Techniques for validating an audio configuration of a computer are provided. Validation tests are performed on the audio configuration and results from the tests are displayed to a user as a report. The report can include an indication of the audio configuration settings that will adversely affect the audio quality for such uses as computer telephony. Additionally, the report can indicate a recommendation on changing the audio configuration to improve audio quality and can assist the user in making the audio configuration change.

The present invention relates to audio configuration for computer systems. More particularly, the invention relates to validating an audio configuration of a computer for computer telephony.
Conventional telephones operate using circuit-switched technology. The circuit-switched telephone backbone is composed of dedicated copper wires or fiber optic cables that are typically owned by the telephone companies. In general, the telephone companies charge telephone call fees, based on the duration of the call and the distance between the caller and receiver, that are designed to cover the costs for installing, expanding and maintaining the telephone backbone.
With packet-switched telephone systems, a speaker""s voice (or other data) is broken down and sent over a computer network as multiple packets. Computer telephony can offer significant cost savings because dedicated network connections are replaced by network connections shared among many users, which results in much more efficient use of bandwidth and reduced wiring costs. Additionally, in theory, computer telephony can offer easier administration.
In the past, the computer and network technologies had not advanced to the point where the quality of computer telephony approached the quality of conventional telephone systems. Therefore, the cost and convenience savings of computer telephony came at a price of lower quality. However, as computer and network technologies continue to improve, the quality differential is diminishing or is non-existent, and so computer telephony is becoming more and more prevalent.
One of the major problems facing computer telephony clients is that they are executing on computers with general purpose operating systems. These general purpose operating systems are designed to support a wide variety of applications so there are typically a very large number of audio configuration settings. Although the numerous audio configuration settings allow the computers to be very flexible and adaptable to a wide variety of applications, there is a considerable increase in complexity in audio configuration. Audio configuration errors and less-than-optimal configurations are common, which often results in a variety of audio quality problems that in turn impede the effectiveness of computer telephony systems.
The conventional solution to complex audio configuration of computer systems is to rely on information technology experts. The expert can set the audio configuration in person, give instructions to a user over the telephone or by e-mail, utilize an application sharing session, or the like. The expert can be employed by the company be an independent contractor, or be employed by a computer telephony vendor.
A major disadvantage of utilizing information technology experts for audio configuration is the high cost of employing the experts, which will inevitably be passed on to the companies that are utilizing the computer telephony systems. Additionally, these companies will be further frustrated by the difficulty in getting computer telephony to work correctly, as they are used to traditional telephones that were plugged in and simply worked.
Another solution to audio configuration complexities that does not have as high a cost is the use of documentation. Companies have attempted to document, such as on a web page, an application note or in a user manual, the audio configuration issues for computer telephony clients and suggested solutions. Unfortunately, many, if not most, users do not have the initiative or the time to utilize such documentation. Therefore, this low cost solution has achieved results that are far from satisfactory.
It would be beneficial to have innovative techniques for validating an audio configuration of a computer. Additionally, it would be beneficial to have techniques that automatically checked the audio configuration of a computer telephony system and indicated to the user the settings that should be changed to fix or improve audio quality.
The present invention provides innovative techniques for validating an audio configuration of a computer. In general, one or a series of audio configuration settings of the computer are retrieved and compared to a stored optimal setting or settings. A report can then be generated to a user that indicates the audio configuration settings that should be changed, which can be specifically optimized according to the specific hardware of the computer system. In this manner, users can quickly and efficiently verify the audio configuration of their computers. Some embodiments of the invention are described below.
In one embodiment, the invention provides a computer implemented method of validating an audio configuration of a computer. An audio configuration setting of the computer is retrieved. The retrieved audio configuration setting is compared to a stored optimal setting. If the audio configuration setting is not equal to the stored optimal setting, a report, indicating that the audio configuration setting of the computer is not optimal, is displayed to a user. The stored optimal setting can be a specific value or a range of values that can be stored locally on the computer or remotely on a network.
In another embodiment, the invention provides a computer implemented method of validating an audio configuration of a computer. The computer is examined to determine hardware of the computer. An audio configuration setting of the computer is retrieved. The audio configuration setting is compared to a stored optimal setting based on the hardware of the computer. If the audio configuration setting is not equal to the stored optimal setting, a report, indicating that the audio configuration setting of the computer is not optimal, is displayed to a user. Typically, the hardware of the computer is stored in a configuration database, such as a WINDOWS Registry. In preferred embodiments, the stored optimal setting is one that is optimal for computer telephony applications.
In another embodiment, the invention provides a computer implemented method of validating an audio configuration of a computer. Multiple audio configuration settings of the computer are retrieved. The audio configuration settings are analyzed. If the audio configuration setting is not optimal in relation to one or more of the other audio configuration settings, a report, indicating that an audio configuration setting of the computer is not optimal, is displayed to a user. The audio configuration settings can be analyzed by computing a Boolean calculation, numerical calculation or the like.

Siemens Information and Communication Networks, Inc.


A handheld low voltage machining tool with which any one or more of drilling, milling, and abrading operations can be safely performed even on densely populated, multilayer, circuit boards. Provisions are made for preventing electrical overstress by isolating the tip of the machining tool from the drive motor as well as for preventing abrupt starting of the tool which can cause jerking, jumping or skipping of the tool off of the target. Still further, dynamic braking of the tool bit is achieved, both upon release of an operator actuated control switch and due to a selected conductive layer being reached. For the latter effect, a probe is provided by which a low voltage can be delivered to a component or conductor on the board, and circuitry detects grounding of this voltage by contact with the grounded bit of the machining tool.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to handheld tools for machining of workpieces. More specifically, the present invention is directed to such handheld tools as used to perform any one or more of drilling, milling, and abrading operations, especially for precise circuitry and substrate repair, as well as for modification and conformal coating removal, with respect to printed circuit boards.
2. Description of Related Art
During printed circuit board assembly or repair, occasions arise which require extra holes to be drilled, coatings or solder masks to be ground away, conductive traces to be severed, buried conductors to be located or excavated, card edge contacts to be burnished or polished, or other machining operations to be performed. In the past, a technician would use a tool such as a simple electric hand drill. Examples of hand drills with bits for performing such circuit board machining operations are the MAXI DRILL and MINI DRILL by Sterling (a Wahl Clipper corporation), the Weller model 601 and the Dremel model 232 tools. These types of tools may have been acceptable with older technology printed circuit boards, but they pose numerous problems for newer, densely populated, multilayer boards.
For example, the electronics industry is now very conscious of touching a tool of unknown electric potential to a circuit board populated with expensive, sensitive semiconductors since electrical overstress (EOS) damage can result, such as from transient voltages of the tool's electric motor being coupled to the tip and transferred to the circuit board. Additionally, tightly packed assemblies require precision since it is difficult to target a point of interest without touching adjacent components and conductors. Existing products lack adequate speed control to prevent abrupt starting of the tool which can cause jerking, jumping or skipping of the tool off of the target and fast starting speeds also lead to "wandering" of the tool. The operator often tenses up, squeezing hard to limit instability, and this leads to operator fatigue within a short time. Abrupt starting can also cause torques to be applied which are, themselves, damaging to sensitive/delicate workpieces. Not only is fast starting a problem, but so is the inability of such known tools to obtain a virtually immediate stopping of the tool bit when the operator releases the control switch. That is, when the control switch is released, the tool coasts to a stop and while coasting, as the operator relaxes or as the tool bit is extracted from the work, e.g., a drilled hole may become out-of-round, or a conductor (which on some boards can be quite thin) can be damaged, especially when drilling down to interior layers of a multilayer board (where it is also possible for a conductor to be severed if the operator inadvertently fails to release the control switch in time).
Outside of the circuit board environment, handheld drills are known which have a torque limiting feature (see, U.S. Pat. No. 4,487,270), as are handheld drills which have a rotational speed control (see, U.S. Pat. No. 4,292,571). However, these controls are for protection of the tool not the workpiece.
Additionally, a handheld drill is known (see, U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,375) which has a dynamic braking system for stopping a drill bit when it contacts an electrically conductive material. More specifically, to prevent electrocution of a person accidentally drilling into an electric power line, as well as interruption of the power supply should the power line be severed, a comparator/detector control is connected to the drill bit and motor circuit. With this control, upon detecting ground or power, an operational amplifier becomes unbalanced, resulting in a detection output signal being produced which, in turn, leads to the circuit to the motor windings being momentarily opened, after which the motor windings are briefly reversed and then disabled. However, the control of this drill brake requires high excitation voltages of the type found in 120 volt power lines, and cannot be made sensitive enough to respond to voltages in the millivolt range (which are required for safe use with printed circuits and sensitive electrical components found on circuit boards) without the control circuit being triggered by leakage voltages from the drill motor circuit.
Of course, drill presses with computer-controlled control systems are known (see, U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,557) which enables multi-ply workpieces of different thicknesses and hardnesses to be worked upon. In the particular control system of U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,557, the translational and rotational velocities of the drill bit can be continuously controlled using a feedback system which receives information from an optical beam sensor. However, such a system is not practical for a handheld tool, and even if it were, the various problems associated with printed circuit board machining operations, mentioned above, would still not be addressed.


