A flip-flop system featuring an elongated strap between about 6 to 10 inches in length; a first half snap disposed on the outer surface of the strap at the first end and a second half snap disposed on the outer surface of the strap near the first end, the first half snap can engage the second half snap by bending the first end of the strap around; and a third half snap disposed on the outer surface of the strap at the second end and a fourth half snap disposed on the outer surface of the strap near the second end, the third half snap can engage the fourth half snap by bending the second end of the strap around, the snaps function to the elongated strap to be removably attached to a flip-flop, sandal, or thong.

It is often much more comfortable to wear flip-flops than heavy or bulky athletic shoes. However, when wearing flip-flops, one may not be able to engage in various activities such as but not limited to sports that require that an individual's shoes stay securely fastened to his/her feet. And, many places such as schools and amusement parks have regulations on the types of shoes that an individual wears. The present invention features a back strap device for flip-flops, thongs, sandals, and the like. The back strap helps to keep the flip-flop secured to the user's foot. The back strap device of the present invention provides a means of wearing a comfortable and fashionable flip-flop or sandal that also meets requirements for sports, amusement parks, and schools. Individuals would not then be required to carry an additional pair of athletic shoes.
Any feature or combination of features described herein are included within the scope of the present invention provided that the features included in any such combination are not mutually inconsistent as will be apparent from the context, this specification, and the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art. Additional advantages and aspects of the present invention are apparent in the following detailed description and claims.


The present disclosure relates to a method, system and computer-readable medium for providing image data. According to an exemplary embodiment, a method of providing image data includes storing a particular region on image data in association with a keyword, comparing conditional information with the keyword associated with the particular region, when receiving the conditional information from a user terminal unit, and controlling a display state of the image data to allow the particular region to be displayed on a screen of the user terminal unit. When a user inputs a keyword including content relating to a geographical feature or object, an actual shape of the geographical feature or object can be displayed on a screen of the user terminal unit.

1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a method, system and computer-readable recording medium for providing image data. More particularly, exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a method, system and computer-readable recording medium that can store image data in association with orientation information and provide information of a region associated with a direction corresponding to a search keyword is when a user inputs the search keyword to search for image data.
2. Discussion of the Background
With recent increase in use of the Internet and distribution of global positioning system (GPS) receivers, geographical information such as maps and the like is supplied to a user generally in the form of digital data which replaces traditional printed matter such as books or the like.
Digital geographical information is generally supplied through an electronic map service via the Internet, a navigation system equipped to vehicles, and the like. Advantageously, the digital geographical information is often coupled to a user interface module having a retrieval function to provide various conveniences to a user. Further, when there is a need to change the geographical information, it can be easily updated through remote operation or the like, so that the digital geographical information is preferable to conventional printed matter because it can be easily kept current and up-to-date.
Conventionally, however, service providers for digital geographical information provide electronic map screens coupled to retrieval interfaces and operated to display a simple combination of marks. Since information displayed on the electronic map screens is remarkably different from an actual image of a place corresponding to the information, it is difficult to confirm the actual image of the corresponding place based on the information.
Therefore, in an attempt to solve such a problem, US Patent Application Publication No. 2008-0143727, filed on Nov. 8, 2007 and published on Jun. 19, 2008, discloses a technique for an electronic map service, which provides a panoramic image, corresponding to a particular place on an electronic map, to a user. Accordingly, the user can confirm an actual image of the particular place on the electronic map based on the panoramic is image.
Generally, a panoramic picture is generated by connecting several partitioned pictures to each other and provides an image that allows a person to see a wide view extending in the lateral direction. Accordingly, considering the current technical state of display devices such as monitors and the like, it is difficult to regenerate the whole image of the panoramic picture with a suitable resolution on a user terminal unit.
For such reasons, service providers of panoramic pictures may allow only part of the panoramic picture to be preferentially displayed on the user terminal unit rather than allowing the entirety of the panoramic picture to be displayed thereon, such that a desired region of the panoramic picture is displayed on the screen of the terminal unit in response to an input signal through a mouse or the like under user control.
Accordingly, even with the technique disclosed in US Patent Application Publication No. 2008-0143727, a conventional system does not provide a target region of the panoramic picture, which includes a geographical feature or object a user wishes to confirm, such that the target region is immediately displayed on the user terminal unit, and requires the user to adjust the screen so as to display the target region of the panoramic picture after searching for a certain region of the panoramic picture.
Such a problem of the conventional system causes user inconvenience in the case where the user does not have any information about the geographical feature or object that the user wishes to confirm.

Method, system and computer-readable recording medium for providing image data


An ATM switch and a congestion control method are provided to handle connection setup requests from other ATM devices. In the ATM switch, a congestion detecting process detects congestion of a class that has a number of the connection setup requests stored by class in the buffer equal to T(x), a predetermined number of the connection setup requests to be stored for each of the classes. A message discarding process discards the received connection setup request if it belongs to the congested class. Furthermore, a priority control method for receiving connection setup requests is provided to establish connections more efficiently. A branching process detects a port to which the connection setup request is inputted, identifies a priority class which corresponds to the port using a priority table, and stores the connection setup request in one of queues which are provided for each priority class. An extracting process extracts the connection setup request from the queue of the priority class to be extracted according to a predetermined algorithm.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to an ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) switch, and particularly to a congestion control method and a priority control method during reception of the connection setup requests in an SVC (Switched Virtual Channel) service to establish the connection among the ATM switches on demand.
2. Description of Related Art
The ATM switch is equipped with an ATM interface through which a plurality of ATM devices (ATM apparatus) such as ATM terminals, ATM switches, ATM concentrators, ATM routers etc. are respectively connected. An ATM network comprises a plurality of these ATM devices.
When ATM devices are required to be connected in the SVC service of an ATM switch, the ATM device sends a signaling message requesting a SETUP of the connection to the ATM switch to negotiate a destination, a frequency band and so on, so as to establish the connection between the ATM device and the ATM switch.
When a plurality of the ATM switches exist between a calling ATM device (originator) and the called ATM device (destination), the above negotiation process is executed for every two adjacent ATM devices. To process the signaling messages transmitted from a plurality of the ATM devices, the ATM switch is equipped with a buffer for receiving the signaling messages. The ATM switch stores the signaling messages from the ATM devices in the buffer temporarily and then extracts the signaling message from the buffer to execute signaling processes such as establishment of the connection.
Congestion may occur when a large number of signaling messages in excess of the signaling process capability of the ATM switch are received at the ATM switch because of, for example, booting of all ATM devices, requesting of a short period connection setup by a high performance ATM device, malfunction/failure of ATM devices, and so on. Once the buffer which receives and stores the signaling messages sent from ATM devices has overflowed, all the signaling messages received after the overflow are discarded at cell level or packet level until a condition of the buffer is restored in a conventional ATM switch.
The possibility of overflow may be reduced in the conventional device if a capacity of the buffer for receiving the signaling message is made larger. However, the signaling message may be stored in the buffer for a longer period of time if a larger buffer capacity is implemented. The ATM device which sent the signaling message to request the connection setup usually monitors a time from transmission of the signaling message to receipt of the response message. Thus, if the signaling message is stored for a longer period of time, it is possible for the originator of the signaling message to re-send another signaling message because of overtime delay. Particularly, once congestion has occurred, discarding of the connection setup requests from all ATM devices connected to the ATM switch may cause re-sending of the connection setup requests from these ATM devices. The signaling process capability may also be increased. However, the signaling process capability still has its own limit and may not resolve the congestion problem.
Furthermore, in the ATM switch, each of the signaling messages from ATM devices is processed according to its receiving sequence. The signaling message is provided with information elements defining a type of the connection, such as a type of service to be used, cell speed, etc. Since some types of signaling messages require the use of a fixed frequency band, the signaling message coming after such a signaling message may be rejected because of a lack of available frequency band.
Among ATM devices, there are important devices such as ATM ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) servers, LAN emulation servers, which make interconnections with a conventional LAN on an ATM-LAN system, and devices such as file serves, and printer servers, which are frequently accessed by users. In some cases, it is desirable to process the signaling messages from these ATM devices giving them preference over the signaling messages from ATM devices of general users.
When the connection is established via a plurality of ATM switches, it means that a frequency band to be used has been secured in every one of the ATM switches on the route. If the latter ATM device rejects the connection setup request because of a lack of frequency band or the like, these secured frequency bands in the rest of the ATM switches on the route will be wasted. It also possible that the signaling messages may not be received by the ATM devices on the route.

