A pre-molded or moldable shaft grip includes a pre-configured or moldable section disposed within a substantially circular outer grip layer. A pre-configured or moldable section substantially conforms to a player's grip, facilitating consistent finger placement. The pre-configured section may comprise the shaft, a separate section, or multiple sections of varying durometer. The moldable section may include a layer of moldable material, or a cavity disposed between the outer grip layer and the shaft containing a moldable substance. Overall grip durometer can be adjusted by varying the pressure within the cavity.

A good grip is desirable when wielding any hand-held object. A firm and comfortable grip is important when using many hand-held tools equipped with a handle or shaft, such as hammers and axes. Moreover, many sports require a player to grip a handle or shaft on a piece of sporting equipment, e.g. tennis, cycling, hockey, golf, etc. Golfers for example strive for consistency, and a comfortable, firm grip with proper finger placement is one of the keys to a consistent golf game. Nevertheless, the typical club grip used by many golfers does not promote a comfortable, firm grip or proper finger placement.
The typical golf club grip is a single-layer molded rubber grip that has a pre-determined thickness and durometer. The durometer or hardness of the club grip is important because a player's grip on the club will not feel secure if the grip is too hard or too soft. The right club grip "feel" varies widely among golfers. Most club grips, however, are only available in a few select levels of feel, such as soft, medium, or hard.
One way to improve club grip feel is to construct grips from multiple layers of material having different durometers. For example, Royal Precision's Multi-Density Grip employs a low durometer color compound layer over a hard black inner core layer. Royal Precision advertises that the soft outer layer provides a custom grip "feel," while the harder inner layer maintains stability by reducing torque and twisting at impact.
A similar design is used in existing cycle grips. One example of such grips are the ZyGo cycle grips made by A'ME. ZyGo grips have an inner-skeleton molded out of a hard rubber compound surrounded by a softer, tackier outer layer. A'ME advertises that the hard inner layer prevents torque between the handle bar and the rider's hands, while the softer outer layer provides increased grip feel.
Grips with multiple layers, similar to standard single-layer grips, are typically available only available in a few select layer durometers. Thus, existing multiple-layer grips are similarly limited in their level of club grip feel. In addition, multiple layer grips do not address the problem of proper finger placement. Without a physical guide on the club grip, it is often difficult for beginning and intermediate players to locate the proper hand placement on the club grip. Thus, many players vary the placement of their hands and fingers on the club from shot to shot. This is a major contributor to a golfer's lack of consistency on the golf course.
Most club grips lack any physical contours that could assist the golfer with proper and consistent finger placement when gripping the club. This is because the typical club grip is manufactured to comply with the rules of the United States Golf Association ("USGA"), which call for a club grip that is circular in cross section with no bulges or concavity. Nevertheless, there have been several attempts to improve the consistency in golf grip hand and finger placement through the addition of physical bulges or concavity in a golf grip.
For instance, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,427,376 ("'376"), 5,480,146 ("'146"), and 6,540,621 ("'621") describe grips that are pre-shaped or pre-molded for a typical golfer's fingers. Indentations formed or molded onto the outer surface of the club grip guide the player's fingers and hands to the same location each time they grab the club. Yet, to accommodate the indentations and the bulges that indicate finger and hand placement, these grips are generally quite large and bulky. Another problem associated with the formed or molded indentations in these grips is that the bulges and concavities are obvious to other players, which can be a source of embarrassment for the player. Of course, these club grips also violate the USGA rules.
Furthermore, because the grips disclosed by '376, '146, and '621 references are molded or formed to accommodate the hands and fingers of a typical golfer, the grips are not tailored to the physical and style characteristics of the individual player. Thus, these grips are unable to accommodate the differences in golfers' hand sizes, finger lengths, grip styles (e.g., the overlapping grip, the 10-finger grip, the interlocking grip, etc.), or a combination thereof.
There have been attempts to offer a custom-mold club grip that improves the consistency of club grip finger placement to accommodate the unique physical characteristics of a player's hands. One such attempt by a company called Fit Grip requires that a player grip a pre-heated material forming the club grip for a period of approximately 30 seconds, during which time indents are formed in the soft grip material at precisely the points where the hands and fingers contact the grip. After the grip has cooled, the impression remains permanently molded in the club. The club grip is capable of being molded additional times if necessary.
Although the molding of the club grip produces contours custom-fitted to each golfer's hands, the resulting grip is still relatively large, obvious, and fails to conform to the USGA rules. An additional drawback is that the molded club grip must be fitted by a trained professional. Many avid golfers enjoy the work required to re-grip their clubs. By performing the re-grip themselves, golfers get a more intimate feel for their golf equipment and a greater sense of confidence when the equipment is used on the course.
It is an object of the present grips to provide an adjustable level of overall grip durometer, or "feel," in a single grip. It is another object of the present grips to instill confidence in the player by increasing the surface area of the grip in contact with the player's hands. It is yet another object of the present grips to provide a physical guide to assist in consistent and proper finger placement on a grip that is outwardly circular in cross section with no obvious bulges or concavity. It is an additional object of the present grips to provide a grip that may be custom-fitted by the player. Individual embodiments of the present grips may address some or all of these objectives.
These and other desirable characteristics of the present grips will become apparent in view of the present specification, including the claims and drawings. Although certain golf club grip examples are described in detail, the scope of this specification is not meant to limit its claims to only those examples shown. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures and methods for carrying out the several purposes of the present grips. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present grips.


An electrical connector with an antenna terminal includes an insulation housing (4) having a base portion (4a) with at least one mounting hole (6); an antenna terminal insulation column (9) extending forwardly from the base portion and having a central aperture (14) therethrough; and an outer conductor terminal (22) having a cylindrical terminal body (23) fitted over the antenna terminal insulation column and a conductor portion (24) extending outwardly from a lower edge of the terminal body and having a ring portion (25) which is placed on the mounting hole for attachment to a grounding object.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical connectors for establishing contacts between antenna connection terminals and between contact terminals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electrical connectors of this type are used to connect cables for transmitting signals to receivers from antennas which are mounted on moving objects such as automobiles. However, most of the conventional electrical connectors are used to connect a cable of a single antenna to a receiver.
FIG. 23 shows such a conventional male connector 80 which includes an insulation housing 82 with a fitting cavity 83 having a pair of insulation walls 84. An antenna terminal mount 85 is provided on the upper left-hand corner of the insulation housing 82. A number of male terminals 86 are mounted at predetermined intervals on opposite sides of each insulation walls 84 for serving as signal terminals or power terminals. An antenna male terminal 87 is mounted on the antenna terminal mount 85. The antenna male terminal 87 has a male central conductor 100 and a resilient male outer conductor 101 surrounding the male central conductor 100.
In FIG. 24, the central conductor 101 and the outer conductor 102 are connected to the central conductor 103 and the outer conductor 104 of a shielded cable on the rear side of the male connector 80.
In FIG. 25, the male connector 80 is attached to a panel 89 by inserting the housing 82 through an opening 89a of the panel 89 and screwing a bolt 90a into a embedded fixture 87a with a rug washer 87b placed between the housing 82 and the panel 89. A board 88 is then attached to the housing 82 by tightening a nut 90b. The front end of the rug washer 87b is connected to the outer conductor 102 of the male terminal 87 via a lead wire 105 for grounding.
In FIG. 26, a conventional female connector 81 includes an insulation housing 91 with two pairs of insulation walls 92. A number of female terminals 93 are mounted at predetermined intervals on the inner sides of each pair of insulation walls 92 for serving as power terminals or signal terminals. An antenna terminal mount 94 is provided on the upper right-hand corner of the insulation housing 91. An antenna female terminal 95 is mounted in the antenna terminal mount 94. The antenna female terminal 95 has a female central conductor 106 and a female outer conductor 107.
When the female connector 81 is connected to the male connector 80, the insulation walls 92 of the female connector 81 are fitted into the fitting cavity 83 of the male connector 80 so that the signal terminals and the power terminals of the female connector 81 are brought into contact with those of the male connector 80 while the antenna female terminal 94 is brought into contact with the antenna male terminal 87.
However, it is very difficult and expensive to connect the male outer conductor 102 to the panel 89 for grounding because the lead wire 105 must be soldered to the rug washer 87b which is secured between the panel 89 and the housing 82 with a bolt 90a and the embedded fixture 87a. In addition, it often causes poor connection.


Embodiments are directed to countermeasures against hardware side-channel attacks on cryptographic operations. An embodiment of an apparatus includes multiple crypto cores; and a current source including multiple current source blocks, the current source blocks including a respective current source block associated with each of the crypto cores, and wherein the current sources blocks are switchable to switch on a current source block associated with each active core of the multiple crypto cores and to switch off a current source associated with each inactive core of the multiple cryptographic cores.

