A water-in-oil coating composition comprising a water phase emulsified in a non-aqueous liquid phase, wherein the non-aqueous phase comprises one or more binders including an autoxidizable binder, characterized in that the composition has a solids content in the range of from 5 to 50 wt % and a water content in the range of from 40 to 90 wt %, and wherein the value A defined by the sum of the mass-average molecular mass of the one or more binders divided by 1,400, 1.7 times the solids content, and the water content, is at most 130, wherein the mass-average molecular mass is expressed in gram/mole and the solids content and the water content are each expressed in wt % based on the total weight of the composition.

Autoxidizable binders are well-known in the coatings industry. Autoxidizable binders comprise autoxidizable groups such as unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds.
Drying oils, such as linseed oil, safflower oil, soybean oil, tung oil, dehydrated castor oil, or the like, are examples of autoxidizable binders. Such oils have inherent autoxidizable functionality that may be catalyzed in the presence of a drier (also referred to as siccative).
Other examples of autoxidizable binders are film-forming polymers with autoxidative functionality. Examples of such film-forming polymers include alkyd resins and other resins with autoxidative functionality such as unsaturated ether groups such as found in e.g. allyl ethers, cyclopentenylethers and vinyl dioxolanes, and polymers or copolymers of butadiene.
Alkyd resins are widely used in coating compositions such as paint. An alkyd is a fatty acid functionalized polyester resin that comprises unsaturated fatty acids, such as for example oleic acid, linoleic acid, or linolenic acid. Drying of paints comprising autoxidizable binders, comprises evaporation of the liquid carrier (organic solvent and/or water) and, subsequently, hardening of the binder via radical autoxidation reactions. The latter is known as chemical or oxidative drying. The fatty acid moieties of the alkyd resin react with oxygen from the atmosphere to form hydroperoxides which subsequently decompose to form free radicals. Recombination of these free radicals causes covalent bonds to be formed between the alkyd polymer chains, thus forming cross-links between polymer chains. In this way, a liquid coating composition that comprises alkyd resin hardens to form a solid cured coating. This process is also referred to as autoxidation or oxidative drying.
The time for autoxidizable binders to dry depends on the concentration of unsaturated bonds in the binder. Autoxidation and crosslinking of the unsaturated bonds can proceed unaided, but the time for drying is generally found to be unacceptably long for many practical purposes. The reactions are significantly accelerated by the presence of a metal-based drying catalyst, commonly referred to as a "drier" or "siccative". Such driers are well-known in the art.
Alkyd paints typically form a hard, glossy surface that is easy to clean and resists scratching, water, and chemicals. They are primarily used for trim, doors, cabinets, furniture, floors and other high-use areas, and are popular with professional painters because they adhere well to most surfaces and "level out" to hide brush marks and small surface irregularities, and cure to a smooth surface that latex paints cannot match.
Alkyd paints often are solvent-based. Such solvent-based alkyd paints comprise an organic solvent in which the alkyd resin is dissolved. Such solvent-based paints typically comprise high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOC). Today, water is often added to solvent-based alkyd paints in order to reduce the VOC content. Such paints are often referred to as alkyd paints with water inclusion, alkyd/water inclusion paints, or water-in-oil paints. Typical alkyd/water inclusion paints contain 5-15% of water in the liquid formulation. However, water-in-oil alkyd paints with water contents up to 30% do exist.
Further increasing the amount of water in a water-in-oil paint results in a rapid increase of viscosity and deterioration of the levelling out of brush marks after application. This might even make it impossible to spread out the paint over a surface.
There is a need for autoxidizable coating compositions, such as alkyd based coating compositions, which are formulated as water-in-oil compositions with further increased water content in order to have low VOC levels, whilst having acceptable applicability.


A two-needle lockstitch sewing machine apparatus providing a hooking arrangement such that each thread loop is positioned in the same direction in relation to the needle position. The hooking arrangement is effective to stitch each left and right stitch line with a needle thread having almost the same degree of twist. Thus, uniform stitch lines are obtained and the "edge effect" which is often experienced when the needle thread passes through the needle eye during stitching is eliminated.

This invention relates to an improvement in the hooking arrangement for two-needle lockstitch sewing machines More particularly, this invention relates to the relative position between needles and hooks in two-needle lockstitch sewing machines.
The relative positions of the needles and hooks in a conventional two-needle lockstitch sewing machine are shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b. FIG. 5a is a plan view of the needles and hooks and FIG. 5b is a front view of the needles K.sub.1 denotes a left hook and K.sub.2 denotes a right hook. KK.sub.1 and KK.sub.2 denote left and right hook points, respectively N.sub.1 and N.sub.2 denote left and right needles, respectively. T.sub.1 denotes a left needle thread and T.sub.2 denotes a right needle thread. Arrows in FIG. 5a show the rotational direction of each hook K.sub.1 and K.sub.2 respectively.
In the above-described needle and hook arrangement, each needle thread's passageway is preferably symmetrically arranged and each hook hooks a thread loop formed on the outer side of the needle. Thus, the stitching for each needle thread is performed.
FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating the relation between the direction of threading and the stitching S.sub.1, S.sub.2. During stitching S.sub.1, S.sub.2, the squeezing (displacement of twist) direction for the needle thread when it passes through the needle eye is different for each of the needles N.sub.1, N.sub.2 .
Generally, Z-twist threads are used for sewing machines The displacement of twist by Z-twist thread due to the edge effect of the needle eye is shown in FIG. 7.
Referring to FIG. 7, each thread is a Z-twist type and each left and right needle N.sub.1, N, is rotated by 90 degrees counter clockwise around the needle axis from the original position of FIG. 5b to illustrate the displacement of twist for each needle In this drawing, the displacement of twist for each needle thread is exaggerated for illustration.
As illustrated, when each needle thread passes through the needle eye, the squeezing direction is different for each of the needle threads Thus, the direction of displacement of the twist for each thread is opposite In case of the right needle N.sub.2, the twist advances from the needle eye to the upper side and, accordingly, the stitching S.sub.2 will be performed with the loose-twist thread.
In case of the left needle N.sub.1, on the other hand, the twist advances from the needle eye to the lower side and, accordingly, the stitching S.sub.1 will be performed with the more-twisted thread. Although the left and right thread had a uniformly equal degree of twist when each was set in a bobbin, after stitching with the two-needle lockstitch machine the left stitch line is stitched with the more-twisted thread and the right stitch line is stitched with the loose-twist thread. Thus, stitching is not uniformly performed. In particular, the left needle may be problematic and cause accidental thread cut, or disorderly stitching such as wobbling or balloon stitch (isolated idle loop).
The above described displacement of the twist in the needle thread during stitching with the two-needle lockstitch sewing machine is caused by the edge effect of the needle eye. How this displacement causes problems is described in the report "The Displacement of the Twist in the Needle Thread during Sewing Process", in the "Journal of the Textile Machinery Society of Japan" Vol. 37, pp. 185-193, April, 1984.
To solve these problems, a combination of S-twist thread for the left needle and Z-twist thread for the right thread has been applied. The arrangment of using S-twist thread for a small quantity of workpiece results in higher costs and therefore such application is limited only to where mass production is used.
In another arrangement, the rotational direction of the hooks may be altered to be oppositely directed (one clockwise and the other counter clockwise). This arrangement alone does not solve the problem either Adjustment of the shape of the needle eye edge or loosening of the thread tension have also been tried, but these arrangements are restrictive and have also proved insufficient to solve the problem.

