An optical sight for a combat vehicle, intended to be mounted in a weapon turret of the vehicle in order to make possible sight lines at elevations between roughly xe2x88x9210xc2x0 and 90xc2x0 of a weapon barrel mounted pivotably about a horizontal axis in the weapon turret. The sight comprises a lower standard sight unit, which deflects vertical incident light by 90xc2x0 to an eyepiece, and a top mirror, located above the standard sight unit and pivotable in synchronism with elevating movements of the barrel, likewise about a horizontal axis. Positioned above the standard sight unit is a deflection prism which has an upper surface which faces the top mirror, is inclined at roughly 45xc2x0 to the vertical and is designed to reflect incident light at an angle of roughly 45xc2x0 to the surface and less, but to transmit light which is incident at roughly 90xc2x0 to the surface.

The present invention relates to an optical sight for a combat vehicle, in particular a sight of the periscope type, intended to be mounted in a weapon turret of the vehicle in order to achieve sight lines at elevations between roughly xe2x88x9210xc2x0 and 90xc2x0 of a weapon barrel mounted pivotably about a horizontal axis in the weapon turret, the sight comprising on the one hand a lower standard sight unit, which deflects vertical incident light by 90xc2x0 to an eyepiece, and on the other hand a top mirror, located above the standard sight unit and pivotable in synchronism with elevating movements of the barrel, likewise about a horizontal axis.
Periscopic sights for combat vehicles normally comprise a lower sight unit angled at 90xc2x0 and also, arranged pivotably above the latter, a top mirror which is interlinked with the barrel of the weapon so that the sight line follows the elevation of the barrel. This sight configuration functions well at low elevations of the barrel. At higher elevations, up to roughly 60xc2x0, very high mirrors are required in order for it to be possible for sufficient light to reach the main lens of the sight. At even higher elevations (up to 90xc2x0) of the barrel, sight functioning is practically and theoretically impossible in such a sight arrangement. For this, a new design of the lower sight unit would be necessary, in which the incident ray path is not vertical but is inclined at an angle of, for example, 45xc2x0.
One object of the present invention is to produce a sight which, using an inexpensive, existing lower standard sight unit with 90xc2x0 deflection, makes possible high elevations of the sight line. To this end, the sight according to the invention described in the introduction is characterized in that it also comprises a deflection prism which is positioned above the standard sight unit and has an upper surface which faces the top mirror, is inclined at roughly 45xc2x0 to the vertical and is designed to reflect totally incident light at an angle of roughly 45xc2x0 to the surface and less, but to transmit light which is incident at roughly 90xc2x0 to the surface, in addition to which the deflection prism has a reflecting surface which lies behind the upper surface in the light incidence direction and is inclined at a smaller angle to the vertical than the upper surface, the mirror being arranged so as to direct incident light parallel to the barrel essentially at right angles to the upper surface of the prism, so that the incident light, after reflection against the surface lying behind, can be reflected from inside against the upper surface in order then to be made to fall vertically into the standard sight unit.
Another object of the invention is also to make possible, in a sight of the new type, a direct view for the vehicle/weapon operator with simple means. This is achieved by virtue of the fact that a secondary prism connected in parallel optically with the standard sight unit is arranged after the deflection prism in the light incidence direction, which secondary prism is designed and arranged so as to receive light incident from the mirror and reflected from outside on the upper surface of the deflection prism and to deflect it towards a person operating the sight in order to make a direct view possible for said person by means of the necessary adjustment of the mirror therefor.


A hub-spoke patient information service in which a patient's data can be obtained from a network of independent data sources through a centralized service. The hub of the service stores patient identification information and the spokes store the patient's clinical data. In a preferred embodiment, the spokes are independent sources (e.g. each spoke is generally unrelated to other spokes) and include hospitals, doctor offices, clinics, insurance companies, or other entities that store or track clinical data. Preferably, the data sources use a first authentication to properly identify or authentic the service. Once access is granted, the spoke sources are queried for the patient's data. In response, each data source provides the type of patient data available from the source. The user is shown the types of data available without generally showing the actual data. The user can then select the specific patient data to retrieve from the spoke sources.

When an individual visits a hospital, clinic, or physician, numerous patient records related to the visit are created. Patient records traditionally have been maintained in paper form by the provider responsible for creating the records, but more recently patient records are migrating to various electronic forms. As a result, significant efforts have been placed on creating a national/regional network for access to patient records, regardless of the location of the records, or the specific healthcare provider creating the records.
Numerous problems exist in developing a national/regional network for access to patient records. One problem is that there are hundreds of thousands of medical service providers (hospitals, clinics, doctor's offices, etc. . . . ) that operate more or less autonomously. As a result there is considerable inconsistency with respect to the software and equipment used to capture and store the data, the fields of data captured, the formats used, archiving policies, and so forth. A second problem is that each provider wants ultimate control over its own data, but wants easy access to data generated by others. Still a third problem is that patients want to keep their records confidential.
Several different systems have been proposed. A fully centralized approach is known where the data records are stored in a central record repository. (See e.g., US 2006/0129434 to Smitherman, US 2007/0055552 to St. Clair, US 2007/0016450 to Bhora). However, this model requires broad agreement among healthcare providers that all data records will be managed by a central authority. Moreover, the scaling, reliability, and privacy issues associated with a central record repository are formidable.
A fully decentralized approach is also known, which allows a provider to access records distributed across multiple healthcare database management systems as though they were stored locally at the provider. Using this approach, electronic records regarding a given patient can be assembled on demand to provide a complete healthcare history of the individual. For example, Connecting For Health consortium (see http://www.connecting-forhealth.org/assets/reports/linking_report—2—2005.pdf), provides a central store that only maintains: (a) name, address, age, gender and other non-unique patient identification information; and (b) links to records in the local databases. (See also e.g., US 2005/0246205 to Wang). A drawback to using a decentralized approach is that users can receive incomplete patient records because of the diverse set of data sources, and the inability to extract relevant information from some of the sources. Moreover, many providers can be unwilling or unable to manage a local infrastructure.
US 2005/0027995 to Menschik teaches a decentralized network for mediating peer-to-peer transfer of patent medical data including a plurality of decentralized agents associated with a health care provider and connected to a central network. Unfortunately, Menschik requires all peers to authenticate all other peers, which results in an unwieldy, distributed mesh of trust. Such an approach lacks scalability because the number of authenticated relationships increases on the order of N2 where N is the number of peers in the system. The system becomes impractical for N anywhere near as large as that required for a national medical network.
In between the centralized and decentralized approaches are hybrid approaches where some patient records can be centralized and others are stored in a decentralized network. (See e.g., US 2007/0214016 to Bennett). There are several new problems with these hybrid approaches. For example, problems can arise in deciding whether to store a particular record in a centralized or local data store. In addition, the relative importance of a particular electronic healthcare record can change with the occurrence of contemporaneous events, and therefore the record might not be placed properly in the right data store.
Currently, there is no solution that resolves all of the problems. Consequently, there is still a need for a system that combines demographic, clinical, and other practice-related data from multiple independent data sources, that can be conveniently mined and scaled easily as new data sources are added to the system.

Methods and apparatus for responding to request for clinical information


A system and method for categorizing color palettes are provided. A taxonomy for a particular type of achromatic entity, such as emotions, is generated and populated with a list of terms. Natural language terms extracted from annotated color palettes are associated with the corresponding achromatic entity categories in the taxonomy. Features are extracted from the color palettes. The features, together with the category information, are used to train a classifier which is then able to assign achromatic entities to palettes outside the training set, based on extracted features.

The exemplary embodiment relates to color selection. It finds particular application in connection with a system and method for classification and selection of color palettes based on an achromatic taxonomy.
A color palette is a set of different colors, which may be displayed as an ordered or unordered sequence of swatches, one for each color in the set. The colors in the palette have typically been selected by a graphic designer, or other skilled artisan working with color, to harmonize with each other, when used in various combinations. The effect of different color palettes on the human perception of the objects to which the colors are applied, such as brochures, textiles, automobiles, and the like, is not fully understood. However, either through common usage or innate preferences, the selection of a color palette can influence a customer's perception of an object. For example a brochure advertising Mediterranean vacations which utilizes a set of muted hues may be less likely to draw the interest of a customer than one which uses the bright colors typically associated with the region. Accordingly, designers often wish to select a color palette which is associated, in human perception, with a certain achromatic entity, such as an emotion, geographical location, musical genre, seasons of the year, or the like. In the case of emotions, palettes which elicit an excited or enthusiastic emotion may be suitable for some applications, such as a flyer for a circus production, while for others, such as a food product, the designer may wish to elicit emotions of pleasantness, such as contented or warm-hearted emotions. The designer uses his or her acquired experience in selecting a suitable color palette for the particular application.
Increasingly, color palettes are used by those who do not have extensive experience in color selection and design. To ascertain the response of a wide variety of people to a particular color palette, the palette may be submitted for review. Users look at the palettes, e.g., displayed on a screen or printed on print media, and assign labels which are natural language expressions of the particular users' perceptions. Large collections of labelled data where millions of users create, annotate, and review color combinations are now accessible.
The present exemplary embodiment takes advantage of such labelled data in a system and method which enables selection and creation of palettes according to achromatic entities, such as emotions.

