A system for managing messages on a queue is provided comprising a first module operable to read a plurality of messages from the queue and a second module operable to display the plurality of messages from the queue. A method of viewing messaging service messages is also provided. The method comprising selecting a host computer, selecting a queue supported by the messaging service, reading a message from the queue, and displaying a content of the message. Also provided is a method of testing an application which generates messages, comprising running the test application, generating a message by the test application, posting the message to a queue, selecting the queue, and reading the message on the queue to verify whether the test application is operating properly.

Computer programs or applications may comprise several intercommunicating software modules, components, or processes executing on multiple computer systems. The modules may communicate with each other by sending messages to each other. Some applications employ the Java Messaging Service (JMS) for intercommunication among modules or processes.
JMS provides support for message-based communication between separate Java processes. This message-based communication is asynchronous. More specifically, a message addressed to a recipient or group is sent, and the recipient receives and acts on the message at some later time. Clients of the JMS send and receive messages through a provider that is responsible for delivering messages. In point-to-point JMS, a message is created by one client and addressed to a single remote recipient. The provider is handed the message and delivers it to the one recipient targeted by the message. This model revolves around message queues. A message sender queues outgoing messages for delivery, and a message recipient queues incoming messages for handling. In some cases a JMS server supports the queue, and the message recipient must read from the JMS server's queue. In some circumstances, in a test environment for example, messages may persist and may not be removed from the queue, the queue may become cluttered, and message operations may become inefficient.

System and method for managing messages on a queue


A thin-film device incorporates: a substrate; an insulating layer, a lower conductor layer, a dielectric film, an insulating layer, an upper conductor layer and a protection film that are stacked in this order on the substrate; and four terminal electrodes. The four terminal electrodes touch part of end faces of the upper conductor layer, and part of the top surface of the upper conductor layer contiguous to the end faces. The protection film has four concave portions, each of which has a shape that is recessed inward from the edge of the protection film except portions thereof corresponding to these concave portions. The four concave portions expose respective portions of the top surface of the upper conductor layer that touch the four terminal electrodes. The four concave portions accommodate respective portions of the four terminal electrodes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thin-film device incorporating a conductor layer and a terminal electrode connected to the conductor layer.
2. Description of the Related Art
With increasing demands for reductions in dimensions and thickness of high frequency electronic apparatuses such as cellular phones, reductions in dimensions and profile of electronic components mounted on the high frequency electronic apparatuses have been sought. Some of the electronic components have such a configuration that insulating layers and conductor layers are formed on a substrate through the use of thin-film forming techniques. Such electronic components formed through the use of thin-film forming techniques are called thin-film device in the present patent application.
In a thin-film device, terminal electrodes are provided for connecting conductor layers to an external circuit. Here, a portion of the thin-film device other than the terminal electrodes is called a device main body. Each conductor layer connected to the terminal electrodes includes a wiring portion, for example, and is formed so that an end face of the wiring portion is exposed at a side surface of the device main body. In this case, the terminal electrodes are disposed on the side surfaces of the device main body, for example, so as to be connected to the end faces of the wiring portion.
Here is given an example of a method of manufacturing a thin-film device wherein the terminal electrodes are disposed on the side surfaces of the device main body. In the method, first, a thin-film device substructure is fabricated by forming layers such as conductor layers corresponding to a plurality of thin-film devices on a single wafer (a substrate). The substructure includes a plurality of preliminary device main body portions each of which will be a device main body. Furthermore, in the substructure, there are provided portions to be removed between respective adjacent ones of the preliminary device main body portions. Next, the plurality of preliminary device main body portions are divided into a plurality of device main bodies by cutting the substructure at positions of the portions to be removed. By cutting the substructure in such a manner, side surfaces of the device main bodies are formed, and end faces of wiring portions to be connected to terminal electrodes are exposed at the side surfaces. Next, the terminal electrodes are formed on the side surfaces of the device main bodies.
To reduce the dimensions and profile of a thin-film device, it is effective to reduce the thickness of layers such as conductor layers. However, according to the above-described method, a reduction in thickness of conductor layers causes a reduction in area of the end faces of the wiring portion connected to the terminal electrodes. As a result, the regions in which the conductor layers touch the terminal electrodes are reduced in area, and accordingly it becomes difficult to secure the reliability of connection between the conductor layers and the terminal electrodes.
To avoid this problem, such a technique is conceivable that the wiring portion may be increased in width to thereby increase the area of the end faces of the wiring portion. However, this may cause a problem in the thin-film device that the density of the wiring portion is reduced and therefore it becomes difficult to reduce the dimensions of the thin-film device, or that the impedance of the wiring portion deviates from a desired value and the characteristics of the thin-film device are thereby degraded.
JP 10-163002A discloses a technique wherein, in a chip-shaped electronic component in which an inner conductor film is disposed on a substrate and external terminal electrodes are connected to end faces of the inner conductor film, the end faces of the inner conductor film are tilted with respect to a sectional surface of the substrate.
JP 11-003833A discloses a technique wherein, in an electronic component in which electrodes are disposed on a substrate and external terminals are connected to end faces of the electrodes, the end faces of the electrodes on the substrate are tilted with respect to a sectional surface of the substrate.
JP 4-037105A discloses a thin-film capacitor wherein: there are stacked on a substrate a pair of inner electrode layers, a dielectric layer disposed between the pair of inner electrode layers, and a protection film covering the inner electrode layers and the dielectric layer; and outer electrode layers connected to the inner electrode layers are disposed on side surfaces of the substrate. JP 4-037105A discloses a technique wherein portions of the top surfaces of the inner electrode layers near the side surfaces of the substrate are exposed instead of being covered with the protection film, and the outer electrode layers are connected to the end faces and the portions of the top surfaces of the inner electrode layers.
JP 2-121313A discloses a thin-film capacitor wherein: three or more inner electrode layers and two or more dielectric layers are alternately stacked on a substrate; the inner electrode layers and the dielectric layers are covered with a protection film; and outer electrodes connected to the inner electrode layers are disposed on side surfaces of the substrate. JP 2-121313A discloses a technique wherein portions of the top surfaces of the inner electrode layers near the side surfaces of the substrate are exposed instead of being covered with the protection film, and the outer electrodes are connected to the end faces and the portions of the top surfaces of the inner electrode layers.
JP 5-129149A discloses a thin-film capacitor wherein: four inner electrodes and four dielectric thin films are alternately stacked on a substrate; the inner electrodes and the dielectric thin films are covered with an inorganic insulating film and a resin layer; and outer electrodes connected to the inner electrodes are disposed on side surfaces of the substrate. JP 5-129149A discloses a technique wherein portions of the top surfaces of the inner electrodes near the side surfaces of the substrate are exposed instead of being covered with the inorganic insulating film and the resin layer, and the outer electrodes are connected to the end faces and the portions of the top surfaces of the inner electrodes.
In the following description the external terminal electrodes of JP 10-163002A, the external terminals of JP 11-003833A, the external electrode layers of JP 4-037105A, and the external electrodes of JP 2-121313A and JP 5-129149A are all called terminal electrodes.
As previously described, in a thin-film device in which terminal electrodes are disposed on the side surfaces of the device main body, a reduction in thickness of conductor layers causes a reduction in area of the end faces of the wiring portion connected to the terminal electrodes, and as a result, the regions in which the conductor layers touch the terminal electrodes are reduced in area and accordingly it becomes difficult to secure the reliability of connection between the conductor layers and the terminal electrodes.
According to the techniques disclosed in the two publications of JP 10-163002A and JP 11-003833A, it is possible to increase the area of the regions in which the conductor layers touch the terminal electrodes, but the amount of increase in the area is very small. It is therefore difficult to secure a satisfactory degree of reliability of connection between the conductor layers and the terminal electrodes through the use of the techniques disclosed in these two publications.
According to the techniques disclosed in the three publications of JP 4-037105A, JP 2-121313A and JP 5-129149A, it is possible to greatly increase the areas of the regions in which the conductor layers touch the terminal electrodes, compared with the case in which the terminal electrodes touch only the end faces of the conductor layers. However, the following problems arise if the techniques disclosed in these three publications are applied to thin-film devices in general. According to the techniques disclosed in the three publications, it is difficult to precisely control the shapes and locations of the terminal electrodes, which results in increases in variations in shapes and locations of the terminal electrodes among products. If such variations among products occur, there is a possibility that variations may occur in magnitude of electromagnetic coupling or capacitive coupling between the conductor layers and the terminal electrodes, and electrical characteristics of the thin-film devices may vary. Furthermore, in the case in which the number of terminal electrodes is large, in particular, if there occur variations in shapes and locations of the terminal electrodes among products, variations in distance between the respective adjacent ones of the terminal electrodes occur, which results in variations in electrical characteristics of the thin-film devices and/or short-circuit between adjacent ones of the terminal electrodes. These problems become more noticeable as the number of the terminal electrodes increases and downsizing of the thin-film devices proceeds.


