In order to prevent a signal which a terminal station does not require from being intercepted by the terminal station without greatly changing the power of optical signals to be transmitted from a node to the terminal station, a node device is provided with: a first optical unit which outputs a first optical signal received from a first terminal station and addressed to a second terminal station, and a second optical signal received from the first terminal station, addressed to a third terminal station, and having a different wavelength band from the first optical signal; and a second optical unit to which the first and second optical signals outputted from the first optical unit are inputted, and which shifts the frequency of the first optical signal by a predetermined amount to create a fourth optical signal, passes the second optical signal without any change, couples the second and fourth optical signals, and transmits a resultant signal to the third terminal station.

Nowadays an optical add-drop multiplexing (OADM) system having a function of separating and coupling optical signals in wavelength units and a reconfigurable OADM (ROADM) system are being introduced in submarine communication systems using a submarine cable.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a general configuration of a submarine communication system 900 into which an OADM system or ROADM system (hereinafter, referred to as "OADM/ROADM system") is introduced. A node 910 has an OADM/ROADM function.
Sub-bands 1 to 3 indicate wavelength bands of optical signals. A destination of an optical signal to be transmitted from a trunk station 51 whose wavelength band is Sub-band 1 is a trunk station 52. A destination of an optical signal whose wavelength band is Sub-band 2 is a branch station 53. Hereinafter, "an optical signal whose wavelength band is Sub-band 1 (or 2, 3)" will be referred to as "optical signals of Sub-band 1 (or 2, 3)".
A node 910 transmits an optical signal of Sub-band 2 of an optical signal 13 received from the trunk station 51 to the branch station 53. The node 910 branches an optical signal of Sub-band 1 included in the optical signal 13 received from the trunk station 51 into two and transmits them to the trunk station 52 and the branch station 53. Further, the node 910 removes a dummy signal from an optical signal 15 received from the branch station 53. The node 910 then transmits an optical signal 14 obtained by coupling an optical signal of Sub-band 3 received from the branch station 53 and an optical signal of Sub-band 1 received from the trunk station 51 to the trunk station 52. Optical submarine repeaters which are not illustrated are installed at some midpoints of submarine cables between the node 910 and the trunk stations 51 and 52, and the branch station 53.
In FIG. 6, since an optical signal addressed to the branch station 53 is only an optical signal of Sub-band 2, an optical signal of Sub-band 1 addressed to the trunk station 52 need not be transmitted to the branch station 53. However, by transmitting the optical signal of Sub-band 1 also to the branch station 53, it is possible to prevent an input power to an optical submarine repeater installed between the node 910 and the branch station 53 from decreasing significantly compared with the optical signal 13. As a result, it is possible to operate an optical submarine repeater used in a submarine communication system 900 within a predetermined rated range common to the submarine communication system 900 without significantly lowering an input power. For the same reason, the branch station 53 transmits a dummy signal 5 in addition to the optical signal of Sub-band 3.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating wavelength bands of the optical signals 13 to 15 transmitted and received at the node 910. In FIG. 7, the wavelength band of the optical signal 13 is divided into two wavelength bands, the optical signal 1 of Sub-band 1 and the optical signal 2 of Sub-band 2. The wavelength band of the optical signal 14 is divided into two wavelength bands of the optical signal 1 of Sub-band 1 and the optical signal 3 of Sub-band 3. Further, the wavelength band of the optical signal 15 is divided into two wavelength bands of the dummy signal and the optical signal 3 of Sub-band 3. The wavelength band of Sub-band 1 and the wavelength band of the dummy signal coincide. The wavelength band of Sub-band 2 and the wavelength band of Sub-band 3 also coincide. The wavelength band of Sub-band 1 and the wavelength band of Sub-band 2 do not overlap. Each of the optical signals 13 to 15 has a channel capable of transmitting at least one carrier (optical carrier wave). Each of the optical signals of Sub-bands 1 to 3 also has a channel capable of transmitting at least one carrier. Each carrier is wavelength-multiplexed and transmitted as any of optical signals 13 to 15.
The frequency of an optical signal used as a carrier is defined, for example, by ITU-T Recommendation G. 694.1. ITU-T stands for The International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector. In this Recommendation, a frequency group of carriers used in wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) used in an OADM/ROADM system is defined as a frequency grid. In the frequency grid, frequencies of the carriers are arranged at constant intervals.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a more detailed configuration of the submarine communication system 900 illustrated in FIG. 6. The submarine communication system 900 includes the trunk stations 51 and 52, the branch station 53 and the node 910. The trunk stations 51 and 52 and the branch station 53 transmit and receive the optical signals 1 to 3 and the dummy signal illustrated in FIG. 7 via the node 910. The node 910 includes couplers 6 and 12, wavelength filters 7 and 8. The trunk stations 51 and 52 and the branch station 53 and the node 910 are connected by a submarine cable including an optical submarine repeater 54. In FIG. 8, the optical signals 1 and 2 transmitted from the trunk station 51 correspond to the optical signal 13 in FIG. 6. Likewise, the optical signals 1 and 3 received at the trunk station 52 correspond to the optical signal 14 of FIG. 6. The optical signal 3 and the dummy signal 5 transmitted from the branch station 53 correspond to the optical signal 15 in FIG. 6.
The trunk station 51 transmits the optical signal 1 of Sub-band 1 and the optical signal 2 of Sub-band 2. In a coupler 6 of the node 910, the optical signals 1 and 2 are branched into two. One of the two-branched optical signals is transmitted to the branch station 53. The other of the optical signals two-branched by the coupler 6 passes through a wavelength filter 7 and a coupler 12, and is transmitted to the trunk station 52. The wavelength filter 7 transmits the optical signal of the wavelength band of Sub-band 1 and blocks the optical signal of the wavelength band of Sub-band 2. The wavelength filter 8 transmits the optical signal 3 and blocks the dummy signal 5.
As described above, in order to operate the optical submarine repeater 54 installed on a transmission path from the node 910 to the branch station 53 within a rated range, the optical signal 1 is also transmitted from the node 910 to the branch station 53 in addition to the optical signal 2. As a result, the branch station 53 receives a target optical signal 2, while also receiving the optical signal 1 to be transmitted to the trunk station 52.
In connection with the present invention, PTL 1 describes a technique for preventing an unneeded optical signal from being received by a terminal device by blocking an unneeded optical signal by a sub-band by using a cutoff filter arranged in a transmission path. PTL 2 describes an OADM device including a wavelength selectable switch (WSS) capable of shifting the center frequency.

Node device and method for controlling node device


A screen assembly for a door opening to a cargo bay area has mounting tracks for attaching around the top and opposite sides of the door opening. A screen panel of pliable material has a shape and dimensions substantially matching those of the door opening. A bead extends along at least part of each of the opposite side edges and upper edge for engagement in the track to secure the panel in the opening. The panel has a central portion which can be rolled up and stored out of the way for access to the cargo bay.

The present invention relates generally to an accessory for a motor home, recreational vehicle, truck, sport utility trailer, or the like, and is particularly concerned with a screen assembly for covering a door opening of such a vehicle when the door is open.
Sport utility trailers are often towed behind motor homes, trucks, cars, or other motor vehicles, and provide a cargo area for transporting motorcycles, bicycles, dune buggies, and the like. Such trailers have a rear door or cargo door which folds down to provide a ramp for moving the stored vehicle or vehicles out of the trailer. Sport utility trailers also often have fold away beds or the like to provide additional sleeping space when camping. Additionally, some motor homes have a built in cargo bay for carrying motorcycles, dune buggies or the like, and this will also be provided with a rear cargo door which folds down to provide a ramp.
One problem with such cargo areas is that they are exposed to the elements, insects, and the like while the cargo door is open. It is inconvenient to have to close the cargo door immediately after wheeling out the vehicles for use, and then re-open it when the vehicles are returned. Thus, people normally leave the ramp down while the stored vehicles are out. This results in the cargo bay or area being completely open at one end.


A method for brazing a first ceramic component and a second metal alloy component, to make a structural or external timepiece element, a zirconia-based ceramic is chosen for the first component and a titanium alloy for the second component, a first recess is made inside the first component, set back from a first surface in a junction area with a second surface of the second component, braze material is deposited on this first surface and inside each recess, the second surface is positioned in alignment with the first surface to form an assembly, this assembly is heated in a controlled atmosphere to above the melting temperature of the braze material, in order to form the braze in the junction area.

In horology, the assembly of ceramic components with other metal type components remains a difficult operation to manage properly to ensure perfect adherence over time. Indeed, it is generally a question of assembling three-dimensional components, which are several tens of millimetres to several millimetres thick, with connecting surfaces which are mainly skew surfaces, often with precise positioning and centring, in particular in terms of symmetry, such as axial symmetry on a watch case, or lateral symmetry on bracelet elements.
Current techniques for assembling ceramic, especially zirconia-based ceramic, and metal alloys for such timepiece applications are press fit, adhesive bonding (polymer adhesive) and screw fit. These technologies can weaken the components and cannot guarantee adherence over time.
Various documents address this issue:    JP S63249085A SEIKO EPSON KYOCERA discloses a method for brazing a zirconia-based ceramic component with another metal alloy component, particularly a titanium alloy, for a timepiece application;    WO99/58332A1 PACIFIC COAST TECHNOLOGIES discloses methods for sealing an interface surface made of ceramic materials, such as zirconia, on an interface made of metal materials, such as titanium-containing materials, using titanium/nickel braze materials. The preferred ceramics include stabilised zirconia materials; the preferred metals include alloys of titanium and niobium; and a preferred titanium/nickel braze material is a 50:50 titanium/nickel alloy. Braze materials containing titanium, nickel and niobium are used to join ceramic materials to niobium-free metal materials. At least one of the interfaces is placed in contact with the titanium/nickel braze material and sealing is performed under vacuum conditions at temperatures comprised between 900 and 1200° C. while pressure is applied to the joint. The methods are suitable for hermetic sealing applications in implantable medical devices, electrical connectors, electronic cases, sports articles, structural components;    WO2017/129705A1 MORGAN ADVANCED CERAM. INC. discloses a method for brazing a sintered zirconia ceramic body that includes the steps consisting in providing a sintered zirconia ceramic body having a surface, chemically reducing the sintered zirconia ceramic body in whole or in part to form a reduced surface with respect to the sintered zirconia ceramic body, applying a braze material to at least one part of the reduced surface to form an assembly comprising said braze material and sintered zirconia ceramic body, heating said assembly to a temperature sufficient to at least partially melt the braze material such that the braze material wets the reduced surface, and cooling the assembly to solidify the braze material;    EP3243593A1 PNL HOLDING discloses a method for brazing a metal element on a surface of a zirconia part, comprising the steps of:—degrading the surface condition of the part to allow adhesion of a first metallization layer,—cleaning the part to remove impurities from its surface,—depositing on the surface of the part a first metallization layer containing mostly titanium,—depositing on the first metallization layer a second metallization layer containing mostly niobium,—placing the element against the second metallization layer,—depositing a gold braze on the element and the second metallization layer,—cooling the brazed area in a temperature controlled manner,—a stress relief heat treatment being carried out under load on the metal element before brazing;    FR2862246A1 EADS SPACE TRANSP GmbH discloses a method which consists in structuring, prior to brazing, at least one of the ceramic surfaces by creating a series of holes in its surface, using a Nd/Yag laser beam or mechanical means. The holes have a mean diameter of more than 550 mcm and are in two classes which differ in their geometrical shape, diameter or depth. A number of holes in each class make up a geometrical group and the spacing between the centres of the holes in one group is smaller than the spacing between the centre of the holes in the other. When the ceramic surfaces are fibre-reinforced and laminated, the holes are made to a depth at least equivalent to that of the laminated layer;    EP2789597 ALSTOM TECHNOLOGY Ltd. discloses a method for obtaining a configuration for joining a ceramic layer comprising a thermal insulating material to a metal layer, the configuration comprising an interface layer made of metallic material, located between the ceramic layer and the metallic layer, comprising a plurality of interlocking elements on one of its sides, facing the ceramic layer, the ceramic layer including a plurality of cavities intended to be connected to the corresponding interlocking elements of the interface layer, the configuration also comprising a braze layer by means of which the interface layer is joined to the metallic layer;    EP2799411A1 COMADUR discloses a method for fabricating a bright orange zirconia-based item, characterized in that it includes the successive steps consisting in making a first mixture containing a zirconia powder, 3 to 20% by weight of at least one stabilizer chosen from the group of oxides including yttrium oxide, magnesium oxide and calcium oxide, alone or in combination, 0.1% to 5% by weight of at least one element intended to form a vitreous phase, and chosen from the group including silicon oxide, aluminium oxide, lithium oxide and yttrium oxide, alone or in combination, 1% to 6% by weight of a cerium oxide powder; making a second mixture containing said first mixture and a binder, making a granulated mixture by granulating said second mixture; forming a green body by giving the second granulated mixture the shape of the desired item; air-sintering for at least 30 minutes at a temperature comprised between 1,250 and 1,500° C. and annealing the desired item at a temperature comprised between 700° C. and 1,350° C. for a period comprised between 30 minutes and 20 hours in a reducing atmosphere, and polishing said sintered green body.Other indications are provided by the article of Sonia Simoes 'Recent progress in the joining of titanium alloy to ceramics', METALS, published on Oct. 26, 2018.

Method for brazing titanium alloy components with zirconia-based ceramic components for horology or jewellery


The present invention is an intelligent services network that uses a switch controller. The switch controller controls the operation of one or more programmable switches to accept calls from a public switched telephone network. The intelligent service network comprises intelligent service network components that are used for enhanced service processing, interconnection to external networks, and other call functions. Communication between the components allows for call set-up, connection to a terminating party, transfer to an alternate intelligent service network component, and termination of the call.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to telecommunications network processing of services.
2. Related Art
Telecommunications network products are services provided by telephone companies that are carried on telecommunications networks. A widely known example is dial-1 long distance voice service which allows a customer to dial a 1 plus a ten digit number from his or her home telephone, talk to a party who answers the telephone on the line of the ten digit number dialed, and pay for the telephone call when billed at the end of the month.
Although dial-1 is popular, other calling and payment options, also referred to as enhanced services, are sometimes preferable. For example, debit calling allows an individual to make a call from a phone other than their home phone and charge the call to the debit account. With debit calling, also referred to as prepaid calling, a customer puts funds in an account and has those funds debited each time a telephone call is made. Another calling and payment option is collect calling in which the call is billed to the receiving party's account. However, enhanced services are not limited to other calling and payment options. Enhanced services can provide a customer with information such as access to news and weather. Another enhanced service is 1-800-MUSICNOW which gives a telephone caller the ability to select and listen to music and then order a recording of the music by entering selections in response to menu prompts using the keypad of the telephone.
Enhanced services are possible because intelligent services networks (ISNs) within telephone companies telecommunications networks have advanced capabilities needed to process the enhanced service calls. Much of the advanced capability is provided by two particular components within the intelligent service network, the automatic call distributor (ACD) which provides the call switching and queuing functions and the intelligent service network applications processor (ISNAP) which provides monitoring and control of queued calls for the ISN.
Unfortunately, ACDs are typically only available with the capacity to handle a large call volume. In addition, ACDs are generally very expensive. Because the ACD is generally expensive, the ACD typically determines the size and capacity of an ISN. Many smaller sized telecommunications carriers and private entities desire to employ ISN capability, but do not have sufficient call volumes to justify the expense of a traditional large-scale ACD. The ISN architectures that are available today cannot be scaled to the appropriate port capacity for small or moderate call volumes. This prohibits both small and large companies from utilizing ISNs where they are commonly needed. Although smaller switches are available, they are not capable of performing many ACD functions needed for enhanced services.
Another problem encountered with a large-scale ACD-based ISN is the development cost and cycle of ACDs. Often the deployment of new services for the ISN or enhancement to existing services on the ISN require modifications to the ACD. The ISN service provider must subject itself to the ACD vendor's development costs and time.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Intelligent services network using a switch controller


A broadcast receiving apparatus and a signal processing method thereof are provided. The broadcast receiving apparatus includes a receiver configured to receive a data stream comprising a plurality of physical layer pipes (PLPs); a demodulator configured to output at least one generic packet corresponding to each of the plurality of PLPs and additional information on the at least one generic packet by demodulating the plurality of PLPs; and a signal processor configured to process the at least one generic packet based on the output additional information.

Field
Apparatuses and methods consistent with exemplary embodiments relate to a broadcast receiving apparatus and a signal processing method thereof, and more particularly, to a broadcast receiving apparatus and a signal processing method for receiving an image signal suitable for a digital broadcast standard.
Description of the Related Art
In 21st century information society, broadcast communication services have faced times of digitization, multi-channelization, broadband, and high quality. With the advent of various broadcast receiving devices, e.g., a high-quality digital TV and a Portable Multimedia Player (PMP), digital broadcast servers need to support of various different requirements according to the receiving methods.
Many standard groups have established various standards and have tried to provide various services for satisfying user needs. Accordingly, there is a need to develop a broadcast receiving apparatus which supports such standards for providing various services.

Broadcast receiving apparatus and signal processing method thereof


The present invention provides a transparent substrate excellent in solvent crack resistance, toughness, heat resistance, and flexibility. A transparent substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: an inorganic glass; and a first resin layer placed on at least one side of the inorganic glass, wherein: the first resin layer contains a resin compound having a weight-average molecular weight in terms of polystyrene of 8×104 to 100×104; and no solvent crack occurs when a mixed solvent containing 20 wt % to 95 wt % of at least one kind of solvent selected from the group consisting of acetone, N-methylpyrrolidone, dimethyl sulfoxide, and N,N-dimethylformamide is brought into contact with the substrate.

In recent years, the weight reductions and thinning of display apparatuses like flat panel displays (FPDs: liquid crystal display apparatuses, organic EL display apparatuses, and the like) have been progressing with the development of visual communication technologies. Glass substrates have been conventionally used as substrates for use in the display apparatuses in many cases. The glass substrates are each excellent in transparency, solvent resistance, gas barrier properties, and heat resistance. However, when one attempts to achieve the thinning of a glass material of which any such glass substrate is formed, the following problem arises. While the weight reduction is achieved and the glass substrate shows excellent flexibility, its impact resistance is insufficient, and hence the glass substrate becomes difficult to handle.
In order that the handleability of thin glass substrates may be improved, substrates in each of which a resin layer is formed on a glass surface have been disclosed (see, for example, Patent documents 1, 2, and 3). Such substrate is produced by attaching a resin film to the glass surface or coating the glass surface with a thermoplastic resin. The substrate thus produced can obtain such a certain effect as to have flexibility.
However, when such substrate is used in a display device or the like, the following problem arises. The substrate is poor in durability against various solvents (such as acetone) to be used upon production of the display device.


A method and apparatus are provided for supplying a reliable and maintainable operating system in a net-booted environment. According to one embodiment, a network computer (NC) client boots from a boot image provided by an NC server. The boot image includes information identifying the location of one or more system volumes on the NC server that contain operating system software. In response to an attempt to modify the contents of the one or more system volumes, the NC client causes information identifying the modification to be recorded on the NC server separate from the one or more system volumes in a storage area associated with the NC client.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to network computing. More particularly, the invention relates to the provision, administration, and maintenance of an operating system in a net-booted environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most organizations currently employ local area networks (LANs) of thick clients, e.g., personal computers. While this represents an improvement over the disconnected computing environments of a decade earlier, many limitations still exist. In current LAN environments, each client computer has its own local copy of operating system software, application programs, and user customizations to the desktop environment. Typically there is no centralized mechanism for maintaining a consistent system configuration in such a computing environment. Consequently, individual user workstations often get out-of-sync with each other as one or more users upgrade to newer versions of the operating system, upgrade their application programs, or install application programs that were not part of the original system configuration. Additionally, in this type of uncontrolled, decentralized environment, the operating system of a client computer can easily become corrupted. This is especially true with the Microsoft (copyright) Windows (copyright) 95, 98 and NT operating systems where user modification of a single system file can have undesirable consequences and require significant downtime. For example, editing the Windows Registry file could render a client computer unusable thereby requiring reinstallation of the computer""s operating system software and all the application programs.
In view of the foregoing, it should be apparent that administration and maintenance of current computing environments is complex and time consuming. Therefore, what is needed is a reliable computing environment that can be maintained more easily and at a lower cost.
A method and apparatus are described for providing a reliable and maintainable operating system in a net-booted environment. According to one embodiment, a network computer (NC) client boots from a boot image provided by an NC server. The boot image includes information identifying the location of one or more system volumes on the NC server that contain operating system software. In response to an attempt to modify the contents of the one or more system volumes, the NC client causes information identifying the modification to be recorded on the NC server separate from the one or more system volumes in a storage area associated with the NC client.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description.

Providing a reliable operating system for clients of a net-booted environment


The present invention aims to provide a method for producing a pellet and an apparatus for producing a pellet, including a conveyor belt that conveys a strand formed by melting a composition containing a thermoplastic resin and an additive and then ejecting the molten composition from a feeder, a liquid-spraying device spraying a liquid toward the strand conveyed, a gas-blowing device blowing a gas toward the strand conveyed, a strand cutter cutting the strand conveyed into a pellet, the liquid-spraying device, the gas-blowing device, and the strand cutter being disposed in this order in the conveying direction of the strand, a measurement device measuring a surface temperature of the strand, the measurement device being disposed upstream of the strand cutter in the conveying direction, and an adjustment mechanism adjusting driving of at least one of the liquid-spraying device and the gas-blowing device in accordance with the surface temperature measured.

A process for producing a thermoplastic resin product typically includes a primary step of mixing a resin material and additives, such as a glass fiber, a flame retardant, a release agent, and a colorant, kneading the mixture, and pelletizing the resulting mixture; and a secondary step of placing pellets formed in the primary step in an injection molding machine or the like, melting the pellets, and molding the resulting melt into a product shape with a mold.
The pellets formed in the primary step are preferably uniform in size, shape, and so forth from the viewpoint of efficiently performing the shaping in the subsequent secondary step. In general, a die having many small holes is attached to the outlet of a feeder, such as a single-screw extruder or a twin-screw extruder, and string-like strands are ejected and cut to form pieces having an appropriate length with a cutting machine, thereby producing granular pellets.
As a method for cutting the strands, a method is usually employed in which the strands are cooled while received in a water bath, the strands are pulled up from the water bath after solidification, introduced into the cutting machine, and cut into cylindrical pellets. In this method, however, the strands ejected from the outlet are overcooled and thus are hard and brittle, in some cases. For this reason, disadvantageously, the strands often break before being introduced into the cutting machine, thus decreasing the yield.
A method for producing a pellet with an apparatus for producing a pellet is known, the method including after spraying water toward a strand conveyed on a conveyor belt, blowing air to remove adhering water, and cutting the resulting strand into pellets, the apparatus including the conveyor belt that conveys the strand formed by melting a thermoplastic resin and ejecting the resulting melt from a feeder, a water-spraying device that sprays water toward the strand on the conveyor belt, an air-blowing device that removes adhering water, and a strand cutter that cuts the strand conveyed on the conveyor belt into the pellets (see PTL 1).

Apparatus for producing pellet and method for producing pellet


There is disclosed a tubing expansion device and a method of expanding tubing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for use in tubing expansion and to methods of expanding tubing. In particular, but not exclusively, embodiments of the present invention relate to devices and methods for use in expanding tubing downhole.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the oil and gas exploration and production industry, bores drilled to access subsurface hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs are lined with tubing, known as casing and liner. Furthermore, strings of tubing may be located within the cased bore to, for example, carry production fluid to surface. Recently, there have been numerous proposals to use tubing which is expanded downhole, that is tubing of a first diameter is run into a bore and then expanded to a larger second diameter. This offers many advantages to the operator, primarily providing the ability to create lined bores which do not necessarily suffer a loss in internal diameter each time a string of tubing is located in the bore, beyond an existing section of tubing-lined bore.
Early proposals for expanding tubing downhole featured the use of cones or mandrels, which are driven through the tubing in order to expand the tubing. Other proposals include the use of roller expanders, some of which feature radially-urged rollers.
When tubing is expanded using a cone or mandrel, the expansion mode is different from when tubing is expanded using roller expanders. Typically, tubing expanded with a cone or mandrel tends to shorten in axial length whilst maintaining or suffering only a small reduction in wall thickness. Tubing expanded using roller expanders, however, tends to extend in axial length and experiences a reduction in wall thickness, caused by a wall thinning action.
These two different types of expansion devices offer various advantages and disadvantages depending upon the particular circumstances in which the device is employed.
Also, it is generally preferred to expand tubing in a top-down expansion procedure, as it is possible to recover the expansion device in the event that the tool becomes lodged in the tubing. However, when expanding tubing using an expansion cone or mandrel, it is conventional to employ a bottom-up expansion procedure. This is because it is necessary to apply a relatively large force on the cone from surface (by setting weight down on the cone), or to apply a relatively high pressure to the reverse face of the expansion cone (such as by supplying a pressurised fluid behind the cone), and it is not possible or safe to achieve the required loading or pressure on the cone in a top-down expansion procedure. This is particularly true for deviated (horizontal) wells and extended reach wells, where the forces required to expand tubing are, generally speaking, relatively high.
It is amongst the objects of embodiments of the present invention to provide improved devices and methods for use in expanding tubing downhole.

Abstract: In one embodiment, an expansion device (10) is disclosed which comprises at least one expansion member (14) adapted to expand a tubing (12) by inducing a hoop stress in the tubing (12), and at least one further expansion member (16) adapted to expand the tubing (12) by inducing a compressive yield of the tubing (12); and a method of expanding tubing (12) comprising the steps of expanding the tubing (12) at least in part by inducing a hoop stress in the tubing (12), and expanding the tubing (12) at least in part by inducing a compressive yield of the tubing (12).


Provided is a compound, such as ethyl 6-((2-chloro-4-fluorobenzyl)sulfonyl) -3-hydroxycyclohex-1-ene-1-carboxylate or an optical isomer thereof, having a superior Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling inhibitory action, which may be useful as a prophylactic or therapeutic drug for diseases such as autoimmune diseases and/or inflammatory diseases, or chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain (CINP), liver failure, and ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI).

TLR4 was initially discovered as a receptor that recognizes lipopolysaccharide of gram negative bacteria and activates the innate immune system. However, in recent years, it has been clarified that it recognizes not only the innate immune response responsible for such infection defense but also various endogenous ligands produced in the aforementioned various diseases and activate various cells which play a central role in those diseases. In addition, it has been reported that expression of TLR4 is promoted in the lesions of various diseases, and development and progression of pathology in disease animal model such as TLR4 knockout mouse and mutant mouse are markedly suppressed. Therefore, TLR4 is suggested to play an important role in autoimmune disease and/or inflammatory diseases, or diseases such as cardiac diseases, renal diseases, hepatic diseases, central nervous system diseases, infectious diseases, malignant tumor, sepsis, and septic shock.
In addition to these diseases, the relationship with ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) caused by resuming blood flow to an organ or tissue in an ischemic state, such as at the time of organ transplantation, has also been reported. High Mobility Group Box 1 (HMGB-1), which is one of the endogenous ligands of TLR4, increases in transplanted organs, and further, transplanted organs derived from donors having genetically hypofunctional TLR4 are resistant to dysfunction associated with IRI. Such known findings suggest that TLR4 signals caused by HMGB-1 play an important role in IRI (non-patent document 1, non-patent document 2).
From the above, a TLR4 signaling inhibitor (also referred to as "TLR4 inhibitor") is expected to be a prophylactic or therapeutic drug for diseases such as autoimmune diseases and/or inflammatory diseases, or cardiac diseases, renal diseases, hepatic diseases, central nervous system diseases, infectious diseases, malignant tumor, sepsis, and septic shock.
Patent document 1 reports the following compound:
[wherein each symbol is as described in the document] as a TLR4 signaling inhibitor.
Patent document 2 reports the following compound:
[wherein each symbol is as described in the document] as a TLR4 signaling inhibitor.
Patent documents 3 and 4 report the following compound:
[wherein each symbol is as described in the documents] as a TLR4 signaling inhibitor.
In addition, the present Applicant reported as a TLR4 signaling inhibitor the following compound:
[wherein each symbol is as described in the document] in patent document 5, and the following compound:
[wherein each symbol is as described in the document] in patent document 6.


A method for increasing efficiency of interaction by an operator with data on a computer display includes presenting the data to the operator on the computer display, and providing multiple instances of an on-screen control at different locations on the display for selection by the operator using a pointing device linked to the display. The control is actuated responsive to the selection by the operator of any of the instances of the control on the display.

There are many applications for data input from a hard copy to a computer system that use automated Optical Character Recognition (OCR), followed by manual verification of the OCR results. Often, the computer that performs the OCR also generates a confidence rating for its reading of each character or group of characters. Human operators perform the verification step, either by reviewing all the fields in the original document, and correcting errors and rejects discovered in the OCR results, or by viewing and correcting only the characters or fields that have a low OCR confidence level.
There are methods known in the art for improving the reliability of the verification step. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,875, to Chevion et al., whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method for organizing data on a computer screen so as to improve productivity of human operators in verifying OCR results. The method is implemented in document processing systems produced by IBM Corporation (Armonk, N.Y.), in which the method is referred to as "SmartKey."
SmartKey works by presenting to the human operator a "carpet" of character images on the screen of a verification terminal. The character images are taken by segmenting the original document images that were processed by OCR. Segmented characters from multiple documents are sorted according to the codes assigned to them by the OCR. The character images are then grouped and presented in the carpet according to their assigned code. Thus, for example, the operator might be presented with a carpet of characters that the OCR has identified as representing the letter "a." Under these conditions, it is relatively easy for the operator to visually identify OCR errors, such as a handwritten "o" that was erroneously identified as an "a." The operator marks erroneous characters by clicking on them with a mouse, and then typically presses a "done" or "enter" button.
The displaying of composite, "carpet" images to the operator, made up entirely of characters which have been recognized by the OCR logic as being of the same type, enables errors to be rapidly recognized and marked on an exception basis. Once recognized, these errors can then be corrected either immediately or sent to another operator for correction, along with characters rejected by the OCR logic. The remaining, unmarked characters in the carpet are considered to have been verified.

Efficiency and speed in verification of recognition results

International Business Machines Corporation


A top sheet includes a skin contact surface configured to contact the skin of a wearer. The skin contact surface includes at least one projection and at least one recess. The top sheet further includes a back surface opposite the skin contact surface. The top sheet further includes a coating on the at least one projection. The coating essentially includes a blood slipping agent having a kinematic viscosity of 0.01 to 80 mm2/s at 40° C., a water holding percentage of 0.01 to 4.0 mass %, and a weight-average molecular weight of less than 1,000, and the coating is configured to slip from the skin contact surface, through the top sheet, to the back surface along with menstrual blood.

As the basic performance of absorbent articles, such as sanitary napkins and panty liners has continued to improve with technological development over many years, leakage after absorption of excreta, such as menstrual blood has become a less frequent occurrence than in the past, and research is currently ongoing with the aim of achieving even higher performance, including a feel similar to underwear, and smoothness of the top sheet even after absorption of excreta, such as menstrual blood.
Menstrual blood during menstruation, in particular, can also contain components of the endometrium which are highly viscous, and the top sheet preferably remains smooth and stick-free even after absorption of such highly viscous menstrual blood. Highly viscous menstrual blood usually remains on the top sheet in the form of masses, generally leaving the user with a visually unpleasant image, and therefore from this viewpoint as well it is preferred for no highly viscous menstrual blood to remain on the top sheet.
In addition, the menstrual blood discharge during menstruation is not constant, but discharge of menstrual blood varies depending on the period after the start of menstruation, at times involving a large amount of menstrual blood discharge at once, and at other times a small amount of menstrual blood discharge at once. Menstrual blood is not constantly discharged during menstruation, and there are even periods without discharge of menstrual blood.
Consequently, there are periods when a large amount of menstrual blood reaches the top sheet side at once, periods when small amounts of menstrual blood reach it at once, and periods when no menstrual blood reaches it at all, and preferably the menstrual blood migrates into the absorbent body without remaining on the top sheet, regardless of the amount of menstrual blood.
Absorbent articles are known in the technical field which are coated with lotion compositions.
For example, PTL 1 discloses an absorbent article having a polypropylene glycol material-containing lotion composition situated on the inner surface of the top sheet (the clothing side surface), the inner surface of the back sheet (the body side surface), and on the base material between the inner surface of the top sheet and the inner surface of the back sheet.
Also, PTL 2 discloses an absorbent article wherein a polypropylene glycol material-containing lotion composition is applied on the outer surface of the top sheet (body side surface).


A pliers with two handles and two jaw portions, all pivoted together. Two readable combinations, each having a scale and a pointer, are on the handles to respectively reveal the amount of pivot and the force applied to a workpiece. A parallel linkage assembly can be attached to the jaw portions for contacting the workpiece, and, because of the parallelism, the location of the contact with the workpiece is not critical to the readings.

This invention relates to pliers with jaw spacing and load measuring readings, including a method of applying forces, and, more particularly, it relates to an instrument having jaws for gripping a workpiece and for measuring the gripping distance between the jaws and for measuring the force applied to the workpiece.
The prior art is already aware of instruments, like pliers-type instruments with pivotal handles and jaws, for manipulating a workpiece. Those instruments also include means for detecting the amount of pivoting between the handles when the jaws are in contact with the workpiece, and the instruments can detect the distance between the gripping locations on the workpiece. That can be a caliper-type instrument. The prior art also has arrangements of instrument handles which are resilient, or which have a resilient portion or addition, all for applying a force on the jaws through the resilient portion.
The present invention improves upon the prior art by providing an instrument with jaws and pivotal handles wherein the amount of handle pivot, when in contact with the work piece, can be read, and thus the distance between the contacts on the workpiece, and the amount of the forces applied to the workpiece, can be measured. With the detection of the applied forces, only continuous squeezing of the handles is required to produce the application of the desired forces, and this instrument will reveal the amount of those forces at various and selected stage, of force application.
This instrument is capable of applying and measuring various forces and not just one force which is applied by the fixed structural nature of the prior art instruments. In the use of this instrument in medical practice, such as in spine manipulation where force and measurement on vertebrae are required, this instrument will reveal the dimension on the spine and also the forces being applied to the spine. This all occurs with the need of only one gripping position on the handles and with the need of only continuous squeezing or pivoting of those handles.
The indicator, markers, scales, and pointers, whichever are employed, are arranged to be visible, and thus readable, from one viewing location or perspective, so the user need not strain nor move to read all the measurements. The user""s grip on the handles need not be released nor even moved from its normal squeezing location on the handles in order to view the readings.
Also, the aforementioned is accomplished with an instrument which can have parallel action jaws and which can be arranged for either compression or distraction action on the workpiece. The distraction can be employed on the spine for moving the vertebrae apart while applying only a specific and accurate distraction force of separation, and while the instrument displays the measurement of the changing distraction forces. With that arrangement, the readings are accurate because the length of the torque arm on each of the jaws is always constant, regardless of the location of the contact of the jaws with the workpiece, and the parallel linkage assembly provides for, and does not alter, that constant torque arm length. That constancy also pertains to the method.
Throughout, the instrument can have a spring for urging the handles apart and against the squeezing forces being applied, and it can have a threaded member for threadedly actuating the handles relative to each other to squeeze the handles for establishing the pivot action of the handles and securing them and the jaws at any selected pivoted position. Further, there is provision for restricting the pointer indicator for aligning it at a zero setting and thereby automatically achieving desired calibration of the instrument before using it.
A parallel linkage assembly is employed to achieve consistent readings by avoiding a torquing action applied to the workpiece by the pivoting handles. That is, the leverage of the pivoting is not effective beyond a set location on the instrument, and that is the location where parallel linkage may be connected in the instrument.

Pliers with jaw spacing and load measuring readings


An electronic device according to various embodiments may include a display panel, a Display Driving Integrated Circuit (DDIC) operatively coupled to the display panel, and a processor operatively coupled to the DDIC. The DDIC may be configured to receive, from the processor, a signal indicating that a first resolution is to be converted to a second resolution while displaying an image at the first resolution through the display panel, based on a horizontal synchronization signal including a first porch interval, change a length of the porch interval in response to the reception, and display the image at the second resolution through the display panel, based on the horizontal synchronization signal including the porch interval having the changed length.

An electronic device such as a smartphone, a tablet Personal Computer (PC), a smart watch, or the like may display a variety of content such as an image, a text, or the like. The display panel may be driven through a Display Driver Integrated Circuit (DDIC).
The DDIC may display the content by using the display panel according to a specified timing signal, through a plurality of pixels constituting the display panel.
Summary
A processor included in an electronic device may transmit data to a Display Driver Integrated Circuit (DDIC) included in the electronic device to display an image at a first resolution through a display panel included in the electronic device, based on a horizontal synchronization signal. The DDIC may up-scale the data to display the image at a second resolution higher than the first resolution through the display panel. Therefore, the electronic device may require a solution for extending a time interval for the up-scaling of the data.
Technical problems to be solved in the disclosure are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned herein can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art to which the disclosure pertains from the following descriptions.
An electronic device according to various embodiments may include a display panel, a Display Driving Integrated Circuit (DDIC) operatively coupled to the display panel, and a processor operatively coupled to the DDIC. The DDIC may be configured to receive, from the processor, first data to display an image at a first resolution, which is transmitted based on a horizontal synchronization signal including a second porch interval having a longer length than a first porch interval included in the horizontal synchronization signal used to display the image at the first resolution, based on the first data, obtain second data to display the image at a second resolution higher than the first resolution, based at least on the first data, and display the image at the second resolution by using the display panel, based on the obtained second data.
An electronic device according to various embodiments may include a display panel, a DDIC operatively coupled to the display panel, and a processor operatively coupled to the DDIC. The DDIC may be configured to receive, from the processor, a signal indicating that a first resolution is to be converted to a second resolution while displaying an image at the first resolution through the display panel, based on a horizontal synchronization signal including a first porch interval, change a length of the porch interval in response to the reception, and display the image at the second resolution through the display panel, based on the horizontal synchronization signal including the porch interval having the changed length.
A method for operating an electronic device according to various embodiments may include receiving, from the processor of the electronic device by a DDIC of the electronic device, first data to display an image at a first resolution, which is transmitted based on a horizontal synchronization signal including a second porch interval having a longer length than a first porch interval included in the horizontal synchronization signal used to display the image at the first resolution, based on the first data, obtaining, by the DDIC, second data to display the image at a second resolution higher than the first resolution, based at least on the first data, and displaying, by the DDIC, the image at the second resolution by using the display panel of the electronic device, based on the obtained 10 second data.
A method of operating an electronic device according to various embodiments may include receiving, from the processor of the electronic device by a DDIC of the electronic device, a signal indicating that a first resolution is to be converted to a second resolution while displaying an image at the first resolution through the display panel of the electronic device, based on a horizontal synchronization signal including a first porch interval, changing, by the DDIC, a length of the porch interval in response to the reception, and displaying, by the DDIC, the image at the second resolution through the display panel, based on the horizontal synchronization signal including the porch interval having the changed length.
An electronic device and a method thereof according to various embodiments can secure a time interval for performing up-scaling to convert a resolution, by extending a porch interval of a horizontal synchronization signal.
Advantages acquired in the disclosure are not limited to the aforementioned advantages. Other advantages not mentioned herein can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art to which the disclosure pertains from the following descriptions.

Electronic device and method for extending time interval during which upscaling is performed on basis of horizontal synchronization signal


For use in a multi-carrier CDMA receiver, a noise reduction circuit for improving a signal-to-noise ratio of a multi-carrier signal corresponding to a predetermined sequence of chips. Each chip has a value of Logic 0 or Logic 1. The noise reduction circuit comprises a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) circuit for receiving the multi-carrier signal and generating frequency-domain component signals. A sampling circuit generates a first sequence of samples of the frequency-domain component signals. A controller identifies samples in the first sample sequence corresponding to Logic 0 chips and identifies samples in the first sample sequence corresponding to Logic 1 chips. A randomizing circuit generates a second sample sequence by shifting positions within the first sample sequence of some of the identified samples corresponding to Logic 0 chips, or by shifting positions within the first sample sequence of some of the identified samples corresponding to Logic 1 chips.

Wireless communications systems, including cellular phones, paging devices, personal communication services (PCS) systems, and wireless data networks, have become ubiquitous in society. Wireless service providers continually try to create new markets for wireless devices and to expand existing markets by making wireless devices and services cheaper and more reliable. The price of end-user wireless devices, such as cell phones, pagers, PCS systems, and wireless modems, has been driven down to the point where these devices are affordable to nearly everyone and the price of a wireless device is only a small part of the end-user's total cost. To continue to attract new customers, wireless service providers concentrate on reducing infrastructure costs and operating costs, and on increasing handset battery lifetime, while improving quality of service in order to make wireless services cheaper and better.
To maximize usage of the available bandwidth, a number of multiple access technologies have been implemented to allow more than one subscriber to communicate simultaneously with each base station (BS) in a wireless system. These multiple access technologies include time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), and code division multiple access (CDMA). These technologies assign each system subscriber to a specific traffic channel that transmits and receives subscriber voice/data signals via a selected time slot, a selected frequency, a selected unique code, or a combination thereof.
CDMA technology is used in wireless computer networks, paging (or wireless messaging) systems, and cellular telephony. In a CDMA system, mobile stations (e.g., pagers, cell phones, laptop PCs with wireless modems) and base stations transmit and receive data in assigned channels that correspond to specific unique codes. For example, a mobile station may receive forward channel data signals from a base station that are convolutionally coded, formatted, interleaved, spread with a Walsh code and a long pseudo-noise (PN) sequence. In another example, a base station may receive reverse channel data signals from the mobile station that are convolutionally encoded, block interleaved, modulated by a 64-ary orthogonal modulation, and spread prior to transmission by the mobile station. The data symbols following interleaving may be separated into an in-phase (I) data stream and a quadrature (Q) data stream for QPSK modulation of an RF carrier. One such implementation is found in the TIA IS-95 CDMA standard. Another implementation is the TIA S-2000 standard.
In order to increase the reliability of CDMA receivers, base stations and wireless terminals frequently transmit M copies of the same signal, staggered in time, to the other device. The receiving device typically uses multiple receive paths, such as in a rake receiver, to capture each of the copies. The captured copies are summed to produce a composite signal in order to improve the signal to noise ratio. This allows the composite signal to be more easily de-spread and recognized by a signal correlator or matched filter. However, this approach requires a large number of components and a large circuit area. Additionally, the repeated transmission of M copies of the same signal is wasteful of scarce bandwidth.
Furthermore, wireless digital communication systems increasingly are using multicarrier CDMA (MC-CDMA) and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) CDMA. In OFDM-CDMA, different wireless terminals (or mobile stations) are allocated different frequency spreading codes. The advantage of OFDM-CDMA is that the number of codes assigned to each wireless terminal is adjustable, leading to different data rates for different wireless terminals. However, the fact that each wireless terminal must transmit its signal over the entire spectrum leads to an averaged-down effect in the presence of deep fading and narrowband interference.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,683,908 to Cleveland disclosed an apparatus and a method that eliminate the need to transmit M copies of the same signal in order to improve signal reception. The teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 6,683,908 are hereby incorporated by reference into the present application as if fully set forth herein.
The apparatus and method of U.S. Pat. No. 6,683,908 eliminate the need to transmit M copies of the same signal by storing in memory an original copy of the received signal and generating pseudo-replicas using the stored samples of the original received signal. Each pseudo-replica is generated by randomly interchanging samples of the original received signal that occurred during time slots of the original received signal that correspond to Logic 1 and by randomly interchanging signal samples that occurred during time slots of the original received signal that correspond to Logic 0. The original signal and one or more pseudo-replicas are then combined to form a composite signal that has an improved signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).
The SNR is improved because noise in communication systems is not coherent and tends to cancel when the pseudo-replicas are repeatedly added together. But the signal is coherent and the signal components tend to add together as the pseudo-replicas are repeatedly added together. Thus, the SNR improves.
However, the apparatus and method of U.S. Pat. No. 6,683,908 operate on samples from time domain signals. This is not ideally suited for the frequency domain signals that are present in MC-CDMA and OFDM-CDMA receivers.
There is therefore a need in the art for improved multi-carrier CDMA communication systems that have an improved signal-to-noise ratio in the receiver. In particular, there is a need for multi-carrier CDMA communication systems that are not required to transmit multiple copies of a signal in order to improve SNR in the receiver.

Apparatus and method for improving signal-to-noise ratio in a multi-carrier CDMA communication system


Various corner element embodiments, 100, 700 may comprise various concentric circle attributes useful in stopping or reducing cracks in stucco and related building materials. The corner element embodiments may be secured at widow and door corner areas and then integrated with traditional stucco applications. The concentric circle attributes and other corner element attributes dissipate stucco movement to reduce stucco heave and cracks.

(1) Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to means and methods within the construction industry for installing lath and applying plaster material, also known as stucco. More specifically, disclosed embodiments disclose means and methods of applying stucco systems to eliminate or reduce subsequent cracks that often originate at doors and windows.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Lath and stucco material combine to form an integral unit. First, the walls of the structure are waterproofed during the lathing process with two layers of grade D paper or equivalent. Next, a metal lath is installed and secured with 1¼ staples with the intended purpose of providing an ideal surface to support the plaster material. Stucco usually consists of a three coat system with a thickness of ⅞″ and is applied in the following sequence: scratch coat, brown coat and finish coat. This wet cementitious material may crack during the drying process, or more often may crack as a result of building settlement or movement. Cracks most often develop at or near window and door corners where building movements become unevenly dispersed.
The prior art of installation of control joints on exterior stucco walls is often used in an effort to minimize cracks in large or long stucco panels. Although not intentionally created for this purpose, they can also be used at doors and windows. However, control joints add time and expense during the lathing process because several hours of labor are necessary to ensure that it is properly installed. Also, the fact that the product is visible upon finalizing the stucco system may reduce the design appeal of the end product, thereby deterring some builders or architects from using it.
The prior art often resorts to a synthetic material used in acrylic finish coats which may stretch to some extent with building movement and reduce the likelihood of hairline cracks. Unfortunately, exterior acrylic finish coats often fail to exhibit the necessary flexibility to remain intact since most structural cracks develop in the scratch coat and move outward toward the finished surface. Therefore, the superficial nature of acrylic finishes alone cannot hide most structural cracks. Consumers are also discouraged from incorporating this product into the stucco system because of the high cost associated with using it. Another possible setback in opting for an acrylic finish, due to its highly visible nature, is the potential conflict between the desired aesthetic outcome and the need to reduce significant cracks.
More recently, the prior art involving new base and mesh systems have been advocated by various stucco trade organizations that employ polymer-modified coatings which are applied over the brown coat. Such solutions deal with the general field of stucco walls and teach away from specially addressing door or window corners. It is important to note that using a reinforcing fiber mesh embedded in a base coat is very costly, since it requires another coat of material to be applied over the whole structure. This option is many times presented to customers by plastering contractors, although due to the additional time and cost it is usually declined. When accepted, the success of the mesh system is most effective in controlling minor cracks on large, uninterrupted surfaces and not at locations of most stress, specifically openings with square corners. See Base and Mesh Systems for Crack Reduction (March 2011) Stucco Manufactures Association, Newport Beach, Calif.
The trend in the art is to use prior art base coats with newer polymer-modified coatings as described in literature by Merlex for their BaseX product line. The known prior art patent literate described below discloses various large scale control joint methods that do nothing to address building movements at door or window corners.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,355,756 issued on Oct. 12, 1920 to Earley is entitled "Flexible Joint for Stuccoed Buildings" discloses a spacer system to create an air space near doors and windows to allow surrounding stucco work to move without directly pressing upon stucco applied over door or window joints. The product is very similar to a casing bead around a frame, in that it functions more as a plaster stop and does not distribute the concentration of stress that accumulates and is released at the corners of windows and doors; thus cracks still form.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,651,488 issued on Mar. 24, 1987 to Nicholas et al is entitled "Expansion Joint for Plaster Walls" and discloses a unitary extruded plaster screed expansion joint system to reduce stucco cracks.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,638 issued on Dec. 23, 1997 to Maylon is entitled "Stucco Arch Casing Bead" and discloses an arch casing bead with a mounting flange and other features to facilitate the construction of stucco archways.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,874,123 issued on Jan. 25, 2011 to Mariarz is entitled "Stop Bead for Separating Stucco Material from a Frame of a Window or Door" and discloses a slight variation to the traditional L-Bead system used to reduce the time and cost of applying stucco near a door or window. Here again, no corner provisions are considered, as the Mariarz disclosure is concerned with the speed of stucco application and not the reduction of subsequent cracks. Thus, there is a long felt need in the art for the embodiments of the present invention.

Systems and methods of reducing stucco cracks at doors and windows


Systems and methods for providing identity management and mobility management are disclosed. The management scheme provides mobility in multi-device and multi-homed deployments. A collection of three identities, a device identity, a link layer identity, and a user identity, can be used to provide mobility for a number of devices under different use scenarios. In one embodiment, a method is disclosed for receiving messages from a mobile device at a mobility gateway, the messages including identifiers such as a user identifier, a link layer identifier, and a device identifier where identifiers are stored or retained at the mobility gateway. When a subsequent network attach request is received including one or more identifiers, a reconnection can occur, based on a result of comparing the stored identifiers with the received one or more identifiers.

Many users of modern communications own and operate multiple connected devices simultaneously. For example, it is not uncommon for mobile users to have and use, in addition to a cell phone, other devices such as laptop computers, smartphones, tablets, and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Users may also access communications using different devices at work and at home, and may travel among disparate networks with these devices. Providing access to all devices all the time can create issues.
Each communication technology exists independent of all the others, so that, for example, cell networks operate independently of cable Internet providers and vice versa. However, such technologies are not built for interoperability and have limited extensibility, and providers that wish to provide mobility for multiple devices and multi-homed devices must implement a variety of techniques in order to satisfy user needs. For example, Mobile IP does not provide a method for handling a device with multiple network interfaces (e.g. a multihoming device). As well, Mobile IP and other techniques may not work for devices that are multi-user devices, such as a shared Apple iPad, because they rely on an assumption that a single device shall be used by the same user.

Mobility in multi-device multi-homed deployments