A method of operating a parallel hybrid electric drive train may include manually selecting a first mode by a user. The first mode include an electric mode that provides for propelling a vehicle using only an electric motor. The method may also include propelling the vehicle in the electric mode, limiting an allowed vehicle acceleration below a predetermined acceleration value, detecting a battery state of charge, and preventing an engine start during operation in the electric mode.

Typical parallel hybrid electric vehicles include an internal combustion engine, an electric motor, and a battery. Parallel hybrid electric vehicles typically operate using the electric motor and/or the internal combustion engine as prime movers to propel the vehicle. That is, the vehicle wheels may be rotated using only the electric motor, only the engine, or using some combination of torque from both prime movers. Generally, the vehicle may be operated at low speeds with the electric motor only, and during periods of high acceleration and/or high vehicle speeds with a combination of both the engine and the motor. Typically, the engine and/or a regenerative brake may be used to recharge the battery, and the battery may be used to rotate the motor.
When the engine is used to recharge the battery, the motor may be used to propel the vehicle during the electric only operation. Further, the engine may propel the vehicle during engine only operation while rotating the motor (as a generator) to recharge the battery. A hybrid electric system will typically maintain the state of charge of the battery within a prescribed range. That is, the battery may be used to power the motor to propel the vehicle with the engine not operating for extended periods while the battery state of charge is within, for example, between forty percent (40%) and eighty percent (80%) of maximum charge. A controller for a hybrid electric vehicle may automatically initiate charging of the battery when the state of charge falls below fifty percent (50%) of maximum charge during vehicle operation. Many hybrid electric vehicles operate the engine, motor and battery while targeting a desired state of charge value for the battery. That is, if the state of charge (expressed as a percentage of maximum) falls below the desired value (or range), the battery will be charged, and if the state of charge exceeds the desired value (or range), the battery will be discharged, usually by providing torque to propel the vehicle.
Generally, the operator may not know when the vehicle will switch from the electric only operation to operations using the engine, and the operator cannot control the amount of charge (state of charge) of the battery, as the vehicle will typically maintain the state of charge automatically. Further, the operator will not know the range available for operating without the engine propelling the vehicle.
Many regenerative brakes operate as a mechanism that reduces vehicle speed by converting some of the vehicle's kinetic energy into another useful form of energy. This captured energy may be then stored for future use, such as in the battery, or fed back into other vehicle components, such as is disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,246,988; 4,986,383; and 7,076,946. The regenerative brake may use the motor as a generator to convert kinetic energy to electricity, or other components may be used to generate electricity.
While many parallel hybrid electric vehicles include numerous controls, an operator may not be able to control the operation of the engine, or the battery state of charge before or during electric only operation. Further, an operator may not know when the engine will start during electric only operation.

Electric vehicle (EV) driving mode optimization for a parallel hybrid electric vehicle


Provided herein are composition for sensitizing tumors to anti-tumor therapies. The compositions include antisense oligonucleotides against TGFβ2, wherein the compositions sensitize tumors to anti-tumor therapies. Also provided herein are method for treating cancer using the compositions described herein.

All publications cited herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. The following description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease. It represents one of the worst solid tumors and has a diagnosis to mortality ratio approaching one. There are approximately 40,000 diagnoses per year in the US, and 350,000 diagnoses worldwide. Combinations of radiotherapy (RT), chemotherapy and surgery have been used to treat resectable, locally advanced unresectable, and metastatic cancer patients. However, the doses of treatments (e.g., RT and chemotherapy) are dictated by their associated toxicities. This in turn impacts the clinical efficacy of these treatments. There is an unmet need in the art for pancreatic cancer therapies and methods for treating same.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Compositions and methods for treating pancreatic cancer


A sealant, a manufacturing method therefor, a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel and a display device are provided. The sealant includes a sealant matrix and luminescent particulates distributed in the sealant matrix. The luminescent particulates at least emit ultraviolet (UV) light under UV irradiation.

Thin-film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panel is a display device having the advantages of wide size range, low energy consumption and low radiation and is mainly composed of an array substrate, a color filter (CF) substrate and a liquid crystal layer filled between the array substrate and the CF substrate.
Cell-assembly process plays an important role in the manufacturing process of the TFT-LCD. In the cell-assembly process, sealant is adopted to well bond together the array substrate and the CF substrate to form a liquid crystal cell for accommodating liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer. The curing effect of the sealant is particularly important for the quality of the cell.

Sealant, manufacturing method therefor, liquid crystal display panel and display device

Hefei BOE Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.


An illuminating system for a camera that can illuminate an area according to an angle of view of the camera for stroboscopy is provided. The illuminating system includes: a light source emitting light; and an illuminating lens arranged in an optical path of the light emitted from the light source and having a fly-eye lens surface with a plurality of lens cells thereon and an aspherical or spherical lens surface opposite to the fly-eye lens surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an illuminating system for a camera using a light emitting diode (LED), and more particularly, to an illuminating system for a camera in which a LED is used as a light source illuminating an area according to an angle of view of the camera for stroboscopy.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, with the development of small digital cameras, portable electronic devices integrated with small digital cameras, such as mobile phones, MP3 players, portable digital assistants (PDAs), etc., have become commercially available.
Conventional digital cameras with 300,000 pixels to millions of pixels are under development to satisfy a customer's desire for high performance digital cameras with more pixels. In addition, there is a need to develop an illuminating system including a LED light source for stroboscopic photography.
An illuminating system for a camera developed to comply with such a requirement is disclosed in the Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2004-252469 (entitled "Camera-integrated Mobile Phone", published Sep. 9, 2004). In the illuminating apparatus, light emitted from an LED is illuminated using a spherical lens, an aspherical lens, or a Fresnel lens over an area separated by a predetermined distance according to an angle of view of the camera. However, due to a structural limitation of the lens used in the illuminating system, it is difficult to illuminate the entire area with a uniform brightness.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2004-287357 (entitled "Fly-eye lens for camera strobo built in mobile phone", published Oct. 14, 2004) discloses an illuminating system. The illuminating system includes a fly-eye lens in front of an LED. However, due to low light condensing efficiency, it is difficult to obtain a desired brightness.


The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for setting a wireless network among a plurality of beacon devices constituting a mesh network and a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for carrying out the method, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for measuring quality of service (QoS), which is a reference for setting a network path, and setting a path of a mesh network using the QoS, and a recording medium storing a computer program for carrying out the method.

Descriptions made in this section merely provide background information of embodiments of the present invention and do not constitute conventional art.
In general, a wireless network has a point-to-point topology or a star, that is, point-to-multipoint, topology, but a wireless network which has a mesh, that is, multipoint-to-multipoint, structure like a wired network has been attracting attention recently.
A wireless mesh network may be easily extended without connection to a wired network and has resultant merits in flexibility and extendability, such as speed and economic efficiency in network establishment, redundancy based on multiple paths, and so on.
In an existing wired network environment, a signal is connected through a repeater or a wireless router referred to as an access point (AP), and all APs are connected in a wired manner.
On the other hand, in a mesh network, wireless communication routers which will serve as antennas like existing wireless communication base stations (BSs) become mesh nodes and wirelessly connect all sections as long as a representative AP is connected in a wired manner. In this way, the structure of a wired mesh network may also be implemented in a wireless network. Thus, a mesh network which overcomes a limitation of an existing wireless local area network (WLAN) has appeared.
Also, with the development of mobile communication networks and specifications of terminals, a mobile communication terminal has gone beyond the existing scope of a simple communication device or information providing device and become a necessary possession of contemporary people and is evolving into a total entertainment device.
Further, technologies for performing short-range wireless communication between mobile communication terminals close to each other are rapidly developing, and one of the short-range wireless communication technologies is Bluetooth communication.
Bluetooth communication has evolved again and again, and the Bluetooth low energy (BLE) technology (Bluetooth 4.0) is widely being used in smart phones, retail geofencing, mobile payment, and so on. The BLE technology consumes less power than a standard Bluetooth wireless connection.
Also, there is ongoing development of a service method for providing various types of information to a mobile communication terminal of a user using a beacon which uses Bluetooth communication, and cases of constructing a mesh network using a beacon device which uses Bluetooth communication are increasing.
In such a wireless mesh network, a reference referred to as quality of service (QoS) may be applied to setting of a path of beacon devices constituting the mesh network. According to the related art, the number of hops is used as a reference, and it is not possible to accurately reflect reception sensitivity, such as signal intensity and so on. Accordingly, it is difficult to efficiently set a path.
Consequently, an efficient method of setting a network path in consideration of performance and circumstances of a beacon device is required to set a path of a mesh network using a beacon device.

