The invention relates to an electric machine (10) which is embodied as an alternator, comprising a rotor (20) and an axis of rotation (183), a stator iron (17) which maintains a stator winding (18). Said stator winding (18) comprises phase terminals of winding wires (204), a rectifier circuit (151) which comprises at least one bridge circuit consisting of a positive diode (99) and a negative diode (58). Said positive diode (99) and the negative diode (58) are connected in an electrically conductive manner to the phase terminal of winding wires (204) by means of a metal connecting element (133, 146) which has two half arms (215). One half arm (215) is connected in an electrically conductive manner to a positive diode (99) by means of a connecting section (216) and another half arm (215) is connected in an electrically conductive manner to the negative diode (58) by means of another connecting section. The half arms (215) are oriented in front of the connecting sections (216) in such a manner that the metal surfaces (240) are oriented perpendicular to a rotational axis (183) of the rotor (20). The half arms (215) are arranged parallel to each other on a longitudinal section in front of the connecting sections (216). Said connecting sections (216) start respectively from a half arm (215) and comprise ends (217) which are aligned counter to each other.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,531,925 B2 has disclosed an alternator which rectifies alternating-current voltages by means of diodes. For interconnection of the stator terminal wires and diodes, connecting elements which are led in parallel are provided. U.S. Pat. No. 6,552,908 B2 and DE 2856194 are also known.
According to the invention, provision is made for thereby utilizing a particular elasticity in the connection of the rectifier circuit and thus preventing excessive tensile or compressive stresses in diode head wires or diode connectors and interconnection elements.
According to one aspect, it is achieved that, by means of the half-arms which, before the connecting sections, are arranged directly adjacent to one another, a particularly expedient flow arrangement is attained, and thus a low flow resistance is attained. This increases the air throughflow, or restricts this to a lesser extent. If the half-arms are arranged so as to be twisted relative to one another, that is to say if for example the upper edges of the mutually parallel upper edges, such as they are per se intended to be provided, of the half-arms are twisted or skewed relative to one another, this very specifically realizes an excessive tensile or pressure loading between one half-arm and a connecting terminal of a diode. One possible particularly inexpensive but adequately strong connection between interconnection element and insulator is achieved by virtue of the interconnection element being plugged into a receiving section of the insulator of the interconnection device. A particularly space-saving arrangement is attained in that, from an interconnection element, there extends a connecting section which serves for providing a phase signal to a controller, having a U-shaped cooling body which is arranged around an axis of rotation, wherein the U-shaped cooling body and the bearing shield receive the connecting section between them. A simple production method can be selected by virtue of the half-arms, the connecting sections and the plug-in section of the interconnection element being bent around an axial direction. Expedient flow conditions are likewise achieved by virtue of the half-arms and the connecting sections together being oriented so as to form a T-shape.


In one embodiment, a system comprises a source configured to provide data and a source error correction code (ECC) generated according to a source ECC scheme; a circuit comprising an ECC transform unit configured to generate a target ECC from the data, detect an error in the data responsive to the source ECC, and correct the error in the data, wherein the target ECC is generated according to a target ECC scheme different from the source ECC scheme, and wherein the ECC transform unit is configured to continuously protect the data with at least one of the source ECC and the target ECC; and a target coupled to receive the data and the target ECC from the circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to the field of error correction codes (ECC).
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of ECC schemes have been implemented in systems. For example, memory systems composed of random access memory (RAM) such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), etc. often implement ECC. In the memory system, storage is provided for the ECC-protected data and additional storage is provided for the ECC data. The ECC protects against errors that may be induced by failures in the memory, soft errors due to Alpha or Cosmic ray hits, etc.
In some systems, various interconnect may also be provided with ECC protection. Often, the ECC scheme used on the interconnect differs from the ECC scheme used in the memory. For example, the ECC scheme used in the memory typically generates each bit of ECC for a code word of data as a logical combination (e.g. exclusive OR, or XOR) of bits that are each stored in different memory chips, or modules, or banks, etc. In such a scheme, the failure of one chip, module, or bank may be detected and possibly corrected in addition to the possibility of detecting and correcting soft errors. The ECC scheme used on the interconnect may be as simple as parity, or may be an XOR scheme in which each ECC bit is generated from bits transmitted on different physical conductors or bits on the same conductor transmitted at different times. Furthermore, the ECC scheme used on one interconnect in a system may differ from the ECC scheme used on another interconnect in the same system.
Circuitry that bridges different ECC schemes, such as a memory controller or circuitry coupled to two interconnects having different ECC schemes, typically check that received data is error-free (using the ECC scheme corresponding to the transmitter of the data) and correct the received data, if needed. Prior to transmitting data to a receiver, the ECC is generated using the ECC scheme of the receiver to which the data is being transmitted.
Between the checking/correction of received data and generating ECC for transmitting data, the data is unprotected. As semiconductor manufacturing technologies have continued to decrease feature sizes, such as to 90 nanometer and below, the sensitivity of various storage devices such as flops to soft errors has begun to approach that of RAM memories. Accordingly, the rate of silent data corruption in flops and other such storage devices has been increasing to levels that are unacceptable for reliable system operation.

Error correction code transformation technique


The effective image area detector 4 detects an effective image area within image data subjected to color conversion, and an image processing/screening unit 5 applies image processing to image data in the effective image area and transfers the processed image data in the effective image area to a print engine together with position and size information of the effective image area. This reduces image processing time and data transfer time to the print engine, thereby reducing printing time of image data.

The present invention relates to an image processor and an image processing program for applying image processing to input data and transferring the data to a print engine. More particularly, the present invention relates to a technique for reducing the time for printing input data by reducing image processing time and data transfer time to a print engine.
Generally in full color printers, in response to an input of RGB data from an application program (hereinafter referred to as "an application"), an internal controller (data generating unit) converts the RGB data to raster data (bitmap data), which is followed by color conversion to CMYK data. As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. H6-238950 and H9-83811, the internal controller subsequently converts the CMYK data to data having a small number of gradations consistent with the printing capability of a print engine by executing image processing such as error diffusion and halftone processing, and then transfers the resultant data to the print engine, so that an image is formed on a print sheet.
In the full color printer thus configured, since the data volume processed by the controller is four times as large as that with a monochrome printer, the image processing time and data transfer time to the print engine in the full color printer are longer compared to the monochrome printer, and accordingly long time is required to print the input data.
The present invention has been achieved in order to solve the above problem, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an image processor and an image processing program that can reduce the time for printing input data by reducing image processing time and data transfer time to a print engine.

Image processor and image processing program for applying image processing to input data and transferring the same to print engine


Embodiments are disclosed that relate to controlling frequency response in speaker assemblies. For example, one disclosed embodiment provides a speaker assembly including a speaker, a body supporting the speaker in such a manner as to define a back chamber between the speaker and the body, and a vent port formed in the body and extending through the body, the vent port comprising a first stage having a first diameter, a second stage having a second diameter different than the first diameter, and a step between the first stage and the second stage.

Speaker assemblies are used in a wide variety of applications to produce sound from one or more electrical signals. A speaker assembly may include a speaker mounted within a body, and a space, or back chamber, defined by the body behind a back side of the speaker. The configuration of a back chamber may have a significant impact on the acoustic properties of a speaker. For example, a poorly designed back chamber may attenuate some frequencies more than others, thereby leading to poor sound reproduction. As such, a speaker assembly may comprise various structures, such as vent ports connecting the back chamber to the outside of the assembly, to help tune the frequency response of the speaker assembly.


Apparatus and method for applying radial compressive stress pre-loading to a cylinder liner. A cylinder housing is attached to a pump, and a cylinder liner is disposed within the cylinder housing. A fluid inlet in fluid communication with the annular space between the cylinder housing and cylinder liner is disposed on the cylinder housing. The annular space is filled with pressurizing fluid through the fluid inlet, which creates radial compressive stress pre-loading on the cylinder liner.

