An electron beam (E beam) inspection optimization is provided, in which a plurality of initial inspection regions in a chip are obtained, wherein a center of each of the initial inspection regions is a defect point. Thereafter, reset inspection regions are regenerated without overlap, wherein each of the reset inspection regions is within a scope covered by a field of view (FOV) and the scope contains at least one of the defect points. Afterwards, a center of the reset inspection region is transferred into an inspection center, and then an E beam inspection is performed on the inspection center.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electron beam inspection method and particularly relates to an electron beam inspection optimization.
2. Description of Related Art
As line width continue to shrink in an IC manufacturing process, control and monitoring of the critical dimension (CD) for the fabrication become more and more important. From the aspect of nano-scale semiconductor technology, it becomes more difficult to accurately inspect defects on the surface structure of a chip.
Currently, an E-beam inspection tool is used to inspect the chip surface structure. However, E-beam inspection is an inspection method of high resolution for small inspected area. The inspection may usually take hours or tens of days depending on the size of the inspected area.
Therefore, various methods have been proposed recently to reduce the inspected points so as to shorten the time required for electron beam inspection. However, they still require a lot of time in order to obtain the chip image and find the defects.


A motorcycle includes: a front swing arm; a fork holder coupled to the front swing arm in a swingable manner; a front fork steerably supported by the fork holder; and a front cushion unit. In a front-wheel suspension device, one end of the front cushion unit is coupled to the body frame, and the other end of the front cushion unit is coupled to the fork holder.

Conventionally, there are some known front-wheel suspension devices for saddle riding vehicles in which a swing arm is composed of an upper arm and a lower arm and the swing arm connects a body frame and a support member (fork holder) which rotatably supports a front fork, and a cushion member (buffer) spans between the body frame and the lower arm (see, e.g., Patent literature 1).

Front-wheel suspension device for saddle riding vehicle


A heterogeneous microprocessor configured to perform classification on an input signal. The heterogeneous microprocessor includes a die with a central processing unit (CPU) a programmable feature-extraction accelerator (FEA) and a classifier. The FEA is configured to perform feature extraction on the input signal to generate feature data. The classifier is configured to perform classification on the feature data and the CPU is configured to provide processing after classification. The FEA may be configured with a plurality of Gene-Computation (GC) Cores. The FEA may be configured for genetic programing with gene depth constraints, gene number constraints and base function constraints. The classifier may be a support-vector machine accelerator (SVMA). The SVMA may include training data based on error-affected feature data. The heterogeneous microprocessor may also include an automatic-programming & classifier training module. An automatic-programming & classifier training module may be configured to receive input-output feature data and training labels and generate gene code and a classifier model.

An embedded computing system is generally a computer system with a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electrical system. Such systems are often with associated sensors and have real-time computing constraints as well as energy constraints. Many embedded systems are based on microcontrollers (i.e. CPU's with integrated memory or peripheral interfaces), but ordinary microprocessors (using external chips for memory and peripheral interface circuits) may be used. A common class of dedicated processors is the digital signal processor (DSP). Such processors allow for a wide variety of computations but this flexibility tends to consume excess power. Hardware specialization may be used to address power constrains This limits embedded computing systems to a fixed set of computations but increases power efficiency. What is needed is an embedded computing system that provides both computational flexibility and power efficiency.

Heterogeneous microprocessor for energy-scalable sensor inference using genetic programming


Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed toward a heat exchanger that includes an evaporator coil section disposed at least partially within a first flow structure configured to direct a first flow of air across the evaporator coil section, a condenser coil section fluidly coupled with the evaporator coil section and disposed at least partially within a second flow structure configured to direct a second flow of air across the condenser coil section, and an auxiliary heat exchanger fluidly coupled with the evaporator coil section, where the auxiliary heat exchanger is external to the first flow structure.

The present disclosure relates generally to environmental control systems, and more particularly, to an auxiliary heat exchanger for a heat pipe.
Environmental control systems are utilized in residential, commercial, and industrial environments to control environmental properties, such as temperature and humidity, for occupants of the respective environments. The environmental control system may control the environmental properties through control of an airflow delivered to the environment. For example, a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system may include a heat pipe heat exchanger that is configured to circulate a working fluid, such as a volatile fluid, through an evaporator coil and a condenser coil without mechanical force. For instance, the working fluid evaporates, or changes from a liquid state to a vapor state, as the working fluid absorbs heat from a first air flow in the evaporator coil. As the working fluid evaporates, a pressure differential is created within the heat pipe, which directs the gaseous working fluid to flow toward and into the condenser coil. The gaseous working fluid then condenses, or changes from the gaseous state to a liquid state, by releasing the heat that was absorbed in the evaporator to a second air flow.
When the second air flow is at a relatively high temperature, the condenser coil may not sufficiently cool the working fluid, such that the working fluid condenses to the liquid state. As such, systems that employ traditional heat pipes generally include an additional cooling coil that is disposed within a flow path of the first air flow. Unfortunately, positioning the additional cooling coil within the flow path of the first air flow increases an amount of fan power utilized to draw air across the evaporator coil and increases an overall size of an air handling system having the heat pipe heat.


A system and method for constructing a document redundancy graph with respect to a document set. The redundancy graph can be constructed with a node for each paragraph associated with the document set such that each node in the redundancy graph represents a unique cluster of information. The nodes can be linked in an order with respect to the information provided in the document set and bundles of redundant information from the document set can be mapped to individual nodes. A data structure (e.g., a hash table) of a paragraph identifier associated with a probability value can be constructed for eliminating inconsistencies with respect to node redundancy. Additionally, a sequence of unique nodes can also be integrated into the graph construction process. The nodes can be connected to the paragraphs associated with the document set via a hyperlink and/or via a label with respect to each node.

With the advent of the Internet and the World Wide Web, a vast amount of digital information is available over such networks. Information search and retrieval systems are utilized with respect to such networks to locate documents with largely redundant information in response to queries entered by a user. If the retrieved information is not a part of the data that is commonly shared, the user may be forced to examine a multitude of documents and wade through common material in a search of an uncommon fact. Further, if the information sought is available in multiple documents, then the user may not be able to select the optimal suite for presenting the material.
In an effort to address such problems, portions of the information that is shared by various members of the document set can be first determined. Such information can be utilized to present a document navigation aid that removes the redundant information so that the user may visit a topic once and then select the presentation of a topic based on document properties. Typical information redundancy systems can eliminate such redundant information from the document(s). Information redundancy systems can objectively measure duplication, locate duplicate content, eliminate extraneous content, and harmonize text variations within the document sets. Such information redundancy approaches can generally locate documents stored in an electronic media in response to the query entered by the user and provide multiple entry paths.
The majority of prior art approaches have adapted a visualization method that aids a user in navigating document sets. Such prior art approaches can provide an overview of the total information, the core information areas that are often repeated, and areas of specialized information unique to the document. Such prior art approaches, however, are typically applicable to identical pairs of paragraphs that appear to discuss the same topic across the document set, which leads to an inconsistent redundancy and is characterized by difficulties with respect to accuracy and evaluation.
Based on the foregoing, it is believed that a need exists for an improved method and system for constructing a document redundancy graph with respect to a document set. A need also exists for an improved method for eliminating redundant information and collapsing nodes to render the navigation of information more manageable, as described in greater detail herein.

Method and system for constructing a document redundancy graph


A device, a system and a method for detecting an irregularity in a structure of an aircraft are proposed. The device includes a resonant circuit with a resonance frequency and a probe for tuning the resonance frequency of the resonant circuit. The resonant circuit and the probe are operatively connected in such a way that the probe changes the resonance frequency of the resonant circuit if the structure changes due to a formation of an irregularity.

In air traffic the security of vehicles is of crucial importance. Each vehicle is monitored for malfunctions and irregularities between flights and great effort is made to keep and improve the security during maintenance.
For the detection of cracks on surfaces or in junction points of components of an aircraft different sensors may be employed. For example, electric probes may be used which change their electric properties due to the formation of a crack. However, such sensors need a power supply and are to be connected to an analyzing unit for crack detection. It may be necessary to traverse large distances to the analyzing unit. Thus, the cabling can be time, space, weight and cost consuming. Furthermore, the maintenance of the power supply may be time consuming.