System and method for classification and selection of color palettes


A method of producing nitride nanoparticles comprises reacting at least one organometallic compound, for example an alkyl metal, with at least one source of nitrogen. The reaction may involve one or more liquid phase organometallic compounds, or may involve one or more liquid phase organometallic compounds dissolved in a solvent or solvent mixture. The reaction constituents may be heated to a desired reaction temperature (for example in the range 40° C. to 300° C.).

Semiconductor nanocrystals whose dimensions are comparable to the bulk exciton diameter show quantum confinement effects. This is seen most clearly in the optical emission spectra which shift towards the red and/or infrared as the size of the crystal is increased.
Semiconductor nanocrystals made from a wide range of materials have been studied including many II-VI and III-V semiconductors. In addition to spherical nanocrystals rod-, arrow-, teardrop- and tetrapod-shaped nanocrystals [Alivisatos et. al., J. Am. Chem. Soc, 2000, 122, 12700; WO03054953] and core/shell structures [Bawendi, J. Phys. Chem. B, 1997, 1010, 9463; Li and Reiss, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2008, 130, 11588] have also been prepared. To control the size and shape of such nanocrystals their synthesis is generally performed in the presence of one or more capping agents (sometimes called surfactants or coordinating solvents). Such capping agents control the growth of the nanocrystals and also increase the intensity of the light emission though the passivation of surface states. A wide range of capping agents have been employed including phosphines [Bawendi et. al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1993, 115, 8706], phosphine oxides [Peng et. al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2002, 124, 2049], amines [Peng et. al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2002, 124, 2049], fatty acids [Battaglia and Peng, Nano Lett., 2002, 2, 1027; Peng et. al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2002, 124, 2049], thiols [Li and Reiss, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2008, 130, 11588] and more exotic capping agents such a metal fatty acid complexes [Nann et. al., J. Mater. Chem., 2008, 18, 2653].
Methods to prepare semiconductor nanocrystals include solvothermal reactions [Gillan et. al., J. Mater. Chem., 2006, 38, 3774], hot injection methods [Battaglia and Peng, Nano Lett., 2002, 2, 1027], simple heating processes [Van Patten et. al., Chem. Mater., 2006, 18, 3915], continuous flow reactions [US2006087048] and microwave assisted synthesis [Strouse et. al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2005, 127, 15791].
Nitride nanocrystals have been produced before by Sharp [UK Patent applications GB2467161, GB2482311, and GB2467162]. However, the synthesis method included a long ligand and required temperatures in excess of 150° C.
WO 2008/094292 proposes the growth of a nitride nanocrystal shell, for a nanocrystal having a core of a group II alloyed I-III-VI material, by the pyrolysis (that is, thermal decomposition) of organometallic precursors in a chelating ligand solution.
JP 2004/307679 proposes the gaseous phase growth of indium nitride nanoparticles using triethylindium and nitrogen as precursors.
US 2008/160306 proposes a nanostructure growth method in which a molecular cluster compound is used to seed the growth of nanoparticles from a reaction mixture.
WO 2010/118279 proposes the growth of a metal sulphide shell around a nanocrystal core using zinc acetate as the metal precursor in formation of a zinc sulphide shell.
GB 2429838 and GB 2472541 propose methods for the synthesis of nanocrystals of ZnS, ZnSe, CdS etc. The use of organometallic precursors is mentioned, although both documents investigate other materials in view of the handling difficulties described as associated with organometallic compounds.

Method of synthesising nitride nanocrystals


A method, apparatus, and computer instructions for managing messages. A viewport is displayed on a display in association with a chat window in which the viewport defines an area on the display. The image is defined as graphical data in the area defined by the viewport to form a selected image in response to a user input to select an image. A marker is placed in a text message in the chat window in which the marker is associated with the selected image.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system and in particular, to a method and apparatus for managing data transfers. Still more particularly, the present invention provides a method, apparatus, and computer instructions for managing the exchange of data in an instant message system.
2. Description of Related Art
Instant messaging is an online chat medium, allowing users to communicate with each other and collaborate in real-time over a network data processing system. Instant messaging is commonly used over the Internet. Instant messaging applications monitor and report the status of users that have established each other as online contacts. This information is typically presented to a user in a window. Instant messaging applications also are often used by users conducting business. By utilizing instant messaging, business users can view each other's availability and initiate a text conversation with colleagues or customers when a desired contact becomes available. Millions of users communicate using instant messaging systems every day. With instant messaging becoming an important part of a both personal and business communications, functionality and usability enhancements are important to the continued success of this type of communication tool.
Other instant messaging type tools include collaboration applications, which allow for real time collaboration. Microsoft Net meeting, available from Microsoft, provide a discussion or chat function with a built-in sharing of external applications or whiteboards. These types of messaging programs are useful, but also include various problems. For example, image sharing is typically formed at an application window or desktop level. Alternatively, a cut and paste function may send images to a shared whiteboard. Application level sharing may be problematic because a mixture of private and public content may be present.
For example, a spreadsheet may contain shareable information, such as names of employees and their expertise as well as non-shareable information, such as payroll information. Restricting images that are transferred may be performed through a shared whiteboard through a copy and paste function. Through this copy and paste function, information that is shareable may be selected and pasted to the shared whiteboard. This feature, however, often is awkward and adds extra manual steps because many applications to not allow selective screen copying. As a result, the user may be required to employ an external screen capture program.
Further, in some cases, the shared image is too large or complex to be shared on a whiteboard or through an application. In this case, a user is required to resort to pointing and highlighting portions of the image to focus the discussion. Such a requirement adds extra manual steps. Text or recorded audio may be logged by these tools. An additional problem is correlating the text or recorded audio discussion with the images. The onscreen interaction plays in real time and is not stored or logged with the discussion. Therefore, it is often difficult to correlate or recreate the focus of the discussion at a later time.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have an improved method, apparatus, and computer instructions for providing collaboration in which text and images may be easily shared.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

International Business Machines Corporation


A method and apparatus for managing the delivery of component parts and tooling to a robotic welding assembly positioned on a motor vehicle body assembly line. Automatic guided vehicles deliver component parts from a source of parts to a parts staging area on the robotic welding assembly including a substage awaiting area, a substage in-use area and a substage empty area, and further automatic guided vehicles deliver tooling from a tooling management area to the robotic welding assembly whereafter the tooling, upon model changeover, is moved to a tooling use area proximate the assembly line whereafter, upon further model changeover, the tooling is removed from the tooling use area and loaded onto an automatic guided vehicle for return to the tooling management area.

This invention relates to motor vehicle manufacturing and more particularly to a high density welding body shop to facilitate manufacture of motor vehicle bodies.
Whereas a myriad of vehicle body shop configurations have been proposed or implemented, the typical motor body shop continues to require large amounts of manpower, continues to consume a large factory footprint, continues to require complex equipment and procedures to supply component parts to the assembly line, and continues to require complex equipment and procedures to exchange tooling to facilitate model changeover.


An information processing apparatus includes: a main control unit that executes processing based on an operating system (OS) and that changes to a low power consumption mode to stop some functions including a display unit while making a predetermined function work; a setting information storage unit that stores a usage status mode based on usage status and setting information in association with one another, where the setting information indicates whether to stop the predetermined function implemented by a device driver added to the OS in the low power consumption mode; a mode control unit that changes the main control unit to the low power consumption mode; and a change processing unit that changes a stopped state of the predetermined function.

In recent years, there has been known a technique for providing a low power consumption state (for example, S0ix state) that can be restored by an event-driven OS (Operating System) or application in an information processing apparatus such as a laptop personal computer (hereinafter a laptop PC). Further, for example, in Windows 10 (Windows is a registered trademark), Modern Standby using such an S0ix state is contained to achieve low power consumption by Modern Standby while making some functions work.                [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 6409240
However, the conventional information processing apparatus described above cannot set freely whether to stop functions managed by device drivers or the like in the low power consumption mode such as the Modern Standby. Therefore, the conventional information processing apparatus cannot set stopped functions properly according to the usage status, and hence may increase power consumption.

