The invention concerns a tensioning device for the cable of a cable window lifter which is mounted in a drive bracket pulled up and down along a guide rail by means of a cable wound around an actuation drum. One cable end is solidly joined to the drive bracket whereas the other cable end is connected by a directional lock to the drive bracket. This directional lock compensates any cable elongation taking place within the cable actuation system by means of spring action. The tensioning device of the invention is characterized by providing further compensating means. This further compensation is needed in the event of excessive stresses exerted on the cable actuation system in the closed window position which results in a spurious cable elongation caused thereby. It also eliminates this compensation when this excess stress is no longer present. These further compensation means may consist of a spring additionally inserted between the free cable end and the directional lock; however they may also consist of a tippable and displaceable molded part inside the directional lock. The spring compensates the spurious cable elongation by relaxing before the actual compensation spring becomes effective. In the embodiments with the additionally inserted molded part, the compensation of the spurious elongation takes place by tipping the molded part which slips further by one step (cog) in the directional lock and only upon a real cable elongation.

The invention concerns a tensioning device for the cable of a window lifter of a vehicle.
It is known to the state of the art to fasten the two cable ends of the window lifter to the drive bracket and thereby to pull this drive means up and down a guide rail. However it is inevitable during the operation of the window lifter that the cable shall gradually stretch and thereby that play will arise in this cable connection, this play making itself felt when the window lift is actuated, for instance by a crank as a dead zone. It is further known to mount a cable-tensioning device at the drive bracket so that the cable stretching is compensated by a spring. Such a tensioning device is disclosed in West German Patent 37 37 733 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,046 the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
However cable stretching appears in cable window lifters not only as an aging effect but it also may arise when the window moves into its upper end position, wherein the drive bracket comes to rest against a stop, excessive force is applied to the crank to artifically elongate the "upper" cable segment between the cable drum and the drive bracket or the guide rail becomes so warped that cable slack arises between the cable drum and the drive bracket. Such cable slack disappears once the window is moved down. Therefore the tensioning device may not become operative when such a spurious, mostly slight cable elongation takes place.
However the known tensioning devices also compensate for such artificial cable elongations. As a result, the cable system for all its ensuing service life is harder to operate, at least until a real cable elongation eliminates this tension.

Tensioning device for cable window lifter


Methods and systems for on-demand adaptation of packet time-to-live in time-slotted barrage relay networks are disclosed. For example, one disclosed method includes: transmitting a first packet from a first node in a wireless ad hoc network to a second node in the wireless ad hoc network; determining a first path distance, in terms of number of hops, from the first node to the second node, based on the first packet transmission; transmitting a second packet from the second node to the first node, wherein the second packet includes content representing the first path distance; and determining a time-to-live value for subsequent transfers from the first node to the second node, by taking into account the first path distance, wherein the time-to-live value limits the number of hops each packet is allowed to take in subsequent transfers from the first node to the second node.

The use of networks and mobile networks has grown exponentially in recent years. Networks transmit blocks of data between locations on the networks called nodes. As the complexity, and number of nodes on a network goes up, so does the risk of collisions on the network. Adapting the time-to-live of nodes in a network can both decrease the probability of collisions and increase the efficiency with which network resources are used. Accordingly, there is a need for on-demand adaptation of packet time-to-live in time-slotted barrage relay networks.

Method and system for on-demand adaptation of packet time-to-live in time-slotted barrage relay networks


A fuel injection pump including a pump piston, which pumps fuel at injection pressure to an injection nozzle as long as a control valve blocks the flow of the fuel, which overflows from the pump work chamber via a flow conduit, to a low-pressure chamber. In this operating state, if the control valve jams and the supply of fuel to the pump work chamber is not completely prevented. A Venturi pump is provided to evacuate the fuel. By means of the Venturi pump with a permanent flow of fuel through it, the static pressure is partially dropped at a flow throttle and this negative pressure is utilized at bottom dead center (UT) of the pump piston to evacuate the pump work chamber by suction, thereby preventing an unintended injection. The apparatus is especially suitable for high-pressure injection in Diesel engines, to achieve redundantly safe operation.

The invention relates to an electrically controlled unit fuel injector as defined hereinafter.
A unit fuel injector of this kind for Diesel engines, known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,659, is installed directly in the cylinder head of an associated engine and includes both a mechanically driven piston injection pump and an associated injection nozzle in a common housing. In this unit fuel injector, the fuel injection quantity positively displaced from the pump work chamber to the injection nozzle at the pumping pressure of the pump piston is determined by how long an electromagnetically actuated control valve that is open when it is without current is on; the control valve is located in an overflow conduit that connects the pump work chamber to a low-pressure chamber. When the control valve, in order to control the fuel injection, blocks the communication between the two segments of the overflow conduit and thus blocks the outflow of the fuel to the low-pressure chamber, the first segment of the overflow conduit, which is in continuous communication with the pump work chamber, is then subject to the full injection pressure.
In rare cases it can happen that the control valve will jam; in other words, it becomes stuck in this switching position. The possibility then exists that by reaspiration of fuel by the pump piston, fuel will continue to be delivered into the pump work chamber. This can for instance happen if a check valve that is intended to decouple the pump work chamber from the tank fails to close completely, or if a throttle in the return line stays open. If the injection event continues unintentionally in this way, there is the danger that the vehicle driven by the engine will go out of control. This must be prevented.

Unit fuel injector including a fuel injection pump for internal combustion engines


A flexible Nb-containing superconductor-laminated aromatic polyimide material useful for superconducting wires and circuits, comprising an Nb-containing superconductor layer formed on an aromatic imide polymer substrate, which preferably comprise a polymerization-imidization product of an aromatic tetracarboxylic acid component comprising, as a major ingredient, a biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride with an aromatic diamine component comprising, as a major ingredient, an aromatic diamine having a one benzene ring structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a niobium (Nb)-containing superconductor-laminated aromatic polyimide material. More particularly, the present invention relates to a flexible Nb-containing superconductor-laminated aromatic polyimide material in which an Nb-containing superconductor layer is formed on a substrate in the form of, for example, a film or filament, and comprises an aromatic imide polymer having an excellent heat resistance.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various highly efficient superconductors comprising a metal, alloy or metal compound and exhibiting a superconducting property at the temperature of liquid helium or higher are known, and those superconductors are utilized over a wide range of applications, for example, transportation systems, heavy electric machinery, computers, and medical machines, and further improvements thereof, and therefore an even wider range of utilization thereof, are expected.
Interest is now shown in Nb containing superconducting materials as superconductor materials having a high mechanical strength and a critical temperature of about 15 K higher than the liquifying temperature of helium. In particular, it has been found that NbN exhibits a high intensity of the super-conducting critical magnetic field Hc.sub.2 and little deterioration of the superconducting property thereof due to stress in a high magnetic field, and thus is expected to be especially useful as a superconducting magnetic material. Also, it was found that the NbN exhibits relatively little deterioration of the superconducting property thereof when exposed to irradiation by neutrons, and thus is expected to be useful as a magnetic material for nuclear fusion.
When used as a magnet or electron device in practice, the superconducting material comprising a metal, alloy or metal compound must be shaped into a wire form, tape form, thick film form or thin membrane form, and supported by a substrate (or support) in the form of a wire, tape, film or plate.
It is known that the substrate can comprise a shaped ceramic material in the form of a filament or plate made from, for example, ZrO, MgO, Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 or SiO.sub.2, and attempts have been made to provide superconducting materials usable for superconducting circuits and magnetic-shielding plate, in which a superconductor layer is formed on the conventional substrate. Nevertheless, the conventional substrates made from inorganic ceramic material are disadvantageous in that, when the substrate must be shaped by complicated shaping or forming procedures, the resultant substitrates are far too heavy and rigid and have an unsatisfactory mechanical strength.
Especially, when inorganic ceramic materials are shaped to form a light substrate or a thin membrane substrate, the resultant substrates have a significantly reduced mechanical strength.
Also, attempts have been made to produce superconductor composite wires by embedding a superconductor wire in a matrix comprising an Ag, Cu or a Cu-Sn alloy. Nevertheless, these attempts are not always successful in practical use, due to severe restrictions on combinations of the type of superconductor material with the type of matrix material, and an unsatisfactory forming property and weight of the resultant composite superconductor wire.
Accordingly, it is difficult to produce a composite superconducting material having a high flexibility, a low weight, and a high mechanical strength, in the form of a thin membrane or wire, by the conventional method in which an Nb-containing superconductor layer is formed on a conventional substrate.
Accordingly, there is a strong demand for the provision of a flexible and light weight substrate which can be easily shaped or formed, exhibits a satisfactory heat resistance, mechanical strength, and stability, even at a high temperature at which a superconductor layer is formed on the substrate, and has a good durability, flexibility and mechanical strength even at an extremely low temperature at which, for example, liquid nitrogen is stably maintained in the liquid state, and useful for producing practically useful superconducting materials.