Cryptography is implemented in computing systems to provide for secure data storage and communication, including security against side-channel attacks (SCAs). A side channel attack is an attack based on leaked information in a computing system, such as in the form of power consumption, electromagnetic emissions, or other signal observations from a circuit.
However, any security system utilizing cryptography is dependent upon the security inherent in the cryptography. This is becoming a more urgent concern as quantum computing is coming closer to reality. Quantum computing may be capable of breaking through systems that were previously believed to be highly secure, thus requiring Post-Quantum Cryptography solutions to prevent data losses in the face of the new challenges posed by quantum computer.
At the same time, new security solutions cannot impose such a great burden on computing system as to prevent effective operation. Thus, technology to prevent of side channel attacks needs to be lightweight as well as effective at reducing data leakage.

Countermeasures against hardware side-channel attacks on cryptographic operations


The pneumatically driven projectile weapon combines the tensioned line of a conventional crossbow or archery bow with mechanical and pneumatic compression, thus increasing the power and accuracy of the weapon. A spring-biased cylinder is mounted within a hollow weapon stock, similar to a conventional rifle or shotgun stock, and is interconnected via an internal pulley system to the tensioned line. Firing tension in the line to launch a projectile, such as an arrow or the like, is created by compression of the spring-biased pneumatic cylinder.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to weapons, and particularly to a pneumatically driven projectile weapon (a cross between a crossbow and an air gun) combining a tensioned line with a spring-biased pneumatic cylinder to launch a projectile (an arrow or dart).
2. Description of the Related Art
A crossbow is a weapon having a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, similar to conventional arrows. A conventional crossbow is relatively bulky, due to the necessity of the bow portion, thus making it inefficient for carrying during hunting or other recreational or sport activities. Additionally, the crossbow, as with the conventional bow, is limited in firing power by the maximum tension of which the bow is capable of achieving. It would be desirable to combine the capabilities of a crossbow with the portability and convenience of a conventional hunting weapon, such as a rifle or shotgun, and to further increase firing power without the structural limitations of a conventional bow.
Thus, a pneumatically driven projectile weapon solving the aforementioned problems is desired.


According to an embodiment, a first acquirer of an image processing apparatus acquires a subject image of a first subject. A second acquirer acquires a first parameter representing a body type of the first subject. A receiver receives identification information on clothing to be tried on. An identifier identifies a clothing image associated with a second parameter of which dissimilarity with the first parameter is not larger than a threshold, from among clothing images associated with the received identification information in first information in which clothing sizes, second parameters, and clothing images are associated with each piece of identification information. The second parameters corresponds to each clothing size and represents different body types. The clothing images each represents a second subject who has a body type represented by the corresponding second parameter associated with the corresponding clothing size and who is wearing the piece of clothing in each clothing size.

Various technologies for displaying a virtual image of a subject trying on a piece of clothing have been disclosed. For example, a technology for displaying a synthetic image of a first subject trying on a piece of clothing has been disclosed.
Conventionally practiced is synthesizing an image of a piece of ready-made clothing in a size prepared in advance with an image of a first subject whatever the body type of the first subject is. It has been therefore difficult to provide images representing the first subject actually wearing pieces of clothing in different sizes.

Image processing apparatus, image processing system, image processing method, and computer program product


A lamp socket system 1 is provided for mounting an associated lamp 20, 20' by holding a base 15 of the lamp through engagement between a set of connection pins 8, 8' extending outwardly from the lamp base and a set of bayonet catch contacts 17, 18. The lamp socket includes a main housing body 2 and a substantially cylindrical coding ring 3, 3' selectively connectable with the housing. The cylindrical coding ring 3 includes a set of recesses 10, 10' arranged on an inner circumference of the coding ring at positions corresponding with positions of the set of connection pins 8, 8' extending from the associated lamp socket base 15. The set of recesses 10, 10' are adapted to receive the set of bayonet catch contacts 17, 18 associated with the lamp socket. A plurality of cylindrical coding rings are provided for selective connection with the main housing body to provide a convertible lamp socket system.

The subject invention is directed to the electric lamp socket art and, more particularly, to a convertible lamp socket that is adaptable for use with electric lamps and bulbs having a wide variety of lamp base end configurations.
Lamp sockets of the type under consideration are commonly used to support lamps that have a metallic base portion including at least a pair of radially extending contact or connection pins. Typically, the electric lamps are held in place relative to the lamp socket through engagement of the connection pins with bayonet-type catch and electromechanical contact members arranged in the lamp socket.
Those skilled in the electric lamp arts know that a wide variety of electric lamps are available, each having a different or slightly different contact pin arrangement on their base ends. As an example, in the automotive vehicle arts, brake light lamps and turn signal indicator lamps have two or more connection pins extending radially outwardly from the metallic base portion of the bulbs. The connection pins can, in one example, be arranged on diametrically opposite sides of the lamp base end. In other bulb types, the connection pins can be arranged at positions offset circumferentially from strict diametric opposite positions. In still other bulbs, the connection pins are often positioned laterally offset relative to each other along the longitudinal axis of the lamp.
One major disadvantage of these known constructions is that, based on the variety of connection or contact pin configurations on the lamp sockets of the respective lamps, specifically designed lamp sockets are required for each lamp type in order to fasten or mount the lamp in the appropriate position. One result is that a large inventory of lamp socket parts are needed in order to accommodate the specific needs of each of the individual electric lamp types. In addition to large inventory requirements, it is often difficult to quickly ascertain which bulbs are to be used with particular sockets and, conversely, which sockets are to be used with particular bulbs.
In contrast to the above, the present invention provides a convertible lamp socket of the above-mentioned type that is easily configured for use with a wide variety of bulb styles. The subject convertible lamp socket facilitates a simplification with respect to lamp socket application for a wide variety of differently shaped bulbs. A single main housing body is provided together with a plurality of interchangeable bulb coding rings.

TRW Automotive Electronics & Components GmbH & Co. KG


A method includes receiving, from a requesting guest environment, a device call requesting access to a device; sending the device call to an emulating guest environment, the emulating guest environment emulating the device; receiving, from the emulating guest environment, a result of the device call; and sending the result of the device call to the requesting guest environment.

Virtual operating environments are used for a wide variety of purposes. Software operating in such environments may request access to devices for the same purposes as software running in any other type of computing environment. However, in the virtualization context, the devices requested in this manner may not actually be resident on the computing system, but may themselves be virtualized. Therefore, it is desirable to virtualize such devices in a manner that uses computing resources efficiently, and provides for reasonable software development costs.

Method and system for emulation of instructions and hardware using background guest mode processing


