The ordering of packet flows, comprising sequences of data packets, in a communication or computer system, is performed by assigning an exit number to each packet; queuing the packets in a buffer; and outputting the queued packets in a predetermined order according to an order list determined by the exit numbers assigned to each packet before it was queued. The exit number information is preferably assigned to packet records, which are queued in a separate buffer to the packets, the records being of fixed length and shorter than the data portions. The packet record buffer comprises groups of bins, each bin containing a range of exit numbers, the bins for higher exit number packet records having a larger range than bins for lower exit number packet records. Lower exit number packet records in a bin are subdivided into a plurality of bins, each containing packet records corresponding to a smaller range of exit numbers. Secondary bins may be created to temporarily store records assigned to a bin that is currently being emptied. The bins may be filled by a parallel processor, preferably a SIMD array processor.

There are many aspects of control and management of information transmitted across a computer or telecommunications network, over and above the comparatively simple concept of traffic routing. These involve topics more concerned with the relationship between the network provider and the customer, such as cost, quality or level of service, priority and so on.
It is widely expected that the Internet will be reinvented as a converged packet-based platform for new services, delivering all forms of digital material into all types of application domain. This "Intelligent Internet" will need to differentiate between the needs of different traffic streams and allocate resources appropriately to meet those needs. In addition to considerable administrative support across the network, three principal Traffic Management mechanisms are required on the data fast path through the network routers. These are traffic classification, conditioning and handling.
Routers already determine where to send packets. Classification must additionally identify how packets should be treated as they are forwarded, the so-called Class of Service (CoS). A Conditioner then checks that each traffic stream complies with the terms of its Service Level Agreement (SLA). The SLA is a contract that specifies limits on the rates at which a customer is permitted to send traffic in different service classes. Finally, the Handler ensures that service guarantees are met by the provider. Typically, this is achieved through implementing a queue per available CoS. Each queue receives a prescribed quota of link bandwidth and packet buffer space.
As Traffic Management is something of a moving target, with new standards and improved algorithms constantly emerging, a programmable solution is considered to be a high priority. One problem facing engineers is how to design a programmable architecture with a useful processing cycle budget per packet at 40 Gbits/s line rates.
This may be illustrated by reference to FIG. 1, which shows a very simplified schematic diagram of part of the traffic handling portion of a network. The illustrated mechanism includes, in sequence, a traffic classifier A, traffic conditioner B, traffic handling system C and switch fabric S. Block C need not be located physically as in FIG. 1 but may be positioned before or after the switch fabric S. It is expected that data packets will be of varying size, ranging between 40 bytes, 1.5 kbytes, 9 kbytes and up to 16 kbytes.
The traffic classifier Block A has no facility for allocating bandwidth, charging and so on. Its main function is the identification of the class of service that a packet should receive. This typically involves a lookup operation, whereby a number of fields from the packet headers that can uniquely identify the packet with a microflow or flow aggregate are matched according to rules in a lookup table.
The traffic conditioner Block B performs a supervisory role in that it may decide that a customer is using too much bandwidth (say) and may mark that customer's packets with a corresponding marking. This is called "colouring" and the allocated markings may be, for example, "red", "yellow" or "green". Billing statistics may also be performed here and it may take account of the colouring applied to that packet or groups of packets.
The traffic conditioner enforces policy, which is specified in Traffic Conditioning Agreements (TCAs) between a network service provider and its customer. The TCA, which often forms part of the broader SLA, specifies agreed limits to traffic profiles entering (or leaving) the service provider network. Generally speaking, conditioners are therefore located in the boundary nodes of independently administered domains. Policy enforcement requires mechanisms which meter traffic streams to ensure that they comply with the terms of the TCA. "Out-of-profile" streams, ie those stepping outside the bounds of the TCA, may have excess traffic dropped—a measure referred to as policing. Alternatively, marking the packets as indicated above may be regarded as more acceptable. Marked packets may subsequently be discriminated against in the event of downstream traffic congestion.
The traffic handling system Block C decides when and how to put packets into an output buffer and to pull them out for onward transmission via the output port O/P of the illustrated section. Where the line rate is 40 Gbps, packet transmission rate is of the order of 100,000,000 packets per second and the rate at which packets are queued in the buffer ranges between 100s to 1,000s of Megabytes per second. It is the traffic handler which queues traffic and then applies scheduling and shaping mechanisms to forward it according to the required class of service. Scheduling disciplines ensure that traffic streams are protected from one another, that the link is shared fairly between streams, that performance bounds on guaranteed service traffic are met, and that congestion in the network is controlled.
At each stage, statistics may be gathered for administrative purposes The scope of traffic management also encompasses some other important administrative elements, such as policy management, system configuration, statistics processing, reporting, accounting and billing.
The functions performed by blocks A, B, and C are ideally carried out at line rate, for example at 40 Gbps. In the situation where C precedes S, it may not be possible to draw packets out of C into the switch fabric S at the line rate. Huge amounts of memory are therefore necessary to queue packets so as to come as close to the ideal as possible. As an aid to this process, C keeps records of packets rather than the packets themselves. These records are preferably of fixed size and contain information about the packets, which, of course, are themselves of variable size.
Where the system attempts to put packets into the line at a rate that is greater than the line rate (a condition known as "overspeed") block C has to decide which packets are kept and which are held back or discarded. Block B monitors usage and attempts to provide individual customers with their agreed bandwidth but on an averaging basis. It will tolerate transient increases over the agreed bandwidth so long as the average is not exceeded over a given time period. In contrast, block C monitors the actual usage.
In traffic handling, packets may be placed in one of a number of queues. With more than one queue present, a scheduling function must determine the order in which packets are served from the queues. Control of this function is what is meant in this specification by "Order List Management". The scheduled order is determined principally by the relative priorities that the scheduler places on the queues—not on the order in which packets arrived at the queues. The scheduling function is thus fairly serial in character.
For example, consider the two popular scheduling methods:
Fair Queue scheduling—every packet in the queue is given a finish number, which indicates the relative point in time that the packet is entitled to be outputted. The function that serves packets from the queue must identify the queue whose next packet has the smallest finish number. Ideally only after the packet has been served and the next packet in the same queue has been revealed can the dequeueing function make its next decision.
Round Robin scheduling—Queues are inspected in turn in a predetermined sequence. On each visit a prescribed quota of data may be served.
The fundamental problem is how to perform such scheduling algorithms at high speeds. A serialised process can only scale with clock/cycle frequency, or by increasing the depth of the processing pipe which makes the scheduling decision. This approach may only be able to provide a couple of system clock cycles per packet.
On top of this, the scheduling and queue management task is further confounded by a requirement for a large number of potentially very deep queues. Hardware, which executes the scheduling function in a serial manner, is then likely to be highly customised and therefore inflexible if it is to meet the required performance.

Data packet handling in computer or communication systems


An apparatus and method are disclosed for generating a low ripple negative voltage suitable for use in a disc drive. A negative voltage supply comprises a pulse generator circuit which generates first and second driver signals in relation to a load of the negative voltage supply. The first driver signal comprises a series of periodically occurring first pulses and the second driver signal comprises a series of periodically occurring second pulses. The first and second pulses are mutually exclusive in time so that at least a minimum delay of selected, nonzero length is provided between transitions of subsequently occurring first and second pulses. The negative voltage supply further comprises a regulator circuit, operably coupled to the pulse generator circuit, which generates the negative voltage in response to the first and second driver signals utilizing a pair of storage capacitors which alternately accumulate and transfer charge to an output capacitor in response to the first and second driver signals.

To operate properly, electrical circuitry often requires a supply of voltage at a negative potential with respect to ground (i.e., a negative voltage). Such is typically the case for a disc drive, which is a digital data storage device which enables a user of a computer system to store and retrieve large amounts of data in a fast and efficient manner.
A typical desktop computer disc drive requires a variety of operational voltage input levels, including negative five volts (-5V) and positive five and twelve volts (+5 and +12V). These voltages can be supplied externally by a computer power supply, or generated internally by appropriate circuitry of the disc drive. For example, some disc drives incorporate an inverting power supply to generate the requisite -5V from an externally supplied +5V input.
In a typical drive, data are magnetically stored using a plurality of read/write heads which controllably access recording surfaces of a plurality of corresponding, rotatable discs. The heads are moved relative to the discs by an actuator assembly and a closed-loop, servo control system. A preamplifier/driver circuit, typically mounted directly to the actuator assembly, facilitates the writing and reading of data by providing write currents to the heads during a write operation and read bias currents to the heads during a read operation.
A typical preamplifier/driver circuit utilizes a negative voltage (such as -5V) in the generation of both read bias and write currents. It is desirable that the negative voltage be provided at a nominally constant level, as noise and voltage fluctuations present in the negative voltage can adversely affect both the writing and reading of data.
A variety of negative voltage supplies have been disclosed in the prior art, including European Patent Application No. 91 120 787.6 (published Jun. 10, 1992 as Publication No. 0 489 412 A2) and International Patent Application No. PCT/US93/12178 (published under the Patent Cooperation Treaty on Jun. 22, 1995 as Publication No. WO 95/17036). These and other similarly constructed prior art negative voltage power supplies typically utilize a capacitor which alternatively stores a charge from a positive voltage source and then transfers the charge to generate the negative voltage across the load.
Although operative for some applications, the increasingly stringent requirements particular to disc drive applications such as faster current responses and significantly lower levels of ripple distortion over a variety of current loads limits the feasibility of such prior art sources. There is a need, therefore, for an improved negative voltage supply capable of outputting a low ripple, fast-response, constant negative voltage over a wide range of loads.

