A vertical boring machine is for boring or facing a circular region of a component having a central axis and includes a horizontal support for supporting the component with the central axis extending in a vertical direction. A tool support is disposed for rotation at the central axis to extend in said vertical direction. The tool support includes a tool head extending radially outwardly of the central axis which is configured for controlled radial movement and for controlled axial movement. The vertical boring machine preferably includes a mechanism for selectively moving the base of the tool support in an X direction and in a Y direction relative to the horizontal support aligning the tool support with the central axis. The X direction and Y direction are in a horizontal plane and perpendicular to each other. The tool support can be maintained in a fixed position relative to the horizontal support, after the aligning of the tool support with the central axis, to secure the tool support at the central axis during the boring or facing of the component. There is included a method of boring or facing a circular region of a component having a central axis by supporting the component horizontally and rotating a tool support disposed at the central axis.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a portable vertical boring machine and, more specifically, to such a machine which is capable of boring and/or facing a circular region of large circular components or other work pieces which have central axis which are disposed vertically during the boring and/or facing process. The preferred machine is portable and capable of being transported to various locations for on-site boring and/or facing of various circular components or work pieces.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The preferred portable vertical boring machine is configured to bore and/or face large circular regions of various work pieces such as large turbine diaphragm rings or the like which typically have inside diameters ranging between 22 inches and 140 inches. Because of the large size of such components, it is not uncommon for the boring and/or facing process to be performed on large machines permanently installed at remote locations. Consequently, when a large turbine or the like must be overhauled, many major components must be disassembled and shipped to the remote location for being reworked prior to reassembly. Typically, such large boring and/or facing machines located at remote locations are configured to include a centrally disposed boring or facing component with a large rotating support table to which the circular component or work piece is attached. Accordingly, the relative circular movement between the boring and/or facing tool and the work piece is produced by rotating the support table about the relatively "fixed" tool supporting component. The means for driving the support table for such large circular components or work pieces are relatively complicated and must include means for accurately locating the circular component or work piece thereon in order to insure accurate boring and/or facing of the surfaces thereof. With these large machines including secure means for maintaining the "fixed" tool supporting component relative to the support table, the overall configuration prevents them from being moved from their permanent locations to perform any on-site boring and/or facing of the work pieces.
Consequently, although such machines work quite satisfactorily and provide accurate boring and/or facing of large circular components or work pieces, the overall process and procedure is considered relatively expensive because of the extensive down time of the turbine or the like during overhaul and the cost of shipping the various large work pieces to such remote locations.
As a result, there have also been utilized a number of portable boring bars which can be brought to the site for boring the work pieces. Such portable boring bars tend to be mounted horizontally or vertically through various means to generally provide for the boring of such large circular components or work pieces as they are "mounted" within the turbine housing or the like being overhauled. For example, Portable Boring Bars, Model Nos. 1162 and 1680, manufactured by Climax Portable Machine Tools, Inc. of Newberg, Oreg., are utilized for on-site boring of such large circular components or work pieces. Generally, such portable boring bars are mounted to the housing of a turbine, the housing of a large valve or the like for proper support and alignment during the boring and/or facing of the work pieces being retained within the housing. If the internal gland seals of a larger turbine diaphragm ring are to be bored, the portable boring bar may, for example, be directly secured to the diaphragm ring during the boring of the internal gland seals.
During the use of such portable boring bars, the work pieces may be maintained in a fixed position with the axes thereof being horizontally disposed within the housing or in a secure location on the floor of the site. For large valves or the like which are disposed vertically, the portable boring bar would be maintained is a fixed position within the housing with the axes thereof extending vertically. The portable boring bars are typically attached to both ends of the housing, diaphragm ring or the like to allow the rotating boring tool means to be advanced through the housing or diaphragm ring for the boring of the interior surfaces of the work pieces. Clearly, in order to accurately bore the work pieces, the portable boring bars must be accurately located with respect to the housing or diaphragm ring. The proper alignment of both Model Nos. 1162 and 1680 of the Portable Boring Bars manufactured by Climax Portable Machine Tools, Inc. requires the proper adjustment of various types of mounting spindles which are employed at each end of the housing or diaphragm ring.
Again, although such portable boring bars have been satisfactorily and successfully employed in the past, there may be certain disadvantages resulting from the manner in which the portable boring bars are mounted. For example, although some facing of annular surfaces on the circular components or work products is possible, because of the manner in which the rotating boring head is mounted to the housing or diaphragm ring, there could be limited access to the ends of the housing and the ends of some of the components mounted therein or to the ends of the diaphragm ring to which the boring machine is secured.
Although such portable boring bars eliminate the need for the circular components to be shipped to a remote location, retaining some of the work pieces within a housing could prevent access to the housing which would otherwise be desirable during the overhauling process. In other words, although a housing may appear to be a convenient means for supporting the portable boring bars in some instances, as a practical matter during the overhauling process of some turbines or the like, it often desirable to have unrestricted access to the housing to perform various other tasks essential during an overhaul of the turbine or the like.
Although there exists a number of permanent vertical boring and/or facing machines and a number of portable boring bars of the type described above, many patents are directed to the more common permanent horizontal boring, facing and/or milling machines. On the other hand, British Patent No. 29,087; Russian Patent No. 751,514; and Russian Patent No. 1,118,488 do disclose machines which might be capable of producing some vertical boring. For example, British Patent No. 29,087 discloses a portable machine which appears to have means for producing horizontal and vertical movement of the tool means which could result in vertical boring or the like. Russian Patent No. 751,514 discloses a device for drilling holes in a cylindrical and conical shell. The drill head tends to extend horizontally but is capable of being moved vertically and even has a feature for providing an inclined angle to the drilling head for the drilling of the tapered portion of the shell. Russian Patent No. 1,118,488 discloses a precision vertical boring and milling machine which has hydrostatic bearings to enable the head stock to be transversed in vertical and horizontal directions through the use of three separate hydraulic circuits.
However, a significant number of patents are directed to various large horizontal boring, facing and/or milling machines which are typically not portable and include rigid mounting means to minimize vibrations or bending which occur during the boring, facing and/or milling process.
British Patent No. 991,286 discloses a horizontal boring and milling machine which has a vertical column which might be capable of limited rotation about the vertical axis but is preferably rigidly secured to a fixed base. The primary features of the machine include various supporting surfaces for movement in a horizontal direction and various slotting and clamping means to insure that the work piece is rigidly maintained in the desired position during the boring and/or milling. British Patent No. 1,297,891 discloses a horizontal jig-boring machine which can be moved in a horizontal direction and includes means for facilitating the horizontal movement on a rigid base for the entire machine.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,648,999; 2,674,925; 2,699,694; and 4,632,615 disclose heavy-duty boring, drilling and/or milling machines which are typical in the prior art. Most of these devices bend to product boring in a horizontal direction but do have the capability of producing vertical movement of the boring head. It is significant to note that the machines shown in these patents include rigid means for supporting and moving the boring and/or milling heads in two directions along the horizontal and in a vertical direction. In other words, such machines require rigid supporting means and reliable means for translating the boring and/or milling head in various directions.
While the boring and/or facing machine of the present invention will be seen to be configured different from those generally disclosed hereinabove, it is significant to note that one feature which will assist in the boring and/or facing operation of the preferred machine includes the ability to provide convenient, accurate and reliable positioning of the rotating boring and/or facing component relative to the fixed circular component or work piece. In other words, a significant feature includes the capability of fixedly mounting the circular component or work piece on a support frame while adjusting the boring or facing component to be centrally located relative to the fixed circular component or work piece. Consequently, any means which can be used to produce reliable movement in a horizontal plane in both an X and Y direction is of interest. Clearly, some such features have been provided to some of the machines disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,648,999; 2,674,925; 2,699,694; and 4,632,615.
However, a number of other patents disclose specific means for producing accurate and reliable movement within the horizontal plane in X and Y directions which are perpendicular to each other. While such means are of interest, it should be noted that the preferred means for centrally locating the boring and/or facing component of the preferred invention with respect to the fixed circular component or work piece does not require the type of controlled or continuously adjustable movement in the X and Y directions that many components in the prior art may require. Nevertheless, a review of various means for producing movement in the X and Y direction within a horizontal plane may be of interest. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,189,953; 4,193,317; 4,270,404; 4,341,128; 4,372,223; 4,409,860; 4,628,756; 4,648,723; 4,729,536; 4,972,574; 4,978,233; 5,040,431; and 5,115,354 disclose various means for producing controlled movement of a component within a horizontal plane in both the X and Y directions. However, most of the devices disclosed therein include some form of base support with upwardly disposed rails, guide rods or roller means for the support of an intermediate element to allow the intermediate element to be moved in, for example, the X direction. The intermediate element in turn includes some form of rails, guide rods or roller means for the support of an upper element to facilitate movement of the upper element in the Y direction relative to the intermediate element. Consequently, accurate movement of the upper element is accomplished through the combined movement of the intermediate element with respect to the base support and the upper element with respect to the intermediate element. While all of these devices may present configurations which are satisfactory for the purposes intended, it should be noted that the various rails, guide rods or roller configurations are relatively complicated and may not be desirable for use in such a heavy duty boring and/or facing machine of the present invention.
Specifically, the preferred means for providing the X-Y adjustment of the central boring and/or facing component of the present invention is the subject of a patent application, entitled "An X-Y Movement Mechanism", which was filed on the same date as the present application by the same inventor and has been assigned to the same assignee. Consequently, while the disclosure of the feature for centrally aligning the preferred boring and/or facing component of the preferred machine is disclosed herein, additional alternative configurations are included in the co-pending application filed on the same date as the present application.