In extracting hydrocarbons from the earth, it is common to drill a borehole into the earth formation containing the hydrocarbons. A drill bit is attached to a drill string, and during drilling operations, drilling fluid, or "mud" as it is also known, is pumped down through the drill string and into the hole through the drill bit. Drilling fluids are used to lubricate the drill bit and keep it cool. The drilling mud also cleans the bit, balances pressure by providing weight downhole, and brings sludge and cuttings created during the drilling process up to the surface.
Slush or mud pumps are commonly used for pumping the drilling mud. The pumps used in these applications are reciprocating pumps typically of the duplex or triplex type. A duplex pump has two reciprocating pistons that each force drilling mud into a discharge line, while a triplex reciprocating pump has three pistons that force drilling mud into a discharge line. These reciprocating mud pumps can be single acting, in which drilling mud is discharged on alternate strokes, or double acting, in which each stroke discharges drilling mud.
The pistons and cylinders used for such mud pumps are susceptible to a high degree of wear during use because the drilling mud is relatively dense and has a high proportion of suspended abrasive solids. As the cylinder in which the piston reciprocates becomes worn, the small annular space between the piston head and the cylinder wall increases substantially and sometimes irregularly. This decreases the efficiency of the pump. To reduce the effect of this wear, the cylinder typically is provided with an expendable cylinder liner.
The abrasive nature of the drilling mud translates into a relatively short lifetime of the cylinder liner and necessitates frequent replacement, placing liner manufacturing costs and efficiency in the replacement process as a primary concern. Changing a cylinder liner in a mud pump is typically a difficult, dirty, and heavy job. Further, because drilling rig time is very expensive, frequent replacement of cylinder liners causes considerable inconvenience and can be quite costly if the system and apparatus for releasing the old cylinder liners and fitting the replacement cylinder liners are slow or difficult to operate. Thus, it is important to implement the system and method for removing and replacing the cylinder liners without undue effort and downtime.
The motion of the reciprocating pump piston subjects the cylinder liner to alternating axial forces and internal pressures. The alternating internal pressures translate to alternating radial stresses in the cylinder liners that can lead to metal fatigue from the cyclic loading and sudden changes in direction of the piston motion. To counteract the effects of fatigue, radial compressive stress pre-loading is applied to the cylinder liner such that the alternating internal pressure creates less stress than the pre-load stress.
The general construction of a mud pump cylinder liner typically involves using three pieces of tubular material: a sleeve, a hull, and a collar. The sleeve forms the inside surface of the liner, the hull is assembled by shrink fit over the sleeve, and the collar is a flange ring that is shrink fit around the hull and normally retains the liner in the mud pump cylinder. The shrink fit between the sleeve and the hull creates a mechanical radial compressive stress on the sleeve and serves to counteract the effects of the alternating axial compressive forces and internal pressures on the cylinder liner which can lead to fatigue and failure of the liner.
Each piece necessary to mechanically pre-load the cylinder liner adds to the cost and weight of the liner assembly. Such a system for applying radial compressive stress pre-loading to a cylinder liner may be difficult to operate for a variety of reasons, including the involvement of heavy components, the handling of which may be dangerous for operators. Certain of these types of systems require considerable strength of operators, together with the use of lifting devices in confined spaces. Thus, the removal and replacement of a typical multi-piece liner assembly can be costly financially, and may, in some instances, subject operators to risk of injury.
Accordingly, there remains a need for new and improved systems and apparatus for installing and pre-loading cylinder liners that address certain of the foregoing difficulties.


Methods and systems for determining fields in a video signal are disclosed. Historic field ID values for a received video signal may be stored and subsequently utilized by a summer and/or a correlator in order to estimate a field ID value for a current field. The summer may sum all historic field ID values and, if the sum is within a determined range, for example, the field ID value for a current field may be estimated based on the sum of the historic field ID values. If the sum is not within the determined range, for example, the historic field ID values may be correlated with an expected field ID value or with an inverted expected field ID value. The correlation may then be utilized to estimate the field ID value for the current field.

A conventional video decoder may utilize field identification (ID) information in order to properly decode a progressive and/or an interlaced video signal, for example. An interlaced video signal may be characterized by two field ID values, a zero and a one, for example. Each interlaced video frame may be decoded in two parts and each part may be characterized by a specific field ID value. The zero field ID value may be associated with a top part of an interlaced video frame, and the one field ID value may be associated with a bottom part of the interlaced video frame. The top part of a decoded interlaced video frame may be transmitted first and the bottom part of the decoded interlaced video frame may be transmitted second. In this way, a video decoder may receive alternating field ID values, which are characteristic of a top or a bottom part of a decoded interlaced video signal frame.
A progressive video signal frame may be decoded in its entirety with only one pass. A progressive video signal, therefore, may be characterized by only one field ID value, a zero or a one, for example. Receiving the same field ID values for a specific video signal may indicate, therefore, that a progressive video signal is being decoded by a video decoder.
Field ID detection may be obtained in a video decoder by comparing the timing relationship between the horizontal (H) and vertical (V) synchronization pulses. In order to enhance the accuracy of the field detection process, the information about the phase of the color subcarrier may be incorporated in the decision making process. In a noisy environment, the information obtained during any given single measurement of the field ID may be inaccurate and may cause a very specific distortion of the image, which may be referred to as a field swap. For example, a field swap may occur if the video decoder is decoding an interlaced video signal. In this case, instead of receiving alternating field ID values associated with a top and a bottom decoded video frame, the video decoder may start receiving the same field ID value. Various techniques, such as field ID phase lock loops (PLLs) and sophisticated signal processing of the incoming signal, for example, may be utilized to avoid undesired field swaps. This may complicate the implementation of the video decoder and may increase the number of gates in the silicon, for example, as well as the overall power consumption of the device.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

Method and system for detecting field ID


A patient is provided with an increased sense of satiety by increasing resistance to the outflow of food from the stomach and through the intestines. Stomach emptying may be slowed with devices implantable within the gastrointestinal tract below the stomach. Implants are preferably removable and can include artificial strictures that may be adjustable to vary the rate of stomach emptying. Slowing gastric emptying may induce satiety for a longer period and may therefore reduce food consumption. Many of the embodiments include intestinal liners or sleeves, but they need not. The resistor concept may be applied to a simple anchor and resistor without a long liner.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), over sixty percent of the United States population is overweight, and almost twenty percent are obese. This translates into 38.8 million adults in the United States with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or above. The BMI is defined as a person's weight (in kilograms) divided by height (in meters), squared. To be considered clinically, morbidly obese, one must meet one of three criteria: BMI over 35, 100 pounds overweight, or 100% above ideal body weight. There is also a category for the super-obese for those weighing over 350 pounds.
Obesity is an overwhelming health problem. Because of the enormous strain associated with carrying this excess weight, organs are affected, as are the nervous and circulatory systems. In 2000, the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) estimated that there were 280,000 deaths directly related to obesity. The NIDDK further estimated that the direct cost of healthcare in the U.S. associated with obesity is $51 billion. In addition, Americans spend $33 billion per year on weight loss products. In spite of this economic cost and consumer commitment, the prevalence of obesity continues to rise at alarming rates. From 1991 to 2000, obesity in the U.S. grew by 61%. Not exclusively a U.S. problem, worldwide obesity ranges are also increasing dramatically.
One of the principle costs to the healthcare system stems from the co-morbidities associated with obesity. Type-2 diabetes has climbed to 7.3% of the population. Of those persons with Type-2 diabetes, almost half are clinically obese, and two thirds are approaching obese. Other co-morbidities include hypertension, coronary artery disease, hypercholesteremia, sleep apnea and pulmonary hypertension.
Although the physiology and psychology of obesity are complex, the medical consensus is that the cause is quite simple—an over intake of calories combined with a reduction in energy expenditures seen in modern society. While the treatment seems quite intuitive, the institution of a cure is a complex issue that has so far vexed the best efforts of medical science. Dieting is not an adequate long-term solution for most people. Once an individual has slipped past the BMI of 30, significant changes in lifestyle are the only solution.
There have been many attempts in the past to surgically modify patients' anatomies to attack the consumption problem by reducing the desire to eat. Stomach staplings, or gastroplasties, to reduce the volumetric size of the stomach, thereby achieving faster satiety, were performed in the 1980's and early 1990's. Although able to achieve early weight loss, sustained reduction was not obtained. The reasons are not all known, but are believed related to several factors. One of which is that the stomach stretches over time increasing volume while psychological drivers motivate patients to find creative approaches to literally eat around the smaller pouch.
Surgeries can generally be separated into restrictive procedures, malabsorptive procedures and combinations thereof. At least two surgical procedures that successfully produce long-term weight loss are the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, and the biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (BPD). Both procedures reduce the size of the stomach plus shorten the effective-length of intestine available for nutrient absorption. Reduction of the stomach size reduces stomach capacity and the ability of the patient to take in food. Bypassing the duodenum makes it more difficult to digest fats, high sugar and carbohydrate rich foods.
The Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Band is a device that is placed around the top of the stomach to create a restriction. This forces the patient to eat smaller meals as the food must pass from the small pouch into the rest of the stomach before he/she can eat again. This device however does require surgery for its placement and is difficult to remove.
These procedures carry a heavy toll. The morbidity rate for bariatric surgical procedures is alarmingly high with 11% requiring surgical intervention for correction. Early small bowel obstruction occurs at a rate of between 2-6% in these surgeries and mortality rates are reported to be approximately 0.5-1.5%. While surgery is effective, the current invasive procedures are not acceptable with these complication rates. Laparoscopic techniques applied to these surgeries result in fewer surgical complications but continue to expose these very ill patients to high operative risk in addition to requiring an enormous level of skill by the surgeon. Devices to reduce absorption in the small intestines have been proposed (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,584 (Crabb), U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,300 (Berry) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,315,509 (Smit)). However, these devices have not been successfully implemented. Restrictive devices include Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding (LABG) (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,429 (Kuzmak)) and gastric balloons (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,808 (Clegg et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,755,869 (Geitz)).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An imaging apparatus 10 comprises a lower housing 11, an upper housing 21, an outer camera 25, and at least one photographing button (buttons 14H and 14G). The upper housing 21 is connected to an upper surface of the lower housing 11 such that the upper housing 21 and the lower housing 11 are foldable. The outer camera 25 is provided in an outer surface of the upper housing 21 which is located outside when the two housings 11 and 21 are folded. The at least one photographing button is provided on an upper surface of the lower housing 11 for performing an instruction to sore an image taken by the outer camera 25.