ATM switch congestion control method of connection setup requests and priority control method for receiving connection requests


A cementitious mixture for high-volume production of masonry products comprises a hydraulic binder accounting for 20 wt % or more of the cementitious mixture, the hydraulic binder comprising 75 to 100 wt % Class C fly ash with a CaO equivalent content of at least 15% by weight. The cementitious mixture also comprises one or more aggregates, and a set control system.

Factory-formed building products are used in the construction of buildings and other infrastructure. Examples include masonry units made from vitrified or non-vitrified clay such as bricks and roof tiles, and products made from Portland cement, lime, gypsum, and aggregates in the shape of blocks, sheets, bricks, and so forth. Manufacture of factory formed building products usually requires energy and generates greenhouse gases.
In an effort to reduce the total energy and greenhouse-gas footprint from manufacturing, conserve virgin materials, reduce unit cost, and/or improve the technical properties of these products, it has become more common to recycle post-industrial waste or byproducts as partial replacement for certain ingredients. Even with these recycled materials, these products continue to rely to a large degree on traditional energy- and carbon-intensive materials or methods to realize their performance characteristics.
Fly ash is a useful post-industrial by-product used as a partial replacement in cementitious products. The ASTM C618 specification refers to Classes of fly ash, termed Class F fly ash and Class C fly ash, distinguished by the coal from which they originate and the ultimate chemical composition of the ash. The Class F fly ashes may be generally obtained during the burning of anthracite or bituminous coal, and rarely manifest cementitious properties and hardening when mixed with water. Prior art generally relies on the use of fly ash in conjunction with another hydraulic cement (e.g., lime or Portland cement). Class F fly ash can act as a pozzolan in hydraulic cementing systems, a material capable of reacting with lime in the presence of water to form hydraulic setting compounds with cementing properties. Lime may be, for example, added or obtained as an in-situ product of the reaction between Portland cement and water. In the absence of lime, Class F fly ash may be incapable of significant reaction with water. This incapability of Class F fly ash to react with water could be attributed to the low presence of calcium either in the direct oxide or complex oxide form within the fly ash. A calcium component of fly ash may be necessary for creation of reaction products capable of providing cementing properties. On the other hand, Class C fly ash, normally produced from the burning of sub-bituminous or lignite coal, usually demonstrates cementitious properties in addition to pozzolanic properties generally attributed to its higher free lime and calcium compound content. Class C fly ash also may contain relatively larger amounts of calcium, both in direct oxide and complex oxide form, when compared to Class F fly ash. This calcium content may permit Class C fly ash to react with water without need for the presence of additional chemicals, and to generate reaction products capable with cementing properties. Thus, Class C fly ash may be used as a cementing material without added lime or Portland cement.
However, this opportunity of using Class C fly ash as a cementing material capable of reacting with water on its own without using additional cementing compounds has not been thoroughly exploited by current industry. Class C fly is usually obtained as a by-product of coal burning. Class C fly ash obtained this way is dependent on the naturally variable chemical composition of the coal. Utilities, such as power plants that burn sub-bituminous and lignitic coal to produce Class C fly ash, often do not regulate the quality of the ash produced with respect to chemical composition and physical properties. Rather, the ash produced is generally used as an as-is by-product. Such a by-product may be highly variable when compared to specially controlled manufactured products such as Portland cement and lime. These and similar aspects of Class C fly ash have restricted the use of Class C fly ash as the main or sole binder in products made with hydraulic cements.


A circuit arrangement is provided for processing satellite signals comprising a first circuit part, which is made as a processor for computing position and/or speed signals from satellite signals, a second circuit part, which is made as a real-time clock to provide a time signal, at least two voltage sources, which are provided to supply at least one circuit part, and switching means, which are provided for switching the supply of at least one circuit part between the first voltage source and the second voltage source. According to an embodiment, the switching means have at least one voltage monitor with a bandgap voltage reference circuit to determine a switching voltage. The circuit arrangement can be used for GPS-supported navigation systems.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a circuit arrangement for processing satellite signals comprising a first circuit part, which is made as a processor for computing position and/or speed signals from satellite signals, a second circuit part, which is made as a real-time clock to provide a time signal, at least two voltage sources, which are provided to supply at least one circuit part, and switching means, which are provided for switching the supply of at least one circuit part between the first voltage source and the second voltage source, to a system with a circuit arrangement of this type, and to a method for operating a system of this type.
2. Description of the Background Art
A circuit arrangement known from being commercially available is set up for processing high-frequency electromagnetic satellite signals, which are emitted by satellites in orbit. The circuit arrangement is used, for example, in a receiver for a global positioning system (GPS receiver). The task of the circuit arrangement is substantially to process the encoded signals from satellites in such a way that position and/or time and/or speed signals can be made available for further processing, for example, by a navigation system. Because satellite signals are typically very weak signals, amplification with a low-noise amplifier (LNA) and signal conditioning are provided before the supplying of the encoded signals in the circuit arrangement. The amplified satellite signal is used as the input signal for a radio frequency semiconductor component (RF chip), which is provided for the conditioning of the input signal. The conditioned satellite signal is then provided for further processing to the circuit arrangement.
GPS receivers are used for GPS devices, which are configured as mobile handheld units or as built-in devices, for example, for navigation systems in vehicles, airplanes, or ships. Particularly during use of the GPS receiver in a mobile handheld unit such as a portable navigation system, supplying of the GPS receiver with electrical power typically occurs from several, mutually supplementary voltage sources. These voltage sources have different storage capacities for electrical power.
A first voltage source is provided for a normal mode of the GPS receiver and provides a sufficient amount of power for a prolonged time. Thus, in a normal mode, position and/or time and/or speed signals can be determined from satellite signals. In a normal mode of the GPS receiver, components such as the low-noise amplifier, the RF chip, and an oscillator, which provides a clock frequency, are turned on.
A second voltage source, which has a considerably lower storage capacity for electrical power than the first voltage source, in contrast, is designed only for a basic operation (sleep mode/shut-down mode), in which only data maintenance in the circuit arrangement is to be assured. No provisions are made for operation of the other components of the GPS receiver with the second voltage source. To switch between the two voltage sources and between the aforementioned operating modes, the circuit arrangement is assigned switching means. The switching means assure that a normal mode of the GPS receiver can occur with a sufficient supply voltage of the first voltage source. If the supply voltage of the first voltage source is too low, a switching is carried out by the switching means in the basic operation, to ensure the maintenance of data and/or settings in the circuit arrangement. As soon as the first voltage source is again provided with a sufficient supply voltage, the switching means can activate the normal mode automatically or if there is a turn-on command, which can be triggered by a user of the GPS receiver.
The switching between the normal mode and the basic state must be made by the switching means at a time when a minimum voltage and thereby a still sufficient amount of power can be provided by the first voltage source, to be able to perform an orderly switching. Otherwise, undefined switching states can occur in the GPS receiver, which can cause undesirable output signals from the circuit arrangement. A switching voltage, which is above the minimum voltage, is therefore established for the switching means.

