A light output control circuit to update light output synchronously with input data in burst signal transmission system is disclosed. The circuit has a function of issuing light deterioration warning unerringly, which includes: a monitoring portion to detect light output emitted from a light emission element driven in accordance with transmission data; a level comparator to compare a monitoring signal outputted from the monitoring portion with a reference signal; a data detection portion to detect the existence of the transmission data; and an output controller to determine whether a light output deterioration warning is to be issued using an output signal of the data detection portion and an output signal of the level comparator.

The present invention relates to a light output control circuit applicable for optical communication etc. having a driving circuit of a light emission element such as a semi-conductor laser (LD: laser diode) or a light emission diode (LED) and more particularly a light output control circuit for controlling constant light output level provided with a warning function of deteriorated light output.
In equipment such as optical transmission equipment which uses a light emission element, it is generally required to control light output to maintain at a predetermined value.
The efficiency of a light emission element such as an LD largely depends on temperature and also has a property of aged deterioration. It is therefore necessary to control to feed appropriate driving current to the light emission element in order to maintain light output level constant in any operating condition.
The APC (automatic power control) using negative feedback control has been introduced in a light output control circuit to control constant light output emitted by a light emission element.
In a light output control circuit to drive an emission element, a function is usually provided to monitor output power. A warning is issued when the output power decreases below a predetermined level. This facilitates to know appropriate time to replace the emission element caused by the breakdown or aged deterioration.
In FIG. 31, there is shown the first configuration example of a conventional light output control circuit to drive a light emission element. In this FIG. 31, pulse transmission data (DATA) is inputted with transmission input clock (CLK) to a D-type flip-flop (hereafter referred to as xe2x80x98DFFxe2x80x99) circuit 100, to be outputted to an LD driving circuit 101 after the pulse width of the input data (DATA) is corrected.
LD driving circuit 101, after receiving an output signal of DFF circuit 100, feeds a driving current to a laser diode (LD) to produce the LD emit light corresponding to the input data (DATA).
By using a light output control signal outputted from a comparator 102, a negative feedback function is carried out to produce stronger light emission when an LD light output is small, or to produce weaker light emission when the LD light output is large.
A photodiode (PD) receives a portion of the light outputted from the laser diode (LD) and converts the received light to the corresponding current to output. A current/voltage converter 103 converts the received current signal from the PD into a voltage signal.
A reference voltage generator 104 generates a reference signal from an input data (DATA) to output to comparator 102. It may also be possible that reference voltage generator 104 produces the reference voltage from a constant voltage generator.
A peak detection circuit 105 receives an output signal from current/voltage converter 103 to detect a peak value of the signal to forward to comparator 102. A capacitor is usually used in peak detection circuit 105 to detect the peak value.
Comparator 102 produces a differential value between the values of the reference signal from reference voltage generator 104 and the peak signal from peak detection circuit 105, then to feed to LD driving circuit 101 as a light output control signal.
Accordingly, the circuit shown in FIG. 31 performs the negative feedback control: a light output control signal from comparator 102 acts to increase an LD light output when the light output is small, and to the contrary to decrease the LD light output when the light output is large. Thus the LD light output is controlled to maintain a constant value.
In the above-mentioned first configuration of a conventional light output control circuit, there is shown in FIG. 32 an example of a circuit which outputs a warning signal of a deteriorated light output. In FIG. 32, the loop to control driving current illustrated in FIG. 31 is not shown.
Also in FIG. 32, current/voltage converter 103 and peak detection circuit 105 shown in FIG. 31 are integrated into one as a monitoring portion 106. A level comparator 107 compares an output of monitoring portion 106 to a threshold value which corresponds to the warning generation level led from constant voltage generator 108. When an output of monitoring portion 106 decreases below the threshold value from constant voltage generator 108, level comparator 107 outputs a warning signal of a deteriorated light output.
FIG. 33 shows the second configuration example of a conventional light output control circuit. Compared to the first configuration shown in FIG. 31, digital control is introduced in the driving current control circuit in FIG. 33 so that the circuit can easily be fabricated into an LSI.
In the configuration shown in FIG. 33, LD driving circuit 101 modulates driving current according to transmission data supplied by DFF circuit 100 to feed to the light emission element (LD). A peak value of the driving current (hereafter simply referred to as xe2x80x98driving current valuexe2x80x99) is controlled so that a driving current value is proportional to a digital value inputted to a digital-to-analog converter 110.
The above digital value is fed from a pre-stage counter 109, and therefore the produced driving current value is proportional to a value of counter 109. A photo diode (PD) for monitoring produces a monitoring current proportional to the light amount emitted from an emission element (LD). Then, the monitoring current value is converted to a voltage value in monitoring portion 106, to be compared in comparator 102 to a reference voltage 104 (i.e. a target value).
A counter value of counter 109 is changed using the result of comparison performed by comparator 102 in which a differential amplifier is used. Namely, when an output of monitoring portion 106 is smaller than the reference value 104, the counter value in counter 109 is increased by 1 to increase a driving current value. Also, when an output of monitoring portion 106 is greater than the reference value, the value in counter 109 is decreased by 1 to reduce the driving current. Through the operation of a negative feedback amplification described above, a light output is controlled to fix to the constant reference value.
Here, in the light output control circuit shown in FIG. 33, the driving current is controlled at the precision determined by the resolution which is fixed by the least significant bit (LSB) in digital-to-analog converter 110. For example, when digital-to-analog converter 110 is composed of 10 bits, the obtained resolution becomes 210=1024. When an output current to be controlled by this circuit ranges from 10 mA to 100 mA, a current source in LD driving circuit 101 is designed so that the LSB corresponds to 0.1 mA.
Also, the variation of digital values ranging from 100 to 1000 is so designed as to correspond to the variation of a driving current from 10 mA to 100 mA. Then, since the current 0.1 mA of the LSB corresponds 1% of the least value (10 mA) of the driving current, an accurate control having approximately 1% accuracy of driving current (also proportional to light output) can be achieved.
In the aforementioned second configuration of the conventional light output control circuit, a circuit to issue a light output deterioration warning may be similar to the deterioration warning circuit shown in FIG. 32 in the first configuration of the conventional light output control circuit shown in FIG. 31.
In an access system for optical communication system which has been in practical use in recent years, a burst transmission system is known as a required transmission system between subscribers and a switching office, in which data partitioned into cells are intermittently transmitted.
FIG. 34 illustrates an operational problem which may occur when the conventional light output control circuit shown in FIG. 31 or FIG. 33 is applied for the burst transmission system.
In FIG. 34, the horizontal axis and the vertical axis respectively denote the time and the driving current value. Here, the case of continuous light output is considered, as shown in FIG. 34A. Time is necessary after light emission element is driven to produce desired stable light output. In other words, an initial state (I) is required before a normal state (II) is attained.
In order to ensure the initial state in a light output control circuit of a burst transmission system, a starting cell SC may be inserted prior to a normal cell NC, as shown in FIG. 34B. However, a quite short time i.e. a few micro seconds corresponding to the duration of the starting cell SC is allowed before the light output reaches a target value.
Therefore, a longer rise time in addition to the duration of the starting cell SC is required. This may penetrate into the duration of the normal cell NC for communication, during which the light output can not be used for transmission.
To sum up, the following technical requirements must be satisfied for a light output control circuit to drive a light emission element to be used for a burst transmission system:
(1) To obtain quick response to reach the required light output.
(2) To control light output with high precision.
(3) To function APC (automatic power control) to cope with burst signals i.e. to maintain light output for a sufficient time during no-signal period between each burst signal, as well as to cope with the variation in the ambient temperature.
(4) To reduce the number of components externally attached to a semiconductor integrated circuit.
In the first configuration example of a conventional light output control circuit shown in FIG. 31, the above requirement (1) may be realized if the response speed to detect peak value improves in peak detection circuit 105. This may be achieved by providing a capacitor of smaller capacitance in peak detection circuit 105 and by feeding a larger charging current. Also, the above requirement (2) may be realized by increasing negative feedback gain.
A problem exists, however, that in order to realize the above requirement (3), light output must be maintained for a long time by providing larger capacitance to maintain peak value in peak detection circuit 105. This may practically damage a quick response characteristic required in the above (1).
Furthermore, a capacitance leak in a capacitor to maintain peak value and a leak current in an FET used in the circuit may damage the high precision control for the above requirement (2). Moreover, it is difficult to compensate light output when abrupt change of the ambient temperature occurs between burst signals.
To satisfy the above requirement (4), it is required to maintain light output for a long time, for example for a few milliseconds, by providing a capacitor having capacitance of several micro farads. This necessitates attaching an outer component because of difficulty in fabricating such large capacitor in an LSI, and makes it difficult to compose smaller circuit configuration.