Conventionally, there exists an imaging apparatus which is a foldable hand-held apparatus, such as a mobile phone, and the like, which is provided with a camera to have an imaging function. For example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-333149) discloses a foldable mobile phone having a camera. The mobile phone includes two foldable housings, and the camera is provided in an outer surface of an upper first housing (which is a surface located on the outside of the mobile phone when the mobile phone is folded). As a shutter button for performing a photographing instruction (an instruction to store data of an image taken by the camera), a first shutter button is provided on an inner surface of a lower second housing (which is a surface located on the inside of the mobile phone when the mobile phone is folded), and a second shutter button is provided on the outer surface of the first housing. When photographing is performed while the mobile phone is opened, a user performs a photographing instruction using the first shutter button.
In the mobile phone disclosed in the Patent Document 1, when the user performs photographing, an operation manner in which the user presses the shutter button with a thumb while holding the lower second housing with one hand is assumed. In other words, the user presses the first shutter button with the thumb while contacting the inner surface of the second housing with a thumb and an outer surface of the second housing with the other fingers (so as to sandwich the second housing between the thumb and the other fingers). In such an operation manner, since the thumb has to be separated from the second housing when pressing the first shutter button, the second housing cannot be firmly held. Thus, it is hard to press the first shutter button, and there is a fear that hand movement occurs when the first shutter button is pressed. As described above, the conventional foldable imaging apparatus has a problem that it is hard to perform a photographing operation of pressing the shutter button.
Therefore, feature of certain exemplary embodiments is to provide an imaging apparatus which is capable of improving operability of a photographing operation.
Certain exemplary embodiments have the following aspects to attain the object mentioned above. It is noted that reference characters and supplementary explanations in parentheses in this section are merely provided to facilitate the understanding of the exemplary embodiments and are not intended to be limiting in any way.
A first aspect is a foldable imaging apparatus comprising: a first imaging section; a first housing (a lower housing 11); a second housing (an upper housing 21); and a connection section (axial portions 11A and 21A). The connection section foldably connects the first housing to the second housing. Further, the imaging apparatus comprises at least one photographing button (buttons 14H and 14G) for performing an instruction to record an image taken by the first imaging section. The at least one photographing button is provided on a side surface of the first housing in a case where an inner surface of the first housing when folded is referred to as a front surface, which side surface is on a side on which the second housing is located when the first housing and the second housing are opened.
In a second aspect, the first imaging section may be provided in an outer surface of the second housing when folded.
In a third aspect, the first imaging section may be located in the outer surface of the second housing and on a side more distant from the connection section than a center of the outer surface of the second housing in an up-down direction. It is noted that, here, the first housing and the second housing are connected to each other one above the other, and a direction in which the first housing and the second housing are connected to each other is referred to as an up-down direction. Further, a direction of an axis by which the first housing and the second housing are connected to each other is referred to as a left-right direction. For example, when the first housing has a horizontally long shape, a longitudinal direction of the first housing may be referred to as a left-right direction.
In a fourth aspect, as the at least one photographing button, first and second buttons may be provided on left and right ends of the side surface, respectively.
In a fifth aspect, the imaging apparatus may further comprise a second imaging section (an inner camera 23). The second imaging section is provided substantially at a center of an apparatus main surface (an operation surface), which is formed by the inner surface of the first housing and an inner surface of the second housing when the imaging apparatus is opened, in a left-right direction.
In a sixth aspect, the imaging apparatus may further comprise a plurality of operation buttons (buttons 14A to 14F). The plurality of operation buttons are provided on the inner surface of the first housing and on a right side and a left side of the second imaging section.
In a seventh aspect, the imaging apparatus may further comprise a display section (a lower LCD 12) and a plurality of operation buttons (the buttons 14A to 14F). The display section has a display screen which is provided substantially at a center of the inner surface of the first housing in a left-right direction. The plurality of operation buttons are provided on the inner surface of the first housing and on a left side and a right side of the display screen.
In an eighth aspect, the imaging apparatus may further comprise a display section (the lower LCD 12), a coordinate input section (a touch panel 13), and a control section (a CPU 31). The display section has a display screen which is provided in the inner surface of the first housing. The coordinate input section is an input device operable to input coordinates on the display screen. The control section displays a predetermined image on the display screen, and records an image taken by the first imaging section when an input by the coordinate input section is performed in an area of the predetermined image.
In a ninth aspect, the control section may display the predetermined image so as to be located substantially at a center of the first housing in a left-right direction.
In a tenth aspect, the first housing may have a length in a left-right direction which is equal to or larger than 100 mm and which is equal to or smaller than 150 mm, and a length in an up-down direction which is equal to or larger than 60 mm and which is equal to or smaller than 90 mm.
According to the first aspect, by providing the photographing button on the side surface of the first housing on a side where the first housing is connected to the second housing, a user can press the photographing button with an index finger while holding the first housing by contacting the inner surface of the first housing with a thumb and an outer surface of the first housing with a middle finger, and the like (see FIGS. 6 and 7). According to this, since the user can press the photographing button while firmly holding the first housing, the button is easy to press when a photographing operation is performed, and hand movement is unlikely to occur. Thus, according to the first aspect, operability of the photographing operation with respect to the foldable imaging apparatus can be improved.
Further, according to the first aspect, since the photographing button is provided on the side surface of the first housing, it is possible to perform the photographing operation even in a state where the imaging apparatus is placed on the outer surface of the first housing. It is noted that since the imaging section is provided in the second housing, the user can freely change a photographing direction even in a state where the imaging apparatus is placed.
According to the second aspect, since the first imaging section is provided in the second housing, the photographing direction can be changed by changing an angle of the second housing with respect to the first housing. Further, since the first imaging section is provided in the outer surface of the second housing, an image can be taken in a direction which is the same as a view line direction of the user.
Since the user presses the photographing button provide on the side surface of the first housing with an index finger as described above, there is a fear that the index finger is located within an imaging range of the first imaging section depending on a position of the first imaging section. However, according to the third aspect, since the first imaging section is located on a side distant from the connection portion with the first housing, the index finger can be prevented from being located within the imaging range of the first imaging section.
According to the fourth aspect, since the photographing buttons are provided on the left and right ends of the side surface, respectively, the user can easily press either photographing button even when holding the imaging apparatus with either a right hand or a left hand. Thus, according to the fourth aspect, the user can easily perform the photographing operation regardless of handedness.
According to the fifth aspect, since the second imaging section is provided on the apparatus main surface, an image is taken in a direction toward the user by the second imaging section. Further, since the second imaging section is provided substantially at the center of the apparatus main surface in the left-right direction, the user can easily adjust the imaging apparatus at an appropriate position in the left-right direction, for example, when taking an image of the user, or the like.
According to the sixth aspect, by providing the operation buttons on the inner surface of the first housing, the user can hold the imaging apparatus while contacting the operation buttons with thumbs. Since the operation buttons are provided outward of the second imaging section (in the left-right direction), the thumbs of the user contact the operation buttons at positions outward of the second imaging section. Thus, according to the sixth aspect, a possibility that the thumbs are located within an imaging range of the second imaging section can be lowered (naturally without particularly making the user aware of this).
According to the seventh aspect, by providing the operation buttons on the inner surface of the first housing, the user can hold the imaging apparatus while contacting the operation buttons with thumbs. Here, since the operation buttons are provided on the left and right sides of the display section, the thumbs of the user contact the operation buttons at positions outward of the display section. Thus, according to the seventh aspect, the thumbs are prevented from disturbing a display by locating the thumbs on the display screen of the display section (naturally without particularly making the user aware of this).
According to the eighth aspect, the user is able to perform a photographing operation by the coordinate input section provided on the inner surface of the first housing. According to this, the user can easily perform a photographing operation even when the imaging apparatus is placed on the outer surface of the first housing. Thus, by making it possible to perform a photographing operation using the coordinate input section, it is unnecessary to operate the photographing button with an index finger, and the photographing operation can be easily performed in various holding manners (e.g. in a holding manner in which the second housing is down).
According to the ninth aspect, since the predetermined image to be touched when the user performs a photographing operation is displayed substantially at the center of the first housing, the user can easily perform an operation even when performing an operation with respect to the touch panel with either a right hand or a left hand. Thus, according to the ninth aspect, even when performing a photographing operation in a state where the imaging apparatus is placed on the outer surface of the first housing, the user can easily perform the photographing operation regardless of handedness.
According to the tenth aspect, by making a length of the first housing an appropriate length, such as making the length of the first housing in the left-right direction equal to or larger than 100 mm and equal to or smaller than 150 mm, and making the length of the first housing in the up-down direction equal to or larger than 60 mm and equal to or smaller than 90 mm, the imaging apparatus can have a shape which is easy to hold when held with either one hand or both hands. In other words, according to the tenth aspect, the imaging apparatus does not become hard to hold with one hand by having a shape which is too long in the left-right direction, and does not become hard to hold with both hands by having a shape which is too short in the left-right direction. Further, since the first housing has such a length in the up-down direction that the first housing fits into a palm, it is easy for the user to hold the imaging apparatus when holding the imaging apparatus with either one hand or both hands.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the exemplary embodiments will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


A transmission electron microscope capable of operating in photoelectron emission microscopy mode as well as in transmission electron microscopy mode. A negative voltage is applied to a specimen placed between the magnetic pole pieces of the objective lens. In the photoelectron emission microscopy mode, the specimen is irradiated with exciting rays to induce photoelectrons from the rear surface of the specimen. The exciting rays can be soft x-rays or ultraviolet rays produced from a high-pressure mercury lamp. The soft x-rays can be produced by directing the electron beam emitted from the electron gun of the microscope either onto the specimen or onto one or more targets placed over the specimen.