The present invention provides soles, platforms, or inserts incorporated into footwear, preferably athletic footwear, designed to promote a more efficient running technique by an energy-translating sole comprising one or more angular displacement members, balance-thrust members, and counterbalance as well as conventional features. Systems and methods of the present invention promote more efficient running technique by facilitating foot-strike to occur at a point under and behind the runner's center of gravity. This may be accomplished, for example, by a foot-strike member, angular displacement member and balance-thrust member working cooperatively to displace the runner's center of gravity and translate gravitational, inertial and ground reaction forces, as well as muscular tension forces, into linear momentum.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to athletic shoe technology. More particularly, it relates to systems and methods for various forms of energy-translating soles, or platforms, or inserts, which are incorporated into footwear and are designed to more effectively transfer gravitational, inertial and ground reaction forces into linear momentum thereby promoting a more efficient running technique.
2. Description of the Related Art
Athletic shoe technology has undergone a revolution over the past thirty years, particularly in regards to improvements in running shoes, both for the professional and casual user. In general, the majority of advancements in running shoe technology have largely centered around support, shock absorption and energy efficiency. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,909,948 describes an athletic shoe sole having a lateral stability element to provide improved lateral support during heel-strike. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,247,742 and 5,297,349 describe a cushioning sole for athletic shoes having a pronation control device incorporated into the midsole in order to increase the resistance to compression of the midsole from the lateral side to a maximum along the medial side, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,779 describes an athletic shoe having an inflatable tongue or bladder for a more secure fit.
A major focus in athletic shoe technology has centered on shock absorption. A number of patents describe various systems for shock absorption, such as air channels, miniature pumps, hydraulic systems, gas-filled bladders, elastomeric foam elements, pneumatic inflation devices and spring elements. The following are illustrative of such technologies: U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,645, U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,553, U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,964, U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,523, U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,209, U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,529 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,426.
Embodiments of the present invention are distinct from the athletic shoe technologies pertaining to additional support or shock absorption described above in that systems and methods of the present invention focus on locomotion efficiency.
There have been several shoe systems related to increasing energy efficiency during running, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,358,902, which describes a thrust-producing shoe comprising a sole having fluid-filled cavities located in the heel and metatarsal portions with passageways interconnecting the fluid-filled cavities. As the heel cavity is compressed, fluid is forced through the passageways into the metatarsal cavities thereby providing shock absorption and forward thrust in the heel and metatarsal area.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,213 discloses a sporting shoe having an auxiliary sole member that is relatively thick under the toe portion and its outer surface is curved to form nearly a half circle at the forward extremity of the toe section and the rearward extremity at the ball of the foot is relatively flat. An additional embodiment describes a plurality of recesses within the sole of the shoe for housing a number of coil springs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,460 describes a spring moderator for articles of footwear, wherein a high modulus moderator is positioned beneath the heel or forefoot with a cushioning medium beneath the moderator. The spring moderator operates to absorb, redistribute and store the energy of localized loads.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,030 provides an energy efficient running shoe having an energy-transmission mechanism in the heel portion of the sole to transmit the mechanical energy of heel impact to the storage/thrust mechanism in the front sloe portion, where it is stored and released during thrust. A number of embodiments are described having sophisticated systems employing lever arms, coils springs, hydraulic assemblies and the like for capturing and transferring mechanical energy.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,476 discloses a running shoe having a hard front sole for retaining gripping elements and, from the ball to the shank of the foot, an upwardly extending support cup on the outside of the shoe upper. The front sole extends into the shank portion of the shoe and covers a support wedge member. The wedge member extends from the ball of the foot to the shank and is progressively thicker towards the rear portion of the shoe. The wedge shaped member causes the foot to be brought into an extended position for emphasizing contact with the ground with the front outside ball region of the foot. This configuration serves to increase running efficiency by keeping the heel in an elevated position, which is the preferred attitude during sprinting.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,398 provides an article of footwear for more efficient running and walking wherein the contour of the outer sole at the heel is formed at a dihedral angle to the medial/forefoot portions in order to delay the instant of initial contact and thereby allow a longer length of foot flight and correspondingly longer stride length. An additional embodiment provides for friction management through materials selection, surface coatings, or surface treatments designed to affect friction across one or more interfaces between foot plantar surface and shoe insole.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,145 describes a sculptured sole for an athletic shoe comprising a plurality of forward support pads, rearward support lands, a layer of flexible resilient elastic material interconnecting various components, as well as a plurality of channels, grooves, slots and the like, which complement the natural flexing actions of the muscles of the heel, metatarsals and toes of the foot.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,680,714 discloses a trampoline effect athletic shoe having elastic return strips running across the sole of the shoe and supported above the bottom surface in a gap between the outsole and insole.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,172 relates to shoe soles of running shoes, particularly for 100 m sprints and the like. The object of the invention is to prevent the heel from touching the ground during running and thereby prevent a decrease in running efficiency. The sole comprises a thickly formed forefoot section for receiving spikes. A Reinforcing member provided in the ball region of the foot is integrated with reward-projecting medial and lateral ribs to form a wedge-shaped plane extending toward the heel. Medial and lateral ribs and reinforcing member form a wedge-shaped inclined plane extending form the ball to the arch of the foot, which serves to maintain the weight distribution of the runner over the ball of the foot and hold the heel of the foot in an elevated position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,028 describes a spring-air shock absorption and energy return device for shoes in which a shoe heel insert is provided having a heel-shaped outer spring mechanism which serves as an internal spring housing wherein a plurality of compression springs are retained, and wherein the entire unit is filled with a pressurized gas and hermetically sealed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,87,568 pertains to an athletic shoe wherein the sole has a rounded heel strike area and gently curved bottom that gradually thins towards the toe section to permit the runner to roll smoothly forward from the initial heel strike. Additional embodiments further provide for a shock-absorbing insert in the heel section.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,544 provides athletic footwear wherein the sole includes a foundation layer of semi-flexible material attached to the upper and defining a plurality of stretch chambers, a stretch layer and a thruster layer attached to the stretch layer such that interactions can occur between the foundation layer, stretch layer and thruster layer in response to compressive forces applied thereto so as to convert and temporarily store energy applied to regions of the sole by wearer's foot into mechanical stretching of the portions of the stretch layer into stretch chambers. The stored applied energy is thereafter retrieved in the form of rebound of the stretched portions of the stretch layer and portions of the thruster layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,449 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,636 relates to footwear having various forms of spring assemblies incorporated into the sole, which serve to absorb shock and transfer energy.
The foregoing and other known prior art have fundamental disadvantages in that they are not directed at improving efficiency by synchronizing the three basic phases of the human running cycle, seen illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6C with elements on the shoe that optimize momentum, efficiency, and fluidity of motion through the cycle. For example, prior art shoes place the wearer in a plantigrade stance, as shown in FIG. 7. Generally, a plantigrade stance is created between the balance of two points: one at the calcaneous and the other at the metatarsal/phalanges joints. Relative to the digitigrade stance provided through the novel embodiments of the present invention described below, plantigrade shoe systems are inefficient in that in subject the wearer of the shoe systems to greater breaking forces during running cycles.
Rather than hydraulic or pneumatic systems; mechanical spring and/or lever assemblies; resilient elastic bands; alteration of the heel-strike region; or reinforcing structures to maintain the heel in an elevated position, the present invention provides systems and methods that promote efficient running technique by providing a sole comprising a specially designed foot-strike member and balance-thrust member, which are integrated with a unique pivot and balance structure that displaces the wearer's center of gravity when running, thereby transferring gravitational, inertial and ground reaction forces, as well as muscular tension generation into linear momentum. Systems and methods of the present invention are an advance in the field of athletic shoe technology by providing a specialized sole design for redirecting the forces encountered during running into linear momentum, while reducing the shock and trauma to the body. The present invention provides novel footwear and components thereof for achieving a more efficient centering of mass that helps improve transfer of momentum energy to a stable platform for propulsion during toe-off (propulsion) phase of gait.