A bicycle wheel rim having a circular base portion including a proximal surface and a distal surface, and a pair of integral sidewalls extending generally radially outward from an intersection region of the proximal surface and the distal surface. The distal surface of the rim has a central hump, a trough contiguous with the central hump extending axially outward from the hump, and a flat shelf immediately adjacent, contiguous with, and extending axially outward from the trough. Another embodiment of the invention is directed to a bicycle wheel including the embodied rim, a plurality a spokes engaged at respective ends thereof with the rim and a hub engaged with the plurality of spoke members at opposite ends thereof. Another embodiment of the invention is directed to a bicycle wheel assembly comprising the embodied wheel and a tube and/or tire mounted on the rim.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention are directed to the field of bicycle wheel rims and, more particularly, to a lighter, stronger and otherwise improved rim for tires with or without tubes.
2. Description of Related Art
The rim is the outer, usually metal, hoop of a bicycle wheel. The spokes of a bicycle wheel extend between a central hub of the wheel and the rim. An inflatable tube and/or tire are positioned around the exterior of the rim and air is introduced through a valve mechanism to inflate the tube and/or tire on the rim as a functional part of a bicycle.
A prior art rim including a mounted, inflated tire is shown in cross section in FIG. 1 to illustrate conventional rim construction. The rim 100 has a base portion 101, which holds the distal portion of a spoke assembly 102. The base portion extends upward in the form of a Y to a point 103. A mounting surface 104 of the rim has a generally concave profile and extends between, and connects to, opposing points 103. Sidewalls 105 extend outwards from points 103 and terminate in bead lock region 106. Tire 110 has tire bead regions 112. In an uninflated state, the tire bead regions 112 loosely rest on rim surface 104 in the region between sidewalls 105. Upon inflation, the bead portions ride up the surface. 104 until they sealingly engage sidewalls 105. Due to the construction of the tire bead 112, the bead lock regions 106 help to stabilize the engagement of the tire with the rim. Many variations of rim designs are known to those skilled in the art. However, the great majority of rims will have the basic portions illustrated in FIG. 1.
The dimensions of various portions of a bicycle rim can significantly influence rim function. For example, weight is a significant consideration in a racing or touring rim. In addition to material considerations, rim parameters such as the inside distance between the rim sidewalls will largely determine useable tire size, the ability to use an inner tube within the tire, rim strength, the effect of forces on the rim during various maneuvers such as turning, braking, etc., and others. The shape of the surface 104 may significantly influence the ease of tube/tire mounting and tube/tire inflation. The height, shape and thickness of the rim sidewalls will contribute to overall rim weight, strength, tire stability, air leakage, and other considerations appreciated by those skilled in the art.
Several issues can be identified with respect to conventional rim construction and dimensions. Rim sidewalls typically have a height dimension, shown as H in FIG. 1, between about 0.225 inch to ≧0.265 inch for a conventional bicycle rim. As the dimension H increases, so does the mechanical leverage of the tire on the rim. The greater leverage resulting from a higher sidewall further increases the forces acting in the region of point 103 of the rim shown in FIG. 1, thus requiring additional support at points 103 in the form of more material and increased rim weight. A higher sidewall dimension, H, promotes greater flexing of the rim and may result in cracking or stress fracture of the rim material. In addition, as rim sidewall height, H, increases, available tire inflation volume decreases while inflation pressure increases. Moreover, less tire surface is available resulting in decreased traction and other disadvantages. Another consequence of high sidewalls and various head lock sizes and shapes is the well known "pinch flat" or "snake bite" that may be caused when the tube or tire gets pinched between the rim and a hard, sharp object such as a rock, curb stone or the edge of a pothole, for example. An under-inflated tire also contributes to a pinch flat occurrence. A too soft, or too narrow (for the rim) tire more easily lets the tire bottom out when striking an obstruction resulting in the pinch holes from the bead locks or distal portion of the sidewall.
Several issues to be considered with respect to rim surface 104 as shown in FIG. 1 include rim strength, the ability to uniformly position the tire bead region on the rim prior to inflation and the ease of tire inflation, particularly with a manual pump, the interchangeable use of tubes and/or tubeless tires, and others recognized in the art. In light of the known shortcomings of conventional bicycle rim designs, such as those set forth above and others known to those skilled in the art, the inventor has recognized a need for an improved rim that addresses these disadvantages and additionally results in a lighter, stronger, more versatile, better performing and cost effective rim for the rider.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method for the simultaneous bidirectional transfer of digital data at a ry high rate between a host digital data processor and an external device includes the steps of: loading the output data into a data register of the processor; loading an address reference of an external device into an address register of the processor; forming a composite address consisting of the sum of the data register and an address register; and exporting the output data through the address lines from the processor to the external device while simultaneously reading data into the processor from the external device. The method accomplishes rapid data transfer by advantageously transferring data over what would normally be address lines between the processor and the external device. This method is suitable for applications where data is to be transferred from a processor operably coupled to only one external device.

The present invention relates to the field of data transfer, and more particularly, to a method for providing continuous bidirectional transfer of data with external data acknowledge. External data acknowledge is a control line from the receiving device to the sending device used to prevent data from being presented faster than the receiving device can accept it.
Digital computers and peripherals built to VME standards offer a wide selection of modules that can be assembled into systems which are capable of performing many design functions. An example of a medium priced, VME single board computer is the FORCE Computers Model CPU-33XB which offers three ways to export parallel data. The first way is an industry standard data transfer circuit called the 68230 Parallel Input-output/Timer (PI/T). The PI/T offers two eight bit ports that can be combined to output 16 lines of data with external acknowledge. Because of internal limitations, however, the continuous rate of data transfer of this device is less than 200,000 bytes per second. The second way is referred to as "Direct Memory Access" (DMA). This method offers a high data transfer rate with external acknowledge, but is limited to transferring only one block of data at a time. The DMA registers must be reloaded after each block, creating timing gaps that severely reduce the continuous data transfer rate. The third method uses a local I/O port which allows access to the address bus and the data bus of the CPU. This method offers a high continuous data transfer rate (eight bits per transfer), but there is no provision for external data acknowledge to prevent data overrun.
None of these methods offers data transfer rates in the range of 4 megabits per second with external data acknowledge, severely limiting the capability of exporting data from a VME system to an external device. Therefore, there is a need for a method that is capable of utilizing the local I/O port of a processor in a manner which provides a continuous data transfer rate of at least 4,000,000 bytes per second and incorporates an external data acknowledge function.

Effectuating full duplex digital data transfer

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


A shoe, boot, sneaker, etc. incorporates a foot-actuated pump which is connected to one or more expandable air bladders located in portions of the footware where contour fitting is desirable. Walking or running actuates the pump. An adjustable relief valve connected to the bladder releases air when a preselected pressure is exceeded. The relief valve is accessible externally for easy adjustment by the wearer. Regardless of the external ambient temperature or degree of user activity, the pump, in conjunction with the relief valve, maintains a preselected pressure and assures that the selected fit between the user's foot and footware is maintained at all times.

This invention relates to shoes, and more particularly, to shoes which can be automatically adjusted in use to fit the users' foot under a wide range of usage and temperature conditions. For many years, the ski boot industry has tried to cope with the problem of comfortable fit for a boot. When the boots are cold, they are rather rigid and hard. When they heat up, they soften, which is the natural characteristics of thermoplastic material. Foam cushioning has been used as well as certain attempts which have been made to use an air-filled bladder within the shoes. Several years ago, a ski boot manufacturer used an air-filled inner boot which required an external pump to inflate the boot to an adequate pressure. This approach did not meet with commercial success, the problem being that a differential in temperature exists between indoor and outdoor conditions. Thus, a boot, or for another example, a sneaker, which is pumped up to fit indoors will be loose in colder outdoor temperatures. If the pressure is adjusted in the boot in a cold temperature and the person enters a warmer environment or, due to running, exercising, etc., heats up the air bladder within the footware, the footware becomes too tight as the pressure in the internal footware bladder builds up corresponding to the increased temperature.
In addition to this poor regulation of fit, it is necessary for the user to carry a pump in order to properly inflate the footware for the original fit.
What is needed is a high-tech boot, sneaker, or other footware which can be readily adjusted for proper fit with the user's foot, this adjustment being accomplished automatically and being automatically maintained regardless of changes in ambient conditions and degree of activity of the user.


A power supply device including a converter having a switch circuit to which an input voltage is supplied and a coil coupled between the switch circuit and an output end from which an output voltage is output; and a control circuit comparing between a feedback voltage and a reference voltage, and on/off controls the switch circuit according to a comparison result; wherein, the control circuit includes a current gradient detection circuit performs detection of a gradient of a coil current flows thorough the coil during an off period of the switch circuit and generates a slope voltage according to a result of the detection; and an adder circuit performs one of generating the feedback voltage by adding the slope voltage to a voltage according to the output voltage and generating the reference voltage by adding the slope voltage to a standard voltage that is set according to the output voltage.

As a power supply device that generates an output voltage higher than or lower than an input voltage, a comparator type direct-current to direct-current (DC-DC) converter is known according to U.S. published patent application No. 2007/0120547. For example, a step-down DC-DC converter on/off controls a switch circuit to which an input voltage is supplied and a current that flows through a coil coupled to the switch circuit is smoothed by a smoothing capacitor to generate an output voltage. The output voltage generated in the above described manner includes a ripple voltage (ripple component) caused by the coil current and equivalent series resistance (ESR) of the smoothing capacitor. Thus, the DC-DC converter compares the output voltage and a given standard voltage and turns on the switch circuit when the output voltage becomes lower than the standard voltage due to the ripple component, and thereby controls the output voltage.
As described above, the DC-DC converter that generates an output voltage by switching the switching circuit demands stabilization of the output voltage, in other words, an output voltage with fewer ripple components. In order to meet the demand, DC-DC converters that use a smoothing capacitor with small ESR have been developed.
However, a feed back system and a control cycle of a switch circuit become unstable when a value of ESR of a smoothing capacitor is made small. As a result, there is a drawback in that a voltage VL is irregularly applied to a coil and a current IL that flows through the coil changes irregularly, and thereby an output voltage Vo fluctuates as illustrated in FIG. 8.

Power supply device, control circuit and method for controlling power supply device


The SIR values of multi-paths obtained by a transmission path estimator are accumulated by an integrator at very cycle of a pilot signal, an average value for sufficiently long period is calculated by an average value calculator, a reference value is divided by a divider and applied as a control coefficient to multipliers, where it is multiplied by the SIR values, and the weight values of multi-paths are obtained. As for the despreaded data from a despreading unit, the timing of all data is synchronized in buffers, the data is complex multiplied by the above-mentioned weight values in multipliers, and RAKE is synthesized by adding in an adder, and outputted as final demodulated data to a soft decision unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a CDM (Code Division Multiplex) receiver apparatus in a communication or broadcasting system using a CDM method, and a RAKE synthesizer apparatus used for the CDM receiver apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a CDM transmitter and a CDM receiver apparatus in a communication or broadcasting system using a CDM method, the following operations are usually performed. A CDM transmitter adds an error correction code to each transmission data of a plurality of channels, generates a CDM signal by spreading the data by a spreading code different for each channel and multiplying the data, and sends out the CDM signal. A CDM receiver apparatus performs AGC (Auto Gain Control) for the received CDM signal depending on the average receiving power, and then despreading demodulates the signal by using a spreading code of the specified channel, makes soft decision and corrects an error to thereby obtain the transmission data of a specified channel. A CDM receiver apparatus usually uses a RAKE synthesizer apparatus as a back diffusion demodulator.
However, in a despreading demodulator used in a conventional CDM receiver apparatus, the average amplitude (power) of output data does not always match the power level of input signal because of the influence of spreading and demodulating the signal by using the spreading code. Thus, even if the input power level of the despreading demodulator by performing AGC based on the average receiving power, the average amplitude of demodulated data is not fixed. As a result, the accuracy of soft decision lowers, and the error rate rises.

CDM receiver apparatus and rake synthesizer apparatus


A bone fixation assembly may include an elongate fixation member and a flexible tensioning element. The elongate fixation member may include a central longitudinal axis, a distal portion couplable to a first bone fragment of a bone, and a proximal portion couplable to a second bone fragment of the bone to provide fixation of the second bone fragment relative to the first bone fragment. The flexible tensioning element may be couplable to the proximal and distal portions of the elongate fixation member to secure the elongate fixation member to the bone. The flexible tensioning element may be configured to span a bone fracture intermediate the first bone fragment and the second bone fragment to preload the bone fracture in compression to resist tensile force imparted across the bone fracture, thereby maintaining fixation of the first bone fragment relative to the second bone fragment.

Bone fractures may be reduced and repaired with many different types of orthopedic internal fixation devices, systems, and methods. Two common types of orthopedic internal fixation devices include intramedullary rods and bone plates.
Intramedullary rods and bone plates each have their own particular advantages and disadvantages. For example, intramedullary rods typically require smaller incision sites and have less or no prominence in comparison to bone plates. Both of these characteristics may be desirable from a cosmetic perspective. Intramedullary rods usually cause fewer disturbances to surrounding soft tissues (e.g., less/no soft tissue stripping/irritation) in comparison to bone plates, reducing the risk of complications that may develop after surgery.
On the other hand, a bone plate may provide better structural integrity for certain types of bone fractures. In some instances, a bone plate surgical procedure may also be less difficult to perform in comparison to an intramedullary rod surgical procedure.
In any event, both intramedullary rods and bone plates can be associated with many risks, including, but not limited to breaking, bone screws that may loosen/pull-out over time, delayed healing/non-unions, infections, subsequent hardware removal issues (e.g., revision surgery) resulting in bone voids that can weaken the bone, etc.
Moreover, certain types of bone fractures may be subject to large tensile or traction forces that tend to "pull apart" a fractured bone, further complicating the bone healing process. Example bone fractures that can experience large tensile forces include, but are not limited to clavicle fractures, olecranon fractures, fibula fractures, patellar fractures, malleolar fractures, etc. In such cases, an intramedullary rod or bone plate alone may not provide an optimal solution for fixation strength and sustained fracture reduction during the bone healing process.
A tension band is another form of orthopedic internal fixation device that may be utilized to help resist tensile forces to increase fixation, reduce bone fractures, and help promote the bone healing process. However, a tension band alone may not provide optimal fixation strength, reduction characteristics, and/or bone healing in every scenario.
Accordingly, orthopedic fixation devices, systems, and methods that can provide improved fixation, reduction, and bone healing would be desirable.


An apparatus and technique for strengthening and reinforcing book bindings. A laminate having a polyester face sheet is coated on one side with adhesive. A backing sheet is releasably secured to the adhesive. The backing sheet is split down the center thereof to define a removable center strip with adjacent side strips on each side thereof. These three strips facilitate the method of application of the laminate to reinforce and secure a book binding.

It is known that books are typically of either a "hardback" or "paperback" nature. Hardback books are typically more durable and correspondingly more expensive. In hardback books, there is generally a good binding between the hard cover and the spine of the book where the pages are joined together. In contradistinction, paperback books are typically inexpensive and less durable, having a binding of the cover to the spine which is significantly less secure than that of hardback books. Accordingly, the cover on paperback books often tears from the spine of the book rendering the book less useful and attractive, exposing the pages thereof to wear and tear.
Heretofore, it has been known to strengthen and protect the paperback cover by the application thereto of a plastic cover sheet. Such a concept is shown in co-pending application Ser. No. 911,469, filed Sept. 25, 1986, and now U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,592. While the structure and technique of that prior art demonstrates a means for protecting the cover itself, there is no teaching in the art of a means to strengthen and reinforce the binding of the cover to the spine.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a reliable, durable, inexpensive, and easy-to-use structure and technique for securing and reinforcing the interconnection between a paperback cover and the book itself.


Methods for preparing single and dual metallocene catalyst systems containing an activator-support are disclosed. These methods can include precontacting of the activator-support and an organoaluminum compound, as well as sequential contacting of two different metallocene compounds to form a dual metallocene catalyst system.

There are various methods used to prepare single metallocene and dual metallocene catalyst systems containing an activator-support. These catalyst systems can be used to polymerize olefins to produce olefin-based polymers, such as ethylene/α-olefin copolymers. For the same initial components of the catalyst system, it would be beneficial for these catalyst systems to have higher catalyst activity and to produce polymers having high molecular weights, as a result of the method used to prepare the catalyst system. Accordingly, it is to these ends that the present disclosure is directed.

Processes for preparing metallocene-based catalyst systems


This invention provides a method for eliminating the surface stress of a silicon wafer comprising forming one or more anti-stress groove(s) on the surface of the silicon wafer. These anti-stress grooves can reduce or eliminate the surface stress of silicon wafer effectively to avoid the formation of slip lines and dislocation arrangements, which may induce the p-n junction to conduct or the leakage current to increase. The process is highly efficient and low in cost. It is simple to manage and does not require additional equipment beyond that already used for processing of silicon wafers.

1. Technical field
This invention relates to semiconductor technology, and especially to a method of eliminating surface stress of a silicon wafer.
2. Background of the Invention
Research indicates that about 98% of the remnant stress of a silicon wafer as substrate for ultra large-scale integrated circuits (ULSI) arises during mechanical processing of silicon wafers, incl. slicing, grinding, rounding, and chamfer.
Because silicon undergoes strong mechanical deformations during the molding process, the edge area of a wafer can be damaged as stress centralizes therein and produces cracks and micro splits. The surface tension on a silicon wafer induces the stress to extend from the surface and the edge to the center and the mechanical action will accelerate the stress extension during grinding, polishing and transport.
The remnant stress can do harm to a wafer in the following ways: (1) cracks or crashes form as the stress exceeds a critical value; (2) glide lines or dislocation alignments form during epitaxial growth or oxidation at high temperature; (3) conduction of the p-n junctions arises in stress centralized areas because of excess diffusion; and (4) increase in the leakage current is realized because of metallic ion impurity conglomeration in stress-centralized areas.
At present, polishing is used to remove remnant stress. However, mechanical action of polishing may lead to new damage and migration of stress to deeper levels of the wafer, which may be even more difficult to eliminate.

Method of eliminating surface stress of silicon wafer


A method for preventing malicious attacks on software, using the patching method, includes providing a database of malicious known patches (malware). The database contains characteristic signatures of the malware. The method also includes detecting whether a patch is malicious by comparing it with a signature in the database and performing one or more activities needed to prevent the malicious patch from performing undesired activities.

Software modules interact by exporting a list of functions (API) by one module, and calling this API by another module. Thus, a program written by vendor A can load a library/module (possibly provided by another vendor, vendor B) that provides services to the main program. Both the program and the library are typically provided to the user in binary form (i.e. without the source code). The user may want to modify the way in which the software works, but the source code may not be available. Still, by knowing the API exported by the library, the user can interject its own code between the main program and the library. This is done by a technique called "patching" (or "hooking"). There are several variants, but the essence is that a user code can be run before, instead or after any function exported by the library (and invoked by the main program).
The aforementioned patching or hooking technique has many legitimate uses, such as debugging, tweaking (e.g. add security checks, add Y2K checks, or other checks), etc. On the other hand, it is a very effective way to maliciously modify the manner in which legitimate browsing software behaves. In such case, malware first infects a user's PC, and then it modifies the user's browser (through patching) so that the malware is able to read user data and modify it.
Another consideration is that, oftentimes, the same function/API is patched by several "players"—some of which may be legitimate, and some not.
It should be stressed that patching techniques have been widely known for decades, and are applicable to a vast array of operating systems and architectures. For simplicity, for illustrative purposes and without loss of generality, the below text describes patching for Windows 32 bit architecture (Win32), but the invention is applicable to many other platforms and architectures.
There are several well-known ways in which patching can be applied:                EAT patching: the original function address in the export table (of the exporting module) is replaced with an address for the surrogate function (which may, or may not call the original function). Any module that imports this module after patching is affected.        IAT patching: the original function address in the import table (of the importing module) is replaced with an address for the surrogate function (which may, or may not call the original function). Only the module whose IAT is modified is affected.        In-line patching: a branching instruction is written in the beginning of the function code (the original code is first saved). The target of the branching instruction is the surrogate function. The surrogate function may return control to the caller, or execute the saved instructions and branch back to the original function.
There are benefits and drawbacks to each patching method, which would not be discussed herein in detail for the sake of brevity and which are well known to the skilled person.

Functional patching/hooking detection and prevention


A method for fabricating and installing an artificial impedance surface antenna (AISA) includes locating a substantially flat surface having a line of sight to a satellite or satellites of interest, determining an angle θo between a normal to the substantially flat surface and a direction to the satellite or satellites of interest, selecting an antenna superstrate from a pre-fabbed stock of antenna superstrates, the selected antenna superstrate configured for having a peak radiation within two (2) degrees of the angle θo, laminating the selected antenna superstrate to an antenna substrate to form the AISA, and mounting the AISA on the substantially flat surface.

There are many satellite media providers throughout the world. For example, satellite media providers in the United States include DirecTV, and DISH Network, and there are many more satellite media providers throughout the world, such as British Sky Broadcasting in the United Kingdom. There are also many satellite internet providers. In the United States satellite internet providers include HughesNet, Wildblue, Dish, and Spacenet.
To allow users on the ground to receive broadcast media from satellites and to receive and transmit to the satellites providing satellite internet, relatively large antenna dishes are needed. Often the antennas are installed on the sides or on the roofs of houses and businesses, and the result can be unsightly.
By their nature, the antenna dishes are large and bulky and are clumsy to install, transport and store. The installation process for an antenna dish is labor intensive and requires fastening the antenna dish to the support structure of the dwelling by drilling through walls or roofs into beams, studs or joists. Antenna dishes also require substantial warehouse floor space for storage.
The satellite media and internet providers often pay for the installation. Because the installer's labor time is a large percentage of the satellite media and/or satellite internet provider's operation cost, the providers are interested in minimizing this cost.
Artificial impedance surface antennas (AISAs) have been used in some satellite media and internet applications. AISAs are described by: D. Gregoire and J. Colburn, "Artificial impedance surface antenna design and simulation", Proc. 2010 Antenna Applications Symposium, pp. 288; by J. S. Colburn et al., "Scalar and Tensor Artificial Impedance Surface Conformal Antennas", 2007 Antenna Applications Symposium, pp. 526-540; and by B. H. Fong et al, "Scalar and Tensor Holographic Artificial Impedance Surfaces", IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagation, accepted for publication, 2010.
Artificial impedance surface antennas (AISAs) are less unsightly and are less clumsy to handle and store as compared to large antenna dishes. AISAs take up less space when stored, because they are essentially flat. However, AISA are more complex to fabricate and install than antenna dishes.
What is needed is an efficient low cost method for designing, fabricating, and installing artificial impedance surface antennas (AISAs) for satellite media and internet applications as well as other communication applications. The embodiments of the present disclosure answer these and other needs.

Method of installing artificial impedance surface antennas for satellite media reception


Described herein are technologies for color transformation in a graphics processing hardware using at least two hierarchical one or multi-dimensional lookup-tables (LUT) in order to obtain a minimized overall LUT storage space yet achieves transformation output of desired accuracy. Particularly, a first interpolation of an input signal is implemented using a main LUT and successive interpolations using higher order difference LUTs. Outputs of the first and successive interpolations are then combined to generate a transformed pixel output.

A color transformation is needed for various use—cases such as, but not limited to, a Display Gamma adjustment, a Gamut mapping, a Color correction, and the like. The color transformation is often complex and has nonlinear behavior, for example, of digital color devices that may require a significant amount of memory and computational power in order to process large images in real-time. To reduce computational cost, the complex functions typically uses pre-computed multidimensional lookup tables (LUTs).
Conventionally, the LUT is essentially a rectangular grid or lattice that spans an input color space of a transform. Output values corresponding to each node, i.e., intersection points, of the grid are pre-computed and stored in the LUT. Input colors are then processed through the LUT by first retrieving the cell to which the input color belongs, and then performing an interpolation among a subset of the surrounding cell vertices to compute the output color value.
The LUT may be stored inside a graphics processing unit's hardware (HW) registers in order to achieve fastest processing. Hence, a LUT size may be critical to minimize silicon area of a semiconductor chip.

Color transformation using one or multi-dimensional hierarchical lookup table


A system and method for uniquely identifying seismic data sets, wherein the system and method associate a unique seismic data set identifier with a seismic data set, wherein the unique seismic data set identifier identifies the seismic data set by being different from all other unique seismic data set identifiers associated with other seismic data sets. The unique seismic data set identifier for the seismic data set is published within a directory, thus allowing the seismic data set to be found within a computer system or network of systems by the unique seismic data set identifier that is associated with the seismic data set.

Typically, seismic data sets comprise binary representations of the measurements of acoustic properties of a geographic location on the earth. Processing algorithms, such as image enhancements, are applied to seismic data sets. The processing function serves to manipulate the seismic data into a final form that is more easily understood by human data interpreters. The processed seismic data may be utilized in varying aspects, for example to aid in determining whether or not hydrocarbons are present in a specific geographic location.
The full processing sequence of a seismic data set typically involves processing several generations of seismic data, each of which is derived from the previous generation of seismic data. Thus a current seismic data set may have origins in ancestral data sets that are several generations removed from the current data set.
In a research environment, seismic data sets are typically processed by specialists in different departments, and usually in different companies than the interpreters who originally evaluated the processed seismic data. During the interpretation process it is often desirable to access previous generations of the data, to evaluate and reapply processing steps, or to attempt to extract additional information via different processing steps. Due to organizational barriers between processing and interpretation and because of the large size of seismic data sets, which are often on the order of hundreds of gigabytes, it is often difficult, expensive, and time consuming to access and manipulate previous generations of seismic data.
The present invention provides a method and system to allow individuals to gain fast and inexpensive access to previous generations of seismic data, regardless of the storage location of the seismic data sets. In accordance with the invention, a data tagging/labeling system utilizes a persistent standard data tag or unique identifier to identify a seismic data set.
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention relates to a method for uniquely identifying seismic data sets. The method comprises the step of associating a unique seismic data set identifier with a seismic data set, wherein the unique seismic data set identifier uniquely identifies the seismic data set by being different from all other unique seismic data set identifiers associated with other seismic data sets. Additionally, the method comprises the step of publishing the unique seismic data set identifier for the seismic data set within a directory. The method enables the seismic data set to be found within a computer system or network of systems by the unique seismic data set identifier that is associated with the seismic data set.
An aspect of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises the step of associating with a child seismic data set both the unique seismic data set identifier associated with the seismic data set and a unique child seismic data set identifier that uniquely identifies the child seismic data set by being different from all other unique seismic data set identifiers associated with other seismic data sets, wherein the child seismic data set comprises data processed from the seismic data set. Additionally, the method may comprise the step of associating with a child seismic data set all unique seismic data set identifiers associated with all ancestral seismic data sets from which the child seismic data set data is processed (i.e., the parent seismic data set, the grandparent seismic data set, etc.), and the unique seismic data set identifiers of all ancestral seismic data sets of the child seismic data set.
Another exemplary embodiment of the present invention relates to a system for uniquely identifying seismic data sets. The system comprises a processing system having one or more processing elements that are programmed or adapted to associate a unique seismic data set identifier with a seismic data set, wherein the unique seismic data set identifier uniquely identifies the seismic data set by being different from all other unique seismic data set identifiers associated with other seismic data sets. The system also publishes the unique seismic data set identifier for the seismic data set within a directory.
An aspect of the above-described exemplary embodiment enables the one or more system processing elements to be programmed or adapted to associate with a child seismic data set both the unique seismic data set identifier associated with the seismic data set, and a unique child seismic data set identifier that uniquely identifies the child seismic data set by being different from all other unique seismic data set identifiers associated with other seismic data sets, wherein the child seismic data set comprises data processed from the seismic data set. Further, the system can be programmed or adapted to associate with a child seismic data set all unique seismic data set identifiers associated with all ancestral seismic data sets from which the child seismic data set data is processed.
A further exemplary embodiment of the present invention relates to a computer program product used to uniquely identify seismic data sets. The computer program product comprises a computer-usable medium carrying thereon a means associating a unique seismic data set identifier with a seismic data set, wherein the unique seismic data set identifier uniquely identifies the seismic data set by being different from all other unique seismic data set identifiers associated with other seismic data sets. The computer program product additionally comprises a publishing means, wherein the publishing means publishes the unique seismic data set identifier for the seismic data set within a directory.

System and method for accessing and analyzing previous generations of seismic data

Landmark Graphics Corporation, a Halliburton Company


An apparatus includes a rotation section to engage with a disk in a housing and rotate the disk around an axis of the disk; an information reading/recording section to carry out reading and/or recording from/to the disk; a holding member to hold the rotation section and/or the information reading/recording section; and a moving section to move the holding member in a direction that the holding member moves toward the disk and/or that the holding member moves away from the disk. The moving section includes a first cam member surrounding at least part of the holding member for arcuate movement along the holding member around an axis. The holding member and/or the first cam member has a grooved portion inclined with respect to a direction along the axis of the arcuate movement while the other has a first engaging portion for engaging with the grooved portion.

A disk apparatus is known which carries out reading and recording of information from and on a disk such as a CD (Compact Disc), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) or a BD (BLU-RAY DISC: registered trademark). As such a disk apparatus as just described, a slot-in type disk apparatus which includes an arm for transporting a disk inserted in an opening for disk accommodation is known and disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).
In the disk apparatus of Patent Document 1 mentioned above, a pair of front arms having pivot shafts in the proximity of the opposite ends of the opening into and from which a disk is inserted and removed are supported for rotation. The front arms are pivoted in synchronism with each other by a pair of link arms. After a disk inserted from the opening is gripped by rollers of the arms, the rollers are rotated to pivot the front arms in a direction in which they are spaced away from the opening to load the disk into the inside of the apparatus. The disk loaded in this manner is centered by a support arm and a detection arm and disposed at a chucking position. When the detection arm is pivoted, a pair of slide cams disposed for engagement with the detection arm in such a manner as to sandwich an optical unit therebetween are slidably moved in the opposite directions to each other toward the loading direction of the disk. By the sliding movement of the slide cams, the optical unit is moved up until the disk is chucked between a turntable of the optical unit and a chuck pulley.
Details concerning a known disk apparatus may be found in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-335065.
However, the disk apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 mentioned above is configured such that a disk loaded in by the front arms which pivot in synchronism with each other is introduced to the chucking position by the arms. The disk apparatus further includes not only a pair of slide cams for moving the optical unit upwardly but also a link member for synchronizing the sliding movement of the slide cams. Therefore, the disk apparatus has a problem in that it includes a great number of parts and is complicated in configuration.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a disk loading apparatus and a disk apparatus which can be simplified in configuration.


A frangible target suspension apparatus wherein the frangible targets are secured to one or more support cords by passing the support cord through apertures in the side edges of the frangible targets and using tension caused by the weight to keep the frangible targets in place on the support cord, or by securing with adhesive, such as when the support cord is a tape, or by knotting the support cord, or utilizing a fastener to secure the support cord to the frangible target. In an alternative embodiment, the frangible target engages a cover with side slots that is placed over the frangible target from the rear retaining the support cord in place within the side slots.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to apparatuses for suspending targets, and more specifically to apparatuses for suspending frangible targets for shooting practice.
2. Description of Related Art
In order to obtain practice in firing a weapon and to become proficient in shooting, it is typical for a shooter to fire weapons at targets positioned remotely from the shooter's firing position. In many cases, such targets are fixed. In other cases, the targets are in motion.
Fixed targets typically comprise a round target area or a figure profile, and are often comprised of paper attached to a standard target frame, either directly or via a cardboard backing. Moving targets are usually profiles located at a fixed remote position, but, often, comprise frangible objects flung through the air via a throwing mechanism. The frangible objects are typically disk shaped and are made from chalk, clay or similar materials.
In the former case of a fixed profile paper target, it is often difficult to determine where on the target a shot hit, and with very distant targets is often even difficult to determine whether the shot hit the target at all. However, with the latter case, because of the frangible nature of the target, it is usually quite easy to see that the target has been struck by a bullet or shot, because the target breaks apart, often quite spectacularly.
Thus, frangible targets are particularly suited to fixed use when it is desired to see immediate visual confirmation of a shot striking the target. In such a use, the frangible target is often held in a stand on which the target rests, or is supported via a wire or hangers that connect to a rigid or flexible frame, or is retained within cutouts in cardboard holders. In some instances, the target may even be stood upon the ground or secured by wire to a standard target frame.
With individual targets, the shooter must place each target when needed by standing, hanging, inserting, attaching, or otherwise connecting the target to a target holding device. When a new target is needed, the shooter must replace the no longer present original one, and must do so repeatedly as necessary. Putting up a new target takes up valuable range time, when a shooter would prefer to be practicing, rather than installing targets.
Moreover, existing target holders are often damaged or destroyed by a misplaced shot. When such occurs, the target holder must be replaced before the shooter can continue his/her practice or competition.
Existing target holding devices take up space and require setup time. When a shooter wants to vary his/her practice with both paper and frangible targets, the shooter must utilize separate target holding devices for each type of target.
When targets, such as flat paper profiles, are transported, they take up very little space. Frangible targets are often constructed in a shape for stacking one on top of the other to minimize space requirements when not in use. Both types of targets are typically sold separately from their supporting devices, inconveniencing the purchaser by having to go to different sources, and providing less benefit to a manufacturer than would be achieved by providing a combination product to a user.
Various attempts have been made to overcome some of the aforementioned deficiencies. One previous target holding device is a housing sleeve for storing frangible targets with mounting feature for hanging the housing sleeve. The housing sleeve is adapted to store multiple targets in a vertical orientation, with targets sitting one above the other, with the bottom target exposed. Once the exposed target is destroyed, the next target in line drops down into the exposed region. Movement of the targets within the sleeve is controlled by utilizing a disk-shaped stopping feature, such as a washer, which prevents the lowermost target from dropping below a certain point. Because the targets are contained within a sleeve, the sleeve impedes stacking of the targets in a volume-efficient manner before use. Thus, this device is best suited to separate installation followed by addition of discrete frangible targets once the sleeve is suspended. Moreover, this device lacks a means for suspension in other than a vertically-hanging aspect.
Another previous device comprises horizontal cords from which shooting targets are hung. However, the shooting targets must first be secured to a holding arm before being hung from the cord, as the cord and targets are not integrated.
Yet another previous similar device suspends the targets via an arm suspended from a horizontal rod. However, because the rod is stiff, it prevents an assembly of the rods and targets from being efficiently stacked to minimize volume during transport and storage.
Therefore, it is readily apparent that there is a need for a target suspension apparatus that can be preassembled and efficiently stacked for transport and storage prior to use, but which when installed and used also provides a ready indication to a shooter of a shot impact the via the use of a frangible target.

Frangible target suspension apparatuses and methods of use thereof


A content management system (CMS) includes a value-add application with a first set of XML content services, one or more dedicated XML processing servers with a second and other sets of XML content services, and a core CMS with a third set of XML content services. The content management system may be designed to provide XML content services at any of these three tiers of processing. A first threshold is defined that allows the value-add application to determine when to offload XML content services to a dedicated XML processing server. A second threshold is defined that allows the core CMS to determine when to offload XML content services to a dedicated XML processing server. Callback services are included that allow each tier of XML content services to send or receive additional information to complete the XML processing. The result is a content management system that is very powerful and flexible.

1. Technical Field
This disclosure generally relates to content management systems, and more specifically relates to services relating to eXtensible Markup Language (XML) in content management systems.
2. Background Art
A content management system (CMS) allows many users to efficiently share electronic content such as text, audio files, video files, pictures, graphics, etc. Content management systems typically control access to content in a repository. A user may generate content, and when the content is checked into the repository, the content may be subsequently processed by the CMS according to predefined rules. A user may also check out content from the repository, or link to content in the repository while generating content. The rules in a CMS assure that content that comes into or out of the system or that is linked to meets desired criteria specified in the rules.
Many content management systems are used in situations that require specialized functions not provided by the core content management system. In these situations, a value-add application is typically provided that provides the specialized functions while still taking advantage of much of the functionality of the core content management system. For example, the pharmaceutical industry is heavily regulated, and a value-add application specific to the pharmaceutical industry may be provided that interfaces with a core content management system.
FIG. 2 shows one specific implementation of a content management system 200 that includes a value-add application 202 that can interface with one or more core content management systems 260, 270 and 280. The value-add application 202 includes XML actions 210 that may be performed, an XML content processor 242, and a repository abstraction layer 254. The XML actions may include import 220, check-out 222, check-in 224, view 226, synchronization 228, and other functions 230. The XML actions are processed by the XML content processor 242. Some of the functions provided by the XML content processor 242 include linking 244, bursting 246, and synchronization 248. The XML content processor 242 may write one or more document object model (DOM) objects to a DOM map 250. XML content processor 242 can perform functions using content rules, which may be stored in a content rules map 252 that defines rules that the XML content processor 242 follows when performing certain XML functions. The repository abstraction layer 254 provides a level of abstraction that allows the value-add application 202 to interface to a number of different core content management systems. In the specific example in FIG. 2, the value-add application 202 may interface through the repository abstraction layer 254 to a core CMS 260 that is an IBM content management system, to a core CMS 270 that is a Filenet system, and to a core CMS 280 that is a Documentum system. Each core content management system typically provides its own XML content processor with logic to perform linking, bursting and synchronization. Thus, core CMS 260 includes an XML content processor 262 that provides linking 264, bursting 266, and synchronization 268; core CMS 270 includes an XML content processor 272 that provides linking 274, bursting 276, and synchronization 278; and core XMS 280 includes an XML content processor 282 that provides linking 284, bursting 286, and synchronization 288. Each core CMS controls content in a content repository. Thus, core CMS 260 controls content in content repository 269; core CMS 270 controls content in content repository 279; and core CMS 280 controls content in content repository 289.
Because the value-add application 202 typically has unique requirements that must be met, often the XML content processor 242 with its associated linking 244, bursting 246 and synchronization 248 may be used exclusively by the value-add application, and the XML content processor with its associated linking, bursting and synchronization in the core CMS is not used. While it is possible for the value-add application to call low-level application programming interfaces (APIs) in the core CMS to manage content in the content repository, doing so makes the value-add application 202 designed to the details of the underlying core CMS instead of taking advantage of the repository abstraction layer 254. In addition, if data comes into the repository from sources other than the value-add application 202, the data processed by the XML content processor in the core CMS will be processed differently than data processed by the XML content processor 242 in the value-add application 202. Thus, in environments where data may be imported directly by the core CMS, the processing provided by the value-add application 202 is not available. In addition, some documents are large and therefore create significant memory requirements on the value-add application. Without a way to implement XML content services in a way that overcomes these disadvantages, known content management systems will continue to be plagued by the problems discussed above.

Tiered XML services in a content management system

International Business Machines Corporation


An inkjet head driving circuit driving piezoelectric actuators 21 for ink ejection provided on an inkjet head H is provided with an analog switch 71 (72) whose input can be switched between the output voltage of a D/A converter 62 (63) and ground potential, and outputs either that output voltage or ground potential to a waveform generating portion 64. The analog switch 71 (72) is configured such that when a digital signal for generating a voltage rising waveform (voltage falling waveform) with the waveform generating portion 64 is input into the D/A converter 62 (63), the input into the analog switch 71 (72) is switched from ground potential to the output voltage of the D/A converter 62 (63).

The present invention belongs to the technical fields relating to waveform generating circuits generating voltage waveforms, inkjet head driving circuits driving actuators for ink ejection provided on an inkjet head, and inkjet recording devices provided with an inkjet head having actuators that are driven by such an inkjet head driving circuit.
Conventionally, inkjet heads having actuators for ink ejection are well known, and examples of such actuators of inkjet heads are piezoelectric actuators provided with electrodes on both sides of a piezoelectric element, which constitute a portion of a pressure chamber accommodating the ink. When a pulse-shaped voltage is applied to the electrodes of such an actuator, the actuator is deformed such that the volume of the pressure chamber is reduced, thus creating a pressure in the pressure chamber, which ejects ink drops from a nozzle that is in communication with the pressure chamber.
As shown for example in FIG. 4, the voltage waveform applied to the actuators is made of a first waveform P1 (voltage-falling waveform), at which the potential falls from ground potential to the minimum potential (xe2x88x92Vf), a second waveform P2 continuing the first waveform P1 and maintaining this minimum potential, a third waveform P3 (voltage-rising waveform) continuing the second waveform P2 and rising from the minimum potential to the maximum potential (Vf), a fourth waveform P4 continuing the third waveform P3 and maintaining this maximum potential, and a fifth waveform P5 (voltage falling waveform) continuing the fourth waveform P4 and returning from the maximum potential to ground potential. This series of first to fifth waveforms P1 to P5 constitutes one driving pulse P for ejecting one ink drop from the nozzle, and the driving pulse P is given out repeatedly with a predetermined period.
An example of a waveform generating circuit (inkjet head driving circuit) generating the voltage waveform (driving pulse P) for driving the actuator is shown in FIG. 6. In this drawing, numeral 101 is a CPU, which has two terminals outputting digital signals (for example of 8 bits) for generating the voltage waveform. A first D/A converter 102 for converting a digital signal into a positive analog signal and giving it out and a second D/A converter 103 for converting a digital signal into a negative analog signal and giving it out are connected to the digital signal output terminals of this CPU 101. The first and second D/A converters 102 and 103 receive from the CPU 101 a data set signal together with the digital signals but from a different terminal than the digital signals, and when this data set signal has been input and a predetermined time (data settling time) has elapsed after its input (after the output of the D/A converter 102 (or 103) has settled), the analog voltage is given out. The first D/A converter 102 is connected to a first power source 106 giving out a positive voltage, whereas the second D/A converter 103 is connected to a second power source 107 giving out a negative voltage.
A first and a second voltage/current converter 109 and 110 are respectively connected to the output terminals of the first and the second D/A converter 102 and 103, and these first and second voltage/current converters 109 and 110 convert the positive and the negative analog voltage into currents. The output terminals of the first and second voltage/current converters 109 and 110 are connected to a current/voltage converter amplifier 111, which amplifies the currents into which the voltages have been converted by the first and second voltage/current converters 109 and 110, and converts the amplified currents into a voltage. It should be noted that the first voltage/current converter 109, which is connected to the output terminal of the first D/A converter 102, is connected to the first power source 106, whereas the second voltage/current converter 110, which is connected to the output terminal of the second D/A converter 103, is connected to the second power source 107, and the current/voltage converter amplifier 111 is connected to both the first power source 106 and the second power source 107.
Based on the output voltage from the first and second D/A converters 102 and 103, the first and second voltage/current converters 109 and 110 and the current/voltage converter amplifier 111 generate voltage waveforms like the first to fifth waveforms P1 to P5. More specifically, when the first D/A converter 102 outputs a positive analog voltage and the second D/A converter 103 outputs ground potential, the voltage rising waveform (third waveform P3) is generated, whereas when the second D/A converter 103 outputs a negative analog voltage and the first D/A converter 102 outputs ground potential, the voltage falling waveforms (first and fifth waveforms P1 and P5) are generated. Furthermore, when both D/A converters 102 and 103 output ground potential, waveforms maintaining the potential directly before the output of those ground potentials (second and fourth waveforms P2 and P4) are generated, and the potential between neighboring driving pulses P is maintained at ground potential.
Then, the generated voltage waveform is applied to a multitude of actuators of the inkjet head, through a current amplifier 113, which is made of two transistors 113a, and a driver IC 114. The driver IC 114 includes for example switching transistors that are provided in accordance with the actuators, and, receiving print signals from the CPU 101, selects the actuators corresponding to the nozzles through which ink drops are to be ejected, thus applying the voltage waveform only to the selected actuators.
With a conventional waveform generating circuit as described above, when for example a voltage rising waveform is generated, a digital signal is input into the first D/A converter 102, which outputs a positive analog signal, whereas when the voltage rising waveform is not generated, it is necessary to output a voltage equal to ground potential (depending on the voltage waveform to be generated, there is no limitation to ground potential, and it can be a constant predetermined voltage that is midway between the maximum value and the minimum value of the output voltage of the first D/A converter 102). Furthermore, when the voltage falling waveform is not generated, the output voltage of the second D/A converter 103 needs to be set to ground potential (depending on the voltage waveform to be generated, there is no limitation to ground potential, but can be a constant predetermined voltage that is midway between the maximum value and the minimum value of the output voltage of the second D/A converter 103).
However, due to variations in the characteristics of the D/A converters 102 and 103, it may happen that a voltage that is slightly different from ground potential (or the predetermined voltage) is output, and in the case of such variations in the characteristics, malfunctioning occurs in the current/voltage converter amplifier 111, and a precise voltage waveform cannot be generated anymore.
In view of these facts, it is an object of the present invention to prevent malfunctioning due to variations in the characteristics of the D/A converters with a simple configuration, by improving the configuration of the above-described waveform generating circuit.
In order to attain these objects, the present invention is provided with a switching means whose input can be switched between the output voltage of a D/A converter and a predetermined voltage that is held constant, and which outputs one of those two output voltages to a waveform generating portion, wherein the input into the switching means is switched as necessary.
More specifically, according to a first invention, a waveform generating circuit includes at least one D/A converter that converts a digital signal into an analog voltage and outputs the analog voltage, a waveform generating portion into which an output voltage of the D/A converter is input, and which generates at least one of a voltage rising waveform and a voltage falling waveform in response to a value of that output voltage, and a switching means, whose input can be switched between the output voltage of the D/A converter and a predetermined voltage that is held constant, and which outputs one of those two output voltages to the waveform generating portion, wherein the switching means is configured such that when the digital signal for generating a voltage rising waveform or a voltage falling waveform with the waveform generating portion is input into the D/A converter, the input into the switching means is switched from the predetermined voltage to the output voltage of the D/A converter.
With this configuration, when a voltage rising waveform or a voltage falling waveform is not generated, the input into the switching means is set to a predetermined voltage that is held constant (for example, the output voltage of a constant voltage source or ground potential), and when a voltage rising waveform or a voltage falling waveform is generated, the input into the switching means is switched from this predetermined voltage to the output voltage of the D/A converter. As a result, when neither a voltage rising waveform nor a voltage falling waveform are generated, a predetermined voltage can be output to the waveform generating portion from, for example, a constant voltage source that can output a precise voltage, even if the D/A converter outputs a voltage that is slightly different from the predetermined voltage due to variations in the characteristics of the D/A converter, so that it is possible to prevent, with a simple configuration, malfunctioning of the waveform generating portion due to variations in the characteristics of the D/A converter.
According to a second invention, in the first invention, the switching means is configured such that the input into the switching means is switched from the predetermined voltage to the output voltage of the D/A converter after the output of the D/A converter has settled.
That is to say, the time from the input of the data set signal until the output of the D/A converter is settled fluctuates depending on the output voltage of the D/A converter and variations in its characteristics, so that if there is no switching means, or even if there is the switching means, but the input into the switching means is switched to the output voltage of the D/A converter before the output of the D/A converter has settled, then the result is variations in the generation timing (output timing) of the voltage rising waveform or the voltage falling waveform by the waveform generating portion. However, in this invention, the input into the switching means is switched to the output voltage of the D/A converter only after the output of the D/A converter has settled, so that the voltage rising waveform or voltage falling waveform can be generated and output substantially at the same time as the switching of the input into the switching means. As a result, variations in the waveform generating timing brought about by fluctuations in the output settling time of the D/A converter can be prevented.
According to a third invention, a waveform generating circuit includes at least one D/A converter that converts a digital signal into an analog voltage and outputs the analog voltage, a waveform generating portion into which an output voltage of the D/A converter is input, and which generates at least one of a voltage rising waveform and a voltage falling waveform in response to a value of that output voltage, and a switching means, whose input can be switched between the output voltage of the D/A converter and a predetermined voltage that is held constant, and which outputs one of those two output voltages to the waveform generating portion, wherein the switching means is configured such that when the digital signal for generating a voltage rising waveform or a voltage falling waveform with the waveform generating portion is not input into the D/A converter, the input into the switching means is set to the predetermined voltage.
Here, just like in the first invention, when a voltage rising waveform or a voltage falling waveform is not generated, a precise predetermined voltage can be output to the waveform generating portion, so that it is possible to prevent malfunctioning of the waveform generating portion due to variations in the characteristics of the D/A converter.
According to a fourth invention, a waveform generating circuit includes a first D/A converter that converts a digital signal into a positive analog voltage and outputs the analog voltage, a second D/A converter that converts a digital signal into a negative analog voltage and outputs the analog voltage, a first switching means, whose input can be switched between the output voltage of the first D/A converter and ground potential, and which outputs either that output voltage or ground potential, a second switching means, whose input can be switched between the output voltage of the second D/A converter and ground potential, and which outputs either that output voltage or ground potential, and a waveform generating portion, which generates a voltage rising waveform when the first switching means outputs the output voltage of the first D/A converter and the second switching means outputs ground potential, and which generates a voltage falling waveform when the first switching means outputs ground potential and the second switching means outputs the output voltage of the second D/A converter, wherein the first switching means is configured such that when the digital signal for generating a voltage rising waveform with the waveform generating portion is input into the first D/A converter, then the input into the first switching means is switched from ground potential to the output voltage of the first D/A converter, and wherein the second switching means is configured such that when the digital signal for generating a voltage falling waveform with the waveform generating portion is input into the second D/A converter, then the input into the second switching means is switched from ground potential to the output voltage of the second D/A converter.