Providing data to a computer software application by intercepting a request made by a computer software application to retrieve a first data set from a first data storage location, accessing a record, defined in advance of the request, that includes a reference to the first data set and a reference to a second data set, retrieving the first data set from a data storage location other than the first data storage location, and retrieving the second data set from a data storage location other than the first data storage location in advance of a request by the computer software application to access the second data set at the first data storage location.

Current data streaming methods enable a computer user to view or listen to a portion of video or music data file while downloading subsequent portions of file. However, existing streaming methods cannot be used to download, or otherwise install an interactive software application, such as a computer game, where the entire application must be downloaded to the user's computer before the game can be played.

Data streaming for interactive decision-oriented software applications


According to one embodiment, an inkjet device includes: an inkjet head; an armor section configured to surround the periphery of the inkjet head; a first gap formed over the entire periphery in the peripheral direction in a plurality of the armor sections; and a seal body for forming a surface tension seal by fluid in a second gap arranged in the first gap to form a gap narrower than the first gap.

An inkjet device used in an inkjet recording apparatus includes an inkjet head, a head attaching member for attaching the inkjet head to the inkjet recording apparatus, a circuit board connected to an electrode of the inkjet head via a flexible wiring board or the like, and armor members that cover the inkjet head and the circuit board.
In the inkjet device, the inkjet head is adjusted to be positioned with respect to the head attaching member and fixed to the head attaching member to arrange a nozzle plate and a printing surface at a predetermined interval.
As the armor members, the inkjet device includes, for example, a head cover (a mask plate) arranged around the inkjet head and a cover member that covers the circuit board and the head attaching member.
In the inkjet head having such a configuration, in order to prevent ink leaking during replacement of an ink bottle or the like from trickling down the outer surfaces of the armor members and intruding into the inside of the inkjet head from a gap between the mask plate and the inkjet head or a gap of the armor members, a seal structure for, for example, filling a seal material in the gap or inserting a gasket into the gap is adopted.

Inkjet device and sealing method for the inkjet device


An electrode and an electrode material for lithium electrochemical cells are disclosed. The electrode material is in powder form and has a particle size distribution wherein the measured particle size distribution of the electrode material has a median size D50 ranging from 1.5 μm and 3 μm, a D10≧0.5 μm, a D90≦10.0 μm, and a calculated ratio (D90/D10)/D50≧3.0 which is indicative of a peak of the measured particle size distribution on the left of the median D50 which improves the loading and energy density of the electrode produced with this electrode material powder.

Rechargeable batteries are used in a wide range of applications demanding high specific energy, high rate capabilities, long cycle life and long calendar life. The quality of the active materials constituting the electrodes of the batteries is paramount in order to reach these targets. The design and quality of the electrodes constituted of these materials are critical as well. For example, higher cathode thickness is detrimental for high rate performances but favourable for higher energy content. Another example is the porosity of electrodes for lithium-ion batteries because the porosity controls the amount of electrolyte which can be soaked and spread within the electrode when liquid electrolyte is used to provide the ionic conduction between the electrodes. In liquid electrolyte batteries, electrodes have porosities in the range of 30% to 50% in order to accommodate sufficient electrolyte penetration. Porosity can be achieved in many different ways such as thickness reduction of the electrode by mechanical means, electrode making process, electrode formulation and in certain cases by the adjunction of pore forming additives. Active materials themselves impact porosity. In order to insure reproducible electrodes characteristics, battery manufacturers put a lot of emphasis on the supply of reproducible raw materials and on in-house statistical process controls (SPC).
In the case of solid polymer electrolyte lithium batteries, the polymer itself is the ionic conductive media. Therefore, there is no need to impregnate the electrode with liquid and the electrodes need not have any porosity for the purpose of ionic conduction. The solid polymer plays the role of both a binder and electrolyte.
The optimal configuration of an electrode for solid polymer electrolyte lithium batteries can be described as the highest active material loading within the polymer matrix which can be achieved by optimal spatial arrangement of the electrode material particles. As the ratio of active material to binder increases, there is more chance of trapping air or gas in the spacing between the contacting electrode material particles. This trapped air or gas is responsible for the measured porosity of the electrode.
The spatial arrangement of the electrode material particles within the electrode is greatly influenced by their intrinsic and mutual properties i.e. particle shape, interparticle interactions and particle size distribution. Related parameters such as the effectiveness of the polymer binder to wet the electrode material particles can also influence the spatial arrangement of the particles within the electrode.
Therefore, there is a need for an electrode for solid polymer electrolyte batteries with improved active material loading and improved spatial arrangement of the material particles within the electrode and for electrode materials which contribute to increasing the loading of an electrode manufactured therewith.

Electrodes and electrode material for lithium electrochemical cells


A computer-implemented cuing system for displaying advertisement through an interactive computer based application includes providing an interactive computer based application on a first computer based device and providing a cuing software operably associated which provides a predetermined use countdown of the interactive computer based application where upon reaching an end point of the predetermined use countdown initiates a realtime streaming for a predetermined time of a first video advertisement for presentation on the first computer based device.

Field of Invention
The invention generally relates to the field of computer interactive applications. More particularly, the invention relates to free mobile interactive applications for mobile devices and system of delivering advertising.
Prior Art
Although television is one of the mainstream advertising mediums and continues to lead many other advertising forms by generated revenue. More recent forms of advertising include on-line video and internet protocol television (IPTV).
It is understood that getting good impressions requires a viewer read or view the advertisement in its entirety with an open mind. It is also important that the views be targeted by viewers who will like the items shown in the advertisement.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
It is an object to improve operation of free interactive applications.
Another object is to improve user experience of free mobile applications.
Still another object is to improve systems for controlling advertising delivery.
Yet another object is to reduce irritation to applications, particularly free applications, by providing the user with an expected level of uninterrupted use.
Accordingly, an aspect of the invention is directed to a computer-implemented cuing system for displaying advertisement through an interactive computer based application. The system includes providing a computer based application, which is typically interactive, for example, well known Candy Crush® or MineCraft®, on a first computer based device and providing a cuing software operably associated with the interactive computer based application. The cuing software provides for a predetermined use countdown of the interactive computer based application, where the cuing software analyzes the countdown through at least one processor and upon reaching an end point of the predetermined use countdown the cuing software initiates a realtime streaming for a predetermined time of a first video advertisement for presentation on the first computer based device.
The first computer based device can be a mobile computer based device. The predetermined use countdown can be time based or based on unit of interaction with the interactive computer based application, such as a swipe or operative touch of the screen of the application.
The cuing software can reset a predetermined use countdown subsequent to the streaming of the first video advertisement. The computer-implemented cuing can include a server operably associated with the cuing software for realtime streaming of one or more video advertisement for presentation on the first computer based device subsequent to the end point of the predetermined use countdown. It is also contemplated that the cuing software can dynamically manipulate the predetermined use countdown as a function of the predetermined time of the first video advertisement.
The invention describes techniques for providing a more acceptable manner for presenting advertising material to viewers, particularly of free application software. By permitting a viewer to control when he/she sees a known upcoming advertisement, it is believed that a higher percentage of views of the same will occur and thus provide for less agitation to the viewer and more effective advertising campaigns. Additionally, the cuing software can be equipped with the ability to monitor interactions with particular advertisements and conversions (e.g., where the user jumps to a site in the ad). In this regard, the streamed advertisements can be tailored from the server to meet the viewer's profile. The system can include a commercial database containing a plurality of commercials associated with one or more commercial parameters, an advertising server configured to select commercials for display on the computer based device and to determine when commercials have been interacted with by the user, such as entering a hypertext link on the ac and is equipped to update a demographic profile corresponding to a user or a commercial based on activity of the user.
These and other features of the invention will become apparent from viewing the drawings and detailed description hereinafter.