Circuit arrangement for processing satellite signals


An apparatus and method for vacuum sealing a food item package. Compressed air forces air out of a food item package such that there is substantially no air within the package after it is sealed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved vertical form, fill and seal packaging machine. More specifically, the present invention relates to a vertical food packaging machine that forms a vacuum seal of the packaged food products.
2. Prior Art
It is often desirable to seal packaged food products under a vacuum. This is typically accomplished by sucking the air out of a package prior to it being sealed. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that this is generally time consuming and therefore slows packaging process significantly.
An alternative method of forcing air out of a food item package is to press foam about the package and then seal it. By pressing foam blocks on opposite sides of a package, air is forced out of the package and it may be sealed. However, this is undesirable because foam may retain water and become infested with bacteria. It is well known in the art that it is highly undesirable to use any materials during packaging capable of retaining bacteria. Brushes have also been used in place of foam but are also capable of retaining water.
It is therefore desirable to provide a method for rapid, sterile vacuum sealing of packaged food items.
The present invention relates to apparati and methods for making air tight bags or packages for use with a multiple purpose convertible vertical form, fill and seal machine and method for making a variety of styles or types of bags including overlap or fin seals, pillow, potato chip, non-reclosable or reclosable, product-filled bags and especially zipper lock reclosable bags.
Package or bag making machines generally referred to as vertical form, fill and seal machines and methods for manufacturing individual pillow type packages with non-reclosable, midline overlap longitudinal seams or seals are described, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,532,753 to Kovacs, granted Aug. 6, 1985 (U.S. Cl. 53/451); U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,327 to Mosher, granted Sep. 6, 1988 (U.S. Cl. 53/451); U.S. Pat. No. 4,965,986 to Klinkel, granted Oct. 30, 1990 (U.S. Cl. 53/551); U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,974 to Kovacs, et al., granted Mar. 19, 1991 (U.S. Cl. 53/434); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,098 to Fukuda, granted Jan. 18, 1994 (U.S. Cl. 53/451). Typically, a heat sealable web material is supplied from a roll and is guided to a former located at the upper end of the machine. The former folds the flat web material into a vertically oriented tube surrounding a tubular filling mandrel or pipe. The edges of the folded web material overlap one another, and, as the folded tube moves downwardly over the mandrel, the overlapped marginal edge portions are heat sealed to one another by a cyclicly operated longitudinal sealing mechanism. The web is thus formed into a web tube which is advanced through the machine in package length increments. As packages are formed by the machine, product is also filled into them by a feeder device located on top of the machine. The feeder device is driven in synchronism with the remainder of the machine and cyclicly discharges measured quantities or charges of product into the upper end of the filling mandrel. A transverse or end sealing mechanism below the filling mandrel forms package end seals in the web tube by cyclicly flattening the tube and heat sealing the two layers of the flattened tube to one another through the use of two relatively moving jaws which reciprocate toward and away from the web tube from the front and back of the machine. During one closing movement of the jaws, the sealing mechanism simultaneously forms the top end seal of the leading package and the bottom end seal of the following package, and it also cuts the web material between the two seals to separate the leading package from the web tube. Between successive operations of the jaws, the web tube is advanced in package length increments by vertically reciprocating the sealing jaws or by using intermittently operated feed belts.
In the above-mentioned patents, the midline longitudinal overlap or fin seam or seal is formed as the web material lays relatively flat against the product filling pipe or mandrel. Packaging machines which form longitudinal fin seams or seals while the edges of the web material extend outwardly from the product filling mandrel are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,255,497 to Zoromski, et al., granted Oct. 26, 1993 (U.S. Cl. 53/551) and 4,691,499 to Umeda, et al., granted Sep. 8, 1987 (U.S. Cl. 53/451).
Vertical form, fill and seal machines and methods for making reclosable bags from a bag forming film and a separate plastic zipper element with edge fin seals which extend outwardly from the product fill pipe are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,400,565 and 5,505,037 to Terminella, et al., granted Mar. 28, 1995 and Apr. 9, 1996, respectively (U.S. Cl. 53/133.4). The plastic zipper element is fed between the film edges and the film and zipper are joined by vertically oriented heated sealing bars. The thus formed and sealed tube is filled with product through the fill tube and horizontal cross-seals and cross-cutters complete the individual bags. In these machines, the vertical and horizontal seals are formed by sealing members or jaws which reciprocate toward and away from the plastic film from the right and left sides of the device.
Attempts have been made to provide a vertical form, fill and seal machine which produces more than one type of package.
Various zippered and zipper lock packages are seen in the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,456, "Reclosable Profile Arrangement Using Slidable Closure Strip", U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,173, "End Posts For Plastic Zipper", U.S. Pat. No. 5,896,627, "High-strength Slide R For a Reclosable Bag", U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,791, "Conforming End Stops For a Plastic Zipper", U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,812, "Tamper-Evident Reclosable Plastic Bag With Breakaway Slide R", U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,669, "Plastic Bag With Zipper Slide R Captured in Pocket", and U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,715, "Tamper-Evident Reclosable Plastic Bag With Slide R", the teachings of which are expressly incorporated by reference herein.

Apparatus and method for vacuum sealing a food item package


A radar level gauge for determining a process variable of product in a tank, having processing circuitry configured to process a tank signal and, when no surface echo can be identified, enter a wait state. The wait state includes a) storing the tank signal in memory, b) obtaining a wait state tank signal, c) comparing the wait state tank signal with the stored tank signal to determine a tank signal difference measure, d) repeating steps b) and c) until the tank signal difference measure is greater than a predefined threshold, e) processing the wait state tank signal to identify a surface echo, and f) when no surface echo can be identified in the wait state tank signal, setting an alarm.

A radar level gauge (RLG) is suitably used for making measurements of a process variable, e.g. a filling level, of a product such as process fluids, granular compounds and other materials contained in a tank, e.g. a silo.
An example of such a radar level gauge can include transceiver circuitry for transmitting and receiving microwaves, a signal propagating device arranged to direct microwaves towards the surface and to return microwaves reflected by the surface to the transceiver, and processing circuitry adapted to determine the filling level based on a relation between microwaves transmitted and received by the transceiver. The signal propagation device may be for example a directional antenna or a transmission line probe.
There are different principles for performing radar level gauges, including frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) and time domain reflectometry (TDR). An FMCW based RLG will emit a radar sweep with gradually varying frequency, and mix the received signal with the original signal (homodyne mixing) to form a frequency domain tank signal. A TDR based RLG will emit a pulse train of very short pulses (order of ns), and sample the received signal with the original signal in a sample and hold circuit, thereby forming a time domain tank signal.
In both cases, the tank signal will include a set of peaks indicating echoes from the tank, and one of these peaks corresponds to the echo from the surface.
The processing is configured to identify, and typically also track, the relevant echoes, in order to distinguish the surface echo from other echoes, such as reflections from structures in the tank, double bounces, etc. The surface echo can then be used to determine the distance to the surface, and consequently the filling level.
However, in some situations, it may not be possible to distinguish the surface echo in the tank signal. In the case of liquids, an undetectable echo may be caused e.g. by turbulence on the surface, or a patch of foam located underneath the antenna or around the probe, such that the echo is not strong enough. In the case of solids, e.g. grain or pellets, an undetectable echo may be caused by a surface which deviates from the horizontal plane to such an extent that the echo cannot be received by the antenna. In this case (solids) the problem may also remain for longer periods, as the slope of the surface will not change until something disturbs the product in the tank. In some cases, this will not happen until the tank is filled or emptied. In extreme cases, the surface may remain undetectable for hours or days.
In principle, an undetectable surface represents a fault condition which should be communicated e.g. by an alarm. However, for many applications, it is quite normal that the surface is undetectable at least for shorter periods of time, and it would be inconvenient to raise an alarm every time. A conventional approach to handling a temporarily undetectable surface is to let the radar level gauge enter a "wait state" for a predetermined time period. If the surface echo reappears during this time, no alarm is necessary, and the level gauging may be resumed. However, if no surface echo has reappeared at the end of the predetermined time, an alarm will be set.
A drawback with this approach is that the level gauge is "blind" during the wait state, and cannot determine if the surface is moving. Therefore, in order to maintain a high level of security, the time period cannot be set too long, and is typically set to a few minutes.

Abstract: By storing the tank signal when the wait state is entered, it is therefore possible to defer an alarm until the tank signal deviates from this stored tank signal.