Apparatus and method for setting wireless mesh network and computer-readable recording medium


An automatic bagging machine contains: a delivery mechanism, a film transporting mechanism, an ultrasonic cutting mechanism, an electric eye mechanism, a limiting assembly, a clamping mechanism, an air tube assembly, and a pushing mechanism. The delivery mechanism includes a conveying belt and plural fixing mounts on which plural spinning bobbins are fitted. The film transporting mechanism includes two carrying sets, each having a holder on which a film material is fitted. The ultrasonic cutting mechanism includes two cutting sets, two slide rails, two first power motors, and two film cutting sets. The electric eye mechanism includes two support posts, the limiting assembly includes a circular ring and an affix mount, the clamping mechanism includes a clamp portion, a crank shaft, and a second power motor. The air tube assembly includes a first air tube and a second air tube. The pushing mechanism includes a rolling assembly and a transmission assembly.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic bagging machine, and more particularly to the automatic bagging machine which packages plural spinning bobbins consistently.
Description of the Prior Art
A conventional automatic bagging machine is adapted to seal plural spinning bobbins by using a film material and then to cut the plural spinning bobbins, thereafter the plural spinning bobbins are covered, thus packaging the plural spinning bobbins.
However, the conventional automatic bagging machine is operated in several stages to cause labor and material costs, and more particularly to packaging the plural spinning bobbins inconsistently.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.


At least one embodiment is directed to a dynamic distractor (1 00) for distracting bones of a muscular-skeletal system. The dynamic distractor (100) includes at least one sensor (108, 110) which can provide loading, loading differential and position information as well as other measured parameters, a handle (112, 804), a lift mechanism (302), and one or more alignment aid (502, 802). The position and measurement sensors (108, 110) communicate with the processing unit (406) to display, process, and store measured data. A rod (604) couples a cutting block (602) to the distractor (100). The rod (604) also fixes a position of a cutting block (602) in relation to the distractor (100). The cutting block (602) is coupled to the distractor (100) to stabilize and align the muscular-skeletal system while shaping a bone.

The skeletal system is a balanced support framework subject to variation and degradation. Changes in the skeletal system can occur due to environmental factors, degeneration, and aging. An orthopedic joint of the skeletal system typically comprises two or more bones that move in relation to one another. Movement is enabled by muscle tissue and tendons attached to the skeletal system of the joint. Ligaments hold and stabilize the one or more joint bones positionally. Cartilage is a wear surface that prevents bone-to-bone contact, distributes load, and lowers friction. The spinal column is comprised of vertebrae, discs, ligaments, and muscles that stabilize the vertebral column and protects the spinal nerves.
There has been substantial growth in the repairing of the human skeletal system as orthopedic joint implant technology has evolved. In general, improvements to orthopedic implant joints have been based on empirical data that is sporadically gathered from real patients. Similarly, the majority of implant surgeries are being performed with tools that have not changed substantially in decades but have been refined over time. In general, the orthopedic implant procedure has been standardized to meet the needs of the general population. Adjustments due to individual skeletal variations rely on the skill of the surgeon to adjust the process for the exact circumstance. At issue is that there is little or no data during an orthopedic surgery, post-operatively, and long term that provides feedback to the orthopedic manufacturers and surgeons about the implant status.

System and method for orthopedic distraction and stabilization


A music game, which incorporates the characteristics of the popular Karaoke singing phenomenon and draws upon the players"" knowledge of songs and performing artists. The game includes game pieces, game board, die, timer, and Karaoke instruction cards. The game board consists of Karaoke, ATM and Stage Fright squares, each distinguished by a unique icon, interspersed along the perimeter of the board. The instruction cards have coordinating icons, each with specific instructions. A team member sings songs recorded by the performing artist identified on the card and the other team members must guess the artist. A correct guess allows the team to advance their game piece the number of squares rolled on the die. The object of the game is to be the first game piece to advance from Start to Finish by drawing cards, singing songs and guessing performing artists.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a music board game, and more particularly to a board game directed to players"" knowledge about popular performing artists and their songs, whereby the players attempt to identify a performing artist within a specified time frame after hearing a team member sing songs by the artist.
2. Description of the Background
Board games are widely used as a means for family and friendly entertainment. Many board games include a game board, game pieces, and some means to advance the game pieces around the board. A number of such board games have had musical themes.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,313 to Hockley shows a board game that requires identification of television theme songs from listening to audio cassettes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,561 to Hoffman shows a board game directed to the players"" knowledge of music to answer music trivia questions. Question cards relate to song titles, artists and lyrics.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,025 to Hines et al. shows a board game which involves the identification of a melody or song a after the players listen to a portion of the melody.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,061,337 to Callender shows a board game which requires comparison by the player of two representations and recognition of the association between the representations in the field of music.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,006 to Bruno et al. shows a question and answer format quiz game wherein a song title and year or song title and music category are identified and a player must identify the performing artist within a specified time period. The temporal and music categories are randomly selected by rolling a die.
There was also a series of board games published by the Hersch Company in the early 1990""s, all of which required players to complete lyrics to popular songs.
While each of the foregoing examples calls upon the knowledge of players with respect to artists, songs and lyrics, none combine these requirements in a Karaoke format with actual singing, while calling upon the players"" knowledge of performing artists and the lyrics and melody of their songs. It would be greatly advantageous to provide a music theme board game that incorporates characteristics of the popular Karaoke singing phenomenon, while calling upon the players"" knowledge of performing artists and the lyrics and melody of their songs.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a music theme board game apparatus and method that provide home entertainment and amusement in a tongue-in-cheek Karaoke setting, with teams of players progressing around a board through various Karaoke clubs, automated teller machines (to pay for the club expenses), etc.
It is another object to provide a music theme board game as described above that incorporates characteristics of the popular Karaoke singing phenomenon, while calling upon the players"" knowledge of performing artists and the lyrics and melody of their songs, thereby requiring a combination of knowledge and talent to win.
It is another object to provide a music theme board game as described above that may be easily and efficiently manufactured.
According to the present invention, the above-described and other objects are accomplished by providing a music-theme board game for play by two or more teams with two or more players on each team. The game comprises a game board, a set of instruction cards, a plurality of game pieces, a die, and a one minute timer. Said game board contains a plurality of squares, representing Karaoke Club, ATM, and Stage Fright categories, interspersed and forming a path around the perimeter of the board, with a xe2x80x9cTake the Stagexe2x80x9d (start) square at the beginning and a xe2x80x9cTake a Bowxe2x80x9d (finish) square at the end of the path. A game piece is given to each team and the object of the game is to advance the game piece around the path from xe2x80x9cTake the Stagexe2x80x9d to xe2x80x9cTake a Bowxe2x80x9d and to be the first team to reach the xe2x80x9cTake a Bowxe2x80x9d square. The teams alternate turns by drawing an instruction card and following Icon-coded instructions that correspond to the square where the team""s game piece rests. For example, the Icon for Rock and Roll is a guitar, shown both on the board square for Rock and Roll and on the instruction card for the Rock and Roll category. Karaoke clubs are represented by the following squares: Country, Pop, Rock and Roll, Oldies, U Choose, Steal the Show, Take the Stage, and Take a Bow. The Country, Pop, Rock and Roll, and Oldies Karaoke squares correspond to the same specific categories of artists on the instruction cards. The U Choose and Steal the Show Karaoke squares can be any of the four music Karaoke categories: Country, Pop, Rock and Roll, or Oldies, depending upon the player""s choice. The Take the Stage and Take a Bow Karaoke squares start and finish the game, respectively. Each instruction card identifies a country, pop, rock and roll, and oldies performing artist. A team member must sing songs by the artist in an attempt to get his or her other team members to guess the name of the artist. If the team members guess the artist in the predetermined amount of time, the team gets to roll the die and move their game piece along the path according to the number of squares rolled on the die. The team continues playing until they fail to guess an artist in the required time frame or until an instruction states, xe2x80x9cEnd of Turnxe2x80x9d. As an alternative to singing clues, the participants may choose to give word clues about the artist. However, if the player uses word clues, and his or her team guesses the artist, the team""s turn ends after they roll the die and advance their game piece according to the number rolled on the die. ATM and Stage Fright squares provide instructions regarding advancing or retreating the team""s game piece, and generally end the team""s turn.


An exercise feedback system determines muscle fatigue measurements using physiological data generated by a sensor-equipped athletic garment. The muscle fatigue measurement is determined by analyzing the frequency spread of the physiological data. The exercise feedback system may customize exercise programs, determine risks of injury, or generate biofeedback for presentation on graphical user interfaces using the muscle fatigue measurements. The exercise feedback system accesses pre-determined muscle fatigue measurement models that define criteria for the aforementioned features. For instance, if an athlete is becoming fatigued and exercising with improper form based on a muscle fatigue measurement, the exercise feedback system modifies the athlete's exercise program to help target and improve the athlete's weaknesses as well as to prevent injury.

This description generally relates to sensor-equipped athletic garments, and specifically to determining muscle fatigue using physiological data from the sensors.
Sensors record a variety of information about the human body. For example, electrocardiograph (ECG) electrodes can measure electrical signals from the skin of a person that are used to determine the person's heart rate. In addition, electromyography (EMG) electrodes can measure electrical activity generated by a person's muscles. Heart rate and muscle activation information may be useful for evaluating the person's physiological condition, for instance, while exercising. It is difficult to provide comparable metrics between different muscle groups for a given athlete and between different athletes since the muscle response depends on muscle physiology and body composition, which may vary between muscles and between athletes. A system that generates inconsistent metrics of athletic performance provides a poor user experience, and the athletes may not be able to improve their athletic training with unreliable feedback on exercises.