Hooking arrangement for two-needle lockstitch sewing machines


A waveform equalizing system includes a clock reproducing phase locked loop circuit for reproducing a clock signal from a television signal; a transversal filter; a first selector circuit for alternatively passing the television signal or an output of a first memory to the transversal filter; a CPU for extracting reference signals contained in the television signal from the input and output of the transversal filter through two second memories respectively and for performing a synchronous addition of the same; the first memory for storing a reference signal processed by the synchronous addition; and a second selector circuit for alternatively delivering the television signal or an output of the transversal filter in response to a control signal from the CPU. The CPU is arranged for calculating a phase difference between the clock signal of the clock reproducing circuit and its ideal form from the reference signal processed by the synchronous addition and controlling a clock signal phase of the clock reproducing phase locked loop circuit to correct the phase difference.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a waveform equalizing system for waveform equalizing a television signal transmitted in the form of a series of sampled values.
2. Description of the Prior Art
High definition television signals contain greater amounts of information than the conventional television signals of the existing TV systems and have to be compressed to an acceptable bandwidth for effective transmission. One of the known bandwidth compressing methods is a subsampling technique such as the Japanese MUSE (multiple sub-Nyquist sampling encoding) system. The MUSE system performs sampling of a television signal at 16.2 MHz to produce a sampled analog signal which is then transmitted, as compared with direct transmission of an original analog television signal in the existing TV system. Having been transmitted and received at a receiver side, the sampled signal can successfully be reproduced without any loss of its information through resampling when the entire system of signal transmission including the transmitter and the receiver satisfies the Nyquist conditions for transmission without waveform distortion. If the transmission system does not satisfy the Nyquist conditions, reproduction of the original signal will hardly be accomplished although the resampling is done at correct timings. Also, if the timing for resampling fails to be identical to that of the transmitter side, reproduction of the signal will be unsuccessful although the transmission system satisfies the Nyquist conditions. A resultant artifact will appear as ringing effects on a screen of the high-definition TV system, causing a more critical deterioration in the picture quality than that of the existing TV systems.
For satisfying the Nyquist conditions with higher consistency, waveform equalization of the received signal is requested at the receiver side. Generally, the television signal carries a reference signal superimposed in its vertical blanking periods for identifying the transmission characteristics. In the MUSE system, the reference signal is a VIT (vertical interval test) signal, or a single impulse of 32 MHz. The waveform equalization produces a filter characteristics corresponding to a reverse of the transmission characteristics which are identified using the reference signal. Two major methods of the waveform equalization respectively employ sampling rates equal to and twice the frequency of the signal. The former is shown, for example, in "An adaptive equalizer for an HDTV Receiver" by Nakamura et al, 1989 Spring National Conference, B-584, Institute of Electronics and Communication Engineers of Japan, and the latter includes WAVEFORM EQUALIZER IN MUSE Decoder by Iwadate et al, 1988 National Conference, 16-5, Institute of Television Engineers of Japan and "A waveform equalizer for the MUSE transmission system" by Noboru Kojima et al, IEEE, Transactions on Consumer Electronics, Vol. 36, No. 3, August 1990. Nakamura offers wave-form equalization through resampling at 16 MHz which is equal to the frequency of a TV signal. When the Nyquist conditions for transmission without waveform distortion are satisfied in transmission of sampled data of the TV signal, a VIT signal of the sampled data received at the receiver side will be in the same form of a single-impulse as that at the transmission side. If the Nyquist conditions fail to be satisfied, undesired signals, other than the peak value of each single impulse, are extracted. Those appear as waveform distortions. It is now understood that the train of impulses represents the transmission characteristics.
For correcting such an impulse train back to the original single impulse, the tap coefficients of a transversal filter are corrected one by one in the time domain according to a particular algorithm such as the MSE (mean square error) or ZF (zero forcing) schemes. Generally, the tap coefficients are modified tens of times until they become desired values for elimination of the waveform distortions caused during transmission.
According to the latter technique involving the resampling at 32 MHz, or twice the frequency of the TV signal, the transversal filter is determined to minimize a difference between the received VIT signal at 32 MHz and its ideal shape.
The reproduction of a clock signal for determining the timing for resampling is carried out using a phase locked loop (PLL) circuit in which a phase difference of the horizontal synchronizing signal of the TV signal can be minimized. More specifically, a voltage representing a phase error detected by a phase comparator circuit is converted by a digital-to-analog converting circuit (referred to as a D/A converter circuit hereinafter) to its analog form which is then fed to a loop filter. The output of the loop filter shifts a frequency of oscillation of a voltage controlled oscillator (referred to as a VCO hereinafter) to attenuate the phase error. As a result, the clock signal for synchronizing the horizontal synchronizing signal of the TV signal is generated and is used for determining the timing for resampling.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a known process of the waveform equalization. In the known waveform equalization, the generation of the clock signal is conducted independently of the waveform equalization. The received TV signal is fed to the transversal filter at the timing controlled by the clock signal from the clock circuit. This will not imply that the timing for resampling is optimum to the waveform equalization. While the clock signal for resampling is being shifted in phase by application of correction data from the outside to the PLL circuit, the waveform equalization is inhibited until the phase correction is completed, thus increasing the entire processing time. In the waveform equalization, the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio has to be improved by repeating the addition of the reference signals in the TV signal at equal intervals of time (as will be referred to as synchronous addition hereinafter). If the received TV signal contains noise of considerable levels which have not been attenuated, its waveform will hardly be distinguished from the original shape, thus degrading the waveform equalization and, if worse, diverging the transmission system. For performing the waveform equalization in a sequence of the time domain, the synchronous addition is needed upon every correction of the tap coefficients of the transversal filter, thus increasing the overall time needed for the waveform equalization.

Transmitted television signal waveform equalizing system


A digital image compositing system (20) has background, foreground, key and mask busses (22), (24), (26), and (28). An analog key input (30) is connected to the key and mask busses (26) and (28) through an analog/digital (A/D) converter (32) by crosspoint switches (34). Four digital D1 video signal inputs (36) are connected to the busses (22-24) through additional crosspoint switches (34). The key and mask busses (26) and (28) are respectively connected to frame stores (38) and (40). A key processing toolkit subsystem (42) is connected to the output of the frame stores (38) and (40). A compositor subsystem (44) is connected to the background and foreground busses (22) and (24) and to the output of the key processing toolkit subsystem (42). A D1 program output (46) is connected to the output of the compositor subsystem (44) on program bus ( 48). A D1 key output (50) is connected to the output of key processing toolkit subsystem (42) on processed key bus (52). A D1 auxiliary output (54) is connected to program bus (48), background bus (22), foreground bus (24), processed key bus (52) and mask bus (28) by crosspoint switches (56). An analog output (58) is also connected to the busses (48), (22), (24), (52) and (28) by additional crosspoint switches (56) through D/A converter (60). A microprocessor (62) is connected to provide control signals for all of the functional elements of the system (20). A control keyboard and display (64) is connected to the microprocessor at (66). The microprocessor (62) is also connected to a video editor at (68).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to digital compositing, i.e., the layering or putting together of images in a digital video domain. More particularly, it relates to a system and method for digital image compositing which gives the user an increased flexibility for such compositing. The invention further relates to a user interface that enables the user to take advantage of the increased flexibility more conveniently,
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of systems are known in the art for combining separate video images using a key to provide a foreground image superimposed on a background. For example, such systems are disclosed in Greenburg, U.S. Pat. No. 4,357,624 and Kellar et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,602,286. It is further known to carry out various forms of soft edge keying to provide a realistic transition between the foreground image and the background image. One form of soft edge keying is disclosed in the Kellar et al. patent, and in Bennett et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,373. Other forms of soft edge keying are disclosed in the following issued U.K patents and published U.K. patent applications: 1,178,330; 1,226,559; 1,570,773; 2,032,217; 2,092,346 and 2,109,193. In particular, one technique for soft edge keying that has particular utility is the use of sub-pixel interpolation, as disclosed in published European application 0 360 559.
Other techniques disclosed in the prior art that are useful in digital video image compositing include clock rate doubling and adaptive decimation, as disclosed in published European application 0 360 557, the use of modified keying signals to adjust boundaries between overlaid images, as disclosed in published European application 0 360 560, and the use of dynamic rounding, as disclosed in Owen, D. P., "Dynamic Rounding in Digital Video Processing," SMPTE Journal, June 1989, pp. 447-450.
Various forms of control interfaces for video signal processing equipment are also known in the art. For example, such interfaces are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,538,188; 4,763,186; 4,857,994 and 4,954,883.
While the art pertaining to digital video image compositing is thus a well-developed one, a need still remains for further improvement in such systems in order to provide improved composite images and to make such equipment easier to operate.

Digital image compositing system and method


Provided is a method for producing trans-1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene usable as a raw material for a foaming agent for a hard polyurethane foam, a solvent, a cleaning agent, a cooling medium, a working fluid, a propellant, a fluorinated resin, etc., the method involving a step of bringing cis-1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene into contact with a catalyst, wherein the catalyst includes a fluorinated metal oxide or a metal fluoride each produced by applying a fluorination treatment to a metal oxide containing one kind or two or more kinds of metals and containing aluminum atoms that make up 50 at. % or more of metal atoms to thereby substitute some or all of oxygen atoms in the metal oxide with fluorine atom(s), wherein the fluorinated metal oxide or the metal fluoride is a compound produced through a drying treatment at 400 to 600° C.

Trans-1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene (hereinafter, 1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene may be referred to as "1233zd" or merely as "1233") is useful as a raw material for a foaming agent for a hard polyurethane foam, a solvent, a cleaning agent, a cooling medium, a working fluid, a propellant, a fluorinated resin, etc. As an example of conventional techniques relating to the present invention, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for obtaining 1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene by reacting 1,1,1,3,3-pentachloropropane with hydrogen fluoride in the gas phase. Additionally, Patent Document 2 discloses a method of reacting 1,1,1,3,3-pentachloropropane with hydrogen fluoride in the absence of a catalyst thereby obtaining 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-chloro-2-propene (1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene). Furthermore, Patent Document 3 describes, as a method for producing 1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene, a process involving the step of causing a reaction of 1,1,1,3,3-pentachloropropane in a reactor vessel in the presence of a Lewis acid catalyst or a mixture containing a Lewis acid catalyst at a temperature of lower than 150° C. in the liquid phase, the step of continuously retrieving products in the reactor vessel (hydrogen chloride and 1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene) and the step of isolating 1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene obtained by the preceding step.
In the above-mentioned methods, however, 1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene is usually obtained in the form of a mixture of cis and trans isomers, which is disadvantageous when either one is put to use.
In view of the above, attempts had been made to interconvert them by isomerization; Patent Document 4 discloses a process of taking advantage of chemical equilibrium to transform trans-1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene into cis-1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene.
Additionally, Patent Document 5 mentions in Examples about isomerization of 1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene, in which when fluorinating trans-1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene to provide 1,1,1,3,3-pentafluoropropane there occurs isomerization reaction as a side reaction thereby producing cis-1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene.
Though isomerization reaction of Patent Document 4 was studied in the use of a fluorinated chromia oxide catalyst as a fluorinated catalyst, the yield of trans-1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene at reaction temperatures of 103-199° C. is low (58.9-70.2%). The product of Patent Document 5 is just a by-product. Accordingly, these methods are not always suitable for the industrially actual use.