Energy translating mechanism incorporated into footwear for enhancing forward momentum and for reducing energy loss


A self-localization system uses both of a global search apparatus, which is based on grid-based Markov localization, and a local search apparatus, which uses an extended Kalman filter. If an observation result by the global search apparatus is valid, then updating of an observation result by the local search apparatus is permitted, but if the observation result is not valid, then updating of the observation result by the local search apparatus is not performed. On the other hand, if the observation result by the local search apparatus is valid, then a state of the local search is outputted, but if the observation result is not valid, then the local search apparatus is re-initialized. Accordingly, the self-localization of a robot can be performed based on sensor information of the robot and motion information performed by the robot in an environment including artificial landmarks.

A mechanical apparatus, which performs a movement similar to a motion of a human using electric or magnetic action, is called "robot". It is said that the term robot originates from a Slav word ROBOTA (slave machine). In our country, the robot began to be popularized in the end of the 1960s. However, most of the robots were industrial robots such as manipulators and transporting robots intended to achieve automation and unmanning of manufacturing works in factories.
Recently, research and development have proceeded regarding various types of traveling robots of the leg type beginning with "human-shaped" or humanoid robot designed by modeling body mechanisms and motions of an animal, which walks erectly with two legs like a human, and also expectations for achievement of practical use of them are increasing.
Principal applications of traveling robots having wheels or movable legs involve vicarious execution of various works in industrial activities or productive activities and co-existence or symbiosis with humans who act intelligently on the basis of a conversion with a user. The former signifies that a robot performs a critical work or a difficult work at a site into which a human cannot step readily such as a maintenance work in a nuclear power plant, a heat power plant, or a petrochemical plant, a transporting or assembling work of parts in a manufacturing factory, cleaning of a high-rise building, or rescue at a fire site or a like place. Meanwhile, in the latter case, the robot is utilized in a free space same as that of a human and effects autonomous thinking and motion control to implement higher and more realistic communication.
Incidentally, self-localization of a traveling robot is a technique very significant for allowing a robot to perform a service such as, for example, a delivery service. This is because it is inefficient that a traveling robot takes a wrong route to a destination even if it can restore a correct route. There is the possibility even that such a hazard as collision with an obstacle or advancement into a dangerous zone may be invited.
One of representative techniques for allowing a robot to perform self-localization is utilization of a "Landmark". A landmark usually has visually identifiable visibility information formed on a surface thereof. A robot can geographically search the self-localization based on relative position information from the visually recognized landmark.
A system, which applies, for example, Markov localization or an extended Kalman filter, has been proposed as a searching or self-localization system in an environment including an artificial landmark.
A searching apparatus using the Markov localization stores the self-localization in an environment as a self-localization probability density distribution on discrete grids and estimates, if it observes a landmark set in the environment, the self-localization based on a relative position from the landmark to update the self-localization probability density distribution. Further, if the searching apparatus observes motion information of the searching apparatus itself, then it updates the self-localization probability density based on the motion information. Then, that one of the grids that has the highest value of the self-localization probability density distribution at each time is determined as an estimation result of the self-localization.
On the other hand, a searching apparatus using an extended Kalman filter stores the self-localization as actually measured values of state variables [x, y, θ]. Then, if the searching apparatus observes a landmark set in an environment, then it estimates the self-localization based on the relative position from the landmark. Further, if the searching apparatus observes motion information of the searching apparatus itself, then it estimates a state amount based on the motion information.
The former searching apparatus applying the Markov localization is characterized principally in that, although the accuracy of an identification solution is rough, the convergence speed of the solution is high. Therefore, the inventors of the present invention consider that a searching apparatus of the type described is suitable for a global search. Further, the Markov localization is robust against noise of a sensor. In other words, even if a sensor value includes noise, a substantially fixed self-localization result can be obtained with the Markov localization.
Meanwhile, the latter searching apparatus applying an extended Kalman filter is characterized principally in that, although the convergence speed of a solution is low, the accuracy of the identification solution is fine. Therefore, the inventors of the present invention consider that a searching apparatus of the type just described is suitable for a local search. Further, although the extended Kalman filter is robust against sensor information, it is poor in robustness against sensor noise and requires a long period of time for resetting.
A searching apparatus using the Markov localization exhibits considerable characters of a global searching apparatus and is low in the convergence speed of a solution. However, since the amount of calculation increases in proportion to the square of the number of grid divisions, the accuracy of the identification solution relies upon the roughness of the discrete grids and usually a solution having a high accuracy is not obtained. Further, where the accuracy of the solution is poor, the self-localization cannot be found accurately. This sometimes gives rise to such a trouble that the destination cannot be reached accurately or it cannot be discriminated whether or not the destination is reached actually.
On the other hand, a searching apparatus using an extended Kalman filter exhibits considerable characters of a local searching apparatus and is very high in the accuracy of an identification solution. However, the searching apparatus is low in the convergence performance and lacks in robustness (toughness) against noise of observation information. Where the convergence speed is low, much time is required for initial localization upon starting of self-localization, and, if the position is moved unintentionally by external force (an abduction or kidnapping problem), then very much time is required before a correct solution is obtained.

Robot self-position identification system and self-position identification method


Method of providing an image-bearing surface, e.g., a pre-press proof, with a protective covering, comprising laminating to said surface a thin, substantially transparent integral polymeric film, the improvement wherein the polymeric film consists essentially of a mixture of at least two slightly incompatible polymers, whereby the film exhibits a 20.degree. specular gloss that is at least 5% lower than the gloss of a film prepared from any one of said polymer constituents.

