A nozzle of a valve includes a nozzle edge limiting a nozzle opening with a sealing surface that can be sealed or released by a nipple. Spaced apart from the nozzle edge at least one supporting surface for the nipple is provided on the nozzle. The supporting surface is spaced apart from the nozzle edge by a distance area.

Nozzles as described in the beginning are sufficiently known in technology. As an example it is referred here also to the drawing, in particular FIGS. 2a, 2b and 2c where a nozzle according to the state of the art is shown. The nozzle is formed here by a nozzle boring arranged in a nozzle body. The invention is not restricted here to a boring, that is a metal-cutting machining, being cut in a nozzle body, the nozzle boring can occur here, for example, also in a tube-like profile. The end of the nozzle boring facing the nipple defines the nozzle opening. The nozzle opening is limited by a nozzle edge interacting sealing with the nipple, as a rule an elastomer or similarly elastic material. It has to be considered here that the nozzle edge is not only a line-like element, but the nozzle edge can also have a certain expansion, it may also be designed, for example, annularly or bead-like, wherein the term nozzle edge comprises in this respect also (a) corresponding surface(s) (plane or arched).
Often the arrangement is chosen such that the nozzle, in particular the nozzle body, is designed stationary in the valve, and the nipple is slid or pressed on the nozzle edge via an appropriate actuator, for example an adjusting element, an armature rod, an armature or the like.
As it can be seen clearly in particular in FIG. 2a, the nozzles have a cone-like design in such a way that the nozzle edge is on a bead (on the side of the end) on the nozzle opening that then declines in a cone-like or truncated cone-like area towards the side.
It is usual that the used material of the nipple wears out. FIG. 2a shows a rather new nipple in use, an already slightly aged nipple is shown in FIG. 2b. Usually the nipple is on the side of the nozzle where also the pressure is connected to the nozzle. The nipple put on the nozzle opening defines a limiting edge on the lateral cone of the nozzle. This separating edge encircles the sealing surface on the nozzle. The holding power is the product of the sealing surface and the pressure connected to the nipple. If FIG. 2a is compared with FIG. 2b the result will be that, when the age of the nipple increases, this is slid farther onto the cone of the nozzle, and thus the limiting edge is widened and thus also the sealing surface, and as a result the necessary holding power increases.
If the nozzle is inserted in a solenoid valve, this will lead to a larger travel of the armature connected with a larger current consumption and the risk of an increasing leakage. The result is here a limit of the service life of the valves, in particular the solenoid valves, equipped with corresponding nozzles.


An antiviral compound of the formula: ##STR1## wherein A is selected from a purin-9-yl group, a heterocyclic isostere of a purin-9-yl group, a pyrimidin-1-yl group and a heterocyclic isostere of a pyrimidin-1-yl group; and. G and D are independently selected from hydrogen, C.sub.1 to C.sub.10 alkyl and substituted derivatives thereof, --OH, --C(O)H, --CO.sub.2 R.sub.1 l wherein R.sub.1 is hydrogen or C.sub.1 to C.sub.10 alkyl and --OCH.sub.2 PO.sub.3 H.sub.2, with the proviso that one of D or G is other than hydrogen or C.sub.1 to C.sub.10 alkyl; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

Viruses are implicated in a variety of animal and human diseases. Numerous approaches have been proposed to combat these pathogens which include, but are not limited to, herpesviruses 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2), influenza viruses A, B and C (orthomyxoviruses), parainfluenza viruses 1-4, mumps virus (paramyxovirus), adenoviruses, respiratory syncytial virus, Epstein-Barr virus, rhinoviruses, human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV), polioviruses, coxsackieviruses, echoviruses, rubella virus, varicella-zoster virus, neurodermotropic virus, variola virus, cytomegalovirus, hepatitis A, B and non-A, non-B viruses, papoviruses and rabies virus.
One approach in the development of antiviral compounds has been to identify compounds which interfere with the normal viral metabolism of nucleosides. Because the structures of these compounds are usually closely related to nucleosides which occur naturally in the mammalian host, few have good activity against the virus without untoward side effects. Some of the few compounds having activity are very expensive to produce. Thus, there is a continuing need for new compounds which act to kill viruses, to inhibit viral replication or to block the pathogenic actions of viruses.
Known antiviral, antibacterial, anticancer and cardiovascular compounds which are closely related to or derivatives of nucleosides include those disclosed in the following references:
Ashton, U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,304, issued Oct. 14, 1986, discloses ((hydroxymethy)cyclopropyl)methyl)-substituted purine and pyrimidine analogs which are useful as antiviral agents.
Albrecht, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,016,267 and 3,923,792, issued Apr. 5, 1977 and Dec. 2, 1975, respectively, disclose cyclopropyl-, cyclopropylmethyl- and cyclopentyl-substituted nucleoside analogs which are useful as antibacterial agents.
Kjellin, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,644,001 and 4,548,818, issued Feb. 17, 1987 and Oct. 22, 1985, respectively, disclose cyclopropyl-, cyclobutyl- and cyclopentyl-substituted purine analogs which are useful for treating obstructive airway disease or cardiac disease.
Temple, J. Med. Chem. 5 866 (1962), discloses cyclopropyl-substituted purine analogs which are useful for treating human epidermal carcinoma.
Masoliver, Spanish Patent No. ES519898, published Mar. 16, 1984, discloses cyclopropyl-substituted purine analogs.
Tolman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,062, issued Nov. 1, 1988, discloses 9-((Z)-2-(hydroxymethyl)cyclobutylmethyl)-guanine as a viral thymidine kinase inhibitor.
Shimada, European Patent Application No. EP0291917, published Nov. 23, 1988, discloses oxetanocin and oxetanocin analogs.
Marquez, Medicinal Research Reviews, 6 1-40 (1986), discloses substituted-cyclopentyl nucleoside analogs.
None of the above-mentioned references disclose or suggest the compounds of the present invention.

Carbocyclic nucleoside analogs with antiviral activity


A process for hydro-entangling a layer of fibers into a web includes the steps of conveying a web from a supply to lie against a traveling hydro-entangling fabric. A layer of fibers is deposited onto a traveling forming fabric, the forming fabric supporting the fiber layer from below. The forming fabric and the hydro-entangling fabric converge at a combining location where the forming fabric and hydro-entangling fabric orient and travel adjacent each other such that the fiber layer and web are sandwiched between the forming fabric and the hydro-entangling fabric with the fiber layer supported from below by the hydro-entangling fabric and web. The forming fabric is separated from the fiber layer after the web and overlying fiber layer are supported from below by the hydro-entangling fabric and the hydro-entangling fabric is conveyed through a hydro-entangling station to hydro-entangle the fibers into the web.

With certain manufacturing processes, it is necessary to convey fibrous webs or layers to various stages for further processing or to be combined with other substrates. For example, certain types of desirable composite materials are made by combining pulp fibers with other substrates, including nonwoven spunbonded webs, meltblown webs, scrim materials, and other textile materials. One known technique for combining these materials is by hydraulic entangling. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,808,467 discloses a high-strength nonwoven fabric made of a mixture of wood pulp and textile fibers entangled with a continuous filament base web. U.S. Pat. No. 5,389,202 describes a high pulp content composite fabric formed by hydraulically entangling a web of pulp fibers into a continuous filament substrate.
In a typical manufacturing process for hydraulically entangling a layer of fibers into a nonwoven web, the nonwoven material travels in a machine direction on a mesh belt or fabric to a hydraulic entangling station. A dilute suspension containing fibers (pulp, synthetic, or a combination of both) is supplied by a head box and deposited via a sluice onto a forming fabric of a conventional paper-making machine. Water is removed from the fiber suspension to form a uniform layer of fibers on the forming fabric. After being formed, the layer is conveyed in the machine direction and laid onto the nonwoven web. The nonwoven web and overlying fiber layer are conveyed under one or more hydraulic entangling manifolds wherein jets of fluid entangle the fibers into and through the nonwoven substrate to form a composite material. Vacuum slots may be located beneath or downstream of the water jet manifolds to remove excess water from the composite material. After the fluid jet treatment, the composite fabric is conveyed through a non-compressive drying operation, for example a conventional rotary drum through-air drying apparatus.
Regardless of the process, the fiber layer or webs must either have substantial strength so as to maintain their integrity, or be supported by external means or an additional substrate. For example, with a conventional hydro-entangling process, the fiber layer is typically conveyed as a sheet unsupported over at least some distance prior to being combined with the nonwoven substrate. This situation requires the fiber sheet to have substantial strength so as not to loose sheet integrity, particularly in the unsupported locations. In particular, the fiber sheet must have an increased basis weight and include fibers having substantial wet strength characteristics. Processing machine speed is often limited by the fiber sheet characteristics to ensure sheet integrity. However, despite careful attention to the fiber sheet characteristics, it is often the case that the fiber sheet breaks, particularly in the unsupported areas. This results in the loss of valuable production time.
System configurations are known for fully supporting a pulp sheet from a forming section to a dryer section wherein the sheet is supported from below by the former belt, transferred to an intermediate differential speed belt where the sheet is supported from above, and then transferred again to the dryer belt where the sheet is supported from below. It is also known to use this arrangement for transferring a fibrous web from a forming belt to a hydro-entangling belt. However, with such systems, the multiple transfer of the fibrous web or sheet between belts requires complex machinery and can be detrimental in that creases or density variances are created in the sheet or web by the transfer belts.