Irregularity detection in a structure of an aircraft

European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company EADS France


A three-dimensional card case including a cavity surrounded by two sidewalls, a rear wall and an opening on the side opposite the rear wall. The cards are inserted into slots at the opening of the cavity until they flush with an ejector tab at the rear wall. Each ejector tab is aligned with a pair of cards, allowing both cards to be ejected by the tab mechanism through the actuation of buttons located on the exterior of the case.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related in general to pocket or purse organizers and, in particular, to a device that organizes, stores, and protects wallet-sized cards, such as those containing credit or identification information.
2. Description of the Related Art
Inside a typical wallet or purse, one is likely to find a half-dozen or more cards such as license, credit, check, ATM, and membership cards, amongst others. The usual dimensions of these cards is approximately 8.5 cm in length by 5.5 cm in width and 1 mm or less in thickness. The storing, organizing, and retrieving of wallet-size cards has led to a need for compact, yet efficient, holders.
Standard wallets or purses may contain pockets or inserts of clear plastic envelopes that serve to store or organize cards. However, such features are not ideal for several reasons. First, cards can be difficult to retrieve from, or place into, deep pockets or plastic envelopes. Second, the space available for individual cards frequently is filled to capacity, requiring the storage of a stack of multiple cards in a single pocket or envelope. Thus, retrieval of a particular card is hampered because all cards in a stack must be at least partially removed or displaced during sorting. Moreover, cards can fall out of a purse or wallet pocket, or be fumbled and dropped while one is sorting through a stack to find a particular card.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,698 entitled "Credit and Identification Card Holder," issued to Holdener, describes a case for storing wallet-size cards. Each card is located on its own sliding drawer that can be individually advanced and removed from the case. The sliding drawer holds a card in place through the use of stops disposed at the ends of the drawer. In this manner, a card is prevented from falling out.
However, the requirement for the sliding drawer parts of Holdener necessarily augments the thickness of the card holder. Such extra thickness is a problem, in that it is undesirable for a pocket-size card holder to have more bulk than is needed to store the cards. Accordingly, as highlighted in the last paragraph before the claims of the Holdener patent, the sliding drawer design can result in a card holder that is very awkward to handle if made to accommodate more than 6 cards. Moreover, if the required sliding drawer parts become lost or broken, holder's device would suffer from diminished capacity or be practically unusable.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,627 by Tiscione et al. discloses a three-dimensional case that contains an interior cavity defined by a top piece and a bottom piece connected by two side walls and a rear wall, with an opening at one end of the case. Cards are inserted through the opening into one of several parallel slots disposed in each side wall of the case until they are frictionally engaged and flush with an ejection tab assembly located at the rear wall of the case. This design allows a card to be individually displaced by a particular tab assembly, which is linked to an actuator button located on the exterior of the case.
While Tiscione's case is suitable for its intended purpose, it must either be made wider to accommodate a greater number of ejection tab assemblies that would be needed for more than six cards or much thicker to accommodate extra card capacity as is illustrated by the "back-to-back" embodiment shown in FIG. 7 of the patent.
Thus, there continues to be a need in the art for a card holder that stores, organizes, protects, and allows easy retrieval of a large number of individual cards in a more compactly-designed case, then has heretofore been known.


A shotgun has a telescoping barrel made of concentric barrel sections slidably engaged together. These include at least an inner barrel section and an outer barrel section. A grip on the outer barrel section aids telescopic movement. A locking pin secures or releases the barrel sections. The barrel sections have protrusions that interfere with further outward movement once fully telescoped out. The grip may have a channel to permit a pistol grip to slide onto the grip. A second pistol grip may be connected to the trigger. The butt of the gun may slide out to make a shoulder rest. A butt plate is connected to a rod that slides into and out of the shotgun. The rod has teeth that engage a spring-loaded arm to secure the rod in an extended position. A compression or tension spring may bias the concentric barrel sections in an extended or shortened configuration.

A shotgun is also known as a scattergun, a coach gun and a riot gun. A shotgun is a firearm that typically designed to fire a shell holding numerous pellets called shot. The pellets fired from a shotgun spread upon leaving the barrel. Typically, the spread of shotgun used for hunting at 25 feet away, averages about 8 inches.
Shotguns come in a wide variety of barrel lengths, typically from 18 inches to 29 inches. The barrel length significantly affects the spread of the shot at the target, where shorter barrels deliver greater shot spread at any given distance with range. For civilian use, many countries establish a legal minimum barrel length that precludes easy concealment. In the United States, the minimum barrel length for civilian use is 18 inches (460 mm). Such laws are generally inapplicable to police and military authorities.
The military value of the shotgun was evidenced by its use during World War I by U.S. troops. Doughboys were issued 12-gauge pump action shotguns for use in close-quarters trench fighting to great effect. In jungle combat during World War II and Vietnam shotguns were common and effectively used when relatively close combat encounters could be expected. In urban combat situations, such as experienced in Iraq, shotguns were used to great effect to defeat the locks on doors when entering a building.
Shotguns are common weapons aboard naval vessels, which employ shotguns for shipboard security because the weapon is effective in repelling enemy boarding parties. Shotguns are also commonly used by military police units.
For both law enforcement and military engagements, the spread of pellets from a shotgun provides a tactical advantage in close quarters combat, such as within a building. The shotgun is widely used as a support weapon by police forces and specialized police and defensive shotguns are called riot shotguns.


A tape cassette has a plurality of spaced apart, elongated bearing surface portions elevated relative to an internal surface of a cassette case and on which a reel lock member is adapted to slide. Accordingly, the sliding movement of the reel lock member is prevented from being hindered by a burr generated at the periphery of a hole formed through the internal surface or by a burr-like projection generated at the periphery of an indentation formed by contact of an ejector pin with the internal surface upon molding of the cassette case. As a result, the locking and unlocking operations of the reel lock member with respect to a tape reel can be reliably effected.

The present invention relates to a novel tape cassette, and more particularly to a tape cassette including a cassette case, a tape reel rotatably accommodated in the cassette case, a recording medium tape wound around the tape reel, and a reel lock member slidably over an internal surface in the cassette case for locking the tape reel, wherein the internal surface (hereinafter "slide surface") of the cassette case with which the reel lock is in sliding contact is improved to ensure this smooth sliding of the reel lock member with respect to the cassette case, and locking and unlocking of the reel lock member with respect to the tape reel is reliably effected.
In a tape cassette for use with a VTR or the like, there is provided a reel lock mechanism for preventing slack of a tape when the tape cassette is in an unused condition.
FIGS. 7 and 8 show an example of such a reel lock mechanism a in a the conventional tape cassette in which Reference characters b designates a lower half of a cassette case, and reference characters e and c' designate lower flanges of a supply tape reel and a take-up tape reel around which a magnetic tape d is wound. The lower flanges c and c' are formed with a plurality of outer circumferential teeth e and e', respectively.
Reference character f designates a reel lock member comprised of a main portion g and two lock portions h and h' projecting from the main portion g. The reel lock member f is biased in a direction depicted by an arrow A by a spring or other biasing means (not shown).
The lock portions h and h' are formed of an elastic material, and they are normally engaged with the teeth e and e' of the lower flanges c and c' to thereby lock the tape reels against rotation in tape-loosening directions.
In other words, while the flanges c and c' are permitted to rotate in opposite directions indicated by arrows B and B', the flanges c and c' are restrained from rotating in the directions to create slack in the magnetic tape d by means of the lock portions h and h'.
In the reel lock mechanism of the tape cassette mentioned above, when the tape cassette is loaded into a cassette receiving portion of a recording and reproducing apparatus, the locked condition of the tape reels has to be released. Therefore, a slide surface of the lower half b, on which the reel lock member f is adapted to slide, is formed with a through-hole i for allowing insertion of a lock release pin j provided in the cassette receiving portion. Further, the main portion g of the reel lock member f is formed at its lower surface with an engagement hole k for receiving the lock release pin j inserted through the through-hole i of the lower half b. When the lock release pin j is engaged with the engagement hole k of the reel lock member f, the lock release pin j is moved in an unlocking direction, that is, in the direction depicted by an arrow C in FIG. 8, thereby moving the reel lock member f in the unlocking direction against a biasing force of the biasing means.
There is a possibility that a burr is generated at an opening edge of the through-hole i upon formation of the through-hole i through the slide surface of the lower half b. As a result, a bottom surface of the main portion g of the reel lock member f may be caught by such burr during the movement of the reel lock member f. Thus, smooth sliding movement of the reel lock member f is hindered. Particularly, the movement in the locking direction may be hindered to cause defective locking.
Further, the lower half b is formed with a complicated arrangement of many walls and projections in the area where the reel lock member f is disposed. Therefore, in molding the cassette case, an ejector pin is employed to abut against the slide surface of the lower half b, so as to separate the lower bali b from the mold. In this case, a burr-like projection is often generated at the peripheral edge of an area of contact of the ejector pin with the slide surface. Such burr-like projection also hinders the smooth sliding movement of the reel lock member f.
Although the burr generated at the opening edge of the through-hole i or the burr-like projection generated at the peripheral edge of the area of contact of the ejector pin with the slide surface may be removed by a finishing process carried out after molding of the cassette case smoothen the slide surface of the lower half b, this method is undesirable since such an finishing process causes a great increase in cost.

