A dual-band receiver for a wireless communication device having multi-slot capability. A first oscillator generates a relatively high frequency traffic LO signal. A second oscillator generates a first relatively low frequency signal, and a third oscillator generates a fixed low frequency signal. A first mixer mixes the first and fixed low frequency signals to produce a relatively high frequency monitor LO signal. A switch selects the traffic LO signal when the receiver is in a traffic slot and the monitor LO signal when the receiver is in a monitor slot. The selected LO signal is provided to a second mixer along with the received signal to produce a first IF signal. A third mixer mixes the first IF signal and the fixed frequency signal to produce an output signal.

The present invention relates generally to radio or wireless communications and, more particularly, relates to a multi-band receiver having multi-slot capability.
Wireless or radio frequency (RF) communication systems are an integral component of the ongoing technology revolution and are evolving at an exponential rate. Many wireless communication systems are configured as xe2x80x9ccellularxe2x80x9d systems, in which the geographic area to be covered by the cellular system is divided into a plurality of xe2x80x9ccellsxe2x80x9d. Mobile communication devices or stations (e.g., wireless telephones, pagers, personal communications devices and the like) in the coverage area of a cell communicate with a fixed base station or transmitter within the cell. Low power base stations are utilized, so that frequencies used in one cell can be re-used in cells that are sufficiently distant to avoid interference. Hence, a cellular telephone user, whether mired in traffic gridlock or attending a meeting, can transmit and receive phone calls so long as the user is within a cell served by a base station.
The communication format used in most wireless communications systems is a high-frequency carrier waveform modulated by low frequency or xe2x80x9cbasebandxe2x80x9d audio or data signals. Mobile stations (wireless handsets, for example) within a wireless communication system typically have a transmitter that xe2x80x9cmodulatesxe2x80x9d baseband signals (e.g., speech detected by the handset microphone) onto the carrier waveform. Amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation (FM) techniques, for example, are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Mobile stations also typically have a receiver that xe2x80x9cdemodulatesxe2x80x9d the carrier waveform to extract the baseband signal. The carrier waveforms required for modulation and demodulation are high frequency, periodic waveforms and are typically generated by oscillators within the transmitter and receiver.
The available frequency spectrum is distributed among the cellular base stations according to a frequency plan. In a GSM network, for example, the transmission band covers 880-915 MHz and the receiving band covers 925-960 MHz (see detailed description herein and FIGS. 2-3). The transmit and receive bands, in turn, are partitioned into 200 kHz frequency channels. Many of these channels, obviously, are reserved for the actual transmission and reception of speech or data. These channels are known as xe2x80x9ctrafficxe2x80x9d channels. Other channels are reserved for control and monitoring operations. These channels are known as xe2x80x9cbroadcastxe2x80x9d channels. Information may be exchanged in slots tuned to broadcast channels about, for example, whether a hand over to a neighboring cell should be performed, or which traffic channel the mobile station should tune to next.
GSM networks use a time-division multiple access (TDMA) architecture. Each channel (within the transmit and receive bands) is available to multiple users, but at different times. In one TDMA implementation, each channel is subdivided in time into eight time slots. Hence, each frequency channel will be available to eight different transceivers or users at different times. Each time slot has a duration of approximately 0.577 ms (577 xcexcs), and eight time slots form a TDMA xe2x80x9cframexe2x80x9d, having a duration of 4.615 ms.
An example TDMA frame 80 having eight time slots 0-7 is illustrated in FIG. 1a. Frame 80 represents the channel/time assignments for one wireless device or mobile station. Slot zero is a traffic slot in which data is transmitted over a traffic channel, and slot three is also a traffic slot in which data is received over a traffic channel. Time slot six has been reserved as a monitor slot. In monitor slot six, the wireless device may monitor a broadcast channel for operational/control data, an adjacent cell for power information, or any other frequency on which control or operational data is exchanged.
Since the device must be tuned to different frequency channels in the traffic and monitor slots, a certain amount of resting time is required to permit retuning and settling of the oscillator. The unused or xe2x80x9crestxe2x80x9d time slots (slots 1, 2, 4 and 5 in frame 80, for example) between traffic and monitor slots are used to retune and settle the local oscillator to the next frequency channel. The tuning and settling time required in a conventional GSM receiver, in order to guarantee reprogramming of the oscillator over the frequency range extremes and locking within 100 Hz, is in the range of 840 ms (about 1.5 slots). In a frame structure such as frame 80, where the traffic and monitor slots are single and spaced apart, ample rest slots are available to accommodate this requirement.
One of the current development trends in GSM systems is xe2x80x9cmulti-slotxe2x80x9d reception and transmission. In multi-slot operation, a mobile station transmits and/or receives in multiple time slots within each TDMA frame. This is in contrast to the configuration of frame 80, in which there is only one receive and one transmit slot per frame. A multi-slot framework, by providing more receive and/or transmit slots per frame, drastically increases data transmission rates. Increased data transmission rates are particularly important for data-intensive applications such as wireless Internet access.
The present invention is directed to a mobile station having multi-slot reception capability. A TDMA frame 85 having multiple traffic and monitor slots within the receive band is shown in FIG. 1b. TDMA frame 85 has one transmit traffic slot zero, two receive traffic slots two and three, and three monitor slots four through six. Many other multiple slot assignments are of course possible. Frame 85 is just one possibility that is presented for exemplary purposes only.
Use of multiple slots is problematic in conventional receivers as there is often insufficient time to retune and settle the local oscillator when switching frequencies between traffic and monitor slots. In FIG. 1b, for example, there is only one slot available to switch from the transmit traffic channel to the receive traffic channel, and no slots are available to make the switch from the receive traffic channel to the receive monitor channel. For the latter frequency change, where adjacent slots are assigned to different frequency channels, the required oscillation frequency change must be effected virtually simultaneously.
Various attempts have been made to decrease the frequency channel switching time in order to accommodate multi-slot reception. One approach has been to increase the corner frequency of the receiver""s PLL loop filter in order to decrease the lock time of the PLL. This approach, however, decreases the utility of the filter and makes it difficult to meet spurious performance requirements. Another approach is to use fractional-N type architectures, which permit use of higher PLL reference and corner frequencies. Fractional-N architectures, however, still pass high levels of phase noise and, though they provide quicker lock times, they do not provide the speed that is necessary for instantaneous switching. Another approach is to simply use separate high frequency oscillators in the receiver for the traffic and monitor channels. This approach, though providing the necessary speed, is too costly to make its implementation feasible.
The present invention provides a multi-band receiver for a wireless communication device that has enhanced multi-slot reception capability. The inventive receiver provides virtually instantaneous frequency channel switching by mixing a pre-existing oscillation resource with an added low frequency oscillator. The added oscillator and mixer elements are inexpensive, can be integrated with the pre-existing components on one IC, and contribute a minimal amount of current drain to the receiver.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a receiver is provided. An antenna receives an Rx signal, and a first oscillator generates a relatively high frequency traffic LO signal. Second and third oscillators generate first and second relatively low frequency signals. A first mixer mixes the first and second relatively low frequency signals to produce a relatively high frequency monitor LO signal. A second mixer mixes either the traffic or monitor LO signal with the Rx signal to produce a first IF signal. A third mixer mixes the first IF signal and the second relatively low frequency signal to produce an output signal.
In one implementation, the receiver is a dual band receiver and the Rx signal is within a 925-960 MHz bandwidth for GSM operation or an 1805-1880 MHz for DCS operation. The traffic LO signal is within a 1325-1380 MHz (GSM) or 1405-1480 MHz (DCS) bandwidth. The first relatively low frequency signal is within a 554.2-589.2 MHz (GSM) or a 634.2-709.2 MHz (DCS) bandwidth, and the second relatively low frequency signal has a fixed frequency of 770.8 MHz. In a further implementation, a switch is provided for switching between the traffic and monitor LO signals.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides a wireless communication device. The device includes a microphone for capturing audio acoustic signals and converting the acoustic signals into electric signals, and a speaker for converting electric signals into audio acoustic signals. An antenna is provided for wireless transmission and reception of acoustic or data signals, and a transmitter is provided for transmitting acoustic or data signals over the antenna. A processor directs the overall operation of the device.
The communication device also includes a receiver. The receiver has a high frequency oscillator that generates a traffic signal and two low frequency oscillators. A first mixer mixes the signals from the two low frequency oscillators to generate a monitor signal. A second mixer mixes a received signal from the antenna with either the traffic or monitor signal from a switch to generate an IF signal. A third mixer mixes the IF signal with a signal from one of the low frequency oscillators to generate an output signal. In one implementation, the IF signal is mixed with a fixed low frequency signal.
The present invention also provides a method for wireless, multi-slot signal reception. The method includes the steps of:
generating a relatively high frequency traffic LO signal;
generating a first relatively low frequency signal;
generating a second relatively low frequency signal;
mixing the first and second relatively low frequency signals to generate a relatively high frequency monitor LO signal;
receiving an Rx signal in a traffic slot or a monitor slot of a TDMA frame;
mixing the Rx signal with the traffic LO signal if the Rx signal is received in the traffic slot to generate a first IF signal;
mixing the Rx signal with the monitor LO signal if the Rx signal is received in the monitor slot to generate the first IF signal; and
mixing the first IF signal with the one of the low frequency signals to generate an output signal.
Objects and advantages of the present invention include any of the foregoing, singly or in combination. Further objects and advantages will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, or will be set forth in the following disclosure.