Computer implemented cuing system for displaying advertisement through an interactive computer based application


An RCA plug connector includes an annular outer ground sleeve, an insulating ring within the sleeve, and an elongated signal probe member having an exterior spring, including a plurality of circumferentially spaced bowed portions extending from within the insulating ring along the central axis. The connector has an elongated base having front and back ends, a throughbore, and a counterbore at the front end. The probe is a rigid, elongated core having a back end within the base and a front end extending from the base along the axis. The spring surrounds the core, with a front end adjacent the front end of the core and a back end adjacent the back end of the core. The ground sleeve has a back end situated in the counterbore at the front end of the base, rigidly engaging the base, and a front end that projects forward from the front end of the base. The insulating ring is situated within and rigidly engages the sleeve. The insulating ring also supports the core and the spring member, preferably by means of a front portion intimately molded over the back end of the core member and the back end of the spring member. The ring has a back portion including a bore coaxially aligned with the through bore of the base such that the audio cable is insertable therein from the back of the base.

The present invention relates generally to RCA type electrical plug and jack connectors and, more particularly, to electrical plug and jack connectors configured to provide reduced relative movement when connected together and thereby reduce the likelihood of intermittent electrical discontinuity.
Plug connectors are well known for use in connecting, e.g., audio equipment. With RCA-type plugs, a ground sleeve or the like surrounds a central signal pin. One such plug is used for mono (single channel) transmission and two side-by-side plugs are used for stereo (two-channel) transmission. Generally, the mating contacts for the pins and sleeves with associated jack structures are smooth. Because of, e.g., resiliency and tolerances between the structures, the plugs are somewhat moveable within the jack and through wear and the like the movement increases. This often leads to intermittent contact and a resulting disturbance in the quality of the audio signal.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an RCA-type plug connector that can be easily manufactured and assembled, yet reliably achieves reduced relative movement when mated with a jack connector. The invention is particularly directed to an RCA audio signal connector for attachment to a coaxial audio cable having a central signal conductor and an outer ground conductor.
According to the invention, the connector has an elongated, substantially cylindrical base having front and back ends, a throughbore extending axially between the front and back ends, and a counterbore at the front end. A rigid, elongated, conductive signal core has a back end within the base and a front end extending from the base along the axis. A conductive spring member surrounds the core and extends along the core axis with a front end adjacent the front end of the core and a back end adjacent the back end of the core, the spring member including a plurality of radially outwardly bowed spring elements between the front and back ends. A substantially cylindrical ground sleeve has a back end situated in the counterbore at the front end of the base and rigidly engaging the base, and a front end that projects forward from the front end of the base. An insulating ring is situated within and rigidly engages the sleeve. The insulating ring also supports the core and the spring member, preferably by means of a front portion intimately molded over the back end of the core member and the back end of the spring member. The ring has a back portion including a bore coaxially aligned with the through bore of the base such that the audio cable is insertable from the back of the base. With the connector thus assembled, the front end of the core projects forward of the front end of the sleeve and the spring elements of the spring member extend along the core forward of the ring, while spaced radially inwardly of the sleeve.
Preferably, the sleeve engages the base by interference fit near the front end of the base, and the insulating ring engages the sleeve by interference fit forward of the engagement of the sleeve with the base. The engagement between the base and the sleeve can be in the form of a tab on the sleeve engaging a slot on the base, and likewise the engagement between the sleeve and the insulating ring can be by means of a tab on the ring engaging a slot on the sleeve.
The spring elements preferably surround the core forward of the front end of the sleeve. The core has an enlarged head at the front end, defining a front shoulder and the front portion of the spring member abuts the front shoulder, while the back end is supported by the insulating ring within the base.
If the core has a shoulder at the back end, the back end of the spring member abuts the shoulder, and the insulating ring is molded over the shoulder and the spring back end, this configuration prevents relative movement among the ring, the core, and the spring member.
A conductive ground contact connects the sleeve to the ground conductor of the cable and a conductive signal contact connects the core to the signal conductor of the cable, when the cable is inserted from the back of the base through the bore of the base into the bore in the ring. Ideally, the conductive signal contact is a pin extending from the back end of the core along the axis, for engaging the signal conductor on the cable. Preferably, the conductive ground contact is formed in part by a conductive base and in part by a conductive screw passing through the base into the throughbore where it can bear against the ground conductor of the cable.


A planar waveguide Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZ) has improved performance as a variable optical attenuator as well as a thermo-optic switch (TOS) with reduced polarization dependent loss (PDL) in high attenuation states. The PDL was reduced by correcting for the increased birefringence that occurs on heating one waveguide arm by making the two waveguides inherently asymmetric, such that when one of the waveguides is heated, the differential birefringence of the two arms becomes zero. This asymmetry can be realized simply by changing the width of one of the waveguides. The modified device allows for very small PDL in the high attenuation state of a VOA and for theoretically perfect contrast in a TOS in the off state, with only a small penalty in PDL of the on state.