Information processing apparatus and control method


A grain auger mover assembly is disclosed which may be used to move and raise a swing hopper auger associated therewith. The grain auger mover of this invention is remotely controlled.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a remotely controlled mover which is attached to the swing hopper auger tube of a grain auger so that the swing hopper may be moved with respect to the main auger tube of the grain auger. The mover may also be used to raise the swing hopper to a transport position and to lower the swing hopper from the transport position to a ground engaging position.
2. Description of the Related Art
A type of grain auger commonly used to auger grain is referred to as a swing or truck hopper grain auger or simply a swing auger. The conventional swing augers normally include a wheel-supported main auger having upper and lower ends. A ground engaging swing hopper assembly is operatively pivotally connected to the main auger so that the swing hopper may be selectively pivotally moved with respect to the main auger so that the swing hopper may be operatively positioned with respect to a grain truck or the like. The swing hoppers are very heavy and are difficult to manually move and to lift to a transport position.
Although movers have been previously provided for moving swing hoppers, it is not believed that movers have been previously provided which may also be used to move the swing hopper with respect to the main auger and also raise the swing hopper for transport. It is also believed that the prior art swing augers are generally raised for transport by a winch either operated manually or by hydraulic motors that are connected to a tractor-hydraulic system. The later arrangement requires that a tractor be running to power the hydraulic system.

Swing hopper mover including means to lift the same to a transport position


Embodiments provide systems, methods, and non-transitory computer storage media for providing search result images based on associations of keywords and depth-levels of an image. In embodiments, depth-levels of an image are identified using depth-map information of the image to identify depth-segments of the image. The depth-segments are analyzed to determine keywords associated with each depth-segment based on objects, features, or content in each depth-segment. An image depth-level data structure is generated by matching keywords generated for the entire image with the keywords at each depth-level and assigning the depth-level to the keyword in the image depth-level data structure for the entire image. The image depth-level data structure may be queried for images that contain keywords and depth-level information that match the keywords and depth-level information specified in a search query.

Today, users have gigabytes of storage space to collect and save thousands of images on their devices using local or cloud storage solutions. Due to the abundance of images, it can be difficult for users to locate images with certain content or features. However, search functionality in image-based storage applications and services is a common feature. Popular image sharing applications include searching tools such as dedicated search engines. The search functions integrated in these applications and services typically allow a user to type keywords in a search bar and automatically display all related images found in the user's catalog based on the image tags or labels. Typically, these applications use machine learning algorithms to automatically tag images. These tags describe the content of an image with relevant keywords. Thus, when a user types a keyword search in the search bar of an image sharing application, the application returns resulting images that match any of the identified keywords. These methods enable users to find stored images based on the tags associated with each image without looking through every image.
Existing image search techniques do not adequately handle positioning of objects in images when conducting a search query. Conventional image search systems allow users to search for images using keywords which are based on tags associated with images. However, these traditional image search systems are unable to handle searches for images based on a specific background or foreground because the searches combine keywords with logical operators to provide relevant images. As a result, all the images with an object specified in a search query will be provided regardless of the object's position. Thus, existing search systems cannot easily locate images with objects or features at a specific position. As a result, conventional systems may not evaluate any other criteria besides tagged keywords associated with images when performing a search.

Methods and systems for depth-aware image searching


A method and a electronic circuit, the method includes: sending to a switching circuit, to a state retention power gating (SRPG) circuit and to a first power source a control signal indicating that the SRPG circuit should operate in a functional mode; coupling, by the switching circuit, a third power grid to a first power grid; supplying power from the first power source to the SRPG circuit via the first power grid, the switching circuit and the third power grid; supplying power from a second power source to a second circuit via a second power grid; sending to the switching circuit, to the SRPG circuit and to the first power source a control signal indicating that the SRPG circuit should operate in a state retention mode; coupling, by the switching circuit, the third power grid to the second power grid; supplying power from the second power source to the SRPG circuit via the second power grid, the switching circuit and the third power grid; supplying power from the second power source to the second circuit via the second power grid; and storing, by the SRPG state information.

State retention power gating (SRPG) is an effective strategy that is widely used to help reducing power consumption of an integrated circuit while maintaining the same levels of performance and functionality.
A SRPG flip-flop may operate in a functional mode or in a state retention mode. In the functional mode, the SRPG flip-flop performs its primary function, such as processing or storing bits. When in the state retention mode the SRPG flip-flop stores state information that is indicative of a state of the SRPG flip-flop at the end of the functional mode preceding the entry into the state retention mode. The power consumption of the SRPG flip-flop, when in the state retention mode, is lower than the power consumption of the SRPG flip-flop when in the functional mode.
The SRPG flip-flop is connected to a gated power grid and to a non-gated power grid. The non-gated power grid provides power to the SRPG flip-flop when the SRPG flip-flop is in the state retention mode and also provides power to the SRPG flip-flop when in the functional mode. The gated power grid provides power to the SRPG flip-flop only when the SRPG flip-flop in the functional mode.
The gated power grid and the non-gated power grid may be connected to a power source that provides power regardless of the operational mode of the SRPG flip-flop. Typically, the gated power grid may be connected to the power source via multiple switches. However, the placement of these switches may be very problematic in dense integrated circuit and especially in flip-chip package integrated circuits in which power source pins are positioned above the semiconductor real estate.

Electronic circuit and method for state retention power gating


An optical semiconductor device is disclosed that comprises a quantum-well structure as an active region and exhibits a nonlinear optical effect with regard to light of energy near the band gap between the allowed band edges in the active region. The quantum-well structure of this device is composed of alternate layers consisting of at least one first semiconductor layer with a thickness smaller than the de Broglie wavelength of carriers and at least two second semiconductor layers with a band gap greater than that of the first semiconductor layer, the alternate layers being formed along a crystal orientation in the zinc-blende structure. The second semiconductor layers mentioned above are of an indirect transition type.

