Low noise devices such as e.g., detectors of electromagnetic signals utilize parametric amplifiers to produce squeezed noise states at pairs of frequencies symmetrically located about a common, carrier frequency. Devices of the invention can be included, e.g., in interferometers, ring gyroscopes, and coherent communications systems.

Many instruments and systems are limited in sensitivity or bandwidth by noise in the electromagnetic field measured by such instruments or utilized in such systems. For example, coherent communications systems typically distinguish signals which are 180.degree. apart in phase, and instruments such as interferometers and ring gyroscopes rely on the comparison of small phase differences between electromagnetic signals which correspond to the physical quantities they measure. Uncertainties in phase due to noise in such devices limit their accuracy and utility. Although many sources of noise may be eliminated by proper design, a fundamental limit is imposed by the requirements of quantum mechanics, in that zero point fluctuations of the electromagnetic field (present even at zero temperature) cannot be eliminated. Thus, the electric field of a single electromagnetic mode of angular frequency .omega. can be written as EQU E=E.sub.o (X.sub.1 cos .omega.t+X.sub.2 sin .omega.t),
where E.sub.o is a constant containing the amplitude of the field, and X.sub.1 and X.sub.2 are real-valued quantities known as field quadrature operators. The Heisenberg uncertainty principle requires that the variances, .DELTA.X.sub.1 and .DELTA.X.sub.2, of such operators are related by the uncertainty relation EQU .DELTA.X.sub.1 .DELTA.X.sub.2 .gtoreq.1/4.
Although .DELTA.X.sub.1 and .DELTA.X.sub.2 may be unequal in principle, for devices known to the present art (such as single mode lasers), these variances are typically equal and hence take the minimum values .DELTA.X.sub.1 =1/2, .DELTA.X.sub.2 =1/2. This minimum uncertainty in the quadrature operators is in turn reflected in minimum uncertainties in measurements of the electric field, E. For example, if E were to be measured at periodic intervals corresponding to .omega.t=N.pi., where N is an integer, only the first quadrature term would contribute, and such measurements would therefore be subject to the variance of X.sub.1. Conversely, if measurements were made at times such that .omega.t=(N+1/2).pi., where N is an integer, only the second term would contribute and such measurements would be subject to the variance of X.sub.2. So long as the variances are equal, no advantage in the accuracy of such measurements is possible by selecting either X.sub.1 or X.sub.2.
In principle, however, it is possible to construct fields E such that the variances of X.sub.1 and X.sub.2 are unequal, e.g., that .DELTA.X.sub.1 <1/2 and .DELTA.X.sub.2 >1/2 while preserving the product rule .DELTA.X.sub.1 .DELTA.X.sub.2 .gtoreq.1/4. It has been recognized for some time that such states of the electromagnetic field, called "squeezed states", are permitted by theory. See, for example, the review by D. F. Walls in Nature, Vol. 306, pp. 141-146 (1983). Providing that such squeezed states can be realized in a working device, the possibility of improving accuracy in devices such as interferometers has been noted by a number of authors; e.g., C. M. Caves, in Physical Review, Vol. D23, pp. 1693-1708 (1981), and R. S. Bondurant and J. H. Shapiro, in Physical Review, Vol. D30, pp. 2548-2556 (1984).
Many phase-dependent nonlinear phenomena have been suggested for squeezed state generation, as described by Walls in the above-cited review article. In particular, H. P. Yuen and J. H. Shapiro, in Optics Letters, Vol. 4, pp. 334-336 (1979), suggested the interaction of four electromagnetic waves ("four-wave mixing") as a generation mechanism. Four-wave mixing has typically been described in connection with so-called "degenerate" mixing, in which all four waves have a common (angular) frequency .omega..sub.p, the frequency of the "pump" used to provide the coherent input waves (typically a laser source). The use of an optical cavity to enhance the generation process has been suggested by B. Yurke, in Physical Review, Vol. A29, pp. 408-410 (1984). However, it has proven difficult in practice to achieve the conditions necessary to produce and measure squeezed states. In particular, a problem with the approach based on degenerate four-wave mixing has been extraneous noise generated, for example, by spontaneous emission or scattering from the (pumped) mixing medium at frequencies equal to or nearly equal to the pump frequency. Such extraneous noise adds to the quantum noise which must be squeezed to reach the quantum limit.


The present disclosure provides a method for manufacturing an array substrate and a method for manufacturing a liquid crystal antenna, and relates to the technical field of liquid crystal antennas and array substrates. The method for manufacturing an array substrate includes: sequentially depositing a metal material layer and a photoresist material layer on a substrate to form a plurality of metal patterns and a plurality of photoresist patterns on the plurality of metal patterns; and forming a light-shielding material between at least two adjacent metal patterns such that the light-shielding material and the plurality of photoresist patterns have opposite hydrophobicity-hydrophilicity; curing the light-shielding material to form at least one light-shielding pattern such that a thickness of the at least one light-shielding pattern is the same as a thickness of the plurality of metal patterns; and removing the plurality of photoresist patterns.

With the rapid development of modern communication and the popularization of intelligent applications, the communication requirements are increasingly demanding, especially for mobile communications, aircrafts, vehicles, ships and the like. Accordingly, satellite antennas are required to meet the requirements of fast, accurate and intelligent communications. Mobile satellites communications are generally implemented by low-orbiting earth satellites. When the mobile satellite devices move, in order to continue to receive the information, the corresponding satellite antennas need to move a large angle to match the movement of the devices.
The smart panel antenna developed in recent years has wide application prospects in the field of mobile satellite communications, because it can be easily integrated into mobile devices such as automobile roofs, airplanes, ships and other vehicles, and it also has the advantages of no mechanical moving parts and low cost.
The liquid crystal antenna is a kind of smart panel antenna with excellent properties. It mainly controls the orientation of the liquid crystals and controls the phase difference by using the dielectric anisotropy of the liquid crystal, so that the antenna directionally receive signals of a certain frequency band and shield signals of other bands. The signal received by the liquid crystal antenna is generally in the microwave band, 12˜30 GHz.

Method for manufacturing array substrate and method for manufacturing liquid crystal antenna

BEIJING BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A remote control signal from a remote controller (2) is received by one of remote control optical reception parts (4a to 4d), and the respective reception signals are decoded by decoders (11a to 11d). At this moment, the decoders (11a to 11d) extract an address code included in the reception signals received by the remote control optical reception parts (4a to 4d). Based on this address code, an effective-ineffective signal showing effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the decode signal is created. When the effective-ineffective signal shows effectiveness, a decoder selection part (12) adopts a decoder signal of the corresponding decoder.