Niobium-containing superconductor-laminated aromatic polyimide material


A transfer chamber for a cluster system includes a first body, a second body attached at one side of the first body, and a cover combined with an upper portion of the first body. The transfer chamber further includes a third body at another side of the first body, wherein the third body has the same shape as the second body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus of manufacturing a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a transfer chamber for a cluster system of manufacturing a semiconductor device.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Due to rapid development in information technology, display devices have evolved to process and display increasingly large amounts of information. Flat panel display technologies have been recently conceived and developed for display devices having small thickness, light weight, and low power consumption. Among these technologies, a liquid crystal display (LCD) device has been spotlight as a substitution for a cathode ray tube (CRT) because of its superior resolution, color image display, and image quality, and is already widely used for notebook computers, desktop monitors, and other application.
The LCD device may include a plurality of pixels, in each of which a switching element may be formed to independently control the pixel. This LCD device is commonly referred to as an active matrix liquid crystal display (AMLCD) device. A thin film transistor may be used as the switching element, and the LCD device including the thin film transistor is referred to as a thin film transistor (TFT) LCD device.
The TFT LCD device includes two substrates on which elements, such as electric field forming electrodes and thin film transistors, are formed as thin films. The elements are formed by repeatedly depositing a thin film and patterning the thin film through a photolithography process. The photolithography process includes a light exposing process for selectively exposing or covering the thin film, an etching process for selectively removing the thin film to have a predetermined shape, and a cleaning process for eliminating residues, wherein the cleaning process includes washing and drying.
Each process is performed within a processing chamber where the optimum conditions are made for the corresponding process. Recently, to deal with a plurality of substrates in a short time, a cluster system is used. The-cluster system includes processing chambers for carrying out the above processes and a transfer chamber for keeping the substrates and transporting or sending back the substrates.
The cluster system is also used for a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, which includes repeated processes of depositing a thin film on a semiconductor substrate such as silicon wafer, patterning the thin film through the photolithography process and cleaning the patterned thin film. Here, objects treated within the cluster system may be referred to as substrates.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a related art cluster system. In FIG. 1, the cluster system includes a storing part 10, a loadlock chamber 20, a plurality of processing chambers 42, 44, 46 and 48, a preheating chamber 50, and a transfer chamber 30. In the storing part 10, a plurality of substrates (not shown) are kept. The loadlock chamber 20 has at least one slot to load the substrates temporarily. In the processing chambers 42, 44, 46 and 48, treatments for the substrates are performed. Before the substrates are loaded in one of the processing chambers 42, 44, 46 and 48 and are dealt with, the substrates are preheated in the preheating chamber 50. The transfer chamber 30 is connected to the loadlock chamber 20, the plurality of processing chambers 42, 44, 46 and 48, and the preheating chamber 50.
The transfer chamber 30 serves as a temporary storing place or passage that the substrates commonly pass through when the plurality of untreated substrates in the storing part 10 are dealt with through the loadlock chamber 20, the preheating chamber 50 and the processing chambers 42, 44, 46 and 48, respectively, and then are returned.
FIG. 2 illustrates the transfer chamber for the related art cluster system. In FIG. 2, the transfer chamber 30 includes a body 32 and a cover 38. The body 32 has an opening for combining with the cover 38. Loadlock chamber connecting portions 34 are formed at one side of the body 32, and a plurality of processing chamber connecting portions 35 are formed at other sides of the body 32, respectively.
The loadlock chamber connecting portions 34 and the plurality of processing chamber connecting portions 35 are connected to an inner space 36 of the body 35. Thus, a robot (not shown), which is equipped in the inner space 36, transports the substrates into the storing part 10, the loadlock chamber 20, and the processing chambers 42, 44, 46 and 48 of FIG. 1, and returns the substrates.
A size of the transfer chamber 30 as the temporary storing place or passage of the substrate depends on a size of the substrate. A substrate for a latest fifth generation LCD device has a size of about 1,100 mm×1,300 mm. According as the LCD device grows larger, a substrate for a sixth generation LCD device may have a size of about 1,500 mm×1,800 mm to 1,800 mm×2,000 mm. Therefore, the transfer chamber may have a maximum diagonal of about 4,200 mm.
However, since the transfer chamber is made of aluminum or stainless steel, it is difficult to manufacture the large transfer chamber as one body with other chambers. In addition, although the large transfer chamber is manufactured as one body with other chambers, there are disadvantages that manufacturing costs is increased and it is not easy to transport the chambers.


An intervertebral implant includes a frame including an end member and an intermediate member pivotally coupled to the end member about a first pivot axis. The intervertebral implant includes a first vertebral contact member pivotally coupled to the frame about a second pivot axis that is substantially perpendicular to the first pivot axis, and a second vertebral contact member coupled to the frame. The frame is configured such that pivoting the intermediate member with respect to the end member about the first pivot axis changes both a width between the first vertebral contact member and the second vertebral contact member with respect to a direction that is substantially parallel to the second pivot axis, and changes a height between the first vertebral contact member and the second vertebral contact member with respect to a direction that is substantially parallel to the first pivot axis.

The human spine is a flexible weight bearing column formed from a plurality of bones called vertebrae. Typically, a human spine includes thirty-three vertebrae, grouped into five regions (cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal). Moving down the spine along the cranial-caudal direction, there are typically seven cervical vertebrae, twelve thoracic vertebrae, five lumbar vertebrae, five sacral vertebrae, and four coccygeal vertebrae.
The human vertebrae and associated connective elements are susceptible to a variety of diseases and conditions which may cause pain and disability. These diseases and conditions include spondylosis, spondylolisthesis, vertebral instability, spinal stenosis, degenerated intervertebral discs, and herniated intervertebral discs. The vertebrae and associated connective elements are also susceptible to injuries, including fractures and torn ligaments and further may endure surgical manipulations, including a laminectomy to relieve pressure on the spinal cord or nearby nerves.
The pain and disability related to the diseases and conditions often result from the displacement of all or part of a vertebra from the remainder of the vertebral column. Spinal fusion is a surgical procedure that aims to restore displaced vertebrae to their normal position and to fix those previously displaced vertebrae within the vertebral column. During a spinal fusion procedure, vertebrae are fused together so that relative motion no longer occurs between the fused vertebrae. Typically, a spinal fusion procedure includes removing a damaged intervertebral disc and restoring the spacing between the fused vertebrae, thereby eliminating the instability and removing the pressure on the neurological elements that are causing pain as a result of the disease or condition. The spinal fusion procedure can further include implanting an intervertebral implant between vertebrae, for example adjacent vertebrae, to recreate the natural intervertebral spacing between adjacent vertebrae, previously provided by the damaged and now removed intervertebral disc.
Intervertebral implants and techniques associated with implanting them typically involve an open surgical procedure. An open surgical procedure is any surgical technique where the size of an incision in a patient's body is sufficient to permit the surgical procedure to take place under the direct vision of the surgeon. In other words, the structures and tissues involved can be seen and touched, and they are directly exposed to the air. Open surgical procedures may results in higher cost, lengthy in-patient hospital stays and increased post-operative pain.
An alternative to an open surgical procedure is a minimally invasive surgical procedure, for example a surgical procedure that involves endoscopic techniques. A minimally invasive surgical procedure typically includes accessing the site of pathology through one or more small incisions, with the goal of protecting the integrity of intervening tissues. A minimally invasive surgical procedure may result in reduced post-operative pain, reduced post-operative recovery time, and damage to healthy tissue compared to an open surgical procedure.
Minimally invasive surgical techniques are particularly desirable for spinal and neurosurgical applications because of the need for access to locations deep within the body and the danger of damage to vital intervening tissues. For example, such minimally invasive techniques can be utilized for spinal discectomy, or removal of an intervertebral disc, and spinal fusion, in which two or more vertebrae are fused together to stop the motion between them.
However, in a minimally invasive spinal fusion procedure using an intervertebral implant, the size of the opening in the patient's body must be large enough to accommodate the largest dimension of the intervertebral implant. Additionally, the maximum dimension of the intervertebral implant may limit the approaches available to a surgeon for use during a minimally invasive spinal fusion procedure. These and other short comings of the prior art are addressed by the present disclosure.


A shoulder marching tuba having an arrangement of air flow tubing that defines a viewing region or viewing window to provide a musician playing the tuba with a relatively unobstructed view left through the tuba while marching.

