A cooling apparatus utilizing the Joule-Thomson effect contains a lead conduit including an inlet end connectable to a source of pressurized gas, and an outlet end, a relief nozzle provided at the outlet end of the lead conduit whereby pressurized gas inflowing through the lead conduit is depressurized at the relief nozzle with cooling, a return for the cooled and depressurized gas, and a countercurrent heat exchanger by which the pressurized gas inflowing through the lead conduit is in heat conductive contact with the cooled and depressurized gas outflowing through the return. Peltier elements serve for additional cooling of the inlet end of the lead conduit and have cold sides which are in immediate contact with the inlet end of the lead conduit. A heat exchanger is provided at the warm sides of the Peltier elements and is throughflown by the gas from the return.

The invention relates to a cooling apparatus utilizing the Joule-Thomson effect and containing
(a) a lead conduit having an inlet end connectable to a source of pressurized gas, and an outlet end,
(b) a relief nozzle provided at the outlet end of the lead conduit whereby pressurized gas inflowing through the lead conduit, is depressurized with cooling at the relief nozzle,
(c) a return for the cooled and depressurized gas,
(d) a countercurrent heat exchanger by means of which the pressurized gas inflowing through the lead conduit is in heat conductive contact with the cooled and depressurized gas outflowing through the return, and
(e) Peltier elements each having a warm side and a cold side connected to the inlet end of the lead conduit for additional cooling of the inlet end of the lead conduit.
German Published Patent Application No. 3,642,683 describes a cryostat which is based on the Joule-Thomson effect, for cooling an infrared detector. In this cryostat a countercurrent heat exchanger containing a lead conduit is seated in a Dewar vessel. The lead conduit terminates in a relief nozzle. The infrared detector is seated at the end face of the internal wall of the Dewar vessel. A heat insulating layer is disposed intermediate the Dewar vessel and a base for reducing the heat load. For improving the cooling effect achievable by the Joule-Thomson process in a given mass flow of pressurized gas, an inlet end of the lead conduit is cooled by means of Peltier elements.
In the cryostat according to German Published Patent Application No. 3,642,683 the inlet end of the lead conduit is mounted at a carrier made of well heat conducting material and is in good heat conductive contact therewith. The carrier is retained at a heat dissipating base by means of Peltier elements. In this arrangement the cold sides of the Peltier elements are in contact with the carrier and the warm sides of the Peltier elements are in contact with the base.
While it is generally known to cool the warm sides of Peltier elements by heat exchanging means, it has not become known to make use of such construction in combination with Joule-Thomson coolers.
Thus, for axample, a publication by H. Mueller entitled "Design and Set-up of Peltier apparatus" in the Journal "Kaltetechnik" Vol. 15, No. 5, pages 137 to 145, 1963, is concerned with the general construction of Peltier elements. As illustrated therein in FIG. 8, and for similar arrangements in FIGS. 11 and 12, the heat is removed by means of an evaporator; the vaporized liquid is recondensed in a heat exchanger and flows back into the evaporator. A liquefier is seated on the cold side at the Peltier elements. This arrangement does not contain a heat exchanger which is immediately connected with the warm sides of the Peltier elements. Also, there is not present a Joule-Thomson cooler and the warm sides of the Peltier elements are not in heat exchange with the depressurized and cooled gas of the Joule-Thomson cooler. In the FIG. 13 arrangement, cooling of the warm sides of the Peltier elements is effected by cooling water.
A cooling and heating device containing a heat pump is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,249. According to FIG. 1c thereof, a "thermoelectric module" may serve as such heat pump. Also in this arrangement the cold sides and the warm sides of the Peltier elements which constitute the thermoelectric module, are connected to respective circuits through which a heat transfer fluid is circulated and which contain respective heat exchangers.
In an air drier according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,400,948, air is passed through a heat exchanger which is connected with the cold sides of a "thermo-electric module". The warm sides of Peltier elements thereof are cooled using an air stream which is sucked in by means of a ventilator.
In an apparatus according to German Published Patent Application No. 3,541,645, Peltier elements are employed for recovering water from air. The warm sides of the Peltier elements contain heat exchangers exposed to external air, see FIG. 4, part 26.
A cooling box according to European Published Patent Application No. 0,271,704 also operates using Peltier elements. The goods to be cooled are cooled by means of an air stream which is in contact with the cold side of Peltier elements through a heat exchanger. The heat is removed from the warm sides of the Peltier elements by means of a circulating cooling agent which, in turn, transfers heat to the surrounding air by means of a heat exchanger.
While it is known from the aforementioned prior art to remove heat from the warm sides of Peltier elements by using various means for generating forced cooling, such heat removal is not effected in connection with a Joule-Thomson cooler. Also the initially discussed German Published patent application simply teaches contacting the base and the warm sides of the Peltier elements. The aforenoted printed publications thus do not suggest or indicate that the efficiency of the Joule-Thomson cooler is significantly or superproportionately improved by the inventive measures as will be explained further hereinbelow.

Cooling apparatus utilizing the Joule-Thomson effect


The invention relates to a press having a direct electric drive, without any motion transmitting apparatus, such as, for example, gears or gear drives wherein the electric direct drive is located between an eccentric 3 and a connecting rod 6 and brings about a relative movement between the eccentric 3 and the connecting rod 6.

The invention resides in a press with a press drive, for example, for the manufacture of metal sheet parts or for the deformation of massive metal components.
In the present state of the art, in the deformation of metal sheets for same time, mechanically driven presses with fly wheel drives have been used. In such presses, the travel-time curve of the plunger as generated by the kinematics of the drive which transmits the drive energy of the fly wheel to the plunger is predetermined. Changes in the travel-drive curve are only possible in connection with a stroke change. The striving for more productive manufacturing processes and the continually increasing requirements in the drawing processes resulted lately in the use of so-called servo presses in the shaping of sheet metal parts.
These servo presses are equipped with variable servo drives capable of generating different press forces. These presses are driven by one or several servomotors, which act directly on the drive train, without a fly wheel and without a clutch. In servo presses with relatively large press forces, high-moment torque motors are often used. With respect to speed and direction of rotation these motors can be controlled in a flexible manner so that they are programmable for different travel-time curves of the plunger. Curves from a sine-shaped course of an eccentric press, the curves of toggle joint lever drives or component design-specific curves may be established. The plunger can be independently positioned, it can be braked at any location or accelerated and it may even be operated in an oscillating back and forth movement by reversing the eccentric between two points.
Such a servo press is disclosed, for example, in DE 10 2004 009 256 B4. The press described herein includes several servomotors which jointly operate a plunger. The servomotors act on the plunger via a drive which has a mass moment of inertia. This mass moment of inertia may be increased by an additional fly wheel, if desired. However, altogether the resulting mass inertia moment is selected so as to be less than that of conventional presses in which the fly wheel stores sufficient energy to complete a working stroke. It is rather so small that the servomotors can accelerate the fly wheel from a stand still and again brake it to a stand still. With such a design, it is possible to operate the presses on one hand in a reversing operation with variable strokes wherein, on the other hand, high press forces can be obtained with the aid of the fly wheel.
It is, however, a disadvantage of this solution that in spite of drive simplifications, complicated and costly movement transmission means in the form of gears are still needed. DE 41 09 796 C2 discloses an arrangement for pressing, bending and punching of metal work pieces wherein a servomotor acts directly on an eccentric. With this arrangement the stroke length, as well as the press forces, are to be changed a simple manner. In addition, by an axial guiding of the plunger, it's surface of contact with the workpiece is to remain unchanged. A disadvantage of this solution however is surely a limitation to very small press forces. For large deformation presses with several pressure points, such an arrangement is not suitable.
Based on this state of the art, it is the object of the present invention to provide a press having a press drive which on one hand is capable to generate high press forces with a variable plunger movement and, on the other hand is of simple design and cost effective.


Aspects of the present disclosure, in certain embodiments, are directed toward providing a visual representation of question quality in a question answering system. More particularly, aspects are directed toward receiving, by a question answering system, an input question having a set of query attributes. The set of query attributes may be user-influenced characteristics of the input question. Aspects of the present disclosure are also directed toward evaluating, by comparing the set of query attributes to a set of assessment criteria, the quality of the input question. Aspects of the present disclosure are also directed toward assigning, in response to evaluating the quality of the input question, a set of quality values to the set of query attributes. Using the assigned set of quality values and the set of query attributes, an icon that indicates a visual representation of the quality of the input question may be generated.

This disclosure relates generally to computer systems and more particularly relates to providing a visual representation of question quality.
The amount of data and information available on the internet and other communication networks is growing rapidly. Question answering systems are one tool by which a user may find desired information. As the amount of available information increases, the need for question answering systems may also increase.