1. Field of the invention
This invention relates to an optical semiconductor device such as an optical modulator, an optical switch, and the like, which utilizes a nonlinear effect caused by excitons in the semiconductor layers thereof.
2. Description of the prior art
In recent years, optical semiconductor devices such as optical modulators, optical bistable devices, and the like have been extensively developed in order to realize superhigh speed optical communication, optical logic circuits, and the like. Of great interest as a means to achieve these objectives, there can be mentioned a device structure utilizing a quantum-well effect, in which tens to hundreds of two kinds of very thin semiconductor layers with different band gaps are alternately formed into a quantum-well structure. The term quantum-well structure used herein refers to a thin-layer structure composed of alternate layers consisting of first semiconductor layers with a thickness smaller than the de Broglie wavelength of about 200 .ANG. to 300 .ANG. with respect to electrons or holes and second semiconductor layers with a band gap greater than that of the first semiconductor layer. In recent years, epitaxial growth techniques such as molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MO-CVD), etc., have been deVeloped, by which such a thin-layer structure can be produced readily.
Because each layer in the multiple quantum-well structure has a very small thickness, electrons and holes in the multiple quantum-well layer cannot move freely in the direction of thickness, so that they have a strong tendency to be confined two-dimensionally in the plane perpendicular to the direction of thickness. Moreover, the bound energy of an exciton into which an electron and a hole are bound together by their Coulombic attraction is increased because of the two-dimensional confinement of electrons and holes, so that excitons occur under heat energy at room temperature. There are proposed several optical semiconductor devices utilizing such excitons present at room temperature, which include an electric field effect optical modular. FIG. 6 shows a sectional view of a conventional electric field effect optical modulator, which is produced as follows: On a (100)-oriented n-GaAs substrate 60, an n-Al.sub.0.3 Ga.sub.0.7 As layer 61, a multiple quantum-well (MQW) layer (composed of alternate layers consisting of fifty undoped GaAs well layers 62 of a thickness of 100 .ANG. each and forty-nine undoped Al.sub.0.3 Ga.sub.O.7 As barrier layers 63 of a thickness of 100 .ANG. each), a p-Al.sub.0.3 Ga.sub. O.7 As layer 64, and a p-GaAs layer 65 are successively grown. Then, by photolithography and chemical etching techniques, the central portion of each of the n-GaAs substrate 60 and the p-GaAs layer 65 is removed into a circular shape with a diameter of 200 .mu.m, resulting in circular windows 66. Next, an n-sided electrode 67 and a p-sided electrode 68 are formed on the back and upper faces of this device other than the circular windows, respectively.
FIG. 7 shows the band edges when an electric field is applied to the above-mentioned optical modulator, and FIG. 8 shows absorption spectra obtained when the optical modulator is irradiated with light through the circular window. When an appropriate forward voltage is applied across the p-n junction of the optical modulator, the multiple quantum well becomes flat as shown in FIG. 7a, and the wave functions of both electrons and holes in the conduction band and the valence band have a maximum value at the center of each of the well layers, so that the transition matrix element represented by the following formula (1) has a large value, resulting in large transition probability: EQU <.PSI..sub.c .vertline.P.vertline..PSI..sub.v > (1)
where .PSI..sub.c and .PSI..sub.v are wave functions of electrons and holes in the first quantum state, respectively, and P is momentum operator. In contrast, when a reversed bias voltage is applied across the p-n junction, the band edges incline as shown in FIG. 7b, and the .PSI..sub.c and the .PSI..sub.v are biased in the opposite directions to each other, so that spacial overlaps between these wave functions become small. Therefore, the matrix element of the formula (1) has a small value, resulting in a reduction of transition probability. At the same time, the quantum states Ec and Ev of electrons and holes shift to the lower energy side. The absorption spectra shown in FIG. 8 reflect such an effect. The absorption spectrum la shown in FIG. 8(a) is obtained in the case where bands are flat as shown in FIG. 7a, and there is a sharp peak E.sub.H at the absorption edge, corresponding to the exciton transition of electrons and heavy holes. On the other hand, when a reversed bias voltage is being applied, the absorption peak E.sub.H shifts to the lower energy side and the height thereof decreases. The second absorption peak E.sub.L that appears in each spectrum corresponds to an exciton transition of electrons and light holes.
The above-mentioned optical modulator with the multiple quantum well is irradiated with light of a wavelength corresponding to energy h.gamma. shown in FIG. 8 through one of the circular windows, and the intensity of light emitted from the other circular window can be modulated by means of an applied voltage. In the situation of FIGS. 7a and 8(a), incident light is almost absorbed into the absorption peak E.sub.H at the band edge, so that the intensity of emitted light becomes small. On the other hand, in the situation of FIGS. 7b and 8(b), the absorption edge peak E.sub.H shifts to the lower energy side and the height thereof decreases, so that the absorbance with respect to the incident light of energy h.gamma. is remarkably decreased, resulting in an increase in the emitted light intensity.
In such an optical modulator, the modulation index of emitted light is determined by the height of the absorption curve on the higher energy side of the peak E.sub.H shown in FIG. 8. There is another absorption peak E.sub.L, which corresponds to an exciton transition of electrons and light holes, on the higher energy side of the peak E.sub.H, so that when a voltage is applied to the optical modulator, incident light of energy h.gamma. is absorbed into the peak E.sub.L. There has been proposed a semiconductor device using the quantum effect of one dimension in which such an influence of the peak E.sub.L is reduced (T. Hayakawa et al. U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 159,797, U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,836). As an example of this semiconductor device, an optical modulator produced on a (111)-oriented GaAs substrate is disclosed therein, whereas a conventional optical modulator is produced on a (100)-oriented GaAs substrate. FIG. 9 compares photoluminescene excitation spectra of multiple quantum wells above the (100)-oriented and the (111)-oriented substrates at 77K. As seen from this figure, when the (111)-oriented multiple quantum well is used, the energy separation between the peaks E.sub.H and E.sub.L becomes large and the height of the peak E.sub.H is greater than that of the peak E.sub.L. This is due to the anisotropy of the heavy-holes band in the [100] and [111] directions. That is, the effective mass of heavy holes in the [111] direction is greater than in the [100] direction and the energy levels of heavy holes rise only slightly from the bottom of the quantum well, so that the peak E.sub.H shifts to the lower energy side, resulting in an increase in the energy separation between the peaks E.sub.H and E.sub.L. Moreover, this is because the effective mass of heavy holes in the (111) plane is greater than in the (100) plane, so that the state density of heavy holes within the quantum well becomes large, resulting in an increase in transition probability. The use of such an effect makes it possible to increase the height of the absorption curve on the higher energy side of the peak E.sub.H, so that the modulation amplitude of emitted light can be increased.
As a typical example of other conventional optical semiconductor devices, there can be mentioned an optical bistable device utilizing exciton peaks such as a self-electrooptic effect device (SEED) proposed by Miller et al., which is described in detail in the following article: D.A.B. Miller, D.S. Chemla, T.C. Damen, T.H. Wood, C.A. Bvrrus, Tr, A.C. Gossard, and W. Wigmann, "The quantum well self-electrooptic effect device, optoelectronic bistability and oscillation, and self-linearized modulation," IEEE, J. Quantum Electron , vol.Qe-21, pp. 1462(1985).
The operating principle of this optical switch will hereinafter be explained briefly. FIG. 3 shows the optical switch in which the multiple quantum-well device shown in FIG. 6 is connected in series with an external resistor R and a constant reversed bias voltage is applied between both sides of the multiple quantum-well device. When the multiple quantum-well device is irradiated through one of the circular windows with light of photoenergy near the band gap between the band edges at the time when no voltage is applied, an absorption coefficient for incident light at the time when a voltage is applied becomes small because of the Stark effect of the quantum well as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. Raising the intensity of the incident light increases a photocurrent that arises from the absorption of the incident light, so that while a voltage drop with respect to the external resistor R is increased, a voltage applied to the multiple quantum well is lowered. Therefore, the absorption spectrum of the multiple quantum well at the time when a voltage is applied approaches the absorption spectrum la shown in FIG. 8(a).
When resonance occurs between the energy of incident light and the exciton transition energy of electrons and heavy holes, the absorbance of the multiple quantum well increases, and the amount of emitted light rapidly decreases. Even if the amount of the incident light is lowered under such a condition, optical output power is maintained at a low level because of a large photocurrent that arises from the exciton absorption, resulting in a hysteresis as shown in FIG. 10. In this kind of optical switch, the ON/OFF ratio of bistable output power is determined by the depth of the absorption curve on the higher energy side of the peak E.sub.H shown in FIG. 8. Therefore, a large ON/OFF ratio of the bistable output power can be obtained by use of a (111)-oriented quantum well.


A mobile communication system includes a first base station and one or more base stations whose information is included in adjacent-base-station information notified by the first base station. The mobile communication system includes a transmitting unit that transmits information on one or more base stations whose information is not included in the adjacent-base-station information to a mobile station, and a position detecting unit that, by using the one or more base stations whose information is not included in the adjacent-base-station information, detects a position of the mobile station.

As an example of mobile communication systems, in recent years, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) works toward the standardization of wireless communication systems called Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX). WiMAX has two standards. One is IEEE 802.16d for fixed subscriber stations, and the other is IEEE 802.16e for mobile subscriber stations (hereinafter, "mobile stations"). The standardization of IEEE 802.16m, which is the next generation of IEEE 802.16e, is also in progress.
Mobile stations based on IEEE 802.16e or the like perform wireless communication with a macro base station operating in a wired network called an access service network (ASN). The macro base station performs wireless communication with mobile stations within a range (hereinafter, "macro cell") where radio waves transmitted from the macro base station are received. Various methods for detecting the position of a mobile station have been studied for a wireless communication system in which wired base stations such as macro base stations operate. Specifically, for example, the position of the mobile station can be detected based on transmission delays and the power loss of signals transmitted between the base station and the mobile station. According to the methods, a mobile station performs signal transmission/reception with a plurality of base stations, and the position of the mobile station is calculated based on, for example, the coordinates of each of the base stations and transmission delays of signals. Published Japanese Translation of PCT Application No. 2003-520532 and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2004-301850 disclose technologies for measuring the radio wave environment between the mobile station and the base stations, and calculating the position of the mobile station based on the measurement result.
The IEEE 802.16e defines that a macro base station broadcasts a message (MOB_NBR-ADV: mobile neighbor advertisement) that includes information on adjacent macro base stations. Accordingly, the mobile station may receive the message from the macro base station to determine one or more macro base stations to/from which signals can be transmitted/received. The first macro base station, which is in communication with the mobile station, and the other macro base station which is adjacent to the first macro base station may perform signal transmission/reception with the mobile station to detect the position of the mobile station.
A macro base station is generally large and installed outdoors, and a macro cell is also relatively large. Accordingly, if the macro base station is installed, wireless communication can be performed in a relatively wide range. However, sufficient communication quality cannot be obtained inside a building and the like where radio waves are hard to reach.
Accordingly, in the WiMAX, an introduction of a femto base station that is smaller than the macro base station has been investigated. The femto base station is mainly installed inside a building such as a house, and although a range (hereinafter, "femto cell") in which transmitted radio waves can reach is relatively narrow, it is possible to provide wireless communication service to mobile stations.
As described earlier, the macro base station broadcasts information related to adjacent macro base stations. The broadcasted information (hereinafter, "adjacent-station information"), however, does not include information on femto base stations. Accordingly, the mobile station cannot easily identify a femto base station to/from which signals can be transmitted/received. Consequently, it is difficult to use a femto base station to detect the position of the mobile station.

Mobile communication system and position detection method


A radio access network includes a transport network layer; a radio network layer having a layer 2 network for communicating between entities within the radio network layer by exchanging datagrams having a predetermined format used only within the radio network layer. Accordingly, the present invention provides for a true decoupling at layer 2 between the radio network layer and the transport network layer.

FIG. 1 illustrates a known reference model for a radio access network (RAN). A base station controller/radio network controller (BSC/RNC) 10 is coupled to a plurality of wireless base station 12, 14, 16, 18 via a radio access network 20. The radio access network can be modeled as a radio network layer (RNL) 22 and a transport network layer 24 and three planes intersecting those layers, a radio network control plane 26, a transport network control plane 28 and a user plane 30. The network may be leased from a service provider (SP) or owned by the wireless service operator.
In operation, the transport network layer (TNL) receives a request from the RNL to establish a bi-directional transport bearer for datagram traffic. The request includes the end system address and transport bearer association received from the peer. It also includes the quality of service and resources required from the transport network. In summary it shall:                Provide unique connection identifiers such that individual flows can be uniquely addressed for both user plane as well as control plane (eg VPI, VCI, CID in AAL2/ATM);        Provide in-sequence delivery of PDUs to upper layers;        Support sending coordinated dedicated channels (DCHs) multiplexed onto the same transport bearer (i.e., frame multiplexing, e.g. AAL2/ATM);        Provide proper mappings of required RNL bearer channels QoS to TNL resources (eg AALx in ATM); Provide transport signalling protocol used to setup and tear down transport bearers (eg ALCAP in 3GPP r3);        Provide segmentation and re-assembly mechanism in order to fit to the maximum PDU size (i.e., R3 ATM AAL2 SSSAR layer function);
FIG. 2 illustrates a known RAN network system model. The RAN network system model includes the wireless base station controller 10, the wireless base station 12 and an intervening transport network (TRAN) 40. The TRAN 40 includes points of attachment (PoA) 42 and 44 and intranetwork switching collectively represented by function block 46. For the system model of FIG. 2 the current network connectivity model is a peering model. For the peering model: User traffic is "peered" with Service Provider's network at point of attachment (PoA) via rudimentary/sophisticated User Network Interface (UNI). In this model, user quality of service (QoS) requirements are snooped by the SP or signaled from user to the SP (via the UNI interface) in order to satisfy required QoS guarantees.
Consequently wireless datagrams need to be processed by both wireless end points and SP TRAN equipment. This means all sub-systems need to have common understanding of: QoS information, Signaling capabilities and Flow segregation ID across PoA. The known RNL peering connectivity model imposes upon the TNL the need to also implement a peering connection-oriented model; current implementations of datagram addressing are peering-like, coupling RNL 22 (DCH-ID, etc) and TNL 24 (AAL2 CID, etc) identifiers.
Emerging connectionless protocols, such as IP are being proposed as the new TNL transport mechanism and will have to meet connection-oriented requirements
In order to use connectionless IP, development of mechanisms to offer connection-oriented capabilities to wireless TNL layer needs to take place.

Transport for wireless radio access networks

Abstract: Addressing at layer 2 can enable both connectionless and connection oriented using an overlay connectivity model. Layer 2 in the radio network layer is implemented as an Ethernet network.


A method of manufacturing an electrode includes a preparatory step of preparing an electrode matrix comprising a collector and an active material containing layer formed on at least one face of the collector, at least one edge part of the collector including an exposed surface free of the active material containing layer, an edge part of the active material containing layer on a side close to the exposed surface including a thinner part having a thickness smaller than a maximum thickness of the active material containing layer; and a roll-pressing step of pressing the electrode matrix with a roll press.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an electrode and the electrode; and, more specifically, to a method of manufacturing an electrode used in electrochemical devices encompassing electrochemical capacitors such as electric double layer capacitors and secondary batteries such as lithium-ion secondary batteries, and the electrode.
2. Related Background Art
Electrochemical devices encompassing electrochemical capacitors such as electric double layer capacitors and secondary batteries such as lithium-ion secondary batteries can easily reduce their sizes and weights, and thus are expected to become power supplies or backup power supplies for portable devices (small-size electronic devices), for example, auxiliary power supplies for electric cars and hybrid cars, etc., and various studies have been underway in order to improve their performances. In the case where a large capacity is required as in a power supply for an electric car in particular, the development of electrochemical devices having a large capacity per unit volume of electrodes (hereinafter referred to as "volume capacity") has been desired.
Electrodes used in such an electrochemical device has a laminate structure including a collector and an active material containing layer, and can be made, for example, by applying a coating liquid containing a constituent material of the active material containing layer onto a surface of the collector and drying the liquid (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-106332).
Here, the coating liquid is applied to the collector surface such that a predetermined region, e.g., an edge part of the collector, attains an exposed state. When an exposed surface is thus provided in a part of the collector surface, an exposed part of the collector including the exposed surface can be used as an external output terminal for establishing an electric connection to the outside. Drying after applying the coating liquid can yield a laminate (a laminate to become an electrode) including a laminate part in which the active material containing layer is formed on the collector and the exposed part in which no active material containing layer is formed on the collector.

Method of manufacturing electrode and electrode


A superconducting magnet apparatus has two or more divided superconducting coils successively arrayed in series and a magnetic shield. The divided superconducting coils arrayed in the axial direction are successively electrically connected in series, and protective diodes are connected between two connection points symmetrically-located with respect to the center of the serially-connected superconducting coil array as a reference.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a superconducting magnet with a magnetic shield for generating a highly uniform magnetic field for use in a magnetic resonance diagnosis apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In magnets for a magnetic resonance diagnosis apparatus, a high-intensity uniform magnetic field must be generated in an image-photographing space of an opening of the magnet. A conventional magnet presents a problem in that, when such a magnetic field is generated, the magnetic field leaks to the outside and exerts a bad influence on peripheral devices. Therefore, magnetic coils are enclosed by a ferromagnetic substance so as to shut off magnetic fields.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a magnet with a magnetic shield disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-281410. In FIG. 2, a superconducting field coil 1 wound around a reel (not shown) is housed in a cryostat 2. A magnetic shield 3 provided in such a manner as to enclose the cryostat 2 comprises a cylindrical yoke 4 and an end plate 5 having a central opening 6.
Since electromagnets for a magnetic resonance diagnosis apparatus are required to generate a highly uniform static magnetic field, the field coil 1 is usually composed of two or more divided coils and the arrangement thereof is determined in such a way that a highly uniform magnetic field can be obtained by taking the magnetic shield 3 into account. The field coil 1 and the magnetic shield 3 are arranged in such a manner so as to be positioned symmetrically with respect to the axial direction of the coil, because if they are unsymmetric with respect to the center O of the coil and the axial direction X of the coil, a gradient magnetic field is generated and the uniformity of the magnetic field decreases.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the placement of the coils of a superconducting magnet, for example, separated into six sections. The field coil 1 comprises end-section superconducting coils 7a and 7f, intermediate-section superconducting coils 7b and 7e, and central-section superconducting coils 7c and 7d. These superconducting coils 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e, and 7f are wound in a state in which they are placed in series. Next, an example of the connection of a conventional superconducting magnet apparatus is shown in FIG. 4. In FIG. 4, superconducting coils 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e, and 7f are successively wound in series. Protective diodes 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, 8e, and 8f are respectively connected in parallel to these superconducting coils, as shown in FIG. 4. A persistent current switch 9 is connected between both ends of these serially-connected six superconducting coils, forming a closed circuit.
In such a superconducting magnet formed as described above, a current in the circuit circulates through the closed circuit passing through the persistent current switch 9 through the superconducting coils 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e, and 7f, and thus a persistent current condition is maintained. In such a state, no current flows through the superconducting coil protective diodes 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, 8e, and 8f. The superconducting coils 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e, and 7f and the magnetic shield 3 are positioned symmetrically with each other, and no non-equilibrium electromagnetic force will be generated.
On the other hand, in superconducting magnets, a transition to a normal conducting state sometimes occurs in superconducting coils which is caused by thermal or electromagnetic disturbance applied to the superconducting coils. If a transition to a normal conducting state occurs, electrical resistance appears inside the superconducting coils and the current attenuates rapidly. At this time, a voltage generated by the electrical resistance and an inductance voltage induced by the attenuation of the current are generated in the coil in which a transition to a normal conducting state transition has been generated. A voltage caused by the current attenuation is also induced in coils in which no normal conduction transition has occurred. When the voltage generated due to these normal conduction transitions exceeds a turn-on voltage of protective diodes 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, 8e, and 8f, the diodes are turned on, causing both ends of the superconducting coils to be shorted. This short-circuit enables a voltage generated in the superconducting coils to be suppressed, thereby preventing insulation breakdown.
For example, a case in which the end-section superconducting coil 7a makes a transition to a normal conducting state in FIG. 4 will be considered. Electrical resistance appears in the superconducting coil 7a and the current in the superconducting coil 7a attenuates rapidly. However, a current which circulates through the superconducting coils 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e, and 7f flows through the circuit passing through the persistent current switch 9 after passing through the protective element 8a. The current is hardly attenuated because the resistance inside the circuit is small, but on the contrary the current attenuation sometimes increases due to the induction by changes in the current of the superconducting coil 7a. Therefore, the current flowing through the superconducting coil 7a becomes smaller than the current flowing through superconducting coils 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e, and 7f if a transition to a normal conducting state occurs in the superconducting coil 7a. Consequently, the axial current distribution of the superconducting coil group becomes asymmetric with respect to the center of the magnetic shield. As a result, a non-equilibrium electromagnetic force is generated between the superconducting coils 7b, 7c, 7d, 7e, and 7f and the magnetic shield 3. Hence, a superconducting coil support construction (not shown) must have a strength which can withstand this non-equilibrium electromagnetic force. As a consequence, there arises a problem in that the apparatus is complex in construction and expensive.
As a method for preventing such a non-equilibrium electromagnetic force, the connection of FIG. 5 is used in the prior art. That is, among separately placed superconducting coils, superconducting coils 7a and 7f, 7b and 7e, and 7c and 7d, which are positioned symmetrically to each other, are connected in series, forming coil pairs. These superconducting coil pairs are each connected in series, and pairs of protective diodes 10a, 10b, and 10c are connected in parallel between both ends of each of the above-described superconducting coil pairs respectively, as shown. In this connection, even when a transition to a normal conducting state occurs in any one of the superconducting coils and protective diodes are turned on, since a coil pair in which two superconducting coils positioned in symmetry are connected in series are shorted by corresponding protective diodes, the currents of the superconducting coils positioned symmetrically are equal to each other and no equilibrium electromagnetic force will be generated. However, this method has drawbacks in that lead wires for connecting the coils are long because superconducting coils successively connected in series are spaced apart as coils positioned spatially symmetrically must be connected in series, and therefore, the wiring is intertwined and complex and the characteristics are liable to be unstable.

Superconducting magnet apparatus with a magnetic shield


The invention discloses a circumferential laser dynamic display device, including an inner frame, having an inner frame pattern with multiframe microstructures made on surface; a sheet metal part, at least provided with first and second through holes, wherein the inner frame pattern is directly irradiated by a first beam of laser through the first through hole and by a second beam of laser through the second through hole; and a rotating shaft, with one end fixedly connected with a driving shaft, and the other end rotatably connected with the inner frame pattern. The rotating shaft can drive the inner frame pattern to do translational movement when rotating; wherein the translational movement of the inner frame enables the inner frame pattern to do circumferential movement relative to laser. The dynamic display device disclosed by the invention has simple structure, reasonable design and low production cost, and achieves circumferential dynamic image display.

As is well known, a laser lamp is mainly composed of three parts including a laser light source, a mechanical movement mechanism and a diffractive optical element, wherein micro/nano-scale microstructures are processed on the surface of the diffractive optical element. The diffractive optical element can be used for outputting incident dot laser as a required image by utilizing a diffractive effect of the micro/nano-scale structures on light. Due to the characteristics of high brightness and high collimation of the laser, the laser lamp can achieve long-distance and high-brightness image display, thereby having been rapidly developed on European and American markets and the domestic market in recent years.
Although laser lamps have been used for over 10 years, at present, most of laser lamp products on the market can only display static images. In order to enrich the representation content and improve the representation effect, the laser lamp is required to achieve dynamic display of an image, namely arbitrary image transformation, image translation and image rotation. The problem urgent to be solved in the industry is to achieve an ideal dynamic display effect of the laser lamp serving as a mass consumer product on the premise that the cost and the system complexity are not increased obviously. In order to achieve a good dynamic image display effect, overall optimization is required on the aspects of the optical design of the diffractive optical element, an arrangement way of each frame of images and a mechanical movement structure. At present, static images or combinations of static images without internal relations thereamong serve as mainstream laser lamp products, and a small number of products can achieve certain dynamic image display, however, the effect is unideal.
The existing solution for achieving a dynamic effect on the laser lamp mainly includes: each frame of patterns is arranged in a sector to form a ring, and the whole ring-shaped diffractive optical element do circumferential movement around the center of a circle. The solution has the advantages of simple and reliable structure and low cost, however, each frame of images can rotate around a rotation center in a display process to result in image swing to affect the display effect.
In order to achieve the dynamic image display of the laser lamp, it is required to take the three factors into comprehensive consideration: (1) the design for the optical structure of the diffractive optical element: in order to achieve dynamic display of images, a certain amount of microstructures are required to be made on the surface of the same diffractive optical element, and each of the different microstructures corresponds to a frame of images. In order to achieve translation and rotation effects of the images, design means such as central symmetry and off-axis are required to be comprehensively used on the optical design aspect of the diffractive optical element; (2) the design for geometric parameters of the diffractive optical element: in order to achieve the dynamic display of the images, a series of microstructures are required to be made on the surface of the diffractive optical element, and geometric parameters such as size of single microstructure, the relative position of the adjacent microstructure and the arrangement way of the microstructures directly affect the dynamic image display effect. The parameters are required to be determined by taking the response characteristic of human eyes or a detector and the movement characteristic of a mechanical movement structure of a diffractive optical device into comprehensive consideration; and (3) the design for the mechanical movement structure of the diffractive optical device: a relative translational movement is required between a laser beam and the diffractive optical device in order to achieve the dynamic display of the images. The smooth transition among different frames of images can be achieved only by matching the movement with the geometric design parameters of the diffractive optical device.
The information disclosed in the background is merely intended to strengthen the understanding of the overall background of the present invention, but should not be regarded as an admission or any-form suggestion that the information constitutes the prior art well known by the ordinary skilled in the art.

Circumferential laser dynamic display device

BEIJING CENTRAL PRESS UNION TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A gutter hanger system includes a gutter having an outer wall, an inner wall in spaced relation to the outer wall, and a base connecting the outer wall and the inner wall; a support surface supporting the inner wall; and a gutter hanger including opposing top and bottom ends, a coupling member located at the bottom end, and a retainer located at the top end. The gutter hanger is positioned intermediate the inner wall and the support surface, oriented in a downward direction, and the retainer is positioned atop the inner wall. A method for installing a gutter hanger system includes the steps of providing a gutter, providing a support surface to which an inner wall of the gutter is attached, inserting a gutter hanger intermediate the support surface and the inner wall of the gutter, and retaining a top end of the gutter hanger on the inner wall of the gutter.