In preparing an image-bearing photosensitive surface, such as a pre-press proof or a photograph, it is frequently desirable to provide a protective covering to prevent or limit scratching, marring, or other damage to the image-bearing surface. Such a covering must be optically clear so as not to obscure or distort the image. It should also have flexibility, durability, and good adhesion to the image-bearing photosensitive element.
Items or objects that people use or see in their daily lives range in appearance from high gloss to dull or flat. Highly glossy surfaces reflect a high proportion of the light directed at them specularly. Gloss can be defined as the degree to which the finish of a surface approaches a perfect mirror. The closer the surface comes to approximating the front surface of a mirror, the higher the gloss. Gloss can be measured at many different angles, but the gloss of the surface increases with increasing angle of incidence from a line drawn perpendicular to the surface. Small angles of incidence, e.g., 20.degree., serve better to distinguish between examples exhibiting high gloss and are a better indication of gloss as perceived by the human eye. In measuring specular gloss, those skilled in the art use higher angle methods, e.g., 85.degree., to distinguish between lower gloss specimens and low angle methods, e.g., 20.degree., to distinguish between high gloss samples. In general, the polymeric films described in this patent fall into the high gloss category and the most meaningful measure of gloss is, therefore, the gloss measurement at 20.degree..
Since gloss significantly affects the appearance of an image, one of the most important requirements for an overcoat or protective covering for an image-bearing surface is the ability to achieve the desired degree of gloss. In many instances, it is desirable to modify the light reflectivity of a photograph or other imaged surface to reduce high gloss. In the photoimaging and image reproduction industry, it is desirable to modify the light reflectivity of the photosensitive materials which are used to prepare pre-press color proofs, and, more particularly, to be able to match the gloss of the finished proof to that of the ultimate press-printed product. High gloss protective coverings or coversheets on pre-press multilayer color proofs, which are designed to permit evaluation of color rendition before the actual printing run, interfere with the accurate assessment of color fidelity throughout the lithographic tone scale. This result is generally unacceptable to critical users of pre-press proofing methods.
The exact amount of gloss desired on a pre-press proof will vary depending on the type of end product whose appearance is to be duplicated, but in general, a level of 50-70 gloss units (as measured by a Gardner gloss meter at 20 degrees) is suitable for the commercial market in which the end product is a poster, brochure, or other print which is made on white, bright stock. On the other hand, there is a potential for great variability in the paper or other printing stock used in this segment of the industry and it may sometimes be necessary to obtain much lower gloss levels, e.g., a 20.degree. specular gloss lower than 25, when highly matte printing stock is to be used, prints made for the commercial market are generally printed with a sheet-fed press to individual, custom standards, which are not usually applicable to the entire industry. The ability to vary the degree of gloss on a pre-press proof aimed at this segment of the industry is frequently of great importance, and the instant invention is particularly useful for that purpose.
Lower gloss prints suitable for the publication market, in which the end product is a magazine print, are generally made on a more yellow, darker printing stock. The actual printing is frequently performed on a web press and the gloss is generally much lower, e.g., less than about 25 gloss units. In addition, the print may have a matte appearance to lower the gloss and provide contrast for easier reading of the periodical. In these cases, the determination of specular gloss may best be performed at a grazing angle, (e.g., 85 degrees) to better distinguish between lower gloss specimens.
Photosensitive materials used in color proofing are of the positive- or negative-working types. A positive-working process is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,649,268 to Chu and Cohen. Positive-working materials may contain tacky, photohardenable compositions which, when exposed imagewise to actinic radiation, harden in the exposed image areas, resulting in tacky and complementary nontacky image areas. The image can be developed by applying colored particulate materials such as toners or pigments which selectively adhere to the unexposed tacky image areas.
A negative-working process is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4 174,216 to Cohen and Fan, which teaches a negative-working element having a support; a tacky, nonphotosensitive contiguous layer; a photohardenable photoadherent layer; and a strippable coversheet. After imagewise exposure to actinic radiation, the coversheet is peeled away, carrying with it the exposed areas of the photoadherent layer, and baring the tacky contiguous layer beneath. These areas of the tacky contiguous layer lying underneath the exposed image areas may then be toned with a finely divided particulate material. Different colored layers can be prepared and assembled in register over one another to form multilayer color proofs, as is well known to those skilled in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,053,313 to Fan describes a similar negative-working system which is developed by solvent washout.
Alternatively, a photosensitive imaging system may be precolored with dyes and/or pigments or other coloring materials, developed by washout, contain photoplasticizing agents instead of photohardening agents, and other variations known to those skilled in the art. Negative-working systems may be achieved in a number of different ways, for example, by utilizing a photosensitive layer which becomes tacky and tonable on exposure to actinic radiation. It is understood that in addition to various photopolymer elements, other nonsilver halide systems, e.g., diazo systems, are useful in preparing multicolor proofs. In addition the described protective polymer layers of this invention may be beneficially applied to many types of image bearing surfaces, e.g., a conventional silver halide photograph, where it is desired to provide a clear protective covering having a predetermined level of gloss. It is understood that the polymeric layers of the invention may also be applied to nonimaged glossy surfaces to obtain a desired level of lowered gloss.
Photosensitive elements have been provided with a great variety of protective coverings. U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,830 to Fulwiler (1978) teaches that photographic elements such as positives or negatives used for contact printing can be protected by application of a thin transparent sheet of resin material having a thin coating of a transparent pressure-sensitive adhesive. To avoid image distortion during printing, both the resin sheet and the adhesive layer must be extremely smooth. The protective resin sheet is preferably Mylar.RTM., a high gloss polyethylene terephthalate film manufactured by E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, Del.
Stone, U.S. Pat. No. 3,397,980 (1968) relates to a protective laminate comprising a durable outer layer such as Type D Mylar.RTM. and a polyethylene inner layer, bonded to microfilm using, a polyvinyl acetate coating. Type D Mylar.RTM. is very smooth and glossy.
Pre-press color proofs such as those described above are usually covered with one of three types of protective coverings or coversheets. The first of these is a positive-working photosensitive element as described in Chu and Cohen above, comprising a photosensitive layer and a polyester coversheet. This is exposed overall to actinic radiation and the polyester coversheet removed. This results in a proof with a desirable 20.degree. gloss level of about 65 gloss units. It suffers, however, from poor durability and is susceptible to crazing, scratching, and marring.
The second type of topcoat or coversheet is a negative-working photosensitive element as described in Cohen and Fan, above, which comprises a polyester coversheet; a photosensitive layer; and an organic contiguous layer. This is laminated to the proof and exposed overall with the polyester coversheet left in place. The result is a proof with a more durable finish but the gloss associated with the reflective, highly transparent integral polyester coversheet is unacceptably high, i.e., about 107 gloss units measured at 20.degree.. The unacceptability of such high gloss has long been recognized, and considerable effort has focused on ways to achieve a durable lower gloss protective coating that is resistant to crazing, scratching, marring, etc.
The third type of protective covering or coversheet is an integral layer of plastic film, such as polyester, coated with a nonphotoactive adhesive, and applied to the proof by lamination. The net result is indistinguishable from the second type of coversheet described above, in that it provides a durable covering, but one which exhibits unacceptably high gloss. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,420 to Bopp (1982) teaches a process of protecting pre-press proofs by applying a hard clear polymer layer by means of a pressure-sensitive adhesive. Bopp utilizes such high gloss materials as Mylar.RTM. polyethylene terephthalate.
A number of patents, however, teach methods of achieving a lower gloss protective coating for imaged surfaces. Many patents teach how to achieve coatings having a physically roughened or "matte" surface which diffuses light and has lowered gloss. For example. Spechler, U.S. Pat. No. 4,376,159 (1982), coats a transparent film-forming polymer on a matte-textured carrier sheet. The polymer is adhered to the surface of a color-proofing surprint with a pressure sensitive adhesive. The carrier sheet is then removed, leaving a matte-surfaced protective polymer coating on the surface of the proof.
King, U.S. Pat. No. 3,697,277 (1972) teaches a process for permanently bonding a protective coating to a photographic print. A matte-surface polyester film is placed on the wet emulsion surface of a photographic print and heat treated to permanently bond the film to the surface of the photograph.
Cohen and Fan, U.S. Pat. No. 4,286,046, recognizes the problems associated with the high gloss of a polyethylene terephthalate covering and teaches a method for delustering a photopolymer pre-press proof by applying particulate material to the tacky tonable layer.
A number of patents teach the use on photosensitive surfaces of matte layers, comprising a resin having dispersed therein insoluble particles or grains which impart a physical roughness to the surface. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,979 to Okishi et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,238,560, to Nakamura et al., teach a light sensitive printing plate with a matte overlayer, which is a resin layer with an insoluble particulate matting agent dispersed therein. This achieves a surface coarseness or roughness which contributes to improved exposure by the vacuum contacting method. After exposure the matte overlayer is removed with the developer. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,959, to Thijs, deceased, et al., teaches a photosensitive silver halide layer incorporating a layer comprising gelatin and dispersed spherical particles which are the polycondensation product of urea, formaldehyde, and silica particles.
Although compatibility and incompatibility of polymers are recognized phenomena, the prior art does not disclose integral films prepared from blends of slightly incompatible polymers, nor does it teach how such films can be laminated to imaged surfaces to provide a controlled degree of lowered gloss. On the contrary, in general the prior art teaches that incompatibility is undesirable and to be avoided.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,671,236, to Van Beusekom, teaches that in preparing a proof by superimposing a plurality of colored sheets, the individual sheets must be perfectly colorless and optically transparent in order to avoid any "haze" or imperfection being multiplied in the several sheets.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,323,636 to Chen teaches that in order to obtain a transparent, i.e., nonlightscattering, photosensitive composition for preparing printing plates, the binder and the monomer must be compatible. Incompatibility is evidenced by the formation of haze in the photosensitive composition. By compatibility is meant the ability of the constituents to remain dispersed with one another without causing appreciable scattering of light. This occurs when the monomer is soluble in either of the component blocks of the block copolymer. Chen teaches only how to avoid incompatibility of polymer and monomer in photopolymerizable compositions. It does not deal with compatibility/incompatibility of blends of polymers, nor does it suggest any utility for such incompatibility.
Gallagher et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,811,924 (1974) teaches that an aqueous lacquer coating composition which is a blend of polymers consisting essentially of an ammonium salt of a copolymer of ethyl methacrylate and methacrylic acid together with poly(vinyl acetate) can be applied to glossy surfaces to provide a degree of roughness or "matte". Gallagher also teaches, however, that otherwise similar non-ammonium polymer mixtures laid down from an organic solvent system would lack the desirable matte finish. The polymeric films of the invention are not ammonium salts, and they are coated on a substrate from an essentially organic solvent system to form a smooth, low gloss integral film prior to laminating to the image-bearing surface.


