In a connector provided with a slider for detecting a half-engagement with respect to a mating connector in accordance with a state of the slider, a resin housing includes a slider receiving section for accommodating the slider and a terminal receiving section for accommodating a terminal connected with an electric wire, which are vertically arranged so as to oppose to each other while defining a gap therebetween. A reinforcing wall member is integrally molded with the housing so as to bridge the slider receiving section and the terminal receiving section in at least one side portion of the housing.

The present invention relates to a connector provided with a slider for detecting a half-engagement with respect to a mating connector in accordance with a state of the slider.
A related half-engagement detecting connector disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 10-50408A will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 through 14.
As shown in FIG. 9, a half-engagement detecting connector 101 is composed of a male connector 102 and a female connector 103. The male connector 102 includes a connector housing 106 formed of synthetic resin and having a terminal receiving section 104 and a slider receiving section 105, a plurality of terminals 107 (See FIG. 10) accommodated in the terminal receiving section 104, a slider 108 slidably accommodated in the slider receiving section 105, and compression springs 109 for urging the slider 108.
The half-engagement detecting connector 101 has such a structure that in a half-engaged state, the male connector 102 and the female connector 103 are forced to be disengaged from each other by a repulsive force of the slider 108 which is urged by the compression springs 109. In short, the half-engagement detecting connector 101 is so constructed that the half-engaged state between the male connector 102 and the female connector 103 may be prevented.
A structure of the male connector 102 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 through 12.
In the terminal receiving section 104, there are formed a plurality of terminal chambers 110 for respectively containing and retaining a plurality of the terminals 107. The terminal receiving section 104 and the slider receiving section 105 are vertically arranged while being continuous at rear end portions thereof. On the other hand, the terminal receiving section 104 and the slider receiving section 105 are opposed with each other while defining a gap 111 therebetween, at any other portion than the continuous part. The gap 111 is formed as a space for defining a passage for a housing 128 of the female connector 103 which will be described below.
The slider receiving section 105 is a part for accommodating the aforesaid slider 108, and an opening 112 is formed along an engaging direction of the connectors. Guide grooves 113 for guiding both sides of a main body of the slider 108 are provided on both sides of the slider receiving section 105. At respective rear ends of the guide grooves 13, there are formed spring chambers 114 in a tubular shape.
A flexible lock arm 115 is integrally provided in a center portion of the slider receiving section 105 in a cantilevered manner, and extends along an engaging direction of the connectors. A lock projection 116 having a slanted face is provided on the lock arm 115, and a housing lock 117 adapted to be locked with the housing 128 of the female connector 103 which will be described below is formed in a lower part of a front end of the lock arm 115.
In addition, there is formed a stopper projection 118 for preventing displacement of the lock arm 115 itself, in an upper part of the front end of the lock arm 115. There are further formed, on both sides of the lock arm 115, side grooves 119 for allowing an insertion of abutting projections 120 of a flexible slider arm 121 which will be described below.
The above described slider 108 is provided with the slider arm 121 in a cantilevered manner. The slider arm 121 is formed with a pair of the abutting projections 120 at both side ends in a front lower part thereof. The slider arm 121 is provided in a substantially center of the slider body 122. In addition, there is formed a releaser 123 adapted to be depressed when the engagement is released, in a rear end of an upper part of the slider 108. Further, a through groove 124 is formed between the slider arm 121 and the releaser 123, and a pair of spring holders 125 for holding the compression springs 109 are formed on both sides of the rear end in a lower part of the slider 108. A stopper 126 for preventing displacement of the lock arm 115 is formed in a front end of the slider body 122.
On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the female connector 103 is composed of the housing 128 formed of synthetic resin and having a plurality of terminal chambers 134 for respectively accommodating and retaining the plurality of the terminals 127 therein. In the housing 128, there is formed an inlet opening 129 at a front end thereof, into which the male connector 102 is inserted. The housing 128 is also provided, on its upper face, with a pair of stopper projections 130 adapted to be abutted against the abutting projections 120 of the slider 108 on occasion of engagement of the connectors, a projection 131 positioned between the stopper projections 130 and having a slanted face adapted to flex the lock arm 115, and an engaging groove 132 positioned at a rear end of the projection 131 and adapted to lock the housing lock 117.
In the above described structure, when the slider 108 is inserted into the slider receiving section 105 from the front of the connector housing 106, with the compression springs 109 retained by a pair of the spring holders 125, the slider body 122 is moved backward in the guide grooves 113. On this occasion, the abutting projections 120 provided on the slider arm 121 at the lower ends of both sides thereof are located inside the side grooves 119 which are provided on both sides of the lock arm 115. Then, the compression springs 109 are housed inside the spring chambers 114, and at the same time, the slider 108 is slidably mounted by fitting the lock projection 116 of the lock arm 115 into the through groove 124 of the slider 108.
In a state before the engagement of the connectors, the slider 108 is pushed forward by a repulsive force of the compression springs 109, and a front end of the releaser 123 is locked with the lock projection 116 in the through groove 124. At the same time, the stopper projection 118 at the distal end of the lock arm 115 is abutted against the stopper 126 on the lower face of the front end of the slider 108 to block an upward displacement of the lock arm 115. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, a plurality of the terminals 107 fitted to ends of electric wires W1 are respectively inserted into the terminal chambers 110 from a back of the connector housing 106, and locked with housing lances inside the terminal chambers 110. In addition, by fitting a locking holder 133 as shown in FIG. 10, the terminals 107 are doubly locked.
On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the terminals 127 fitted to respective ends of electric wires W2 are inserted from the rear of the housing 128, and locked with housing lances inside the terminal chambers 134. At the same time, by fitting a locking holder 135, the terminals 127 are doubly locked. Further, conduction springs 136 to be brought into contact with the terminals 127 are mounted in determined positions in the housing 128.
Since the details are disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 10-50408A, description concerning an operation for engaging the male connector 102 with the female connector 103 will be omitted.
By the way, there has been such an anxiety as follows, in the above described male connector 102, because the connector housing 106 has the gap 111 for the engagement with the female connector 103, between the terminal receiving section 104 and the slider receiving section 105.
When the connector housing 106 is molded, it is caused such a deformation of the connector housing 106 that the terminal receiving section 104 and the slider receiving section 105 are brought close to each other due to thermal shrinkage. In case where a user attempts to engage the connectors unaware of such situation, the female connector 103 may interfere with the connector housing 106 and an insertion force may be increased.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a connector provided with a slider for detecting a half-engagement with respect to a mating connector, in which an interference with a mating connector is prevented and a stable engagement of the connectors can be performed.
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a connector provided with a slider for detecting a half-engagement with respect to a mating connector in accordance with a state of the slider, the connector comprising:
a resin housing, in which a slider receiving section for accommodating the slider and a terminal receiving section for accommodating a terminal connected with an electric wire are vertically arranged so as to oppose to each other while defining a gap therebetween; and
a reinforcing wall member, integrally molded with the housing so as to bridge the slider receiving section and the terminal receiving section in at least one side portion of the housing.
In this configuration, since it is restricted thermal shrinkage which caused such a deformation of the housing when the terminal receiving section and the slider receiving section are brought close to each other when they are molded, a shape of the housing after the molding will be stabilized by the reinforcing wall member. As a result, the mating connector will not interfere with the connector when it is inserted into the gap, so that the connector engagement between the connectors can be conducted smoothly and stably.
Furthermore, since the slider receiving section and the terminal receiving portion opposing via the gap are reinforced, the housing will not be easily damaged even though it has received an outer force for some reason. Still further, the reinforcing wall member also serves as an area for allowing heat at the molding to escape. Thus, effective thermal shrinkage will be performed.
Preferably, the reinforcing wall member bridges a part of the slider receiving section situated in a front portion of the housing and a part of the terminal receiving section situated in a rear portion of the housing.