Multi-band receiver having multi-slot capability


The present invention relates to a method and system for mobile location estimation in which range measurements between the mobile station and a base station are discriminated as being either from a base station which is line of sight with the mobile station or a base station that is non-line of sight with the mobile station. Non-line of sight error present in range measurements from base stations that are non-line of sight with the mobile station is corrected. A reconstructed line of sight range measurement is established from the correction of the non-line of sight error. The reconstructed line of sight range measurement can be used with range measurements of base stations determined to be line of sight for accurately locating the mobile station.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and system for mobile station location estimation in which base stations that are in line of sight of the mobile station and base stations that are not in the line of sight of the base station can be determined. Errors in base station signals generated from determined non-line of sight base stations are reduced for providing improved mobile station location estimation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mobile location estimation determines a geographical estimate of the location of a mobile station. Mobile location estimation is useful in management of fleets of mobile stations, location dependent information services, location dependent billing services and Emergency 911 location of a mobile station. Enhanced 911 is designed to automatically forward the number of a caller to a public safety answering point (PSAP). In implementing enhanced 911 in a wireless network, wireless service providers provide two dimensional location of the vehicle to the public safety answering point (PSAP). The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has regulated by the year 2001 that wireless service providers have the capability of locating callers in two dimensions within 125 meters 67% of the time.
One conventional method for locating a mobile station in two dimensions would use the measurement of the line of sight distance between the mobile station and at least three base stations. U.S. Pat. No. 5,365,516 describes a method for determining the location of a transponder unit in which a radio signal is sent by the mobile station. The arrival time of the radio signal is measured at each of three base stations. Each distance measurement between the mobile station and one of the base stations can be used to generate a circle which is centered at the measuring base station. The circle has a radius which is equal to the distance between the mobile station and the base station. Accordingly, three circles are generated, one for each of the base stations. In the absence of any measurement error of the distance between the base stations and the mobile station, the intersection of the three circles unambiguously determines the location of the mobile station. This method has the drawback that the distance measurements can be corrupted by noise resulting in errors in determining the location of the mobile station.
A conventional solution for providing more accurate position estimates is to reduce the error due to noise with a least squares analysis. Accordingly, the least squares analysis provides a more accurate position estimate. This solution has the limitation of not accounting for the possibility of a lack of a direct path between the base station and the mobile station. For example, in an urban environment, a building or buildings may be in the path between the mobile station and the base station. A propagating signal between the mobile station and the base station can be reflected and defracted by the object in the path of the mobile station to the base station resulting in the signal traveling excess path lengths. The excess path lengths can be on the order of a hundred meters.
The lack of direct path between the mobile station and the base station can be defined as a non-line of sight (NLOS). The importance of detecting and reducing the NLOS measurements between a mobile station and a base station is recognized in M.I. Silventoinen, et al., "Mobile Station Locating in GSM" IEEE Wireless Communication System Symposium, Long Island N.Y., November 1995 and J. L. Caffrey et al., "Radio Location in Urban CDMA Microcells", Proceedings of the Personal, Indoor and Mobile Radio Environment, 1995.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,365,516 ('516 patent) describes an embodiment of a transreceiver locating system operating in an environment susceptible to multipath interference. The system includes a transponder which is operable within a prescribed coverage area to transmit a burst of data symbols in a coded carrier pulse. Each base station includes a receiver for detecting and responding to the data symbol at a given time, interrupting the data symbol and rejecting echoes resulting from multipath interference. A comparison circuit responds to the receiver for comparing respectively identified given times and decorrelating the time difference to improve data quality. Although the '516 patent addresses multipath interference, it does not attempt to detect base stations for reducing multipath NLOS with mobile stations.
It is desirable to provide a method and system for providing improved mobile location estimation which is robust to NLOS error.

Method and system for mobile location estimation


The inventive cosmetic pad (2) exhibiting an improved effectiveness thereof for make-up removal contains or consists of discontinuous synthetic micro staple fibers whose length is equal to or greater than 7 mm.

The invention concerns a cosmetic pad for cleaning the skin or for removing make-up, as well as for applying cosmetic products such as creams, onto the skin.
There are many different types of cosmetic pads. EP 1 106 723 A1 discloses e.g. a cosmetic pad, both surfaces of which are water-jet needled. The cosmetic pad may also comprise 0 to 30% of artificial fibers, such as viscose fibers, polyester fibers, or bicomponent fibers.
EP 0 836 842 B1 discloses cosmetic pads and the production thereof. The pads comprise hydrophilic materials such as e.g. cotton, viscose or flax and/or hydrophobic materials such as e.g. polyethylene terephtalate or polypropylene. However, cosmetic pads are preferred which consist of 100% cotton, which consist of 100% viscose, which have at least 25% viscose, the rest being cotton, which have at least 25% cotton, the rest being viscose, which have 50% viscose and 50% polyethylene terephtalate, or which have 50% viscose and 50% polypropylene. Water jet solidification is used to solidify the nonwoven fiber material.
EP 0 405 043 B1 discloses a three-layered cosmetic pad, wherein the layers consist of 100% cotton noils. The two outer layers are tightly compacted and have a honeycomb pattern on their respective visible side. The three layers are combined into a sandwich-type construction. The edge regions of at least the outer layers are preferably connected to each other.
In accordance with WO 00/76384 A1, a cosmetic pad consists of 100% cotton fibers, wherein a first layer comprises fine fibers of a thickness of between 0.7 and 1.75 denier (2 to 5 μg/pouce) and a second layer of thicker fibers, which is to form an abrasive surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,324 describes a fiber mixture of wood pulp fibers and thermoplastic microfibers having an average fiber diameter of less than 10 μm. Due to the fact that this fiber mixture is produced quasi simultaneously with spinning of the microfibers, by e.g. introducing an air flow and a cellulose fiber flow into the region of the spinning head for the microfibers, the fibers are connected and the microfibers cause fixation of the cellulose fibers i.e. in a state in which the microfibers are still at increased temperatures and not yet hardened. The microfibers therefore form matrices for the wood pulp fibers and the wood pulp fibers are embedded in a flexible i.e. not rigid manner, even with very small microfiber contents up to less than 1 weight %. Further fibers or particulate material, including synthetic fibers such as nylon fibers and natural fibers such as cotton, flax, jute, and silk may also be used.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,417 describes a nonwoven material formed of a meltblown web of matrix forming fibers with a diameter of up to about 10 μm and incorporated therein a stable fiber mixture including staple synthetic fibers and (staple) cotton fibers. The cotton fibers have a denier of 1-1.5 and the staple synthetic fibers are disclosed having a denier of 15, 6 and 3, respectively.
Due to the production of the fiber mixture quasi in situ with formation of the microfibers in the melt blown process, the microfibers lose their independence in the fiber product and are changed due to contact with the wood pulp fibers in the still molten state.
It is the object of the present invention to produce a cosmetic pad which feels very soft and still has a very high cleaning or make-up removing capability.


Systems and methods for generating search results based on non-linguistic tokens are disclosed. In embodiments, a computer-implemented method comprises: mapping, by a computing device, a non-linguistic token to documents during indexing based on associations in a token database between the non-linguistic token and variations of a multi-word term; receiving, by the computing device, the multi-word term in a search query; determining, by the computing device, the non-linguistic token associated with the multi-word term using the token database; and generating, by the computing device, search results based on the multi-word term and the non-linguistic token.

The present invention relates generally to linguistic processing arts and, more particularly, to search engines with synonym expansion utilizing non-linguistic tokens.
Search engines are increasingly utilized by people in both personal and professional contexts as a means for obtaining desired content. Search engines include programing to identify content or items in one or more databases that correspond to keywords or characters specified by a user. An enterprise search is one type of search wherein content from multiple enterprise-type sources, such as databases and intranets, are searchable by a defined audience. One example of an enterprise search engine is the Solr open source enterprise search platform that uses Apache Lucene™ Application Programming Interface (API) for full-text indexing and searching. Certain systems also utilizes Solr with a custom query builder and ranking algorithms to score semantic relationships between a given query and a Solr document.
Typically, enterprise search systems index data and documents from a variety of sources. During indexing, content from a plurality of sources is processed and saved in an index, which is optimized for quick lookups without storing the full text of the document. As part of the processing, tokenization is applied to split the content into tokens, which are the basic matching unit in a search. In use, a user search query is compared to the stored index, and the search system return results or "hits" referencing source documents that match.
Typically when an enterprise engine searches documents for matches to a compound query (i.e., a multi-word term), the query is parsed into stemmed tokens and the search performs a disjunctive search expression among each term. Thus, documents which match any of the search terms are considered matches. Typically, matching more terms is scored better than matching fewer, but the default search does not consider proximity or sequence among the terms. For example, a search from the query "Exhaust Gas Recirculation system is inop" gets processed as a disjunctive OR query for: text:exhaust text:ga text:recircul text:system text:inop. Therefore, documents which contain these terms (i.e., exhaust, ga, recircul, system, inop), in any context, are matched.