In transmission electron microscopy, the surface of a specimen is observed or analyzed by reflection electron microscopy or other method. When this reflection electron microscopy is utilized, the structure or topography of a specimen surface can be observed at a resolution of the order of 10 .ang.. However, it is impossible to know the chemical composition or chemical bonding energy of the specimen surface. Accordingly, when it is desired to know the chemical composition or chemical bonding energies in the specimen surface, photoelectron emission microscopy (PEEM) is a useful means, as described in "An Analytical Reflection and Emission UHV Surface Electron Microscope" by W. Telieps and E. Bauer, Ultramicroscopy, Vol. 17, pp. 57-66, 1985.
In a photoelectron microscope for carrying out the photoelectron emission microscopy, a high voltage of the order of several tens of kilovolts (KV) is applied between a specimen and an electrode mounted close to the specimen to create an electric field lens. This lens focuses a photoelectron image onto a fluorescent screen through image forming lenses. This image is created by the photoelectrons emitted from the specimen.
Since the two-dimensional distribution of the chemical composition and the chemical bonding energy of a specimen surface should be known as well as the structure or topography, both a transmission electron microscope and a photoelectron microscope have been required in the past. In this case, if the specimen is observed on one microscope, the specimen must be shifted from one microscope to the other. For this purpose, the specimen must be installed on the sample holder of the other microscope. In this way, quite laborious steps have been needed.
When a crystal of a specimen is grown and the specimen changes are observed, the observation is made while evaporating a substance onto the specimen. In the prior art transmission electron microscope, the substance is deposited on the surface of the specimen which faces the electron gun. Therefore, the evaporation source is located above the specimen. This makes it impossible to use a boat heater, crucible, or the like as the vapor source. Thus, the vapor source consists of a wire heater on which the metal to be vaporized is wound. With this type of vapor source, only a very small amount of metal can be evaporated in one operation. Consequently, it is difficult to observe the specimen while depositing a metal onto the specimen for an extended period of time. Another problem arises from the fact that the aforementioned wire heater is often made of a metal. Specifically, it is impossible to employ an evaporating substance which can easily combine with the material of the heater. Hence, great limitations are imposed on the evaporating substance.


A cable connector type transceiver module is disclosed. Pads for wire soldering are disposed near a card edge connecting section of the tip of a printed circuit board on the printed circuit board. Pairs of wires of a cable for balanced transmission are extended in the direction of the card edge connecting section over a control IC package. Signal wires at the tips of insulation covered signal wires of the pairs of wires are soldered to the pads for wire soldering at the position near the card edge connecting section rather than near the control IC package.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a cable connector type transceiver module having module connectors from whose backside a cable for balanced transmission is extended and is used to connect a HDD (hard disk drive) to a switching device in a RAID (redundant array of independent disks).
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a RAID. As shown in FIG. 1, plural HDDs 20 and a switching device 30 are disposed in a RAID 10, and each HDD 20 is electrically connected to the switching device 30 so that data can be transmitted and received between the HDD 20 and the switching device 30. Plural RAIDs 10 are disposed and each RAID 10 is connected to a server 40 via a network by Ethernet (registered trademark).
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a connection between the HDD 20 and the switching device 30. Since the distance between the HDD 20 and the switching device 30 is as small as one to two meters, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 2, the connection between them is performed by electric transceiver modules 50 and 60 and a cable connector 70 which uses a copper wire cable 71, instead of by an optical fiber.
The electric transceiver module 50 has a thin and long rectangular parallelepiped shape and provides a control IC package 51, a card edge section 52 at one end, a connector 53 at the other end, and has a function to receive/transmit data. Similarly, the electric transceiver module 60 has a thin and long rectangular parallelepiped shape and provides a control IC package 61, a card edge section 62 at one end, a connector 63 at the other end, and has a function to receive/transmit data.
The cable connector 70 provides the copper wire cable 71 and connectors 72 and 73 one at each end.
The electric transceiver module 50 is inserted into a slot 21 of the HDD 20 and the card edge section 52 is connected to a card edge connector 22 of the HDD 20.
The electric transceiver module 60 is inserted into a slot 31 of the switching device 30 and the card edge section 62 is connected to a card edge connector 32 of the switching device 30.
The connector 72 is connected to the connector 53 and the connector 73 is connected to the connector 63.
The transmission rate of data between the HDD 20 and the switching device 30 is approximately 2 Gbps.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2000-68007
In a next generation RAID, the transmission rate of data between the HDD 20 and the switching device 30 becomes, for example, 4 Gbps or more. That is, the transmission rate becomes high speed. When data are transmitted at high speed, losses of signals in a transmission line become large.
In the transmission line between the HDD 20 and the switching device 30, the losses occur at the connection point between the connector 72 and the connector 53, the connection point between the connector 73 and the connector 63, and entire long wiring patterns on printed circuit boards in the electric transceiver modules 50 and 60.
Consequently, in the above connection between the HDD 20 and the switching device 30, the losses of signals become large at the transmission rate of 4 Gbps, and the transmission rate of 4 Gbps cannot be efficiently utilized.


A vehicle passenger is provided with a console for mounting an entertainment apparatus, the console being coupled to the back of a more forwardly located seat by headrest retaining clips of the kind adapted to hold posts of a height adjustable headrest for the seat at a height selected position. In one arrangement, the console is sandwiched between the headrest retaining clips and the top of the seat back. In an alternative arrangement, the console incorporates integral headrest retaining clips that replace the conventional headrest retaining clips.

This disclosure relates to the provision of entertainment for rear seat passengers in a vehicle.
There have been numerous prior proposals for mounting audio/visual apparatus in or from the back of, or between, the front seats of a vehicle so that passengers in the rear seats may listen to, watch, or interact with such equipment.
Provision of such equipment fitted into the back of the front seats or mounted in the roof generally requires fitting as original equipment. Moreover, the equipment is immediately visible from outside the vehicle, inviting breaking, entering, damage and theft.
With a view to overcoming these problems there have also been a number of suggestions to hang audio/visual apparatus over the top of the front seat or from the front seat headrest or headrest posts by means of straps, brackets or clamps. With many such arrangements, the audio/visual equipment is either not mounted in a stable position or, if clamped or otherwise fitted to the headrest posts, gets in the way of or moves with the headrest posts as the headrest is raised or lowered. The audio/visual equipment itself or its hanging or fixings are usually readily visible from outside the vehicle, again attracting breaking, entering, damage and theft when the vehicle is left unattended.


Apparatus and methodology for testing coated optical-fiber bend fatigue and operational reliability by subjecting a coated optical-fiber carrying an optical signal to bending motion. The motion can be either: (1) in the same angular direction for multiple revolutions or (2) alternating clockwise and counterclockwise directions for repetitive single revolutions. The motions are achieved by using either a single conical-cylindrical form or two conically-shaped forms separated from each other by a constant gap width with the coated optical-fiber under test strung in the gap between the forms. With the two cones, the fiber is wrapped over each form in an alternating manner by a rotating arm that makes only single revolutions in clockwise and counterclockwise directions. With either embodiment, varied circumferences are controllably presented to the optical fiber resulting in varying bend radii. Fiber tension, signal strength and optical wavelength are parameters that can also be varied under computer control, the computer providing spreadsheet data for clear analysis.

Fiber optic cable contains multiple, mutually-isolated, coated optical-fibers. The cable is flexible and, during installation, e.g., in an existing dwelling or multi-dwelling unit, aggressive bending may be required to avoid obstruction. Accordingly, each individual coated optical-fiber in the cable is subjected to the same bending.
Each mutually-isolated optical-fiber has glass at its core and cladding to form a proper boundary condition for the wave guide. The clad glass is coated with a soft coating/cushion which, in turn, is covered by a hard coating protection layer. Finally, a plurality of those optical-fibers is cabled to a needed diameter to form a useful cable.
When a fiber optic cable is bent, mechanical stresses are developed in the glass of its encapsulated fibers, in their coatings and finally in the cable, i.e., compression in the glass and coatings of a glass fiber at the inside of the bend and tensile force in that glass and coatings at the outside of the bend. The soft coating/cushion helps to reduce the stresses on the glass of the coated optical-fiber when it is bent and the hard coating prevents the coating from breaking away from the fiber cladding while also protecting the glass core/cladding and soft coating. Traditionally, fiber could not be bent below 15 mm bend radius (established by industry standard G.652-D), because below a 15 mm bend radius, light would leak out of the fiber cladding, and the result could be a very high light energy loss.
However, the new Bend Insensitive Fiber (industry standard G.657-B3) has a bend radius limit targeted at a much lower 5 mm radius. At this bend radius, fiber is under extreme stress, much greater stress than at 15 mm, and the fiber may break before observing a major insertion loss. At these small radii, the coating on the cladding may tend to fail in its protection role at locations of severe bends in the cable (i.e., bends having small bend-radii such as under 5 millimeters, per industry standard G.657-B-3). It appears that optical performance may now be surpassing coating performance in an optical fiber. In order to protect the fiber under this tight bend, some new coating technologies have been, and are being, developed. Exemplary embodiments relate to novel apparatus and methodology for determining robustness of various new coatings by subjecting those coatings to a proper fiber bend stress tolerance test technique.
A newer optical cable with improved coatings can protect the fiber from breaking, even for much smaller radii such as 5 millimeters although, as noted, tremendous compression and tensile forces are imposed on the newer glass core/cladding at such minimal bend radii. (The bigger the radius the lower the tension/compression forces, and the smaller the radius the higher the forces.) Therefore, there no longer is a radiation-leakage early warning of impending failure provided by the newer cable. Sudden, catastrophic failure, due to optical-fiber glass fracture, or the like, can be experienced by optical communication system users without any warning, to their dismay.
Therefore, there is a need to design better coated optical-fiber cables with improved coating systems to reduce the likelihood of glass fracture at locations of severe bends. The novel technique disclosed herein for testing bend fatigue and determining reliability of coated optical-fibers supports efforts for achieving new and improved coated optical-fiber designs.