The present invention relates to an integrated planar waveguide optical device suitable for switching optical signals between three or more ports and/or modulation of the optical intensity, and more particularly, to an integrated optical Mach-Zehnder interferometer device having low polarization dependent loss at a high level of attenuation or signal isolation.
Integrated optical switching or modulation devices are based on the conventional Mach-Zehnder (M-Z) interferometer geometry and comprise two or more channel waveguides formed on a planar substrate. The two channel waveguides are usually parallel to each other and separated at the terminal ends, which form the input and output ports of the device. The waveguides come in sufficiently close proximity to each other in two discrete regions permitting exchange of light by optical coupling. These regions, referred to as optical couplers, generally divide the incident light beam arriving from an input port of one waveguide equally between both waveguides. Thus, light entering one waveguide is split in the first coupling region, or input coupler, so that it propagates with equal intensity in both waveguides until it reaches the second, or output, coupler. Accordingly, the portion of the channel waveguides located between the input and output couplers are referred to as the waveguide arms. If the optical path length of both arms is the same in the normal, that is un-activated state of the device, the two beams recombine in phase and are transmitted without modulation of intensity to a common output port, the incident optical signal crossing from the first channel waveguide input port to the output port of the second channel waveguide.
If the optical path length of the two arms is different by a half wavelength, which is out of phase, the two beams recombine without modulation of intensity at the output port associated with the same waveguide input port.
Thus switching of signals between output ports is achieved by the selective modification of the optical path lengths of waveguide arms by a half wavelength. Selective control of the optical path length differences of less than half a wavelength split the incident beam energy between the output ports, permitting the device to be used as a variable optical attenuator as well as an optical switch.
As the optical path length of the waveguide arms is a function of the local refractive index in the waveguide media, modulation of the refractive index of either of the waveguides changes the optical path length to cause either partial or total destructive interference of the co-propagating optical signals, which permits the selected attenuation of the output signal, or switching of the signal to the output port of the first waveguide.
Refractive index modulation in one or more arms of the M-Z optical waveguide device may be accomplished by exploiting the electric or magnetic field responsive optical properties of particular waveguide materials, or by utilizing the thermo-optical properties or stress-optical properties of a wide range of materials. An actuator is connected to a control circuit such that the selective application of an electromagnetic field or bias to an actuator associated with one or more arms of the device induces a strain, temperature change or otherwise modifies the refractive index of the selected arm, or arms, to induce the desired phase difference. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,781, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses integrated optical devices which utilize either a magnetostrictively, electrostrictively or photostrictively induced stress to alter the optical properties in one or more waveguide segments of the device. Latchable integrated optical devices are achieved by utilizing a controlled induced stress to xe2x80x9ctunexe2x80x9d one or more waveguides to a desired refractive index or birefringence, which will be retained after the field is removed.
Thin film heaters are a preferred actuator for exploiting the thermo-optical properties of the waveguide materials, being generally compatible with other thin film processes and materials used to fabricate the waveguide and/or substrate.
However, it has been found that thin film heaters and other actuators limit device performance via second order effects. Channel waveguides are generally fabricated from materials that are homogenous and optically isotropic in the bulk state, having a single refractive index. Device fabrication methods and actuator designs may induce optical anisotropy in the channel waveguide such that the refractive index will vary depending on the polarization state of the incident light propagating in the waveguide. The difference in refractive index of a material is referred to as birefringence. The propagation characteristic of unpolarized light in a birefringent media is readily evaluated by decomposition into vectors of orthogonal polarization states, TM and TE. This difference in birefringence between the two arms of the M-Z interferometer results in a polarization dependent loss in the optical signal.
Prior art integrated planar waveguide M-Z devices, such as disclosed in WO 00/52518, which is incorporated herein by reference, suggest that the actuation mechanism should be designed so as to avoid introducing birefringence in the plane orthogonal to the direction of signal propagation in either of the waveguide arm segment. More specifically, this application discloses a method of placing piezoelectric ribs actuators on selected region of a Mach-Zehnder optical device to minimize differential strain perpendicular to the waveguide channel.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an integrated optical Mach-Zehnder interferometer device having a low polarization dependent loss at high levels of signal attenuation or isolation.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a simple means for decreasing the polarization dependent loss that avoids the addition of compensating components or additional process steps in fabricating the integrated optical Mach-Zehnder interferometer device.
An integrated optical Mach-Zehnder interferometer device comprises a first and second channel waveguide formed in or on a substrate which are connected at their terminal ends to plurality of input and output ports through an input coupler and an output coupler.
In the case of thermal optical switches or variable attenuators where the selective adjustment of refractive index of the waveguide channel material occurs by selective temperature change of one of the channel waveguides, the polarization dependent loss (PDL) may be significant depending on the thermal properties of the substrate and the temperature change required to sufficiently modulate the refractive index of the optical media forming the channel waveguide. Moreover, it has been found that polarization dependent loss may increase dramatically as the incident optical signal is attenuated or switched, as even a linearly proportional increase in birefringence with refractive index of the channel waveguide material results in a non-linear increase in PDL.
In one aspect of the invention the aforementioned limitation is overcome by utilizing a first or second channel waveguides having an initial birefringence xcex94, to compensate for an increased birefringence on actuation of the switch or modulation device. The first and second channel waveguides are preferably of unequal physical path length such that the optical path length is substantially equal when the device is not energized. The change in birefringence induced by heating the first or second channel waveguide is of equal magnitude to the initial birefringence in the first or second channel waveguide.

Birefringence compensated integrated optical switching or modulation device


A mesh network comprising an originator station and a target station wherein each station comprises a controller and memory for storing a first path table for storing one or more paths to be used for sending data packets and a second path table for storing one or more alternative paths for sending data packets. The originator station is configured to broadcast a path request data packet for the target station and receive a first path reply data packet comprising a first alternative path to the target station.

In mesh network there is no base station to organize communication between network nodes. Instead, all nodes, or stations, typically use each other's knowledge about surrounding stations in order to communicate. For example if a first station wishes to communicate with a second station but does not know which path should be used to reach the second station, the first station will typically broadcast a data packet comprising a path request (PREQ) for the second station.
The broadcasted data packet will be received by neighboring stations to the first station. The neighboring stations typically determine if the PREQ is addressed to them, and if such is not the case, broadcast it further to other neighboring stations.
This procedure is typically repeated until the second station receives the PREQ and finds its own address in it. Upon determining that the PREQ has found its target, the second station replies by sending a unicast path reply (PREP) to the first station which follows the path the PREQ took to reach the second station in reverse.
Since mesh networks typically are dynamic with stations entering and leaving the network frequently and/or moving around within the mesh network changing their positions, and thereby also the topology of the mesh network, the PREQ/PREP routine is periodically updated and new PREQs/PREPs are sent out.
Since the stations in the mesh network typically are mobile, stations that recently found themselves in areas with good signal quality may suddenly find themselves in areas with bad reception. This may typically lead to that a path using these stations as links may comprise one or more bad links which affects the overall throughput.
To prevent links from breaking, the paths are regularly updated. According to IEEE802.11s/IEEE802.11 Mesh, path requests are broadcasted regularly (e.g. every 5 seconds), and as a PREP is received for each other station indicating a path to that station, that path is used until the next path request is issued. However, as this path may not be the best path, packet loss may occur when using it.
Because of the periodic update of the PREQ/PREP, reactions to bad or broken links may typically be too slow, which results in packet loss.

Abstract: Then the originator station is further configured to store the first alternative path in the second path table of the originator station and receive at least one second path reply data packet comprising at least one second alternative path to the target station.

Abstract: Then the originator station is further configured to retrieve a best path, based on one or more signal parameters pertaining to each path, to the target station from the second path table of the originator station, store the best path to the target station in the first path table of the originator station and use the best path for sending data packets to target station.

Abstract: An originator station, an intermediate station and a target station in a mesh network is also disclosed. As well is a method of a station in a mesh network and a computer program product.


A progressive safety gear for elevators, having a console which encompasses one guide rail for an elevator car and is positioned in a transverse direction to the guide rail. Two brake shoes are mounted on the console so as to be positioned one on each side of the guide rail. One of the brake shoes functions as a passive brake shoe and other as an active brake shoe. The active brake shoe is supported on an eccentric which is fastened to a cam so that they rotate together. The cam and the eccentric are able to rotate about a common pivot. The cam and the eccentric together form a single-part actuating element. Moving the elevator car in the direction opposite to the direction of engagement causes the cam to rotate backwards, which in combination with the vertical play on the passive brake shoe enables the engaged safety gear to be easily and safely released again. An alternative version is provided which has a multi-part actuating element with an adjustable angle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a progressive safety gear for elevators consisting of a carrier, which is positioned in a transverse direction to the guide rail and which encompasses one guide rail for an elevator car, on which two brake shoes which are positioned one on each side of the guide rail are supported. One of the brake shoes functions as a passive brake shoe and the other as an active brake shoe. The active brake shoe is supported on an eccentric which is fastened to a cam in such a way that it rotates with it. The cam and the eccentric are able to rotate about a common center.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
A progressive safety gear of the type mentioned above is already known from German reference DE 21 39 056. In this safety gear the blocked governor rope actuates a tripping lever on the safety gear which causes the tensioning eccentric fastened to the positioning eccentric to rotate. As a result, the tensioning eccentric comes into contact with the guide rail. As a result of this, and because the elevator car is still moving, the tensioning eccentric continues to rotate of its own accord due to the friction contact with the guide rail, and the active brake shoe is moved into the braking position via the positioning eccentric. In the braking position, the positioning eccentric has reached the end position before the greatest distance from the guide rail, because in this position the tensioning eccentric, due to the shape of its external contour, has reduced or lost its friction contact with the guide rail and is therefore no longer caused to rotate.
However, this progressive safety gear functions only in one direction, either up or down, and it is not possible in all necessary cases to release it by moving the car in the direction opposite to the direction in which it fell. This means that the safety gear cannot always be simply released after it has engaged.
A progressive safety gear which also works with an eccentric is the safety gear BFx3 of the East German elevator industry (Liftreport, Issue 5, 1991). When this progressive safety gear is tripped, two cams with rolling and sliding surfaces are rotated either counter-clockwise or clockwise depending on the direction of travel of the elevator, which causes in the downward travel direction a strong, and in the upward direction a weaker, braking deceleration of the elevator car. Tripping takes place by means of a governor rope passing over a separate pulley which, by transmitting its rotational movement, causes the eccentric to rotate in one direction or the other depending on the direction of travel. If braking takes place in the upward direction the angle of rolling and the radius to the sliding surface in the braking position is smaller than when braking takes place in the downward direction. This results in a different degree of compression of the braking springs and correspondingly the desired different braking forces for the two directions of travel.
A disadvantage of this device is that the controlling surfaces and the braking surface are on the same component, because of which the braking surface has a relatively small contact surface, which after several trippings as a result of wear can lead under certain circumstances to a reduced braking effect or even to faulty functioning. The complete eccentric must then be replaced. Furthermore, because of the additional rotational transmission device, an elaborate and relatively expensive triggering device is necessary.