The present invention relates to a remote control signal reception device, and more particularly, relates to a remote control signal reception device in which the infrared ray signal from one remote controller can optically be received by any one of a plurality of signal optical reception parts to avoid the impossibility of the remote control due to noise.
In the case of a projection type display device (projector), there are many cases where it is provided in the state the main body part performing projection is hung down from the ceiling of a building such as a hall or it is used in the state of standing at a given height. In the case where the main body is provided at a certain height or it is hung down from the ceiling, the operator (user) performs the operation and control of the apparatus while seeing the picture projected on the screen. Therefore, in many cases, the direction of the view of the operator and the mounting place of the main body part optically receiving the remote control signal do not agree with each other. As means for solving such a problem, there is a method in which a plurality of signal optical reception parts are provided in different optically receiving directions. This configuration will be described below.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional remote control signal reception device.
The remote control signal reception device 1 optically receives a remote control signal by using an infrared ray from a remote controller 2, and decodes this, and according to that result of decoding, it controls a projection type display device 3. The remote control signal reception device 1 comprises a plurality of remote control optical reception parts 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d that are reception parts having means for receiving a remote control signal by using infrared light and performing photoelectric conversion, an OR circuit 5 connected to these remote control optical reception parts 4a to 4d, a decoder 6 connected to this OR circuit 5, a CPU part 7 (Central Processor Unit) for controlling the projection type display device 3 according to the result of decoding of this decoder 6. The remote control optical reception parts 4a to 4d are arranged so that the remote control signal from the remote controller 2 can be optically received from many directions such as the hack and forth direction, right and left direction, or vertical direction, and they have converting means for performing the photoelectric conversion of the received optical signal and amplifying means for amplifying the electric signal subjected to the photoelectric conversion. From the remote controller 2, the optical signal made by subjecting the electric signal corresponding to the operating contents to the photoelectric conversion and to the optical modulation is transmitted.
In FIG. 1, when the optical signal is transmitted from the remote controller 2, that remote control signal is optically received by one or a plurality of the remote control optical reception parts 4a to 4d. The output signals of the remote control optical parts 4a to 4d are subjected to the OR logic by the OR circuit 5, and inputted into the decoder 6. The decoder 6 decodes the remote control signal and outputs the result thereof to the CPU part 7. The CPU part 7 controls the projection type display device 3 according to the result of decoding. Since the output signals from the remote control optical reception parts 4a to 4d can be composed by the OR circuit 5, one decoder 6 is sufficient.
However, according to the conventional remote control signal reception device, there has been such a problem where in the case where the noise is inputted from one (or a plurality) of remote control optical reception parts 4a to 4d, even when a normal remote control signal is optically received from another remote control optical reception part, the remote control signal is interfered by the noise, and a normal remote control signal cannot be taken out of the signal composed by the OR circuit 5.
In the case where the optical reception part of the remote control signal reception device is provided at the ceiling, when the mounting place is a public facility, a lot of illuminating apparatus are attached to the ceiling. In the case where it is inevitable to arrange the optical emitting part and the optical reception part of this illuminating apparatus facing to each other, and in the situation where they are adjacent to each other, the light of the illuminating apparatus is optically inputted into the optical reception part at a high level. Since the wavelength of this light is wide, it is sensed by the optical reception part and becomes a noise. Furthermore, in the case of an illuminating apparatus whose operating principle is the discharge phenomenon like the fluorescent tube 8, an electromagnetic wave is generated, and it gives effect on the electronic circuit of the optical reception part. Therefore, in the case where the remote control optical reception part is provided near the fluorescent tube 8, the light or electromagnetic wave from the fluorescent tube 8 is received as a noise by the remote control optical reception part (here, the remote control optical reception part 4b) near the fluorescent tube 8. At this moment, if the remote control signal of the remote controller 2 is received by the remote control optical reception part 4c, the remote control signal by the remote control optical reception part 4c and the noise signal by the remote control optical reception part 4b are composed in the OR circuit 5. As a result of this, when the noise signal is large, the remote control signal is affected, and it becomes difficult to decode the remote control signal.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a remote control signal reception device in which it is possible to take out a remote control signal without receiving any effect of the noise even when the reception part receiving the effect of the external noise is provided near the noise source.
In order to attain the above-described object, according to the present invention, there is provided a remote control signal reception device that receives a remote control signal transmitted from a remote controller by one of a plurality of reception parts and controls an apparatus such as a projection type display device on the basis of the result obtained by decoding this received remote control signal, comprising a plurality of decoders connected to one corresponding reception part of said plurality of reception parts and creating a decode signal by decoding the above-described remote control signal and creating an effective signal showing the effectiveness of the above-described remote control signal on the basis of the identification information included in the above-described remote control signal, and a decider selection part for outputting the above-described decode signal on the basis of the input of the above-described effective signal when the above-described decode signal is inputted.
According to this configuration, the remote control signal and noise components are received in a plurality of reception parts. In a decoder connected to each reception part, the identification information in the received remote control signal is extracted, and when this identification information corresponds to the remote control apparatus, an effective signal showing the effectiveness of the received remote control signal is outputted. Based on this effective signal, the decoder selection part adopts only the decode signal of the decoder outputting the effective signal, As a result of this, even when the noise components are inputted into one of a plurality of reception parts, the original operation can be performed if at least one normal remote control signal is received. Accordingly, it becomes possible to surely control a remote control apparatus from a remote place.


A lateral power semiconductor device structure comprises a pad-over-active topology wherein on-chip interconnect metallization and contact pad placement is optimized to reduce interconnect resistance. For a lateral GaN HEMT, wherein drain, source and gate finger electrodes extend between first and second edges of an active region, the source and drain buses run across the active region at positions intermediate the first and second edges of the active region, interconnecting first and second portions of the source fingers and drain fingers which extend laterally towards the first and second edges of the active region. External contact pads are placed on the source and drain buses. For a given die size, this interconnect structure reduces lengths of current paths in the source and drain metal interconnect, and provides, for example, at least one of lower interconnect resistance, increased current capability per unit active area, and increased active area usage per die.

In the context of this disclosure, Circuit-Under-Pad, or CUP, refers to semiconductor device topologies in which metal contact pads are provided over areas of underlying active devices or active integrated circuitry. The metal pads are defined by one or more on-chip conductive metallization layers and provide for die-to-package interconnections which are distributed over the active device area. The pads are vertically interconnected to the underlying regions of the active circuitry, e.g. using a plurality of micro-vias. In contrast, in traditional, non-CUP, device topologies, on-chip metal interconnect, comprising conductive tracks, laterally interconnects active device areas to busses placed between active device areas, and external contact pads to the buses are provided, typically arranged around the periphery of the chip. However, in the latter structures, the metal interconnect buses and contact pads are provided on inactive regions of the chip, which take up significant area in between active device regions and/or around edges of the die, limiting the usable fraction of the die area that is available for the active device area.
For wirebonded packaging, CUP device structures may also be referred to as Bondpad-Over-Active device structures. CUP device structures are effective in increasing the usable fraction of die area available for active circuitry, and potentially provide for physical and electrical shielding of underlying circuitry, and more planar encapsulation. On the other hand, for application to power switching devices, such as high-current lateral GaN transistors, known implementations of CUP device topologies have one or more limitations. Performance considerations for high current power switching devices include increasing current carrying capability per unit device area, and reducing on-chip parasitic impedances, i.e. parasitic resistances, inductances and capacitances.
Improved or alternative device topologies and packaging solutions for high current, lateral GaN transistors are disclosed, for example, in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/704,458, entitled "High Current Lateral GaN Transistors with Scalable Topology and Gate Drive Phase Equalization", now U.S. Pat. No. 10,218,346 issued Feb. 26, 2019; and in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/988,453, filed May 24, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,529,802, entitled "Scalable Circuit-Under-Pad Device Topologies for Lateral GaN Power Transistors".
The above referenced patents and patent applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
As described in the above referenced patents and patent applications, and references cited therein, high current lateral GaN power transistors may be formed on a large area die comprising multiple transistor elements which are connected in parallel, i.e. to provide a scalable, large gate width, device with appropriate current carrying capacity. These transistor elements may be referred to as transistor sections or islands. For improved performance, it is desirable to reduce parasitic impedances and interconnect impedances of the power switching device and the device packaging. For example, parasitic resistances of high current, lateral GaN power transistors includes the source-drain resistance of each 2DEG channel region between the source and drain electrodes, and the resistance of the on-chip metal interconnect, which interconnects each source and drain electrodes and the external contact pads. For some types of semiconductor switching devices, the Rds and Rdson of the channel region may dominate, and resistance of the on-chip metal interconnect may not contribute significantly to total device resistance.
However, for some power FETS, such as lateral GaN power transistors, e.g. GaN HEMTs, the parasitic resistance of on-chip metal interconnect may account for a significant fraction, e.g. up to 30%, of the total device resistance. For example, for conventional device topologies configured for wirebonded packaging, where source, drain and gate contact areas (bond pads) are provided around the periphery of the die for convenience of wirebonding, the length of on-chip source and drain interconnect metal may contribute a significant amount of resistance relative to package resistance, i.e. wirebond resistance. For high current devices, reducing parasitic resistances helps to reduce resistive losses (thermal losses) and improve efficiency. For example, high current power switching devices may be priced based on current carrying capacity and resistance. Thus, for high current lateral GaN power switching devices, it is desirable to reduce parasitic impedances, such as on-chip interconnect resistance, and/or increase the current capacity per unit area. There is also a need for a low-cost solution for reduced on-chip interconnect resistance in a power switching device which could be packaged in a low-cost wire-bonded package.
Thus, there is a need for improved or alternative device topologies for high current, power semiconductor devices, which mitigate or circumvent one or more limitations of known device topologies, particularly for application to power switching systems comprising high current lateral GaN power transistors.

Device topologies for high current lateral power semiconductor devices


A hand-operated cable winch (10) has a proximal handle part (12) with a pawl (16) that engages a toothed gear (21) which causes rotation of a cable (23) onto a drum. A distal handle part (13) is rotatably disposed between ends (31, 32) of said proximal part by a pivot (14). A retaining sleeve (27) slides over a spring latch (28), depressing it toward the distal part (13) as it slides by it. When the distal part (13) is rotated into working alignment with the distal part (12), a retaining sleeve (27) may slide proximally, depressing a spring latch (28) and sliding over it, into a locked position, which thereafter prevents the retaining sleeve from moving so that the winch may be operated by means of the distal handle part (13). To fold the handle, the operator depresses the spring latch (28), slides the retaining sleeve (27) distally to its inoperative position on the distal part, and rotates the distal part into a folded position.