Tape cassette case having ridges bearing a sliding reel lock member


A fuel pump module includes a suction filter, a fuel pump portion having an end part opposing the suction filter, and a holding member allowing the fuel pump portion to rotate around a central axis of the fuel pump portion and restricting the fuel pump portion from moving in an axis direction. A convex part protruding toward the suction filter is defined at the end part of the fuel pump portion. The holding member is positioned between the fuel pump portion and the suction filter and has a concave part, in which the convex part is inserted, such that a clearance is defined between the convex part and the concave part in a radial direction. The convex part has a tip end capable to be in contact with the concave part in the axis direction.

Conventionally, a fuel pump module is known to pump fuel from a fuel tank to an internal combustion engine (hereafter referred to as an engine). The fuel pump module has a suction filter removing a foreign material from the fuel, a pump part raising a pressure of the fuel, a pump case housing the pump part, and a bracket positioned between the pump part and the suction filter. For example, Japanese Patent No. 4273324 (corresponding to US 2004/0144705 A1) describes a fuel pump module having a bracket defined integrally with a suction filter. The bracket holds an end part of a pump part opposing the suction filter and a connecting part at which the pump part and the suction filter are connected with each other.
However, according to the fuel pump module of Japanese Patent No. 4273324, a rotation movement of the pump part produces vibration, and the vibration is transmitted to a pump case housing the pump part and the suction filter via the bracket. When the vibration is transmitted to a fuel tank housing the fuel pump module, the noise may become more large.


A lighting system producing a light pattern that is customized in the field by the end user to minimize light pollution. A housing supports a light source that is connected to a power supply. The housing defines an interior chamber. An opaque or low visible light transmissivity shield is bent or formed into a generally tubular shape and is inserted into the chamber surrounding the light source. The shield includes folds, perforations, pre-scoring, grooves, and the like defining sections that can be easily detached to create windows. The windows permit outgoing light to pass while the remaining areas of the shield attenuate or block the outgoing light. The shield includes teeth that engage respective recesses in the housing to prevent rotation of the shield once installed.

It is common to erect exterior lighting around domestic, industrial, or military property to provide security against intruders, and to provide lighting for visitors and authorized personnel. The need frequently arises for the lighting system to provide a "customized" light pattern, in which a beam of light is desired to be cast in one specific direction, but not in other directions.
In a domestic or residential application where it is common for homes to be built close to each other, the outdoor lighting of one home might project light into a neighbor's home. In the close quarters of some metropolitan areas, such spill over lighting is an irritant, especially if the light illuminates the interior of a neighbor's bedroom during sleeping hours.
To customize the light pattern for such outdoor lighting, one conventional solution is to place a moveable or rotatable shield within the light fixture to block the emitted light with the opaque shield. An example of such a rotating shield is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,095,665 and 6,322,234 (Drake, et al.). When it is desired to change or alter the direction of the blocked light, the user rotates the shield to the desired location. The size and shape of the shield blocking the light in the Drake design is set at the factory and cannot be adjusted in the field. Another rotating light shield in the automotive application is disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,057,983 (Ulrich, Sr.).
However, a rotatable shield has several disadvantages. One disadvantage is that the shield may be inadvertently moved from its set position by forces such as wind or physical vibration of the supporting structure. Another disadvantage is that shield and attachment hardware are difficult to fabricate and not easily adjusted to precisely block light. Yet another disadvantage is that the shield has a prefabricated shape that is determined during manufacture. Such a predetermined shape does not permit exact tailoring in the field by the consumer to fit the myriad of lighting applications. Thus, such a rotatable shield does not enable the installer or homeowner to truly customize the light pattern by selective blocking the light emission.
Thus, there is a need for a lighting system that provides a light shield whose shape may be customized, during installation in the field, to precisely conform the emitted light to the user's wishes. Further, there is a need for a lighting system that provides a light shield that is of simple construction.


The invention is objected to perform fixing in an optimum fixing condition even with various kinds of recording materials or the like while improving usability by discriminating the kinds of recording materials. An image reading sensor 123 includes a reflective LED 301, a transmissive LED 303 disposed on the opposite side relative to a recording material 304 for detecting the transmitted amount of light, a CMOS area sensor 211, and an imaging lens 1113. The light from the reflective LED 301 as a light source is applied toward the surface of the recording material 304, and the reflected light from the recording material 304 is collected via the lens 303 and an image is formed on the CMOS area sensor 211. The LED 301 is disposed so as to apply LED light to the surface of the recording material 304 diagonally at a predetermined angle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording material discrimination device, an image forming apparatus, and a method therefor, and more specifically, to a recording material discrimination device, an image forming apparatus, and a method for detecting reflected light from the surface of a recording material and the amount of transmitted light of the recording material and discriminates the kind thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus such as a copier and a laser printer transfers an image visualized and developed by a developing part onto a recording material and fixes the developer image by heating and pressing the image in a predetermined fixing treatment condition. Since this predetermined fixing treatment condition largely differs depending on the quality of material, thickness, or surface treatment, or the like, when plural kinds of recording materials are used, detailed settings are necessary in response to the kinds of recording materials.
Conventionally, in such an image forming apparatus, for example, the size and kind of recording material (if the recording material is paper, the kind of paper) is set by a user using an operation panel provided on the main body of the image forming apparatus or the like, and the fixing treatment condition (e.g., fixing temperature or carrying speed of the recording material passing through the fixing device) is changed in response to the settings. Recently, technologies for further using a sensor for discriminating the recording materials within the image forming apparatus to automatically discriminate the kinds of recording materials and variably controlling developing conditions, transfer conditions, or fixing conditions in response to the discriminated kinds are proposed.
In the technologies for automatically detecting the kinds of recording materials, for example, a method for detecting surface smoothness of the recording material by imaging the surface image of the recording material by a CCD sensor and converting the information into fractal dimensional information, a method for discriminating the kind of paper from surface smoothness by imaging the surface image of the recording material by a CCD sensor or CMOS area sensor and detecting roughness of the recording material from the magnitude relation of the light, or a method for detecting the thickness of the recording material from the length formed at the end of the recording material are proposed (e.g., see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-182518).
Furthermore, a technology for changing fixing conditions or the like by measuring the amount of light transmitted through the recording material and determining the material thickness of the recording material based on the magnitude of the amount of light is proposed (e.g., see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-186264).
However, in the above method for detecting surface smoothness of the recording material, sometimes the recording material can not be determined correctly when the recording material having the same smoothness but in different compressed conditions of paper fiber, for example, plain paper and heavy paper are determined. In such a case, developing conditions, transfer conditions, or fixing conditions can not be set suitably for the recording paper, and thereby, a problem that fixiability is deteriorated occurs.
On the other hand, in the above method for determining the material thickness of the recording material, the smoothness of the surface of the recording material is unknown, accordingly, since glossy paper or the like is less transparent than plain paper, the material thickness of the glossy paper is determined as being thicker even when the thickness thereof is the same as the plain paper, and thereby, suitable condition setting can not be performed.
Furthermore, in spite of the recent variety of kinds of recording materials, demands for printing quality are increased, and accurate determination of various recording materials is demanded.
The invention is achieved in light of these problems, and objected to provide a recording material discrimination device, an image forming apparatus, and a method for automatically discriminating various kinds of recording materials and performing image formation in suitable conditions.

Recording material discrimination device, image forming apparatus and method therefor


Apparatus, and an associated method, for facilitating selection of optimal antenna weightings by which to weight signals sent in a communication system that utilizes closed-loop transmit diversity. A deterministic perturbation gradient approximation technique is utilized in which perturbation vectors are selected by a selector and applied, by an applicator, to antenna weighting elements. A selected set of perturbation vectors are applied to the antenna weighting elements in both a positive direction and a negative direction. A detector at a receiving station measures in disassociated with the signals communicated thereto, once weighted with the perturbation vectors. A single-bit feedback value is returned to the sending station, and the antenna weightings are appropriately adjusted.