A mobile robot includes a robot chassis having a forward end, a rearward end and a center of gravity. The robot includes a driven support surface to propel the robot and first articulated arm rotatable about an axis located rearward of the center of gravity of the robot chassis. The arm is pivotable to trail the robot, rotate in a first direction to raise the rearward end of the robot chassis while the driven support surface propels the chassis forward in surmounting an obstacle, and to rotate in a second opposite direction to extend forward beyond the center of gravity of the robot chassis to raise the forward end of the robot chassis and invert the robot endwise.

The invention relates generally to robotic mobile platforms.
Robots are useful in a variety of civilian, military, and law enforcement applications. For instance, a robotically controlled mobility platform can be used to inspect or search buildings under hazardous or hostile conditions. Dangerous situations can be improved by providing detailed information about the location, activities, and capabilities of opponents. Military applications can include reconnaissance, surveillance, bomb disposal and security patrols.
Advances are sought in the miniaturization of robots and the ability of robots to surmount obstacles.


A mobile apparatus for monitoring and managing periodic intake of dietary supplements or drug-based products utilizing user health and wellbeing updates. The mobile apparatus is a mobile computing device configured to execute a mobile application. The mobile application accepts periodic health and wellbeing information from a user and other connected monitoring devices, accepts user goal updates, accepts effectiveness feedback from the user, displays messages recommending dietary supplement and drug dosages and dosage schedules to the user, notifies the user when to take the dosage, accepts messages detailing the dosage intake and updates the estimated amount of material available, sends messages to re-order material, and provides feedback to the user based on measurement of actual usage.

People try to manage health and wellness through a combination of a balanced diet and exercise. Dietary supplements are necessary for a healthy body and mind because of the gaps that occur based on normal variations in diet and schedules. In other cases, drugs are needed to keep the body healthy and fight diseases.
Today the market is filled with dietary supplements and drugs. However, the benefits drawn from these are not optimum. One reasons is that the substances are generic and not customized for an individual. Dietary supplements and drugs are marketed using a pre-packaged, one-size-fits-all approach. Although there are some variations, it is mostly the same irrespective of lifestyle, age, body/mind conditions and changing individual requirements.
The benefits of these substances decrease if they are not taken on a schedule. The body will utilize or remove nutrients over time, and so the desired effects may not be achieved if the substances are taken randomly or sporadically.
Furthermore, individual requirements change over time. For example, a person who has completed a long exercise regimen or is in bed with the flu has different requirements. Knowing the current state of the user and their usage is needed to fine tune the substance mix and dosage periodically.
One aspect to dose management is medication titration. In medicine, titration is the process of gradually adjusting the dose of a medication until optimal results are reached. For an example of this, see "ADHD Medication Titration Process: What to Expect" at http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/guide/adhd-medication-titration. The same thing is true for dietary supplements.
In 2002, Sanford Greenberg described a system that would provide a nutritional supplement regime based on a questionnaire that would ask questions on nutritional habits, exercise habits, health information and personal goals of the individual (US 20030069757 Ser. No. 10/265,537 2002). On completing the questionnaire, the user would receive the supplements in a case. No means to monitor the effects once the user receives the supplements or modify the dosages is provided by this system.
In 2002, Gentiluomo et al described a system that would dispense a customized pharmaceutical mixture from a plurality of containers containing multiple pharmaceutical substances based on the particular health information provided by a user and remind the user to take it (US20030010791 Ser. No. 10/194,001 2002). Once the user enters health information, there is no means to monitor its effects on the user or to modify the dosages based on the user's use or perceived effects of the mixture by the user.
In 2002, Pertti Lähteenmäki described a nutrition dispenser that would dispense doses of nutrients and/or medications from rooms based on the user's genetic background and inputs from the user and one or more probability weighting coefficients between various parameters (U.S. Pat. No. 7,295,889 2002). This dispenser dispenses nutrients based on an analysis of the user's needs based on a single set of calculations, with no system for monitoring the actual dosages or effects over time.
In 2005, Ralph Koekkoek described a system that would compound a personalized nutritional supplement based on genotypic analysis, phenotypic analysis, a list of one or more nutritional needs and a nutritional supplement recipe (CA 2587240 2005). The resulting compound is presented to the user, and if needs change or if the desired effect is not achieved there is no mechanism presented.
In 2005, Bralley et al described a system that would prepare a metabolic supplement from micronutrients based on a metabolic profile from a specimen from a subject (US20100266723 Ser. No. 12/451,623). The resulting compound is based on no input from the user and there is no mechanism presented to monitor the usage or effects over time.
In 2010, Reider et al described a system that would provide a recommended daily supplement package based on a single requested user questionnaire (US 20110014351 Ser. No. 12/837,210 2010). On completing the questionnaire, the user would receive a list of supplements. In this system, there is no dispensing, ordering, or feedback mechanism presented.
In 2011, Nabil M. Abujbara described a system that would accept health information and personal attributes of a user, presenting the user with a food item list and continuously updating the list based on entry of the actual food items consumed and changes in the user's reported health and food consumption information. (US 20120083669 Ser. No. 13/252,620). The system requires the user to manage the supplement intake without the benefit of a dispensing mechanism to prepare the supplements, to re-order the supplements when it is detected they are running out, or to monitor the actual usage of supplements.
In 2011, Timothy Hughes described a method of providing a four-week container and supplement dispenser with intra-daily compartments, the contents of which are based on genetic analysis (US 20130022951 Ser. No. 13/136,041). In this system, there is no dispensing mechanism to monitor the actual usage, nor is there any mechanism presented to change the supplement makeup as the contents are based on a fixed mechanism (genetic analysis).
What is needed is mobile apparatus to monitor the intake of dietary supplements and drugs that can continuously fine tune the mix and dosage of the substances, adapting to the changes in the personal goals and health of a user and the user's consumption of and reaction to the substances, and further improve adherence to the program by providing feedback and encouragement to the user based on their actual usage.

Method and system for managing the use of dietary supplements and drugs through mobile devices


A method for preparing a polycarbonate comprises preparing a free hydroxyl-containing polycarbonate and reacting the hydroxyl-containing polycarbonate with a mixture of (B) a symmetrical optionally activated aromatic carbonic acid diester and (C) an optionally substituted aromatic hihydroxy compound, diol or diacid. A copolymerization reagent comprises a mixture of (B) a symmetrical optionally activated aromatic carbonic acid diester and (C) an optionally substituted aromatic hihydroxy compound, diol or diacid. A copolymer comprises [polycarbonate]x moieties; (B) [symmetrical optionally activated aromatic carbonic acid diester]y moieties and (C) [optionally substituted aromatic hihydroxy compound, diol or diacid]z moieties, wherein x, y and z are mole percents of the copolymer.