Manufacturing process for combining a layer of pulp fibers with another substrate


A blade head for cutting and planing blades has a blade holder having a plurality of receiving grooves for receiving a cutting and planing blade. The receiving grooves are distributed over the circumference of the blade holder. A plurality of pressurizing elements is positioned in each of the receiving grooves for securing the cutting and planing blade in the receiving groove. At least one adjusting member is positioned in each of the receiving grooves for forcing the pressurizing elements against one another such that the pressurizing elements exert a clamping pressure on the cutting and planing blade. The pressurizing elements have a substantially cylindrical shape with wedge-shaped end faces and a circumferential surface having at least one planar clamping surface. Adjacent ones of the pressurizing elements abut one another with their end faces. The blade holder has clamping counter surfaces cooperating with the planar clamping surfaces of the pressurizing elements.

The present invention relates to a blade head especially for cutting and planing blades for wood or plastic machining devices. The blade head has a blade holder with a plurality of receiving grooves for receiving a cutting and planing blade, the receiving grooves distributed over the circumference of the blade holder; a plurality of pressurizing elements positioned in each of the receiving grooves for holding the cutting and planing blade within the receiving groove; and an adjusting member positioned in each of the receiving grooves for forcing the pressurizing elements against one another such that the pressurizing elements exert a clamping pressure on the cutting and planing blade.
For clamping blades within a known blade heads, commonly a hydroclamping sleeve is used with which via pistons the pressure medium is applied. The pressurizing elements for clamping the blades are outwardly forced whereby the blade is thus secured within the receiving grooves. A disadvantage of these known blade heads is that the clamping pistons within the blade holder are radially positioned between the receiving grooves and an opening for the spindle of the blade head. This arrangement results in a weakened structure of the blade holder within the radial area. Furthermore, the blades can become loose when the hydroclamping sleeve or one of the clamping pistons has a leak.
From European publication 0 182 037 a blade head is known in which the blades are clamped by steel balls resting at one another within the receiving groove. They are forced against one another by an adjusting element in the form of a set screw whereby they are alternately forced radially outwardly and radially inwardly and rest under prestress at the bottom of the receiving groove as well as at the abutment surfaces of the blades. With the steel balls only a point contact at the corresponding counter clamping surfaces is achieved so that these counter clamping surfaces as well as the steel balls are subject to a considerably high load and therefore also to great wear.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a blade head of the aforementioned kind with which the blades can be clamped in a simple and reliable manner without substantially weakening the blade holder whereby a high load on the parts partaking in the clamping process should be prevented.


The present invention discloses a method for operating a multi-bar linkage mechanism based conveyor. Stretching the mechanism based conveyor comprises: an automatic control system is started to control a first two-drum winch, a second two-drum winch, and hydraulic cylinders in a multi-bar linkage mechanism based conveyor boom to operate together until the mechanism enters an operating state, and the first two-drum winch, the second two-drum winch, and the hydraulic cylinders in the multi-bar linkage mechanism based conveyor boom stop operating. Then, the angle of the multi-bar linkage mechanism based conveyor boom can be adjusted by controlling the operation of the second two-drum winch. Retracting the mechanism based conveyor comprises: the automatic control system is started to control the first two-drum winch, the second two-drum winch, and the hydraulic cylinders in the multi-bar linkage mechanism based conveyor boom to operate together until the mechanism enters a non-operating state.

In recent years, inland sand unloading vessels have attracted widespread attention due to their advantages of flexible and quick cargo unloading performance. However, the instability of such vessels also has become increasingly prominent. Furthermore, due to large water coverage and rich waterway resources in China, inland sand unloading vessels have been widely applied and this industry is booming. However, the conveyor boom of a conventional self-unloading vessel may have a length up to 40 m, but it cannot be retracted, resulting in low stability and high safety hazard. For example, since accidents frequently occur in the conventional overhung belt racks, the insurance for belt racks had been refused by insurance companies in China.
Therefore, to solve the technical difficulty in retracting conveyor booms, many solutions have been proposed in China, such as stretchable and retractable conveyor booms, rotary conveyor booms and folding conveyor booms.
The published Inventive Patent No. 201610594201.8, entitled "SELF-ADAPTIVE INTEGRALLY-OVERTURNED CONVEYOR", provided a conveying solution in which a two-drum winch and an integral trussed boom are used and the conveyor boom is pulled by the two-drum winch to be folded. This solution solves occupation of the space of the hull to some extent; the integral overturning mode is simpler and more convenient than the folded overturning mode; and during the sand unloading, the boom is higher in safety. However, due to the use of the integral trussed boom that is fixed in length, the conveying distance is not adjustable. Although the integral overturning mode is simpler and more convenient than the folded overturning mode, the overturned conveyor arm is suspended, not firmly fixed, resulting in high safety hazard.
The published Inventive Patent No. 201610728114.7, entitled "CONVEYOR WITH STRETCHABLE AND RETRACTABLE CONVEYOR ARM", provided a solution in which a multi-stage hydraulic cylinder and a scissor fork mechanism are used, and the retraction of the scissor fork mechanism is realized by the multi-stage hydraulic cylinder to thus make the conveyor arm stretchable and retractable. This solution realizes, to some extent, small influence to the balance of the hull by the stretch and retraction of the conveyor arm, large stretchable distance, high stretch and retraction efficiency, stable operation, and high safety. In contrast, compared with the scissor fork mechanism, the multi-bar linkage mechanism is more stable in operation, larger in the stretchable distance, and safer than the multi-stage hydraulic cylinder because the conveyor boom is unfolded in a unit of multi-bar linkage mechanisms; no tensioning mechanism is required; and it is more convenient for production and assembly.

Method for operating multi-bar linkage mechanism based conveyor

Changsha University of Science and Technology


A bicycle shift control apparatus comprises a threshold value setting unit that sets a threshold value of a running condition for shifting a bicycle transmission, a decision unit that decides if a current running condition value passes the threshold value, and a tentative shift unit that sets a tentative shift of the bicycle transmission when the decision unit decides that the current running condition value passes the threshold value. A canceling unit cancels the tentative shift if the decision unit decides that the current running condition value varies from a previous running condition value by a determined value.

The present invention is directed to bicycles and, more particularly, to a shift control apparatus for a bicycle transmission.
Bicycles often are equipped with transmissions that provide a plurality of gear ratios to facilitate riding over various terrain. Such transmissions typically comprise either internal or external transmissions. Internal transmissions usually comprise a planetary gear mechanism disposed within the rear wheel hub. External transmissions typically comprise a plurality of sprockets that rotate coaxially with the rear wheel, and a derailleur that switches the drive chain among the plurality of sprockets. In either case, the transmission usually is connected to a shift control lever mounted to the handlebar or to some other convenient location. The rider then may select a desired gear ratio by manually manipulating the shift control lever.
Recently, automatic shift control devices have been developed so that a proper gear ratio may be selected without requiring manual control by the rider. The automatic shift control device typically selects the proper gear ratio based on bicycle speed or crank RPM. When sensing bicycle speed or crank RPM, a magnet is mounted to the bicycle wheel or crank arm, and a reed switch is mounted to the bicycle frame to sense the passage of the magnet and provide a signal pulse upon each revolution of the wheel or crank arm. Bicycle speed may be calculated from the interval between pulses and the diameter of the wheel. The controller for the automatic shift control device establishes an upshift threshold value and a downshift threshold value based on bicycle speed. The controller provides a signal for upshifting the bicycle transmission to the next higher gear ratio when the bicycle speed rises above the upshift threshold value, and the controller provides a signal for downshifting the bicycle transmission to the next lower gear ratio when the bicycle speed falls below the downshift threshold value. The upshift threshold value usually is set to a value slightly higher than the downshift threshold value of the next highest transmission gear. This produces a hysteresis effect so that the bicycle transmission is not rapidly shifted back and forth between adjacent gears, known as chattering, when the bicycle speed hovers near the upshift and downshift threshold values.
Chattering usually is easy to prevent using a hysteresis effect when bicycle speed is calculated from signal pulses that occur at a relatively low frequency of about once per wheel revolution. However, when the frequency of signal pulses is increased by disposing a plurality of magnets circumferentially around the wheel, there is a risk that temporary fluctuations in bicycle speed will cause undesired shifting of the bicycle transmission. For example, when climbing an uphill stretch, bicycle speed may momentarily fluctuate close to the upshift threshold value for a very brief time, thus resulting in unintended upshifting of the bicycle transmission followed by downshifting immediately thereafter. Such unintended shift operations require the rider to frequently change pedaling force in order to maintain the desired speed, thus creating the risk of conflicting with the rider's pedaling rhythm as well as unstable bicycle operation.
To avoid such undesirable operation, automatic shift control devices have been developed wherein upshifting will not occur unless a plurality of signal pulses indicate that the bicycle speed is above the upshift threshold value. Such a device is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 2003-120799. In that device, all speed signal pulses that occur during a predetermined time interval must indicate that the bicycle speed is above the upshift threshold value. If so, then upshifting will occur after the predetermined time interval. However, if even one speed signal that occurs during the predetermined time interval indicates that the bicycle speed is below the upshift threshold value, then upshifting will not occur. The net result is that the automatic shift control device will upshift the bicycle transmission only when riding conditions exceed the upshift threshold value for a predetermined time interval, and many instances of unintended upshifting of the bicycle transmission can be prevented even when riding conditions are sensed frequently.
Unfortunately, even with automatic shift control devices that require upshift threshold values to be exceeded for a predetermined time period, there are still instances when unintended upshifting may occur. For example, if the bicycle is descending a slope on a sidewalk at a parking lot exit, accelerating on an uphill stretch by standing up while pedaling, or suddenly accelerating on a flat road, all of the sensor results within the predetermined time interval may indicate that the bicycle speed exceeds the upshift threshold value. However, the resulting upshift may cause the rider to experience discomfort due to a sharp increase in the effort needed to pedal.