Visual representation of question quality

International Business Machines Corporation


A peep-proof device, a display device and a method for driving the display device are provided. The peep-proof device includes at least one light beam adjustment layer. The light beam adjustment layer includes: a transparent base layer and a plurality of grooves formed in a surface of the transparent base layer; and a liquid crystal layer arranged within the plurality of grooves. A refractive index of the transparent base layer is same as a refractive index of the liquid crystal layer to ordinary light beam.

Along with the development of science and technology, portable display devices, as necessities, have brought convenience and entertainment to our daily lives. Currently, the majority of people are in the habit of using portable electronic devices in public places, e.g., reading, learning or communicating through mobile phones or flat-panel computers when taking or waiting for a bus. However, due to a relatively wide viewing angle of the conventional electronic device, it is possible that others beside a user can also view clearly an image displayed by the electronic device in public places. At this time, it is very difficult to provide privacy protection for the user, and thereby the use of the electronic device may be adversely affected.

Peep-proof device, display device and method for driving the display device

BEIJING BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


An electronic device includes a chassis, a detachable module with a case received in the chassis, a resilient latching member, and an operation member slidably positioned between the latching member and the case. The chassis defines a fastening hole. The case defines a through hole. A first end of the latching member is fixed to the case. A latching tab protrudes outwards from a second end of the latching member. When the operation member is at a first position, the latching tab engages in the fastening hole such that the detachable module is attached to the chassis. When the operation member slides to a second position, it pushes against the latching member to deform the second end of the latching member to move away from the case, such that the latching tab is disengaged from the fastening hole, thereby detaching the detachable module from the chassis.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an electronic device having a detachable module.
2. Description of Related Art
In an electronic device, such as a computer or a server, some modules, such as power modules, are usually fixed in a chassis of the electronic device by screws. However, it is time-consuming and often difficult to disassemble those modules from the electronic device when they need to be replaced. Therefore it would be desirable that such modules are detachably assembled to the electronic device.

Electronic device with detachable module


A reactor vessel for subjecting a first gas and a second gas to a chemical reaction to produce a third gas is provided. The reactor vessel includes a catalyst bed, an inlet for receiving the first gas and the second gas, and a first outlet for discharging the third gas. The first outlet includes a selective microporous conduit to separate the third gas from products of incomplete reaction or unreacted first gas and unreacted second gas. A second outlet for discharging one or more of the following: unseparated third gas is also included in this invention. The products of incomplete reaction, unreacted first gas, or unreacted second gas are removed from the system. At least one helical tube is disposed within the reactor vessel and in direct contact with the catalyst bed. The helical tube has an inlet end communicating with a hot gas source, and an outlet end exhausting cooled gas. Indirect heat exchange between the helical tube and the first and second gas, promoted by the catalyst, generates the third gas.

A membrane reactor is a piece of chemical equipment that combines a catalyst-filled reaction chamber with a membrane to add reactants or remove products of the reaction. Chemical reactors making use of membranes are usually referred to as membrane reactors. Membrane reactors achieve efficiencies by combining in one unit a reactor that generates a product with a semipermeable membrane that extracts it. The result is a more compact design plus greater conversion. Removal of a product increases the residence time for a given volume of reactor and drives equilibrium-limited reactions towards completion. Another advantage of membrane reactors is that they expand the allowed range of temperatures and pressures for a reaction. Membrane reactors fundamentally change the pressure dependence of conversion in gas phase decomposition reactions so that the reactions are preferentially performed at high pressures rather than low. Higher pressures allow much smaller reactors and more efficient purification. Membrane reactors can be advantageous also for sequential endothermic and exothermic reactions, by using the product extraction to promote heat transfer. The net result is smaller reactors, lower capital costs, and often fewer side-reactions.
While numerous systems combining the reforming and purification processes have been proposed, it is common to encounter heat transfer problems because of the highly endothermic nature of the reaction network which necessitates a large heat transfer area. It is the object of the present invention to address this issue of convective heat transfer within a membrane reactor.

Coiled convective heating for membrane reactor

Air Liquide Process & Construction, Inc.


The present invention relates to a dual stem active camming device including a plurality of compression springs independently coupled to a plurality of cam lobes. The compression springs are positioned between the trigger and the clip-in point of the cam to protect the springs from damage and allow the trigger to compress the springs upon retraction. A flexible stem tube is positioned over the portion of the dual stem between the trigger and the cable terminals. The flexible stem tube shields the trigger wires from debris and abrasion. A rigid yoke is also positioned over the dual stem between the stem tube and cable terminals. The rigid yoke prevents uneven lateral bending on the head of the camming device that may otherwise cause the device to pull out of a placement. The cable terminals are positioned between the outer cam lobes and on either side of the inner cam lobe.

Climbers generally use clean protection devices for two distinct purposes. First, a clean protection device may be used as a form of safety protection for protecting a climber in the event of a fall and second, a clean protection device may intentionally be used to artificially support a climber's weight. Clean protection devices cam or wedge into a crack, hole, gap, orifice, taper, or recess in order to support an outward force. The area or surface within which the clean protection device supports the outward force is considered the protection surface. The protection surface can consist of natural materials such as rock or may consist of artificial materials such as concrete.
Clean protection devices are generally divided into active and passive categories. Passive protection devices include a single object, which contacts the protection surface to support an outward force. For example, a wedge is a passive protection device because it has a single head with a fixed shape. There are numerous types of passive protection devices including nuts, hexes, tri-cams, wedges, rocks, and chocks. Active protection devices include at least two movable objects that can move relative to one another to create a variety of shapes. For example, a slidable chock or slider nut is considered an active protection device because it includes two wedges that move relative to one another to wedge into various shaped crevices. When the two wedges of the slider nut are positioned adjacent to one another, the overall width of the protection device is significantly larger than if the two wedges are positioned on top of one another. The two wedges must make contact with the protection surface in order to actively wedge the device within the protection surface. A further subset of active protection devices is camming devices. These devices translate rotational displacement into linear displacement. Therefore, a slider chock would not be an active camming device because the two wedges simply slide relative to one another and do not rotate. Camming devices include two, three, and four cam lobe devices. The cam lobes on an active camming device are generally spring biased into an expanded position and are able to rotate or pivot about an axle to retract. In operation, at least one cam lobe on either side of the unit must make contact with the protection surface for the device to be able to actively support an outward force. Some active protection devices can also be used passively to support outward forces as well.
Active protection devices are generally preferable to passive protection devices because of their ability to cam into a variety of features. For example, a standard four-cam unit has a particular camming range that allows it to cam into features within a particular size range. The two most common connection systems used in three and four cam units are single stem and double stem systems. Double stem systems include a U-shaped cable that attaches independently to two cable terminals on either end of the head of the protection device. The clip-in point of a double stem system is simply the bottom of the U-shaped cable. Single stem systems include a single cable that is attached to a single cable terminal located at the center of the head of the protection device. The single stem system generally includes some form of clip-in loop attached to the single cable. Single stem connection systems are generally preferable for larger cams because they are less likely to obstruct particular camming placements.
Small camming devices provide protection and/or support from a small protection surface. For most applications, small camming devices must support the same outward forces as larger camming devices. Therefore, in order to provide reliable protection, small camming devices should maximize the camming surface, which contacts the protection surface. This objective becomes more difficult the smaller the protection surface within which the device is designed to accommodate. For example, a camming device that is designed to fit into cracks between 0.1 and 0.2 inches should maximize the camming surfaces of the camming device more so than a camming device that is designed to fit into cracks between 1 and 2 inches. In addition, small camming devices are more likely to pop out of the protection surface from axle bending, inverted cam lobes, or uneven lateral stem bending. Therefore, small camming devices should minimize these affects to ensure reliable placements.


A surgical ophthalmic drape which is a complete draping system and provides a sterile field and fluid control. The ophthalmic drape includes a main sheet and a fluid pouch. The fluid pouch has a fenestration which is smaller than the main sheet fenestration. The adhesive layer on the bottom of the fluid pouch both secures the pouch to the main sheet and also secures the drape assembly to the patient. The pouch is a folded piece of fluid impervious material with a sealed edge on three sides.

The present invention relates to a drape for use in surgery, especially ophthalmic procedures. More specifically, the present invention relates to an ophthalmic surgical drape having a fluid collection pouch.
For an ophthalmic surgical procedure, hospital personnel previously a used surgical drape system, comprising a main base sheet with a fenestration to allow for draping around the patient's head. A disposable plastic incise drape was then placed over the head and the operative eye, with the ends of the incise drape being folded and placed in a fluid collection pouch attached to the base drape.
This type of multiple drape system require considerable handling and may cause cross-contamination. So drapes were designed incorporating an incise component with an eye fenestration into the base drape to reduce cross-contamination caused by the handling of the various drapes and also to make the use of the drape quicker and easier.
However, these drapes still have a problem adequately controlling the fluid resulting from the operation. Eye drops are generally applied before and during the course of an ophthalmic surgical procedure, so that fluid runoff must always be controlled to maintain an aseptic environment. Even drapes with one pocket on each side of a fenestration have problems because of the path of the fluid is often diagonal or otherwise unpredictable. This causes the drape over the patient's head to become wet with the possibly body fluids, which may be contaminated. When the surgeon leans against the patient, the surgeon's gown becomes soaked with the fluids and may cross-contaminate the patient.