Generating search results based on non-linguistic tokens

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A common mode and differential mode inductance assembly including first and second toroidal cores wherein first and second windings are wrapped about first and second segments of the first core and the first core forms a first surface and wherein the second core forms a second surface and is positioned adjacent the first core such that the first and second surfaces oppose each other and a gap is formed between the first and second surfaces.

Not applicable.
This invention relates to filters used in power electronic devices such as switch-mode power supplies. More specifically, the invention relates to integrated-magnetic filters that provide both common-mode and differential mode inductance.
Power electronic devices generate radio frequency noise that can be conducted to output leads or back through power lines linked thereto. This noise can interfere with operation of other electronic equipment linked to the power lines or the outputs. In addition, normal operation of power electronic devices can be disturbed by noise and transients present on power supply lines. It is therefore desirable to place a filter at the input of these devices in order to provide a level of isolation between the devices and the power system.
Noise currents can be described in terms of differential-mode and common-mode noise components. Differential-mode noise components consist of currents of equal magnitude flowing in opposite directions in supply and return lines. Common-mode noise components consist of currents of equal magnitude flowing in the same direction in both the supply and return lines. The return path for common-mode currents is a ground connection.
Differential-mode noise is typically filtered by placing one or more inductors in series with the supply line, the return line or both. Common-mode noise is usually filtered by placing a pair of coupled inductors wound on the same core in series with the supply and return lines. In order to save space and reduce cost, integrated-magnetic filters which provide both common-mode and differential-mode noise attenuation have been devised.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,155,676 (the ""676 patent) teaches several different general structures that can be used to configure common mode-differential mode inductors. In
U.S. Pat. No. 5,155,676 (the ""676 patent) teaches several different general structures that can be used to configure common mode-differential mode inductors. In particular, the ""676 patent teaches one structure including a xe2x80x9cFigure 8xe2x80x9d core comprising three legs that traverse the distance between top and bottom core members. The legs and members define two windows in the core. The ""676 patent teaches that two identical windings can be provided, one on each outer leg where each winding begins at a supply side, passes from front to back through a respective window and wraps around the corresponding leg several times before ending at a load end. The windings form identical turns about the legs.
In this case, common mode noise currents in each winding pass through the respective core windows going from front to back of the core. The associated magnetic fluxes in the core add in a flux path through the outer legs, and subtract in the center leg. The net common-mode flux thus encircles both windows, with no flux in the center leg.
Differential mode noise currents, on the other hand, pass through corresponding core windows going in different directions with respect to the front and back of the core. For instance, if the differential mode current in a first winding goes from front to back, the current in the second winding passes through the other core window from back to front. Magnetic fluxes produced by the differential mode currents travel in opposite directions in the outer legs so that net differential-mode flux encircles each window, with twice the flux in the center leg as in each outer leg.
Such integrated-magnetic assemblies are often used to filter unwanted high frequency noise on conductors which carry DC power to electronic devices or equipment. Thus, these integrated-magnetic assemblies must provide filtering for common and differential noise while accommodating the differential current delivering power. In general, the larger the inductance for each mode, the larger the attenuation provided for the noise. The desire is then to increase both the differential and common-mode inductance in the integrated-magnetic assembly in order to provide increased noise attenuation. However, since the differential flux path must accommodate flux associated with power flow, while the common-mode need not, the design considerations for the two inductances are different.
The common-mode inductance in the ""676 structure described above is obtained using a flux path around both windows. The inductance associated with this path increases directly with increasing permeability of the core material in this path. For a given material, permeability is maximized if there are no air gaps in the path. Therefore, for increased noise attenuation, a common-mode flux path will be formed of high-permeability material arranged to form an un-gapped flux path.
The differential-mode inductance in an integrated-magnetic assembly like the one described in the ""676 patent is obtained using the flux path through the center leg. This magnetic flux path must accommodate the flux from the AC line or DC power without exceeding the saturation flux density of any material in the flux path. A standard practice in the design of a differential inductor is to introduce an air gap to limit the flux. An air gap increases the reluctance of the flux path (i.e., decreases the ease with which flux flows in the path). This increased reluctance allows less flux to flow for a given current in the windings, and thus helps to keep the flux density level below the saturation level of the materials, but reduces the inductance, compared to an un-gapped path. The ""676 patent teaches one structure where the center leg forms a gap as described herein.
As well known in the art, one way to increase permeability is to form the core from a plurality of laminates. To this end, one core configuration that has particularly advantageous operating characteristics includes flat steel laminates stacked to form a Figure 8 core configuration with a gap in the center leg as described above. While this solution has advantageous operating characteristics, the laminate stacking task can be labor intensive and therefore relatively expensive.
It has been recognized that all of the benefits of prior art common mode/differential mode inductance assemblies can be accomplished with a new assembly configuration that, at lest in some respects, is less expensive to produce than other configurations that operate efficiently. To this end, an exemplary embodiment of the invention includes an assembly having improved damping characteristics and comprising a first toroidal core of magnetic material having at least first and second core segments and forming a first surface, a fist winding encircling the first core segment, a second winding encircling the second core segment, the first and second winding segments wrapped in the same direction about the core segments and a second toroidal core forming a second surface and secured proximate the first toroidal core and outside the windings such that the first and second surfaces oppose each other and form an air gap there between.
In one aspect the first toroidal core provides a common mode inductance and the first and second cores and the gap provide a damped differential mode inductance.
In several embodiments the toroidal cores are secured together by an epoxy. In some designs the epoxy fills the space within the first toroidal core and may also fill the space within the second toroidal core. The epoxy may form at least one mounting aperture within the first toroidal core. The assembly may further including an insulative spacer between the first and second cores.
Thus, the epoxy can perform several functions including electrically insulating the first and second cores, providing the gap between the two cores and providing a mounting mechanism for the assembly.
Either or both of the first and second cores may include a ribbon of metallic material wrapped in torrid form. The first torrid in some embodiments is coated with an insulating varnish binder material.
In this regard, it has been recognized that the labor involved with wrapping a metallic ribbon to form a torrid is substantially less than that required to stack laminates to form a Figure 8 core or some of the other cores that have been attempted in the industry. Thus, the present invention should reduce manufacturing costs while still providing an assembly that performs effectively).
The first toroidal core may be formed about an axis and the first surface may be perpendicular to the axis. In the alternative, the first surface may be an internal surface of the first toroidal core and the second toroidal core may be positioned within the first toroidal core.
The invention also includes a method for forming an electromagnetic assembly having improved damping characteristics, the method comprising the steps of providing a first toroidal core of magnetic material having at least first and second core segments, the first toroidal core forming a first surface, winding a first winding about the first core segment, winding a second winding about the second core segment and providing a second toroidal core adjacent the first toroidal core such that a second surface formed by the second core opposes the first surface and the first and second surfaces form a gap there between.
The step of providing the second toroidal core may include providing the second toroidal core adjacent the first toroidal core. In the alternative, the step of providing the second toroidal core may include providing the second core within the first toroidal core.
These and other objects, advantages and aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following description. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which there is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention. Such embodiment does not necessarily represent the full scope of the invention and reference is made therefore, to the claims herein for interpreting the scope of the invention.

Method of configuring common mode/differential mode choke


A supporting apparatus for a display panel is provided with a post having a display panel holder and having its upper and lower ends fixed at the disposition location of the display panel. The post has a mechanism for varying the distance between the upper and lower ends thereof, thereby improving an adaptability of the display panel to the disposition or any location.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image apparatus, and more particularly to a supporting apparatus for a display panel.
2. Related Background Art
Regarding a display for use in a school room, a council chamber or the like, it is required that the space occupied by a display apparatus be decreased by the use of a plane type display and the display apparatus be made electrically movable up and down simply by the use of a motor and a worm gear. As a method of providing a supporting apparatus for a plane display in compliance with such a requirement, there has been proposed a supporting apparatus for a plane display (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-230251) as shown in FIG. 3 of the accompanying drawings.
According to this proposition, in FIG. 3, the reference numeral 31 designates a vertical post having a spiral groove, the reference numeral 32 denotes a bearing, the reference numeral 33 designates a sideways U-shaped frame, the reference numeral 34 denotes a worm wheel, the reference numeral 35 designates a DC motor, and the reference numeral 36 denotes a worm.
In this apparatus, the rotation of the DC motor 35 is transmitted to the worm 36, the rotation of which in turn is transmitted to the worm wheel 34, whereby the supporter of the display is electrically moved up and down by means of the bearing 32 and the vertical post 31 provided with the spiral groove.
This proposed supporting apparatus, however, is an apparatus adapted to be mounted on a ceiling or a wall and electrically moved up and down and therefore suffers from the disadvantage that in case where an image is appreciated on a display, the apparatus is limited in the direction in which it is seen.
Generally, a display or a screen is limited in the angle of visibility and therefore, depending on the direction in which it is seen, because of the distortion or the like of an image, including the reproducibility of colors, there is desired such a supporting (installing) apparatus as will enable the display or the screen to be looked squarely at from the front thereof as far as possible, but there has been the disadvantage that this desire cannot be satisfied.