An integrated circuit including a substrate of a semiconductor material and first metal portions of a first metallization level or of a first via level defining pixels of an image. The pixels are distributed in first pixels, for each of which the first metal portion is connected to the substrate, and in second pixels, for each of which the first metal portion is separated from the substrate by at least one insulating portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure generally relates to integrated circuits and, more specifically, to the non-volatile storage of an image in an integrated circuit during the circuit manufacturing.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In many cases, it is needed to permanently store an image in an integrated circuit on manufacturing of the integrated circuit. The image for example shows an identifier of the wafer on which the integrated circuit is manufactured, the position of the integrated circuit on the wafer, an identifier of the wafer batch to which the wafer of the integrated circuit belongs, etc.
Generally, to permanently store an image in the form of binary data in an integrated circuit, a ROM-type memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (or EEPROM), etc. is generally used.
A disadvantage is that the image to be stored may be unavailable at the time when the etch masks used during the integrated circuit manufacturing are defined. Further, the image to be stored may vary from one wafer to the other, especially when it shows identifiers of wafers and of wafer batches. Since the storage of data in a ROM generally requires the use of at least one specific mask for the forming of the memory cell connections, it is not compatible, for a manufacturing of circuits at an industrial scale, to have to multiply the number of masks to be used.
Further, it is desirable for the stored image to remain accessible even when the integrated circuit is disabled. As an example, when the stored image represents the batch identifier, the wafer identifier, the integrated circuit position, etc., it is generally desired to access this image when the circuit is malfunctioning, to ease the determination of the causes of this malfunction. When the image is stored in a ROM, an EEPROM, etc., it is no longer possible to read it when the circuit is no longer functional.
An example of a method for permanently storing an image at the level of an integrated circuit, enabling the stored image to remain accessible when the circuit is disabled and enabling to easily store different images from one integrated circuit to the other, comprises scanning the upper surface of the integrated circuit with a laser to etch the image in the form of patterns on a portion of the integrated circuit. However, such a method needs to be implemented separately on each integrated circuit and is thus not compatible with the manufacturing of integrated circuits at an industrial scale. Further, the images to be stored may be unavailable at the time when the laser etch method is to be implemented.

Storage of an image in an integrated circuit


A method of compressing a source (e.g., a video signal, a still image, an audio signal, etc.) is disclosed that does not require the transmission of changes in the quantization step size and more evenly affects the fidelity of the source than techniques in the prior art that change the quantization step size at various points in the compression process. An illustrative embodiment of the present invention involves transforming a source (e.g., a video frame, audio sample, etc.) into m coefficients, in well-known fashion, wherein each of the m coefficients is represented by a known number of bits. Then, only n of the m coefficients are used for transmission or storage, as appropriate, where the n coefficients are more perceptually significant than the m--n coefficients not used.

As is well known in the prior art, a motion picture is a temporal composite of a series of still images that are projected, one after another, so quickly that the mind does not perceive the discrete images but blends them into a coherent moving image. This is true whether the motion picture is transmitted and stored electrically as a video signal or optically on reels of acetate film.
When a motion picture is transmitted digitally, each still image, or "frame," is typically processed and transmitted individually by the video processing system. For example, FIG. 1 depicts a series of four frames of a longer sequence that depicts a person waving.
Each frame comprises a two-dimensional array of tessellated picture elements, or "pixels," which the mind perceives not as individual tiles, but as a mosaic. In a typical video processing system, a frame such as frame 102 in FIG. 1 could constitute an array of 512 by 512 pixels. Depending on the particulars of the system, each pixel can be either black or white, one of a number of shades of gray, or one of a number of colors. Typically, when each pixel can be one of 2.sup.n colors, where n is a whole number, the color of each pixel is represented by n bits. Therefore, an 8-bit color video system comprising 262,144 pixels per frame nominally requires 2,097,152 bits of storage per frame.
When it is cumbersome or computationally complex to process an entire frame as a whole, the frame is often treated as an array of independent blocks, which each have a size that is more convenient for the video processing system to handle. FIG. 2 depicts frame 102 of FIG. 1, which is treated as a 32 by 32 array of blocks, in well-known fashion. Each block, therefore, comprises an array of 16 by 16 pixels.
A typical video processing system projects 24 frames per second and, therefore, the video image of FIG. 1 nominally requires 50,331,648 bits per second. When, therefore, such a video image is stored on a medium (e.g., a Digital Video Disk, semiconductor RAM, etc.) or transferred over a telecommunications channel (e.g., a Plain Old Telephone Service telephone line, an IS-95A CDMA wireless telecommunications channel, etc.), such an image can demand considerable bandwidth, even by today's standards.
To reduce the bandwidth required to transmit a video image, a technology has developed called video compression. A typical form of video compression involves motion compensated discrete cosine transform ("MCDCT") processing (e.g., MPEG). A characteristic of this type of processing is that the resulting bit-rate of a compressed video signal varies widely over time as a function of the content of the video image. For example, one frame may require 2000 bits while the next requires only 200 bits. When the compressed video bit-stream is to be sent in real time over a bandwidth-limited telecommunications channel, such as a CDMA wireless telecommunications channel, then a bit-rate control mechanism must be employed to match the variable rate of bits produced by the encoding system to the fixed capacity of the telecommunications channel. Traditionally, this is accomplished by buffering the telecommunications channel with a FIFO, whose depth is determined in accordance with well-known queueing theory techniques.
Excessive buffering, by definition, introduces excessive temporal delay into the telecommunications channel, which is antithetical to real-time transmission. Therefore, another mechanism for bit-rate control has been developed which avoids excessive buffering. Fundamentally, this mechanism sets an upper bound on the number of bits that can constitute each compressed frame to be transmitted over the telecommunications channel. The upper bound, which is known as the "bit budget," is determined, in well-known fashion, based on the bandwidth of the telecommunications channel, statistical data on the size of compressed frames unhindered by the bit budget, the acceptable amount of delay through the telecommunications channel, and queueing theory. Each frame is then compressed, and if necessary re-compressed, until the compressed frame comprises fewer bits than the bit budget.
FIG. 4 outlines the salient steps of a class of video compression methods in the prior art that incorporate a rate-control mechanism based on a bit budget. Before the method begins, a value for the bit budget is established.
As described above, each frame in a motion picture is processed individually, one after another, and therefore at step 401, the method gets one frame to be processed.
At step 403, each frame is transformed into coefficients, in well-known fashion using, for example, the 2-dimensional discrete cosine transform ("DFT"). Sometimes the frame is transformed as a whole. More typically, however, it is computationally cumbersome to transform the entire frame as a whole and, therefore, the frame is treated as an array of blocks, which are transformed and processed individually.
At step 405, each of the transform coefficients is divided into a discrete set of values that span a useful range. The number of values, or levels, used to span this range determines the precision or resolution of the quantizer, and the size of the individual levels is known as the quantization step size. The purpose of quantizing the transform coefficients is to reduce the number of bits in the compressed image by omitting details that are less perceptible. The quantization step size affects both the fidelity of the compressed image to the original and also the number of bits in the compressed image. In fact, the quantization step size is commonly used as a parameter to trade-off the number of bits in the compressed image against fidelity, as a means of rate-control. When the quantization step size is small, the compressed image generally comprises more bits and represents an image with reasonable fidelity to the original. In contrast, when the quantization step size is larger, the compressed image generally comprises fewer bits but represents an image with less fidelity to the original. Initially, the quantization step size is set to a default value.
At step 407, each of the quantized coefficients is compressed with, for example, a lossless variable-length code, such as a Huffman code, in well-known fashion.
At step 409, the total number of bits in all of the compressed coefficients is determined, in well-known fashion.
At step 411, the method determines if the total number of bits in all of the compressed quantized coefficients is within the bit budget.
When at step 411 the bit budget is not met, control passes to step 413 and the quantized step size is increased. When the quantized step size is increased, the fidelity of the compressed image suffers, but the re-compressed image will comprise fewer bits. From step 413, control passes to step 403 and the transform coefficients are re-quantized using the new quantization step size. In general, the loop through step 411 is performed until the compressed image satisfies the bit budget.
When at step 409 the bit budget is finally met, then control passes to step 413 and the compressed image is transmitted. Each time a compressed image is transmitted with a new quantization step size, then the new quantization step size must be transmitted too so that the video decoder can know how to properly interpret the quantized coefficients in the compressed image.
When the compressed image and new quantization step size are transmitted over a lossless communications channel, the compression technique depicted in FIG. 4 is generally acceptable. In contrast, when the compressed image and quantization step size are transmitted over a lossy communications channel, such as a wireless telecommunications channel, it is possible that the quantization step size can be corrupted during transmission. When that occurs, all of the subsequently transmitted quantized coefficients will be interpreted incorrectly by the video decoder until a new quantization step size is transmitted and received correctly. The result can be a corrupted video signal that can remain corrupted for several frames or seconds.
Therefore, the need exists for a bit-rate control system that is well-suited for transmission over a lossy communications channel.
There is another disadvantage of the method depicted in FIG. 4. The iterative nature of the control loop through step 405 makes the rate at which the frames are processed dependent on the content of the frames themselves, and, therefore, only a educated guess can be made at how much computation power is needed to compress a given number of frames in a given time, or how quickly a number of frames can be compressed. Therefore, the need exists for a bit-rate control system whose computational requirements are more predictable.