The present invention relates generally to a manner by which to select antenna-weightings at a sending station that utilizes transmit diversity. More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus, and an associated method, by which to utilize a perturbation gradient approximation technique in the selection of the antenna weightings. Improved antenna-weighting selection accuracy is provided as a long-term covariance matrix of a channel upon which a communication signal is sent is tracked, instead of merely tracking a short-term fading process. And, the amount of feedback needed in the effectuation of the antenna-weight selection is independent of the number of transmit antennas utilized by the sending station.
Communication of information is an endemic necessity of modem society. Communication of information is effectuated through operation of a communication system. Information is communicated between a sending station and a receiving station by way of a communication channel. The sending station, if necessary, converts the information into a form to permit its communication upon the communication channels. And, the receiving station, if necessary, operates upon detected indications of the information to permit operations to be performed thereupon to recover the information.
A wide variety of different types of communication systems have been developed and are regularly utilized to effectuate communication of information between sending and receiving stations. New types of communication systems have been, and continue to be, developed and constructed as a result of advancements in communication technologies.
An exemplary communication system is a radio communication system. In a radio communication system, the communication channel is defined upon a radio link extending between the sending and receiving stations. Communication systems implemented as radio communication systems are sometimes of reduced costs, relative to wire line counterparts. And, radio communication systems are amenable to implementation as mobile communication systems since radio links, rather than fixed, wire line connections, are utilized upon which to define communication channels used to communicate the information.
A cellular communication system is exemplary of a radio communication system that has achieved significant levels of usage. Cellular communication systems have been installed throughout significant parts of the populated portions of the world. Various cellular communication standards have been promulgated, setting forth the operational parameters of different types of cellular communication systems.
Generally, a cellular communication system includes a fixed network infrastructure that includes a plurality of fixed-site base transceiver stations. The fixed-site base transceiver stations are positioned at spaced-apart locations throughout a geographical area that is to be encompassed by the communication system. Each of the base transceiver stations defines an area, referred to as a cell, from which the cellular communication system derives its name.
The fixed network infrastructure of which the base transceiver stations form portions is coupled to a core network, such as a packet data backbone or public-switched, telephonic network. Communication devices, such as computer servers, telephonic stations, etc. are, in turn, coupled to the core network, or elsewhere, and are capable of communication by way of the network infrastructure and the core network.
Portable transceivers, referred to as mobile stations, communicate with the base stations by way of radio links forming portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Use of the cellular communication system is permitted, typically, pursuant to a service subscription, and users, referred to as subscribers, communicate by way of the cellular communication system through utilization of the mobile stations.
Information communicated upon a radio link is susceptible to distortion as a result of non-ideal communication conditions. Other communication systems are analogously non-ideal, and communication of information in such other communication systems analogously also is susceptible to distortion. The distortion causes values of the information delivered to a receiving station to differ with the corresponding values of the information, when transmitted by the sending station. If the distortion is significant, the informational content of the information cannot be accurately recovered at the receiving station.
Fading caused by multi-path transmission distorts information communicated upon a communication channel. If the communication channel exhibits significant levels of fading, the informational content of the information might not be able to be recovered.
Various techniques are utilized to compensate for, or otherwise overcome, the distortion introduced upon the information during its communication upon a communication channel to the receiving station. Space diversity, for instance, is sometimes utilized. Space diversity is created through the use, at a sending station, of more than one transmit antenna transducer from which information is transmitted. Spacial redundancy is provided therefrom. The antenna transducers are typically separated by distances great enough to ensure that the information communicated by respective antenna transducers fades in an uncorrelated manner. And, receiving stations sometimes also utilize more than one receive antenna transducer, also typically separated by appropriate separation distances.
Communication systems that utilize both multiple transmitting antenna transducers and multiple receive antenna transducers are sometimes referred to as being MIMO (Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output) systems. Communications in an MIMO system provide the possibility that higher overall capacity of the system, relative to conventional systems can be achieved. Increased number of users are able to be serviced, or more data throughput is capable of being provided for each user.
The advantages provided through the use of space diversity are further enhanced if the sending station is provided with information about the state of the interface, interfacing the sending and receiving stations, i.e., the communication channel.
A sending station is not able to measure channel characteristics of the communication channel directly. Such measurements are possible only at a receiving station. In two-way communication systems, measurements made at the receiving station can be returned to the sending station to provide an indication to the sending station of the channel characteristics.
Communication systems that provide this type of information to a multiple-antenna sending station are referred to as being systems that provide closed loop transmit diversity. Communication channels extending from the network infrastructure of a cellular communication system to a mobile station are sometimes referred to as being down link, or forward link, channels. And, channels extending from the mobile station back to the network infrastructure are sometimes referred to as being uplink, or reverse link, channels.
The feedback information returned to the sending station, here at the network infrastructure, from the receiving station, here a mobile station, is used to select values of antenna weightings. The weightings are weighting values by which information signals provided to separate ones of the antenna transducers are weighted prior to their communication upon a communication channel to the mobile station. A goal is to weight the information signals applied to the antenna transducers in manners best to facilitate communication of the information to the receiving station. The values of the antennas weightings approach a conjugate of the subspace spanned by down-link channel covariance matrix. Estimation of the antenna weightings can be formulated as a transmission subspace tracking procedure. Several closed loop transmit diversity procedures are utilized. TxAA, Eigenbeam Former, and other techniques are sometimes utilized. Existing techniques, however, suffer from various deficiencies. For instance, a TxAA procedure fails to take into account a long-term covariance matrix of the communication channel in the selection of the antenna weightings. And, use of an Eigenbeam former technique is dependent upon the number of antenna transducers of the sending station. When the number of antenna transducers increases, the complexity of such a technique increases rapidly.
What is needed, therefore, is an improved manner by which to implement closed-loop transmit diversity, thereby to permit improved communications in a MIMO, or other, communication system.
It is in light of this background information related to radio communication systems that utilize space diversity that the significant improvements of the present invention have evolved.
The present invention, accordingly, advantageously provides a manner by which to utilize a perturbation gradient approximation technique in the selection of antenna weightings at a sending station that utilizes transmit diversity.
During operation of an embodiment of the present invention, apparatus, and an associated method, is provided by which to select the antenna-weightings at the sending station that utilizes transmit diversity.
Improved antenna-weighting is provided. The procedure automatically adjusts to the rapidity of fading. In slow fading, the short term fading process is tracked. In fast fading, where other methods still unsuccessfully try to track the short term fading, this procedure tracks the long term covariance matrix of the communication channel. The amount of feedback needed for effectuation of the antenna weighting selection is independent of the number of transmit antennas utilized by the sending station. Also, a user-specific pilot signal is not needed for operation. So, the method, and apparatus, is implementable in any of many different types of high data-rate systems, not merely systems that utilize a user-specific pilot signal.
In one aspect of the present invention, a deterministic perturbation gradient approximation procedure is carried out to facilitate the antenna weighting values to be utilized at a sending station that utilizes space diversity. The approximation technique facilitates optimization of the selection of the antenna weighting values, thereby to optimize the communications between a sending station and a receiving station. A perturbation vector is selected at the sending station for communication upon the communication channel to the receiving station. The perturbation vector is selected in a selected order, selected from a selected set of vectors. The vectors are each formed of vector values. The antenna weightings of the antenna transducers of the sending station are perturbed in a first manner during a first portion of a time period and in a second manner during a second portion of a time period. When the time period forms a time slot of a designated time length, during a first half of the time slot, the antennas weightings are perturbed by the perturbation vector in a positive direction. And, during a second half of the time slot, the perturbation vector is applied to the antenna weightings to perturb the weightings in a negative direction.
In another aspect of the present invention, the receiving station that receives the information communicated by the sending station upon the communication channel measures power levels of received signals containing the information communicated by the sending station. Separate power level measurements are made during the first half and the second half of the time slot. Differences between the power levels measured during the separate halves of the time slot are determined. And, an indication of the values of the calculated differences are returned to the sending station.
And, in another aspect of the present invention, the sending station detects delivery of the indications of the values of the calculated differences made at the receiving station and utilizes such indications to adjust the antenna weightings by which subsequently to weight information signals that are sent by the sending station to the receiving station.
In one implementation, the deterministic perturbation gradient approximation technique is utilized in a cellular communication system having a base transceiver station that utilizes space diversity. Closed loop transmit diversity is provided to optimize selection of antenna weightings by which to weight down link signals that are communicated to the mobile station by the base transceiver station. Perturbation vectors are applied to the antenna weighting elements in positive and negative directions during separate portions of a time period. Weighted signals are sent by the base transceiver station to the mobile station and are detected thereat. The mobile station measures power levels of the signals detected thereat during the first and second portions of a time slot and returns values of differences in the power levels measured during the first and second portions of the time slot to the base transceiver station. The values returned to the base transceiver station are used to adjust the antenna weightings at the base transceiver station. Closed-loop transmit diversity is thereby provided. Because deterministic perturbation gradient approximation techniques are utilized, a long-term covariance matrix is tracked and utilized upon which to select the antenna weightings. And, the antenna weighting selection is independent of the number of transmit antennas utilized by the base transceiver station, or other sending station.
In these and other aspects, therefore, apparatus, and an associated method, is provided for a communication system having a first communication station and a second communication station. The first communication station communicates a communication signal to the second communication station. The communication signal is weighted at a first weighting element of the first communication station by a first weighting element of the first communication station by a first antenna weight. And, the communication signal is weighted at least at a second weighting element of the first communication station with at least a second antenna weight. Optimization of selection of the first and at least second antenna weights is facilitated. A perturbation vector selector is coupled to the first communication station. The perturbation vector selector selects at least a first set of perturbation vector values to form at least a first selected perturbation vector. A perturbation vector applicator is coupled to the perturbation vector selector. The perturbation vector applicator applies the perturbation values forming the at least the first selected perturbation vector to the first and at least second weighting elements. The perturbation values applied to the first and at least second weighting elements are at least in part determinative of the first and at least second antenna weights.
A more complete appreciation of the present invention and the scope thereof can be obtained from the accompanying drawings that are briefly summarized below, the following detailed description of the presently-preferred embodiments of the invention, and the appended claims.

