A predistortion linearizer for predistorting a radio frequency(RF) signal includes a power divider, an even order harmonics generator and a predistortion component producer. The power divider divides the RF signal into a first and a second RF signals. The even order harmonics generator, responsive to the second RF signal, generates one or more even order harmonics of the fundamental frequencies. And, the predistortion component producer produces one or more odd order harmonics from the fundamental frequencies and the even order harmonics to provide a predistorted RF signal including the fundamental frequencies and the odd order harmonics. The power divider divides the RF signal into first and second RF signals and delays the first RF signal.

The present invention relates to a linearizer for predistorting a signal in order to compensate for non-linearities; and, in particular, to a predistortion linearizer capable of providing a predistorted signal through the use of even order intermodulation components.
Communications systems handling a single carrier usually employ high efficiency and low linearity amplifiers. Multi-carrier systems, however, require highly linear amplifiers at the expense of efficiency. An ideal amplifier would exhibit both perfect linearity and high efficiency.
Intermodulation distortion products are produced by non-linearities in amplifiers handling radio frequency(RF) signals such as the multiple carrier signals found in cellular telephone systems or in various other types of personal communications systems(PCS). Distortions can be caused by amplitude compressions or phase shifts that may occur in relatively large amplitude signals. The resulting spurious signals, when added to the spectrum of the information bearing signals, may degrade the quality of associated communications.
While the phenomena are fairly complex, the transfer function of an amplifier exhibiting non-linearities can be approximated by a Taylor series, that is, a polynominal with terms of the form anxn. The first order effect (alx) is the desired linear function. Distortion is caused by the second order term (square term), the third order term(cubic term), and so forth. For many high frequency systems, the even order terms produce harmonics that are out of the working bandwidth of a system and therefore can be readily discarded. Typically, only odd order (third, fifth, seventh, etc.) intermodulation products reside within the working spectrum of the system and thus are of a concern but with decreasing deleterious effects in that order.
Intermodulation distortion is highly undesirable because it causes interference, crosstalk, and other deleterious effects on the performance of a system employing a high power amplifier. One of the conventional approaches employed to counteract the distortion introduced by an amplifier involves predistortion of an input signal to the amplifier, wherein the input signal to the amplifier is predistorted in such a way that the intentionally added distortion effectively cancels out the distortion generated by the amplifier to thereby provide an undistorted output signal.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a conventional predistortion circuit 50 for predistorting a RF signal, which includes two power dividers 10 and 12, an error amplifier 14, vector modulators 16 and 20, a signal canceler 18, a delay line 22 and a combiner 24.
The power dividers 10 and 12 sequentially divide an input RE signal having, e.g., two carriers into three RF signals RF1, RF2 and RF3. The error amplifier 14 amplifies the RF1 to generate a distorted RF signal having therein amplified carriers and intermodulation distortion components. The vector modulator 16 adjusts the amplitude and polarity (i.e., phase) of the RF2 in such a way that the adjusted RF signal has carriers whose amplitudes are substantially identical to those of the amplified carriers of the distorted RF signal, but with a 180 degree phase shift. At the signal canceler 18, the adjusted and the distorted RF signals are combined to extract the intermodulation distortion components. The vector modulator 20 varies the amplitudes and phase of the predistortion components extracted by the canceler 18. The delay line 22 serves to delay the RF signal RF3 to compensate for the time delay required in producing the predistortion components. The combiner 24 combines the delayed RF3 signal with the predistortion components to provide a main amplifier (not shown) with a predistorted RF signal having therein intentionally added distortion components to offset the distortion to be generated by the amplifier itself.
In the predistortion circuit described above, however, the predistortion components are not produced in an independently controlled manner. Therefore, The predistortion should be focused on the cancellation of the most deleterious intermodulation product, i.e., the third order component. Accordingly, if non-linear characteristics of an error amplifier for producing a predistorted signal and a main amplifier for amplifying the signal are different, which would be the case in general, higher order, e.g., fifth and seventh order, intermodulation products may not be effectively removed, deteriorating the overall performance of the system.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a linearization circuit capable of providing independently controlled predistorting components.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a predistortion linearizer for predistorting a radio frequency(RF) signal having one or, more fundamental frequencies, comprising:
a divider for dividing the RF signal into a first and a second RF signals;
a generator, responsive to the second RF signal, for generating one or more even order harmonics of the fundamental frequencies; and
a producer for producing one or more odd order harmonics from the fundamental frequencies and the even order harmonics to provide a predistorted RF signal including the fundamental frequencies and the odd order harmonics.

Predistortion linearizer using even order intermodulation components


A system and method is described for fabricating microcomponents onto pre-existing integrated electronics. One embodiment of the present invention provides additional process steps after completion of all electronics fabrication that may etch trough the oxide of any passivation layer that may be there to the single crystal silicon (SCS) of a silicon on insulator (SOI) integrated circuit. Once at the SCS level of the existing wafer, any number of microcomponents, such as connectors, receptacles, handles, tethers, and the like may preferably be fabricated onto the chip using relatively low temperature and inexpensive processing; thus, preferably preserving the integrity of the preexisting electronics.

The present application relates in general to sub-millimeter devices, and more particularly, to a system and method for fabricating Microelectromechanical (MEM) devices into pre-existing integrated circuits.
MEM devices have many applications for forming any variety of microsensors, microactuators, and other microcomponents. The term xe2x80x9cmicrocomponentxe2x80x9d is used herein generically to encompass sub-millimeter electronic components, sub-millimeter mechanical components, as well as MEM devices and MEM Systems (MEMS) components. The monolithic integration of MEM devices with electronic circuitry has been suggested to increase performance, functionality, and reliability of such microcomponents, in addition to significantly reducing the size and cost of the components. Such electronic circuitry may comprise simple electronic components, such as amplifiers having only a few transistors, to complex electronics, such as microprocessors or microcontrollers. The microcomponents typically act as the sensor that relates information to the electronics for processing in some fashion. Typically, because of the incompatibilities between integrated circuit fabrication techniques and MEM device fabrication techniques, methods for integrating electronic circuits and MEM devices have been suggested which either require complex interleaving of fabrication steps or requiring the fabrication of the MEM device first followed by the electronic circuitry.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,326,726 issued to Tsang, et al., discloses such an interleaved or merged process for fabricating a monolithic chip integrating both electronic circuitry with microstructures. In Tsang, et al., the process described fabricating both the electronic circuitry and the microstructure transducer wherein the steps of fabricating the microstructure transducer are generally interleaved among the steps for fabricating the BIMOS circuitry.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,963,788 issued to Barron, et al., discloses another process that fabricates a high quality MEM device before fabrication of the electronic circuitry. The high quality MEM device of Barron, et al., is produced in a mesa (i.e., a cavity etched within the substrate). The processes described in Barron, et al., for fabricating the MEM device typically involve an annealing step that generally raises the temperature to approximately 1100xc2x0 centigrade for around an hour. Such a high temperature would generally destroy any pre-fabricated electronic circuitry. Thus, the Barron, et at, process requires that the MEMs device be fabricated first.
The problem with the current systems and methods for monolithically fabricating integrating electronic circuitry with MEMs devices is that fabrication processes for the electronics are typically connected or tied in some way to the fabrication of the MEMs device. Therefore, a microcomponent could not be added to existing electronic circuitry. For example, if an integrated circuit chip design includes all of the favorable processing for a certain system, no microcomponents could be added, as they are developed, in order to improve the application of the system.
The present invention is directed to a system and method for fabricating microcomponents onto pre-existing/pre-fabricated integrated electronics. One embodiment of the present invention provides additional process steps after completion of all electronics fabrication that etches through the oxide of the passivation layer to the single crystal silicon (SCS) layer of a silicon on insulator (SOI) integrated circuit (IC). Once at the SCS layer of the existing wafer, any number of microcomponents, such as connectors, receptacles, handles, tethers, fasteners, clasps, latches, probes, actuator arms, and the like may be fabricated onto the chip using relatively low temperature and inexpensive processing; thus, preserving the pre-existing electronics.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the invention, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present invention.

System and method for fabricating microcomponent parts on a substrate having pre-fabricated electronic circuitry thereon


The present invention herein provides antibacterial zeolite particles whose ion-exchangeable ions have completely or partially been replaced with silver ions and zinc ions, wherein the ratio (A/B) of the silver ion concentration (A) to the zinc ion concentration (B) in the antibacterial zeolite particles increases in the direction along the depth of each zeolite particle. The antibacterial zeolite particles show excellent discoloration-resistant characteristics, while maintaining their excellent antibacterial activities. Accordingly, the antibacterial zeolite particles can suitably be applied to all sorts of products that are required to have antibacterial properties.