Fatigue measurement in a sensor equipped garment


Incoherently combining light from different lasers while maintaining high brightness is challenging using conventional fiber bundling techniques, where fibers from different lasers are bundled adjacently in a tight-packed arrangement. The brightness can be increased by tapering the tips of the bundled fibers to match a single, multi-mode output fiber, e.g., one whose core that is just wide enough to fit the input cores. This increases the brightness of the beam combining. In addition, reducing the outer diameters of the signal fiber claddings allows the signal fibers to be bundled closer together, making it possible to couple more signal fiber cores to the core of a multi-mode output fiber. Similarly, reducing the outer diameter of the pump fiber cladding and/or etching away corresponding portions of the signal fiber cladding in a pump/signal combiner makes it possible to couple more pump light into the signal fiber cladding, again increasing brightness.

Incoherent beam combining enables higher total output power of laser systems without increasing brightness. For many industrial applications where propagation of a laser beam over long distances while maintaining small spot size is not important, incoherent combining offers laser manufacturers a way to construct a higher power system without the complexities of coherent or spectral beam combining.


The present invention discloses a recessed refrigerator supported on a supporting surface, the refrigerator including a cabinet, a door movably disposed at a front side of the cabinet, a compressor compartment formed in a rear lower portion of the refrigerator and a compressor and a heat dissipating fan located in the compressor compartment, the cabinet including a bottom plate, the bottom plate being disposed apart from the supporting surface, and the bottom plate including a compressor compartment bottom plate located below the compressor compartment, the compressor compartment bottom plate being formed with a main air inlet and a main air outlet communicating the external with the compressor compartment, air from the external, driven by the heat dissipating fan, entering the compressor compartment through the main air inlet and then flowing to the external through the main air outlet.

At present, recessed refrigerators are usually arranged in an installation space in a wall cabinet, a wall or a cupboard, improve the utilization rate of the space and indoor design conciseness, and appeal to people.
However, since the recessed refrigerators are disposed in a limited space and blocked around by the wall cabinet, the wall or the cupboard, the heat in a compressor compartment cannot be efficiently removed in time, which reduces the refrigerating effect of the recessed refrigerators.


Cleaning compositions and methods of use thereof are described. A representative method includes treating equipment, particularly equipment used in the asphalt industry and other industries, such as bituminous, rubber, plastics, polymer, tar, concrete, and cement industries. The methods employ a cleaning composition that includes at least one or more of the following: surfactants, builders, hydrotropes, alkali compounds, processing aids, organic acids, and water conditioners, in any combination.

The vast majority of industrial cleaning problems are solved with existing technology since these problems have existed for many years and the types of material to be cleaned are typical across different industries. Many industrial cleaners are based on solvent technology where the solvent itself provides the cleaning ability of the product. These cleaners may be "pure" solvents like mineral spirits, Stoddard solvent, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, or others known to those who are skilled in the art. Other cleaners include additives such as emulsifiers or surface-active agents. In addition, other cleaners are water-based and contain varying percentages of solvents dissolved in water or emulsified. Solvent and solvent-based cleaners are regulated by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), both as volatile organic compounds and as potential water and ground pollutants.
One industry that encounters unique cleaning problems is the hot mix asphalt (HMA) industry. HMA is a mixture of liquid asphalt and aggregate with special additives used to modify the final product to yield a particular set of properties to the finished material and to assist in the mixing and handling properties during manufacturing, transportation, and laying of the surface. HMA as the name implies, is hot, with typical temperatures up to and exceeding 340° F., causing problems with cleaning operations. The liquid asphalt is liquid at the elevated temperatures where it is processed into HMA, but becomes sticky and eventually solid as the temperature falls. During the manufacturing and handling processes, HMA adheres to nearly every surface it contacts. Thus, during the process of paving roads, runways, parking areas, etc., HMA adheres to the equipment involved in manufacturing the asphalt, in transporting the asphalt to the paving site, and in disposing the asphalt on the particular site.
Therefore, the HMA industry is unique because of the nature of the materials encountered and the conditions under which the material is produced, transported, and applied, as well as environmental problems encountered during cleaning and reclaiming the cleaner. Similar problems exist in similar industries such as the bitumen industry, the tire-manufacturing industry, the rubber manufacturing industry, and other allied industries.
The largest group of industrial cleaners is based on detergents. The products in this group are water based and contain a surfactant (or a combination of surfactants), and other components. However, these cleaners have proven to be ineffective in removing asphalt or related materials during the cleaning process.
Traditionally, diesel fuel is used as a cleaning agent. However, environmental considerations have resulted in the EPA, the Federal Highway Administration, and many state transportation departments to ban its use. Most other solvent-based cleaners are not effective, present fire and explosion hazards at the elevated temperatures, or are not environmentally acceptable. Emulsions or emulsion forming products containing various hydrocarbons, vegetable based oils and esters (e.g., soy and terpene compounds), or other solvents have been used, but they, like diesel fuel, have a negative environmental impact and/or have potential negative human health effects. Other cleaners have, in the past, indicated that they can remove adhered asphalt from surfaces; however, many of these cleaners are expensive and remove less than 45% of the adhered asphalt.
Thus, there is a need in the industry for a cleaning agent that overcomes at least these disadvantages.

Cleaning compositions and methods of treating equipment

Victoria E. Wilson and Matthew P. Wilson Trust


A network device (e.g., a user equipment (UE), or a new radio NB (gNB)) can process or generate a configuration of a multi-subframe scheduling signal to configure an unlicensed band transmission that comprises an hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback or a plurality of time transmission intervals (TTIs). The unlicensed band transmission can be configured dynamically with a number of N subframes, N comprising an integer greater than one, based on a downlink control information (DCI) or a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, which comprises the one or more subframes of the multi-subframe scheduling signal.

Each year, the number of mobile devices connected to wireless networks significantly increases. In order to keep up with the demand in mobile data traffic, changes can be be made to system requirements to meet these demands. Three areas, in particular, that need to be enhanced in order to deliver this increase in traffic are larger bandwidth, lower latency, and higher data rates.
One factor in wireless innovation is the availability in spectrum. To mitigate this, the unlicensed spectrum has been an area of interest to expand the availability of long term evolution (LTE). In this context, an enhancement for LTE in third generation partnership project (3GPP) Release 13 has been to enable its operation in the unlicensed spectrum via Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA), which expands the system bandwidth by utilizing the flexible carrier aggregation (CA) framework introduced by the LTE-Advanced system.
It is important to identify aspects of the design that can be enhanced for NR when operating in unlicensed spectrum. One of the challenges in this case is that this system must maintain fair coexistence with other incumbent technologies, and in order to do so depending on the particular band in which it might operate, some restrictions might be taken into account while designing this system. For instance, if operating in the 5 GHz band, a listen before talk (LBT) procedure is performed to acquire the transmission medium before a transmission can occur.
When a scheduled uplink (UL) transmission is to be performed, there are multiple contentions before this can occur. In fact, the user equipment (UE) has to first send scheduling request (SR) to the next generation NodeB (gNB), and once the request is received the gNB has to perform LBT before sending an UL grant, and finally once the UE has received the grant it has to perform LBT before accessing the channel. While this is a tedious procedure even when LBT does not need to be performed, LBT further increases latency and limits greatly the efficiency of the system especially if this procedure has to be repeated for every transmission time interval (TTI) transmission.

Scheduling enhancements and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) timing procedure for new radio (NR) unlicensed


A balance having at least one adjusting device (2, . . . ) having a drive, wherein the drive of the adjusting device is configured as a fluidic drive (4, . . . ), to which pressure can be applied by a pressure source disposed outside the scales via a pressure connection.

The present invention relates to a set of scales having at least one adjusting device provided with a drive.
In particular in precision scales or analytical scales, electric motors, usually configured as DC motors, are used for various adjusting functions.
In some cases, differently dimensioned motors are used for the different adjusting functions. Alternatively, for production or cost reasons, identical motors may be used, but then these motors are not optimally configured for their respective purposes.
DE 90 06 644 U1 discloses a set of scales with a wind shield which is moved by a motor. A wall element of a weighing chamber surrounding the scale pan is moved by an electric motor. A sensor serves to detect the position of the wall element.
In the case of known automatic weight switching for a set of scales, an adjusting weight lies on a weight support which can be lowered or raised through tilting about a tilt axis. Arranged parallel to the tilt axis is a rotation axis with an eccentrically mounted cam disk. A contact surface of the weight support, which is arranged at a right angle to the cam disk, is pressed by a spring against the cam disk. The rotation axis is driven by a DC motor via a gearbox. In order to fix the position of the eccentrically mounted cam disk or of the weight support, two disks with control cams are arranged on the rotation axis, whereby the control cams actuate switches assigned thereto in their respective predetermined end positions. Although this weight switching system has proved to be essentially effective in practice, the control cams with switches render the system relatively costly and also relatively bulky, due to the electric motor and the gearbox that are used.
A motor-driven weight switching and locking system is disclosed in, for example, DE 42 35 250 C1. A set of scales with a motor-driven movable contact surface is known, for example, from DE 198 28 515 A1. This set of scales using the principle of electromagnetic force compensation has a vertically movable load support, a position sensor, a variable gain amplifier and a coil in a magnetic field of a permanent magnet, as well as at least one contact surface which delimits the downward movement of the load support, at least one contact surface which delimits the upward movement of the load support and an electronic evaluation unit. At least one of the contact surfaces is movable. The movable contact surface is controlled with the aid of the position sensor such that the load support is held as far as possible in the same position as in normal weighing operation.
DE 28 41 996 C2 discloses a weight switching system for a beam balance, particularly for an analytical balance, comprising a plurality of cam shafts for lifting/lowering the weights and an electric motor drive that controls the cam shafts via sensors.
It is common to all the known sets of scales that the electric motors used are relatively bulky and require relatively complex gearboxes.
A further disadvantage is that due to the power dissipation that occurs from the electric motors, an undesirable level of heat can be generated. The electric motors can also produce undesirably large magnetic fields. The use of electric motors can also give rise to problems in explosion hazard areas.