Apparatus, and associated method, for facilitating antenna weight selection utilizing deterministic perturbation gradient approximation


Disclosed is a press formed product which is formed from a single steel sheet. The press formed product includes two vertical wall portions, a top plate portion which connects two vertical wall portions with each other, and a projecting portion which projects from at least one boundary portion of two boundary portions each of which connects the vertical wall portion and the top plate portion with each other. In the projecting portion, a steel sheet extending from the vertical wall portion and a steel sheet extending from the top plate portion project from the boundary portion so as to overlap at an overlapping portion located at least at a distal end of the projecting portion. The projecting portion is present at least at a portion of the press formed product in a longitudinal direction. An angle formed between the top plate portion and the overlapping portion is larger than 180°.

In order to increase collision safety, an automobile structural member (in particular, continuous length member) is required to have high characteristics in a three-point bending test. Accordingly, there have been a variety of proposals conventionally.
Drawings of Patent Literature 1 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-265609) and Patent Literature 2 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-155749) disclose an impact absorbing member which includes a portion where a steel sheet is folded over into three layers.
Patent Literature 3 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-242168) discloses a method for forming a recessed portion on a wall portion of a member having a substantially hat shape in cross section. In this method, the wall portion is pressed by a power supply roller, thus forming the recessed portion. Accordingly, a portion which projects from the wall portion is not formed with this method before the recessed portion is formed.
Patent Literature 4 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-67841), Patent Literature 5 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-83807), and Patent Literature 6 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-27894) state that although an application of a high tensile strength material has been contemplated in order to improve safety of an automobile, the high tensile strength material has a problem in terms of workability (paragraph [0002] of each Literature). Accordingly, as an example of a component having high collision safety even without using a high tensile strength material, Patent Literatures 4 and 5 take a component having a hat shape in cross section which has a large number of ridge lines in cross section (paragraph [0003] of Patent Literatures 4 and 5). Further, as an example of a component having high collision safety even without using a high tensile strength material, Patent Literatures 4 to 6 take a component where recessed portions (bead portions) are formed along the longitudinal direction (paragraph [0003] of Patent Literatures 4 and 5, and paragraph [0004] of Patent Literature 6).
Patent Literature 4 discloses, as a component having high safety even without using a high tensile strength material, a component having a hollow columnar shape where connection regions between vertical wall portions and a top wall portion bulge outward. In order to increase the number of ridge lines in cross section, the bulged portion is not folded.
Patent Literature 5 discloses, as a method for producing a component having high safety even without using a high tensile strength material, a method for producing a component having a hat shape in cross section where groove-shaped bead portions are formed on vertical wall portions along the longitudinal direction.
Patent Literature 6 discloses, as a component having high safety even without using a high tensile strength material, a frame component which includes reinforcing portions each of which is formed at a connection portion between a top wall portion and a vertical wall portion. This reinforcing portion is formed of an overlapping portion rolled into a cylindrical shape ([0015] of Patent Literature 6).

Press formed product, automobile structural member with the press formed product, and method for producing press formed product


A novel method for preparing 6-[3-(1-adamantyl)-4-methoxyphenyl]-2-naphthoic acid includes a Suzuki reaction between 3-adamantyl-4-methoxyphenylboronic acid of formula (II):

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel method for the preparation of 6-[3-(1-adamantyl)-4-methoxyphenyl]-2naphthoic acid of formula (I):
a retinoid local anti-acne agent, useful when formulated into pharmaceutical compositions, in particular for the treatment of certain types of acne.
2. Description of Background and/or Related and/or Prior Art
The compound of formula (I) is described in particular in EP-0,199,636. EP-0,199,636 describes the preparation of this compound according to the following Scheme 1:

In this method, 2-(1-adamantyl)-4-bromoanisole is converted, in a first step (a), to its organomagnesium compound, and then to its organozinc compound by the action of zinc chloride (ZnCl2), and is then coupled with methyl 6-bromonaphthoate. This reaction is catalyzed by a transition metal (palladium or nickel) or one of its complexes with various phosphines. The synthesis of 6-[3-(1-adamantyl)-4-methoxyphenyl]-2naphthoic acid of formula (I), as described in EP-0,199,636 (Scheme 1), is therefore carried out in three steps with a yield of 63%, from 2-adamantyl-4-bromoanisole.
One of the disadvantages of this reaction is the formation of impurities. One of these impurities results from the reaction of the organozinc compound generated "in situ" with 2-adamantyl-4-bromoanisole to give 3,3′-di(1-adamantyl)-4,4′-dimethoxy-1,1′-biphenyl having the following structure:

Another impurity also forms via the transfer of the zinc compound of 2-(1-adamantyl)-4-bromoanisole to methyl 6-bromonaphthoate and the reaction of this novel zinc compound with methyl 6-bromonaphthoate to give the dimerization product having the structure:

This product leads, after saponification (step (b)) and acidification (step (c)), to the following impurity:

A third impurity forms during the hydrolysis of the reaction medium. Indeed, during this hydrolysis, the unreacted organozinc compound of 2-(1-adamantyl)-4-bromoanisole generates the impurity having the following structure:

At an industrial stage, these impurities are difficult to remove from the finished product and most often require reprocessing by recrystallization.
Furthermore, certain catalysts such as [1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane]nickel chloride (NiCl2(dppe)) must be prepared separately, adding a step to this method.
During the coupling reaction in step (a), the acid functional group is protected in methyl ester form. This acid functional group should be regenerated. Thus, in a second step (b), methyl 6-[3-(1-adamantyl)-4-methoxyphenyl]-2-naphthoate is saponified by treating with a base such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or potassium hydroxide (KOH) under reflux in an alcohol such as methanol.
By acidifying the reaction medium with hydrochloric acid, 6-[3-(1-adamantyl)-4-methoxyphenyl]-2-naphthoic acid is obtained in a third step (c). It should also be noted that in this method, the methyl ester of 6-bromonaphthoic acid should be prepared in one step from the corresponding acid. It can therefore be seen that the prior art method is complex and is not entirely satisfactory.

Method for the preparation of 6-[3-(1-adamantyl)-4-methoxyphenyl]-2-naphthoic acid

Abstract: and 6-bromo-2-naphthoic acid of formula (III):


Abrasive grains such as boron carbide, silicon carbide, alumina, diamond, cubic boron nitride, and mullite are combined with a cement primarily comprised of zinc oxide and a reactive liquid setting agent and solidified into abrasive grinding tools. Such grinding tools are particularly suitable for grinding and polishing stone, such as marble and granite.

Need has long existed for inexpensive, easy-to-produce compositions for grinding tools which are used in the manufacture of articles made from stone such as marble and granite. Such grinding compositions must be easily formed into a solid, dense grinding tool body and must be simple enough to make that workers of ordinary skill can cast the grinding composition in grinding tool molds.
It has been common practice for the abrasive tools used in the manufacture of articles from stone, such as marble and granite, to be manufactured by a casting process using a magnesium oxide-magnesium chloride ("Sorel") cement and abrasive grains. This cement hardens without heating or other special processing. Abrasive grinding tool segments are generally formed by casting, and are attached to a rotating member to form a grinding wheel. This grinding wheel is rotated against the stone being polished or ground, either flooded by water or subjected to flowing water. The water serves to remove the debris resulting from grinding or polishing, to cool the grinding tools, and to prevent their becoming clogged or coated with debris. Because of their exposure to water, the grinding tools are subject to water reaction or dissolution. Therefore, one desirable characteristic of the cementitious phase is water insolubility.
Because the grinding tools are primarily subjected to compressive loads and because the stones being polished or ground are finished to the edge, resulting in the grinding tool passing beyond the edge of the stone, forces are generated which can cause chipping of the grinding tool. Fracture toughness is therefore a highly desirable property of the grinding material.
Because rapid wear of the grinding tool is undesirable, hardness is important. The abrasive grains must be very hard, and a desirable cementitious phase should be somewhat hard, although not excessively hard or brittle. Some flexibility is desirable in the grinding tool, became if the cementitious phase is somewhat flexible, there is less tendency for fracture during operation.
The "Sorel" cementitious material currently being used is lacking in water insolubility, fracture toughness, and flexibility. It is the lack of water insolubility, fracture toughness, and flexibility that the applicants' invention overcomes.


A semi-conducting pyrolyzed glass fiber layer equalizes the electrical potential on the exterior surface of an insulated conductor when the layer covers the surface. The layer prohibits the development of a corona discharge and bleeds off any electrical charge developed thereon when the layer is electrically coupled to a body having a known potential. The insulated conductor may be windings in a dynamoelectric machine.