Low ripple negative voltage supply for a disc drive


A method for establishing a high-speed modem relay connection over a voice frame network between an originating modem with an associated calling-leg gateway and an answering modem with an associated called-leg gateway is described. The method includes determining at a predeterminedly early time during end-to-end physical layer negotiations between the originating modem and the answering modem whether both modems are high-speed modems, with the determining being performed by one or more of the associated gateways. If so then the method further includes terminating end-to-end physical layer negotiations between the originating modem and the answering modem, with the terminating being performed by one or more of the associated gateways. Finally, the method includes negotiating local physical layer on either end of the connection between the originating modem and the calling-leg gateway and the answering modem and the called-leg gateway. By this method, the calling-leg gateway serves as proxy for the answering modem and the called-leg gateway serves as proxy for the originating modem. Modem relay connection apparatus for use in a voice frame network gateway to establish a data channel between two modems is also described. The apparatus includes an amplitude-modulated answer (ANSam) tone detector; a signal suppression mechanism responsive to said tone detector for suppressing signals between the modems to terminate end-to-end negotiation between the two modems; a code detector for detecting a digital call menu (CM) code responsive to an amplitude-modulated answer tone; and a proxy negotiation mechanism responsive to said code detector for negotiating a local physical layer between the gateway and a local one of the two modems.

The present invention relates generally to voice frame network systems such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems for concurrently carrying both voice and data signals, and more particularly it concerns method and apparatus for transitioning a high-speed data channel from voice mode to modem relay mode during session startup.
VoIP is widely deployed by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and within large or distributed private enterprises. Because voice channels require low latency for audio continuity and understanding in human conversation, typical VoIP implementations have utilized low-latency mechanisms such as Real-time Transfer Protocol (RTP). Unfortunately, the voice mode of VoIP channels that use RTP is an unreliable transport mechanism for high-speed modem signals. High packet drop rates and frequent retrains cause undesirable deterioration of the signal when high-speed modem signals are carried over a standard VoIP channel.

High-speed dial-up modem session startup method and apparatus


With the non-magnetic-excitation period until a specific amount of time elapses from the commencement of the transition from the positive magnetic excitation period to the non-magnetic-excitation period defined as a first period T1 and the non-magnetic-excitation period until a specific amount of time elapses from the commencement of the transition from the negative magnetic excitation period to the non-magnetic-excitation period defined as a second period T2, the sum of a voltage produced at a detecting electrode and a voltage produced at a detecting electrode, at the time of each first period T1 and second period T2, is calculated as a sum of voltages between electrodes, and a fault in an electromagnetic flow meter, such as detection of an empty state, adhesion of an electrically insulating object to an electrode, and so forth, is evaluated based on the sum of voltages between electrodes.

Conventionally, as this type of electromagnetic flow meter there have been electromagnetic flow meters of a battery-driven type (hereinafter termed a "battery-type electromagnetic flow meter"). Instead of being supplied with a power supply through a commercial power supply, the battery-type electromagnetic flow meter is provided internally with a battery, where not only is the battery used as the power supply to drive the magnetic excitation circuit, but also to drive a flow rate measuring circuit that produces a flow rate measurement signal through a signal electromotive force that is produced between a pair of electrodes that are disposed facing each other within a measuring tube.
FIG. 6 illustrates the main components in a conventional battery-type electromagnetic flow meter (See, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication H9-126848 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2001-281029). In this FIG: 1 is a measuring tube; 2 is a magnetic excitation coil that is disposed with the direction in which the magnetic field is generated being perpendicular to the direction of flow of the fluid that flows within the measuring tube 1; 3 is a magnetic excitation circuit that provides a magnetic excitation electric current Iex (illustrated in FIG. 7) to the magnetic excitation coil 2 alternatingly in the positive direction and the negative direction, with non-magnetic-excitation periods interposed therebetween, provided with a positive magnetic excitation period and a negative magnetic excitation period before and after the non-magnetic-excitation period; 4a and 4b are a pair of detecting electrodes, disposed facing each other within the measuring tube 1, across the direction of flow of the fluid that flows within the measuring tube 1 and perpendicular to the direction of the magnetic field generated by the magnetic excitation coil 2; 5 is a ground electrode; 6 is a flow rate measuring circuit for detecting a signal electromotive force that is produced between the detecting electrodes 4a and 4b, and for outputting, as a flow rate measurement signal, a pulse signal with a duty ratio with a frequency that varies in accordance with the flow rate of the fluid that flows within the measuring tube 1, based on the detected signal electromotive force; and 7 is an internal battery. A power supply voltage VB is supplied from the internal battery 7 to the magnetic excitation circuit 3 and the flow rate measuring circuit 6.
In the battery-type electromagnetic flow meter, the magnetic excitation circuit 3 is provided with a magnetic excitation electric current direction switching circuit 3-1, a magnetic excitation electric current value adjusting circuit 3-2, and the like. The magnetic excitation electric current direction switching circuit 3-1 receives instructions from the flow rate measuring circuit 6 to switch the direction of the magnetic excitation electric current Iex to the magnetic excitation coil 2 alternatingly to the positive direction and the negative direction, with non-magnetic-excitation periods interposed therebetween. The magnetic excitation electric current value adjusting circuit 3-2 receives instructions from the flow rate measuring circuit 6 to adjust the value of the magnetic excitation electric current Iex to the magnetic excitation coil 2. The flow rate measuring circuit 6 is provided with a CPU 6-1. Instructions are issued from this CPU 6-1 to the magnetic excitation electric current direction switching circuit 3-1 and to the magnetic excitation electric current value adjusting circuit 3-2. Moreover, the flow rate is calculated by the CPU 6-1 based on the signal electromotive force produced between the detecting electrodes 4a and 4b.
In this battery-type electromagnetic flow meter, the operating power supply depends on the internal battery 7, so if the internal battery 7 wears out, it is then necessary to replace with a new battery. Because of this, it is desirable to extend the period with which the batteries are replaced, so when providing the magnetic excitation electric current Iex to the magnetic excitation coil 2, the consumption of the electric power is reduced through the provision of the non-magnetic-excitation periods between the positive magnetic excitation period and the negative magnetic excitation period. This system wherein the non-magnetic-excitation period is provided between the positive magnetic excitation period and the negative magnetic excitation period, that is, this system wherein a positive magnetic excitation period and a negative magnetic excitation period are provided before and after a non-magnetic-excitation period, is known as "tri-state magnetic excitation."
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication H3-144314 ("JP '314"), for this type of tri-state magnetic excitation electromagnetic flow meter, there are electromagnetic flow meters wherein it is possible to detect a fault that occurs when, for example, the center of the measuring tube empty, or where, for example, something that is electrically insulating becomes adhered to an electrode, where the non-magnetic-excitation period wherein a specific amount of time elapses from the commencement of the transition from the positive magnetic excitation period to the non-magnetic-excitation period is defined as a first period, and the non-magnetic-excitation period wherein a specific amount of time elapses from the commencement of the transition from the negative magnetic excitation period to the non-magnetic-excitation period is defined as a second period, and the voltage difference between the electrodes in the first period is calculated, the voltage difference between the electrodes in the second period is calculated, where a difference between the voltage difference between the electrodes during the first period and the voltage difference between the electrodes during the second period is calculated, and an evaluation that there is a fault is made if this difference exceeds a predetermined reference value.
That is, in the electromagnetic flow meter described in JP '314, if differential noise is produced at the time of switching the magnetic excitation periods and the inside of the measuring tube is empty, then the differential noise that is produced will be large due to the floating capacitance that is formed between the magnetic excitation coil and the electrode. This differential noise is detected as the voltage difference between the electrodes during the first period at the time of the transition from the positive magnetic excitation period to the non-magnetic-excitation period, and detected as the voltage difference between the electrodes in the second period at the time of the transition from the negative magnetic excitation period to the non-magnetic-excitation period, and the fault evaluation is performed based on the voltage differences that are detected between the electrodes. Note that because the polarity of the differential noise that is produced between the electrodes during the first period is opposite of the polarity of the differential noise that is produced between the electrodes during the second period, the differential noise that is produced between the electrodes is detected with twice the magnitude through calculating the difference between the voltage difference between the electrodes in the first period and the voltage difference between the electrodes in the second period.
However, in the tri-state magnetic excitation electromagnetic flow meter disclosed in JP '314, because the fault evaluation is performed based on the voltage differences between the electrodes, that is, in terms of the example illustrated in FIG. 6, because the fault evaluation is performed based on the difference between the voltage produced at the detecting electrode 4a and the voltage produced at the detecting electrode 4b, it is not possible to detect the differential noise except as a small value, and thus there is a problem in that the reliability of the fault evaluation is low.
The present invention is to solve this type of problem, and the object thereof is to provide an electromagnetic flow meter capable of increasing the reliability of the fault evaluation by detecting the differential noise as a large value.