As having discussed above, it is difficult to satisfy all the above four requirements (1) to (4) at a time when using the first circuit configuration of the conventional light output control circuit shown in FIG. 31.
As a method to realize the above four requirements (1) to (4), the second circuit configuration of the conventional light output control circuit shown in FIG. 33 may be chosen. Hereafter, an operational characteristics shown in FIG. 35 is discussed with regard to the second circuit configuration of the conventional light output control circuit shown in FIG. 33. In FIG. 35, the horizontal and the vertical axes denote the time and the driving current value, respectively.
At the start of operation, the value of counter 109 has already been reset. When the aforementioned feedback operation is started, the value of counter 109 is updated by either adding or subtracting 1 at each step. This is carried out according to the result of comparing an output of monitoring portion 106 with the reference value 104. Accordingly, the driving current value is updated to make the driving current change stepwise.
In this case, the driving current value changes by the step of 0.1 mA corresponding to the least significant digit (LSB) of a digital-to-analog converter. When the driving current reaches the target value, the driving current value drifts between the two values centered by the target value. Thus a stable light output is obtained corresponding to the driving current within this range.
According to this conventional technique, a counter value is increased by 1 (at the unit of the LSB) from zero at the start until the desired light output is produced. Therefore, in the case a larger current (i.e. larger digital counter value) is required to produce a desired light output, a larger number of steps are necessary, resulting in a longer rise time.
For example, in order to obtain the maximum driving current of 100 mA in the case a 10-bit digital-to-analog converter 110 is used, the counter value started from zero has to be updated 1024 times in the worst case to produce desired stable light output.
Also in the case of continuous transmission, data cannot be transmitted during the startup period shown as the initial state (I) in FIG. 34A. To cope with this problem, it is required either to lengthen the startup time of an overall system, or to shorten the timing margin of the system.
In the conventional light output control circuit, there is a defect that a light output value cannot be fed back in the burst transmission method where no-data period continues for a long time. To cope with this, in the conventional digital light output control circuit of data-synchronous type, the light output update timing is determined by checking the existence of input data.
The deteriorated light warning circuit shown in FIG. 32 has also been used in the second configuration of a light output control circuit shown in FIG. 33.
As a concrete example of the second light output control circuit shown in FIG. 33, there has been a method to control to update a driving current (i.e. to update light output) synchronously when successive n bits of xe2x80x981xe2x80x99 appear in data for transmission.
In such a configuration, there may be cases that the monitoring signal level for data having less than successive n bits of xe2x80x981xe2x80x99 is deteriorated, compared to the intrinsic value, caused by the insufficient bandwidth of current/voltage converter to convert a monitoring current to a voltage signal.
FIG. 36 illustrates such undesirable condition as described above. In FIG. 36, an example of data is shown for one burst period.
In the case a warning circuit of a deteriorated light output shown in FIG. 32 is applied, a false warning may possibly be issued in the period (I) and period (II), as shown in FIG. 36, when data having less than successive n bits of xe2x80x981xe2x80x99 (3 bits in the example shown in FIG. 36) is inputted.
Namely, in the period of (I) and (II) in FIG. 36, the respective number of successive xe2x80x981xe2x80x99 is one bit. Therefore, as mentioned above, a peak value (B) of a monitoring voltage output (A) cannot exceed a threshold voltage (C) because of an insufficient bandwidth of monitoring portion 106.
This results in issuing a false warning of light deterioration because level comparator 107 determines the light output is below the reference value 108. On the other hand, in the period (III) having more than three successive bits of xe2x80x981xe2x80x99, a warning is not issued because the peak value (B) of the monitoring voltage output (A) exceeds the threshold voltage (C). In the latter zone of period (III), the number of successive bits of xe2x80x981xe2x80x99 is one, but the peak value (B) gradually decreases and a warning is not issued until the peak value (B) falls below the threshold value (C).
FIG. 37 illustrates that a problem arises between burst signals in the case of burst signal transmission when a conventional warning circuit of a deteriorated light output shown in FIG. 32 is applied.
In FIG. 37, the N-th burst and the (N+1)-th burst are shown as transmission data (A). Light output (C) is produced only during a burst period using a transmission/reception switch signal (B). Accordingly, a monitoring current (D) is outputted while the light output (C) appears. However, if a time constant to maintain a peak value in monitoring portion 106 is insufficiently small, the peak value of a monitoring voltage from monitoring portion 106 gradually decreases after the burst signal is suspended, and falls below the threshold value before the succeeding burst signal appears.
Therefore, in this case, a false warning is issued between the period of burst signals (as shown in FIG. 37G). In order to avoid such malfunction of false warning which arises in the intervals of burst signals, a measure is taken so that a deterioration warning output is masked during non-existent period of burst signals using a transmission/reception switch signal. Thus a false warning may be prevented (refer to FIG. 32 and FIG. 37F).
However, there may be a case depending on a system that a relevant process is not carried out outside the light output control circuit of the equipment, as shown in FIG. 37. Also there may be a case that an external signal is not inputted to the LSI. In such cases, the conventional warning circuit of a deteriorated light output cannot be used, and measures against the following issues are required:
(1) To cope with a light output control circuit having light output updated synchronously with input data, and
(2) To cope with a burst transmission system even in case no appropriate measure is taken outside the circuit of the equipment, or no external signal applied to switch transmission/reception condition. (i.e. to prevent from issuing any false warning of a deteriorated light output in the intervals of burst signals.)
It is an object of the present invention to provide a light output control circuit which may be applied to a burst transmission system, having an unerring warning output function of deteriorated light in a light output control circuit in which light output is updated synchronously with input data.
As the basic configuration of a light output control circuit of the present invention to attain the above object includes; a monitoring portion to detect light output from a light emission element which is driven in accordance with data to be transmitted; a level comparator to compare a monitoring signal from the monitoring portion with a reference signal; a data detection portion to detect the existence of data to be transmitted; and an output control portion to determine to output a warning using an output signal of the data detection portion and the level comparator.
As the second configuration of the invention, the data detection portion in the above basic configuration outputs a detected signal of xe2x80x98existence of transmission dataxe2x80x99 when successive n bits of xe2x80x981xe2x80x99 is detected in the transmission data.
As the third configuration of the invention, the data detection portion in the above basic configuration outputs a detected signal of xe2x80x98no existence of transmission dataxe2x80x99 when successive n bits of xe2x80x980xe2x80x99 is detected in the transmission data.
As the fourth configuration, the output control portion in the above basic configuration includes; a delay circuit to delay an output signal of the data detection circuit; and a flip-flop to input into a data terminal an output of the level comparator using an output of the delay circuit as a clock signal.
As the fifth configuration, the output control portion in the above second configuration includes; the first AND gate to produce logical product of an output of the data detection portion and an output of the level comparator; an inverter to invert an output signal of the level comparator; the second AND gate to produce logical product of an output signal of the data detection portion and an output signal of the inverter; a latch circuit to which an output of the first AND gate is inputted as a set signal and an output of the second AND gate is inputted as a reset signal.
As the sixth configuration, the output control portion in the above third configuration includes; the first NOR gate to produce inverted logical sum of an output signal of the data detection portion and an output of the level comparator; an inverter to invert an output of the level comparator; the second NOR gate to produce inverted logical sum of an output signal of the data detection portion and an output signal of the inverter; and a latch circuit to which an output of the second NOR gate is inputted as a set signal and an output of the first NOR gate is inputted as a reset signal.
As the seventh configuration, in the above second configuration or the above third configuration, a delay circuit is provided between the data detection portion and the output control portion in order to synchronize phases between the transmission data and an output of the level comparator. Accordingly, the input timing of an output of the data detection portion to the output control portion coincides with the input timing of an output signal of the level comparator to the output control portion.
As the eighth configuration, the delay circuit in the seventh configuration includes a timer in which the counting is originated by an output signal of the data detection portion.
As the ninth configuration, in the second configuration or the third configuration, the threshold level of the reference signal to be inputted to the level comparator varies according to an output state of the output control portion provided with a hysteresis characteristic.
As the tenth configuration, in the second configuration or the third configuration, a reset signal generator is provided by which a reset signal forcibly resets the output state of the output control portion.
As the eleventh configuration, the reset signal in the tenth configuration is generated when either transmission data or clock signals do not exist for a certain period.
As the twelfth configuration, when the light output control circuit is constituted by an LSI, the reset signal in the tenth configuration is a signal supplied from outside the LSI.