This invention relates to a semi-conducting pyrolyzed glass fiber layer covering an insulated electrical conductor which prohibits the development of a corona discharge when an electrical potential exists between the conductor and region adjacent the exterior surface of the insulator.
In many electrical devices, an electrical potential exists between a conductor and the regions immediately adjacent the exterior surface of an insulator surrounding the conductor. In a high powered electrical apparatus such as a dynamoelectric machine, the stationary armature core is generally made of laminations which define a cylindrical bore and which also define circumferentially spaced radial slots opening into the bore and axially extending substantially the length of the stator core. Heavily insulated electrical windings, or armature bars, are disposed in the slots. A high electrical potential difference exists between the windings or armature bars and the members of this stator defining the slots which are at an electrical ground.

Semi-conducting layer for insulated electrical conductors


A system, method and software for reporting logical volume information on software RAID (redundant array of independent disks) enabled storage devices is disclosed. In one embodiment, a volume manager may be queried to identify one or more software RAID volumes and to determine their operating state. The information handling system's operating system may be queried to identify the storage devices included on the system and their operating state. After correlating the software RAID volumes to respective storage devices, a worst case operating state between the software RAID volumes and the storage devices may be reported to a light emitting diode (LED) driver. The LED driver may then command one or more chassis LED to illuminate in a manner that communicates the worst case operating state of one or more of software RAID volumes.

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Network attached storage (NAS) is one subset of information handling system technology devoted primarily to storing and provisioning data for a plurality of users. From a user perspective, NAS hardware is preferably cost effective to acquire and maintain as well as substantially continuously available or at least incurs minimal downtime. In certain respects, the achievement of availability and low cost maintenance may be furthered using some of the same mechanisms.
Today, organizations typically deploy one or more NAS devices that use RAID or redundant array of inexpensive/independent disks to achieve data availability. In practice, a RAID may be implemented in software or hardware. Software RAID is often used to reduce the costs of NAS RAID deployment. Hardware and software RAID generally may be employed to accomplish the same goals, however, each has its own nuances as to how it is treated by the operating system (OS).
In a hardware implementation, a RAID controller typically hides the information storage devices from the OS and creates an abstraction of storage called logical units that are exposed to the OS. To determine the status of a disk set, one or more calls to the RAID controller must typically be made. In software RAID implementations the information storage devices are typically exposed to the OS. In addition, RAID may be configured using a software driver included in the OS and RAID functionality is typically achieved at a volume level not a logical unit level. For example, a volume manager graphical user interface (GUI) in Microsoft Windows may be queried to ascertain the status of the software RAID volumes.

System, method and software for reporting logical volume information on network attached storage appliances


Collaborator content selection and manipulation actions and comments during interaction with a document are recorded to enhance asynchronous collaboration. The collaborator content selection and manipulation actions and comments are recorded during interaction with a document in a first collaboration viewport at a first time and played back in a second collaboration viewport at a second time while the same or a different instance of the document is displayed. The collaborator content selection and manipulation actions and comments include at least text selection, mouse or pen movements, and voice comments or ink annotations that are played back to recreate the collaborator changes and comments as though they were occurring in real-time, thereby creating a user experience that is more like the “over the shoulder” collaboration that would be available to collaborators that are at the same physical location.

Conventional document collaboration solutions may require synchronous collaboration via a separate application. For example, during a Skype® call or a Teams™ call (both available from Microsoft Corporation), a participant in the call may share her computer screen so that other participants may follow along as she modifies a document while orally explaining the changes. The other participants may take notes and use features of the Skype® or Teams™ applications to record screenshots and to record audio and/or video versions of the conversation. While the recordings may be shared, such sharing occurs via a separate communication stream since the recordings are recorded and maintained in a separate application from the application including the document that was the subject of the call. The audio/video playback does not illustrate the navigation that occurs in the document itself as the audio/video is recorded. Also, the recording of the screen is rasterized content so it does not adjust when content is changed, support different scroll/zoom positions, and may be difficult to describe to assistive technologies.
In other document collaboration solutions, a participant may pause during an explanation of a modification so that two or more collaborators may modify the same content. In such a case, the live document is accessible by all participants, but any recording of the comments is overlaid on top of the original document. For example, a collaboration system has been described that records ink annotations in the form of a comment card associated with a portion of the document. The user may play back the ink annotation on the displayed document and may modify and/or delete the ink annotation during playback. A "show annotation" control element is also provided that enables a user to overlay the ink annotation on the document such that the document may be displayed with the ink annotation and a comment card associated with a portion of the document. While an ink annotation may be played back, it remains difficult for a collaborator that was not present for the original collaboration to understand the flow of comments and changes to the document that occurred during the collaboration. The collaborator reviewing the document at a later time may not be able to understand how to synchronize the comments and the changes to understand the reasons for the proposed changes.
Also, other methods of collaboration such as comments and email notes that require reading and writing by collaborators do not have mechanisms to support high fidelity recording and low effort communication features like voice and screen capture that would facilitate more efficient collaboration.

View playback to enhance collaboration and comments


A guide wire includes a distal core member made of a ferrous alloy which has shape memory properties and superelasticity. The ferrous alloy preferably includes substantially two phases, and has a difference of 100° C. or less between an Af point and an Ms point in a thermal hysteresis of martensitic transformation and reverse transformation. The guide wire may include a proximal core member made of an iron-containing alloy and having a higher modulus of elasticity than the distal core member. The two core members may be joined together by welding to form a core of the guide wire.

The present invention relates to a medical device. More particularly, the invention relates to a guide wire and stent for insertion into a body lumen such as a blood vessel or a bile duct.
One technique that is used in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions such as heart disease involves inserting a guide wire to a target site, then inserting and passing a catheter or the like along the guide wire.
For example, in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), first a guide wire is advanced to, then made to traverse, the area of stenosis that is the target site while selecting the branches of the coronary artery under fluoroscopic guidance. Next, a dilatation catheter fitted at the distal end with a balloon is introduced into the body along the guide wire, and the balloon on the catheter is positioned at the stenosis. By then expanding the balloon and enlarging the lumen at the stenosis, blood flow is ensured. Conditions such as angina pectoris can be treated in this way.
Treatment can also be carried out by introducing a self-expanding stent to the target stenosis, and allowing the stent to self-expand at the stenosis.
Titanium-nickel alloys are sometimes used as the material making up such guide wires and stents. When a titanium-nickel alloy is used as the guide wire core, because the pushability and torque transmission of such alloys are inferior to those of materials such as stainless steel, the surface is sometimes coated with a resin to ensure good slideability.
To enhance the torque transmission and other properties, JP 3-264073 A discloses a catheter guide wire core that is a linear body made of a ferrous superelastic metal material, the core being distally tapered so as to become increasingly flexible toward the distal end. Examples of ferrous superelastic metal materials include Fe—Pt, Fe—Pd, Fe—Ni—Co—Ti, Fe—Ni—C, Fe—Mn—Si, Fe—Cr—Mn, Fe—Cr—Mn—Si, Fe—Cr—Ni—Mn—Si and Fe—Cr—Ni—Mn—Si—Co alloys. These are noted as being desirable because they have a high elasticity and are not readily prone to plastic deformation.
In connection with such ferrous superelastic metal materials, JP 03-257141 A, JP 2003-268501 A, JP 2000-17395 A, JP 09-176729 A, and Scripta Materialia 46, 471-475 describe Fe—Ni—Co—Al—C alloys, Fe—Ni—Al alloys, Fe—Ni—Si alloys, Fe—Mn—Si alloys and Fe—Pd alloys.
Good superelasticity is not achieved in conventional ferrous alloys because of, at the time of deformation, (a) the introduction of permanent strain such as dislocations, and (b) the formation of irreversible stress-induced lenticular martensite which does not exhibit shape memory effects. To avoid problems (a) and (b), it is effective to improve the strength of the matrix phase in ferrous shape-memory alloys; materials which are precipitation strengthened with an intermetallic compound are particularly effective. It is considerations such as these that have led to the disclosure of the foregoing ferrous alloys.
Although Ti—Ni alloys such as the above are sometimes used in guide wires and stents, the superelastic strain region for Ti—Ni alloys is at best about 8%; when a larger deformation is applied, the alloy undergoes plastic deformation, which is undesirable. It would be preferable to use a material having a broader superelastic strain region than Ti—Ni alloys as the guide wire and stent material.
In cases where a Ti—Ni alloy is used as the core material on the distal portion of a guide wire, a ferrous alloy is used as the core material on the proximal portion, and these core materials are welded together to form a single guide wire core, the fact that the Ti—Ni alloy is a different material which has, in particular, a poor weldability with ferrous alloys, imposes limitations on the materials to which it can be bonded and the bonding conditions. In medical devices for insertion and extended placement within the body in particular, the device must be manufactured while taking the greatest possible care to avoid the possibility of the weld failing within the body; hence the need for special bonding conditions, etc.
As noted above, in some cases where a Ti—Ni alloy is used as the guide wire core, the surface is coated with a resin. However, when a plastic material having a high melting point, such as a fluorocarbon resin, is used as the resin, the properties of the Ti—Ni alloy may change under the influence of the high temperature. The distal portion of the guide wire core, while slender, undergoes repeated bending and twisting. To be able to withstand such use, the resin coated onto the surface must have an improved peel resistance.
In addition, stents made of Ti—Ni alloys are sometimes of insufficient strength and durability. It is especially difficult to satisfy the requirements for strength and durability in stents used at placement sites where there is a lot of movement, such as the legs. Also, while it is preferable for a stent to be thin-walled, the strength in such cases decreases even further. Hence, thin-walled Ti—Ni alloy stents are often unable to withstand normal use.
Guide wires and stents made of Ti—Ni alloys also lack a good visibility under fluoroscopic imaging. To enable the insertion site and placement site to be verified under fluoroscopic imaging, a high-contrast member made of gold or the like must be bonded to the distal end of the guide wire and the ends of the stent.
The ferrous metal materials listed in JP 3-264073 A as preferable for use in guide wires are referred to as being "superelastic," yet the amount of strain from which superelastic recovery is possible in such materials is in fact less than 1%, which hardly satisfies the properties required of a guide wire core.
Nor do JP 03-257141 A, JP 2003-268501 A and JP 2000-17395 A make any mention of such properties of practical importance as the amount of strain from which superelastic recovery is possible, the percent recovery, and the superelastic operating temperature ranges for Fe—Ni—Co—Al—C alloys, Fe—Ni—Al alloys and Fe—Ni—Si alloys.
Scripta Materialia 46, 471-475 reports on the superelasticity of Fe—Pd alloys containing unusually large amounts of costly palladium, but such alloys have an amount of strain from which superelastic recovery is possible of less than 1%, which is small, and thus cannot be regarded as having a good superelasticity. Moreover, these alloys are difficult to produce.
JP 09-176729 A mentions that Fe—Mn—Si alloys are nonmagnetic but, by utilizing a fcc/hcp transformation, exhibit a shape memory effect and superelasticity. However, there are limitations on the temperatures at which such Fe—Mn—Si alloys can be used because the superelasticity is achieved at temperatures higher than room temperature. Moreover, these alloys have a poor corrosion resistance and cold workability, complicated thermomechanical treatment is required to achieve further superelasticity, and there are problems with the manufacturability.