Perceptual compression and robust bit-rate control system


A method is provided in one example embodiment and includes evaluating calendar information in order to identify a first meeting involving an end user and a second meeting involving the end user. The meetings are configured to be provided consecutively in relation to each other and during a designated time period in which both meetings begin. The credential information can be used to enable participation in the first meeting by the end user. The method also includes transitioning the end user from the first meeting to the second meeting without requiring additional credential information to enable participation in the second meeting. In other embodiments, the method includes prompting the end user with information about the second meeting before transitioning the end user from the first meeting to the second meeting. In still other embodiments, the method includes maintaining shared information generated in the first meeting such that the shared information is provided to the end user in the second meeting.

The field of communications has become increasingly important in today's society. In particular, the ability to quickly and effectively interact with an individual (through any suitable communications media) presents a significant obstacle for component manufacturers, system designers, and network operators. This obstacle is made even more difficult due to the plethora of diverse communication technologies that exist in the current marketplace. As new communication platforms become available to the consumer, new protocols should be developed in order to optimize this emerging technology. Some issues have arisen in conferencing scenarios in which end users have multiple meetings to attend.

System and method for transitioning communications in a conferencing environment


A compressor includes a compression mechanism having a ring-shaped first cylinder, a first piston eccentrically rotatable in an interior of the first cylinder, a first cylinder head member disposed adjacent to one axial end of the first cylinder, a second cylinder head member disposed adjacent to an other axial end of the first cylinder, and a fastening bolt. The fastening bolt fastens the first cylinder head member, the first cylinder, and the second cylinder head member together. An end face of the first cylinder head member contacts the first cylinder, and the end face is provided with a protecting groove. The protecting groove is formed closer to a center of the first cylinder than the fastening bolt, and has a groove width smaller than a groove depth of the protecting groove.

Compressors which compress and discharge a fluid such as a refrigerant are known in the art. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-281325 discloses a compressor including a compression mechanism of an oscillating piston type. In this compressor, components, such as a cylinder and a cylinder head member, constituting the compression mechanism are axially stacked and bolted together.


An image forming apparatus includes: a loading unit on which a toner cartridge is loaded, the toner cartridge having a first storage unit in which first information indicating at least a date of manufacture of toner is stored; an image forming unit which forms an image on a sheet; a counting unit which counts time; and a determination unit which determines whether the toner cartridge is a genuine product or not, based on how large a difference is between the first information and second information specified on the basis of a count result from the counting unit.

Conventionally, a toner cartridge loaded in an image forming apparatus such as electrographic apparatus has an IC chip. In the IC chip, necessary data for control to prevent reduction in performance of the image forming apparatus and information for managing the toner cartridge are stored.
This information is performance information proper to disposables such as toner cartridge. It is extremely difficult for manufacturers of non-genuine products to produce the correct information. Consequently, in some cases, an IC chip as a genuine product is directly duplicated or altered and attached to other disposables such as toner cartridge and then distributed in the market with incorrect information written in the product. Users suffer disadvantages such as deterioration in image quality by continuing the use of non-genuine products by mistake. Moreover, there is a risk that the encroachment by the non-genuine products may impair the benefit to the genuine product manufacturer.

Image forming apparatus and genuine product determining method for toner cartridge


A method and correction circuit is described incorporating a monopulse receiver, injecting a first signal of known amplitude and arbitrary phase and a second signal of the same amplitude shifted 90.degree. and measuring the output voltages of the channel and using the measurements to generate four coefficients which may be mathematically applied to the ouptut signals of the channel to provide a corrected output. The invention overcomes the problem of compensating for phase and gain drift in the in-phase and quadrature paths of the sum and difference channels of a monopulse receiver.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the calibration of analog circuitry in a monopulse receiver and more particularly to a digital correction circuit for compensating drifts and anomalies in phase and gain between quadrature channels.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A number of airports in the United States have parallel runways for the landing and take off of airplanes. When the weather is inclement so that the runways may not be visually observed by the pilot, one runway is shut down allowing only one runway to be used during periods of inclement weather.
A precision runway monitor may be provided to receive RF signals radiated by airplanes in response to a ground based air traffic control station. A monopulse radar receiver positioned to scan the area of airplanes flying an approach pattern to land on one or the other runway may be tracked from the signals radiated by the respective airplane. A requirement was established that the monopulse radar receiver should have an azimuth accuracy of 60 feet at a range of 60,000 feet which corresponds to 0.057.degree. accuracy. By using the resulting resolution, aircraft approaching the runway may be prevented from colliding into one another and assured of a landing on the correct runway. For example, the runways may be parallel to one another and spaced apart by 3,500 feet. The precision runway monitor may be placed on the ground midway between the two runways.
A typical monopulse receiver would have an antenna which simultaneously generates a sum and difference signal-in response to a received signal emanated by an aircraft. In order to process all the energy that is received indicative of location, the sum signal and difference signal are each processed by in phase and quadrature channels. It is well known that different gain and phase variations in the in-phase and quadrature channels result in an associated error in the sum signal and the difference signal which ultimately results in an error in the azimuth measurements of the incoming signals.
In a publication by F. E. Churchill et al. entitled "The Correction of I and Q Errors In A Coherent Processor", IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, Vol. AES-17, No. 1, January, 1981, pp. 131-137, a method is presented for correcting the I and Q channel errors by means of correction coefficients which are derived from measurements of a test signal. The required correction coefficients can be obtained from time samples of a test signal. By taking the discrete Fourier transformation (DFT) of the samples, three-digital filters are formed at dc, the test signal frequency, and the image of the test signal frequency. By using a simple algorithm, errors in gain may be inserted into one channel and errors in phase may be inserted into the other channel.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,055 which issued on Aug. 2, 1977 to T. H. Donahue et al. entitled "Digital Compensator For Transmitter Instability", the in-phase and quadrature coherent phase detector outputs are continuously monitored for phase, amplitude and timing instabilities and arithmetic correction signals are generated and applied to the digitized received signal values to compensate for these instabilities.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,804 which issued on May 3, 1977 to Dounce et al., the use of digital techniques is described for storage and for phase correction processing of the received signals in a coherent-on-receive pulse radar system. The phases of the received video signals are corrected by first converting the video signals to a series of complex digital numbers indicating the amplitude and phase of the received signals with respect to the stable local oscillator. The stored complex digital numbers are then operated on by a digital data processor to provide a new series of digitally corrected complex numbers representing coherent received video signals.
In a publication by A. I. Sinsky and P. C. P. Wang, entitled "Error Analysis of a Quadrature Coherent Detector Processor", IEEE Transactions On Aerospace and Electronic Systems, Vol. AES-10, No. 6, November, 1974, pp. 880-883, the output signal distortion resulting from relative phase and gain errors between two quadrature detector channels of a baseband processing system is computed.