The invention relates to polycarbonates. More specifically, it relates to a method and system for preparing a polycarbonate copolymer by addition of a copolymerization reagent to a copolycarbonate. Also, the invention relates to a copolycarbonate produced by the method and system.
Polycarbonate compositions exhibit valuable mechanical properties such as impact resistance, heat resistance and transparency. The compositions are widely used in engineering applications. In certain processes and applications such as optical storage media, it is desirable to use a polycarbonate composition that is transparent and that exhibits low water affinity, good processibility, good heat resistance and low birefringence. Water affinity is particularly undesirable in a composition used as a high density optical data storage medium. Moisture can cause recording layer warpage resulting in poor data fidelity.
In a typical method for producing a polycarbonate, an aromatic dihydroxy compound such as bisphenol and a diaryl carbonate such as diphenyl carbonate are reacted in a molten state ester exchange. This method is called melt-polycondensation. A polycarbonate copolymer can be produced in a melt-polycondensation by polymerizing diphenyl carbonate and bisphenol A together with other optionally substituted bisphenols, diesters or diacids as comonomers.
In one process for producing substituted bisphenol A (BPA) based copolycarbonates, 2,2-(bis-3-isopropyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)propane is reacted together with bisphenol A and diphenyl carbonate (DPC) and tetramethyl-ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) and NaOH catalyst in a melt transesterification process. This process can require very long reaction times to obtain copolymers with even low molecular weight.
A typical melt transesterification plant utilizes overhead systems that distill off and recycle valuable phenol by-product. Recovery of BPA and DPC monomer by-product is made more difficult when the phenol recycle stream includes other monomers used to form a copolymer. The additional monomers must be separated from the recycle stream. The required separation process is complicated if the monomers have boiling points and vapor pressures similar to other recycle stream components.
Typical melt transesterification plants use a continuous process involving several reactors and polymerizers in series. Several hours can be required to obtain stable operation after a change in a feed composition in a first monomer mix tank. During this period, large quantities of variable composition transition material having ill-defined properties are produced.
There is a need for an improved process for the production of polycarbonate copolymers in a continuous melt reaction system. Additionally, there remains a need for improved processing reagents and for an improved product modified to customize a product polycarbonate for a particular use.
The invention provides an improved copolymerization process, copolymerization reagent and product. According to the invention, a method for preparing a copolycarbonate comprises preparing a (A) free hydroxyl-containing polycarbonate and reacting the hydroxyl-containing polycarbonate with a mixture of (B) a symmetrical optionally activated aromatic carbonic acid diester and (C) an optionally substituted aromatic dihydroxy compound, diol or diacid.
In another embodiment, the invention is a copolymerization reagent comprising a mixture of (B) a symmetrical optionally activated aromatic carbonic acid diester and (C) an optionally substituted aromatic dihydroxy compound, diol or diacid.
In another embodiment, the invention comprises a method for preparing a copolycarbonate, comprising reacting an (i) aromatic dihydroxy compound with a (ii) carbonic acid diester to prepare a (A) free hydroxyl-containing polycarbonate and reacting the (A) free hydroxyl-containing polycarbonate with a mixture of a (B) symmetrical optionally activated aromatic carbonic acid diester and an (C) optionally substituted aromatic dihydroxy compound, diol or diacid in a stoichiometric molar ratio of about 0.01 to about 0.75 (C) optionally substituted aromatic dihydroxy compound, diol or diacid to the (i) aromatic dihydroxy compound reacted to form the (A) free hydroxyl-containing polycarbonate.
In still another embodiment, the invention is a copolymer comprising [polycarbonate]x moieties comprising (i) aromatic dihydroxy moieties and (ii) carbonic acid diester moieties; (B) [symmetrical optionally activated aromatic carbonic acid diester]y moieties and (C) [optionally substituted aromatic dihydroxy compound, diol or diacid]z moieties wherein x is 30 to 80 mole percent, y is 10 to 35 mole percent and z is 10 to 35 mole percent of the copolymer.
In still another embodiment, the invention is a method for preparing a copolycarbonate, comprising: preparing a (A) free hydroxyl-containing polycarbonate and sequentially reacting the (A) free hydroxyl-containing polycarbonate in at least a first copolymerization and a second copolymerization with a mixture of a (B) symmetrical optionally activated aromatic carbonic acid diester and an (C) optionally substituted aromatic dihydroxy compound, diol or diacid.
A copolymer comprises (A) [copolycarbonate moieties]x comprising (i) aromatic dihydroxy moieties and (ii) carbonic acid diester moieties; (B) symmetrical optionally activated aromatic carbonic acid diester moieties; and (C) optionally substituted aromatic dihydroxy compound, diol or diacid moieties in a mole percent ratio of about 0.01 to about 0.75 of (C) optionally substituted aromatic dihydroxy compound, diol or diacid moieties to (i) aromatic dihydroxy moieties.
A system for preparing a copolycarbonate, comprises a first reactor for reacting an (i) aromatic dihydroxy compound with a (ii) carbonic acid diester to produce a copolycarbonate and a contiguous polymerizer for reacting a controlled stoichiometric mixture of a (B) symmetrical optionally activated aromatic carbonic acid diester and an (C) optionally substituted aromatic dihydroxy compound, diol or diacid with the oligomer to produce a copolycarbonate.
Finally, an optical storage media is constructed by preparing a (A) free hydroxyl-containing polycarbonate; reacting the (A) free hydroxyl-containing polycarbonate with a controlled stoichiometric mixture of a (B) symmetrical optionally activated aromatic carbonic acid diester and an (C) optionally substituted aromatic dihydroxy compound, diol or diacid to produce a copolymer; and incorporating the copolymer into an optical structure as a storage media.

Method and system for preparing a polycarbonate, copolymerization reagent and polycarbonate


A plurality of S-boxes is masked by one masking inverse table. Therefore, the computation cost and the use amount of the RAM necessary for masking at the time of a masking operation for defending a differential power analysis attack in a SEED encryption algorithm can be effectively reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a masking method of defending a differential power analysis attack in a SEED encryption, and more particularly, to a method of improving an operation speed and memory efficiency at the time of a masking operation for defending a differential power analysis attack in a SEED encryption algorithm.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Unlike a differential cryptanalysis or a linear cryptanalysis, which are mathematical analysis methods, a side channel analysis attack introduced by Paul C. Kocher in 1996 uses side channel information generated in an encryption device in which an encryption algorithm is implemented. The side channel analysis attack is a large threat to equipments in which an encryption algorithm is implemented, and thus smart card application products perform a security test for the side channel analysis attack.
The side channel analysis attack uses extra information such as time in which an algorithm is performed, power consumption, or electromagnetic emission. A power analysis attack which uses power consumption is known as one of the most powerful side channel analysis attacks.
In the power analysis attack, when an encryption algorithm operates, a characteristic of power consumption measured in an encryption module at a point in time in which data related to a secret key is processed is analyzed to reveal a secret key. The power analysis attack is divided into a simple power analysis attack (SPA) and a differential power analysis attack (DPA).
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a general differential power analysis attack process.
Referring to FIG. 1, an attacker establishes an estimation model 120 using information which can be typically acquired for an encryption device which it desires to attack. After establishing the estimation model 120, an estimated key and a plain text are input to the estimation model 120 to compute an intermediate value of an encryption algorithm and determine estimation power consumption according to the intermediate value.
The same plain text as the plain text input to the estimation model 120 is input to an attack target encryption device 110, and power consumption expended in the encryption device 110 during an operation of an encryption algorithm is measured. The measured power consumption is analyzed together with the estimation power consumption. Through the analysis, the attacker can finally acquire a key which is secret information of the encryption device.
Various methods of defending the different power analysis attack have been researched up to now. A masking technique is usually used because it can be relatively easily applied to an encryption algorithm at low cost.
In the masking technique, an intermediate value generated during an operation of an encryption algorithm is randomized so that an attacker cannot know it, and correlation between power consumption estimated by an attacker through an estimation model and power consumption generated in an actual encryption device is removed. For example, an addition masking which is one of masking techniques replaces an intermediate value "a" generated at the time of encryption with a value "am=a⊕ma" which an attacker cannot know using "ma" which is randomly generated. Here, "ma" is referred to as a mask, and this value is a value which is independently uniformly distributed.
However, most masking techniques which have been researched are based on an advanced encryption standard (AES), and the SEED which was developed in Korea has a structure different from the AES. Therefore, there is a problem in that masking techniques of the AES which has been suggested so far cannot be applied to the SEED as is.
For the foregoing reason, there is a need for a masking technique suitable for a SEED encryption algorithm which is used in low memory and low-speed operation environments such as smart cards.

Masking method of defending differential power analysis attack in seed encryption algorithm

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


In described embodiments, a printed circuit board assembly capable of discharging electro-static discharge (ESD) surges includes an isolation trench track provided in the printed circuit board in close proximity to the peripheral edges between the peripheral edges and the mounting area, and a discharge path formed of conductive material to ground provided between the isolation trench track and the peripheral edges. The discharge path includes the board mounting screws and connects to a power connector ground of the printed circuit board.

Electro-static discharge (ESD) is a major reliability issue in printed circuit boards and/or integrated circuits (ICs). ESD is a transient surge in voltage (negative or positive) that may induce a large current in. The large circuit current in a circuit damages the elements, conductive paths, and other parts of the IC's circuits and causes a failure during testing on some disk drives. To protect circuits against damage from ESD surges, various protection schemes attempt to provide a discharge path for both positive and negative ESD surges.
An example of an ESD surge problem is meeting system-level ESD testing requirements on some disk drives using a hard disk drive (HDD) controller. Many experiments have been performed to understand the underlying root cause mechanism of the ESD discharge disrupting the operation of the disk drive controller. Interaction between the disk drive controller and a double data rate synchronous dynamic random-access memory (DDR SDRAM) may be corrupted by the ESD surge. If isolating the PCB assembly from the case and providing capacitive or resistive coupling to spread the discharge current flowing through the PCB assembly over time, a decrease in sensitivity to the ESD event may be provided, however, the sensitivity may not be decreased enough to meet the goals, and at high enough ESD voltages arcing from the mounting screws to nearby PCB assembly ground points may be observed.

ESD discharge path on chasis-mounted PCB assembly


A dual-chamber implantable pacemaker configured to operate in the DDD or DDDR mode automatically adjusts its AV (or PV) interval to an amount just less than the natural conduction time of a patient, thereby assuring that ventricular pacing occurs in a patient's cardiac cycle at a time near when a natural ventricular contraction (an R-wave) would occur. The pacemaker includes a pulse generator that generates ventricular stimulation pulses (V-pulses) at the conclusion of a pacemaker-defined AV (or PV) interval if no natural ventricular activity (an R-wave) is sensed during such AV (or PV) interval. The AV (or PV) intervals are automatically adjusted by the pacemaker to be just less than the natural conduction time sensed by the pacemaker, where the natural conduction time is the time between atrial activity (a sensed P-wave or a delivered A-pulse) and the subsequent natural ventricular activity (R-wave). The system and method are particularly adapted for use by patients suffering from a cardiomyopathy in order to improve cardiac output.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to implantable medical devices and methods, and more particularly, to an implantable pacemaker that automatically adapts its atrial-ventricular (AV) delay to maximize the cardiac output for patients having a cardiomyopathy.
The heart is a pump that pumps life-sustaining blood throughout the body of the patient. The human heart comprises a left side and a right side, with each side having a first chamber, known as the atrium, and a second chamber, known as the ventricle. The atrium receives blood returning from other body locations. At an appropriate time, determined by the sinoatrial (SA) node, an electrical stimulus is provided that causes the muscle tissue surrounding the atrium to depolarize. Depolarization of the atrial muscle tissue is manifest by the occurrence of an electrical signal known as the P-wave. Immediately following the P-wave, the atrial muscle tissue physically contracts, forcing the blood held in the atrium through a one-way valve into the ventricle. The SA node stimulus that caused the atrium to depolarize also travels to the ventricle through the atrioventricular (AV) node and the atrioventricular (AV) bundle. The AV node is a mass of modified heart muscle situated in the lower middle part of the right atrium. It receives the impulse to contract from the sinoatrial node, via the atria, and transmits it through the atrioventricular bundle to the ventricles. The AV bundle is a bundle of modified heart muscle fibers (Purkinje fibers) that pass from the AV node forward to the septum between the ventricles, where it divides into right and left bundles, one for each ventricle. The fibers thus transmit the SA node stimulus from the atria, via the AV node, to the ventricles. However, as the SA node stimulus travels through the AV bundle, it is delayed by an amount commensurate with the same time it takes the blood to physically flow from the atrium to the ventricle.
After the delay through the AV bundle, which delay may be referred to as the natural conduction time of the heart, the SA node stimulus arrives at the ventricular muscle tissue, causing it to depolarize. Depolarization of the ventricular muscle tissue is manifest by the occurrence of an electrical signal known as the R-wave (sometimes referred to as the QRS complex). Immediately following the R-wave, the ventricular muscle tissue physically contracts, forcing the blood held therein through one or more arteries to various body locations. In this manner, then, the heart "beats" or pumps blood by having the atria contract at a rate determined by the SA node, and after the natural conduction time, by having the ventricles contract. After a longer delay, when the atrium has refilled with blood returning from throughout the body, the process repeats.
The heart of a typical healthy patient may beat 60-70 times per minute when the patient is at rest. When the patient is undergoing significant physiological stress, as occurs, e.g., during physical exercise, the rate at which the heart beats, the "heart rate," increases significantly, e.g, up to 150-170 times per minute. The above-described process wherein the atria and ventricles sequentially depolarize and contract in order to pump blood, and get ready to depolarize again, is referred to herein as the "cardiac cycle." A given cardiac cycle thus includes one R-wave (or equivalent ventricular activity evidencing depolarization of the ventricles) and one P-wave (or equivalent atrial activity evidencing depolarization of the atria). The length of the cardiac cycle (which represents the period of the heart rate) may be measured as the time interval between successive P-waves or R-waves, although R-waves are usually used because they are easier to detect.
A pacemaker is an implantable medical device that monitors the activity of the heart for the occurrence of P-waves and/or R-waves, and steps in with electronically generated stimuli, when needed, to force the depolarization of the atria and/or ventricles. A pacemaker-generated stimulus that is delivered to the atrium is referred to herein as an "A-pulse." A pacemaker-generated stimulus that is delivered to the ventricle is referred to herein as a "V-pulse." Most pacemakers are configured to provide an A-pulse and/or V-pulse only if a prescribed period of time has elapsed without the occurrence of a P-wave and/or an R-wave, i.e., without the occurrence of natural heart beats.
The prescribed period of time used by the pacemaker between contraction of the ventricle and contraction of the atrium is generally referred to as the V-A Interval, or the atrial escape interval. For most dual-chamber pacemaker modes of operation, only if a P-wave does not occur during the atrial escape interval will the pacemaker step in at the conclusion of such interval and generate an A-pulse.
The prescribed period of time used by the pacemaker between contraction of the atrium and contraction of the ventricle is referred to as the A-V Interval, or sometimes it is called the "AV Delay." The pacemaker, for most dual-chamber modes of operation, generates a V-pulse only if the AV Delay elapses without the occurrence of an R-wave.
In the above-described manner, the heart is thus afforded as much time as possible to beat on its own before the electronically-generated stimuli of the pacemaker are delivered to the heart, causing it to beat at the rate set by the pacemaker.
Heretofore, most cardiac patients using a pacemaker have suffered from at least one of various cardiac conditions or diseases that affect either the ability of the SA node to maintain and sustain a satisfactory heart beat rate (hereafter "rate problems"), or the ability of the AV node or the AV bundle to conduct a suitable stimulus to the ventricle (hereafter "conduction problems"). Advantageously, both rate problems and conduction problems lend themselves well to a pacemaker solution because the underlying cardiac muscle tissue is in place and is capable of responding to the electronically-generated stimuli produced by the pacemaker.
Unfortunately, there remain a significant number of patients that suffer from one or more conditions that cannot be characterized as either rate problems or conduction problems. One such problem is known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Another is known as dilated cardiomyopathy. While there are medical or clinical differences between these two forms of cardiomyopathy, for purposes of the present invention they may be considered the same problem, and will be referred to hereafter as simply "cardiomyopathy."
In general, a patient suffering from cardiomyopathy experiences a significant reduction in cardiac output because the heart muscle is unable to perform its function of contracting in response to the SA node stimulus. By "cardiac output," it is meant the ability of the heart to efficiently pump blood. Thus, a patient suffering from cardiomyopathy will generally not have as much blood pumped per heart beat (stroke volume) as may be needed. Cardiomyopathy patients are referred to as being moderately to severely symptomatic of low cardiac output syndrome. The only treatment for low cardiac output syndrome, up to now, has been heart transplantation. Disadvantageously, heart transplantation is not a viable solution for most patients. Not only are hearts suitable for transplant difficult and expensive to secure, but even when secured, a very dangerous and complicated surgery must follow in order to successfully perform the transplantation operation. What is thus needed is an alternative to heart transplantation for patients suffering from low cardiac output syndrome.
It has recently been proposed to implant a dual-chamber pacemaker in patients suffering from low cardiac output syndrome and to configure such pacemaker to provide PV or AV pacing. During PV or AV pacing, the pacemaker delivers a V-pulse to the ventricles a programmed delay after the occurrence of an atrial event, which atrial event could be either the occurrence of a P-wave or the delivery of an A-pulse. Advantageously, by forcing a ventricular contraction prior to the occurrence of an R-wave, i.e., prior to natural depolarization of the ventricles, the cardiac output of patients suffering from cardiomyopathies may be significantly improved. Such improvement appears to result because the ventricular stimulus--a V-pulse delivered by the pacemaker--is applied to the ventricular tissue at a different cardiac location (at the location of the ventricular lead tip electrode, which location is usually in the apex of the right ventricle) than is the natural stimulus when received through the SA node.
PV or AV pacing is only effective, however, when the V-pulse is delivered to the ventricular tissue before the occurrence of an R-wave, i.e., before the ventricular tissue depolarizes. As soon as the ventricular tissue depolarizes, it becomes refractory, and will not respond to a V-pulse, until such time as it repolarizes. It is thus necessary, if AV or PV pacing is to be used, to set the AV (or PV) interval of the pacemaker to a value that is less than the patient's normal conduction time. Unfortunately, heretofore, this requirement has forced the AV (or PV) interval to be set to very short values, i.e., between 80 and 120 msec, because during exercise (or other periods of physical activity or physiological stress) the patient's native conduction time may shorten significantly. Thus, in order to guarantee that the pacemaker will always pace the ventricles, i.e., in order to assure that the V-pulse is delivered to the ventricular tissue at a time when it is not refractory, the AV (or PV) interval must be set to an interval that is shorter than any native conduction interval that might exist in any given patient at any given time.
Disadvantageously, setting a very short programmed AV (or PV) interval may adversely affect cardiac output because it may force ventricular contraction well before the ventricles have had sufficient time to be filled with blood from the atrium. Thus, what is needed for patients suffering from a cardiomyopathy is a pacemaker that paces the ventricles at a time in the cardiac cycle that is always less than the natural conduction time, i.e., at a time that is prior to the occurrence of an R-wave, but that is not so much less than the natural conduction time so as to adversely affect cardiac output. That is, what is needed is a pacemaker that automatically sets its internally-generated AV and/or PV intervals to be just short of the patient's native conduction time, thereby assuring that the AV (or PV) interval is sufficiently long to allow the blood to physically move from the atrium to the ventricles; yet remains sufficiently short to always be less than the patient's native conduction time, thereby assuring that the V-pulse is not delivered when the ventricular tissue is refractory.
The present invention advantageously addresses the above and other needs. See Applicant's copending application, filed concurrently herewith, entitled DUAL-CHAMBER IMPLANTABLE PACEMAKER HAVING AN ADAPTIVE AV INTERVAL THAT PREVENTS VENTRICULAR FUSION BEATS, Ser. No. 07/976,153, Attorney Docket No. GR 92P 7968, which application is incorporated herein by reference.