Coated optical-fiber bend-fatigue and reliability tester


An electronic device includes a housing, a mounting sheet, a circuit board mounted to the housing and the mounting sheet, and a loudspeaker module mounted on the mounting sheet. The housing defines a first receiving chamber and a second receiving chamber communicating with the first receiving chamber at one end of the housing, and a first sound hole corresponding to and communicating the first receiving chamber. The loudspeaker module includes a first loudspeaker which is received in the first receiving chamber. The first receiving chamber communicates the second receiving chamber to form a resonant cavity for the first loudspeaker. The sounds emitted by the first loudspeaker transmit to the outside of the housing by the first sound hole.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to electronic devices, and particularly to an electronic device having a loudspeaker module.
2. Description of Related Art
Electronic devices (such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants) include loudspeakers. The electronic devices commonly define receiving chambers for receiving the loudspeakers, and resonant cavities for sounds emitted by the loudspeakers to resonate. However, the current receiving chambers and resonant cavities are bulky. As a result, the volume and/or thickness of the electronic device is enhanced.
Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

Electronic device having loudspeaker module


A method, a device, and a system for implementing a multiplexer (mux) machine, where the method includes setting a mux machine on a first aggregation port to be in a PROTECT_WAITING state, when the mux machine is in the PROTECT_WAITING state, determining that the first aggregation port is not in a collecting and distributing state, and sending, to a second network device, a first Link Aggregation Control Protocol Data Unit (LACPDU) packet that is used to notify that the first aggregation port is in the collecting and distributing state, and when a second LACPDU packet that is from the second network device and indicating that a second aggregation port is in the collecting and distributing state is received, switching a status of the mux machine from the PROTECT_WAITING state to a COLLECTING_DISTRIBUTING state, and setting the first aggregation port to be in the collecting and distributing state.

An LACP provides a standard negotiation manner for network devices that exchange data. For network devices on two ends that are aggregated according to the LACP, an aggregated link may be automatically formed between the network devices based on their respective configurations, and the network devices send and receive data over the aggregated link. After the aggregated link is formed, the network devices on the two ends of the aggregated link are responsible for maintaining a status of the link. When an aggregation condition changes, link aggregation is automatically adjusted or dissolved.
An LACP state machine maintains information about each aggregation port and information about a partner aggregation port of the aggregation port on a port basis, calculates an aggregation state of each aggregation port, exchanges an LACP packet with another network device, and invokes the aggregation port to manage an aggregation group and an aggregation member. The LACP state machine includes a receive state (RX) machine, a periodic transmission (PTX) machine, selection logic, a mux machine, and a transmission (TX) machine. The mux machine is configured to attach an aggregation port to a selected aggregator or detach an aggregation port from an unselected aggregator, and enable or disable a collecting and distributing state of the aggregation port based on current protocol information.
In an application scenario, a network device runs a mux machine associated with an aggregation port of the network device. When a trigger condition is met, the network device switches a status of the mux machine on the aggregation port of the network device from an ATTACHED state to a COLLECTING_DISTRIBUTING state. However, the network device cannot ensure that a mux machine associated with an aggregation port of a partner network device of the network device is in the COLLECTING_DISTRIBUTING state. Therefore, in the application scenario, for an aggregated link between the network device and the partner network device, an aggregation port on one end may be in the collecting and distributing state, and an aggregation port on the other end may be not in the collecting and distributing state. Consequently, a packet loss occurs in service traffic.

Method, device, and system for implementing MUX machine


Caustic-free detergent compositions are provided. Detergent compositions including an aminocarboxylate, water conditioning agent, non-caustic source of alkalinity and water beneficially do not require the use of additional surfactants and/or polymers to provide suitable detergency and prevent scale build-up on treated surfaces. The detergent compositions are used with a sanitizer to employ the caustic-free detergent compositions are particularly suitable for use as low temperature ware wash detergents that beneficially reduce scale build-up. Methods of employing the caustic-free detergent compositions are also provided.

Alkaline detergents, particularly those intended for institutional and commercial use, in combination with the presence of hard water commonly result in heavy scale formation that is difficult to control. The level of hardness in water can have a deleterious effect in many systems. For example, calcium carbonate precipitation on the surface of ware can negatively impact the aesthetic appearance of the ware, giving an unclean look. In general, hard water refers to water having a level of calcium and magnesium ions in excess of about 100 ppm expressed in units of ppm calcium carbonate. Often, the molar ratio of calcium to magnesium in hard water is about 2:1 or about 3:1. Although most locations have hard water, water hardness tends to vary from one location to another.
The control of such water hardness presents additional difficulty in ware wash applications employing high alkalinity and/or use at elevated temperatures. Traditionally, chelating agents and/or threshold agents are employed with high alkaline detergent compositions because of their ability to solubilize metal salts and/or prevent water hardness from scaling and/or precipitating. Although very high alkalinity detergent compositions provide desirable cleaning efficacy, there is a need for reducing the concentration of caustic in alkaline detergent compositions. This is a result of need for such very high alkalinity detergent compositions to be transported, handled and/or contacted by workers, each of which present safety concerns. For example, caustic detergent compositions can cause burns to exposed skin, particularly in the concentrated form. As the alkalinity of the compositions increases, the possible risk to workers also increases. Therefore, great care must be taken to protect workers who handle concentrated highly alkaline or caustic detergents.
There is also a need for continued development of low temperature dish washing machines and detergent compositions suitable for use therein. Beneficially, reducing temperatures employed in dish washing or ware wash machines results in energy savings and other benefits for consumers.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to develop detergent compositions to address at least one of these problems and/or to offer detergent compositions with usage, environmental and/or safety benefits.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the claimed invention to develop detergent compositions having caustic eliminated from the formulations.
A further object of the invention is a low temperature detergent compositions being caustic-free and reducing and/or eliminating scale build-up of treated surfaces.
A further object of the invention is to develop methods of employing caustic-free detergent compositions under low temperature ware washing conditions that further eliminate scale build-up on treated surfaces.