There have been well-known antibacterial zeolite particles which are prepared by replacing ion-exchangeable metal ions present in zeolite particles with antibacterial metal ions such as silver, copper and/or zinc ions and an antibacterial composition containing the same. In this respect, however, it has been known that an antibacterial resin composition obtained by incorporating such antibacterial zeolite particles into a resin undergoes a color change with the elapse of time. As a means for solving such a problem of color change with time, associated with the conventional antibacterial zeolite particles, there has already been developed a technique in which ammonium ions are incorporated into antibacterial zeolite particles (see Patent Document 1 specified later).
The antibacterial zeolite particles disclosed in this Patent Document 1 would certainly serve as an excellent antibacterial agent and, more specifically, the latter is excellent in the durability of its antibacterial action or power when it is left in air or in water and it never undergoes any quality-deterioration even when it is incorporated into a resin through kneading. The antibacterial zeolite particles are free of any extreme color change under the usual use conditions, but when it is exposed to severe conditions, for instance, it is irradiated with intensive ultraviolet light rays over a long period of time, the zeolite particles suffer from a problem in that it would undergo a color change with the elapse of time. Although the zeolite per se never loses its antibacterial action due to these color changes, a resin product to which the antibacterial zeolite particles are added may often undergo a color change. This in turn results in the considerable deterioration of the commercial value of the resin product depending on the kind thereof.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Sho 63-265809

Antibacterial zeolite particles and antibacterial resin composition


A rotor blade for a turbomachine, including an airfoil (1) for flow deflection, a blade root (2) for attachment to a rotor of the turbomachine, an inner platform (3) between the airfoil and the blade root, and at least one pocket (4, 5) defined by two axially spaced walls (4.1, 4.2; 5.1, 5.2) extending from the side of the platform opposite the airfoil toward the blade root. A first (4.1, 5.1) of these walls has an outer side (4.1A, 5.1A) that faces away from the pocket and, in at least one cross section perpendicular to a radial longitudinal axis of the rotor blade, slopes outwardly.

German Patent Application DE 10 2009 007 664 A1 describes a rotor blade for a turbomachine, including an airfoil for flow deflection, a blade root for attachment to a rotor of the turbomachine, an inner platform between the airfoil and the blade root, as well as a pocket defined by two axially spaced walls extending from the side of the platform opposite the airfoil toward the blade root. These walls are offset relative to a blade root edge toward a radial longitudinal axis for improved mechanical loading. The outer sides of these walls, which face away from the pocket, are parallel relative to the circumferential direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,340 also describes a rotor blade having an inwardly tapering pocket between an inner platform and a blade root for improved mechanical loading. The outer sides facing away from the pocket are also parallel relative to the circumferential direction.
As a result of the sloped, tapering inner sides and circumferentially parallel outer sides, the wall thickness increases in a circumferential direction toward the bottom of the pocket. An arrangement of two such pockets opposite each other in the circumferential direction results, in particular, in an accumulation of material in the region of the airfoil.


An electrically addressed non-volatile memory is maintained by measuring a voltage threshold for each selected memory cell in the electrically addressed non-volatile memory. The voltage threshold is a voltage around which a controllable voltage signal applied to a control gate of a selected memory cell produces a change in value read from the selected memory cell. A measured voltage threshold distribution of the measured voltage thresholds is generated for the selected memory cells. The voltage threshold distribution is analyzed to identify memory cells having greater probabilities of read errors, for example. In response to the analysis, an operating parameter that affects the memory cells identified as having greater probabilities of read errors is selectively changed.

Electrically addressed non-volatile memory (including "flash" memory, both of which are referred to herein as "flash" memory) is formed in the substrate of an integrated circuit. The flash memory is electrically addressed and can be electrically erased and reprogrammed so that the state of memory is not lost when power is removed from the integrated circuit. Various kinds of flash memory are erased on a block-by-block basis and can be programmed (for example, written to) one bit at a time. A memory cell in the flash memory uses a charge stored in a floating gate of the memory cell to store a logical value. An erased bit of a memory cell is often stored (and read) as a logic "one," in which case a programmed bit of the memory cell is stored and read as logic "zero." A read-level voltage that is applied to the control gate of the memory cell is used to read the stored logical value, while the stored charge in the floating gate determines whether the memory cell is read as logic one or zero. The flash memory has a limited number of erase/program cycles, and is subject to errors due to variations in the voltage threshold used to read each of the memory cells in the flash memory. The variations result, for example, from repeated erase/program cycles that progressively affect the ability of a floating gate to hold a stored charge.

Electrically addressed non-volatile memory maintentance


The present disclosure involves systems, software, and computer implemented methods for generating NER dictionaries from structured business data. In one example, a method may include identifying a set of structured data for use in generating a NER dictionary, identifying a particular collection within the identified structured data to use in the dictionary generation, the particular identified collection including a plurality of values, identifying at least one variant of the value for each value in the particular identified collection, each of the at least one variants of the value including at least a portion of the underlying value, determining a set of unique variants from the identified at least one variants across each of the values in the particular identified subset, adding the determined set of unique variants to the generated dictionary, each unique variant added to the generated dictionary being associated with the value from which the unique variant was derived.

The present disclosure relates to computer systems and computer-implemented methods for generating a Named Entity Recognition (NER) dictionary used in a NER process.
NER (also referred to as Named Entity Extraction) is a subtask of information extraction that seeks to locate and classify elements in text into pre-defined categories, such as the names of persons, organizations, locations, expressions of times, quantities, monetary values, percentages, etc. In many cases, implementations of the NER system are structured as taking an unannotated block of text and producing an annotated block of text that highlights the names of entities.

Automatic NER dictionary generation from structured business data


An image stabilization control method for a photographing device includes obtaining attitude information of the photographing device and a device parameter of the photographing device, and adjusting an image stabilization strength of the photographing device based on the attitude information and the device parameter. The device parameter indicating a brightness of an environment in which the photographing device is located.

When a camera is used for photographing, if the camera vibrates during the shooting or the camera is mounted at a rapidly moving device (e.g., an unmanned aerial vehicle), a relative movement of a target object for photographing to the camera during the shooting will be too fast, causing motion blurring in the images captured by the camera and degrading image quality.
Currently, methods of electronic image stabilization and optical image stabilization are often used to reduce the blurring of images. The electronic image stabilization mainly refers to forcibly raising the sensitivity of the photosensitive element (e.g., charge coupled device or CCD) and simultaneously increasing a shutter speed. In addition, the images obtained by the CCD are analyzed, and peripheral image compensation is used to reduce the blurring. The electronic image stabilization is actually a technique to reduce the image quality to compensate the blurring.
If the camera is shooting in an environment with poor lighting or sharp light contrast, an exposure time may be lengthened and camera sensitivity (ISO) may be increased to maintain a reasonable image brightness. As a result, captured images are more likely to suffer motion blurring. Under the circumstance, if the electronic image stabilization is enabled on the camera to suppress the motion blurring, the blurring of the images may be worsened, and the image quality may be further degraded.

Image stabilization control method, photographing device and mobile platform


An adjustable lock for a cassette tape player for preventing the theft and unauthorized use of the cassette tape player is disclosed. The adjustable lock comprises a housing mounted outside of a tape receiving chamber. The housing has a hook extending rearwardly and laterally outwardly therefrom so as to be insertable into one end of the tape slot in the cassette tape player and a bolt extending rearwardly and laterally outwardly from the housing whereby the engaging end of the bolt is insertable into the end of a tape slot opposite the hook. The adjustable lock also includes a tubular key lock assembly which mounted on the face of the housing is operationally associated with the bolt. In particular, the tubular key lock assembly is adapted to extend or retract the bolt by a distance rearwardly from the housing which is adjustable.

The present invention is directed toward a lock for a cassette tape player, and more particularly toward an adjustable lock for deterring the theft and unauthorized use of a cassette tape player.
Security locks for cassette tape players are well known in the art. These locks generally involve a housing containing a key driven locking mechanism. The housing is either partially or entirely insertable into a tape receiving chamber of a cassette tape player through a tape slot in the cassette tape player case. The housing is then secured within the tape slot by turning the key driven mechanism and thereby actuating pivotable links or bars which engage either the tape mechanism or the walls surrounding the cassette receiving chamber.
More particularly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,527,405 discloses a security lock for cassette recorders and cassette tape players comprising a body having an exterior portion of dimensions large enough to prevent the exterior portion from entering the tape slot and an interior portion having dimensions suitable to allow its insertion into the tape receiving chamber. A pivotable link means is disposed within the interior portion of the body to expand outwardly to engage an interior wall of the tape receiving chamber upon the turning of a lock disposed within the exterior portion of the body.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,001 discloses a security lock for a cassette tape player comprising a body of rectangular configuration which is fully insertable into the tape receiving chamber allowing only a side wall containing a key driven lock to remain accessible through the tape slot. When the key driven lock is actuated, locking bars operationally associated with the key driven lock are caused to extend and retract relative to the housing for engaging and releasing the side walls of the tape receiving chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,640,106 discloses a lock for preventing unauthorized use of a cassette tape deck comprising a U-shaped member insertable into the tape receiving chamber and having a central opening therein and a transverse member connecting the ends of the U-shaped member dimensioned greater than the tape slot. Disposed within the central opening is an element for engaging the interior of the cassette receiving chamber which is rotationally associated with a key driven lock disposed within the transverse member.
The cassette tape player lock disclosed by the '405 patent (the '405 security lock) is of limited utility because it is difficult to use. With each use of the '405 security lock the key driven lock must be rotated to extend the pivotable links the appropriate amount. Every time this operation is repeated it must be conducted with a great deal of care because forcibly turning the key driven lock could result in damage to the tape deck if the pivotable links are extended too far. A related problem is that the time consumed in installing the '405 security lock discourages cassette player owners from consistently using the device. Lastly, because a portion of the housing is inserted within the tape receiving chamber, there is danger that the tape drive mechanism may be damaged if the housing is not inserted into the tape receiving chamber with great care.
The fact that the tape player lock disclosed in the '001 patent (the '001 security lock) is fully insertable into the cassette tape chamber also presents serious problems. First, there is a substantial danger of damaging the tape drive mechanism if the housing is not carefully inserted within the tape receiving chamber. Second, the '001 security lock is not readily adaptable to cassette tape players having tape receiving chambers of different configurations. Thus, consumers are likely to find a device built according to the '001 disclosure could not be adapted to fit their particular cassette tape player. Finally, the locking device is not readily visible from outside the driver's compartment meaning that a prospective thief would have to break into the driving compartment and examine the tape slot before discovering that the locking device was disposed therein.
The locking device disclosed by the '106 patent (the '106 security lock) also has a body portion insertable into the tape receiving chamber creating the possibility of damage to the tape drive mechanism. In addition, the '106 security lock has been found unsuitable for use with certain cassette tape players, specifically those manufactured by the General Motors Corporation.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems discussed above.

