the piston.


A wafer component supply device supplying a wafer component and a feeder, such as a tape feeder supplying an electronic component, are set in a component mounting machine. When the wafer component is to be inverted and mounted on a circuit substrate, the wafer component supply device allows the wafer component present on an inverted supply head to be sucked by a mounting head of the component mounting machine at a position where the supply head and a stage are moved down by a vertical movement mechanism. An order of an operation for inverting the wafer component and mounting the wafer component on the circuit substrate and an operation for mounting the feeder component on the circuit substrate is set so that the supply head and the mounting head do not interfere with each other; and an operation for moving down the supply head and the stage, allowing the wafer component to be sucked by the supply head, and inverting the wafer component is performed so as to overlap with an operation for sucking and mounting the feeder component by the mounting head.

As disclosed in, for example, PTL 1 (JP-A-2003-234597), a component mounting machine is adapted so that plural kinds of feeders are set in a body of the mounting machine and an electronic component supplied from each feeder is sucked and mounted on a circuit substrate by a mounting head. PTL 1 discloses a tape feeder, a bulk feeder, a stick feeder, a tray feeder, and the like as a feeder. However, in recent years, there has been an apparatus in which a wafer component supply device supplying a wafer component is set in a component mounting machine and the wafer component is mounted on a circuit substrate by a mounting head of the component mounting machine as disclosed in PTL 2 (JP-A-2010-129949). The wafer component supply device is adapted to suck and pick up a wafer component, which is attached onto a dicing sheet, by a supply head of the wafer component supply device or a mounting head of the component mounting machine.

Control system and control method for component mounting machine


The present disclosure relates to a gate drive circuit. The gate drive circuit includes: cascaded GOA units, first clock signal lines, second clock signal lines, connecting lines and electrostatic protection sub-circuits. The first clock signal lines are used to provide various clock signals to the GOA units. The second clock signal lines are used to, when any of the clock signal lines is broken, replace the broken clock signal line to transmit a corresponding clock signal. The electrostatic protection sub-circuits are electrically connected to corresponding first clock signal lines or corresponding second clock signal lines through the connecting lines. Orthographic projections of the connecting lines on a plane where corresponding first clock signal lines or corresponding second clock signal lines are located intersect with the corresponding first clock signal lines and the corresponding second clock signal lines, respectively.

Most of the existing flat panel display devices use a gate drive circuit (Gate Driver On Array, GOA) technology, in which multiple cascaded shift registers constitute the gate drive circuit. This GOA technology is a technology which integrates the gate drive circuit of a display device on an array substrate. The use of the GOA technology can reduce the amount of ICs (Integrated Circuits) used, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the display device.
As the resolution of display devices increases, the density of gate drive circuits in display devices is increasingly high, and the widths of clock signal lines used for the gate drive circuits are getting narrower, making the clock signal lines prone to breakage.

Gate driving circuit, display device and repair method

BEIJING BOE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD.


Apparatus and methods for a difference amplifier are provided. In certain examples, the difference amplifier can provide high common mode rejection without differential signal attenuation. In an example, a difference amplifier circuit can include first and second amplifiers, first and second buffer amplifiers, a first feedback voltage divider coupled between an output of the first buffer amplifier and an output of the second amplifier, and a second feedback voltage divider coupled between an output of the second buffer amplifier and an output of the first amplifier.

Previous techniques to provide rejection of high common mode voltages can attenuate not only the common mode voltage but also the differential input signal. The differential signal would then be amplified to provide the desired output signal. The attenuation amplification process results in a degraded signal quality as the amplification also amplifies noise in the signal and noise associated with processing the signal.


The present disclosure provides a computer-implemented method, which includes receiving a dispute information pertaining to a billing dispute by a processor, from a device associated with a customer. The method includes computing, by the processor, a score based on the dispute information, for determining validity of the billing dispute. The billing dispute is categorized based on the score computed for the dispute information. One or more actions are subsequently presented to one or more parties associated with the dispute information for resolving the billing dispute. The processor is also configured to prioritize the one or more actions based on the score computed. The present disclosure also provides a system capable of implementing the aforesaid method for prioritizing and resolving the billing disputes in an automated manner.