Method for producing trans-1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene


A method for processing cash advance transactions in a casino having an authorized MCD processor and, in particular, for processing non-service fee/surcharge transactions as Manual Cash Disbursements by the system.

"Casino" Context
Casino gaming is a highly popular activity in today's society. A particular individual's enjoyment of the casino gaming experience is often predicated on having an adequate supply of cash or other cash equivalents that allow the patron to participate in gaming activities such as slot machine and table game play. In the most basic form, the casino patron brings a specific amount of cash to the casino that can be exchanged for negotiable playing chips, casino issued gaming cards, or used with various gaming devices such as slot machines. Invariably, a casino patron may choose not to bring the desired amount of cash to the casino or the patron may deplete the supply of cash or cash equivalents brought to the casino before the casino patron is ready to end the gaming experience. Under these circumstances the patron will desire to obtain additional cash or cash equivalents through use of one or more financial instruments such as a debit card, credit card, or personal check where the casino patron maintains an account with all applicable financial institutions. For example, within the casino premises patrons generally have the ability to use an automated teller machine ("ATM"), cash a personal check, use a "debit card cash access" service, with or without a PIN, or a get a "cash advance" against their available credit card limit without a PIN.
The present invention addresses the use of a casino patron's Visa or MasterCard or like bankcard as a means to obtain cash, cash equivalent, or an item of value. Most casinos are equipped to accommodate "bankcard" transactions on the gaming floor or at the casino cage, which are commonly referred to as bankcard "quasi-cash," wire transfer money order (WTMO), or "cash advance" or "quasi cash" transactions pursuant to the Visa and MasterCard and the like rules. In this instance, the casino patron presents a financial institution issued bankcard, such as a Visa card or MasterCard card or the like card, to a casino cage cashier to complete required quasi-cash procedures pursuant to Visa or MasterCard or like Association rules and regulations. Upon completion of these required procedures and receipt of a valid authorization for the quasi-cash transaction, the casino cage cashier will provide either cash or gaming chips for the amount of the authorization, less any surcharge or convenience fee charged to the cardholder.
To obtain a valid authorization from the casino patron's financial institution bankcard, the following are required: an electronic processing device capable of reading an account number encoded on a magnetic stripe of a bankcard or chip card, or an alternate means by which the cardholder's account number can be manually entered into the system; the ability to enter the cardholder's requested amount to be authorized; and the capability to electronically transmit the authorization request through the various payment processors and bankcard networks. Examples of common types of electronic processing devices located on casino premises include ATMs, point of sale terminals, personal computers with payment software applications residing locally or on a remote server, and multifunction ticket redemption kiosks. The electronic processing devices are connected via the internet or other direct line or telecommunication infrastructure to a Visa or MasterCard or like Association approved transaction processing service provider. The processing service provider electronically transmits the required transaction information (including the bankcard account number, requested amount and any surcharge or convenience fees) to a bank Network. Upon delivery of this electronic message by the processor to the financial institution bankcard issuer, the financial institution bankcard issuer will either authorizes an approval or denies the transaction requested. If the authorization is approved, a casino employee or other person designated by the casino to perform quasi-cash transactions completes the required Visa or MasterCard or like Association procedures and provide the cardholder the cash or item of value such as a money order, casino-issued gaming chips, casino-issued stored value card, or a stored value card issued by a financial institution.
Most often a casino, or the casino's third party service provider or acquirer, will impose a surcharge or convenience fee on the cardholder when performing a quasi-cash transaction. This surcharge or convenience fee, associated with bankcard quasi-cash transactions, is generally the most expensive alternative for the casino patron in relation to other options a patron has to get cash or cash equivalents in a casino. In a casino environment a patron may pay 10 times the amount or more, in surcharge or convenience fees for a quasi-cash transaction, that they would otherwise pay for a standard ATM transaction processed at the same location. To illustrate, a quasi-cash transaction for a credit card without a PIN may cost a cardholder 3.5% to 10% of the requested amount in surcharge or convenience fees; (the higher the requested amount the lower the percent.) A quasi cash transaction based on a debit card with a PIN may cost the cardholder 3.5% to 6.5% of the requested amount; (again, the higher the requested amount, the lower the percent.) The same cash request at a standard ATM may only cost the cardholder on average $4.00 in surcharge or convenience fees, or about 1% of a $500 request.
The high surcharge or convenience fees associated with bankcard quasi-cash transactions are a deterrent to a large population of casino patrons from using their bankcard, with or without a PIN, as their available means of accessing cash.
Occasionally, a casino may elect to waive the surcharge or convenience fee to specific patrons that are considered valuable or "high roller" customers.
Regardless of whether or not a surcharge or convenience fee is assessed by a casino operator, however, the quasi-cash transaction is electronically submitted, processed, and authorized using the same quasi-cash processing indicators, which include, among other things, the same Merchant Category Code (MCC) that identifies the transaction as quasi-cash.
Studies in casinos have shown that when the service fees or surcharges are waived for cash advance transactions, patron spending increases significantly, such as by 50% or more among the class for which the fees are waived. Even among the class of all patrons, spending has been shown to increase by a significant percent when cash advance fees are waived for a least certain classes of patrons, such as well known patrons or for transactions of high dollar amount. The casino, thus, has an incentive to waive the surcharge or convenience fees. Nonetheless, the processing service provider must pay a 2.3% "interchange" fee to the issuing bank of the card and by the Card Association, and will thus charge the casino what is referred to as a "buyrate" fee, which is typically 2.5% to 3.5%. The casino historically covers the processing service provider "buyrate" fee (as well as a commission for itself) out of the customer "surcharge." If the casino waives the service fee or surcharge, the casino not only loses its commission but also loses money on every transaction of at least the "buyrate" charged by the processing service provider.
Thus, there is an incentive for a casino to waive patron service fees for quasi cash transactions, namely the documented "greater play" by patrons. There is also an incentive for the casino not to waive the fee, because the casino loses money on each quasi-cash transaction in that case. The casino has a tough decision. The instant invention offers a novel solution to the casino's tough decision, a clever way to improve the process.
The Fees Service Fees, Interchange, Buyrate
Visa and MasterCard and like Card Associations charge "interchange" fees to a casino, or to the service provider of a casino, for conducting quasi-cash transactions. (These fees, largely, are passed on to the card issuing bank.) Interchange fees for quasi-cash transactions are typically based on a percentage of the authorized requested amount and can vary depending on transaction qualifications criteria (i.e. swiped card capture vs. key entered card number) and whether or not the card is branded Visa or MasterCard or the like.
A patron request for a cash advance typically has an additional surcharge or convenience fee attached to it by the casino or service provider. The "authorization request" will be for the sum of two amounts, requested amount and surcharge.
"Interchange" is assessed on this total transaction amount and is typically paid by the service provider of the quasi-cash transaction. The service provider subsequently charges the casino a fee, commonly referred to as a "buyrate" in the casino industry, to cover the service provider's costs of the interchange, other expenses, and profit. A typical buyrate fee charged to a casino for a quasi-cash transaction ranges from 2.5%-3.5% of the transaction amount authorized.
Service fees on credit card quasi cash transactions without a PIN typically have a tiered rate structure such that the lower dollar amount requested carries a higher service fee and a larger requested dollar amount carries lower fees.
Examples of typical service fees for credit card:
$100=$9.99 fee=10%
$500=$39.99 fee=8%
$1000=$69.99 fee=7%
$5000=$174.99 fee=3.5%
As it relates to debit card with a PIN the fee is generally a flat fee per transaction plus percentage, say $2.95 plus 3.5% of the amount requested.
Examples of typical service fees for debit card:
$100=$6.45 fee=6.45%
$500=$20.45 fee=4%
$1000=$27.95 fee=3.8%
$5000=$177.95 fee=3.5%
The "buyrate" is the fee charged by the service provider of the transaction to the casino. The buyrate range is 2.5%-3.5%. The buyrate typically gets calculated as follows, using an example from above for a credit card.
Example of buyrate calculation when fee is charged:
Amount=$500
Fee=$39.99
Total amount+fee=$539.99
Buyrate is calculated by taking the $539.99 and multiplying by 3.5% to reach $18.99, the buyrate to be paid to the service provider. The casino makes, as a "commission," the difference between the service fee the casino charged (e.g. of $39.99) minus the buyrate (e.g. of $18.99), which is $21.00 for the casino commission
The service provider pays the interchange out of their buyrate, which interchange is 2.30%. So out of the $18.99 buyrate the service provider will pay $12.40 as interchange to the Association. (Again, interchange is based on total amount+fee.) This generates a net profit to the service provider of $6.59: ($18.99 buyrate minus $12.40 interchange).
If a service fee were not charged the patron by the casino, the following economics occur. Buyrate calculation when a fee not charged (quasi-cash transaction)
Amount=$500
Service Fee=$0.00
Total amount+fee=$500.00
Buyrate is $500.00 multiplied by 3.5%, or $17.50, to be paid to the service provider by the casino.
Since there is no service fee charged the patron, the casino receives no commission and has to pay $17.50 to the service provider.