Over-the-shoulder marching tubas typically have a cluster of tubing just to the left of the player's head which may impede the ability of the player to see to his/her left side. Consequently, drill writers for marching bands or drum corps typically accommodate for this impediment in the composition of field shows. In other words, the tuba player's maneuvers are limited to those requiring a clear view (guide) to the left. Other brass players (trumpet, horn, baritone, etc) generally do not suffer this limitation.


A new and distinct cultivar of Barberry plant named ‘Maria’, characterized by its upright and columnar plant habit; freely basally branching growth habit; distinct bright yellow to yellow green-colored leaves; and resistance to leaf scorch.

The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Barberry plant, botanically known as Berberis thunbergii, and hereinafter referred to by the name 'Maria'.
The new Barberry is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventors in Kuroska, Poland. The objective of the breeding program was to create new Barberry cultivars with new plant forms and unique foliage colors.
The new Barberry originated from an open pollination in 1998 of the Berberis thunbergii cultivar Aurea, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unknown selection of Berberis thunbergii, as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar Maria was discovered and selected by the Inventors in 2001 as a single plant from within the progeny of the stated open pollination in a controlled environment in Kuroska, Poland.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by softwood cuttings since 2001 in Kuroska, Poland, has shown that the unique features of this new Barberry are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.


The present invention relates to an apricot tree and more particularly to a new and distinct variety broadly characterized by a medium size, vigorous, self-fertile and very productive tree. The fruit matures under the ecological conditions described in mid June, with first picking on Jun. 9, 1993, and is uniformly medium in size, freestone in type, light orange in skin color, attractive in shape, deliciously sweet in flavor, and exceptionally firm in texture, resulting in excellent quality for shipping and storage. The variety was developed as an open pollinated seedling of an unnamed self-sterile seedling.

In a continuing effort to improve the quality of shipping fruits, we, the inventors, typically hybridize a large number of nectarine, peach, plum, apricot, and cherry seedlings each year. The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of apricot tree, which has been denominated varietally as "Goldensweet". Each year we grow a large number of seeds from selected seed parents that have been hybridized by selected pollen parents. We also grow a large number of seeds from selected seed parents that were open pollinated by unknown pollen sources. The present variety was developed by us in 1985, and the resulting seedling was planted in a cultivated area of our experimental orchard at Bradford Farms near Le Grand, Calif. in Merced County (San Joaquin Valley). Specifically, this seedling was originated by growing an open pollinated seed of an unnamed self-sterile seedling. Subsequent to origination of the present variety of apricot tree, we asexually reproduced it by budding and grafting, and such reproduction of plant and fruit characteristics were true to the original plant in all respects.
The present variety is most similar to the Patterson U.S. Plant Pat. No. 2,877) apricot by being self-fertile and by producing fruit that is medium in size, orange in color, and firm in texture, but is distinguished therefrom and an improvement thereon by blooming about 7 days later and by producing fruit that is much sweeter in flavor and that matures about seven days earlier.


An appliance having a dispensing system and a detection system for detecting failure modes related to the dispensing system.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a system for detecting failure modes related to a dispensing system in an appliance.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical cleaning appliance, such as a clothes washing machine or clothes dryer, includes a cabinet that in the case of a dryer, houses a rotatable drum, or in the case of a washer, houses a rotatable wash basket within a tub that defines a fabric treatment chamber. A motor is usually coupled to the drum/basket to control rotation of the drum/basket. The drum/basket has an access opening that may be selectively closed by a door. The motor can rotate the drum/basket at various speeds in order to manipulate fabric articles within the fabric treatment chamber.
Some clothes dryers include a dispensing system for dispensing chemistry or water inside the clothes dryer. For example, a clothes dryer may include a dispenser to spray water, fabric softeners or other fluids into the drum during a drying cycle to prevent wrinkles from forming or reduce existing wrinkles. As a result of this trend, the ability to accurately and efficiently dispense chemistry inside a clothes dryer is becoming a critical enabler behind increasing overall machine performance and consumer satisfaction. Operating an appliance without a properly functioning dispensing system may negatively impact the performance of the appliance.

Failure mode detection in an appliance dispensing system


A one-piece slipper construction, into which an inflatable foot-pump bag or bladder is permanently integrated and wherein a thin reinforcement panel is fully contained and located within a flat-foldable wrap, for selective completion of the circumferential tie that is needed for assurance of stimulated foot-pump action. In the preferred embodiment, the wrap is so further devised as to provide a flexibly reinforced, non-stretch backing reference for a laterally extending portion of the inflatable bag, for active stimulation of the adjacent dorsi-medial region, where further blood accumulates as part of the pool from which venous return flow can be driven.

The invention relates to a medical device known as a foot pump for therapeutic application of transient squeezing action on the pool of blood which accumulates in the plantar region of a foot and which is normally returned for recycled use, via the venous system serving the human leg. The invention represents an improvement with respect to devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. Re. 32,939, and the disclosures of said reissue patent are incorporated herein by reference.
The devices of said reissue patent had their origin in the inventors' discovery that in a normal ambulatory human being, the very fact of walking, wherein body weight is alternated in application first to one leg and then to the other, has the normal effect, in response to weight-bearing, of transiently forcing apart the ball and heel of the foot, followed by a relaxation process in which the load of body weight is transferred to the other foot. As a result, the vessels in which blood accumulates in the plantar region between the ball and heel are transiently stretched to reduce blood-vessel section area, and blood is expelled for return to the heart via the venous system. For bed-ridden patients and those having a limited range of ambulation, the normal processes of venous return necessarily suffer, and the impulse-driven inflatable foot pump is proving ever more helpful, even if primarily only to reduce pain in a leg injury.
The said reissue patent discloses a fitted slipper, for use with an applied inflatable bag, and the patent also suggests incorporating an inflatable bag in a boot, to enable a patient's limited ambulation, while temporarily disconnected from the source of pulsed inflation air required for foot-pump operation. But the fitted slipper and the suggested boot are devoid of any suggestion of how to provide maximum comfort, convenience of application and removal, all at such low cost as to classify the item as disposable, i.e., not reusable by another patient.


The present disclosure discloses an interactive voice-control method and apparatus, a device and a medium. The method includes: obtaining a sound signal at a voice interaction device and recognized information that is recognized from the sound signal; determining an interaction confidence of the sound signal based at least on at least one of an acoustic feature representation of the sound signal and a semantic feature representation associated with the recognized information; determining a matching status between the recognized information and the sound signal; and providing the interaction confidence and the matching status for controlling a response of the voice interaction device to the sound signal.

Voice interaction technology is a technology in which humans and machines interact with voice, realizing a voice interaction experience similar to natural dialogues. From the interaction of the mouse and keyboard with the screen in the computer era to the direct interaction with the touch screen in the era of the smart phone, human-machine interaction is getting simpler and simpler, and the threshold to interaction is getting lower and lower. With the vigorous development of artificial intelligence and mobile Internet, human-like natural voice interaction has gradually become a new type of human-machine interaction. Featured by advantages such as large input bandwidth, high accuracy, good mobility, and low use threshold, voice interaction is one of the preferred interaction methods for human-machine interaction.
Voice interaction can be divided into two scenarios: one-wakeup-one-interaction, and one-wakeup-successive-interaction (also known as one wakeup for several interactions). In the process of implementing voice interaction, speech recognition is usually performed on collected sound signals to recognize corresponding information for implementing interactive control.

Interactive voice-control method and apparatus, device and medium

BAIDU ONLINE NETWORK TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) CO., LTD.


An oscilloscope and a method and system thereof for collecting and displaying signal waveform are disclosed, including a control measuring unit determining a corresponding test command and test parameter according to the selection of test points on a tested object; calculating position coordinate of each test point, and sending the test command and test parameter to an automatic collecting unit; the automatic collecting unit returning test signals of each test point collected by a collecting probe of the automatic collection unit to the control measuring unit according to the test command and test parameter; and the control measuring unit generating corresponding waveform data according to the test signals returned by the automatic collecting unit, storing and displaying the waveform data.