Scale with an adjusting device configured as a fluid drive actuator imparting gearless translational motion to place the scale in a washing-down position or in a transport position


Disclosed herein is a speaker apparatus, including: a housing having a speaker disposition section in which a speaker unit is disposed, and an apparatus receiving section which receives a portable terminal apparatus mounted thereon. The speaker apparatus further includes a connector provided on the apparatus receiving section such that a connector section of the portable terminal apparatus is to be connected to the connector; a holder provided on the apparatus receiving section and supported for pivotal motion on the housing in such a manner as to be pivoted, in a state in which the portable terminal apparatus is connected to the connector, in a first direction to press down the portable terminal apparatus from the opposite side to the connector to hold the portable terminal apparatus; and a biasing spring provided on the apparatus receiving section and configured to bias the holder in the first direction.

The present technology relates to a technical field of speaker apparatus. More particularly, the present technology relates to a technical field wherein a portable terminal apparatus connected to a connector is pressed down by a holder from the opposite side to the connector to hold the portable terminal apparatus in a stable state.
A speaker apparatus on which a portable terminal apparatus such as a digital music player (DMP) or a portable telephone set is mounted is known and disclosed, for example, in JP-T-2008-546126 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 1).
In such a speaker apparatus as just described, an apparatus mounting section at which a portable terminal apparatus is to be mounted is provided. In a state in which a portable terminal apparatus is mounted at the apparatus mounting section, audio data recorded in the portable terminal apparatus is outputted to the speaker apparatus. The outputted audio data is outputted as sound, which is improved in sound quality and so forth, to the outside by a speaker unit.
In the speaker apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, a holding case ("door" in Patent Document 1) having a connector is provided at the apparatus mounting section such that it can be drawn out from an accommodating recessed portion. The portable terminal apparatus is inserted into the holding case drawn out from the accommodating recessed portion and a connector section is connected to the connector. Then, the holding case is accommodated into the accommodating recessed portion to mount the portable terminal apparatus on the apparatus mounting section.


A method for manufacturing a semiconductor memory device includes forming a first silicon layer on a bottom conductive layer, transforming the first silicon layer into a first polysilicon layer, forming a second silicon layer stacked on the first polysilicon layer, and a third silicon layer stacked on the second silicon layer, transforming the second and third silicon layers into second and third polysilicon layers, wherein the first and third polysilicon layers have a first doping type, and the second polysilicon layer has a second doping type different from the first doping type, forming an amorphous silicon layer on the third polysilicon layer, and forming a top conductive layer on the amorphous silicon layer.

Memory cells may include, for example, phase-change random-access memory (PCRAM), resistive random-access memory (RRAM or ReRAM), magnetic random-access memory (MRAM), and/or fuse/anti-fuse devices. Selector devices may include, for example, diodes (e.g., unipolar or bipolar), and other 2-terminal (e.g., ovonic threshold switch (OTS)) or 3-terminal devices (e.g. field-effect transistors (FETs) and bipolar junction transistors (BJTs)).
RRAM devices have a three-layer structure of a top electrode, switching medium and bottom electrode. A resistance switching mechanism utilizes a filament formed in the switching material upon application of a voltage to the two electrodes. With RRAM technology, a silicon-based switching material can be used for metallic filament formation. For example, filamental resistive memory has been demonstrated with amorphous silicon/crystalline silicon (a-Si/c-Si) heterojunctions.
RRAM devices can be stacked in a three-dimensional (3D) configuration. Commercially available 3D RRAM devices include Crossbar™ ReRAM, from Crossbar, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., and 3D XPoint™, from Intel Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif. Storage in the 3D RRAM devices is based on resistance changes in a stackable cross-gridded data access array.
Back-end-of-line (BEOL) requirements for selector devices to enable 3D stacking can include, for example, selector device fabrication temperatures below ˜400° C. to prevent damage to BEOL metal lines, and after fabrication, selector devices being able to withstand temperatures of ˜400° C., which may be the metallization temperature of upper layers.
There is a need for resistive memory devices, such as RRAM and 3D RRAM, and methods of fabricating same, which are compatible with BEOL structures and techniques.

Resistive memory with amorphous silicon filaments

International Business Machines Corporation


An authentication apparatus comprises an extraction part configured to extract a feature of a face from a face image of a user; a plurality of classifiers configured to identify the user by determining whether or not the feature extracted by the extraction part matches a feature of a face stored in a storage apparatus; a deriving part configured to derive a specific condition based on at least one of the feature extracted by the extraction part and information for authenticating the user; a selecting part configured to select at least one of the classifiers based on the specific condition; and an authentication part configured to authenticate the user when the selected classifier determines that the feature extracted by the extraction part matches the feature of the face stored in the storage.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an authentication apparatus and the like capable of authenticating a user registered in advance.
2. Related Art
It is important to ensure rigid security. For example, in a system enabling access to highly confidential personal information, it is essential to provide an apparatus that authenticates users registered in advance and rejects those accessing illegally.
On the other hand, high degree of accuracy in authentication and burden borne by user for the authentication are likely to be trade-off. For example, when a user is repeatedly requested to input a password in order to ensure authentication of the user, the burden borne by the user increases.
In order to solve the above trade-off, so-called "biometrics authentication" attracts attention. That is, an authentication apparatus performing authentication using biometrics information unique to each user such as fingerprint, vein and pupil is widely studied as an apparatus capable of achieving not only rigid security but also simple authentication (user's convenience). Among the above authentication apparatuses, "face authentication" using user's face is extensively studied as an authentication method causing the least burden borne by the user.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-92119 (published on Apr. 22, 2010) describes a control apparatus quickly performing collation processing of input data and registered data while maintaining a high degree of security and collation accuracy. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-233119 (published on Nov. 17, 2011) describes a measuring apparatus that achieves robust and high-speed attribute identification in a face direction of a subject.
Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-141542 (published on May 16, 2003) describes a collation apparatus capable of maintaining a certain level of collation performance even when a similar face pattern exists in a dictionary for face collation.
However, the face authentication system using user's face as biometrics information involves the following two problems.
The first problem is that, in a classifier used in an authentication apparatus, the generalization performance and the identification performance are trade-off. More specifically, for example, when the classifier is designed to achieve identification performance even when a user executes face authentication in a manner different from a face image registered in advance (a case where the user registers a face image without wearing glasses, and the user tries to perform authentication with glasses on), the classifier is unable to identify the user under a particular condition, and the authentication accuracy of the authentication apparatus is extremely degraded.
The second problem is that a condition for selecting the classifier is not always given before the classifier performs identification. For the first problem, the following solution may be considered: the authentication apparatus has multiple classifiers specialized in particular conditions, and selects and uses the multiple classifiers in accordance with the condition. However, the condition for the selection may not be given before the selection.
None of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-92119, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-233119, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-141542 solves the first problem and the second problem explained above at the same time. For example, the control apparatus described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-92119 narrows down registration data by high-speed but low accuracy collation processing, and then switches to low-speed but high accuracy collation processing, thus trying to solve the first problem. However, the second problem is not considered. The technique described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-233119 or Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-141542 solves either one of the problems.
The present invention is made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an authentication apparatus and the like achieving highly-accurate face authentication in wide range of circumstances by solving the first problem and the second problem at the same time.

Authentication apparatus, control method of authentication apparatus, control program and recording medium


A pulse detonation combustor including a plurality of nozzles engaged with one another via mating surfaces to support a gas discharge annulus in a circumferential direction. The pulse detonation combustor also including multiple pulse detonation tubes extending for the nozzles and a plurality of thermal expansion control joints coupled to the plurality of pulse detonation tubes. Each of the plurality of thermal expansion control joints is configured to facilitate independent thermal growth of each of the plurality of pulse detonation tubes. The thermal expansion control joints may be configured as a bellows expansion joint or a sliding expansion joint.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a pulse detonation combustor, and, more specifically, to an arrangement of pulse detonation tubes within a pulse detonation combustor that accommodates thermal growth of the pulse detonation tubes.
Gas turbine engines include one or more combustors, which receive and combust compressed air and fuel to produce hot combustion gases. Certain turbine engine concepts employ a pulse detonation combustor that includes one or more pulse detonation tubes configured to combust the fuel-air mixture using a detonation reaction. Within a pulse detonation tube, the combustion reaction is driven by a detonation wave that moves at supersonic speed, thereby increasing the efficiency of the combustion process. Specifically, air and fuel are typically injected into the pulse detonation tube in discrete pulses. The fuel-air mixture is then detonated by an ignition source, thereby establishing a detonation wave that propagates through the tube at a supersonic velocity. The detonation process produces pressurized exhaust gas within the pulse detonation tube that ultimately drives a turbine to rotate.
Unfortunately, due to the high temperatures and pressures associated with detonation reactions, longevity of the pulse detonation tubes and associated components may be significantly limited. Specifically, nozzles that direct exhaust gas from the pulse detonation tubes to the turbine inlet may experience high thermal stress, thereby limiting the useful life of such nozzles. In addition, thermal expansion of the pulse detonation tubes requires complex mounting and sealing configurations to maintain an entrance angle of exhaust gas into the turbine and efficiency of the turbine engine.
Therefore, there is a need for a new and improved pulse detonation combustor that addresses the high temperatures and pressures associated with detonation reactions and the resulting complex mounting and sealing configurations that facilitate thermal growth of the pulse detonation tube.


A positive electrode for a lithium-sulfur battery and a lithium-sulfur battery including the same have a positive electrode that includes a positive active material, a conductor, an organic binder, and an additive. The positive active material includes at least one selected from elemental sulfur, a sulfur-based compound, or a mixture thereof. The additive includes a polymer having at least one amino nitrogen group in main chains or side chains.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a positive electrode for a lithium-sulfur battery and a lithium-sulfur battery and article of manufacture including the same, and more particularly, to a positive electrode for a lithium-sulfur battery providing a lithium-sulfur battery with a high capacity.
2. Description of the Related Art
The recent trend toward more compact and lighter portable electronic equipment has increased a need for a high performance and high capacity battery to provide electric power for portable electronic equipment. The low equivalent weight of lithium renders lithium attractive as a battery electrode component for improving weight ratios. The low equivalent weight and low cost, as well as the nontoxicity of sulfur, also renders sulfur an attractive candidate for a battery component.
A lithium-sulfur secondary battery uses a sulfur-based compound with sulfur-sulfur bonds as a positive active material, and lithium metal or a carbon-based compound as a negative active material. The carbon-based compound in which intercalation chemistry occurs, includes graphite, graphite intercalation compounds, carbonaceous materials, and carbonaceous materials inserted with lithium. Upon discharge (electrochemical reduction), sulfur-sulfur bond breaking occurs, resulting in a decrease in the oxidation number of S, and upon recharging (electrochemical oxidation), a sulfur-sulfur bond formation occurs, leading to an increase in the oxidation number of S.
However, employing a positive electrode based on elemental sulfur in an alkali metal-sulfur battery system has been considered problematic. Although theoretically the reduction of sulfur to an alkali metal-sulfide confers a large specific energy, sulfur is known to be an excellent insulator, and problems using sulfur as an electrode have been noted. Common problems referred to by those skilled in the art include very low percentages of utilization and a low lifecycle characteristic as a result of the sulfur and lithium sulfide (Li2S) dissolved and diffused from the positive electrode.
One scheme to address such problems is the choice of a binder. The requirements for the binder include: an ability to enhance the mechanical integrity of the positive electrode, no reaction with an electrolyte, stability at battery working temperatures, solubility in organic solvents used in slurry, and insolubility in electrolytes.
Examples of conventional binders that satisfy these requirements are polyethylene oxide or polyvinyl pyrrolidone. However, polyethylene oxide has poor adhesion, and polyvinyl pyrrolidone has somewhat poor adhesion. Such poor adhesion necessitates the use of a large amount of binder, which results in a decrease in the amount of positive active material in the positive electrode, causing a decreased capacity.

Positive electrode for lithium-sulfur battery and lithium-sulfur battery and article of manufacture including same


A lead frame for a semiconductor package having not only high molding resin adhesiveness and a low delamination problem under a severe moisture absorbing atmosphere but also high interface adhesiveness and solder wettability of an Au wire, and a method of manufacturing the lead frame are provided. The lead frame includes a base metal layer formed of a metal and a plurality of plating layers having different components formed on at least a surface of the base metal layer, wherein the plating layers include, a Ni plating layer deposited on at least a surface of the base metal layer and formed of Ni or an Ni alloy, a Pd plating layer stacked on at least a surface of the Ni plating layer and formed of Pd or a Pd alloy, and a protection plating layer stacked on at least a surface of the Pd plating layer and formed of Au or an Au alloy, wherein the Ni plating layer is formed to have a predetermined a thickness and a surface coarseness.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lead frame for a semiconductor package having high molding compound adhesiveness.
2. Description of the Related Art
A lead frame together with a semiconductor chip constitutes a semiconductor package. The lead frame facilitates connection of the semiconductor package to an external terminal (e.g., a PCB) and also supports the semiconductor chip.
FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a typical lead frame for a semiconductor package. Referring to FIG. 1, a lead frame 1 includes a die pad 2 and a plurality of leads connected thereto. The die pad 2 is connected to a pad supporting unit 3 by a rail 7 and supports a semiconductor chip (not shown).
The plurality of leads includes a plurality of inner leads 4 and a plurality of outer leads 5. A dam bar 6 that maintains a gap and supports the gap is formed between the inner leads 4 and the outer leads 5. The dam bar 6 and the rail 7 are removed after the assembling of the semiconductor package is completed.
A lead frame such as one having the above-described structure together with a semiconductor chip (e.g., a memory device) constitutes a semiconductor package through an assembling process. An example assembling process includes a die attaching process, a wire bonding process, and a molding process. The die attaching process is a process for attaching a semiconductor chip (die) to a pad of a lead frame, the wire bonding process is a process for connecting by bonding a terminal unit of a semiconductor chip to an inner lead of a lead frame using a metal, such as gold, and the molding process is a process for sealing a chip, wires, and inner leads using an insulating material, such as a molding resin, for example, epoxy molding compound (EMC).
To increase the adhesiveness of the semiconductor chip to the pad in the die attaching process and to improve the capability of bonding wires to the inner leads 4 in the wire bonding process, a metal having predetermined characteristics can be coated on the die pad 2 and the inner lead 4. Also, to improve the solder wettability of the outer leads 5 in the assembling process after the molding process, a soldering base can be plated on a predetermined portion of the outer leads 5 using, for example, a Tin-Lead (Sn—Pb) alloy.
However, the soldering base plating process is complicated and exposed Lead (Pb) and a Pb plating solution can cause an environmental problem. Also, a process for removing non-uniformity of the plating layer is required in the process of the soldering base plating. Also, the failure of a semiconductor chip occurs due to the penetration of the plating solution between a surface of the lead frame and the molding resin.
To solve the above problems, a pre-plated frame method has been proposed. In this method, the Pb plating process can be omitted in a subsequent process by pre-plating a material having high solder wettability on a metal upper layer before performing the semiconductor packaging process. A lead frame that has pre-plated using the pre-plated frame method draws attention due to a simple subsequent process and the reduced environmental problem by omitting Pb plating in the semiconductor packaging process.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a lead frame manufactured using a conventional pre-plated frame method. Referring to FIG. 2, a Nickel (Ni) plating layer 12 is entirely formed on the base metal layer 11, which contains Cu as a main component, and a Palladium (Pd) plating layer 13 is directly formed on the Ni plating layer 12. That is, Ni and Pd are sequentially plated on the base metal layer 11.
When a lead frame having an uppermost Pd layer is used, an environmental problem of exposed Pb is avoided and a semiconductor packaging process can be simplified. However, due to heat generated from the semiconductor assembling process the Pd plating layer 13 forms an oxidized Pd compound, which may adversely affect physical properties (e.g., electrical conductivity, adhesiveness, etc.) of the Pd layer 13. In particular, oxidation of the Pd plating layer 13 reduces interface adhesiveness (wire bonding capability) and solder wettability between a gold wire and the lead frame. Also, when the Pd plating layer 13 absorbs hydrogen during plating, the Pd plating layer 13 becomes weakened/embrittled and made susceptible to cracking due to an impact.
Various lead frames to solve the foregoing problems have been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,469,386. Two such lead frames are illustrated herein as FIGS. 3A and 3B. In one lead frame illustrated in FIG. 3A, a Ni plating layer 22, a Pd layer 23 and a Gold (Au) plating layer 24 are sequentially formed on a base metal layer 21. In another lead frame illustrated in FIG. 3B, a Ni or Ni alloy plating layer 22′, a Pd or Pd alloy plating layer 23′ and an Au—Pd alloy plating layer 24′ are sequentially formed on the base metal layer 21. The structure of the plating layers 22, 23, 24 and 22′, 23′, 24′ is substantially the same as the structure depicted in FIG. 2 with the addition of the uppermost Au plating layer 24 or the Au—Pd alloy plating layer 24′.
The oxidation resistance of Au is greater than Pd. Therefore, as depicted in FIG. 3A, when a pure Au plating layer 24 is formed on the uppermost part pf a lead frame, the Au plating layer 24 prevents the Pd plating player 23 from being oxidized during a semiconductor packaging process in which a thermal process is performed, thereby solving the conventional low wire bonding capability and solder wettability problems.
However, disadvantageously, a molding resin generally has low affinity to a surface of a pure metal or alloy. Further, it is known that, in comparison to a surface of pure metal or alloy, when an oxide layer is formed on the surface of the pure metal or alloy, the adhesiveness of the molding resin is improved. Therefore, when a pure Au plating layer is formed on a contact surface of the molding resin as an oxidation preventing layer for Pd, the adhesiveness of the molding resin is reduced.
One known way to improve adhesiveness of the molding resin to the metal surface is depicted in FIG. 3B, when the Au—Pd alloy plating layer 24′ composed of Au and Pd is formed on the Pd or Pd alloy plating layer 23′, the adhesiveness between the molding resin and the Au—Pd alloy plating layer 24′ is increased by the oxidation of exposed surface Pd portions.
Recently, the method of manufacturing an environment-friendly semiconductor package draws attention. To manufacture an environmental problem-free semiconductor package, high adhesiveness between a lead frame and the molding resin is required under a severe atmosphere in which temperature and humidity are very high. However, under the severe atmosphere, the Au—Pd alloy plating layer 24′ has poor adhesiveness with the molding resin.
That is, as it will be described later, according to the result of a moisture sensitivity level (MSL) evaluation through a coupon test after passing 168 hours under an atmosphere of temperature of 85° C. and a relative humidity of 85%, the severe delamination of layers is observed and the adhesiveness of the molding resin is reduced. Therefore, the adhesiveness of the molding resin is degraded under a severe atmosphere, such as a high humidity condition.


A base station according to the present invention includes a decision unit that computes an allowable throughput of each terminal for each of combinations of modulation systems and code rates in the case in which the base station accommodates a predetermined accommodation number of terminals in advance, compares a minimum reserved traffic rate of the terminal that is the control target and the allowable throughput, and decides a minimum physical rate at which the bandwidth is reserved based on the compared results; and a control unit that executes the control for the terminal that is the control target postulating that the adaptive modulation is executed for the terminal that is the control target at the minimum physical rate decided by the decision unit.

In the WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) Forum, the WiMAX System Profile has been established on the basis of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 802.16 standard. A WiMAX radio communication system is disclosed, for example, in Patent Literature 1.
In the WiMAX radio communication system, data are transmitted and received on the basis of every sub-frame, the OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) system is used as a multi-access connection system, and the TDD (Time Division Duplex) system is used as a duplex system.
The OFDMA system is a system that divides a frequency domain into sub-channels and a time domain into symbols and allocates bandwidths as slots that represent the divided domain to MSs (Mobile Stations).
The TDD system is a system that switches between a DL sub-frame and a UL sub-frame on the time domain using the same frequency for a DL (Down Link) and a UL (Up Link) between a BS (Base Station) and an MS.
In this part, with reference to FIG. 1, a frame structure of the WiMAX radio communication system will be briefly described.
Referring to FIG. 1, in the frame structure of the WiMAX, DL sub-frames and UL sub-frames are switched on the time domain (TDD system). Provided between a DL subframe and a UL subframe that are adjacent to are gap times referred to as a TTG (Transmit/Receive Transition Gap) and an RTG (Receive/Transmit Transition Gap).
In the DL sub-frame and the UL sub-frame, bandwidths are allocated as slots to MSs and data are transmitted thereto using the allocated bandwidths (OFDMA system).
Provided at the beginning of the DL sub-frame is a Preamble region including a Pilot signal, followed by a MAP region and so forth that include a signal that denotes what slots of the DL sub-frame and the UL sub-frame have been allocated to each MS. They are followed by regions (DL Bursts) that are allocated to each MS as a bandwidth for which DL data are transmitted.
On the other hand, provided at the beginning of the UL sub-frame are an Ranging region and so forth that include a Ranging signal that executes Ranging for adjustment of timing, frequency, and power on the MS side. They are followed by regions (UL Bursts) allocated to each MS as a bandwidth for which UL data are transmitted.
Moreover, the WiMAX radio communication system deals with an adaptive modulation system. The adaptive modulation system is a system that adaptively changes modulation systems and code rates of DL data and UL data between the BS and each MS depending on the propagation environment of each MS. Furthermore, in the WiMAX, data transmission speed according to a combination of a modulation system and a code rate has been specified and this data transmission speed is referred to as the physical rate.
In addition, the WiMAX radio communication system deals with a QoS (Quality of Service) class. In other words, the WiMAX radio communication system reserves bandwidths for MSs that belong to a particular QoS class such as the UGS (Unsolicited Grant Service), the ERT-VR (Extended Real Time-Variable Rate Service), the RT (Real Time)-VR, or the NRT (Non Real Time)-VR.
In this part, with reference to FIG. 2, an adaptive modulation operation for an MS that belongs to a QoS class that necessitates reservation of a bandwidth in this WiMAX radio communication system will be described.
In FIG. 2, the lower illustrations represent the relationship of positions of the BS and MS#1˜MS#3 that belong to a QoS class that necessitates reservation of bandwidths, whereas the upper illustrations represent a DL sub-frame that is transmitted from the BS to the MS#1˜MS#3 in the state that the relationship of positions shown in the lower illustrations is satisfied (these conditions apply to FIG. 3 and FIG. 6).
Referring to FIG. 2, it is assumed that the MS#1˜MS#3 are located close to the BS, that is the center of the cell, in the initial state (state 1).
When an MS is located close to the center of the cell, data can be transmitted at a high physical rate. Thus, in state 1, the BS applies, for example, a 16 QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) 3/4 (the first part represents a modulation system, whereas the second part represents a code rate; these conditions apply to the description that follows) having a high physical rate as a combination of a modulation system and a code rate for the MS#1˜MS#3. In the following, an area to which the 16 QAM 3/4 is applied is referred to as the 16 QAM area.
The number of slots that necessitates reservation of a bandwidth depends on the physical rate such that the lower the physical rate is, the more the number of slots is required. In state 1, since the 16 QAM 3/4 that applies to the MS#1˜MS#3 has a high physical rate, the number of slots that necessitates reservation of bandwidths for the MS#1˜MS#3 is small. Thus, the BS can accommodate all the MS#1˜MS#3 and the free space of the bandwidth of the DL sub-frame becomes large.
Then, it is assumed that the MS#1 has exited from the 16 QAM area and has moved toward the edge direction of the cell (state 2).
Then, the BS performs the adaptive modulation for the MS#1 so as to apply, for example, a QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) 1/2 having a low physical rate as a combination of a modulation system and a code rate for the MS#1. Hereinafter, the area to which the QPSK 1/2 applies is referred to as the QPSK area. On the other hand, since the QPSK 1/2 that applies to the MS#1 is at a low physical rate, the number of slots that necessitates reservation of a bandwidth for the MS#1 increases.
However, since the free space of the bandwidth of the DL sub-frame is large in state 1, even if the number of slots that necessitates reservation of the bandwidth for the MS#1 increases, the BS can still accommodate all the MS#1˜MS#3. However, since the MS#1 occupies the bandwidth of the DL sub-frame, it's free space becomes small.
Then, it is assumed that the MS#2 has moved from the 16 QAM area to the QPSK area (state 3).
Then, the BS performs the adaptive modulation for the MS#2 so as to apply the QPSK 1/2 having a low physical rate as a combination of a modulation system and a code rate of the MS#2.
However, since the free space of the bandwidth of the DL sub-frame is small in state 2, the BS cannot allocate a bandwidth according to the physical rate of the QPSK 1/2 to the MS#2, resulting in a drop of the physical rate of the MS#2. On the other hand, since there are no slots that can be allocated to the MS#3, the BS cannot allocate slots to the MS#3 until the next sub-frame occurs.
Thus, in the WiMAX radio communication system, to solve the foregoing problem, the BS can perform a control referred to as the Admission Control. The Admission Control is a reception control for the adaptive modulation such that the BS deals with an MS that belongs to a QoS class that necessitates reservation of a bandwidth in MSs for which the BS executes the adaptive modulation and determines whether or not the BS can accommodate MS when executing the adaptive modulation for MS. The BS does not change the physical rate of MSs for which the BS has determined that it cannot accommodate MSs.
In this part, with reference to FIG. 3, an adaptive modulation operation that involves the Admission Control for MSs that belong to a QoS class that necessitates reservation of bandwidths in the WiMAX radio communication system will be described. The relationship of positions in the lower illustrations shown in FIG. 3 is the same as that shown in FIG. 2.
Referring to FIG. 3, it is assumed that the MS#1˜MS#3 are located in the 16 QAM area in the initial state like the case shown in FIG. 2 (state 1). At this point, bandwidths have been allocated to the MS#1˜MS#3 like the case shown in FIG. 2 and the free space of the bandwidth of the DL sub-frame becomes large.
Then, it is assumed that the MS#1 has moved from the 16 QAM area to the QPSK area (state 2)
Then, the BS executes the Admission Control for the MS#1 so as to determine whether or not the BS can allocate a bandwidth according to the physical rate of the QPSK 1/2 to the MS#1 when executing the adaptive modulation for the MS#1 according to the QPSK 1/2. At this point, since the free space of the bandwidth of the DL sub-frame is large in state 1, the BS determines that it can allocate a bandwidth to the MS#1 and accommodate the MS#1. Thus, the BS accommodates all the MS#1˜MS#3 even in state 2. However, since the MS#1 occupies the bandwidth of the DL sub-frame, it's free space becomes small.
Then, it is assumed that the MS#2 has moved from the 16 QAM area to the QPSK area (state 3).
Then, the BS executes the Admission Control for the MS#2 like the case of the MS#1. However, since the free space of the bandwidth of the DL sub-frame is small in state 2, the BS determines that it cannot allocate a bandwidth to the MS#2. Thus, communication errors frequency occur in the MS#2 that cannot use an appropriate physical rate and exits from the entry of the BS. In this case, since the priority of the MS#2 is the same as that of the MS#1, unfairness take place.

Radio communication systems, base stations, radio communication methods, and programs


An apparatus to measure ease of ironing comprises a base supporting a vertical rail assembly; a lockable roller bearing block that rolls vertically on a vertical rail assembly for locking and raising and lowering the block at a selected location according to the raising and lowering along the vertical rail assembly. An adjustably inclinable ironing board for accommodating a test cloth is supported at one end by the lockable roller bearing block. The block is raised and lowered along the vertical rail assembly; a standard ironing structure secured overhead to the guide strut and resting at or near the board upper end includes a release mechanism, which releases the iron. The iron moves along the incline and a start sensor and a finish sensor sense the glide of the ironing structure down the board for measuring ease of ironing when the standard ironing board is in an inclined position.

The invention relates to an apparatus and method to evaluate ease to iron a fabric or textile.
Ease of ironing is an important claim in fabric care applications. Fabrics and textile treatments that can be incorporated into clothing items that reduce effort in ironing or increase ease of ironing are important. Ease of ironing should not be confused with wrinkle reduction, which may be realized by chemical energy. Ease of ironing is the smoothing of a fabric with a flat object achieved by applying mechanical force to the fabric. Ease of ironing is reduction in the amount of labor or effort to iron.
Consumer care customers use various ease of ironing test protocols to evaluate a reduction in amount of effort involved to iron. Rose, U.S. Pat. No. 3,976,583 relates to a fabric treatment that has a lubricating effect that reduces frictional resistance to the movement of an iron. Thus the effort of ironing garments treated with the Rose compositions is appreciably lessened. The Rose patent further discloses a method and mechanism for determining "ironing ease." In the Rose test method, cotton and polyester/cotton handkerchiefs are washed at 140° F. in a 0.1 percent solution of an anionic detergent-based commercial heavy duty household washing composition ("Cheer"—Procter and Gamble) for 10 minutes, rinsed in water at 105° F. for 10 minutes, spin-dried and tumble-dried at 140° F. for 20 minutes. A 20/1 ratio of water to dry fabric by weight is used in both the wash and rinse. The rinse water for reference fabrics contained no additives other than the 7 gr/gal. hardness present in all wash and rinse solutions. The treatment rinse contained varying amounts of ammonioamidate or a quaternary ammonium compound. Rose then determined "ease of ironing" by a measurement of frictional force within a fabric and between fabric and an iron using a modified Instrom tensile strength apparatus. In Rose, ironing is continued to an end point of removal of wrinkles from the fabrics. The ironing effort tensile strength values relative to water rinsed cotton at a value of 100 and water rinsed polyester/cotton blend at a value of 63 are determined by the Instrom instrument.
The Instrom instrument is designed for a wide variety of uses, only one of which is tensile strength. First, it is questionable whether a tensile reading is relatable to ease of ironing in a real operational environment. Additionally, the Rose methodology to determine "ease of ironing" on this instrument is not always accurate. The methodology to prepare samples and to operate the Instrom instrument is complex and often inaccurate. As such, the Instrom instrument is of little real value for the specific measuring of a fabric's ironing ease.
There is a need for a standardized, simple apparatus and method to quickly measure and compare an ease of ironing metric among test cloths to permit selection of cloth compositions and treatments that provide superior ease of ironing and appearance.

Ease of ironing measuring apparatus and method


An interface (10) for connecting a calculator (12) to a standard television (11), so that the calculator""s display can be re-displayed on the television (1). The interface also receives input from a pointing device (10a) such as a mouse, which permits the areas of the television display to be pointed to, highlighted, or otherwise manipulated.

This invention relates to handheld calculators, and more particularly to an interface for reformatting calculator display signals so that they are suitable for display on a television and also for adding additional content to the display, such as input from a pointing device or a display of the calculator keypad.
Electronic calculators have become an essential tool for everyone. Consumers have a wide choice of calculator types and models.
Many persons own relatively inexpensive scientific calculators with one or two line displays, but recently more and more persons are discovering the advantages of xe2x80x9cbig-screenxe2x80x9d calculators characterized by a two-dimensional display screen capable of displaying graphs and other graphical images. These calculators are often called xe2x80x9cgraphing calculatorsxe2x80x9d because the popularity of these calculators for use in teaching various types of graphs and plots.
Calculators with these larger display screens are especially popular for educational applications. When these calculators are used in a classroom, it is often desired to duplicate the calculator display on an even larger screen suitable for viewing by an entire room full of students. The conventional approach is to use an overhead projector for such displays.
One aspect of the invention is an interface that receives display data input from a calculator and outputs a video signal, for use by a video device such as a television. A processing unit and program memory cooperate to receive the display data from the calculator and to reformat the data as video data. The processing unit is also programmed to receive input from a pointing device, such as a mouse. Input data from the pointing device is processed so as to permit areas of the video image to be pointed to, highlighted, or otherwise manipulated.
Enhancements of the interface include the addition of a display of the keypad. The interface can be programmed so that the pointing device can be used to make selections from keypad display, thereby providing simulated operation of the calculator. The interface can be further programmed to provide a display of keystroke sequences.
An advantage of the invention is that it permits an instructor to point to areas on the television screen. This helps focus the attention of students on the matter being taught. Simultaneous display of the both calculator display and the keypad on the television screen helps students to better follow the instructor and to more effectively learn to use the calculator.

Television interface for handheld calculator for enhanced television display


A method for operating an internal combustion engine having a plurality of cylinders includes: measuring, by exhaust gas sensors arranged at an exhaust gas of every cylinder for which cylinder-specific combustion control is carried out, for each respective cylinder, at least one actual combustion value; comparing each respective measured actual combustion value with a reference combustion value to determine at least one cylinder-specific control deviation for every cylinder for which cylinder-specific combustion control is carried out; determining at least one cylinder-specific control variable for every cylinder for which cylinder-specific combustion control is carried out based on the cylinder-specific control deviation or on every cylinder-specific control deviation; and operating each cylinder for which cylinder-specific combustion control is carried out based on the respective cylinder-specific control variable to bring the respective actual combustion value closer to the respective reference combustion value and minimize the respective control deviation.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a method for the operation of an internal combustion engine having a plurality of cylinders, namely, a method for cylinder-specific combustion control in at least some cylinders, preferably all of the cylinders, of the internal combustion engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Internal combustion engines must meet increasingly stricter emission limit values. One possibility for meeting these emission limit values is to optimize the operation of the internal combustion engine by a control. In this regard, it is also already generally known in internal combustion engines to control the individual cylinders of the internal combustion engine individually.
DE 10 2005 058 820 A1 discloses a method for operation of an internal combustion engine, particularly a self-igniting internal combustion engine, in which at least one quantity characterizing a respective course of combustion in an associated combustion chamber is calculated in a cylinder-specific manner. The controlling of cylinder-specific fuel injection parameters is influenced depending on this at least one quantity characterizing the combustion curve. This is carried out in that a cylinder pressure is measured at the cylinders so that a quantity characterizing the combustion in the respective cylinder can be calculated depending on the cylinder pressure measurement. Actual combustion values calculated in this way are compared with corresponding reference combustion values in order to influence cylinder-specific fuel injection parameters depending on a control deviation as control variables for the cylinders.
When the actual combustion values are calculated, for example, from the measured cylinder pressure as proposed in DE 10 2005 058 820 A1, the combustion in the cylinders of the internal combustion engine can only be optimized to a limited extent for complying with emission limit values. This is because, among other things, no information about wear or about changes in the injection characteristics of fuel injection nozzles can be gained from the cylinder pressure.

Method for operation of an internal combustion engine


A filter screen for an integrated valve is disclosed, which is inserted into an integral bore of a housing. The filter screen has a retention protrusion, which upon insertion can be put from an assembly position into a retention position.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a filter screen and to an integrated valve assembly having a filter screen.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Such filter screens for hydraulic components are known from the LEE Company (Internet: www.theleeco.com). They relate for instance to a filter screen introduced into a flow conduit in a hydraulic arrangement. This filter screen serves to filter solid substances out of the pressure fluid, to minimize contamination. Among others, a distinction is made between filters that can be operated in two flow directions and those that can be used for only one flow direction. Such filter screens are fixed in the flow conduit via their own thread or via additional fastening means. A disadvantage of this version is first that the flow conduit must have narrow production tolerances, so that such a filter screen can be assembled, and second, that the assembly is quite complex.