A hand-operated cable winch, sometimes referred to as a "come-along", has a handle with a pawl thereon which, when rotated in a drawing direction, will rotate a toothed gear connected to a cable winding drum, thereby to draw cable around the drum and toward the winch. In typical usage, the winch is fastened to one item, the cable is released and drawn to a distant point where it is attached to another item. One of the items may be an anchor (some immovable object) or both items might be movable. The handle is reciprocated, driving the cable winding drum, and drawing the cable toward the winch, until the desired effect is achieved.
When it is deemed appropriate, a lever on the winch can be transferred from the drawing position to a released position, and the tension in the cable can then be released by motion of the handle, or by free rotation of the cable winding drum. The cable may be wound on the drum for storage.


Wireless communication apparatuses, header compression methods thereof, and header decompression method thereof are provided. The header compression method enables the transceiver to establish a tunnel for a user equipment, enables the processing unit to receive a first packet, enables the processing unit to generate a second packet comprising an outer header set and the first packet, enables the processing unit to replace the outer header set of the second packet with a replaced header, and enables the transceiver to transmit the second packet by the tunnel according to an identity recorded in the replaced header. The header decompression method decompresses the header compressed by the header compression method.

Wireless communication technologies are widely used in nowadays. FIG. 1A illustrates the schematic view of a conventional wireless communication system 1, which comprises a user equipment 11, a relay station 13, a base station 15, and a serving gateway 17. The user equipment 11 is wirelessly connected to the relay station 13, the relay station 13 is wirelessly connected to the base station 15, and the base station 15 is wiredly connected to the serving gateway 17. The relay station 13 extends the serving coverage of the serving gateway 17 so that a user equipment that is not in the coverage of the base station 15 but in the coverage of the relay station 13, such as the user equipment 11, can access the services provided by the serving gateway 17.
Although the introduction of the relay station 13 extends the serving coverage of the serving gateway 17, the radio link between the relay station 13 and the base station 15 is burdened with extra headers. FIG. 1B illustrates a packet 102 that the relay station 13 receives from the user equipment 11, while FIG. 1C illustrates a packet 104 that the relay station 13 transmitted to the base station 15. The packet 104 comprises a relay station header and the packet 102. Since radio resource is scare, the relay station header of the packet 104 burdens the radio link between the relay station 13 and the base station 15.
The burden of a header added by the relay station 13 becomes heavy when a packet being transmitted is a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) packet. FIG. 1D illustrates a schematic view of a VoIP packet 106 transmitted by the relay station 13. The VoIP packet 106 comprises an outer header set 106a, an inner header set 106b, and a payload of voice data 106c. The relay station 13 adds the outer header set 106a to the inner header set 106 and the payload of voice data received from the user equipment 11. The payload of voice data 106c is only 30 bytes. The inner header set 106b is 40 bytes or 60 bytes, wherein the Internet Protocol (IP) header contributes 20 bytes (IPv4) or 40 bytes (IPv6), the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) header contributes 8 bytes, and the Real Time Protocol (RTP) header contributes to 12 bytes. The outer header set 106a is 36 bytes or 56 bytes, wherein the Internet Protocol (IP) header contributes 20 bytes (IPv4) or 40 bytes (IPv6), the UDP header contributes 8 bytes, and the GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP) header contributes to 8 bytes. Obviously, both the outer header set 106a and inner header set 106b occupy great percentages in the VoIP packet 106.
A Robust Header Compression (RoHC) method is commonly used to compress a header or a header set of a packet in order to ease the burden on a radio link. The RoHC method cooperates with a profile defining which kind of header should be compressed by which method. FIG. 1E illustrates a compressed packet 110 compressed by an RoHC method on the VoIP packet 106. The compressed packet 110 comprises a compressed outer header set 108, the inner header set 106b, and payload of voice data 106c, wherein the compressed outer header set 108 comprises an RoHC header 108a, a compressed header 108b related to the IP header and the UDP header of the outer header set 106a, and the GTP-U header of the outer header set 106a. After compression, the compressed outer header set 108 has 13 bytes (the RoHC header 108a has 3 bytes, the compressed header 108b has 2 bytes, and the GTP-U header has 8 bytes). It is noted that the compression ratio is not good enough. In addition, current RoHC method can only compress one set of headers, so the inner header set cannot be compressed to further reduce the length of the headers.
The RoHC method can be modified to compress both the outer header set and the inner header set. To achieve that, a new profile has to be designed so that all types of headers in the outer header set and inner header set are included. FIG. 1F illustrates a compressed packet 114 compressed by a modified RoHC method on the VoIP packet 106. The compressed packet 114 comprises a compressed header set 112 and the payload of voice data 106c. The compressed header set 112 comprises an RoHC header 112a, a compressed outer header 112b, and a compressed inner header 112c. After compression, RoHC header 112a has 3 bytes, the compressed outer header 112b has 4 bytes, and the compressed inner header has 2 bytes. Although the size of the compressed header 112 is reduced to 9 bytes, an extra overhead of designing a new profile is required.
According to the above descriptions, a header compression method, a corresponding header decompression method and wireless communication apparatus using them are needed.

Wireless communication apparatus, header compression method thereof, and header decompression method thereof


Module compressing/encoding plural images for recording, or an image recording apparatus or image recording system including the module. At least two first and second image input module types capture an image of frames from a video signal source, and convert into digital image data for output; an image input arbitration module arbitrates to place digital image data provided by the first type before digital image data provided by the second type. The first type image input module is provided with a real-time image. The apparatus or system further includes: a memory module temporarily storing the real-time image by a processing time for the arbitration module to process digital image data provided by the second type of image input module, an image encoding module compressing and encoding the digital image data, and changing a processing speed to perform a process of compression and encoding more in real time.

The present invention relates to a system and method for recording and reproducing a set of moving images of the combination of an image of position information and an image captured by a user.
The recent progresses of digitalization are remarkable for still and video cameras, and users thus find it very easy to use such cameras for image capturing and recording, thereby allowing recording of a large amount of video information. The concern here is that, with a large amount of video captured during a long trip, for example, users may not remember where they have captured which video after the trip. If this is the case, the users may find it very convenient and useful for later viewing and editing if each video is with its map information in a piece of video data. This is also true for data captured by video cameras disposed at a plurality of places for monitoring use, and the video data is considered useful if it carries therein any captured video together with an image of position information.
The technology similar thereto is exemplified by drive recording, which is recently adopted for use in taxies and others. With drive recording, situation data including position information and image-capturing data are recorded at any image-capturing timing that is automatically determined. The problem with such a technology is that, because the image-capturing timing is determined automatically, there is no way in some cases of avoiding recording a large amount of unneeded data. For prevention of such a problem, Patent Document 1 (JP-A-2007-11907) describes the technology with a learning function for selection of recorded data, and after a user captures any image, he or she inputs needed/unneeded information so that the learning is made about image capturing.


A weapons container for releasing a defense weapon includes a cabinet, a cabinet door, and an interior securing the defense weapon. Upon detection of a fingerprint input by a biometric sensor, a surveillance camera captures video and an audio intercom provides communication with a central command center. A recording system saves the video and audio to a storage database. A delay release lock secures the defense weapon for an amount of time and releases the defense weapon depending on a signal from the central command center. A communications system is connected over a network to the central command center, a local authority, and an emergency responder. The communications system notifies the local authority or the emergency responder upon detection of the fingerprint input and streams the video and audio to the central command center and at least one of the local authority and the emergency responder over the Internet.

Embodiments of the invention described in this specification relate generally to weapons containers, and more particularly, to weapons container security.
Many people spend a substantial amount of time in areas that are considered to be free of guns. The notion that some areas of daily life are free of guns is supported by social norms that shape expectations and behavior. For example, people typically do not bring guns to schools, places of religious worship, maternity wards, etc. While it is largely true that most people in gun free environments are not armed, massacres of people in gun free zones are on the rise because the killers know that the victims have limited means of protection. In particular, such massacres are occurring more often than not at schools with children. When a person is prepared to commit malicious and capital offenses, laws preventing the person from carrying a gun into a school zone are largely incapable of working. Because schools are (by law and social norm) gun free zones, preventing such massacres is exceedingly difficult. For instance, a would-be killer who is not deterred by criminal punishment arising out of a murder conviction is capable of randomly killing multiple defenseless children and teachers. As students, teachers, and school administrators do not arm themselves in school zones, schools must rely on the proper enforcement authorities (e.g., police) to protect the children. However, before the police can incapacitate (e.g., kill or apprehend) the killer, there is a window of time for the killer to shoot and kill many children. For instance, even under the best conditions, it could take several minutes for police to arrive at the school and incapacitate the killer.
A weapon cabinet (e.g., a gun cabinet) could be utilized to solve this timing problem. By equipping teachers and/or school administrators with the means of protection, many lives could be saved. Current gun cabinets may include unlock devices to ensure that the guns in the cabinet are only accessible to authorized personnel. However, such gun cabinets typically do not include routine (e.g., 24 hours per day, 7 days per week) monitoring upon activation. Furthermore, these gun cabinets are not suited for massacre situations that may require live video recording, two-way voice communication, and/or dispatching capabilities. For example, even if a killer enters a classroom and is incapacitated by a gunshot wound from the teacher, several other co-conspirator killers may be acting in concert to kill as many people as possible.