Supporting apparatus for a display panel


An MIS transistor includes a gate electrode located to intersect a device region of a semiconductor substrate isolated by a device isolation region, and source and drain regions formed in the semiconductor substrate at both sides of the gate electrode region and elevated source and drain located above the source and drain regions. A gate length of the gate electrode at a boundary between the device isolation region and the device region is longer than the gate length at a central portion of the device region.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device including an MIS (metal-insulator-semiconductor) transistor and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Background Art
Generally, in an MIS transistor including a gate sidewall, the salicide junction leak margin is degraded due to a shallower junction of a source and drain layer. In order to prevent this, an elevated source and drain structure, in which source and drain regions are elevated above a silicon substrate using selective epitaxial growth.
However, since an MIS transistor is isolated using the STI (Shallow Trench Isolation) method, a facet is formed at the boundary between an STI (Shallow Trench Insulator) and an elevated source or drain. Because of such facets, the source and drain regions are partially deepened, resulting in that the aspect ratio between the gate length and the depth of the source and drain regions (junction depth) is smaller in a region under a facet 15a than that in the other regions in the device region. Accordingly, there is a problem in that the short channel effect of the MIS transistor is degraded further (Jie. J. Sun et al., "Impact of Epi Facets on Deep Submicron Elevated Source/Drain MOSFET Characteristics", IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRON DEVICES, VOL. 45, No. 6, June 1998).

Semiconductor device having a shaped gate electrode and method of manufacturing the same


A mapping apparatus is disclosed for showing special effects on screen images. It contains: (a) a line address generator for generating a scanning line position data for every scanning line being processed; (b) a pointer array memory for storing a plurality of attribute addresses, each of the attribute addresses, which can be repeated, being arranged to correspond to one of the scanning lines in a sequential manner; (c) an attribute array memory for storing one or more attribute entries, wherein each of the attribute entries is assigned an attribute address and contains attribute data to be associated with one or more of the scanning lines via the attribute address so as to allow special screen effects to be provided; (d) a multiplexer circuitry for multiplexing a scanning line being processed with one of the attribute entries in accordance with the attribute address corresponding to the scanning line being processed; and (e) a memory address generator for receiving output from the multiplexer means and generating a new memory address for every point of the scanning line being processed. This mapping apparatus allows a variety of special effects, such as window shiftings, reduction/enlargement, rotations, 3D effect, to be provided very cost-effectively with a very simple circuitry.

A conventional displaying apparatus for displaying an object on a screen typically comprises a line counter, which generates the starting address of each horizontal scanning line. The starting address is sent to a memory counter, wherein the addresses in the frame buffer which correspond, respectively, to the dots, or pixels, constituting the scanning line, are produced. Some display controllers are modified to provide an offset register and a starting address register. These display controllers allow horizontal as well as vertical movements of the displayed images to be effectuated. All these displaying apparatuses are based on the linear manipulation of line addresses corresponding to each scanning line.
Other types of display controllers are also widely used for raster scanning type displays. For example, an image-type display controller has been in TV game equipment for controlling its CRT display. In one of such displays, the CRT is divided into picture (i.e., "image" or "object") elements in an array of 256.times.256 dots. A character consisting of 8.times.8 dots can be displayed in 32.times.32 locations on the screen. A circuit configuration of this type typically comprises a character ROM and a buffer RAM. The buffer RAM has 32.times.32 addresses and one address of the buffer RAM corresponds to a position on the screen of the display. When a character is required to be displayed at a position on the screen, a character number thereof (i.e., corresponding to the character) stored in the character ROM must be stored in one address of the buffer RAM corresponding thereto. During the horizontal scanning on the display, one address of the buffer RAM is selected and one byte at every horizontal scanning is read out from the character ROM as the displayed data.
The image-type display controller described above was modified by Murauchi in U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,270, in which the screen resolution of the CRT was increased to 1024 dots by 256 lines (i.e., the horizontal direction is divided in dots four times as many as the former case). In the display controller disclosed by Murauchi, the character ROM stores the display data of one image in 8.times.8 bits as usual, and the buffer RAM also has a capacity of 32.times.32 addresses as usual and each address thereof corresponds to the position on the screen display. The horizontal address of the buffer RAM is renewed at every 50 nanoseconds and the vertical address thereof is renewed four times in one horizontal blanking period and twice in one vertical blanking period. Start address data for locating the position of the image on the display is loaded into vertical address and horizontal address counters which are then incremented by a carry output from horizontal and vertical adders, respectively. The adders for the vertical and horizontal addresses repeat adding operations according to predetermined addend data. By setting appropriate addend data, the size of the characters and the associated image on a CRT screen can be enlarged or reduced with respect to a normal size.
Prior to the '270 patent of Murauchi, a device called VCO (voltage controlled oscillator) was taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,107,665, in which the oscillation frequency thereof is changed in response to a data from a CPU and the address counter is incremented synchronously with the oscillation output. The higher the oscillation frequency of the VCO, the smaller the object displayed on the screen. Conversely, the longer the oscillation period of the VCO, the longer the addressing time, and thus the larger the size of the displayed object.
While the enlargement/reduction technique taught by the '270 patent is applicable to a displayed screen image, the voltage controlled oscillator developed in the '655 patent can be applied to the entire screen. However, since the ratio of image enlargement and reduction of the voltage controlled oscillator of the '655 patent is exactly the changing rate of the frequency, and the range of the frequency rate change is limited by the capacitor circuit, the enlargement and reduction ratio cannot be increased to a satisfactory extent. Furthermore, neither of the display control apparatus disclosed in the '270 and '655 can be applied on a scanning line basis.

Mapping apparatus for use with a cathode-ray tube controller for generating special screen effects

Industrial Technology Research Institute


In an embodiment of the invention, a metal shield case and a metal shutter are electrically conducted to each other by using a contact part and are made to have the same potential. By this, the shutter does not electrically exert a bad influence on detection accuracy of a surface potential sensor, the closing performance of the shutter is improved, and the miniaturization or reduction in cost of the surface potential sensor can be realized.

In general, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the quality of an image formed on a photoreceptor is improved by controlling an image forming process such as charging to a photoreceptor, exposure, and development. There is an apparatus in which the control of this image forming process is performed based on detection results from a detection sensor to detect the surface potential of the photoreceptor. Such a detection sensor detects the surface potential of the photoreceptor by, for example, a detection electrode in which electric charge is induced by the electrostatic induction of the photoreceptor. In order to prevent the electric charge induced in the detection electrode from being influenced by an external electric field, the detection electrode is covered with a metal shield case having a detection window. When scattering toner or the like enters the metal shield case, there is a fear that erroneous detection occurs, or the detection sensor is damaged.
Thus, hitherto, it is general that the surface potential detecting sensor is disposed at the upstream side of the developing process where there is less influence of the scattering toner.
However, in a tandem-type image forming apparatus including respective process units of charging, developing and the like which act on plural photoreceptors, miniaturization of the process units is required. Thus, in the tandem-type image forming apparatus, due to limitation in layout, there is a case where the detection sensor must be disposed at the downstream side of the developing process, where the influence of scattering toner is liable to occur. In this case, it is necessary to provide a shutter on a detection window in order to prevent that the scattering toner enters the metal shield case through the detection window of the detection sensor, and erroneous detection occurs or the detection sensor is damaged. However, when the shutter for opening and closing the detection window of the shield case is provided, there is a fear that the charging state of the shutter exerts a large influence on the detection sensor, output variation occurs in the detection electrode, and the surface potential of the photoreceptor is erroneously detected.
Then, it is desired to develop a surface potential detecting device of an image forming apparatus, which can accurately detect the surface potential of the photoreceptor without being influenced by a shutter.

Surface potential detecting device of image forming apparatus


A method, a computer program product and a device for requesting access to a node (BS) of a wireless communications network (10) are described. In the network (10) identification codes are used to differentiate access requests of different network components (UE). The method comprises the step of determining information about a transmission path (12) to e.g. the network node (BS), the step of determining an identification code in dependence on the determined transmission path information, wherein previously an association between identification codes and transmission path information has been established, and the step of modulating the selected identification code onto a signal to generate an access request signal carrying transmission path information.