The service provider again pays the interchange out of the buyrate which interchange is 2.30%. So out of the $17.50 to the service provider they will pay $11.50 as interchange deduction, generating a net profit to the service provider of $6.00 ($17.50 buyrate minus $11.50 interchange).
The high buyrate charged by the service provider to the casino is one of several factors mitigating against a broad adoption of a "no fee" strategy by casinos for patron bankcard use to secure a cash advance.
For a dramatically different economic model, financial institutions that are "Principal Members" of Visa or MasterCard or like Associations and their authorized agents can be authorized to provide cash advance services to their patrons. These institutions, which have obtained the requisite banking regulator approval, can make available to the general public a service, for Visa or MasterCard or the like cardholders, (bankcard holders) to obtain cash as Manual Cash Disbursement ("MCD.") The cash can be obtained directly through the Principal Member or other financial institution agents designated by the Principal Member.
Among other requirements imposed by Visa and MasterCard and the like MCD transactions prohibit additional surcharge or convenience fees, and mandate that only cash must be provided to the cardholder; cash equivalents are not accepted.
The economics associated with MCD transactions are materially different than those of quasi-cash transactions. Most notable among these distinctions is that, as a Principal Member of Visa and MasterCard and the like or as an authorized financial institution agent of such, these financial institutions do not pay "interchange" fees when providing MCD services. Rather they receive "interchange."
Here is the compelling math of MCD:
Example of MCD when fee is not charged. Assume the service provider is an authorized financial institution agent of a Principal Member
Amount=$500
Fee=$0.00
Total amount+fee=$500.00
Assume no buyrate is calculated or charged because interchange will be paid to the service provider and there is no buyrate charged to the casino. The service provider authorized financial institution agent gets paid interchange from the card issuing bank of $2.00.
Thus, a "No Fee" quasi cash transactions costs the casino $17.50. A "No Fee" MCD transactions costs the casino $0.00. Event if the casino made the service provider whole, to some extent, there is significant savings.
Were the casino service provider an MCD authorized financial institution agent of a Principal Member of the Card Association, this economic shift in the imposition of interchange fees could facilitate casino operators adopting a broad "no fee" strategy for card cash advance transactions, and incentivize service providers to adopt a significant or low "buyrate." This approach not only offers cost savings to both the casino operator and the patron, but presents a meaningful new opportunity for the casino to grow its revenue.
In order for this dramatic shift in cash disbursement methodology to occur, a casino location must meet a financial institution status by a state or federal banking regulator so as to qualify for offering MCD transactions as an authorized agent of a Principal Member of Visa or MasterCard or the like. An important aspect of the instant invention is disconcerting and determining that this is possible.
The present invention proposes to offer a casino location an ability to process both quasi-cash and MCD transactions. An important fact which makes the present invention startling, is recognizing that these two distinct transaction types, quasi cash and MCD, have been supported by Visa and MasterCard and the like for more than 20 years, yet no one has offered the two in conjunction with one another.
To summarize, this environment of quasi-cash and MCD coexistence provides following direct benefits:
1. Provides a direct economic benefit for both the casino and patron by providing for processing transactions where patron service fees are not charged, or are waived, where interchange charges are "reversed," and where a buyrate charged by the service provider to the casino can be significantly reduced.
2. Provides an incentive to the casino to offer bankcard transactions without a patron fee, which would materially increase the number of cash advance transactions in a given location, as well as economic flexibility to offer bankcard transactions for no fee on a periodic or promotional basis to increase business levels either from all patrons or to a targeted segment of patrons or transaction amounts without modifying the underlying technology. Due to the high fees generally charged on bankcard transactions, the elasticity of demand for quasi-cash transactions is very steep and strongly discourages use. High fees generally charged on bankcard transactions strongly discourages use and the demand for quasi-cash transactions is highly elastic in favor of transactions where no fees are applied
3. Provides economic benefit for card issuers by significantly increasing bank card transactions in a casino environment.
Preferably the invention creates cost efficiencies due to an ability to provide seamless integrating of computing software and workstation device peripherals for both traditional quasi-cash and MCD transactions.
As is frequently the case, the instant invention developed as a clever improvement for a casino environment but appears to have application to certain other merchant environments, referred to as similar merchants. Thus "casinos" herein should be understood to include non-bank merchants who could receive cash advance requests associated with presented bankcards and to whom the invention could provide advantages. The instant invention could support any similar merchant, or "casino," that is considered a financial institution or an agent of Member.
In the following "bankcard" refers to an open system card association card, a card processed over a card network, such as a credit card, debit card, open system stored value card or the like. These cards are issued by a bank or other financial institution that is a member of the Card Association or by an affiliate or authorized agent thereof, and are typically branded with Visa or MasterCard or another like Association.
"Authorized MCD processor" refers to an authorized MCD processor and/or its authorized agent.
A "cardholder" is one to whom a "bankcard" has been issued.
An issuer or issuing bank is a member of the Card Association, or is an agent or affiliate of a Member, who enters into a contractual relationship with a cardholder for the issuance of one or more bankcards.
"Cash disbursement" refers to currency, including traveler's checks, that is paid out to a cardholder using a card. An ATM cash disbursement is the most typical.
A "manual cash disbursement" or "MCD" is a cash disbursement obtained with a bankcard in a face-to-face environment. A face-to-face environment implies that a card is presented. A cardholder and an individual representing the merchant are required to be present to complete the transaction.
Card Associations, such as Visa or MasterCard or the like, have a variety of types of members. One type of member is a Principal Member. Principal Members can be authorized to perform MCD, as well as their authorized agents.
A quasi-cash transaction is a transaction representing a merchant's, or a member's, sale of items directly convertible to cash, such as gaming chips, money orders, deposits, wire transfer, traveler's checks, Visa travel money cards, foreign currency, and the like.
A "processor" is a Card Association member or approved non-member, who is directly connected to a Network and provides settlement services for merchants and members.
An "indicated transaction" refers to a cash advance request which is indicated as appropriate for MCD processing, in particular to and/or by processing software. Various algorithms could be adopted. All requests might be indicated, or only certain qualifying or tagged requests.
The invention relates to an improved method for processing bankcard "cash advance" transactions at a casino, which method includes utilizing a principal member of a Card Association, or more likely an authorized agent of a Principal Member, for optionally processing non-service-fee/non-surcharge transactions as Manual Cash Disbursements.
A system and method is disclosed which facilitates bankcard cash advance transactions at casinos for customers. In a preferred embodiment the system and method includes receiving a transaction request related to a bankcard by a processing service provider, the processor having recourse to indicia of the applicability of a surcharge. When a cash advance transaction is to be processed without charging a customer a surcharge or service fee, the MCD authorized principal member, more likely or its authorized agent may process the transaction as a "Manual Cash Disbursement" transaction. When a transaction is to be processed inclusive of a customer surcharge or service fee, the service provider will process the transaction as a "quasi-cash" transaction.
Preferably, a processing device and/or a processing service provider, intermediate or ultimate, interprets a transaction record and/or other available data and determines the appropriate processing method, most preferably based upon the presence or absence of an indicia of a service-fee/surcharge. Cash disbursement information is preferably electronically generated by a processing system provider and sent to either an intermediary processor, who forwards the relevant information to an appropriate processing Network or Card Association Network, or is sent directly to an appropriate processing Network or Card Association Network. The system interpretation of the existence of a service-fee/surcharge or not can occur at various locations and stages, such as at an automated terminal, or at an automated centralized system at a merchant location, or at a location that supports multiple merchant locations, or at an intermediary processor.
The present invention relates to improved systems and methods for performing cash advance transactions at a merchant for a customer. More particularly, it relates to systems and methods for use in particular in a casino to dynamically process cash advance transactions using either Manual Cash Disbursement processing methods and systems or Quasi-Cash processing methods and systems. The choice is typically based on whether a service-fee or surcharge has been, or is to be, included in the transaction authorization request.
"Merchant" and "casino" are used herein to indicate commercial entities that provide or might advantageously provide cash advance transactions for customers as an adjunct to providing significant non-banking goods and/or services. In the following discussion a merchant may be paradigmatically referred to as a casino, which is an exemplary merchant for the instant invention. The invention, however, is potentially applicable to a variety of merchants. "Casino," thus, should be understood to cover similar merchants.


A method for transmission of environment-related information between a user equipment and a mobile communication network includes: transmitting measurement configuration information from a mobile communication network to a user equipment; obtaining local network information by conducting a requested measurement; and transmitting the local network information together with at least one other uplink transmission performed by the user equipment to the base station entity by using at least one radio interface of the user equipment.