Monopulse processor digital correction circuit


The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for the communicating between remote devices using a low message rate wireless connection via monitoring, control and information systems. The network described in this invention is capable of supporting billions of such devices in an efficient and cost effective manner. The network uses a very low signaling rate and centrally controlled architecture in order to achieve this efficiency. The network can easily support numerous applications each controlling large numbers of devices. As the complexity of protocol used in the network is very much reduced in comparison to existing hierarchical mobile wireless networks, it is possible to produce devices that use very little energy allowing their use in many new and novel applications.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus that provides for communication between low message rate wireless devices and Users via monitoring, control and information systems.
To allow support for the growing number of mobile users and maintain consistent performance in terms of data speeds and access, all current mobile networks (FIG. 1) 100 have been designed to scale easily by adding more nodes (e.g., Node Bs, Mobile Switching Centers (MSCs), GPRS Serving Nodes (GGSN, SGSN), etc.) into the hierarchy. This network scalability comes with an associated signaling cost. To maintain control of this highly distributed and hierarchical network, and allow users virtually uninterrupted access, there needs to be a large volume of signaling messages (FIG. 2). The large signaling load is necessary to support: frequent authentication of users; changing locations of users within the network; setup of user connections, including reservation of network resources; release of user connections; maintenance of user connectivity to the network (i.e., handovers, power control). In this type of network architecture the signaling messages control every aspect of the users network access, including all the nodes associated with the user. Ideally, the signaling traffic is small in comparison to the overall user generated traffic; however for some types of network users and/or applications, the signaling traffic dominates over the payload traffic and can sometimes lead to signaling bandwidth becoming a chokepoint for the overall network operation. All cellular, paging and private mobile wireless networks use this hierarchical network design approach and can suffer from network problems related to signaling message overload.
Although it is technically possible to use the mobile wireless technology as described above to address many low user message rate machine-to-machine or machine-to-user applications, the associated costs are often prohibitive. A significant issue when using mobile networks (FIG. 1) 100 to serve these low user message rate applications is that there are many more signaling messages (FIG. 2) 200, 201-219 on the network than actual user data messages 220. In a typical mobile data network, more than 40 signaling messages are required to send a single payload message. While this signaling message overhead constitutes a small percentage of the total network traffic for applications such as streaming video (i.e., large volume of user/application generated messages) to a handset, for low message rate applications, there can be an order of magnitude more signaling traffic than actual payload message traffic. Even mobile devices that never send payload messages can result in substantial signaling message traffic by simply being connected to the network. In general, mobile wireless networks are optimized to deal with a moderate number of users or devices that each produce significant data message loads, rather than very large numbers of devices, each only occasionally sending or receiving a payload message. The invention described herein addresses the requirements for a network to efficiently support potentially billions of low user message rate devices.
A widely-deployed low user message rate application is remote utility meter reading (i.e., "Smart Meters"). It is a simple matter to design a low cost device that can capture meter usage data, however the more challenging part of the solution is the mechanism for delivering the data to a billing application located on the utility company servers. The current preferred approach often involves the installation of a private wireless network by the utility company to provide a link to the utility meter. The installation of the network itself can be very expensive and inefficient in terms of infrastructure utilization, as the wireless infrastructure is used to address only a single service application. Alternative implementations may use cellular data modems, however these can burden the solution with much higher device costs and recurring cellular service fees.
There are many applications that would benefit from the provision of a cost-effective low user message rate service. Virtually any device with a controller and/or information store may derive value from the addition of network connectivity. A sample list of applications that could benefit from low user message rate services is:
1. Utility Companies, as already mentioned                Meter reading ("Smart Meter")        Transmission/Distribution line monitoring and control ("Smart Grid")
2. Asset Tracking                Vehicles        Pets        People        Property        Packages/retail goods
3. Health Services                Patient vital signs        Emergency contact services        Validation of medicine use
4. Personal Fitness                Exercise statistics        Weight measurement        Location and distances
5. Security                Alarm monitoring        Fire/flood detection
6. Home Automation                HVAC control        Energy use monitoring        Lighting control        Irrigation control        Appliance control
7. Alarms                Lock control        Faults        Automatic accident reporting
8. Information Display                Time        Weather station data        Public transit        Traffic conditions        Parking locations
9. Public Safety                Traffic displays        Lighting control and monitoring        Flood monitoring        Weather/disaster alerts.
A common theme for all the listed low user message rate applications is that the transmission of the device payload by the network is not sensitive to network delays or jitter. This is in contrast to a voice or video application where delay or jitter in the sending of the voice/video data will result in poor perceived performance by the listener or viewer. Consequently voice/video applications are more suited to a mobile wireless network where the delay and jitter are tightly controlled (e.g., Cellular network).
In addition the number of messages sent by these exemplary low user message rate applications listed above may range, at one upper end, from for example ten's of messages per day in the case of a GPS based asset tracker application to hardly any messages for an alarm monitor (e.g., a storage shed window open sensor) that is rarely activated. This is again in contrast to a web browser or email application where delay/jitter (i.e., latency) are not important, but there may well be thousands of messages per day in order to deliver the users content. Although a high-message-rate cellular network could support low user message rate devices/applications, the previously discussed signaling message load might be excessive for such devices with very low utilization of the network resources. If this is scaled to support billions of devices, then the cellular network may become overloaded with signaling traffic.
In some cases the low user message rate network may need an initial registration dialog to configure the device, which will require each device to transmit a few messages.
The ability to provide low user message rate services at very low costs makes the introduction of these services an economically viable option, based on: low cost/complexity wireless transceivers, very low power utilization, and the economic benefits of sharing a common wireless infrastructure to serve a multiplicity of applications.
It is therefore apparent that an urgent need exists for a network architecture and communications apparatus and method to support the deployment of very large numbers of low user message rate devices that can cost effectively and efficiently support multiple machine-to-machine and machine-to-user interactions.

Method and apparatus for communicating between low message rate wireless devices and users via monitoring, control and information systems


A system for controlling multicast traffic in a multiprocessing system is disclosed. The multiprocessing system includes a general-purpose processor, a plurality of network processors and a switch fabric. The system comprises a multicast identifier (MID) manager to manage a distributed database of MIDs. The distributed database includes at least one compound MID. The at least one compound MID structure further comprises a plurality of MIDs representing at least two multicast groups. The system also includes a MID processor which traverses the at least one compound MID and resolves it into its associated simple MIDs. Accordingly, the present invention provides for a system and method for efficiently controlling multicast transmissions when different types of multicast groups are to receive the multicast transmissions. In this system and method a new type of multicast identifier (MID) is provided, a compound MID. The compound MID is a single MID but references multiple MIDs. The system includes a MID manager which manages a distributed database of MIDS. Finally, the system and method includes at least one MID processor which accesses the appropriate compound MIDs and resolves them into the simple member MIDs to allow a router to provide the information to an appropriate bridge.