Currently, oscilloscopes, either the mid-end, high-end or low-end oscilloscopes, adopted in hardware testing field of electronic products all adopt a traditional manual way of hand-held probe to collect tested signals.
With the development of technology, the density and complexity of the Print Circuit Board (PCB) in the electronic products are getting higher and higher, the working speed becomes faster and faster, and the margins of signal integrity, timing sequence and power integrity are getting smaller and smaller. To guarantee the product quality, it is often required to comprehensively test the power clock and key signals in the design and development stage of the product.
For a circuit board connected with several or even tens of thousands Nets (of which the number represents the complexity of the circuit board), if the screening, probe contact and testing of a test signal are completed by using handworks and human eyes, not only the amount of work is extremely large, but also a test fault or a test error will be brought in due to an unreliable contact of the hand-operated probe, and even the test probe will be damaged due to an improper press of the manual operation. On the other hand, as the efficiency of manual test is low, the test time will often be unbearable if all the key signals are tested, thus only part of signals which are representative in the key signals are selected to be tested, which easily leads to missing a key test. The work of arranging the test report is also very heavy due to numerous test data, and that is because the report always can not correspond to a PCB diagram, thus people have to look up the PCB diagram and elementary diagram when reading the test report, thereby also making the readability of the report worse.
As can be seen from the above, the use of the oscilloscopes which adopt the traditional manual way of hand-held probe and the method thereof for collecting waveform has been far from adequate to collect signal waveforms on the circuit board of high-end products, thus a high-reliability, high-speed and high-efficiency oscilloscope which can be applicable to comprehensively testing the high-end products and a method thereof for collecting and displaying the signal waveform should be provided in pertinence.

Oscilloscope and method, system thereof for collecting and displaying signal waveform


A shuttle valve (10) for use in a dual refrigerator system (100) and operated by controlled refrigerant pressure lines (120, 122) to provide that either one or both of two evaporators (104, 106) are active. The valve (10) includes piston chambers (30) at each end having an outer portion (26) communicating with pressure lines (120, 122) and an enlarged inner portion (32) and an intermediate chamber (21) having valve seats (22) at each end. The valve (10) includes inlet and outlet ports (14, 16) communicating with the piston chamber enlarged portions (32) and an outlet part (18) communicating with the intermediate chamber (21). The valve (10) also includes a piston assembly (40) having opposed pistons (41, 42) interconnected by a biased push rod (44) and mounted in associated piston chambers for closing associated inlet ports (104, 106). Each piston includes an inner portion (48) having a first seal (54) engageable with a valve seat (22) and movable within the piston chamber enlarged portion (32) and an outer portion (46) having a second seal (58) received within the piston chamber inner portion (26).

This invention relates generally to shuttle valves and more particularly to a shuttle valve for use in a refrigeration system.
Shuttle valves of the type under consideration are known in the prior art. These valves are provided with pistons which close the entry ports and utilize a seal of such as an O-ring, or a synthetic sliding seal which crosses the ports. This arrangement has the disadvantage of damaging the piston seals by rubbing them against the margins of the entry ports. Alternatively, a precision metal-to-metal fit is used. With this arrangement also, the pistons are forced to slide across the entry ports to open and close the flow passages, with the disadvantage that high seat leakage is frequently experienced.
Another disadvantage of previous shuttle valves of this type is that a heavy spring is used between the pistons to urge them apart and ensure that both entry ports are never closed at the same time. The spring has to be sufficiently strong to overcome the pressure differential across the closed port. Unfortunately, using a heavily loaded spring between the pistons tends to cause misalignment of the pistons thereby aggravating the damage potential to the seals sliding across the entry ports. In addition, the use of a large spring between the pistons, because of the space taken up by the spring restricts flow through the inlet and outlet ports since flow to the common port is through the spring chamber.
The present shuttle valve solves these and other problems in a manner not revealed in the known prior art.

Shuttle valve for a refrigeration system


A driving method of a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel comprises a scan driving process and a data driving process. In the scan driving process, overlapping time regions are formed simultaneously between a positive edge and a negative edge of the scan lines when a drive of a last row of a scan line is switched to drive of a next row of the scan line. In the data driving process, when a time of data signal corresponding to the last row of the scan line overlaps a time of the overlapping time regions, the data signal corresponding to the next row of the scan line are outputted.

A liquid crystal display (LCD) panel includes scan lines and data lines that cross each other. The data lines are controlled by a data driving chip. When the data driving chip receives a data activating signal TP1 (latched pulse), the data driving chip outputs a data voltage to the data lines of the LCD panel at a negative edge of the TP1. The scan lines are controlled by a scan driving chip arranged on two sides of the LCD panel. Currently, the scan driving chip that controls a positive edge and negative edge of each scan line of an LCD requires three control signals: a start pulse signal STV (start voltage pulse) that controls a start of a first scan line, a clock pulse signal CKV (clock voltage pulse) that is sent a shift register of the scan driving chip to control switching frequency of each of the scan lines and start to act when the STV is detected to be at a high level at a positive edge of the STV, and an output enable control signal OE (output enable). Because the LCD panel comprises a parasitic capacitor, scan output voltage (out) is delivered into the LCD panel, which causes a time delay. Because of the time delay, there is a time delay between the positive edge and the negative edge of the scan lines, thus forming, an overlapping, time region between the positive edge and the negative edge of the scan lines, which makes data signals of the data lines be in the wrong position (as shown in FIG. 1). Because the OE is at a high level, output voltage is forced to be reduced, if the OE is arranged between the positive edge and negative edge of the scan lines, adjacent scan lines are forced without forming simultaneously overlapping time regions, which avoids overlapping opening time of two lines and making the data signals of the data lines be in the wrong position, as shown in FIG. 2.
The control signals of the scan driving chip are transmitted to a glass of the LCD panel by a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) via a flexible circuit board of the data driving chip, then transmitted to the scan driving chip by a glass cabling. Currently, a main design of the LCD panel is developed towards a narrow frame, however adding a signal is that one more wire is cabled on the glass, which occupies space of an edge of the glass makes a sequence control chip T-CON (timing controller) need one more control signal and increases cost.

Driving circuit and LCD device having data monitoring module


A chin rest includes a body having opposing sides, a front, a back, a top having a top surface, and a bottom having a bottom surface. The top further defines a top plane between a front and back of the top, and the bottom defines a bottom plane between a front of the bottom and a back of the bottom. The top plane and bottom plane form an angle so that the chin rest can comfortable sit between a user's chin and the user's chest, with the user's chin resting on the top surface, and the bottom surface engaged against the user's upper chest. The user's head can be comfortably supported while the user is seated, allowing the user to relax muscles in the neck and avoid strain and other issues normally associated with resting without support in a seated position.

When traveling on mass transit such as trains, airlines, and buses, it is not uncommon for a person to want to rest or even sleep. However, people often find it difficult to get into a comfortable position to do so because they are typically seated in an upright position instead of laying down. Furthermore, the spatial constrains on mass transit seating does not lend itself to a comfortable resting position. Worse, when people do manage to fall asleep under these conditions, when they wake up it is not uncommon to have aches due to strained muscles and ligaments dues to falling asleep in an awkward position. For example, a traveler in an airline seat may be limited to simply leaning their head forward, or forward at an angle. If they remain in such a position for a significant period of time, it can result in strain in the upper back and neck, causing pain and discomfort.
This problem has been addressed by a variety of products. One of the more popular of which is the neck pillow. A neck pillow is "U" or broken "O" shaped pillow that a person can place around their neck, and which generally encircles their neck. The bulk provided by neck pillow reduces the degree to which a person's head can lean to either side, thereby allowing the person to relax without placing excessive strain on their neck. These pillows can help alleviate some of the discomfort associated with resting during long transits, but they often do not provide support under the chin so a person using them must lean to the side. Leaning their head forward results in the same effect as occurs without the neck pillow. Some neck pillows address this by having overlapping portions in the front, under the wearer's chin, but these can result in a discontinuity (difference in thickness) that causes the head to be biased to an angle.
Other devices have been developed to fit between a person's head and shoulder or under their chin. An example of which is given in U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2011/0169316, which described a portable headrest that can be placed on either side of a person's head, between their head and shoulder on one side. If the person wants to lean to the other side than the device needs to be repositioned. The device can also be used as a chin rest.
One issue with all of these solutions, however, is that, while moderately priced, they are not something one would want to buy every time they travelled. And many people travel infrequently such that a resting device can become lost or misplaced between the time the person first buys and uses the device to the next time they travel, necessitating the purchase of a new resting device or foregoing a resting device to avoid the expense of buying another.
Therefore, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above.


A heat treatment vessel configured to receive at least two stacks of food products, includes a chamber with an inlet opening and a discharge opening separated from the inlet opening. The vessel also includes a movement device configured to engage a stack received through the inlet opening and to transport it toward the discharge opening.

In order to prepare rolls of cooked meat such as for example joints of ham, these are disposed before cooking in alveoli in trays that are stacked or on staged frames. A heat treatment vessel of the prior art consists of a hermetic chamber provided with a cover. An example of a method of preparing rolls of food products is as follows:
the cover of the empty vessel is opened,
a stack of trays or a staged frame filled with rolls of raw food products is deposited in the vessel,
the cover of the vessel is closed,
the vessel is filled with hot water until the end of cooking,
the vessel is emptied,
the vessel is filled with cold water until the end of cooling,
the vessel is emptied,
the cover is opened,
the stack of trays or the staged frame is removed from the vessel and transferred to the food product discharge area.
Such a heat treatment vessel can through its configuration pose certain problems with respect to local health standards since the food products enter and leave the vessel through the same opening.


Method of preparing a keratin-based biomaterial is provided. The method comprises a) reacting keratin with a polymer having at least one of an amine and carboxylic functional group in the presence of a carbodiimide cross-linking agent to form a cross-linked keratin-polymer material; and b) freeze drying the cross-linked keratin-polymer material to form the keratin-based bio-material. A keratin-based biomaterial thus prepared is also provided.

Protein-based biomaterials have been explored for many biomedical applications due to their ability to function as a synthetic extracellular matrix that facilitates cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions.
Even though clinically relevant biomaterials or templates have been prepared by combining a material of human origin and an established material for biomedical purposes, they are either very limited in supply or very expensive. Examples include blood-extracted fibrin, such as Tisseel from Baxter, and recombinant human extracellular matrix proteins. As a result, products of clinical relevance currently in use are generally made with materials of animal origin, which can result in undesirable immunological reactions or preclude groups of patients due to cultural or religious constraints.
In this regard, proteins, such as collagen, albumin, gelatin, fibroin and keratin, have been investigated in developing naturally-derived biomaterials. Of these, keratin-based biomaterials have shown great promise due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, natural abundance, and their ability to self-assemble, promote cell attachment and support cell binding.
Keratin may also be fabricated into a number of physical forms suitable for biomaterial applications, such as coatings, foams, sponges, and hydrogels. Previous studies have shown that keratin is able to support cell attachment, cell proliferation, and provide sustained release delivery of drugs. These previous studies suggested that keratin may be useful for tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and drug delivery purposes.
Notwithstanding the above, keratin has poor physical and mechanical characteristics compared to other naturally derived biomaterial such as collagen. Improving properties of keratin-based biomaterials may, therefore, present new and clinically relevant applications.
Several attempts have been made to improve properties of keratin, such as physical blending with materials such as chitosan, gelatin and collagen. Even though these methods appear to have improved mechanical properties of the final keratin-based biomaterials, the amount of partner material required is significantly large compared to those of keratin.
Further, even though particulate-leaching methods may be used to produce 3D porous templates, due to difficulties in leaching out porogens from thick templates, however, only thin templates may be produced. Other techniques, such as wet spinning, may be used to prepare keratin fibres. These techniques, however, require specialized equipment and further processing, such as knitting or braiding, to produce porous templates.
In view of the above, there remains a need for an improved method to prepare keratin-based biomaterials that overcomes or at least alleviates one or more of the above-mentioned problems.

Method of preparing a keratin-based biomaterial and keratin-based biomaterial formed thereof


An image reading apparatus includes an image reader, a document feeder, and a document retainer. A document feeder feeds the document to the image reader, and the image reader reads an image of a document. The document feeder discharges the document onto a stacker after the image of the document has been read. The document feeder is pivotal relative to the image reader. When the document feeder opens relative to the reader at an angle, the document retainer presses the document against the stacker.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming system, and to an image reading apparatus that incorporates an automatic document feeder (ADF).
2. Description of the Related Art
There are various types of conventional image forming apparatuses which incorporate an image reading unit mounted on an image forming unit. Such image forming apparatuses include copying machines, facsimile machines, and multi-function printers (MFP). The image reading unit includes a scanner cover adapted to open and close. A user opens the scanner cover, places a document on a flatbed glass, and then closes the cover to hold the document in position before reading the document. Some scanners incorporate an ADF unit mounted on a scanner cover, so that a plurality of pages of document may be fed in sequence to the flatbed glass or ADF glass with the scanner cover closed.
In order to facilitate replacement of consumable items such as a fixing unit disposed in the image forming unit, the top cover of the image forming unit is adapted to open by an angle of substantially 90°.
The image reading unit is journaled on the image forming unit such that the image reading unit is pivotal about an axis relative to the image forming unit. Therefore, if the document remains on the ADF unit, the document will drop from the ADF unit when the image reading unit is opened inadvertently.

Image reading apparatus and image forming system


According to one embodiment, an inkjet recording apparatus includes a plurality of inkjet heads of a multi-drop method, a first controller, and a second controller. The first controller controls ejection of ink drops from a first inkjet head for ejecting a first ink for which print resolution is required, in a manner that a number of ink dots formed in a main scanning direction is great, and that the number of ink drops ejected for each one of the ink dots is small. The second controller controls ejection of the ink drops from a second inkjet head for ejecting a second ink for which coverage over a recording surface of the recording medium is required, in a manner that a number of ink dots formed in the main scanning direction is small, and that the number of ink drops ejected for each of the ink dots is great.

An ink jet recording apparatus which forms a color image on a white ground uses color inks, such as a black ink (K), a cyan ink (C), a magenta ink (M), and an yellow ink (Y), and a white ink. A white ground is formed on a print surface of a recording medium with the white ink, and thereafter, a color image is formed.
The color image formed by the ink jet recording apparatus improves more in quality as coverage of the print surface with the white ink increases. Therefore, the ink jet recording apparatus is devised to raise the coverage. For example, a number of print scans for the white ink is increased to be greater than the other color inks. Otherwise, a number of heads for the white ink is increased to be greater than the other color inks.
However, if the number of times for which scanning is performed to print the white ink is increased to be greater than the other color inks, image formation requires a long time. If the number of heads for the white ink is increased to be greater than for the other color inks, a total number of heads increases so that the whole apparatus becomes large. Further, product costs and maintenance costs increase also. Therefore, there are demands for an inkjet recording apparatus and a recording method which can solve problems described above.

Inkjet recording apparatus and recording method


A utility knife especially suitable for use by either right-handed or left-handed persons includes a generally symmetrical casing, as viewed from the side, having a generally pointed leading edge and two surfaces sloping back at equal angles from the point. When a standard razor-like blade is positioned in the knife, the midpoint of the blade between its sharpened cutting edge and non-sharpened opposite edge, lies on an imaginary line extending from the point at the forward end of the casing and generally through the center of the knife. The blade may be positioned with its cutting edge being on one side or the other side of the imaginary centerline. In either position, the cutting edge of the blade will project similarly from the casing when a thumb piece is pushed toward the forward end.

This invention relates generally to knives of the type having a razor blade as the cutting portion and more particularly to a utility knife having an extendable and retractable blade which snaps back into the handle when the user releases his finger from an external thumb piece or knob. There have been many utility knives provided in the prior art. Such knives usually include a casing having a slidable razor blade therein with an external thumb piece connected to an internal carriage whereon the blade is mounted. Using the thumb piece, the user can slide the blade in and out of the casing through a slot at one end of the casing for the purpose of opening cardboard cartons and the like.
However, the knives are as sharp as a razor and such prior art knives are found to be dangerous and may accidentally cut the person using the knife because once the blade projects to the extent desired, the blade stays in its exposed position until it is deliberately and manually retracted.
An improvement in such construction is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,139,939, issued Feb. 20, 1979, for a utility knife which provides spring-loading on the carriage, such that when the blade has been extended from the casing by operation of the thumb piece, and the user releases the thumb piece, the blade snaps back automatically into the casing where it is completely concealed.
Nevertheless, this improved utility knife still has a major disadvantage in that a knife which is conveniently used by a right-handed person, is extremely inconvenient, in fact awkward, to use by a left-handed person. This occurs because the thumb piece lies on the broad, generally flattened side surface of the knife casing. This side surface is generally parallel to the plane of the razor-sharp blade and the forward end slot. Such flattened side surfaces of the casing make for a firm and comfortable grip.
Heretofore, manufacturers of utility knives of the type disclosed in the patent mentioned above, have provided the market with two models, a right-handed and a left-handed model, these models being mirror images of each other. The need for two models creates tooling problems for the manufacturer and inventory problems for the manufacturer, wholesalers and retailers.
What is needed is a universal utility knife with a razor-blade type cutting blade which retracts automatically into the casing and which can be used with equal facility by right-handed and left-handed persons.


A medical information processing apparatus according to an embodiment includes a memory storing a model that represents a relation between cell deformation and electric signal propagation; and processing circuitry configured to acquire four-dimensional image data acquired by imaging a three-dimensional structure of a cardiac muscle in time series, extract movement information on the cardiac muscle at multiple positions in the four-dimensional image data, and apply the model to the movement information with respect to the positions to calculate electric signal propagation at the positions.