Caustic free low temperature ware wash detergent for reducing scale build-up


A multi-mode RF amplifier is disclosed having high and low output power modes and two power paths. A first RF amplifier delivers power to both paths. When the multi-mode RF amplifier is biased into the high power, HP, mode, substantial power is delivered via both (first and second) paths. While in the low power, LP, mode, an RF switch is turned off, creating a high input impedance, open circuit for the first path, and effectively isolating the two paths. Therefore, power is delivered by the first RF amplifier to the second path only. The impedance presented to the output of the first RF amplifier is equal to the input impedance of the second path which may be optimally set for maximizing power added efficiency or output power in LP mode. Note that, in a preferred embodiment, even in the HP mode more power is delivered to the second power path than to the first power path.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to power amplifiers and, more particularly, to power amplifiers used in battery powered mobile handsets, and even more particularly to optimizing battery current use in such power amplifiers over a range of output power levels.
2. Background Information
Radio-frequency (RF) signals generated at a mobile handset generally are amplified, transmitted through the handset antenna and sent to a base station for distribution to receivers. Often the frequency bands of operation of the handsets are predetermined, mainly in the frequency range from 800 MHz to 2000 MHz for various mobile standards such as WCDMA (wide band code division multiple access) and CDMA (code division multiple access). The present invention, however, may find advantageous use in device operating at other frequencies and with other formats.
In general, the handset is required to transmit at a high output power level when it is farther away from a receiving base station in order to maintain a pre-determined signal strength at the base station for sufficient reception. Conversely, the closer the handset to the base station, less transmitted power would be required. The handset output power is adjusted according to the command embedded within the RF control signal transmitted from the base station to the handset.
The handset transmitted signal, and hence the RF power amplifier output signal, has to meet the FCC regulation on spectral re-growth (also known as linearity—often measured in terms of adjacent channel leakage power ratio (ACLR) which stipulates the maximum allowable interference to other frequency channels in order to minimize interference between signals). Some known mobile devices (handsets) have RF power amplifiers powered by the full battery voltage at all times. The RF power amplifies are generally designed to meet the linearity specification at maximum transmit power level (+28 dBm for WCDMA system) under such a bias condition. Statistically, power amplifiers transmits at maximum linear output power only for a small fraction of time, while most of the transmissions take place at a considerably lower power levels (10-20 dB below maximum power). The power added efficiency (PAE, a metric known in the art) of the power amplifiers usually drops off rapidly at backoff or LP ("Low Power" and "back off" are synonymous) levels, resulting in non-optimal current consumption coupled with excessive linearity margin. As known to those skilled in the art, the excessive linearity margin can be a trade-off for lower current consumption in the design of power amplifiers.
The actual output power level from the power amplifier (and hence the handset), is continuous from some −50 dBm to 28 dBm. High Power (HP) and Low Power (LP) modes are known in the art as part of the PA functions. The HP generally applies to the range from 16 dBm to 28 dBm, and LP to power levels below 16 dBm. Use of HP and LP modes further improves efficiency in the low power range as compared to a conventional PA.
The above cross referenced application a) describes power amplifiers that provide a reasonably continuous measurement of output power required from a predetermined optimum relationship, that is defined therein. Also defined in this earlier application is the linearity relationship and adjacent channel interference as determined by the FCC. This earlier application provides the required optimum current consumption at each output power by varying the bias power supply to the power amplifiers. These relationships are well described in the prior art, the incorporated applications and the U.S. patent Kim discussed below. Thus, later references to these relationships are made without detail.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,900,692 B2 to J. Kim et al., (Kim) discloses a system that optimizes the current consumption of the power amplifier at two discrete power output levels, i.e. the maximum output power at LP and HP modes operation. This patent is incorporated herein by reference. Kim describes earlier art, with respect to its invention, that incorporates switches (electronic and/or actual mechanical switches with pole pieces) into the power amplifier design where two different parallel signal paths are utilized, one for the LP and one for the HP mode. However, any such switches are lossy, costly, several must be used to provide bypassing, and complex control may be required. Increased power loss and current consumption and large physical size all limit the applications of such circuits in handset power amplifiers.
Kim's advance over the described prior art provides a two path power amplifier with a low power (LP) and a high power (HP) mode without switches. In the low power mode the high power path is disabled and a bypass circuit carries the low power to the output. Kim describes a circuit that reduces power consumption (and therefore extends battery life) in the low power mode and provides higher PAE (power added efficiency). PAE is a metric term known to those skilled in the art. Kim provides parallel impedance matching/transforming circuits that define two paths to the RFout, one for HP and one for LP operation. Kim's inventive circuitry (See Kim's FIGS. 5 and 6) is reproduced herein as FIG. 1. When high power is required, the Voltage Control 2 will provide a control signal to turn on the PA for signal amplification. When in the low power mode, the Voltage Control 2 will provide a control signal to turn off the PA. Kim's FIG. 8 illustrates a voltage control circuit that provides the on/off control to Kim's driver and power stage.
FIG. 2 details the impedances and power delivered by Kim in the HP and LP modes. In the HP mode, the PA is active and Kim provides an impedance ZintL that is significantly higher 10 than ZintH, so that the power, PH, delivered to the 2nd impedance matching circuit is much higher 22 than the power, PL, delivered to the Ztrans, an impedance transformer. The PA amplifies the signal and provides, via the 3rd and 4th impedance matching circuits, a high power RF out. In the LP mode the opposite occurs, the PA is biased off, and ZintH is significantly higher 12 than ZintL, and PL is much higher 20 than PH. Kim details that the "significantly higher" impedance level means two times (or more) larger.
So Kim discloses and requires the relationships as shown in FIG. 2. That is: a) when in LP mode, ZintL is much lower 12 than ZintH; b) when in HP mode, ZintL is much higher 10 than ZintH; and c) ZintH in LP mode is much higher 14 than ZintH in HP mode, d) ZintL in LP mode is much lower 16 than ZintL in HP mode; and e) ZPA, the input impedance of the PA, in LP mode is much higher 18 than ZPA in HP mode. As evidenced in FIG. 1, Kim, via the voltage control 2, controls the on/off characteristics of the PA depending on the mode of operation. In doing so the impedance characteristics of ZintH and ZintL change due to the change in the input and output impedance level of the PA. So in the HP mode, the PA is biased on and ZintH impedance is much lower than ZintL and most power travels through the PA. In the LP mode, the input and output impedances of the PA change when it is turned off, which increases ZintH and decreases ZintL so that more power travels through Ztrans. Moreover, the change in output impedance of the PA in the LP mode affects the 3rd, 4th and Ztrans impedance. These impedance networks are designed to minimize the power leakage through the 3rd matching circuit to the PA. Implementing these techniques are known to those skilled in the art.
Limitations in Kim can be found directly from FIG. 1. For example, Kim's five impedance matching circuits are complex and several simultaneous matching requirements under HP and LP modes would require tradeoffs in performances. In Kim's HP mode operation, Ztrans is designed in conjunction with the 3rd and 4th impedance networks to increase ZintL. While under LP mode operation, these three impedance matching networks are required to reduce ZintL. If the matching networks are optimized for the best ZintL under LP mode operation, it might not be optimal under HP mode operation which would increase undesired leakage power through Ztrans and degrade HP mode performance. On the other hand, if the matching networks are optimized for the best ZintL under HP mode operation, then ZintL might not be optimal under LP mode operation which could increase the current consumption of the driver stage.
Moreover, Kim describes his power amplifier system where, in the HP mode, the power leakage into Ztrans is minimized, and most of the power from the driver stage will be amplified by the PA. This operation is similar to the conventional power amplifiers where the final stage delivers the output power and consumes majority of the current, and therefore operates at a much higher thermal temperature than the driver stage.
FIG. 3 illustrates typical PAE of a power amplifier operating in a single power mode. It is evident that in the back-off or low power range, PAE is very low. FIG. 4 shows operation of a system with two power level modes, as in Kim and as might be used with the present invention. Here it is clear that PAE is improved in the LP mode.
Reiterating the limitation of the prior art, referencing FIG. 1, the power amplifier, PA, is supposed to be in the off state in the LP mode operation. However, the PA will start to turn on when there is a significant RF power level presented at the PA's input. Conduction of the PA in the LP mode will significantly degrade the linearity (ACLR level) of the output signal due to phase mismatch of signals from the two paths when they are combined at the input of the output matching, 4th Z matching, network. This limits the maximum linear output power capability under LP mode operation. In addition, the impedance presented by the Ztrans matching network to the 1st Z matching network cannot be selected optimally to maximize LP mode efficiency as a result of limited isolation between the two passive matching networks, 2nd Z matching and Ztrans. Ztrans is tradeoff between efficiency and minimizing power leakage to the interstage 2nd Z matching network under LP mode operation. Typical LP mode efficiency as 16 dBm output power is about 19%.
The prior art, generally, remains power inefficient due to potential tradeoffs required for matching impedances for HP and LP modes, and the prior art also employs complex circuitry.

Multi-mode power amplifier with high efficiency under backoff operation


The invention is generally related to the estimation of position and orientation of an object with respect to a local or a global coordinate system using reflected light sources. A typical application of the method and apparatus includes estimation and tracking of the position of a mobile autonomous robot. Other applications include estimation and tracking of an object for position-aware, ubiquitous devices. Additional applications include tracking of the positions of people or pets in an indoor environment. The methods and apparatus comprise one or more optical emitters, one or more optical sensors, signal processing circuitry, and signal processing methods to determine the position and orientation of at least one of the optical sensors based at least in part on the detection of the signal of one or more emitted light sources reflected from a surface.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to the estimation of position and orientation of an object with respect to a local or a global coordinate system. In particular, the invention relates to the method and apparatus that provides estimation and tracking of the position and orientation. The method and apparatus that can be used in vehicles, such as in mobile robots.
2. Description of the Related Art
Position estimation is a topic of interest for a wide variety of application areas ranging from autonomous mobile robots, ubiquitous computing, mobile devices, tracking of assets, tracking of people, position tracking of customers in a store, tracking of pets, position of nodes in ad hoc wireless networks, position tracking of vehicles, and position tracking of mobile devices such as cell phones, personal digital assistants, and the like.
Robots are becoming more and more commonplace in society. It will be understood that these robots can be embodied in a variety of forms, such as in automated floor care products such as vacuum cleaners. A variety of applications can be found for mobile robots, such as, but not limited to, entertainment applications such as toy robots, healthcare applications such as elderly care robots, patrolling and security applications, telepresence robots, cleaning applications such as floor cleaning robots, utility applications in environments that are unfriendly to humans such as space, deep water, cold temperature, radiation, chemical exposure, biohazards, etc., dangerous tasks such as defusing of potential explosives, operation in confined spaces such as collapsed buildings, and the performance of menial tasks such as cleaning. Mobile robots, robots that can move from one location to another, often use knowledge of their position relative to their environment.
Localization techniques refer to processes by which a robot determines its position and orientation relative to a reference coordinate system. The reference coordinate system can be either local (for example, relative to an object of interest) or global. Position estimation can include estimation of any quantity that is related to at least some of an object's six degrees of freedom of in three dimensions (3-D). These six degrees of freedom can be described as the object's (x, y, z) position and its angles of rotation around each axis of a 3-D coordinate system, which angles are denoted α, β, and θ and respectively termed "pitch," "roll," and "yaw." Such position estimation can be useful for various tasks and application. For example, the bearing of a robot relative to a charging station can be useful for allowing the robot to servo to the charging station and recharge its batteries autonomously. The estimation of the distance of a pet from the front door can be used to alert the owner about a possible problem. For indoor environments, it is typically desired to track the (x, y) position of an object in a two-dimensional (2-D) floor plane and its orientation, θ, relative to an axis normal to the floor plane. That is, it can be convenient to assume that a z coordinate of the robot, as well as the robot's roll and pitch angles, are constant. The (x, y) position and the θ orientation of an object are referred to together as the pose of the object.
Numerous devices, processes, sensors, equipment, and mechanisms have been proposed for position estimation. These methods can be divided into two main categories. One category uses beacons in the environment to enable position estimation, and the second category uses natural landmarks in the environment. Because the method and apparatus described herein fall into the first category of beacon-based position estimation or localization, this section will focus on beacon-based localization methods.
Beacons are artificial devices in the environment that can be detected by an appropriate sensing apparatus. Beacons can be passive or active. Examples of passive beacons include retroreflective materials. By projecting a light source onto a retroreflective material, one can create a signature or signal that can be detected readily using one or more appropriate optical sensors. Using the signature or signal, the one or more sensors can determine their positions relative to the beacons and/or relative to the environment.
Active optical beacons emit light that can be detected by an optical sensor. The optical sensor can measure various characteristics of the emitted light, such as the distance to the emitter (using time-of-flight), the bearing to the emitter, the signal strength, and the like. Using such characteristics, one can estimate the position of the sensor using an appropriate technique, such as triangulation or trilateration. These approaches, which use active optical beacons paired with optical sensors, are disadvantageously constrained by line-of-sight between the emitters and the sensors. Without line-of-sight, a sensor will not be able to detect the emitter.