Provided is a method of manufacturing high-purity, high-quality manganese sulfate which can be immediately used for manufacturing a lithium ion secondary battery from manganese sulfate waste liquid of a wasted battery. Since impurities are removed from the manganese sulfate waste liquid by using sulfides causing no secondary contamination in the manganese sulfate waste liquid and the manganese sulfate is manufactured by performing evaporation concentration through heating, the manufacturing method is very environment-friendly and economical. Since the manganese recovering process improving the manufacturing yield of the manganese sulfate and the waste water treatment process capable of recycling the source materials and discharging waste water are integrated, the manufacturing method is very efficient and environment-friendly. The manufacturing method is applied to the recycling industry, and thus, it is possible to obtain effects of preventing environmental pollution and facilitating recycling the resources.

With the wide spread of mobile devices, the demands for secondary batteries have rapidly increased. Lithium ion secondary batteries having changeability in high energy density design cover most of the secondary battery market. The lithium ion secondary battery as a consumable part can be charged and discharged about 500 times and has a lifecycle of about six months to two years. Since a used lithium ion secondary battery includes a large amount of valuable metals such as lithium (Li) and cobalt (Co), and thus, the used lithium ion secondary batteries are recyclable resources having large economic values. By breaking the used lithium ion secondary battery for recycling, coarse grain including mainly aluminum (Al), gold (Au), copper (Cu), plastic, and the like and fine grain including mainly lithium, cobalt, nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn), and the like can be obtained. Korea is the world's second-largest consuming country for cathode material as a main constituent of the lithium ion secondary battery. Since a most amount of the cathode materials in Korea is dependent on import, recycling of the cathode materials by using the wasted battery has greatly drawn national interest. As a method of recycling the cathode materials, there is a solvent extraction method of dissolving the aforementioned fine grain of the wasted battery in a solvent and separating the fine grain with an extracting solution, and recovering highly-valuable cobalt and nickel among metals constituting the cathode materials. As a representative solvent extraction method, there is an extraction method using phosphoric acid series solvent. However, the extraction method using the phosphoric acid series solvent has problems of environmental pollution caused by the phosphoric acid series solvent, environmental pollution caused by manganese sulfate waste liquid containing manganese, copper, aluminum, calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), or the like discarded in the extraction process, and enormous cost for treating these materials. However, since the manganese sulfate waste liquid contains manganese sulfate, the manganese sulfate waste liquid may be good recyclable resources. If the manganese sulfate as a manganese oxide has a high purity, the manganese sulfate can be immediately used as a cathode material of the lithium ion secondary battery. However, most amount of the manganese sulfate used for manufacturing the secondary battery is also dependent on import. Therefore, if the manganese sulfate existing in the manganese sulfate waste liquid discarded in the wasted battery recycling process is recycled, the effects are expected in that a cost of treating waste water of the manganese sulfate waste liquid is expected to be saved and import substitution effect for the manganese sulfate is expected.
Patent Documents and reference documents disclosed in the specification are incorporated into the specification by reference to the same degree that the documents are individually and clearly specified.
Patent Document 1: Korean Patent No. 10-1542747

Manufacturing method of high purity manganese sulphate from the waste liquid of battery recycling process

KANGWON NATIONAL UNIVERSITY University-Industry Cooperation Foundation


The invention includes sliders provided with indented surfaces, reducing the roll center for head gimbal assemblies below the effective thickness of the slider. Head gimbal assemblies built with these sliders may reduce off-track displacements induced by disk vibration. The load beam gimbal may contact the indented surface, creating a slider roll center less than the slider thickness. Alternatively, the sliders may include a slider contact cover interfacing to the load beam forming the gimbal. The slider contact covers may couple with the slider through an indented surface located closer than the slider thickness. These may have a negative slider roll center. The invention includes actuator arms, actuator assemblies, and hard disk drives including these head gimbal assemblies. The invention includes making the invention's sliders, head gimbal assemblies, actuator arms, actuator assemblies, and hard disk drives. The invention includes the products of these processes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the sliders and the head gimbal assemblies of a hard disk drive.
2. Background Information
Hard disk drives contain one or more magnetic heads that are coupled to rotating disks. The heads write and read information by magnetizing and sensing the magnetic fields of the disk surfaces. Magnetic heads have been developed that have a write element for magnetizing the disks and a separate read element for sensing the magnetic field of the disks. The read element is typically constructed from a magneto-resistive material with a resistance that varies with the magnetic fields of the disk. Heads with magneto-resistive read elements are commonly referred to as magneto-resistive (MR) heads.
Each head is embedded in a slider, which is attached to a flexure arm to create a subassembly commonly referred to as a head gimbal assembly (HGA). The HGA's are attached to an actuator arm. The actuator arm has a voice coil motor that can move the heads across the surfaces of the disks.
Information is stored in radial tracks that extend across the surfaces of each disk. Each track is typically divided up into a number of segments or sectors. The voice coil motor and actuator arm can move the heads to different tracks of the disks and to different sectors of each track.
A suspension interconnect extends along the length of the flexure arm and connects the head to a preamplifier. The suspension interconnect typically comprises a pair of conductive write traces and a pair of conductive read traces. One pair of traces, such as the read traces, extend down one side of the flexure arm to the head and the remaining pair of traces extends down the other side of the flexure arm to the head.
The number of Tracks Per Inch (TPI) formed on the surface of hard disk drives is rapidly increasing, leading to smaller and smaller track positional tolerances. The track position tolerance, or the offset of the read-write head from a track, is monitored by a signal known as the head Positional Error Signal (PES). Reading a track successfully usually requires minimizing read-write head PES occurrences. The allowable level of PES is becoming smaller and smaller. A substantial portion of the PES is caused by disk vibration.
Track Mis-Registration (TMR) occurs when a read-write head loses the track registration. This occurs when the disk surface bends up or down. TMR is often a statistical measure of the positional error between a read-write head and the center of an accessed track.
One approach to reducing TMR uses the head gimbal assemblies to provide a radial motion capability, which lowers the Track Mis-Registration (TMR) due to disk vibration. The head gimbal assembly, including a biased load beam, creates a roll center (also known as a dimple center), which provides a radial motion capability as the load beam moves vertically due to disk vibration. This allows sliders to move in a radial direction as well as in a vertical direction with respect to the disks, reducing off-track motion due to disk vibration.
This approach has some problems. An air bearing forms between the slider face and the disk surface. The slider face is tilted near the disk surface when it is flat. The air bearing becomes non-uniform when the disk surface is flat, adding new mechanical instabilities into the system.
An alternative prior art head gimbal assembly provides a slider mounted so that it pivots in the radially oriented plane about the effective roll axis, which is located within the disk. This scheme does not cause a non-uniform air bearing when the disk surface is flat. However, the way the effective roll axis is placed inside the disk requires a more complex mechanical coupling between the slider support assembly and the slider. This complex mechanical coupling has a greater probability of mechanical failure, tending to increase manufacturing expenses and to reduce hard disk drive life expectancy.
Accordingly, there exists a need for head gimbal assembly mechanisms that may provide a stable air bearing, and which may follow a track when a disk surface bends. These head gimbal assembly mechanisms also need to be inexpensive to manufacture.

Method and apparatus reducing off track head motion due to disk vibration in a hard disk drive


Techniques for performing equalization of multiple signals received by a terminal in soft handoff with multiple base stations. The received signal at the terminal is conditioned and digitized to provide a stream of received samples, which is then equalized/filtered with multiple sets of coefficients to provide multiple streams of transmit chip estimates. One set of coefficients is provided for each base station and is used to provide a corresponding stream of transmit chip estimates. The multiple streams of transmit chip estimates are further processed to provide multiple streams of data symbol estimates, one stream of data symbol estimates for each base station. The multiple streams of data symbol estimates are then scaled with multiple scaling factors and combined to provide a stream of combined data symbol estimates. The processing for the multiple base stations may be performed by a single hardware unit in a time division multiplexed manner.