The present invention relates generally to removable hangers and, more particularly, to a system for hanging objects from the roof gutter of a house or building.
Presently, there is no commonly used method of efficiently, inexpensively and properly suspending items from the roof gutter of a house or building. A variety of improvised materials such as tape, rope/string, commercial hooks, staples, nails and other materials are often used to hang a wide variety of items from the roof gutter of a house or building. All of these materials tend to detract attention from the items being suspended because of their unsightly appearance.
Specialized hooks are available for hanging holiday lights and the like on the exterior of roof gutters. However, these hooks typically can only bear a limited amount of weight without deforming the gutter. As such, these hooks are usually not useful for hanging heavier items, such as flower pots and bird feeders.
The present disclosure relates to an easily installed, inexpensive system for hanging items from the inside of a roof gutter of a house or building. The system provides a hanger that attaches to an exterior of the inner wall of the gutter, thereby not interfering with the normal function of the gutter and providing for the hanging of relatively heavy items from the gutter, all without deforming the gutter. The system also includes an installation/removal tool which is used to install the hanger onto, and to remove the hanger from, a typical roof gutter. A variety of items, such as bird feeders, flower pots, flags, banners, sun screens, insect repellents, security devices and holiday decorations and lighting, can easily and conveniently be hung from the hanger, which is attached to the roof gutter.
The hanger, in its illustrative configuration, is generally flat and rectangular in shape. The hanger is illustratively fabricated or molded from a rigid material, such as metal or plastic. An upper end of the hanger may have an angled or bevelled edge to facilitate insertion between the inner wall of the gutter and the fascia board of the house or building. The illustrative hanger is inserted between an exterior surface of the inner wall of the gutter and the fascia board of the house or building, approximately midway between two adjacent gutter spikes or hangers that secure the gutter to the fascia board of the house or building. A retainer, illustratively a hook or lip on the upper end of the hanger, below the bevelled edge, attaches to the upper edge of the inner wall of the gutter. In its installed position, the hanger illustratively extends below the bottom surface of the gutter and the bottom edge of the fascia board. Coupling members, such as a plurality of holes, are illustratively provided near the lower end of the hanger to provide for the hanging of a wide variety of items from the gutter.
The installation/removal tool is illustratively a two-fingered rigid device, in which the fingers are separated to define a receiving cavity having a width slightly greater than the width of the hanger. Each finger illustratively includes a wedging blade, tapered on the outside of each upper end to allow the fingers to be easily inserted between the inner wall of the gutter and the fascia board of the house or building. The lower ends of the fingers are rigidly connected by a base or handle, in which a notch is provided to allow a clearance for the easy insertion of the hanger into the receiving cavity. The installation/removal tool is illustratively fabricated or molded from a rigid material such as metal or plastic.
An illustrative method for installing a roof gutter hanger system includes the step of providing a roof gutter, the gutter including an outer wall, an inner wall substantially parallel to the outer wall, and a base connecting the outer wall and the inner wall. The illustrative method further includes the steps of providing a support surface to which the inner wall of the gutter is attached, inserting a gutter hanger intermediate the support surface and the inner wall of the gutter, and retaining an upper end of the gutter hanger on the inner wall of the gutter.
A method for installing a roof gutter hanger system, including use of the installation/removal tool to aid in hanger installation, is also disclosed. The installation/removal tool is inserted between the inner wall of the gutter and the fascia board of the house or building, approximately midway between two adjacent gutter spikes or hangers that secure the gutter to the fascia board of the house or building. The installation/removal tool provides for a separation between the gutter and the fascia board for the easy insertion of the hanger. Once the installation/removal tool is positioned between the gutter and the fascia board, the hanger is inserted between the two fingers of the tool. The hanger is then attached to the upper edge of the inner wall of the gutter. The installation/removal tool is next pulled down to remove it from between the inner wall of the gutter and the fascia board. To remove the hanger from the gutter, the installation/removal tool is again inserted, straddling the hanger, between the gutter and the fascia board. The hanger is then disconnected from the upper edge of the inner wall of the gutter and pulled down for its removal. It should be noted that the installed hanger is relatively inconspicuous and therefore may be left installed on the gutter between uses.
Additional features will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments exemplifying the best mode as presently perceived.

System and method for hanging objects from a roof gutter


A wetness sensing system includes a first wetness sensing article; a first signaling device producing a first signal upon sensing wetness in the first wetness sensing article, wherein the first signaling device is compatible with the first wetness sensing article; and a second signaling device producing a second signal upon sensing wetness in the first wetness sensing article, wherein the second signaling device is compatible with the first wetness sensing article. Also, a method for enhancing a wetness sensing system includes producing a wetness sensing absorbent article compatible with at least one component of the wetness sensing system, wherein the wetness sensing system includes as components a wetness sensing article and a first signaling device compatible with the wetness sensing article.

Absorbent articles such as diapers, training pants, incontinence products, feminine hygiene products, swim undergarments, and the like conventionally include a liquid permeable body-side liner, a liquid impermeable outer cover, and an absorbent core. The absorbent core is typically located in between the outer cover and the liner for taking in and retaining liquids (e.g., urine) exuded by the wearer.
The absorbent core can be made of, for instance, superabsorbent particles. Many absorbent particles, especially super absorbent particles, are so efficient at absorbing liquids that it is sometimes difficult to tell whether or not the absorbent article has been insulted with a body fluid.
Accordingly, various types of moisture or wetness indicators have been suggested for use in wetness sensing absorbent articles. The wetness indicators may include alarm devices that are designed to assist parents or attendants to identify a wet diaper condition quickly upon insult. The devices produce either a visual or an audible signal.
In some embodiments, for instance, inexpensive conductive threads or foils have been placed in the wetness sensing absorbent articles. The conductive materials serve as conductive leads for a signaling device and form an open circuit in the article that can be closed when a body fluid, such as urine, closes the circuit. In these embodiments, although the wetness sensing absorbent articles may be disposable, the signaling devices are not. Thus, the signaling devices are intended to be removed from the article and reattached to a subsequent article.
Problems, however, have been encountered in using such articles for training and/or notification purposes in that a user and/or a caregiver can lose interest in the articles to the point that the efficacy of toilet training and notification are adversely affected. In addition, systems are limited in their flexibility in that they cannot be adapted for different training situations or stages.


A MEMS sensor comprising preloaded suspension springs and a method for mechanically preloading suspension springs of a MEMS sensor are described. The MEMS sensor comprises a MEMS support structure; a plurality of suspension springs connected to the support structure; and, a proof mass flexibly suspended by the suspension springs; wherein at least one of the suspension springs is mechanically preloaded with a compressive force for reducing the natural frequency of said proof mass.