Methods and apparatus for position estimation using reflected light sources


Disclosed is an apparatus for separating interconnects between, for example, a card and a substrate. The apparatus includes one or more rotationally biased (e.g., spring-loaded, etc.) partial-circle structures (e.g., blades, squeegee, plow, etc.) and one or more temperature-sensitive releases connected to the partial-circle structures. The partial-circle structures are positioned to rotate and separate the interconnects when released by the temperature-sensitive releases. The invention can also include solder reservoirs positioned to receive solder from the interconnects separated by the partial-circle structures.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an apparatus and method for separating integrated circuit structures connected by interconnects such as ball grid arrays and column grid arrays.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ball Grid Arrays (BGA) and Column Grid Arrays (CGA) are widely used to electrically and mechanically connect substrates (typically ceramic) carrying semiconductor chips to a card. The BGA commonly consists of an array of metal balls which are soldered to a substrate by means of a solder fillet material. The solder fillet material is typically of a lower melting temperature (183 C for eutectic Pb/Sn) than the solder ball (˜280 to 300 C) which it is joining to, enabling the solder ball not to melt during joining. However, the solder ball and fillet material may be of the same composition, thus causing the entire interconnect to reach liquidous temperature during the reflow. During the manufacturing process, a substrate, either organic or ceramic, is attached to a carrier. Typically, this carrier is organic and may be comprised of FR4 like material, or may have Surface Laminar Circuitry (SLC) on a core made of other organic material. If the substrate requires rework, such as because of a defective chip, the substrate must first be removed from the carrier.
One conventional method to remove a substrate from a card uses hot gas. In such a method, a gas, typically nitrogen, is heated to high temperatures and impinged upon the substrate. The tooling for such an operation is dedicated. Further, such an operation is typically performed in batch mode. There are numerous problems with employing such a method when removing a ceramic substrate from an organic carrier. First, hot gas uses a significantly greater amount of thermal energy that is transmitted to the top surface of the substrate. Such high temperatures can damage the still good chips atop the substrate, or make failure analysis for the defective chips not possible. The former situation may arise when the substrate has two or more chips, with one being defective, and the others being good. More importantly, such methods cannot be used for higher liquidous temperature alloys, such as those being developed for lead free applications, because the higher amount of heat input would damage organic boards which typically cannot exceed temperatures greater than 250 C. As an example, a lead-free alloy comprising Sn, Ag and Cu (95.5 wt % Sn, 3.8 wt % Ag and 0.7 wt % Cu) has a liquidous temperature equal to approximately 217 C. The hot gas technique can cause excessively high temperatures at the organic board or carrier surface, when it attempts to melt this lead-free alloy which resides between the ceramic substrate and organic board. Thus, a need exists to separate the substrate from the carrier while preserving its ability to be rejoined to another carrier.

Ball grid array rework using a continuous belt furnace

International Business Machines Corporation


Methods and corresponding apparatus operable to cause an interaction between a drive radiation beam and a medium for generation of emitted radiation by high harmonic generation, the arrangement comprising: an interaction region positioned at an interaction plane and configured to receive the medium; a beam block positioned upstream of the interaction plane at a beam block plane and configured to partially block the drive radiation beam; a beam shaper positioned upstream of the beam block plane at an object plane and configured to control a spatial distribution of the drive radiation beam; and at least one lens positioned upstream of the interaction plane and downstream of the beam block plane, wherein the lens being positioned such that an image of the spatial distribution of the drive radiation beam is formed at the interaction plane.

A lithographic apparatus is a machine constructed to apply a desired pattern onto a substrate. A lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). A lithographic apparatus may, for example, project a pattern (also often referred to as "design layout" or "design") at a patterning device (e.g., a mask) onto a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist) provided on a substrate (e.g., a wafer).
To project a pattern on a substrate a lithographic apparatus may use electromagnetic radiation. The wavelength of this radiation determines the minimum size of features which can be formed on the substrate. Typical wavelengths currently in use are 365 nm (i-line), 248 nm, 193 nm and 13.5 nm. A lithographic apparatus, which uses extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation, having a wavelength within the range 4-20 nm, for example 6.7 nm or 13.5 nm, may be used to form smaller features on a substrate than a lithographic apparatus which uses, for example, radiation with a wavelength of 193 nm.
Low-k1 lithography may be used to process features with dimensions smaller than the classical resolution limit of a lithographic apparatus. In such process, the resolution formula may be expressed as CD=k1×λ/NA, where λ is the wavelength of radiation employed, NA is the numerical aperture of the projection optics in the lithographic apparatus, CD is the "critical dimension" (generally the smallest feature size printed, but in this case half-pitch) and k1 is an empirical resolution factor. In general, the smaller k1 the more difficult it becomes to reproduce the pattern on the substrate that resembles the shape and dimensions planned by a circuit designer in order to achieve particular electrical functionality and performance. To overcome these difficulties, sophisticated fine-tuning steps may be applied to the lithographic projection apparatus and/or design layout. These include, for example, but not limited to, optimization of NA, customized illumination schemes, use of phase shifting patterning devices, various optimization of the design layout such as optical proximity correction (OPC, sometimes also referred to as "optical and process correction") in the design layout, or other methods generally defined as "resolution enhancement techniques" (RET). Alternatively, tight control loops for controlling a stability of the lithographic apparatus may be used to improve reproduction of the pattern at low k1.
As explained below, an inspection apparatus, which may also be referred to as a metrology tool, may be used to determine properties of substrates and features fabricated on substrates, and in particular, how properties of different substrates vary or how properties associated with different layers of the same substrate vary from layer to layer. Such inspection apparatus may expose the substrate and the associated features to radiation and capture scattered or diffracted radiation to form images permitting the determination of the properties of the substrates and/or the features. The radiation may comprise soft x-ray (SXR) and/or EUV radiation.
Soft x-ray (SXR) and/or EUV radiation has a wavelength extending roughly from 0.1 nm to 100 nm. Applications of SXR and/or EUV include, but are not limited to, current or near-future measurement tools for the semiconductor industry, e.g. where visible light is starting to give insufficient spatial resolution for the continuously shrinking feature sizes.
SXR and/or EUV radiation may be generated using HHG, in which, for example, an intense laser pulse of visible or infrared (IR) drive radiation interacts with a gaseous medium, leading to emission of SXR and/or EUV by the gas atoms due to their interaction with the drive radiation. The HHG-generated SXR and/or EUV light may then be focused onto a target on the wafer by means of an optical column that transfers the light from the HHG source to the target. The reflected light may be detected and processed to infer properties of the target.

High harmonic generation radiation source


A drag reducing device for a vehicle includes an air flow turning component having a curved surface adapted to turn air flow passing over the curved surface, a first mounting component for connecting the air flow turning component to a rear door of the vehicle, and a second mounting component for connecting the air flow turning component to one of the opposite side walls of the vehicle. The mounting components are configured so that the air flow component is automatically in a deployed position when the rear door is closed, in which position the air flow turning component turns air flow passing along the side the vehicle inward to thereby reduce drag. The mounting components are further configured so that the air flow component is automatically stowed between the rear door and the vehicle side wall when the door is fully opened. The air turning component is an extrusion sized for a minimal prominence in the stowed position.