It is a known feature of conventional mobile communication networks to transmit measurement jobs from base station entities towards connected user equipments in order to perform measurement, especially of the current radio environment of the user equipment.
For the case of an LTE mobile communication network (Long Term Evolution), the 3GPP standardization documents describe the measurement configuration in 3GPP TS 36.331. The main target of the described measurement is to provide inputs for RRM (Radio Resource Management) and mobility purposes. Beside that, the measurements can also be used to deliver inputs for network optimization functions, like generation of a downlink interference matrix based on mobile measurements or the estimation of the geo-location, i.e. the position, of the UE.
Generally, such measurement requirements communicated to user equipments connected to or camping on a radio cell (i.e. a base station entity) necessarily have drawbacks, at least regarding the transmission capacity of the mobile communication network (especially the base station entity) and/or the user equipment. The measurement requirements normally involve additional network communication load (especially on the air interface between the respective user equipment and the concerned base station entity), as well as normally drain the power supply of the user equipments itself, i.e. reduces the residual battery life time (at least in case that the user equipment is not connected to an electrical grid).

Enhancing the usage of resources related to the transmission of environment-related information between a user equipment and a mobile communication network


In order, in the case of a cable feedthrough comprising a cable fixing unit with a fixing housing which is provided with a cable fixing member and a holding section as well as a shield contact element making contact with a cable shield of a cable guided through the cable feedthrough, to configure the cable fixing unit as simply and inexpensively as possible, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, to provide an electrically conductive connection between the cable shield and a wall section bearing the cable feedthrough which is as good as possible it is suggested that the cable feedthrough have a mounting unit which can be connected to a wall section of an appliance, that the mounting unit be connectable or connected to the cable fixing unit in a form locking manner and that the mounting unit be designed such that it provides an electrically conductive connection between the shield contact element and the wall section.

The invention relates to a cable feedthrough comprising a cable fixing unit with a fixing housing which is provided with a cable fixing member and a holding section as well as a shield contact element which makes contact with a cable shield of a cable which is guided through the cable feedthrough.
Cable feedthroughs of this type are known from the state of the art.
Examples for such cable feedthroughs are, for example, cable glands, as described in EP 1 022 836.
The problem with such cable feedthroughs is, on the one hand, to configure the cable fixing unit as simply and inexpensively as possible and, on the other hand, to provide an electrically conductive connection between the cable shield and a wall section bearing the cable feedthrough which is as good as possible.


In a power matching network which is used between a load and a transistor amplifier producing at its output end an amplified signal comprising a fundamental frequency signal and odd and even harmonic signals and comprises a matching circuit between the load and a line end, an open-end transmission line is connected to the output end and has a predetermined length shorter than a quarter wavelength of the fundamental frequency signal. An intermediate transmission line is connected between the output and the line ends and has a length of a quarter wavelength less the predetermined length. At least one open-end transmission line is connected to the line end and has a length of a quarter wavelength of the odd harmonic signal which is preferably composed of (2n+1)-th harmonic signals, where n represents integers starting at 1 and ending at a predetermined integer of at least 2. More preferably, the line end is connected to an additional transmission line which is either a 1/8 wavelength of the fundamental frequency signal long and has an end shorted for high frequency signals or is a 1/16 wavelength of the fundamental frequency signal long.

This invention relates to a power matching network for use in a high frequency power amplifier circuit in which at least one semiconductor device is used as an active circuit element. In other words, the power matching network is for use in cooperation with an amplifier which comprises the semiconductor device and is herein called a transistor amplifier.
The high frequency power amplifier circuit is typically a microwave power amplifier module comprising a transistor. The transistor amplifier produces at its output end or terminal an amplified signal which comprises a fundamental frequency signal and odd and even harmonic signals.
It is already known that such a microwave power amplifier module is given a high amplifier efficiency when put in Class B operation together with use of a high frequency signal processing circuit, namely, a high frequency trap for adjusting production of the harmonic signals. A theoretically highest amplifier efficiency of 100% is achieved with Class F operation in which a load of the transistor amplifier is matched in connection with the fundamental frequency signal, is shorted or short circuited for all even harmonic signals, and is open ended as regards all odd harmonic signals. This fact is clear from a study of an article contributed by David M. Snider to the IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Volume ED-14, No. 12 (December 1967), pages 851 to 857, under the title of "A Theoretical Analysis and Experimental Confirmation of the Optimally Loaded and Overdriven RF Power Amplifier".
In practice, implementation of the Class F operation is troublesome because of possible presence of an infinite number of odd and even harmonic signals. Various power matching networks are consequently in use in the manner which will later be exemplified. For example, power matching networks are disclosed in Japanese Patent Prepublications (A) Nos. 44,611 of 1989 and 220,503 of 1990.
Such a conventional power matching network is appreciably excellently operable. The network is, however, defective in some respects. By way of example, the conventional power matching network is bulky. This is objectionable on using the network in a compact device, such as a portable radio telephone set. Furthermore, the network can not be correctly operable either as an open circuit or as a shorted circuit for some of the harmonic signals.

Power matching network comprising an intermediate transmission line between a transistor amplifier output end and at least one open-end line


A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, which forms a pattern by performing pattern transformation steps multiple times, comprises setting finished pattern sizes for patterns to be formed in each consecutive two pattern transformation steps among the plurality of pattern transformation steps based on a possible total amount of in-plane size variation of the patterns to be formed in the consecutive two pattern transformation steps.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device which forms a pattern by performing pattern transformation steps multiple times, and relates to a computer readable medium for storing a pattern size setting program capable of setting optimum size for each pattern formed in each pattern transformation step.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the development of a semiconductor integrated circuit, downsizing of a pattern has been progressing year by year. Such progress of pattern downsizing has depended on a photolithography technique, and the trend of pattern downsizing is likely to continue for some years. The pattern size in photolithography (i.e. half pitch (HP)) can be represented by the following Rayleigh formula based on a wavelength (λ) of an exposure device used in achieving that pattern size and the number of lens apertures (NA).HP=k1×λ/NA
If a pattern pitch is to be determined by the needs in the market, a factor k1 in this formula will show a degree of difficulty in achieving such pattern pitch. The factor k1 will be a process constant which is determined mainly based on resist performance, device controllability, a pattern of a reticle, and process controllability. Accordingly, in the above formula, it can be understood that lithography is difficult when the factor k1 is small.
Due to the progress of downsizing in a semiconductor device in recent years, a pattern size with a factor k1 that is less than 0.25, which is a theoretical limit in lithography, has been required. In a level with such pattern size, a method of forming a pattern pitch which is smaller than a minimum pattern pitch capable of being formed by lithography is required. Conventionally, as one of such methods, a downsizing processing method using a sidewall process has been proposed (e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,383,952, 6,475,891).
Now, one example of the conventional downsizing processing method using the sidewall process will be described. In this example, first, a sacrifice film is stacked on a process target layer, which may be a substrate, etc., after which the sacrifice film is patterned through a lithography step and a processing step. Then, a sidewall material is deposited on the sacrifice film to a desired thickness, after which the sidewall material formed in a part of the sacrifice film pattern other than a sidewall portion is removed, and then the sacrifice film is removed in a way leaving the sidewall portion of the sacrifice film pattern. Then, by performing an etching process using this sidewall portion as a mask, the process target layer is formed into a desired pattern.
However, the above-described conventional sidewall process requires processing of the sacrifice film; deposition of the sidewall material; removal of a part of the sidewall material; removal of the sacrifice film; etching process using the sidewall portion as the mask; and the like, which are more complicated process steps than in the conventional process where the process target layer is patterned using a resist pattern as a mask. Therefore, variation in size of each pattern as formed in each process step accumulates to cause a problem in that the size of the pattern eventually formed in the process target layer will vary greatly depending on the position of the pattern within the element formation surface. For example, in a case when the sidewall process is adopted in wiring pattern formation and when a size of a pattern is varied considerably, inter-wiring capacitance will become large, and as a result, a circuit operation speed will decrease. Moreover, in a case when the sidewall process is adopted in gate pattern formation, possible variations in a line size may cause short-channel of a transistor whereby a malfunction of the transistor can be caused, or long-channel of a transistor whereby a circuit speed can be decreased as a current value becomes insufficient.

Method of manufacturing semiconductor device and computer readable medium for storing pattern size setting program


A catalyst composition suitable for the conversion of n-butane to butenes. The same catalyst composition that with chlorination is further suitable, when used in the conversion of n-butane, for the production of an increased amount of BTX (benzene-toluene-xylene) and greater selectivity to the production of isobutylenes than attained with the unchlorinated catalyst. A process for the preparation of catalyst compositions suitable for the conversion of n-butane. Use of the catalyst compositions in processes for the conversion of n-butane.

It is known that n-butane can be converted to other hydrocarbons in the presence of variety of catalyst supports impregnated with a variety of metals. A catalyst composition prepared according to a process of this invention has been found to be suitable for use in the dehydrogenation of n-butane to butenes. It has also been found that upon chlorination of this catalyst its suitability for use in the production of BTX from n-butane is improved.

Catalyst material, the preparation thereof and the use thereof in converting hydrocarbons


Methods, systems, and computer readable media for fast, reduced memory and integrated sub-block interleaving and rate matching are disclosed. According to one aspect, the subject matter described herein includes a system for integrated sub-block interleaving and rate matching, which includes a buffer memory for storing sub-block data that has been encoded according to a channel encoding algorithm and a rate matching module for reading the sub-block data from the buffer memory using a sequence of addresses according to an interleaving algorithm, such that data is transferred from the buffer memory to the rate matching module in an order that emulates the order that the data would be produced by the interleaving algorithm or in the order that the data would be produced by the interleaving algorithm as modified by a rate matching algorithm.