Light output control circuit with a warning function of deteriorated light output


A spiral air pressure spring designed by the invention solves the technical problems of complex structure and low compressive strength in the current gas springs. The spiral air pressure spring comprises a spring body, and is characterized in that the spring body is formed by an air column having a pressure air containing cavity, the air column is spiral, and at least one vent hole communicated with the containing cavity is arranged on the air column. The hardness of the spiral air pressure spring is adjusted by filling pressure air, the spiral air pressure spring is particularly large in deformation stroke and good in transverse and longitudinal ventilation, is used for manufacturing mattress, sofa, massage chair, cushion and the like, and is easy to remove moisture so that the influence on human body health is eliminated; the spiral air pressure spring is convenient in hardness adjustment and wide in one-way deformation range, meets the demands on various occasions and can be adjusted in real time to enhance the comfortable level; in addition, the spiral air pressure spring is convenient for coiled package to save the transportation cost, and can be unfolded by inflation when used by a user.

In terms of functionality, 'springs' can be classified in three categories including compression spring, torsion spring and tension spring, and common compression spring is formed by spirally coiling metal wires with strong elasticity, such as steel wires, and generates elasticity by means of their elastic deformation. Such a compression spring is fixed and nonadjustable in elasticity after being formed and still takes up a large space after being compressed, and satisfactory comfortable level cannot be imparted to all the application areas when it is used for spring mattress and the like. Gas spring has been designed, but it consists of a cylinder, a piston (push rod), an additional built-in spring and other parts, which leads to complex structure and high requirement on inter-part fitting; furthermore, the gas spring above is insufficient in deformation stroke and small in hardness adjustment range, and stills takes up a large space when not used.


When processing repeated operations on the keyboard of a mobile communication device, mainly at direct debits, used is a separate data carrier with a memory in which is stored at least one file with a sequence of keyboard orders of a macro type. Data carrier is energetically supplied contact-free by electromagnetic field of the mobile communication device while receiving the requiring order and, according to this order, chooses from the memory and encodes appropriate file with a sequence of keyboard orders. Data carrier sends the encoded file into the mobile communication device which decodes the received file and performs processes representing the keystrokes according to the sequence of keyboard orders. The invention also describes connection and data carrier to perform above described method where the data carrier consists of a processor, transmitting and receiving unit, block for transforming electromagnetic field and a memory to store a file of orders.

Disadvantages mentioned above are eliminated significantly by the method of realization repeated operations on the keyboard of a mobile communication device, principally a mobile phone, at direct debits using a sequence of keyboard orders of a macro type according to this invention, of which the bottom line is the use of a separate data carrier with a memory on which at least one file with a sequence of keyboard orders is stored. The sequence of keyboard orders is given by the sequence of keystrokes as if it was done by the owner. In order to perform the operation on the keyboard of a mobile communication device, the data carrier and the mobile communication device is connected via a contact-free communication link and the file with a sequence of keyboard orders is sent to the mobile communication device. This operation represents a substitution for pressing the particular keys. The use of separate, detached data carrier of files with a sequence of keyboard orders allows increasing the security of such file. By theft or loss, no risk of information misuse is arisen. Up to the present, separate storage of macro files is not known, in up to now known solutions was the security of macro files realized by protecting the access to macro file itself which was though stored within a device, in which it was or could be realized.
It is advantageous if the file with a sequence of keyboard orders is not saved in memory of the data carrier as access free but it is processed in the data carrier and shows externally in the form of cryptography. By reason of comfortable usage it is suitable if the data carrier gains its energy to process the file from a mobile communication device, favorably contact-free by transformation of electromagnetic field of the mobile communication device.
To reach higher level of security by preserving the same comfort of manipulation it is advantageous to perform the operations on the keyboard of a mobile communication device in such way that a requiring signal is transmitted from a mobile communication device via contact-free communication link into the data carrier approached to the mobile communication device, preferably approached to mobile communication device in the distance less than 10 cm. At this distance is the data carrier energetically supplied contact-free by the electromagnetic field of the mobile communication device. The data carrier receives the requiring order, evaluates it and according to the recognized requiring order chooses from its memory appropriate file with a sequence of keyboard orders. The data carrier encodes this file and subsequently sends to the mobile communication device where the file with a sequence of keyboard orders is decoded and later a process representing keystrokes according to the sequence of keyboard orders are performed. Transmission of the requiring signal is, from the physical point of view, made of electromagnetic field transformed by the data carrier into electric power which energizes the circuits of the data carrier. Due to this, the data carrier receives the requiring order, evaluates it and assesses which of the saved files with a sequence of keyboard orders corresponds with the required order where for example file indexing may be used.
To increase the level of security it is advantageous when the requiring order is encoded before sent from the mobile communication device and the data carrier decodes and subsequently evaluates the requiring order after its receiving.
The mobile communication device and the data carrier can be matched and the data carrier joint in to the communication link firstly recognizes appropriateness of the mobile communication device and/or the mobile communication device recognizes appropriateness of the data carrier. Appropriateness can be recognized due to a unique identifier of the assigned data carrier, possibly the mobile communication device. Such configuration ensures the uniqueness of the communication pair and eliminates situations in which an unsuitable data carrier attempts to communicate with the mobile communication device, for example when trying to transmit and perform undesirable macro files.
For purpose of increasing a higher level of security mainly at the payment transactions, before sending the requiring order, the mobile communication device can ask for entering the correct identifier on the keyboard, preferably PIN code. This proceeding reduces the possibility to send the requiring orders of a stolen mobile communication device, f.e. in aim to break the cryptography.
The file with a sequence of keyboard orders needs to be stored into the memory of the data carrier before its first use. File with a sequence of keyboard orders is into the data carrier stored and/or rewritten via mobile communication device where the transmission is encoded and the mobile communication device includes appropriate software to create the macro files. When recording file with a sequence of keyboard orders the data carrier will be placed near the mobile communication device and transmission of macro file is basically opposite to the transmission and realization of macro file in mobile communication device.
Disadvantages mentioned in the Present Technology Status are eliminated significantly by connection to perform repeated operations on the keyboard of a mobile communication device, principally a mobile phone at direct debits using a sequence of keyboard orders of a macro type by which, the above described method according to this invention is performed and the bottom line of which is that the separate data carrier with memory is connected to the mobile communication device via contact-free communication link. The data carrier also includes a processor, transmitting and receiving unit to communicate with the mobile communication device and a block for transforming electromagnetic field into electric energy. Processor is connected to the memory and also with the transmitting and receiving unit to communicate with the mobile communication device. The components of the data carrier are supplied from the block for transforming electromagnetic field into electric energy. Block of transformation will process the energizing from the electromagnetic field and will mainly be a part of the transmitting and receiving unit of which aerial can be possibly used. The mobile communication device includes a block for processing a file with a sequence of keyboard orders and transmitting and receiving unit for connection into the communication link.
The data carrier is switched to operate by creating electric energy in the block for transforming electromagnetic field of the mobile communication device. Subsequently it can receive and process orders, external data. The data carrier recognizes the appropriateness of the mobile communication device and its received signal decodes, evaluates and reacts by means of choosing the relevant file with a sequence of keyboard orders. To supply energetic need of the data carrier, the data carrier must be located during the operation near the mobile communication device.
In terms of technological compatibility it is advantageous if the mobile communication device is a mobile phone with NFC communication unit.
The subject of this invention is also the data carrier itself, which enables to perform repeated operations on the keyboard of the mobile communication device, mainly a mobile phone at direct debits using the sequence of keyboard orders of a macro type according to this invention, of which the bottom line is that it consists of a processor, transmitting and receiving unit to communicate with the mobile communication device, a block for transforming electromagnetic field into electric energy and a memory to store at least one file of orders. Transmitting and receiving unit and the block for transforming electromagnetic field into electric energy are connected with a processor which is also connected to the memory. Such configuration allows the data carrier, which is approached to the mobile communication device to use the energy of the device and to transform it to electric energy to supply the data carrier components. In advantageous configuration, activated data carrier recognizes the appropriateness of the mobile communication device and receives the requiring order according to which it performs the tasks in the required way.
Utility attributions increase a configuration where the data carrier also contains a component to accumulate electric energy connected with the block for transforming electromagnetic field into electric energy. This component is used for short-term accumulation of electric energy, for energy supply of data carrier circuit during one operation by which is ensured the stabilization of performed processes, also in case of impaired receiving of the electromagnetic field.
It is advantageous if the data carrier includes NFC chip and the data carrier is located in a pendant and/or key ring and/or a sticker and/or a tab.
Invention allows using energetically passive data carrier which is able to process actively, mainly to encode the file with a sequence of keyboard orders of a macro type. The main advantage is a higher security level by preserving user's comfort. This particular energetic passivity enables to reduce the size of the data carrier since no use of own energy source is needed and also user's comfort is increased since the user does not take care of charging or the condition of the data carrier. More macro files can be stored into the data carrier memory.
The components of the data carrier are energetically supplied from electromagnetic field of the mobile communication device either directly by at that time gained energy, or partly by energy accumulated during the state of approach to the mobile communication device at the appropriate macro file transmitting operation.
The invention enables to increase safety and comfort of data entering. At the same time, the invention accelerates the course of the direct debit when the mobile communication device substitutes keystrokes in a set order in a significantly faster mode than the user is able to enter on the keyboard manually.