Filter screen and integrated valve with a filter screen


A signal reception apparatus comprises a receiver configured to receive a symbol block within a symbol period of a wireless communication network and a control information demodulator/decoder configured for demultiplexing control information and data information from the received symbol block.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wireless communication system based on frequency division multiple access. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for multiplexing and transmitting data and control information in a wireless communication system based on frequency division multiple access.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent developments in broadcasting and mobile communication systems technology has led to the wide use of an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) transmission scheme. The OFDM scheme eliminates the interference between multi-path signals, which is frequently found in wireless communication channels. Also, the OFDM scheme guarantees the orthogonality between multiple access users and facilitates an efficient use of resources. Therefore, the OFDM scheme is available for high speed data transmission and broadband systems more than the conventional Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) scheme. However, the OFDM scheme is a multi-carrier transmission scheme, in which transmission data is distributed to multiple sub-carriers and is then transmitted in parallel. This causes the OFDM scheme to increase the Peak-to-Average Power Ratio (PAPR) of the transmission signals.
A large PAPR causes distortion of output signals in a Radio Frequency (RF) power amplifier of a transmitter. Therefore, in order to solve such a problem, the transmitter requires power back-off to reduce the input power to the amplifier. Therefore, when the OFDM scheme is applied to the uplink of a mobile communication system, a terminal must perform the power back-off for the transmission signals, which results in the reduction of the cell coverage.
Interleaved Frequency Division Multiple Access (IFDMA) is being actively researched as a solution to solve the PAPR problem of the OFDM technology. The IFDMA guarantees the orthogonality between the multiple access users like the OFDM and is a technology based on a single sub-carrier, which shows a very low PAPR of transmission signals. Applying the IFDMA to a mobile communication system reduces the problem of cell coverage reduction due to the PAPR increase.
FIG. 1 illustrates a structure of a typical IFDMA transmitter.
Although the structure shown in FIG. 1 uses a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) unit 104 and an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) unit 106, exemplary embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the shown structure and can be implemented by additional structures. The implementation that uses the FFT unit 104 and the IFFT unit 106 is advantageous because it facilitates an easy change of IFDMA system parameters without a high hardware complexity.
The OFDM and the IFDMA may have the following differences in the aspect of transmitter structure. In addition to the IFFT unit 106 which is used for multi-carrier transmission in the OFDM transmitter, the IFDMA transmitter includes the FFT unit 104 located before the IFFT unit 106. Therefore, the transmission modulation (TX) symbols 100 in FIG. 1 are input to the FFT unit 104 block by block, each of which includes M number of transmission modulation symbols. The block is referred to as "symbol block," and the period at which the symbol block is input to the FFT unit is referred to as "symbol block period." The signals output from the FFT unit 104 are input to the IFFT unit 106 at equal intervals, so that the IFDMA transmission signal elements are transmitted in the frequency domain by sub-carriers of equal intervals. In this process, it is usual for the input/output size N of the IFFT unit 106 to have a larger value than that of the input/output size M of the FFT unit 104. In the OFDM transmitter, the transmission symbol blocks 100 are directly input to the IFFT unit 106 without passing through the FFT unit 104 and are then transmitted by multiple sub-carriers, thereby generating a PAPR with a large value.
In the IFDMA transmitter, the transmission symbols are pre-processed by the FFT unit 104 before being processed by the IFFT unit 106. This occurs even though the transmission symbols are finally processed by the IFFT unit 106 before being transmitted by multiple carriers. The pre-processing of the transmission symbols makes it possible, due to the counterbalancing between the FFT unit 104 and the IFFT unit 106, to have an effect similar to that which occurs when the output signals of the IFFT unit 106 are transmitted by a single sub-carrier, thereby achieving a low PAPR. Finally, the outputs of the IFFT unit 106 are converted to a serial stream by a Parallel-to-Serial Converter (PSC) 102. Before the serial stream is then transmitted, a Cyclic Prefix (CP) or guard interval is attached to the serial stream as it is in the OFDM system, to prevent interference between multi-path channel signal elements.
FIG. 2 illustrates a structure of a transmitter based on a Localized Frequency Division Multiple Access (LFDMA) technique, which is similar to the IFDMA technique. The LFDMA technique also guarantees the orthogonality between multiple access users, is based on single carrier transmission, and can achieve a PAPR lower than that of the OFDM. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the difference between the LFDMA and the IFDMA in the view of transmitter structure is that the outputs of the FFT unit 204 turn into inputs to the IFFT unit 206, which have sequential indexes following the last index of the FFT unit 204. In the frequency domain, the LFDMA signals occupy the band constituted by adjacent sub-carriers used when the outputs of the FFT unit 204 are mapped into the inputs of the IFFT unit 206. In other words, in the frequency domain, the IFDMA signals occupy the sub-carrier bands (sub-bands) distributed at an equal interval, and the LFDMA signals occupy the sub-band constituted by adjacent sub-carriers.
In order to apply the IFDMA and LFDMA based systems to a broadcasting or mobile communication system, it is necessary to transmit data as well as control information and a pilot signal for demodulating and decoding the data in a receiver. The pilot signal has a guaranteed pattern between a transmitter and a receiver. Therefore, when a received signal has a distortion due to a wireless fading channel, the receiver can estimate and eliminate, based on the pilot signal, the distortion in the received signal due to the wireless fading channel. The control information includes a modulation scheme applied to the transmitted data, a channel coding scheme, a data block size, and Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARD)-related information such as a serve packet ID. By receiving the control information, the receiver can understand the information applied to the transmitted data to perform various operations including demodulation and decoding of the received data.
According to the CDMA technique widely applied to current mobile communication systems, the data, control information, and pilot signal are transmitted by using different channelization codes. This allows the receiver to separate and detect the signals without interference. According to the OFDM technique, the data, control information, and pilot signal are transmitted by different sub-carriers or after being temporally divided.
Since the control information is not a large quantity of information capable of totally occupying one time slot, application of the time division-based multiplexing scheme may result in an unnecessary waste of resources. When the control information is transmitted by a separate sub-carrier different from that which carries the data as it does in the OFDM scheme, it is problematic in that the transmitted signal has an increased PAPR.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved method and apparatus for multiplexing data and control information to lower a PAPR of a transmitted signal and to facilitate resource efficiency in an IFDMA or LFDMA-based communication system.

Method and apparatus for multiplexing data and control information in wireless communication systems based on frequency division multiple access


In an approach for a text block recognition in a document, a processor detects characters in the document using an object detection technique. A processor identifies positions of the detected characters in the document. A processor analyzes semantic connectivity among the detected characters based on the positions and semantic connectivity of the characters. A processor recognizes text blocks of related characters based on the semantic connectivity analysis. A processor outputs the text blocks associated with the related characters.

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of object recognition, and more particularly to text block recognition and table reconstruction from a document.
Object recognition is a technology in the field of computer vision for finding and identifying objects in an image or video sequence. Optical character recognition may be an electronic or mechanical conversion of images of typed, handwritten or printed text into machine-encoded text, whether from a scanned document, a photo of a document, a scene-photo or from subtitle text superimposed on an image. A table may be an arrangement of data in rows and columns, or possibly in a more complex structure. Tables may be widely used in communication, research, and data analysis. Tables may appear in print media, handwritten notes, computer software, architectural ornamentation, traffic signs, and many other places. The precise conventions and terminology for describing tables may vary depending on the context. Tables may differ significantly in variety, structure, flexibility, notation, representation and use.

Text block recognition based on discrete character recognition and text information connectivity


A method, system and computer program product for cross-device interaction, the method comprising: intercepting a triggering event by a mobile client application program; employing a low energy communication monitoring service adapted for searching at least one universally unique identifier advertised by a low energy communication advertisement service configured to enable retrieval of a content identifier associated with content received from a server and being displayed by a television client application program, retrieving using the at least one universally unique identifier the content identifier, and providing the content identifier to the mobile client application program; and, responsive to receiving notice on intercepting a user interaction event by a user interaction event listener, presenting by the mobile client application program an information item retrieved using the content identifier provided.

Some embodiments described in the present disclosure relate to wireless communication and, more specifically, but not exclusively, to cross-device interaction.
The advent of high throughput data communication networks and ever-growing ubiquity of computing devices spurred rapid evolution of the consumer electronics and digital multimedia content industries alike during recent years. One prominent trend is an ongoing rise in extent and frequency of widespread use of mobile devices equipped with general purpose processing capabilities, such as smartphones (i.e. mobile telephones running a full-fledged operating system platform) and tablet computers, which are able to communicate with other devices and/or device types over a variety of wired and/or wireless communication protocols. In addition, increasing shares of commercially available household appliances and electronic devices, such as televisions, refrigerators, air conditioners, speakers and the like, are being provided with network connectivity and computing resources of limited capacity at the least, to support some form of advanced functionality and/or enhanced user experience, e.g., remote operation and control, custom programming possibilities and/or the like, also known as "smart" devices. The afore-said technological and cultural developments are being reciprocated in turn by the emergence and proliferation of high-end services for supply of on-demand and/or online digital multimedia content being particularly suitable for home view, such as the digital content streaming services of Netflix™, Amazon Prime Video™, Apple TV+™ and the like.