A window covering cord collection and coordination device of the invention involves two halves of an assembly which acts as an enclosure for collection of upper control lines, and as an attachment for a downwardly extending single actuation line which may be optionally employed. A key projection member fits within a complementary key slot member at a first or upper end of the window covering cord collection and coordination device and which is oriented and designed to disengage upon any significant downward separating force acting upon the series of upper controlled lines which the window covering cord collection and coordination device engages through an upper slot which enables upper controlled lines to exert a separating force against the first and second housing sections which make up the window covering cord collection and coordination device.

Window covering cord collection and coordination devices are structures which capture a plurality of control cords so that the plurality of captured control cords can be operably and evenly pulled down or allowed to go up simultaneously. For example, the horizontal slat may have four lift lines which need to be actuated simultaneously to enable the bottom of the window covering and collected slats to be lifted evenly. This was traditionally done by placement of a joining structure which operated much like a knot in all of the lifting cords to insure that they were pulled together.
These joining structures effectively formed a short termination as an effective loop. Any object placed between any two coordinated cords can only pass downward, especially under the influence of gravity, as far as the connector and its formed loop. This arrangement can cause tripping, hanging, strangulation and cut off circulation. Where the window covering is solidly attached, an entanglement can last for a long time. Where the window covering is not well attached, the window covering can become dislodged and cause significant damage.
Normal operation of the window covering cord collection and coordination devices involves introduction of force from one end regardless of the raising force or the lowering force. However, the forces which are transmitted in working against a loop work against the window covering cord collection and coordination device. The window covering cord collection and coordination devices must be able to break any formed loop when downward pressure is applied from above, but always handle the tensile force from a cord below the Window covering cord collection and coordination device.
The design of a window covering cord collection and coordination device which is so well constructed that it does not allow disengagement of the formed loop will continue to pose the same danger of earlier clips, knots and other dangerous loop forming devices. Conversely, a window covering cord collection and coordination devices which breaks apart too easily with any uneven force of the upper control lines or with a significant force in the underlying control line will cause the user to have to continually re-assemble the released window covering cord collection and coordination device. Continual break open and freeing of upper lines will cause a lot of undue effort and aggravation, and will lead to a user's attempt to circumvent a safety cord collection and coordination devices and thus defeat the very purpose for such a safety devices' introduction. The needed safety device must work properly and balance both needs or it is effectively useless.


An electronic device includes a housing, a tray, and a latching mechanism. The housing defines a receiving channel and an opening communicating with the receiving channel. The tray is slidably received in the receiving channel and slidable out of the housing through. The latching mechanism includes a hook, at least one latching member rotatably connected to the housing and comprising a latching clamp for latchingly engaging the hook, a driving assembly, and at least one first resilient element configured to apply a spring force to the at least one latching member. The driving assembly is configured to drive the at least one latching member to rotate from a locking position where the hook is lockingly engaged with the latching clamp to a releasing position where the latching clamp disengages from the hook.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to an electronic device having a slidable tray.
2. Description of Related Art
Trays are often used in electronic devices, such as notebook computer, to support a memory card or an optical disk. The electronic devices further include a latching mechanism to latch the tray within the housing. Although conventional latching mechanisms satisfy basic requirement, a new type of latching mechanism is still needed.

Fu Tai Hua Industry (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.


A pulse Doppler ultrasonic diagnostic system capable of invariably obtaining best Doppler signals with respect to an arbitrary sample volume length under the condition that mean power of transmit ultrasonic waves is restricted to a constant value. The system has a device for making the mean power constant and a device for making a burst wave number variable for transmit ultrasonic signals and also includes a device for making an integration interval length variable for ultrasonic receiving signals, thereby controlling the burst wave number of the transmit ultrasonic waves and the integration interval length of the ultrasonic receiving signals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement of a pulse Doppler ultrasonic diagnostic system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A pulse Doppler ultrasonic diagnostic system is intended to obtain a kinetic direction and a velocity of a ultrasonic scatterer by extracting only ultrasonic scattering signals from a region of concern within a subject for examination by processing Doppler shift components. In order to fetch the ultrasonic signals from the region, signals from an interval .DELTA.x between a depth x and a depth x+.DELTA.x have to be accumulated in any form and sample-held. The accumulation of signals involves the use of a method of integrating reflection signals with transmit ultrasonic waves serving as single pulse waves for a period equivalent to a sample volume length .DELTA.y by use of an interval integrator, or alternatively a method of sample-holding the reflection signal with the transmit ultrasonic waves serving as burst waves, the number of waves corresponds to the interval .DELTA. after a given time has passed, with a wave transmitting time being defined as an origin. Mean power of the transmit ultrasonic waves is limited to a constant value or under in terms of security in connection with influences of the ultrasonic waves on a human body. Under such a condition that the mean power is restricted to the constant value, however, it is impossible to invariably obtain best Doppler signals with respect to an arbitrary sample volume length simply by employing any one of the above-mentioned methods.

Pulse Doppler ultrasonic diagnostic system


A device and method for splicing yarns. The device includes a single passageway through which pressurized air is supplied to a splicing chamber dimensioned so as to cause turbulent air flow within the chamber when pressurized air is introduced. The device may also include a slot for quickly and easily feeding the yarns into the splicing chamber. A blade may be secured within the device to sever the yarns and provide a sufficiently short and uniform tail that will be accepted by needles conventionally used in the carpet manufacturing machinery.