Adjustable lock for a cassette tape player


A bicycle includes front and rear wheels, which are mounted respectively on front and rear ends of a bicycle frame. The bicycle frame has an inclined main tube that extends rearwardly and downwardly from a head tube to a seat tube. A drive sprocket is disposed on the main tube, and is located between the head tube and the seat tube. As such, the total length of the bicycle can be shortened.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a bicycle, more particularly to a bicycle that includes a drive sprocket disposed in front of a seat tube so as to shorten the total length of the bicycle.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional bicycle includes a drive sprocket and a crank that are disposed under a seat tube. As there is a need to space the drive sprocket from a driven sprocket by an appropriate distance in order to smooth running of a chain trained on the drive and driven sprockets, the conventional bicycle is relatively long, thereby resulting in difficulties when the bicycle is transported or stored.
The object of this invention is to provide a bicycle, which includes a drive sprocket disposed in front of a seat tube, so as to shorten the total length of the bicycle.
According to this invention, a bicycle includes a bicycle frame, a wheel unit, and a transmission. The bicycle frame includes an upright head tube, an upright seat tube, and an inclined main tube that has a front end which is connected fixedly to the head tube, and a rear end which is connected fixedly to the seat tube and which is located below the front end. The main tube extends rearwardly and downwardly from the head tube to the seat tube. The wheel unit includes a front wheel mounted rotatably on a front end of the bicycle frame, and a rear wheel mounted rotatably on a rear end of the bicycle frame and having a diameter greater than that of the front wheel. The transmission includes: a drive sprocket disposed rotatably on the main tube and located between the head tube and the seat tube; a crank disposed rotatably on the main tube and connected coaxially and fixedly to the drive sprocket, the crank having two crank arms; two pedals mounted respectively and rotatably on the crank arms; a driven sprocket connected coaxially and fixedly to the rear wheel; and a chain trained on the drive and driven sprockets so as to transfer rotation of the drive sprocket to the driven sprocket.

Bicycle with a drive sprocket disposed in front of a seat tube

No. 25, Lane 256, Yu-Yuan S. Rd., Lung-Ching Hsiang


A calibration and adjustment system for post-fabrication control of a phase locked loop bias-generator is provided. The calibration and adjustment system includes an adjustment circuit operatively connected to the bias-generator, where the adjustment circuit is controllable to facilitate a modification of a voltage output by the bias-generator. Such control of the voltage output by the bias-generator allows a designer to achieve a desired phase locked loop performance characteristic after the phase locked loop has been fabricated. A representative value of the amount of adjustment desired in the bias-generator output may be stored and subsequently read to adjust the phase locked loop.

As shown in FIG. 1, a typical computer system (10) has, among other components, a microprocessor (12), one or more forms of memory (14), integrated circuits (16) having specific functionalities, and peripheral computer resources (not shown), e.g., monitor, keyboard, software programs, etc. These components communicate with one another via communication paths (19), e.g., wires, buses, etc., to accomplish the various tasks of the computer system (10).
In order to properly accomplish such tasks, the computer system (10) relies on the basis of time to coordinate its various operations. To that end, a crystal oscillator (18) generates a system clock signal (referred to and known in the art as xe2x80x9creference clockxe2x80x9d and shown in FIG. 1 as SYS_CLK) to various parts of the computer system (10). Modem microprocessors and other integrated circuits, however, are typically capable of operating at frequencies significantly higher than the system clock signal, and thus, it becomes important to ensure that operations involving the microprocessor (12) and the other components of the computer system (10) use a proper and accurate reference of time.
One component used within the computer system (10) to ensure a proper reference of time among a system clock signal and a microprocessor clock signal, i.e., xe2x80x9cchip clock signal,xe2x80x9d is a type of clock generator known as a phase locked loop (PLL) (20). The PLL (20) is an electronic circuit that controls an oscillator such that the oscillator maintains a constant phase relative to a system signal. Referring to FIG. 1, the PLL (20) has as its input the system clock signal, which is its reference signal, and outputs a chip clock signal (shown in FIG. 1 as CHIP_CLK) to the microprocessor (12). The system clock signal and chip clock signal have a specific phase and frequency relationship controlled by the PLL (20). This relationship between the phases and frequencies of the system clock signal and chip clock signal ensures that the various components within the microprocessor (12) use a controlled and accounted for reference of time. When this relationship is not maintained by the PLL (20), however, the operations within the computer system (10) become non-deterministic.
FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a representative PLL (200). The PLL (200) includes a PLL core (201), buffers (212, 214), and a feedback loop that includes a divide by N block (216). The PLL core (201) aligns the transition edge and frequency of the system clock signal (SYS_CLK) and a feedback loop signal (219). The PLL core (201) adjusts its output frequency in order to zero any phase and frequency difference between the system clock signal (SYS_CLK) and the feedback loop signal (219). The addition of the divide by N block (216) in the feedback loop enables the PLL core (201) to multiply the system clock signal (SYS_CLK). Multiplying the system clock signal is useful when the chip clock signal (CHIP_CLK) must have a higher frequency than the system clock signal (SYS_CLK). By adding the divide by N block (216), the chip clock signal (CHIP_CLK) frequency should be N times faster to allow the phase and frequency difference between the system clock signal (SYS_CLK) and the feedback loop signal (219) to zero. The PLL (200) may also have buffers (212, 214) to drive a larger resistive and/or capacitive load. The buffers (212, 214) are in the feedback loop so that the delay created by the buffers (212, 214) is zeroed by the PLL core (201).
The PLL core (201) adjusts the phase and frequency difference between the system clock signal (SYS_CLK) and the feedback loop signal (219). The system clock signal (SYS_CLK) and the feedback loop signal (219) are used as inputs to a phase-frequency detector (202). The phase-frequency detector (202) measures whether the phase and frequency difference between the system clock signal (SYS_CLK) and the feedback loop signal (219) are correct. The phase-frequency detector (202) produces signals that control charge pumps (204, 234). The phase-frequency detector (202) controls the charge pumps (204, 234) to increase or decrease their output using control signals up, U (203), and down, D (205). The charge pump (204) adds or removes charge from a capacitor, C1 (206), that changes the DC value at the input of a bias-generator (208). The capacitor, C1 (206), is connected between a power supply, VDD, and an input voltage, VCTRL (207). The charge pump (234) adds or removes charge from an output, VBP (209), of a bias-generator (208).
The bias-generator (208) produces control voltages, VBP (209) and VBN (211), in response to the input voltage, VCTRL (207). The PLL core (201) may be self-biased by adding the charge pump (234) to the bias-generator (208) output, VBP (209). The addition of a second charge pump (234) allows the removal of a resistor in series with the capacitor C1 (206). A voltage-controlled oscillator (210) produces an output that has a frequency related to the control voltages, VBP (209) and VBN (211). The output (213) from the voltage-controlled oscillator, after being buffered by the buffers (212, 214), provides a frequency, N times as fast as the system clock signal (SYS_CLK), to other circuits. Ideally, the chip clock signal (CHIP_CLK) output is a constant multiple by N of the system clock signal (SYS_CLK) input. The chip clock signal (CHIP_CLK), however, may be affected by jitter.
One common performance measure for a PLL is jitter. Jitter is the time domain error from poor spectral purity of an output. In other words, in a repeated output pattern, such as a clock signal, a transition that occurs from one state to another does not occur at the same time relative to other transitions. Jitter represents the perturbations that result in the intermittent shortening or lengthening of signal elements of an output. The system clock signal may have jitter that needs to be filtered by the PLL. The PLL may need to follow and compensate for jitter at the PLL output.
Phase locked loops are basically second order feedback control systems. As such, the phase locked loop can be described in the frequency domain as having a damping factor and natural frequency. The damping factor and natural frequency are fixed by the selection of the PLL circuit parameters. The loop bandwidth is defined as the PLL input frequency at which the PLL output magnitude is 3 dB lower than the PLL output magnitude when the PLL input frequency is zero (DC). The loop bandwidth determines to a large degree the speed at which the phase locked loop can react to a disturbance. The PLL should have a low loop bandwidth so that system clock signal jitter is filtered. Power supply noise will, however, have a certain noise-versus-frequency characteristic. The PLL loop bandwidth may need to be increased to recover from the generation of chip clock signal jitter caused by power supply noise.
According to one aspect of the present invention, an integrated circuit comprises a clock path for carrying a clock signal; a power supply path adapted to receive power from a power supply; a phase locked loop connected to the power supply path comprises a voltage-controlled oscillator for generating a frequency signal dependent on an input thereto, a phase-frequency detector for detecting a phase difference between the clock signal and the frequency signal, and a bias-generator arranged to output a voltage to an input of the voltage-controlled oscillator responsive to the phase-frequency detector; an adjustment circuit operatively connected to the input of the voltage-controlled oscillator where the adjustment circuit is responsive to control information to adjust the voltage output by the bias-generator; and a storage device adapted to store the control information to which the adjustment circuit is responsive.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for post-fabrication treatment of a phase locked loop comprises generating a frequency signal; comparing the frequency signal to a clock signal; adjusting the generating based on the comparing using a bias-generator; generating a binary control word; selectively adjusting an output of the bias-generator in the phase locked loop dependent on the binary control word; operating the phase locked loop where the selectively adjusting the output of the bias-generator modifies an operating characteristic of the phase locked loop; and storing control information determined from the adjusting.
According to one aspect of the present invention, an integrated circuit comprises phase locked loop means for generating a frequency signal where the phase locked loop means comprises means for generating the frequency signal, means for comparing the frequency signal to a clock signal, means for adjusting the generating based on the comparing using a bias-generator, means for generating a binary control word, adjusting means for adjusting an output of the bias-generator in the phase locked loop dependent on the binary control word, means for operating the phase locked loop where the adjusting means modifies an operating characteristic of the phase locked loop; and storing means for storing control information determined using the adjusting means.
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims.