1. Field
The present invention relates generally to data communication, and more specifically to techniques for performing equalization of multiple signals received for soft handoff in wireless communication systems.
2. Background
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication such as voice, packet data, and so on. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users and may be based on code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), or some other multiple access technique. These systems may also be wireless local area network (LAN) systems, such as those that implement the 802.11b IEEE standard.
A wireless terminal in a CDMA system may receive data transmission from one or more base stations on the forward link. If the terminal is in soft handoff, then the same data stream may be transmitted to the terminal by multiple base stations to provide diversity against deleterious path effects and improve reliability. The signal transmitted by each base station may reach the terminal via one or more propagation paths. The received signal at the terminal may thus include one or more signal instances (or multipath components) of the signal transmitted by each base station.
A terminal in a CDMA system typically employs a rake receiver to process the received signal. The rake receiver normally includes one or more searcher elements and a number of demodulation elements, which are commonly referred to as "searcher" and "fingers", respectively. Due to the relatively wide bandwidth of a CDMA waveform, the communication channel may be assumed to be composed of a finite number of resolvable multipath components. Each multipath component may be characterized by a particular time delay and a particular complex gain. The searcher then searches for strong multipath components in the received signal, and fingers are assigned to the strongest multipath components found by the searcher. Each finger processes its assigned multipath component to provide symbol estimates for that multipath component. The symbol estimates from all assigned fingers are then combined to provide combined symbol estimates for the data stream to be recovered.
The rake receiver can provide acceptable performance for a CDMA system operated at a low signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SINR). The rake receiver can combine energy from a number of multipath components received by the terminal for one or multiple signals transmitted by one or multiple base stations. However, the rake receiver generally does not remove the effects of inter-symbol interference (ISI) that results from multipath effects and other distortions in the wireless channel. This ISI is typically negligible at low SINRs but can become a non-negligible noise component at higher SINRs. The ISI may limit the SINR that may be achieved by the terminal and may thus have a large impact on performance.
There is therefore a need in the art for techniques to process a received signal while in soft handoff to provide combined symbol estimates having higher SINR.

Equalization of multiple signals received for soft handoff in wireless communication systems


An organic light emitting device includes, a first organic light emitting diode unit, a second light emitting diode unit, and an optical component. The first organic light emitting diode unit is connected with the second organic light emitting diode unit, and an internal angle is formed between the two organic light emitting diode units. The first organic light emitting diode unit, the second organic light emitting diode unit, and the optical component are connected together to form a triangle structure. A first light emitting region of the first organic light emitting diode unit and a second light emitting region of the second organic light emitting diode unit are overlapped on the optical component and forming a third light emitting region. A uniform light can be obtained by adjusting the first organic light emitting diode unit and the second organic light emitting diode unit respectively.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a light emitting device, especially to an organic light emitting device having a light source which is a mixture of the light of two individual organic light en thing diode panels.
2. Description of Related Art
A light emitting diode is a solid-lighting device that has been rapidly developed in recent years; and an organic light emitting diode (OLED) is an important branch of the light emitting diode. Early organic light emitting diode such as those disclosed on U.S. Pat. No. 3,172,862 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,429, have disadvantages on excesses thickness (>1 μm) and high operation voltage (>100 Volt), so that it is not suitable for commercial applications. An improvement structure of the organic light emitting diode has been demonstrated by Eastman Kodak Company in 1987. The improvement structure provided by Eastman Kodak Company is to place a small molecular organic light emitting material between two electrodes. And then, a polymer light emitting diode is disclosed by Cambridge University in 1900. Since then, aggressive researches have been employed on the developments of the organic light emitting devices Therefore, a great progress have been reached on the grasp of the material characteristic and the manufacturing technology of the organic light emitting diode, and thereby making the commercial applications of the organic light diode be possible.
Singlet excited states transition and triplet excited states transition are two important fundamental light emitting mechanisms of an organic light emitting diode. A transition from a singlet excited state to a ground state is known as fluorescence; and a transition from a triplet excited state to a ground state is known as phosphorescence. Different wavelength of an emitting light can be produced by the two transition mechanisms with selection of different light emitting materials. However, the light colors seen by human eye are not a single wavelength, but a mixture of multiple wavelengths, thus the adjustment of the light color by mixing different wavelengths is an important issue. U.S. Pat. No. 5,851,063 disclosed a method for producing white light by mixing the primary colors of the light (RGB system), which uses inorganic light emitting diode as light source. Compared to the inorganic light emitting diode, organic light emitting diode has advantages on self-lighting, high brightness, high contrast, short response time, compact size, flexibility, and simple structure. The sheet type of the emitting light of an organic light emitting diode makes it suitable for lighting and flat panel display.
U.S. patent 2008/0284317A1 disclosed a light adjusting method of an organic light emitting diode, in which a fluorescent blue emission layer, a phosphorescent red emission layer, and a phosphorescent green emission layer are combined into a single organic light emitting diode. However, it is difficult to drive each emission layer with only one current/voltage source due to the different material characteristics of each emission layer. An improved organic light emitting diode structure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,935,963. Fluorescence layers and phosphorescence layers are divided into two individual regions by an electrode layer in one organic light emitting diode. Therefore, different current/voltage sources can be applied to the fluorescence layers and the phosphorescence layers independently, and the controllability can be enhanced. The improvement structure can solve the difficulty of applying a single power source on the different emission layers, however, the emission layers are still combined in a single organic light emitting diode structure, thus the light path will be blocked, thereby reducing the light emitting efficiency.

Organic light emitting device and light adjusting method thereof


Semi-interpenetrating polymer networks having improved processibility and compatibility are prepared by combining a linear polymer comprised of a thermoplastic polyisoimide and a short chain thermosetting polymer in the form of a cross-linkable oligomer comprised of a thermosetting imide or isoimide oligomer containing unsaturated terminal groups, e.g., an acetylene-, a maleimide-, a nadimide- or a benzocyclobutene-terminated imide or isoimide oligomer. In the resulting blend at least one of the diamine and dianhydride moieties of the structural backbone unit of the polyisoimide and of the cross-linkable oligomer are the same, and preferably both of the components of the blend have the same structural backbone unit. An example of a preferred semi-interpenetrating polymer network is the combination of (1) the polyisoimide produced by reaction of benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) with 1,3-bis (3-amino-phenoxy)benzene (APB) to form the polyamic acid precursor, followed by cyclodehydration thereof, and (2) the acetylene-terminated isoimide oligomer containing BTDA-APB backbone units and marketed as Thermid IP-600 by National Starch Company. Upon curing such semi-interpenetrating network or blend, a polymer having high toughness and high modulus is obtained.

