A wireless input system includes a first computer, a second computer, a first-mode wireless connection device, a first input device and a second input device. When the first-mode wireless connection between the first input device and the first-mode wireless connection device is established and the first-mode wireless connection between the second input device and the first-mode wireless connection device is established, the first input device and the second input device can be operated to control the first computer. When the second-mode wireless connection between the first input device and the second computer is established, the second input device can follow the first input device to perform a connection switching operation. Consequently, the second-mode wireless connection between the second input device and the second computer is established.

With increasing development of science and technology, computers become essential tools in homes or workplaces. Generally, the computer is controlled by the user through an input device. For example, the input device is a touch screen, a keyboard, a mouse, or the like.
In order to improve the convenience and the practicality of the input devices, many input devices additionally have the wireless connection function. Consequently, without the spatial limitations, users can use the input devices to control the computers whenever and wherever they are. Moreover, through the wireless connection function, the user can operate a group of input devices (e.g., a wireless keyboard and a wireless mouse) to control plural computers. However, after the wireless keyboard and the wireless mouse are wirelessly connected with a first computer, some problems occur. For allowing the wireless keyboard and the wireless mouse to be wirelessly connected with a second computer, the wireless keyboard and the wireless mouse need to be wirelessly paired with the second computer. For example, the wireless keyboard and the wireless mouse are wirelessly paired with the second computer according to the paring records stored in the wireless keyboard, the wireless mouse or the second computer. In other words, the conventional wireless pairing method is not user-friendly, and the repetitive pairing procedures also waste the precious time of the user.
Therefore, there is a need of providing an improved wireless input system with a fast wireless switching function in order to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional technology.


An electronic device includes a speaker; a speaker holder that holds the speaker; a main unit on which the speaker holder is mounted; a first mounting part formed on the speaker; a second mounting part formed on the speaker holder; a first elastic part that engages with both the first and second mounting parts; a third mounting part formed on the speaker holder; a fourth mounting part formed on the main unit; and a second elastic part that engages with both the third and fourth mounting parts. The speaker and the main unit are provided in such a manner as not to come into contact with each other under the condition that the first and second mounting parts engage with the first elastic part, and the third and fourth mounting parts engage with the second elastic part.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic device and an image projection apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image projection apparatuses have been known that generate an image for projection using light output from a light source based on image data transmitted from a personal computer or a video camera, and project the generated image for display onto a projection surface such as a screen. In such an image projection apparatus, it is desired that images can be projected large-sized, and that the distance between the image projection apparatus and the projection surface can be set as short as possible. Image projection apparatuses have been disclosed that adopt a short projection distance.
In such an image projection apparatus, a speaker is provided for outputting various types of operation sounds and an alarm sound for users. For example, in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 10-066179, an installation mechanism of the speaker is disclosed, in which a speaker unit is supported at its flange portion by a housing of an electronic device with a vibration absorbing member interposed therebetween. The vibration absorbing member includes a holder mounted on and inserted into an installation flange of the speaker unit, and a mounting part integrally formed on the holder and fixed to the housing of the electronic device. While the installation flange of the speaker unit is held by the holder, the mounting part is fixed to the housing of the electronic device by a screw.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 08-116582 discloses a speaker fixing structure including a contact surface, a holding unit, and an elastic member. The contact surface makes the front part of the speaker come in contact with a supporting member made of synthetic resin. The holding unit engages with and holds a part of the speaker. The elastic member makes the speaker held by the holding unit bring into elastically contact with the contact surface.
With the structure in which the speaker is fixed with a screw to the housing of the electronic device with a vibration absorbing member interposed therebetween as described above, however, the vibration of the speaker transmitted to the housing of the electronic device cannot be completely prevented. The vibration absorbing member and the housing of the electronic device engage with each other with the screw, that is, they are rigidly connected together. A certain amount of vibration of the vibration transmitted from the speaker to the vibration absorbing member is thus transmitted to the housing of the electronic device although reduced to some extent. Especially when the housing of the electronic device serves as the housing of an image projection apparatus such as a projector, the vibration is finally transmitted to the projected images. This may cause a failure that when the volume of the speaker is increased, the projected images vibrate and generate poor visibility.
Therefore, there is a need for an electronic device and an image projection apparatus that are capable of suppressing vibration caused by a speaker.

Electronic device and image projection apparatus


A prosthetic acetabular cup inserter and impactor has a body, a cup engaging element disposed at a first end of the body which is adapted to engage an inner surface of a cup with which it is used. An operating system is adapted to axially rotate the cup engaging element in relation to the body in use. An impaction plate that is adapted to engage an undulating rim of the cup is disposed between the body and the cup engaging element. The impaction plate is connected to the operating system by a linkage which acts to axially rotate the impaction plate in unison with the cup engaging element in use.

The present invention relates to a prosthetic acetabular cup inserter and impactor, for use particularly, but not exclusively, in minimal invasive surgery (MIS) with a short incision.
Prosthetic acetabular cup inserter and impactors are used to implant prosthetic acetabular cups into the cavity of a patient's hip, and generally comprise an elongate straight or curved body with a cup engaging head at a first end thereof, and a handle and impaction anvil at a second end thereof. The surgeon releasably fits a cup implant to the cup engaging head, and then positions the cup inside the patient's hip. He then applies a hammering force to the impaction anvil to secure the cup in place, before releasing the cup from the cup engaging head.
In Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) it is common to use an inserter and impactor with a curved body, which is shaped to minimise trauma to the patient when it is inserted. In many cases the cups have irregular shapes and/or holes which have to be aligned inside the patient at a particular angle. With such constructions it is important to axially align the cup correctly in relation to the body of the inserter and impactor prior to insertion, so it is properly aligned with the patient's hip when the curved body is inserted as desired.
In U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0130763 in the name of the applicant, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, a prosthetic acetabular cup inserter and impactor is disclosed in which the cup engaging means can be axially rotated in relation to the body. In particular, there is a locking means which locks the cup engaging means against axial rotation, which can be released to allow it to be axially rotated in relation to the curved body, and then re-locked when a desired angular position is achieved. Thus, a surgeon can position the cup in relation to the curved body to his liking prior to, or even during, insertion.
However, in this construction the cup engaging means and the body can only be rotated in relation to one another by direct manipulation thereof (or when the cup is held in position inside the acetabulum of the patient). There is shown an operating knob which can rotate a part of the cup engaging means, but this is only for the purposes of engaging and disengaging the cup.
Other devices owned by the assignee or its affiliates of the present invention are U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,341,593, 7,462,180 and 7,993,348, U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2011/0130763 and 2011/0184423.
In U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0021481, in the name of BURGI, there is disclosed a prosthetic acetabular cup inserter and impactor in which the cup engaging means can be axially rotated in relation to the body by an operating means. The operating means comprises a rigid drive train fitted inside the curved body, which has a rotation handle at one end. The cup is screw threaded to the opposite end of the drive train, and initially the drive train is axially rotated by the handle to facilitate this. However, once this is achieved the surgeon may then axially rotate the handle to orient the cup to a preferred position. The cup is then drawn back onto a head to lock it in position. To release the cup engaging means from the cup after insertion, the handle is axially rotated in the opposite direction to as initially in order to release the screw threaded connection.
However, the device shown in BURGI finds limited application, as it can only be used in instances where a cup is engaged via a screw threaded hole formed in its inner surface. In particular, it cannot function with a cup which is not provided with such a hole, which may be preferred. In addition, some cups are not only engaged by an inserter and impactor at their inner surface, but also by an impaction plate applied to their outer rim. BURGI can only be used to rotate a cup engaging means engaging a cup at its inner surface, and not where a cup is also engaged at its outer rim, as there is no way to also rotate an impaction plate.
In U.S. Pat. No. 7,833,276, assigned to the assignee of the present application there is disclosed a prosthetic acetabular cup comprising an inner part-spherical bearing surface and an outer peripheral rim portion which is shaped to mimic the contours of the natural shape of an acetabulum. The outer peripheral rim portion has an illium rim portion, an ischium rim portion and a pubis rim portion. The portions of the rim between the pubis rim portion and the illium rim portion and between the pubis rim portion and the ischium rim portion are concave and slightly more proximal than the pubis rim portion; the portions of the rim between the illium rim portion and the pubis rim portion, and between the illium rim portion and the ischium rim portion are more concave and proximal than the illium rim portion; and the portions of the rim between the ischium rim portion and the illium rim portion and between the ischium rim portion and the pubis rim portion are more concave and proximal than the ischium rim portion.
This document also discloses a prosthetic acetabular cup inserter and impactor for use with such an acetabular cup, which comprises an annular disc with an annular engagement wall which is shaped to engage the outer peripheral rim of the cup. The annular engagement wall is fixed in relation to the body of the inserter and impactor. With this type of cup and inserter and impactor it is not possible to axially rotate the cup in relation to the engagement wall, as they have irregular shapes. Therefore, axial rotation of the cup in relation to the body in this case is not possible.
In U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0130763 referred to above, and in U.S. Pat. No. 7,341,593, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference, both assigned to the assignee of the present invention, there are disclosed prosthetic acetabular inserter and impactors which engage the interior surface of the cup by means of a compressible or expandable resilient ring. This is advantageous because no fixing means are required on the interior surface of the cup. However, in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0130763 there is no impaction plate, and although there is such a feature in U.S. Pat. No. 7,341,593 there is no relative axial rotation at all in that case.
The present invention is intended to overcome some of the above problems.