Thus, when the voltage rising waveform is not generated, ground potential can be output precisely to the waveform generating portion with the first switching means, even when the output voltage of the first D/A converter cannot be set precisely to ground potential. Moreover, when the voltage falling waveform is not generated, ground potential can be output precisely to the waveform generating portion with the second switching means, even when the output voltage of the second D/A converter cannot be set precisely to ground potential. Consequently, as in the first invention, malfunctioning of the waveform generating portion due to variations in the characteristics of the D/A converters can be prevented.
According to a fifth invention, in the fourth invention, the first switching means is configured such that the input into the first switching means is switched from ground potential to the output voltage of the first D/A converter after the output of the first D/A converter has settled, and wherein the second switching means is configured such that the input into the second switching means is switched from ground potential to the output voltage of the second D/A converter after the output of the second D/A converter has settled.
Thus, the same operational effect as in the second invention can be attained.
A sixth invention is an inkjet head driving circuit driving an actuator for ink ejection provided on an inkjet head, the invention including at least one D/A converter that converts a digital signal into an analog voltage and outputs the analog voltage, a waveform generating portion into which an output voltage of the D/A converter is input, and which generates at least one of a voltage rising waveform and a voltage falling waveform in response to a value of that output voltage, and outputs it to the actuator, and a switching means, whose input can be switched between the output voltage of the D/A converter and a predetermined voltage that is held constant, and which outputs one of those two output voltages to the waveform generating portion, wherein the switching means is configured such that when the digital signal for generating a voltage rising waveform or a voltage falling waveform with the waveform generating portion is input into the D/A converter, the input into the switching means is switched from the predetermined voltage to the output voltage of the D/A converter.
With this invention, the same operational effect as in the first invention can be attained.
According to a seventh invention, in the sixth invention, the switching means is configured such that the input into the switching means is switched from the predetermined voltage to the output voltage of the D/A converter after the output of the D/A converter has settled.
Thus, the same operational effect as in the second invention can be attained.
An eighth invention relates to an inkjet head driving circuit driving an actuator for ink ejection provided on an inkjet head, and includes at least one D/A converter that converts a digital signal into an analog voltage and outputs the analog voltage, a waveform generating portion into which an output voltage of the D/A converter is input, and which generates at least one of a voltage rising waveform and a voltage falling waveform in response to a value of that output voltage, and outputs it to the actuator, and a switching means, whose input can be switched between the output voltage of the D/A converter and a predetermined voltage that is held constant, and which outputs one of those two output voltages to the waveform generating portion, wherein the switching means is configured such that when the digital signal for generating a voltage rising waveform or a voltage falling waveform with the waveform generating portion is not input into the D/A converter, the input into the switching means is set to the predetermined voltage.
Thus, the same operational effect as in the third invention can be attained.
A ninth invention relates to an inkjet head driving circuit driving an actuator for ink ejection provided on an inkjet head, and includes a first D/A converter that converts a digital signal into a positive analog voltage and outputs the analog voltage, a second D/A converter that converts a digital signal into a negative analog voltage and outputs the analog voltage, a first switching means, whose input can be switched between the output voltage of the first D/A converter and ground potential, and which outputs either that output voltage or ground potential, a second switching means, whose input can be switched between the output voltage of the second D/A converter and ground potential, and which outputs either that output voltage or ground potential, and a waveform generating portion, which generates a voltage rising waveform and outputs it to the actuator when the first switching means outputs the output voltage of the first D/A converter and the second switching means outputs ground potential, and which generates a voltage falling waveform when the first switching means outputs ground potential and the second switching means outputs the output voltage of the second D/A converter, wherein the first switching means is configured such that when the digital signal for generating a voltage rising waveform with the waveform generating portion is input into the first D/A converter, then the input into the first switching means is switched from ground potential to the output voltage of the first D/A converter, and wherein the second switching means is configured such that when the digital signal for generating a voltage falling waveform with the waveform generating portion is input into the second D/A converter, then the input into the second switching means is switched from ground potential to the output voltage of the second D/A converter.
Thus, the same operational effect as in the fourth invention can be attained.
According to a tenth invention, in the ninth invention, the first switching means is configured such that the input into the first switching means is switched from ground potential to the output voltage of the first D/A converter after the output of the first D/A converter has settled, and wherein the second switching means is configured such that the input into the second switching means is switched from ground potential to the output voltage of the second D/A converter after the output of the second D/A converter has settled.
Thus, the same operational effect as in the fifth invention can be attained.
An eleventh invention is an invention of an inkjet recording device, including:
an inkjet head having a pressure chamber filled with ink, a nozzle linked to the pressure chamber, and an actuator that is caused to eject the ink inside the pressure chamber through the nozzle by application of a voltage;
a relative movement means that moves the inkjet head and a recording medium relatively to one another; and
an inkjet head driving circuit driving the actuator of the inkjet head;
wherein the inkjet head driving circuit comprises at least one D/A converter that converts a digital signal into an analog voltage and outputs the analog voltage, a waveform generating portion into which an output voltage of the D/A converter is input, and which generates at least one of a voltage rising waveform and a voltage falling waveform in response to a value of that output voltage, and outputs it to the actuator, and a switching means, whose input can be switched between the output voltage of the D/A converter and a predetermined voltage that is held constant, and which outputs one of those two output voltages to the waveform generating portion;
wherein the switching means is configured such that when the digital signal for generating a voltage rising waveform or a voltage falling waveform with the waveform generating portion is input into the D/A converter, the input into the switching means is switched from the predetermined voltage to the output voltage of the D/A converter; and
wherein recording is performed by ejecting ink from the nozzle of the inkjet head onto the recording medium by outputting to the actuator the voltage waveform generated by the waveform generating portion of the inkjet head driving circuit when the inkjet head is moved in relation to the recording medium by the relative movement means.
With this invention, the same operational effect as in the first invention can be attained, and an inkjet recording device with superior ink ejection performance can be easily attained.
According to a twelfth invention, an inkjet recording device includes:
an inkjet head having a pressure chamber filled with ink, a nozzle linked to the pressure chamber, and an actuator that is caused to eject the ink inside the pressure chamber through the nozzle by application of a voltage;
a relative movement means that moves the inkjet head and a recording medium relatively to one another; and
an inkjet head driving circuit driving the actuator of the inkjet head;
wherein the inkjet head driving circuit comprises at least one D/A converter that converts a digital signal into an analog voltage and outputs the analog voltage, a waveform generating portion into which an output voltage of the D/A converter is input, and which generates at least one of a voltage rising waveform and a voltage falling waveform in response to a value of that output voltage, and outputs it to the actuator, and a switching means, whose input can be switched between the output voltage of the D/A converter and a predetermined voltage that is held constant, and which outputs one of those two output voltages to the waveform generating portion;
wherein the switching means is configured such that when the digital signal for generating a voltage rising waveform or a voltage falling waveform with the waveform generating portion is not input into the D/A converter, the input into the switching means is set to the predetermined voltage; and
wherein recording is performed by ejecting ink from the nozzle of the inkjet head onto the recording medium by outputting to the actuator the voltage waveform generated by the waveform generating portion of the inkjet head driving circuit when the inkjet head is moved in relation to the recording medium by the relative movement means.
With this invention, the same operational effect as in the third invention can be attained, and an inkjet recording device with superior ink ejection performance can be easily attained.
According to a thirteenth invention, an inkjet recording device includes:
an inkjet head having a pressure chamber filled with ink, a nozzle linked to the pressure chamber, and an actuator that is caused to eject the ink inside the pressure chamber through the nozzle by application of a voltage;
a relative movement means that moves the inkjet head and a recording medium relatively to one another; and
an inkjet head driving circuit driving the actuator of the inkjet head;
wherein the inkjet head driving circuit comprises:
a first D/A converter that converts a digital signal into a positive analog voltage and outputs the analog voltage;
a second D/A converter that converts a digital signal into a negative analog voltage and outputs the analog voltage;
a first switching means, whose input can be switched between the output voltage of the first D/A converter and ground potential, and which outputs either that output voltage or ground potential;
a second switching means, whose input can be switched between the output voltage of the second D/A converter and ground potential, and which outputs either that output voltage or ground potential; and
a waveform generating portion, which generates a voltage rising waveform and outputs it to the actuator when the first switching means outputs the output voltage of the first D/A converter and the second switching means outputs ground potential, and which generates a voltage falling waveform and outputs it to the actuator when the first switching means outputs ground potential and the second switching means outputs the output voltage of the second D/A converter;
wherein the first switching means is configured such that when the digital signal for generating a voltage rising waveform with the waveform generating portion is input into the first D/A converter, then the input into the first switching means is switched from ground potential to the output voltage of the first D/A converter;
wherein the second switching means is configured such that when the digital signal for generating a voltage falling waveform with the waveform generating portion is input into the second D/A converter, then the input into the second switching means is switched from ground potential to the output voltage of the second D/A converter; and
wherein recording is performed by ejecting ink from the nozzle of the inkjet head onto the recording medium by outputting to the actuator the voltage waveform generated by the waveform generating portion of the inkjet head driving circuit when the inkjet head is moved in relation to the recording medium by the relative movement means.
With this invention, the same operational effect as in the fourth invention can be attained, and the ink ejection performance of the inkjet recording device can be improved with a simple circuit configuration.

Waveform generating circuit, inkjet head driving circuit and inkjet recording device

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.