Electromagnetic flow meter having a circuit that provides positive and negative magnetic excitation electric currents to a magnetic excitation coil


Triazole antifungal agents of the formula ##STR1## where R is 5-chloropyrid-2-yl or phenyl optionally substituted by 1 to 3 substituents each independently selected from F, Cl, Br, I, CF.sub.3, C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl and C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkoxy; and R.sup.1 is H or CH.sub.3 ; and their O-esters, O-ethers and pharmaceutically and agriculturally acceptable salts. The compounds are useful as human and agricultural antifungal agents.

This invention relates to novel bis-triazole derivatives which have antifungal activity and are useful in the treatment of fungal infections in animals, including humans, and as agricultural fungicides.
British patent application No. 2,078,719A, published Jan. 13, 1982 and European patent application No. 44,605, published Jan. 27, 1982 (both assigned to Imperial Chemical Industries Limited) disclose compounds of the general formula: ##STR2## where R.sup.1 is an optionally-substituted alkyl, cycloalkyl (e.g., cyclopentyl or cyclohexyl), aryl (e.g., phenyl or 2,4-dichloro-phenyl) or aralkyl (e.g., benzyl) group, and Y.sup.1 and Y.sup.2 are .dbd.CH or .dbd.N--; and salts or metal complexes and ethers or esters thereof. These compounds are stated to be useful as fungicides and as plant growth regulants. They are also stated to be active against the fungus diseases of humans. Among the compounds specifically disclosed therein are such bis-triazole derivatives as 2-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,3-bis(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)propan-2-ol and its corresponding 2- and 4-chlorophenyl analogs. The corresponding 3-chlorophenyl and 4-bromophenyl compounds are also embraced by the statement of invention. However, these particular compounds have now been found to be teratogenic, which severely limits their use in treating human mycoses.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,404,216, issued Sept. 13, 1983 is directed to the single antifungal compound 2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-1,3-bis(1H-1,2,4-triazol-yl)propan-2-ol, a compound having the above formula but wherein R.sup.1 is 2,4-difluorophenyl.

Antifungal 1,3-bis (1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)-2-aryl butan-2-ols and derivatives thereof


Method and arrangement in a base station for adjusting a channel quality indicator value of a wireless transmission between the base station and a user equipment. The base station, the user equipment and a relay node are comprised in a multi-hop wireless communication system and adapted to intercommunicate in a first transmission mode and a second transmission mode. The method comprises sending a radio signal to be received by the user equipment, obtaining a measurement of the channel quality indicator value, determining if the transmission mode of the sent radio signal is different from the transmission mode of the obtained channel quality indicator value measurement, and adding a channel quality indicator offset value to the channel quality indicator value, if the transmission mode of the relay node is determined to be the first transmission mode while the channel quality indicator was measured and obtained in the second transmission mode.

Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) is frequently used for precoding, link adaptation and other radio resource management algorithms in wireless communication systems. In wideband systems, such as e.g. Long-Term Evolution (LTE), finer frequency granularity for CQI can lead to better channel dependent scheduling and link adaptation, thus resulting in higher throughput. However, fine frequency granularity will cause a big feedback overhead for CQI report, and CQI compression methods are employed to save signalling overhead, such as best-M or user equipment (UE)-selected besides the wideband CQI reporting. In LTE, the downlink CQI can be reported in two kinds of feedback channels: Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) and Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). PUCCH CQI is a periodic resource allocated from the eNB, or base station as it also may be referred to, and it does not need scheduling trigger, while PUSCH CQI is aperiodic, and it relies on the signalling from the base station to indicate when, where and how to report. Different patterns, in terms of CQI mode, define that the wideband or partial band CQI, are reported via PUCCH with different periodicities or PUSCH based on scheduling grants. It may be noted that it is completely up to the eNB to configure CQI reporting resources on PUCCH and to determine how and when to ask for CQI reports on PUSCH. None of these reports are mandatory.
In LTE release 8, is Multimedia Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) specified. MBSFN is a transmission mode which exploits the Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexed (OFDM) radio interface to send multicast or broadcast data as a multicell transmission over a synchronized single frequency network. The transmissions from the multiple cells are sufficiently tightly synchronized for each to arrive at the user equipment within the OFDM Cyclic Prefix (CP) so as to avoid Inter-Symbol Interference (ISI). In effect, this makes the MBSFN transmission appear to a user equipment as a transmission from a single large cell, dramatically increasing the Signal-to-Interference Ratio (SIR) due to the absence of inter-cell interference.
Moreover, in a system which supports type I relay, the MBSFN configuration is adopted in the access link in the relay cell for backhaul downlink in the anchor cell. In such a way, relay nodes will configure the MBSFN subframe in the relay cells so that user equipment that has detected the MBSFN configuration will not receive any data in the rest PDSCH. On the other hand, in the backhaul link, downlink data will be delivered from anchor-eNB to relay nodes during such a MBSFN subframe. The latest agreement in 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) shows that the configuration of backhaul and access links in time domain is semi-persistent, i.e. the MBSFN configuration in relay cells is rather fixed in a long time scale and known to eNB and relay nodes respectively.
In a downlink system supporting self-backhauling or type I relay, interference coming from other relay cells, which can be regarded as inter-cell-interference, dominates in the anchor cell. Therefore, the interference variation from the relay cells is very important to the anchor cell. Configuration of MBSFN in the relay cells can bring significant interference variation to the relay nodes and macro-user equipments of the anchor cell: during the MBSFN subframe of relay cells, the relay nodes will not perform any data transmission but only the control signalling indicating the MBSFN configuration, i.e. the main interferers i.e. the relay nodes, will mute, whereas during the normal downlink subframe, eNB and relay nodes might transmit at the same time. So this would lead to some semi-static interference variation when it is agreed that the MBSFN configuration on relay cells is rather semi-static or fixed in a long time scale.
CQI in the anchor cell will be used either for the backhaul or normal downlink transmission, while CQI measurement of the anchor cell took place some time ago, in terms of CQI delay including propagation and processing delay. Thus the CQI in the anchor cell may be altered between backhaul and normal downlink transmission either during the normal subframe transmission, corresponding to the normal downlink subframe in relay cells as well, or during the backhaul subframe transmission, corresponding to the MBSFN subframe in relay cells.
In the first case, there are simultaneous data transmission in the anchor cell and the relay cell, and the interference from the neighbouring relay nodes dominates. While in the second case, the data transmission in the relay cell is muted by MBSFN configuration, so the interference from such neighbouring relay node is null. This can be illustrated in FIG. 1a and FIG. 1b.
FIG. 1a illustrates downlink transmission in normal mode, i.e. normal subframe transmission wherein the 110 and 120 transmit signals simultaneously which may cause signal interference at the user equipments 130.
FIG. 1b illustrates downlink transmission in backhaul mode, i.e. backhaul subframe transmission, corresponding to the MBSFN subframe transmission in relay cells.
As the timing of transmission based on these CQI also fall into the two cases, either the normal downlink subframe mode or the backhaul downlink subframe mode. This means that it is likely to have subframe mismatch of the measurement and the transmission. This would lead to CQI accuracy degradation and resulting performance degradation.