This invention relates to semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (semi-IPNs) made from a combination of a thermoplastic linear polymer with a short chain thermosetting polymer The invention is more particularly concerned with the provision of a semi-IPN system from the interpenetration of (1) a linear polyimide and (2) an imide oligomer containing unsaturated terminal groups, especially an acetylene-terminated polyimide oligomer, both of which have been initially prepared as the corresponding isoimides. The invention also is directed to a method for achieving such semi-IPN system.
A single polymeric material suitable as a matrix resin for the fabrication of composites that has both toughness and good compressive modulus has not been found. Polymeric matrix resins that have good compressive modulus generally possess high cross-link density which imparts brittleness. The consequent lack of flexibility and toughness renders composites formed of such matrix resins highly susceptible to internal damage due to low velocity impact. On the other hand, tough resins have poor processibility because of their very high melt viscosity at the processing temperature. Because of this high viscosity, tows which are made of very fine fibers (5-7 microns) are poorly impregnated with such resins. Thus, linear aromatic polyimides generally are intractable and have high melt viscosities if they exhibit thermoplasticity at all. One solution is to use blends, namely, blending a resin which has good toughness with one which has good compressive strength However, resin compatibility is a problem.
The method generally used to blend an intractable polyimide with a thermosetting resin is to use the polyamic acid precursor of the polyimide. However, this has the disadvantage that the blend then generates volatiles from the cyclodehydration of the polyamic acid during cure.
Interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) are defined as multicomponent resin systems formed by blending of the corresponding monomers of two cross-linking polymers, each of which undergoes cross-linking in the presence of, but independent of, the other
If one of the polymer components is linear and the other is cross-linked, the result is a semi-IPN Selection of the appropriate polymer blends technology is dependent on the specific materials requirements. The general concept of polymer blends encompasses polymer alloys in the Karasz-MacKnight sense, interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) in the Sperling-Klempner sense, semi-IPNs and non-interactive diluents developed by Dr. T. L. St. Clair (NASA-Langley), and the reactive diluents approach favored by Dr. F. E. Arnold (AFWAL/MLBP Polymer Branch) The polymer blends approaches in materials development appear to offer a significant advantage.
Among the polymer blends technologies, polymer alloys and semi-IPNs are two related and highly promising approaches to provide toughened, high modulus engineering materials suitable for next generation composite and other structural applications. No adequate solution has been offered by current thermoset and thermoplastic resins due to their respective shortcomings The underlining principle of the polymer alloy and semi-IPN technologies is the enhanced qualities that can emerge by judicious blending of polymer components.
It has been found that there is an enhancement in overall properties by the combination of the linear and cross-linked polymer components. This general approach has been used in U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,610, which discloses semi-2-interpenetrating polymer networks (semi-2-IPNs) prepared by combining a linear polyimidesulfone (PIS) with a cross-linking acetylene-terminated polyimidesulfone (AT-PIS). This combination is stated to result in a semi-2-IPN of improved strength, adhesion and processibility.
However, this approach has certain limitations. The imide moiety in the linear polymer chain generally makes the polymer insoluble and only in very special cases are the linear polyimides soluble enough to be useful for the production of semi-IPNs. Where mixtures of the more soluble polyamic precursor of the linear polyimide is employed in place of the linear polyimide per se, with an acetylene-terminated sulfone, during the processing, volatiles are evolved from the cyclodehydration step of the polyamic acid. This severely limits the laminate fabrication process employing such mixtures because water or alcohol is evolved during the cure. To obtain high quality parts, high pressure is required, as well as special methods to dispose of the condensation by-products. It is accordingly difficult to prepare thick sections of composites expediently because the water must diffuse through the polymer matrix during the cure cycle If high pressures are not employed, the resulting composite would have a high void content.
However, the various polymer blends technologies are expected to produce high performance organic polymer materials for the next generation. As mentioned above, the concept of polymer blending allows the flexibility of utilizing various existing thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers through property tailoring The entire spectrum of polymer blending spans from 100% thermosets (epoxies-like IPNs), to semi-IPNs (with varying ratios of thermoplastic and thermosetting components), and finally to polymer alloying of all thermoplastic polymers. Polymer alloys derived from true thermoplastics (binary or multicomponent) are in theory infinitely reformable.
According to the present invention, isoimide technology is employed for the enhancement of polymer processibility. This was demonstrated with the utilization of difficult-to-process polyimides via their corresponding isoimide forms. Semi-IPN polymer blends developed from these isoimides and other thermoplastic or thermosetting resins possess unusual thermal and thermo-oxidative stabilities. Most importantly, there is no volatile-producing chemical reaction inherent in the processing steps.
One object of the present invention is the provision of a semi-interpenetrating polyimide network (semi-IPN) formed of a combination of a thermoplastic linear polymer with a short chain thermosetting oligomer, resulting in a two-component resin which has better thermomechanical properties than the respective resins made from the individual components.
Another object is the provision of a semi-IPN system from the interpenetration of a linear polyimide and an acetylene-terminated polyimide oligomer, by procedure whereby both of the components are rendered readily processible prior to curing.
Another object is the provision of a semi-IPN system from the interpenetration of a linear polyimide and a maleimide-terminated, nadimide-terminated, or benzocyclobutene-terminated polyimide oligomer, by procedure whereby both of the components are rendered readily processible prior to curing.
Another object is the provision of an improved semi-IPN system of the above type which avoids formation of volatiles and undesired by-products during cure and does not require the imposition of high pressure during curing of composites made from such semi-IPN system.
A still further object of the invention is the provision of matrix resin having good thermomechanical properties in the 450.degree.-600.degree. F. temperature range and is formed from components having better processibility than present state-of-the-art materials.
Yet another object is to provide a two component resin system which upon curing has toughness and good compressive modulus.
A still further object is the provision of procedure for preparation of the above-noted improved semi-interpenetrating polymer systems.


A target acquisition system includes a transmitter configured to emit a plurality of pulses at a plurality of transmit times toward a target, a receiver configured to detect a plurality of photon arrival events at a plurality of receive times, and a processor configured to determine a range of the target and a range-rate of the target by identifying a subset of the receive times and a subset of the transmit times, generating scaled transmit times based on the subset of the transmit times and a plurality of trial target velocities relative to the receiver, cross-correlating the scaled transmit times and the subset of the received times to generate a plurality of cross-correlation power values, and calculating the range and the range-rate of the target based on the plurality of cross-correlation power values.

Pulsed laser radar sensors, also known as lidars or ladars, are active sensing systems that determine the range to a target by measuring the time of flight of short laser pulses reflected off of the target. A lidar system generally includes a laser transmitter and an optical receiver. The transmitter is capable of generating laser pulses when commanded, and of directing these pulses in a particular direction. The receiver includes an optical system capable of collecting light reflected from the target, and a photodetector that can record the arrival of reflected light. An aspect of the return processing is the ability to determine target characteristics accurately despite complex scattering of the transmitted light, imperfect detection of the returns, unwanted detections due to ambient light and electrical noise, and modulation of the return due to target motion, among other practical complications.
A common issue faced when operating a LiDAR in range acquisition mode is overcoming the range ambiguity problem. The problem arises when using a periodically pulsed waveform, as the time of flight for a single received pulse cannot be uniquely determined if multiple pulses are in the air at once. One approach is decreasing the transmit pulse repetition frequency (PRF), but this solution reduces the LiDAR's duty factor, particularly for targets with large range uncertainties. Another approach resolves this issue by transmitting pulses with a nominal repetition frequency, but the timing for each individual pulse is dithered with respect to the nominal transmit time.
Generally, target acquisition is performed in two steps: initially, the target is ranged using dithered/aperiodic waveforms and then, the range-rate/velocity of the target is determined using a standard periodic pulse-train. However, when the target is moving, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of returned pulses decreases as the target's speed increases. As a result, low-return, high-velocity targets may fall below background levels, and these targets may become undetectable.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the disclosure and therefore it may contain information that does not constitute prior art.

System and method for determining range-rate and range extent of a target


An antenna array for a global positioning system (GPS) includes a first antenna element and a number of second antenna elements. The antenna array is placed at a location on a spacecraft that is above the center of gravity of the spacecraft. The first antenna element is located at the center of the antenna array and is surrounded by the second antenna elements. The first antenna element can produce a beam with a predefined null-to-null beamwidth, and the second antenna elements can form a multi-beam phased array.

Future global positioning system (GPS) spacecraft employ three different L-band antennas including earth coverage (EC), military earth coverage (MEC) and regional military protection (RMP) antennas to broadcast the full set of GPS L-band signals. Each antenna may have a separate phase and group delay center, which can produce PNT errors if not suitably compensated. For example, during regular spacecraft yaw orbital maneuvers, required to reduce peak-to-peak thermal variations, MEC and RMP phase and group delay centers can rotate about the EC phase center creating an additional source of PNT errors for MEC and RMP users.
The existing GPS helix antenna arrays used for EC, MEC, and RMP transmit substantially high average continuous wave (CW) powers that are typically greater than 300 W CW per antenna. Thus, these tapered helix antennas are susceptible to high-power multipaction creating single-point failure risks. The EC antenna is particularly vulnerable to multipaction due to higher powers. The existing GPS EC antenna elements are interleaved with Ultra High Frequency (UHF) crosslink antennas and the MEC antenna elements are in close proximity to the UHF antenna. These close proximities increase the risk for passive intermodulation (PIM) in and near the antennas due to high signal strength from both UHF and L-band signals. Further, the existing GPS EC antenna L1 and/or L2 patterns have angular suck-outs (nulls) toward the space service volume (SSV) at about ±23.5° and/or ±26°, which diminishes transmitted signal power to geosynchronous satellite SSV users.