The present disclosure relates to drag reduction devices for land vehicles, such as trucks, tractor-trailer rigs, vans, buses, recreational vehicles and similar vehicles having a large frontal area.
Fuel economy is a persistent concern for all land vehicles and is particularly acute for large vehicles such as trucks and tractor-trailer rigs. Fuel economy improvements have been achieved by innovation in engine design and improvements in fuel composition. However, the size and shape of the vehicles plays a substantial role in fuel economy. Ultimately, drag is the greatest enemy to fuel economy, with as much as 70% of the engine power devoted to cutting through the air in front of the vehicle.
Drag is a force that resists the movement of a body through a fluid, whether the body is a baseball and the fluid is air, or the body is a swimmer moving through water. Drag is a function of two components—friction drag and pressure drag. Friction drag is a force that acts tangential to a surface of the body. Friction drag is increased by irregularities or roughness on the surface and decreased by making the surface more slippery. A clean truck cuts through the air more efficiently and with less friction drag than a dirty truck.
Pressure drag is a force that acts perpendicular to a surface and is a function of the surface area in the direction of travel as well as the velocity or speed at which the body is traveling. Pressure drag increases as the square of velocity so that doubling vehicle speed actually creates four times more pressure drag. On the other hand, pressure drag is directly related to surface area so that a ten percent reduction in surface area leads to a ten percent decrease in pressure drag.
For aerodynamically configured vehicles, such as airplanes, friction drag contributes more heavily to overall drag than pressure drag. However, for land vehicles this relationship is reversed significantly. For a typical tractor-trailer, pressure drag can be as much as ten times greater than friction drag due to the large frontal surface area of the truck. Unfortunately, the size of these types of vehicles is dictated by their function—hauling products or materials. Unlike passenger vehicles, the box-like shape of trucks cannot be significantly altered. A smaller frontal surface area means a smaller truck, which means less cargo that can be hauled. Pressure drag in land vehicles, and especially in trucks, is increased by pressure "hot spots", such beneath the undercarriage, behind the rear of the trailer or between the tractor and the trailer. These hot spots are generally regions of low pressure, which causes air flowing over the vehicle to deviate from a streamlined path around the vehicle. Vortices can form in these hot spots that significantly increase the pressure drag.
In quantitative terms, if a square body has a drag coefficient (CD) of 1.00, elongating the body into a rectangular shape reduces CD to 0.80. Adding a rounded nose cuts the coefficient in half to 0.40. Adding a "boat tail" or a conical tail decreases CD further to 0.20. The typical boattail configuration includes plates projecting from the rear of the vehicle and angled inwardly at an angle of 10-15°. An elliptical body tapered at both ends produces a drag coefficient less than 0.05, but the shape significantly reduces available cargo space and is difficult to produce.
It has been estimated that a 20% reduction in drag yields at least a 10% increase in fuel economy at highway speeds. For truckers and trucking companies, this increase in fuel economy means significantly reduced fuel costs year in and year out. For the environment, increases in fuel economy mean fewer deleterious emissions. A significant amount of effort has been expended in developing drag reduction technology for trucks. These efforts include streamlining the tractor, introducing seals, air deflectors or vortex generators in the gap between the tractor and trailer, and adding undercarriage skirts, guide vanes, air deflectors and boat tails to the trailer. Each of these modifications contributes in some measure to the overall drag reduction, so a fully optimized rig will incorporate a number of these improvements.
Presently, the typical drag reduction device utilizes "mechanical" redirection of the air flow to reduce drag. For instance, one type of device utilizes spoilers or fairings mounted to the top trailing edge of a vehicle or trailer to redirect the airflow and attempt to reduce turbulence. Another drag reduction device is the boat tail device that includes boat tail plates extending rearward from the rear of the trailer. Boat tail devices can reduce drag by up to ten percent. The typical boat tail is a large shell that is mounted over the rear doors of the trailer. Such devices are cumbersome to install and remove. Moreover, the large unitary shell is difficult to store when access to the rear doors is desired, such as to unload the trailer.
Other "mechanical" drag reduction devices require intervention by the vehicle operator to deploy and stow the device, while still other mechanical approaches require the vehicle operator to manipulate the drag reduction device to access the rear doors of the vehicle or trailer. Some mechanical devices are mounted directly to the vehicle/trailer doors which can eliminate the need to manipulate the device in order to access the trailer door. However, these devices are bulky and prevent the trailer/vehicle door from being fully opened flat against the side wall of the trailer/vehicle. This discrepancy can pose significant risks at shipping/receiving locations where trucks are backed in to closely spaced loading docks. A door that projects too far away from the side of the trailer can be struck by an adjacent vehicle as it attempts to back into an adjacent loading dock.
A more recent development in drag reduction are non-mechanical devices, meaning devices that do not mechanically turn or redirect the air flow, like a spoiler, but instead generate a force that acts on the air flow. One such device is a plasma flow actuator that provides a "body force" to the air flow as it passes over a surface to accelerate the air, thereby stabilizing the boundary layer and causing the air to remain "attached" or conform to the surface to reduce or eliminate flow separation, turbulence and, ultimately, drag. One type of plasma flow actuator is electronically controlled for activation at appropriate vehicle speeds and for precise operation to optimize the drag reducing effect.
Whether the actuator is mechanical or non-mechanical, there is a persistent need for a drag reduction device that does not impede the ability to open the rear doors of a trailer or truck on which the device is mounted. Moreover, in order to ensure that the drag reduction device is consistently used, the device should be "automatic", meaning that it does not require any intervention by the vehicle operator to deploy or to position the device clear of the vehicle/trailer doors when access is desired for loading or unloading the vehicle. There is also a need for a drag reduction device that has a lower profile than existing devices—i.e., that does not extend excessively beyond the end of the vehicle—to lessen the chance for damaging contact when the vehicle is moved in reverse.


Methods to sensitize tumor cells to radiation therapy through the administration of an endothelin agonist such as the ETB agonist IRL1620.

Radiation therapy (irradiation) is an effective modality for the treatment of a variety of tumor types. Half of all cancer patients will receive radiation therapy during their course of treatment for cancer. Therefore, advances that increase the efficacy of radiation therapy would provide a great benefit. The present invention provides such an advance.

Sensitization of tumor cells to radiation therapy through the administration of endothelin agonists

The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois


An ester derivative represented by the following formula (I). ##STR1## In the formula, V, W, X, Y and Z represent a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom, respectively. The present invention also comprises a liquid crystal composition containing the ester derivative. The ester derivative can optimize the n value, lower the viscosity and reduce the threshold voltage Vth of the liquid crystal composition.

This invention relates to an ester derivative useful as a liquid crystal material and a liquid crystal composition containing the ester derivative.
Liquid crystal displays are widely utilized for watches, electronic calculators, word processors, televisions and the like. Among various liquid crystal displays, a common one is the liquid crystal display in TN type (twisted nematic type) which utilizes optical anisotropy and dielectric anisotropy of a liquid crystal material.
The liquid crystal materials which are presently used for liquid crystal displays, such as a TN type, are required to have a wide liquid crystal temperature range, a rapid electro-optical response, a wide visual angle range, a low driving electric voltage, a chemical stability, an optical stability, and the like.
In order to obtain a wide visual angle range and a high contrast, it is necessary to optimize the retardation of the liquid crystal layer, i.e. .DELTA.n.d (.DELTA.n : birefringence of liquid crystal material, d: thickness of liquid crystal layer). In the liquid crystal displays to be put to practical use, the thickness of the liquid crystal layer is set in a restricted range, and accordingly, the optimization of .DELTA.n of the liquid crystal material is necessary.
The liquid crystal material is also desired to have a low viscosity for speeding up of the response. The relation between the rise time .tau. on at the time of impressing electric voltage and the decay time .tau. off at the time of breaking electric voltage is represented by the following formulas: EQU .tau. on=.eta..sub.ii d.sup.2 (.sup..epsilon. O.sup..DELTA..epsilon. v.sup.2 -K.pi..sup.2).sup.-1 EQU .tau. off=.eta..sub.ii d.sup.2 /.pi..sup.2 K
In the formulas, .eta..sub.ii is a parameter of viscosity, d is the thickness of the liquid crystal layer, .epsilon..sub.0 is the dielectric constant in vacuum, .DELTA..epsilon. is the anisotropy of the dielectric constant, V is the impressed electric voltage, K=K.sub.11 +(K.sub.33 -2K.sub.22)/4(K.sub.11 : spraying elastic modulus, K.sub.22 : twisting elastic modulus, K.sub.33 : bending elastic modulus). Accordingly, in order to raise the response speed, it is essential that the liquid crystal material has a low viscosity, i.e. a low viscosity liquid crystal compound is essential.
Moreover, the driving electric voltage depends upon the threshold voltage Vth, and a liquid crystal display can be driven by a lower electric voltage by reducing the threshold voltage Vth. Accordingly, a liquid crystal material capable of reducing the threshold electric voltage Vth is required.
There has not been found a liquid crystal compound which satisfies all of the above required properties in a single material. Accordingly, in order to comply with the requirement, several kinds of liquid crystal compounds having various properties were mixed with a non-liquid crystal compound and put to practical use.