Modern wireless communications networks employ different access techniques when a first network component intends to access a second network component. As an example for such access techniques the so-called random access (RA) scheme can be mentioned. The name "random access" indicates that access requests are generated in a random manner from the point of view of a network component receiving the access requests.
An exemplary RA scheme is specified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) in section 6 of the 3GPP document TS 25.214, Version 4.4.0 (2002-03) titled "Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Physical Layer Procedures (FDD); Release 4". Another exemplary RA scheme has been defined by standardization bodies for the Global System of Mobile Communications (GSM).
In RA schemes there may arise the situation that several network components simultaneously try to access a specific further network component, i.e. that access requests of different network components "collide". Such collisions are detrimental to the quality of service since they result in access delays, message losses, etc. Consequently, various techniques have been introduced to avoid or reduce the detrimental effects of collisions inherent in RA schemes.
For example it has been proposed to implement slotted repetition schemes according to which a specific network component repeatedly transmits its access request until it receives an acknowledgement from another network component. Furthermore, collisions may be avoided or reduced by providing a technique that allows to differentiate between access requests of different network components. To that end each access request may comprise a particular identification code, also called "random discriminator" (GSM) or "signature" (3GPP), which allows a network component that receives two or more access requests simultaneously to discriminate between random access requests of different network components. A third way of reducing collisions inherent in RA schemes is to group the network components into specific access classes. The definition of such access classes allows to prohibit whole populations of network components the transmission of access requests based on their membership to a specific access class.
All these mechanisms help to avoid or reduce access delays and other detrimental effects of colliding access requests typical for RA schemes. However, such collisions are not the only source of e.g. access delays. Another source are for example too low power levels of the access request signals. Too high power levels, however, unnecessarily increase the overall interference level and reduce the system capacity.
This demonstrates the need for efficient power control mechanisms. In general, power control refers to the possibility to control within a specific range the transmit power of individual network components. An exemplary power control mechanism for the transmission of access request signals within RA schemes is described in Matthias Schulist, Georg Frank, "Link Level Performance Results for a WCDMA Random Access Scheme with Preamble Power Ramping and Fast Acquisition Indication", Proc. of VTC'99.-Fall. According to this power control mechanism a specific network component repeatedly transmits its access request signal using a power ramping technique. Starting at a properly chosen initial power level, successive access request signals are transmitted at increasing power levels until they are detected by a network component which has the task of access management.
In response to receipt of an access request signal the network component having the task of access management has to signal to the network component which issued the request whether the request is granted or denied. To this end an access control signal has to be generated and transmitted.
To choose an appropriate transmit power level for the access control signal is an operator's choice which influences the capacity of the network component that transmits the access control signal. In order to ensure a sufficiently high detection probability of the access control signal, the access control signal will usually be sent at a comparatively high transmit power level.
There is a need for an effective signaling mechanism between a network component requesting access to a node of a wireless communications network and another network component controlling the access.

Requesting and controlling access in a wireless communications network


A control apparatus for a drive system of a vehicle includes (a) an electrically controlled differential portion having a differential state between rotating speeds of an input and an output shaft being controlled by controlling an operating state of a first electric motor, (b) a switching portion operable to switch a power transmitting path between the output shaft and a drive wheel of the vehicle, between a power transmitting state and a power cut-off state, and (c) a second electric motor connected to the power transmitting path. The control apparatus includes an excessive speed preventing portion configured to limit a rotating speed of the output shaft or an operating speed of the second electric motor when the power transmitting path is switched by the switching portion from the power transmitting state to the power cut-off state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a control apparatus for a vehicular drive system, and more particularly to a control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle drive system including an electric motor, which control apparatus is configured to prevent excessive speeds of rotary elements such as the electric motor.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
There is known a hybrid type vehicle including (a) an electrically controlled differential portion including a differential mechanism, a first electric motor operatively connected to a rotary element of the differential mechanism, a drive power source, an input shaft connected to the drive power source, and an output shaft, a differential state between rotating speeds of the input and output shafts being controlled by controlling an operating state of the first electric motor, and (b) a second electric motor connected to a power transmitting path between the output shaft and drive wheels of the hybrid type vehicle. JP-2005-264762A discloses an example of a control apparatus for such a hybrid type vehicle. This publication discloses a technique for operating the first and second electric motors in the same direction upon starting of the drive power source in the form of an engine, to rapidly raise the operating speed of the engine to a level at which the engine can be started by ignition.
According to the control apparatus for the vehicular drive system as disclosed in the above-identified publication, the rotating speed of the output shaft of the electrically controlled differential portion may become excessively high exceeding a permissible maximum value in the absence of a load acting on the output shaft, when the power transmitting path is switched to a power cut-off state in the form of a neutral state during high-speed running of the vehicle. When the rotating speed of the output shaft of the electrically controlled differential portion becomes excessively high, not only an input rotary member of the power transmitting path connected to the output shaft, but also the second electric motor connected to the input rotary member are rotated at excessively high speeds, giving rise to a risk of deterioration of the durability of the input rotary member and second electric motor.

Control apparatus for vehicular drive system


A cushion pad for shows includes a top plate, a bottom plate and a flexible mediate portion connected between the top plate and the bottom plate. The flexible mediate portion includes a plurality of straight plates perpendicularly connected to the top plate and the bottom plate, and a serrated plate is connected between the straight plates extending from the top plate and the bottom plate.

One of the conventional cushion members for shoes is a bladder which is inserted in the shoe sole and air in the bladder is compressible so as to absorb shocks and the weight of the wearer. Nevertheless, the bladder is not air-permeable so that the foot in the shoe is suffered by sweater and heat. Besides, once the bladder is broken, the function is completely gone and the bladder cannot be replaced so that the wearer has to discard the shoes. The bladders require special equipment to manufacture and this means a high manufacturing cost is involved.
The present invention intends to provide a cushion pad that is easily to be manufactured and includes a plurality of flexible members clamped between a top plate and a bottom plate. The sizes, shapes and arrangements of the flexible members can be varied according to needs.


Pesticidal compositions comprising deltamethrin and acetamiprid.

This invention relates to pesticidal compositions containing acetamiprid.
In FR 2784011 there are described mixtures of pyrethroids with a chloronicotinyl insecticide, such as imidacloprid, acetamiprid or nitenpyram. The only pyrethroid specifically disclosed is cypermethrin. U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,142 describes mixtures of chloronicotinyl insecticides and pyrethroids for termite control and discloses a mixture of acetamiprid and cyfluthrin.
We have now found that a mixture of another pyrethroid, deltamethrin, with acetamiprid has advantageous properties over the individual components and that synergism is often demonstrated.
Accordingly the present invention provides a pesticidal composition comprising
a) deltamethrin and
b) acetamiprid.
Deltamethrin is the common name for (S)-xcex1-cyano-3-phenoxybenzyl (1R,3R)-3-(2,2-dibromvinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylate and acetamiprid is the common name for E-N1-[(6-chloro-3-pyridylmethyl)]-N2-cyano-N1-methylacetamidine.
The ratios of the deltamethrin to acetamiprid vary over a wide range but are usually in the range 5:1 to 1:10, especially 1:1 to 1:5.
In addition, other pesticides may be employed in conjunction with the active ingredients described above providing they do not adversely affect the interaction between the components a) and b). For example it is sometimes useful to include additional insecticides or acaricides to extend the range of activity in order to control a wider spectrum of pests.
The combination is also useful in overcoming reduced sensitivity by a pest to either of the individual components.
The compositions of the invention are active against a wide range of pests, especially sucking pests such as Thrips spp., e.g. Ttabaci and Tpalmi, Homoptera, including aphids such as Megoura viciae and plant hoppers,such as Nilaparvata lugens and Nephotettix cincticeps, whiteflies, such as Trialeurodes vaporarorum and Bemisia tabaci, and Psylla spp., Heteroptera. e.g. bed bugs such as Cimex lectularius, and capsids, Lepidoptera, including Spodoptera spp, eg S.littoralis, Heliothis spp., eg H. armigera and H. viriscens, and Pieris brassicae; Diptera, including Musca domestica, Ceratitis capitata, Erioischia brassicae, Lucilia sericata and Aedes aegypti; Coleoptera, including Phaedon cochleariae, Anthonomus grandis and corn rootworms (Diabrotica spp. e.g. D. undecimpunctata); Orthoptera, including cockroaches, such as Blattella germanica; ticks, e.g. Boophilus microplus; lice, including Damalinia bovis and Linognathus vituli; as well as spider mites such as Tetranychus urticae and Panonychus ulmi.
The compositions of the invention may be employed in many forms and are often most conveniently prepared in aqueous form immediately prior to use. One method of preparing such a composition is referred to as xe2x80x9ctank mixingxe2x80x9d in which the ingredients in their commercially available form are mixed together by the user in a quantity of water.
In addition to tank mixing immediately prior to use the compositions containing deltamethrin and acetamiprid may be formulated into a more concentrated primary composition which is diluted with water or other diluent before use. Such compositions may comprise a surface active agent in addition to the active ingredients and examples of such compositions are as follows.
It can be a dispersible solution which comprises the active ingredients dissolved in a water-miscible solvent with the addition of a dispersing agent. Alternatively it can comprise the ingredients in the form of a finely ground powder in association with a dispersing agent and intimately mixed with water to give a paste or cream which can if desired be added to an emulsion of oil in water to give a dispersion of active ingredients in an aqueous oil emulsion.
An emulsifiable concentrate comprises the active ingredient dissolved in a water-immiscible solvent which is formed into an emulsion with water in the presence of an emulsifying agent.
A granular solid comprises the active ingredients associated with powder diluents such as kaolin, which mixture is granulated by known methods. Alternatively it comprises the active ingredients adsorbed or absorbed on a pre-granular diluent, for example Fuller""s earth, attapulgite or limestone grit.
A dispersible or wettable powder usually comprises the active ingredients in admixture with a suitable surfactant and an inert powder diluent such as china clay.
Another suitable concentrate is a flowable suspension concentrate which is formed by grinding the active ingredients with water, a wetting agent and a suspending agent.
In some circumstances it may be desirable to combine two types of formulation e.g. one of the components is present in an emulsifiable concentrate and the second components is dispersed as a powder in this concentrate.
The concentrate of the active ingredients (when used as the sole active components) in a composition for direct application to the crop by conventional ground methods is preferably within the range of 0.001 to 10 per cent by weight of the composition, especially 0.005 to 5 per cent by weight, but more concentrated compositions containing up to 40 per cent may be desirable in the case of aerial sprays.
The invention thus includes a method for controlling a pest, especially an arthropod pest, e.g. an insect pest or an Acarina pest, which comprises applying to the pest or its locus, deltamethrin and acetamiprid either together or in sequence.
Further there is provided the use of a mixture comprising deltamethrin and acetamiprid for controlling pests.
The disclosures in European patent application No. 00121924.5 from which this application claims priority, and in the abstract accompanying this application are incorporated herein by reference.
The invention is illustrated in the following Example which describe experiments in which a synergistic effect was observed. The desired concentration of the active ingredients was achieved by diluting, with water, the commercially available 25% by volume emulsifiable concentrate of deltamethrin and 20% by weight water soluble powder of acetamiprid, each of which contained conventional surfactants.


A twist beam axle for a wheel suspension of a motor vehicle. The twist beam axle has two trailing arms and a torsional profile having prismatic-shaped end sections with a noncircular cross-section. One trailing arm is connected to one torsional profile end section in each case. The trailing arms have a receiving recess having a shape corresponding to that of the outer surface of the torsional profile end section. An inwardly pressed plug is disposed in the interior of each torsional profile end section. The twist beam axle ensures permanent transfers high bending moments and torques between the trailing arms and the torsional profile without a welded joint. Different classes of materials can be used for the torsional profile and trailing arms, or can be connected to one another. The twist beam axle generally makes it possible to use large-volume, thin-walled and, therefore, weight-saving torsional profiles.

Twist beam axles of the type in question, which comprise trailing arms and a torsional profile connecting the trailing arms, are used for the suspension and wheel guidance of the rear wheels of motor vehicles. Twist beam axles have the advantage, in particular, of a simple, weight- and cost-saving design, wherein, in most cases, no additional assemblies other the trailing arms and the torsional profile are required for the wheel guidance, in particular eliminating the need for additional suspension arms. The need for an additional anti-roll stabilizer is also usually eliminated, since the function thereof is also performed by the twist beam axle.
Twist beam axles require, in particular, a fixed or rotationally fixed and loadable connection between the rigid trailing arms and the relatively soft torsional profile, which undergoes considerable twisting in the event of a unilateral spring compression of a wheel or rolling motions of the auto body. In addition, the trailing arms and the torsional profile are produced, in part, of different materials, for example of cast iron (trailing arms) or sheet steel (torsional profile).
The connection between the torsional profile and the trailing arms in twist beam axles of the type in question, which are known from EP 1 314 587 A2, for example, is typically produced by means of a welded joint. If dissimilar materials are used, however, such as cast iron and sheet steel, for example, conventional welding methods cannot be used.
In fact, the pair of materials "cast iron/sheet steel" requires special welding methods (e.g. laser welding or the Magnetarc process) and weld seam post-treatment in order to alleviate material stresses produced by welding. In order to achieve high-quality laser welding nonetheless, conventional additives and a welding process having a slow advancing speed in a protective-gas atmosphere are required. The welding machines are therefore associated with high costs and require much handling time. Moreover, laser welding with a filler material (which is typically fed in wire form) is a process that is difficult to master. In addition, in the case of cast iron with spheroidal graphite, ledeburite forms in the fusion phase. The structural constituent ledeburite constitutes an unacceptable risk for welded joints of safety-relevant parts, and therefore cannot be used for axle components.
The likewise known "Magnetarc process" (welding using an arc that is moved magnetically), is suited, in principle, for welding safety-relevant parts, since all the ledeburite formed in the fusion process is pressed out of the joining zone and into the weld bead when the components are pressed at the end of the welding process. In this case, however, post-treatment of the weld seam by means of brief tempering is required for the reformation of (unacceptable) martensite. Since the arc is preferably guided in a circle, this joining process is also suited only for certain closed contours. Furthermore, industrial applications of the Magnetarc process are limited to iron-containing components having a wall thickness of less than 6 mm.
Another general aspect of welded joints is that the structural and material properties of the weld seam are typically lower than the corresponding properties of the welded structural components. At the same time, the location of the welded joint is usually subjected to the greatest loads (this applies, in particular, for the combination of the very stiff trailing arms with the torsionally weak cross-profile in a twist beam axle). For these reasons, the weld seams on a twist beam axle are particularly critical with respect to the endurance limit, which is why the quality of the weld seams usually must be inspected, at least by means of random sampling, by means of x-ray examination or using destructive methods. Other paired materials, however—such as light metal and steel or aluminum and fiber-composite materials—cannot be welded together at all, and so, in this case, new ways of connecting the trailing arms to the torsional profile must be investigated.


The present invention relates to tinoxide thin film, a process for manufacturing thereof comprising the step of depositing tin while providing oxygen or ionized oxygen around a substrate, and relates to a gas detecting sensor prepared by the use of such tinoxide thin film.

The present invention relates to tinoxide thin film, a prototype of an n-type semiconductor, of which optical band gap is about 3.5 eV, mainly used for transparent electrodes or for detecting reductive, inflammable gases (H.sub.2, CH.sub.4, C.sub.3 H.sub.8, etc.). More specifically, the present invention relates to tinoxide thin film which satisfies nonstoichiometry/stoichiometry, respectively, the preparation thereof, and a gas-detecting sensor prepared by the use of such tinoxide thin film.
Conventional semiconductor-type gas detecting sensors are roughly divided into sintering type, thick film type and thin film type. Most inflammable gas sensors commercially available at present are bulk-type sensors prepared by a sintering process where powdery raw material is molded under pressure and then heat-treated at high temperature. However, bulk type sensors and thick film type sensors have lower sensitivity to gases compared to thin film type sensors, and are difficult to be mass-produced and require higher costs for production.
On the other hand, thin film type sensors are useful in that they can be easily prepared as microsensors, and have high sensitivity to gases.
Recently, research for developing microsensors using thin film material, particularly processes for preparing novel thin films in which rare elements can be easily doped have been extensively proceeded, because incorporation of rare elements in thin films is essential to increase the performance of sensors.
As thin films for manufacturing gas detecting sensors, tinoxide thin film is most widely used, and such tinoxide thin film should be homogeneous SnO.sub.2 type so as to allow a dopant to exhibit the performances when the doping element is added to increase the electric and/or chemical characteristics of the tinoxide thin film.
For manufacturing the tinoxide thin film, processes for manufacturing ceramic thin films by the use of chemical vapor deposition(CVD) such as plasma enhanced (PE) CVD and metal organic (MO) CVD are known. However, it is almost impossible to control the thickness, orientation, crystallinity, density, and micropores of the thin films, using these known processes.
When physical vapor deposition process such as DC or RF sputtering, ion beam sputtering or ion assisted deposition(IAD) are used, it is possible to manufacture thin films varying organo metallic materials, bias potentials, compositions of the target etc. However, in these cases, it is difficult to control the thin film properties.
Takagi et al. prepared a SnO.sub.2 thin film in a high vacuum chamber containing oxygen, using an ionized cluster beam deposition(ICBD) process [H. Takaoka, K. Matsubara and T. Takagi, Proc. 4th Symp. on Ion Sources and Ion Application Technol. Kyoto (1980), p143]. According to this process, however, the temperature of the substrate plate was as high as 400.degree. C., and the obtained thin film was polycrystalline tin oxide thin film having large amount of Sn, SnO, Sn.sub.2 O.sub.3 etc. admixed therein as well as SnO.sub.2.

Tinoxide thin film, preparation thereof, and gas detecting sensor using thereof


A polyurethane foam composition includes a polyol, a polyisocyanate, a catalyst, a foam stabilizer, a blowing agent and a fluorinated carbonate wherein the fluorinated carbonate is a compound represented by Formula 1:

1. Field
This disclosure relates to a polyurethane foam composition for the production of an environmentally friendly polyurethane thermal insulation material and a polyurethane foam derived from the polyurethane foam composition.
2. Description of the Related Art
Polyurethane foams are widely used in various industrial applications. For example, polyurethane foams are used alone or in combination with other materials to produce thermal insulation materials, lightweight structural materials and cushioning materials, taking advantage of their inherent high thermal insulation, light weight and excellent cushioning properties. Rigid polyurethane foams have lower thermal conductivity than other thermal insulation materials that are currently in commercial use. Such excellent thermal insulation properties make rigid polyurethane foams suitable for use as thermal insulation in various applications, including refrigerators, buildings and electronic products that benefit from a high degree of thermal insulation.
Numerous efforts have been made to further decrease the thermal conductivity (k-factor) of polyurethane foams. To this end attempts have been made to reduce the size of individual cells within a polyurethane foam. Cell size reduction is known to inhibit radiative heat transfer through the cells, thus lowering the thermal conductivity of the polyurethane foam, thereby improving the thermal insulation performance of the polyurethane foam.
In recent years, there has been an increased demand to develop environmentally friendly polyurethane foams. Polyurethane foams can be commercially prepared using chlorofluorocarbons ("CFCs"). CFCs are classified as being highly destructive to the environment in that they cause depletion of the earth's stratospheric ozone layer and contribute to the greenhouse effect, and their use is currently restricted.
Under these circumstances, there is a need to develop a polyurethane foam that is environmentally friendly and has excellent thermal insulation performance.

Composition for polyurethane foam and polyurethane foam prepared therefrom

Abstract: a compound represented by Formula 2:

Abstract: or a mixture thereof. Also disclosed is a polyurethane foam derived from the composition.


A cable release system includes a handle. An elongated base extends from the handle and includes a length that allows the handle to be held adjacent a cable connector distal end of a cable connector that is connected to a computing device while the elongated base extends adjacent the cable connector and an elongated base distal end of the elongated base is located adjacent a securing latch on the cable connector. An actuating member is located on the elongated base distal end of the elongated base and is configured to actuate the securing latch on the cable connector when the elongated base distal end of the elongated base is located adjacent the securing latch on the cable connector.

The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to releasing cable connectors from information handling systems.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems such as, for example, server devices, networking devices (e.g., switch devices), storage systems, and/or other computing devices known in the art, are often coupled together by cables such as fiber optic cables, Direct Attach Copper (DAC) cables, and/or other cables known in the art. For example, some conventional fiberfiber optic cables include a pair of fiberfiber optic connectors that are each configured to engage respective transceiver connectors on a transceiver device (e.g., a 10/25 GbE transceiver device) that is connected to the computing device, and a respective securing latch may be provided adjacent each fiberfiber optic connector and may be configured to engage the transceiver device to secure the fiberfiber optic connectors to the transceiver connectors. Furthermore, many fiberfiber optic cables include a "pull-tab" release mechanism that is coupled to each of the securing latches and that includes an actuator that extends away from the fiber optic connectors, and when the fiber optic connectors are engaged with the transceiver connectors with the securing latches engaged with the transceiver device to secure the fiber optic connectors to the transceiver connectors, the actuator on the "pull-tab" release mechanism may be pulled to disengage the securing latches from the transceiver device in order to allow the fiber optic connectors to be disengaged from the transceiver connectors so that the fiber optic cable may be disconnected from the computing device. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art in possession of the present disclosure, such "pull-tab" release mechanisms are particular beneficial when fiber optic cables/connectors are densely populated on the computing device such access to the securing latches on any particular cable fiber optic cable is inhibited by other fiber optic cables/connectors. However, the use of such "pull-tab" release mechanisms on conventional fiber optic cables can raise some issues.
For example, fiber optic cables that are used in computing devices provided as testing equipment in data centers, vendor test laboratories, and/or other locations, may be frequently handled and require frequent connection/disconnection from the transceiver devices discussed above, which can result is the actuator on the "pull-tab" release mechanism breaking off of the "pull-tab" release mechanism, particularly when such actuators are provided using very thin plastic materials (e.g., to reduce costs and allow the tab to be positioned between densely populated fiber optic cables/connectors that would otherwise present difficulties with regard to accessing the securing latches as discussed above). This can result in the need to disconnect fiber optic cables with broken "pull-tab" release mechanism actuators from corresponding transceiver devices, which may require an amount of force that can cause damage to the cable, the transceiver device, the transceiver connector, and/or other components, and results in support calls, system down time, and/or other costs. As such, fiber optic cables with broken "pull-tab" release mechanism actuators are often discarded, increasing cabling costs as well.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a cable release system that addresses the issues discussed above.


A networked system having a host computer and multiple printers with bi-directional communications capabilities is provided in which the setup (configuration) of one printer can be easily communicated to another printer, using NPAP messages. The host computer can be used by a Network Administrator to "read" the setup or configuration information inside each of the printers connected to the network that have the required NPAP bi-directional communications capability. This setup information, once communicated to the host computer, can be stored in a long-term memory, such as a hard disk drive, for future reference. The setup information can also be communicated to one or more printers connected to the network, and such printers can be configured by the setup information in which that information is used either as their initial setup information, or as a modified setup. The Network Administrator can use a single command that specifies precisely which printers are to receive that setup information, and all specified printers will automatically be reconfigured with the new setup.

Printers receive print data from a source, such as a single host computer, or a network that contains at least one host computer or network server. Printers that are connected to a network can serve more than one host, and a single host computer connected to a network can access more than one printer.
A recent development with respect to laser printers is the use of an internal network adapter that allows bi-directional communication with host computers over the network. Such bi-directional communication would typically be made using a protocol known as the Network Printer Alliance Protocol (NPAP) which provides a means for returning status information from a laser printer to a host computer. The bi-directional capabilities of such laser printers, particularly IBM Model 4039 Plus, manufactured by Lexmark International, Inc., are quite broad, and can be further enhanced by creating a function that allows a Systems Administrator or a Network Administrator to easily setup new printers to be added to the network.

Method and apparatus for configuring multiple printers on a network


The present invention relates to an electronic musical instrument with a fret-split function, which is used in electronic stringed instruments such as an electronic guitar, electronic violin, guitar synthesizer. Fingering areas provided on a finger-board are divided on the basis of a particular fret among a plurality of frets provided on the fingering areas. Specific tone colors are assigned to these fingering areas thus divided, respectively. Fingering operation on fingering areas to which specific tone colors are assigned allows to generate a musical tone having a tone color previously assigned.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic musical instrument which is effectively applied to electronic stringed instruments such as, for example, an electronic guitar, electronic violin, guitar synthesizer, and the like. More particularly, it relates to an electronic musical instrument having a fret-split function which is capable of assigning specific tone colors to fingering areas, respectively, divided on the basis of frets as boundaries.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of electronic stringed instruments, electronic stringed instruments with a string-split function are well known in the art. In this type of electronic stringed instruments, a specific tone color is previously assigned to each string or to a plurality of strings, and when a certain string is plucked, musical tones are generated in response to plucking operation, which have the tone color assigned to the plucked string. With use of these electronic stringed instruments, in which different tone colors are assigned to respective strings from the first string to the sixth string, musical tones each having a different tone color can be successively generated by plucking the strings successively in order from the first string to the sixth string.
In these electronic stringed instruments, however, a specific tone color is assigned to each string or to particular strings. Therefore, when a musician plays the instrument with a stroke-performance, or when the musician rapidly plucks the strings in order from the first string to the sixth string or reversely in order from the sixth string to the first string, strings shall generate musical tones each having a tone color assigned to the corresponding string or assigned to particular strings. Accordingly, when the musician plucks a plurality of strings at the same time or sequentially to execute a chord-performance, musical tones shall be generated, which have different tone colors which correspond to tone pitches composing the chord. As a result, a problem remains that musically unfavourable musical tones are generated.
Meanwhile, some electronic keyboard musical instruments with a key-split function are well known, in which keys on the keyboard are divided into two groups such as a lower tone-pitch key group and a higher tone-pitch key group on the basis of a key representing a particular tone pitch, and different tone colors are assigned to these key groups, respectively, and thereby keys belonging to these lower and higher tone-pitch key groups generate musical tones having different tone colors, respectively.
However, it is difficult to apply the technique relating to such a key-split function without any modification to electronic stringed instruments. More specifically, in a conventional stringed instrument, a group of musical scales assigned to each string are differently arranged on a finger-board. For example, in a six-string guitar, a tone pitch assigned to an open-string fret position of the first string is the tone pitch E.sub.4, a tone pitch assigned to the same position of the second string is the tone pitch B.sub.3, a tone pitch assigned to the same position of the third string is the tone pitch G.sub.3, a tone pitch assigned to the same position of the fourth string is the tone pitch D.sub.3, a tone pitch assigned to the same position of the fifth string is the tone pitch A.sub.2 and a tone pitch assigned to the same position of the sixth string is the tone pitch E.sub.2. A group of musical scales are assigned to respective frets of each string on the basis of the above tone pitches, E.sub.4, B.sub.3, G.sub.3, D.sub.3, A.sub. 2 and E.sub.2. Accordingly, there shall be assigned a plurality of same tone pitches (for example, the tone pitch C.sub.4) within a specific fingering area, or within, for example, a specific fingering area confined between the first fret position and the seventh fret position. Therefore, if a split position, on the basis of which tone colors are assigned is set to a specific tone pitch position, for example, the position of the tone pitch D.sub.4, and if different tone colors are assigned to frets located within a higher tone-pitch area and a lower tone-pitch area, which are divided by the above position of the tone pitch D.sub.4, then different tone colors shall be assigned to the position of the tone pitch C.sub.4 and to the positions of the tone pitches E.sub.4, G.sub.4, respectively. As a result, such a problem will arise that when the musician stops strings within a relatively narrow fingering area between the first fret and the seventh fret to play C major chord, the C major chord composed of tone-pitches C.sub.4, E.sub.4 and G.sub.4 can not be produced with the same tone color.