Safe weapon container for securely releasing a defense weapon


Fault detection is implemented on a finite state machine controller for an air handling system. The method employs data, regarding the system performance in the current state and upon a transition occurring, to determine whether a fault condition exists. The fault detection may be based on saturation of the system control or on a comparison of actual performance to a mathematical model of the air handling system. As a consequence, the control does not have to be in steady-state operation to perform fault detection.

Central air handling systems provide conditioned air to rooms within a building. A wide variety of such systems exist such as constant volume and variable-air-volume air-handling units (A.U.). In a typical A.U. 10, as shown in FIG. 1, air returns from the conditioned rooms through the return air duct 11 being drawn by a return fan 12. Depending on the positions of an exhaust damper 13 and a recirculation damper 14, the return air may be exhausted outside the building or go from the return air duct 11 to a mixed air plenum 15, becoming recirculated air. In the mixed air plenum 15, fresh outside air, drawn through inlet damper 16,is mixed with recirculated air, and the mixture then passes through a filter 17, a cooling coil 18, a heating coil 19, and a supply fan 20. The temperatures and flow rates of the outdoor and recirculated air streams determine the conditions at the exit of the mixed air plenum. At most only one of the cooling and heating coils 18 or 19 will be active at any given time assuming the sequencing control strategy is implemented properly and there are no valve leaks or other faults in the system. After being conditioned by the coils, the air is distributed to the zones through the supply air duct 21.
The cooling coil 18, heating coil 19, and dampers 13, 14 and 16 of air-handling unit 10 are operated by a feedback controller 22 having control logic which determines the proper combination of system components to activate for maintaining the supply air temperature at the desired value at any given time. The controller 22 implements a control strategy which regulates the mixture of outside air with mechanical cooling or heating provided by the coils 18 and 19 to efficiently condition the air being supplied to the rooms. Such control is predicated on receiving accurate sensor data regarding conditions in the rooms and outside the building, as well as within the air handling unit 10. The controller 22 receives an input signal on line 26 which indicates the desired temperature (a control setpoint) for the supply air temperature. An outdoor air temperature sensor 23 provides a signal indicative of the temperature of the air entering the system and a supply air temperature sensor 24 produces a signal which indicates the temperature of the air being fed to the supply air duct 21. An optional sensor 25 may be installed to sense the temperature of the air in the return air duct 11.
A number of faults may occur which adversely affect the operation of the air handling unit 10. For example, a sensor error, such as a complete failure, an incorrect signal or excessive signal noise, can produce faulty operation. In addition errors may be due to stuck or leaky dampers and valves for the heating and cooling coils 18 and 19, as well as fan problems.
Previous approaches to providing a robust control system that was more immune from fault related problems utilized multiple sensors to measure the same physical quantity and special sensors for directly detecting and diagnosing faults. Other approaches involved limit checking in which process variables are compared to thresholds, spectrum analysis for diagnosing problems, and logic reasoning approaches.
Many of the previous fault detection and diagnostic techniques for HVAC systems were based on analyzing the system after it has reached a steady-state condition. Observations of process inputs and outputs enter the steady-state fault detection system which then determines if the system has been operating in steady-state. If the system reaches a steady-state condition, then the fault detection system can determine whether faults are present. If the system does not reach a steady-state condition, then the fault detection system issues a command that the system is not in steady-state. Non-steady state operation can be caused by poorly tuned control systems, oversized control valves, or control valves with poor authority.
The HVAC industry is very cost sensitive. Consequently, there often are very few sensors installed on HVAC systems, which makes it difficult to detect faults when only a few parameters are being monitored. In addition, the behavior of HVAC equipment is non-linear and loads are time varying; factors which further complicate accurate fault detection.

Integrated control and fault detection of HVAC equipment


Control systems and methods for a vehicle automatic transmission utilize a driver interface configured to receive input from a driver of the vehicle relating to a custom shift mode of the automatic transmission and a controller configured to monitor a driving history of the vehicle and, based on the driving history, determine a reduced shift sequence for the transmission to utilize during the custom shift mode, the reduced shift sequence specifying a subset of available forward gears of the transmission to utilize during the custom shift mode, the subset of gears being less than a total number of available forward gears of the transmission, such that one or more available forward gears are skipped in the reduced shift sequence, initiate the custom shift mode for the transmission, and during the custom shift mode, control shifting of the transmission according to the reduced shift sequence.

Some automatic transmission systems allow a driver to manually control gear shifting. These types of automatic transmission systems after often referred to as "manumatic" transmission systems. One way for the driver to control gear selection in these types of transmission systems is via one or more manual shift devices, e.g., paddle shifters arranged on a steering wheel or steering column of the vehicle. These manual shift devices are controlled by the driver to upshift or downshift the transmission system. Conventional manual shift modes for automatic transmission systems do not allow the driver to skip shift (e.g., shift from 1st gear to 3rd gear). Instead, the driver must sequentially shift through each gear (1st gear to 2nd gear, 2nd gear to 3rd gear, etc.), which causes delay and decreased performance. In addition, conventional automatic transmission systems do not provide a way for the driver to customize a shift sequence, such as for a particular course or a particular maneuver. Accordingly, while such automatic transmission systems do work well for their intended purpose, there remains a need for improvement in the relevant art.

Systems and methods for programming a gear shift sequence for a custom shift mode of an automatic transmission


There is provided a biological sound measuring device that, in a contact state of being in contact with a body surface of a living body, measures a biological sound of the living body, the biological sound measuring device including: a first sound measuring instrument that is configured to measure the biological sound; a second sound measuring instrument that is configured to measure an ambient sound of the biological sound measuring device; and a controller that determines measurement accuracy of the biological sound in the first sound measuring instrument based on a difference in intensity at a predetermined specified frequency between a first sound measured by the first sound measuring instrument and a second sound measured by the second sound measuring instrument, and that performs notification when the measurement accuracy is less than a predetermined value.

The present invention relates to a biological sound measuring device that is to be brought into contact with a body surface of a living body so as to be used, and a biological sound measurement support method and program that supports measurement of a biological sound performed by the biological sound measuring device.
There has been known a device that uses a microphone to extract, as an electrical signal, a biological sound such as a respiratory sound as a sound of an airflow for ventilating the airway and the alveoli, adventitious sound that is an abnormal sound during breathing which is generated in pathological conditions such as wheezing or pleural friction, or a cardiac sound.
Patent Literature 1 discloses that a state of a device being in close contact with a body surface is determined using a light source and a photometer that are provided at a portion of the device which is in contact with the body surface.
Patent Literature 2 discloses that a state of a device being pressed against a body surface is determined using a contact sensor provided at a portion of the device which is in contact with the body surface.
Patent Literature 3 discloses that an optimum wearing position of a device is determined by comparing a plurality of sounds measured at different positions by one microphone, or by comparing a plurality of sounds measured by a plurality of microphones attached at different positions.    Patent Literature 1: JP-A-2017-74190    Patent Literature 2: JP-A-2015-20030    Patent Literature 3: JP-A-2012-24391
For a biological sound measuring device that measures a biological sound necessary for diagnosis of a living body, improvement of measurement accuracy of the biological sound is required. In Patent Literatures 1 and 2, whether or not a contact state between the device and the living body is in a state where the measurement accuracy can be secured is determined using a physical means such as a light source and a photometer, or a contact sensor. However, if the device is provided with these means, an increase in size of the device cannot be avoided. In addition, the manufacturing cost of the device increases.
In Patent Literature 3, the optimum wearing position of the device is determined by comparing two measured sounds. However, even if a wearing position of the device is optimal, mixing of sounds from the outside may increase depending on a wearing state, and measurement of the biological sound may not be performed with high accuracy.

Biological sound measuring device, biological sound measurement support method, and biological sound measurement support program


The present invention relates to Candida strains comprising a mutation or deletion in the first and/or second XYL2 allele which can be used for producing one or more sugar alcohols from a lignocellulosic feedstock. The preferred sugar alcohol is xylitol.