GPS III antenna payload configuration for enhanced PNT accuracy and reduced high power risk


An excavating bucket apparatus pivotally mounts on an articulating arm of a mobile excavating machine. The bucket includes a scoop member that has a frame and defines a top configured for pivotal connection to the excavating machine's articulating arm. Each of the opposed ends of the scoop member can be open to receive and pass through any material dug or scraped by the scoop member, which defines a bottom disposed opposite the top. The bottom of the scoop member can define a generally banana-shaped bottom profile. The frame carries a screening mechanism disposed at the bottom of the scoop member, and the screening mechanism can define at least two stacked screening decks and a generally banana-shaped profile. The screening mechanism can be mechanically vibrated while being isolated mechanically from the scoop member. The frame accommodates different screening mechanisms, which are easily removed and re-installed.

A major limitation of any apparatus for screening materials such as for example aggregates, waste, wood, recyclable materials, glass, sand, concrete, asphalt, demolition debris, etc., is the throughput of screened material that can be processed per unit of time. This is true of apparatus such as found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,237,865 and 7,506,461 that employ screening shafts for example. As described therein, a screening shaft defines an elongated rotatable shaft. Replaceable fixed elements project radially away from the surface of the circumference of the screening shaft. Each screening shaft is rotatable about its longitudinal axis, and the rotation is powered so that it is driven under the control of the operator. Several of the screening shafts are disposed in alignment with each other across the outlet area of the bucket containing the screening shafts. The screening size can be varied depending on the radial length of the elements from the surface of the shaft. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,237,865 and 7,506,461 disclose buckets that load from the front, have solid bottoms and sides and have multiple screening shafts aligned in a row at the back of the bucket and lying in a plane that is disposed at a 90 degree angle from the bottom of the bucket.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,916 also discloses a bucket that loads from the front and has solid sides, but has a solid back and has a reciprocating screen in the bottom of the bucket wherein the direction of reciprocation of the screen is front to back.
However, the buckets described above require additional machines to bring to the buckets from other sites the raw materials that are to be screened, can only be fed from one direction, and become clogged by debris above a predetermined larger size and so must stop operating while such debris is cleared. Accordingly, these limitations in turn limit the throughput that can be attained by these screening apparatus.
Devices that are essentially mechanical shovels are known. U.S. Pat. No. 5,160,034 discloses a front-end loader with a shovel attachment having a vibrating screen forming the bottom of the shovel. The shovel takes up sand as the screen slides beneath about a two inch depth of the sand as the front-end loader moves forward. The screen is vibrated to separate the sand from the oversized material, which remains in the shovel. However, this device must be moving forward to take up sand and only can be loaded from the front. Accordingly, this vibrating screen in the bottom of the shovel attachment is not suitable for processing large volumes of material.

Excavating machinery with bucket for screening and/or mixing excavated material


A virtual presentation for entertaining a user, and includes generating a virtual environment that includes at least one virtual object, and displaying a virtual character in the virtual environment. The virtual character is to be controlled in the virtual environment to interact with the virtual object responsive to commands input by the user via a user computer. The method further includes evaluating a parameter associated with at least one of the virtual object and the virtual character and, responsive to the evaluating, preparing a communication from the virtual character to be transmitted to the user. The communication includes content related to the parameter evaluated and is transmitted from the virtual character to the user with the user computer.

Typically, computer generated images representing a character in a virtual world only receive input from a user via a user computer. The user can input control commands, prompt the virtual character to perform desired actions, and otherwise carry on a one-way relationship with the virtual character. While such virtual characters can entertain the user for a period of time, the user will eventually begin to realize the lack of mutual interactions, and may lose interest in the virtual character.
More recently, virtual characters in a virtual, computer-generated environment have been given the ability to output a statement to the user. Such statements can be in the form of a text string visually displayed on a monitor provided to the user computer, or audibly via speaker coupled to a sound card of the user computer. However, such known statements are simply general statements that are only output at scheduled timed intervals. As such, the statements from the virtual character lack any sort of personalized, spontaneous quality. Further, since the statements from the virtual character are only time based, they are not relevant to incidents that are occurring in the virtual world. These impersonal, general statements eventually lead the user to realize that what may have once been considered to be communications from the virtual character are actually just cold expressions resulting from the expiration of a period of time.
Moreover, the general statements issued by virtual characters of conventional virtual presentations do not convey useful information to the user. Such general statements are often generic, and issued to all users. Such statements from virtual characters that often have the full attention of the user fail to take advantage of an opportunity for the entity behind the virtual character to present marketing and other promotional information to the user, to encourage further interactions, or further develop the relationship bond between the user and the virtual character.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a method and system for creating a virtual world and allowing interaction between virtual characters to enhance the relationship between a user and the virtual character, and to take advantage of possible marketing potential.

System and method for a virtual character in a virtual world to interact with a user


This device will allow a worker to safely, cleanly and most efficiently clean out a pipe or piping system, using high pressure fluid, probably water, that is directed through an opening and into the pipe. This device can be used on any piping system and may be adjusted so that it is secured to any device.

A. Field of the Invention
This is a device to clear an obstruction in a pipe, particularly in the chemical or industrial sectors. If chemicals or petroleum products are transported by pipeline, a layer of sediment will form around the inner perimeter of the pipe, which will interfere with the flow in the pipe. This layer of sediment should be periodically cleaned in order to maintain maximum efficiency and to prevent obstruction of the flow in the pipe.
B. Prior Art
There are many other prior art references to methods and devices used to clean pipes and piping systems.
A representative example of this can be found at Semke, U.S. Pat. No. 4,187,563, which is a device for flushing the drainpipe of a sink. However, this device does not particularly relate to sinks and relates more so to flushing a pipe. Another example can be found at Tash, U.S. Pat. No. 4,475,255, which is a pipe-flushing device. However, this is not installed with the appropriate safety mechanisms that the current application employs.


This invention teaches a method of mixing sound so that a monophonic common ambience audio channel, derived either from a mix of an entire performance, or from a specially created audio mix, is folded back to an individual performer's earphones together with a foldback of that individual performer's microphone or electronic instrument pickup audio signal. The individual performer's microphone or electronic instrument pickup audio is fed to both of a performer's earphones in polarity, while the ambiance mix is fed, simultaneously with the performer's microphone or electronic instrument pickup mix, to both of a performer's earphones, out of polarity, thereby creating a psycho acoustic pseudo stereo effect so that the performer perceives the monophonic ambiance mix as a wide spacious stereophonic field from behind the performer with no specific ability to place an instrument at a specific place in the field.

Monitors are used so that performers can hear themselves while performing to be able to know how well they are working the microphones and to be able to adjust their pitch and intonation during a performance. Mono earphone monitors tend not to be preferred by performers as the resulting sound is "too close" and inside the performer's head. Monitor mixes are difficult to do in stereo because of the many problems encountered by the sound mixing engineer in trying to create live stereo monitor mixes while maintaining an evenly balanced stereo image. This task becomes more complicated as the number of performers and requested special effects for individual performers grows.
If a signal comes out of only one channel, it is placed squarely on that channel, hard right or hard left. If the signal comes out of both of channels equally, it sounds as if it is in the center. If a signal comes out of the channels equally but with the driven elements out of polarity with respect to each other, it sounds as though it is coming from a wide space behind the performer. This is the psycho acoustic pseudo stereo effect.
This psycho acoustic pseudo stereo effect is known in the art and has been described in many patents including U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,068,093; U.S. Pat. No. Re. 25,652 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,924,072.

Psycho acoustic pseudo-stereo fold back system