Opthalmic drape with fluid collection pouch


An overfill probe is utilized in each compartment of a multi-compartment transport tanker and has a depending sensing tube for detecting liquid overfill conditions. An overfill detector is within the bottom end of the probe tube and is thus protected from damage. Internal damage to the probe and malfunction of the system also precluded by connecting the exposed cap of the probe to the detector by a longitudinally extensible, stretchable cable extending through the tube to the detector, or a circuit board may be retained within the depending tube. Additionally, a thermistor socket and an optic socket are provided which are part of the overfill protection system, each having contact connections that may be readily replaced when worn without removing or replacing the wiring within the socket assembly.

The loading and off-loading of petroleum products into the compartments of transport trucks, and from such compartments into storage tanks are common procedures well-known in the art. The separate compartments of a typical tank truck will often contain different fuels such as various grades of gasoline, diesel, fuel oils and kerosene. When loading these compartments with fuel, visual inspection is typically not possible and thus overfill sensors are installed in the respective tanks to provide signal feedback to shut down the delivery pumps when loading is complete. An example of such a delivery system is, for example, set forth in United States Patent Application Publication 2005/0139286 where a modular multi-port manifold and fuel delivery system is disclosed having a plurality of ports in fluid communication with corresponding compartments of the fuel delivery vehicle.
There are, however, limitations in such fuel delivery systems as they may be readily compromised and thus operate in less than an optimal manner. Since the tanks of transport trucks usually cannot be visually inspected while filling, overfill sensors are utilized to provide signal feedback to shut down the loading pumps when the appropriate level is reached. These typically comprise a probe that extends downwardly from the top of the tank compartment and, if properly operational, will sense the presence of the fuel when it rises to a sensor on the bottom end of the probe. However if the probe is non-functional for any reason, such as mishandling by operating personnel or component failure, or if the length of the probe tube that carries a sensor that detects the presence of the fuel is not properly matched to the compartment in which it is installed, the compartment may be either underloaded or overfilled. This can occur, for example, when a defective probe is replaced after a repair and a probe of improper length is installed. Also, improper signal wiring during installation of a system also adds to poor reliability, resulting in frustrated end users.
An overfill detection probe in common use comprises an optical detector and an electronic circuit board which communicates with the detector and also interfaces with other electronics of the system. However, the detector projects from the bottom end of the probe and is thus exposed to damage and malfunction if not carefully handled and installed. Also, the circuit board and associated wiring connections in the probe may be damaged due to mishandling and render the probe inoperable. Any such failure of an electrical element of the system may require the end user to recertify system integrity.

Overfill detection system for tank trucks


Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and apparatus for generating information. A method may include: determining, according to received positioning request information, visiting information for a target area of interest, the visiting information including location information of at least one visiting point; determining, according to the location information of the at least one visiting point, a visiting point distribution map including the at least one visiting point; performing grid division on the visiting point distribution map, to obtain a first grid map including at least one grid; and generating, based on the first grid map, outline information for the target area of interest.

In an geographic application, an AOI (area of interest, i.e., area of information) refers to a regional geographical entity in map data. From the perspective of space, the geographical entity such as an office building, a tourist spot and a shopping mall is a three-dimensional space building, and area data for describing the two-dimensional space of the geographical entity may vividly describe spatial attribute of the geographical entity. The outline of the AOI refers to boundary information of the regional geographical entity, and the determination of the outline of the AOI is to determine the specific region corresponding to the AOI on the map. At present, the determination of the outline of the AOI in the map data is mainly through a manual collection. For the manual collection, it is necessary to configure a professional collection device and employ a professional collector, to perform strict functional processes, and thus, the outline of the AOI is finally determined.

Method and apparatus for generating information

BAIDU ONLINE NETWORK TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) CO., LTD.


The present disclosure is directed to a method and system for routing communications. A plurality of communication devices are coupled, via a shared common (interface) communication device, to a communications network. Each such communication device has a device identifier. A user-programmable database associates each of a plurality of user identifiers with a device identifier. A call-routing switch arrangement is coupled to the communication network through a portal communication device having a portal identifier. A user designates a destination user identifier when making a communication. The call-routing switches the call, directing the call to a destination device identifier responsive to the user-programmable database association between the destination user identifier and a device identifier. According to certain aspects, communications are directed to users and are routed to associated equipment, a user identifier serving as a virtual extension number. Users remotely program the database to direct their calls accordingly.

The communications industry continues to rely upon advances in technology to realize higher-functioning systems at cost-effective prices. Telephony signals can now be transmitted by methods and systems including traditional publicly-switched telephone networks (PSTN), Internet telephony service providers (ITSP), packet-based systems, digital wireless systems, analog wireless systems, private branch exchanges (PBX), cable systems, T1 systems, integrated service digital networks (ISDN), and digital subscriber line (DSL) systems, to name a few. Widespread acceptance and usage of communication systems and services are largely a function of cost and user convenience.
ITSPs, and increasingly private companies, are deploying Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) technologies through a broadband data network for their private branch exchange (PBX) and communications needs. "Hop-off" gateways bridge local PSTNs and the broadband data network, for example, the Internet. User's calls are routed from a local telephone system, through a local gateway in order to jump from one side of the broadband data network to another where a remote gateway bridges the call to a remote telephone system. Typically, VoIP services are "invisible" to users, operating as any conventional long-distance carrier and exploiting the "free" long-distance transmission of data once on the broadband data network.
The scalability of a communications system weighs heavily upon the acceptance of the system. As the face of today's mobile society and workplace is changing, the ability to provide flexible communications services is becoming increasingly important. Many people are highly mobile on a daily basis, traveling for business, working from several locations, such as base office, branch office, home and field locations. A variety of tools and methods are conventionally used to coordinate telephone communications. Continuously updating a secretary or voice mail greeting with a user's current whereabouts and a nearby telephone number is typical. Callers trying to reach the user at the user's published telephone number are provided the user's updated location information and required to make a second call to track down the party they are attempting to reach. Alternately, pagers alert a user that a caller is attempting to reach the user, providing a contact telephone number for the user to initiate a return call in order to establish a connection. Cellular telephones provide mobile telephone service that follows a user, but pager and cell phone services are expensive and rely on sufficiently-charged batteries to power the mobile equipment. Mobile area coverage is uncertain and call quality is typically lower than for hard-wired communication systems.
To accommodate ongoing communications needs, a user-friendly and user-reconfigurable system would be advantageous. Accordingly, there is a need for a flexible and cost-effective approach for providing seamless telephony services to a plurality of user-reconfigurable destinations, including fixed and mobile user interfaces. Such an approach should take into consideration end-users' expectations of accessing any other telephone in the world using existing telephone equipment, user interfaces and user calling paradigms. A broadband data network telephony system and method that address the aforementioned problems, as well as other related problems, are therefore desirable.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A network analyzer comprises: a signal source configured to supply an input signal to a device, wherein the device is configured to generate a phase reference signal; a receiver configured to receive the phase reference signal from the device and to measure a phase response of the device according to the phase reference signal; and a calibration component configured to compare the measured phase response of the device with an actual phase response of the device to identify a tracking parameter for the receiver.

Frequency-translation devices (FTDs) such as mixers, converters, and tuners are important components in many radio-frequency (RF) and microwave communication systems. For instance, FTDs are important components of wireless telephones, satellite communication systems, and wireless internet devices, to name but a few.
As communication systems adopt more advanced types of modulation, FTD designs tend to become increasingly complex, and their specifications more demanding. Accordingly, to ensure proper performance, test equipment should be designed to accurately characterize the behavior of these increasingly complex FTDs. In general, an FTD should have substantially linear phase shift and flat group delay across its modulation bandwidths.
FTDs can be difficult to characterize because their input and output frequencies differ. Accordingly, FTDs rely upon different measurement techniques than those used to characterize linear devices such as filters. In addition, many FTDs, such as multi-channel frequency converters, are relied upon to be characterized using several different local oscillator (LO) frequencies and across many different input and output frequency ranges.
A number of techniques have been proposed for characterizing phase and group delay response characteristics of contemporary FTDs. In each of these techniques, an FTD is characterized by comparison with a reference device such as a calibration mixer. Accordingly, these conventional techniques do not provide for direct determination of FTD phase and group delay response characteristics.
In one conventional example, a test system determines the phase response of an FTD by measuring the relative phase responses of three sets of mixer pairs and then solving three resulting equations with three unknowns to determine the phase response of each mixer. This technique, however, is susceptible to mismatch errors introduced by interaction between the various mixers and an intermediate frequency (IF) filter used to select a desired mixing product. This method also relies upon that one of the mixers be reciprocal. Additionally, it does not scale well to frequency converters with multiple conversion stages, because it relies on a reconversion mixer driven with a single LO.
In another conventional example, a test system is first calibrated by placing a calibration mixer with known characteristics into a test channel. Then, an FTD is placed in the test channel and its performance is measured relative to a calibrated reference device in a reference channel. In this example, FTD measurements are limited to a frequency range of the calibration mixer. In addition, the calibration mixer is reciprocal. Because of these limitations, this technique cannot be readily applied to complex converter designs.
In still other examples, two-tone stimuli or modulated-signals are applied to an FTD to determine its phase response characteristics. These examples also rely upon a calibration mixer and are therefore difficult to apply to complex converter designs.
Because of the above limitations, conventional test systems for FTDs can be cumbersome and expensive to use. What is needed, therefore, are a network analysis system and a method of calibrating a network analysis system that overcomes at least the shortcoming described above.

System for characterizing mixer or converter response


A particular application is pre-associated with the detection of a predetermined stylus action that occurs while a given electronic device is in a standby mode of operation. Upon then detecting that predetermined stylus action these teachings provide for responsively opening that particular application. By one approach this opening of the particular application occurs in conjunction with switching the electronic device from the standby mode of operation to the active mode of operation. The pre-association can be based, at least in part, upon an automatic association based upon identifying the most-used application for the electronic device. As another example, the pre-association can be based, at least in part, upon a specific user-based selection.

Various styli are known and typically serve in conjunction with a scribing surface that is configured to work with a corresponding stylus. Generally speaking, a stylus is typically a hand-held writing utensil that often (but not exclusively) has a pencil-like elongated form factor and that includes at least one pointed end configured to interact with the scribing surface. Using a stylus as an input mechanism with, for example, a display offers a variety of advantages over a fingertip including the opportunity for increased precision as well as an expression modality that accords with the user's own past experience with a pencil or pen.
That said, there are times when a finger-based user-interface modality may be preferred, at least by some users. In many such cases the user has corresponding preferences. That is, a given user might prefer to use a stylus-based approach with one application but a finger-based approach with another application.
Many electronic devices have both an active mode of operation and a standby mode of operation. Generally speaking, during the active mode of operation the electronic device is "on" in that the electronic device is presently ready to respond to a full panoply of user inputs and instructions. The standby mode of operation typically serves, however, to greatly reduce the electronic device's use of power. Accordingly, during the standby mode of operation the ability of the electronic device to provide information and to respond to user inputs is reduced in some meaningful way. Often (though not always), for example, the electronic device's display will be blank or even "off" and at least some user-input interfaces will not serve in their usual manner.
The specifics of what constitutes a standby mode of operation varies from one device to the next. Some devices may even support a number of different standby modes of operation. Again, however, a device's standby mode of operation is characterized by a reduced quiescent consumption of power as compared to the quiescent consumption of power during the active mode of operation, and the user interface itself offers reduced opportunities for user input.
It is known in the art to awaken an electronic device from a standby mode using a stylus. While useful in and of itself, in many cases present practices in these regards do not meet all potential user needs in all application settings.

Apparatus and method pertaining to the stylus-initiated opening of an application


A backlight unit has a light source, a reflection sheet, a light guide plate, an air space, and a diffuser, wherein the reflection sheet, the light guide plate, the air space, and the diffuser are overlaid in this order. The light source is configured to arrange individual light sources having different spectra or different light emission quantities near an incident plane of the light guide plate, and on a plane facing the reflection sheet of the light guide plate, scatter dots are disposed which take light propagating through the light guide plate out of the reflection sheet side. The backlight unit and a liquid crystal display device including the same have excellent display quality.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a backlight unit and a liquid crystal display device including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 70 shows the schematic structure of a conventional liquid crystal display device. The liquid crystal display device has a liquid crystal display panel 110 and a backlight unit. The backlight unit is provided with a light guide plate 114 and cold-cathode tubes 116 disposed at two end surfaces opposite to each other of the light guide plate 114. Around the cold-cathode tubes 116, reflectors 117 are disposed which efficiently transmit light into the light guide plate 114. Lens sheets 111 and 112 and a diffuser sheet 113 are disposed between the liquid crystal display panel 110 and the backlight unit. In addition, a reflection sheet 115 is disposed on the back side of the light guide plate 114.
For the backlight unit used in the liquid crystal display device, the side lit backlight unit shown in FIG. 70 and a direct backlight unit are generally used, in which a direct backlight unit includes a light source disposed directly below a liquid crystal display panel. They are separately used in such a way that the side lit backlight unit is used for a liquid crystal display device having a screen size of 20 inches (20-inch diagonal screen) or under, in general, and for a liquid crystal display device particularly requiring a reduced thickness. In both of these configurations, a cold-cathode tube is generally used for the light source. With the single exception of a liquid crystal display device having a small screen size for use in a cellular telephone and a personal digital assistant (PDA), a white LED is used for a light source because it does not need much light quantity and it is the most suited for a reduction in size and weight.
Although the cold-cathode tube is mainly used for a liquid crystal having a larger screen size than a cellular telephone and a PDA, environmental issues are increasingly important in recent years, and it is considered to be undesirable to use a cold-cathode tube using mercury.
As a light source replacing the cold-cathode tube, various light sources such as a mercury-free fluorescent tube and an LED are being developed. Among them, an LED is considered to be a promising next-generation light source. In the side lit backlight unit, when an LED is the light source, configurations are considered in which a plurality of white LEDs are arranged and in which a plurality of single color LEDs in red, green, and blue are arranged. In particular, attention is greatly focused on a backlight unit using the combination of red, green, and blue single color LEDs in that it can be used as a backlight for a field sequential display device that sequentially lights single color LEDs and that can implement wide color reproduction which cannot be realized by white LEDs. However, the liquid crystal display device including this backlight unit has a problem that the colors of individual LEDs can be visually recognized in the area corresponding to the vicinity of the incident plane of a light guide plate. This is because in the vicinity of the incident plane, the light from LEDs in different colors are taken out of the light guide plate as the light is not mixed, and the light immediately enters the liquid crystal display panel.
A backlight having a two-stage light guide plate structure using a sub-light guide plate is disclosed by Lumileds Lighting Company, LLC. (Nikkei Electronics, No. 844, pp. 126 to 127, Mar. 31, 2003) in which red, green, and blue lights are mixed in a sub-light guide plate to form uniform white light and then the light is allowed to enter an upper main light guide plate. A problem with this configuration is that efficiency is greatly decreased because the incident efficiency from LEDs to the sub-light guide plate and the incident efficiency of the sub-light guide plate to the main light guide plate are low. A low efficiency increases input electric power to require measures against heat, causes an increase in size due to a radiation fin, etc. In addition, the LEDs to be used are known to generate an increased cost.
Other related lighting and display devices are disclosed in JP-A-2003-215349 and JP-A-2004-95390.

Backlight unit and liquid crystal display device having the same


A method and apparatus are disclosed for nondestructively measuring the density and orientation of crystalline and other micro defects on and directly below the surface of a properly prepared material such as a semiconductor wafer. The material surface is illuminated with a probe beam of electromagnetic radiation which is limited to a nondestructive power level or levels. Polarization and wavelength or wavelengths of the electromagnetic radiation are selected according to certain characteristics of the material so that penetration depth is controlled. Specific orientation of the material with respect to the probe beam and the detector is required to detect that portion of the probe beam scattered from the defects of interest, surface or subsurface, without interference from other scatter sources and to identify the orientation of the defects. Maps of scatter intensity versus position are made according to the density of the defects encountered.

Many of the materials used in the manufacture of semiconductors, optics and a variety of other applications require the highest quality material available to meet the performance requirements expected in the future. This is particularly important when it relates to the quality and cleanliness of the surface, and the crystalline structure, defects and impurities in the material. In the case of semiconductors like silicon and gallium arsenide for instance, crystalline defects or impurities on or near the surface of the material can significantly degrade the performance of electronic components and integrated circuits made from that material, or keep them from operating at all. Material defects in optics made from semiconductors, glasses and metals can have catastrophic results when used with high powered lasers or when second order optical effects are being used. These situations have been recognized for some time, and a variety of equipment has been disclosed or developed to measure the surface character of these special materials. For example U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,763, entitled "DEFECT DETECTION SYSTEM", discloses one of several techniques used to measure surface defects and contamination on semiconductors.
The measurement of the crystalline and other micro defects directly below the surface, however, has been much more difficult. For example U.S. Pat. No. 4,391,524, entitled "METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE QUALITY OF LIGHT SCATTERING MATERIAL", similar to the one previously mentioned, discloses one technique developed for that purpose. A second approach is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,016, entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING THE QUALITY OF A SEMICONDUCTOR SURFACE" and U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,017, entitled "APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING THE QUALITY OF A SEMICONDUCTOR SURFACE". All of these measurement techniques have significant limitations when measuring subsurface crystalline damage and other micro defects, both surface and subsurface, which are most important to the improvement and use of these materials.
The term defects, as used herein, refers to any of a variety of structural crystalline defects found near the surface in bulk material or in layers or thin films, either grown-in or processing induced, like slips, dislocations, stacking faults and even buried scratch traces as well as defects which are formed when foreign material is incorporated into the crystal structure such as inclusions, precipitates and impurity clusters and other impurity related defects. Likewise non-crystalline structural defects that occur in amorphous and polycrystalline materials such as voids, buried scratches and pits, and the interface between layers either purposely deposited or formed during processing are included. The term defects is also used to describe surface features such as pits, scratches, scuffs, pinholes and exposed impurity clusters, inclusions and bubbles as well as particles and other surface contamination.
Basically, there are three ways of generating defects in the materials of interest. First, defects can be incorporated into the material when it is manufactured in its bulk form. For instance, when single crystals of silicon or gallium arsenide are grown, dislocations can form in the boule due to thermal stresses induced during the growing process, or when impurities in the starting material, and from other sources, are incorporated into the crystal. For polycrystalline and amorphous materials, impurities can easily come from the starting materials, the preparation tools that come in contact with the material and even the gases in the environment where the materials are being made. Bubbles and inclusions are also formed during the melting and cooling process.
Secondly, after the material is manufactured, it must be cut into usable pieces and the surfaces ground and polished in preparation for further processing. These steps of cutting, grinding and polishing also introduce slips, dislocations and more impurities into the crystal structure just below the prepared surface as well as surface defects like pits and scratches. Polycrystalline and amorphous materials have the same problems with surface defects. They can also have subsurface defects caused by the high pressures used in grinding and polishing. These buried defects form as part of a layer of material at the surface, which under pressure has either recrystallized or become amorphous, and the bulk of the material. Impurities can also be introduced into the material during these operations by diffusion and other mechanisms. In the case of semiconductors, this second class of defects, those that are processing induced, is generally 1,000 to 1,000,000 times greater in number than the defects grown into the original boule of material. Not only are the numbers larger, but as stated, these defects are all located near the surface while the grown-in defects are distributed throughout the volume of the material.
Thirdly, defects such as stacking faults, precipitates, dislocation lines and ion implantation induced defects can be generated by various fabrication processes typically used in the processing of semiconductor wafers. The same is true of optical and other materials not only for crystalline defects but also for the buried defects which can be generated in amorphous and polycrystalline materials by the preparation processes. Fabrication processes such as coating, etching, ion implantation and cleaning can all cause surface and subsurface defects. These defects will affect the way light is transmitted through or reflected from an optical material and can affect the properties of electronic materials. Another effect, which is just beginning to be understood, is the connection between subsurface defects of all types and the defects in coatings deposited on the surface. It has long been known that substrate surface defects can cause flaws in the thin film coatings placed on them. Subsurface defects are more subtle in that they are very difficult to detect nondestructively but can be equal to surface defects in causing flaws in the coatings. Since optics, electronics and many other applications make extensive use of coatings, such effects are of great importance. For instance, epitaxial layers grown on semiconductor wafers can have stacking faults grown-in during the manufacturing process and these can be related to the defects already existing in the substrate wafer.
One technique currently used to measure crystalline damage is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,352,016 and 4,352,017. This approach measures the reflectance of ultraviolet light, at two wavelengths, from the surface of a semiconductor wafer. This technique is known to be insensitive to damage at any depth in the material primarily because of the use of ultraviolet light which is a shallow penetrator in semiconductor materials. A second factor significantly limiting sensitivity is the reflectance measurement itself. Such measurements are notoriously difficult to make and result in looking for small variations in large numbers, which is one of the reasons why this technique requires measurements at two wavelengths. The practical application of this reflectance technique shows up these deficiencies.
A second approach is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,391,524. This approach can measure the light scattered from the surface and subsurface regions but because of the geometry of the measurement, important data is lost. There are three factors which bear on this assessment which are independent of the wavelength selected for the probe beam. First, the angle of incidence of the probe beam is 0.degree.. This eliminates any possibility of determining the directional nature of the defects, or of using polarization to help discriminate between surface and subsurface defects. Secondly, the detector subtends a large solid angle thus integrating scatter from all directions, again making impossible the determination of directional defects, and at the same time diluting the signature of the defects it is designed to measure. And finally, the detector line of sight is also at 0.degree., or near 0.degree.. This introduces significant amounts of surface scatter into the measured signal which is nearly impossible to separate from the subsurface scatter under these conditions. Subtle variations in surface scatter will mask the scatter from the subsurface that are the purpose of the measurement. The result is a measurement that is insensitive to oriented defects, which most subsurface defects are, and even insensitive to many very small surface defects which are also oriented.
Other techniques which purport to measure surface and/or subsurface defects using a scatter measurement technique all measure the total integrated scatter from the surface of the test part. This technique known as TIS integrates the scatter from the surface and subsurface as well as from all directions. The result is an insensitive measurement of mostly surface roughness for which this technique was originally designed. The surface scatter component of the total scatter from a material is very large, and will overwhelm the subsurface component if the scattered light is collected anywhere near the specularly reflected beam. Also, many very small surface defects such as pits and particles are faceted so that the scatter is generally large in one direction and nonexistent in all the others. For large pits and particles the integration that takes place does not dilute the signal, but for the very small pits and particles, the integrated signal from TIS will not show a noticeable change.
All of the scatter measurement techniques available for the nondestructive detection of surface defects are limited in that they are not able to accurately detect defects below about 1 micron in size unless the defects are uniformly shaped, spherical or hemispherical. Real defects, especially particles, are not uniformly shaped but are faceted or oblong or are some unusual shape. These odd shaped defects do not scatter light uniformly and can not be accurately detected by such techniques. In fact, only a small fraction of such defects can be detected by these techniques.

Method and apparatus for nondestructively measuring micro defects in materials


A ladder rack includes: a frame assembly mountable on a vehicle, the frame assembly having at least two cross bows each including a principal length extending between opposite first and second ends; a pivot bracket pivotally coupled to the first ends of each cross bow, each pivot bracket adapted to support one side rail of a ladder, and each pivot bracket being pivotally moveable between a first position corresponding to the stowage position and a second position corresponding to the loading/unloading position; a stationary bracket disposed on each cross bow intermediate the first and second ends thereof, each stationary bracket adapted to abut another side rail of a ladder in the stowage position; a torsion bar interconnecting the pivot brackets; and a manually operable handle coupled to one of the torsion bar or a pivot bracket for moving the pivot brackets between the stowage position and the loading/unloading position.

The present invention relates generally to a ladder rack, and more particularly to an apparatus and method for loading and unloading ladders onto/from vehicles.
Ladders and sometimes other large pieces of equipment are often transported by motor vehicles, such as utilizing racks mounted to the roofs of service or work vehicles, including vans and trucks. The loading and unloading of ladders and other equipment from roof-mounted racks requires awkward lifting of heavy, cumbersome ladders which may result in damage to vehicles and ladders or strain and injury to persons attempting to load or unload the ladders.
Numerous devices have been developed and used for receiving and securely storing ladders for various purposes including stationary storage or for transportation. Such devices address a number of considerations that are unique to storing and securing ladders. For example, since most ladders are bulky and long regardless of their weight, it is difficult to store a ladder in many locations, particularly upon vehicle roofs. Moreover, the large size and heavy weight of many ladders can make ladder lifting, manipulation, and other movement during storage a difficult and dangerous process. Several ladder racks have been developed to address these problems. However, such ladder racks are typically complex, expensive, and bulky.
Although the storage of ladders in any situation involves some challenge, vehicular applications are particularly problematic. Many conventional vehicle ladder racks require the user to lift the ladder some distance to place the ladder on the rack. This process can be difficult especially when only one person is trying to lift and manipulate a heavy and/or long ladder onto a ladder rack. Other vehicle ladder racks require manipulation of the ladder itself after a ladder has been loaded on the rack. Such ladder racks are designed to provide for ladder storage on top of a vehicle or otherwise in a high position on the vehicle. The additional weight of the portion of the ladder rack that has to be manipulated together with the weight of the ladder after a ladder has been loaded thereon increases the total weight that a user of the rack has to manipulate.
Thus, there is a need for a ladder rack that can be used in vehicular applications that is easy to use and provides for easy ladder loading/unloading and access. Further, there is a need for a ladder rack that can be easily manipulated to move a ladder between ladder storage and loading/unloading positions.