A customer upon purchase of goods or services from a seller, a bill or an invoice is typically provided to the customer for recording the transaction. The bill includes details pertaining to the timestamp of the transaction, items purchased, price or cost of the purchased product, etc. At times, the customer may claim that there are discrepancies in the transaction, for instance undelivered items by the seller, incorrect quantity or pricing of the items delivered, damaged goods and so on. In such circumstances, the customer typically pays a part of the bill and initializes a claim on the disputed items. The seller then chooses to either accept or investigate the claim made by the customer. The outcome of the investigation can either be acceptance of the claim and clearing the balance or disputing the customer's claim and requiring further information and/or payment of the balance.
The seller generally accesses the claim made by the customer via a computing device, which is configured to manage and investigate billing disputes. Dollar thresholds and other customer-specific rules are typically applied for auto-clearing some of the disputes. The remaining disputes are channeled into a queue, where an agent is initiated for investigating the claim made by the customer. In the process, the agent is required to collate all the available information from various sources manually, and review each of the documents such as but not limiting to the bill, a dispute note, shipping and delivery documents, pricing sheets, correspondence with the customer and the like, for determining the validity and root cause of the claim. Additionally, during the investigation the agent is required to have multiple communication exchanges, which is a cumbersome and an ineffective process of investigating the claim made by the customer. Moreover, due to such cumbersome techniques employed for investigation, the disputes may often be closed arbitrarily. Thus, the existing investigation techniques are cumbersome and labor intensive, which is undesirable.
To overcome the aforementioned problems, presently, box cuts and business rules are implemented, which reduce the workload of investigating with little rationale. Several corporates have also hand-crafted, highly manual solutions and software offerings that help automate parts of the process through Robotic Process Automation (RPA), such as identifying proper reason codes to streamline investigation. However, these solutions operate in a haphazard manner in the likelihood of invalidity of the claim, which creates inefficiency in the processing of the disputes.
Therefore, there exists a need for techniques, which can overcome one or more limitations stated above, in addition to providing other technical advantages.

Prioritization and automation of billing disputes investigation using machine learning


An apparatus for use with a telephone including, in one embodiment, a detector for detecting when the telephone is in an off-hook condition and disconnect circuit for eliminating the off-hook condition when the off-hook condition is caused by the telephone so that phone calls may be received by the line. An alarm responsive to the detector produces a warning of the off-hook condition if another phone on the line is off hook.

When a telephone is off the hook, access to the phone by outside callers is generally prevented. In most phone systems, after the phone has been off-hook for a period of time and inactive, the phone company typically sends a warning signal that can be heard through the receiver.
Shapiro, U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,697, discloses a telephone checking system which generates and detects an off-hook load to test the condition of telephone lines. A microprocessor system periodically seizes a line and causes the system to go off hook. If the off hook load is detected by the microprocessor control system over a line, the telephone is assumed to be in good status. Thereafter, the phone is returned to normal operation. If, however, the off hook load is not detected, the microprocessor control system generates a bad line signal that is used to cause an LED pilot light to blink.
Bartelink, U.S. Pat. No. 4,390,750, discloses a remote supervisory system in which sensors are coupled to a subscriber s telephone circuit. If an abnormal condition occurs, the condition is sensed by one of the sensors and the equipment creates a temporary off-hook condition on the circuit, transmits alarm report signals indicative of the abnormality to a central office and then goes back on-hook.
Fahey, U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,960, discloses an apparatus for monitoring usage of a telephone which is connected across tip and ring terminals of the telephone system. The circuitry, under microprocessor control, repetitively samples the voltage across the tip and ring terminals to identify the transitions between on-hook and off-hook. For each detected transition an activity timer within the microprocessor counts the time period until the next transition. In the event the activity timer times out, an alarm condition is produced.
Korwin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,230,914, discloses a telephone intruder alarm system which indicates to an on-line user of a primary extension telephone, a subsequent connection and disconnection of another, auxiliary extension telephone within the same telephone line. Electrical off- and on-hook signals are generated each time an extension telephone is interconnected or disconnected. Such signals are detected and used to illuminate a light emitting diode thereby indicating when another phone has been taken off-hook.


The invention provides means for detecting errors in the transmission of protocol data words between the handset station and base station of a cordless telephone set. Assuming the protocol data words are eight bits in length, a sixteen bit security code word is provided which consists of a high security byte and a low security byte. At the transmitting station (either the hand set or base), the protocol data byte is exclusive-ored with both the high security byte and the low security byte. The two resulting bytes are appended to the original protocol data byte to form a twenty-four bit error detection code. This error detection code is transmitted to the receiving station. The receiving station takes the unaltered protocol byte portion of the three byte word and exclusive-ors it with both of the other bytes of the received word. If there were no transmission errors, the sixteen bit security code should be generated by the exclusive-oring step. If the resulting sixteen bit word does not match the security code stored in the memory of the receiving station, then an error is indicated and the receiving station request a retransmission of the data.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cordless telephones. More particularly, the invention concerns a method and apparatus for detecting errors in the transmission of digital command words used to control communication protocol between the base and handset of a cordless telephone set.
2. Background Discussion
Cordless telephones normally consist of two separate stations, a base station and a handset station. The base station is plugged into a telephone outlet and comprises all the necessary equipment and electronics for interfacing with the local telephone trunk. The handset station comprises all the electronics and equipment necessary for interfacing with the user of the telephone. Such equipment includes a touch-tone key pad for dialing telephone calls and providing other features, as well as a speaker and microphone. Both stations also include radio transceivers and antennae for radio communication between the handset and the base station.
Since the base station is essentially stationary and usually must be hardwired to a telephone outlet, it will typically receive its electrical power supply from an AC wall outlet. The telephone handset, however, is intended to be portable and therefore cannot be designed for connection to an AC power outlet. Therefore, the handset receives its power from an on-board battery pack. Typically, the batteries are of the rechargeable type, and are recharged when the handset is placed in an accepting cradle on the base station and electrically coupled to the base station power supply via a recharge circuit.
In addition to the actual conversation that takes place on the telephone, digital signals for governing protocol between the two separate stations are also transmitted. Typically, protocol control is carried out by transmitting digital command words and digital acknowledgement words (digital data words, collectively) between the two stations. This may be accomplished on a separate frequency or channel than the voice communications or may be accomplished directly over the voice frequency channels. When transmitting digital words through the air via radio signals, there is a possibility that the transmitted data may not be received correctly at the receiving station. Unfortunately, there is a substantial amount of radio frequency interference and noise which could effect the integrity of the transmitted data, particularly as the distance between the base station and handset increases.
In order to transmit the protocol data words from one station to another, the words are multiplexed onto a single channel and the bits are sent sequentially through the air to the receiving station s antenna. Most noise and interference which effects the integrity of data transmissions in cordless telephone systems consists of bursts of interference of varying duration. An interference burst may effect the validity of only one or two received bits, if the interference is of particularly short duration, or of the entire word if it is of longer duration.
Prior art cordless telephone sets sometimes appended a security code to the protocol data word in order to provide an error detection method and a source identification method. In these cordless telephones, the security code word is stored in the memory of both the base station and the handset station. When a protocol transmission is necessary between stations, the security code is appended to the protocol word to form a validation code which is then transmitted. For instance, if protocol signalling is accomplished by using an eight bit protocol word, instead of simply sending the eight bit protocol command word, the transmitting station sends a sixteen bit word consisting of the protocol command as the high byte and the security code as the low byte. The receiving station reads the transmitted word and compares the security byte portion of it with the security code that it has stored in its memory. The security byte also serves to provide source identification to the receiving station. Each telephone set, comprising a base station and a handset station, is programmed with a different security code, thereby preventing two telephone systems located in the same transmitting vicinity from causing crosstalk between the two separate systems. A transmission from the handset or base of one system will not be accepted by the other system because it will not recognize the security code. If there is a match, then it is likely that the entire transmitted word has been received correctly and the receiving station accepts the protocol word as being correct. This type of error detection, however, is far from perfect. Short duration interference bursts causing errors can go entirely undetected. For instance, in the above example of an eight bit security code and an eight bit protocol word, errors up to eight bits long can go entirely undetected. If an eight bit burst error occurs during the protocol command portion of the transmitted word rather than the security code portion, the security code would be received correctly and the receiving station would accept the protocol word as correct.
In addition to noise and random interference, cordless telephones are particularly susceptible to intentional "false" transmissions. Particularly, unauthorized use of the base station of a cordless telephone set can be made from other transceivers. Another person knowing the transmitting frequency and protocol system of the cordless telephone set, can use a transceiver to simulate the handset of the cordless telephone and make unauthorized calls using the base station of the cordless telephone or tap into private telephone conversations.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved cordless telephone set.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a cordless telephone in which it is extremely difficult to make unauthorized telephone calls using a remote transceiver.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved means for detecting transmission errors in a cordless telephone.
It is still another object of the present invention provide a cordless telephone set that can correct for certain transmission errors.