Implantable pacemaker having adaptive AV interval adoptively shortened to assure ventricular pacing


A new and distinct sweet orange clone ‘OLL-20’ has been developed from an unstable sweet orange selection designated as ‘OLL’, using tissue culture techniques. Undeveloped ovules from fruit of selection ‘OLL’ were cultured in vitro to generate an embryogenic callus, from which multiple independent clones were regenerated via somatic embryogenesis. Regenerated plantlets (somaclones) were grafted to UFR rootstocks and grown in the field for evaluation.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of sweet orange tree (Citrus sinensis) named 'OLL-20'. 'OLL-20' is a somaclone regenerated from embryogenic callus (tissue culture) of 'Orie Lee Late' ('OLL') sweet orange (unpatented), with high quality fruit that usually matures in the standard 'Valencia' (unpatented) time period, but in some years a few weeks earlier. 'OLL' is believed to be an irradiation-induced mutant line thought to originate from 'Pineapple sweet orange' (not patented) in an abandoned USDA trial attempting to generate a seedless Pineapple. Recent molecular data supports a sweet orange origin, but could not confirm 'OLL' originated from Pineapple sweet orange. 'OLL' was not selected by any USDA scientists, but attracted attention because it never dropped fruit (a serious problem with Pineapple), and held quality late into the summer. Propagations of 'OLL' made by Dr. Jude W. Grosser were not uniform and included some trees of poor growth and productivity, as well as robust high-yielding trees.
In efforts to generate genetically stable clones from the OLL selection, tissue cultures (embryogenic callus) were established for the creation of somaclones. Among the OLL somaclones, 'OLL-20' showed a slightly earlier maturity in some seasons. True-to-typeness of 'OLL-20' was demonstrated by propagation via grafting on rootstocks 'UFR-2' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 27,742), 'UFR-4' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 27,745), 'UFR-5' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 27,298) and 'UFR-6' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 27,276) and planted at multiple locations (including Lee Groves in St. Cloud, Fla.). All propagated trees are stable and producing true-to-type fruit at multiple trial locations. 'OLL-20' was selected for release and commercialization due to its superior juice quality and flavor. The exceptional flavor of 'OLL-20' juice is supported by analytical data and organoleptic/flavor panel evaluations conducted by both the UF/CREC and Tropicana (PepsiCo.). 'OLL-20' yields are comparable to other commercial processing oranges, but slightly less than other released OLL clones 'OLL-4' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 27,829) and 'OLL-8' (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 26,087). 'OLL-20' was first asexually propagated in St. Cloud, Fla., by traditional inverted T-bud grafting conducted in 2012 onto 18 rootstocks including commercial rootstocks 'Swingle' (not patented) and 'x639' (not patented), trees were planted in St. Cloud, Fla. in summer of 2013. All trees are producing true-to-type fruit.


Examples disclosed herein provide for the sharing of digital content stored on a device via an image that is representative of the digital content. The device, in response to selection of digital content stored on the device, extracts frames from the digital content that are representative of the digital content. In response to selection of one of the frames, the device captures digitally handwritten customizations made to the selected frame to create a customized image. The device extracts features at least from the handwritten customizations made to the selected frame to identify the customized image. The device uploads the digital content, the customized image, and the extracted features to a remote database.

The emergence and popularity of mobile computing has made portable computing devices, due to their compact design and light weight, a staple in today's marketplace. With the introduction of portable computing devices, such as smartphones and tablets, users of such devices may have the ability to capture, store, and share digital content with others. For example, a user of a smartphone may capture photographs and/or videos via a camera of the smartphone, and share the content with users of other devices via a form of electronic communication, such as a text message or email.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A hybrid composite of Metal Organic Frameworks (MOF) encapsulated in nanocarbon material, wherein the MOFs are grown inside or outside or both side of nano carbon morphologies of the hybrid composite. Such composites may be prepared by    a. dissolving and mixing a salt of the metal and a ligand in the ratio ranging between 1:1 to 1:4 (by w/w ratio) by sonicating them to form a precursor mixture;    b. adding non-functionalized or functionalized nano-carbon material to the precursor mixture of step (a);    c. sonicating the mixture of step (b) followed by heating;    d. keeping the slurry obtained at elevated temperature followed by centrifugation.