A system for processing signal communications between a frequency translation module and an integrated receiver decoder. According to an exemplary embodiment, the decoder and the frequency translation module comprise a signal processing apparatus comprising an input for receiving an frequency shift keyed modulated signal, an amplifier having negative feedback coupled to said input, wherein said input is further coupled to a first source of reference potential and a second source of reference potential; and a tank circuit coupled between said differential amplifier and an output. More particularly, the amplifier may comprise a first transistor having a first collector, a first emitter and a first base coupled to a signal source wherein said first base is further coupled to said first collector and a second transistor with a second base, a second emitter coupled to said first emitter, and a second collector, wherein said second collector is coupled to a bandpass filter and said bandpass filter is further coupled to an output.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to signal communications, and more particularly, to an architecture and protocol for processing signal communications between a frequency translation apparatus, which may be referred to herein as a frequency translation module (FTM), and an integrated receiver-decoder (IRD).
2. Background Information
In a satellite broadcast system, one or more satellites receive signals including audio and/or video signals from one or more earth-based transmitters. The satellite(s) amplify and rebroadcast these signals to signal receiving equipment at the dwellings of consumers via transponders that operate at specified frequencies and have prescribed bandwidths. Such a system includes an uplink transmitting portion (i.e., earth to satellite(s)), an earth-orbiting satellite receiving and transmitting portion, and a downlink portion (i.e., satellite(s) to earth).
In dwellings that receive signals from a satellite broadcast system, signal receiving equipment may be used to frequency shift the entire broadcast spectrum of the satellite(s), and frequency stack the resultant output onto a single coaxial cable. That is, the frequency spectrum associated with one set of signals is shifted to the frequencies adjacent to, or different from, the frequency spectrum of another set of signals, thereby positioning or stacking the sets of signals in the frequency domain. As the number of satellites within a satellite broadcast system increases, and with the proliferation of high definition satellite channels, a point will be reached where the total bandwidth required to accommodate all of the satellites will exceed the transmission capability of the coaxial cable. It has become necessary for the satellite decoder industry to implement more satellite slots into their distribution systems. To provide for the increased number of satellite slot transmissions a more elaborate means for satellite configurations selection has been developed called the frequency translation module (FTM) method.
An FTM for delivering satellite signals to Integrated Receiver Decoders (IRDs) comprises one or more input/outputs (I/Os) coupled to low noise block amplifiers (LNB), and one or more input/outputs coupled to IRDs. The FTM module operative to receive requests from the IRD indicating desired satellite program channels. In response to the request from the IRD, the FTM module controls the appropriate LNB such that the requested channel, or block of channels is delivered to the FTM IO. The FTM module then may frequency shift the requested channel to a second frequency corresponding to an unoccupied frequency on the transmission line to the IRDs. The FTM module zo then communicates to the requesting IRD the frequency on which the requested channel is being supplied. When the FTM is operative to couple a plurality of satellite program channels to a plurality of IRDs, the FTM individually commands each LNB to supply the desired channels or band of channels, and outputs each of the desired channels or band of channels on the same transmission line to the IRDs, with each desired channel or band of channels modulated at unique frequencies.
The FTM uses a UART controlled 2.3 MHz, Frequency Shift Key (FSK) modulation scheme to communicate selection commands to the IRDs and the FTM. Present day satellite decoder systems use complicated PLL and superhetrodyne receivers to amplify the narrow band required for FSK reception with no conversion or detection. This results in an undesirably expensive implementation that must be implemented in each IRD and FTM, the cost being far more than the cost of the legacy DiSEqC communication system. There is a need for a low cost FSK signal processing means with frequency filter, amplitude limiting, and wide dynamic range without the need for an expensive AGC system. The present invention described herein addresses this and/or other problems.

Frequency translation module frequency limiting amplifier


The present application discloses an image processing method, apparatus, device and storage media. A specific implementation solution is: obtaining an original image and a noise-added image, where the noise-added image is an image of the original image after a noise is added, and a number of pixels with a noise in the original image is less than a preset number; encoding and decoding the original image and the noise-added image respectively, to obtain a first decoded image corresponding to the original image and a second decoded image corresponding to the noise-added image; obtaining a first PSNR between the first decoded image and the original image according to the original image and the first decoded image; obtaining a second PSNR between the second decoded image and the noise-added image according to the noise-added image and the second decoded image; and outputting the first PSNR and the second PSNR.

In an automatic driving system, an original video collected by a camera needs to be compressed and encoded before placing order. A difference between an original image in the original video and a decoded image obtained after the original image is compressed and encoded and then decoded may be represented by a peak signal to noise ratio (referred as PSNR for short). The lower a value of the PSNR between the original image and its corresponding decoded image, the larger the difference between the original image and its corresponding decoded image.
At present, it is detected that the value of the PSNR between some original images in the original video and their corresponding decoded images is a lower value that is less than a first preset threshold, which means that the difference between the decoded images obtained after some original images are encoded and decoded and these original images is large, that is, a quality of the decoded image is poor. The quality of the decoded image directly affects a normal operation of the automatic driving, therefore, it is particularly important to obtain a reason for the PSNR between the original image and its corresponding decoded image being low.

Image processing method, apparatus, device and storage medium

BEIJING BAIDU NEICOM SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


An exercise bicycle is provided with a planar four bar linkage with cranks. The bicycle frame (5) is used as the machine frame of the planar four bar linkage, the seat (2) of the bicycle is fixed on a connecting rod (8) of the planar four bar linkage, and the connecting rod (8) is not directly connected with the bicycle frame (5). A middle axle (10) is used as the crank shaft, and one end of the connecting rod (8) is rotationally connected with a crank pin journal of the crank shaft (10), the other end thereof is connected with the member of the bicycle frame (5). The seat of the bicycle can do periodic movement with translation and rotation while a person rides the bicycle.

In the prior art, an exercise bicycle comprises a bicycle frame, a seat arranged above the middle part of the bicycle frame, a handle bar arranged above the front part of the bicycle frame, and pedals for feet to pedal. At present, the exercise bicycle is mainly used for body-building, with a lack in amusement function and demand to further strengthen the body-building effect.


The present invention provides a production apparatus for crankshaft, including: a die which has a lower die, an upper die, and plural side forming punches, the upper die being provided movably to the lower die, the side forming punches moving perpendicularly to a movement direction of the upper die; a press ram which moves the upper die to the lower die, closes a material of the crankshaft, and forms the material; cam mechanisms which are provided for the side forming punches and which move the side forming punches to an inside portion of the die in accordance with movement of the press ram; a grade separation structure which is provided to at least one of the side forming punches in order to prevent interference of the side forming punches with each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a production apparatus and a production method for crankshafts. In particular, it relates to an improvement in a technique for forming of plural hollow hole portions to a crankshaft for weight reduction thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
A crankshaft of internal-combustion engine has a journal shaft portion. A crankpin portion parallel to the journal shaft portion is connected to the journal shaft portion by arm portions. A counterweight portion is formed to the arm portion. In the arm portion, the formed position of the counterweight portion with respect to the journal shaft portion is opposite to the connected position of the crankpin portion. In the crankshaft, in order to improve fuel consumption, a hollow hole portion may be formed to the crankpin portion for weight reduction thereof. Even when the hole portion is formed to the crankpin portion, the influence on the stiffness of the crankshaft is small, so that it is desirable to form the hole portion to the crankpin portion.
In formation of a hole portion to a crankpin portion, a forging apparatus may be used. The forging apparatus has a side forming punch which moves in a direction perpendicular to a movement direction of a press ram. A cam mechanism has been used as a driving source for the side forming punch of the forging apparatus as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. H1-104436 and 2003-343592. The cam mechanism has a mechanism which is simpler than that of servomotors and hydraulic apparatus, the cam mechanism is not provided outside a die set, and the cam mechanism allows the side forming punch to linearly follow the action of the press ram.
FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram for explanation of action of a side forming punch 20 (hereinafter referred to as "punch 20") by a cam mechanism 10. The cam mechanism 10 is equipped with a cam 11, a cam driver 12, and a cam holder 13. The cam driver 12 drives the cam 11. The cam 11 and the cam driver 12 are slidably supported by the cam holder 13. The punch 20 is provided at a side surface of the cam 11 which faces an inside of a die, and a side surface of the cam 11 which faces an outside of a die is an inclined surface. A lower surface of the cam driver 12 is an inclined surface. In an initial condition, the lower surface of the cam driver 12 is positioned so as to be spaced a predetermined distance from the inclined surface of the cam 11. In action of the cam 11, the lower surface of the cam driver 12 slides on the inclined surface of the cam 11. In the cam mechanism 10, when an upper plate 31 moves a predetermined distance downwardly to a lower plate 32 by a press ram (not shown in the Figure), the inclined surfaces of the cam 11 and the cam driver 12 contact each other. When the upper plate 31 moves further downwardly, the inclined surfaces of the cam 11 and the cam driver 12 slide on each other, and the punch 20 moves toward the inside of the die in a horizontal direction.
However, when a crankshaft is formed by the above forging apparatus, it is necessary that the punch 20 be inserted into the crankpin portion from an axial direction of the crankshaft since the crankshaft is disposed in the die such that the axial direction of the crankshaft should be perpendicular to a movement direction of the press ram. Due to this, when a hole portion is formed to each crankpin portion of the crankshaft having plural cylinders, punches collide with each other.
Specifically, in side forming which uses the cam mechanism 10, the cam 11 acts in accordance with the movement of the press ram, so that the inserted length of the punch 20 provided on the cam 11 is maximum when the press ram arrives at a bottom dead point. Next, when the press ram moves to a top dead point, the punch 20 is removed from the crankpin portion. Due to this, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, when a hole portion 44 is formed to each crankpin portion of crankshaft 40 which is used for four cylinders and has a full counterweight structure, punches 21 and 22 collide with each other, and punches 23 and 24 collide with each other (as shown in a portion surrounded by a dotted line in FIG. 8). As a result, during one stroke of the press ram from the top dead point to the bottom dead point, plural hole portions, which are positioned such that the punches for forming of them interfere with each other, cannot be formed. Reference numerals 41 and 42 denote a journal shaft portion and a crank arm portion.