Method and apparatus for detecting transmission errors in cordless telephones


An RF carrier generator comprises a circuit for sequentially counting as a function of a randomized offset and time interval, and a memory coupled to the sequential counting circuit. The memory stores samples of a desired Sigma-Delta modulator sequence bit stream. Responsive to an output of the sequential counting circuit, the memory sequentially outputs a single-bit output bit stream of a series of partial sequences of the desired Sigma-Delta modulator sequence bit stream. A method is also disclosed.

The present disclosures relate to audio/video electronics and communications, and more particularly, to an RF carrier generator and method for RF carrier generation for use with the audio/video electronics and communications.
Traditional analog carrier generators require precision phase-lock loops (PLLs) and voltage controlled oscillators (VCOs) to synthesize carriers with the frequency accuracy and stability necessary to comply with TV standards. PLL loop filters must be carefully designed to minimize jitter. Furthermore, in the event of process changes, analog blocks often require redesign.
In another approach, Digital Direct Synthesis (DDS) techniques can be applied to audio/video RF carrier generation; however, a corresponding performance and maximum synthesizable frequency of such a generator are limited by a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) performance. Additionally, DACs require a considerable area of an IC chip and need redesign when ported to other integrated circuit technologies. Furthermore, more hardware efficient bandpass Sigma-Delta DACs are unsuitable for use in replacing traditional DACs, because the order would be too high (e.g. greater than twenty (>20)) and a speed of the corresponding digital circuitry would not be adequate to generate RF carriers. The high order would be necessary to generate a noise notch wide enough to allow a realizable analog reconstruction filter.
Another technique to generate analog high-precision sine waves involves using a Sigma-Delta oscillator. Sigma-Delta oscillators are digital resonators containing a 1-bit Sigma-Delta DAC in a loop, and thus can directly generate a 1-bit signal. The frequency is selected by changing the gain of a feed-back loop. All blocks are digital except for a Sigma-Delta output buffer. However for the application of audio/video RF carriers, high-order bandpass Sigma-Delta modulators are required. Since the same considerations made above for the bandpass Sigma-Delta modulators for DDS apply to this case too, Sigma-Delta oscillators are not practical for generating RF carriers.
Even though a Digital Direct Synthesis generator with bandpass Sigma-Delta modulator or a Sigma-Delta oscillator cannot run in real time to generate RF carriers, the circuit can be simulated on a computer and the outputs can be stored into a memory. Another technique consists in using generators with such Sigma-Delta samples stored in a memory. However, such generators target built-in self tests (BIST) for ICs and do not meet performance requirements for most applications other than the built-in self tests.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram view of a carrier generator 10 using a pre-recorded Sigma-Delta modulator sequence or bit stream. RF carrier generator 10 includes a digital Sigma- Delta sequence generator 12 and an analog filter 14. Digital Sigma-Delta sequence generator receives a clock signal at input 16 and includes a counter 18 and memory or look-up table (LUT) 20. Responsive to an output from counter 18, the memory or LUT 20 outputs, sequentially, a bit stream of single bits on output 22 of the digital Sigma-Delta generator 12. Responsive to an input (corresponding to the output 22 of the digital Sigma-Delta generator 12), analog filter 14 provides an RF carrier signal on output 24.
With the carrier generator 10 of FIG. 1, a desired Sigma-Delta sequence bit stream is first generated (i.e., by some means such as Digital Direct Synthesis generators or Sigma-Delta oscillators not running in real time or by computer simulations) and then stored as a sequence in a circular memory or lookup table. Generating the bit stream then comprises reading out the entire sequence and repeating the reading out over and over. In addition, the carrier generator 10 of FIG. 1 is completely digital with the exception of the output buffer or analog filter 14. Furthermore, the carrier generator 10 does not require any precision components, only a stable and accurate clock source. As stated above, such generators as shown in FIG. 1 are as described in the literature; however, they are for built-in self test (BIST) applications for mixed-signal integrated circuits (ICs). Furthermore, such generators, with practical sizes of look-up tables, do not meet performance requirements for most applications other than the BIST applications. In fact, by increasing the look-up table size the performance could be met. However, (i) the hardware complexity could become too high and/or (ii) the look-up table could no longer be read at the appropriate speed needed to generate the RF carrier.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved method and apparatus for overcoming the problems in the art as discussed above.
The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items. Skilled artisans will also appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve the understanding of the embodiments of the present invention.