A terminal, in particular a mobile terminal, comprises means for processing a positioning signal coming from a satellite positioning system, means for computing direct and inverse Fourier transforms, wireless communication means using OFDM modulation, and priority management means for assigning resources of the direct/inverse Fourier transform computation means either to the positioning signal processing means or to the wireless communication means.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method aimed at optimizing the architecture of a mobile terminal supporting a location function based on receiving signals from a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and wireless communication using orthogonal frequency diversity multiplexing (OFDM), such as a WiFi™ function conforming to the 802.11a or 802.11g standard or supporting a WiFi™ function by means of a dual-band chip conforming to a standard that is not compatible with OFDM coding and also to a standard that is compatible therewith.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a satellite positioning system using radio navigation satellite system (RNSS) terminals such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) or GLONASS terminal, the data signals for calculating the position of the terminal come from different satellites (at least four satellites in order to determine four unknowns x, y, z and t).
The GPS signal broadcast by each satellite is based on a spread spectrum technique. The signal is therefore a binary data signal modulated by a signal whose spectrum has been spread by a code division multiple access (CDMA) method. In other words, each bit of the data signal is replaced by a spreading sequence specific to each satellite. The data is transmitted serially at 50 bit/s (equivalent to 0.02 s/bit). A spreading sequence such as a Gold pseudorandom sequence is transmitted at a much higher rate; a Gold sequence can be considered as a series of bits with a clearly defined clock period; the term "code moment" (or the more frequently used term "chip") refers to a bit of the sequence and, by extension, to the duration of this kind of bit. The spreading sequence is transmitted at a rate of 1.023 Mchip/s (a chip therefore has a duration of approximately 1 μs) and comprises 1023 chips (having a duration of 1 ms); there are therefore 20 sequence repetitions per data bit.
Modulation by the signal whose spectrum has been spread means that a "normal" demodulator will interpret the received signal as noise.
To separate the signals coming from different satellites, the terminal correlates the signal received and a local replica of the spreading code corresponding to the satellite whereof the information content is to be extracted.
Generally speaking, the correlation function f(τ) of two signals fi(t) and fj(t) is given by the equation:
      f              (      τ      )        =            ∫              +        ∞                    -        ∞                                          f          i                                  (          t          )                    ·                        f          j                                  (                      t            -            τ                    )                    ·                                        ⅆ        t
in which τ designates a variable time. Of course, in practice, the integration is not performed from −∞ to +∞, but over a finite time period, dividing the integral by the duration of said period. If the functions fi(t) and fj(t) are identical, the term autocorrelation function is used; if the functions fi(t) and fj(t) are different, the term intercorrelation function is used.
Each satellite k has its own pseudorandom signal ck(t). Each of these pseudorandom signals has the property that its autocorrelation function is a null function except in the vicinity of the null time shift, where it assumes a triangular shape. In other words, the integral
      ∫          +      ∞              -      ∞                            c        k                          (        t        )              ·                  c        k                          (                  t          -          τ                )              ·                            ⅆ      t      has a null value when τ has a non-null value and is at a maximum when τ has a null value.
Furthermore, the signals each associated with a different satellite are selected so that they have a null intercorrelation function; in other words, the integral
      ∫          +      ∞              -      ∞                            c        k                          (        t        )              ·                  c        k        ′                          (                  t          -          τ                )              ·                            ⅆ      t      has a null value when τ has any value if k and k′ are different.
The signals from the satellites whose spectra have been spread are therefore chosen to be orthogonal.
When the terminal is seeking to acquire data from a particular satellite, it correlates the signal received with a replica of the pseudorandom sequence of the satellite concerned (this sequence is assigned to the satellite once and for all and does not change during the lifetime of the satellite).
Accordingly, the signal S(t) received by the terminal is the sum of all of the signals transmitted by each satellite:
            S                    (        t        )              =                  ∑                  k          =          1                n                                                c            k                                          (            t            )                          ·                              d            k                                          (            t            )                                ,where n is the number of satellites, ck(t) represents the spread spectrum signal from the satellite k and dk(t) represents the data from the satellite k.
To acquire the data from the satellite m, the local replica corresponds to the signal cm(t). Accordingly, following correlation, and assuming that the spreading signals are perfectly orthogonal, all the data from the satellites that are not being looked for (the intercorrelation functions whereof have a null value) are eliminated, leaving only the data from the satellite m. Correlation is possible because the duration of a spreading sequence is twenty times smaller than the duration of a data bit.
The signal acquisition phase consists in calculating the correlation of the signal received with the local replica of the required satellite code over a time period equivalent to the period of the code, which is 1 ms, with a depth (integral limit) depending on the detection performance required.
However, implementing this kind of solution gives rise to certain difficulties, in particular in terms of calculation complexity.
The most widely used and effective technique for reducing the computation load computes the correlation function using fast Fourier transforms. The computation steps are then as follows:                compute the Fourier transform of the incoming signal on a given time support,        compute the fast Fourier transform of the local replica of the spreading code corresponding to the satellites whose information is to be extracted,        multiply the resulting two vectors,        compute the inverse fast Fourier transform of the product.
Although this computation method achieves a significant improvement in terms of computation complexity, it is nevertheless very costly to implement in terminals with limited capacity in terms of computation power and power consumption. This is precisely the situation in a mobile terminal such as a mobile telephone.
Also, communication techniques based on OFDM modulation techniques are expanding at an increasing rate. For example, the 802.11a and 802.11g WiFi™ techniques are based on OFDM modulation.
The OFDM modulation technique is based on a technique of optimum frequency diversity obtained by fast Fourier transform computation on the modulating signal. Details of this technique can be found in the thesis "The suitability of OFDM as a modulation technique for wireless telecommunications, with a CDMA comparison", Eric Lawrey, October 1997. This modulation technique employs a large number of fast Fourier transform calculations. To this end, mobile communication terminal manufacturers are developing dedicated computation devices, thereby increasing the complexity of the architecture of these mobile terminals and their power consumption.
The invention starts with the astute observation that GNSS and OFDM computation techniques are very similar, the invention therefore consists in judiciously pooling resources to optimize the architecture of mobile terminals supporting a satellite location function and a wireless communication function based on OFDM modulation.


Cross coupling framing signals between two timing subsystems to adjust the phase relationship between the timing subsystems. In a standby timing system, framing signal of the standby timing system is used to start a counter, and framing signal of the active timing subsystem is used to stop the counter. The delay due to drivers, receivers and interconnecting cables is made to be an integer number of counts (nominal count) of the counter. Any difference between the contents of the counter and the nominal count represents the difference in phase between the standby timing subsystem and the active timing subsystem. The standby timing subsystem is adjusted to eliminate this phase difference by eliminating the difference between the nominal count and the contents of the counter.

A prior art clock system such as those used in digital access cross-connect systems (DACS) is shown in FIG. 1 which illustrates clock circuits 120 and 121. One clock circuit is in an active mode whereas the other clock circuit is in a standby mode. Clock controllers 101 and 111 communicate via cable 110 and determine which clock circuit is active. If clock circuit 120 is active, then it drives clock buses 108 and 118 by the clock signals generated by phase locked loop 102. Clock controller 111 controls gates 115, 116, 117 so that the clock information on cable 109 is used to drive clock bus 118. Phase locked loop 112 utilizes the information received via cable 109 to align itself both in frequency and in phase with the output of phase locked loop 102.
In order to synchronize approximately the phases between clock buses 108 and 118, the output of phase locked loop 102 to bus 108 is delayed by delay line 104 to compensate for the nominal delay through gate 103, gate 117, and cable 109 to bus 118. When clock circuit 121 is active, similar functions are performed. However, there arc problems with using a delay line to compensate for the delays through the semiconductor devices such as gates 103, 106, and 117. First, semiconductor devices have widely varying propagation delay times when the devices are not in the same physical package. Further, delay lines can not be temperature compensated for propagation delay shifts in the semiconductor devices, cables and within the delay line itself. Further, delay lines are notoriously unreliable devices.
The use of clock circuits such as clock circuits 120 and 121 has lead to severe limitations on duplicated digital switching systems. These limitations include having to place the clock circuits in very close proximity to each other and, in certain cases, within the same equipment shelf.
In addition, the use of such a clock system leads to the limitation on the architecture of the duplicated digital switching systems. This clock system normally allows error free switching between duplicated data signals only at relatively low speed interfaces which normally occur at the input and the output of the digital switching systems; but this clock system does not allow error free duplication switching in the high speed portions of the duplicated digital systems. This places a limitation on the switching architectures particularly in making digital switching systems more reliable. In addition, when the digital switching systems are switching high speed data at the inputs and the outputs, it is required to use high speed buffer memories at the input in order to compensate for the skew in clock signals from the duplicated clock circuits. The use of these high speed buffer memories at the inputs adds to the cost, power, and delay in such systems.
The U.S. Pat. application of G.J. Grimes, entitled "Matching the Clock Phase of Duplicated Clock Circuits", Ser. No. 07/788,077, filed on Nov. 5, 1991, assigned to the same assignee as the present application, discloses an apparatus for communicating clock signals from an active clock circuit to its local timing bus via a first path that is through a standby clock circuit, two transmission links interconnecting the clock circuits, and the active clock circuit. The active clock circuit communicates clock signals to the remote timing bus via a second path that is through the active clock circuit, a transmission link that is approximately twice as long as each of the other two transmission links, and the standby clock circuit. Commercially available transceivers are used in the first and second paths within the two clock circuits. To assure that delays due to propagation time variations of the transceivers remain the same for both paths, an equal number of transceivers in each clock circuit are used in each path. Further, to reduce propagation variations due to temperature change and doping levels, the transceivers in each path are on the same monolithic substrate of an intergrated circuit in each clock circuit. To reduce the delay variations within the transmission links due to temperature differences, the links are positioned physically close to each other so as to experience the same temperature. In case, it becomes necessary for the standby clock to become active, the standby clock circuit uses clock signals transmitted to the remote bus (which is local to the standby clock circuit) to adjust the phase of clock signals generated by the standby clock circuit to match the phase of clock signals generated by the active clock circuit.
The method for clock phase adjustment, as set forth in the above-referenced patent application, provides a high degree of clock phase adjustment. The clock phase between the two duplicated clock circuits can easily be adjusted to be within a few nanoseconds of each other. There is a limitation in the method set forth in the above-referenced patent application that is the need to loop the clock signals of each clock circuit through the other clock circuit which makes field maintenance difficult and presents certain reliability problems.

Clock phase adjustment between duplicated clock circuits


In-situ fluorimeters and methods and systems for collecting and analyzing sensor data to predict water source contamination are provided. In one embodiment, a method is provided that includes receiving sensor data regarding a water source. Changepoints may then be calculated within the sensor data and the sensor data may be split into intervals at the changepoints. A machine learning model may then be used to classify the intervals and a predicted contamination event for the water source may be identified based on the classified intervals. In another embodiment, an in-situ fluorimeter is provided. The in-situ fluorimeter comprises one or more UV LEDs centered around a pre-set excitation wavelength (e.g., a TLF excitation wavelength), a bandpass filter, a lens, a photodiode system, a machine learning platform; and an alarm triggered by contamination events, wherein the alarm is calibrated through the machine learning system.

Access to safe, clean drinking water sources is a fundamental human need, and in, many parts of the world, access to these safe, clean, sources remains a challenge. In order to assess whether a water source is safe and clean, testing and monitoring must occur.
The World Health Organization Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality require water service providers to test that the water is safe, i.e., lacking in dangerous contaminants. Compliance requires organic contaminant, including microbial, water quality testing. This testing often occurs infrequently in emerging markets due to various obstacles such as cost, lack of equipment, and a lack of trained personnel.
The current products available for testing are expensive and imprecise. For example, there are three types of available products to test for E. coli (an indicator of fecal contamination in the water source): (1) Presence-Absence (PA); (2) Most Probably Number (MPN); and (3) Colony Counting (CN). These cost between 50 cents and $5.00 per sample, excluding personnel and logistics costs.
These tests require 16-24 hours to complete, making it practically impossible to detect a contamination event prior to the affected water reaching consumers.
While there are electronic in-situ sensors available off the shelf for monitoring water quality parameters like pH, turbidity and chlorine, at present, there are no viable in-situ electronic sensors for monitoring organic and/or microbial contamination of drinking water. Further, the electronic in-situ sensors currently available require frequent cleaning, are not intended for long term autonomous operation, and cost $7,500 or more.
Accordingly, there is a need for an in-situ organic and/or microbial sensor capable of autonomous, affordable, long term use.

Alarm threshold organic and microbial fluorimeter and methods


The invention relates to a method for recognizing objects in mail items and an arrangement for carrying out the method. In the method, the color image produced in the relevant color camera is converted into a gray level image having a resolution higher than that of the color camera and suitable for reading the postal information in the automatic reading devices; the color image produced in the relevant color camera is converted into a color image having a resolution lower than the camera resolution but sufficient far recognizing objects and their positions; the objects and their position present in the relevant lower resolution color image are determined and identified, the assignment of the objects to postal information categories being performed on the basis of structural rules established in an upstream teaching phase, and the required postal information in the gray level images of the relevant identified objects are automatically read.

The invention relates to a method and an arrangement for recognizing objects in mail item images, their position and reading their postal information in color and gray level images of mail item surfaces using at least one automatic reading device.
For large letters, magazines and packets it is often difficult to find and read the postal inscriptions such as the addressee's name and address as well as sender's particulars. The cause often lies with colored, patterned background images which may even contain other texts. To solve this problem, the practice has been to capture the mail item surfaces using a low resolution color camera and a high resolution gray level camera only the areas containing the postal information would be looked for and identified in the coarse color image of the mail item surface. Using this information, the corresponding inscriptions could then be read in the high resolution gray level image (U.S. Pat. No. 6,798,896 B2, DE 195 32 842 C1). Having two cameras has meant that complex/costly synchronization is also necessary.

Method and arrangement for recognizing objects in mail item images, their position and reading their postal information


A stabilizing device for stabilizing a ladder stand against a tree or post. The stabilizing device includes a first strut having a base member adapted to engage a tree or post and be secured thereto by a flexible strap and a clevis formed at the opposite end of the first strut for securing the first strut to a lower rung of a ladder stand. The stabilizing device includes a second strut pivotally connected to the first strut adjacent the base member and including a clevis for securing the opposite end of the second strut to a rung spaced four or five rungs away from the lower rung of the ladder stand to which the first strut is connected. The struts may include telescoping extension members for varying the effective lengths of the struts. The stabilizing device resists a tendency for a ladder stand to tilt away from a tree or post during an ascent or descent of the ladder stand by a person using same.

Portable ladder stands are widely used for hunting purposes and for gaining access to a tree or post at an elevated position thereon. Conventional ladder stands typically include a substantially straight ladder portion with or without a horizontally extending seat or rest portion at the upper end thereof.
A long-standing problem with the use of ladder stands adapted to be attached to a tree trunk or a vertically-extending post pertains to the lack of stability of the ladder stand, particularly when the stand is erected and initially ascended by the user for attachment of the ladder stand to the tree or post at the upper end of the ladder stand, or during final descent from the ladder stand after disconnecting the ladder stand from such tree or post. Accordingly, conventional ladder stands do not provide adequate stability during the initial ascent of or final descent from the ladder and the ladder tends to tilt away from the tree thereby posing the risk of serious injury to a person attempting to climb or descend the ladder.
Efforts to solve the above-mentioned problem with ladder stands have been attempted, including the provision of single rigid strut-like stabilizing devices which are attached to a lower rung of the ladder and to the tree or post against which the ladder stand is being erected. Ladder stands have also been secured to trees or posts by one or more ropes or straps. However, securement of a ladder stand to a tree or post at a lower rung by prior art stabilizing devices has not addressed the problem of instability of the ladder stand during the initial ascent.
The above-mentioned problem is further aggravated by the desire to provide maximum portability and reduced weight of ladder stands, since these structures are often carried long distances through forests or dense vegetation by persons seeking a desirable hunting spot or otherwise requiring the use of a ladder stand in a remote or heavily vegetated location. Accordingly, stabilizing devices for ladder stands should be made as light-in-weight and as easily carriable as possible.
It is to the above-mentioned ends that the present invention has been developed.


An electrically programmable non-volatile memory comprises an array of word lines (LM2) extending along rows, connecting the control gates of floating gate transistors, and an array of bit lines (LB1, LB2) extending along columns, connecting the drains of the floating gate transistors. A conductive area (35) having a larger size than each floating gate (23) along horizontal direction, is connected to the floating gate (23) of each transistor, and is superposed with the corresponding word line (LM2) from which it is separated by an isolation layer (28).

The invention relates to semiconductor memories and specifically to electrically programmable non-volatile memories, currently called EPROM; in particular, the invention relates to floating gate memories and to a method of manufacturing same.
For obtaining large-scale memories, for example memories able to store up to 16 megabits, the size of each cell of the memory has to be reduced as much as possible.
There are limitations due to physical problems and in particular to the size of photolithographic patterns; another limitation is due to parasitic electrical parameters (associated with the manufacturing process) which disturb the memory operation.
Except for some proposals that have not met industrial success, all the industrial approaches for obtaining large-scale memories correspond to a technology comprising the following main points:
an individual memory point corresponds to a MOS transistor having a floating gate made of a first polysilicon level and a control gate corresponding to a second polysilicon level;
the sources of the transistors are connected to a low potential bus Vss;
a word line for addressing a cell line is made of the second polysilicon level;
a bit line for reading the state of a cell is made of a metal (aluminum) line crossing the word lines and contacting the transistor drains from place to place;
for reducing the size of each memory point, only one contact point is provided for two adjacent drains of two transistors in a same column, this contact ensuring a connection with the bit line; also, only one contact is provided between the sources of two adjacent transistors and the bus at Vss;
the transistors are separated from each other by a thick silicon oxide (thick with respect to the transistor gate oxide), and the bit lines and the word lines pass over this thick oxide;
finally, the writing of this data in a memory cell is made in the following way: the sources of all the transistors of the memory are at a low potential Vss (for example zero volt); the word line connected to the control gate of the cell to be programmed is connected to a programming potential Vpp (for example 15 volts), while all the other word lines are at the low potential Vss; the bit line corresponding to the point to be programmed is set at a high potential Vcc (for example 10 volts), while the bit lines of the points not to be programmed are maintained at the low potential Vss.
With such a memory architecture and the associated programming mode, the drain of a transistor has to be electrically isolated, through a thick oxide, with respect to the drains of the adjacent transistors of the same word line. If such an isolation is not carried out, it is not possible to program a specific memory point without programming or deprogramming the other ones at the same time.
However, the thick oxide which isolates two adjacent points takes a large surface, mainly when it is obtained by a localized oxidation process (locos).
It has been suggested to replace the localized oxidation by oxide-filled grooves for reducing the total size of the cell, but this technology is not easy to implement industrially.
Structures wherein the thick oxide areas and the multiple contacts towards the drains or sources are cancelled have also been suggested. Those structures permit a reduction in the size of the memory array but the addressing system gets more complex and occupies a larger surface.

Large-scale EPROM memory with a high coupling factor


A cleaning system for use in a combine harvester including an auger bed mounted within a frame such that when the combine harvester is laterally inclined from the horizontal, the cleaning system, including the auger bed and a sieve, may be leveled or substantially leveled to a generally horizontal position. The auger bed can include a plurality of augers located side by side with their axes positioned generally longitudinally in the combine harvester.

A combine harvester is typically composed of a feeder or elevator to convey crop material from the header, a threshing mechanism to mechanically thresh the grain from the plant, a cleaning system to separate the grain from the matter other than grain (MOG), a tailings return system to rethresh any unthreshed grain and return it for recleaning, and a residue handling system to distribute the MOG back to the field.
Some current combines utilize a grain pan to transport chaff and grain from the threshing mechanism to the sieves of the cleaning system. The grain pan is composed of a surface with a corrugated or saw-tooth cross-section profile which oscillates along a path generally upward and rearward with accelerations high enough to throw the chaff and grain mixture rearward in short increments until it is delivered to the sieve of the cleaning system. In some designs the grain pan is adapted with a leveling system to address side slope up to about seven degrees from level, see e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,443, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Some combines have been fitted to address additional side slope through complicated and costly combine leveling systems, where the entire combine is tilted relative to the axles. These are costly and raise other problems, and in some cases are specialty equipment designed for specific locations and situations, such as extreme hillside farming in Washington and Oregon, for example. These combines are typically not practical for use in both level (or near level) conditions as well as their extreme slope conditions.
The grain pan system works acceptably in a majority of harvest conditions. However, when harvesting up and down hills the rate of transport of the grain/chaff mixture along the length of the grain pan is affected due to a change in the acting direction of gravitational forces on the grain/chaff with respect to the transport direction along the grain pan.
When harvesting downhill, the transport rate of the grain pan is reduced resulting in pooling of chaff and grain on the grain pan. When harvesting uphill, the transport rate of the grain pan is increased. This transition from pooling of material to increased transport can cause an overload of the cleaning system resulting in grain loss over the sieves.
An additional shortcoming of the grain pan system can be found when harvesting crop material having high moisture content which sticks to components of the cleaning system. In this condition, the corrugations of the grain pan can become entirely caked over with damp crop material. When the corrugations are caked over, the grain pan becomes a nearly flat surface with a significant reduction in grain/chaff transport rate which negatively affects the capacity of the cleaning system.
To overcome these difficulties, an auger bed can be used, which due to the driving nature of the auger helps to stabilize and control the speed of grain despite the uphill or downhill situation or other crop situations. The troughs typically employed below the auger naturally compensate for some side slope, and in some cases more so than a grain pan with a leveling system thus removing the need to address side slope.
In today's world, however, increased efficiency is a must, and although the auger system addresses minor side slope, and there is specialty equipment for extreme slopes, heretofore there is nothing to address the middle ground. Thus, there is a need to address steeper side slopes while employing auger systems, without the need for a full combine leveling system.
This application discloses such a system.

Auger bed for a lateral leveling cleaning system


Herein disclosed is a mechanism for providing high load capabilities in downhole locations. The mechanism comprises tubulars, at least one of which is constructed from composite; and the tubular composite being for high load capabilities in connecting the tubulars. In some cases, there are at least two tubulars in the mechanism. In some cases, the mechanism comprises a thread form, which thread form is mounted to translate an axially directed force into a radially directed force. In some cases, the high load capabilities include a load bearing flank angle of 15° to 50° as measured from the axis of said tubular. In some cases, the high load capabilities include a clearance flank angle of 15° or less as measured perpendicular to the axis of said tubular. In some cases, at least one of the tubulars includes a thread pitch, having from 2 to 12 threads per inch.

Tools for oil and gas wellbore made from tubular composites have a need for a high strength thread form. Specifically, high strength threads are needed for tooling connections and for electrical isolation.
In general composite construction, there are limited methods for assembling multiple components. The primary method is to bond parts together using an adhesive. In applications requiring greater strength, mechanical reinforcement may be provided using dowel pins or bolts. In the special case of tubular composites, threading may be used. However, typical thread forms used on tubular composites are generally not well suited for high load applications. The construction of the tubular composite is a limiting factor in the connector strength.
A tubular composite is made up of a reinforcing material and a resin. The reinforcing material can be any of a large number of materials commonly used in composite manufacture. Glass is a common reinforcement and is available in woven cloths, filaments (yarn), and tape forms. Additionally, woven cloths, filaments, and tape forms each have a large number of configurations available. For oil and gas wellbore applications, epoxy resins are commonly used for the elevated temperature and pressure requirements. Generally, epoxy resins have good chemical resistance required in this application.
FIG. 1A illustrates the construction of tubular composite as commonly used in oil and gas wellbore tools. The tubular composite may be constructed by wrapping a reinforcing cloth 10 around a tooling mandrel 9 with the addition of a resin 14 either during (wet wrapping) or after (resin transfer molding) wrapping. Alternatively as shown in FIG. 1B, a tubular composite may be constructed by the process of filament/tape winding, wherein reinforcing filaments 11 are wound around the tooling mandrel 9 with the addition of the resin 14. The latter method is commonly used by the manufacturers of fiberglass tubing.
Once combined in a tubular form, the material is subjected to heat to harden the resin system. This hardening is known as "curing". Curing requirements are determined by the resin used. The composite material may be post-cured for improved properties.
Material produced in this manner is referred to as a laminate 12,13,14 within the industry. A laminate has layers of reinforcing material 12 and 13 with a resin bonding layer 14 between them as shown in FIG. 1C and FIG. 1D [check Section 1-1]. The area between any two layers is referred to as an interlaminar area.
The material properties of laminates 12,13 are typically anisotropic. An anisotropic material is one with properties that vary based upon the load orientation. Referring to FIGS. 1C and 1D, the material properties in tubular composites are oriented in radial 15, circumferential 16, and axial 17 directions. Metals are classified as an isotropic material. An isotropic material is one where the material properties are the same regardless of the load orientation. Common thread forms have been designed based upon the assumption that the materials used are isotropic.
In the prior art, the thread forms were not modified to account for an anisotropic material properties when manufactured in laminate.
As the properties of laminates differ in each direction, the load condition will determine the performance. In FIG. 1D, when a load is applied to the laminate 12,13,14 in an axial direction 17 such that two adjacent layers 12,13 are subject to opposing loads 18,19 where the load 19 condition is termed an interlaminar shear. The interlaminar shear occurs in the resin 14 that bonds the two layers together. This strength of the material in this interlaminar area is significantly less than the strength in other directions. In a tubular composite, the interlaminar shear condition occurs in a direction 17 along the axis of the tube formed by the cross-section 1-1 of FIG. 1. A thread form machined into such a tubular composite will be subjected to this interlaminar shear.
In the manufacture of metallic components for oil and gas wellbore applications, there are many thread types available based upon the application. Thread manufacture in tubular composites has borrowed thread forms from the metallic threads. For oil and gas wellbore, a thread form that is used for tubular materials is the American Petroleum Institute (API) External Upset 8 Round Thread (API EUE 8RD). The details of this thread may be found in the API specification 5B, "Specification for Threading, Gauging and Thread Inspection of Casing, Tubing, and Line Pipe Threads". The API EUE 8RD has primarily been borrowed for use in fiberglass tubing, a tubular composite material with thin wall sections. FIG. 2 illustrates a typical Box 20 and Pin 21 configuration for the API EUE 8RD thread as used in common tubular both metallic and non-metallic. The API EUE 8RD thread form allows for a moderate pressure seal, but was not intended to carry the high loads that are required in the tooling applications for which the new thread is intended.
For oil and gas wellbore tooling applications, there are other threads that offer greater strength. Among such connections, the most common threads used are the American National Standard Acme Screw Threads (Acme) as specified in ANSI B1.5-1988 (R2001), shown in FIG. 3. If a shallower thread is required, ANSI B1.5-1988 (R2001) specifies a related thread form known as the American National Standard Stub Acme Screw Threads (Stub Acme). The Acme and Stub Acme thread share a common thread angle 33 (for second thread angle where in FIG. 3), but vary in thread height 36. All dimensions for these thread can be determined for both the internal (box) 30 and external (pin) 31 threads based upon the major diameter 34 of the external thread and the thread pitch 35. As with other thread forms, the Acme and Stub Acme thread forms were designed for metallic tubular.
A thread form used in some applications where high strength is required in metallic-tubular connections is the American National Standard Inch Buttress Screw Thread (Buttress) as specified in ANSI B1.9-1973 (R1992). As indicated in FIG. 4, the Buttress thread has a load bearing flank 43 that is nearly perpendicular to the tubular axis 4-4. As with the Acme and Stub Acme threads, most dimensions may be calculated from the major diameter 46 of the pin thread 41 and the thread pitch 42.
All of the threads above have been designed for metallic connections. The isotropic properties of metals allow for such variation in thread designs. When applied to tubular composites, the anisotropic properties yield poor performance. The common failure for threads manufactured in tubular composites is a shear failure of the threads. The shear failure of the threads is an interlaminar shear which typically occurs at the root of the thread. The interlaminar shear strength of the tubular composite is significantly weaker than the strength in other directions. To carry the high loads required in many oil and gas wellbore applications, it becomes necessary to have a thread engagement that is far in excess of what is easily manufacturable.

High strength thread for tubular composites


A server which can be connected from the back or from the front includes a case and a compute node disposed in the case. The case has a front board and an opposite rear board. The compute node has a plurality of ports for connecting to external cables. The front board has a first opening defined thereon, the rear board has a second opening defined thereon, and the second opening faces the first opening. The compute node is capable of being loaded into the case facing a first direction, such that the plurality of ports are exposed from the first opening. The compute node is also capable of being loaded into the case facing a second direction, opposite to the first direction, such that the plurality of ports are exposed from the second opening.

One side of a server will have ports to connect to an external cable. The ports of the server may be exposed from a front board or a rear board for connecting cables. Servers with one connection mode can be installed only in one specific type of cabinet. Such a configuration of the server is difficult for maintenance and management and is interchangeable.
Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

HONGFUJIN PRECISION ELECTRONICS (TIANJIN) CO., LTD.


Counter anions having oxidative properties alter the performance of solution processed multilayer polymer light emitting diodes (PLEDs) that use cationic conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPEs) as electron injection layers (EILs). In some versions, PLEDs with poly(2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene) (MEH-PPV) emissive layers and cationic CPE EILs are altered with halide counter anions to exhibit a systematic increase in device performance. Exemplary oxidative counter anions are halide counter anions with F−>Cl−>Br−>I− in terms of device performance.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to cationic conjugated polyelectrolyte electron injection layers.
2. Related Art
Charge injection and transport play an important role in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) (1,2). In OLEDs, holes are injected from the anode into the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of the organic semiconductor. Similarly, electrons flow from the cathode to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO). A balance of injection and transport of both charge carriers is needed to increase the probability of hole/electron recombination, and hence, improve the light output at a given current density. In the absence of interfacial effects one needs to match the energies of the HOMO and the LUMO with the work function of the anode and cathode, respectively, so to minimize the injection barriers. Stable metals have high work function that give rise to large electron injection barriers. One therefore needs to rely on multilayer devices or the use of less stable low work function cathodes such as barium and calcium (3,4).
Recently, conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPEs) have been shown as effective electron injecting layers (EIL) in polymer LEDs (PLEDs) leading to enhance performances with environmentally stable cathodes such as Au, Ag, Cu and Al (5-12). CPEs are composed of a π-conjugated backbone with pendant groups bearing ionic functionalities. The ionic functionalities allows the fabrication of multilayer devices by solution process without significant perturbation of the underneath layer by taking advantage of the solubility of CPEs in polar solvents (13). The operating mechanism for the reduction of electron injection barrier remains under debate with one model predicting the formation of permanent interfacial dipoles between the cathode and the CPE (5). Another model incorporates the notion of ion migration by the applied electric field, leading to redistribution of the internal field within the CPE EIL, in addition to the contribution of interfacial dipoles (7).
A number of CPE structures have been reported with a variety of conjugated backbones, appended ionic functionalities and counter ions. These materials lead to a variety of device performances that are not fully understood)9-11). Recently, a systematic investigation of various conjugated backbones on device performance was reported with direct correlation of the electron mobility of the CPE EIL with device performance (9). Organic counter ion alteration of CPEs has also been shown to lead to orders of magnitude differences in device performance (12). Though the behavior of CPE EILs in PLEDs is attractive for inexpensive all solution processed commercial applications (13) the CPEs properties influence on device performance and optimization is not fully understood.

Cationic conjugated polyelectrolyte electron injection layers altered with counter anions having oxidative properties

The Regents of the University of California


A valve component includes a first disk-shaped joining part and a second disk-shaped joining part. The first disk-shaped joining part has a first opening and has an elevation in a first region of the first disk-shaped joining part which runs at least partially peripherally around the first opening. The second disk-shaped joining part is joined to the first disk-shaped joining part and has a second opening which together with the first opening defines a channel for flow of a fluid medium therethrough. The second disk-shaped joining part further has a depression in a second region of the second disk-shaped joining part which runs at least partially peripherally around the second opening and which opposes the first region of the first disk-shaped joining part. The elevation interacts with the depression in sealing fashion.

Such valve components are known as pistons for shock absorbers, for example. A shock absorber piston is described in the document DE 37 01 557 A1. The shock absorber piston is formed from two piston halves that have a recess around their edges on the abutting faces that are in contact with one another, wherein the recess forms a circumferential groove. A piston ring is inserted into this groove. A fluid passage channel is formed in each piston half so that when the piston halves are assembled, a shock absorber piston is formed that has a through-flow channel. The piston halves are identical and are attached to the end of a piston rod by means of disk springs and supporting disks.
A further valve component in the form of a shock absorber piston is known from the document DE 100 13 638 C1. The shock absorber piston shown therein can be connected with a piston rod via a centric bore hole. In order to create a seal between the piston and the cylinder wall, the shock absorber piston has a groove around its edge, into which a piston ring is inserted. In order to create a seal, the piston ring is composed of an appropriate plastic. A supporting ring designed as an O-ring is incorporated in a further groove in the region of the joint line between the piston halves that form the shock absorber piston. The support ring is comprised of an elastically resilient material, which is compressed by the piston ring in the groove. If the piston ring forms a seal in the direction of the cylinder, the support ring serves to seal and compensate for tolerances between the piston halves. The piston halves have an identical shape, wherein projections and recesses are incorporated into the piston halves so that the piston halves can be securely and correctly positioned.

Production of multi-part, joined valve components in hydraulic applications with joint sealing profiles


A method of optimizing the tool selecting operation of a turret according to the contents of a machining program in a turret tool rest allowing a rotating tool to be fitted thereto, including a step (101) for determining whether the rotating tool is contained in various types of tools fitted to the turret, a step (102) for, when the rotating tool is contained, selecting whether the phase of the rotating motion of the rotating tool fitted to the turret is adjusted to be identical in each time the rotating tool is disposed at an indexing position, a step (103) for, when the phase of the rotating motion of the rotating tool is adjusted to be identical, performing a “less than one rotation control” in which the cumulative sum of the turning indexing motion of the turret in a same turning direction is less than one rotation, and a step (104) for, when the rotating tool is not contained in the fitted tools or the adjustment of the phase of the rotating motion is not performed even if the rotating tool is contained in the fitted tools, performing a “shortcut rotating control” in which the turning indexing motion of the turret is equal to or less than half a rotation in any turning direction.

In recent years, in the field of machine tools, there is an increasing trend for a compound machine tool to be capable of carrying out various machining processes, such as turning, drilling, milling, etc., with a wide variety of tools, such as cutting tools, drills, milling cutters, etc., the tools being provided in tool rests in a changeable manner, in order to allow workpieces having various complex shapes to be automatically machined. Also, in a lathe, such as a numerically controlled (NC) lathe, configured as such a compound machine tool (hereinafter generally referred to as an automatic lathe), taking into consideration of reduction in machining time, various multi-function type automatic lathes have been proposed, in which one or more spindles and one or more tool rests, respectively operatable along control axes different from each other, are collectively mounted on a single lathe bed, so as to make it possible to perform different machining processes (e.g., outer-diameter turning and boring) simultaneously on a same workpiece, or to perform simultaneous machining processes on different workpieces.
As a tool rest installed in such a multi-function type automatic lathe, a turret tool rest has been well known. The turret tool rest includes a turret provided with a plurality of tool-mount portions at respective indexing angles in a circumferential direction, and turning tools, such as cutting tools, and rotating tools, such as milling cutters, can be selectively fitted to desired tool-mount portions of the turret. Such a turret tool rest is generally provided with an index-drive mechanism for driving the turret in a turning indexing motion (i.e., a tool selecting operation) and with a rotation-drive mechanism for driving the rotating tool in a rotating motion (i.e., a machining operation) independently of each other. However, the turret tool rest may have a mechanical configuration in which, due to the fact that rotating tool remains operatively connected to the suspended rotation-drive mechanism during the turning indexing motion of the turret, the rotating tool rotates, in a passive manner, in accordance with the turning indexing motion. Also, in this mechanical configuration, the relationship between the rotation speed of the turret and the rotation speed of the rotating tool often may not represent an integer multiple relative to each other, depending on the ratio of rotation speed in a gear train provided between the rotating tool and the rotation-drive mechanism.
A rotating tool, such as a hob for gear cutting or a polygon cutter for polygon machining, which executes a cutting process while rotating a workpiece at a predetermined speed, can be fitted to the above-described turret tool rest. In this connection, in the case where the turret tool rest has such a mechanical configuration that the relationship between the rotation speed of the turret and the rotation speed of the rotating tool represents a non-integer multiple as described above, if the turret is turned by one rotation (360°) or more as a result of accumulation of turning indexing motions in the same direction during a procedure that a rotating tool finishes a cutting process on one workpiece at an indexed position and is thereafter disposed again at the indexed position for the same cutting process on the next other workpiece, the positional deviation of the edge of the rotating tool (i.e., the phase shift in the rotating motion) occurs during the two-time location of the tool at the indexed position. As a result, in the workpieces subjected to the cutting process by a hob or a polygon cutter, the position (or the coordinate) of the cut portion (e.g., a tooth of a gear or a lateral face of a polygon bar) of each workpiece upon completion of the cutting process may be differently located, for a two-time cutting process. If a positional deviation occurs, for every cutting process, in the cut portion of a workpiece upon completion of the cutting process, problems may arise wherein, when a secondary machining process, such as a milling process, is performed after the cutting process, a machined position (or a coordinate) on the workpiece may be shifted relative to the former cut portion (e.g., the tooth of the gear or the lateral face of the polygon bar), and thereby an intended product may not be obtained.
In order to eliminate the above problems, a countermeasure has been proposed wherein, when various tools used in a machining program of a workpiece are fitted to a turret tool rest, the tools are arranged in the order of machining steps in a normal rotating direction (e.g., in a clockwise direction) of the turret, and after the machining program is completed for one workpiece, a tool selecting operation is controlled so as to turn the turret in a reverse rotating direction for the selection of the first tool as a preparatory step for the next machining program. According to this measure, the turret does not turn by one rotation or more as the cumulative sum of the turning indexing motions in the same direction. In this measure, however, if a plurality of machining steps using the same tool are contained in the machining program, it is necessary to turn the turret in the reverse rotating direction even halfway in the machining process, under the prerequisite such that the cumulative sum of the turning indexing motions of the turret should not be one rotation or more. As a result, the machining program becomes complicated and may increase a load on an operator. In addition, even if the positional correlation between a currently selected tool being currently used and a next designated tool to be subsequently used is such that the next designated tool can be selected by a shortcut rotation of 180° or less by turning the turret in the normal rotating direction, there may arise a case wherein it is necessary to perform a roundabout rotation of more than 180° by turning the turret in the reverse rotating direction. Thus, the cycle time of the machining program may be unnecessarily increased.

Method and device for controlling tool selecting operation of turret tool post


Systems and methods are provided for implementing a machine learning approach to modeling entity behavior. Fixed information and periodically updated information may be utilized to predict the behavior of an entity. By incorporating periodically updated information, the system is able to maintain an up-to-date prediction of each entity's behavior, while also accounting for entity action with respect to ongoing obligations. The system may generate behavior scores for the set of entities. In some embodiments, the behavior scores that are generated may indicate the transactional risk associated with each entity. Using the behavior scores generated, a user may be able to assess the credit riskiness of individual entities and instruct one or more individuals assigned to the entities to take one or more actions based on the credit riskiness of the individual entities.

Conventional approaches to modeling entity behavior suffer from a variety of drawbacks. For example, existing approaches may struggle to balance fixed and periodically updated information, and/or account for ongoing obligations. In large systems, the sheer volume of data may make it difficult to draw correlations between types of data in order to normalize the data for modeling. Even if a model is able to effectively evaluate the data, end users may struggle to interpret the results. Evaluating and making corrections to the model may also be problematic as end users often do not have the sophistication required to update or modify the model should one or more issues be identified. These and other drawbacks exist with conventional approaches.

Systems and methods for implementing a machine learning approach to modeling entity behavior


This system for mutually automatically arranging, according to any desired patterns, bags, boxes or other articles, particularly for use in machines for loading movable platforms (pallets) is characterized by a locating conveyor belt mounted on a carriage so as to also transversely slide, in a preset way, on supporting guides to drive the articles conveyed thereby with a possible motion deriving from the combination of two simultaneous perpendicular motions in order to locate each article, which may be preoriented, in a suitable position to make, in cooperation with other articles, the preset platform filling pattern so as to provide a comparatively compact layered assembly.

The present invention relates to the field of automatic devices for guiding articles to be arranged according to desired or preferable patterns in order to locate them, if necessary with a layered configuration, on platforms or pallets for handling forks or other conveying systems.
As is known the industries making goods in large amounts have storing requirements demanding a precise and ordered arrangement of said goods according to patterns which are deemed to be preferential. This is particularly true as said goods are to be arranged in a layered configuration on pallets provided for handling said goods or articles to store or shipping them.
To that end, the above mentioned industries presently use the so-called palletizing machines which are specifically designed for loading pallets. These machines essentially comprise conveyor belts which, according to the most suitable paths, deliver the article (bag, package) to a switching platform whereat it is oriented and sent to any desired place in order to rationally arrange it on the pallet, or over other like articles of an underlying layer which have already been arranged on the pallet.
The articles to be arranged have frequently a parallelepipedal shape and, accordingly, they are to be generally mutually oriented in order to achieve the following results: to occupy a very reduced space; to provide a very strong layered structure; to mutually arrange the articles in such a way as to reduce as much as possible the specific pressure exerted on their surface by the weight on the overlying layers.
FIG. 1 illustrates the surface of a pallet having a square perimeter Z and covered by four rectangular elements a,b,c,d (which may consist of cement bags) arranged according to a perimetrical pattern. FIG. 2 illustrates a subsequent layer formed by other four rectangular elements e, f, g, h (like the preceding elements) which are arranged over the elements a, b, c, d. The different arrangement of the articles of FIGS. 1 and 2 shows that the friction exerted by the weight of the overlying articles allows for the latter to act as a "junction" for the underlying articles, thereby providing the assembly with great stability properties.
FIG. 3 illustrates the surface of a pallet having a rectangular perimeter U, and covered by five rectangular elements i, l, m, n, o which are arranged in an adjoining relationship.
FIG. 4 illustrates a subsequent layer formed by other five articles or elements (like the preceding ones) p, q, r, s, t which are accordingly arranged so as to provide a mirror arrangement of the above disclosed arrangement, to meet the requirements of a maximum use of the pallet surface and maximum strength of the layered assembly.
It should be pointed out that FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 merely show examples of conventional arrangements to clearly stress the requirement of arranging the articles to be palletized at very precise locations. This precision requirement will be more and more stringent as the articles to be palletized are held in delicate or lacerable envelopes and as their weight is comparatively great; an example of these articles is that of cement bags which, as is known, are usually made of paper. In FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4 there are identified the positions assumed by the elements, having their geometrical center of gravity marked by a dot x. Thus the trajectories y to be followed by the centers of gravity of these articles during their rectilinear longitudinal motion, toward the stop and aligning abutment W, and imparted thereto by specific driving means will be clearly apparent.
Considering that the articles to be arranged arrive at the switching platform from a single trajectory that is determined by a feeding conveyor belt, the problem to be solved is to cyclically transversely offset the mutually different parallel trajectories y to arrange the several articles in the positions shown in the figures according to cyclic sequences of the type abcd, efgh, abcd, efgh (FIGS. 1 and 2); or of the type ilmno, pqrst, ilmno, pqrst, ilmno, etc.
Another way for solving the above problem is to cause the articles to slide on a roller assembly having, between the rollers, raisable and transversely movable rods to raise the article (to move it away from the driving rollers), transversely displace it so as to arrange it on the desired longitudinal trajectory (y), and arrange it again on the roller assembly to reach a stop barrier with the desired orientation and trajectory, in order to obtain the preset layered configuration.
As is known the layered structure or configuration may be formed in several ways. One of them is to pick up the complete layer by means of carriages having suction cups and arrange it on the preceding layer; another of them is to form the layer on shelves which are downwardly displaced to deposit the layer and then upwardly displaced to remove them from the layer (which is suitably held by the vertical wall touched during the downward displacement); another way is to cause the article layer or another preformed layer to fall on the pallet by opening a trapdoor made by transversely displacing two half panels (thereon it was caused to rest), by holding the layer by means of suitable side abutments.
An arranging method is also known consisting of transversely displacing a pallet; however this method has the drawback that the pallet return stroke cannot be used.
In connection with the known method of raising the articles by means of rods arranged between the driving rollers and transversely sliding, it has the drawback that it is necessary to interrupt the feeding of the article.

Continuously operating system for mutually automatically locating, according to any desired patterns, bags, boxes or other articles, particularly for use in machines for loading movable platforms


A machine for measuring force variation or imbalance of tires particularly at high speeds. A rotating roadwheel is engaged by a tire mounted on a spindle. Force sensing means, such as load cells, are operably interposed between the tire spindle and a force sensor mount. To minimize the adverse effects of mechanical resonance of the machine on force measurement accuracy, the roadwheel and/or the force sensor mount are connected to ground through dampers which provide a damping ratio of at least about five percent and preferably higher. Where the force sensor mount is to be supported by such damping means, the invention further contemplates interposing a large mass between that damping means and the force sensor mount.

The invention relates to machines for measuring force variation or imbalance forces of rotating tires. More particularly, the present invention relates to a high speed tire testing machine including special damping means to reduce measurement errors due to mechanical resonance of the machine.
Known tire testing machines generally include a large diameter roadwheel rotatably mounted on a horizontal axis and a motor for rotating it. A tire spindle, to which the tire to be tested is mounted, is supported opposed to the roadwheel mounted in bearings. In order to generate electronic signals correlated with forces transmitted from the tire through the tire spindle, the machine includes a load cell assembly. That assembly comprises a load cell array disposed in force sensing relation between the tire spindle bearings and a load cell mount which is supported upon a rigid support structure. The load cells of the array are oriented to measure reaction forces between the tire and roadwheel and the tire along directions of interest which usually include three mutually orthogonal axes and two moments, the latter of which correspond to rocking of the tire spindle in vertical and horizontal planes, respectively. A reciprocable mechanism such as piston and cylinder is connected to the tire/tire spindle/load cell mount assembly to press the tire against the roadwheel with force sufficient to establish a desired radial load on the tire as it rotates in contact with the roadwheel and to retract the tire from engagement with the roadwheel upon completion of the test.
During testing, the roadwheel is driven to cause the tire to rotate at speeds corresponding to road speeds of up to 200 mph or higher while the load cells measure the forces of the tire as it rotates. In order to test at these speeds, a typically sized passenger car tire must rotate on the machine at a fundamental angular frequency of up to about 50 Hz. The machine must not only be capable of carrying out accurate force measurements not only at that fundamental tire rotational frequency but also at higher order harmonics thereof.
Every testing machine is characterized by one or more natural resonant frequencies usually including separate, although typically closely spaced, natural frequencies associated with both the roadwheel assembly and the structure supporting the combined tire/tire spindle/load cell mount assembly, respectively, both of which are typically about 50-60 Hz. In addition, the tire/tire spindle/load cell mount assembly itself has a characteristic natural frequency which is usually well in excess of 300 Hz and therefore not usually a problem since they ordinarily lie beyond the frequency measuring range of interest. When the frequency of tire rotation or any harmonics thereof coincide with one of these natural frequencies, the machine will resonate. As a consequence, the amplitude of force applied to the load cells at or near such frequencies could increase by a factor as high as 50. Thus, due to mechanical resonance a one pound force generated by the tire under test might transmit as much as fifty pounds to the load cell assembly thereby significantly degrading the accuracy of measurements made at or near a resonant frequency of the test machine.
The prior art has been to address the problem of mechanical resonance of the test machine by stiffening the machine in attempt to raise any significant resonant frequencies above the highest measuring frequency of the machine, i.e., above not only the fundamental tire rotational frequency but also above the highest harmonic thereof to be measured. Such stiffening has generally been attempted by constructing the machine of stiffer materials, and/or improving its bracing.
The tire industry continues to press for machines capable of measuring harmonics of higher and higher order. However, materials are not available to increase machine stiffness and therefore, resonant frequencies, indefinitely. While the stiffness of such a machine might be increased using the prior art techniques described above so that its lowest significant natural frequency approaches 150 Hz, such limits are simply not adequate to meet the goal of accurately measuring harmonics up to 300 Hz or even higher.


The invention provides a method for selecting a communication IP address whereby traffic of a network can be reduced and a session with the partner of communication can be maintained even when the mobile node has moved. The method prescribes provision of means for judging a state of a foreign network to which the mobile node is connected, and means of monitoring an IP address that an application having been started by the mobile node is using for communication, and enables selection of the mobile IP address so that the mobile node can maintain the session surely even in a visited foreign network.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a communication system that uses mobile IP, and especially relates to a method for selecting a communication IP address in a mobile node that moved from its home network to a foreign network.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the Internet, it is common that when a mobile node moved among networks, the mobile node newly acquires an IP address in a network to which it moved (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "visited") and performs communication with it.
On the other hand, IETF is now standardizing a method whereby a mobile node performs communication in a visited network to which it moved (hereinafter a network being referred to as a "foreign network") without altering the IP address of the mobile node by using the IP address that has been assigned to the mobile node (hereinafter referred to as a "home address") in a network to which the mobile node is usually attached (hereinafter referred to as a "home network").
In "Mobility Support in IPv6" (David B. Johnson, draft-ietf-mobileip-ipv6-20.txt, Jan/2003) that is being examined in IETF (hereinafter referred to as a "mobile IP"), a terminal that wishes to communicate with a mobile node sets a destination IP address as the mobile node's home address and sends an IP packet. The IP packet that was routed to the mobile node's home address is captured by the mobile node's home agent and is transferred after being encapsulated to a foreign network visited by the mobile node.
In order to encapsulate and forward the IP packet that was received, the home agent receives a binding update from the mobile node and manages association between the mobile node's home address and the IP address that the mobile node acquired in the foreign network (hereinafter referred to as a "care-of address"). This procedure makes it possible for the mobile node to receive the IP packet addressed to its home address in the foreign network. When communication starts between the mobile node and the terminal, the binding update will be sent to the terminal of a partner of communication from the mobile node; therefore, it is also possible for the mobile node and the terminal to communicate directly between each other henceforth not via the home agent but by using a routing header that is an extension header of IPv6. Moreover, if a home agent exists on a first foreign network that is a network visited by the mobile node, after the mobile node has moved to a second foreign network, it is also possible to forward a packet addressed to the mobile node to the mobile node residing in the second foreign network by sending the binding update to the first foreign network's home agent.
[Non-Patent Literature 1]
David D. Johnson et al. "Mobility Support in IPv6 draft-ietf-mobileip-ipv6-20.txt," obtained online from IETF on Jan. 20, 2003, also available from the Internet <http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-mobileip-ipv6-20.txt> [searched on Feb. 5, 2003]
With the technology described above, the mobile node will be able to communicate with the terminal using its home address even when it has moved among networks. Moreover, the mobile node in a foreign network can select either its home address or the care-of address that was acquired in the foreign network as a communication address.
For example, if the communication address is set to the mobile node's home address, the mobile node can receive a packet surely even when it moves from one network to another. However, in this case, since the IP packets are encapsulated and forwarded by the home agent to reach the mobile node, an overhead of communication is created. After the start of the communication, it is possible to eliminate the overhead of communication by sending the binding update to a partner of the communication and hence setting up route optimization. However, it is impossible to set up the route optimization from the time of start of the communication.
On the other hand, in the case where the communication address is set to a care-of address, since the mobile node can directly communicate with the partner of communication, the overhead of communication can be eliminated. However, when the mobile node has left the first foreign network and moved to the second foreign network, IP packets addressed to the mobile node that have reached the first foreign network may not be forwarded to the second foreign network, and so there is the possibility that the mobile node may not be able to maintain a session with the partner of communication.

Packet communication system, communication network, and method for selecting IP address in mobile node


A video camera for enabling improvement in automatic functions such as automatic white balancing and automatic focusing while controlling picture quality of a video image including a specific object of the video image and/or background thereof. The video camera includes an image pickup device and a signal processing circuit responsive thereto for processing the image picked up by the image pickup device and providing a video signal as an output. An extraction unit is provided for extracting a signal representative of a specific portion of the video signal of the signal processing circuit, and a control unit responsive to the signal extracted by the extraction unit effects control of at least one of the signal processing circuit and at least one input control parameter of the video camera in accordance therewith, thereby providing improvement in the picture quality.

With rapid development of video cameras and video movies integrated with VTR, interests of users are being diversified and many people are now making individual videos. Accordingly, various functions with which free video presentations can be achieved have come to be demanded of video cameras. As one of such functions, there is a professional AE system using a variable electronic shutter as reported in the Record of the Institute of Television Engineers, Vol. 14, No. 16 (1990) pp. 1-6. In this system, since the depth of field can be selected as in a single lens reflex camera, it is possible to produce a portrait effect by keeping only an object in focus and rendering the background out of focus or to keep objects, ranging from that which is close to the camera to that which is away from the camera, in focus by setting the depth of field greater.
On the other hand, general users are demanding video cameras having good operability, ease of handling and yet being capable of taking beautiful pictures. Accordingly, various automatic functions such as automatic white balancing and automatic focusing functions are frequently mounted on video cameras as reported in the Record of the Institute of Television Engineers, Vol. 14, No. 16 (1990) pp. 13-18 or The Institute of Television Engineers, Advance Copy of National Convention (1990) pp. 21-24.
In the professional AE system, however, only the function to render the background out of focus or the like are achievable and processing for colors, for example, is not achievable. Further, the degree of freedom in selecting the value of the stop or the speed of the shutter greatly depends on the illuminance of the surrounding of the object and, hence, there has been a problem that such functions cannot be satisfactorily achieved when the illuminance is low.
Although the above described automatic functions for white balancing or the like can be performed to a certain degree, it is difficult to have the functions achieved to such a high level as achieved by a skilled user through manual adjustments with conditions of the object and the surroundings taken into consideration. In order to improve automatic functions to such a high level, the camera itself must be able to recognize what the object is to a certain degree, but conventional cameras have not had such a function.

Video camera with extraction unit for extracting specific portion of video signal