Long term evolution (LTE) and other radio communications technologies can require significant infrastructure and configuration. Generally, network operators test various aspects of their network equipment to ensure reliable and efficient operation. Network operators typically simulate various conditions before equipment is deployed in a live network to decrease avoidable delays and/or other problems.
Various technical specifications, such as the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specifications 36.211, 36.212, 36.213, and 36.214, hereinafter respectively referred to as "TS 36.211", "TS 36.212", "TS 36.213", and "TS 36.214", define aspects of LTE communications. Generally, data from the network to a user device is referred to as downlink data and data from the user device to the network is referred to as uplink data. For example, user equipment (UE), such as a cellular mobile phone, a laptop, other user device, may communicate with an enhanced or evolved Node B (eNode B) via the cellular radio transmission link. Data that is sent from the eNode B to the user device is downlink data, and data that is sent from the user device to the eNode B is uplink data.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional LTE system in which an enhanced Node B (ENB) 100 communicates with an LTE user equipment (UE) 102. UE 102 communicates with ENB 100 via a radio frequency input/output interface 104. The signals from interface 104 are decoded and processed by a common public radio interface (CPRI) processor 106, which processes both downlink data, i.e., data from ENB 100 to the UE and uplink data, i.e., data from the UE to ENB 100. Downlink data undergoes downlink processing 108 on its way to a media access control (MAC) layer 110. Uplink data provided by MAC 110 undergoes uplink processing 112 on its way to CPRI 106.
Uplink and downlink data includes separate channels defined in the physical layer of the protocol stack, herein referred to as "physical channels." During both downlink processing 108 and uplink processing 112, the data transmitted via the physical channels may be processed by separate physical circuits, or they may be processed by the same circuit but as distinct logical channels or entities.
Two of the physical channels processed during downlink processing 108 are the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), which conveys downlink control information (DCI) to UE 102. ENB 100 uses PDCCH to indicate to each UE what scheduled radio resources for uplink and downlink are available to that UE. DCI data is used to specify the resources (e.g., frequencies, time slots, etc.) that ENB 100 is allowing the UE to use for uplink and downlink, which is referred to as "grant" information. Depending on how much data the UE wants to send or receive, how many other UEs are trying to access the same eNode B, and other factors, the terms of the grant can and usually do change at every transmit time interval, or TTI. Other physical channels and signals include the physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), the physical broadcast channel (PBCH), the primary synchronization signal (PSS), the secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and at least one reference signal (RS).
Two of the physical channels processed during uplink processing 112 are the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), which conveys uplink control information (UCI) to ENB 100. UCI data includes scheduling requests and acknowledgement responses or retransmission requests (ACK and NACK.) However, PDCCH with a DCI format used to grant PUSCH transmissions as given by DCI format 0 is referred to as "uplink DCI" format when common behavior is addressed. Other physical channels and signals include the sounding reference signal (SRS) and the demodulation reference signal (DMRS). All of the physical channels are mapped on an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) resource grid made up of resource elements (frequency) and ODFM symbols and slots (time).
FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate two portions of conventional LTE uplink processing 112, referred to as "part 1" and "part 2", respectively. Referring to FIG. 2A, uplink data is provided by MAC 110 in groups of data called transport blocks. The size of the transport block (TB) provided by MAC 110 is defined or determined by the grant information received from ENB 100. At step 200, a transport block cyclic redundancy check (TB CRC) is calculated and attached to the transport block. At step 202, the transport block and CRC is segmented into multiple code blocks and distributed for parallel processing. At step 204, a CRC value is calculated for and attached to the code blocks, which are then channel encoded (step 206), subjected to a sub-block interleave (step 208), and then rate matched (step 210). The steps of channel encoding, sub-block interleaving, and rate matching are of interest and are therefore logically grouped into a collection of steps 212. At step 214, the outputs of rate matchers 210 are concatenated and sent to step 216, where the data is multiplexed with uplink control information (UCI) that had been encoded in step 218. The multiplexed data then goes to a channel interleaving step 220. FIG. 2B shows a second portion of the process, which includes a scrambling step 222, a modulation mapping step 224, a transform pre-coding step 226, a resource element mapping step 228, and a SC-FDMA signal generation step 230.
FIG. 3 illustrates the format of one LTE radio frame. Each downlink or uplink LTE radio frame may be 10 milliseconds (ms) long comprising 10 sub-frames of 1 ms each. Each sub-frame may include 2 slots and/or 14 OFDM symbols. A slot may be 0.5 ms long and may include various amounts of LTE data. LTE data may be stored as modulated symbols in sub-carriers within an OFDM symbol. Each modulated symbol in a sub-carrier may typically represent two, four, or six bits. Sub-carriers may be data streams that are spaced 15 kilohertz apart from each other. A sub-carrier may typically carry data at a maximum rate of 15 kilo-symbols per second (ksps). In some embodiments, a LTE downlink sub-frame may typically include multiple resource blocks (RBs) of 12 sub-carriers, each sub-carrier with 14 OFDM symbols. The LTE downlink sub-frame may be partitioned into two equal downlink slots. Each downlink slot may include multiple blocks of 12 sub-carriers with 6 or 7 symbols per sub-carrier (e.g., depending on whether frame uses an extended cyclic prefix or a normal cyclic prefix).
FIG. 3 depicts the timing difference between downlink and uplink data. In some embodiments, Downlink DCI on sub-frame N is for PDSCH data in the same sub-frame. Uplink DCI on sub-frame N has scheduling or grant information for PUSCH in sub-frame N+4. Scheduling information may include grant information indicating certain RF components allocated for transmission or retransmissions for data associated with various UEs. This means that a user device may have about four sub-frames (˜4 ms) from the start of the downlink signal to the start of transmission of the uplink signal. Within this time period, user device needs to perform downlink processing, decode the DCI, send the grant information to a higher layer, where a packet data unit (PDU) is segmented from the radio link control (RLC), get the packet data unit (PDU), also referred to herein as a TB, and do all physical layer uplink processing and perform SC-FDMA modulation for RF transmission on the uplink.
Moreover, an eNode B may demand that the UE advance the timing of its transmitted uplink data, e.g., to accommodate for distance from the UE to the tower. For example, as depicted in FIG. 3, a timing advance may reduce the processing time somewhat, so that the user device has less than 4 milliseconds to perform its processes. For reasons that will be explained below, this timing constraint poses technical challenges not only to designers of user devices but also to designers of test equipment that simulates traffic from multiple user devices. Further, finite hardware and logic resources available for data communications may pose technical challenges for such test equipment when simulating multiple user devices.
Assuming for simplicity a zero time advance, the time available from the start of downlink sub-frame with uplink grant to the start of PUSCH transmission is 4 ms, using the antenna port as the reference point for timing. Table 1, below, shows the steps involved in processing the downlink DCI and the timing budget for each step in the process in one example of a conventional implementation.
TABLE 1Downlink DCI ProcessingSignal path/processing stepTimeTime budget4.0 msRF Reception + Downlink processing−1.5msMAC readies TB for uplink−1.0msUplink control channel processing and uplink TB processing−0.5 msTime remaining for uplink processing:1.0 msUplink part2 + RF Transmission−0.3 msTime remaining for uplink part1:0.7 msAs shown in Table 1, above, the time available for uplink processing (part1 and part2 together) and RF transmission is 1 millisecond.
Uplink part2 processing may include scrambling, mapping data bits to modulation symbols, performing a Discrete Fourier transform (DFT) encoding for SC-FD MA, mapping data to an uplink resource grid, and SC-FDMA signal generation and modulation on to an RF carrier. In some embodiments, since part2 processing may be performed on a block of channel bits for all user devices, the computational complexity and processing time is fixed for various combinations of user devices and different resource allocations for each user device's in a sub-frame. For example, the computational complexity and time for first few steps of part2 processing, such as scrambling and DFT mapping, may be linearly or proportionally based on the aggregate block size for all user devices. Later steps of part2 processing, such as SC-FDMA signal generation, may be performed within a fixed amount of time. Hence, because part2 processing includes steps that are linear in time and/or performed in a fixed amount of time, various cases, including worst case scenarios, may be performed within a particular time constraint imposed by the system or LTE standard (e.g., about a few symbols time or around 0.3 ms). This leaves only 0.7 milliseconds or 700 microseconds for uplink part1 processing.
FIG. 4 illustrates in more detail a portion of the uplink part1 process, shown as the collection of steps 212 in FIG. 2A, according to a conventional implementation. These steps are defined in section 5 of 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specification 36.212, hereinafter referred to as "TS 36.212", which defines a standard for channel encoding 206, interleaving 208, and rate matching 210 of data and control streams from/to a MAC layer that are encoded/decoded to offer transport and control services over the radio transmission link.
According to section 5.1.3 of TS 36.212, channel encoding 206 may be performed according to the Turbo encoding algorithm, which produces three output bits for every input bit. As defined in section 188.8.131.52 of TS 36.212, each of the three bit streams 400A, 400B, and 400C (herein collectively referred to as bit-streams 400) may or may not include leading NULL bits as padding. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the bit streams are NULL padded. Each bit stream 400A, 400B, and 400C is stored into its respective data buffer 402A, 402B, and 402C. These data buffers are herein collectively referred to as pre-interleave buffers 402. Once these buffers are full, each bit stream can be processed by its respective sub-block interleaver 404A, 404B, or 404C, which are herein collectively referred to as interleavers 404. Each sub-block interleaver 404A, 404B, and 404C saves the interleaved bit stream into another data buffer 406A, 406B, or 406C, respectively. These second data buffers are herein collectively referred to as post-interleave buffers 406. The outputs from the sub-block interleavers are sent to rate matcher 210, which collects the interleaved bits and then selects or prunes the collected bits so as to produce a bit stream that is rate matched to the available radio resources to transmit the signal after subsequent steps in the uplink processing chain. Rate matcher 210 collects and selects or prunes bits according to information provided to rate matcher 210 via control signals 408, such as the redundancy value index and other information needed by rate matcher 210.
Each of the sub-block interleavers 404 operates according to the algorithm defined in Section 18.104.22.168.1 of TS 36.212, which involves, for each bit stream, padding the bit stream with leading nulls in order to fully fill a matrix having 32 columns and a variable number of rows, depending on the code block size. The maximum size matrix is 32 columns by 192 row matrix (6144 bits total). First, the matrix is filled row by row. Next, the columns of the matrix are rearranged according to a predefined map. The matrix is then drained column by column. A simplified example of this operation is shown in FIG. 5.
FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a conventional interleaving function, which for simplicity interleaves a block of 16 bits instead of the maximum block of 6144 bits as defined in TS 36.212. The non-interleaved bit stream data is shown occupying 16 contiguous addresses in a buffer memory 500. The bits of the bit stream are represented by variables A through P, and the relative address of each bit is shown to the left of the data. In the example illustrated in FIG. 5 bit A is located in relative address 0, bit B is located in relative address 1, and so on. Bits A through P are loaded 502 into a 4×4 matrix, i.e., the matrix is loaded row by row, from left to right and from top to bottom, resulting in the arrangement of data within the matrix shown as 504. The columns of the matrix are shuffled 506, resulting in the arrangement of data within the matrix shown as 508. The data is then unloaded 510, i.e., read out of the matrix column by column, top to bottom and left to right, and stored into another buffer memory 512. The relative order of the interleaved data is shown in 512: bit D now occupies relative address 0, bit H now occupies relative address 1, and so on. The interleaved data is then rate matched 514, which in this example reduces the number of bits from 16 to 12. The bits selected for output are shown as output 516.
There are disadvantages to the example implementation shown in FIG. 4. TS 36.212 requires that the whole block of data from turbo encoder 206 be ready and waiting in pre-interleave buffers 402 before starting sub-block interleaving. Sub-block interleavers 404 then select the bit sequence as defined by the interleaver function and write to post-interleave buffer 406. For a 6,144 bit code block, the maximum code block size, each of the sub-block interleavers 404 takes 6,144 clock cycles to complete writing the output to post-interleave buffers 408. Since rate matcher 210 can start only after completion of sub-block interleaving, every interleaving process introduces a N clock cycle delay in the uplink data path, where N is the size of the code block. Since there can be multiple code blocks from the transport block segmentation, the same time delay is introduced again for every additional code block.
Uplink part1 processing may be based on uplink control information, including scheduling information that can affect TB size, channel allocation, resource block allocation, type of modulation, and UCI data, among other things. Numerous combinations of these parameters may occur based on scheduling information, which may differ among sub-frames. As such, part1 processing time may vary significantly between sub-frames and transport blocks. For example, an uplink processing device running at 125 MHz clock speed would take about 49 μs to do interleaving process for a 6144 bit code block. For 13 such blocks in a TTI (1 ms) which is a worst case with 1 UE at the maximum data rate, it would take about 639 μs which is a significant amount of time for each TTI. While this timing constraint may be acceptable for a single UE, it poses a significant obstacle to the development of multi-UE emulators or simulators, intelligent traffic generators, eNode B simulators or simulators, and network test equipment. Furthermore, when simulating multiple user devices, another level of complexity may arise as each user device may be associated with independent scheduling information. For multiple UE simulators/emulators, such as traffic emulation systems or test equipment, for example, uplink part1 processing must be duplicated for each UE being emulated.
Another disadvantage of the example implementation shown in FIG. 4 is that it requires both pre-interleave buffers 402 (corresponding to buffer 500 in FIG. 5) and post-interleave buffers 406 (corresponding to buffer 512 in FIG. 5.) Rate matcher 210 then reads data from post-interleave buffers 406, which takes N clock cycles where N is the number of channel bits. These serial operations are time consuming and require multiple memories on a single UE. These disadvantages are multiplied for multiple UE emulation systems.
For these reasons it is difficult to meet the timing requirements for all configurations when using a conventional implementation such as the one shown in FIG. 4. Table 2, below shows the time required for steps of uplink part1 processing in a multi-UE emulation system using the example conventional implementation shown in FIG. 4 for one specific case:
TABLE 2Uplink part1, conventional implementationSignal path/processing stepTimeTurbo encoder processing500.00 μsMemory processing0.01μsSub-block interleaving300.00 μsSub-block memory processing0.01 μsRate matching100.00 μsTime required for Uplink part1 processing:900.02μs
As shown in Table 2, above, in some specific cases—depending on the sizes of the transport blocks, the number of UEs being emulated, and so on—the time required to perform uplink part1 processing using the conventional implementation may exceed the timing budget. In the specific case shown in Table 2, for example, uplink part1 processing took 900.02 microseconds, longer than the available 700 microseconds.
Accordingly, in light of these disadvantages associated with conventional architectures, there exists a need for methods, systems, and computer readable media for fast, reduced memory and integrated sub-block interleaving and rate matching.

Methods, systems, and computer readable media for integrated sub-block interleaving and rate matching


A telescopic kelly bar assembly for use in drilling large excavations. The kelly assembly consists of a lower outer bar section, at least one middle bar sections and an upper inner bar section. Each bar has its own driver that either rests on top of the next size larger bar or is engaged to the rotary. The driver that is engaged on the rotary depends on which bar is the extended bar in the shaft excavation, since the driver that is engaged to the rotary is the driver of the bar that is extended in the shaft. The entire assembly is suspended by a swivel attached to a multi-part traveling block. When a bar is driven it is either driven by its driver via the rotary or by the next size smaller bar within the rotary. Lugs are added on the inside of the outer and middle bars at the top. If a round cross-section is used, the inside lugs transmit torque when fully extended from one bar to another. A thick ring is welded to the bottom of the middle bar and upper inner bar. The inside lugs and the bottom rings also act as stops to hold the bars together when hanging extended. Slots or holes located near the tops of the bars are used to receive pins. These slots and pins can hold all or some of the bars together. They also are used to hang the bars from the rotary. The bars can also be extended by removing the pins.

In the drill shaft industry, kelly bars are used to transmit the twisting torque from the rotary machinery to the bit or drill tool. This gives the bit or drill tool the ability to turn and excavate the earthen materials directly below itself.
The outside cross-section of a kelly bar is usually square, although other shaped kellys are sometimes used, such as round or hexagonal. The purpose of the cross-section is to enable torque to be transmitted from the rotary table to the cutting bit. During drilling operations, the kelly bushings or drivers remain on the rotary. Torque is applied from the rotary table through the kelly bushing, and thence to the kelly bar itself. The kelly bar is free to slide through the kelly bushing so that the drill can be rotated and simultaneously lowered or raised during drilling operations.
The drill shaft industry is normally associated with shaft excavations that range from 12 inch diameter to 10 feet or more diameter shafts. Depths range from several feet to 100' or more. The bigger the diameter and greater the depth the bigger drill rigs and the larger kelly bars need to be.
The kelly bar is usually raised and lowered by a single line usually made of braided wire rope or steel cable. This line is used to lower the kelly bar with the tool attached into the shaft and to raise the kelly bar and tool with excavated materials to the surface. A single line is usually adequate on depths up to 100 feet. When the shaft diameters are very large, which requires large, heavy drilling tools, and the kelly bar with the spoil exceed single line pull limits then multiple lines can be used.
A variation of a single kelly bar is the telescopic kelly bar. Telescopic kelly bars are used in the industry to achieve greater depths in drilling. It may comprise two sections, one inside the other. The outer bar may be made of square tubing and the upper inner bar may be made of solid square or possibly hollow square tubing. A single line hoist cable may be connected to the upper inner kelly bar by a swivel. The outer large kelly bar rests on the inner smaller kelly bar and drives the inner kelly bar. The smaller inner kelly bar is attached to the excavation tool such as an auger. As the auger proceeds deeper in the excavation, both kelly bars are extended downward until the top of the outer larger kelly bar descends to the top of the drive rollers or drive bushings. At the moment the top of the outer kelly bar hits the top of the drive rollers, the inner kelly bar will telescope or extend further downward from the outer bar. As the excavation progresses with each trip into the hole the telescoping of the kelly bar extends the auger to the bottom of the excavation until you reach the limit of the extension of the kelly bar.
Triple section bars and other multiple section bars are known. However, the middle bars are usually floating and the drill rig operator has little control over them. When these intermediate sections stick and no longer slidably telescope relative to the other sections, they may slide upwardly and possibly fall or slide down and cause damage.
Another configuration on telescopic kelly bars is to hold the upper outside bar with one hoist line and the lower inner bar with a separate hoist line. The drill operator coordinates the hoisting and lowering of the bars.
As the size and weight of structures increase, larger shafts are required. Large shafts for tunnels or mines have been excavated using mining techniques. It may be hard to drill the larger shafts due to the limitations of the currently available equipment. Two factors that make the use of traditional drill shaft techniques for very large and deep excavations difficult are torque requirements and hoisting requirements. Where a typical drill shaft is less than 10 feet in diameter, tunnel shafts may go up to 30 feet in diameter and a depth greater than 200 feet. These larger dimensions call for larger and longer kelly bars so they can transmit the required torque to extended depths. Larger dimensions call for longer and heavier kelly bars. The use of these larger kelly bars means that single line pulls on cranes may not be adequate. The weight of a large kelly bar that transmits high torque to great depths can be greater than 30,000 lbs. If we add to this the weight of the tool and the muck or the spoil being lifted from the excavation, a total weight greater than 50,000 lbs. may be handled by the crane and cable supporting the kelly bar and tool. In order to handle the increased loads, a multiple part line may be implemented. The use of a multiple part line on a deep shaft would be impractical on a conventional telescoping kelly bar. A reason for this is that the shieve block connected to the upper inner kelly might not be able to extend and descend through the outer kelly bar unless the outer kelly bar has an extremely large bore or inside cross-section.
The present invention includes a reverse telescopic multi-section kelly bar capable of digging hundreds of feet deep necessary for the large diameters associated with tunneling or other large diameter deep shaft requirements. An objective of the present invention is to solve some of the problems associated with drilling large diameter deep shafts. The lower outer bar of the present invention is rigid and is attached to the drill tool, a straight hole may be drilled when a drill tool is used that is slightly larger in diameter than the largest cross-section of the lower outer bar. This could not be accomplished with a conventional telescopic kelly bar because the tool attaches to the smaller bar. Once the lower outer bar on a conventional telescopic kelly bar is fully extended it can no longer follow the drill tool, thus losing the lower outer bar rigidly at the top of the tool and losing an excavation that is slightly bigger than the longest cross-section of the kelly bar attached to the tool. Another objective of this invention is to allow drilling near perfect straight shafts. Another objective of this invention is to provide the operator full control of the kelly bars. An additional objective of this invention is the elimination of uncontrolled floating of kelly bars. Another objective of this invention is to allow handling of large muck quantities. These and other objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Telescopic kelly bar apparatus and method


A high-speed high temperature electrical resistance heater and method of making the same, said heater being in the form of a uniquely configured composite, non-homogeneous body having an esentially electrical-conducting material and an essentially electrically insulating material, wherein one of the materials is constituted as a porous matrix, and the other of the materials permeates the matrix of the one material. The electrically-conducting material has nodes and connective threads interconnecting the nodes, and electrical connections can be made to different places on the electrically-conducting material. The method involves forming a sintered matrix and impregnating the same with a ceramic substance, then sintering the impregnated matrix.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to electrical resistance heaters, and more particularly to heaters of the type incorporating PTC ceramic material which renders the heaters self-regulating at various preselected elevated temperatures.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART INCLUDING INFORMATION DISCLOSED UNDER 37 CFR .sctn..sctn.1.97-1.99
Various types of resistance heaters are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,700,857; 4,486,651; 4,541,898; 4,544,828; 4,613,455 and 4,633,064.
U.S. Pat. No. '857 describes a heater consisting of a sintered mass of insulating refractory particles each of which has a thin film of electrically conductive material. U.S. Pat. No. '651 shows a ceramic heater having an element formed by sintering a mixture of molybdenum disilicide and silicon nitride.
U.S. Pat. No. '898 discloses a heating element composed of multiple finely divided particles of substance having a negative temperature coefficient of resistance, between which there are disposed areas of high resistance or areas of electrically non-conductive material. The resultant heater has different impedance characteristics according to the frequency of the A. C. wave that is applied to it.
U.S. Pat. No. '455 involves mixtures of different types of ceramics, namely silicon nitride as an insulating ceramic and a mixture of titanium carbide and titanium nitride as a conductive ceramic. The ceramics are mixed in powder form, and thereafter sintered. U.S. Pat. No. '064 illustrates a sintered heater element formed from an insulating ceramic powder such as silicon nitride, and a conductive ceramic powder such as MoSi.sub.2, WSi.sub.2, TiB.sub.2 or TiC.
Finally U.S. Pat. No. '828 relates to a heater formed by crushing PTC ceramic material, and mixing it with an insulating organic binder, to form the desired PTC resistor.
As presently understood, the devices disclosed in the above identified patents can be difficult to produce, since the ultimate resistance/temperature characteristics are largely determined by the relative proportions of the conductive material and insulating material, as well as the degree of sintering and the sintering temperature. It is believed that a reasonably close control of this resistance/temperature characteristic has, up to the present, been difficult to predict and achieve, as was uniformity of performance between different units of the same run.
In addition, where high temperatures on the order of 3000.degree. F. are being generated during operation of the heaters, problems occur with establishing satisfactory electrical contact to the elements. The use of metal electrodes can be prohibitive, since the melting temperature of metal contacts is well below the 3000.degree. F. figure noted above. As a result, most heaters of the prior art devices are intended to operate at temperatures well below this point.

High-speed, high temperature resistance heater and method of making same


In the case of a bearing and loading arm for drafting units having holding devices for pressure roller twins, which each contain a leaf spring, it is provided that the leaf spring, in loading direction and in longitudinal direction of the bearing and loading arm, is fixed in a spring retainer, and that the leaf spring supports itself directly at this bearing and loading arm, transversely with respect to the bearing and loading arm.

The invention relates to a bearing and loading arm for drafting units having holding devices for pressure roller twins, which each contain a leaf spring held at the bearing and loading arm by means of a spring retainer which is adjustable in longitudinal direction of the bearing and loading arm, this leaf spring bearing a receiving device for a shaft of the pressure roller twins.
In a known bearing and loading arm of this type described in German utility model (DE-GM) 19 09 951, the holding device has a slider which is used as the spring retainer is held by means of a screw at the bearing and loading arm and can be locked in the respective operative position. The leaf spring is fastened at this slider by means of an additional screw and, at its other end, has the receiving device for the shaft of the pressure roller twin. Between the spring retainer constructed as the slider and the leaf spring, a supporting plate is arranged, which is provided with a slot and can be shifted in longitudinal direction of the leaf spring, and by means of the shifting of which, the effective spring length can be adjusted. The danger exists in this known construction that the shaft of the pressure roller twin is not adjusted in parallel with respect to the pertaining bottom roller. It is possible for the leaf spring to carry out rotations around the screw which holds it at the spring retainer, and it is also possible that the spring retainer itself carries out movements around the screw connecting it with the bearing and loading arm.
An object of the invention is to develop a bearing and loading arm of the initially mentioned type such that the parallelism between the pressure roller twin and the pertaining bottom roller is ensured without any adjusting work.
This object is achieved according to the invention by aligning the leaf spring transversely to the longitudinal direction of the bearing and loading arm on guides.
By means of this construction, it is ensured that the leaf spring itself is aligned with respect to the guides so that adjustments at the spring retainer holding the leaf spring cannot result in a loss of parallelism.
In a further development of preferred embodiments of the invention, it is provided that the leaf spring is fixed in the spring retainer in loading direction and in longitudinal direction of the bearing and loading arm, and that the leaf spring supports itself transversely with respect to the bearing and loading arm directly at this bearing and loading arm. Since an adjustment is required only in longitudinal direction of the bearing and loading arm and possibly may also be required with respect to the loading, these adjustments may be carried out by means of the spring retainer. However, since the leaf spring is guided directly at the bearing and loading arm, these adjustments do not result in a changing of the position of the leaf spring in transverse direction with respect to the bearing and loading arm so that parallelism is maintained with a high degree of certainty without the requirement of having to take special measures for the adjusting of the spring retainer.
In a further development of preferred embodiments of the invention, it is provided that the receiving device for the shaft of the pressure roller twin, after the mounting of the leaf spring, is at least subjected to a finishing. For this purpose, the receiving device is first mounted on the leaf spring, after which the leaf spring with the receiving device is inserted in an arrangement which corresponds to the holding device formed by the spring retainer and the bearing and loading arm and which is aligned precisely with respect to a tool which finishes the receiving device. In this position, the receiving device will then be gripped, held and finished. As a result, it is ensured that the recess of the receiving device, in which the shaft of the pressure roller twin will later be accommodated, is aligned precisely with respect to that area of the leaf spring by means of which it is supported at the spring retainer and later at a bearing and loading arm, without any perceptible occurrence of tolerances which may have been created in the spring as a result of manufacturing. These tolerances are all compensated by the subsequent finishing.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Bearing and loading arm for drafting units