Bicycle shift control apparatus that cancels a tentative shift


A communication device for performing cryptographically secured communication in a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) network is provided that comprises a security enhancement unit and a MAC (Medium Access Control) unit. The security enhancement unit is for encrypting plaintext data frames into encrypted data frames and/or decrypting encrypted data frames into plaintext data frames. The MAC unit is for managing communication between communication devices within the WLAN network by coordinating access to a shared wireless communication medium through which communication signals are transmitted. The security enhancement unit and the MAC unit are adapted to perform an on-the-fly encryption process and/or on-the-fly decryption process thereby exchanging the encrypted data frames without buffering the encrypted data frames after encryption or prior to decryption, respectively. The embodiments may provide an improved encryption/decryption architecture including an on-chip memory for performing on-the-fly encryption and/or on-the-fly decryption in the framework of 802.11i security enhancement.

1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to communication devices for performing cryptographically secured communication in a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) network and corresponding integrated circuit chips, computer systems and methods, and in particular to the manner in which encryption/decryption is performed therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wireless local area network is a flexible data communication system implemented as an extension to or as an alternative for a wired LAN. Using radio frequency or infrared technology, WLAN systems transmit and receive data over the air minimizing the need for wired connections. Thus, WLAN systems combine data connectivity with user mobility.
Today, most WLAN systems use spread spectrum technology, a wideband radio frequency technique developed for use in reliable and secure communication systems. The spread spectrum technology is designed to trade-off bandwidth efficiency for reliability, integrity and security. Two types of spread spectrum radio systems are frequently used: frequency-hopping and direct sequence systems.
The standard defining and governing wireless local area networks that operate in the 2.4 GHz spectrum is the IEEE 802.11 standard. To allow higher data rate transmissions, the standard was extended to 802.11b which allows data rates of 5.5 and 11 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz spectrum. Further extensions exist.
In order to address existing security gaps of the 802.11 standard's native security, i.e., the WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) protocol, the 802.11i security standard was developed. This enhanced security standard relies on the 802.1x standard for port-based access control and the TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol) and CCMP (Counter-mode Cypher block chaining Message authentication code Protocol) protocols for data frame encryption and decryption. 802.1x provides a framework for WLAN station authentication and cryptographic key distribution, both features originally missing from the 802.11 standard. According to the TKIP and CCMP protocols, data frames are encrypted using a character string that is generated individually for each data frame. This encryption character string is based on a packet number or sequence number inserted in the data frame indicating data frame ordering. Out of order data frames are discarded. Thereby and by several further measures, the TKIP and CCMP protocols provide enhanced communication security over the original WEP protocol, the TKIP protocol being targeted at legacy equipment and the CCMP protocol being targeted at future WLAN equipment.
To perform a cryptographically secured exchange of data frames according to the above-described communication security techniques or similar approaches known in the art, existing WLAN systems apply multiple-stage transmission and reception processes. Between the individual transmission or reception stages, the data frames are buffered. This may lead to a number of disadvantages.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional multi-stage transmission process. In step 110, a packet and/or sequence number is inserted into a plaintext data frame. This step is repeated for each of the plaintext data frames. All the plaintext data frames to which the packet and/or sequence number has been inserted are buffered in step 120. In step 130, one of the buffered plaintext data frames is encrypted. The encryption is repeated for each of the buffered plaintext data frames. The encrypted data frames are buffered again in step 140. Finally, in step 150, one of the buffered encrypted data frames is sent to a WLAN communication counterpart. Step 150 is repeated for all the buffered encrypted data frames.
Usually, steps 120 to 150 are performed by a particular WLAN device within the WLAN system. Step 100 of inserting the packet and/or sequence number into the plaintext data frame, however, is performed by the CPU (Central Processing Unit) of the WLAN system. This may cause a waste of processing capacities of the high performance CPU for a simple data combination task.
Further, conventional systems may suffer from processing delays in the CPU which may occur during the insertion step 100 of the packet and/or sequence numbers into the plaintext data frames. Such processing delays usually result in unnecessary deceleration of the transmission process and may therefore lead to further problems in achieving efficient transmission data rates.
Moreover, the multiple buffering steps 120, 140 for the data frames generally still aggravates the problem of achieving efficient transmission data rates. Each step of buffering a data frame causes a retardation of the transmission process.
FIG. 3 schematically shows the content of a buffer 310 in a conventional WLAN system. Plaintext data frames 320, 330, 340, as well as encrypted data frames 350, 360, 370, are buffered. Each of the data frames includes an individual packet and/or sequence number 325, 335, 345, 355, 365, 375.
Since both plaintext data frames and encrypted data frames are buffered, existing WLAN systems usually suffer from intense buffer load. This may cause unnecessarily high buffer management complexity and buffer costs.
In addition, the feature of buffering data frames 320, 330, 340, 350, 360, 370 to which packet and/or sequence numbers 325, 335, 345, 355, 365, 375 have already been inserted may lead to considerable data faults in prior art WLAN systems. When the encrypted data frames are read from the buffer and sent in a different order than the plaintext data frames have been written to the buffer, out of order transmission of data frames occurs. At reception, out of order data frames are discarded for security reasons. Therefore, the buffering of data frames including packet and/or sequence numbers during the transmission process may represent a severe reason for data loss in conventional systems.
Referring now to FIG. 5, a reception process in existing WLAN systems is schematically shown. In step 510, encrypted data frames are received from a WLAN communication counterpart. Step 510 is repeated for all data frames received. Once an encrypted data frame has been received, it is buffered in step 520. In step 530, a buffered encrypted data frame is decrypted. This step is repeated for all the encrypted data frames contained in the buffer. In step 540, the plaintext data frames resulting from the decryption step 530 are buffered again.
As illustrated in FIG. 5, a conventional reception process comprises multiple buffering of the data frames. Therefore, the above-discussed problems of existing WLAN systems relating to inefficient transmission data rates and unnecessarily high buffer load also emerge during the reception process.
Further, the feature of buffering the encrypted data frames between the reception step 510 and the decryption step 530 allows that the individual data frames are decrypted 530 in different order than they have been received. Thus, conventional WLAN systems often suffer from the above-discussed problem of considerable data faults also during the reception process.

On-the-fly encryption/decryption for WLAN communications


A system for transferring and moving elements removably associable with a packaging machine comprises at least a transferring unit provided with a movement arrangement suitable for receiving and supporting the elements, the movement arrangement being movable for transferring and/or removing the elements to and/or from the machine; a method for transferring and moving elements removably associable with a packaging machine provides supporting and conveying the elements using at least a transferring unit and transferring and/or removing the elements to and/or from the packaging machine using the movement arrangement of the transferring unit.