Lignocellulosic biomass, derived from agricultural, forestry and agro-industrial wastes, is an important avenue for technology development in light of their global abundance, widespread availability and carbon-neutral, renewable nature. Typically, linear and crystalline cellulose makes up the majority of the plant biomass followed by branched, non-crystalline heteropolymeric hemicellulose along with branched lignin. To improve the economic feasibility of the lignocellulosic biomass platform and drive its widespread commercial uptake, it is crucial to devise holistic approaches for generating value added products from most of the biomass components. With a predicted market of 1 billion US$ per annum by 2020 and comprising a 12% share within the polyol market the natural sweetener xylitol is an attractive candidate to derive value from hemicellulosic xylose.
Xylitol is a sugar alcohol of the pentitol type with wide use as an additive in the dietary food, pharmaceutical and dental industry primarily on account of its low glycemic index, efficacy in reducing tooth decay (Makinen et al. 2005), preventing acute otitis media (Uhari, M., Kontiokari, T. & Niemela 1998) and enhancing bone density (Sato et al. 2011).
Commercial xylitol production is currently achieved via xylose hydrogenation using a raney nickel catalyst. Besides being cost and energy intensive due to the need of purified xylose (as the substrate) and high temperature, such chemical treatments are environmentally unsustainable and typically require additional safeguards due to the need of high pressure hydrogen gas and a toxic catalyst (Jeon et al. 2011). As a result, a number of studies have explored biotechnological means of producing xylitol by either using naturally occurring xylose-assimilating yeasts or by engineering model species from both eukaryotic and prokaryotic domains; however, a commercial process is still elusive.
Acid-catalysed steam explosion which typically involves treatment of mild acid impregnated lignocellulose with superheated steam under pressure followed by sudden decompression, readily hydrolyses the hemicellulosic backbone due to its low molecular weight and amorphous structure. Whilst this results in release of hemicellulosic sugars (mainly pentoses and a residual hexose fraction) locked within the fibres, lignocellulose pre-treatment inevitably leads to generation of secondary by-products which when present at high concentrations can be extremely inhibitory to the microorganism's growth phenotype and overall fermentation potential. Typically, employment of acidic conditions can cause dehydration of released pentoses and hexoses to form furfurals (2-furaldehydes) and 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehydes (HMF) respectively. Severe process conditions, such as increased acid concentrations or high temperature during steam explosion, can form further degradation products such as aliphatic carboxylic acids (such as acetic acid, formic acid, levulinic acid) and phenolic derivatives (vanillin, syringaldehyde, coumaric acid and ferulic acid). A number of strategies have been proposed to counteract the enhanced toxicity generated via synergism between the various inhibitory compounds within lignocellulosic hydrolysates (reviewed by Jöhnsson et al. 2013). These include vaporization, enzymatic treatments, use of reducing agents, liquid-liquid interactions and perhaps most commonly used being liquid-solid interactions which involve treatment with activated charcoal (Jonsson et al. 2013). However most of these methodologies have inherent drawbacks. Besides the addition of another process step which adversely impacts process economics and operational times, detoxification procedures almost invariably cause reductions in sugar concentrations which is bound to lower product titres and consequently process productivity.
Wheat straw is an example of a readily available agricultural feedstock within Europe and availability of more than 500 million tonnes per annum puts it amongst the topmost in the world. Wheat caters to the food requirements of more than 20% of the global population and increasing demand is likely to result in augmented future production thus ensuring a steady supply of the wheat straw feedstock. In general, hemicellulose content in wheat straw tends to be around 20-25% of its dry weight (Prasad et al. 2007) and mainly comprises of xylose, and noticeable amounts of arabinose. Lower recalcitrance of the feedstock allows the use of milder pre-treatment conditions for sugar release, particularly for hemicellulose, leading to lower amounts of inhibitors in the steam-exploded hydrolysate.
In most yeast and native fungi, including members of the Candida clade, the metabolism of D-xylose follows an enzymatic oxidoreductive route wherein D-xylose is first reduced to xylitol via the enzyme xylose reductase (XR) followed by xylitol's oxidation to D-xylulose by xylitol dehydrogenase (XDH). D-xylulose is further converted into xylulose-5-phosphate via the action of xylulose kinase in an ATP-dependent reaction and then enters the central cellular metabolism via the pentose phosphate pathway. Both XR and XDH require cofactors, albeit different ones, for catalysing their respective reactions. Whilst XRs from most Candida species either solely utilize NADPH as a cofactor or enormously favour its use over NADH, XDH is predominantly NADH-dependent. In yeast, there is usually a disparity between the intracellular levels and availability of NADPH and NADH to the xylose pathway enzymes and the consequent redox imbalance is attributed to be one of the primary reasons for xylitol production. Besides xylose, XR can also bind its epimer arabinose as a substrate subsequently converting it into arabitol, an impurity which confounds post fermentation xylitol purification.
Whilst a number of reports have focussed on the application of metabolic engineering strategies for introducing and enhancing xylose to xylitol bioconversion within model yeast, studies exploring genetic manipulation of C. tropicalis for enhanced xylitol production are comparatively limited. Ko et al (2006) were the first to demonstrate enhanced xylitol titres in a C. tropicalis mutant wherein two copies of XYL2 were disrupted to completely abolish XDH activity. Although the authors could achieve theoretically maximum yields, the deletion strain typically required high amounts of glycerol to act as a co-substrate for aiding cell maintenance and NADPH regeneration (upto 0.4 g glycerol for each g of xylose) (Ko et al. 2006), a requirement which is not only detrimental for process economics but any residual glycerol in the system is likely to confound downstream purification due to the presence of additional polyol (Ko et al. 2011). Subsequently the need for a co-substrate requirement was removed, by employing site-directed mutagenesis to reduce XDH activity by 60% thereby slowing down the carbon flow further on from XDH, albeit at the expense of conversion yields which lowered from 100% to 75% of theoretical maxima (Ko et al. 2011). In conjunction with using glycerol, recent investigations have aimed to enhance the rate of xylitol formation by improving cellular NADPH availability and consequently the flux through the pentose phosphate pathway (Ahmad et al. 2012) or substituting the endogenous C. tropicalis glycerol kinase gene with a cohort of glycerol metabolism genes from S. stipitis to increase the rate of glycerol utilisation (Ahmad et al. 2013). Whilst the use of a laboratory strain in the above-mentioned studies perhaps allowed easier microbial engineering and provided first glimpses into engineered C. tropicalis behaviour, albeit only in synthetic media, the lack of information regarding the strains' inhibitor tolerance and the overall scale-up of the process impedes the technology's direct commercial application.
It is an object of the present invention to identify and/or develop microbial strains and methods which are able to maximise xylose to xylitol bioconversion. It would be preferred if such strains and methods could minimise or abolish wasteful arabitol production during the fermentation process. Furthermore, it would be desirable for the strains and methods to use readily available lignocellulosic feedstocks.


The present invention is in the field of multiple layer glass panels comprising a polymer sheet having desirable surface properties, and more specifically, the present invention is in the field of multiple layer glass panels comprising poly(vinyl butyral) having a finished surface of relatively low waviness and high roughness disposed in contact with poly(ethylene terephthalate) and/or other poly(vinyl butyral) type layers.

Angstrom-thick or thicker layers of metals, metal compounds, and other agents have conventionally been used in multiple layer glass panels to reflect heat-producing infra-red solar radiation while transmitting visible light. These layers can be arranged in sequence as stacks, and can be disposed on any appropriate substrate, such as biaxially stretched, thermoplastic poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) film or similar material. One form, known as an interference filter, comprises at least one layer of reflective metal sandwiched between reflection-suppressing or anti-reflective dielectric layers.
When a metallized film such as an interference filter is combined with glass in a multiple layer glass laminate, for example in a vehicle windshield, a shock-dissipating interlayer of plasticized poly(vinyl butyral) (PVB) is usually included to absorb a blow from the head of an occupant within the vehicle or from a foreign object from outside the vehicle without allowing penetration through the windshield. In a typical arrangement, a single layer of a poly(ethylene terephthalate)-type coated film is disposed between two layers of a poly(vinyl butyral)-type material to form a three layer structure that is subsequently disposed between two layers of glass. The finished multiple layer glass panel has the combined benefit of safety and radiation transmission control.
An optical quality defect that can be particularly noticeable at oblique viewing angles can occur in such safety glass panels as a visually apparent, isotropic, wave-like reflected image estimated to have an amplitude of about 0.002 to 0.012 mm and a wavelength of 2.5-7.5 mm. It is referred to hereinafter by the term "applesauce." Applesauce is believed to occur because the polyethylene-type layer, which reflects light at oblique viewing angles, conforms to the poly(vinyl butyral)-type layer during lamination and will assume any non-linearity, or waviness, that is present on that poly(vinyl butyral)-type layer. Other objectionable visual defects, such as "mottle" (mottled color appearance), can also occur in colored poly(vinyl butyral) glass laminates when poly(vinyl butyral)-type layers are disposed in contact with each other. For example, when pigmented poly(vinyl butyral) is coextruded with non-pigmented poly(vinyl butyral) and the resulting layer is then laminated with other layers or glass, mottle can result.
Several attempts to mitigate the severity of applesauce and mottle have been reported (see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,465,736, 4,973,511, and 5,091,258), however, further methods of reducing applesauce and mottle are needed. Accordingly, further improved compositions and methods are needed to enhance the characteristics of polymer and poly(vinyl butyral) sheets that are used in conjunction with a polymer film layer, and specifically poly(ethylene terephthalate), without adversely affecting the optical characteristics of the resulting multiple layer structure.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A fuel battery stack is provided with: hole portions formed in a coolant supplying manifold; cylindrical collar members provided in the hole portions; and fastening bolts inserted in the cylindrical collar members and screwed in a second end plate. On the inner circumferential surface of each of the hole portions, a plurality of projections that support the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical collar member are provided so as to protrude radially inward.