Method and apparatus for calibration of a post-fabrication bias voltage tuning feature for self biasing phase locked loop


An image-based navigation method and system are provided. In response to a user request submitted to a navigation system, the image-based navigation system provides directions to the user, wherein the directions include one or more route segments, and at least one digital image of a view along at least one of the route segments. In a further aspect, the directions are provided to the user by displaying a map of the route along with the route segments, wherein when each of the route segments is displayed, any images associated with the corresponding route segment are also displayed.

Navigation systems are becoming increasingly common. Most navigation systems are GPS-based (Global Positioning System). By triangulation of signals from three of the satellites, a GPS receiving unit can pinpoint its current location anywhere on earth to within 20 meters horizontally. Today, in-the-dash GPS-based navigation systems are standard or at least an option in luxury cars and third-party systems are also available for all cars. Most systems use a DVD, CD-ROM or hard disk that reads digital maps to guide the driver to a destination city or street address. They can even take the user to the nearest gas station, hotel, restaurant and many other points of interest. In addition to in-car navigation systems, there are handheld GPS units, and GPS-equipped cellphones and PDAs.
Today, telematics, which refers to the convergence of telecommunications and information processing, especially automation in automobiles, is a major growth area. Telematics includes GPS navigation, integrated hands-free cellphones, and wireless communications. Telematics enables a variety of integrated systems, including a wireless standard for vehicles called Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) that is based on a modified 802.11a technology. In addition, Bluetooth wireless technology is being explored to interface a driver's cellphone and PDA into the vehicle's audio system, such that drivers can ask their cars to look up a number or address, and the car would dial the number or provide directions to get there.
Regardless of the implementation, the operation of navigation systems can be summed up as follows: 1) a user submits a request for directions by providing start and end points in the form of city names or street addresses; 2) the navigation system provides a map with turn-by-turn directions and optionally provides directions to several nearby points of interest; and 3) the user can zoom in and out of maps to see more or less detail.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example map displayed by a conventional navigation system. In general, the user inputs an address and in response receives directions to the destination as an aerial map that outlines street names, as shown. The navigation system may also provide text and/or audio directions for each segment of the route, e.g., "Turn right on 22nd St. N.W." In some cases advertisers may include logos to indicate their location with respect to the aerial map.
Although current navigation systems work well for their intended purpose, state-of-the-art navigation systems do not capture the user's perspective in navigation, most of whom navigate the world largely based on landmarks and other visual clues. Very often, people are unable to give directions to places they visit quite often because they simply "know how to get there" without explicitly knowing the street names. People are able to naturally navigate their way because they have mental images of turns, corners, and buildings encountered along the route. Conventional navigation systems provide a view that does not mesh with the way people think.
Accordingly, what is needed is an improved method and system for providing directions using GPS navigation systems. The present invention addresses such a need.

Method for incorporating images with a user perspective in navigation


An angular surgical driver including a first rotatable member, a second rotatable member, an angled housing and a plurality of pins. The first rotatable member and second rotatable member are angularly associated with each other. The angled housing is rotatably connected to the first rotatable member and the second rotatable member. A plurality of pins drivingly connecting the first rotatable member to the second rotatable member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surgical driver, and, more particularly, to an angled surgical driver.
2. Description of the Related Art
Joint replacement surgery has been used in the United States since as early as the 1960's. Implanting or repairing a prosthetic acetabular shell using a procedure of minimal invasive surgery requires screw hole plugs and screws that must be screwed in an acetabular shell. Bone screws are often driven through screw holes in the acetabular shell and into surrounding cortical bone to secure the shell to the bone. Screw hole openings in the acetabular shell are generally at an angle with respect to the surgical site, which often precludes a straight driving instrument from having the proper angle to reach the screw hole opening in the shell.
Minimally invasive surgical techniques have the advantage of reducing the trauma to tissue surrounding the surgical site during a surgical procedure. Often a reamer is required to prepare an implant site for the receipt of the acetabular shell, the reamer is connected to a driver, which is in turn connected to a rotational tool. The driver has a specific structure at the proximal (to the surgical site) end thereof, which is compatible with specific attachment mechanisms on the reamers.
An orthopaedic reamer assembly, which includes a driver, may also be used to shape an exterior surface of a bone. A rotary tool provides the motive force and is connected to the driver which is connected to the reamer. The driver generally has a shaft and a drive end. Orthopaedic reamer drivers are known which have a flexible shaft. The flexible shaft allows the reamer to travel along the path of a non-linear passage, such as an intramedullary canal, and thereby ream a non-linear opening.
It is known to have a drive body with L-shaped linking bars mounted between a drive body and a driven body with multiple L-shaped drive bars mounted therebetween. The drive body has a central linking hole with multiple mounting holes arranged around a periphery of the linking hole. As disclosed in United States Patent Application Publication No. US2004/0045417 A1.
What is needed in the art is a driving mechanism that doesn't require a central linking pin.


A particulate material distribution device for evenly distributing particulate material in a silo, which includes a frame connected to a silo upper end. The frame supports a feeder conduit having a feeder end portion, which is at least partially positioned in an open end of the silo. The feeder conduit has a feeder conduit axis, which is generally parallel to a silo sidewall. The device includes a rotatable sweeper arm connected to the frame and positioned generally orthogonal relative to the feeder conduit axis. The rotatable sweeper arm is at least partially positioned in the open end of the silo and spaced apart from the feeder conduit end and having a sweeper arm axis of rotation which is generally parallel to the feeder conduit axis.

The present invention concerns silos, more particularly to distribution devices for use with particulate material in silos.
Silos are commonplace and are used to receive and store particulate material such as silage, grain or woodchips. Generally, a silo includes a hopper, which is connected to a feeder pipe for feeding the material from a source into the silo. The material fills the silo to a predetermined level and then typically, an operator stops the operation. This operation while straightforward suffers from a number of significant drawbacks. Undesirably, particulate material tends to forms peaks as the material fills the silo. The silo""s storage space is thus used inefficiently because the area around the material peak, when the peak is at a maximum height, is left unfilled. If the material peak is left to increase in size, it will eventually block the feeder pipe. This is particularly problematic in applications that require feeding of material into the silo and then generally immediate use after filling, for example, in temporarily storing woodchips in the silo and then feeding the woodchips into a drying oven. An operation of this type normally requires continuous monitoring by an operator to turn off the feeder when the material peak reaches its maximum level.
Several distribution device designs have been made to solve the aforesaid problems, a few examples of which include:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,430,788, issued Mar. 4, 1967 to Edming for xe2x80x9cSilage Distributorxe2x80x9d;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,159,151, issued Jun. 26, 1979, to Wood for xe2x80x9cSilo Filling Apparatusxe2x80x9d;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,555,210, issued Nov. 26, 1985 to Wigram for xe2x80x9cSpreader Device in a Storage Container for Uniform Filling of the Container with Granular Goodsxe2x80x9d;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,884, issued Nov. 27, 1990 to Souers et al. for xe2x80x9cMethod and Apparatus for Uniformly Loading Particulate Material into, Cylindrical Bedsxe2x80x9d; and
U.S. Pat. No. 5,238,035, issued Aug. 24, 1993 to Poussin et al. for xe2x80x9cEquipment for Filling a Container with a Divided Solid Productxe2x80x9d.
The designs above, however, suffer from a number of important disadvantages. Most are of a complex design, which may not allow for retrofitting onto an existing silo. Several of the designs include rotator elements that rotate about an axis, which is axially aligned with the feeder tube. The rotator elements are often substantially smaller than the diameter of the silo and as such may not uniformly distribute the particulate material in the silo. Disadvantageously, the rotator elements do not appear to be activatable when the material begins to form the aforesaid peaks and as such would require constant monitoring by the user to prevent the feeder tube""s blockage.
Thus there is a need for an improved distribution device.
The present invention is directed towards a solution to the aforesaid problems by providing a novel parallel arrangement of an axis of rotation of a number of sweeper arms and a feeder conduit axis. Advantageously, this parallel arrangement allows particulate material that exits the feeder conduit to be captured by the sweeper arm and deposited in a uniform manner over the surface of the particulate material. This uniform distribution significantly increases the efficient use of silo storage space because the sweeper arms substantially reduce or essentially eliminate the formation of peaked material in the silo. Moreover, reduction of peak formation also reduces obstruction of the feeder conduit by the peaked material. Furthermore, a sonic sensor detects the level of the particulate material in the silo and automatically controls the sweeper arm""s rotation, thereby allowing the silo to operate essentially unattended. In addition, a frame is used to mount the sweeper arms adjacent the feeder conduit and thus is easily retrofitted onto the top of an existing silo. Also, by using the device to distribute the particulate material, its compaction in the silo is significantly reduced.
In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a particulate material distribution device for evenly distributing particulate material in a silo, said silo including a frame connected to a silo upper end for supporting a feeder conduit having a feeder end portion which is at least partially positioned in an open end of said silo, said feeder conduit having a feeder conduit axis which is generally parallel to a silo sidewall, said device comprises:
a rotatable sweeper arm connected to said frame and positioned generally orthogonal relative to said feeder conduit axis, said rotatable sweeper arm being at least partially positioned in said open end of said silo and spaced apart from said feeder conduit end and having a sweeper arm axis of rotation which is generally parallel to said feeder conduit axis.
Typically, the rotatable sweeper arm receives said particulate material from said feeder conduit end and sweeps said particulate material along a path of travel from said feeder conduit end towards said silo sidewall, said particulate material being evenly distributed over a surface of said particulate material adjacent said sweeper arm so that said feeder conduit end is unobstructed by said particulate material. The device typically comprises three rotatable sweeper arms. Each sweeper arm extends radially outwardly from a sweeper axle, said axle being connected to said frame.
Typically, each sweeper arm includes: an arm connector portion connected to said sweeper axle; a distal end portion; and an intermediate arm portion interconnecting said connector portion and said distal end portion. The intermediate arm portion includes: a leading wall and two trailing walls, said leading wall being generally parallel to said sweeper, axis of rotation, said trailing walls being generally horizontal.
Typically, each sweeper arm is arcuate in the direction of said rotation.
In another aspect of the first embodiment, a plurality of spaced apart arm panels are connected to said intermediate arm portion, each arm panel depending from said leading wall.
Typically, the feeder conduit axis is located generally centrally said silo, said sweeper arm axis of rotation being off-center such that said sweeper arm rotates eccentrically.
Typically, the device further comprises: a level sensor connected to said frame and in communication with said rotatable sweeper arm to provide a first signal to said sweeper arm to rotate when a first portion of said particulate material reaches a first predetermined level in said silo. The sensor provides a second signal to said sweeper arm to stop rotation when a second portion of said particulate material reaches a second predetermined level in said silo. The first portion of said particulate material is peaked. The second portion of said material is generally planar.


A display device renders a field of view of a panoramic image that is produced from several separate images taken by different cameras. The field of view can be panned across the panoramic image. The separate images each show a portion of a panoramic view and border other images. When rendering a field of view that includes a border between two adjacent images, the images can be merged in a way that substantially eliminates the border and makes the view appear as one continuous image. The merging is performed only as needed, and border regions between images that are not in the rendered field of view are not merged so as to avoid using processing resources unnecessarily.

There are a number of camera devices on the market that produce a panoramic image, which is an image that includes a view which would require a person to pan their focus, such as by turning their head, in order to see everything presented in the image were the person looking from the same viewpoint. A conventional panoramic image can be produced by simply photographing one view, then turning the camera so that the camera's field of view now includes a view of things that could not be seen in the previous field of view, but is adjacent to the previous field of view. The resulting images can then be placed adjacent each other to provide a panoramic view. This conventional approach, however, suffers from "banding," where the images do not align in exposure or perspective since they each have their own perspective point. More recently cameras have been designed to take in light from a larger field of view, even in a 360 degree field of view. Such images are referred to as a circular or "ring" image, which is a panoramic image produced by capturing a view in a circle or semi-circle. Conventionally this is done by using multiple cameras, each aimed in a different orientation, to capture an image that represents one sector of the complete ring image. A similar technique can be used to present spherical images, which apply the same techniques in the vertical as well as the horizontal orientations. Circular and spherical images are presented in a field of view that can be moved along the horizontal or vertical axes to see in different directions. Given that the images are produced by separate cameras, however, the boundaries of the images present breaks in the composite panoramic image, and it is preferable to present a panoramic image as a continuous image when panning the field of view around the panoramic image.
To make a panoramic image appear continuous and unbroken despite the natural breaks that are present due to the fact that different sectors of the panoramic image are captured by independent cameras, a process called "stitching" is used to merge the edges of the separate images together, resulting in the appearance of a continuous image when the field of view is panned from image to adjacent image. Stitching, while conventional, is processor intensive. This is especially true when the images being merged are images of a video stream where the stitching must be performed for every new frame of images received in the video stream. In a mobile device used to view panoramic images and panoramic video, the amount of processing resources used to stitch images in a video stream represents a significant drain on battery charge.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method and apparatus for viewing panoramic images and video while minimizing the impact of stitching operations on battery charge and processor resources in general.
Those skilled in the field of the present disclosure will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein. The details of well-known elements, structure, or processes that would be necessary to practice the embodiments, and that would be well known to those of skill in the art, are not necessarily shown and should be assumed to be present unless otherwise indicated.

Method and apparatus for displaying panoramic images


The present invention may be used in methods for treatment of drinking water contaminated with algal metabolites. An inflow of water in a drinking water treatment facility may have multiple types of algal metabolites wherein each algal metabolites has a concentration of less than 20 μg/l. The water may contain indigenous bacteria that may serve as a bioreactor inoculum. The water may be dosed with a biodegradable electron donor at a concentration of less than 7 mg/l to form water, electron donor solution. The water, electron donor solution may be processed through a fixed-bed bioreactor for an empty bed bioreactor contact time of less than 30 minutes. An effluent of the fixed-bed bioreactor may have an algal metabolite concentration for each algal metabolite of less than 10 ng/l.

This invention relates to methods and processes for supplemental substrate treatment for biological control of algal metabolites and other organic contaminants. The new method may dose a process water stream with a readily biodegradable electron donor prior to treatment in a biological reactor.
Many current processes may use preozonation that may be an expensive process in biological treatment of algal metabolites in drinking water. Ozonation may form disinfection by-products that may be deleterious to human health. The presence of objectionable taste and odor compounds in surface water supplies may be a growing problem for water utility suppliers. Two common surface water compounds are 2-methylisoborneol and trans-1, 10-dimethyl-trans-9 decalol (geosmin), which are metabolites of cyanobacteria, blue-green algae, and actinomycetes bacteria.
Existing methods for mitigating algal metabolite impacts on drinking water may include algal population control through water reservoir management and metabolite removal at a water treatment facility. The growth of copper resistant algal strains and increased nutrient loading to surface waters may limit the effectiveness of reservoir management. Conventional treatment methods, such as pre- and post-chlorination, coagulation, sedimentation and filtration may be marginally effective at reducing algal metabolite concentrations.
Powdered activated carbon may be used in existing methods to supplement the processes to achieve acceptable removal of metabolites; although, such use may be cost prohibitive over lengthy or intense algal events. Some water processing utilities may ozonate settled water and then feed the water to biologically active granular media filters. The ozonation process may directly oxidize metabolites and may also oxidize natural organics to form assimilable organic carbon that may in turn provide a electron donor for microorganisms present in a biological filter. The ozone enhanced biofiltration process may be effective in water treatment, but may be costly and may have limited robustness, for example, diminished removal performance during fluctuations in feed water parameters.
Microorganisms may gain energy to grow and maintain cell metabolism by mediating the transfer of electrons between electron donor and electron acceptor. Primary electron donors may provide energy during cell metabolism. The rate of cell synthesis may be proportional to the concentration of a rate limiting electron donor, the cell yield, the concentration of active biomass, and the maximum specific primary electron donor utilization rate. The minimum concentration of primary electron donor that may support steady state biomass may be known as smin. When the rate limiting primary electron donor concentration equals smin, the rate of cell synthesis may equal the rate of cell decay. Any electron donor that may be present below its smin concentration may be known as a secondary electron donor. Though secondary electron donors may be biodegraded, bacteria may gain little to no energy in doing so, which may mean a primary electron donor may have to be biodegraded simultaneously. The rate of secondary electron donor degradation may be proportional to the concentration of active biomass present that may be a function of, among other factors, the concentration of primary electron donor.
Algal metabolites and other organic contaminants may be present in natural waters at parts per trillion or parts per billion concentrations and therefore may be biodegraded as secondary electron donors by indigenous microbial populations. Therefore, biological treatment processes designed to biodegrade these compounds may require the presence of a primary electron donor. The ozonation portion of an ozone enhanced biofiltration process may provide some direct oxidation of algal metabolites and may also break large natural organic matter molecules into smaller, more readily biodegradable organic molecules, thereby increasing the concentration of primary electron donors. The ozone enhanced biofiltration process may provide some success in removing algal metabolites from drinking water; however, potential disinfection by-product formation, lengthy bioacclimation time requirements, and inadequate removal efficiency and process robustness may limit full-scale use. A method that may provide a biological filter with an easily biodegradable primary electron donor at a controlled dose may allow a more efficient and robust process.

Process for treatment of organic contaminated water


Power is generated using a thermoelectric power generation unit. The thermoelectric power generation unit has at least one thermoelectric module disposed between a first heat sink arranged inside the thermoelectric power generation unit and a second heat sink arranged outside the thermoelectric power generation unit. The thermoelectric power generation unit is inserted into a ducting network carrying relatively hot air during some periods of time and relatively cold air during other periods of time so that the relatively hot and cold air flows through the thermoelectric power generation unit during the different periods of time. The thermoelectric power generation unit generates power when the ducting network carries either the relatively hot or cold air. Energy is stored at least partially based on the power generated by the thermoelectric power generation unit.

The present invention generally relates to power generation, and particularly relates to generating power using thermoelectric modules.
Many residential and industrial applications generate hot air by way of fuel combustion, chemical reaction or the like, e.g., from boilers, kilns, ovens, furnaces, etc. The hot air is typically carried in a ducting network and expelled into the environment without being reused for useful purposes. The ducting network often carries cooler air during other periods of time, e.g., to provide ventilation or cooling. For example, heating and air conditioning systems have ducting networks for carrying relatively hot air during some periods of time to provide heating and relatively cold air during other periods of time to provide cooling. Heating and air conditioning systems are widely deployed in both industrial and residential settings. In each of these applications and others, a significant temperature differential usually exists between the air carried within the ducting network and the outside air. This temperature gradient often goes unutilized in conventional ducting networks.

Thermoelectric power generation method and apparatus


A firearm barrel, including rifling formed of an alternating, spirally-extending plurality of grooves and lands defining a twist angle adapted for imparting rotation to a bullet being impelled through the barrel from a chamber end to and exiting a muzzle end. The plurality of lands each include a reduced width component communicating with the chamber end of the barrel for a predetermined distance towards the muzzle end of the barrel. The reduced width component defines an acute angle in relation to a longitudinal axis of the barrel adapted to cause a bullet being fired from the firearm to prevent blow-by gases to exit the barrel in advance of the bullet. A method of forming the firearm and barrel is also disclosed.