The present invention relates to a system and a method for transferring and moving elements of an automatic packaging machine.
In particular, the invention relates to a system and a method for performing a plurality of operations automatically or semiautomatically on elements, parts and components of a machine for packaging products, for example drugs, placed inside an aseptic and/or sterile environment, to which the following description will make explicit reference without thereby losing general applicability.
In the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries there is often a requirement for product packaging processes to use sterile materials and in sterile environments in order to prevent the products suffering particle and bacteriological contamination, i.e. contamination due to the presence in the air of solid suspended particles such as ashes, dust, spores and microorganisms.
For this purpose, the production systems comprise packaging machines or lines inserted inside cleanrooms, which separate an internal processing environment, in fact a sterile processing environment, from a surrounding non-sterile external environment, or environment having a different class of sterility or contamination. The degree of contamination of an environment is defined by the number of polluting particles present in a unit volume of air. Standard tables define contamination classes for each of which there is defined the maximum permissible number of polluting particles of the indicated dimension per cubic foot (US FED STD 209 Cleanroom standards) or per cubic metre of air (ISO 14644-1 Cleanroom standards).
The contamination class required in the process environment is a function of the product to be packaged. For example, for pharmaceutical products to be administered parenterally or nasally, or ophthalmic products, packaging in a class ISO 5 (ISO 14644-1) or class 100 (US FED STD 209) environment is required.
The separation and insulation between the two environments in some applications also aims to prevent the dispersal into the external environment of products that are potentially toxic and harmful to human health.
The asepsis and/or sterility of the processing environment is ensured by the cleanliness and sterility of each component and element contained inside the cleanroom, and by the presence of a suitable one-way flow of sterile air filtered by suitable absolute (HEPA) filters. The one-way air flow consists of threads of sterile air that move in the same direction almost parallel to one another, at substantially the same speed, in such a way as to create an even air current without turbulence. The air flow descending from top to bottom forms a front of sterile air that drags away any contaminating particles present and prevents them from rising again from the bottom of the chamber.
Inside the cleanroom there is provided the entrance for the operators assigned to performing a plurality of interventions on the packaging machine, such as, for example, adjustments, assembly and dismantling of parts and operating units, interventions that in all cases must not connect the sterile processing environment with non-sterile zones of the machine such as spaces containing mechanisms and movement mechanism.
The objective is to perform operations and interventions on the machine without compromising the sterility of the sterile environment and without contaminating previously sterilised parts and components mounted or to be mounted on the machine, in order to avoid procedures of restoring sterility that are laborious, long and very costly.
For this purpose, in order to avoid the contamination of the sterile environment, and above all of the parts with which they come into contact, the operators wear suitable protective overalls that cover all parts of their body.
In order to sterilize appropriately any object to be introduced into the cleanroom, there is provided an autoclave, provided with two hatches, which are respectively in communication with the external non-sterile environment and with the internal environment of the cleanroom, in such a way as to prevent a direct connection between said environments.
In this way the operator is able to introduce inside the cleanroom elements to be mounted onto the machine, typically standard components, operating units and devices, for example product batching or container capping devices, to be replaced at the end of production.
These parts are transferred manually by one or more operators from the autoclave to the machine on which they are mounted.
Recently however, the need has arisen to limit the intervention by operators to prevent them interacting directly with parts intended to come into contact with the product to be packaged, such as, for example, batching devices, components for introducing and supplying the product.
In fact, it has been observed that although operators are provided with protective gloves and overalls, they constitute a potential source of particle contamination.
The close proximity and the contact of said operators with sterile objects may cause the latter to be contaminated.
This possible and potential contamination may be considered to be unacceptable in certain packaging processes.
From this there arises the need to proceed with further sterilising processes after each operation and/or intervention on parts and components of the machine that are apt to come into contact with the product, with a consequent increase in the cost and time required to set up the operating system.
At the end of production it is generally necessary to dismantle the parts, the components and the operating units of the machine that have come into contact with the product or have a size that is not compatible with the next production batch. These elements have to be transferred outside the clean room to be cleaned, washed and then sterilised, to make them suitable for subsequent use.
The transfer outside the cleanroom occurs through a communicating chamber provided, similarly to the autoclave, with a first door giving access to the cleanroom and with a second door giving access to the non-sterile external environment. In this way the operators in the cleanroom transfer the elements dismantled from the machine to the chamber from which, after the first door has been closed hermetically, other operators remove them to subject them to washing and sterilising operations.
These manual procedures nevertheless have the drawback of forcing the operators to touch parts and components of the machine on which the packaged product is present in more or less great quantities. Also in the case of pharmaceutical products that are not particularly hazardous and harmful—such as cytotoxic products for which special procedures and containing systems are provided—this direct, prolonged and repeated contact with pharmaceuticals should be avoided as it exposes the operators to the possible absorption of unspecified quantities of product that may harm the health or cause health complaints of varying gravity. This is particularly true in the case of products in the form of fine powders, which can be easily diffused in the air and thus be inhaled and/or absorbed by the operators.
In order to overcome this problem it is currently necessary to limit the operating time of each operator, i.e. the time during which the latter is in contact with parts touched by the product. This is achieved through a frequent turnover of operators, which requires an appropriate number of operators to be made available and prepared for operations inside the cleanroom, with a consequent increase in system running costs.
Alternatively, it is necessary to provide the operators with particular equipment, such as completely airtight overalls and masks that are able to insulate the operators completely from the surrounding environment. In addition to being very costly, this equipment places significant limitations on movements and performable manual operations.

System and method for transferring and moving elements of an automatic packing machine


A fluid-pressure pump 2 rotated by an electric motor 9 drives a fluid-pressure cylinder 3. A discharge flow restrictor 15 is provided in a discharge passage 12 through which a working fluid from the fluid-pressure pump 2 is supplied to fluid-pressure cylinder 3. A pilot-pressure-operated shut-off valve 4 changes over a connecting position A at which the discharge passage 12 between the discharge flow restrictor 15 and the fluid-pressure cylinder 3 is connected to the tank 10 and a shut-off position B at which the discharge passage 12 is disconnected from the tank 10, in response to a pressure P1 in the discharge passage 12 between the discharge flow restrictor 15 and the discharge port 24, thereby enabling a change-over between a loaded mode and an unloaded mode assumed at an fluid-pressure actuator unit 1 in response to an operation of the fluid-pressure pump 2.

A lawn mower comprises, for example, a vehicle body, a blade assembly, and an actuator. The blade assembly is supported by the mower vehicle body via a floating mechanism so as to be able to lift out of and drop into an operating position in response to an external force exerted thereon. The actuator lifts the blade assembly from the operating position to a lifted position and keeps it in the lifted position. The actuator may be provided in the form of a fluid-pressure actuator unit into which an electric motor, a fluid-pressure pump, and a fluid-pressure cylinder are integrated.
JP2006-105226A, published by the Japan Patent Office in 2006, proposes a fluid-pressure actuator unit comprising an electric motor, a fluid-pressure pump, a fluid-pressure cylinder, and an operation check valve. The fluid-pressure pump is a double-discharge type, driven by the electric motor, and discharges pressurized fluid to drive the fluid-pressure cylinder to extend or contract. The operation check valve operates in response to a discharge pressure of the fluid-pressure pump so as to supply the discharged fluid to a corresponding fluid-pressure chamber in the fluid-pressure cylinder.


A method for controlling the ratio between injected and extracted electric energy in an electric energy supply grid with a number of grid participants, which are selected from a group including producers, consumers, and storage devices, with at least two of the group being included. A grid state variable is used as a control variable, the value of said variable depending on the ratio between inserted and extracted electric energy and being ascertainable from the grid by the grid participants. The invention is characterized in that a number of grid participants ascertain the grid state variable from the grid and use said variable at least indirectly to control the grid in a decentralized manner based on a respective specific grid participant behavior.

The invention relates to a method to control the ratio between electrical energy injected into and extracted from an electric energy supply grid. This electric energy supply grid includes a number of grid participants selected from a group of producers, consumers and storage devices, where at least two elements from this group must be present. To control the ratio between electric energy injected and extracted, a grid state variable is used as the control parameter. The value of this grid state variable depends on the ratio between the electric energy injected and extracted and can be determined by the grid participants from the grid itself.
Further the invention relates to an electric energy supply grid and a grid participant of an electric energy supply grid.
Furthermore the invention relates to a method to control the specific grid participation behaviour in such an electric energy supply grid, a control module and software for such a control module to perform this method.

Method for controlling the ratio between supplied and drawn electric energy in an electric energy supply network


A bone attachment apparatus and implantation system. The attachment device provides a screw with channels formed therein for implantation within a bone aperture. The channels are used as a torque transfer surface during implantation, and cooperate with a thread forming tap to enable screw implantation simultaneously with thread formation within the aperture. The tap can be used to form channels within the bone. A staple is coupled to the screw and the bone, utilizing the respective channels formed therein, to prevent rotation therebetween. The screw can also cooperate with the staple to secure a soft tissue graft.

Modern medical techniques include suturing soft tissue to bone and repair of bone during, for example, reconstructive surgery. In one form these techniques involve attaching a suture to a bone screw, or anchor, installing the bone screw into the bone and connecting the soft tissue to the bone via the suture. One drawback associated with prior art bone screws is the potential for a bone screw to back out after implantation. To inhibit back out, bone screws have been modified with various thread designs and locking features, with some success.
These bone screws can also be used for repair of bone by inserting the screw into a prepared bone aperture. The screw can be used to attach bone to bone or to attach a reconstruction plate or other prosthesis to a bone. Most of these techniques can benefit from the use of a resorbable screw with a self-locking feature. When installing a bone anchor or screw, a surgeon will typically tap a hole, remove the tap and then install the screw into the hole while maintaining the alignment of the bone with another bone or a prosthesis. Therefore, what is needed is an implantation system for a bone screw utilizing a self-tapping resorbable screw with a soft tissue attachment and locking features for repair of bone or soft tissue graft attachment.

Method and apparatus for use of a self-tapping resorbable screw


An inductor may include an electrical conductor for generating a magnetic field; and at least one inductor core unit which is arranged in the region of the conductor and includes an inductor core composed of a magnetizable material and also at least one air gap, a filling material being introduced at least into part of the air gap for the purpose of mechanical stabilization, wherein the filling material is configured in such a way that it has a coefficient of thermal expansion, the value of which lies in a range of ±70% of the value of the coefficient of thermal expansion of the magnetizable material of which the inductor core is composed.