For example, a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell includes a membrane electrode assembly (MEA). The membrane electrode assembly includes an electrolyte membrane, an anode provided on one surface of the electrolyte membrane, and a cathode provided on the other surface of the electrolyte membrane. The electrolyte membrane is a polymer ion exchange membrane. The membrane electrode assembly is sandwiched between the separators to form a power generation cell (unit cell). In general, a predetermined number of power generation cells are stacked together to form, e.g. an in-vehicle fuel cell stack mounted in a fuel cell vehicle (fuel cell electric vehicle, etc.)
In the fuel cell stack, a fuel gas flow field is formed in a surface of an anode side separator for supplying a fuel gas to the anode, and an oxygen-containing flow field is formed in a surface of the cathode side separator for supplying an oxygen-containing gas to the cathode. Further, a coolant flow field as a passage of a coolant is provided between separators of power generation cells that are adjacent to each other, for supplying the coolant along surfaces of the separators.
Further, fuel cell stacks having internal manifold structure have been adopted. In such a fuel cell stack, fuel gas passages, oxygen-containing gas passages, and coolant passages extend through the fuel cell stack in the stacking direction for allowing the fuel gas, the oxygen-containing gas, and the coolant to flow through the fuel cell stack. The fuel gas passages (fluid passages) include a fuel gas supply passage and a fuel gas discharge passage. The oxygen-containing gas passages (fluid passages) include an oxygen-containing gas supply passage and an oxygen-containing gas discharge passage. The coolant passages (fluid passages) include a coolant supply passage and a coolant discharge passage.
In the above fuel cell stack, fluid manifolds connected to the fluid passages are provided in at least one of the end plates. Each of the fluid manifolds supplies or discharges fluid such as the fuel gas, the oxygen-containing gas, or the coolant. For example, in a fuel cell stack disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2009-224195, a resin manifold is provided in one of the end plates, and a reinforcement unit held by the one of the end plates is provided at an end of the resin manifold.
Further, in a fuel cell stack disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2015-060716, the fluid manifold has a rubber body. A rubber flange is provided integrally with a portion of the rubber body joined to an end plate, and the rubber flange is pressed and held on an end plate using a metal stopper member fixed to the end plate.


According to one embodiment, a non-transitory medium, a controller, a memory, an extension function section, and an extension register. The controller controls the non-transitory medium. The memory which is serving as a work area is connected to the controller. The extension function section is controlled by the controller. The extension register which is provided on the memory is provided with a certain block length capable of defining an extension function of the extension function section. The controller processes a first command to write header data of a command to operate the extension function section to the extension function section through the extension register, and a second command to read header data of a response from the extension function section through the extension register.

Recently, it is desired that a memory card be not only a mere memory device, but also be a memory device to which various functions can be added in order to impart added value to the memory card. Further, in order to make it possible to use the additional functions on a plug-and-play basis, a general-purpose initialization means is desired.

Memory system in which extension function can easily be set


The present disclosure relates to a secondary battery electrode, a manufacturing method for the same, and an electrode assembly, and more particularly, to a secondary battery electrode, a manufacturing method for the same, and an electrode assembly having improved stability.

In recent years, chargeable and dischargeable secondary batteries have been widely used as energy sources for wireless mobile devices. Further, secondary batteries have attracted considerable attention as a power source for an electric vehicle (EV), a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), and a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (Plug-In HEV), which have been proposed as solutions for air pollution or the like caused by existing gasoline and diesel vehicles using fossil fuels.
While one or several battery cells are used for each of small-sized mobile devices, a medium to large sized battery module, in which a plurality of battery cells are electrically connected, is used for medium to large sized devices due to necessity of high power and high capacity.
Since the medium to large sized battery module is desirably manufactured in size and weight as small as possible, a rectangular battery or a pouch-type battery, which may be stacked with a high degree of integration and a small weight with respect to capacity, is generally used for a battery cell (unit cell) of the medium to large sized battery module. In particular, since the pouch-type battery, which uses an aluminum laminate sheet or the like as an exterior member, has advantageous aspects such as a light weight, low manufacturing costs, and a flexible form factor, the pouch-type battery has drawn attention in recent years.
Various methods for manufacturing the above-described secondary batteries have been developed. The most generally used method among the various methods is a technique of winding a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator disposed therebetween to form into a jellyroll shape. However, since the above-described jellyroll shaped electrode assembly has a cross-sectional structure of a circular or oval shape by winding an elongated sheet in which a positive electrode and a negative electrode are densely arranged, a stress generated by expansion and contraction of the electrode when charged or discharged is accumulated within the electrode assembly, and when such a stress accumulation exceeds a predetermined range, deformation such as a crack occurs in the electrode assembly. Due to the above-described deformation of the electrode assembly, performance of the battery is substantially reduced, and due to internal short-circuit, stability of the battery is threatened.

Secondary battery electrode, manufacturing method for the same, and electrode assembly

Abstract: In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, a secondary battery electrode includes a current collector that extends in one direction, a first active material layer provided on one surface of the current collector and including a first inclined portion and a first protruding portion, and a second active material layer provided on the other surface of the current collector and including a second inclined portion and a second protruding portion. In particular, a position of the second protruding portion is controlled on the second active material layer to be disposed at a position that is not directly opposite to the first inclined portion with respect to the current collector.


System(s), method(s), and device(s) providing converged wireline and wireless services in part by employing a set-top box (STB) with machine-to-machine (M2M) communication are presented. The STB, associated with an access point, such as a femtocell, can be used to send/receive messages, including video, to/from user equipment (UE) via a core network. A monitoring system includes a sensor component that is triggered under specified conditions, and the STB records events in response to the trigger, where a recorded event can be sent as a message to the UE. The STB or associated remote control can indicate a received message to a user, who can view the message on the STB, remote control, or associated television. A meter component is associated with the STB via the femtocell or other desired connection. The STB can receive and store utility meter readings for validation or dispute by the user.

Conventionally, service providers can provide wired services and wireless services. However, there is no convergence of wired and wireless services. For instance, wireless service providers offer text messaging and video share functionalities to their subscribers. These features allow wireless subscribers to do messaging and video share among other wireless subscribers. Also, Internet Protocol (IP) services, such as phone (e.g., Voice over IP (VoIP)), Internet, and IP Television (IPTV), can be offered by wireline broadband service providers. There also can be phone services provided via the plain old telephone service (POTS).
Further, many utility providers have begun to deploy smart meters to residents. These smart meters are equipped with a machine-to-machine (M2M) chipset that can send meter readings to the data centers of utility providers. The smart meter with a load balancer not only can save operational costs, as there is no need to dispatch a technician to do meter reading every month, but also can allow utility providers to dynamically adjust/balance peak hour electricity load.
Thus, conventionally, wireless services are processed through wireless interfaces and wireline services are processed through wireline interfaces. While providing services in this manner is adequate in many cases, there are a number of inefficiencies and a number of conditions that are not adequately considered and addressed. For instance, due to incompatibility of IPTV standards, there have not been scalable solutions to send messages or perform video share with IPTV users. Also, utility providers (e.g., water company, gas provider, electric provider, etc.) typically do wholesale purchase of the wireless services to support smart meters from wireless service providers, but the Quality of Service (QoS) of this wireless service is normally difficult to guarantee due to a variety of reasons, such as bad weather conditions, macrocell congestion, etc. Further, use of the remote meter reading by utility providers has caused many complaints by end users, who claim that their monthly bills from the utility providers are inaccurate.
It is desirable to enable efficient message sending and video sharing by IPTV users. It is also desirable to provide reliable communication of information related to meter reading to remote data centers of utility providers. Further, it is desirable to facilitate ensuring accuracy and verification of remote meter readings by utility providers.