The discussion below is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Seismic sensor networks are used for seismic imaging in order to provide three-dimensional images allowing detailed examination of the Earth's structure and localization of oil and gas reservoirs. Accurate imaging is crucial for determining the optimal location of drilling and increasing the extraction of the oil or gas out of a reservoir.
Geophones, passive inertial velocity sensors, are the most widely used sensors in the seismic industry due to their good sensitivity (typically better than 10 ng/√Hz between 5 and 30 Hz), low cost and ruggedness. Nevertheless as described in Baeten G. et. al. D. 2013 "The use of low frequencies in a full-waveform inversion and impedance inversion land seismic case study" Geophysical Prospecting 61 701, the higher resolution in deep soil imaging aimed nowadays, requiring low noise vibration sensing at low frequencies (1-5 Hz), is challenging to achieve with standard geophones due to the 40 dB/decade drop of their response below the natural frequency of the proof mass suspension.
In principle, better signal-to-noise ratio could be achievable with lower (<10 Hz) natural frequency geophones, but the poorer achievable manufacturing tolerance in the mechanical parameters, the larger sensitivity of the mechanical response to the deployment angle and the larger distortion figure are considered major disadvantages. Use of arrays of 10 Hz geophones is common in field practice instead. For these reasons, inertial sensors have been developed on the basis of the micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology.
Typically these MEMS sensors include a proof mass that is suspended by springs and the movements of the mass may be detected by a capacitive read-out scheme. Force balance closed-loop configuration may be implemented by integrating electrostatic force actuators in the chip structure. Typically combs of interleaved finger-like structures, both in gap changing and linear configuration, are used for sensing and actuation (see an example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,563,343).
Major advantages of MEMS are considered flat-to-DC amplitude and phase frequency response, very low distortion and independency of the response on the deployment tilt angle. In principle MEMS are also suitable for low cost, high volume production. Self-noise wise, commercial MEMS seismic sensors with resolution better than 25 ng/√Hz above 3 Hz (sensible for oil exploration applications) are nowadays available as e.g. described in the article by Laine J., Mougenot D. 2014 "A high-sensitivity MEMS-based accelerometer" The Leading Edge 33 1234.
Nevertheless even better noise performance at low frequencies would be desirable to improve the quality of seismic imaging. The resolution in MEMS inertial sensors is limited first by the suspension Brownian noise, the level of which is set by the size of the proof mass and by the mechanical dissipation phenomena taking place in the chip. A general expression for the acceleration Brownian noise spectrum abr is given by (Eq. 1)
      a    br    =            1      m                          4                          K          B                                  T                                (                          D              +                                                k                                                                                ϕ                                                  2                                    π                                                                                f                                                      )                              where m is the proof mass, KB is the Boltzmann constant, T is the temperature, D is the viscous damping factor in [kg/s], k is the elastic contribution to the stiffness of the suspension, φ is the internal friction loss angle and f is the frequency. Viscous damping, due to gas drag and squeezed film effects, can be strongly mitigated by packaging the MEMS at low pressure; modern getter based solutions allow stable and reliable vacuum levels down to 1 mTorr. At these pressures the structural damping limit, due to the internal friction (φ≅10−6 for single crystal silicon) of springs and their anchors to the chip substrate, may be reached.
State-of-the-art MEMS seismic sensors achieve Brownian noise levels below 10 ng/√Hz by using proof masses from one to 30 milligrams, depending on the chip design and packaging pressures (see e.g. Milligan D. J. et. al. 2011 "An ultra-low noise MEMS accelerometer for seismic imaging" Proc. IEEE Sensor 2011 1281). The other limit to resolution is set by the readout noise, e.g. by the minimum proof mass displacement detectable by the built-in capacitance sensor. If xn is the equivalent displacement noise spectral density of the capacitance readout, the corresponding acceleration noise spectrum ard is given by (Eq. 2)
      a          r                                      d        =                    x        n            ·      4                  π      2                                                (                                          f                0                2                            -                              f                2                                      )                    2                +                              (                                                            k                                                                                ϕ                                                  2                                    π                                                                                m                                            +                              Df                m                                      )                    2                    where f0 is the sensor natural frequency. At f<f0 the Eq.2 simply reduces to an≅(2πf0)2xn. Therefore enhancement of sensitivity at low frequencies can be achieved by reducing either f0 or xn. Lowering the natural frequency requires lowering the stiffness of the suspension springs and/or increasing the mass of the proof mass.
These parameters are however dependent on the MEMS technology and there is little room for varying these parameters without a substantial increase of the complexity of the design and/or fabrication process. In particular it is challenging to create MEMS structures with low stiffness along a desired axis while maintaining high stiffness in the other directions; having spurious modes within the measurement frequency band is not desirable and for this reason state-of-the-art devices are designed with natural frequencies of a few hundreds Hz.
By taking advantage of the electrostatic non-linearity of gap changing sensing/actuation capacitive structures, the stiffness of the mass-spring system can be electrically controlled as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,852,242. In such a scheme, the dynamics of the mass-spring system is determined by an effective spring constant km+ke, wherein km is the mechanical spring constant and wherein ke is the electrostatic spring constant which has a negative value. In practical embodiments of U.S. Pat. No. 5,852,242 the MEMS inertial sensor structure is processed with a natural frequency of several hundreds of Hz, for the above-mentioned reasons.
Achieving, with the described method, a significant stiffness reduction on such a mechanical system, is only possible by using very narrow gaps in the capacitive structures, combined with large electrostatic forces applied to the sensor proof mass. This limitation can be simply clarified by considering the effect of a parallel plate electrostatic actuator (with gap d and capacitance C) on a mass m suspended by means of a spring with elastic stiffness km (and natural frequency f0): by applying a voltage V between the actuator plates, the electrostatic force on the mass is F=CV2/2d, while the electrostatic negative stiffness is ke=2F/d. By expressing F as a multiple of the suspended mass weight, e.g. F=Nmg, and being km=2πmf02, the electrostatic-to-elastic stiffness ratio is given by (Eq. 3)
            k      e              k      m        =      Ng          2                    π        2                          f        0        2                  d      For example, with f0=1000 Hz this ratio is approximately 0.5N/d(in micron) (Eq.4). Hence, in this case, achieving even only a factor of 2 stiffness reduction, it would require, for instance, to realize capacitive structures with 2 μm gaps and to apply to the proof-mass of the MEMS sensor static forces twice the weight of the proof-mass itself. Creating such structures is possible by means of relatively complex fabrication processes, like the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,871,544B1 in which different wafers are stacked on top of each other in order to realize the desired mass-spring and electrode configuration. Further, the need of small gaps implies that the sensor can only be implemented on the basis of a closed-loop configuration. The resolution of such commercially available sensors typically ranges in the order of 30 ng/√Hz.
Instead of reducing the stiffness of the proof mass suspension as in the above-described example, a capacitance readout as described in WO2010/107436 may be used to increase the sensitivity of the MEMS sensor. The readout, combined with a relatively large proof mass (around 30 mg) for limiting the Brownian motion amplitude, allows achieving a sensitivity of the order of 10 ng/√Hz. Such a performance can be obtained by operating the MEMS in open-loop configuration and by using a relatively stiff suspension system, e.g. a natural frequency of a few hundreds of Hz. An alternative means of improving the noise figure of the capacitive readout is described in US2008028857.
Further improvements in the resolution of MEMS inertial sensors may go through implementation of readout systems based on integrated optical interferometry, technology proven in laboratory devices but still requiring complex and expensive fabrication processes that make it, to date, not suitable for applications in large sensor networks.
Hence from the above, it follows that there is a need in the art for improved inertial MEMS sensors that have a sensitivity better than 10 ng/√Hz down to 1 Hz making use of conventional capacitance bridge readout and that are robust and simple to fabricate with high yield in a batch process.

MEMS sensor structure comprising mechanically preloaded suspension springs


An audio data transmitting device with a varying channel count which on the transmission side includes, data of n channels divided into blocks each defined for m channels where n≦m. In addition, prior to a transmission of the audio data, a transmitted-data stream matching a predetermined transmission format is generated to include determination information used for determining which portions of each block is allocated to which portions of each block containing no valid data. On the reception side, the determination information included in the received transmitted-data stream matching the predetermined transmission format is used to identify the unused channels not assigned to valid data in each of the blocks composing the transmitted-data stream which allows data of the valid channels to be extracted from the stream.

Speaking about audio data, for example, data of 2 channels, namely, L and R channels, is predominant. In recent years, however, audio data of 3, 4 or more channels has been used widely.
In order to keep up with the popularization of such multi-channel audio data, the transmission format of the audio data is adapted to a variety of channel counts.
A detailed structure of transmitted data will be described later. Briefly speaking, however, in transmission of audio data by adoption of an SACD (Super Audio CD) technique conforming to IEEE-1394 specifications, for example, a transmitted-data stream is formed to include a sequence of units known as blocks each containing audio data. To be more specific, each block contains audio data of all channels.
FIGS. 10A to 10C are each a diagram showing the structure of a block. In the case of 2-channel audio data, a block consists of 4 quadlets q1 to q4 each having a size of 32 bits as shown in FIG. 10A. The second quadlet q2 is allocated to data of the L channel, which is used as the first channel or channel 1. On the other hand, the third quadlet q3 is allocated to data of the R channel, which is used as the second channel or channel 2.
It is to be noted that 'D1', '00', '50', '51' and 'CF' shown in FIGS. 10A to 10C are each information called a label or a sub-label, which will be explained later in a description of an embodiment.
In the case of 5-channel audio data, a block consists of 6 quadlets q1 to q6 as shown in FIG. 10B. The second to sixth quadlets q2 to q6 are allocated to the first to fifth channels or channels 1 to 5 respectively. The first channel or channel 1 is the L channel, the second channel or channel 2 is the R channel, the third channel or channel 3 is the C (center) channel, the fourth channel or channel 4 is the Ls (rear left) channel and the fifth channel or channel 5 is the Rs (rear right) channel.
In the case of 6-channel audio data, a block consists of 8 quadlets q1 to q8 as shown in FIG. 10C. The second to seventh quadlets q2 to q7 are allocated to the first to sixth channels or channels 1 to 6 respectively. The first channel or channel 1 is the L channel, the second channel or channel 2 is the R channel, the third channel or channel 3 is the C (center) channel, the fourth channel or channel 4 is the LFE (Low Frequency Enhancement) channel, the fifth channel or channel 5 is the Ls (rear left) channel and the sixth channel or channel 6 is the Rs (rear right) channel.
A transmission block is defined for 2, 5 or 6 channels for example as described above so as to allow 2-channel, 5-channel or 6-channel audio data respectively to be transmitted.
In consequence, however, definition of transmission block for a specific channel count necessitates that the structure of a block be newly defined for transmission of audio data having a different channel count so to speak.
For example, a block needs to be newly defined for transmission of audio data having a channel count of 3, 4 or 7.
It is to be noted that the definition of a new block itself is possible from the technical point of view. In the definition of a new block, the number of quadlets composing a block needs to be merely determined properly and the quadlets need to be merely allocated to channel data appropriately.
However, data with a new block structure is transmitted with a newly prescribed transmission format, which is unknown to the reception apparatus previously developed and already shipped to the field in general.
Thus, there is raised a problem that the audio data cannot be received and processed correctly.

Method of data transmission for N-channel digital data in an M-channel block format