The heart is an organ that contracts (gets excited) in accordance with propagated electric signals to deliver bloods inside the cardiac cavity to the entire body. Therefore, problems in propagation of electric signals cause abnormal cardiac rhythms such as tachycardia. Furthermore, for treatment of abnormal cardiac rhythms, doctors make treatment plans or perform surgery on the basis of information as to whether there is a problem in propagation of electric signals, which part of the heart causes a problem, or the like.
Here, as a conventional od for evaluating propagation of electric signals, there is a known method of recording changes in the electric potential inside the cardiac cavity by inserting an electrode catheter into the cardiac cavity. Furthermore, pacing stimulation is applied to the inside of the cardiac cavity to induce tachycardia so that the target site may be set, or the like, for diagnosis of abnormal cardiac rhythms or catheter ablation. However, this evaluation method imposes heavy loads on patients as an electrode catheter is inserted into the cardiac cavity or pacing stimulation is applied to induce tachycardia.
One of the methods for evaluating propagation of electric signals with few loads on patients is, for example, electrocardiograms. However, with electrocardiograms, although it may be determined whether propagation of an electric signal is faulty, it is difficult to identify an abnormal site. That is, electrocardiograms are sometimes not sufficient to diagnose abnormal cardiac rhythms or set the target site for catheter ablation.

Medical information processing apparatus and medical information processing method


A line switching apparatus includes receiving circuitry for receiving a line-connection request signal from an extension, discriminating circuitry for determining whether a connection is possible to the line when the connection request signal is received from the receiving circuitry, sending circuitry for sending a busy signal to the extension when the discriminating circuitry determines that connection to the line is impossible, detecting circuitry for monitoring the status of the line during sending of the busy signal by the sending circuitry, and detecting that the line is in a connectable state, and alarm circuitry for informing the extension of the fact that the line has been detected to be in the connectable state by the detecting circuitry.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a line switching apparatus and method for performing line connection between an extension and a telephone line.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, with an apparatus of this type, such as a private branch exchange (hereinafter referred to as a "PBX") or key telephone system (hereinafter referred to as a "KTS"), so-called telephone line camp-on (or trunk cueing) is available as a service function for an extension when all telephone lines are being used. Also available is so-called extension camp-on which, when a call is to be placed on an extension, is a service function for the extension used if the extension of the other party is busy.
These service functions will now be described taking the PBX as an example.
First, in telephone line camp-on, the extension telephone is taken off the hook and "0" is dialed in order to call a telephone line. If the telephone line trunks are all busy at this time, the PBX sends a busy tone (BT) to the extension telephone. When the operator of the extension hears the BT, the operator dials a special number (a specific number) for the telephone line camp-on service and then hangs up upon confirming an intercept tone from the PBX indicating the completion of registration. When a telephone line trunk subsequently becomes available, the PBX calls the extension and the operator takes the extension telephone off the hook. When this is done, connection to the telephone line trunk is achieved.
Next, in extension camp-on, the extension telephone is taken off the hook and an extension number is dialed in order to communicate with another party's extension. If the other party's extension is busy at this time, the PBX sends the BT to the extension telephone. When the operator of the extension hears the BT, the operator dials a special number for the extension camp-on service and then hangs up upon confirming an intercept tone from the PBX indicating the completion of registration. When the busy extension subsequently becomes available, the PBX calls the registered extension telephone and the operator takes the extension telephone off the hook. When this is done, the other party's extension is called. When a response is received owing to the other party's extension being taken off the hook, connection to the other party's extension is achieved.
In the examples described above, several seconds and, in some cases, ten seconds or more are required for camp-on registration to be completed. This leads to the following disadvantages:
(1) Even if a telephone line trunk becomes available during camp-on registration, the extension being registered is made to wait if the telephone line is called (i.e., if "0" is dialed) from another extension during registration, or if the other party's extension ends communication and is taken off the hook in order to make a call.
(2) Similarly, if there is an incoming call to an available telephone line trunk from a telephone line, or if there is an incoming call to the other party's extension which has terminated a conversation, the abovementioned calling extension is made to wait.
Thus, as set forth above, there are cases where a user who has registered camp-on in order to use a telephone line trunk quickly or to rapidly communicate with another party's extension is in the end made to wait. This is highly inconvenient.
In addition, operability is poor in that even if a line becomes free during the registration operation, the user must wait until camp-on registration is completed and the call tone is issued.
Furthermore, even when a telephone line trunk becomes free and the registered extension is called after telephone line camp-on registration in the above-described example, several seconds are required until a response is received from this extension. If there is no response to the call, the telephone line trunk that is free cannot be used.


An approach is provided for generating Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes. An LDPC encoder generates a LDPC code with an outer Bose Chaudhuri Hocquenghem (BCH) code. For 1/3 rate, the relevant parameters are as follows: q=120, nldpc=64,800, kldpc=nBCH=21600, kBCH=21408 (12 bit error correcting BCH). For 1/4 rate, the LDPC code has the following relevant parameters: q=135, nldpc=64,800, kldpc=nBCH=16200, kBCH=16008 (12 bit error correcting BCH). For 2/5 rate, the following parameters exist: q=108, nldpc=64800, kldpc=nBCH=25920, kBCH=25728 (12 bit error correcting BCH). The above approach has particular application in digital video broadcast services over satellite.

Communication systems employ coding to ensure reliable communication across noisy communication channels. For example, in a wireless (or radio) system, such as a satellite network, noise sources abound, from geographic and environmental factors. These communication channels exhibit a fixed capacity that can be expressed in terms of bits per symbol at certain signal to noise ratio (SNR), defining a theoretical upper limit (known as the Shannon limit). As a result, coding design has aimed to achieve rates approaching this Shannon limit. This objective is particularly germane to bandwidth constrained satellite systems. One such class of codes that approach the Shannon limit is Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes.
Traditionally, LDPC codes have not been widely deployed because of a number of drawbacks. One drawback is that the LDPC encoding technique is highly complex. Encoding an LDPC code using its generator matrix would require storing a very large, non-sparse matrix. Additionally, LDPC codes require large blocks to be effective; consequently, even though parity check matrices of LDPC codes are sparse, storing these matrices is problematic.
From an implementation perspective, a number of challenges are confronted. For example, storage is an important reason why LDPC codes have not become widespread in practice. Length LDPC codes, thus, require greater storage space. Also, a key challenge in LDPC code implementation has been how to achieve the connection network between several processing engines (nodes) in the decoder. Further, the computational load in the decoding process, specifically the check node operations, poses a problem.
Therefore, there is a need for an LDPC communication system that employs simple encoding and decoding processes. There is also a need for using LDPC codes efficiently to support high data rates, without introducing greater complexity. There is also a need to improve performance of LDPC encoders and decoders. There is also a need to minimize storage requirements for implementing LDPC coding.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and system for providing long and short block length low density parity check (LDPC) codes


Provided are a method of browsing a recorded news program and a browsing apparatus for performing the method. The method includes grouping moving picture news reports included in a plurality of news programs according to news report, and selecting one moving picture news report from among each of a plurality of groups according to preference information input by a user, thereby reproducing only a user desired part from contents of a moving picture news report. Thus, the method can be used to rapidly and efficiently browse the plurality of news programs.

1. Field of the Invention
Methods and apparatuses consistent with the present invention relate to digital broadcasting, and more particularly, to a method of browsing a recorded news program and a browsing apparatus for performing the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, electronic devices such as digital televisions (TVs) or personal video recorders (PVRs) having large storage capacities have been introduced so that users can easily record a broadcasting program via a digital broadcasting channel and can conveniently reproduce and watch the broadcasting program at a desired time.
However, in the case of news programs, a plurality of news reports are generally included in one news program, and the kinds and number of news programs daily broadcast via a digital broadcasting channel are quite numerous. Moreover, some news reports broadcast by different news programs (in the case where a broadcasting station or a broadcast time is different) often include substantially the same contents, therefore, a user has to scan overlapping moving picture news reports one by one so as to browse news during a specific period (e.g., a day), and is inconvenienced since the user has to manually skip other parts by using a fast forward function so as to search for a part in one moving picture news report, in which the user is interested.
FIG. 1 is a diagram of a structure of a news program moving picture.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the general news program moving picture is formed of a summary, a commercial break, a moving picture article, traffic information, weather information, and the like.
The moving picture news report includes an anchor shot in which a news anchorperson briefly reports a news report, and an episode shot in which a reporter fully explains contents of the news report.
Thus, a user has to directly skip the summary, the commercial break, and the like by using a fast forward function so as to search for a desired news report. Also, in the case where the user desires to watch the episode shot only, the user has to precisely skip only the anchor shot.
Since a plurality of moving picture news reports are generally included in one news program, the user has to skip other news reports so as to watch a desired news report. Furthermore, the higher the number of news programs to be browsed, the higher the number of overlapping news reports, and thus inconveniences increase and a time taken to perform browsing also increases.