Research on MOF as well as carbon nano morphologies like carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene (GE) and carbon nanofibers (CNFs) has picked up attention due to variety of applications like gas storage, sensing, drug delivery and catalysis.
The large void space generated by cages in MOFs is not completely utilized for hydrogen or other gas storage applications owing to weak interactions between the walls of MOFs and H2 molecules. These unutilized volumes in MOFs can be effectively utilized by incorporation of other microporous materials such as single walled carbon nanotubes into the pores of MOFs which could effectively tune the pore size and pore volume of the material towards hydrogen sorption. Also, efforts are on to improve the properties of both MOFs as well as nano carbon morphologies. Specific examples of projects undertaken in MOFs aim at increasing and controlling functionality, introduction of exposed metal sites, doping the MOFs with alkali metal ions and such others. Similarly, for nano carbon morphologies, various strategies like surfactant encapsulation, polymer wrapping and attachment of various metal and metal oxide nanoparticles have been attempted.
References may be made to Patent EP1513612, which discloses a porous metal-organic framework, which can be used to store gases, such as hydrogen. The invention further provides a metal-organic framework comprising organic functional groups directed into the one or more cavities that are capable of reacting with a storage gas. It further provides method by which a novel group of MOFs is prepared by inverting the structural role of the Secondary Building Unit (SBU) and linear organic bridge such that the SBU serve as a linear bridge and the organic ligand serves as a node.
References may be made to Journal. Angewandte Chemie International Edition Volume 50, Issue 2, pages 491-494, Jan. 10, 2011, wherein Zhonghua Xia et. al have reported that the gas storage capacities of metal-organic frameworks can be increased by incorporation of carbon nanotubes and doping of the resulting framework with lithium ions. The combination they have suggested cause improvement of the CO2 and CH4 uptakes by about 305% and 200% respectively.
References may be made to Journal International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Volume 36, Issue 13, July 2011, Pages 7594-7601, wherein K. P. Prasanth et. al. have reported synthesis of Single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) and MOF composite by adding purified SWNT in situ during the synthesis of composite. Hydrogen sorption capacities of MIL-101 was observed to increase from 6.37 to 9.18 wt % at 77 K up to 60 bar and from 0.23 to 0.64 wt % at 298 K up to 60 bar. The increment in the hydrogen uptake capacities of composite MOF materials was attributed to the decrease in the pore size and enhancement of micropore volume of MIL-101 by single walled carbon nanotube incorporation.
Despite the recent progresses in the construction of novel MOF-nano carbon hybrid structures through different strategies and improvement in the sorption capabilities of such hybrids, the nature of interaction between the MOF and nanocarbon components still possesses a limitation to the versatile exploration of such hybrids. Also, most of the hybrids are physical mixtures and they lack proper chemical interactions between the individual counterparts.
To achieve the desired properties and synergies of the hybrid composite of MOFs and carbon nano morphologies, mere physical mixing is not the desired process of making them. But, the modifications in the properties by synergistic effects need chemical interactions such that they result in novel hybrids of MOFs and nano carbon morphologies with modulated properties with synergistic effects.
To overcome the disadvantages of the prior art and to provide solution to the long standing problems, the inventors have come up with novel hybrids of MOFs and nano carbon morphologies.

Confinement of nanosized metal organic framework in nano carbon morphologies

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research


A system and method for signal mismatch compensation in a wireless receiver is disclosed. The method includes receiving an in-phase (I) signal and a quadrature (Q) signal corresponding to the I signal, the Q signal having an ideal phase offset of 90 degrees from the I signal, where there is a phase and gain mismatch between the I signal and Q signal. The method adjusts the phase offset between the I signal and the Q signal to minimize the IQ power, where the IQ power is the average-time power of a digital baseband in-phase (DB-I) signal and a digital baseband quadrature (DB-Q) signal, corresponding to the I signal and Q signal, respectively. The method adjusts the gain of the Q signal to minimize the IQ power, whereby the phase and gain mismatch between the I signal and Q signal is minimized.

A conventional heterodyne receiver architecture includes a radio-frequency (RF) mixer in the front-end modulating the RF input to an intermediate frequency (IF). Because an RF mixer is sensitive to both sidebands around the local oscillator (LO) carrier frequency, two mixers are typically employed that are driven by LO clocks having a 90 degree phase difference, producing quadrature baseband output signals referred to as the in-phase (I) signal and quadrature (Q) signal, which is phase-shifted by 90 degrees from the I signal. By complex adding or subtracting the quadrature baseband output signals, the desired sideband can be selected while the undesired sideband (image) is suppressed. The suppression of the images is very sensitive to the phase mismatch of the LO phase shifter and the gain mismatch of the RF mixer.
In some conventional systems, an IQ compensation block is used to correct for this phase and gain mismatch. One known IQ compensation block compensates gain and phase mismatch using the following equation:
                    [                                            I                                      Q                                      ]            compensated        =                            [                                                    I                                            Q                                              ]                          i                                                              n                                  [                                            1                                                                        -                  tan                                                                                θ                                                                        0                                                      1                                  α                                                                                cos                                                                                θ                                                                    ]              ,where the [I Q]in values are the in-phase and quadrature input signals, the [I Q]compensated values are the output signals of the IQ compensation block, the θ value is the phase mismatch, and the α value is the gain mismatch. Such an implementation requires an IQ compensation block with computation of tan θ and 1/(α cos θ) from phase mismatch θ and gain mismatch α. This computation can be undesirably complicated, and is typically a one-time calibration method in the final stages of factory assembly, or a manual adjustment.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved wireless network that includes an apparatus and method for signal mismatch compensation in a digital IF image rejection receiver.

Apparatus and method for signal mismatch compensation in a wireless receiver


A semiconductor device may comprise a first bit line, a second bit line, a memory cell connected to the first bit line, a bit line sense amplifier circuit and a control circuit. The bit line sense amplifier circuit may be coupled to the memory cell. The bit line sense amplifier circuit may include a first inverter having an input node coupled to the first bit line and an output node coupled to the second bit line, and a second inverter having an input node coupled to the second bit line and an output node coupled to the first bit line. The control circuit may be configured to activate the first inverter without activating the second inverter during a first time period and to activate the first inverter and the second inverter at the same time during a second time period after the first time period.

Example embodiments relate to sense amplifier circuits and semiconductor memory devices. More particularly, example embodiments relate to sense amplifier circuits in semiconductor memory devices having open bit line structures and the semiconductor memory devices.
As an integration degree of a semiconductor memory device has increased, a cell size has been decreased, and bit line loading has been increased.
An open bit line structure may be used to reduce the bit line loading. In the open bit line structure, a sense amplifier circuit is disposed between a pair of adjacent memory cell sub-arrays in a memory cell array, and a voltage difference between a bit line of the left memory cell sub-array and a bit line of the right memory cell sub-array is sensed by the sense amplifier circuit. Accordingly, compared with sensing a voltage difference between adjacent bit lines of the same memory cell sub-array, the open bit line structure may minimize the loading effect between the bit lines.
However, in the open bit line structure, half of the memory cells in the leftmost or rightmost memory cell sub-array are not used, which results in the increase of the chip size. Thus, the leftmost and rightmost memory cell sub-arrays may be replaced with balance capacitors. However, even if the balance capacitors are designed to have the same loading as the bit line of the memory cell sub-array, it may be impractical for the balance capacitors to have the same distribution.
In equalizing a pair of bit lines during a bit line pre-charge operation, the optimal target pre-charge level of the bit line pair may be VA/2, where VA is a bit line operating voltage or a bit line power supply voltage. However, if there is a loading mismatch between the bit lines, the voltage of the bit lines may not reach the optimal target pre-charge level, or VA/2. In this case, a charge sharing voltage between the bit lines may be reduced, which results in a sensing failure.

Sense amplifier circuit and semiconductor memory device

Samsung-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do


The present disclosure is directed to methods, devices, and systems for playing audio signals associated with an electric in vehicle. The method includes, for example, (1) determining a speed of the electric vehicle; (2) receiving, from a memory, a plurality of sound frequency characteristics corresponding to the determined speed of the electric vehicle; and (3) generating an audio signal segment corresponding to the received sound frequency characteristics by a speaker of the electric vehicle. The sound frequency characteristics include a plurality of segments. Each of the segments includes an amplitude of a number of frequency characteristics in a sound produced by a powertrain assembly (e.g., an electric motor) in a speed range.

Generally speaking, electric motors are quieter than traditional combustion engines during operation, especially when the electric motor just starts to operate (e.g., at a lower rotational speed). However, some jurisdictions may require an electric vehicle to provide certain sounds as a warning or indication of the presence of that electric vehicle for safety reasons. Therefore, it is advantageous to have an improved apparatus, system and method to address the above-mentioned needs.

Systems for generating audio signals and associated methods