Method, connection and data carrier to perform repeated operations on the key-board of mobile communication device


A rotor blade comprises a root section, an airfoil section, a leading edge cooling cavity, an intermediate cooling cavity, and a trailing edge cooling cavity. The leading edge, intermediate, and trailing edge cooling cavities each extend spanwise through the airfoil section from a coolant inlet passage in the root section, and each terminate proximate the airfoil tip.

The described subject matter relates generally to gas turbine engines, and more specifically to rotor blades for gas turbine engines.
Gas turbine engine airfoils, particularly those blades and vanes exposed to hot combustion products are provided with internal cooling cavities. To ensure circulation of coolant (e.g., air or steam) and provide sufficient convective cooling, the internal cooling cavities often include a serpentine portion through which the coolant is intended to make at least one full downward pass through the airfoil under most normal operating conditions.
Though well known and effective for various cooling applications, serpentine passages have relatively high pressure losses due to the need for the coolant to repeatedly change flow directions. Increased coolant pressure losses result in more coolant drawn from the engine working fluid to provide required airfoil cooling. This can increase parasitic losses and reduce engine efficiency. As such, a need has been identified for an internally cooled airfoil providing effective convective cooling and reduced pressure loss.


A cell housing includes a first half section having a longitudinal side having a first end and a second end. A first lateral side extends perpendicularly to the longitudinal side from the first end. The first lateral side has a first tongue. A second lateral side extends perpendicularly to the longitudinal side from the second end. The second lateral side has a first groove. A second half section is identical to the first half section. The first and second half sections are coupled to each other such that the first tongue of the first half section is inserted into the first groove of the second half section and the first tongue of the second half section is inserted into the first groove of the first half section, forming a closed perimeter.

Lithium ion batteries commonly employ metal heat sink and structural components as parts of a stacked battery assembly. These components are assembled from formed sheet metal components, which are inserted between individual battery cells. The battery cells and the interlayered sheet metal components are held together with metal or plastic bands. Spacing of the assembly relies on the thickness of the cells and is not well controlled, leading to inconsistencies in the manufacture of the batteries and reduced cell performance.
There exists a need to provide a more accurate mechanical spacing of heat sink surfaces.

Nested heatsink housing for lithium ion cells

Bren-Tronics Batteries International, L.L.C.


A device which supports a user's leg during treatment of the user's foot or leg includes a base and a pedestal assembly which support a channel-like element. The pedestal assembly and the channel-like element are adjustable for height and for angular orientation so the elements of the device are oriented and positioned to be most comfortable for each patient. Two liquid-accommodating containers are mounted in the top surface of the base, with one container on either side of the pedestal.

There are numerous procedures carried out on a person's feet and legs, such as podiatry, and the like in which the patient remains in a sitting position and has their foot and leg elevated during the procedure. Such position occurs during a pedicure as well.
The inventor has found that the patient who must remain seated for great lengths of time with their leg elevated and held in a raised position is subject to great discomfort. If the leg is supported by the person carrying out the procedure, both the patient and the person carrying out the procedure are subject to fatigue and discomfort.
In many procedures, both of the patient's feet will be treated, and thus, one foot can be prepared while the other is being treated. For example, in a pedicure, one foot will be soaked while the other foot is being worked on, and then the treated foot will be soaked while the other foot is treated.
While there are devices which can support a patient's leg during a period of convalescence or the like, such devices are not suitable for carrying out a procedure which requires one foot to be prepared while the other foot is treated. Thus, such devices are deficient as applied to an overall procedure.
Accordingly, there is a need for a device for supporting a patient's leg during a procedure in which one foot is treated while the other foot is being prepared for treatment and then the position of the feet is reversed.


A heat exchanger employed as an evaporator includes a heat exchange core section and first to fourth headers 5, 6, 9, 11. The headers 5, 6 include hollow header bodies 10, 20 having opposite ends opened, and caps 18a, 18b, 19a, 19b fixed to the corresponding opposite end openings. The caps 18a, 18b have flat wall portions 32a, 33a, 34a which close the corresponding end openings of the header bodies 10, 20. A reinforcement projection portion 30 projecting toward the interior of the header 5 is formed on the flat wall portion 32a of the cap 18a. In the heat exchanger, the header 5 exhibits enhanced withstand pressure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat exchanger preferably used as an evaporator of a car air conditioner, which is a refrigeration cycle to be mounted on, for example, an automobile.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a so-called laminated evaporator has been widely employed as an evaporator for use in a car air conditioner. In the laminated evaporator, a plurality of flat, hollow members, each of which includes a pair of depressed plates facing each other and brazed to each other at their peripheral edge portions, are arranged in parallel, and corrugate fins are each disposed between and brazed to the adjacent flat, hollow members.
In recent years, evaporators have been required to be further reduced in size and weight and to exhibit higher performance. A known evaporator which fulfills these requirements includes a heat exchange core section configured such that heat exchange tube groups are arranged in two rows in an air flow direction, each heat exchange tube group consisting of a plurality of heat exchange tubes arranged at predetermined intervals; a first header which is disposed on a first-end side of the heat exchange tubes and to which the heat exchange tubes of one heat exchange tube group are connected; a second header which is disposed on the first-end side of the heat exchange tubes and upstream of the first header with respect to the air flow direction and to which the heat exchange tubes of the other heat exchange tube group are connected; a third header which is disposed on a second-end side of the heat exchange tubes and to which the heat exchange tubes connected to the first header are connected; and a fourth header which is disposed on the second-end side of the heat exchange tubes and to which the heat exchange tubes connected to the second header are connected. A refrigerant inlet is formed at a first end portion of the first header, and a refrigerant outlet is formed at an end portion, which corresponds to the first end portion of the first header, of the second header. A partition wall divides the interiors of the first and second headers at longitudinally intermediate portions. A refrigerant which flows into the first header passes through all the heat exchange tubes and all the headers and then flows out from the refrigerant outlet (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 2003-214794).
In the evaporator described in the above publication, the headers each include a header body which is composed of a header tank and a header plate and whose opposite ends are opened. End openings of the header bodies of the first and second headers in opposition to end openings where the refrigerant inlet and the refrigerant outlet are formed, and opposite end openings of the header bodies of the third and fourth headers, are closed by corresponding flat wall portions of caps fixed to the ends of the header bodies.
The evaporator described in the publication is required to exhibit further enhanced header withstand pressure.


A system and method for generating a medical history that is determined based on the patient's medication list. Medications are taken for specific indications, i.e., disease and/or symptom, and the system includes a knowledge base of all known medications and associated indications. Preferably, an expert system allows the patient, nurse or other user, to enter all or part of the name of the patient's medications, and creates a list of probable medications by determining which of the known medications the patient most likely takes. Based on a user selected probable medication, the system creates a list of probable medical indications associated with the selected medication. Based on a user selected probable indication, the system generates a medical history for the patient. The probable medications and probable medical indications are determined preferably based on the patient's demographic data, historical data for other patients, and responses to follow-up questions generated by the system.