Method of browsing recorded news program and browsing apparatus for performing the method


Balancing a wheel and tire assembly includes sensing imbalance of a wheel and tire assembly and determining therefrom the magnitude and placement of at least one correction weight to correct the imbalance. The magnitude of the correction weight is compensated to correct for curvature of actual correction weights. The compensated magnitude is displayed to the user. If the weight amount or placement spot is inconvenient for the user, the user can initiate a split weight procedure which determines a pair of weight magnitudes and weight placements which are vectorially equivalent to the corresponding single correction weight in terms of correcting imbalance. The pair of weight magnitudes are reverse compensated for curvature to calculate the effective weights thereof and the weight placements are calculated based upon the effective weights.

This invention relates generally to analyzing imbalance of a rotating vehicle wheel and in particular to determine the magnitude and angular location of corrective counter-balance mass(es) to be placed on the wheel rim(s).
The determination of unbalance in vehicle wheels is carried out by an analysis with reference to phase and amplitude of the mechanical vibrations caused by rotating unbalanced masses in the wheel. The mechanical vibrations are measured as motions, forces, or pressures by means of transducers, which convert the mechanical vibrations to electrical signals. Each signal is the combination of fundamental oscillations caused by the imbalances, and noise.
It is well known in the art that a variety of types of correction weights are available for placing on the wheel to correct the measured imbalance. For example, both adhesive-backed weights and hammer-on weights are available from a number of different manufacturers. These weights come in discrete units, such as 1/4 ounce, 1/2 ounce, 1 ounce, etc. which do not always correspond to the desired corrective weight magnitude. Many systems have been designed to compensate in some way for the limitations of the correction weights available.
For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,981 to Schonfeld calculates a different angle than the optimal angle for each plane in order to use the exact incremental size weights. A larger or smaller weight circle is tried for each plane (by the CPU). The best of four calculated combinations is displayed to exactly cancel static and reduce to an "accepted" minimum dynamic residual unbalance.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,217 to Brihier et al. discloses a calibration process of measuring with two weights on two planes at an angle, then moving them and re-measuring, allegedly without any need to know width, diameter, or reference distance.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,885 to Mueller describes a calibration method which uses an add-on clamping fixture with known geometry and mass locations to eliminate the need to enter parameters.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,304 to Hofmann concerns a system for wheel balancing which provides a "correction value" step to account for the center of mass location of the correction weight. That is, it appears to compensate for the difference between the nominal value of the balancer's weight circle and the true weight circle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,532 to Green et al. relates to a wheel balancer which uses a single size weight for balancing.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,890,845 to Muller describes a balancing system with 120/60 degree placement of test weights and the removal of material for balancing rotors.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,550,455 to Green et al. is directed to a single weight value system of fanning the weights on a gravity system.
And U.S. Pat. No. 3,251,230 to Green et al. relates to a slidable test weight.
None of these prior patents mention anything about weight curvature and how that curvature affects the effective weight of the corrective weight.
A system which addresses some of these concerns is shown in co-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/824,999, filed Jan. 24, 1992, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The system of said patent application solved many of the problems caused by the discrete nature of the available correction weights, but even that system can be improved.
For example, it has been found that larger weights, whether adhesive or hammer-on, have an effective weight (the weight actually measured by the force pickups) different than the actual or applied weight. This effect is caused by the curvature of the weight, which becomes pronounced for larger weights. Curvature of the weight shifts the center of gravity (cg) of some weight towards the center of the wheel. Take a three oz. weight which actually does weigh precisely three oz. When that three oz. weight is placed on a 14" wheel which has previously been balanced to zero, the wheel balancer will show (for example) 2.92 oz. imbalance due to the application of that weight instead of the three oz. which was actually applied. Furthermore, the 2.92 oz. imbalance cannot be corrected by applying another weight, trimmed to 2.92 oz., because the 2.92 oz. weight has an effective weight of 2.82 oz. or so.
The problem is more severe the larger the imbalance. A 3.75 oz. weight will read 3.60. If the machine (the balancing apparatus) has a rounding mode enabled (which, for example, rounds to the nearest 0.25 oz.), the correction weight will be shown as 3.5 oz. Similarly, if the actual imbalance is 3.6 and the machine rounds the display to 3.5 oz., the user will apply a 3.5 oz. weight. Unfortunately, because of the center of gravity/curvature effect, the effective weight of that 3.5 oz. weight is about 3.38 oz. The user should have applied a 3.75 oz. weight. There will be almost 0.22 oz. residual imbalance (3.6-3.38).
The smaller the diameter rim, the more severe is this effect because of the greater curvature (the weights bend quite easily to conform to the rim).
Unfortunately, none of the patents listed above or the patent application appear to address this center of gravity/curvature problem which occurs with larger weights and smaller diameter wheels.


Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed herein including a monitoring system for a building including an in-wall guide for a drone, the in-wall guide extending behind at least one wall from a first location to a second location and a power delivery circuit in, or adjacent, the in-wall guide.

Conventional buildings (e.g., houses, office buildings, industrial buildings, etc.) monitor general environmental conditions, such as temperature and humidity via a thermostat and a humidity sensor, respectively. These general environmental conditions are used as inputs to heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) control systems. Such buildings are also often configured to monitor for off-normal conditions such as smoke or carbon monoxide and smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors are disposed throughout the building, consistent with building code requirements applicable to the building, to monitor the occupied spaces.
The figures are not to scale. As used in this patent, stating that any part (e.g., a layer, film, area, or plate) is in any way positioned on (e.g., positioned on, located on, disposed on, or formed on, etc.) another part, indicates that the referenced part is either in contact with the other part, or that the referenced part is above the other part with one or more intermediate part(s) located therebetween. Stating that any part is in contact with another part means that there is no intermediate part between the two parts.

Apparatus and system for building monitoring


A method and an IP-SM-GW for providing an interworking service between CPM and SMS are provided. The method comprises the steps of receiving a chat session invitation, in a IP-SM-GW, the chat session invitation originating from a CPM UE and being sent toward an SMS enabled UE. Assigning an identifier with the chat session in the IP-SM-GW and sending an invitation acknowledgement from the IP-SM-GW to the CPM UE. Receiving a message containing data, within the chat session, in the IP-SM-GW, from the CPM UE and being sent to the SMS enabled UE, formatting the message into an SMS message, wherein the identifier assigned to the chat session is inserted as a sender of the SMS message to ensure that an SMS response is sent back to the IP-SM-GW and forwarding the formatted SMS message to the SMS enabled UE.

Telecommunications technologies have evolved dramatically in the course of the last decade, seeing analog transmission technologies, digital transmission technologies and more recently Internet Protocol (IP) based packet transmission technologies.
During the past years, the interest in using mobile telecommunications devices in day-to-day activities has increased. Traditionally, desktop computers, workstations, and other wireline computers allowed users to communicate, for example, via e-mail, instant messaging (IM) and chat. Nowadays, mobile devices, for example, mobile telephones, smartphones, handheld computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) etc., also allow the users to communicate via e-mail, IM, chat and the like.
Mobile communications devices have evolved and are still evolving with the different transmission technologies that are being introduced. IP Multimedia Subsystems (IMS) is an IP based transmission technology that is currently being introduced into several markets. The introduction of the IMS technology does not go without difficulties. The hardware and communication protocols, for instance, differ from those of older technologies. This causes problems for interworking between the old and new technologies.
One of the problems concerns Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) sessions interworking of Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) Converged IP Messaging (CPM) and Short Message Service (SMS) (CPM-SMS), for allowing SMS user to be invited to participate in chat sessions.

Method and internet protocol short message gateway (IP-SM-GW) for providing an interworking service between converged IP messaging (CPM) and short message service (SMS)


A purge valve for a mounted assembly for a vehicle consisting of a wheel comprising a rim and of a tire, the valve comprising a body associated with the rim and a piston able to move with respect to the body between a closed position and a purge position and the valve being normally closed. The opening of the valve is obtained by the moving of the piston into the space radially external to the rim, the opening being obtained by action of a control force on the piston, exerted from the space radially internal to the rim, and provided by compressed air led from the space radially internal to the rim to the radially interior surface of the piston and the compressed air led from the space radially internal to the rim to the radially interior surface of the piston being at a pressure lower than or equal to that of the mounted assembly.