Integrating video share and text messaging with set-top box and access point


A novel device unit is detachably provided to an image forming apparatus having a control unit configured to control the image forming apparatus. The device unit includes a CPU configured to communicate with the control unit; and a memory configured to store property information including information provided through a communication between the CPU and the control unit. The memory includes a write-prohibited area configured to prohibit an information overwriting; a first writable area configured to allow an information writing; and a second writable area configured to controllably allow a one time information overwriting. A recycling system includes a reader/writer configured to communicate with an IC tag provided to the device unit, and a personal computer configured to communicate with the IC tag via the reader/writer and to perform a recycle processing of the device unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device unit detachably provided to an image forming apparatus such as copier, printer, facsimile or composite machines, an image forming apparatus, a management system configured to administer the image forming apparatus and operational statuses of the image forming apparatus, and a recycling system configured to recycle the device unit to use as a replacement product.
2. Discussion of the Background
Conventionally, image forming apparatuses such as a color copier are provided with a device unit (or process cartridge) detachable from the image forming apparatus.
As for such image forming apparatuses, when an existing device unit ends a lifetime or becomes malfunctioned, an operator such as a user and a service person performs a maintenance operation of replacing the existing device unit with a device unit of a new and unused state.
The device unit of a new and unused state includes a unit newly manufactured at a factory, and a recycle unit collected after using in the image forming apparatus and recycled in a recycle factory.
With an awareness of resource saving becoming more and more popular, manufacturing (i.e. recycle processing) of recycle units has been performed by manufacturers different from a manufacturer of image forming apparatuses.
Hereinafter, a device unit which is manufactured by a same manufacturer of an image forming apparatus is termed as "genuine product," and such manufacturer is termed as a "genuine manufacturer." Alternatively, a device unit which is manufactured by a manufacturer different from the above-mentioned "genuine manufacturer" is termed as a "non-genuine product," and such a manufacturer is termed as "non-genuine manufacturer." In addition, manufacturing a device unit means manufacturing a new product or recycling a used product.
A conventional image forming apparatus is detachably provided with a process cartridge having a nonvolatile memory, which communicates with a memory installed in the image forming apparatus. Specifically, writing timing is controlled to perform writing only when the writing is necessary to the nonvolatile memory and to prohibit writing to the nonvolatile memory in another time in order to prevent miss-writing to the nonvolatile memory of the process cartridge by noise signal.
Another conventional image forming apparatus is detachably provided with a process cartridge having an IC tag, which communicates with a control unit installed in the image forming apparatus, and using information stored in the IC tag when recycling. Specifically, when it is determined that an installed process cartridge is an unqualified one for normal operation based on the information obtained from the IC tag, an image forming condition of the image forming apparatus is downgraded from a normal level. With such a configuration, a user recognizes the process cartridge as an unqualified one, and thus, use of a pirate product is prevented. And to prevent an illegal recycle processing such as putting the IC tag used in a qualified process cartridge to an unqualified process cartridge, "Used" information is written to the IC tag when the process cartridge is installed in the image forming apparatus.
Another conventional image forming apparatus is detachably provided with a process cartridge having a memory, which communicates with a control unit installed in the image forming apparatus. Specifically, when it is determined that the installed process cartridge is not a genuine product based on the information obtained from the memory, the image forming apparatus stops its operation. And when the process cartridge is recycled, the process cartridge is verified by a host data base before clearing a memory, and a new information is written to the memory.
The above-mentioned conventional image forming apparatuses have experienced degradation of image quality of image output after replacing a process cartridge. Specifically, the degradation is caused as follows.
An image forming apparatus is manufactured by installing a process cartridge therein at a factory and a number of adjustments are made before shipping.
The adjustments include a precise adjustment to secure superior image quality. An image forming apparatus and a process cartridge may need precise adjustment on a unit-by-unit basis. That is, if a process cartridge installed in a fully adjusted image forming apparatus is replaced with another process cartridge, an exact same image quality may not be obtained for image output in many cases.
Such problems emerge when an operator performs a maintenance operation for an image forming apparatus. Specifically, when an existing process cartridge is replaced with a new process cartridge due to lifetime or malfunction of the existing process cartridge, the image forming apparatus may experience degradation of image quality for image output.
If the process cartridge for replacement is a non-genuine product, the above-mentioned problem may become a serious issue for a genuine manufacturer of the image forming apparatus because the non-genuine product is manufactured by a non-genuine manufacturer, and is not managed by the genuine manufacturer. Accordingly, a method for the above-described precise adjustment to a non-genuine product may not be known, and thus cannot be performed.
Similarly, if the process cartridge for replacement is a recycled product manufactured by a non-genuine manufacturer, the above-mentioned problem may become a serious issue for a genuine manufacturer.
The non-genuine product may be produced: by collecting a genuine product and performing recycle processing by a non-genuine manufacturer; by collecting a non-genuine product and performing recycle processing by a non-genuine manufacturer; or by collecting a non-genuine product and performing recycle processing by a genuine manufacturer, for example.
More particularly, the above-mentioned problem cannot be ignored for an image forming apparatus required to produce a high image quality.
Another conventional image forming apparatus uses a method of restricting an installment of all kinds of non-genuine process cartridges to an image forming apparatus to solve the problem.
However, superior image quality obtained by a genuine product may be maintained even using non-genuine products with an effort of a manufacturer manufacturing the non-genuine products.
Particularly, if a genuine product is collected, recycled and used for the image forming apparatus, superior image quality may be obtained with a higher probability even if a non-genuine manufacturer recycles the genuine product. Therefore, it is not appropriate to prohibit installing all kinds of non-genuine process cartridges to the image forming apparatus from a viewpoint of users because users are restricted from choosing a variety of products.
The above-mentioned problems also affect all kinds of devices that are detachable from the image forming apparatus and that have a quality difference on a unit-by-unit basis, such as a photo-sensitive member, a charging unit, a developing unit, a developer cartridge, a cleaning unit, an optical unit, a transfer unit, a sheet feed unit, and a fixing unit.
As for the conventional image forming apparatus, there is an uncertainty of quality assurance responsibility when a process cartridge produced by a recycle manufacturer, different from a genuine manufacturer, is used in the image forming apparatus.
In many cases, a process cartridge is formed of a variety of components having different lifetime and assembled together with adjustments. In some cases, precise adjustments, such as a development gap adjustment and a doctor gap adjustment, may be required to secure superior image quality. Methods of making such precise adjustments for the process cartridge are known by the genuine manufacturer.
When a process cartridge for replacement is a genuine product, which is controlled in quality by the genuine manufacturer, the above-mentioned problems of image quality rarely happen because the image forming apparatus and the process cartridge are designed and manufactured based on the genuine manufacturer's knowledge of minimizing variation of the above-mentioned image quality even if the process cartridge is replaced. This is also true for a process cartridge recycled by a genuine manufacturer.
Therefore, when a recycled process cartridge is a genuine product, which is controlled in quality by the genuine manufacturer, image forming apparatuses using such a recycled process cartridge rarely experience quality problems. Even if a quality problem happens, the responsibility of the quality assurance is clearly identified.
On the other hand, when a recycled process cartridge is a non-genuine product, which is recycled by a recycle manufacturer (i.e., non-genuine manufacturer) and out of the control of the genuine manufacturer, the image forming apparatus using such a recycled process cartridge experiences quality problems in many cases. In such situations, users may usually demand responsibility for quality assurance from the genuine manufacturer because they rarely know that the recycled process cartridge is produced by a non-genuine manufacturer.
In addition, a non-genuine manufacturer may use material that the genuine manufacturer refrains from using to comply with social and technical standards when recycling a process cartridge. In such a situation, a genuine manufacturer may be accused of non-compliance with those standards.
To avoid the above-mentioned responsibilities, conventional technologies restrict usage of non-genuine process cartridges (or containers) in the image forming apparatus.
However, some non-genuine products may maintain superior image quality similar to that obtained by a genuine product due to effort of the non-genuine product manufacturer. Thus, some users may choose a non-genuine product even if the quality of the non-genuine product is not at a same level as the genuine product, if a non-genuine product is less expensive than the genuine product.
Therefore, it is not appropriate to prohibit installing all kinds of non-genuine products for use in an image forming apparatus from a user's viewpoint because users are then restricted from choosing a variety of products.