Electronic musical instrument with a fret-split function


This invention relates to a hand-held vacuum cleaner (10). The vacuum cleaner is expected to have particular utility for cleaning locations which are difficult to reach with a conventional vacuum cleaner. The vacuum cleaner (10) has a body (12) with a substantially planar base (22) upon which the vacuum cleaner can rest when not in use, the body having a carrying handle (20), a motor (14) and an impeller (16) located within the body, the vacuum cleaner also having a collector (26, 126) and a battery pack (18), the battery pack providing at least a part of the base (22). The motor and the battery pack are located between the base and the collector so as to lower the center of gravity and make the vacuum cleaner more comfortable for use, especially over long periods. Ideally, the center of gravity is close to the carrying handle, and between the carrying handle and the nozzle so that the vacuum cleaner is slightly “nose heavy”.

The owners or occupiers of many domestic and commercial premises utilise a vacuum cleaner to clean the floors and other areas of the premises. A vacuum cleaner operates by generating an air flow through a suction head which is placed upon or against the area to be cleaned. Dirt and debris become entrained in the air flow and are thereby carried into a collector for subsequent disposal. A vacuum cleaner may be used for a full-house clean or in between full-house cleans for spillages or spot cleaning.
Most domestic vacuum cleaners fall into two broad classes. The first class is often referred to as cylinder vacuum cleaners. In cylinder vacuum cleaners the suction head is connected via a rigid extension tube to an operating handle which in turn is connected to a flexible hose through which the dirt and debris pass on their way to the collector. The collector is located within a body which also contains the motor, the body having wheels or slides by which it may be pulled across the floor during the cleaning operation.
The second class is often referred to as upright vacuum cleaners. In upright vacuum cleaners the motor and collector are carried by, or in some cases are integral with, the operating handle, so that the body containing the motor and the collector typically lie above the suction head during the cleaning operation.
The suction head of both classes of vacuum cleaner can be fitted with a rotating brush which is designed to engage and physically move dirt and debris into the suction head where it can be entrained in the air flow. Also, both classes of vacuum cleaner can incorporate a steering joint between the suction head and the operating handle, allowing the suction head to be steered in a chosen direction.
Although the suction head of a cylinder vacuum cleaner is connected to the body by way of a flexible hose and can be manoeuvred so as to allow the cleaning of walls, stairs and the like, it is uncommon to do so. Instead, the suction head and extension tubes are typically removed from the hose and replaced by a smaller upholstery tool, dusting brush, crevice tool or other cleaning tool whereby to undertake a particular cleaning operation. Such tools may be used together with an extension tube to clean locations which are high up by more diligent users.
It is not possible to manoeuvre the suction head of an upright vacuum cleaner in the same way as that of a cylinder vacuum cleaner, and in order to enable the cleaning of areas such as stairs the manufacturers of upright vacuum cleaners provide an alternative solution. Specifically, the upright vacuum cleaner is typically fitted with a length of extendable flexible hose between the suction head and the collector, the end of the hose adjacent to the suction head being releasable whereby the end of the released hose can be fitted with a cleaning tool and manoeuvred to the desired location without the user having to move the remainder of the vacuum cleaner. The flexible hose is typically made extendable so that during normal use of the vacuum cleaner the contracted hose can be stored easily and conveniently upon the body of the vacuum cleaner. When released from its stored position the hose can be extended to reach the desired location.
Once again, however, the hose is difficult to manoeuvre to the location of use, and the resilience of the hose increases the force which must be provided in order to reach less accessible locations. The force required often exceeds that required to tip over the vacuum cleaner, and it is known for an upright vacuum cleaner to fall over during periods of use of the extended hose.
In any event, the suction head of a cylinder vacuum cleaner, and the released end of the extendable flexible hose of an upright vacuum cleaner, are manoeuvrable only within the limit set by the length of the hose. It may not be possible to reach more remote locations (such as the ceiling above a flight of stairs for example) without also lifting the body of the vacuum cleaner off the floor.
Most homes have at least one mains-powered vacuum cleaner of the first or second class described above.
A third type of vacuum cleaner is a hand-held vacuum cleaner. Hand-held vacuum cleaners are typically battery-operated and are distinguished by having a carrying handle which permits the whole vacuum cleaner to be carried during use (typically by one hand), the user being able to manoeuvre the nozzle of the vacuum cleaner to the location of use. Hand-held vacuum cleaners are intended to supplement mains-powered vacuum cleaners. Conventional hand-held vacuum cleaners are suitable for use in cleaning small areas, or for removing localised debris such as might occur during the spillage of a granular product. Notwithstanding the fact that the present vacuum cleaner is also hand-held, it has little in common with the known hand-held vacuum cleaners. Specifically, the present vacuum cleaner is intended to replace the tools of a mains-powered vacuum cleaner in terms of a normal full house clean without needing to be recharged. The area which can be cleaned during a single cleaning operation with the present vacuum cleaner is therefore large, and in particular is significantly larger than the area which can be cleaned with a known hand-held vacuum cleaner before it is necessary to recharge the vacuum cleaner.
In particular, the surface area of the furniture, walls and ceiling of a typical room may be around five times the surface area of the floor. Whilst the majority of any dirt and debris present within a room will likely fall to the floor, the "above-floor" area presents a significant area to be cleaned. An upright vacuum cleaner is totally unsuited to above-floor cleaning and a cylinder vacuum cleaner is not ideally suited for such an operation. Also, the known hand-held cleaners are not well suited to cleaning the large surface areas involved. There is therefore presently no vacuum cleaner which is designed for, and which is therefore well-suited to, above-floor cleaning, for example the routine cleaning of large areas such as walls and ceilings.
The extendable flexible hoses which are conventionally used with upright vacuum cleaners have a coil spring (usually of metal) typically located between two layers of plastic. The layers of plastic are bonded together (typically by partial melting so as to form a single layer) and thereby become bound to the coil spring. The coil spring provides the resilience for the hose to return to its contracted length, and the plastic layer makes the hose airtight.
It is a feature of the extendable flexible hoses comprising a coil spring that the spring seeks to unwind as it is stretched, and similarly seeks to re-wind as it contracts. The user will typically grip the free end of the hose before it is extended, and will often be forced to reposition the grip so that the spring can unwind as the hose is extended. The force with which the coil spring seeks to unwind can be significant, and if the user attempts to resist the unwinding then parts of the hose can collapse, with the result that less air can flow therealong.
Allowing the coil spring to unwind as it is stretched it is not always desirable. If, for example, the hose is connected to a directional cleaning tool such as a crevice tool, the user will often have fitted the cleaning tool to the released end of the hose in its desired orientation with the spring contracted. When the hose is extended and the coil spring unwinds, the user will likely have to re-orient the cleaning tool.
The manufacturers of some upright vacuum cleaners have recognised this problem, and seek to overcome it by providing a rotatable joint at the free end of the hose. The cleaning tool can therefore rotate relative to the extendable hose, and can maintain the desired orientation despite the unwinding of the coil spring.
The addition of a rotatable joint represents additional manufacturing cost. Also, a rotatable joint is relatively bulky compared to the remainder of the extendable hose and the joint can become stiff over time. It is usually not desirable to increase significantly the exterior dimension of the hose, and so it is usual to provide a rotatable joint which is only slightly larger (if at all) than the cross-section of the hose. This necessarily results in the rotatable joint restricting the air flow path, and increasing the likelihood of the hose becoming blocked adjacent to the rotatable joint.
The reduction of air flow along the extendable flexible hose is particularly significant in most upright vacuum cleaners, as the rotatable joint restricts the air flow whether the hose is released or not. The reduced air flow is therefore suffered during the major proportion of the vacuum cleaner's usage during which the hose is connected to the suction head and the rotatable joint is redundant.


Systems and methods method enabling file actions to be performed on a folder structure in a cloud-based service are disclosed. In one aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure include a method, which may be implemented on a system, for representing the folder structure in a user interface to the cloud-based service as a file and enabling file actions to be performed on file representing the folder structure in the user interface to the cloud-based service. In one embodiment, the folder structure and associated content is stored on a server which provides the cloud-based service in a compressed file format which is able to preserve the metadata associated with the folder structure which indicates its representation as the file in the user interface.

When some applications save files, they do not save each file as an individual file. Instead, these applications might save multiple files of varying formats (e.g., documents, PDFs, Powerpoints, diagrams, images, audio, video, etc.) as an entire folder structure, and identify to the platform or operating system in which it is used, that the file, while appearing to the user as a single file, actually contains multiple files or folders.
This behavior may be application specific and/or operating system specific. For example, MAC shops heavily use "packages," which are technically folders that have a flag such that they appear like a file to users in the user interface on MAC devices. Specifically, MAC applications including Omnigraffle & iWork save files as packages, and in general, MAC applications are themselves stored as packages. However, outside of the native operating system or platform where a flag which indicates that a given represented file actually includes folders and/or multiple files, errors and unexpected behavior can occur and negatively impact user experience or cause data corruption.

Cloud service enabled to handle a set of files depicted to a user as a single file in a native operating system