An exercise device for compression exercises is adjustable in height and in compression force. The device includes a central housing and a plurality of plungers extending from a top side. A support member is attached to the housing on a bottom side. The support member is movable longitudinally relative to the housing and plungers from a fully retracted position to a fully extended position and is lockable in a plurality of intermediate longitudinal positions to vary the height of the device. Each plunger is operatively associated with an internal bias member that biases the plunger away from the housing. Resistance force on a plunger is adjustable via changing tension of the associated bias member with an adjustment knob to finely adjust tension. An installed bias member is removable and replaceable with a different bias member to coarsely adjust tension.

The present disclosure relates to finger and hand exercising devices. More particularly, the disclosure relates to a finger and hand exerciser that is adjustable in height and in force of resistance.
Exercise devices exist that provide for numerous different types of hand and finger exercises, including compression and extension exercises. These such devices are used for a variety of purposes and in many different settings. Non-limiting examples include patients in medical and therapy settings, such as for rehabilitation from an injury or surgery, and athletes and musicians for strength and flexibility training.
One variety of hand exercise device that provides compression exercises includes a base that fits in a user's palm and a plurality of pistons or plungers that are biased upward and configured to be compressed inward by a user's fingers to perform the exercises. Some devices provide for adjustment of the specific tension of bias members (such as compressed springs) within the plungers so that a user can vary the resistance in each plunger. In this sense, each plunger can provide a range of resistance profiles by compressing or relaxing its internal spring. An exemplary premium product is manufactured and sold by D'Addario & Company, Inc. as the Varigrip® hand exerciser and disclosed and claimed in co-owned U.S. Pat. No. 7,967,732. The Varigrip® hand exerciser utilizes a disc threaded to a rod for adjusting tension on a compression spring providing a biasing force on a plunger. The compression spring is sandwiched between the disc and an upper surface. As the disc is rotated in opposite directions, it travels upward or downward on the rod between a maximum height/maximum resistance position and a minimum height/minimum resistance position. Known devices, including the Varigrip® hand exerciser, utilize a base housing for containing operative elements with a bottom that serves as a palm support during use. In such devices, the distance between the palm support and the top of the plungers, and thus the size of the device, is fixed. Additionally, the inner springs are permanently housed within the device and not removable, so the range between maximum and minimum resistances for each finger is limited to that which an installed spring can offer.
While varying the resistance in the manner described above is extremely useful for performing different exercises and building strength over time, it would be even more useful to have a hand exercise product that provides a wider range of resistances, which can provide both fine (internal) adjustment and coarse (external/spring replacement) adjustment without requiring tooling. It would also be useful to provide an exercise device that is adjustable in height such that a single device can accommodate individuals having a wide range of hand sizes.

Height and tension adjustable hand exerciser


Improved soles and insoles for shoes, in particular sports shoes, are described. In an aspect, a sole for a shoe, in particular a sports shoe, with at least a first and a second surface region is provided. The first surface region comprises expanded thermoplastic polyurethane (“TPU”). The second surface region is free from expanded TPU.

By means of soles, shoes are provided with a variety of different properties that may, depending on the specific type of shoe, be realized to different extents. Primarily, shoe soles usually serve protective purposes. By means of their stiffness, which is increased when compared to the stiffness of the shoe upper, shoe soles protect the respective wearer's foot from injuries caused for example by sharp objects that the wearer of the shoe steps upon. Moreover, a shoe sole usually protects the shoe from excessive abrasion by means of its increased abrasion-resistance. Further, shoe soles may increase the grip of a shoe on the respective ground and may thus facilitate quick movements. It may be a further function of a shoe sole to provide a certain stability. In addition, a shoe sole may provide a cushioning, for example to damp the forces that occur when the shoe contacts the ground. Finally, a shoe sole may protect the foot from dirt or splash water or it may provide a multitude of further functionalities.
In order to meet this plethora of functionalities, various materials are known in the prior art out of which shoe soles may be manufactured. For example, shoe soles may be manufactured from ethylene-vinyl acetate ("EVA"), thermoplastic polyurethane ("TPU"), rubber, polypropylene ("PP") or polystyrene ("PS"). Each of these different materials provides a specific combination of different properties that are more or less well suited for soles of specific types of shoes, depending on the particular requirements of the respective type of shoe. For example, TPU is very abrasion-resistive and tear-resistant. Moreover, EVA provides a high stability and relatively good cushioning properties.
It is a common disadvantage of the aforementioned materials that shoe soles made from of these materials have to be manufactured separately and subsequently have to be attached to the shoe upper, e.g. by gluing or sewing. From WO 2008/087078, WO 2007/082838, WO 2010/136398, and WO 2005/066250, expanded TPU is known, which may be used for manufacturing shoe soles. For example, WO 2005/066250 describes that a shoe sole formed out of expanded TPU may be attached to a shoe upper without additional gluing means. Further, WO 2005/066250 discloses that the expanded TPU is foamed in a tool in contact with the shoe upper and, thus, a sole made of expanded TPU is provided that adheres to the shoe upper. In addition, WO 2005/066250 describes the possibility of pre-manufacturing an outsole of thermoplastic elastomer (e.g. polyvinyl chloride ("PVC"), thermoplastic rubber, TPU) and, after its curing, providing expandable TPU in the form of foam to a cavity between the outsole and the shoe upper. Hence, the outsole does not need to be glued to the shoe upper.
However, the disclosure of WO 2005/066250 describes the disadvantage that the properties of the sole are influenced by the sole of expanded TPU continuously over the entire surface. A fine control of the sole properties is not possible according to WO 2005/066250.
It is therefore desirable to provide improved soles for shoes, in particular sports shoes. It is further desired to provide improved possibilities to construct such soles from expanded TPU.


A method for initializing modems in a multicarrier transmission system to establish a communication link between the transmitter and the receiver. An exemplary embodiment includes the steps of providing a predetermined parameter value that approximates a corresponding actual parameter value of the communication link, establishing a data communication link between a first transceiver and a second transceiver using the predetermined parameter value to allow the transmission of data, determining the actual parameter value, and seamlessly increasing the data rate of the established data communication link by using the determined actual parameter value to provide an steady state communication link with an updated data rate.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) systems. In particular, this invention relates to a method of initializing modems in a DSL system.
2. Description of Related Art
Multicarrier modulation, or Discrete Multitone Modulation (DMT), is a transmission method that is being widely used for communication over media, and especially over difficult media. Multicarrier modulation divides the transmission frequency band into multiple subchannels, i.e., carriers, with each carrier individually modulating a bit or a collection of bits. A transmitter modulates an input data stream containing information bits with one or more carriers and transmits the modulated information. A receiver demodulates all of the carriers in order to recover the transmitted information bits as an output data stream.
Multicarrier modulation has many advantages over single carrier modulation. These advantages include, for example, a higher immunity to impulse noise, a lower complexity equalization requirement in the presence of a multipath, a higher immunity to narrow band interference, a higher data rate and bandwidth flexibility. Multicarrier modulation is being used in many applications to obtain these advantages, as well as for other reasons. The applications include, for example, Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) systems, Wireless LAN systems, power line communications systems, and other applications. ITU standards G.992.1, G.992.2 and the ANSI T1.413 standard, each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, specify standard implementations for ADSL transceivers that use multicarrier modulation.
FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary standard compliant ADSL DMT transmitter 100. In particular, the ADSL DMT transmitter 100 comprises three layers: the modulation layer 110, the Framer/Forward Error Correction (FEC) layer 120, and the ATM TC (Asynchronous Transfer Mode Transmission Convergence) layer 140.
The modulation layer 110 provides the functionality associated with DMT modulation. In particular, DMT modulation is implemented using an Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform (IDFT) 112. The IDFT 112 modulates bits from the Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) encoder 114 into the multicarrier subchannels. The ADSL multicarrier transceiver modulates a number of bits on each subchannel, the number of bits depending on the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) of that subchannel and the Bit Error Rate (BER) requirement of the communications link. For example, if the required BER is 1×10−7, i.e., one bit in ten million is received in error on average, and the SNR of a particular subchannel is 21.5 dB, then that subchannel can modulate 4 bits, since 21.6 dB is the required SNR to transmit 4 QAM bits with a 1×10−7 BER. Other subchannels can have a different SNR's and therefore may have a different number of bits allocated to them at the same BER. The current ITU and ANSI ADSL standards allow up to 15 bits to be modulated on one carrier.
A table that specifies how many bits are allocated to each subchannel for modulation in one DMT symbol is called a Bit Allocation Table (BAT). A DMT symbol is the collection of analog samples generated at the output of the IDFT by modulating the carriers with bits according to the BAT. The BAT is the main parameter used in the modulation layer 110. The BAT is used by the QAM encoder 114 and the IDFT 112 for encoding and modulation. The following Table illustrates an example of a BAT for an exemplary DMT system having 16 subchannels.
TABLE 1SubchannelBits perNumberSubchannel152933425460758798103110125136148154163Total Bits Per80DMT Symbol
In ADSL systems, the typical DMT symbol rate is approximately 4 kHz. This means that a new DMT symbol modulating a new set of bits, using the modulation BAT, is transmitted every 250 microseconds. If the exemplary BAT in Table 1, which specifies 80 bits modulated in one DMT symbol, were used at a 4 kHz DMT symbol rate, the bit rate of the system would be 4000*80=320 kbits per second (kbps).
The BAT determines the data rate of the system and is dependent on the transmission channel characteristics, i.e., the SNR of each subchannel in the multicarrier system. A channel with low noise, i.e., a high SNR on each subchannel, will have many bits modulated on each DMT carrier and will thus have a high bit rate. If the channel conditions are poor, e.g., high noise, the SNR will be low and the bits modulated on each carrier will be few, resulting in a low system bit rate. As can be seen in Table 1, some subchannels may actually modulate zero bits. An example is the case when a narrow band interferer, such as an AM broadcast, is present at a subchannel's frequency and causes the SNR in that subchannel to be too low to carry any information bits.
The ATM TC layer 140 comprises an Asynchronous Transfer Mode Transmission Convergence (ATM TC) section 142 that transforms bits and bytes in cells into frames.
The Framer/FEC layer 120 provides the functionality associated with preparing a stream of bits for modulation. The Framer/FEC layer 120 comprises an Interleaving (INT) portion 122, a Forward Error Correction (FEC) portion 124, a scrambler (SCR) portion 126, a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) portion 128 and an ADSL Framer portion 130. The Interleaving and FEC coding provide an impulse immunity and a coding gain. The FEC portion 124 in the standard ADSL system is a Reed-Solomon (R-S) code. The scrambler 126 is used to randomize the data bits. The CRC portion 128 is used to provide error detection at the receiver. The ADSL Framer portion 130 frames the received bits from the ATM framer 142. The ADSL framer 130 also inserts and extracts overhead bits from the module 132 for modem to modem overhead communication channels, which are known as EOC and AOC channels in the ADSL standards.
The key parameters of the Framer/FEC layer 120 are the size of the R-S codeword, the size, i.e., depth, of the interleaver, which is measured in the number of R-S codewords, and the size of the ADSL flame. As an example, a typical size for an R-S codeword may be 216 bytes, a typical size for interleaver depth may be 64 codewords, and a typical size of the ADSL frame may be 200 bytes. It is also possible to have an interleaving depth equal to one, which is equivalent to no interleaving. In order to recover the digital signal that was originally prepared for transmission using a transmitter as discussed above, it is necessary to deinterleave the codewords by using a deinterleaver that performs the inverse process to that of the interleaver, with the same depth parameter. In the current ADSL standards, there is a specific relationship between all of these parameters in a DMT system. Specifically, the BAT size, NBAT, i.e., the total number of bits in a DMT symbol, is fixed to be an integer divisor of the R-S codeword size, NFEC, as expressed in Equation 1:NFEC=S*NBAT,  (1)where S is a positive integer greater than 0.
This constant can also be expressed as one R-S codeword containing an integer number of DMT symbols. The R-S codeword contains data bytes and parity, i.e, checkbytes. The checkbytes are overhead bytes that are added by the R-S encoder and are used by the R-S decoder to detect and correct bit errors. There are R checkbytes in a R-S codeword. Typically, the number of checkbytes is a small percentage of the overall codeword size, e.g., 8%. Most channel coding methods are characterized by their coding gain, which is defined as the system performance improvement, in dB, provided by the code when compared to an uncoded system. The coding gain of the R-S codeword depends on the number of checkbytes and the R-S codeword size. A large R-S codeword, e.g., greater than 200 bytes in a DMT ADSL system, along with 16 checkbytes, i.e., 8% of the 200 bytes, will provide close to the maximum coding gain of 4 dB. If the codeword size is smaller and/or the percentage of checkbyte overhead is high, e.g., greater than 30%, the coding gain may be very small or even negative. In general, it is best to have the ADSL system operating with the largest possible R-S codeword, with the current maximum being 255 bytes, and approximately 8% redundancy.
There is also a specific relationship between the number of bytes in an ADSL frame, NFRAME, and the R-S codeword size, NFEC that is expressed in Equation (2):NFEC=S×NFRAME+R,  (2)where R is the number of R-S checkbytes in a codeword and S is the same positive integer as in Equation (1).
It is apparent from equating the right-hand sides of Equations (1) and (2) that the relationship expressed in Equation (3) results in:NBAT=NFRAME+R/S.  (3)
The current ADSL standard requires that the ratio (R/S) is an integer, i.e. there is an integer number of R-S checkbytes in every DMT-symbol (NBAT). As described above, ADSL frames contain overhead bytes, which are not part of the payload, that are used for modem to modem communications. A byte in an ADSL frame that is used for the overhead channel cannot be used for the actual user data communication, and therefore the user data rate decreases accordingly. The information content and format of these channels is described in the ITU and ANSI standards. There are several framing modes defined in ADSL standards. Depending on the framing mode, the number of overhead bytes in one ADSL frame varies. For example, standard Framing Mode 3 has 1 overhead byte per ADSL frame.
Equations (1), (2) and (3) demonstrate that the parameter restrictions imposed by the standards result in the following conditions:
All DMT symbols have a fixed number of overhead framing bytes that are added at the ADSL framer. For example, in Framing Mode #3, there is 1 overhead framing byte per DMT symbol.
There is a minimum of one R-S checkbyte per DMT symbol.
The maximum number of checkbytes according to ITU Standard G.992.2 (8) and ITU Standards G.992.2 and T1.413 (16) limits the maximum codeword size to 8*NBAT for G.992.2, and to 16*NBAT for G.992.1 and T1.413.
An ADSL modem cannot change the number of bits in a DMT symbol (NBAT) without making the appropriate changes to the number of bytes in a R-S codeword (NFEC) and an ADSL frame (NFRAME).
The above four restrictions cause performance limitations in current ADSL systems. In particular, because of condition 1, every DMT symbol has a fixed number of overhead framing bytes. This is a problem when the data rate is low and the overhead framing bytes consume a large percentage of the possible throughput, which results in a lower payload. For example, if the date rate supported by the line is 6.144 Mbps, this will result in a DMT symbol with about 192 bytes per symbol (192*8*4000=6144 kbps). In this case, one overhead framing byte would consume 1/192 or about 0.5% of the available throughput. But if the date rate is 128 kbps, or 4 bytes per symbol, the overhead framing byte will consume ¼ or 25% of the available throughput. Clearly this is undesirable.
Condition 2 will cause the same problems as condition 1. In this case, the overhead framing byte is replaced by the R-S checkbyte.
Condition 3 will not allow the construction of large codewords when the data rate is low. The R-S codewords in ADSL can have a maximum of 255 bytes. The maximum coding gain is achieved when the codeword size is near the maximum 255 bytes. When the data rate is low, e.g., 128 kbps or 4 bytes per symbol, the maximum codeword size will be 8*4=32 bytes for G.992.2 systems and 16*4=64 bytes for G.992.1 and T1.413 systems. In this case the coding gain will be substantially lower than for large codewords approaching 255 bytes.
In general, if the data rate is low, e.g., 128 kbps or 4 bytes per symbol, the above conditions will result in 1 byte being used for overhead framing, and 1 byte being consumed by an R-S checkbyte. Therefore 50% of the available throughput will not be used for payload and the R-S codeword size will be at most 64 bytes, resulting in negligible coding gain.
Condition 4 affects the ability of the modem to adapt its transmission parameters on-line in a dynamic manner.
G.992.1 and T1.413 specify a mechanism to do on-line rate adaptation, called Dynamic Rate Adaptation (DRA), but it is clearly stated in these standards that the change in data rate will not be seamless. In general, current ADSL DMT modems use Bit Swapping and dynamic rate adaptation (DRA) as methods for on-line adaptation to channel changes. Bit swapping is specified in the ITU and ANSI standards as a method for modifying the number of bits allocated to a particular carrier. Bit Swapping is seamless, i.e., it does not result in an interruption in data transmission and reception, however, bit swapping does not allow a changing of data rates. Bit Swapping only allows the changing of the number of bits allocated to carriers while maintaining the same data rate. This is equivalent to changing the entries in the BAT table without allowing the total number of bits (NBAT) in the BAT to increase or decrease.
DRA enables a change in data rate, but is not seamless. DRA is also very slow because it requires the modem located in the Central Office (CO) to make the final decision on the data rate configuration. This model, where the CO being the master, is common among ADSL modems that are designed to provide a service offered and controller by the telephone company.
Both Bit Swapping and DRA use a specific protocol that is specified in the ANSI T1.413, G.992.1 and G.992.2 standards for negotiating the change. This protocol negotiates the parameters using messages that are sent via an AOC channel, which is an embedded channel. This protocol is sensitive to impulse noise and high noise levels. If the messages are corrupted, the transmitter and receiver can enter a state where they are using different transmission parameters, e.g., BAT, data rate, R-S codeword length, interleaver depth, etc. When two communicating modems enter a state of mismatched transmission parameters, data will be received in error and the modems will eventually be required to take drastic measures, such as full re-initialization, in order to restore error free transmission. Drastic measures such as full reinitialization will result in the service being dropped for approximately 10 seconds, which is the time required for the current standards compliant ADSL modem to complete a full initialization.
A transceiver has both a transmitter and a receiver. The receiver includes the receiver equivalent blocks of the transmitter as shown in FIG. 1. The receiver has modules that include a decoder, a deinterleaver and a demodulator. In operation, the receiver accepts a signal in analog form that was transmitted by a transmitter, optionally amplifies the signal in an amplifier, filters the signal to remove noise components and to separate the signal from other frequencies, converts the analog signal to a digital signal through the use of an analog to digital converter, demodulates the signal to generate the received bit stream from the carrier subchannels by the use of a demodulator, deinterleaves the bit stream by the use of a deinterleaver, performs the FEC decoding to correct errors in the bit stream by use of an FEC decoder, descrambles the bit stream by use of a descrambler, and detects bit errors in the bit stream by use of a CRC. Various semiconductor chip manufacturers supply hardware and software that can perform the functions of a transmitter, a receiver, or both.
In addition, to establish communication between the transceivers at the very onset, full initialization of the modems of the transceivers must be completed. Conventional ADSL modems will always go through an initialization procedure during which known training signals are set between the transceivers. Conventional ADSL modems utilize an initialization procedure as specified in the 992.1 and 994.1 standards, as well as the published but not yet adopted G.dmt.bis standard, which are incorporated herein by reference.
The primary purpose of the initialization procedure is to measure the line conditions and train all receiver functions of the transceivers to optimize the ADSL, transmission system to thereby maximize the data rates.
During the initialization procedure various transmission parameter values are determined. The parameters values include, for example, bit error rate, bit allocation value, gain value, or such parameter values that have been grouped such as in bit allocation tables and gain tables as well as other parameters such as the overhead bits of the EOC and AOC channels, size of the R-S codeword, number of parity bits in the R-S codeword, depth of the interleaver, size of the ADSL, frame, and overhead framing bytes. The parameter values may also be the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the channel that is accurately measured so that maximum possible data rate can be attained, the time domain equalizer filter taps, the frequency domain equalizer filter taps, the echo canceller filter taps, and the like.
Typically, the full initialization procedure is attained in a series of initialization steps where one or more of the above noted parameter values that define the characteristics of the communication link between the transceivers are determined in one initialization step prior to proceeding to the next initialization step. This standard initialization procedure is illustrated in the functional block diagram of FIG. 2. Upon beginning the initialization of the modems of the transceivers in the ADSL transmission system in step S20, a series of initialization steps are taken in sequence: initialization step S22, initialization step S24, and then initialization step S26. Each of these initialization steps require one or more parameter values noted previously that define the characteristics of the communication link between the transceivers. In this regard, the actual parameter value A indicated as 21 is needed to complete initialization step S22, the actual parameter value B indicated as 23 is needed to complete initialization step S24, and the actual parameter value C indicated as 25 is needed to complete initialization step S26. Each of these actual parameter values must be determined based on the type of modem, the standards used, and the condition of the communication channel in the standard initialization procedures.
Of course, these initialization steps are illustrated generically since they depend on the particular initialization standard followed. For instance, in initialization step S22, a handshake procedure between the transceivers may be performed to indicate that a communication link is desired between them. In initialization step S24, a channel between the transceivers that is available for use in establishing the communication link may be discovered. The initializing step S26 may be the step in which the transceivers are trained based on additional parameter values to designate attributes of the discovered channel. For example, in a multicarrier communication system step S26 may be used to measure the SNR of every subchannel. Based on the measured SNR parameter the transceiver would determine the bit allocation and gain tables. In this regard, each of the initialization steps would likely entail determination and/or use of one or more of the various parameter values by one or both of the modems, depending on the parameter value, to aid in the process of establishing the steady state communication link.
Once the various parameter values are determined and the receiver signal processors are trained in the initialization steps, the initialization of the modems are complete as indicated by S27, thus allowing the modems to establish a steady state communication link as shown in S28. When such steady state communication link is established as indicated by S28, the transmission system is functional and is in a data transmission mode so that the user may operate the communications system to transmit and receive data.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Fast initialization using seamless rate adaptation


A control circuit includes a data driver, a charge circuit, and a first data line coupled with the data driver and the charge circuit. The charge circuit is configured to charge the first data line when the first data line is selected for accessing a memory cell corresponding to the first data line and to not charge the first data line when the first data line is not selected for accessing the memory cell. The data driver, based on a first control signal, is configured to transfer a signal on the first data line to an output of the data driver.

In some existing approaches, a memory array, such as a static random access memory (SRAM) array, uses read bit lines for data outputs. The read bit lines are also called data lines because the read bit lines carry logical values that reflect data stored in the memory cells to be read, for example. The read bit lines include local read bit lines and global read bit lines. In some approaches, with reference to a current read operation of a memory cell, a corresponding global read bit line of a memory macro is pre-charged to a high logical value at the end of a prior read operation. Read bit lines of memory cells not to be read are also pre-charged at the end of the prior read operation. During the current read operation, depending on the logical value of the data stored in the memory cell to be read, the corresponding global read bit line is discharged to reflect the logical value of the data stored in the memory cell to be read. Read bit line pre-charging and discharging consume electrical power, however.
Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.


A novel method is provided for reticulating adhesive-backed, perforated substrates. The method entails tacking a continuous sheet of viscous reticulating adhesive to one side of the substrate and then contacting the other side with heated air. The temperature of the air is regulated such that the adhesive softens and bubbles over the perforations but final cure is not initiated. The air is directed at a velocity such that the bubbles burst and the adhesive is redeposited onto the adhesive-side of the substrate.

One method of suppressing noise in jet engines is to baffle the intake with an acoustical panel. In the Boeing 737-300 series aircraft, such panels comprise a trilaminate of a perforated aluminum alloy sheet, a honeycomb aluminum alloy core and a solid aluminum alloy backing sheet. This laminate is located in the engine cowel such that a portion of the intake air flows through the holes in the perforate sheet and reverberates in the honeycombs, thereby damping undesired frequencies and harmonics. The three layers of the laminate are held together by a cured epoxy adhesive. However, if epoxy adhesive blocks the holes in the perforate top sheet, noise suppression characteristics may be inhibited. It is also desirable to form a uniform adhesive bond between layers to optimize noise reduction performance.
In a past laminate fabrication method, a sheet of tacky epoxy resin was applied to one side of the aluminum honeycomb core. To prevent the epoxy from blocking air flow, the resin was heated with a quartz lamp and the honeycomb core was manually passed over an air knife, clearing epoxy away from the cell openings. As the epoxy cleared from the honeycomb openings, it collected on the cell edges and walls. The adhesive coated honeycomb was later mated to a clean perforated aluminum sheet by heating in an autoclave.
This method is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,974 assigned to the assignee hereof and incorporated herein by reference. Related U.S. Pat. No. 4,155,800 claims reticulated honeycomb product made by the method of the '974 patent.
This process was difficult to control in both the heating and honeycomb-clearing stages. If too much heat was applied the epoxy would cure prematurely and if too little was applied the epoxy was prone to blow off the core altogether. Similarly, if the air knife was brought too close, it could blow the adhesive off completely or if it was held too far away, the honeycombs would not clear. Accordingly, it was often necessary to patch an adhesive coated honeycomb by hand before making a lamination. Moreover, considerable epoxy splitter was generated.
According, I have developed a novel method and an apparatus for clearing adhesive from the holes of a perforated substrate and creating a uniform layer of curable adhesive thereon. This process may be referred to herein as reticulation or reticulating.

Method for reticulating perforated sheets


The Radio Data System (RDS) protocol promulgated by the European Broadcasting Union provides for alternate frequencies (AF) for the same broadcast. Receivers periodically switch over to such an alternate frequency, leading to momentary crackling noises. In a radio receiver having a device for temporary switchover from a received frequency to some other frequency, substitute signals are inserted into the audio signals that are interrupted during the temporary switchover. The substitute signals are formed from the audio signals before and optionally also after the temporary switchover.

In known radio receivers having a device for decoding radio data signals--hereinafter called RDS receivers--and in particular car radios, a test is made from time to time as to whether a transmitter is worth receiving on a different frequency and furthermore whether it is broadcasting the same program. In the known RDS receivers, these tests require from 20 to 30 milliseconds and from 150 to 300 milliseconds, respectively, which leads to annoying crackling since no audio signal from the received frequency is available for that period of time.
In German patent application P 41 03 062, HENZE, filed Feb. 1, 1991 and corresponding U.S. Ser. No. 07/822,304, filed Jan. 17, 1992, a radio receiver is disclosed with which the relatively major interference (150 to 300 milliseconds long) can indeed be overcome. Nevertheless, a possible interference of brief duration, occurring particularly at high amplitudes of the audio signal, remains.

Radio receiver with masking of switchover noise


A light-emitting device comprises a substrate, at least one light-emitting structure configured to emit light beams and positioned on the substrate, and a ring-shaped photonic crystal structure positioned in the light-emitting structure. The ring-shaped photonic crystal structure includes a plurality of pillars positioned in the light-emitting structure and a plurality of ring-shaped openings surrounding the pillars. The distance between the ring-shaped openings is preferably between 0.2λ and 10λ, and λ represents the wavelength of the light beam.

(A) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light-emitting device, and more particularly, to a light-emitting device having a ring-shaped photonic crystal structure configured to improve the light-extraction efficiency and to control the collimation property of the light beams.
(B) Description of the Related Art
The lighting efficiency of the solid-state semiconductor light-emitting devices such as the light-emitting diode (LED) is restricted to the total reflection at the interface between the internal semiconductor material and the external material such as the air or the epoxy, and only a small percentage of the total light generated in the device is emitted to the external environment.
FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 illustrate a conventional light-emitting diode 300, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,098,589. The light-emitting diode 300 includes a substrate 320 and multi-layer stack 322 positioned on the substrate 320. The multi-layer stack 322 includes a gallium nitride layer 324 having a plurality of circular openings 350. In particular, the technique disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,098,589 uses the circular opening 350 to prevent the total reflection at the interface so as to improve the light-extraction efficiency. In general, a larger opening corresponds to higher light-extraction efficiency. However, a large opening negatively influences the current distribution of the light-emitting device and the lighting efficiency of the light-emitting layer, and decreases the whole light-extraction efficiency.

Industrial Technology Research Institute


The present disclosure is directed to mobile correctional facility robots and systems and methods for coordinating mobile correctional facility robots to perform various tasks in a correctional facility. The mobile correctional facility robots can be used to perform many of the tasks traditionally assigned to correctional facility guards to help reduce the number of guards needed in any given correctional facility. When cooperation is employed among multiple mobile correctional facility robots to execute tasks, a central controller can be used to coordinate the efforts of the multiple robots to improve the performance of the overall system of robots as compared to the performance of the robots when working in uncoordinated effort to execute the tasks.

A correctional facility is a facility in which inmates are confined and many of their freedoms restricted. Typically, a government institution confines inmates to correctional facilities for a specified period of time after the inmates have been found guilty of committing a crime.
Correctional facilities in the United States and in other areas abroad are often either overcrowded with inmates or understaffed with guards due to cost constraints. A more succinct way of characterizing the correctional facility situation in the United States and in other areas abroad is that the ratio of inmates to guards in many correctional facilities is often too high. As a result, guards are unable to appropriately monitor inmate activity and respond to events requiring their attention, which endangers not only the guards and inmates at these correctional facilities, but also the general public as well. Also, a substantial amount of the total funds available to correctional facilities is spent on guards, leaving little money left over to pay for programs to reduce recidivism, which only further exacerbates the problem of inmate overcrowding.
In addition, even assuming additional funds are made available to correctional facilities to increase the number of guards to perform inmate monitoring, studies have shown that humans are often ill-suited to perform routine monitoring through surveillance equipment, such as video cameras. This is because of the rote nature of monitoring surveillance equipment for some event of interest that may only infrequently occur.
The present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawing in which an element first appears is typically indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number.


Disclosed is a system, method, and apparatus for calculating metrics by using hierarchical level metadata to describe the various structures within the database. The hierarchical level metadata permit calculation of complex metrics by an analytical server which would otherwise be difficult or impossible. As a result of the way that the analytical server calculates the metrics, slicing and drilling are supported. Additionally, dimension and fact level security are also supported.

The embodiments disclosed and claimed herein are related to computer systems, and more particularly, databases.
Today""s businesses have sophisticated data analysis requirements. The metrics or analyses of a business""s data can be difficult to obtain. To calculate a meaningful metric, business analysts often use spreadsheets to manually analyze data. Manual analysis, of course, is a tedious and time-consuming process.
Most applications fail to deliver useful metrics that provide unique insights into an organization""s performance. Useful metrics highlight significant performance measures of the business. Typically, business analysts must execute multiple queries and other time-consuming manual interventions to produce these metrics. Then, despite the time-consuming effort, analysts must start the process anew to obtain follow-up information such as an explanation of a particular anomaly in a metric.
Typically, a business""s data is stored on a database or on databases. These databases are operated with associated database servers, which manage the storage and retrieval of records from the databases. Analytical servers have additionally been provided to format database queries or information requests sent from a client user interface to the database server for handling. The analytical servers can be used to improve the efficiency of the database accesses and to provide metrics of interest to the user from the retrieved records from the database.
The embodiments disclosed below provide an analytical server which efficiently accesses a Relational Database Management System (xe2x80x9cRDBMSxe2x80x9d) comprising a database and a database server. The database in this approach includes fact and dimension tables which may be, for example, configured in a star schema having a central base_fact table with surrounding dimension tables to form the star structure. Aggregate_fact tables may also be provided which aggregate measures from the base_fact table at a higher hierarchical level than such measures are maintained in the base_fact table. Metadata is further stored in the database, where the metadata describes the organization of the various tables in the database, and specifically the metadata in the embodiments described below includes information about the hierarchical levels of various dimensions of the above-mentioned tables and star schema.
With further reference to the metadata stored in the database in the below-described embodiments, the analytical server described herein receives the metadata from the database and analyzes that metadata, including the hierarchical information, in order to provide relatively efficient access to the tables of the database in response to a query from a user. Such efficient access preferably supports calculation of complex metrics which might otherwise be difficult or impossible. Supported levels of stars are defined and analyzed in a sophisticated and efficient manner which facilitates the calculation of chameleon and allocated metrics.
The foregoing provides a number of additional advantages. A user can easily limit the data to a particular set of value(s) for a particular hierarchy level, known as slicing The user can also view the metrics by moving up or down through a hierarchy, known as drilling. Additionally, fact level security and dimensional security are supported, as well as efficient collection and analysis of aggregate_fact table usage statistics.

Graphical user interface for relational database


A tool that may be used for querying and obtaining per-hop information along a network path, and/or for verifying the host name of each hop against a data repository such as the DNS. The query and response may be transmitted in, e.g., the destination options header of data packets, such as an IPv6 destination options header.

Network debugging tools such as Traceroute and Ping may be used to obtain information about network nodes and paths. However, these tools do not provide much information about the experience of a packet at each of multiple hops through a path. For example, no conventional tools adequately identify the autonomous systems, congestion, and other information on a per-hop basis through a path.
The problems with the current Traceroute and Ping tools are even more pronounced as Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) becomes more widely used, and which is expected to become the standard IP protocol throughout the Internet and other networks. For example, in the context of the Internet, these tools either provide or rely on host names stored in the Domain Name System (DNS). However, it is known that DNS entries, and especially IPv6 entries, may be missing or erroneous. When the returned DNS name of an intermediate hop is erroneous, the Traceroute result can be very confusing to the user. The user may misinterpret the result as a routing issue or other issue that in fact may or may not exist.

Ascertaining per-hop network characteristics


An ion implantation apparatus structure is provided that does not allow gas to accumulate in the vicinity of a wafer when implantation ions to the wafer. The ion implantation apparatus includes a rotating body that rotates in a fixed direction, a vacuum chamber that houses the rotating body, and an ion beam injecting portion that injects an ion beam to a wafer placed on the rotating body. The rotating body comprises one or more wafer placement boards having a wafer placement face on one face, a driving portion that drives the wafer placement board, and a gas evacuation member provided protruding from one face of the wafer placement board having a gas evacuation wall face on the front in the direction of rotation, and functions such that due to rotation of the wafer placement board, the gas evacuation wall face collides with gas present on one face of the wafer placement board and the gas is evacuated upward or to the rear face of the wafer placement face.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ion implantation apparatus used in the manufacture of semiconductor elements, and more specifically relates to a batch ion implantation apparatus.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Local impurity dopant implantation (ion implantation) to semiconductor wafers is performed by injecting an ion beam in part of a semiconductor wafer disposed in a vacuum chamber.
Generally this sort of local ion beam irradiation is performed by a method wherein a photoresist mask is patterned on a semiconductor wafer and the wafer is partially covered by the mask.
However, when an ion beam is irradiated to the photoresist mask, outgas such as moisture and organic matter is generated from the photoresist. This outgas accompanies the ion beam and is injected into the wafer, and generates crystal defects by affixing to the wafer surface. It accumulates on the wafer, interferes with the ion beam and decreases the implantation accuracy of the impurity dopant. Thus, outgas causes the production yield of the semiconductor wafer to decrease.
However, in this type of ion implantation apparatus, outgas generated from the photoresist mask is unavoidable, and the generation of outgas cannot be eliminated. Therefore, in order to improve the production yield in semiconductor wafer production, it is important to quickly remove outgas from the wafer surface.
As technology that removes outgas from the wafer surface, there is for example JP H11-204075A. JP H11-204075A discloses a wafer loading member of an ion implantation apparatus that includes a rotatably driven support portion, a wafer holding portion wherein a wafer disposed on a circumference made the center of this support portion is held, and an intermediate portion that supports the wafer holding portion around the support portion by linking this wafer holding portion and the support portion, wherein the intermediate portion includes a gas aspirating means that aspirates gas from the face of the side of the wafer holding portion where the wafer is held towards the back side of the wafer holding portion. JP H11-204075A is distinguished in that by this aspirating means outgas is aspirated and evacuated to the back side of the face where the wafer is supported.
With this technology, outgas is aspirated and evacuated to the back side of the face where the wafer is supported by a gas aspirating means, but with simple gas aspiration it is not possible to quickly remove generated outgas from the wafer. Thus, even using the technology disclosed in JP H11-204075A, the occurrence of crystal defects caused by newly generated molecules of outgas joining to the wafer surface cannot be adequately prevented.


A method, system and computer program product is disclosed for intelligent data mining. The method comprises receiving an event from an application, assigning property weights to properties of the event, and building a query from these properties based on the property weights. The method further comprises assigning search engine weights to a group of search engines, selecting at least some of the search engines based on the search engine weights, and sending the built query to the selected search engines. Results from the selected search engines are stored in a knowledge repository and used to adjust the property weights and the search engine weights. The invention may be used to provide an analysis with information about a problem, and to manage a solutions database which can be used for problem determination. The invention provides a low cost solution for collecting relevant information from online sources.

Problem determination involves diagnosing a problem using analysis of the events that occur in an environment and providing suitable solutions to a user or to provide automated solutions. For either of these tasks, i.e., providing solutions or automated recovery, a good understanding of the system and its working is a mandatory prerequisite. This is generally done by using Symptom Databases or other storage sources for problem causes and their solutions and whenever a problem occurs, an analysis is performed against this source to determine the solution.
However, considering a practical scenario a real-time environment would include a lot of different applications from a lot of different vendors working together. For example, a customer would have a business partner's web applications deployed on an IBM Websphere Application Server, while using Oracle as the database. This scenario has three different components (applications) from three different vendors: Websphere Application Server (IBM), Web Application (IBM Business Partner), and Database (Oracle).
Considering this scenario, it is understood that for a perfect problem determination analysis of such a system, a deep understanding is needed of all the three components. Practically, it would be impossible for any vendor to provide and maintain solutions and intelligence about some other vendor's (e.g., Oracle) applications, even though these might be used together with their products. This leads to an information "black box" where a support engineer does not have enough information or knowledge about some applications running in the environment.
From the above example, it would be easy to visualize the effort that would be required if IBM wants to provide solutions for problems with Oracle database, considering that the business partner would be providing information and symptom/solution details for their application. This would involve having a team of experts to create and maintain the solutions database for Oracle. If this is not done it would lead to a black box in the problem determination analysis performed for this environment, i.e., any problem occurring in the system would be diagnosable if and only if it is not related to the database, and any database related problems would have to be solved with the help of SME's/Specialized Administrators.

Intelligent event-based data mining of unstructured information

International Business Machines Corporation


In one example in accordance with the present disclosure, an additive manufacturing build unit is described. The additive manufacturing build unit includes a vibrating bed on which a volume of build material is to be disposed. The bed is to vibrate to remove excess build material. A non-vibrating frame of the build unit supports the vibrating bed. The build unit also includes a bed-frame interface to: couple the vibrating bed to the non-vibrating bed frame, and isolate vibrations to the vibrating bed. A flexible seal of the build unit is disposed between the vibrating bed and non-vibrating frame. The flexible seal prevents build material from contaminating an additive manufacturing system in which the additive manufacturing build unit is disposed and allows relative motion between the vibrating bed and the non-vibrating frame.

Additive manufacturing devices produce three-dimensional (3D) objects by building up layers of material. Some additive manufacturing devices are referred to as "3D printing devices" because they use inkjet or other printing technology to apply some of the manufacturing materials. 3D printing devices and other additive manufacturing devices make it possible to convert a computer-aided design (CAD) model or other digital representation of an object directly into the physical object.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements. The figures are not necessarily to scale, and the size of some parts may be exaggerated to more clearly illustrate the example shown. Moreover, the drawings provide examples and/or implementations consistent with the description; however, the description is not limited to the examples and/or implementations provided in the drawings.

Additive manufacturing with vibration-isolating interface

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A maximum pacing rate is dynamically established during single-chamber atrial pacing of a heart by a rate control system within a single-chamber or dual-chamber cardiac stimulation device which paces the atria of a heart on demand at the end of an escape interval. The system includes a detector that detects an atrial activation of the heart and an R wave of the heart corresponding to the detected atrial activation. The system further includes a rate limit circuit that determines a minimum RA interval and extends the escape interval to an extended escape interval to end with the minimum RA interval.

Implantable cardiac devices are well known in the art. They may take the form of implantable defibrillators or cardioverters which treat accelerated rhythms of the heart such as fibrillation or implantable pacemakers which maintain the heart rate above a prescribed limit, such as, for example, to treat a bradycardia. Implantable cardiac devices are also known which incorporate both a pacemaker and a defibrillator.
A pacemaker may be considered as a pacing system. The pacing system is comprised of two major components. One component is a pulse generator which generates the pacing stimulation pulses and includes the electronic circuitry and the power cell or battery. The other component is the lead, or leads, which electrically couple the pacemaker to the heart.
Pacemakers deliver pacing pulses to the heart to cause the stimulated heart chamber to contract when the patient's own intrinsic rhythm fails. To this end, pacemakers include sensing circuits that sense cardiac activity for the detection of intrinsic cardiac events such as intrinsic atrial events (P waves) and intrinsic ventricular events (R waves). By monitoring such P waves and/or R waves, the pacemaker circuits are able to determine the intrinsic rhythm of the heart and provide stimulation pacing pulses that force atrial and/or ventricular depolarizations at appropriate times in the cardiac cycle when required to help stabilize the electrical rhythm of the heart.
Pacemakers are described as single-chamber or dual-chamber systems. A single-chamber system applies pacing pulses to and senses cardiac activity in only one chamber of the heart (atrium or ventricle). A dual-chamber system stimulates and/or senses in both chambers of the heart (atrium and ventricle). Dual-chamber systems may typically be programmed to operate in either a dual-chamber mode or a single-chamber mode.
Single chamber atrial pacing with either a single-chamber or dual-chamber device provides atrial pacing when required during atrial bradycardia. It is used in patients that have intact AV conduction. The resulting atrial synchrony enables ventricular activity to track atrial activity to more closely approximate normal response to exercise or other physiological activity.
Many pacemakers incorporate a physiologic sensor. Such sensors are employed to detect the patient's degree of activity for regulating the heart rate. Hence, as the patient becomes more active, requiring increased cardiac output, the stimulation rate of the pacemaker is increased. When the patient becomes less active, requiring reduced cardiac output, the stimulation rate of the pacemaker is in turn decreased.
Single-chamber atrial pacemakers implement two main timing intervals to support their operation. These intervals are referred to as the refractory period and the atrial escape interval. The refractory period is the time from an atrial pacing pulse or a detected P wave to after the T wave of the ventricle. During this time, the device will not respond to sensed activity to prevent a far field R wave or T wave from being detected as an intrinsic P wave.
The atrial escape interval is the time from a detected P wave or an atrial pacing pulse to when a next atrial pacing pulse is to be delivered absent a preoccurring P wave. This pacing is referred to as atrial demand pacing.
Sensing of far field ventricular activations (R wave) in a single atrial channel is a major problem in single-chamber atrial devices or in dual-chamber devices operating in a single chamber atrial pacing mode. In such devices, it is not easy to distinguish far field ventricular activations from true atrial activity because these devices do not utilize a ventricular channel. Traditionally, such devices utilize various methods in an effort to minimize the impact of the sensing of the far field activity. These methods include refractory time, rate modulated refractory time, or absolute refractory time, for example. All these methods attempt to block the far field ventricular signal or treat it as a signal which should be discarded. If the device fails to block the far field ventricular signal, the signal can then inhibit the pacing of the device and result in a non-output condition when an output may be required.
The amplitude and timing of the far field ventricular signal generally vary with lead location and AV node conduction sufficiency, which is modulated by neurotransmitters. This makes it difficult to determine the proper refractory time to be used. The AV conduction also depends upon whether there is an intrinsic atrial event or a paced atrial event. The difference can be dramatic. Incorrect sensing of far field ventricular events can lead to an incorrect diagnosis and/or a failure to deliver therapy. In addition, pacing induced heart block can result from increased pacing rate, particularly with modern atrial over-drive therapy where the AV node conduction may not be able to accommodate the pacing rate increases demanded by the therapy.
Thus, the present invention addresses these issues in order to fully utilize the advantages of single-chamber atrial pacing devices and the atrial pacing therapies obtainable therewith.
As will be seen hereinafter, the invention provides a device and method which utilizes active searching for far field ventricular activity to enable the proper atrial refractory time to be determined dynamically and an upper pacing rate limit to be established.

Implantable single-chamber atrial pacing device providing active ventricular far field sensing and rate limit


A navigation system or combination of navigation systems can be used to provide two or more types of navigation or modalities of navigation to navigate a single instrument. The single instrument can be positioned within the patient and tracked. For example, both an Electromagnetic (EM) and Electropotential (EP) navigation system can be used to navigate an instrument within a patient.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
A navigation system can be used to track and navigate an instrument within a volume. For example, a navigation system can be used to track an instrument during a procedure, such as a surgical procedure. Various systems can be used to track instruments including electromagnetic systems, optical systems, acoustic systems, and other appropriate systems.
Tracking an instrument can allow for determination of a position of the instrument relative to the patient without directly viewing the instrument within the patient. Various methods can be used to achieve this result, such as directly tracking a particular portion of the instrument exterior to the patient or tracking a distal point of the instrument within the patient.
Differing navigation systems can be used to track different instruments within a patient. For example, a long substantially rigid instrument can be tracked with an optical navigation system that can track a proximal and/or end of the instrument that is external to the patient. Based on determinations, a position of a distal tip or an end of the instrument within the patient can be made. Additionally, navigation systems can use fields, such as electromagnetic fields, to track and navigate a distal portion of an instrument that is within a patient.

Combination of electromagnetic and electropotential localization


The disclosure relates to a method and also to a correspondingly configured imaging device for planning support for an interventional procedure. In the method, a model of a hollow organ is created from a 3D image dataset. A deformation of the hollow organ is then simulated based on a course of a guide facility in the hollow organ through a deformation of the model. In accordance with the deformed model, a spatially resolved compression and/or stretching of the hollow organ, which is brought about by an introduction of the guide facility, is determined and specified.

With the progress that is being made nowadays in medical technology, in particular in data acquisition and imaging and also data processing, new opportunities are being produced for supporting a doctor or a surgeon. Such support by technical and thus objective means and means that do not depend on the performance on the day for example may contribute to improved treatment and thus ultimately to the wellbeing of the patient, because the respective doctor undertaking the treatment obtains more and/or new information by comparison with conventional methods for example and/or may be relieved of the load of acts or activities that previously had to be carried out manually.
A method for planning support for an interventional procedure is already known from German Patent Application DE 10 2016 212 882 A1, for example. In this method, a three-dimensional image dataset of a hollow organ is provided and segmented. The three-dimensional image dataset then has a two-dimensional image of a guide facility superimposed on it. Subsequently, a corrected position of a section of the hollow organ is determined. Based on this corrected position, a deformation energy of the hollow organ in the section may then be determined for a removal of the guide facility.

Planning support for an interventional procedure


A multi-carrier CDMA transfer device using block-based partial-carrier spreading uses block-based partial-carrier spreading in the multi-cell environment to be applied to MC-CDMA models (FH-MC/CDMA TDD) that are strong against multi-path fading. A transmitter of the transfer device spreads carriers per block in the frequency domain by using the block-based partial-carrier spreading, and a receiver despreads received signals by using the block-based partial-carrier and restore original data. Optionally, an array antenna having a plurality of antenna elements is applied to the transmitter and the receiver, and weights are adaptively applied depending on the channel quality when transmitting and receiving signals through the antenna elements. Therefore, frequency diversity is obtainable and inter-cell interference and inter-code interference is optimized in the MC-CDMA method. Also, changes of frequency hopping reduce temporal variations of channels and prevent a high SN ratio.

The current radio communication system uses the IMT 2000 standard which realizes data rates of 144 kbps in the mobile environment and 2 Mbps in the stationary environment.
However, a higher-rate radio system is required so as to realize multimedia communication such as e-mail, high-rate Internet access, transmission of high-precision moving pictures, and downloads of huge volumes of files in the mobile environment. Recently, 3.5th and 4th generation radio communication studies have been progressing, which aim at the data rates of 5 Mbps at a maximum in the mobile condition and several tens of Mbps in the stationary condition.
In order to realize high-rate and high-quality information transmission in the radio communication environment, transmission methods with strong characteristics against deterioration of communication quality and high frequency allowance are needed, which include Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (OFDM) and the Multi-Carrier-Code Division Multiple Access (MC-CDMA) systems.
The OFDM scheme for applying a plurality of orthogonal carriers to the CDMA scheme to thus realize multiplexing is classified as the OFDM Time Division Multiple Access (OFDM-TDMA) for allowing a plurality of users to use different time slots as shown in FIG. 1, and the OFDM Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDM-FDMA) for allowing different users to use predetermined carriers as shown in FIG. 2.
The MC-CDMA, categorized as the CDMA schemes, loads user information on different carriers and provides the same to the frequency domain so that a plurality of users may perform communication through code multiplexing as shown in FIG. 3.
However, the above-described OFDM scheme is weak in interference generated by other cells in the multi-cell environment, and hence, the bit error rate (BER) and communication capacity are problematically worsened because of the interference, and the above-noted MC-CDMA scheme is strong against interference provided by other cells but inter-code interference is increased to worsen system performance when the number of users in a cell is increased, and the same is weak in the peak to average power ratio (PAPR).

Multi-carrier CDMA transmitting device and method using block-based multi-carrier spreading

Industry Academic Cooperation Foundation of Kyunghee University


A conduit clip having a laterally toothed strap that can be drawn through a pair of locking structures in a laterally shifting torqueing motion to conveniently, securely, and irreversibly lash one or more conduits in place at a desired location.

One or more cables, wires, flexible conduits, pipes, and tubes of various sizes and shapes (referred to collectively below as "conduits") are often run in close proximity for television, internet, telephony, electrical power and other applications. When such conduits are not affixed in place, they can be unstable, subject to damage or tangling, difficult to identify, and unsightly. Various clips have been developed over the years to address these issues by locking single conduits or multiple conduits into bundles within the clips and affixing the clips to support surfaces.
Prior clips are typically designed to fix conduits in the clips before the clips are attached to support surfaces and may contain separate base and strap portions that must be separately molded and assembled and are unwieldy to handle. Prior clips also have a variety of drawbacks including expense, inability to accommodate multiple conduits of varying sizes and shapes into the clips, difficulty in reliably locking the clips about multiple conduits, and awkwardness in affixing the clips to support surfaces. It is also often difficult to maneuver the prior conduit-containing clips into place and to attach them to the support surfaces. Finally, prior clips often have strap designs that create stress points during use making them prone to early failure.
The present one-piece conduit clip embodiments meet these challenges with a structure that is economical to manufacture, includes a strap that preferably is uniformly thick and smooth along both its top and bottom surfaces to evenly distribute stresses in the strap when it is bent and thereby to prevent premature failure, and can be mounted to support surfaces prior to gathering and locking conduits into place in the clips. The present one-piece conduit clip embodiments are also easy to use in gathering and irreversibly locking about one or more conduits of various sizes and shapes.

Cable, wire, conduit, pipe or tube affixing clip


Sensor information is received. Based at least in part on at least one state detected using the sensor information, an expected value for automatically performing an action associated with a device controlled by a device controller system is evaluated as compared to an expected value for potentially performing, subject to a user interactive qualification, the action associated with the device controlled by the device controller. It is determined that the expected value of automatically performing the action is insufficient to trigger automatically performing the action without being subject to the user interactive qualification. A confirmatory indication is identified. Based at least in part on the confirmatory indication, an instruction is sent to the device to perform the action.

Network connected devices (e.g., Internet of Things (i.e., IoT) devices) allow remote control and automation of the devices within an environment (e.g., home). However, these devices are often not capable of being fully autonomous. Often users must manually operate the devices in a remote control fashion, or users manually create complex rules that try to mimic desired operations. For example, the user must be aware of where devices are specifically located, the capability/range of the device, and how each device will specifically impact the surrounding environment as it relates to a desired result.


A method and apparatus for measuring the concentration of a trace nitrogen dioxide contained in the atmosphere on a pptv level with excellent accuracy by a single-wavelength laser induced fluorescence method. The device comprises a laser light source unit, a light excitation unit, a light guide unit, an air passing unit for passing either the air to be measured or a reference air prepared by removing nitrogen dioxide from the air to be measured, a light sensor unit and a control unit. A single-wavelength laser beam is applied to the air to be measured and the reference air. The intensity of the light emitted from the air to be measured and the intensity of the light emitted from the reference air are measured, and the concentration of nitrogen dioxide is determined by using the difference between the two.

Ozone in the troposphere is thought to determine the oxidizing power of an atmosphere and further to bring about the global warming and to exert adverse influences on living bodies. In recent years a rising tendency of the tropospheric ozone has been suggested, and it is of urgent necessity to make clear the mechanism of ozone formation and extinction on the global scale. In order to elucidate the mechanism of ozone formation and extinction, it is essential to verify the photochemical theory in a clean area which has not been affected by unnatural pollution.
Nitrogen oxides NOx (nitrogen monoxide NO and nitrogen dioxide NO2), which through photochemical reactions act as precursors of ozone and also are precursors of nitric acid, the substance forming acid rain, are thus extremely important species in the tropospheric photochemistry.
The concentration of nitrogen oxides in a clear atmosphere is thought to be several to several tens of pptv (the volume concentration unit in 10−12). Estimating the amount of formation of ozone in a clean area saved from air pollution requires a supersensitive nitrogen oxide concentration meter. Further, nitrogen dioxide and nitrogen monoxide are quickly transformed to each other by photochemical reactions in the daytime, and their time constants of transformation in the neighborhood of ground surface are generally around several minutes. It is thus necessary to hold down the measuring time to around 1 minute or less and it is required to complete the measurement in an extremely short period of time.
In the high-sensitivity measurement of the concentration of nitrogen oxides, use has so far been made of the chemiluminescence technique that detects a chmiluminescent light emitted when ozone reacts with nitrogen monoxide. If this technique is applied to measuring the concentration of nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen dioxide must for measurement of its concentration be first transformed to nitrogen monoxide through photodissociation or catalytic reaction. Further, this technique when used to complete the measurement in a measuring time of 1 minute has a limit of detection of 10 pptv, which is insufficient to measure the concentration of nitrogen dioxide in the clean atmosphere. Furthermore, the chemiluminescence technique, being an indirect method of measurement in which the concentration of nitrogen dioxide cannot be measured unless it is first transformed into nitrogen monoxide, has the shortcoming that it is affected largely by change and error in the conversion efficiency and also by alteration in the concentration of ozone monoxide in the atmospheric air.
There is also a technique in which molecules of nitrogen dioxide are excited by a laser light and the intensity of a fluorescent light emitted when the excited nitrogen dioxide molecules return to their ground state is measured to determine the concentration of nitrogen dioxide. Its principles are explained below.
A nitrogen dioxide molecule NO2 to transition from its ground state 2A1 to its excited state 2B2 absorbs a photon of frequency ν1 having the energy required for the transition to form a nitrogen dioxide molecule NO2* in the excited state, following the reaction:NO2*+hν1→NO2*   (1)
The nitrogen dioxide molecule NO2* in the excited state upon emitting a photon of frequency ν2 deviated towards red relative to frequency ν1 is returned to a nitrogen dioxide molecule NO2 in the ground state as follows:NO2*→NO2+hν2   (2)
Since the reaction (1) is proportional to the concentration of nitrogen dioxide molecules NO2, the number of photons of frequency ν2 is proportional to the concentration of nitrogen dioxide molecules NO2. It is thus possible to determine the concentration of nitrogen dioxide molecules NO2 by exciting the nitrogen dioxide molecules NO2 with a laser light and measuring the number of photons emitted by the nitrogen dioxide molecules NO2 in the excited state.
However, not only do those incident on a photon counting instrument include photons emitted in the form of a fluorescent light from nitrogen dioxide molecules, but also they include photons incident due to the scattering (Rayleigh scattering and Mie scattering) of the excited laser light by a particulate matter (aerosols) in the atmospheric air. Since the concentration to be measured here is in the pptv order of magnitude, an extremely feeble signal or a signal that is low in signal/noise ratio makes it impossible to accurately measure the concentration of nitrogen dioxide unless the scattered light intensity as a background noise is subtracted from the measured light intensity.
In addition to that due to the light scattering by the particulate matter, such background noises include those due to dark current from the photon detector and irregular reflections of light by instrument walls, which must also be subtracted in order to allow the concentration of nitrogen dioxide to be accurately determined.
A nitrogen dioxide concentration measurement apparatus designed to overcome these difficulties exists utilizing a dual wavelength laser induced fluorescence technique using a variable wavelength pulsed light laser. In this technique, two laser lights having their wavelengths corresponding to a peak and a valley of the absorption spectrum of nitrogen dioxide, respectively, are alternately applied for measurement. The first laser light of the wavelength corresponding to the peak of the absorption spectrum excites nitrogen dioxide molecules, and then there results a measure value that is the sum of the intensity of fluorescence emitted by nitrogen dioxide molecules, the intensity of scattered lights by the particulate matter and the other background noises. On the other hand, the second laser light of the wavelength corresponding to the valley of the absorption spectrum of nitrogen dioxide does not excite the nitrogen dioxide molecules, and then there results a measured value that is the sum of the scattered lights by the particulate matter and the other background noises.
It follows, therefore, that subtracting the measured value by the laser light of the wavelength corresponding to the valley from the measured value by the laser light of the wavelength corresponding the peak allows only the light intensity of the fluorescence from the nitrogen dioxide molecules to be known and thus the concentration of nitrogen dioxide to be determined.
According to this technique, however while it is made possible to measure a concentration of nitrogen dioxide at a level of several of pptv, such a variable wavelength laser becomes essential and indispensable that it can produce two laser lights having wavelengths adjacent to each other and corresponding to the peak and valley of the absorption spectrum of nitrogen dioxide, respectively, and further whose intensity ratio can be strictly controlled. Such a variable wavelength laser is not only expensive but also unstable in operation unavoidably by reason of its operating principles. In order to be made operable stably, it requires elaborate and large-scaled accessories, which are not suitable for an instrument that requires that measurements such as of global atmospheric environments be made simply and easily and regardless of places and seasons.
Under these circumstances, there has presently been no means or apparatus that allows the concentration of nitrogen dioxide as low as at a pptv level to be determined simply and easily and at the same time with high precision.

Method for measuring concentration of nitrogen dioxide in air by single-wavelength laser induced fluorescence method, and apparatus for measuring concentration of nitrogen dioxide by the method


In a public cordless telephone system, a cordless telephone handset unit requests and establishes a communications link with a public base unit served by a desired local service provider whenever possible. By generating a service request containing a specific carrier request code, the handset unit selectively identifies an available public base unit served by the desired local service provider and then establishes a communications link with this base unit. In response to receiving the service request from the handset unit, all public base units operated by the chosen service provider respond by providing a first acknowledgment signal. All other public base units respond by providing a second acknowledgment signal. When both such signals are received, the handset unit responds only to the first acknowledgment signal and establishes a communications link with the first base unit providing this signal. When only the second acknowledgment signal is received, the handset unit responds by establishing a communications link with the first base unit providing this second acknowledgment signal. When communications is established with a base unit providing the second acknowledgment signal, an alerting signal is generated at the handset unit thereby informing the user that even though he or she is able to make a telephone call, the desired local service provider was not reached. Collision avoidance between public base units while supporting this operation may be provided by assigning a specific one of a plurality of times during which each public base unit may respond to the service request from the handset unit.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to cordless telephones and more particularly to cordless telephones arranged for deployment in a public telephone system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Telephone communications in public areas have traditionally been limited to a person using a public telephone where he or she could make either charge calls, pay calls or credit card calls. The mobility of the user has thus been limited to the immediate surroundings of the public telephone, as determined by the length of the telephone handset cord. Other alternatives, such as cellular telephone service and the new telepoint system, are expensive and therefore unattractive to many potential users.
One economical alternative to the public telephone is a public cordless telephone system. Such a system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,198 which issued to J. J. Daly et al. on Aug. 28, 1990. The public cordless telephone system includes a plurality of public base units that are accessible by a plurality of portable, or cordless, telephone handset units. Each one of these handset units is capable of establishing communications with each one of the base units over a plurality of predetermined channels. Communication over each one of these channels as by way of a radio frequency carrier signal that is modulated by control signals and audio signals to and from a public base unit as appropriate. And the public base units are connected to telephone lines for providing convention telephone communications for the handset units.
In the operation of the public cordless telephone system, a communications link between the handset unit and the public base unit is established by a user activating the handset unit which, in turn, interrogates each one of a plurality of predetermined channels in order to establish communications with a public base unit on a nonbusy, or available, one of those channels. Once the handset unit selects an available channel, it transmits a service request which includes an identification code over this channel. A public base unit within the reception range of the handset unit receives the handset unit's identification code, appends its own identification code to this received code and then transmits the combined handset unit identification code and public base unit identification code back to the handset unit. The handset unit receives this combined code from the public base unit and then compares the handset portion of the received code with the code that it previously transmitted. If a favorable comparison of this code and the handset portion of the code received from the public base unit is obtained, the communications link is then established between the handset unit and the public base unit on that selected channel.
As public base units increase in number, many service providers are expected to provide carrier service for public base units. Thus if a handset unit happens to be within the reception range of two or more public base units that are capable or responding to the handset unit on the same channel, either one of these base units may respond to and establish communications with the handset unit. Since these public base units may not be provided by the same service provider, certain desirable communication options or features available from one service provider may not be available from the other.

Method and apparatus for selecting a preferred service provider during a call setup in a public cordless telephone system


An apparatus for measuring a parameter related to the capacitance between a drive electrode and a receive electrode of a touch sensitive device. The apparatus includes an accumulator capacitor coupled at one end to a voltage measurement circuit and at the other end to the receive electrode, and control circuitry configured and arranged, during each cycle of a measurement sequence, to connect a reference voltage to a first node that electrically connects the accumulator capacitor to the voltage measurement circuit. The apparatus further includes a resistive circuit configured and arranged to draw current from a second node electrically connected to the accumulator capacitor and to the receive electrode during the measurement sequence.

Touch sensitive devices allow a user to conveniently interface with electronic systems and displays by reducing or eliminating the need for mechanical buttons, keypads, keyboards, and pointing devices. For example, a user can carry out a complicated sequence of instructions by simply touching an on-display touch screen at a location identified by an icon.
There are several types of technologies for implementing a touch sensitive device including, for example, resistive, infrared, capacitive, surface acoustic wave, electromagnetic, near field imaging, etc. Capacitive touch sensing devices have been found to work well in a number of applications. In many touch sensitive devices, the input is sensed when a conductive object in the sensor is capacitively coupled to a conductive touch implement such as a user's finger. Generally, whenever two electrically conductive members come into proximity with one another without actually touching, their electric fields interact to form capacitance. In the case of a capacitive touch sensitive device, as an object such as a finger approaches the touch sensing surface, a tiny capacitance forms between the object and the sensing points in close proximity to the object. By detecting changes in capacitance at each of the sensing points and noting the position of the sensing points, the sensing circuit can recognize multiple objects and determine the characteristics of the object as it is moved across the touch surface (such as location, pressure, direction, speed, acceleration, and so forth).

Mutual capacitance measuring circuits and methods