An inductor of this type is known to the person skilled in the art in this case as an inductive component appertaining to electrical engineering and serves, in particular, for storing and rereleasing electrical energy. For this purpose, the inductor includes an electrical conductor for generating a magnetic field and also at least one inductor core unit which is arranged in the region of the electrical conductor and which includes, for its part, an inductor core composed of a magnetizable material. In order to obtain a magnetic flux density of the inductor core that is not excessively high, the inductor core includes at least one air gap, by virtue of which a magnetic saturation of the inductor core occurs only at significantly higher field strengths and excessive heating during the operation of the inductor with AC current is avoided. For the purpose of mechanical stabilization of the inductor core, a filling material is introduced at least into part of the air gap, as a result of which both undesired sound emissions during the operation of the inductor and alterations of the gap width are intended to be avoided. The filling material used for this purpose is usually organic adhesives or silicones, which are firstly introduced into the air gap and subsequently cured therein.
What can be regarded as disadvantageous in this case is the circumstance that, as a result of the temperature changes during the operation of inductors of this type, cracking occurs in the filling material of the gap of the inductor core unit or in the magnetizable material of the inductor core, which as a further consequence entails a significant amplification of the sound emissions in the frequency range audible to humans and also a reduction of the mechanical stability of the inductor core unit. This considerably reduces the operating period of the inductor with low sound emission.

Inductor and method for production of an inductor core unit for an inductor

Osram Gesellschaft mit beschraenkter Haftung


Moisture-curable resin compositions comprising (a) a moisture-curable polymer having at least one hydrolysable silyl group; (b) a reactive modifier; (c) a catalyst for catalyzing the reaction between the moisture-curable polymer (a) and reactive modifier (b) under curing conditions; and cured compositions produced by contacting such resin compositions with water are disclosed. The moisture-curable resin composition is useful in the production of adhesives, including hot melt adhesives, primers, sealants, and coatings.

Hydrolysable silane-terminated polymers are commonly used in the marketplace of adhesives, sealants and coatings. This is at least partially attributed to their environmentally friendly, low volatile organic content characteristics. Certain hydrolysable silane-terminated polymers and their use in sealants, adhesives and coatings have been disclosed in the art. Illustratively, U.S. Pat. No. 3,627,722 discloses polyurethane sealants made from an isocyanate-terminated polymer, wherein at least five percent of the isocyanate groups are end-blocked with trialkoxysilyl groups. U.S. Pat. No. 7,319,128 discloses organyloxysilyl-terminated polymers obtained by reacting hydroxyl-terminated organic polymers with isocyanato-functional silanes in the presence of a catalyst. U.S. Pat. No. 6,001,946 discloses curable silane-terminated polymers based upon maleate-adducts of aminoalkylsilanies.
Unfortunately, as compared with conventional urethane-based adhesives and sealants, cured products made from hydrolysable silane-terminated polymers tend to have lower modulus and tensile strength than might be desired. Efforts have been made to improve the modulus and tensile strength of the products made from the silylated polymers. Illustratively, U.S. Pat. No. 5,990,257 discloses silylated polyurethanes prepared by using extremely low-unsaturation polyether polyols in the formation of the polyurethane prepolymers that are silylated. The '257 patent discloses that these silylated polyurethanes exhibit improved mechanical properties upon curing to a low-tack sealant. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 6,498,210 describes a silylated polyurethane polymer containing unreacted isocyanate groups or low molecular weight terminators. The '210 patent discloses that such polymers provide improved tensile strength after cure. Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 6,001,946 discloses a class of N-silylalkyl-aspartic acid ester-terminated polyurethane polymers and sealant formulations made from the silylated polymers that are said to exhibit improved elongation, tensile strength and tear resistance.
Heretofore, resin compositions employing hydrolysable silane-terminated polymers typically required the use of volatile organic solvents in order to provide a desirable viscosity prior to curing. In order to meet the increasing stringent environmental regulations, efforts have been previously made to reduce the volatile organic content of the resin compositions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,719,251 discloses certain reactive organosilicon compounds that can be used to provide coatings, adhesives, and the like that allegedly have low volatile organic content. However, this patent does not disclose any compositions exhibiting a combination of low volatile organic content and low viscosity before curing and improved modulus and tensile strength after cure.
In the field of hot melt applications, thermoplastic polymers containing tackifiers, fillers and other additives are typically utilized. These hot melt compositions are solid at room temperature but flow at elevated temperatures. Because the compositions are made up primarily of an uncrosslinked thermoplastic component, they are often of low modulus and are susceptible to creep and cold flow under static loads making them unsuitable for many applications where strength of the adhesive joint is critical such as that required for bonding together heavy metal sheets in the construction of truck trailers. The weight on the joints, combined with vibration and environmental heat and moisture resulting from exposure to sun in hot and humid climates, can cause adhesive joints made with known hot melt adhesives to distort and eventually fail.
Moisture-curable hot melt adhesive compositions are known in the art which partially address the foregoing deficiencies. These compositions often contain a thermoplastic component such as a chlorinated paraffin or plasticizer, styrene block copolymer, butyl rubber or poly-α-olefin, and a silylated polyurethane based upon polyols or polyamines containing polybutadiene, polyester, acrylic, polycarbonate or polythioether backbones. Moisture-curable hot melt adhesive compositions contain a continuous phase of the thermoplastic component in which the silylated urethane is dispersed and crosslinked during the application process. The thermoplastic continuous phase, however, remains susceptible to creep and cold flow when placed under static loads. Where the silylated polyurethane component of a moisture-curable holt melt resin composition is incompatible with its thermoplastic component, little if any crosslinking will occur between the two thus giving rise to phase separation of the cured material. Single component and moisture-curable hot melt compositions may therefore exhibit insufficient strength and modulus due to the thermoplastic polymer debonding from the silylated polyurethane under static loads. The silylated polyurethane phase may also be too elastomeric and too low in modulus to provide the desired levels of bond strength.
High strength elastic adhesives can be formulated by using carbon black with high surface area in silylated polyurethane resins such as in SPUR 1050 resin. To achieve tensile strengths up to about 1000 psi, large amounts of carbon black are needed. As a consequence, the compositions are extremely viscous and are difficult to dispense at ambient temperature. One solution to this high viscosity problem is to include in the composition a liquid plasticizer. The use of plasticizer not only lowers the viscosity, but also lowers the tensile modulus and increases elongation. However, conventional non-reactive plasticizers can migrate out of the crosslinked adhesive, especially at elevated temperatures. The loss of plasticizer will result in a more rigid elastomer, not meeting the original application design requirements.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need in the hydrolysable silane-terminated polymers community for a resin composition that is dispensible in an uncured state, has no plasticizer migration, and allows for elongation above 200% while maintaining high modulus and tensile strength. The present invention provides one solution to that need.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Moisture curable silylated polymer compositions containing reactive modifiers


In one embodiment, a device identifies inter-personal area network (PAN) traffic between a first PAN and a second PAN. The device identifies a network node in the first PAN associated with the inter-PAN traffic and determines that the network node should join the second PAN. The device causes the network node to join the second PAN, in response to determining that the network node should join the second PAN.

Low power and Lossy Networks (LLNs), e.g., sensor networks, have a myriad of applications, such as Smart Grid Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and Smart Cities. Various challenges are presented with LLNs, such as lossy links, low bandwidth, battery operation, low memory and/or processing capability, etc. One example routing solution to LLN challenges is a protocol called Routing Protocol for LLNs or "RPL," which is a distance vector routing protocol that builds a Destination Oriented Directed Acyclic Graph (DODAG, or simply DAG) in addition to a set of features to bound the control traffic, support local (and slow) repair, etc. The RPL architecture provides a flexible method by which each node performs DODAG discovery, construction, and maintenance.
Some LLN deployments, such as Smart Grid AMI deployments, may include upwards of millions of LLN nodes/devices. To account for the typically constrained nature of the various devices, mesh technologies (e.g., CG-Mesh, RFLAN, etc.) often divide the deployed devices into smaller sets, with each being serviced by a border router. Thus, the mesh network may be divided into any number of PANs, each PAN having a border router providing inter-PAN connectivity to the nodes in its local PAN.
PAN formation may be optimized based on various network metrics. For example, a node may join a given PAN based on the link metrics between itself and its neighbors (e.g., signal strength, packet loss, etc.), the overall path cost between itself and the border router, or other such factors. Accordingly, an LLN node typically favors joining a PAN that has fewer nodes, thereby reducing the overall path cost between the node and the border router of the PAN.


