A storage battery includes a rolled, laminated battery element made up of two groups of electrode materials composed of positive and negative electrode materials, laminated together through separators, an outer sheathing enclosing therein the laminated battery element, a spindle around which the laminated battery element is wound and rolled up so that the spindle and the laminated battery element are fixedly connected to each other. One axial end of the spindle is constrained in the axial direction of the laminated battery element by the bottom of the outer sheathing, while the other axial end of the spindle is elastically supported by an upper lid portion hermetically covering the opening end, so as to stably support the laminated battery element by the spindle and to prevent displacement of the laminated battery element from its set position even during application of vibrations to the storage battery.

The present invention relates to a rechargeable battery, and particularly to a storage battery used in automotive vehicles such as battery-driven electric vehicles (EVES), hybrid electric vehicles (HEMS) and the like.
An electric vehicle or a hybrid electric vehicle often uses a lithium-ion battery, a nickel-metal hydride hydrogen battery, or the like as a secondary battery, to draw energy therefrom for vehicle propulsion. In such storage batteries, two groups of sheet-like electrode materials, namely positive and negative electrode materials are layer-built or laminated together so that each electrode material is insulated from adjacent electrode materials by means of separators. Thereafter, the laminated product is rolled up to produce a rolled, laminated battery element made up of two groups of electrode materials, that is, positive electrode materials and negative electrode materials. The laminated battery element is enclosed in a battery case or an outer sheathing can (hereinafter is referred to as xe2x80x9couter sheathingxe2x80x9d) made of a metal material, and then the storage battery is assembled or constructed by installing a metal lid on the opening end of the outer sheathing through an insulating material, so that the metal lid is insulated from the outer sheathing with the insulating material interleaved between them. A pair of insulation plates are further provided at both ends of the outer sheathing enclosing therein the laminated battery element, that is, at the outer-sheathing bottom closed end and at the lid side of the outer sheathing. A positive electrode side of the laminated battery element is connected to the lid side by means of a positive-electrode lead. On the other hand, a negative electrode side of the laminated battery element is connected to the outer sheathing by means of a negative-electrode lead. When such a storage battery is put into the vehicle, undesired vibrations are transmitted to the storage battery during vehicle driving. Generally, the laminated battery element is merely enclosed in the outer sheathing, but not satisfactorily fixed to the outer sheathing or to the lid side. In such a case, there is a possibility that both side wall surfaces of the laminated battery element impinge upon the respective insulation plates, and thus wear occurs on those impinged surfaces.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a battery with a shock-proof mounted, laminated battery element enclosed in a battery case (an outer sheathing), which avoids the aforementioned disadvantages.
In order to accomplish the aforementioned and other objects of the present invention, a storage battery comprises a rolled, laminated battery element made up of two groups of electrode materials composed of positive and negative electrode materials, laminated together through separators which separate the positive and negative electrode materials, a substantially cylindrical hollow battery case enclosing therein the laminated battery element, a spindle arranged along a direction of an axis of the rolled, laminated battery element so that the spindle is fixedly connected to the laminated battery element, a first axial end of the spindle being constrained in the axial direction of the laminated battery element, and a second axial end of the spindle being elastically supported.
According to another aspect of the invention, a storage battery comprises a rolled, laminated battery element made up of two groups of sheet-shaped electrode materials composed of positive and negative electrode materials, laminated together through separators which separate the positive and negative electrode materials to prevent the positive and negative electrode materials from touching, a substantially cylindrical hollow battery case enclosing therein the laminated battery element, a cylindrical hollow spindle made of an electrical insulating material and arranged along a direction of an axis of the rolled, laminated battery element so that the spindle is fixedly connected to the laminated battery element and coaxially arranged with the laminated battery element with respect to the axis of the laminated battery element, a first axial end of the spindle being constrained in the axial direction of the laminated battery element, and a second axial end of the spindle being elastically supported.
According to a still further aspect of the invention, a storage battery comprises a rolled, laminated battery element made up of two groups of sheet-shaped electrode materials composed of positive and negative electrode materials, laminated together through separators which separate the positive and negative electrode materials to prevent the positive and negative electrode materials from touching, each of the positive electrode materials comprising a sheet of aluminum material with a layer of positive-electrode active material on both sides and each of the negative electrode materials comprising a sheet of copper material with a layer of negative-electrode active material on both sides, a substantially cylindrical hollow battery case enclosing therein the laminated battery element, a cylindrical hollow spindle made of a plastic material and arranged along a direction of an axis of the rolled, laminated battery element so that the spindle is fixedly connected to the laminated battery element and coaxially arranged with the laminated battery element with respect to the axis of the laminated battery element, a first axial end of the spindle being constrained in a radial direction as well as the axial direction of the laminated battery element, and a second axial end of the spindle being elastically supported.
The other objects and features of this invention will become understood from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Storage battery with laminated battery element


A mobile communication terminal is provided with a GPS receiver and detects a movement velocity of the mobile communication terminal based on GPS data. The period of time in which the channel condition of a radio channel is monitored is changed according to the movement velocity. The lower the movement velocity of the mobile communication terminal, the longer the period of time in which the radio channel is intermittently monitored. The radio channel is periodically monitored in a period of time changed according to the movement velocity of the mobile communication terminal. Channel switching is performed from a radio channel being used to a neighboring radio channel when the channel condition of the neighboring radio channel is better than that of the radio channel being used.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a cellular communication system, and in particular to a method for monitoring radio channels for channel switching in a mobile communication terminal such as a cellular telephone.
2. Description of the Related Art
In cellular communications, it is necessary to transfer a connection from one cell to another without interruption. For this end, a mobile terminal monitors radio channels of adjacent cells at all times so that, when the condition of a radio channel being used becomes worse and that of an adjacent radio channel becomes better, the mobile terminal changes the communication channel to the adjacent radio channel having a better radio condition.
One method of monitoring radio channels when the mobile terminal is moving has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 3-104330. In this method, the duration of measuring the strength level of a received signal is varied according to a velocity of the moving mobile terminal. As shown in FIG. 1, a mobile terminal has a transmission and reception system including an antenna 10, a radio transmitter-receiver 11, and a modulator-demodulator 12. The mobile terminal is further provided with a fading frequency detector 13, a received level detector 14, and a controller 15.
The fading frequency detector 13 detector facing frequency which is used to estimate a velocity of the mobile terminal by the controller 15. More specifically, the fading frequency detector 13, receiving an intermediate frequency signal from the radio transmitter-receiver 11, detects the envelope of a received signal strength. By comparing it with a predetermined household level, the fading frequency detector 13 counts the number of times the envelope has decreased below the predetermined threshold level for a predetermined time period to produce the fading frequency. When the fading frequency is low, it is estimated that the mobile terminal is moving at a relatively low velocity. Conversely, when the fading frequency is high, it is estimated that the mobile terminal is moving at a relatively high velocity.
Based on the estimated velocity, the duration of measuring the strength level of a received signal is changed. At a low velocity, the measuring duration is long enough to produce a significant averaged level of the strength level of the received signal. On the other hand, at a high velocity, the measuring duration is short so as to rapidly determine whether to transfer from one cell to another.
However, the velocity estimation method mentioned above cannot assure continued accuracy because the received signal strength varies due to not only the movement velocity of the mobile terminal but also multipath fading which is a characterization of radio propagation. More specifically, variations in received signal strength due to the multipath fading cause the fading frequency to change, resulting in reduced accuracy of the velocity estimation based on the fading frequency. This causes undesirable channel switching in a radio zone or a delay in transferring from a radio zone to another. In this manner, according to the conventional control method, it is difficult to transfer a connection with reliability. Further, since the measuring duration is relatively long at a low velocity, the power consumption is increased.


An equalizer that processes blocks of data includes a first finite filter which applies first finite filter coefficients to the blocks of data and a first post-processor which applies first post-processor coefficients to an output of the first finite filter. Ghosts of the blocks of data are not eliminated as a result of the application of the first finite filter coefficients and the first post-processor coefficients. The equalizer also includes a second finite filter which applies second finite filter coefficients to the blocks of data, and a second post-processor which applies second post-processor coefficients to an output of the second finite filter. Ghosts of the blocks of data are not eliminated as a result of the application of the second finite filter coefficients and the second post-processor coefficients. However, an adder adds outputs from the first and second post-processors so that ghosts of the blocks of data are eliminated from an output of the adder.

The present invention is directed to an equalizer that substantially eliminates signal ghosts of up to and including 100% ghosts and, more particularly, to a multipath equalizer with optimum noise enhancement.
Ghosts are produced at a receiver usually because a signal arrives at the receiver through different transmission paths. For example, in a system having a single transmitter, the multipath transmission of a signal may occur because of signal reflection. That is, the receiver receives a transmitted signal and one or more reflections (i.e., ghosts) of the transmitted signal. As another example, the multipath transmission of a signal may occur in a system having plural transmitters that transmit the same signal to a receiver using the same carrier frequency. A network which supports this type of transmission is typically referred to as a single frequency network. Because a ghost results from the multipath transmission of a signal, a ghost is often referred to as multipath interference.
A variety of systems have been devised to deal with the problems caused by ghosts. For example, spread spectrum systems deal very adequately with the problem of a 100% ghost by spreading the transmitted data over a substantial bandwidth. Accordingly, even though a 100% ghost means that some information may be lost, the data can still be recovered because of the high probability that it was spread over frequencies that were not lost because of the ghost. Unfortunately, the data rate associated with spread spectrum systems is typically too low for many applications.
It is also known to transmit data as a data vector. A matched filter in a receiver correlates the received data with reference vectors corresponding to the possible data vectors that can be transmitted. A match indicates the transmitted data. Unfortunately, the data rate typically associated with the use of matched filters is still too low for many applications.
When high data rates are required, equalizers are often used in a receiver in order to reduce ghosts of a main signal. An example of a time domain equalizer is a FIR filter. A FIR filter convolves its response with a received signal in order to recover data and eliminate any ghosts of the data. The coefficients applied by the FIR filter asymptotically decrease toward zero for ghosts that are less than 100%. However, for 100% ghosts, the coefficients applied by the FIR filter do not asymptotically decrease toward zero so that a FIR filter becomes infinitely long if a 100% ghost is to be eliminated, making the FIR filter impractical to eliminate a 100% ghost.
A frequency domain equalizer typically includes a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) which is applied to the received signal. A multiplier multiplies the frequency domain output of the FFT by a compensation vector. An inverse FFT is applied to the multiplication results in order to transform the multiplication results to the time domain. The compensation vector is arranged to cancel the ghost in the received signal leaving only the main signal. However, information in the received main signal is lost at certain frequencies so that the output of the inverse FFT becomes only an approximation of the transmitted data.
U.S. application Ser. No. 09/158,730 filed Sep. 22, 1998 discloses a vector domain equalizer which effectively eliminates ghosts up to 100% by distributing the transmitted data in both time and frequency so that the vectors are essentially random in the time and frequency domains. Accordingly, in a heavily ghosted channel, all data can be recovered with small noise enhancement, and any enhanced noise that does exist is near white. However, the number of calculations performed by the transform in the receiver to recover the data is large.
U.S. application Ser. No. 09/283,877 filed Apr. 1, 1999 discloses a single path equalizer which effectively eliminates ghosts up to 100% and which uses fewer calculations. This equalizer includes a pre-processor, a finite filter, and a post-processor. The pre-processor multiplies a data input block received from the channel by coefficients b in order to modulate the received main signal and its ghost so that the ghost is less than the received main signal. The finite filter applies coefficients a in order to eliminate the ghost from the multiplication results. The post-processor applies coefficients c to the output of the finite filter in order to reverse the effects of the modulation imposed by the pre-processor. Also, the post-processor applies a window function to the output of the finite filter. This single path equalizer somewhat enhances noise picked up in the channel.
U.S. application Ser. No. 09/425,522 filed Oct. 22, 1999 discloses a dual parallel path equalizer having a pre-processor, a finite filter, and a post-processor in each path. The pre-processors multiply a data input block received from the channel by corresponding coefficients b1 and b2 in order to modulate the received main signal and its ghost so that the ghost is less than the received main signal. The finite filters apply corresponding coefficients a1 and a2 in order to eliminate the ghost from the multiplication results. The post-processors apply corresponding coefficients c1 and c2 to the outputs of the finite filters in order to reverse the effects of the modulations imposed by the pre-processors. Each of the outputs of the post-processors is a solution to the problem of a ghost. That is, substantially no ghost is present in the output from each of the post-processors. The outputs of the post-processors are added in order to substantially minimize enhancement of noise, thus producing better signal to noise performance as compared to a single path equalizer.
The present invention is directed to an equalizer which uses less hardware than the dual path equalizer describe above, and which also substantially eliminates ghosts up to 100% while at the same time producing good noise performance.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method of equalizing a signal comprises the following steps: a) processing each of a plurality of input blocks of data to provide respective first output blocks of data, wherein the processing of step a) includes a first complex multiplication of each of the input blocks of data by a first set of equalizer coefficients, wherein step a) is not a full solution to ghosts; b) processing each of the plurality of input blocks of data to provide respective second output blocks of data, wherein the processing of step b) includes-a second complex multiplication of each of the input blocks of data by a second set of equalizer coefficients, wherein step b) is not a full solution to ghosts; and, c) adding corresponding ones of the first and second adjusted output blocks of data to provide a substantially full solution to ghosts.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an equalizer for block processing data comprises first and second finite filters, first and second post-processors, and an adder. The first finite filter applies first finite filter coefficients to input blocks of data. The first post-processor applies first post-processor coefficients to an output of the first finite filter, wherein ghosts of the data are not eliminated as a result of the application of the first finite filter coefficients and the first post-processor coefficients. The second finite filter applies second finite filter coefficients to the input blocks of data. The second post-processor applies second post-processor coefficients to an output of the second finite filter, wherein ghosts of the data are not eliminated as a result of the application of the second finite filter coefficients and the second post-processor coefficients. The adder is arranged to add outputs from at least the first and second post-processors so that ghosts of the data are eliminated by the addition of the outputs of at least the first and second post-processors.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided to substantially eliminate a ghost of a received main signal and to reduce noise enhancement. The method comprises at least the following steps: a) processing the received main signal and the ghost along a first path to produce a first processed main signal and a first processed ghost, wherein processing along the first path does not substantially eliminate the ghost; b) processing the received main signal and the ghost along a second path to produce a second processed main signal and a second processed ghost, wherein processing along the second path does not substantially eliminate the ghost; and, c) adding the first and second processed main signals and the first and second processed ghosts such that, because of the addition of the first and second processed main signals and the first and second processed ghosts are added, the ghost of the received main signal is substantially eliminated.

Multipath ghost eliminating equalizer with optimum noise enhancement


A method and system for analyzing real world information of users to derive physical (real world) user attributes used for selecting online content for presentation by client devices correlated with the users, comprising, detecting a presence of one or more users in a physical registration location by analyzing sensory data captured by one or more sensors deployed to monitor the physical registration location, correlating between the user(s) and an identifier of client device(s) associated with the user(s), identifying one or more user attributes of the user(s) by analyzing the sensory data and transmitting the user attribute(s) coupled with the identifier to one or more remote servers adapted to use the user attribute(s) for selecting one or more online content items served to the client device(s) via a network for presentation to the user(s). The sensor(s) is physically and communicatively disconnected from the client device(s).

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to serving client devices with advertisements (ADs), and, more specifically, but not exclusively, to serving client devices with ADs selected according to user attributes derived from real world information.
Online advertisement has long become one of the main advertisement channels and often considered the most effective channel.
In order to effectively target advertisement (ADs) for specific users in real time highly sophisticated and complex platforms have been constructed based on advanced algorithms which are constantly evolving.
A key element in the real time advertisement trade is Real Time Bidding (RTB) in which publishers of online content offer for sale impressions at AD placements embedded in the online content. RTB requests for the impression sale may be transmitted by automated platforms associated with the publishers, for example, a Supply Side Platform (SSP) and/or the like to one or more AD exchanges.
The AD exchanges may conduct AD auctions in real time by distributing the RTB requests to a plurality of automated platforms associated with a plurality of advertisers, for example, a Demand Side Platform (DSP) and/or the like. In response, the AD exchange may receive from the DSPs a plurality of bid offers for the RTB requests and may select winning bid offers. The AD associated with the winning bid offer(s) may then be served at the respective AD placements for which the RTB requests were issued.

System, method, and computer program for serving online content to users based on real world user information


A condensing assembly for urging condensation of a vapour into a liquid has a vertically stacked modular array of horizontal condensation units exposed to a heat transfer medium. Each condensation unit has a cooling chamber, a plurality of hollow legs and necks accessing the cooling chamber to define a fluid passageway. An open or enclosed space between vertically opposed condensation units is created by coupling the necks and legs of opposed condensation units. Introduced vapour travels along the fluid passageways and through the cooling chambers for condensation into liquid, which then travels along the fluid passageways to a storage tank. A cooling loop in each cooling chamber increases condensation. Vapour funnels in the condensation units along the fluid passageway reduce vapour to liquid contact therealong. An inlet header provides additional cooling to the vapour prior to entering the condensation units.

Many industrial and commercial processes create vapourized liquids, particularly hot vapours, which must be condensed into a cooler liquid form for storage and eventual disposal or treatment. In the petroleum industry, for instance, a glycol/water vapour mixture is created at dehydration ("dehy") facilities. However, substantial amounts of such vapour should not be released into the atmosphere to avoid undue pollution of the environment. There are several accepted methods of dealing with the glycol/water vapour, such as running the hot vapour through a series of overhead or underground pipes to cool and condense the vapour into liquid form, and then to pass the liquid into an underground storage tank. Such piping is problematic and undesireable, and the underground storage tanks suffer from several deficiencies as noted in applicant's Canadian Patent 2,196,941 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,009.
One solution to the above-noted problems has been to provide a dual containment condensation assembly, as set out in Canadian Patent 2,274,251 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,381,979, and another solution has been to provide a novel stand-alone condensation tank which may be connected remotely to an existing storage tank, or alternately may be retro-fitted thereonto, as described in applicant's Canadian Patent Application 2,450,979.
However, it is desireable to further provide a condensation unit of a more compact design, but which has a relatively greater cooling surface area per unit volume to promote an increased rate of condensation. The novel design should be modular in nature so that a desired number of horizontally oriented condensation units may be stacked in a vertical array to suit a user's present or future requirements and to provide a desired rate of condensation. Such condensation units should have the same or substantially similar configurations to allow for convenient formation of the stacked array, and to allow for units to be built relatively quickly and efficiently in an assembly-line format. The stacked arrangement should provide for openings between the condensation units to provide a more uniform cooling effect across the multiple units, along both their top and bottom surfaces. The novel open modular design should further reduce wind loads on the resultant structure, as less vertical surface area is needed to provide the same cooling as in a prior art single tank design.
In another version, the condensation units may be provided with a novel internal vapour funnel arrangement which should facilitate upward vapour flow through the stacked array and reduce contact with downflowing liquid.
In yet another version, a novel inlet header may be provided to expose incoming vapour to a cooling surface prior to its introduction into the condensation units.
In yet a further version, an artificially induced heat transfer medium may be introduced internally or externally to the cooling chambers to substantially increase cooling effectiveness and the rate of vapour condensation in the condensation units.


A method and system for migrating a UML model across UML profiles. After retrieving a UML model, a source UML element, a source UML profile, a source stereotype, and a source meta-class, the target UML profile, stereotype and meta-class are looked up in a mapping table based on the source UML profile, stereotype, and meta-class. The target UML profile is applied on the UML model. Based on the source meta-class being different from the target meta-class, relationships of the source UML element are retrieved, a target UML element is created, the relationships are copied to the target UML element, and the source UML element is removed from the UML model. The target stereotype is applied to the target UML element. The source stereotype is removed from the target UML element. The source UML profile is removed from the UML model.

For legal and business purposes, a supplier of reusable software components requires that a development tool used to develop a software component sold to a customer must be supported by the supplier (e.g., owned by or licensed to the supplier). The supplier is not permitted to deliver a software component to the customer if the software component had been developed using an older version of a development tool, which is no longer supported by the supplier. Known migration techniques that migrate across different versions of Unified Modeling Language (UML) profiles of a software component provide only minor changes to the UML profile while keeping the UML profile fundamentally the same. Such known migration techniques fail to ensure that the software component previously developed using the older version of the development tool is supported by the supplier. Furthermore, a manual technique that migrates each and every element of a UML model requires a substantial effort at a high cost. Thus, there exists a need to overcome at least one of the preceding deficiencies and limitations of the related art.

Migrating unified modeling language models across unified modeling language profiles

International Business Machines Corporation


Introduced here is a wafer separator configured to carry a semiconductor wafer with improved efficiency, protection, and reduced costs when utilized in the handling, transport, or storage of semiconductor components. The wafer separator may include a circular ring having an outer edge defining a periphery of the circular ring. The circular ring may include an inner edge defining a central opening of the circular ring. The wafer separator may include a first-right angled recess for receiving a semiconductor wafer that extends downward from a top surface of the circular ring. The wafer separator may also include a second right-angled recess for maintaining a gap beneath the semiconductor wafer when the semiconductor wafer is set within the first right-angled recess. In some embodiments, the wafer separator also includes interlock components for connecting the wafer separator to adjacent wafer separators.

Different configurations can be used to facilitate the handling, transport, and storage of semiconductor components, such as semiconductor wafers, semiconductor dies, etc. For example, manufacturers must often transport semiconductor components to various facilities to complete a semiconductor wafer manufacturing process and to manufacture integrated circuits from the semiconductor wafers.
One configuration to facilitate the handling, transport, and storage of semiconductor components may be utilizing an injection-molded tray. Injection-molded trays are used to restrict the movement of semiconductor components during transport to various testing and manufacturing facilities. The injection-molded trays may be designed specifically to contain and protect, for example, semiconductor wafers, which are generally thin and circular. Conventional injection-molded trays restrict the movement of the semiconductor components during transport by maintaining physical contact with the semiconductor components.
However, conventional injection-molded trays exhibit several limitations on providing adequate protection to sensitive semiconductor components. For example, conventional injection-molded trays may inadvertently damage a semiconductor component due to an external force that is applied to part(s) of the injection-molded tray in contact with the semiconductor component. The injection-molded trays may also fail to properly dissipate static electricity, which may lead to damage to the semiconductor component due to electrostatic discharge (ESD). Such limitations may lead to damaged semiconductor components, greater transport costs, and low efficiency of semiconductor wafer manufacturing and testing.
The drawings depict various embodiments for the purpose of illustration only. Those skilled in the art will recognize that alternative embodiments may be employed without departing from the principles of the technology. Accordingly, while specific embodiments are shown in the drawings, the technology is amenable to various modifications.

Separators for handling, transporting, or storing semiconductor wafers

Daewon Semiconductor Packaging Industrial Company


An airbag arrangement for a vehicle occupant restraint system is provided. The airbag arrangement comprises an airbag package which includes an airbag which can be inflated to protect a vehicle occupant as well as a sleeve in which the airbag is vacuum-packaged. The sleeve comprises a first sleeve part and a second sleeve part. The first sleeve part and the second sleeve part each include at least one flange portion. The two flange portions are connected with each other and initially protrude from the remaining airbag package, after they have been connected with each other. The two flange portions are at least partly folded such that they extend along an outer surface of the remaining airbag package.

The present invention relates to an airbag arrangement for a vehicle occupant restraint system and to a method for producing an airbag arrangement.
From the prior art airbag packages are known, which include an airbag vacuum-packaged in a sleeve. The sleeve in particular is formed of a bottom web, which includes a recess for arranging a gas generator, and of a top web welded to the bottom web. In such airbag packages the problem can arise that upon deployment of the airbag a strong expansion of the bottom web occurs and the same tears, before the airbag exits from the sleeve through the top web. The tearing of the bottom web can lead to the fact that film pieces are flung into the vehicle interior.

Airbag arrangement for a vehicle occupant restraint system and method for producing an airbag arrangement


A system for synthesizing speech having improved naturalness and formed by a simple construction. The speech synthesizing system includes a unit for generating a vowel signal, a unit for generating a consonant signal including a unit for generating random data, a unit connected to the random data generating unit for receiving the random data therefrom, and having a first-order delaying function 1/(s.tau.+.alpha.). The unit having a first-order delay for receiving the random data outputs first-order delayed random data. A unit for selecting the vowel signal or the consonant signal in response to a selection signal and a unit for receiving an output signal from the selection unit and filtering the received signal on the basis of a vocal tract simulation method are also provided. The first-order delayed random data from the first-order delaying unit are substantially applied to the vowel signal and/or the consonant signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a systematic speech synthesizing system. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a digital speech synthesizing system which synthesizes speech which is stable and very natural and a speech synthesizing system which performs parameter interpolation during the synthesis of speech by a simply constructed critical damping two-order filter to smooth the parameter connection and thus produce natural sounding synthesized speech.
The speech synthesizing apparatus of the present invention may be used, for example, on an output apparatus for outputting things such as speech keyboard input sentences to confirm the keyboard input, typing machines for the blind, and voice answering machines using telephones.
2. Description of the Related Art
In speech Synthesis, the output sound should be as close as possible to the human voice, i.e., speech that is as natural as possible. One type of speech synthesis is systematic speech synthesis. In such speech synthesis, speech is synthesized using pulses for vowels and random numbers for consonants. In human speech, however, the voice is modulated, i.e., the voice fluctuates. For example, when stretching the vowel "ah" to "ahhh", the amplitude of the speech waveform, the pitch, frequency, etc., do not remain completely constant, but are modulated (or fluctuated). Even when changing to another sound, the apparatus, pitch, etc. do not undergo a smooth change, but are modulated. For this reason, when synthesizing speed, if the amplitude, pitch, and other parameters are kept constant at steady portions of speech and the apparatus, pitch, and other parameters smoothly change at the nonsteady portions, only a mechanical, monotonous speech can be obtained. Therefore, in the prior art, attempts have been made to modulate the output of speech synthesizers to produce very natural sounding synthesized speech.
On the other hand, when synthesizing speech, conversion occurs by inputting sentences.fwdarw.converting to sound codes.fwdarw.preparing synthesis parameters.fwdarw.outputting speech. When synthesizing speech for an arbitrary sentence, the parameters are linked in accordance with predetermined rules, waiting with each synthesis unit smaller than a single sentence, for example, speech elements or syllables, so as to form a time series of parameters. If a suitable linkage is not performed, noise occurs in the synthesized speech and the natural characteristic of the synthesized speech is lost. Therefore, the parameters of the individual speech synthesis units must be smoothly changed as in actual speech. Thus, a method for an interpolation of parameters is proposed.
All of the prior art, however, suffer from the problem that stable, very natural, modulated speech synthesis cannot be achieved. This prior art will later be explained in further detail with reference to the drawings. Further, the construction of the filters used for speech synthesis requires simplication.

System for synthesizing speech having fluctuation


Various embodiments generally relate to decentralized operating systems spanning multiple devices. More specifically, some embodiments relate to continuous and concurrent device experiences across the multiple devices. For example, a user may be streaming a movie through a service provided via a smart television. When the user's phone detects an incoming video call, the television can recognize that a video call is coming in and ask the user if the user wants to answer the call. If the user responds in the affirmative, the television can pause the streaming video from the service provide allowing the user to answer their phone. In some cases, the television can be used as the display screen to display the video call while the local phone resources (e.g., video camera) can be used as the recording device.

Computing devices such as mobile phones, smartphones, and tablet computers have become ubiquitous in today's society. In fact, many individuals use a number of computing devices to perform various tasks during the course of their day. For instance, a person/user may use a laptop for work, a tablet for entertainment, a smartphone for phone calls, etc. Further, given the convergence of capabilities amongst the various computing devices, the user may use any of the computing devices to perform many of their tasks. For example, devices such as smart televisions, mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and others may be capable of streaming video from the internet.
While computing devices have become able to communicate through various communication protocols, there has been no efficient way for these devices to interoperate. Instead, each computing device has traditionally been completely independent. For example, each computing device typically has had its own operating system to manage the unique hardware resources available only to that computing device.

Continuous and concurrent device experience in a multi-device ecosystem


A first device may be paired to a second device, with the first and second devices including inductive elements, the devices may be paired by aligning a first magnetic element of a first device and a second magnetic element of a second device. At least one additional magnetic element is used to redirect magnetic fields generated by the first magnetic element and the second magnetic element away from the inductive elements.

The present invention relates generally to physical pairing of inductively coupled devices, and more particularly to physical pairing of inductively coupled devices having magnets.
The use of wireless devices has proliferated in recent years. Not only can devices wirelessly transmit data to other devices, devices can also wirelessly supply power to other devices.
There are many applications that utilize the wireless transmission of data. One particular category of applications involves short-range or near-field transmissions, which typically occur over a distance of several feet or less. Examples of short-range or near-field transmission protocols or standards include radio-frequency identification (RFID), dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), Bluetooth, ZigBee, and near-field communications (NFC).
There are also many applications for utilizing wireless power supplies. For example, passive RFID tags may be wirelessly charged by active RFID devices and passive NFC tags may be wirelessly charged by active NFC devices. Likewise, a variety of electrical or electronic devices, including electric cars, electric toothbrushes, mobile phones, mp3 players, and the like, may be wirelessly charged using wireless charging pads, plates, stations, or other charging devices.
Electromagnetic induction may be used for wirelessly transmitting data or wirelessly supplying power from one device to another device. Typically, a first device that uses electromagnetic induction to transmit data or supply power to a second device includes a first inductive element, often a primary coil. When electric current flows through the first device's primary coil, an electromagnetic field is created. If the first device's primary coil is in proximity to a secondary coil in the second device, the primary coil's electromagnetic field may inductively couple with the second device's secondary coil, producing a current within the secondary coil. This current may be used in transmission of data or supply of power between the two devices.
For the inductive coupling to achieve high efficiency, it is typically desirable to properly align the primary coil and the secondary coil and minimize the distance between the primary coil and the secondary coil. To promote the proper alignment of, and distance between, two inductively coupled devices, the two inductively coupled devices may be physically and/or mechanically paired using, for example, magnets, gravity, groves, guides, slots, clamps, latches, cradles, or other well-known pairing techniques.
The use of magnets to pair two inductively coupled devices, however, may be problematic. A magnetic field is associated with the magnets, and an electromagnetic field is associated with the inductively coupled devices in operation. In addition, the inductive devices may themselves be magnetizable, and the magnets themselves may include material that is responsive in some way to electromagnetic field states. The magnetic field and the electromagnetic field may interfere with one another, possibly degrading performance. The magnetic field may also affect the inductive devices in such a way that degrades operation of the inductive coupling. The electromagnetic field may also affect the magnets (or their materials) in varying ways.
Widely separating in distance the inductive elements and the magnets may avoid or reduce these variations interactions. However, such a wide separation may be difficult to obtain if the devices are not physically large.

Devices and methods for pairing inductively-coupled devices


A ride vehicle for an attraction of an amusement park includes a ride seat, a pivot adapter configured to rotate relative to the ride seat, a gear of the pivot adapter comprising a first set of teeth, a passenger restraint piece coupled to the pivot adapter and configured to rotate with the pivot adapter between a closed and an open position, and a cap having a second set of teeth. The cap is configured to be positioned to engage the gear of the pivot adapter such that the second set of teeth of the cap engages with the first set of teeth of the gear, and engagement between the second set of teeth and the first set of teeth substantially blocks movement of the pivot adapter relative to the ride seat in a rotational direction.

The present disclosure relates generally to amusement park attractions and, specifically, to a restraint control system for an amusement park attraction.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be noted that these statements are to be read in this light and not as admissions of prior art.
Amusement parks include various features that entertain guests. For example, an amusement park may have rides, shows, and/or effects to provide a desirable experience to different guests. Some of these features may include a ride vehicle in which guests may be situated during operation of the attraction. For instance, the ride vehicle may have seats that the guests occupy, and restraints may be used to contain and secure the guests within the ride vehicle. It is now recognized that there is a need for improved restraints.

Restraint system for an amusement park attraction


The present invention relates to a method of extinguishing an electric arc, which occurs in low or high voltage switchgears, by pulse discharge. The electric arc is cut like a “fuse” by connecting a condenser (201) to both ends of the electric arc at the moment when it occurs and discharging the condenser (201) through the electric arc. The condenser is charged using a resistor (202) and a diode (203), and its discharge is adjusted by some auxiliary contacts.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of extinguishing an electric arc which occurs in switchgears.
In particular, the invention relates to a method based on a new principle of extinguishing the electric arc in electric way instead of the previous physical way.
2. Description of the Background
Reliability and lifetime of an instrument with contacts depend on how to make the electric arc small and how to extinguish it fast. It is the vacuum technique mainly used in high voltage that is now most superior of the techniques for making an electric arc small and extinguishing it fast. In vacuum circuit breakers the contacts are working under vacuum. Under vacuum the electric arc arises weakly and is easily extinguished since there is little ionization medium there. But the vacuum arc extinguishers are not used in low voltage or high voltage of more than 30 kV since they are difficult to manufacture and their costs are expensive. They are now only used in the switchgears for 3 to 20 kV.
In the common low voltage contactors the methods of extinguishing the electric arc by contacting it to a metal grating or an asbestos board and cooling it are still used and are little changed. Recently studies for extinguishing an electric arc in the low voltage field are intensified and accordingly several treatises are being reported.
In the NingBo Center of Science and Technology in China a method of extinguishing the electric arc in a 380V/65 A contactor using a superconducting magnet was reported in 2008, and in Japan a current break-even method was reported that the electric arc is extinguished by charging a condenser with the supply voltage, then discharging it into a reactor and supplying reversely the resonance voltage to the contacts. But these methods are not yet commercialized due to expensive costs and difficulty of manufacturing.
The switchgears using a SCR or high-capacity transistor are also developed but they can not be used in high voltage or large current since the apparatuses using electronic components have weak dielectric strength and are easily destroyed by an electric shock.
Almost all the recent data are about the improvement of structure base on the existing principle and mainly about the methods of manufacturing circuit breakers by vacuum technique.
The objective of the present invention is to establish a method of extinguishing an electric arc occurring in a low or high voltage switchgear on the basis of a new principle which is completely different from the existing one.

Method of extinguishing an electric arc in a low or high voltage switchgear by pulse discharge


The present disclosure provides a camera lens, constituted by eight lenses, and featuring excellent optical characteristics, an ultra-thin appearance, a wide angle and a bright Fno. The camera lens is configured with, sequentially from an object side: a 1st lens having a positive refractive power, a 2nd lens having a negative refractive power, a 3rd lens having a negative refractive power, a 4th lens having a positive refractive power, a 5th lens having a negative refractive power, a 6th lens having a positive refractive power, a 7th lens having a positive refractive power and an 8th lens having a negative refractive power, and satisfies specified conditional formulas.

In recent years, various types of camera devices using camera elements such as a CCD and a CMOS have been widely applied. With miniaturization and high performance-oriented development of these camera elements, the society has a stronger demand for a camera lens with excellent optical characteristics, an ultra-thin appearance, a wide-angle and a bright Fno.
A camera lens which is constituted by eight lenses and has a bright Fno is disclosed in the related art.
In the lens disclosed in related art, refractive powers of respective lenses from a 1st lens to an 8th lens are (positive, negative, positive, negative, positive, negative, negative, negative), (positive, negative, positive, negative, positive, positive, negative, negative), (positive, positive, negative, positive, negative, positive, negative negative), or (positive, positive, negative, positive, positive, positive, negative, negative), so Fno=1.20˜1.60 which is bright, but TTL/IH>1.90 which is not ultra-thin enough.

AAC Communication Technologies (Changzhou) Co., Ltd.


The present disclosure relates to methods for making apertured elastic laminates that may be used as components of absorbent articles. The methods and apparatuses may be close coupled such that materials may advance directly between aperturing and bonding operations. Such close coupling of devices may help to more precisely control the positions of the apertures in substrates relative to positions of apertures opposing substrates and/or bonds in the assembled laminate. The methods and apparatuses herein may also provide the ability to orient protrusions or protuberances in the substrates created by the aperturing process so as to extend inward and away from both outer surfaces of the assembled laminate. In turn, the assembly processes may be conducted so as to help mitigate reductions in softness that might otherwise result from the aperturing process in the assembled laminate.

Along an assembly line, various types of articles, such as for example, diapers and other absorbent articles, may be assembled by adding components to and/or otherwise modifying an advancing, continuous web of material. For example, in some processes, advancing webs of material are combined with other advancing webs of material. In other examples, individual components created from advancing webs of material are combined with advancing webs of material, which in turn, are then combined with other advancing webs of material. In some cases, individual components created from an advancing web or webs are combined with other individual components created from other advancing webs. Webs of material and component parts used to manufacture diapers may include: backsheets, topsheets, leg cuffs, waist bands, absorbent core components, front and/or back ears, fastening components, and various types of elastic webs and components such as leg elastics, barrier leg cuff elastics, stretch side panels, and waist elastics. Once the desired component parts are assembled, the advancing web(s) and component parts are subjected to a final knife cut to separate the web(s) into discrete diapers or other absorbent articles.
Some absorbent articles have components that include elastic laminates. Such elastic laminates may include an elastic material bonded between two substrates. The elastic material may include an elastic film and/or elastic strands. In some laminates, elastic strands are joined between two nonwovens while the elastic strands are in a stretched condition so that when the elastic strands relax, the nonwovens gather between the locations where the nonwovens are bonded to each other, and in turn, forms corrugations. The resulting elastic laminate is stretchable to the extent that the corrugations allow the elastic strands to elongate.
In some assembly processes, stretched elastic strands may be advanced in a machine direction and bonded between two advancing nonwovens to create an elastic laminate, wherein the stretched elastic strands are spaced apart from each other in a cross direction. Depending on where or how an elastic laminate may be used in an assembled product, it may be desirable to enhance certain features of the elastic laminate. For example, if the elastic laminate is assembled for the purpose of being converted into an elastic belt on a diaper pant, it may be desirable to increase the breathability of the elastic laminate to help enhance a wearer's comfort during use of the diaper pant.
As such, the nonwovens may be subjected to a perforating or aperturing process during assembly to form apertures in the nonwovens. In turn, the apertures may help increase the breathability of the elastic laminate. However, advancement of the nonwovens between separate assembly operations and the stretchability of the nonwovens can increase the difficulty in aligning the apertures in the individual nonwovens with respect to each other and/or the bonding processes during laminate assembly. In turn, misalignment or misplacement of the apertures in the nonwovens may result in apertures being blocked or covered by the opposing nonwovens and/or by the bonds between the two substrates. Unintentional blocking of such apertures, may in turn, detract from the breathability of the assembled laminate.
In an attempt to overcome the aforementioned problems associated with aperturing the individual nonwovens, some assembly processes may be configured to aperture the assembled laminate after assembly. However, subjecting an assembled elastic laminate to aperturing processes can detract from other desirable features of the elastic laminate, such as softness. For example, in some aperturing processes, apertures are created in the elastic laminate by inserting pins or needles through the laminate. When inserting pins through the laminate, the nonwovens may be deformed and protrusions may be created where the apertures are formed. Such protrusions may extend outward from one surface of the laminate. As such, the surface of the resulting laminate that includes the protrusions protruding therefrom may feel relatively rough.
Consequently, it would be beneficial to provide elastic laminates and methods and apparatuses for producing such elastic laminates wherein apertures are positioned in desired locations with respect to each other and/or with respect to bond regions while not detracting from the softness of the assembled laminate.

Method and apparatus for assembling apertured elastic laminates


A method of forming a circular opening in a layered sheet material to be subsequently bent which causes the layers to shift relative to one another in a direction normal to the bend including the steps of piercing the layers material with an oblong opening the spaced apart circular end configurations, then bending the layered material so that the opposite end portions in different layers are moved toward one another sufficiently so that a final circular opening is formed.

Field of Invention
This application concerns a procedure or method to produce a circular bore for a fastener or the like in laminated or layered sheet material which is first pierced to form an opening and subsequently bent in a shaping operation, the bending causing a relative shift between layers and distortion of the opening.
In the automobile industry, there has been a relatively recent recognition of the advantages in using laminated sheet material for various parts of the vehicle. For example, laminated or layered sheet material can be used for parts such as an engine oil pan to produce desirable noise dampening properties. Other potential applications include valve covers, air cleaner housings and various covers or shields.
Openings are formed in the above mentioned parts during a blanking operation in which a desired pre-bent shape is struck out from flat sheet material. Conveniently, the openings are formed at the same time. Subsequently, the flat part is shaped into a desired configuration by bending of the sheet material. When laminated or layered materials are bent, the layers are shifted relative to one another. With a simple straight bend, the shifting is in a direction substantially normal to the bend. If a circular opening is first formed in the laminated material, subsequent bending will shift the layers and produce a non-circular opening. If the layers are shifted enough, the resultant opening in the material could disappear.
Therefore, it is desirable to form openings in flat laminated sheet material which are so configured so that after a bend is made, a circular opening is produced in spite of shifting between the layers.
A search was conducted on this procedure and the following prior references were uncovered. Although it is not believed that any of the following patents are particularly relevant either taken alone or in combination, they are the closest prior art known to applicant.
The U.S. Pat. No. 2,751,664 to Arnit discloses a nonlaminated sheet material product which starts with an irregular opening and bends the material in two closely spaced bends to trap a ball between the material in the opening.
The U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,006,443 and 3,158,045 to Siler disclose layered structures with offset bores and eccentric special fasteners therefore.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,580,040 to Lang discloses tooling for forming openings in non-laminated sheet material.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,238,909 discloses an optical system to correct distortions using pre-printed copy on flat stock. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,888 discloses a seat belt anchor formed from two overlying straps (see FIGS. 7 and 8). One of the straps has oblong shaped openings therethrough.

Forming bores in bendable layered materials


A slew rate calibrating circuit and a slew rate calibrating method are provided which are capable of adjusting, with high accuracy, a slew rate of a signal to be output to a transmission path. A first clock is input and a delay time of a variable delay circuit is increased or decreased so that a phase of the first clock coincides with a phase of a first differential buffer output signal which rises when a voltage of a transmission path outgoing signal is at the same level as a first reference voltage or exceeds the first reference voltage. Then, a second clock is input and a slew rate of an output buffer is increased or decreased so that a phase of the second clock coincides with a phase of a second differential buffer output signal which rises when a voltage of a transmission path output signal is at the same level as a second reference voltage or exceeds the second reference voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a slew rate calibrating circuit and a slew rate calibrating method to adjust a slew rate being a maximum change rate of a voltage of a signal to be output, at high speed, from circuits such as a semiconductor device and more particularly to the slew rate calibrating circuit and slew rate calibrating method suitably used to adjust the slew rate to become its desired value.
The present application claims priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-056472 filed on Mar. 1, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, when a rectangular pulse signal represented by a binary number of a "0" or a "1" is output, at high speed, from an output buffer of an LSI (Large Scale Integrated circuit) to a transmission path connected to the LSI, noises occur, in some cases, due to reflections of a signal or a like occurring when the signal is input to a rear-stage circuit. Such noise causes a malfunction of the rear-stage circuit. To solve this problem, calibration of a slew rate is generally performed to suppress a steep rise or fall of a waveform of a pulse signal. Here, a slew rate denotes an absolute value of a voltage change rate of a signal which is represented by a voltage that can increase per unit time.
A slew rate of a signal to be sent out, at high speed, to a transmission path has a proper range of a value. For example, if a slew rate is made excessively small, a voltage change of a signal is very slow and, as a result, a delay time occurring before a voltage of the signal reaches a specified voltage becomes longer. If a slew rate is made excessively large, a response to a voltage change is excellent, however, as described above, the excessively large slew rate causes occurrence of noises.
To solve this problem, a slew rate calibrating circuit is conventionally proposed (first conventional technology) which is so configured as to adjust a slew rate to become its proper value determined empirically depending on a length of a transmission path or a state of a signal to be output to the transmission path (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-26712, 0019-th paragraph, FIGS. 3 and 6 (Patent Reference 1)). In the above Patent Reference 1, an output buffer to output a signal to a transmission path is used to adjust a slew rate. Then, a simulation is performed on correlation between a parameter to be used for the slew rate calibration and a slew rate to identify a value of the parameter. This enables the slew rate to be adjusted to become its target value.
However, ordinarily, the correlation between a slew rate and a parameter differs slightly depending on a factor of a difference in configurations of an output buffer to be applied or a difference in use environments. Therefore, the technology disclosed in the above Patent Reference 1 has a problem in that a slew rate cannot be adjusted with high accuracy.
To solve this problem, a method is considered to be available in which a slew rate is made to coincide with its target value by calculating a maximum voltage value to be changed in a unit time of a signal to be output from an output buffer and by changing a parameter until an amount of the change coincides with a calculated value. However, it is necessary that the unit time to be employed in the above operations is set to be shorter than, at least, one cycle period in a transfer frequency, and the higher the target value of a slew rate is, the shorter the unit time becomes.
As a method for accurately measuring a very short unit time, a second conventional technology is disclosed (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 174594, 0046-th paragraph, FIG. 4 (Patent Reference 2)) in which two clocks each having a different frequency are used. In the above Patent Reference 2, a first clock having a first period and a second clock having a second period extended by a specified time than the first period are prepared and the first clock is first input through a variable delay circuit to a specified device. Then, a delay time of the variable delay circuit is set so that a delay time of a clock output from the device relative to the original first clock comes near the first period. That is, a sum total of the delay time occurring between an input side of the variable delay circuit and an output side of the device is made to coincide with a first period. With a state of the above coincidence, a clock to be input to the specified device through the variable delay circuit is switched to select the second clock. This causes the delay time of the clock to be output from the device relative to the second clock to be made equal to the first period. That is, a difference in phase between the clock to be output from the device and the original second clock becomes equal to the above-described specified time. Thus, it is made possible to measure, with high accuracy, a very short unit time to be used as a reference when a slew rate is made to coincide with its target value.
However, according to the above second conventional technology, in order to make a slew rate of a signal output from the output buffer to a transmission path come near its target value, not only detection of an amount of a change in a voltage within the measured unit time but also measurement of a unit time in a period of time during which the amount of the change of a voltage value takes on a maximum value is required. As described above, the unit time for setting a slew rate is very short and it is almost impossible for a user to properly choose the starting and terminating timing.

Slew rate calibrating circuit and slew rate calibrating method


A first and a second debris outlet on a fan housing having a single fan and single intake or suction opening on a nut harvester. The nut harvester being of the type having structure for picking nuts up from the ground and depositing the nuts onto a moving open conveyor chain to carry the nuts for deposit into a storage container. The harvester includes a debris removal system including the fan within the fan housing connected to intake ducting positioned to draw air through the open conveyor chain to draw debris from the nuts into the fan housing to be exhausted out onto the ground. The first and second debris outlets are positioned on opposite sides of the fan housing from one another, approximately 180 degrees apart, and positioned so that debris is discharged to the two oppositely disposed sides of the harvester. The present invention provides an arrangement for exhausting debris quickly after it enters the fan housing by way of greatly reducing the distance the debris must travel prior to being exhausted through the nearest debris outlet, and this provides less clogging and more consistent air drawing, and thus improved debris removal from the nuts. Additionally, the debris exhaust air stream is divided by two, resulting in less dust being created.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is an improvement to nut harvesters generally of the type of harvester taught in our earlier U.S. Pat. No. 5,001,893 issued Mar. 26, 1991. The improvement taught in the present disclosure involves the use of multiple debris discharge openings in a single fan housing of the air moving system used to remove debris from the nuts as they are picked up from the ground.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Modern nut harvesters or nut pick-up machines which lift nuts (agricultural items) from the ground in an orchard of trees for deposit into a container such as a trailer or large box, typically use suction fans and ducting to draw air through open conveyor chains on which the nuts are deposited immediately after being lifted from the ground. The air drawn through the open conveyor chain lifts dirt, leaves, small stick and like debris into the ducting system, and thus separates the unwanted debris from the nuts. The debris is carried through the ducting to the suction fan and fan housing wherein the air and debris is moved from the suction side of the system to the pressure or exhaust side of the system to be ejected through a single exhaust duct of the fan housing out onto the ground.
Normally, for reasons pertaining to cost of manufacture, number of parts to be serviced, power consumption (fuel), and simplicity of operation and control, most modern nut pick-up machines utilizes only a single and relatively large debris removal fan contained in a fan housing having a single intake (suction) duct and a single exhaust duct on the fan housing on the harvester. Some nut harvesters of the past have used multiple debris suction fans and multiple fan housings, an arrangement which has significant drawbacks compared to the use of a single fan typical of more modern pick-up machines. Additionally, most all nut harvesters eject the debris to one side of the harvester, with this being to aim the debris away from the front of the harvester where the driver or towing tractor is positioned, and away from the nuts which have already been cleaned and deposited in a storage container positioned at the rear of the harvester.
The use of a single exhaust duct or outlet from the fan housing on such harvesters has been found to have a number of problems which the present invention solves.
One of the significant problems associated with the use of a single exhaust duct on a debris removing fan is a high amount of wear on the fan and fan housing. This wear is the result of some of the debris entering the fan housing a substantial distance from the exhaust outlet, and therefore the debris remains within the housing an extended period of time while it travels the extended distance toward the exhaust outlet. The debris, being highly abrasive, wears the expensive housing and fan, and the longer period of time the debris remains in the housing, and the longer the distance the debris must travel within the housing to the exhaust duct, the greater amount of wear the debris applies to the fan and fan housing. It would be desirable to have the fan and fan housing last as long as is possible since the servicing or replacing of these components costs time and money, and therefore adds to the overall cost of harvesting.
Another of the significant problems associated with the use of a single exhaust duct on a debris removing fan housing is the tendency for the debris, particularly wet debris, to cause clogs or clogging, usually in the bottom of the housing. Such clogging can greatly reduce the ability of the incoming debris to be ejected from the housing, and once a clog begins, it oftentimes becomes rapidly worse, leading to the harvester needing to be stopped and the fan housing opened and cleaned out. This cleaning of the fan housing costs time, and therefore is undesirable. Additionally, the clogging, depending on the severity thereof, may go unnoticed by the operator for a period of time. The clogging can lead to higher back-pressure and reduced air movement (suction) through the conveyor chain on which the nuts are carried, and this can lead to an excessive and undesirable amount of debris remaining in the nuts when they are deposited into a storage container. The problem with clogging is in part related to the time and distance the debris remains and travels within the fan housing, as the debris, particularly when wet, can be heavy and sticky, and can lose some of its velocity prior to being ejected out the exhaust duct. It is always desirable to have as much of the debris removed from the nuts as is possible prior to the nuts being deposited into the storage container, and to this end, the suction applied to the chain on which the nuts are conveyed is normally initially set at a maximum strength, being just slightly less than what would draw the nuts themselves into the debris removal fan. Only a small amount of build-up or clogging in the fan housing will lead to increased back-pressure and thus reduced suction applied over the conveyor chain, and thus a greater amount of debris left in the nuts when they are deposited in the storage container. Nuts are normally purchased by weight and quality, and cleanliness is a quality aspect, and an excessive amount of debris remaining in the nuts will lead to the purchaser paying significantly less per weight unit. Therefore, it can be appreciated that constant and predictable air drawing through the conveyor chain and nuts thereon is highly desirable for proper cleaning.
Another of the problems associated with the use of a single exhaust duct on a debris removing fan is the excessive back-pressure which is normally overcome by use of a substantially large fan. The inability of a debris removal fan to rapidly exhaust air effects its ability to create suction on the open conveyor chain which can lead to an excessive amount of debris remaining in the nuts. The ability of a debris removal fan to exhaust air is effected by a number of factors such as size of exhaust outlet relative to fan and intake duct size, R.P.M. of the fan, and whether any clogs or clogging has accumulated in the fan housing or exhaust duct. Generally, the larger the fan, the higher the cost of manufacture thereof, and the greater amount of power (fuel) needed to operate the fan, and so it would be desireable to use a smaller fan to achieve the same results as a larger fan when possible.
Another of the problems associated with the use of a single exhaust duct on a debris removing fan, and one which is receiving increasing attention, includes an excessive amount of dust which may be created by high volumes of rapidly moving exhaust air throwing dust and debris into the air or striking the ground and creating dust clouds. The amount of dust is of course dependent upon whether the ground is dry or moist. Harvesting during dry weather is normally preferred, although the rains sometimes come early, requiring wet nuts to be picked up. When harvesting in dry weather, high volumes of dust, or dust clouds serve no useful purpose, and it is becoming increasingly clear that orchard dust can pose health problems for humans as well as for the orchard trees. Such clouds of dust can blow a significant distance, and can invade nearby homes and can be taken into the lungs. Many believe such dust is harmful. Additionally, blowing dust can carry disease from tree to tree, or from orchard to orchard.
Therefore, there is a need for further improvement in nut pick-up machines, and particularly in the portion which utilizes air movement for removing the debris.

Nut harvester with dual debris exhausts on a single fan


In general, medical sheath systems that include a curved support sheath are described. In one embodiment, the support sheath includes a curved tube includes a distal portion fixed in an orientation perpendicular to the proximal end during advancement of an interventional tool through the support sheath.

Radiation protection in the medical field is important, particularly for physicians and healthcare practitioners. Procedures and therapies are often designed to minimize patient exposure while allowing physicians to effectively treat the patient. For example, imaging machines may be designed to decrease patient exposure by implementing lower radiation levels. However, cumulative exposure of physicians and healthcare practitioners may be significant as they often perform multiple treatments in a typical day, and may be increased when a particular treatment requires physicians' hands, for example, to be within a field of radiation. For example, physicians' or healthcare practitioners' hands may be exposed to radiation from fluoroscopic imaging equipment when inserting a catheter in a patient's vessel, or when delivering other instruments, medicines, fluids, or other endovascular devices in a patient's vessel. Various techniques have been used to limit radiation exposure, such as physical barriers including radiation shielding and body wear.

Interventional tool delivery devices, systems and MElHODS


A hydrogen gas generating apparatus for providing hydrogen gas to a fuel cell stack is provided. The apparatus includes an expandable reaction chamber containing a solid reactant component and a collapsible receptacle containing a liquid reactant component with a housing. The reaction chamber includes an expandable reactant zone defined by a moveable partition that retains the reactants and reaction products within the reaction chamber. The apparatus also includes a liquid transport control system and a fluid path for transporting the liquid reactant component from the collapsible receptacle to the reactant zone in the reaction chamber, where the liquid and solid reactant components react to generate hydrogen gas. The receptacle collapses with a corresponding expansion of the reaction chamber as liquid reactant component is used, and the reactant zone expands within the reaction chamber in response to pressure from the increasing volume of reaction products on the moveable partition. Volume exchange among the expandable reaction chamber, the expandable reactant zone and the collapsible receptacle provides a high volume of hydrogen gas from a hydrogen generating apparatus of limited volume.

In a hydrogen fuel cell, hydrogen is delivered to the anode, and oxygen is delivered to the cathode. At the anode, the hydrogen is oxidized to H+ ions, which travel to the cathode. Electrons from the oxidation reaction travel through an external circuit to the cathode power to a device connected to the fuel cell. At the cathode, the electrons reduce the oxygen, which then reacts with the hydrogen ions to form water molecules.                At the anode:H2→2H++2e−        At the cathode:2H++2e−+½O2→H2O
Because hydrogen fuel cells produce water as a waste product, the use of these fuel cells results in fewer environmental concerns than batteries, which typically contain heavy metals and acids or strong bases. In addition, fuel cells consume fuels that are provided to the fuel cell only as needed. Thus, the life of a fuel cell is, at least in theory, unlimited since the fuel cell only requires fuel from an external source that can be replenished periodically.
One type of fuel cell is a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell, which operates at lower temperature and pressure ranges than some other types of fuel cells. In a PEM fuel cell, the hydrogen is catalytically split into protons and electrons at the anode side of the membrane electrode assembly. The newly formed protons permeate through the membrane to the cathode side. The electrons travel along an external load circuit to the cathode side of the membrane electrode assembly to create the current output of the fuel cell. The oxygen delivered to the cathode side of the membrane electrode assembly reacts with the protons permeating through the polymer electrode membrane and the electrons arriving through the external circuit to form water. PEM fuel cells are useful for applications wherein cleanliness, quiet, and compactness are desirable, such as for portable electronic devices.

Hydrogen gas generating apparatus with expandable reaction chamber


An electronic privacy apparatus, for selectively blocking transmission of data from a camera, includes a camera, a first processor, a switch, and a second processor. The first processor is connected to the camera and receives image data from the camera. The switch is connected to the first processor. The second processor is configured to execute an operating system. The first processor implements a transmission state where the first processor transmits the image data to the second processor. The first processor also implements a privacy state where the first processor transmits blank data to the second processor. Based on user input, the switch selects either the transmission state or the privacy state and transmits a signal to the first processor indicating the user input.

Many electronic devices include cameras or can be connected to cameras for a wide range of imaging applications. For example, many portable electronic devices such as consumer laptop or notebook computers have integrated cameras that face the user for taking images or video of the user. Under some conditions, a user may want to block image or video data from the camera for privacy purposes. Some electronic devices include a manual shutter that can be physically moved in front of a camera sensor so that the camera is unable to capture image or video data when a user requires privacy. Meanwhile, the image or video data that a camera captures can be used for a range of functions aside from generating images and video for viewing by humans. These functions include image recognition and detection of a human's presence. When using a manual shutter to physically block light from entering a camera, these additional functions would also be disabled.


Compositions and methods related to ester insulin or derivatives thereof are provided. The compositions include GluA4-ThrB30 ester insulin, in which side chains of GluA4 and ThrB30 of native human insulin or an insulin analogue such as insulin lispro are covalently linked via a single ester bond. The ester insulin is efficiently folded, forming the desired disulfides. The ThrB30-GluA4 ester bond can be cleaved in vitro or in vivo to give the desired folded insulin with full biological activity. The ester insulin is readily prepared by total chemical synthesis, and amendable to cost-effective, large scale manufacturing. Also provided are pharmaceutical compositions and kits for use in practicing the subject methods. Also provided are methods of using the subject compositions and kits in the treatment of a variety of different disease conditions, particularly glucose metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity.

The native biosynthetic scheme of insulin involves an efficient folding/disulfides formation in a single chain precursor proinsulin molecule and subsequent enzymatic removal of the C-peptide to give mature insulin (Oyer et al., (1971) J. Biol. Chem. 246:1375-1386; and Kemmler et al., (1971) J. Biol. Chem. 246: 6786-6791). A proinsulin-based approach has been currently adopted in the recombinant production of insulin (Frank et al., MMW Munch. Med. Wochenschr (1983) 125(Suppl 1):14-20; and Thim et al. (1986) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 83:6766-6770).
In current recombinant synthesis of human insulin (and analogs) as drug manufactures, the chemical diversification is limited to natural amino acids (Mayer et al., (2007) Biopolymers (Peptide Science) 88:687-713): Conversely, total chemical synthesis of human insulin permits the incorporation essentially any non-natural structure into the molecule, an apparent advantage that allows for full exploration of the medicinal chemistry of this important therapeutic molecule. However, an efficient chemical synthesis approach to human insulin is lacking (Mayer et al., (2007) supra). This apparent deficiency hampers not only the cost-effective chemical manufacture of insulin, but also the development of next generation insulin analogs containing non-natural chemical structure.
The difficulty of chemical insulin synthesis is mainly attributed to a low yield recombination of A- and B-chains via interchain disulfides formation. In addition, the disulfides-forming reaction requires an excess amount of A-chain (Hua et al. (2002) J. Biol. Chem. 277:43443-43453). An initial set of total chemical syntheses of insulin involved the inefficiency in three disulfides formation from separated A- and B-chains which were prepared by segment condensation (Meienhofer at al. (1963) Z. Naturforsch. 18b:1120-1121; Katsoyannis et al., (1964) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 86:930-932; and Du et al., (1965) Sci. Sin. 14:229-236) or solid phase peptide synthesis (Marglin et al., (1966) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 88:5051-5052). An alternative methodology with chemically directed formation of the disulfide bonds (Sieber et al. (1977) Helv. Chim. Acta 60:27-37; and Akaji et al., (1993) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 115:11384-11392) is complicated and has not found widespread use.
An alternative is to use a chemical tether to mimic the effect of covalently linking the A- and B-chains as found in proinsulin. Most of the previously studied chemically tethered insulin precursors have involved covalent linking of the N-terminal of the insulin A chain to the side chain of LysB29, near the C-terminal of the insulin B-chain (Brandenburg, D. & Wollmer, A. (1973) Hoppe-Seyler's Z. Physiol. Chem. 354:613-627; Brandenburg et al. (1973) Hoppe-Seyler's Z. Physiol. Chem. 354:1521-1524; Geiger, R. & Obermeier, R. (1973) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 55:60-66; Obermeier, R. & Obermeier, R. (1975) Hoppe-Seyler's Z. Physiol. Chem. 356:1631-1634; and Busse, W-D. & Carpenter, F. H. (1976) Biochemistry 15:1649-1657). With a view to an efficient total synthesis of human insulin and analogues, a variety of different length chemical tethers between these two functionalities have been explored with both non-cleavable (Brandenburg, D. & Wollmer; A. (1973) supra) and cleavable tethers (Brandenburg et al. (1973) supra; Geiger et al. (1973) supra; Obermeier et al. (1975) supra; and Busse, W-D. & Carpenter, F. H. (1976) supra). It was found that tethers as short as 8 carbon atoms were effective in promoting high yield folding/disulfide formation (Brandenburg, D. & Wollmer, A. (1973) supra).
Recently, there have been attempts to extend the chemical tether approach to a more effective total chemical synthesis of insulin (Tofteng et al. (2008) Chem Bio Chem 9:2989-2996; and Sohma, Y. & Kent, S. B. H., "Biomimetic synthesis of lispro insulin via a chemically synthesized 'mini-proinsulin' prepared by oxime-forming ligation" Submitted). For example, synthesis of human insulin via chemically synthesized 'mini-proinsulin' prepared by oxime-forming ligation has been reported, in which an introduced temporary 'chemical tether' that links the N-terminal of the A chain to the C-terminal of the B chain, permitted the folding/formation of disulfides with high efficiency (Sohma, Y. & Kent, S. B. H, Submitted, supra). However, this later approach involved a relatively long/complicated chemical tether which made the synthesis laborious. In addition, it was necessary to remove the chemical tether enzymatically in a later step. Thus, various chemical production strategies reported to date for insulin are still far from practical for the efficient generation of insulin chemical analogues.
Ideal features of an optimal chemically tethered mini-proinsulin would include: straightforward preparation by existing synthetic methods; efficient folding/disulfide formation; and, ready chemical conversion to mature insulin. The present invention addresses these and other needs.


The invention is directed to a Pyronol torch and holder device for provid quick and efficient attachment of the torch to a barrier target (flat, curved, or irregular shape) that is made of steel or magnetic steel alloys. The device provides for attachment to the target and for holding a cutting torch containing pyrotechnic material at a predetermined standoff distance from the surface of the target for proper operation of the torch and for permitting escape of products of combustion to minimize liftoff forces on the holding device tending to lift it from the target to which it is attached.

The use of the pyronol torch against various types of steel targets was implemented previously by using various mechanical means, including the application of manual force by the person using it. A need arose for means for securely attaching torches to steel targets in a quick manner. The use of a holder employing magnets is proposed herein to (1) keep the torch firmly fastened to the target yet with sufficient standoff distance of the torch from the target to insure complete perforation, (2) be easily attached, and (3) remain in place after firing. Mechanical devices have been employed to both hold the torch to a barrier and maintain it at a prescribed standoff distance.
The invention relates generally to a pyronol torch and a device for holding the torch in proper position with respect to the surface of a barrier target for cutting penetration or destruction of the target. More specifically, the invention relates to a holder for securing a torch generally normal to the surface of a barrier target at a preselected standoff distance therefrom for allowing cutting operation and escape of the combustion gases which would otherwise tend to lift the device from the target.
Pyronol torch devices contain a power source of pyrotechnic material "pyronol". Pyronol is a powder mixture of nickel, aluminum, ferric oxide and fluorcarbon (teflon) which is pelletized into a cylinderical configuration. After initiation, exothermic reaction takes place inside the torch chamber, and molten products of the reaction are ejected in the form of a jet at high velocity by internally generated gas pressure through a graphite nozzle. The jet from the chamber, when directed against a target barrier, at a preselected standoff distance, causes extensive erosion of the target which can lead to the perforation in a very short time.
Such torches have use, particularly military use, for penetrating barriers such as wall, bars, or doors, usually made of steel, for permitting entry or egress. Such torches and holding devices also have use for rupturing steel fuel storage tanks and igniting its contents. The invention includes a torch holder which is adapted to receive the torch in a preselected position and for quickly and efficiently securing it to the barrier. For attachment to relatively flat surfaces of steel or magnetic material, the device or holder is constructed in the form of an H-frame having spaced-apart magnets for holding against the barrier and a support ring for retaining the torch in fixed position relative thereto. Another embodiment of the invention pertains to holding a torch in proper position with respect to a steel bar for cutting it.

Apparatus for attaching ordnance to barrier targets

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


Embodiments of the present disclosure include devices and methods for humidity and temperature sensing. For example, in one embodiment, a sensing device can include a first surface acoustic wave (SAW) component, wherein the first SAW component is a temperature component, a second SAW component, wherein the second SAW component is a humidity component, a third SAW component, wherein the third SAW component is a reference component, and a piezoelectric layer, wherein the first SAW component, the second SAW component, and the third SAW component are on a surface of the piezoelectric layer.

The present disclosure is related generally to the field of sensing devices. More particularly, the present disclosure is related to humidity and temperature sensing devices.
Sensing devices can use a number of methods to sense phenomena that can be correlated to a desired measurement. One sensing method uses interdigitated transducers (IDTs) to convert electrical energy to mechanical energy and to convert mechanical energy to electrical energy.
The IDTs can use the mechanical energy and/or electrical energy to correlate phenomena associated with either type of energy to a characteristic. An IDT can be placed on the surface of an object and transform mechanical energy from the object to electrical energy. An IDT on the surface of an object can also transform electrical energy supplied to the IDT into mechanical energy that can be transferred to the object on which the IDT is placed.
An IDT can be included in a resonator that includes an IDT and a series of reflectors that reflect mechanical energy back to the IDT. Phenomena associated with the mechanical energy, such as the velocity of the surface waves, can be sensed and measured by the IDT. In some arrangements, the mechanical energy can be transformed back into electrical energy by the IDT.
An IDT can be included in a delay line. A delay line can include a first IDT that generates mechanical energy from electrical energy and a second IDT that receives the mechanical energy generated by the first IDT. In such embodiments, phenomena associated with the mechanical energy, such as the velocity of the surface waves, can be sensed and measured by the second IDT. The mechanical energy received by the second IDT can be transformed back into electrical energy by the second IDT.
Resonators and delay lines can use the phenomena sensed by the IDTs and correlate it to a desired measurement characteristic. Resonators and delay lines can be used to correlate phenomena associated with electrical and/or mechanical energy sensed by IDTs to measurements, such as temperature, mass loading, and/or strain/stress, among other measurements.
Sensing devices using IDTs can be limited by in their ability to measure phenomena with sufficient resolution and to transmit the measurements from the sensing devices in certain environments. Additionally, the cost, amount of time, and/or difficulty associated with manufacturing IDT based sensing devices can be high, which may not be suitable for some applications.


A method and a device for determining sending parameters of a terminal are disclosed. The method includes: determining a pre-estimated signal-to-noise ratio of an uplink on at least one reference position in a cell range corresponding to a satellite beam, determining, according to the pre-estimated signal-to-noise ratio of the uplink, effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) values corresponding to a preset carrier bandwidth of the uplink, determining, according to the EIRP values corresponding to the preset carrier bandwidth of the uplink, a maximum rate supported by the preset carrier bandwidth of the uplink, determining, according to the maximum rate supported by the preset carrier bandwidth of the uplink, a maximum uplink rate supported by the terminal, and determining an uplink sending maximum EIRP value and/or an uplink sending maximum bandwidth of the terminal according to an uplink rate to be supported by the terminal input by a user.

For a satellite mobile communication system, due to the limitation of transceiving abilities of satellites and terminals, power and bandwidths are both limited resources, and thus the satellite mobile communication system needs to reasonably allocate power and bandwidth resources to the terminals according to the transceiving abilities of the terminals.
In the related art, transceiving abilities of satellites and receiving abilities of terminals can be determined through existing methods, but there is no reasonable solution for determining sending abilities of the terminals at present.

Method and device for determining sending parameters of terminal

DATANG MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT CO., LTD.