This invention relates to projectile weapon accuracy and wear prevention. The invention has broad application to any firearm such as a pistol, rifle, machine gun or other projectile weapon, including artillery, and nothing in the following discussion is meant to imply otherwise. The description of the invention with reference to a U.S. caliber 45 model 1911 pistol as made by Colt, Remington, Ithaca Gun Company and others is for the purpose of providing an enabling embodiment of the invention and for no other reason. The purpose of this innovation is to prolong the life of the barrel, minimize metal fouling of the bore, increase the velocity and accuracy of the projectile and reduce recoil of the firearm. A standard 45 caliber Colt, when properly adjusted with no worn or damaged parts and when bench fired, is capable of hitting a target at 50 feet with a spread of approximately 6 inches (15 cm).
The continuing popularity and availability of these pistols has resulted in their use for sport target competition, and as weapons for special military and police units where enhanced accuracy is necessary or desirable. It has been observed that are five factors are principally responsible for inherent design inaccuracy in a 45 caliber pistol—the fit of the slide to the frame, the fit of the barrel hood of the barrel into the shell ejection opening, the fit of the aft barrel locking groove onto the aft slide locking wall segment, the fit of the link and link lug to the slide stop pin, and the design of the grooves and lands formed into the barrel to provide a stabilizing rotational motion to the projectile as it travels down the barrel. This application addresses the last of the above-mentioned design features, particularly the design and configuration of the grooves and lands forward of the front of the pistol chamber, with the result that significantly greater accuracy and velocity can be obtained while reducing erosion and abrasion in the barrel caused by gas blow-by. Abrasion can be caused by gas blow-by, which carries unburned powder as well as ash. This material can abrade the lands and grooves of the barrel as a bullet passes over these accumulations to the point where the barrel loses accuracy.
The most common form of rifling comprises six (6) spirally formed lands and grooves, with the groove width being approximately two times as wide as the land width, in this case the groove widths being 0.160 inch and the land widths being 0.080 inch, a two to one ratio. Each land is 0.004 inch high. While the twist rate for rifled weapons varies, twist rates in the range of 1 in 10 (1 360° rotation of the bullet in 10 inches) to 1 in 20 is common, the typical twist rate for the standard 45 caliber Colt barrel being 1 in 16. While dimensions vary, a barrel of a typical U.S. caliber 45 model 1911 pistol will have an internal diameter at the grooves of 0.452 inch and a length of between 3.5 and 5 inches.
This application relates to a process to improve both accuracy and muzzle velocity (and hence power) of weapon barrels generally, such as artillery, machine guns, pistols, revolvers and, by way of example for purposes of this application, 45 automatic barrels. The application also includes a disclosure of gun barrels and weapons that include features of the process disclosed in this application. In conventional rifled barrels, the bullet enters the barrel from the cartridge without any rotational component of movement. The bullet enters the barrel and the alternating lands and grooves impart spin, thus stabilizing the movement of the bullet after exiting the barrel. However, the bullet does not spin instantaneously upon entering the barrel. Rather, a first component of movement into the barrel is a continued non-rotational movement until its non-rotational inertia is overcome and the bullet starts to spin.
The bearing surface of the bullet, that which has direct contact with the lands and grooves of the barrel, is normally approximately 0.315 inch in length and is set within the mouth of the cartridge case. This dimension is held throughout the varying bullet weights, which range from 185 grains to 230 grains, in order to maintain the proper volume of the combustion chamber for proper ignition of the powder charge. This supported portion of the bullets weigh 125 grains, leaving 60 grains or 33 percent of the 185 grain bullet unsupported by rifling and 105 grains or 45 percent of the 230 grain bullet unsupported by rifling.
It is common practice to choose a bullet diameter to match the diameter of the groove of the barrel of the firearm. When a bullet is fired into conventional rifling, it will encounter six 0.080 inch wide by 0.004 inch high spirally formed rifling lands. These six lands must be impressed into the bullet for it to pass into the barrel. It is known that metal is not compressible, so in order for the bullet to pass into the barrel, the bullet must change its shape. Three factors affect the manner in which the bullet performs. The bullet must deform to accept the rifling lands, and the rear of the bullet, that initially has an unsupported diameter, will have been expanded in diameter by the explosive force driving it and must be forced back to the size of the rifling grove to allow the bullet to pass into the barrel bore and pass through it. The only way this can happen is for the bullet to extrude itself in length so it will not burst the barrel. All of these forces will have a negative effect on the concentricity and integrity of the bullet and on accuracy when the bullet is propelled through the barrel and to its target. The instantaneous deformation, reformation and extrusion into the unsupported nose portion of the bullet may result in loss of symmetry of the bullet and, accordingly, loss of power and accuracy.
When the cartridge is fired, the bullet travels in a straightforward and non-rotational manner until the bearing surface of the bullet has advanced 0.350 inch from the front edge of the chamber into the spirally formed rifling. At this point, the bearing surface of the bullet has become fully engaged with the spiral leading surfaces of the rifling lands. The barrel will have imparted enough force on the bullet to overcome inertia of the bullet and cause the bullet to begin to rotate, gradually at first, then progressing more rapidly as more and more of the rifling imparts more and more force until the bullet attains full rotational speed at a further distance of 0.200 inch. These are average distances taken from a series of actual shots fired with abrasive coated bullets, and their resulting abrasions being measured with a 40× measuring microscope.
During this combined forward movement of approximately 0.550 inch, the 0.315 inch long bearing surface of the bullets and its increasingly rotational movement against the leading edge of the spirally shaped rifling lands leaves voids in the bearing surface of the bullet at the rear of each of the six rifling lands. These voids momentarily allow a "blow-by" of combustion gases past the bullet and down the barrel until full rotation of the bullet is attained. This "blow-by" is evidenced by a puff of combustion gases that exits the barrel in advance of the bullet. These escaping gases can cause erosion at the end of the chamber and lead into the throat of the rifling where the bullet must be constricted to the size of the groove. Under sustained fire, as with a machine gun, this erosion can be so extensive as to make the barrel unusable. These escaping gases carry unburned powder and powder ash ahead of the bullet, and interaction between the bullet and the ash can cause the ash to act as an abrasive, scoring and thus damaging the barrel bore. Closure of these voids will take place as full width rifling is impressed into the bullet's bearing surface and full rotational speed is attained. The scraping and subsequent reforming of the bullet's surface allows raw and unlubricated metal to contact and adhere to the barrel surface, resulting in metal fouling of the bore.
The instantaneous contact of the rifling's restricted bore, the forcing of the rifling into the surface of the bullet, the restriction of the expanded bullet base and of the extrusion and lengthening of the bullet forces any extruded material forward into the unsupported portion of the bullet. The intense pressure will force the unsupported bullet nose to expand at its weakest point, making an off-center bulge or bend in the nose asymmetric to the base. This is demonstrated by the fact that hollow point bullets are known to shoot more accurately than closed nose bullets. This is because the hollow point allows the extruded material of the lead core space to expand, and the resulting inward deformation of the bullet's nose forces the extruded material of the lead core toward the centerline of the bullet, thus minimizing but not necessarily eliminating any imbalance that may have occurred.
The manner of operation of the Colt 45 semi-automatic pistol is well-known in the art. In general this weapon is a delayed blowback type, wherein during firing the blowback pressure exerted by the cartridge shell on the bolt face of the slide is used to operate the slide, during the course of which the slide is unlocked for movement relative to the barrel, the spent shell ejected, the hammer cocked, a new cartridge brought to the firing chamber, and the slide returned to locked firing position.
During firing the barrel is locked against movement by the cooperation of the locking wall segments of the slide and the locking grooves of the barrel to allow the slide to continue to the rear to expel the spent cartridge case. During shell ejection and shell loading, the barrel is unlocked from the locking wall segments and pivots downwardly allow the slide to continue to the rear, eject the cartridge case and then move forward to receive the next cartridge from the magazine.
According to the invention of this application, it has been determined that removing material from the lands of the barrel near the entrance point of the chamber avoids blow-by of gases exiting the barrel in advance of the bullet. This feature thus improves both accuracy and power of a weapon with a barrel so modified. The angle of the land is changed to have two components—a first component at the barrel entrance that has an angle that is parallel with the longitudinal axis of the barrel, and a second component that transitions from the angle of the first component to the angle of the land. The material is removed on the side of the land opposite the direction of the angle of the rifling and prevents or substantially reduces blow-by, lateral barrel deflection and recoil, and increases muzzle velocity.
Importantly, preventing blow-by reduces the abrasive effect of the gases and powder ash on the interior of the weapon barrel that over time can damage the barrel throat and barrel bore. This erosion, or "gas etching", is presently a serious problem in many types of projectile weapons.
Importantly, the geometry of the barrel according to the invention of this application results in the bullet being centered in the bore of the barrel at an earlier point in the firing process, leading to greater accuracy and less wear on the lands and grooves.
The advantages discussed in this application result in a substantial reduction in gas etching and abrasion of the barrel interior and substantially increases the life of the barrel.
U.S. Pat. No. 245,015 to H. Reilly ("Reilly") discloses a cannon barrel that has a series of variations in land and groove width along the length of the barrel, at points a, b, c, d and e:
Reilly contains no details or specifications regarding how the invention is practiced. In fact, the inventor states merely that:                The distance to which this beveling should extend from the breech toward the muzzle and the amount of the lands to be cut away cannot be given for all guns, because it will vary in guns of different size, in rifling of different pitch, and with shot of different weight . . . . This can only be ascertained by experimenting with the shot and gun in which the invention is to be used. Reilly, lines 49-59.
Thus, Reilly does nothing more than invite experimentation. This is insufficient as an enabling disclosure of an invention. Moreover, Reilly does not actually show any discernable enlargement of the grooves or reduction of the lands. Finally, even if there were any discernable enlargement of the grooves or reduction in the lands, any enlargement in the grooves, Reilly states that he reduces the lands "on that side of the lands against which the expanded portion of the sabot presses by reason of the twist of the rifling." Id. at 92-95. Reilly further speculates that doing this "the sabot would probably be torn to pieces if the side of the groove against which it does so press were made at all uneven." Id. at 95-97. Contrary to Reilly, the material must be removed on the side of the land opposite the direction of the angle of the rifling in order to prevent or substantially reduce blow-by, lateral barrel deflection and recoil, and increase muzzle velocity, as described above.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,345,089 ("Born") discloses a gun barrel that transitions from a relatively large initial caliber at the breach to a relatively smaller caliber at the muzzle "in order to increase the propelling force imparted to the bullet." Born, p. 1 at 5-8. FIGS. 1, 1a and 2-5 disclose a barrel wherein the barrel is "conical" and the lands extend into the conical part of the barrel. Id. at lines 40-50. As the bullet travels down the barrel, its diameter is decreased. FIG. 1b is described as a "modification", Id. at line 48, the modification being that the lands have "a very small twist or without any initial twist, as shown in FIG. 1b so as to assume only quite gradually their normal width and height and their final twist." Id. at p. 1, line 54-p. 2, line 3. Born points to reference numeral 23 of FIG. 1b as the area "in which the first acceleration an deformation is imparted to the projectile is made without any twist of the rifling . . . ." Id. at p. 2, line 28-2.
This is distinct from the invention of this application for at least three reasons. First, the invention of this application has spiral rifling, i.e., "twist", along the entire length of the barrel. Second, to the extent, if any, that lands and grooves exists in the area of reference numeral 23 of Born, the lands and grooves are symmetrical, whereas in the invention of this application the lands and grooves in the area near the chamber of the firearm are asymmetric. Third, as with Reilly, Born provides absolutely no information regarding dimensions or relationships of any of the relevant elements of the barrel—diameters of the barrel, length, width and height of the grooves and lands, angle of twist, for example. Thus, as with Reilly, the skilled artisan is left to experiment to see if the purported invention has any merit. A reference must provide an enabling disclosure of the desired subject matter; mere naming or description of the subject matter is insufficient, if it cannot be produced without undue experimentation.

Firearm barrel and method of improving projectile weapon accuracy, velocity and durability


A circuit board connector housing (10) includes slide contacts (19) arranged before contact areas (16) of detecting terminals (15A) with respect to a connecting direction. The slide contacts (19) contact touching portions (30) of shorting terminals (27) during a connecting operation of two housings (10, 20). The slide contacts (19) remove foreign matter from the touching portions (30) during the connecting operation of the two housings (10, 20). Thus, extra efforts to remove foreign matter are not needed before the housings (10, 20) are connected. The absence of foreign matter on the touching portions (30) achieves good quality contact with the contact areas (16) of the detecting terminals (15A) and assures reliability of a connection detecting function.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector with a connection detecting function and to an assembling method therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,863,216 discloses a connector with a connection detecting function. The connector has first and second housings that connectable with each other. The first housing has a resilient lock arm that deforms down in the process of connecting the two housings. However, the lock arm restores resiliently to engage the second housing when the housings reach a properly connected state. A first detecting terminal is provided below the lock arm. The first detecting terminal is pressed down and deformed by the lock arm upon connecting the two housings. However, the first detecting terminal restores resiliently as the lock arm resiliently restores to free the first detecting terminal from the pressed state.
The second housing includes a second detecting terminal that is inserted into the first housing as the housings are connected. The lock arm presses and deforms the first detecting terminal second detecting terminal in a partly connected state of the two housings. Thus, the second connecting terminal is unable to contact a touching portion of the first detecting terminal because. However, the lock arm no longer presses the first detecting terminal when the housings are connected properly. As a result, the first detecting terminal is restored resiliently, and the second detecting terminal can contact the touching portion of the first detecting terminal in the properly connected state of the two housings.
The partly connected state of the two housings is detected by the absence of contact between the first and second detecting terminals and the properly connected state of the two housings is detected by the electrical connection between the first and second detecting terminals.
Foreign matter can attach to the outer surface of the first detecting terminal due to oil used during press working and can hinder the electrical connection between the second detecting terminal and the touching portion. The absence of a connection signal would be interpreted as an improper connection even though the housings may be connected properly, thereby reducing the reliability of the connection detecting function. Foreign matter may be removed from the touching portion before the housings are connected to improve detection reliability. However, removing the foreign matter takes a very long time and is cumbersome. Thus, operational efficiency is poor.
The invention was developed in view of the above and object thereof is to provide a connector with improved operational efficiency.

Connector, a connector assembly and an assembling method therefor


A search query generator apparatus includes a computing device including a processor and an information manipulation database. The computing device includes an information manipulation monitor unit to detect information manipulations that a user has performed with a computer by monitoring information manipulations in the computer performed by the user and a task detection unit to detect a task of the user by analyzing data relating to the information manipulations accumulated in the information manipulation database, and wherein the information manipulation database accumulates data relating to information manipulations detected by the information manipulation monitor unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for generating search condition expressions of a system for searching information (files and emails etc.) by a computer or a system that makes a computer search information.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are two representative methods for generating search condition expressions (hereinafter referred to as "search queries" or simply "queries") when searching for information.
Method 1: Query Generation by a User
In method 1, a user generates queries in consideration of keywords and attributes (hereinafter referred to as "metadata") relating to the information in a search. The user then inputs the generated queries into the search system and the system searches for the information. This method is commonly used in web search services such as Google™ and MSN Search (MSN is TM) and in file search software such as Google Desktop Search and Windows Desktop Search.
Method 2: Automatic Query Generation
In method 2, a computer rather than a user generates queries automatically by extracting keywords and attributes. The keywords and attributes designated in queries are extracted by the computer and the computer automatically analyzes the information that the user is currently processing. The information currently being processed can be a document or a web page that the user is currently creating or browsing. The computer presents the generated queries to the user or automatically searches for the information (related information) relating to the information currently being processed by using the query.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of an existing apparatus for automatically generating queries. As shown in FIG. 1, in the existing apparatus, a computer (PC) 101 on which a user performs a task comprises an information manipulation monitor unit 102, an information detection unit 103, a search feature information extraction unit 104, and a query generation unit 105. The information manipulation monitor unit 102 monitors information manipulations performed in the computer 101 by the user and detects the information that the user is handling. Note that, in FIG. 1, an information record unit 106 for storing information that users can manipulate is shown. The information detection unit 103 detects information currently being processed by the user on the basis of the detection result of the information manipulation monitor unit 102. The search feature information extraction unit 104 extracts search feature information from the information detected by the information detection unit 103. The query generation unit 105 generates queries by combining the search feature information extracted by the search feature information extraction unit 104. Using the generated queries, an information search is executed.
Additionally, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-265378 describes a method for automatically extracting, from a document that a user is working on, information representing the features of the document (feature information) and for searching for related documents on the basis of this feature information. The feature information includes keywords in the document and the attributes of the document. Similarly, the Blinx search system is also a system for generating queries by extracting keywords from the context of the information that a user is currently working on (documents, emails, Web pages etc.) and for executing the search. Both of these methods generate queries relating to the information that a user is currently working on.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 3547069 describes a method for extracting a user's information need from the search condition expression that the user input. A computer compiles the user-input search condition expressions at a regular interval, and obtains the user's information need by calculating the frequency of the appearance of the search conditions etc.
In the conventional automatic query generation technology, a computer generates queries only from an information source (a document, a Web page etc.) being currently processed by a user. In this case, there is only one information source for generating the queries (a document being referred, an email being referred to or an email being composed etc.). If this information source includes all search conditions (keywords or attributions) corresponding to a user's information need, the computer can generate appropriate queries. If the information source does not contain sufficient information to satisfy a user's information need, it is probable that the computer will not be able to generate queries sufficient for searching the related information. If the search is conducted using the queries generated from insufficient information, the search result would include much information unrelated to the information need of the user (noise information).
When the user actually works on the task, the user often carries out the task with reference to various pieces of information related to the task. For example, when the user creates a document, the user might work on the task with reference to other documents, to Web pages, and to emails related to the task. In such a case, it is highly probable that the feature information of the task is present and is scattered in the plurality of information. However, since the conventional art focuses only on the information being processed by the user, the feature information included in the other information source in the task cannot be extracted. As a result, it is probable that the computer will not be able to collect sufficient feature information on the task, and the computer will not be able to generate appropriate queries to accurately search for the task-related information.
In addition, at the start of creating new information (documents or emails etc.) in the task, the information volume included in the information is small at first. Since the conventional art focuses on the information being processed, the queries for searching for the related information must be generated from the small volume of the information. Even if the other information has been used as reference information in the task or data is copied from other information, the information contained in such an information source cannot be used for query generation. Therefore, queries that sufficiently reflect the information need of the user cannot be generated because of the small information volume.


The present invention is a glass laminate having sound attenuation properties that make it suitable for use as acoustic glazing in architectural applications and/or in vehicles.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to laminates used in glazing applications. This invention particularly relates to laminates useful as acoustic glazing for sound dampening.
2. Description of the Related Art
Glass laminates having sound-damping properties have found use in architectural applications as well as in vehicles. Such acoustic laminates are desirable to reduce sound transmission from external sources to the interior of a building or an automobile, for example.
Plasticized polyvinyl butyral (PVB) sheet is used in the manufacture of transparent laminate structures such as, for example: windshields for vehicles including automobiles, motorcycles, boats and airplanes, windows in buildings such as office buildings, apartment buildings, houses, and/or commercial buildings, for example.
In modern vehicles—particularly in trains, planes and automobiles—passenger comfort has become an important selling point in commercial transactions involving same. One important feature in a modern vehicle is the ability to minimize noise that originates from outside of the passenger compartment of the vehicle. Automobiles are particularly targeted for improving the acoustic quality of the passenger's ride. Noises coming from the engine compartment, from the sound of tires rolling across a road or the ground, and wind noise created as a car moves at rapid speed through air are all contributors to the noise generated as a car is used as it was intended.
Various improvements and modifications have been made to cars in order to improve the quietness of a passenger's travel. However, one major source of noise is sound that passes through the windows of a vehicle. The windows of a car are typically good conductors of sound waves—particularly at critical sound frequencies, that is, at sound frequencies that are perceptible to the human ear. Moreover, sound reduction in office and other buildings from noise emanating from outside of the building can be desirable in settings where outside noises can reach the level of distraction inside of a building.
Various patents describe inventive attempts to address the problem of noise reduction in vehicles and/or in buildings. U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,917 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,615 describe acoustic laminated glazings for vehicles comprising conventional polyvinyl butyral (PVB). U.S. Pat. No. 6,132,882 describes a sound-damping laminate comprising a vibration-damping layer such as a polyacrylate, at least one flexible plastic layer such as PVB, and a rigid glass or plastic sheet. U.S. Pat. No. 5,773,102 describes a soundproofing laminated glass pane wherein a high-performance acoustic film is combined with at least one film having ordinary acoustic performance, such as PVB. U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,826 describes interlayers for use in sound-insulating laminated glass. U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,732 describes a soundproofing laminated window made of two glass sheets between which are polymer layers in the order of PVB/PET/acrylate/PET/PVB. The PVB layers are conventional (that is, non-acoustic) PVB. U.S. Pat. No. 6,432,522 describes transparent laminates having sound attenuation properties comprising an interlayer film having at least two layers. WO 01/19747 A1 describes glass laminates wherein PVB is softened (plasticized) with 20 to 50 wt % of a two-component plasticizer mixture comprising 30 to 70 wt % of a polyalkylene glycol as one of the components. However, impact resistance of a laminate using softened PVB can be detrimentally affected.
Use of ethylene acid copolymers or salts thereof produce rigid interlayers which can be particularly useful as threat-resistant glazing units in automobiles and buildings. Imparting sound-dampening properties to such interlayers can be difficult because of the rigidity of these materials, and relative lack of adhesion to other interlayer materials with known acoustic properties such as, for example, PVB.
It can be desirable to have a laminate with sound dampening (sound-damping) properties that retains its impact resistance and resistance to penetration. It can be particularly desirable to have such properties in a threat-resistant glazing unit.

Glass laminates for reduction of sound transmission


An electronic circuit and a method for driving data writes to an SRAM bit cell in an electronic circuit. The electronic circuit translates a first write signal in a lower voltage domain to a second write signal in a higher voltage domain. Based, at least in part, on the second write signal, the electronic circuit controls a discharge of a voltage of a data write line to a ground voltage level. The electronic circuit provides a negative voltage boost to the data write line after the voltage of the data write line has been discharged to reach or exceed a threshold value relative to the ground voltage level.

Static random-access memory (SRAM) is a common type of semiconductor memory that uses bi-stable latching circuitry to store each bit of binary data (e.g., "0" or "1"). SRAM does not require periodic refreshing to maintain its data if left undisturbed. However, it is typically still volatile in that data is lost when power is removed. A conventional SRAM is composed of an array of individual SRAM bit cells, where each bit cell stores a single bit of data accessed by a pair of complementary bit lines known as bit line true (BLT) and bit line complementary (BLC). Each bit cell is in turn composed of a number of transistors which together store the bit itself and control access to it.
Problems have arisen in maintaining the functional integrity of SRAM bit cells as semiconductor memory technology continues to scale to smaller sizes, greater densities, and lower power schemes. In particular, the read and write margins of SRAM bit cells, which relate to how reliably the bits of the SRAM cells can be read from and written to, are reduced as operating voltages are reduced with the down-scaling of circuit size. Reduced read and write margins may consequently cause errors with read and write operations of the SRAM cells.

International Business Machines Corporation