A detailed medical history is the cornerstone for accurate patient assessments and medical diagnosis. Traditional history taking by clinicians is often incomplete and time consuming because it requires not only collecting the information, but also accurately documenting it. Clinicians are typically highly paid medical professionals. A need exists, therefore, for a system that can take an accurate and complete medical history without the direct participation of costly medical personnel.
Computerized systems are available for patients to enter medical data themselves in response to queries. Typically, these systems use a predetermined set of questions for the patient, or another user on behalf of the patient, to answer. These computerized systems are considered superior to traditional history taking techniques because typically such systems 1) are highly structured to include all pertinent questions and never forget to ask a question; 2) can be done at the patient's pace at a time and place that is convenient for the patient; 3) elicit sensitive information that is often underreported in the face-to-face interview; 4) can be administered in different languages; 5) prepare patients for the subsequent encounter with the clinician; 6) can calculate scores to clinical rating scales for easy interpretation by a physician; and 7) provide legible summaries that can be manipulated by or directly entered into an electronic medical record.
A known automated computer-based medical history taking system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,566,370 which provides for the development of and printout of a patient's medical history. The system includes a display for presenting questions with multiple choice answers to a patient. Subsequent questions are presented to the patient in accordance with the answers to previous questions. Therefore, medically related questions are automatically propounded according to U.S. Pat. No. 3,566,370, even though not specifically selected for review by a patient.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 7,290,016 describes a system and method for generating and storing a medical history that uses a questionnaire database in which answers to questions are correlated with subsequent questions. The questionnaire database includes a plurality of questions and corresponding multiple choice responses. The responses are associated with additional questions in the questionnaire database. Therefore, the pattern through the questionnaire database is not predetermined according to U.S. Pat. No. 7,290,016, but is dependent upon the pattern of answers.
While both of the above-mentioned systems and methods for eliciting a medical history are superior to traditional history taking techniques, i.e., by a clinician or paper questionnaire, these and other known systems and methods still have serious drawbacks that limit their effectiveness and have hindered their widespread acceptance by both patients and the medical community at large.
First, these known computer based questionnaires contain too many questions, many of which are not relevant to the patient being asked the question, i.e., many questions are not patient specific. While known systems do employ branch-chain logic to hone in on specific patient complaints and clarify symptoms, these systems have no way of identifying which questions are the most important to ask the patient upfront. As such, these known systems require the patients to answer too many irrelevant questions. Furthermore, patients make inadvertent errors during standard computer interviews of these known systems because the patients misunderstand the questions, forget, and/or become tired and careless. Studies such as noted by Carr have found that these drawbacks lead to an error rate in patient directed computer interviews of 3%-7%.
There is a need, therefore, for a patient-driven computer based system that is not only highly patient specific, but also provides a "checks and balance" system for the patient to help eliminate some of the errors that occur from patients misunderstanding questions and/or forgetting or inadvertently misrepresenting certain components of their medical history. There is also a need for the system to learn from both the patient's particular situation and from the system's experience with prior users in order to provide more, relevant questions to the patient in order to more readily obtain a more accurate medical history from the patient.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for generating a medical history


A transmitter for communication-less bistatic ranging includes a photon emitter configured to emit a plurality of photons at particular times in a pointing direction, and a processor configured to identify a particular sub-code of a plurality of sub-codes based on a dynamic state of the transmitter, each one of the plurality of sub-codes including a portion of a long optimal ranging code, generate a plurality of encoded pulse timings by dithering pulse timings from a nominal repetition frequency based on the particular sub-code, and control the photon emitter to emit the plurality of photons at the plurality of encoded pulse timings.

Pulsed laser radar sensors, also known as lidars or ladars, are active sensing systems that determine the range to a target by measuring the time of flight of short laser pulses reflected off of the target. A lidar system generally includes a laser transmitter and an optical receiver. The transmitter is capable of generating laser pulses when commanded, and of directing these pulses in a particular direction. The receiver includes an optical system capable of collecting light reflected from the target, and a photodetector that can record the arrival of reflected light. An aspect of the return processing is the ability to determine target characteristics accurately despite complex scattering of the transmitted light, imperfect detection of the returns, unwanted detections due to ambient light and electrical noise, and modulation of the return due to target motion, among other practical complications.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the disclosure and therefore it may contain information that does not constitute prior art.


Apparatus and associated methods for a simplified multi-client initiator/target within a SAS device. Features and aspects hereof provide a simplified initiator/target component to enable cost reduction and simplification of SAS devices requiring only limited initiator/target functionality. In one embodiment, a SAS expander may incorporate simplified SSP/STP/SMP initiator/target features and aspects hereof to permit simple management of devices coupled to the expander or coupled downstream through other expanders. The simplified multi-client initiator/target suffices for simple management functions while reducing cost and complexity of the SAS expander. Features and aspects hereof may be implemented with shared circuits for each of multiple client protocols coupled with firmware operable in a general or special purpose processor embedded in the SAS device.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to serial attached SCSI ("SAS") domains and more specifically to apparatus and methods for a simplified multi-client initiator/target within a SAS device providing reduced features coupled with reduced cost and complexity.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Small Computer Systems Interface ("SCSI") is a set of American National Standards Institute ("ANSI") standard electronic interface specifications that allow, for example, computers to communicate with peripheral hardware. Common SCSI compatible peripheral devices may include: disk drives, tape drives, CD drives ("CD-ROM", "CD-RW", etc), DVD drives, printers and scanners. SCSI as originally created included both a command/response data structure specification and an interface and protocol standard for a parallel bus structure for attachment of devices. SCSI has evolved from exclusively parallel interfaces to include both parallel and serial interfaces. "SCSI" is now generally understood as referring either to the communication transport media (parallel bus structures and various serial transports) or to a plurality of primary commands common to most devices and command sets to meet the needs of specific device types as well as a variety of interface standards and protocols.
The collection of primary commands and other command sets may be used with SCSI parallel interfaces as well as with serial interfaces. The serial interface transport media standards that support SCSI command processing include: Fibre Channel, Serial Bus Protocol (used with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1394 FireWire physical protocol; "IEEE 1394") and the Serial Storage Protocol (SSP).
SCSI interface transports and commands are also used to interconnect networks of storage devices with processing devices. For example, serial SCSI transport media and protocols such as Serial Attached SCSI ("SAS") and Serial Advanced Technology Attachment ("SATA") may be used in such networks. These applications are often referred to as storage networks. Those skilled in the art are familiar with SAS and SATA standards as well as other SCSI related specifications and standards. Information about such interfaces and commands is generally obtainable at the websites www.t10.org, www.t13.org, and www.serialata.org.
Such SCSI storage networks are often used in large storage systems having a plurality of disk drives to store data for organizations and/or businesses. The network architecture allows storage devices to be physically dispersed in an enterprise while continuing to directly support SCSI commands directly. This architecture allows for distribution of the storage components in an enterprise without the need for added overhead in converting storage requests from SCSI commands into other network commands and then back into lower level SCSI storage related commands.
A SAS network typically comprises one or more SAS initiators coupled to one or more SAS targets often via one or more SAS expanders. In general, as is common in all SCSI communications, SAS initiators initiate communications with SAS targets. The expanders expand the number of ports of a SAS network domain used to interconnect SAS initiators and SAS targets (collectively referred to as SAS devices or SAS device controllers).
In general, a SAS initiator directs information to a SAS target device through ports of one or more SAS expanders in the SAS domain. A "port" in SAS terminology is a logical concept. A port may comprise one or more physical links in a SAS domain. Such physical links are often referred to as PHYs in the terminology of SAS domains. A port may use a single PHY or, if the port is configured as a wide port, may use multiple PHYs logically grouped to provide higher bandwidth.
The SAS standard defines the Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) interconnect and three transport protocols that use the SAS interconnect: a) Serial SCSI Protocol (SSP): a mapping of SCSI supporting multiple initiators and targets (see, e.g., section 7.16 of the SAS specifications); b) Serial ATA Tunneled Protocol (STP): a mapping of Serial ATA expanded to support multiple initiators and targets (see, e.g., section 7.17 of the SAS specifications); and c) Serial Management Protocol (SMP): a management protocol (see, e.g., section 7.18 of the SAS specifications).
Each defined protocol includes initiator and target aspects of the defined exchanges. In a number of particular device applications, the full richness and flexibility of an SSP, STP, and/or SMP initiator operable in accordance with the respective link layer specifications is not required. For example, in a SAS expander device that utilizes STP exchanges only for limited management of SATA devices attached to the expander or attached downstream from the expander, a fully featured STP initiator capability is not required. Rather, only a relatively small subset of the full STP feature set is used for such a limited management purpose. In like manner, other management functions within a SAS device may use limited features of the full richness of the SSP and SMP protocols. A SAS expander is an example of such a SAS device where limited aspects of each protocol may be required for certain management and administrative features implemented within the expander in dealing with attached devices.
However, current initiator and target circuits provide only a fully featured initiator and/or target capability intended primarily for other applications requiring full featured SAS device support for all SAS related protocols. Such a fully featured SAS initiator including SSP/STP/SMP initiator/target features is costly and complex in such an application though only a small fraction of the features are actually required. Further, where multiple such initiator/target circuits are required within a SAS device (such as a SAS expander), the cost and complexity is multiplied by the total number of such managerial ports required.
It is evident from the above discussion that a need exists for a simplified initiator and target circuit supporting multiple simplified protocols useful in applications that do not require fully featured initiator/target capabilities.