Connector with slider detecting half-engagement


A thermoplastic polymer composition with a tertiary blend of a carbon dioxide-derived polymer, a thermoplastic cellulose derivative, and a thermoplastic compatibilizer is described. The composition can be melt-processed into flexible, thin films that have fine nano-scale structural features in both the cross-directional and machine-directional orientations, for use in various products. The films, which are made from relatively brittle materials, exhibit a greater degree of ductility, elongation capacity, and strength than the primary, original component materials as binary-blends from which the film is made.

Developing products based on environmental friendly and sustainable materials is becoming an essential in today's marketplace because of increased awareness of environmental impact and depletion of fossil-based petrochemical resources. One approach to provide for environmentally sustainable thermoplastic film materials has been to develop alternative formulations that can incorporate more non-food based biodegradable or renewable materials into the films. For example, thermoplastic films can be fabricated with thermoplastic cellulosic materials that exhibit balanced mechanical properties to address the depletion of petroleum-based resources and the escalation or fluctuation of crude oil prices. Conventional films that are made from thermoplastic cellulose materials have exhibited relatively poor performance qualities. They tend to have low flexibility and a narrow temperature window for thermoplastic processing, which results in a limited range of applications in which the films can be used. For instance, a problem to be solved is the need to develop a thermoplastic film composition that has enhanced flexibility.

Biodegradable blends and films having nano-structural features


Sign apparatus for directory or other applications and having removable sign inserts positionable at any location along a dimension of the sign. The sign inserts are held in place by a number of elongated rails located behind the inserts. Each rail contains an elongate track with a slotted opening facing the back side of the sign inserts. The tracks receive an end of an elastically-deformable fastener attached to the back of the sign insert. Each fastener expands within the track to prevent unimpeded removal of the insert, while permitting the insert to slide within the track for longitudinal positioning of the insert along the rails.

Signs intended for use as directories typically display the names of various persons or other entities together with their office numbers or locations. For example, the typical directory sign located in the lobby of a building will name the firms or organizations located in that building, and possibly the names of at least some individuals therein, together with information such as room numbers or building floors where particular persons or organizations are located. The contents of these signs are updated from time to time as people come and go within the locations covered by the sign.
Signs intended for use as directories and the like usually are designed so that individual names or addresses can be changed without the need to fabricate a new display panel containing all information on the sign. In this way, the cost and ease of replacing only one or a few names is much less than if that same number of changes required replacing the entire information display of the sign. For example, replacing it is known in the art to provide directory signs in which each name or other directory location appears on an individual message panel which forms part of the overall sign. The directory sign, thus, is composed of a number of those message panels displayed in a desired alphabetical or other arrangement, and mounted within a frame or other structure defining the overall sign. Such signs may include receptacles or other positioning structure to locate each individual message display panel in a fixed location or a predetermined array of locations on the sign, so that the resulting array of numerous message panels provides an attractive uniform appearance resembling a single overall monolithic display, rather than a composite of numerous individual message panels.
Those skilled in the art will recognize different techniques for attaching the individual message display panels within directory signs of the prior art. Generally speaking, each such display panel should be individually removable and attachable without disturbing adjacent panels making up the sign. Moreover, removing a particular message display panel and replacing it with a new one should take minimum time and require no unique tools, so that the cost of maintaining and installing a directory sign can be minimized. In an effort to meet these and other functional requirements, various techniques are known for attaching individual message panels to directory signs and the like. For example, each message panel can be provided with an adhesive backing layer such as double-sided adhesive tape for adhering the individual panels to a vertical substrate forming part of the overall sign assembly. The use of such adhesive fastening techniques alone, however, requires selecting an adhesive that remains effective over the expected lifetime of the sign, without diminishing due to aging or extremes of temperature or humidity. Although such adhesives are known, their desirable characteristics mean that intentional removal of a particular message panel often is accomplished only with considerable difficulty, sometimes including damage to the sign itself. This creates a problem where removing only one message panel of a directory sign also requires relocating a number of other message panels of the sign, because each relocated message panel must first be removed from its original location on the sign.
Another technique for removably affixing individual message panels to a directory sign requires individual mounting studs affixed to the back side of each message panel. These mounting studs are pressed into corresponding holes drilled or otherwise formed for the purpose in one or more members located behind the plane of the message panels. This mounting technique requires precise lateral and vertical alignment of the studs on the individual message panels, and also of the holes for receiving those studs, so that the resulting directory sign maintains a uniform appearance of all message panels making up the sign. As a result, directory signs using this prior-art technique are relatively expensive to assemble and maintain. Moreover, the backing holes usually are formed at periodic intervals along the backing member, making it difficult to include message panels or divider strips having an irregular width or shape.

Sign apparatus with improved mounting of message panels


A camera coupled to a processor is disclosed. The camera is configured to capture images of the subject. The processor is configured to amplify microscopic temporal variations between the images of the subject and generate a profile of at least one microscopic temporally detected physiological variation of the subject. The processor is further configured to compare the profile of the subject to a pre-existing first aggregate profile of a plurality of third-party subjects, said aggregate profile corresponding to the at least one microscopic temporally detected physiological variation of the third-party subjects, the aggregate third-party profile corresponding to a known state of the third-party subjects.

The increasing complexity of healthcare is causing fragmentation of care compromising patient safety and hospital efficiency. Increased costs of healthcare corresponding to the volumes of data and difficulty in assessing the state of the patient compound problems associated with patient safety and efficient treatment. Many treatment options and diagnoses, however, are made as the result of acute conditions or conditions that are readily observable to the medical practitioner during an office visit precipitated by an acute medical event. It is believed that many health conditions (mental, emotional, and/or physiological) can be detected before they warrant significant medical attention and/or before significant adverse affects or symptoms are felt by the subject.

Health monitoring system using outwardly manifested micro-physiological markers


A bias controller sets the quiescent current of a power amplifier to a desired value by dynamically adjusting the power amplifier bias voltage. Using closed-loop control, the bias controller sets the bias voltage to whatever value is needed despite circuit component variations and temperature effects. Operation of the bias controller complements dynamic bias voltage adjustment in advance of transmit operations, such as in advance of a transmit burst. In a first state, where the power amplifier is in a quiescent condition, the bias controller adjusts bias voltage to set the desired quiescent current by detecting the supply current into the power amplifier. The bias controller then transitions to a second state, where it maintains the adjusted bias voltage irrespective of amplifier supply current. Despite its ability to sense supply current into the power amplifier, the bias controller""s configurations avoid dissipative current sensing during normal operation of the power amplifier.

Wireless communication devices are an integral part of modern existence, with a wide range of different device types in use, including, but not limited to, cellular telephones, portable digital assistants, wireless-enabled computers, and other so-called xe2x80x9cpervasive computingxe2x80x9d devices. While the use and capability of these devices vary considerably, each includes one or more of the fundamental building blocks comprising essentially any wireless communication device.
For example, any wireless device capable of transmitting a radio frequency (RF) signal includes some form of transmitter circuit to transmit a RF signal in accordance with a defined modulation scheme. Power amplification is a fundamental part of this signal transmission capability. Typically, the desired transmit signal is formed at a relatively low power level, and this pre-amplified signal is then amplified by a RF power amplifier, which boosts the signal power to a level suitable for radio transmission. Oftentimes, the level of transmit power is tightly controlled, such as in cellular telephony.
Controlling the output power of a RF power amplifier requires accurate control of the amplifier""s bias voltage. That is, essentially all power amplifier circuits are implemented as transistor-based amplifiers, whether single- or multi-stage, and control of output power from these transistor-based amplifiers requires accurate control of transistor operating points.
Generally, an applied bias voltage establishes the operating point of a power amplifier. Indeed, operating point control affects whether the transistor operates in a linear or in a saturated mode, and greatly affects the amplification efficiency of the power amplifier, which is a dominant influence on battery life in portable wireless devices. Nominally, a given magnitude of bias voltage corresponds to a given level of quiescent current in the power amplifier, which current is determinative in setting the eventual output power of the power amplifier when stimulated with an RF source at its input. Ideally, one would simply set the bias voltage to the nominal level corresponding to the desired quiescent current. Unfortunately, a host of variables, including semiconductor process variations, temperature, aging, operating voltages, and others conspire to alter the relationship between a given bias voltage and the resultant amplifier quiescent current. In other words, one cannot simply choose the bias voltage that should result in the desired quiescent current; instead, one generally needs to adopt some form of bias voltage calibration or adjustment.
Of course, these calibration approaches add expense and complication, particularly on the manufacturing side where, in some cases, individual power amplifier circuits (or whole communication devices) are characterized over temperature and voltage to determine appropriate adjustment factors for bias voltage. This calibration information generally is then loaded into non-volatile memory within the calibrated devices for use in later operation.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for dynamically calibrating voltage bias into a power amplifier circuit in advance of transmit operations to ensure that the power amplifier circuit is biased to a desired quiescent current level. Although subject to implementation variations in many different embodiments, the present invention generally provides a bias controller that uses closed-loop control techniques to adjust a generated bias voltage up or down to make the supply current into the power amplifier circuit under quiescent conditions substantially match the target quiescent current value.
A timing function, which may be included in the bias controller, controls first and second operating states for the bias controller. During the first operating state, the bias controller adjusts bias voltage under closed-loop control based on measured or detected supply current into the power amplifier circuit. Thus, during the first state, the bias controller uses closed-loop control to adjust the bias voltage to whatever level is needed to achieve the target level of quiescent current. After some defined duration, the bias controller transitions from its first state to its second state, at which point it locks or otherwise holds the adjusted level of bias voltage irrespective of any changes in the supply current into the power amplifier circuit.
In operation, the first state is made to occur during quiescent conditions of the power amplifier circuit, such as before a radio transmit burst. As the bias controller transitions from its first to its second state, it locks or holds the adjusted bias voltage and maintains this bias voltage value through any subsequent radio transmissions.
In some exemplary embodiments, the bias controller is configured with a measurement path for measuring supply current into the power amplifier circuit that is independent of the primary path that provides supply current to the power amplifier circuit during transmit operations. In this manner, the bias controller avoids loading the primary supply path with any current measurement devices it might use to sense supply current into the power amplifier during bias voltage adjustment operations.
In other exemplary embodiments, the bias controller may use a reference current that has some defined proportionality to the actual supply current. Such reference currents are sometimes used in current modulators used in envelope-elimination-and-restoration (EER) applications. In EER systems, which are also referred to as xe2x80x9cpolarxe2x80x9d modulation systems, the power amplifier is biased for saturated mode operation. A constant-envelope, phase-modulated signal is applied to the amplification input of the power amplifier, while its supply terminal is supplied with amplitude modulated supply voltage and/or current. Where current modulation is used, the bias controller may use a reference current generated as a scaled reference of the modulated supply current.
With this approach, the bias voltage adjustment control loop may be closed based on sensing the reference current rather than the actual current. Again, this approach avoids placing dissipative components in the supply current path of the power amplifier. During its first state of operation, amplitude modulation of the supply and reference currents is suspended, and no RF signal is applied to the power amplifier. The bias controller may include switching elements for isolating the current modulator from any input modulation signals to force this quiescent condition during the bias controller""s adjustment operations.
Regardless of the its particular implementation, the bias controller""s closed-loop adjustment approach accommodates variations in the relationship between supplied bias voltage and resultant quiescent current, thereby eliminating the need for stored calibration information, and any temperature- or voltage-based bias adjustment tracking. That is, with the bias controller of the present invention, the bias voltage is adjusted under closed-loop control to whatever value is needed to fix the quiescent supply current of the power amplifier circuit at the target value.
Generally, the bias controller includes accommodations to ensure that the supply voltage applied to the power amplifier circuit during its bias voltage adjustment operations is of sufficient magnitude to reliably set the quiescent current level. That is, with some amplifier types, such as with bipolar junction transistor amplifiers, an adequate voltage between the collector and emitter, is required to reliably set the quiescent current level. Field effect transistors (FETs) typically have corresponding drain-to-source voltage ranges that should be maintained while setting bias voltage. Further, the bias controller operates to ensure that any voltage differences between the first state (adjustment) and the second state (transmit operations) are not so substantial that errors would result in the quiescent current level between the two operating states.

Dynamic bias controller for power amplifier circuits


An object is to realize a server/client-type map information providing system capable of providing detailed, wide-ranging map related information through telecommunications at low costs, and a server side is provided with databases (9 to 12) storing the map related information. When notified of position information from a mobile terminal side, a processing portion 15 performs a route search referring to map data in the map database 9 based on the position information. The processing portion 15 then extracts Information related to the obtained route (route related information) from the databases (9 to 12) to transmit the information with the route to the mobile terminal side. In this way, since the mobile terminal side needs only the information that is closely related to the route in the map related information, only the route related information is transmitted, thereby reducing the amount of information to be transmitted compared to that when the map related information is downloaded as it is, and as a result it is possible to provide detailed, wide-ranging map related information through telecommunications at low costs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to map information providing systems, and more specifically to a map information providing system including one or more movable terminals for providing map information therefor through telecommunications.
2. Description of the Background Art
In recent years, vehicles adopting a navigation system has increased in population. The information the navigation system provides also has been expanding from map information to information further including, for example, traffic information and event information (hereinafter referred to as map related information.) The navigation system is expected to become rapidly available in the future as it becomes more convenient.
The conventional vehicle navigation system generally provides information in such a way that a mobile terminal reads map information and map related information recorded in a read-only recording medium such as a CD-ROM as required.
However, in the conventional system using a read-only recording medium, it is difficult to provide map related information including information with a high degree of real-time characteristics such as traffic information and weather information.
Therefore, a vehicle navigation system capable of further providing map related information including information with a high degree of real-time characteristics is disclosed. For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 9-8917 discloses an art as to a device which downloads map information and map related information from an information providing center through a communications circuit to a mobile terminal.
However, in the conventional system which provides information through telecommunications as disclosed in the above gazette, since telecommunications costs increase as the amount of information to be transmitted increases, it is impossible to provide detailed, wide-ranging map related information at low costs.

System, method, and computer program for providing map information from a server to movable terminals

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A multimode power module system automatically selects one of multiple operating modes to maximize power transfer in varying conditions by using direct energy transfer, boost peak power tracking, buck peak power tracking, charge limit, and eclipse standby modes with reduced switching losses, reduced component count, and scalability through connections of multiple power modules system.

Power modules on space system have long been used to charge onboard batteries and provide power to system loads. Referring to FIG. 2, the power transfer from an array of solar cells to a battery is a function of temperature and sunlight illumination. The temperature is shown to have a range between 95° C. degrees to 15° C. degrees, having a nominal temperature of 55° C. degrees. A battery can be charged in three power modes including direct energy transfer (DET), boost peak power tracking (PPT), and buck PPT. During the DET mode, the power module connects source array to the battery and load for high efficiency. Peak power tracking (PPT) mode is used during high and low array voltages in response to varying temperature and illumination conditions for maximum source power but power efficiency transfer is lower due to switching and controller losses.
The PPT has two operating conditions, boost PPT and buck PPT. Power module utilization of DET, buck PPT, and boost PPT modes as a function of array temperature is well known. DET is effective at nominal temperatures when the maximum power voltage of the array is near the battery charge voltage. Buck PPT is implemented when the array is cold and the maximum power voltage is significantly higher than the battery charge voltage. Buck PPT decreases the voltage from the array to the battery. Boost PPT is used at high temperatures when the maximum power voltage of the array is significantly lower than the battery charge voltage. Boost PPT increases the voltage from the array to the battery.
Power modules have been used on miniature satellites but suffer from power losses associated with PPT switching. Switching power losses are disadvantageously significant relative to overall power. The DET is more advantageous much of the time but not under all conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,713,989 teaches a solar switch, by Reynolds, and discloses an electronic switch that maintains full conduction between solar array and battery during charging. Efficiency is high in this simple technique because losses associated with power switching and complex controls are eliminated. However, maximum source power is not continuously extracted by this DET method because array voltage is equal to varying battery voltage. The influence of array temperature and degradation to power generation is neglected.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,272 teaches a power regulator utilizing only battery current monitoring, by Bavaro, and discloses a PPT method to extract maximum array power. However, power dissipation is significant because the switching converter and control circuit are continuously active. Therefore, less power may be delivered to the load or battery than the DET mode despite maximum power being extracted from the solar array.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,469,476 teaches a multimode converter for a motor vehicle electrical system, by Barrett, and discloses a power system with multiple operating modes. However, the system is designed specifically for motors and is not directly applicable to other systems such as solar power. The converter disadvantageously has an excessive component count. A control unit of the converter is not described as including a low power standby mode for power conservation.
Converters have long been used in regulated power supplies. Converters are supplied in compact packages but are unsuitable of DET. Existing power modules disadvantageously suffer from PPT switching losses, excessive component count, exclusive continuous high power operation without entering standby modes, and stand alone connections between a power source and loads. These and other disadvantages are solved or reduced using the invention.


The invention relates to overhead luggage bins in the cabins of aircraft, the bin being either pre-existing or equipment to be newly fitted. Such bins have horizontally elongate frontal access openings. The invention provides that behind the main front door panel which closes such an opening there is provided transparent visor means which masks at least the lower part of the access opening while enabling objects within the bin to be seen. An essential feature is that the visor means are constituted by multiple part-visor located side by side, each of which are self latching on closure of the visor means, the part-visors being individually openable on unlocking of the latching means. This arrangement reduces the risk of heavy objects falling from the bin in that it militates against inadvertant simultaneous uncovering by one person, of the whole lateral width and extent of the frontal access opening of the bin.

This invention relates to the provision of a safety arrangement for preventing articles from being accidentally or unintentionally displaced from an overhead bin for hand luggage, that is to be found in the passenger cabin of an aircraft.
An overhead luggage bin in an aircraft cabin is well known; but is shape, the working interrelationships of its elemental parts and its location present certain problems, some of which interact. For example, the bin must be large and strong and yet be light in weight, and it is usually to be constructed of flame or fire resistant materials. Its closure door means should open outwardly and upwardly and the full storage space should be capable of being exposed. The door opens upwardly so that space for movement of passengers and crew within the cabin is not impinged upon.
The actual construction of such overhead bins varies and is adapted to conform with structural requirements and the overall internal configuration of the cabin of the aircraft in which it is installed. In one typical form of such a luggage bin, the bin has such a construction that its interior has the shape of a generally rectangular box. The essential feature of such a bin is its shelf like strongly made floor. From this, side and rear wall panels extend upwardly. These side and rear panels need not extend upwardly over the full height of the luggage space defined within the bin. Such a bin will often, but not always, possess a roof panel. Where there is no roof panel, the roof of the cabin of the aircraft may serve also as the roof of the luggage bin; and in this case, the front door panel which lifts to open, may be hinged at or towards its upper generally horizontal edge to a structural part of the body or structure of the aircraft. Where the bin has a roof panel the main bin door may be hinged to a frontal part of such roof panel; or, alternatively, the upwardly and outwardly opening closure door means may be hinged to side walls of the luggage bin. At least the floor panel and the closure door means when closed, will be firmly attached to, or firmly relative to, the body or structure of the aircraft cabin.
These bins are often up to seven feet wide, and they are usually at least 30 inches wide; and as a result their frontal access openings are corresponding large and wide. Considering a typical overhead bin whose access opening has a height of 20 inches and a width of 60 inches it needs to be mentioned that this bin will be disposed above the cabin seating and the bin floor will be located some 60 inches above the cabin floor. A person operating the catch means of the main bin door to lift this door to open it will have a line of sight extending to the bin opening over a distance of about 20 inches. The field of view will extend over about 30.degree., and an arc of say 24 inches will be subtended. Thus on opening the main bin door, the person will have a field of view extending over less than half of the full width of the bin opening. The span of a human hand is six to nine inches and this is a small fraction of the full width of the bin opening.
Accordingly, even if the passenger or crew member, who is opening the bin, has both hands free, the full width of the opening can be covered and viewed, only if speed and dexterity of hand and eye are employed. And accordingly, when the front door panel of such a bin is opened by being raised, there is a risk in that heavy articles such as cameras, brief cases or even bottles are liable to fall out inadvertently, and this may cause injury to a passenger seated or standing nearby. A particularly dangerous situation occurs when the bin is fully loaded with a variety of heavy articles. Loading will not have been effected systematically. On the contrary, heavy objects will be randomly located and may have been inserted on top of other objects; and they may be liable to slide and fall out as soon as the main closure door of the bin is opened.

Safety arrangement for overhead luggage bins in aircraft passenger cabins


A system, apparatus and method are provided for testing a secondary servo control circuit in a redundant control configuration. A first circuit is configured to receive a control signal and to control an attribute of an actuator based on the control signal using a first control input of the actuator. A second circuit is configured to test operation of an actuator circuit using a test signal. The actuator circuit includes at least part of the second circuit and a second control input of the actuator. The test signal is selected to avoid causing independent motion of the actuator. The actuator could be a dual coil servo valve, and the test signal could be a current (such as a DC current, an AC current, or a pulsed current) having a magnitude less than a bias current of the actuator.

Processing facilities are often managed using process control systems. Example processing facilities include (but are not limited to) manufacturing plants, chemical plants, crude oil refineries, ore processing plants, and paper or pulp manufacturing and processing plants. Among other operations, process control systems typically manage the use of motors, valves, and other industrial equipment in the processing facilities.
In conventional process control systems, process controllers are often used to control the operation of the industrial equipment in the processing facilities. The process controllers could, for example, monitor the operation of the industrial equipment, provide control signals to the industrial equipment, and generate alarms and notifications when malfunctions are detected. As an example, a process control system may provide redundant servo controllers to ensure continued control of critical, high availability subsystems in the case of a failure in a servo system. Failures may include malfunctioning servo coils, field cables, drive circuits, or other servo control components.
When a failure occurs, the process control system may sense the failure in one of the two circuits providing redundant control of the servo system, isolate the failed circuit, and switch control of the servo system to the other control circuit of the redundant pair automatically. Central process controllers and/or local process controllers may provide the failure sensing and control switchover/failover functionality.

System and method for testing a secondary servo control circuit in a redundant control configuration


An exemplary tank arrangement for storing liquefied natural gas includes a multilobe tank having at least three tank sections arranged in a row in a lateral direction, wherein each tank section is supported against a support surface with a first support allowing movement of the tank relative to the support surface in the longitudinal direction and with a second support, at least one of the second supports preventing movement of the tank relative to the support surface in the longitudinal direction. One tank section has a third support, which allows movement of the tank relative to the support surface in the longitudinal direction and prevents movement in the lateral direction. The first and second supports allow shrinkage and expansion of the tank in the lateral direction.

Natural gas, and mixtures of hydrocarbons that are volatile enough to make the mixture appear in gaseous form in room temperature, can constitute an advantageous alternative to fuel oil as the fuel of internal combustion engines. In sea-going vessels that use natural gas as fuel, the natural gas can be stored onboard in liquid form, giving rise to the commonly used acronym LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas). Natural gas can be kept in liquid form by maintaining its temperature below a boiling point, which is approximately −162 degrees centigrade. LNG can be stored at a pressure that is close to the atmospheric pressure, but large tanks used for storing LNG need to withstand significant hydrostatic pressures and a certain overpressure. For achieving good mechanical strength, LNG tanks can be constructed as cylindrical or spherical contain-ers. However, for practical reasons, large LNG tanks are sometimes designed as bilobe or multilobe tanks instead of cylindrical tanks. A bilobe tank includes two mating curved halves, for instance two spherical caps or two cylindrical segments. A multilobe tank includes at least three curved sections that are joined to each other. The sections can be partial cylinders or spheres.
Due to the low temperature desired for storing LNG, the dimensions of a tank that is in use and an empty tank that can be at a temperature of +30° C. can differ significantly from each other. This makes supporting of the LNG tanks challenging especially in ships, where it is desirable to firmly attach the tank to the hull of the ship.


A solid state radiation sensor array panel comprising a thick deposited radiation detector layer capable of generating electron-hole pairs in response to being irradiated, and a matrix array of transistors comprising source and drain electrode elements, a charge transport layer, and a dielectric layer disposed over one surface of the detector layer. Means is provided for establishing an electric field across the detector layer, which field is collapsible to establish a higher field in irradiated areas so as to establish a current path, between the source and drain electrode elements, through pixel areas of the charge transport layer. The currents passing through pixel areas are passed to a readout circuit for processing the radiation image information.

Sensor arrays are commonly used for diagnostic imaging, in medical and scientific applications. Conventionally these have outputs which may be visual, resulting in a film image, or digital, resulting in electrical data for transmission to a suitable data processing unit. In order to be useful, good spatial and energy resolutions are required, i.e. the number of pixels per unit area resolved and the sensitivity to the expected energy spectrum, must be coincident with the task requirements.
A 1-D digital detector array is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,303,860 (Bjorkholm et al), wherein a narrow fan beam of X-rays is passed through an object to be imaged and is received by a scintillation crystal which generates light, in proportion thereto. The light, in turn, is received by an array of photodiodes, in itimate contact with the crystal, which generate a current in proportion to the intensity of illumination. The current may be detected by any suitable means, such as an array of CCDs or other sensor. Relative movement between the object and the radiation source with its detector array is required in order to completely image the object.
By using a two-dimensional detector array, a single divergent X-ray beam may be directed through an object onto a large area panel, which may be of any arbitrary size. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,626,688 (Barnes) FIGS. 1 and 2 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,608 (DiBianca) both one-dimensional and two-dimensional arrays are shown. As in Bjorkholm et al, Barnes discloses a radiation sensitive material responsive to incident radiation to produce light and an adjacent array of photodiodes responsive to the light to produce an analog electrical signal indicative of radiation intensity. In DiBianca primary radiation (X-rays) produces secondary radiation (electron-ion pairs) within a detector which, in turn, produces charge carries in a detector.
Recent progress in amorphous silicon fabrication techniques has enabled this material to be deposited and patterned over large areas so as to create page size integrated electronics. Typically, for most electronic applications, as well as for optical sensing applications, this material is no more than a few microns thick. When used with a radiation detecting phosphor screen, X-rays impacting the phosphor cause it to emit visible light which will generate a current normally through the adjacent amorphous silicon detector layer which, in turn, must be picked up by a suitable detection circuit. A major shortcoming of devices of this type is their extremely low detection efficiency. Because the phosphor screen typically has an efficiency generally below 10% in generating light in response to incident radiation, even with a highly efficient optical sensor coupled thereto, devices of this type can be no more than about 10% efficient.
While thin amorphous silicon layers are highly efficient in detecting visible light, it is known that thick amorphous silicon layers (on the order of 10 to 50 .mu.m) may detect high energy radiation (i.e. radiation with high energy photons or particles) with an efficiency of greater than 90%. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,186 (Street et al) a thick amorphous silicon layer in a p-i-n doped configuration with electrically biased upper and lower metal electrodes will pass current therethrough, thereby detecting the existence of high energy radiation. Particle position detection can be accomplished by an array of such devices connecting the output currents to the input of amplifiers. The direct detection of radiation induced electron-hole pairs passing through the detector layer is much simpler than the arrangement afforded by scintillation systems in which the high energy radiation is converted to visible light which is detected by an adjacent sensor.
In a paper entitled "A New Type of Field-Effect Image Storage Panel with a Photoconductive Charging Layer" (Kazan et al), Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol. 56, No. 11, pp. 2057-2059, November 1968 there is taught an electroluminescent imaging panel in which local charging or discharging of an adjacent semiconductor layer (ZnO) is controlled by a next adjacent photoconductive layer. Thus, in areas irradiated by an image of UV radiation, the resultant currents through the photoconductive layer produce trapped charges at the interface with a ZnO layer which, in turn, controls the local conductivity of the ZnO layer. In accordance with these variations in conductivity, local currents are allowed to flow through an electroluminescent phosphor across which voltage is maintained. A stored visible image is thus produced by the electroluminescent phosphor layer, corresponding to a transient image.
A transistor-photodiode array with multiplexed scanning is taught in "Advances in Image Pickup and Display", Vol. 6 pp. 184, 185, .COPYRGT.1983, in the chapter entitled "Image Sensors for Television and Related Applications" (Weimer et al). As schematically illustrated in FIG. 4, each pixel location is provided with a photosensor and a transisor.

Solid state radiation sensor array panel


An image forming apparatus may include a removable/attachable belt unit. In operation, the belt unit may be secured to a main body of the image forming apparatus using a lock mechanism to prevent extraneous or unexpected shifts and/or other movements. The lock mechanism may be located closer to a rotation pivot than to a midpoint between the rotation pivot and a rotation axis of a driven roller. This positioning of the lock mechanism may allow easier attachment and removal of the belt unit. Additionally, the lock mechanism may include an urging member configured to sandwich a protruding member of the belt unit against a contact surface in a front-rear direction. This reduces the potential for elastic or creep deformation of the belt unit.

Some existing image forming apparatuses may include: a main body having an opening; an image forming unit that is disposed in the main body and configured to form an image on a recording medium; a belt unit detachably attached in an operation position where the belt unit faces the image forming unit in the main body and configured to hold an endless belt rotatably and feed the recording medium; and a pair of lock mechanisms disposed in the main body and configured to fix the belt unit in the operation position by applying an urging force to the belt unit. The belt unit is configured to be inserted from an exterior of the image forming apparatus into the operation position along an attachment direction from the opening of the main body toward the operation position.
In the existing image forming apparatuses, the belt unit includes a pair of pivot shaft portions disposed on a front side relative to the attachment direction. The pivot shaft portions protrude outward in a width direction of an endless belt. The endless belt is wound around a drive roller and a driven roller which are rotatably supported at the front side and a rear side of the belt unit with respect to the attachment direction. The driven roller's shaft protrudes outward in the width direction of the endless belt, and both ends of the shaft function as a pair of engaging protruding portions.
Furthermore, the main body of the existing image forming apparatuses may also include a pair of pivot support portions. When the belt unit is attached to the main body, the pivot support portions are configured to engage the pivot shaft portions of the belt unit so as to support the belt unit such that the belt unit is able to pivot around a horizontal pivot axis that is perpendicular to the attachment direction.
Each lock mechanism of the existing image forming apparatuses is configured to contact a corresponding one of the engaging protruding portions when the belt unit pivots around the pivot axis during attachment, so as to apply tension to the endless belt and fix the belt unit in the operation position.
In the existing image forming apparatuses, to attach the belt unit to the main body, the user holds the rear side (on which a finger engageable portion is disposed near the driven roller) of the belt unit in the attachment direction and inserts the front side of the belt unit through the opening into the main body. After engaging the pivot shaft portions of the belt unit with the pivot support portions of the main body, the user presses the rear side (the finger engageable portion) of the belt unit downward, causing the belt unit to pivot around the pivot axis. At this time, the lock mechanisms contact the respective engaging protruding portions so as to apply an urging force thereto, and the user presses the belt unit downward against the urging force of the lock mechanisms.
In the existing image forming apparatuses, as described above, a distance between a position where each lock mechanism applies the urging force to the corresponding engaging protruding portion (e.g., each end of the driven roller's shaft) and the pivot axis is generally equal to a distance between a pressing position (the finger engageable portion near the driven roller) where the user presses the belt unit to the operation position and the pivot axis. Accordingly, when the user presses the belt unit, the user is more susceptible to the urging force of the lock mechanism, and thus needs to press the belt unit downward with a great force to overcome the urging force. In addition, the tension applied by the lock mechanisms to the endless belt may result in a significantly large force being placed on the belt unit. Similarly, to remove the belt unit, the user may need to raise the belt unit with significant force.


A method aggregates frames to be transmitted over a channel in a wireless network into a single frame. Multiple MSDU frames having identical destination addresses and identical traffic classes, received in the media access control layer from the logical link layer in a transmitting station are aggregated into a single aggregate MPDU frame, which can be transmitted on the channel to a receiving station. In addition, aggregate MSDU frames with different destination addresses and different traffic classes received from the media access control layer can be further aggregated into a single aggregate PPDU frame before transmission.

Recent advances in the fields of wireless communications, smart antennas, digital signal processing, and VLSI make it possible to provide a very high data rate channel at a physical layer of a wireless communications network. These technologies offer at least an-order-of-magnitude larger data rate than is currently available.
The open system interconnection (OSI) model defines the application, presentation, session, transport, network, data link, and physical layers. The data link layer includes a logical link control (LLC) layer and a media access control layer. The MAC layer controls how to gain access to the network, and the LLC layer controls frame synchronization, flow control and error checking. The physical layer transmits signals over the network. The invention is concerned with the data link and physical layers.
The "IEEE 802.11n PAR: Draft Amendment to STANDARD for Information Technology-Telecommunications and information exchange between systems-Local and Metropolitan networks-Specific requirements-Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) specifications: Enhancements for Higher Throughput" specifies data rates up to 100 Mbps at the MAC layer. The "IEEE P802.15.SG3a PAR: amendment to Standard for Tele-communications and Information Exchange Between Systems—LAN/MAN Specific Requirements: Higher Speed Physical Layer Extension for the High Rate Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN)" specifies data rates of 110 Mbps or higher based on ultra-wideband (UWB) communications for personal area networks (PAN).
However, to deliver 100 Mbps throughput above the MAC service access point (SAP), a pure physical layer solution is insufficient, due to a substantial protocol overhead caused by the current protocol for the MAC layer. Therefore, the current MAC layer protocol must be improved to support a higher bandwidth.
Frame Formation
As shown in FIG. 1 for a transmitter 100 in a wireless local area networks (WLAN) designed according to the IEEE 802.11 standard, each MAC service data unit (MSDU) or frame 111, received from a logic link control layer (LLC) 110, is appended with a MAC header and a frame check sequence (FCS) trailer, at the MAC layer 120, to form a MAC layer protocol data unit (MPDU) or frame 121. At the physical layer, the MPDU is received as a physical layer service data unit (PSDU) or frame 122. At the physical layer 130, a physical layer convergence procedure (PLCP) header, a PLCP preamble, and tail and pad bits are attached to the PSDU frame 122 to form a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) or frame 131 for transmission on the channel.
FIG. 2 shows a format 200 for the MPDU frame 121 at the media access control (MAC) layer 120, and FIG. 3 shows a format 300 of the PPDU frame 131 at the physical (PHY) layer 130. The PPDU frame includes PLCP preamble 311, signal 312, and data fields 313. The details of the other fields in these formats are specified in the standard documents.
Frame Transmission
Networks designed according to the IEEE 802.11 standard utilize a distributed coordination function (DCF), and a point coordination function (PCF) to regulate channel access. The DCF applies in both infrastructure and ad-hoc modes and follows the well-known MAC paradigm of CSMA/CA. Before each packet transmission, a transmitting station senses the channel and waits until the channel becomes idle. Then, the station defers for a time interval of DCF inter-frame space (DIFS), enters a backoff stage, and determines a random time interval called backoff-time. The backoff-time is uniformly distributed between zero and contention window (CW) size. After the backoff timer expires, only one frame is transmitted over the channel, followed by an ACK message from the receiving station. Frames that are broadcast to all stations are not acknowledged. To reduce the probability of collisions, the size of the CW is increased after each perceived collision, until a maximum CW value is reached. The CW is reset to a fixed minimum value after a successful transmission of a frame.
Bandwidth is a scarce resource in a wireless network. For a high throughput WLAN according to the IEEE 802.11n standard requirement, the MAC protocol must achieve an efficiency of 70-80% to meet the design requirement of a bit rate of 100 Mbps at the MAC service access point (SAP). The overhead associated with frame transmission according to the current IEEE 802.11 standard wastes bandwidth. If each frame is acknowledged individually, then the following items represent significant overheads for a frame transmission: the MAC header, the physical layer header (PLCP header), the PLCP preamble, the backoff, the DIFS time, the SIFS time, and the ACK message.
It is desired to reduce this overhead so that the usable bandwidth on a wireless channel can be increased.

Frame aggregation in wireless communications networks

Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.


The present disclosure relates to a connector hub assembly. The connector hub assembly includes a housing and a retention device. The housing has a connector bank having one or more input ports and one or more output ports, that are defined therein. The input ports are configured to operably connect to one or more first conduits and the output ports are configured to operably connect to one or more second conduits. The retention device is operably coupled to the housing. The retention device includes a flexible membrane that has one or more slits defined therethrough that form flexible segments in the membrane. The flexible segments are configured to selectively secure the connector hub assembly to a sheet-like material when the sheet-like material is fed through the slits.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to surgical connector hubs. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a connector hub assembly having a selectively engageable retention device to facilitate cable retention in an operating theater.
2. Description of Related Art
Typically in the medical field, particularly in the patient monitoring sector, a connector hub, which is also known as a connector bank, is commonly used in the medical field and is configured to join multiple conduits into one central distribution unit. The conduits typically include electrical components (e.g., EKG wiring, heart monitoring wire leads, etc.) disposed therein and/or other components (e.g., pneumatic passages, mechanical lines, etc.). The conduits are connected to the connector hub via various connectors that are received within receptacles of the connector hub. In most scenarios, the connector hub is conveniently located near the patient.
During surgery and/or other medical treatments, a clinician is inclined to make quick and efficient connections near the patient, while at the same time, trying not to disturb or hurt the patient. Placing the connector bank far from the patient would be inconvenient for the clinician and the patient. Thus, the hub connector is typically positioned near and/or on the patient, for example, attaching the connector hub to the patient's gown, via a separate attaching device, for example, a surgical clip, an adhesive material, and/or hoop and loop fasteners. There are, of course, drawbacks in using a separate attaching device to attach the hub connector near the patient, such as, simply losing the secondary attaching device and/or, in some cases, the secondary attaching device not functioning properly. These drawbacks leave the clinician, in the midst of a medical treatment, to allow the hub connector to hang freely from the conduits, in which the connector hub is connected thereto. This results to an increased risk of damaging the conduit connections and/or discomforting the patient, which can possibly lead to unsuccessful medical treatment for the patient.


A system and method for realizing WEB service is provided. The system includes a WEB service signaling server is configured to receive a WEB service choice information sent by a logon WEB service client, obtain a WEB service signaling and a signaling performing logic of a WEB service selected by the WEB service choice information, communicate with the WEB service client and perform the WEB service signaling according to the signaling performing logic, and control a WEB service engine. The WEB service engine is configured to receive a control of the WEB service signaling server, and exchange a WEB service content of the selected WEB service with the WEB service client.

A WEB service is a main service in the Internet. A user visits the content of the WEB service pointed by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) and saved in a server according to a Hyper Text Transport Protocol (HTTP) client. The content of WEB service is written by adopting a Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and an eXtensible Markup Language (XML). The HTML focuses on the form of a user interface of the WEB service, but the XML is used to structure and express the content of the WEB service. Control ability provided by the WEB service is built in the content WEB service. The user inputs a control message according to an indication of the content of the WEB service to change an operation of the WEB service, when the user visits the content of the WEB service.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional solution for realizing the WEB service, and the operation process of the WEB service is as follows:
(1) Communication between a client and a section adaptation module is established for initiating an operation of the WEB service.
(2) A service analyzing module analyzes the WEB service to a service combination including n sub-services according to the requirement of service process.
(3) Content of the n sub-services is obtained via querying a back end system according to an acquiring adaptation module.
(4) The service analyzing module operates the obtained n sub-services according to a service combination requirement of the service process, and sends a result to the client.
However, a conventional solution for realizing the WEB service may suffer from some of the following defects:
(1) Issues on whether the service is available, the performing process of service, the operation control of service, and used network resource are notified gradually from the content of WEB service after the WEB service is initiated.
(2) An operation control of WEB service has no determined realization mode, which is adverse to popularity of the WEB service.
(3) Authentication, authorization control and charging of WEB service operation are difficult to be implemented. It is difficult to guarantee Quality of Service (QoS) and security of the transfer channel in advance when the WEB service is transferred from the server to the client.

System, apparatus and method for realizing web service