A hard disk drive with a spindle motor that rotates a disk. When the disk drive is exposed to low temperatures a current can be provided to the spindle motor to heat the motor. For example, a DC current can be provided to the spindle motor. The current flowing through the spindle motor coil generates heat. The current can be provided for a predetermined time interval to sufficiently heat the spindle motor so that the fluid bearings of the motor can operate. The current is terminated and then an AC current is provided to the spindle motor to cause motor rotation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to preheating a spindle motor of a hard disk drive.
2. Background Information
Hard disk drives contain a plurality of magnetic heads that are coupled to rotating disks. The heads write and read information by magnetizing and sensing the magnetic fields of the disk surfaces. Each head is attached to a flexure arm to create a subassembly commonly referred to as a head gimbal assembly ("HGA"). The HGA's are suspended from an actuator arm. The actuator arm has a voice coil motor that can move the heads across the surfaces of the disks.
The disks are rotated by a spindle motor of the drive. Rotation of the disks creates an air flow within the disk drive. Each head has an air bearing surface that cooperates with the air flow to create an air bearing between the head and the adjacent disk surface. The air bearing eliminates or minimizes the mechanical wear between the head and the disk. Rotation of the disk also allows for access to data located across the disk surfaces.
Hard disk drives may be used in systems, such as automobiles, that are exposed to relatively low temperatures. For example, automobiles may include a disk drive. Automobiles can be exposed to extreme ambient temperatures. The spindle motor of a disk drive typically has some type of fluid bearing. At very low temperatures the fluid bearing may be to stiff to allow for proper actuation of the spindle motor.


A computer-implemented method is provided for video annotation of a video sequence that includes a plurality of frames. The method includes storing, by a computer, information representative of a bounding box around a given target object in the video sequence in both a first frame and a last frame of the video sequence that include the target object. The method further includes generating, by the computer based on the information, estimated box annotations of the given target object in suggested frames from among the plurality of frames. The suggested frames are determined based on an annotation uncertainty measure calculated using a set of already provided annotations for at least some of the plurality of frames together with optical flow information for the video sequence. The method also includes displaying, by the computer, various ones of the estimated box annotations of the given target object in the suggested frames.

Technical Field
The present invention relates to video processing and more particularly to efficient video annotation with optical flow based estimation and suggestion.
Description of the Related Art
Recent approaches in object annotation are primarily implemented on a web-based system in order to crowd-source the annotation jobs. For instance, the popular ImageNet dataset is annotated using a web-based annotation system that is deployed over the Amazon Mechanical Turk® where many workers around the world can contribute to the annotation process. The MIT Labelme dataset is also annotated using a similar web-based annotation system. However, both of the systems are focused on single image annotation where no temporal consistency or motion information is available. On the other hand, the Video Annotation Tool from Irvine, Calif. (VATIC) focuses on the problem of bounding box annotation in videos. The system is implemented using a GUI based annotation tool where workers can specify the target object type, draw boxes to annotate an object, and provide properties of the object if it is requested. In order to expedite the annotation process, the tool provides automatic box annotations in between manually annotated frames by using a simple linear interpolation. For example, if an object 1 has a manual box annotation at time frame 1 and time frame 10, all the boxes in frames from 2 to 9 are automatically generated by a linear interpolation process. However, VATIC at least suffers from being overly complex in its use of linear interpolation.
Thus, there is a need for an efficient video annotation system.

Efficient video annotation with optical flow based estimation and suggestion