In order to readily switch over between SSPs (i.e., Storage Service Providers) that undertake the operation/management of storage apparatuses, in an information processing system including a computer and the storage apparatuses, an operating/managing system provided among the computer and the storage apparatuses includes the following units: A connection destination switching unit and an information duplicating unit for implementing the migration between the SSPs without interrupting the accesses to the storage apparatuses from the computer, and a request property selecting unit, a property comparing unit, and a comparison result indicating unit for assisting the selection of a purpose-fitting SSP from among the plurality of SSPs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of utilizing a storage apparatus in an information processing system. In particular, it relates to a method of utilizing a storage apparatus and its storage areas in the case where the operation and the management of the storage apparatus are outsourced. More specifically, it relates to a method of selecting the storage areas and a method of migrating data held within the storage areas.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, the storage apparatus is used with a computer system, thereby holding data and programs. In accordance with a request from the computer system, the storage apparatus is capable of writing-in, modifying, or reading-out the data and the programs.
The prevalence of computers and the Internet is now increasing electronic information explosively. In accompaniment therewith, the storage apparatus itself also continues to be increased in capacity. As a result, a company that owns a computer system must add-on and manage the storage apparatus in agreement with the information that continues to be increased. The operating/managing cost of the storage apparatus in a company is basically classified into the introduction cost of the storage apparatus and the management cost thereof. Concerning the capacity of the storage apparatus, however, as the capacity is made larger, the system becomes more complicated and thus the cost needed for the operation/management is increased further. On account of this condition, there exist some of the companies that make a plan to outsource the operation/management of the storage apparatus to the experts in order to reduce the operating/managing cost.
Meanwhile, in recent years, SSPs (: Storage Service Providers) that undertake the operation/management of the storage apparatus at a company's request have been getting started up. A company, i.e., a SSP's customer, requests the SSP to rent out a portion of storage area (i.e., a volume) of the storage apparatus, then outsourcing the operation/management of the volume to the SSP. This outsourcing makes it possible to reduce the operating/managing cost needed for the storage apparatus ("Service Business Supporting SSP", the Japanese periodical "Nikkei System Provider" pp50–57, Mar. 16, 2001).
As the number of the SSPs increases, a company finds it impossible to readily judge which SSP gives the company good receive the service. Also, once the company made a contract with a certain SSP and started the operation, a large amount of data has been accumulated therein. Accordingly, even if a more charming (e.g., a lower-price, a higher-performance, a higher-reliability, or the like) SSP appears, the company finds it impossible to easily switch over to the more charming SSP.

System and method for operation and management of storage apparatus


The disclosure relates to a method and wireless device configured for communication in a wireless communication network, the method comprising the steps of obtaining a first transmission time interval, TTI, used for transmission timing of a first signal, obtaining a second TTI, used for transmission timing of a second signal, obtaining a maximum received time difference, MRTD, parameter, and operating the first signal between a wireless device and a first cell using the MRTD parameter and a first carrier, and the second signal between the wireless device and a second cell using the MRTD parameter and a second carrier, the second carrier being different from the first carrier, wherein the MRTD parameter is obtained by determining the MRTD parameter based on the first and the second TTI. The disclosure further relates to a network node and a method thereof.

In wireless communication networks, such as LTE or LTE advanced, transmissions may be organized into radio frames, e.g. comprising equally-sized sub-frames. Resource allocation, e.g. in LTE, may described in terms of resource blocks (RB), where a resource block may corresponds to one slot in the time domain and a number of subcarriers in the frequency domain. A pair of two resource blocks, adjacent in time, may be referred to as a resource block pair, also denoted as Transmission Time Index or Transmission Time Interval, TTI.
Packet data latency is one of the performance metrics that vendors, operators and also end-users (via speed test applications) regularly measures. Radio resource efficiency could be positively impacted by latency reductions. Lower packet data latency could increase the number of transmissions possible within a certain delay bound; hence higher Block Error Rate (BLER) targets could be used for the data transmissions freeing up radio resources potentially improving the capacity of the system.
One problem with conventional wireless communication networks is the required transport time of data and control signaling, e.g. due to the duration of a TTI.
A further problem with conventional wireless communication networks is when a wireless device is served by one or more cells or carriers involved in Carrier Aggregation, CA, or dual connectivity, DC, is that an unnecessary large timing misalignment margin is used. This leads to increased latency. The timing misalignment margin may be represented by a maximum received time difference, MRTD, parameter. The timing misalignment margin is intended to compensate for relative propagation delay, e.g. the difference of propagation delay between the MeNB and the SeNB, transmission timing difference due to synchronization levels between antenna connectors of the MeNB and the SeNB, and delay due to multipath propagation of radio signals. In other words, the MRTD specifies the maximum timing misalignment between the two signals that the UE shall be or is able to receive when operating in CA/DC, and that may be a result of difference of propagation delay between the MeNB and the SeNB, transmission timing difference, e.g. due to synchronization levels between antenna connectors of the MeNB and the SeNB, and delay due to multipath propagation of radio signals.
Yet a further problem with conventional wireless communication networks is that the specified maximum receive timing difference is suitable for longer TTI duration.
Yet a further problem with conventional wireless communication networks is that they do not support the scenario when different TTI durations or timing misalignment margin is used in different cells or carriers involved in a CA (or DC) operation.
Thus there is a need to provide a solution which mitigates or solves the drawbacks and problems of conventional solutions.

Wireless device and a network node for a wireless communication system and methods thereof


A method for performing a neighbor-flipping transformation is provided. In one embodiment, a graph analysis program for computing a function relating to nodes in a directed graph is obtained and analyzed for neighborhood iterating operations, in which a function is computed over sets of nodes in the graph. For any detected neighborhood iterating operation, the method transforms the iterating operation by reversing the neighbor node relationship between the nodes in the operation. The transformed operation computes the same value for the function as the operation prior to transformation. The method alters the neighbor node relationship automatically, so that a user does not have to recode the graph analysis program. In some cases, the method includes construction of edges in the reverse direction while retaining the original edges in addition to performing the transformation.

Graph analysis is an important emerging workload area. Such analysis is used to extract valuable information from large graph instances (representing people and their connections, but increasingly also places, actions, or events). The current technology includes a stack built on top of a relational database and is not well suited for graph analysis.
A typical graph is a set of nodes or vertices connected by edges each of which has a particular direction. A computer-represented graph is a data structure, such as an adjacency list or adjacency matrix, in which a representation of the graph is stored. In an adjacency list of a graph G=(V, E) with vertices V and edges E, the adjacency list is an array of lists, one list for each vertex. The list for each vertex contains the names of all of the vertices adjacent to that vertex. In an adjacency matrix of a graph G=(V, E), the elements are all possible pairs of vertices. If an edge exists between a pair of vertices, the element in the matrix is marked.
A graph analysis program often includes a series of neighborhood iterating operations. These operations iterate over vertices that are neighborhood vertices to other vertices in the directed graph while reading and writing data associated with the vertices and their neighborhood vertices.
In some cases, a neighborhood iterating operation can be transformed into a functionally equivalent operation by altering the direction of the edges in the graph. This transformation is sometimes called an edge-flipping transformation, but often such a transformation is not feasible because altering the graph either is not permitted or takes too much time.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.

System for applying transformation to improve graph analysis


An apparatus and method for filtering biased conditional branches in a branch predictor in favor of non-biased conditional branches are disclosed. Biased conditional branches, which are consistently skewed toward one direction or outcome, are filtered such that an increased number of non-biased conditional branches which resolve in both directions may be considered. As a result, more useful branches may be captured over larger distances, thereby providing correlations deeper in a global history. In addition, by tracking only the latest occurrences of non-biased conditional branches using a recency stack structure, even more distant branch correlations may be made.

The present invention relates to computer processors, and more particularly, to branch predictors for computer processors.
In computer architecture, a branch predictor is a digital circuit that attempts to determine which direction a conditional branch may follow in an instruction stream. Branching is usually implemented with a conditional jump instruction, and once encountered, a branch may be "taken" or "not taken." If taken, the instruction flow may continue in a first direction, and if "not taken," the instruction flow may continue in a second direction. One example of a conditional branch is an "if-then-else" structure used in computer programming.
High-performance processors, which tend to be deeply pipelined, typically rely on branch predictors to continuously supply the core with instructions. Branch predictors essentially improve the flow of instructions in the pipeline to keep the pipeline full and maintain performance. Without branch prediction, the processor would have to wait until the conditional jump instruction has passed the execute stage before the next instruction could enter the pipeline. Branch predictors attempt to avoid this delay by predicting whether the conditional jump is most likely to be taken or not taken.
Research around a class of predictors referred to as neurally-inspired perceptron branch predictors has shown certain improvements in prediction accuracy by exploiting correlations in long branch histories. However, systems with moderate hardware budgets, such as on the order of 32 to 64 KB, typically restrict such predictors from correlating beyond 32 to 64 branches in a dynamic execution stream. As some correlations may only become evident over larger distances, such as on the order of 512 to 1024 branches apart, such predictors are consequently limited in their prediction ability.
Some attempts at correlating branches over larger distances have included increasing the branch prediction hardware budget, such as to 1 MB, in an effort to track more branches. However, such larger data structures undesirably result in increased access latencies and increased power consumption. Also, such larger data structures undesirably cause increased training times for the neural-based perceptron predictors.
A need therefore exists to provide a branch predictor with increased performance that eliminates one or more of the foregoing disadvantages.

Apparatus and method for bias-free branch prediction


Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a including a substrate, a first conductive type semiconductor layer arranged on the substrate, a second conductive type semiconductor layer arranged on the first conductive type semiconductor layer, an active layer disposed between the first conductive type semiconductor layer and the second conductive type semiconductor layer, a first electrode pad electrically connected to the first conductive type semiconductor layer, a second electrode pad arranged on the second conductive type semiconductor layer, an insulation layer disposed between the second conductive type semiconductor layer and the second electrode pad, and at least one upper extension electrically connected to the second electrode pad, the at least one upper extension being electrically connected to the second conductive type semiconductor layer.

1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to light emitting diodes and, more particularly, to light emitting diodes having electrode pads.
2. Description of the Background
Gallium nitride (GaN) based light emitting diodes (LEDs) have been used in a wide range of applications including full color LED displays, LED traffic signals, white light LEDs, etc.
A GaN-based light emitting diode may generally be formed by growing epitaxial layers on a substrate, for example, a sapphire substrate, and include an N-type semiconductor layer, a P-type semiconductor layer, and an active layer interposed between the N-type semiconductor layer and the P-type semiconductor layer. Further, an N electrode pad is formed on the N-type semiconductor layer and a P electrode pad is formed on the P-type semiconductor layer. The light emitting diode is electrically connected to and operated by an external power source through these electrode pads. Here, electric current is directed from the P-electrode pad to the N-electrode pad through the semiconductor layers.
Generally, since the P-type semiconductor layer may have a high resistivity, electric current may not be evenly distributed in the P-type semiconductor layer, but may be concentrated on a portion of the P-type semiconductor layer where the P-electrode pad is formed, and electric current may be concentrated on and flow through edges of the semiconductor layers. This may be referred to as current crowding, and may lead to a reduction in light emitting area, thereby deteriorating luminous efficacy of the light emitting source. To solve such problems, a transparent electrode layer having a low resistivity may be formed on the P-type semiconductor layer so as to enhance current spreading. In this structure, when supplied from the P-electrode pad, the electric current may be dispersed by the transparent electrode layer before entering the P-type semiconductor layer, thereby increasing a light emitting area of the LED.
However, since the transparent electrode layer tends to absorb light, the thickness of the transparent electrode layer may be limited, thereby providing limited current spreading. In particular, in a large LED having an area of about 1 mm2 or more for high output, there may be a limit in achieving efficient current spreading through the transparent electrode layer.
To facilitate current spreading within the light emitting diode, extensions extending from the electrode pads may be used. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,650,018, issued to Zhao, et al., discloses an LED which includes a plurality of extensions extending from electrode contact portions, that is, electrode pads, in opposite directions to enhance current spreading.
Although the use of such extensions may enhance current spreading over a wide region of the LED, current crowding may still occur at portions of the LEDs where the electrode pads are formed.
Moreover, as the size of the LED increases, the likelihood of a defect being present in the LED may increase. Defects such as threading dislocations, pin-holes, etc. provide a path through which electric current may flow, thereby disturbing current spreading in the LED.

Light emitting diode having electrode pads


A built-in gate driver having an improved reliability and a display device having the same are provided. A transistor controlled by an output signal of a next stage is further provided and thus a node (Q) is rapidly discharged. Accordingly, the multi-output signals due to the reduced discharge of the node (Q) caused by the degradation of the transistor controlled by a node QB can be prevented. By including only one transistor for controlling the charge of the start pulse signal on the node (Q), it is possible to prevent a malfunction from occurring when the transistor connected to the clock is degraded by the periodic clock of a high state. Also, an image quality and the reliability of the gate driver can be improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device, and more particularly, to a built-in gate driver having an improved reliability and a display device having the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Display devices such as an active matrix type (AM) liquid crystal display device (LCD) and an AM organic light emitting display device (OLED), which display an image by driving pixels arranged in an active matrix, are being actively researched.
The AM LCD adjusts a light transmittance of a liquid crystal layer by supplying a data voltage according to image information to pixels arranged in an active matrix, thereby displaying a desired image. The AM LCD includes a liquid crystal panel on which pixels are arranged in a matrix, and a gate driver and a data driver for driving the liquid crystal panel.
A built-in LCD has been developed in which a gate driver and/or a data driver are/is installed on the liquid crystal panel so as to reduce manufacturing costs.
In the case of the built-in driver, the liquid crystal panel and the gate driver are simultaneously manufactured. The data driver may or may not be installed within the built-in LCD.
The gate driver includes a plurality of stages for sequentially supplying output signals to respective gate lines. The data driver may also include a plurality of stages. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a related art gate driver. Referring to FIG. 1, the related art gate driver is configured using one shift resister. The shift resister includes a plurality of stages ST1 to STn connected in cascade. The shift register includes as many stages ST1 to STn as there are number of gate lines in the liquid crystal panel. For example, when the number of gate lines is 193, the number of stages is 193. An output port of a current stage is connected to an input port of the next stage so that an output signal of the current stage initiates an operation of the next stage. Also, a gate line is connected to an output port of each stage. Accordingly, an output signal of each stage is supplied to the gate line and an input port of the next stage.
Since no previous stage exists before a first stage ST1, a start pulse signal SP (a forcible signal) is inputted to the first stage ST1 to initiate the first stage ST1. The start pulse signal is a pulse synchronized with a vertical sync signal Vsyn.
Two or more clocks C1 and C2 having a voltage pulse of a high state are sequentially inputted to each stage. Although only two clocks are inputted to each stage in FIG. 1, 3 or 4 clocks may be inputted to each stage.
According to this structure, output signals are sequentially outputted from the respective stages and gate lines corresponding to these output signals are selected.
FIG. 2 is a detailed circuit diagram of a first stage of a shift register shown in FIG. 1. Driving waveforms for the circuit shown in FIG. 2 are illustrated in FIG. 3. Although only the first stage is illustrated in FIG. 2 for convenience of description, the other stages have the same transistor structure as the first stage.
Referring to FIG. 2, the first stage ST1 includes first to seventh transistors T1 to T7. The first transistor T1 has a gate and a drain commonly connected to the start pulse signal SP and a source connected to a drain of the second transistor T2. In the case of the other stages, an output signal of a previous stage may be connected to a gate and drain of a first transistor T1.
The second transistor T2 has a gate connected to a second clock C2, a drain connected to the source of the first transistor T1, and a source connected to a node Q.
The third transistor T3 has a gate connected to a node QB, a drain connected to the node Q, and a source connected to a first supply voltage VSS.
The fourth transistor T4 has a gate connected to the second clock C2, a drain connected to a second supply voltage VDD, and a source connected to the node QB.
The fifth transistor T5 has a gate connected to the start pulse signal SP, a drain connected to the node QB, and a source connected to the first supply voltage VSS.
The sixth transistor T6 has a gate connected to the node Q, a drain connected to the first clock C1, and a source connected to the first gate line GL1.
The seventh transistor T7 has a gate connected to the node QB, a drain connected to the first gate line GL1, and a source connected to the first supply voltage VSS.
An operation of the first stage ST1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. Referring to FIG. 3, the first clock C1 generates a first periodic pulse and the second clock C2 generates a second periodic pulse. A phase of the first periodic pulse is opposite to that of the second periodic pulse. The start pulse SP is generated in synchronization with the second clock C2.
Initially, when the second clock C2 and the start pulse signal SP are at a high state and inputted to the shift register, the second transistor T2 is turned on and the start pulse signal SP is charged on the node Q via the first transistor T1. The first transistor T1 serves as a diode. That is, in the first transistor T1, a current flows in the forward direction (from drain to source) and does not flow in the reverse direction (from source to drain). Accordingly, when the start pulse signal SP is at a high state the signal is applied to both the drain and the gate of the first transistor T1. The first transistor T1 is turned on and the start pulse signal SP passes through the first transistor T1. The start pulse signal SP charged on the node Q is blocked by the first transistor T1 and is prevented from being discharged. The node Q is set (that is, initialized) by the start pulse signal SP. While the start pulse signal SP is charged on the node Q, the fourth transistor T4 is turned on by the second clock C2 and the second supply voltage VDD is charge on the node QB. Meanwhile, the fifth transistor T5 is turned on by the start pulse signal SP and thus the node QB is discharged to the first supply voltage VSS. Accordingly, the node QB is maintained at a low voltage.
When the first clock C1 is at a high state, a voltage of the node Q is increased about twice due to a bootstrapping phenomenon caused by a floating state of the node Q.
When the first clock C1 is at a high state, the second clock C2 is at a low state. Due to the second clock C2 being at a low state, the second transistor T2 is turned off and the third transistor T3 is also turned off by the node QB being at a low voltage, causing the node Q to be in a floating state. When the first clock C1 is applied to the sixth transistor T6, the voltage of the node Q is increased by the first clock C1 due to a capacitor Cgd between the gate and drain of the sixth transistor T6. Accordingly, the sixth transistor T6 is turned on and the first clock C1 is outputted as a first output signal Vg1. At this time, the node QB is maintained at a low voltage.
When the second clock C2 is again inputted, the fourth transistor T4 is turned on and the second supply voltage VDD is charged on the node QB. The third and seventh transistors T3 and T7 are turned on by the second supply voltage at the node QB. While the node Q is discharged through the third transistor T3, the first gate line GL1 is discharged through seventh transistor T7. Accordingly, the node Q is reset to the first supply voltage
This process is repeated per frame. That is, the first output signal Vg1 is outputted from the first stage ST1 once per frame. A similar output signal is outputted from each of the remaining stages ST2 to STn once per frame. The respective output signals of the respective stages for each frame are delayed on a clock basis and thus are sequentially outputted.
The above-constructed gate driver generates an output signal of a high state for a very short period and is maintained at a low state during the remaining period.
In order to maintain the output signal at a low state, the node QB must be maintained at a high state. The node QB is maintained at a high state during most of the period in each frame, during which the third and seventh transistors T3 and T7 connected to the node QB receive a considerable bias stress. This bias stress is accumulated at every frame. When the gate driver is driven for a long time, the accumulated bias stress causes the third and seventh transistors T3 and T7 to be degraded, leading to a change in their characteristics (for example, a threshold voltage). A threshold voltage of 1˜2V may be degraded to 10V or higher.
In addition, a driving characteristic of the second transistor T2 is also degraded as shown in Table 1 below. Table 1 shows a change in a characteristic of each transistor when it is driven for 40 hours at 60° C.
TABLE 1TransistorCharacteristic change (ΔVth)T28.6T310.3T40.02T51.3T60.7T79.5
As shown in Table 1, threshold voltages of the third and seventh transistors T3 and T7 are most greatly changed to 10.3 V and 9.5 V, respectively, and a threshold voltage of the second transistor T2 is considerably changed to 8.6 V.
The characteristic change of the third and seventh transistors T3 and T7 leads to their malfunction, causing a plurality of output signals to be outputted in one frame. In the normal state, one stage generates one output signal in one frame. However, when the third and seventh transistors T3 and T7 malfunction, several output signals may be generated in one frame as shown in FIG. 4.
FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating abnormal signals outputted due to the degradation of the gate driver shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 4, when the third and seventh transistors T3 and T7 are driven for a long time and are degraded, their threshold voltages may be increased. When the threshold voltage is increased, the fourth transistor T4 is turned on by the second clock C2. Although the second supply voltage VDD is charged on the node QB, the third transistor T3 cannot be turned on by the second voltage VDD of the charge node QB. When the third transistor T3 is not turned on, the node Q is not discharged, causing the sixth transistor T6 to be turned on. Periodic pulses of a high state are outputted as the output signals through the sixth transistor T6. Therefore, although one stage must output only one normal output signal in one frame so as to activate the corresponding gate line, abnormal output signals other than the normal output signal is outputted in one frame and the gate lines are frequently activated, causing unwanted pixels to be displayed. These abnormal output signals causes blurring and fluttering, causing degradation in the reliability of the gate driver.
Since the threshold voltage of the second transistor T2 is increased due to the degradation thereof and thus is not turned off, the start pulse signal SP cannot be charged on the node Q. Accordingly, the gate driver is abnormally driven and thus its reliability is degraded.

Built-in gate driver and display device having the same


A free-standing device for the testing of ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) instruments, and for training doctors in using such instruments, includes circuits to generate electrical wave forms which simulate the EEG (electroencephalograph) detectable brain waves, EMG (electromyograph) muscle activity and heart beats of a patient undergoing ECT. In one embodiment the ECT output leads of the ECT instrument are plugged into the device, the training doctor selects the ECT current and the device generates response EEG and EMG waveforms. It also measures the current and displays its measurement as a test of the accuracy of the stimulus selection controls of the ECT instrument.

The present invention relates to an ECTOBRAIN (TM of Somatics, Inc.) dual function device. It is a computer controlled device that simulates a patient undergoing ECT. It can be used for two separate but related purposes, namely:
(1) To train psychiatrists in the correct use of ECT devices, including the accurate interpretation of the printed and auditory output of ECT devices;
(2) To test the integrity, calibration and functioning of ECT devices used to administer electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
Training Function
Over the past 60 years modern ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) has evolved into a highly sophisticated procedure conducted under general anesthesia (Abrams, 1997). Successful ECT requires the treating psychiatrist to have intimate knowledge of the several parameters of the electrical stimulus, as well as the ability to monitor and interpret the electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocardiogram (ECG), and electromyogram (EMG) records now routinely obtained during each ECT treatment. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,878,498 and 5,260,302: Electroconvulsive Therapy Apparatus and Method for Automatic Monitoring of Patient Seizures; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,517: Convulsive Therapy Apparatus to Stimulate and Monitor the Extent of Therapeutic Value of the Treatment, describe ECT instruments which monitor one or more of EEG, ECG and EMG. The American Psychiatric Association Task Force Report (1990) recommends monitoring of EEG and ECG during ECT.
These above-named patents and articles and other patents and articles mentioned herein are incorporated by reference.
Specific training and skill in the administration of modern ECT is required for hospital accreditation and for board-certification in psychiatry. However, many hospitals and psychiatric residency training programs lack either sufficient trained personnel to instruct psychiatric residents and staff to the requisite level of skill, or lack a sufficient number of patients receiving ECT to provide the necessary clinical experience. In a survey of ECT usage in New York hospitals, Asnis et al (1976) concluded that "training programs were minimal and unplanned." Pippard (1992), following up on the results of an earlier, highly-critical survey of the quality of ECT administration in the United Kingdom (Pippard and Ellam 1981), found that despite the specific recommendations of their 1981 study "stimulus-dosing is [still] usually by habit rather than rational strategy, and routine instrument settings differ fourfold between clinics." An Australian ECT training survey (Halliday and Johnson, 1995) found that "in most centres, training typically consists of registrars [psychiatric residents] being supervised once or twice by another registrar, and thereafter administering ECT alone."
This world-wide deficiency in ECT training has led several medical educational centers (e.g., Columbia University, Duke University, Long Island Jewish-Hillside Hospital Medical Center) to establish continuous, year-round ECT workshops for the purpose of training psychiatrists in ECT. These workshops last from 1 to 5 days and provide a range of didactic and clinical experience in various aspects of ECT.
Although such extramural training programs are important, they are too few to make up for the inadequate training in ECT received by hundreds of psychiatric residents graduated each year from U.S. medical schools and hospitals. Moreover, even these specialized ECT courses may lack sufficient patients receiving ECT to provide each trainee with "hands-on" experience in administering the treatment and interpreting the monitored recordings obtained. No medical educational center possesses all of the various available ECT devices required to train doctors in the use of any ECT device they might reasonably expect to encounter in clinical practice.
ECT Device Testing Function
The electronically sophisticated circuitry used by modern ECT devices to generate therapeutic electrical stimuli, and to monitor and display the physiological functions of interest (EEG, ECG, EMG) is necessarily sensitive--requiring frequent calibration--and subject to occasional malfunction. When such a malfunction occurs, patients may suffer from not being able to receive their scheduled ECT treatment, due to the time and effort required for a biomedical analysis of the problem. Such problems often require that the malfunctioning ECT device be returned to the manufacturer for testing and repair. When such return is required, the hospital incurs the cost of renting a "loaner" device to temporarily replace the malfunctioning one, the cost of evaluation or repair, and the shipping costs. Alternatively, the hospital incurs the cost of having the manufacturer send a technician to examine the ECT device on site. Moreover, the experience of one ECT device manufacturer (Somatics, Inc., Lake Bluff, Ill.) is that a substantial number of allegedly malfunctioning ECT devices returned for testing actually have nothing wrong with them--operator error is determined to be the problem.

Electroconvulsive therapy testing and training device


Disclosed are a smart watch and a method for controlling the same, which determine a notification device that provides a notification of an event, based on wearing/non-wearing of a smart watch and on a distance between the smart watch and an external digital device. The smart watch includes a display unit configured to display content, a sensor unit configured to detect an input signal and transmit the detected input signal to a processor, a communication unit configured to transmit/receive data, and the processor configured to control the display unit, the sensor unit, and the communication unit, wherein the processor is configured to detect a mode of the smart watch, wherein the mode of the smart watch includes a worn mode and an unworn mode of the smart watch, detect an external digital device paired with the smart watch, and determine a notification device providing a notification of an event occurring in at least one of the smart watch and the external digital device based on the detected worn mode or unworn mode of the smart watch, wherein the notification device includes at least one of the smart watch and the external digital device.

With advances in technology, development of wearable computers has accelerated. Wearable computers refer to computers that a user can naturally wear like clothes, wristwatches, glasses, or accessories. Although smart phones and tablet PCs may be conveniently used using user fingers or a touch pen, they may be inconvenient in that the user has to put them in a pocket or bag or carry such devices. On the contrary, the user can wear a wearable computer on the wrist or on the eyes like glasses, thereby providing convenience in mobility relative to the smart phone or tablet PC. In particular, among wearable computers, a variety of wristwatch related products, for example, a smart watch, capable of wirelessly providing various services such as weather forecasts, messages, notifications, stock quotes, etc., have been emerged.
Meanwhile, a smart watch may be interlinked with an external digital device such as a smart phone. If an event occurs in the smart watch or an external digital device, whether the smart watch or the external digital device will notify a user of the event needs to be determined.

Smart watch and method for controlling the same