Method and arrangement for adjusting reported channel quality in multi-hop wireless communication system


A sealing and packaging device in which, simultaneously when a sealing base frame lifted upwards from a lower region towards a flange on the perimeter edge of a tray mounted on a desk plate makes contact with the flange, a touching base provided on a frame of the sealing base frame makes contact with the lower surface of the deck plate, and the tray is pushed upwards towards a cover film by means of the deck plate and sealing base frame, the cover film being welded to the flange of the tray. By means of the upward movement of the tray caused by the sealing base frame and deck plate, breaking of the tray is prevented by the deck plate on which the tray is mounted, even when the tensile pressure of the film or the reaction of urethane rubber members act respectively on the packaged item in the tray.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sealing and packaging device, wherein respective individual trays disposed at equidistant intervals in a column fashion, and a band-shaped cover film for the purpose of covering these respective trays, are conveyed at the same speed on a conveyor line, the film being welded successively to an edge flange portion of each tray, while being stretched by a packaged item provided in a mounded fashion on the tray.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, if a block of chicken meat is accommodated in a tray, then the block of chicken will inevitably rise up about the level of the tray. Therefore, when the mounded block of chicken is sealed inside the tray by means of a cover film, it is necessary to stretch the film when it is welded to the edge flange portion of the tray.
JP 2004-203485A discloses a sealing and packaging device of the following kind. More specifically, a plurality of trays each accommodating a packaged item in a mounded fashion are conveyed at equidistant intervals by a chain conveyor. At an intermediate point of the conveyance path, a cutaway region is formed and a general frame is provided so as to border the region. This general frame moves reciprocally along side rails. A sealing base frame is provided in the general frame below the conveyance path of the trays, and as a result of the sealing base frame moving upwards and downwards, as well as moving back and forth together with general frame, the sealing base frame performs a box motion at the same speed as the trays, due to the combined action of these two movements. Due to the box motion of the sealing base frame, the trays are lifted up above the conveyor, thereby stretching the band-shaped film by means of the packaged item provided inside the trays, and in this state, the film is welded to the flange of the tray. In other words, the sealing base frame on the under side of the chain conveyor repeats an elliptical or rectangular box motion. To provide a simple description of the state of stretching of the band-shaped film by the packaged item due to the box motion of the sealing base frame, if the horizontal path of the chain conveyor is imagined to be the surface of the sea, then the box motion of the sealing base frame is similar to the motion of a dolphin jumping out above the surface in an arc-shaped path. Therefore, due to the box motion of the sealing base frame, the trays rise up above the path of the chain conveyor in an arc-shape, like a dolphin jumping out of the sea. Consequently, the band-shaped film positioned above the conveyor is pushed and stretched by the packaged item mounded inside each tray, and in this state, the flange of the tray is pressed against the sealer disposed above the general frame, thereby welding the film to the flange at the perimeter edge of the tray.
However, in this packaging device, the flange of the tray is supported from below by the sealing base frame, and the weight of the packaged item inside the tray is supported via the flange. Therefore, problems have arisen in that, when the packaged item accommodated in a mounded fashion in the tray pushes and stretches the film disposed above it, the tray supported by the sealing base frame distorts due to the increased tension in the film, the base of the tray develops fractures, or the flange of the tray supported by the sealing base frame breaks.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Sealing and packaging device for cover film on tray


A process for the preparation of a coating composition containing microcapsules comprising the steps of:. (a) preparing an aqueous dispersion of microcapsules, PA0 (b) adding a flow control agent to said aqueous dispersion microcapsules, PA0 (c) applying heat and vacuum to said aqueous dispersion of microcapsules containing said flow control agent to remove water from said dispersion of microcapsules and thereby concentrate said dispersion of microcapsules and PA0 (d) adding said concentrated dispersion of microcapsules to a printing ink vehicle to form a coating composition.

The present invention relates to a process for preparing coating compositions containing microcapsules. In particular it relates to a process for concentrating an aqueous slurry of microcapsules to provide a high solid ink which can be press applied with little or no drying.
In the manufacture of pressure-sensitive recording papers, a layer of pressure-rupturable microcapsules containing a solution of colorless dyestuff precursor is coated on the back side of the front sheet of paper of a carbonless copy paper set. This coated backside is known as the CB coating. In order to develop an image or copy, the CB coating is mated with a paper containing a coating of a suitable color developer, also known as dyestuff acceptor, on its front. This coated front color developer coating is called the CF coating. The color developer is a material, usually acidic, capable of forming the color of the dyestuff by reaction with the dyestuff precursor.
Marking of the pressure-sensitive recording papers is effected by rupturing the capsules in the CB coating by means of pressure to cause the dyestuff precursor solution to be exuded onto the front of the mated sheet below it. The colorless or slightly colored dyestuff, or dyestuff precursor, then reacts with the color developer in the areas at which pressure was applied, thereby effecting the colored marking. Such mechanism for the technique of producing pressure-sensitive recording papers is well known.
Among the well known color developers used on CF record sheets are phenolic-type resins, such as acetylated phenolic resins, salicylic acid modified phenolics and, particularly, novolac type phenolic resins.
Among the well known basic, reactive, colorless chromogenic dye precursors useful for developing colored marks when and where applied to a receiving sheet coated with such color developers are Crystal Violet Lactone (CVL), the p-toluenesulfonate salt of Michler's Hydrol or 4,4'-bis(diethyllamino)benzhydrol, Benzoyl Leuco Methylene Blue (BLMB), Indolyl Red, Malachite Green Lactone 8'-methoxybenzoindoline spiropyran, Rhodamine Lactone, and mixtures thereof.
A number of microencapsulation techniques have been used to prepare oil-containing microcapsules. Some of the principal techniques are complex coacervation (typically used to prepare gelatin capsules), in situ polymerization (typically used to prepare polyurethane and polyurea capsules).
For some applications it is desirable to separate the microcapsules from the dispersion in which they are prepared. One such application is the preparation of coating compositions which are designed to be printed on or spot coated on paper to provide a carbonless form.
A number of techniques have been used to separate microcapsules. One of the principal techniques is spray drying. U.S. Pat. No. 4,139,392 to Davis et al. discloses a hot melt coating composition containing microcapsules in which microcapsules are spray dried to form a free flowing powder which is dispersed in a wax composition with the aid of an anionic dispersing agent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,981 to Austin et al. describes another method for preparing a print on composition containing microcapsules in which an aqueous slurry of microcapsules is mixed with a hot melt suspending medium and a wiped film evaporator is used to remove the water.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,729,792 to Seitz discloses yet another method in which microcapsules are prepared by interfacial crosslinking of a polysalt formed by reaction of a polyamine and a polyanionic emulsifier with a polyisocyanate. The microcapsules are separated by adding a lipophilizing agent to the capsule slurry. The lipophilizing agent reacts with the polyanionic emulsifier and renders it non-polar such that the microcapsules precipitate from the slurry. The microcapsules can then be dispersed in an ink vehicle with the aid of a dispersing agent. It should be noted that dispersing agents are necessary for dispersing in both polar and non-polar printing ink vehicle.

Process for the production of coating compositions containing microcapsules


An enclosure for an electronic device may include an outer enclosure and an optional metallic cage. The metallic cage may include sides, a bottom and a top that collectively define an enclosed volume, with the top being slanted at a non-zero angle with respect to the bottom. The outer enclosure may at least partially enclose the metallic cage and may define a plurality of structural posts and a top surface that faces the top of the metallic cage. The top surface may define a plurality of recesses, each being configured to receive a wireless antenna of the electronic device. The recesses may be oriented to provide a predetermined angular displacement between the antennas and may be disposed to define a predetermined spacing relative to the metallic cage. A set of beveled through-holes may be defined in the top of the metallic cage, aligned with respective ones of the structural posts.

Many electronic devices include internal shielding or Faraday cages to reduce EMI emissions and interference. However, these cages require modification of the device enclosure and add expense to the resultant device. In addition, such cages can cause difficulties in assembly of the electronic device because certain components, such as wiring or antenna, may need to pass through the cage. Such assembly difficulties translate directly into increased unit costs and decreased yield. Also, the internal shielding or Faraday cages may interfere with the proper functioning of the antenna by, for example, decreasing the signal strength emitted or received by the antenna. Moreover, conventional enclosures do include any provisions for supporting and orienting the antennas in an optimal orientation or distance relative to the Faraday cage. What are needed, therefore, are improved electromagnetic shields and is enclosures for electronic devices that do not suffer from the above-described disadvantages.

Dual configuration enclosure with optional shielding


One embodiment of the invention is directed to a method including receiving an alias identifier associated with an account associated with a presenter, determining an associated trusted party using the alias identifier, sending a verification request message to the trusted party after determining the associated trusted party, and receiving a verification response message.

During a transaction (a payment or non-payment transaction) between two parties, each party typically wants to authenticate the identity and/or the data relating to the other party to avoid fraud.
Transactions initiated and conducted from a remote communication device can be riskier than face-to-face transactions, because conventional face-to-face authentication procedures cannot be performed. For example, it is not possible to check a picture on a consumer's driver's license when conducting a remote transaction.
In view of the foregoing, a system for authenticating the identity and profile data of an individual such as a consumer during a remote transaction would be desirable. The authenticating system would desirably be easy to implement and use, would require a minimal investment of resources, and would provide a high level of interoperability between the system's participants.
Another problem that is associated with transactions generally is that merchants often receive payment card information during purchase transactions. If a merchant is not honest, a consumer's payment information could be compromised. Other embodiments of the invention are directed to the use of alias identifiers to initiate transactions such as payment transactions so that merchants do not retain consumer payment information.
Embodiments of the invention solve the above problems and other problems individually and collectively.


A shifting device includes a housing, a shift lever, and a sensor unit. The shift lever is moved along frontward or rearward and leftward or rightward to select one of shift positions. The sensor unit is of a non-contact type and detects the selected shift position. The sensor unit includes a plurality of sensors and a magnet. The relative positions of the sensors and the magnet are variable. The sensor unit detects the selected shift position according to the relative positions. According to movement of the shift lever, at least one of the group of the sensors and the magnet is moved along a first movement axis and a second movement axis. The first and second movement axes extend in different directions.

The present invention relates to a shifting device for changing a shift position.
A typical vehicle having an automatic transmission has a floor shifting device. A shifting device has a shift lever for switching the gear position of the automatic transmission. Some shifting devices provide manual gear selection as well as automatic gear selection. Such a shifting device typically has a several gates formed in a panel. For example, such a shifting device has a first gate for automatic gear selection, a second gate for manual gear selection, and a third gate for switching between the automatic and manual gear selections.
In the automatic gear selection, a driver moves the shift lever to the first gate and shifts the shift lever to one of a P (parking) position, an R (reverse) position, an N (neutral) position, and a D (advance) position. Accordingly, the gear position of the automatic transmission is changed. In the manual gear selection, the driver moves the shift lever from the first gate to the second gate via the third gate, and selectively moves the shift lever toward M+ position (shift up position) and M− position (shift down position). Accordingly, the gear position of the automatic transmission is manually shifted by one gear at a time.
FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an electrical circuit of a shifting device disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-89676. The shifting device includes a switch main body 51 mounted on a vehicle body. The switch main body 51 has a P contact 52, an R contact 53, an N contact 54, a D contact 55, a shift-up contact 56, and a shift-down contact 57. A negative electrode 58 extends arcuately along the switch main body 51. A shift lever (not shown) has a contact electrode 59, which electrically connects one of the contacts 52 to 57 with the negative electrode 58.
For example, when the shift lever is at the P position, the contact electrode 59 contacts the P contact 52 and the negative electrode 58, thereby electrically connecting the P contact 52 and the negative electrode 58 to each other. Accordingly, a controller 60 determines that the shift lever is at the P position, and switches the gear position of the automatic transmission to the P position. When the shift lever is at any of the R, N, D positions, the controller 60 operates in a similar manner.
When the driver moves the shift lever to the second gate, a position detecting switch (not shown) is turned on. The position detecting switch continues to be on during the manual gear selection. During the manual gear selection, the contact electrode 59 contacts one of the shift-up contact 56 and the shift-down contact 57, and the negative electrode 58. Based on the contacting state of the negative electrode 58 with one of the shift-up and shift-down contacts 56, 57, and an ON signal from the position detecting switch, the controller 60 detects one of a shift-up manipulation and a shift-down manipulation. The controller 60 then changes the gear position of the automatic transmission according to the shift position.
This shifting device is of a contact type, in which the position of the shift lever is detected based on the contact state of the negative electrode 58 with the contacts 52 to 57 with the contact electrode 59. However, if the shifting device is used for an extended period, the contact electrode 59 and the contacts 52 to 59 deteriorate with time due to wear. Therefore, the method using this shifting device has low reliability as a method for detecting the position of the shift lever.

Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai Rika Denki Seisakusho


An antenna in a radar sensor is vibrated at a known frequency and velocity in a direction generally normal to the antenna surface. A response received by the antenna is used to scale or calibrate sensor responses at frequencies of interest.

Large moving or rotating machinery requires preventive maintenance in order to schedule the replacement or repair of a part before costly breakdown and shutdown. The decision for scheduling and diagnosing the maintenance or repair is frequently made based on the new frequency or increased vibration level of the machinery. Existing vibration sensors cannot be easily placed on moving parts or in an inaccessible or small place. Technicians who scan the machinery take long time since their handheld sensor has to be attached to the machine for each point measurement. It is also desirable to scan a large part of machinery at once to speed up the diagnosis.
Radar vibration sensors have been proposed for such stand-off preventive maintenance assessment. However the calibration of such a sensor is difficult for several reasons. The magnitude of the sensor response depends on the distance to the target. The magnitude of the response is roughly proportional to distance. The magnitude of the sensor response may also vary by e.g. 6 dB because of signal cancellation due to small motion over short distance, e.g., one-half wavelength of carrier frequency e.g. 6.25 mm at 24 GHz. Still further, the magnitude of the sensor response depends on the reflectivity, i.e., radar cross section, of the target.


A recording method of recording received digital broadcasting on a medium, wherein a stream other than first and last portions is recorded with a predetermined number of recording packets, and the number of recording packets of the first and last portions of an AV stream file is recorded as management data. This method, which records an AV stream basically with a specified number of recording packets in order to improve the performance of access to a medium, thereby makes it possible to improve the splitting accuracy when the user splits a program, overcoming a restriction caused by the specified number of recording packets.

The present invention relates to a recording and playback apparatus which writes and reads data to and from a recording medium.
JP-A-2000-152180 and JP-A-2001-101840 each disclose a technique related to this technical field.
JP-A-2000-152180 describes a subject "To realize video editing on a single recording medium without overwriting existing video data recorded on a recording medium, and the use of solving means "An optical disc includes an AV file which records a plurality of pieces of AV data and an RTRW management file which records a plurality of pieces of PGC information specifying a plurality of partial zones within the AV data. There are two different types of PGC information: an original type and a user-defined type. With the PGC information of the user-defined type, each pieces of cell information specifies a partial zone in the AV data selected as a material for editing. The order of arrangement denotes the playback order temporality determined depending on video editing operations."
JP-A-2001-101840 describes a subject "Videos in a video cassette tape can be watched after mounting it in a player and then playing it back. Since the same operation is necessary both when watching all Videos and when checking the contents, it takes considerable time to find a target video from a number of video cassette tapes" and the use of solving means "A representative still image is generated for each video unit. Only these still images are collectively recorded, as management data different from a video stream, on a medium that records the above-mentioned video stream or a high-speed accessible medium one-to-one corresponding to the above-mentioned medium. Then, the management data is read at high speed and displayed to provide the user with overview of the entire video stream."


A folding tray assembly that stores under a couch has pivoted joints on two arm members which allow for the table to be unfolded to a usable height for tasks such as eating or playing cards. The unitary joints have double axes of rotation that allow for easy opening and closing of tray assembly. One arm is a sliding rail member that retracts into a tube housing under the couch, taking the folded tray assembly out of view when not needed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to special tray or table assemblies. More specifically, the invention relates to a snack tray that is mounted upon pivoting arms that allow it to be opened up from a storage position, such as under a couch. Usually, when one wants to eat while watching television or to play cards with one person sitting on a sofa, a separate table has to be used and placed in front of the couch or sofa. If a table isn't used it means putting things on the unstable surface of the couch. Either way of doing things means inconvenience, especially when having to fetch a table. It would be a much simpler if the table were right at the disposal of the person already seated on the couch.


A method, a system, and an apparatus for identifying and correcting sources of problems in synthesized speech which is generated using a concatenative text-to-speech (CTTS) technique. The method can include the step of displaying a waveform corresponding to synthesized speech generated from concatenated phonetic units. The synthesized speech can be generated from text input received from a user. The method further can include the step of displaying parameters corresponding to at least one of the phonetic units. The method can include the step of displaying the original recordings containing selected phonetic units. An editing input can be received from the user and the parameters can be adjusted in accordance with the editing input.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to the field of speech synthesis, and more particularly to debugging and tuning of synthesized speech.
2. Description of the Related Art
Synthetic speech generation via text-to-speech (TTS) applications is a critical facet of any human-computer interface that utilizes speech technology. One predominant technology for generating synthetic speech is a data-driven approach which splices samples of actual human speech together to form a desired TTS output. This splicing technique for generating TTS output can be referred to as a concatenative text-to-speech (CTTS) technique.
CTTS techniques require a set of phonetic units that can be spliced together to form TTS output. A phonetic unit can be a recording of a portion of any defined speech segment, such as a phoneme, a sub-phoneme, an allophone, a syllable, a word, a portion of a word, or a plurality of words. A large sample of human speech called a TTS speech corpus can be used to derive the phonetic units that form a TTS voice. Due to the large quantity of phonetic units involved, automatic methods are typically employed to segment the TTS speech corpus into a multitude of labeled phonetic units. A build of the phonetic data store can produce the TTS voice. Each TTS voice has acoustic characteristics of a particular human speaker from which the TTS voice was generated.
A TTS voice is built by having a speaker read a pre-defined text. The most basic task of building the TTS voice is computing the precise alignment between the sounds produced by the speaker and the text that was read. At a very simplistic level, the concept is that once a large database of sounds is tagged with phone labels, the correct sound for any text can be found during synthesis. Automatic methods exist for performing the CTTS technique using the phonetic data. However, considerable effort is required to debug and tune the voices generated. Typical problems when synthesizing with a newly built TTS voices include incorrect phonetic alignments, incorrect pronunciations, spectral discontinuities, unnatural prosody and poor recording audio quality in the pre-recorded segments. These deficiencies can result in poor quality synthesized speech.
Thus, methods have been developed which are used to identify and correct the source of problems in the TTS voices to improve speech quality. These are typically iterative methods that consist of synthesizing sample text and correcting the problems found.
The process for correcting the encountered problems can be very cumbersome. For example, one must first identify the time offset where the speech defect occurs in the synthesized audio. Once the location of the problem has been determined, the TTS engine generated log file can be searched to identify the phonetic unit that was used to generate the speech at the specific time offset. From the phonetic unit identifier obtained from this log file, one can determine which recording contains this segment. By consulting the phonetic alignment files, the location of the phonetic unit within the actual recording also can be determined.
At this point, the recording containing this problematic audio segment can be displayed using an appropriate audio editing application. For instance, a user can first launch the audio editing application and then load the appropriate file. The defective audio segment at the location obtained from the phonetic alignment files can then be analyzed. If the audio editing application supports the display of labels, labels such as phonetic labels, voicing labels, and the like can be displayed, depending on the nature of the problem. If a correction to the TTS voice is required, accessing, searching and editing additional data files may be required.
It should be appreciated that identifying and correcting the source of problems in synthesized speech using the method described above is very laborious, tedious and inefficient. Thus, what is needed is a method of simplifying the debugging and tuning process so that this process can be performed much more quickly and with fewer steps.

Interactive debugging and tuning method for CTTS voice building

International Business Machines Corporation


A game bird decoy has a body portion and a wing portion cut from flexible sheet plastic foamed material and assembled to represent a flying game bird such as a duck or goose. The decoy is mounted on a pole to simulate the silhouette of a bird approaching landing on water or land.

Duck and goose decoys are well known for attracting flying birds to shooting range for a hunter. Known decoys represent birds, such as ducks and geese, sitting either on land or in the water. A hunter places the decoys as needed before taking up his hunting position in a blind, or otherwise concealed.


A pair of recording heads are mounted on a rotary cylinder for recording a video signal in slanted tracks on magnetic tape. The recording heads are mounted in a common plane and each has a different azimuthal angle. A pair of reading heads are mounted on the same rotary cylinder for reading the video signal recorded on the magnetic tape. The reading heads are mounted in a plane offset from the plane of the recording heads and have azimuthal angles that match the azimuthal angles of the recording heads. A mixing circuit mixes a component of the video signal ready from the magnetic tape by one of the recording heads with a video signal from a video signal source to generate a mixed video signal. The mixed video signal is returned to one of the recording heads for recordation on the magnetic tape.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic recording and playback apparatus and more particularly to a magnetic and playback system suitable for providing dissolving views, or splicing, not giving a feeling of unnaturalness when applied to a VTR incorporating a camera.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In performing the splicing in the prior art VTR incorporating a camera, it was practiced, as stated in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 62-78978, to maintain the camera in its recording state for a predetermined short period, and the video signal was gradually reduced to the black level before the camera stopped. Therefore, there was produced a signal dropout at the spliced portion giving a feeling of unnaturalness. Hence such a prior art system was not sufficient to provide smoothly spliced pictures.

Dual record/read head video recording and playback apparatus with fade-in function


A fuel injector for use in a gas turbine engine combustor assembly. The fuel injector includes a main body and a fuel supply structure. The main body has an inlet end and an outlet end and defines a longitudinal axis extending between the outlet and inlet ends. The main body comprises a plurality of air/fuel passages extending therethrough, each air/fuel passage including an inlet that receives air from a source of air and an outlet. The fuel supply structure communicates with and supplies fuel to the air/fuel passages for providing an air/fuel mixture within each air/fuel passage. The air/fuel mixtures exit the main body through respective air/fuel passage outlets.

In gas turbine engines, fuel is delivered from a fuel source to a combustion section where the fuel is mixed with air and ignited to generate hot combustion products that define working gases. The working gases are directed to a turbine section where they effect rotation of a turbine rotor. It has been found that the production of NOx gases from the burning fuel in the combustion section can be reduced by providing a portion of the fuel to be ignited downstream from a main combustion zone.

Air/fuel supply system for use in a gas turbine engine


Methods and apparatus for high throughput wireless cells, capable of functioning as access points, are described. The wireless cells may be equipped with multiple radios to increase the amount of throughput available through a single wireless cell. Multiple antennas attached to the radios through RF switches may enable the wireless cell to service multiple clients simultaneously. The physical sectors of the antennas may overlapped to form virtual sectors that provide greater flexibility in client load management and in simultaneously servicing multiple clients. Attenuators may reduce interference from foreign wireless cells or clients. Systems and methods for assigning minimally interfering channels to either physical sectors or to radios to reduce interference between adjacent sectors and overlapping sectors are also disclosed. An antenna horn may also allow any antenna to be used as a directional antenna and may enable the antenna's angle of coverage to be adjusted. The use of multiple antennas on a client to reduce interferences is also described.

Many systems incorporate the IEEE 802.11 protocols, channels, and encoding to create wireless access points and clients capable of communicating with each other regardless of the manufacturer of the device. As such, the popularity of wireless access and connectivity has increased demand for wireless throughput. However, the current generation of wireless access points and devices are limited in that they use omni-directional antennas assigned to a single channel. The demand for wireless access has increased the demand for higher wireless throughput per wireless access point, the reduction of interference between wireless cells, and the ability to use off-the-self components to deliver higher performance at lower cost.

Method and apparatus for high throughput multiple radio sectorized wireless cell


The present invention deals with a modified polypeptide comprising three contiguous segments N, L and C represented by the formula N-L-C and comprising: a N-helix region of gp41 (N), a C-helix region of gp41 (C), and a connecting loop comprising a synthetic linker (L) between the N and C-helices, the linker replacing amino acids 593-617 of gp41, the numbering scheme being based upon the prototypic isolate HIV-1 HxB2 Clade B strain, said polypeptide comprising the calveolin-1 neutralizing and 98.6 D epitopes, but not 2F5 and 4E10 epitopes, not the fusion peptide, the polypeptide having a minimal immunogenic cross-reactivity with human interleukin 2 (IL2).

The instant invention is directed to a soluble and stabilized form in aqueous media of the envelope glycoprotein gp41 of HIV-1 suitable for inducing an immune response against a human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), pharmaceutical compositions comprising said gp41, a method of treatment against a human immunodeficiency virus, and/or HIV related diseases or disorders.
HIV-1 encodes a 160 kDa envelope glycoprotein (gp160) precursor, which is proteolytically cleaved into the exterior (gp120) and transmembrane (gp41) glycoproteins.
In the glycoprotein mature envelope, the gp120 glycoprotein remains associated with the gp41 ectodomain through a noncovalent interaction. The native HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins exist predominantly as trimers at the surface of the viral membrane, which consists of three gp120 and three gp41 subunits and are anchored in the viral or infected cell membrane by the gp41 transmembrane region.
It has been shown that the binding of gp120 to the CD4 receptor induces conformational changes that promote subsequent interaction with one of a number of chemokine receptors (CXCR4, CCR5 . . . ). These binding events trigger conformational changes in gp41. In particular, studies by X-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance indicate that the viral envelope glycoprotein gp41 exists in at least three conformations, a native conformation (spike), a prefusogenic metastable conformation which is converted to a thermostable fusogenic "three hairpin" conformation following a triggering event, such as binding of HIV-1 virus particle to the membrane of target cells.
So, the binding of gp120 to cellular coreceptors induces the gp41 conversion from a prefusogenic form to a fusogenic form.
The linear organization of the gp41 includes a fusion peptide, an ectodomain (a N-terminal coiled-coil, a disulfide-bonded loop region, and a C-terminal a-helical segment) and a transmembrane domain.
In the fusogenic six-helix bundle of the gp41, three N-terminal helices form a trimeric coiled-coil, and three C-terminal helices pack in the reverse direction into three hydrophobic grooves on the surface of the coiled-coil. This helical-hairpin structure corresponds to the fusion-active conformation of gp41. Because the transmembrane anchor and the fusion peptide of the gp41 ectodomain are embedded in the viral and target cell membranes, respectively, the formation of the fusogenic hairpin structure results in the colocalization of the two membranes and thus overcomes the energy barrier for membrane fusion.
The envelope glycoproteins of HIV-1 represent the only realistic viral target for vaccine-induced neutralizing antibody responses because they promote viral membrane fusion through receptor-mediated conformational change and they are expressed on the surface of both virions and infected cells. Monomeric HIV-1 gp120 and derivatives were initially considered to be principal vaccine candidates. However, HIV-1 gp120 is highly variable and has repeatedly proven to be an immunogen ineffective at eliciting neutralizing antibodies against clinical HIV-1 isolates. Few of the antibodies raised by gp120 monomers effectively bind assembled HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein trimers.
In contrast, gp41 is an extremely immunogenic glycoprotein, inducing antibodies in essentially all HIV-infected individuals.
The ectodomain of gp41 is the most conserved region of the HIV-1 envelope, membrane protein which otherwise exhibits considerable genetic diversity even among closely related isolates.
Furthermore, the gp41 performs a critical role in maintaining the conformation and infectivity of the HIV-1 virions.
The antibodies targeting the six-helix bundle (fusogenic form) and prehairpin (prefusogenic form) structures arrest fusion under certain conditions. Antibodies having access to prehairpin and six-helix bundles conformations of gp41 would be capable of inhibiting gp41-mediated fusion. Furthermore, the six-helix bundle is an extremely stable structure.
Those observations allow considering the gp41 six-helix, under a modified form or not, as an attractive target for drugs and vaccine development.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,455,265, it was shown that some gp41 derivatives could be particularly efficient for obtaining vaccines for preventing the pathogenic effects related to a HIV retroviral infection, with the proviso that the corresponding polypeptides have epitopes having a modified antigenicity so as to obtain a differential immune response with respect to the viral envelope and some self-proteins.
More precisely, it was discovered that conserved and immunodominant regions of the retroviral envelope could be responsible for harmful autoimmune phenomena, particularly in the case of the gp41 retroviral envelope. It was observed that certain immunodominant regions of the gp41 exhibit three-dimensional structural analogies and/or cross-reactivities with certain regions of some proteins of the human immune system, and in particular the interleukin 2 (IL-2).
Accordingly, it was proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,455,265 modified polypeptides obtained by modifying the antigenicity of the concerned epitope of the envelope protein, in order to obtain a differential immune response with respect to the viral envelope protein and these proteins of the human immune system, in particular IL-2.
According to WO2005/01033, such modified polypeptides with at least one antigenic region of native gp41 protein of HIV-1 have been disclosed
Generally, synthetic gp41 can be produced in transfected baculovirus or mammalian cells but the yield is lower than in E. coli. Furthermore, the glycosylation in baculovirus or mammalian cells is different from the glycosylation of human cells and is not necessary for the immunogenicity of the protein. Gp41 is in fact very immunogenic without glycosylation.
However, full length or shorter recombinant HIV-1 ectodomain of gp41 produced in E. coli generally forms insoluble precipitates (aggregates of gp41 trimeric form) in aqueous media at neutral pH.
There is still a need to produce high levels of gp41 proteins that may be devoid of immunodominant region that trigger antibodies with no neutralizing activities but keeping important gp41 regions to focus the immune response on relevant epitopes that retain their overall immunogenic activity.
However there is still a need for a vaccine that allows for inducing a versatile immune response against HIV infection, and in particular HIV-type 1 infection. There is also a need for the development of non-clade B vaccines, such as, for example, clade C strains.
There is also a need for the development of a vaccine with broad inhibitory spectrum allowing for cross-clade inhibition.
There is a need for a vaccine allowing to induce an innate and/or a humoral and/or cellular immune response against HIV-1 infection.
There is a need for a vaccine allowing to induce an immune response against HIV infection at the mucosal surface level and/or at the blood level.
There is a need for a vaccine suitable for inducing mucosal IgA and/or antibodies and/or systemic IgA and/or IgG antibodies capable of interfering with HIV entry across the mucosa and early cell infection under the mucosa.
There is a need for a vaccine suitable for inhibiting or reducing HIV entry across mucosal tissues, e.g. vaginal mucosal tissues through various mechanisms such as transcytosis and ADCC (Antibody Depedent Cell Cytotoxicity).
It is an object of the invention to satisfy to all those above-mentioned needs.


An electrical cable connector includes a contact subassembly having a center contact, a dielectric holder, and an outer contact. The dielectric holder defines a channel that is open at a top side of the dielectric holder. The center contact has a termination region that is held in the channel. The termination region includes a first cable insulation displacement (CID) feature. The outer contact includes a second CID feature extending from a base wall of the outer contact outside of the dielectric holder. The second CID feature extends into the channel through an aperture in the dielectric holder. The first CID feature engages a core conductor of a cable and the second CID feature engages a shield layer of the cable as the cable is loaded into the channel from above the top side of the dielectric holder.

The subject matter herein relates generally to electrical connectors that mount to electrical cables.
Electrical connectors have been used to interconnect coaxial cables. Coaxial cables are used in various radio frequency (RF) applications. In the automotive industry, for example, there is a demand for coaxial cables and connectors due in part to increased electrical devices within automobiles, such as AM/FM radios, cellular phones, GPS, satellite radios, wireless communication systems, and the like.
The production of coaxial cable connectors according to known methods is not without disadvantages, such as by involving a series of steps that may be difficult to automate, thus increasing costs and reducing production efficiency. For example, the assembly process of known coaxial cable connectors include cutting and stripping the coaxial cable; terminating a core of the cable to a center contact via a crimping or otherwise pressing process; loading the center contact and attached cable within a dielectric holder inside of an outer contact; preparing a shield layer of the cable to engage the outer contact; positioning a ferrule around the shield layer; and then crimping the ferrule to secure the cable to the outer contact and dielectric holder. Thus, the assembly process may include multiple pressing operations using different applicators that perform the pressing operations. A need remains for an electrical cable connector that is formed more efficiently by reducing the number of assembly steps, reducing the number of parts used in the assembly process, and/or increasing the suitability of the assembly process for automation.

Electrical cable connector and method of assembling the same


An information memory device capable of reading and writing of information by mechanical operation of a floating gate layer, in which a gate insulation film has a cavity (6), and a floating gate layer (5) having two stable deflection states in the cavity (6), the state stabilized by deflecting toward the channel side of transistor, and the state stabilized by deflecting toward the gate (7) side, writing and reading of information can be made by changing the stable deflection state of the floating gate layer (5) by Coulomb interactive force between the electrons (or positive holes 8) accumulated in the floating gate layer (5) and external electric field, and by reading the channel current change based on the state of the floating gate layer (5).

Heretofore, a flash memory has been known as one of non-volatile memory devices. The memory cell of the flash memory has a structure comprising a floating gate formed on a substrate via a tunnel oxide film, and a control gate formed via a gate insulation film, which are laminated with each other. In an operation of the memory cell, upon writing, electrons (or positive holes) are injected from a drain of the memory cell to the floating gate by using a voltage difference between the control gate and the drain.
On the other hand, upon erasing, electrons (or positive holes) in the floating gate are released into the drain by using a controlled voltage difference between the control gate and the drain. Assuming a substrate as P type, and a source and a drain as n type, a channel of the memory cell becomes off state in case that the floating gate has electrons, and on state in case that it has no electron, so that it operates as a non-volatile memory.
As conventional flash memories, FLOTOX (floating-gate tunnel oxide) types and MNOS (metal nitride oxide semiconductor) type are known. FLOTOX type has a structure comprising a tunnel oxide film (first gate insulation film), a floating gate, an interlayer insulation film (second gate insulation film), and a control gate laminated on a channel formed on a surface of a semiconductor substrate, and accumulates electric charges in the floating gate or releases them into the channel by applying controlled voltage difference either to generate an accumulated state or an erased state, and carry out writing and reading of 1 bit information by using the accumulated state and the erased state. MNOS type has a structure comprising two layers of insulation film made of oxide film (silicon oxide film) and nitride film, and accumulates electric charges into the trap of interface of two films thereof.
Also in contrast to those electrical memory, there are a mechanical non-volatile memory, for example, using a mechanical pendulum and others, which is seemed to be technologically closest in the field of realizing mechanical memory to the present invention (for example, see Physical Review Letters, Vol. 87, p. 096101-1, 2001.).
General description of Electrical flash memories are described in various journals (for example, see Electronic Materials, Kogyo Chosakai, April, 1993, p. 32, or LSI Handbook, Ohmsha, edited by The Institute of Electronics, Information, and Communication Engineers, Nov. 30, 1984, p. 485.). However, in the above-mentioned electrical flash memories, the material existing between the floating gate and the drain, through which the electric current of writing flows, is deteriorated by the current, and the repetition of the writing causes the formation of leakage current path between the floating gate and the drain, thereby a restriction for the times capable of writing arises. That is, since the electrons or positive holes accumulated in the floating gate flow out through the leakage current path formed by the repetition, there is a problem to be solved that the repetition of writing causes the memory not to operate as a non-volatile memory.
The object of the present invention is to provide an information memory device capable of writing an information by mechanical operation of a floating gate layer, a method of manufacturing the same, and a memory array of using it, by which the above problem can be solved.

Information storage element, manufacturing method thereof, and memory array


By using two probe optical systems for measurement by disposing the probe optical systems with a test object sandwiched therebetween, an optical path length of light transmitted through the test object which is identified locally is calculated using an interference signal thereof. In addition, a geometrical thickness of the same part is calculated by measuring positions of the probe optical systems, whereby two calculated values are obtained. Based on the values and a calculated value for a reference object, a refractive index distribution of the test object is obtained.

For an optical element to be used for digital copying or digital cameras, there is a molded lens.
The molded lens is superior in the fabricability of an aspherical lens to a polished glass lens and is low in cost, but has an unstable side that non-uniformity is likely to occur in the refractive index distribution inside the lens, depending on the molding conditions. The non-uniformity of the refractive index inside the lens greatly affects the optical characteristics of the lens, which may cause degradation in image forming performance.
Because of this, to stabilize the quality of molded lenses, a distribution of refractive indices needs to be measured with high accuracy.
In recent years, a GRIN (GRadient-INdex) lens in which a refractive index gradient is intentionally provided in the lens has begun to be used in an optical communication field, etc. Since the GRIN lens can separate a shape and refractive index, the expansion of the application range thereof such as imaging systems is expected.
The GRIN lens is designed such that a refractive index distribution is intentionally provided to a glass material. Thus, for stable mass production, a distribution of refractive indices needs to be measured with high accuracy.
For conventional art for measuring a refractive index to handle such issues, there is a method in which a refractive index is determined by measuring an angle of deviation by a minimum deviation method, etc., or a method in which a test object is immersed in a solution whose refractive index is known, and observed and a refractive index of the test object is indirectly measured from the refractive index of the solution, or a method (Mach-Zehnder interferometer) in which interference fringes are observed which occur in plane-wave test light with plane-wave reference light and the plane-wave test light being transmitted through a state in which a test object is immersed in a matching liquid whose refractive index is known and substantially equal to that of the test object.
FIG. 6 is a view showing a refractive index measuring apparatus using a conventional Mach-Zehnder interferometer.
In FIG. 6, light emitted from a laser light source 1 is converted into parallel light by a condenser lens 2. Thereafter, the light is branched by a half mirror 3 into reference light 4 and test light 5. The test light is reflected by a mirror 6 and thereafter transmitted through a liquid immersion cell 8 filled with a matching liquid whose refractive index is substantially equal to that of a test object 7 and the test object 7 immersed therein, and thereby causes an optical path difference according to a refractive index distribution of the test object 7. Then, the test light 5 reaches a half mirror 9 and thereafter enters an imaging device 11 through an image forming lens 10.
On the other hand, the reference light 4 is transmitted through a compensating plate 12, reflected by a mirror 13, reaches the half mirror 9, and thereafter, enters the imaging device 11 through the image forming lens 10. The compensating plate 12 is to make an optical path length from the test light 5 to the imaging device 11 and an optical path length from the reference light 4 to the imaging device 11 substantially equal to each other.
In the imaging device 11, the test light 5 and the reference light 4 are combined and interference fringes 14 occur according to an optical path difference therebetween. In the interference fringe observation, by the number of fringes at a location where the interference fringes 14 occur, an optical thickness of the test object 7 in that part can be computed, from which a difference in the refractive index of the matching liquid is computed, whereby a refractive index of the test object 7 can be determined.
For the method using an interferometer using a matching liquid, there are one using a bath that increases the temperature uniformity of a matching liquid, one that achieves an increase in accuracy by introducing a phase shift method, and furthermore, one that enables to measure a three-dimensional distribution by using a CT scan (see, for example, Patent Document 1).


In a working vehicle which includes left and right traveling devices, a pair of hydraulic traveling motors are installed to drive the respective traveling devices, and a pair of hydraulic directional control valves are provided for the respective hydraulic traveling motors in order to control the traveling of the vehicle. A throttle valve is provided in a pilot oil-passage, and connected to a drain oil-passage after passing serially through the pair of hydraulic directional control valves below the throttle valve. A pressure switch for warning the traveling state is operated by a pilot hydraulic pressure which is pressure of oil within an oil-passage between the throttle valve and an upstream one of the left and right hydraulic directional control valves.

The present invention relates to a working vehicle for construction works and civil engineering works, and more particularly to a working vehicle including a traveling warning system for informing persons around the working vehicle that the working vehicle is in the traveling state is provided.
Conventionally, there is a working vehicle, in which a traveling warning system is provided so as to warn (usually sound an alarm) operators and passersby around the working vehicle of a traveling state of the vehicle such as a forward and rearward movement, a turn, etc.
For example, as shown in an art disclosed in the Japanese Utility Model Laid Open Gazette Sho. 61-89065, a traveling warning system is installed in a working vehicle, and constructed in such a way that a traveling lever operated by an operator is mechanically connected with an operation switch of the traveling warning system, and a warning sound generator is operated by being interlocked with the traveling lever.
Moreover, as shown in an art disclosed in the Japanese Utility Model Laid Open Gazette Sho. 61-93562, there is also a working vehicle, which is constructed in such a way that the traveling warning system is operated by detecting the pressure of a hydraulic circuit for traveling.
However, in case of the art disclosed in the Japanese Utility Model Laid Open Gazette Sho. 61-89065, there is some possibility that the earth and sand, a stone, etc. are caught in between the traveling lever and the operation switch, thereby leading to the malfunction of the traveling warning system.
In case of the art disclosed in the Japanese Utility Model Laid Open Gazette Sho. 61-93562, it is necessary that two pressure switches are provided, thereby leading to an increase of parts and costs.
When the warning is performed by sound, in consideration of the maximum noise generated in the work by the working vehicle, a sound generator generating a loud warning sound is provided in the working vehicle so as to overcome the noise. Therefore, as the case may be, the warning sound itself becomes such a noise as to bring a noise pollution to the residential section around the job site.
In order to cancel this discrepancy, there is a working vehicle enabling free cancellation of the warning by a canceling switch provided in the warning sound generator. However, once the warning is cancelled, the warning sound is not generated in case of changing into the next working or generating the warning again, so that the warning sound generator is not useful as a safety device.
An object of the present invention is provide a working vehicle equipped with a pair of hydraulic traveling motors for driving left and right traveling devices, a pair of hydraulic directional control valves for controlling the respective traveling devices, and a traveling warning system for warning persons around the working vehicle that the working vehicle is in a traveling state, wherein the traveling warning system is improved so as to prevent the wrong operation thereof led by the external exposure of a traveling detecting element for detecting that the working vehicle is in the traveling state, and to decrease the number of parts and costs.
In order to attain this object, in the working vehicle according to the present invention, a traveling warning system comprises a throttle valve provided in a pilot oil-passage so as to feed pilot-oil to a hydraulic pilot type control device provided in the working vehicle, and connected to a low pressure oil-passage after passing serially through the pair of hydraulic directional control valves below the throttle valve. The traveling warning system further comprises a pressure switch operated by the hydraulic pressure within an oil-passage between the throttle valve and an upstream side one of both the hydraulic directional control valves, and a warning device operated on the basis of the on-off of the pressure switch.
Due to the present invention, the pressure switch serving as a traveling detecting element of the traveling warning system is installed inside the working vehicle so as not to be exposed outward, thereby being protected from the earth and sand, a stone, etc. causing wrong operation thereof, and enhancing the reliability as a warning device. Since the pair of the hydraulic directional control valves for controlling the hydraulic traveling motors are serially disposed in the pilot oil-passage, only one pressure switch is sufficient to detect the situation that at least one of the pair of the traveling motors is driving, thereby reducing the number of parts and costs.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a working vehicle, where a traveling warning system, which alarms surrounding persons that the working vehicle is in a traveling state, with a warning sound in a suitable volume corresponding to any situation without depending on a canceling switch of the warning.
In order to attain this object, in a working vehicle according to the present invention, a traveling warning system includes a detector detecting whether the working vehicle is in the traveling state, a warning sound generating means electrically connected with an output contact of the detector, and a controller provided in the warning sound generating means.
Therefore, it is possible to control the sound volume so as to correspond to various environments around the job site. For example, the volume is decreased in a residential area etc., while the volume is increased in a work site where a loud noise is generated (or may be generated) so that the noise does not drown the warning sound. Especially, since the warning sound in the traveling warning system is not controlled by alternative steps of generation and cancellation of the warning sound, but controlled by gradual steps from a loud sound to a low sound, it is possible to prevent the generation of a noise pollution by the low warning sound even in case of the job site where the restriction of noise is expected, thereby ensuring that the traveling warning system always functions as means for a safety precaution.
Moreover, a plurality of warning sound generators having different sound volumes are provided in the warning sound generating means. The sound volume control is performed by selecting one from the plurality of warning sound generators without a complicated control circuit etc., thereby enabling an expected sound volume to be output immediately, and simplifying the warning sound generating means and reducing costs thereof.
The above and other objects of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description based on the accompanying drawings.