Apparatus and methods for a simplified, multi-client SAS port for management of other devices in an enhanced SAS device


A method of detecting and checking the template of digital messages sent to a receiver device includes the encoding beforehand of templates definable by a limited number of parameters. The parameters are detected in the information being received. The stored template matching the parameters detected is determined. The conformity of the information received with the template detected is checked. If this check indicates that the information being received does not conform to the detected template the method returns to the detection step. The method is applicable in particular to receiving asynchronous digital transmissions where it is necessary to check that the information received conforms to one or more modulation templates.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention concerns a method and device for detecting the speed of transmission and checking the template of digital messages transmitted to a receiver device over a transmission line.
It applies more particularly to receiving asynchronous digital transmissions when it is necessary to verify the information received conforms to one predefined modulation templates each specifying constraints to be applied to a number of transmission parameters, such as:
the duration of transmission of one information bit PA1 the duty factor of the modulation signal; PA1 the time interval or "Gap" between two words; PA1 the number of bits per word; and PA1 the parity of the word. PA1 a first step of coding beforehand a particular number of possible templates definable by a limited number of parameters; PA1 a second step of detecting said parameters in the information being received and determining which of the memorized templates matches the detected parameters; PA1 a third step of checking that the information received conforms to the detected template; PA1 returning to the second step if said checking indicates that the information being received does not conform to the detected template. PA1 Of course, a method in accordance with the invention could further provide for the rejection of unreliable information, that is say information which during its transmission did not meet all of the constraints of a single template from all possible templates. PA1 cyclical scanning at a fixed frequency of a programmed list of conditions stored in memory; PA1 acquisition of information transmitted on the line PA1 activation of a selection process each time that the information selection criterion has been acquired, the selection process including a synchronization stage which waits for the scanning process to cross the start of said list of conditions, a comparison (pattern matching) sequence on the selection contained in the information being received and the production of a selection variable which indicates the message being received is of interest to the receiver or not, the selection process ending either when all the conditions from said list have been exhausted and on returning to the start of list condition or upon reading a special end of list code; PA1 memorization of the information selected in a buffer accessible to said local unit. PA1 a first step of coding beforehand a particular number of possible templates definable by a limited number of parameters; PA1 a second step of detecting said parameters in the information being received and determining which of the memorized templates matches the detected parameters; PA1 a third step of checking that the information received conforms to the detected template; PA1 returning to the second step if said checking indicates that the information being received does not conform To the detected template. PA1 a first number on eight bits (bits 0 through 7) defining a label; PA1 a second number (SDI) on two bits (bits 8 and 9) identifying the source or the destination of the word; PA1 a third number on 21 bits (bits 10 through 30) containing the transmitted data; and PA1 a parity bit (bit 31).

Method and device for detecting and checking the template of digital messages transmitted to a receiver device


The ferrite powder of the present invention is a ferrite powder containing a plurality of ferrite particles, wherein the ferrite particles each are a single crystal body having an average particle diameter of 1-2,000 nm, and have a polyhedron shape, and wherein the ferrite particles each contain 2.0-10.0 mass % of Sr, and 55.0-70.0 mass % of Fe.

Generally, a dispersion liquid in which a magnetic powder is dispersed is used for manufacture of a magnetic recording medium (e.g., see Patent Literatures 1 and 2).
Conventionally, however, it was difficult to attain excellent dispersibility of the magnetic powder in the dispersion liquid. In addition, when the dispersibility of the magnetic powder in the dispersion liquid was improved, there arose a problem that the magnetic properties of the magnetic powder decreased (in particular, the coercive force decreased).
A similar problem also exists in magnetic ink in which a magnetic powder is dispersed.

Ferrite powder, resin composition, and molded body


The present invention relates generally to thermoplastic amphiphilic networks and/or co-networks. In one embodiment, the present invention relates to thermoplastic (TP) amphiphilic co-networks (APCNs) and the preparation of membranes from such APCNs. In another embodiment, the present invention relates to an amphiphilic network comprising at least one hydrophilic polymer-derived portion, at least one hydrophobic polymer-derived portion and at least one thermoplastic polymer-derived portion. In still another embodiment, the present invention relates to thermoplastic amphiphilic co-networks prepared by combining the chemistries of APCNs and polyurethanes (PUs) and to the preparation of membranes therefrom.

Generally, amphiphilic co-networks comprise hydrophilic and hydrophobic polymers that can swell in both polar and non-polar solvents. Additionally, amphiphilic networks and/or co-networks can be used to produce polymer films that swell in both polar and non-polar solvents. Accordingly, films made from amphiphilic polymer networks and/or co-networks have been found to be desirable in the production of various articles including, but not limited to, contact lenses.
In one instance, amphiphilic co-networks (APCNs) are two-component networks of covalently interconnected hydrophilic/hydrophobic phases of co-continuous morphology; as such they swell both in water and hydrocarbons and respond to changes in the medium by morphological isomerization ("smart networks"). APCNs were conceived and first produced in Akron in 1988 and since that time have been intensely investigated by academic and industrial researchers around the world
FIG. 1 helps to visualize the morphology of an APCN and its response to changing the solvent milieu.
First generation APCNs were prepared by the free radical copolymerization of select hydrophilic monomers (e.g., dimethyl acrylamide (DMAAm)) with methacrylate-capped polyisobutylene (MA-PIB-MA) as the crosslinker; thus these early APCNs comprised various hydrophilic main chains crosslinked by the hydrophobic PIB chains. Hydrophilic/hydrophobic domain co-continuity (percolation) was demonstrated by swelling experiments using water and hexane. The APCNs were found to be biocompatible in rats. Devices using such APCNs that contain porcine pancreatic islets enveloped/immunoisolated therein, when implanted into diabetic rats, were found to reduce their hyperglycemia.
Second generation APCNs were prepared by combining a suitable polyethylene glycol) (PEG) with suitable polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sequences. The motivation to develop second generation APCNs was to create membranes that allow the simultaneous rapid countercurrent transport of water (or aqueous solutions) and oxygen, a highly hydrophobic entity. Water diffuses via the hydrophilic channels provided by the hydrophilic PEG domains while O2 permeates via the oxyphilic PDMS domains. The synthesis was simplified and then membranes with controlled amounts and molecular weights of hydrophilic/hydrophobic sequences were prepared. As expected, these APCNs were biocompatible; however, later we found that the PEG segments oxidatively degraded under simulated extended (e.g., weeks, months) implant conditions.
To overcome this degradation issue relating to PEG-containing APCNs for biological applications, third generation APCNs were developed in which the PEG segments were replaced by the oxidatively/hydrolytically/biologically resistant hydrophilic segment PDMAAm. The synthesis required the preparation of a novel crosslinking agent and a fundamentally new synthetic strategy. These APCNs were found to be eminently suitable for immunoisolation of pancreatic tissue, and became the subject of several patent applications.
On the other hand, the amphiphilic co-networks of the present invention are designed to create more versatile physically crosslinked processable recyclable APCNs. In one instance, there is a need in the art for reliable synthesis routes for thermoplastic amphiphilic co-networks (TP-APCNs) that can be processed thermally (by molding, injecting, extruding, etc.) or by solution techniques (casting, dipping, drawing, etc.).


A process for simulating and assembling flexible parts includes creating an ideal path between first and second planes and placing a virtual rigid envelope around the ideal path, and possibly tubular extensions beyond the path. A virtual flexible part is marked with reference features and pulled through the virtual rigid envelope, such that the path of the virtual flexible part is constrained but may rotate. Removing the virtual rigid envelope allows the virtual flexible part to relax, causing it to move to its lowest energy state. Zero-twist end conditions on the virtual flexible part are marked, corresponding to the intersection of the reference features with the planes. Identification marks are placed on a real flexible part, corresponding to the reference strips on the virtual flexible part. The real flexible part may then be assembled by aligning zero-twist marks on mating features to the identification marks on the real flexible part.