Many types of splicing devices have been used in the carpet manufacturing industry to join one yarn package to another when textile machinery requires a continuous supply of yarn. One machine that requires a continuous yarn supply is a carpet tufting machine for manufacturing pile carpet. The tufting machine has creels associated therewith, and the creels use several pairs of yarn packages. The creel uses and depletes the first package and then uses the second package. Typically, an operator splices the trailing end of the first package to the leading end of the second package to provide the creel with a continuous supply of yarn.
Continuous operation of the carpet manufacturing machinery results in maximum production of the machines and ultimately maximum profit. When the carpet manufacturing machines are not operating, the carpet manufacturing company loses both productivity and money. The continued operation of the tufting machine depends, in part, on a continuous supply of yarn. Thus, the timely and effective splicing of yarn supply packages directly impacts the productivity of the carpet manufacturing process.
Splicing the yarns quickly and effectively is important for the continued operation of the tufting machinery. A tufting operator is responsible for providing a continuous yarn supply to the machinery. The operator makes sure that several yarn packages are continuously available for feeding into the machines. During normal operation, the operator may be splicing up to fourteen (14) yarn packages per minute. Thus, it is important to minimize the splicing time.
In addition to timeliness, it is also important that the splice be small, yet effective. Initially, weaver's knots were used as a method to join the leading and trailing yarn packages. When done properly a weaver's knot is sufficiently small and effectively holds the two yarn pieces together for most applications. Where many needles are used in a small area, yarn spliced by weaver's knots will not feed through the needles. In addition, the formation of a weaver's knot requires considerable manual dexterity and, if done continuously for a prolonged period of time, can cause pain and fatigue in the worker's hands and arms. Moreover, the free ends of a weaver's knot are of inconsistent length. If the free ends are too long, they may not properly feed into the machine and thus cause the machine to shut down. In addition, too much time would be required to cut the free ends of the weaver's knot to a consistent length.
Turning now to prior art splicing devices, all of the cited hand-held air splicing devices have been designed to include multiple nozzles that provide pressurized air to a splicing chamber. Moreover, the prior art requires that the yarns be manually fed into the devices. This process is cumbersome, time consuming and requires precision and significant coordination on the part of the operator.
Czelusniak et al. (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,833,872 and 4,825,630) disclose methods and devices for air splicing yarn. The claimed devices include a cylindrical housing having an axial passageway and an open center. In addition, the Czelusniak devices include a pressurized air source connected to the housing. A circular channel, enclosed within the housing, is connected to the air source. A series of small passageways extends radially inward from the circular channel. The passageways are arranged at an angle from the center of the device so as to cause the pressurized air to move in a circular manner.
Crouch et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,788,814) discloses a manually operated air splicing device that is mounted near a textile winder. The device includes a cylindrical passageway, a pressurized air supply, an air channel, inwardly extending passageways connecting the channel to the passageway and a spring loaded arm to supply pressurized air to the channel. To operate, the user feeds both yarn pieces in the passageway and presses the arm to supply pressurized air to the passageway. The air creates a turbulent effect as it moves through the channel and into the passageways to splice the yarn pieces together.
The prior art devices and methods discussed above are undesirable for several reasons. All require the operator to manually feed the yarn pieces to be spliced into one end of the device. This requires considerable time and coordination of the operator. In addition, manually fed yarns often get misled. A splice that is misfed may be weak and break apart. A misfed splice may also have a longer tail which would fail to pass through the tufting needles and cause the machines to shut down. Moreover, the multiple passageways must have smaller diameters in order to deliver high pressure air to the splicing chamber. The smaller diameter passageways tend to clog when dust, dirt, oil and moisture particles enter the air system. A clogged passageway renders the device inoperable and requires the user to clear the passageway. To prevent the reoccurrence of a clogged passageway, the prior art devices are often used with an air filtration unit.
In addition, the prior art devices cited create splices that are often too large to fit through the tufting needles. When this occurs, the machine shuts down and requires rethreading before starting up again. Thus, a small splice is desired to ensure that the splice will easily pass through the tufting needles and prevent shut down problems with the tufting machinery.
It has also been found that the prior art devices ineffectively splice polypropylene yarns. Polypropylene yarn is a higher quality material used in the carpet industry today. Due to the quality and cost of polypropylene, carpet manufacturers want to use it as often as possible. If the availability of air splicing devices presently on the market cannot effectively splice polypropylene fibers, carpet manufacturers will be limited in the production of polypropylene carpet. A device that effectively splices a polyprophylene yarns would enable carpet manufacturers to produce a greater volume of higher quality carpet.
Thus, there is a need for an air splicing device and method that introduces pressurized air into a splicing chamber at a single location. There is a further need for an air splicing device and method that provides for larger air passageways through which pressurized air travels.
There is yet a further need for an air splicing device and method that does not require an air filtering device.
There is yet a further need for an air splicing device and method that does not clog when particles are introduced into the air system.
There is still a further need for an air splicing device and method that automatically feeds the yarn into the device.
There is yet a further need for an air splicing device and method that severs the yarn while it is within the device.
There is still a further need for an air splicing and device that effectively splices polypropylene yarns.
There is still a further need for an air splicing device and method that consistently produces splices of the same length.
There is still a further need for an air splicing device and method that consistently produces a sufficiently small splice capable of passing through needles used in carpet manufacturing machinery.


Techniques for virtual workload deployment based on computing resource hardware load and associated network hardware load. For each of a plurality of computing resources within one or more data centers onto which a virtual workload can be deployed, a computing resource hardware load of the respective computing resource is determined. Network topology information is maintained for at least one network fabric of the one or more data centers, and an associated network hardware load of a network device communicatively connected to the respective computing resource is determined. Embodiments automatically select one or more computing resources. The virtual workload is deployed onto the automatically selected one or more computing resources.

Cloud computing has become a popular approach for obtaining access to (sometimes large-scale) computing resources. Cloud computing allows users to build virtualized data centers which include compute, networking, application, and storage resources without having to build or maintain a physical computing infrastructure. The virtualized data center may provide a user with a segmented virtual network located in the cloud, typically alongside virtualized data centers of other users. Such a virtualized data center may be rapidly scaled up (or down) according to the computing needs of a given user without the need to maintain excess computing capacity between peak demand periods. For example, an online retailer can scale a virtualized data center to meet increased demand during the holiday shopping season without having to maintain the underlying physical computing infrastructure used to provide the retailer's online presence.
Often times, a cloud-computing environment is created using multiple data centers, with each data center providing various computing resources to the cloud. Such data centers are frequently located in different geographical locations. Furthermore, the resources that each data center provides to the cloud may differ. As such, a technical challenge exists in deploying workloads to optimal computing resources within cloud computing environments.
To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one embodiment may be beneficially utilized on other embodiments without specific recitation.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Network-aware workload placement in a data center


A method of fulfilling orders of goods of mixed packs and single packs of the same type. The goods are first stored as single packs of the same type and all of the goods allocated to an order are removed from a specified order storage rack aisle of a storage rack. Goods present in the storage racks required for the order that are not present within the specified order storage rack aisle are transferred into the order storage rack aisle from another storage rack aisle by a transverse transport process. A mixed pack for the order is generated by picking from packs of the same type, and a picking station is supplied with corresponding packs of the same type from the same storage racks, and the mixed pack is stored into the order storage rack aisle. The order, comprising single packs of the same type and mixed packs, is removed from the specified order storage rack aisle.

The invention relates to a method for removing goods from storage for order fulfilment from a distribution center having a store comprising storage racks having storage rack aisles, wherein the order includes a compilation of goods from single-type and mixed containers, the goods are initially placed into storage in the storage rack in the form of single-type containers and, when the order is present, all the goods assigned to the order are removed from a particular order storage rack aisle of the storage rack.
When picking or compiling orders of goods on single-type transport units or containers, such as e.g. articles, receptacles, it is necessary to make those transport units which carry the goods belonging to a particular order available in a common and optionally sorted manner. To this end, it is typical to intermediately store (buffer) the transport units with goods of an order until all the goods required for the order are present as transport units. Subsequently, these are then released together on a gathering area which carries them e.g. to palletizing, packing station, goods issuing, dispatch, etc. They are thus removed from storage as determined by the order.
When compiling orders, different goods have to be removed from different transport units and compiled in accordance with the order. At the same time, orders can also include, in addition to such picked, mixed transport units (mixed containers), whole transport units, i.e. single-type containers (see above). In this case, orders must be compiled from two different types of transport units which include a different pre-processing, such as e.g. order-picking.
In picking stations, e.g. goods which are likewise required to fulfil an order but only in relatively small amounts are removed from provided storage units and are placed (picked) into an order receptacle according to the order. The thus picked, mixed order receptacles are, as shown above, likewise transported to palletising, packing station, goods issuing, dispatch, etc. in order to fulfil the particular order together with the single-type receptacles (containers).
A (high-level) rack store includes a supply region, or region for placing goods into storage, via which the goods are delivered and separated and from which the rack serving apparatuses collect the goods or single-type containers for placing them into storage—the so-called pre-zone. In a similar manner, a region for removing goods from storage is required, at which the rack serving apparatuses set down the goods after removing them from storage and which is likewise allocated to the pre-zone. In automatic order-picking stores, picking locations are often directly connected via the pre-zone. In most cases, the goods are identified in the pre-zone for the store management system or material flow controller.
The applicant's EP 1 964 792 B1 discloses a method for providing transport units from a store in a desired sequence to at least one gathering area. Rack serving apparatuses in each storage rack aisle, storage-removal lifts and storage-removal tracks are controlled and supplied with goods in a manner adapted to one another such that said goods ultimately end up sorted in the gathering area or are set down thereby.
Controlling and adapting is thus relatively complex and requires an apparent technical outlay in the so-called pre-zone, i.e. the region outside the actual racking.
WO 2014/023539 A1 also discloses a method for providing transport units from a store in a desired sequence, in which between two adjacent storage racks there is a direct exchange of transport units from one storage rack aisle into an adjacent storage rack aisle via cross-conveyance locations in the storage racks themselves. This allows sorting within the racks or aisles themselves and sorting in the pre-zone can be omitted.

Method for removing goods from a storage device in order to fulfill an order