Production apparatus and production method for crankshaft


The disclosure presents a technique for predicting the composition of a borehole mud using a thermal conductivity parameter of the mud and a dilution liquid. The mud can be altered by conditions within the borehole, such as material, fluid, and temperature affecting the original mud composition pumped into the borehole location. The mud can be an oil-based, water-based, or another type of mud of a well system. The technique can extract a measured quantity of mud and place it into a mud container. A first thermal conductivity parameter can be calculated for the extracted mud. A dilution liquid can be mixed into the extracted mud in the mud container and a second thermal conductivity parameter calculation can be performed. From the calculated first and second thermal conductivity parameters, the composition of the mud, as well as the fractional proportions of the major components of the mud, can be predicted and computed.

In hydrocarbon well systems, a mud is often used to facilitate the drilling of the borehole or the extraction of hydrocarbons, such as with an injection well system. The original mud pumped into the borehole can be altered by various processes within the borehole, such as interactions with the hydrocarbons, other fluids in the borehole, entrainment of drill solids, and absorption by the surrounding subterranean formations. The altered mud may not maintain the properties or characteristics desired by the well system operators.
Currently, a retort process is typically used downhole to compute the altered mud composition. The altered mud composition can then be communicated to a well site controller or engineer for further analysis and adjustments, such as modifying the composition of the original mud as specified in the well site job plan. The retort process can take a significant amount of time to complete, such as thirty minutes or more. In addition, the loss of water during the process can skew the results. Cleaning the mud container after a retort can be problematic. A faster and more efficient means for determining the altered mud composition would be beneficial in reducing the processing time and allow for the determination process to run more frequently than with the retort process.


A system interconnecting facility is connected to a power system, and includes a plurality of power converters connected to the power system, a plurality of transformers provided between the power system and the power converters, a plurality of switches provided between the transformers and the power converters, and a controller that controls the opening and closing of the switch. The controller outputs, to the switches, open and close commands in so that the number of closed switches is out of a closed switch number range where a harmonic voltage of the system interconnecting facility increases, based on a harmonic voltage containing rate characteristic that is a relation between the number of closed switches and a harmonic voltage containing rate of the system interconnecting facility. The system interconnecting facility is capable of suppressing a harmonic voltage even if a circuit structure differs depending on a situation.

In recent years, in order to introduce natural energy power generation, large scaling of distributed-type power supplies, such as solar light power generation facilities and wind power generation facilities, and battery systems for power fluctuation suppression or for peak shifting are advancing. Such distributed-type power supplies and battery systems are interconnected to a power system of, for example, an electricity power company via system interconnecting facilities.
System interconnecting facilities are facilities for electric power interchange between the distributed-type power supply and the battery system, and the power system, and include equipment, such as a transformer, a switch, and a power converter. The system interconnecting facilities interchanges power by mainly discharging power to the power system when connected to the distributed-type power supplies, and charges and discharges power between the power system when connected to the battery system.

Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation


Photovoltaic panels may be aggregated in various ways and may be aggregated with the use of a backplane where the backplane comprises electrical connectors positioned to electrically connect the PV panels. The PV panels may have various sizes and shapes and may overlap one or more other PV panels or PV panels being aggregated.

Photovoltaic (PV) cells, commonly known as solar cells, are devices for conversion of solar radiation into electrical energy. Generally, solar radiation impinging on the surface of, and entering into, the substrate of a solar cell creates electron and hole pairs in the bulk of the substrate. The electron and hole pairs migrate to p-doped and n-doped regions in the substrate, thereby creating a voltage differential between the doped regions. The doped regions are connected to the conductive regions on the solar cell to direct an electrical current from the cell to an external circuit. When PV cells are combined in an array such as a PV module, the electrical energy collected from all of the PV cells can be combined in series and parallel arrangements to provide power with a certain voltage and current.
Photovoltaic modules regularly contain a border frame, one or more photovoltaic panels, and support electronics. PV modules are often mounted in groupings on a roof or other support structure. Their output is often aggregated and provided to a local load or the power grid. Installation of these groupings can be time consuming and labor intensive, requiring many in-field soldered electrical connections, which are subject to error during installation, and deterioration over time.


Detachably connecting a snow plow assembly (20) to a vehicle (22). The snow plow assembly includes a vehicle mount frame (28) and a lift assembly (30). The mount frame is for connecting to a vehicle frame (26) behind a front bumper (24). The lift assembly includes an A-frame (42) and a lift frame (44) with the forward end (70) of the A-frame for supporting a snow blade (40). Means (75) is provided for pivotally connecting a rear end (74) of the A-frame to the lift frame so that the A-frame is free to rotate relative to the lift frame. Additional means (82) is provided for releasably connecting the lift frame to the mount frame whereby the lift assembly can be attached to or detached from the mount frame as a single unit while leaving the mount frame connected to the vehicle. Preferred embodiments include connecting means (82) being provided with a U-shaped channel (84) having means (88) for horizontally aligning the mount frame relative to the channel when attaching the lift frame to the mount frame, the mount frame provided with means (96) for vertically guiding the U-shaped channel into a slot (104) on the mount frame, the mount frame being connected to the channel by a retractable spring pin (86) and the lift frame including an actuator (56) for raising and lowering the A-frame and the snow blade.

The invention relates generally to a snow plow assembly for mounting on a vehicle. More particularly, the invention relates to attachment and detachment of a lift assembly to the vehicle as a single unit.
It is desirable to provide a snow plow assembly with a mechanism affording attachment and detachment to a vehicle. The vehicle owner may wish to remove the snow blade during times when the need for plowing snow arises infrequently or when the vehicle is used for purposes other than plowing snow.
Conventional detachable snow plow assemblies generally provide a mount frame for permanent attachment to a frame of the vehicle, a snow blade attached to an A-frame which, in turn, can be releasably connected to the mount frame and an actuator for raising and lowering the A-frame. The mount frame is located on the front end of the vehicle generally behind the vehicle front bumper. The A-frame and attached snow plow generally are removable from the vehicle but the actuator, usually a relatively heavy hydraulic unit, normally remains attached to the vehicle. Leaving the actuator on the vehicle, when the remainder of the snow plow assembly is removed, exposes the actuator to the elements and possible damage. The permanently mounted, relatively heavy actuator also places the front of the vehicle under additional loading and can reduce the operational life of the vehicle suspension. Leaving the actuator on the vehicle also reduces fuel efficiency of the vehicle.
When plowing snow, it sometimes is desirable to push the snow into a pile. The A-frame of the snow plow assembly must be free to pivot upwardly relative to the vehicle so that the snow blade attached to the A-frame can rise up the slope of the snow pile. Another problem with conventional detachable snow plow assemblies is that the mounting frame and components supported thereby are located in a position interfering with the free upward movement of the A-frame, thereby diminishing the capacity of the snow plow lift assembly to pile snow.
Another problem associated with conventional snow plow assemblies is that the attachment and detachment of the assembly to the vehicle can require lifting of the A-frame and connection of various elements of the snow plow assembly to a mount frame. Such lifting, attachment and detachment of the snow plow assembly can be cumbersome and difficult.
Patent application Ser. No. 07/686,123; incorporated herein by reference, discloses a snow plow assembly overcoming most of the aforesaid problems. The snow plow assembly, including an actuator, is releasably disconnected from a vehicle mount frame as a single unit with the mount frame remaining connected to the vehicle. None of the mount frame extends forward of the vehicle bumper. Nevertheless, a disadvantage associated with having the mount frame attached to the underside of the vehicle at a position behind the vehicle bumper is one of poor operator visibility when mounting the snow plow assembly to the vehicle. With the snow plow assembly supported on the ground surface, the operator maneuvers the vehicle until it appears the vehicle mount frame is aligned with a mounting clevis on the lift assembly. The operator then drives the vehicle forward until the mount frame engages the mounting clevis. Unless an assistant operator is available, the operator then must get out of the vehicle and visually check to determine if the mount frame and mounting clevis are aligned. If not, the operator continues maneuvering the vehicle until alignment occurs.
Accordingly, there remains a need to provide a snow plow lift assembly allowing removal of all structural elements forward of the vehicle bumper as a single unit when the lift assembly is detached from the vehicle but provides easy alignment by a single operator when being attached to the vehicle. There also remains a need to provide a snow plow lift assembly which requires neither manual lifting when being attached or detached from the vehicle nor a heavy lift frame. There further remains a need to provide a snow plow lift assembly which allows easy access to all mechanisms requiring manual operation and has no removable parts.


An image sensor includes a plurality of pixel cells organized into rows and columns of a pixel array. A bit line is coupled to each of the pixel cells within a line of the pixel array. Readout circuitry is coupled to the bit line to readout the image data from the pixel cells within the line. The readout circuitry includes a line amplifier coupled to the bit line to amplify the image data and first and second sample and convert circuits coupled in parallel to an output of the line amplifier to reciprocally and contemporaneously sample the image data and convert the image data from analog values to digital values.

Image sensors have become ubiquitous. They are widely used in digital still cameras, cellular phones, security cameras, medical devices, automobiles, and other applications. The technology used to manufacture image sensors, and in particular complementary metal-oxide semiconductor ("CMOS") image sensor ("CIS"), has continued to advance at a great pace. Modern image sensor applications place demands for faster processing speeds and better image quality, while simultaneously expecting miniaturization in the physical size of the image sensor. So new architectures need to be developed to improve the performance of image sensor circuits to keep place with these demands.
One option to improve performance of image sensor circuits is to improve the readout circuit for the pixel array of the image sensor. FIG. 1A is a functional block diagram illustrating an image sensor 100. Image sensor 100 includes a pixel array 110 including pixel cells 111, 112, 113 and 114, control circuitry 120, readout circuitry 130 and function logic 140. After each pixel has acquired its image data or image charge, the image data is read out to readout circuitry 130 via bit line 115. The image data from pixel cells 111, 112, 113 and 114 is readout via bit line 115 one at a time via a column amplifier 131 and then transferred to a sample and convert circuit 132. From there, it is coupled to function logic 140 via readout line 141. Function logic 140 may simply store the digital image data and/or manipulate the digital image data by applying post image effects (e.g., crop, rotate, remove red eye, adjust brightness, adjust control, or otherwise).
FIG. 1B is a functional block diagram illustrating greater detail of readout circuit 130. Bit line 115 couples pixel cells of a given column within pixel array 110 to column amplifier 131. Switch 151 selectively couples column amplifier 131 to sampling capacitor 152 and analog-to-digital converter ("ADC") 154. The output of ADC 154 is coupled to function logic 140 to store digital pixel values corresponding to digital pixel signals. In this readout architecture, separate sample and conversion periods are required to read out each pixel cell in the bit line. However, the sample and conversion periods are serialized, as illustrated in FIG. 1C. Since, column amplifier 131 and switch 151 are idle during the serialized conversion periods for each pixel cell row, the total readout speed of each column of pixel array 110 is limited.

Image sensor with pipelined column analog-to-digital converters


The invention is a method for pulse position modulating signals which are synchronized to clocked bit periods using a clock comprising the steps of generating two, three or n signals to mark the presence of digital ones during corresponding n time slots occurring during the same bit period. The two, three or n signals are combined into a single data channel to utilize abrupt phase changes of pulses in a carrier signal at a carrier frequency, the phase changes having a very short duration to mark the presence of digital ones only. The combination of the n signals into a single data channel comprises gating each of the n signals in a sequence of serially delayed time slots corresponding to each of the n signals during a portion of the same bit period in the single data channel during time positions reserved for unexpressed zeroes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method whereby the data rate that can be passed through a single radio frequency channel using phase shift or missing cycle modulation can be effectively doubled without increasing the bandwidth of the channel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
"Digital Modulation Device in A System And Method of Using the Same". U.S. Pat. No. 6,445,737, which issued to the present inventor, and which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a modulation method which transmits a single radio frequency with phase changes at bit period intervals in one to three cycles of the carrier frequency. The modulation is accomplished by either reversing the RF phase for one or more cycles, or by removing one or more cycles from the RF frequency which is transmitted. The method is described as 'Pulse Position Phase Reversal Keying' (PPPRM) or (3PRK), or as 'Missing Cycle Modulation' (MCM).
The spectrum of these modulation methods is a single frequency line containing more than 95% of the transmitted energy, plus a plurality of sinx/x spectral lines which spread over a wide bandwidth containing less than 5% of the radiated energy. The sinx/x spikes do not contain any useful phase modulation information and can be removed by filtering.
The detector circuit detects the missing cycle, or phase change pulse, or the reversing phase cycle. The detected output is a very narrow pulse one to three RF cycles wide.
The pulses are created in a modulation circuit shown in FIG. 1 that creates a pulse one RF cycle wide at the RF frequency on the rising edge of the data rate clock. This pulse (at time 1) is created only for a digital one. If a digital zero is to be represented, a delay is inserted to cause the zero pulse to occur late (at time 2) with respect to the clock. A decoding circuit utilizes this pulse delay as an indication of a digital one or zero.
In FIG. 1, the pulses for a digital one pass through gates 11 and 12 to the one shot generator 15. The one shot generator 15 creates a pulse having a time duration of one or two RF cycles. This is then applied to a modulator. If phase reversal keying is to be used, the XOR gate 16 is used. If the pulse is to be removed, the AND gate 17 is used. A digital zero passes through gates 13, 14 and 12, to cause a pulse delayed by one bit period plus a small delay amount.
It is not necessary to transmit a pulse representing a zero, since the decoding circuitry (FIG. 2) responds only to the digital ones. A sequence of 10000000100-bits would have a pulse for the 1's, followed by a period of seven bit periods where there would be no alteration in the RF cycles. The decoder recognizes the phase shifts representing the ones, and the RF cycles in which there is no change will be decoded as zeros. The presence of a digital one sets the data clock. If there is a pulse at the start of the data clock, the data is decoded as a one. If there is no pulse the information is read and decoded as a zero.

Apparatus and method for data rate multiplication


A computing device, including a processor configured to receive a plurality of database entries. The plurality of database entries may include a first portion organized according to a predefined database schema and a second portion not organized according to the predefined database schema. The processor may be further configured to generate an estimated database schema for the second portion and organize the second portion according to the estimated database schema. The processor may be further configured to determine at least one database entry included in the first portion that does not have the estimated data type indicated in the estimated database schema. The processor may be further configured to modify the estimated database schema such that the modified data type matches the estimated data type of the at least one database entry. The processor may be further configured to generate a database analytics model based on the modified database schema.

Workplace analytics application programs allow data on members and groups within an organization, such as employees and departments at a workplace, to be collected and analyzed. The data used as an input for a workplace analytics application program may include data that is automatically collected from other application programs. In addition, the input data may include data entered by a user of the workplace analytics application program separately from the automatic collection.

Generating estimated database schema and analytics model


A method is provided for detecting at least one fitness related activity is provided. Data is obtained from at least one sensor of a wearable device, wherein the at least one sensor detects the data based on at least one body movement of a user wearing the wearable device. Based on the obtained data, the at least one fitness related activity is detected from a set of fitness related activities, wherein the detection is performed without pre-training by the user for the detecting.

Activity trackers, also known as fitness trackers, are devices that track fitness related metrics, such as distance walked or run, calorie consumption, and in some cases, heartbeat and quality of sleep. The term activity tracker is often used in the context of and interchangeably with smart watches that are synced, in many cases wirelessly, to a computer or smartphone for long-term data tracking. Over the years, activity trackers have developed from primitive smart watches capable of telling wearers the time and how many steps they have taken, to highly advanced activity trackers with heart rate monitors, calorie counters and the ability to detect different types of sporting activities ranging from running and spinning to playing cricket or lifting weights.

Automated activity detection and tracking