The design, simulation, and assembly of flexible parts, such as cables, hoses and wire harness, becomes more difficult as the surrounding environments through which the flexible parts are routed becomes more complex. Increases in complexity of the surrounding environment may result in increases in the complexity of the path through which the flexible part must pass. With the introduction of the electric hybrid vehicle and fuel cell vehicles, there are more flexible parts used for various functional designs such as the heavy gauged, high-voltage cables to connect hybrid components. Current industrial practice for the routing design of flexible parts is carried out first by traditional computer aided design (CAD).
The CAD models assume that the flexible parts are actually rigid bodies—such as steel pipes—and do not account for the pliable properties of the flexible parts. This often leads to a large dimensional variation in the path of the as-assembled flexible part from the designer's intended path, due to the flexibility of the parts. As a consequence of inaccurate routing design, it may be difficult to keep the actual flexible parts used in the assembly process within range of the designer's intended path, which may result in problematic interactions with surrounding components. Furthermore, the need to apply significant force and torque during the assembly process may cause ergonomics issues and decrease efficiency.

Process for simulating and assembling flexible parts


In an apparatus which includes a plurality of processing modules connected via a ring-shape bus, if a plurality pieces of pipeline processing to be processed in a different order is allocated to a plurality of processing modules, the transfer efficiency may decrease when an amount of data transferred from one of the processing modules to a post-stage module exceeds a processing capacity of the post-stage module. Accordingly, a module positioned on the preceding side in the pipeline processing controls a transmission interval of processed data so that the post-stage module can receive the data processed by the preceding module.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a parallel processing circuit. More specifically, the present invention relates to a data processing apparatus that can realize an efficient transfer of data between processing modules. The present invention further relates to a data processing method and a relevant software program.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a conventional method applicable to a plurality of processing modules linearly connected via a ring bus. The method includes allocating a part of pipeline processing to each processing module and causing respective processing modules to perform parallel processing, thereby speedily accomplishing the pipeline processing.
According to a conventional method discussed in Japanese Patent No. 2522952, a ring bus including a first-in first-out (FIFO) memory capable of changing the number of stages is provided and, if any conflict occurs between transmission data of each processing module and data transferred via the ring bus, a vacant slot is generated by increasing the number of stages of the FIFO memory so as to prevent any deterioration in system performances that may be caused by the conflict.
Further, according to a conventional method discussed in Japanese Patent No. 3083582, a plurality of layers are provided so that each layer had a structure including a plurality of processing elements (PEs) connected in a ring shape to perform pipeline processing. Packets are transferred between two ring buses by connecting PEs of different layers without using any packet control apparatus.
According to the pipeline type processing module system, if an amount of data transferred from any preceding processing module to a post-stage processing module exceeds a processing capacity of the post-stage processing module, the unprocessed transferred data places a stress on a communication band between the preceding processing module and the post-stage processing module. The stress placed on the communication band reduces a transfer efficiency of each data and, as a result, reduces the entire processing efficiency of the parallel processing circuit.
According to the configuration including a plurality of processing modules serially connected in a ring shape, the plurality of processing modules can be controlled to perform data processing according to an order different from a physical connection order of the plurality of processing modules. The above described configuration is useful in downsizing a circuit scale because the plurality of processing modules can process data according to an arbitrary order. (This is because, in a case where the same processing is performed at two portions of the pipeline processing, a linear pipeline circuit is required to prepare a plurality of circuits to perform the same processing.)
However, according to the method discussed in Japanese Patent No. 2522952 or the method discussed in Japanese Patent No. 3083582, in a case where a plurality of pieces of pipeline processing to be processed in a different order is allocated to a plurality of processing modules, the transfer efficiency may decrease when an amount of data transferred from one of the processing modules to a post-stage module exceeds a processing capacity of the post-stage module.

Data processing apparatus having a parallel processing circuit including a plurality of processing modules, and method for controlling the same


In embodiments of HID over simple peripheral buses, a peripheral sensor receives inputs from a peripheral device, and the peripheral sensor implements an HID SPB interface to interface the peripheral device with a computing system via a simple peripheral bus (SPB) in an HID data format. The peripheral sensor can also receive extensibility data for a proprietary function of the peripheral device, and communicate the inputs from the peripheral device and the extensibility data via the simple peripheral bus in the computing system. Alternatively or in addition, a peripheral sensor can generate sensor data and the HID SPB interface interfaces the peripheral sensor with the computing system via the simple peripheral bus. The peripheral sensor can then communicate the sensor data as well as extensibility data for a proprietary function of the peripheral sensor via the simple peripheral bus in the HID data format to the computing system.

Consumer devices, such as cell phones, media players, and tablet computers, typically enable a platform for peripheral devices that are internally connected over a simple peripheral bus (SPB), such as an inter-integrated circuit (I2C two-wire interface bus) and/or a serial peripheral interface (SPI) bus. However, these simple peripheral buses do not have defined standards for running devices, such as a touch-screen display, keyboard, mouse input device, sensors, and other HID class devices. Manufacturers of these peripheral devices generally provide proprietary drivers for the peripherals because there is not a standard protocol for these HID class devices to communicate over a simple peripheral bus. A consumer system may include internally connected peripherals from several different third-party manufacturers and hardware vendors, and the corresponding drivers have different interfaces that may pose system integration challenges, introduce system quality deficiencies and stability concerns, and/or limit the ability to perform unified system driver updates and driver validations.


Apparatus for vehicle wheel alignment comprising a wheel engaging member and a bearing surface rigidly mountable to the wheel engaging member. A lever with a movable fulcrum is mounted to the bearing surface for applying an appropriately directed force to the bearing surface to adjust the alignment of an engaged wheel. A bracing member is provided extendable from the lever for attachment to an anchor surface. The bracing member provides a reaction force to ensure that the aligning force generated by the lever is directed toward the engaged wheel. Alternative embodiments of the invention can be used to adjust wheel alignment on straight axle and trailing arm axle vehicles.

Proper wheel alignment for vehicles is important for safe and reliable handling. In addition, incorrect wheel alignment leads to increased tire wear.
Wheel alignment is most frequently required after a vehicle suffers a major impact in an accident and the suspension member supporting the wheel is bent in some manner. Even a relatively minor occurrence such as hitting a curb or a pot hole can cause some sort of irregularity in the suspension system that leads to wheel misalignment.
Many of today's vehicles employ a strut suspension assembly, such as a MacPherson strut, to connect the wheels to the main body of a vehicle. Currently, there are a number of ways in which a damaged strut can be repaired. The first technique is to replace the damaged parts and straighten the various attachment brackets on the body and hope that the alignment after the work is completed is within the original manufacturer's specifications. Replacement of parts can be expensive with no guarantee that correct alignment will result. Alternatively, shims or other like spacing members can be used in a trial and error process to regain correct wheel alignment. Probably the most popular technique is to employ some type of bending tool to reverse the irregularity in the strut. Many types of bending tools are available for correcting wheel camber adjustment, however, these tools generally involve removing a wheel and installing the tool on the wheel mounting hub. After each trial adjustment, the wheel is replaced and the alignment measured. It is not uncommon to have to repeat this operation several times before proper adjustment is achieved.
Therefore, there exists a need for an apparatus to aid in alignment of vehicle wheels while the wheels are in place on the vehicle.


A process unit includes an image bearing member, a first frame, a developing unit, a pressing assembly, and a pressing-force adjusting assembly. The first frame supports the image bearing member. The developing unit includes a developing roller and a second frame supporting the developing roller. The pressing assembly generates a first pressing force acting on the developing unit such that the developing roller is in pressure contact with the image bearing member. The pressing-force adjusting assembly contacts one of the first frame and the developing unit and generates a second pressing force acting on the developing unit against the first pressing force. The second pressing force is smaller than the first pressing force.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-180987, as an conventional example, discloses a process unit is provided with a photosensitive unit having a photosensitive drum, a developing unit having a developing roller for supplying toner to the photosensitive drum, and a coil spring urging the developing unit so as to permit the developing roller to be in pressure contact with the photosensitive drum.
More specifically, the photosensitive unit has a box shaped casing having an upper opening, and the photosensitive drum is provided at one end of the casing, and the coil spring is provided at another end of the casing. Upon assembly of the developing unit with the photosensitive unit, the developing roller is urged by the coil spring with a predetermined force and is brought to pressure contact with the photosensitive drum.
In another conventional example, a process unit is provided with a pressing member configured to press a developing unit including a developing roller toward a photosensitive drum, and a separating member configured to separate the developing roller from the photosensitive drum against a pressing force of the pressing member. In this process unit, the developing roller is in pressure contact with the photosensitive drum with a predetermined nipping pressure due to the pressing force of the pressing member, and the developing unit is held between the photosensitive drum and the pressing member.