There are two customary ways of embodying the rim of such mounted assemblies. These rims are either drop-centre rims with tapered bead seats inclined with respect to the axis of rotation of the assembly by an angle of 5° or 15°, or flat base rims or almost-flat base rims with seats inclined either at 0° or at 5° with respect to the axis of rotation.
Rims known as flat base rims have a mounting well the diameter of which is markedly less than the nominal diameter of the rim. This inside diameter of the rim may be considered by users to be too small because it does not, for example, make it possible to select brake drums of dimensions suited to effective braking of vehicles that are becoming increasingly powerful in relation to their weight.
As a result, these rims are commonly used for mounted assemblies intended for vehicles of the passenger vehicle and/or heavy goods vehicle type, but are used far less, if at all, for other types of vehicle such as, for example, site plant and civil engineering works vehicles.
To create a mounted assembly, particularly one of the "tubeless" type, a flat base rim needs there to be at least one removable lateral ring, one locking ring and a seal, and obviously the flat base rim that has a fixed flange on the opposite side to the side on which the parts are removable. Indeed the dimensions of the wheels of the vehicles and those of the tires, particularly the stiffness of the bottom regions, means that the said wheels have to be produced in several parts so that the tire can be mounted on a rim. At least three parts are therefore needed. In most cases though, the number of parts needed is greater than three and may sometimes be as much as six parts for large sizes of tires, not to mention the parts needed to fix the wheels to the vehicle. With the exception of the seals which are made of rubber, the parts of a rim are made of metal, and are therefore heavy, bulky and difficult to handle. It then follows that fitting and removing large and very large tires are difficult and lengthy operations. Fitting and/or removing a wheel equipped with such a tire requires the vehicle or the plant to be taken out of action for a not insignificant length of time which is therefore to the detriment of the productivity desired in the use of these vehicles.
Patent Application WO 00/71365 describes a technique for simplifying the fitting of tires, these being mounted directly on the hub, which then acts as a rim. Independent mounting rings then act as rim seats and are held in place by blocking rings which are secured to the hub notably using complementary profiles. With this technique, the locking ring is made up of a vulcanized rubber compound reinforced with and coating a reinforcing ring that is circumferentially elastic and radially resistant to compression.
A technique such as this is highly attractive because it makes it possible to eliminate the phases of mounting on a rim and fixing of a wheel to the vehicle, the tires being mounted directly on the hub via the mounting rings and locking rings. Furthermore, because the number of parts is greatly reduced, the phases of handling these elements are simpler.
However, whether using this latter technique or whether the tires are associated with wheels made up of several parts, when it is necessary to change a tire or to swap two tires around on the vehicle, a step of removing the wheel and/or the tire is always required; this involves deflating the tire, something which is indispensable for changing a tire, and practically indispensable, at least in part, when swapping mounted assemblies around, in order to reduce weight.
The time taken to deflate a 59/80R63 tire fitted to a vehicle of the dumper type is longer than thirty minutes, which means that, in order to swap around all the tires on the vehicle, a combined deflation time of at least two hours is needed.
Given that in a mine, a work cycle corresponding to the transportation of a full dumper body by a vehicle of the dumper type is usually shorter than this 30-minute time, it is clearly evident that the time spent working on the tires has a direct and significant influence on the productivity of the vehicles.
There is therefore in particular a desire to reduce the time taken to deflate such tires.
Tires for civil engineering works vehicles, such as the vehicles used in mines, for example of the dumper type, are usually inflated to a pressure of between 4 and 10 bar for customary loads and sizes.
The current deflation techniques involve freeing the internal part of the inflation valve in order to allow the air to escape. Shortening the deflation time could involve increasing the dimension of the current inflation valve systems, but their design would then become problematic and the flow rates caused by the pressures and the volume of air in this type of tire would endanger the operator who has to free the internal part of the valve.
Existing valves of the butterfly, spool or check valve type, of suitable sizes have been envisaged, but they present various disadvantages. On the one hand, they are too bulky to be installed on certain vehicles and, on the other hand, the maintenance of these valves requires full disassembly. Maintenance has to be taken into consideration because as the air escapes from the mounted assembly, it carries with it particles such as residues of corrosion coming from the wheel, fragments of tire, if the latter is deteriorating, and also liquids resulting from condensation and from the specific products intended to combat corrosion.
In the course of their studies and in particular when looking into creating the mounted assembly comprising large-sized tires, particularly tires the axial width of which is in excess of 18 inches, intended to be fitted to vehicles of the dumper type, increases in the productivity of which are endlessly being desired, the inventors thus set themselves an object of improving the times taken to deflate the tires.

Campagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin


A cleaning solution for accelerated cleaning of a membrane having an enzyme and an agent having a pH that is compatible with the enzyme. The cleaning solution may additionally include one or both of a binding agent and a surfactant. Once the cleaning solution has been included in a solution that is used to contact the membrane for a defined period of time, one or both of a binding agent and a reducing agent may be added to the solution that has contacted the membrane. Optionally, one or both of increasing a pH of the solution and increasing a temperature of the solution may be used to reduce an activity of the enzyme.

Filtration is the separation of one material from another. Filtration may be effected by the use of a membrane. The material that is retained on the membrane is characterized as the retentate or concentrate. The liquid that passes through the membrane is the solute, filtrate or permeate, the latter being the term most commonly used with respect to membrane filtration.
Soil remaining on the membrane after processing the stream is characterized as membrane fouling. These membrane filters must be subsequently subjected to a cleaning operation for the removal of any fouling that has occurred during the course of the treatment operation in order to continue to use such a filtration system for the continued production of permeate.
In the dairy, brewing & beverage, and processed food operations, membrane plants are used for fractioning, separation and up concentration of desired product components. Such membrane filters must then be subsequently subjected to a cleaning operation for the removal of any fouling that has occurred during the process.
Conventionally, hydraulic and/or chemical treatments have been used to clean these fouled membranes. However, these methods have not been entirely effective at efficiently removing most all of the deposited materials. Process that do provide a substantial removal of fouled material tend to be time consuming, costly in terms of energy and water usage over the multiple number of steps conventionally employed in such operations and in chemical treatments conventionally required for such cleaning operations.
Cleaning agents have been formulated to specifically address the nature and physicochemical properties of the foulants. These cleaning agents are formulated to attempt to break down the bonds that form between the foulants and the material the membrane is constructed from.
Chemical cleaning involves several steps that must be carried out in a specific defined order. First, the membrane must be rinsed to remove soils that have not readily become deposited on the membrane. The chemical cleaning solution can then be introduced to the membrane and held in place at the membrane for a certain defined time. Such cleaning steps must then be followed by another rinse step. The membrane is conventionally then subjected to other steps to remove the cleaning solution from the membrane including perhaps an acid treatment step and/or an alkaline treatment step with each of the employed steps being followed by another rinsing step.
Four parameters primarily determine the effectiveness of a cleaning agent. These parameters include contact time, chemical reaction, temperature and mechanical energy. These parameters are specifically related to the chemical-based cleaning agent being deployed as well as the nature of the foulants deposited on the membrane. The object of the present invention is to provide a process for cleaning a filtration membrane.
Cleaning agents have also included enzymes for enzymatic treatment of the membrane. Enzymatic treatment has been used in the cleaning operations for such membranes to break the deposited materials down into smaller compounds allowing for them to be more easily removed from the membrane. An enzymatic cleaning step can advantageously reduce or eliminate irreversible fouling that is likely caused by organic soil, e.g., protein and lipid adsorption on the membrane. Protease enzymes, in particular, catalyze the reaction of hydrolysis of various bonds using a water molecule.
There remains a need in the art to provide an enzyme-based cleaning solution and a membrane cleaning operation that effectively reduces or eliminates irreversible fouling. If the filtration resistance after hydraulic cleaning is equal to the filtration resistance at the start of the previous filtration period then the fouling is considered to be complete reversible. If chemical cleaning needs to be applied, then the fouling is considered to be irreversible. There is a long-felt need for such a cleaning operation that can be accomplished with a reduction in any one or more of overall time, water usage, energy and chemicals.

Membrane cleaning solution and method of accelerated membrane cleaning using the same


A digital-to analog-converter (DAC) has a MSB resistor ladder with a plurality of series connected resistors, wherein the MSB resistor ladder is coupled between a first and second reference potential, a LSB resistor ladder with a plurality of series connected resistors, and a plurality of switching units for connecting one of the series connected resistors of the MSB resistor ladder with the LSB resistor ladder, wherein each switching unit has a first switch for connecting a first terminal of an associated MSB resistor with a first terminal of the LSB resistor ladder and a second switch for connecting a second terminal of the associated MSB resistor with a second terminal of the LSB resistor ladder and wherein each switch is configured form a resistor of similar value of the resistors of the LSB resistor ladder when switched on.

Various Digital-to-Analog-Converter (DAC) designs exist. For example, DACs may use a resistor ladder for the most significant bits (MSB) and a separate resistor ladder for the least significant bits (LSB). These networks need to be coupled appropriately to generate the desired analog value from a digital value consisting of the MSB & LSB. However, DAC designs with such MSB & LSB ladders are limited in accuracy by the switches or methods in projecting the MSB voltage range on the LSB ladder.

Digital-to-analog-converter with resistor ladder