The present invention relates generally to multicast systems and more particularly to controlling resources for managing multicast traffic.
The use of packet transmission techniques in multinode communications networks has become quite commonplace. Such systems normally include a number of packet switching nodes interconnected with transmission links forming the overall communication system. Digital information is divided into groups of packets, each having a header with the necessary routing information necessary for controlling the switching nodes to move the packet from the originating node to its destination or destinations. Such systems are used not only for small, local servicing of clustered data processing sites, but also for large, widely distributed data processing functions of national or international scope.
Routing protocols or methods are used to control the routing of the packets from node to node through the transmission system. Automatic Network Routing (ANR) uses a concatenation of linked labels or identifiers for the successive legs of the packet switching route. Labels are stripped away as the packet traverses the network, always leaving the next required label at the head of the routing field. The compiling and management of these concatenated labels represents the possibility for error and requires extra processing. This may be avoided by setting up a distribution tree defined as a connected set of network nodes and links. In such a tree, a unique tree address is used in the routing field of the packet header and the same tree address is associated with every link forming the tree. When a multicast packet reaches a packet switching node, the tree address in the packet is compared to the tree address associated with all outgoing links from the node. The packet then may be propagated from the node on one or a plurality of links for which an address match occurs. Great efficiency is achieved by having multiple branches connected to a switching node over which the packets may be propagated simultaneously to a relatively large number of eventual users in a multicast system.
Multicast routing involves the creation and maintenance of a set of transmission systems for users who wish to communicate over the network via a packet switching protocol. This also requires the determination and maintenance of an optimum path for interconnecting the members of the set to one another. In the prior art, it has been common to create and use a multicast tree for well known groups of users, but considerable problems arise when the membership of the group changes, hardware failures occur, or reactivation of a user or a partition of the tree create loops in the tree route. The set up or definition of the tree is thus an item of significant interest about which much as been written.
For example, see Bubenik et al, xe2x80x9cMultipoint Connection Management in High Speed Networksxe2x80x9d, in the proceedings of the IEEE INFOCOM 1991 appearing in the IEEE April 1991. Also see Segall et al, xe2x80x9cReliable Multiuser Tree Setup with Local Identifiersxe2x80x9d, appearing as a research report of the IBM Corporation, dated December 1990.
Methods of setting up tree distribution mechanisms have followed various procedures described in the prior art just noted. These include both a serialized algorithm in which the route is calculated to produce a concatenation of link identifiers, or calculation is conducted in a hop-by-hop process to minimize the path length. Neither of these approaches is considered to be efficient, in that the tree setup messages must be propagated from node to node in a serial fashion and the results interpreted to provide a desired solution.
A method and apparatus to address some of these problems is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,371, assigned to the assignee of the present application. This patent discloses facilities in each individual node including a processor, a communications network topology database, necessary memory, and executable programs for carrying out various control and management functions. Each node is constituted with operative code to act as a Set Manager that may assume various roles, depending on the needs of a user set that may be served by the Set Manager. The primary functions of the Set Manager are involved with the set creation, modification and dissolution, and have been described in the aforementioned application. Other functions are uniquely and separately associated with the creation and management of the distribution trees within the network controlled by the Set Manager operating in its various roles.
The creation, dissolution, and control of the distribution tree within the network is a separate function assigned to a Tree Leader (TL). The Tree Leader residing in any node may be invoked in response to requests from set members or outsiders to transmit a message to a known group, or to create or activate a tree communication path or paths for the carrying of multicast packets. The advantage of separating the set administration for the set of users from the tree communication creation and administration is the more efficient response to changes in set membership, and a more rapid response to communication failures in the network.
The distributed control of set membership and of separate and distributed control of transmission path creation, makes use of the multicast communication system much more reliable by virtue of its increased redundancy. Messages are exchanged between the set management functions and the Tree Leader functions to inform the Tree Leaders of changes in set membership and in the viability of various transmission paths.
Change notification messages from the Set Manager to the Tree Leaders are invoked whenever a tree user joins or leaves the set, and whenever the Set Manager fails to receive a tree refreshing message from a Tree Leader. An automatic timeout feature allows the Tree Leader to respond to failures of transmission links, which cause partitions of the tree in a rapid and effective manner.
Although this system operates effectively for its stated purpose, it only provides a way to manage one type of tree structure. Accordingly, conventional systems require that a router utilized in such systems be aware of multiple tree structures and ensure that the data packets can be transmitted to all necessary transmission links. This adds complexity to the overall network when providing multicast transmissions. Accordingly, managing multicast traffic overcomes the above-stated problem. The system should be easy to implement, cost effective and easily adapted to existing systems.
The present invention addresses such a need.
A system for controlling multicast traffic in a multiprocessing system is disclosed. The multiprocessing system includes a general-purpose processor, a plurality of network processors and a switch fabric. The system comprises a multicast identifier (MID) manager to manage a distributed database of MIDs. The distributed database includes at least one compound MID. The compound MID structure further comprises a plurality of MIDs representing at least two multicast groups. The system also includes a MID processor which traverses the at least one compound MID and resolves it into its associated simple MIDs.
Accordingly, the present invention provides for a system and method for efficiently controlling multicast transmissions when different types of multicast groups are to receive the multicast transmissions. In this system and method a new type of multicast identifier (MID) is provided, a compound MID. The compound MID is a single MID but references multiple MIDs. The system includes a MID manager which manages a distributed database of MIDs. Finally, the system and method includes at least one MID processor which accesses the appropriate compound MIDs and resolves them into the simple member MIDs to allow a router to provide the information to an appropriate bridge.

Method and system for managing multicast traffic

International Business Machines Corporation


A sensor window compliant mounting assembly (42), such as used in a missile (20) to protect a sensor (40), has a truncated hemispherical sensor dome window (52) and a dome mount housing (60). The dome mount housing (60) includes a hollow tube (62) with an opening (64), an internal circumferential thread (66) adjacent to the opening (64), and an integral bezel retainer ring (68) extending circumferentially around the opening (64). The bezel retainer ring (68) engages and retains the exterior surface (56) of the dome base (54). A spanner nut (72) is threadably engaged to the internal circumferential thread (66) of the dome mount housing (60), and a partially compressed fiber metal washer (74) reacts between the spanner nut (72) and the lower surface (58) of the dome base (54) to bias the sensor dome window (52) toward the bezel retainer ring (68).

This invention relates to the mounting of sensor windows used to protect sensors, and, more particularly, to a compliant mounting assembly that permits the mounting and window to be heated to elevated temperature without loss of mounting and protective integrity.
Various types of optical, electro-optical, infrared, acoustic, and radar sensors are used in missiles, aircraft, and other applications to sense the environment and especially to search for targets. The sensor itself is usually rather delicate and must be protected from aerodynamic forces, dirt, heat, and other external agents that could damage it. A protective sensor window that is transparent to the energy sensed by the sensor is placed over the sensor to protect it. The sensor window is held in place by a window mounting assembly.
In one application, an infrared sensor is protected by a infrared-transparent ceramic window in the shape of a truncated dome that fits over the sensor and is held in place in a metallic mounting. In conventional practice, an adhesive is used to bond the protective window to the mounting assembly. However, in some cases the sensor system is to be used in an aerodynamic environment where it may be heated to temperatures as high as 1200.degree. F. At such temperatures, conventional adhesives soften and are incapable of holding the protective window in place. Moreover, the differences in thermal expansion coefficients between the ceramic window and the metallic mounting may cause the window to become loose in the mounting so that hot gas could penetrate to the sensor and damage it. Tests using such a conventional approach have led to mounting-related failures.
There is a need for an improved sensor window assembly for a wide variety of sensor systems. The sensor window assembly should withstand elevated temperatures without loss of mounting integrity and protective function. The present invention fulfills this need, and further provides related advantages.

Sensor window compliant mounting assembly