Process unit and image-forming device using process unit


Systems and methods are provided for capturing, annotating, organizing and sharing content captured by a mobile device. The content may represent meeting notes on a whiteboard and may be captured by a camera on the mobile device, or by using specialized whiteboard capture software. Regions of the content where a user wishes to add annotations are then identified, after which the user adds annotations, such as written or audio annotations, to the identified regions. The annotated content is then organized into a specific sequence in which the content and the annotations will be presented, and a video is created from the sequence so that the annotated content can be easily shared with, and understood by, other users.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to systems and methods for capturing and organizing annotated content, and more specifically to systems and methods for capturing, annotating, organizing and sharing annotated content using a mobile device.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of whiteboards is pervasive across a wide range of work domains. Whiteboards enable users to quickly externalize an idea or concept, to facilitate understanding among collaborators and peers, and can serve as a conversational artifact to ground subsequent discussion. Several studies of workplace practice have shown the value of these benefits.
A wide range of commercial and research tools have been developed to marry the affordances of digital tools and usability of whiteboards. Tools to clean images on whiteboards and other sketching surfaces are generally designed to digitally capture content on a whiteboard so that its content can be more effectively utilized outside of the traditional meeting room. Some tools focus on image enhancement, whereas others support perspective correction and optical character recognition (OCR)
Other applications allow users to annotate "cleaned images," or those which have been binarized to change all non-content areas (shadows, glare, etc) to pure white. However, all of the known applications ultimately produce a standalone document that has been separated from the context of its creation. This makes the annotated documents difficult to organize. Furthermore, if they are shared with others, the content is difficult to understand.

Systems and methods of capturing and organizing annotated content on a mobile device


A microdevice is constructed from a substrate having a microchannel formed therein and a cover plate arranged over the substrate. The cover plate in combination with the microchannel at least partially defines a conduit within the microdevice. The conduit has a surface that extends from an upstream region toward a downstream region and terminates at an opening. The microdevice also includes an annular lining that conforms to the conduit surface at the downstream region and extends from the opening toward the upstream region in the conduit. An emitter may be produced in situ by depositing an emitter material on the annular lining. In addition, material may be removed from the cover plate and/or substrate about the opening. As a result, an exterior microdevice surface is formed and a downstream portion of the emitter is exposed that protrudes from the exterior surface.

Electrospray ionization (ESI) technology allows ions to be produced from a liquid solution and introduced into an analytical device such as a mass spectrometer. Typically, an aerosol is produced in a spray chamber of the analytical device by passing a fluid sample through a capillary such that the capillary serves as an electrospray emitter and has a terminus subjected to an electric field within the chamber. The electric field is usually generated by placing a source of electrical potential, e.g., an electrode or sample introduction orifice, near the capillary terminus, wherein the source is held at a voltage potential difference with respect to the capillary terminus. As a result, a large electric potential gradient is created at the terminus of the electrospray emitter.
The emitter may be operated in a positive or negative ion mode by creating a negative or positive potential gradient, respectively. In the positive-ion mode of operation, a high positive voltage is applied to the electrospray emitter and/or a high negative voltage at the electrode or sample introduction orifice. In such case, the imposed field will penetrate the liquid at the capillary tip and the accumulated positive charge at the surface leads to destabilization of the surface to form a cone (Taylor cone), because the positive ions are drawn down but cannot escape from the liquid. At a sufficient high field, bulk liquid from the Taylor cone may be broken into charged liquid droplets. Alternatively, a thin stream may be formed carrying liquid away from the Taylor cone before the stream is broken up into droplets. In either case, these droplets migrate from the positive emitter towards the mass spectrometer inlet. The droplets undergo solvent evaporation and fission, which allows the generation of gas phase ions. The ions are then introduced into mass spectrometer's vacuum and are subjected to mass spectrometric analysis. Analogously, in the negative-ion mode of operation, the electric field is reversed and the charge of the gas phase ions formed as a result is reversed as well.
The performance of an electrospray emitter is limited in large part by its overall geometry, which in turn is determined by the technique used to fabricate the emitter. For example, several different types of electrospray emitters for use in low flow rate mass spectrometry include a glass tip that is formed by heating and pulling a glass capillary. As a result of such stretching, the outer and inner diameters of such capillaries are decreased.
Additional electrospray emitter shaping techniques include, e.g., mechanical machining methods. Such methods suffer from a number of drawbacks such as low output and inferior dimensional control. While semiconductor surface micromachining fabrication techniques have been proposed, such techniques are not suitable for producing an emitter that protrudes from a lateral surface of a substantially planar device.
Currently, microdevices employing microfluidic technology are used as chemical analysis and clinical diagnostic tools. Sample preparation, separation and detection compartments have been proposed to be integrated on such devices. In general, the small size of microdevices allows for the analysis of minute quantities of a fluid sample, which is an advantage when the sample is expensive or difficult to obtain. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,071 to Kaltenbach et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,571,410 to Swedberg et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,702 to Witt et al. In addition, such microfluidic technologies may operate at extreme low flow rates, e.g., in the nanoflow regime. This tends to increase mass spectrometry sensitivities.
Many have attempted to incorporate electrospray technology in such microdevices. One such effort to interface a microdevice with a mass spectrometer involves providing an outlet on an unbounded surface of a microdevice from which fluid sample is dispersed. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,872,010 to Karger et al. and Ramsey et al. (1997), "Generating Electrospray from Microchip Devices Using Electoosmotic Pumping," Anal. Chem. 69: 1174-78. This approach is problematic because it tends to require a larger sample volume, lower ionization efficiency, and/or compromise band resolution emerging from the outlet port. It has been observed that a sharp emitter with a small outside diameter and a smooth rim is generally desired for increasing stability of electrospray ionization, especially at a low sample flow rate.
Several approaches have been reported for integrating electrospray tips onto microdevices. For example, an electrospray emitter formed separately from a microdevice for subsequent attachment. See, e.g., International Patent Publication No. WO 00/022409; Figeys et al. (1997), "A Microfabricated Device for Rapid Protein Identification by Microelectrospray Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry," Anal. Chem. 69:3153-60; Zhang et al. (1999), "A Microfabricated Devices for Capillary Electrophoresis-Electrospray Mass Spectrometry," Anal. Chem. 71:3258-64; Li et al. (2000), "Separation and Identification of Peptide from Gel Isolated Membrane Proteins Using a Micromachined Device for Combined Capillary Electrophoresis," Anal. Chem. 72:799-809; and Zhang et al. (2000), "A Microdevice with Integrated Liquid Junction for Facile Peptide and Protein Analysis by Capillary Electrophoresis/Electrospray Mass Spectrometry," Anal. Chem. 72:1015-22. However, the likelihood of success in implementing this approach depends greatly on the quality of the attachment operation, and the interface formed between the emitter and the microdevice.
Micromachined electrospray emitters have been produced from silicon-based microdevices (see, e.g., International Patent Publication No. WO 98/35376 and Schultz et al. (1999) "A fully integrated monolithic microchip-based electrospray device for microfluidic separations," 47th ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics, June 13-17) and from Parylene-based microdevices (see, e.g., Licklider et al. (2000), "A Micromachined Chip Based Electrospray Source for Mass Spectrometry," Anal. Chem. 72:367-75. However, these approaches also suffer from a number of drawbacks. For example, while silicon ESI emitters can be made with very small tip diameters, integration of such emitters to additional microdevice functionalities can be difficult and costly. In addition, while Parylene processing costs tend to be significantly lower than silicon processing costs, dimensional and geometrical control over Parylene-based emitters is lacking compared to silicon-based emitters.
Laser ablation may be used to form features of microdevices such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,459,080 to Yin et al. For example, commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/711,804 entitled "A Microdevice Having an Integrated Protruding Electrospray Emitter and a Method for Producing the Microdevice," inventors Brennen, Yin, and Killeen, filed on Nov. 13, 2000, describes a method for shaping a polymeric microdevice that involves removing material through a non-mechanical technique, e.g., laser ablation. As a result of material removal, an exterior microdevice surface is formed having an integrated electrospray emitter protruding therefrom. The emitter may be shaped to facilitate the formation of a low volume Taylor cone from the sample emerging from the sample outlet port under influence of an electric field.
While laser ablation is an effective technique for removing material from polymeric microdevices to form ESI emitters, there is a limit to the degree to which the geometric dimensions of emitters may be controlled. Generally, it is difficult to form ESI emitters having an extremely small-diameter tip by removing material from polymeric materials through the use of laser ablation alone. When emitters having uncontrolled geometries are placed in operation, unstable Taylor cones may be formed, especially at low flow rates and at low solvent concentrations.
Thus, there is a need and a desire to improve the performance of microdevices having integrated ESI emitters by providing an improved method for controlling the geometry and dimensional tolerances of the emitters.

Microdevice having an annular lining for producing an electrospray emitter