Device unit, an image forming apparatus, a management system, and a recycling system capable of using non-genuine device unit as replacement product


An apparatus for providing a supply voltage to a device under test includes a controlled source configured to provide a voltage in dependence on one or more control signals; a switchable resistor circuited between the output of the controlled source and a DUT port, having first and second resistances in first and second switch states, respectively, the second resistance being smaller than the first resistance; a regulator configured to provide a control signal to the controlled source, to regulate a voltage to be provided to the DUT in dependence on information about a desired voltage; a capacitor circuited in parallel to the switchable resistor at least during switching of the switchable resistor and configured to slow a voltage change across the switchable resistor which is caused by changing a switch state of the switchable resistor; the apparatus being configured to change a switch state of the switchable resistor while a voltage is provided to the DUT via the switchable resistor.

For conventional concepts a digital loop is used to control an output voltage or a device under test voltage. FIG. 14 shows a block diagram of an apparatus for providing a supply voltage to a device under test with two current measurement ranges. However, when switching from one current measurement range to another measurement range, for example Range 1 to Range 2 in FIG. 14, a glitch is generated at a device under test port. Furthermore, FIG. 15 shows a block diagram of an apparatus according to another conventional approach for providing a supply voltage to a device under test. The apparatus in FIG. 15 has switches which are operated in a "make before break" order. The switches are built to work "slow". This means that they do not operate instantaneously, i.e., their change of resistance is "slow". Given that the changes of the switches are slow enough, the loop may be able to follow a voltage change at resistors. However, it has been found that a control of the loop has to be faster than a glitch. However, it has been found that a complete cancellation is difficult as a full control over the switch resistance is difficult.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,579,236 A a voltage/current measuring unit and method are disclosed.
In US 2011/0109300 A1 a multi-range electrical current measurement is disclosed.
In US 2014/0009129 A1 a power supply apparatus for testing apparatus is disclosed.
In light of the above mentioned conventional concepts, a desire exists for an improved concept for providing a supply voltage to a device under test.

Apparatus and method for providing a supply voltage to a device under test using a capacitor


A fan, and a control system and method therefor, wherein the system comprises a wearable device (100) and a fan (200). The fan (200) communicates with the wearable device (100). The wearable device (100) is used for detecting body parameters of a user to determine whether the user falls asleep, generating a sleep wind mode instruction to the fan (200). The fan (200) enters a sleep wind mode after receiving the sleep wind mode instruction, obtains a sleep wind control curve, and adjusts operating parameters according to the sleep wind control curve. The fan control system can adjust the running gear of the fan according to the sleep wind control curve after the user falls asleep, and avoids interference factors, thereby improving the control precision of the fan and improving user experience.

At present, the fan is gradually developing in the direction of intelligence. During the operation of the fan, a wind speed of the fan can be automatically adjusted.
In the related art, the wind speed of the fan is adjusted in real time by acquiring temperature of human body. However, due to factors such as detection accuracy and real-time detection, the control accuracy of the fan is relatively low, which affects user experience.

Fan, and control system and method therefor

GD MIDEA ENVIRONMENT APPLIANCES MFG CO., LTD.


The sacrificial anode in an electrically-heated water heater is protected against excessive current drain and premature dissolution resulting from the cathodic effect of the metal jacket on the heating element by a protective device which provides an effective insulating separation between the jacket and the tank wall to eliminate current flow to the jacket from the protective anode, and a non-linear semiconductor between the jacket and the tank having a breakover voltage allowing it to become conducting at hazardous overvoltage levels. In one embodiment, the heating element jacket is separately insulated from the tank wall and a discrete semiconductor device is separately attached between the jacket and the tank to maintain the insulated condition unless an overvoltage condition occurs and to then become conducting to shunt to overvoltage current to the grounded tank wall. In another embodiment, a voltage breakdown material may be applied directly as the insulating layer between the heating element jacket and the tank wall. The material remains an insulator until it is caused to breakdown at an appropriate overvoltage level, where upon it becomes irreversibly conductive.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for reducing the rate of loss of a sacrificial protective anode in a water storage tank as a result of undesirable cathodic reactions and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for reducing the protective anode current and dissolution of the anode as a result of the cathodic effect of the metal-jacketed heating element in an electric water heater.
A typical water heater includes a storage tank made of ferrous metal and lined internally with a glass-like porcelain enamel to protect the metal from corrosion. Nevertheless, the protective lining may have imperfections or, of necessity, not entirely cover the ferrous metal interior, such that an electrolytic corrosion cell may be established as a result of dissolved solids in the stored water leading to corrosion of the exposed ferrous metal and substantial reduced service life of the water heater. The water in the tank may be heated by gas or electric power and it is well known that uninhibited corrosion is substantially enhanced in the presence of hot water.
It is also well known in the art to utilize a sacrificial anode within the tank to protect against corrosion of the ferrous metal tank interior. The sacrificial anode is selected from a material which is electronegative with respect to the tank and by galvanic reaction maintains the tank metal in a passive and non-corrosive state. Alternatively, a protective anode may be powered by providing a source of electrical potential to establish a positive voltage differential between the anode and the tank.
In an electric water heater, an electric heating element is attached to the tank wall and extends into the tank to provide direct heating of the water. The heating element typically includes an internal high resistance heating element wire surrounded by a suitable insulating material and enclosed in a metal jacket such that the jacket is completely insulated from the internal heating element. Power for the heating element is typically supplied from a conventional 110 or 220 volt AC source. When the exterior metal jacket of the heating element is immersed in the water in the tank, it imposes an electrical load on the protective anode in the same manner as the exposed ferrous metal interior of the tank. As a result, the protective anode current is increased and the anode is subject to more rapid dissolution. Therefore, the life of the anode and thus the water heater are substantially shortened. In a typical electric water heater, less than half the protective anode current is needed to protect the tank interior with the remaining current resulting from the additional load imposed by the heating element jacket. However, the heating element jacket typically comprises or is plated with a metal more electropositive than the tank metal and thus does not require the same level of cathodic protection. In addition, heating elements are relatively inexpensive and easy to replace. In addition to the large current draw imposed on the protective anode by the heating element jacket, the heating element also creates a "shadowing" effect on any exposed interior portions of the tank in the vicinity of the heating element. As a result, anode current which might otherwise protect these areas of the tank flows instead to the heating element jacket and leaves the metal tank wall portions in this area with inadequate protection.
It would be most desirable, therefore, to reduce the electrical load which the heating element jacket imposes on the protective anode in an electric hot water heater. One way would be to simply electrically insulate the heating element jacket from the tank. However, the metal tank is typically grounded and, for safety reasons, a conductive path must be provided between the heating element jacket and the tank to provide a shunt for an overvoltage condition, such as would occur if damage to the heating element resulted in a short between the interior element wire and the metal jacket. Another solution to the problem would be to provide a resistance connection between the heating element jacket and the tank wall to reduce the anode current. However, to effectively reduce the anode current draw, the resistance would be too great to provide an adequate ground path in the event of an overload condition. It would also be possible to establish an impressed voltage differential between the heating element jacket and the tank wall, with the former maintained positive with respect to the latter. However, with the heating element jacket otherwise electrically insulated from the tank to allow maintenance of the potential difference, a conductive path for an overvoltage condition would not be available.
Thus, there remains a need for a practical solution to the excessive current draw and shadowing effect which an electric heating element jacket causes in an anodically protected electric water heater.

Apparatus for reducing the current drain on the sacrificial anode in a water heater


In a multicell communication system, a terminal that belongs to a second cell using the same subcarrier as a terminal that belongs to a first cell changes a pilot in an allocated basic resource block. Then, a base station that manages the first cell can estimate a channel of an interference signal transmitted from a second cell from a reception signal even though the reception signal includes an interference signal from the terminal that belongs to the second cell at the time of receiving a signal transmitted from the terminal that belongs to the first cell. Further, the base station that manages the first cell may reduce an interference signal from a reception signal by using a channel estimation value.

An orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system is a transmission system that can effectively reduce selective frequency fading due to a delay spread by dividing one high-speed data stream into multiple low-speed data streams and transmitting the multiple low-speed data streams at the same time by using inter-orthogonal subcarriers.
An orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) system, which is one of multiple access systems based on the OFDM system, can independently allocate one or more subcarriers to each user at a user request. Subchannels set as a group of the subcarriers are basic frequency resource units allocated to users. Since the subchannels are physically independent from each other, multiple access interference is not generated in the same cell.
However, in an OFDMA multiple cell system, interference which base stations that manage cells adjacent to one cell (hereinafter referred to as "central cell") give to a user who uses the central cell, i.e., inter-cell interference (ICI), occurs. In order to reduce the inter-cell interference, not only a channel of the central cell but also channels of signals transmitted from the adjacent cells need to be estimated. That is, the OFDMA system needs to estimate the channel by considering interference caused by the adjacent cells.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Method of transmitting signal and method of receiving signal

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute