A strut assembly is provided including a holding and releasing mechanism adapted to be attached to a cylinder-type closer. The mechanism comprises the strut assembly including a strut cylinder, a strut rod, a pivot block, and a locking tube. The strut assembly further comprises a stop tube including a clip at a first end and a collar at a second end. The stop tube further includes a rigid angled ramp connecting the clip and the collar. The clip moves from a first position to a second position while pivoting the locking tube at a first end in order to engage the locking tube at another end with the strut cylinder thereby holding the strut assembly in an extended position.

Door and latch closures, as well as strut closures, are known in the art. Strut assemblies or holders are utilized for holding side pivoted, i.e., hinged doors open against the self-closing action (or other closing action) of such a door closer. This closing action of the door closer or strut can be actuated by mechanical springs, nitrogen gas struts, gas springs, etc., which can be either elongated or compressed, depending on the type of mechanism.
Self-closing mechanisms typically comprise a cylinder or strut connected at one end to a frame, a spring-loaded piston rectilinearly displaceable in the cylinder or strut, and a piston rod fixed to the piston and extending from the second end of the cylinder. The free end of the piston rod is rotatably or pivotally connected to a door itself (or other movable lid or latch).
Certain types of self-closing mechanisms function as air enters the cylinder freely as the door is opened. The air escapes at a controlled rate through an orifice as the door or lid is closed by the force of the spring, thus slowing the rate at which the door or lid is closed by an air cushioning or damping action, much like a gas spring.
The more advanced of the known door closers have a mechanism for holding the door open after it has been manually swung open to a predefined position. This allows for a person to conveniently walk through a door without having to continuously overcome the force of the closing spring. One of the only complaints in the use of such door closers is the ease (i.e. lack thereof) with which a person can set the door closer to stay open or conversely, the ease (i.e. lack thereof) with which a door being held open can be released.
Screen doors, storm doors and the like, are utilized in millions of homes to provide fresh air, weather protection, and security, etc. The door typically includes a means for closing the door such as a spring or piston assembly or the like.
A popular means for controlling the door position utilizes a piston assembly which typically includes a cylindrical tube attached at one end to a bracket connector on the door. The inner surface of the cylindrical tube generally includes a spring-loaded piston attached to a reciprocating connecting rod which extends from the piston and out of the tube. The end of the connecting rod opposite to the end carried and connected within the cylindrical tube typically is attached to a bracket which is connected to the door frame. When the door is opened, the connecting rod is pulled from the cylindrical tube, causing the piston to travel within the inner surface of the cylinder and thereby compress a spring coiled between an inner wall of the cylinder and the piston. When the door is released, energy stored within the spring pushes against the surface of the piston, causing it to slide within the cylinder and the connecting rod is drawn back within the cylindrical tube thereby closing the door. The retracting momentum of the piston is typically cushioned by compression of fluid, such as air or oil inside the cylinder tube, to create a damping resistance opposite the force that propels the door to close for better control of the speed and force at which the door closes.
Many different devices have been invented in order to maintain the door in a certain position, i.e., partially or completely open. One such device is a hold-open washer which has an aperture through which the connecting rod extends. The hold-open washer must be manually set once the door is opened at a position along the connecting rod. After the door is released, the connecting rod begins to be drawn back within the cylinder and is stopped when the hold-open washer makes contact with the end of the cylinder, binding the hold-open washer against the piston rod. The door will remain held in place until the door is opened and the hold-open washer is manually repositioned transversely along the connecting piston rod and away from the cylindrical tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,708,825 relates to a door check and door stop combination. The door check is made up of a pneumatic cylinder and piston which controls the rate at which the door closes to prevent the door from slamming. A stop is attached to the distal end of the piston rod and lies along the side of the cylinder. The stop is made of a sheet material and has an aperture through it which receives the cylinder. The stop has a handle which may be engaged by the user's hand to move the stop from a position that is in engagement with the cylinder.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,969 relates to door closer mechanism for attachment to, or incorporation into, a standard spring-type door closer, or for use with a standard spring-type door closer. A reversible pawl and ratchet assembly operating on a rod between the door and door casing allows the door to ratchet open where it is held by the pawl until a slight closing pull or push on the door reverses the action of the pawl and allows the door to close. While the door is closing or is fully closed, reopening of the door resets the pawl for again holding the door open as desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,163 relates to a storm door lock apparatus set forth wherein a clamp is secured to an associated screen door-type closure member that further secures a slidable rod mounted with an abutment surface for actuation by a user with a pivoted lever at the other end of said rod for canting about a piston rod associated with a door closure. Additionally, a generally "L" shaped link is securable to the abutment member for allowing engagement and access by a user.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,513 relates to a receptacle for propping the cylinder of a cylinder-and-plunger strut in extended position of the strut includes two side-by-side cylindrical chambers, one being of a size to embrace the jack plunger rod, but not the jack cylinder, and the other chamber being of a size to slide over the jack cylinder, which chambers are interconnected by a slot sufficiently narrower than the jack plunger rod to enable the receptacle to move into a position embracing the jack plunger rod by snap action, and the larger chamber being of a size to slide lengthwise over the cylinder and having in it a lengthwise slot sufficiently narrow so as not to be able to pass the cylinder through it but sufficiently wide to pass the plunger rod through it.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,780 relates to an apparatus for controlling the position of a door suitable for use in association with door closing piston assemblies having a spring-biased reciprocable door closing piston rod and a latch plate transversely slidable along the length of the piston rod.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,925 relates to a holding mechanism attached to a generic door closing cylinder.
There are various disadvantages inherent in all of these prior art devices. To Applicant's knowledge, none of the prior art devices can be automatically locked open and released by simply moving the door without manual intervention. The prior art devices are often rather clumsy to manipulate when attempting to set or release a latch. Other disadvantages of the prior art devices are that they are rather complicated, hard to maintain, and expensive to produce.
There is a need for a more convenient door and strut closers and holders, which require little effort from a person to enable the door or strut to remain open or to close the door or strut and which can even be retrofitted to existing door and strut closers without increasing the complexity and cost of manufacturing. The present invention is directed at further solutions to address this need.


A method of personal location monitoring in a wireless communication system operating on a local area network. The method includes initializing a master communication device and a slave monitor device on the local area network. A next step transmitting a signal on the local area network by the slave monitor device. A next step includes the communication device receiving the signal on the local area network and measuring the signal strength which is compared to a threshold. A next step includes triggering an alarm in the communication device when the signal strength falls below the threshold, indicating that the monitor device is straying from the proximity of the local area network.

The present invention relates generally to monitoring the proximity of persons or objects, and more particularly to a communication system for use in monitoring the proximity of persons or objects.
The recent explosion of wireless communication devices and applications lends itself to many uses besides basic communications. The predominant use of such devices has been to allow family and friends to keep in touch with each other. However, due to high monthly fees it has been uneconomical to provide such devices to small children. In addition, very small children would not be able to properly operate the typical cellular phone. However, it is of paramount concern to monitor children for their safety. Therefore, the solution has arisen to use wireless technology to satisfy the need to provide child location systems.
One prior art solution is to use the Global Positioning System to provide location services. Although effective, the cost of the technology is prohibitive, and there is little call to locate a person or object anywhere on the globe. This is also true in the case of child location. Another prior art solution has been to install radio frequency (RF) tags, such as in a car for example, which can transmit a location of the car if it is stolen. Again the technology is expensive and requires a large transmitter power source, such as a car battery. In addition, special receivers and software are needed to detect the signal. Another prior art solution uses cellular technology to locate a control signal scan of a cellular device. However, this technique requires on-board emergency activation circuitry and a high power source for the continuous multicell control signal scan and response transmissions thereto. All of the above suffer from high expense, being impractical, or being difficulty to use.
Other prior art solution attempt to provide a relatively lower cost solution. One such solution provides similar communication devices between a guardian and a child operable on a cellular network. However, such devices require complicated addressing and timing schemes to avoid interference with similar local devices. Other solutions provide a transmitter beacon on a child, which is simple, and a directional receiver with a location display for the parent. However, the directional receiver requires special hardware and constant monitoring of the parent. This simplistic method is little better than the parent keeping a constant eye on the child, which is still the method used most frequently today. Still another solution provides a customized system that provides a bracelet transceiver for the child and a monitor transceiver for a parent, wherein the parent can signal the bracelet to let the child know to return to the parent. However, this system is not autonomous and requires a positive action on the part of the parent to provide a system activation signal.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved monitoring communication system that autonomously monitors proximity of a person or object. In particular, it would be of benefit to be able to define the proximal boundaries of the system, and to automatically alert if the boundary is violated. It would also be advantageous if current low-cost technology could be used without the requirement for customized hardware. A further benefit would allow the automatic hand-off or transfer of monitoring capabilities between communication devices.
The present invention is directed to a method and system of proximity monitoring in a wireless communication system operable on at least two wireless local area networks. The invention is operable using at least two master communication devices supporting respective wireless local area networks, and at least one wireless monitor device as a slave unit operable in either of the wireless local area networks. The master and slave devices transceiver signals on the respective wireless local area network of the master device. The transceived signals are used for proximity monitoring of the salve device by the master device.
One aspect of the present invention is the triggering of an alarm in a master device when the slave device is no longer in proximity thereto. This is applicable to one or more master devices that are able to monitor the slave device on its respective local area network. In particular, master devices can transfer proximity monitoring responsibilities of the slave device between themselves. Transferring includes a wide area network communication between the master units indicating a transfer is to take place. A time-out period is provided for the slave device to transfer between the local area network of the master devices. If the time-out period expires before the transferring is complete, an alarm is sounded. An acknowledgement is provided between the master devices to confirm the transferral.
Another aspect of the present invention is the measuring the signal strength threshold of a slave device to defined a proximity boundary for the device in the local area network.
Another aspect of the present invention is the measuring the signal strength threshold of a slave device to defined a proximity boundary for the device in the local area network, which is assigned to all the slave devices in the local area network to define a group threshold.
Another aspect of the present invention is slaving the slave device to the master device providing the strongest received signal from a master device.
Another aspect of the present invention is the querying of other master devices to locate a slave device that is no longer in proximity.

Proximity monitoring communication system


A kit and a method for using the kit to generate nanoseeds from protein nanocrystals and aggregates is disclosed. The method comprises mixing a plurality of beads with a protein nanocrystal or aggregate, and agitating the mixture to generate the nanoseeds. Nanoseeds made by disclosed embodiments may be of a high quality, as evaluated by TEM, and can be used to produce high quality protein crystals. Additionally, spectroscopic techniques, such as UV fluorescence and/or brightfield microscopy can be used to identify aggregates suitable to produce nanoseeds.

X-ray Crystallography experiments remain the most successful method to obtain structural information from biological targets, comprising 85737 structures out of 97180 (88%) deposited as of Jan. 21, 2014 in the protein database entries. Advances in molecular biology and biochemical techniques have allowed expression and purification of a significant number of new protein targets including human and pharmacological relevant proteins. Similarly, innovations in synchrotron science including development of micro-focused X-ray beams and advances in detector technologies as well as development of user-friendly crystallography software packages have expedited crystal-to-structure time frames. However, notwithstanding the abundance of targets or the increasingly faster crystal-to-structure pipeline, crystallization of protein targets remains the most significant bottleneck in structure determination by X-ray crystallography and continues to have significant negative impact in the field.

Nano seeding tools to generate nanometer size crystallization seeds

University of Pittsburgh—Of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education


The field dressing device of the invention is made to accept the tip of a knife blade, whose cutting surface faces in the same general direction as the tip of the field dressing device. The top portion of the tip of the field dressing device pushes the hide of the animal upwards, while the bottom portion of the tip of the field dressing device pushes the entrails downwards. The configuration of the field dressing device, together with its configured acceptance of the knife blade, permits the user's hand to be kept outside the animal while opening its stomach to remove the entrails.

As is well known and understood, hunting is one of the most prolific leisure time activities in many countries. Recent reports, for example, indicate that over three million deer are killed annually in the United States, on top of which untold thousands of elk and moose are also killed each year. Such numbers are oftentimes exceeded in other countries, such as Canada, as well. What with the high cost of meat during the present inflationary period, it will well be realized how more and more each day, the meat on such animals become increasingly valuable. Venison on a deer, for example, is well worth between two hundred and three hundred dollars depending upon size. However, as will be appreciated, if it is desired to obtain such meat and to bring it home without it having a gammy taste, it becomes necessary to gut the animal as quickly as possible, preferably, soon after the kill. One problem with doing this, as shown by experience, is that it is important not to cut the entrails or intestines of the animal while so field dressing it, otherwise the waste products will spoil the meat. Additionally to making a mess of it, problems arise in field dressing the animal in such way that complete vision of what the hunter is doing is needed in order to prevent the meat from being contaminated by whatever foreign substance exists on the hunter's hands, from working in the woods.


A molding having a grain resembling a natural material such as wood, stone and the like and a method for producing the same are disclosed. The molding is made of a mixture of a colored polyphenyleneoxide resin and a thermoplastic resin. The polyphenyleneoxide resin has a low fluidity to form patterns, while the thermoplastic resin has a high fluidity to form a body.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to moldings having grains resembling a natural material, such as wood and stone and to a method for producing the same.
2. Prior Art
There have been a number of proposals on products such as vehicle parts, sundry goods, furniture, construction materials and cabinets for various electric products having a surface resembling the grain of natural wood, marble, etc. Such surfaces have been formed by the disposition of cells and tissues of those materials. There have been various techniques in use including print coating, hot stamping and ink dropping. All these techniques are applied only as a secondary processing of those products. Therefore, there have been such disadvantages and problems as high cost, exposure of inner materials due to scratches, wear due to friction and fading of colors etc.

Molding having grain of a natural material and method for producing same


Systems and methods for determining park stall occupancy are disclosed herein. The systems and methods include receiving a three dimensional representation of a parking stall in a parking lot. The systems and methods also include processing the three dimensional representation to determine occupancy of the parking stall. The parking stall has a boundary relative to the area.

In some regions of the world, commercial heavy vehicle drivers are required to rest and take breaks to mitigate driving accidents while fatigued. Such rules must be balanced against on-time delivery requirements as well as shorter lead times to plan their trips, thereby making location and parking availability of rest area facilities more critical.
In the United States, federal hours of service (HOS) rules have reduced the risk of Commercial Heavy Vehicle (CHV) crashes where driver fatigue has been shown to be a contributing factor.
Although there are many rest area facilities available to truck drivers, a common problem is the difficulty of obtaining information on truck parking availability for these facilities. Privately owned truck stop facilities may have available spaces, but in the absence of accurate and timely parking information, drivers have perceived a lack of available parking and a driver may opt to drive fatigued or park illegally (on highway shoulders or ramps)—both of which are safety hazards.
Increasing the number of truck stops and rest areas, or adding capacity to existing ones, may be either financially intractable, or incompatible with local restrictions. The existing truck parking capacity is not efficiently utilized; some remain almost empty while others are near, or over, capacity. High occupancy levels at rest areas have also been correlated with an increase in truck crash frequency on adjacent highway segments.
Real-time parking monitoring technologies can be described as indirect and direct. Indirect technologies are based on detecting and classifying vehicles at all ingress and egress points of the parking facility and summing the difference over accumulated counts at specified time intervals. The general problem with technologies based on ingress-egress count detection is that small counting and vehicle classification errors can accumulated over time. One example of an indirect technology includes battery-powered magnetometers embedded in the pavement at the egress and ingress locations of the parking facility to estimate occupancy by subtracting the two counts in real-time. Another example of an indirect technology uses camera sensors at the entrance and exit to a parking facility. The camera sensors utilize "trip-wire" detectors to sense vehicle presence and motion, and vehicle length classification. The detection accuracy can be impaired by such factors as poor lighting, vehicle color, shadows, headlights, and flying birds. Furthermore, "trip-wire" counting cannot determine actual occupancy for undisciplined parking, which occurs when drivers straddle parking lane line designations, differ in their maneuvering skills, or where lanes are not delineated.
Various methodologies directly monitor parking spaces using camera sensors. Some have used a foreground/background blob segmentation algorithm based on time-variant mixture of Gaussians combined with shadow removal. One approach ortho-rectifies a 2D camera view of vehicle parking spaces into a top-down viewpoint before segmenting each parking space. A sliding window is passed over the lot to encode the detection result based on probabilities of occupancy using mean color of the space compared to an a priori color feature of the empty space. Other approaches entail computing color histograms of parking space regions defined a priori or using aerial images to train an SVM linear classifier. The performance under various lighting conditions and in view of object occlusion challenges may be problematic.
There are a number of challenges with such 2D image computer vision techniques arising from rapid changes in background illumination, glare, and partial occlusions from overlapping vehicles. These challenges are aggravated with commercial heavy vehicles because of their larger size and height compared to private vehicles.

Determining parking space occupancy using a 3D representation


In a digital signal processing unit, addressing apparatus implements a multiplicity of addressing modes. The addressing modes include a circular buffer memory mode, a frame mode, and a sorting mode. To increase the speed of the address modification, the index, the index in the presence of a positive wrap-around, and the index in the presence of negative wrap-around are determined together. Other apparatus determines the addressing mode and provides control signals for the selection of the correct index. The correct index is combined with the base address to provide the next new address.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the data processing apparatus and, more particularly, to the specialized high performance processor units generally referred to as digital signal processing units. The invention relates specifically to address modification by the direct memory access controller.
2. Background of the Invention
Digital signal processing units have been developed as specialized data processing units. These units are optimized to perform routine, albeit complex, operations with great efficiency. For many applications, the computations need to done in as close to real time as possible. In addition, many of the functions that would be performed by the central processing unit of a general purpose processing unit are eliminated or the functions performed outside of the core processing unit.
Referring to FIG. 1, a digital signal processing unit 1 having two digital signal processors, according to the prior art, is shown. A first digital signal processor 10 includes a core processing unit 12 (frequently referred to as a processing core), a direct memory access unit 14, a memory unit or memory units 16, and a serial port or serial ports 18. The memory unit 16 stores the signal groups that are to be processed or that assist in the processing of the signal groups by the core processing unit 12. The core processing unit 12 performs the bulk of the processing of signal groups in the memory unit. The direct memory access unit 14 is coupled to the core processing unit 12 and to memory unit 16 and mediates the signal group exchange therebetween. The serial port 18 exchanges signal groups with processing components external to the digital signal processing unit 1. The core processing unit 12 is coupled to the serial port 18 and to the memory unit 16 and controls the exchange of signal groups between these components.
The digital signal processor is typically designed and implemented to have limited functionality, but functions that must be repeated and performed rapidly. The fast Fourier transform (FFT) calculation and the Viterbi algorithm decoding are two examples where digital signal processors have been utilized with great advantage. To insure that the digital signal processors operate with high efficiency, the core processing is generally optimized for the performance of the limited functionality. Part of the optimization process involves the off-loading, to the extent possible, any processing not directed toward the optimized function(s). The exchange of signal groups involving the core processing unit 12 and the memory unit 16 has been assigned to the direct memory access unit.
More recently, the direct memory access controller has been implemented to control the exchange of data groups between the serial port and the memory unit. This embodiment of a digital signal processor is described in the Patent Application entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR THE EXCHANGE OFSIGNAL GROUPS BETWEEN A PLURALITY COMPONENTS AND A DIRECT MEMORY ACCESS CONTROLLER IN A DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSSOR cited above. Referring to FIG. 2, the digital signal processor 10, have a core processing unit 12, a direct memory access controller, a memory unit 16, and a serial port 18, the same components as in the prior art digital signal processors shown in FIG. 1. The difference between the embodiments in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is as follows. In FIG. 1, the direct memory access controller 14, control the exchange of signal groups between the memory unit 16, and the core processing unit 12. In FIG. 2, the direct memory access controller 24 controls not only the exchange of signal groups between the memory unit 16, and the core processing unit 12, but also controls the exchange of signal groups between the memory unit 16 and the serial port 18. With this implementation, the core processing unit 12 is relieved of further processing responsibilities, as compared to the implementation shown in FIG. 1 For example, the memory unit 16 to serial port 18 exchange of data signals can have a variety of addressing modes such as a frame mode, a circular buffer memory mode and a sorting mode. The core processing unit 12 is relieved of the responsibility for implementing the addressing modes. Thus, the core processing unit 12 can be further optimized for specific processing operations. The direct memory access controller can be analogized to a plurality of controllable switches. The switches provide controllable channels for the transfer of signals between components. (In the preferred embodiment of the digital signal processors, typically two memory units and two serial ports are present. Consequently, a larger number of channels can be used. In the preferred embodiment, six channels are available in the direct memory access controller 24.)
As the direct memory access controller 24 has been assigned greater responsibilities in the controlling the transfer of signal groups, the computational requirements for the component have been similarly expanded. In particular, not only is the generation of source and destination addresses required, but the several addressing conventions, mentioned above, must implemented by the direct memory access controller 24. Specifically, the addressing apparatus must be able to implement both a frame mode and a circular buffer mode. (In the circular buffer mode, a group of consecutive locations in the memory unit 16 are designated as the circular buffer memory and signal groups are stored therein or extracted therefrom. After the last location in the circular buffer memory is addressed, the addresses are xe2x80x9cwrapped aroundxe2x80x9d to the beginning of the buffer memory. The wrap-around of the addresses in the circular buffer can be positive or negative.) In addition, the addressing apparatus must be capable of operating in a sorting mode. The sorting mode refers to the time-division multiplexed groups of signal groups such as the T1 protocol (U.S.) or the E1 protocol (Europe). In this addressing mode, the signal groups from a multiplicity of blocks of signal groups are xe2x80x9csortedxe2x80x9d into frames of signal groups, i.e., each frame including related signal groups. In addition, because performance is key in digital signal processors, the new address must be formulated rapidly.
A need has therefore been felt for apparatus and an associated method for modifying/generating an address in a direct memory access controller having the feature that a multiplicity of address modes can be accommodated by the apparatus and associated method. It would be a further feature of the present invention that the modification or creation of the address would take place in a time period that would not impact the performance of the digital signal processing system. It would be a more specific feature of the apparatus and method that a sorting mode would be provided for the time-division multiplexed signal groups. It is a further specific feature of the present invention to provide for the address modification or generation involving a circular address buffer.
The aforementioned and other features are accomplished, according to the present invention, by providing an address modification apparatus that can process a multiplicity of addressing modes using the same apparatus. The apparatus determines the proper addressing mode while simultaneously selecting a offset that will be involved in determining the new address from a former address or a base address. The address base and previous index are determined. A plurality of simultaneous calculations are performed that include possible circular buffer memory address results. The correct new index is selected from the determination of the addressing mode and characteristics of the previous address. The new index is combined with the base address to form the new address. The new address is forwarded to the addressing apparatus and is used to determine the next address. To increase the speed, the results of one computation are immediately coupled to apparatus performing a subsequent computation.

Apparatus and method for address modification in a direct memory access controller


A connector is disclosed. The connector comprises a circuit board having a plurality of contact pads arranged in a two-dimensional fashion on a first face facing a mating connector side, the plurality of contact pads configured to make contact with a plurality of contacts of a mating connector, and a housing having a locating portion in contact with the first face of the circuit board, the locating portion locating the first face with respect to a direction of mating with the mating connector.

As is known in the art, some electronic apparatuses used in high-performance applications, such as medical devices, are required to transmit and receive signals of considerably numerous channels. In such apparatuses, multichannel connectors suitable for transmitting and receiving multichannel signals are used.
JP 2001-351747A discloses an example of such a multichannel connector. The connector disclosed in JP 2001-351747A is provided with a circuit board having a plurality of contact pads formed on a first face thereof and arranged in a two-dimensional fashion. This circuit board is fixed to a housing surface from a mating connector side, having the first face facing the mating connector.
In the case of the connector disclosed in JP 2001-351747A, the positioning of the circuit board within the housing is dictated by a second face opposite to the first face, which contacts the housing. Variations in thickness or warping of the circuit board may cause the position of the contact pads formed on the first face to fluctuate relative to the mating connector. The variations of this position also cause a contact pressure with the mating connector to fluctuate, resulting in an unstable contact and corresponding connection. Moreover, a connector having this structure is unadaptable to a circuit board having a different board thickness.


A method includes: receiving patient specific data; comparing the patient specific data with reference data; producing alerts when the comparison determines that an event requiring action has occurred; and sending the alerts to care providers. An apparatus that implements the method and a computer readable medium including instructions for performing the method are also provided.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for monitoring patient conditions and history and issuing notifications based on such monitoring.
Description of the Related Art
Events that trigger a need for patient care management require access to prompt communication of information for sound and prompt decision making and intervention.
Appropriate dissemination of timely information and the communication of critical events and specific details, such as background (historical information) with changing conditions and results, to the appropriate staff is vital to proactive intervention in patient care.
Effective communication and escalation based on severity and acceptable intervention response, and the automated management of this intervention is essential to effective response to a critical situation or the development of adverse conditions. The present state of this art is a manual monitoring of complex related information from disparate sources and manual monitoring of the progress.
The present state of the communication is informal and tenuous. As caregivers are notified, their response and changes in the circumstances are monitored.
Currently, there does not exist an efficient method to monitor critical events in patient care, disseminate the information, and then monitor the intervention and results, and produce historical reports for analysis.

System and method for clinical intelligent agents implementing an integrated intelligent monitoring and notification system


A system and method are provided for monitoring the location of a person, pet, or inanimate object relative to the location of a monitoring device. If the person, pet, or inanimate object (“monitored object”) travels from or is taken from a specified monitoring perimeter, for example 50 meters, an alarm is activated at the monitoring device to notify the guardian of the monitored object that the monitored object has moved beyond the specified perimeter. A signaling device is attached to the monitored object for signaling its location to the base station. A device for establishing the precise location of the signaling device relative to the base station are provided. If the monitored object becomes lost from the control of the guardian, devices are provided for identifying the monitored object from information stored in a distributed computing network, and devices are provided for contacting the guardian of the monitored object at the monitoring device.

Guardians of children and elderly persons, pet owners, and owners of easily lost or stolen objects often find that keeping track of children, elderly persons, pets, and valuable objects can be difficult without constant supervision. For example, a parent takes her child on a picnic, and while the parent is preparing a meal, the child runs from the parent's area of immediate supervision causing the parent to panic upon realizing the child has left the area. Likewise, a pet owner may take a pet to an area such as a beach or playground to allow the pet to play only to find that the pet runs from the area within the view of the pet owner. A valuable object such as a purse or briefcase may be misplaced, or those objects may be stolen from the owner and removed from the owner's control.
Accordingly, there is need in the art for a system and method for establishing a perimeter within which a monitored person or object may travel or be taken such that if the person or object travels or is taken outside the monitored perimeter, a monitoring device operated by the guardian of the person or owner of the object will alarm to notify the guardian or owner that the person or object has traveled or has been taken outside the monitored perimeter.

Perimeter monitoring alarm method and system

BellSouth Intellectual Property Corporation


An airbag inflator diffusion system is disclosed which is simple to fabricate, directs exhaust gas from a standardized inflator, sufficiently cools the exhaust gas, catches hot gas generant residue pieces, and sufficiently diffuses the exhaust gas. The system includes an airbag inflator, and a sleeve. The inflator has simple exit ports which are positioned along the length of the inflator. The sleeve is sized to receive the inflator. The sleeve includes lobes which project from its length. The lobes are positioned such that exhaust gas leaving an exit port is diverted by the lobe in at least two directions. The diverted exhaust gas is thereby cooled and allowed to disperse within the textile airbag. The system also includes a catch which may be a wire mesh. The catch further cools and causes the exhaust gas to disperse. In this way, a simple, effective diffuser for a curtain airbag inflator is provided.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to airbag inflation systems in motor vehicles. More specifically, the invention relates to an airbag diffusion system for diffusing inflation gases exiting a curtain airbag inflator.
2. Technical Background
Inflatable airbags are well accepted for use in motor vehicles and have been credited with preventing numerous deaths and injuries. Some statistics estimate that frontal airbags reduce the fatalities in head-on collisions by 25% among drivers using seat belts and by more than 30% among unbelted drivers. Statistics further suggest that with a combination of seat belt and airbag, serious chest injuries in frontal collisions can be reduced by 65% and serious head injuries by up to 75%. Airbag use presents clear benefits and vehicle owners are frequently willing to pay the added expense for airbags.
A modem airbag apparatus may include an electronic control unit (ECU) and one or more airbag modules. The ECU is usually installed in the middle of an automobile, between the passenger and engine compartments. If the vehicle has a driver airbag only, the ECU may be mounted in the steering wheel. The ECU includes a sensor which continuously monitors the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle and sends this information to a processor which processes an algorithm to determine if the vehicle is in an accident situation.
When the processor determines that there is an accident situation, the ECU transmits an electrical current to an initiator in the airbag module. The initiator triggers operation of the inflator or gas generator which, in some embodiments, uses a combination of compressed gas and solid fuel. The inflator inflates a textile airbag to impact a passenger and prevent injury to the passenger. In some airbag apparatuses, the airbag may be fully inflated within 50 thousandths of a second and deflated within two tenths of a second.
An airbag cover, also called a trim cover panel, covers a compartment containing the airbag module and may reside on a steering wheel, dashboard, vehicle door, along a vehicle roof rail, vehicle wall, or beneath the dash board. The airbag cover is typically made of a rigid plastic and may be forced open by the pressure from the deploying airbag. In deploying the airbag, it is preferable to retain the airbag cover to prevent the airbag cover from flying loose in the passenger compartment. If the airbag cover freely moves into the passenger compartment, it may injure a passenger.
Airbag apparatuses have been primarily designed for deployment in front of the torso of an occupant between the upper torso of an occupant and the windshield or instrument panel. Conventional airbags, such as driver""s or passenger airbags (hereinafter referenced as the xe2x80x9cprimary airbagxe2x80x9d), protect the occupant""s upper torso and head from colliding with a windshield or instrument panel.
Airbag technology has advanced to include airbag apparatuses which protect occupants during a side impact, or roll-over accident. In these accidents the occupant may be thrown against the windows, doors and side-walls of the vehicle. These airbag apparatuses are known as curtain airbags. Generally, the curtain airbag is attached to a thin long frame member which runs along a side of the roof of the vehicle. Often due to window size and visibility requirements, the curtain airbag apparatus has a long thin shape.
The airbag of a curtain airbag apparatus inflates and descends from the frame member to cover a majority of the area between the occupant and the side of the vehicle interior. The inflated airbag appears much like a curtain covering the vehicle window. The curtain airbag may protect the occupant from impact with a side window, flying shards of glass, and other projectiles. The curtain airbag may also help to keep the occupant inside the vehicle during a roll-over accident.
Generally, the un-inflated curtain airbag is installed in a very limited thin space defined by the roof frame member. Accordingly, the inflator may be a thin, cylindrical member which extends a portion of the length of the curtain airbag. In this manner, the curtain airbag inflator is capable of providing sufficient inflation gas to properly inflate the curtain airbag.
Generally, the inflator is installed within the textile bag of the curtain airbag apparatus. However, doing so generally requires the inflator to include a diffuser. Gas which fills the curtain airbag is generated by the ignition of gas generant within the inflator. Generally, the gas is created from the rapid burning of pyrotechnic materials. The gas (also referred to herein as exhaust gas) escapes exit ports in the inflator at a high velocity and temperature. Due to the limited space, the textile bag is generally stored by folding it up against the inflator. Without a diffuser, the hot gas is concentrated on the textile bag. The concentrated hot gas and the confined space may combine to cause the gas to burn one or more holes in the airbag material, which is generally a nylon or polyester weave. The holes cause the curtain airbag to inflate improperly.
A diffuser disperses the exhaust gas. Dispersing the gas allows the gas to expand and cool. A diffuser may also include a surface which further allows the gas to transfer some of its heat. A diffuser may be used to direct the gas leaving the exit ports. Gas may be directed to cause the textile airbag to inflate in a particular manner. Once the gas passes through a diffuser, the gas is sufficiently cooled and/or not concentrated to prevent burning holes in the textile airbag.
A diffuser may be built as part of the body of the inflator. Generally, doing so adds to the production and design costs of the inflator. Alternatively, separate parts may be secured to the inflator at appropriate points to function as diffusers and to direct the exhaust gas. When a diffuser is incorporated into the body of the inflator, this may require custom fabrication of inflator bodies for different vehicles. Custom fabrication is also expensive.
Accordingly, it would be an advancement in the art to provide an airbag diffusion system which is simple to fabricate. It would be a further advancement to provide an airbag diffusion system which directs the gas using a standardized inflator. Additionally, it would be an advancement in the art to provide an airbag diffusion system which prevents concentrated gas jets and cools the gas exiting the inflator to prevent holes in the airbag material. A further advancement in the art would be to provide a diffusion system and method of fabrication having minimal expense. The present invention provides these advancements in a novel and useful way.
The apparatus of the present invention has been developed in response to the present state of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available airbag inflator diffusion systems. Thus, the present invention provides an airbag inflator diffusion system which is simple to fabricate and install, directs gas exiting the inflator, effectively diffuses and cools the gas, and may be fabricated with minimal expense.
In one embodiment, the airbag inflator diffusion system includes an airbag inflator. The inflator includes one or more gas exit ports disposed along its surface. The system also includes a sleeve. The inflator is installed securely within the sleeve. Generally, the sleeve is cylindrical in shape. Alternatively, the sleeve has a cross-section capable of receiving the inflator. The sleeve cross-section may be in a diamond, triangular, or parallelogram shape. The inflator is secured within the sleeve by the tight fit and bias between the sleeve and the inflator. The sleeve may include a lip or flange at each end to aid in securing the inflator within the sleeve. The sleeve includes one or more lobes.
A lobe is a solid rigid material formed as part of the sleeve and positioned such that gas leaving the exit port is impeded by the lobe. The lobe forces the gas to go around the lobe before entering the textile bag. Preferably one lobe is positioned above each exit port of the inflator. Depending on the positions of exit ports in the inflator, the lobes are generally positioned on alternating sides along the length of the sleeve.
In an alternative embodiment, the airbag inflator diffusion system includes a catch. The catch impedes gas flow from both ends of a lobe to the interior of the airbag. The catch serves to keep residue particles of the ignited gas generant from entering the airbag. These residue particles may be very hot and may cause holes in the airbag material. The catch also helps diffuse the exhaust gas. The catch may be a wire or fabric mesh.
The present invention includes a method of manufacturing a curtain airbag inflator diffuser. In one embodiment, a rigid cylindrical tube having a hollow space capable of receiving a curtain airbag inflator is bent. The tube is bent such that the tube obtains an elliptical cross-section and remains capable of receiving and securing the curtain airbag inflator.
Then, one or more sections of the tube are removed to form a lobe and an exhaust passage. The curtain airbag inflator is then inserted into the hollow space. The curtain airbag inflator and/or tube are then adjusted such that exits ports of the curtain airbag inflator aim toward lobes of the tube. A catch may be inserted between the inflator and the lobes such that exhaust gas is thereby impeded from leaving the exhaust passage.
According to an alternative embodiment of the method of manufacturing a curtain airbag inflator diffuser, a plurality of parallel slits are formed perpendicular to the longest edge of a pliable, planar, rectangular plate. The plate is bent on each side of each slit such that a plurality of lobes having triangular cross-sections extend in alternating directions perpendicular to the largest surface of the plate. The bending of the plate forms a sleeve. Next, a curtain airbag inflator is inserted between the plurality of lobes such that the curtain airbag inflator is secured within the sleeve. Additionally, a catch may be inserted between the curtain airbag inflator and the sleeve.
These and other features, and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.

Airbag inflator diffusion system and method of manufacture


A method for computing n-dimensional decomposable image transformation using the 1D approach with constrained transpose memory provides a minimized rounding/truncation error. The method minimizes transpose memory size required to fulfill a defined accuracy requirement for n-dimensional image transformation. A set of input data elements are stored. Then, a first transform, of the multiple dimension transform, is performed on the set of input data elements so as to form an array of transformed data elements, each of the transformed data elements having a larger number of bits than the input data elements. A common range of the transformed data elements is determined, and a minimum number of bits required to represent the common range without loss of information is then determined. The memory word size available for storage of the transformed data elements is compared with a minimum number of bits so as to determine an excess number of bits. Only the excess number of bits of the transformed data is truncated/rounded so as to form an output set of data elements. Finally, the output set of data elements is stored.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to memory architectures for use in image processing and, more particularly, to a novel memory architecture to achieve minimal rounding and truncation errors for n-dimensional image transformation.
2. Environment
Technological advances in digital transmission networks, digital storage media, and digital signal processing, especially of video signals, now make possible the economical transmission and storage of digital video in a wide variety of applications. Because the storage and transmission of digital video signals is central to many applications, and because an uncompressed representation of a video signal requires a large amount of storage, the use of digital video signal compression techniques is vital to this advancing art. In this regard, several international standards for the compression of digital video signals have emerged, and more are currently under development. These standards apply to algorithms for the transmission and storage of compressed digital video in a variety of applications, including videotelephony and teleconferencing, high quality digital television on coaxial and fiber-optic networks as well as broadcast terrestrially and over direct broadcast satellites, and various media such as compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), digital audio tape (DAT) and magnetic and magnetooptical disks.
Many n-dimensional image transformations, such as the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) and the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), are widely used in image processing. For example, a two-dimensional DCT (2D-DCT) is widely used in the field of image compression as a method to transform the image to a more compact form. Accordingly, the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) draft International Standards Organization (ISO) standard 10918-1, the Comite Consultif Internationale Telegraphique et Telephone (CCITT) recommendation H.261 and the Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG) ISO/IEC (International Standards Organization/International Electrotechnical Commission) standard 13818-2 standardizes the DCT as their most computation intensive core to compress and decompress image data. However, for applications such as MPEG, the tolerance for computation error is very low because any erroneous image data may be reused over and over again. This explains why the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) CAS Standards Committee submitted the standard proposal P1180 to specify the limitation of error for the implementation of 8.times.8 Inverse DCT.
Because of the decomposable feature of these transformations, consecutive one-dimensional (1D) transformations can be used to perform the n-dimensional transformations. The intermediate results after 1D transformation are normally stored in temporary memory devices before the following 1D transformation starts. For example, this 1D approach can be used to compute the 2D-DCT. That is, to implement 2D-DCT, first a 1D-DCT is performed based on row/column order, the intermediate results are saved and transposed, then a second 1D-DCT is performed, again based on row/column order. All of the intermediate results after the 1D-DCT coefficients are stored in memory. For a typical 8.times.8 2D-DCT, this means a storage size of 8.times.8.times.data size per intermediate 1D-DCT result (e.g., 16-bit).
The data size per intermediate 1D-DCT result is crucial in two ways. First, the size directly ties to physical area if it is desired to implement the memory in Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuit chips, especially if more expensive memory devices are used to implement transposition as well. Second, the size also ties directly to the throughput especially when Distributed Architecture (DA) is used to implement inner product computation. However, it is still necessary to meet the high accuracy requirement of the Draft Standard Specification for the implementations of 8.times.8 Inverse DCT (P1180) proposed by the IEEE CAS Standards Committee. There is need for a better way to satisfy the strict standard requirement without increasing hardware cost. In other words, a good memory architecture is needed to effectively utilize the intermediate computation storage that can avoid bits dropping.
3. Description of the Prior Art
A brief summary of published articles which describe a number of schemes of adaptive quantization and bit-rate control may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,484 to Gonzales et al. assigned to the International Business Machines Corp. The Gonzales et al. patent discloses a specific system which implements an encoder suitable for use with the proposed ISO/IEC MPEG standards. This system operates to adaptively pre-process an incoming digital motion video sequence, allocate bits to the pictures in a sequence, and adaptively quantize transform coefficients in different regions of a picture in a video sequence so as to provide optimal visual quality given the number of bits allocated to that picture. Gonzales et al. however do not address the need for a memory architecture to effectively utilize the intermediate computation storage that can avoid bits dropping in a transform such as the DCT/IDCT transform.
The architecture proposed by Darren Slawecki and Weiping Li, "DCT/IDCT Processor Design for High Data Rate Image Coding", IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems for Video Technology, Vol. 2, No. 2, June 1992, simply drops the least significant bits generated in a transform computation. This approach, however, cannot satisfy the strict standard requirements without increasing hardware cost; that is, a larger memory is required (and a longer processing time is required for the second dimension operation) in order to provide the accuracy necessary to satisfy the standards.

Memory structure to minimize rounding/trunction errors for n-dimensional image transformation

International Business Machines Corporation


The invention relates to a windshield wiper device (100) for a vehicle, comprising a wiper blade (2) having an elongated upper part (10) and an elongated lower part (12), which are configured to be flexible, at least in part. Also provided are multiple connecting elements (18) for connecting the upper part (10) and the lower part (12), the connecting elements being mutually spaced along a longitudinal extent (8) of the wiper blade (2) and being attached to the upper part (10) and/or the lower part (12) by a rotary joint, and the connecting elements (18) being designed to allow a movement of the upper part (10) and the lower part relative to each another with a movement component along a longitudinal extent (8) of the wiper blade (2). Said windshield wiper device further comprises a quick-connecting device (32) which is designed such that the windshield wiper device can be detachably connected to a drive shaft (35) of a drive unit of the vehicle. At least one engagement part (36) and an elastic clamping jaw (38) cooperate in order to switch when applying an external force between a clamping position (K) and a release position (F).

The invention relates to a windshield wiper device for a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle.
Windshield wiper devices typically have a wiper arm or wiper lever, wherein a wiper blade is moved over the windshield of a motor vehicle. The wiper blade is moved here between a first turning position and a second turning position. For this purpose, the wiper arm is connected via the drive shaft to a wiper motor. In particular on windshields having pronounced changes in curvature, the wiper blade easily loses contact with the windshield. This may result in wiping areas not being wiped or in smearing, in the case of windshields having a pronounced curvature.
Since a wiping operation has to be optimized for a multiplicity of parameters, such as, for example, the amount of rain falling on the windshield, a possible snow loading on the windshield, the speed of the vehicle and associated wind pressure on the wiper arm, smearing cannot be reliably prevented in a simple manner by adaptation of the pressure of the wiper arm on the windshield. There is therefore a need for further improvement of windshield wiper devices.
A plurality of boundary conditions should additionally be taken into consideration for improvement purposes. There is also a need here to ensure or improve the handling or the user friendliness, for example in the installation or the removal of the wiper arm.

Quick connecting device for fin ray wiper


A controller may detect unreliable bits of data, memory cells, or bit lines during an error correction process of a read operation based on an error correction code used to generate parity bits for the data. In some embodiments, the controller may use the error correction code to determine a distribution of unsatisfied checks. Based on the distribution, the controller may detect group(s) of bits that more closely resemble a defective group of bits rather than a non-defective group of bits. Based on the detection, the controller may set reliability metrics to values that indicate low levels or reliability, which in turn may increase the probability of successfully correcting the errors and reduce the amount of work the controller needs to do in order to complete the error correction process.

During manufacturing of memory systems, defects may occur on the memory dies that render certain groups of adjacent bit lines unusable or at least with less reliability. These defects may be detected as part of the manufacturing process, and either replaced using redundant replacement bit lines, or, if the numbers of defective bit lines are too numerous, then the memory die is placed into a lower quality tier or discarded completely.
However, defects may occur in the memory dies after manufacturing, such as due to use of the memory device in its normal operation mode as its programs data into, reads data from, and erases data from the memory cells of the memory dies. These defects, not detected during manufacturing, are referred to as grown defects. Because these defects were not detected during manufacturing, the memory system is not pre-programmed with knowledge of these defective storage locations. In turn, when a controller of the memory system reads data from the defective storage locations, it assumes that the storage locations do not have defects and instead are reliable. Consequently, during a read operation when the controller performs error correction on the bits, the controller may assume a high likelihood of reliability of the bit values of the bits, even though in actuality the bits are stored in defective storage locations. In turn, the controller may fail or struggle to complete error correction.
One reason that the controller may fail or struggle to complete error correction is that the soft bits that the controller uses to identify likelihoods of reliability are not informative for bits stored in defective storage locations, since such bits may have a substantially low chance of having correct bit values. Another reason is that some error correction codes used to generate the parity bits have a relatively high degree of sensitivity to collections of consecutive or bursts of bits. Consequently, if a plurality of adjacent bit lines or memory cells are defective, such as due to grown defects. the errors of the bits stored in the defective memory cells may have a pattern of data values that aligns with the code structure of the error correction code, creating a weakness in the error correction code. Accordingly, ways to detect unreliable bits or unreliable memory components used to program and read the bits to/from the memory dies, including bits and/or memory components that are unreliable due to grown defects, may be desirable.

Grown defect detection and mitigation using ECC in memory systems


A light-emitting device having a structure in which a mask used for forming a film such as an organic compound layer does not come in contact with the pixels in forming the light-emitting elements, and a method of fabricating the same. In fabricating the light-emitting device of the active matrix type, a partitioning wall constituted by a second wiring and a separation portion is formed on the interlayer-insulating film, and the pixels are surrounded by the partitioning wall, preventing the mask from coming into direct contact with the pixels, the mask being used for forming the organic compound layer and the opposing electrode of the light-emitting elements.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of fabricating an active matrix-type light-emitting device having a light-emitting element on a substrate, and to a light-emitting device. The light-emitting element stands for an element of a structure having an anode, a cathode and an organic compound layer containing a light-emitting organic material (hereinafter referred to as organic material) that produces EL (electroluminescence) sandwiched therebetween. The light-emitting element referred to here is also called OLED (organic light-emitting device). In this specification, further, a light-emitting panel having a light-emitting element sealed between a substrate and a covering member, and a light-emitting module having an IC mounted on the light-emitting panel, are generally referred to as light-emitting devices. The invention is further concerned with electric appliances using the above light-emitting device on the display unit. The EL (electroluminescent) devices referred to in this specification include triplet-based light emission devices and/or singlet-based light emission devices, for example.
2. Prior Art
The light-emitting element is highly visible since it emits light by itself, is best suited for decreasing the thickness since it does not use backlight needed by the liquid crystal display devices (LCDs), and imposes no limitation on the viewing angle. In recent years, therefore, the light-emitting device using the light-emitting element is drawing attention to substitute for the CRTs and LCDs.
The light-emitting element includes a layer containing an organic material that produces EL (electroluminescence: luminescence which is produced upon the application of a electric field), an anode and a cathode. The luminescence produced by the organic material can be classified into emission of light (fluorescence) of when the singlet excitation state returns back to the ground state and emission of light (phosphorescence) of when the triplet excitation state returns back to the ground state. The light-emitting device of the present invention may use the light-emitting element containing either organic material.
In this specification, the layers provided between the anode and the cathode are all defined as organic compound layers. Concretely speaking, the organic compound layers include a light-emitting layer, a positive hole injection layer, an electron injection layer, a positive hole transporting layer and an electron transporting layer. Basically, the light-emitting element has a structure in which the anode/light-emitting layer/cathode are laminated in this order. In addition to this structure, the light-emitting element may often have a structure in which the anode/positive hole injection layer/light-emitting layer/cathode are laminated in this order or the anode/positive hole injection layer/light-emitting layer/electron transporting layer/cathode are laminated in this order.
In forming the light-emitting element, the layer of the organic compound is formed by the vaporization method, printing method, ink-jet method or spin-coating method.
Among them, the vaporization method capable of separately applying the organic compound by using a metal mask or the like mask, is one of the film-forming methods frequently used for forming a film of a low-molecular organic material. In forming the active matrix-type light-emitting element, however, this method arouses a problem in that the pixels are damaged when the metal mask comes in contact with the pixels in forming the film of the organic compound, since the light-emitting elements are formed after the TFTs are formed.
According to the conventional method of fabricating the light-emitting element as taught in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 339968/1999, however, the passivation film is formed after the pixel electrode is formed, and the organic compound layer and the opposing electrode are formed after the passivation film is removed from the pixel electrode portion. Therefore, there has been formed a structure for protection with the passivation film so that the metal mask will not come in contact with the pixels. In this specification, the passivation film formed except on the pixel electrodes is called bank.
By forming the bank prior to forming the layer of the organic compound and the opposing electrodes as described above, it is allowed to prevent the metal mask from coming into contact with the pixels.
In fabricating the light-emitting element, the bank comprising an insulating material is formed to surround the pixels after the pixel electrode is formed for each of the pixels.
The bank works not only to protect the wiring but also to protect the pixel electrodes of the pixels, the organic compound layer and the opposing electrodes from being damaged when they are touched by the metal mask in forming the organic compound layer and the opposing electrodes by vaporization on the pixel electrodes of the pixels by using the metal mask, and to prevent the electrodes from being short-circuited to the wiring at the time when the opposing electrodes are formed.
However, formation of the bank requires another piece of mask for patterning.

Light-emitting device and method of fabricating the same

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A wireless communication circuit includes: a physical-layer circuit, arranged to operably communicate with other wireless communication devices through an antenna; a micro-controller, arranged to operably generate data frames to be transmitted to other wireless communication devices; and a MAC-layer circuit comprising: a MAC-layer storage circuit for storing a data queue; a MAC-layer control circuit, coupled with the physical-layer circuit, the micro-controller, and the MAC-layer storage circuit, arranged to temporarily store the data frames generated by the micro-controller in the data queue; and a scheduling circuit, coupled with the MAC-layer storage circuit and the MAC-layer control circuit, arranged to operably schedule a timing that the MAC-layer control circuit transmits data stored in the data queue to the physical-layer circuit.

The disclosure generally relates to a wireless communication circuit and, more particularly, to a wireless communication circuit capable of increasing data throughput.
In order to achieve time-division multiple access (TDMA) purpose, many wireless communication circuits adopted the carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) mechanism to be the media access control (MAC) protocol. In a conventional wireless communication circuit, the micro-processor is required to frequently read the registers in the MAC-layer circuit, so that the micro-processor could obtain the data transmission progress of the MAC-layer circuit.
However, the operations of frequently reading the registers in the MAC-layer circuit conducted by the micro-processor would inevitably increase the loading of communication between the micro-processor and the MAC-layer circuit, thereby degrading the overall transmission performance of the wireless communication circuit.

Wireless communication circuit with scheduling circuit in MAC layer


A permanent magnet motor is provided with a housing, a rotating shaft supported within the housing, and magnetic coils arranged within the housing. A hydrostatic bearing is disposed on the rotating shaft, the hydrostatic bearing having a permanent magnet incorporated therewith that restricts movement of the rotating shaft in a radial direction.

Some motors are designed to use coils in order to generate a magnetic field. These motors include two sets of coils, one located in the stator and one located in the rotor. One set of coils is energized using conductive contacts or brushes that may touch on the shaft or the moving body. The current fed to these coils creates an electromagnetic field. Other motors and generators employ permanent magnets to provide motion. Electricity is produced when coils of copper windings are moved relative to the flux fields generated by the magnets. Alternatively, electricity may be fed into the coils to produce motion. In both of these scenarios, separate bearings are used to define the relative motion between the coils and magnets, which may be linear or rotary in nature. In either case, the flux field creates an attractive force that must be resisted by the bearings. This force is mitigated in some degree when there is an opposing force applied at 180° from other magnets. Although the opposing force mitigates the flux field's attractive force, it is not a stabilizing force. For example, as the coils get closer to the magnets on one side, the attractive force from those magnets increase, which moves the coils further away from the magnets that are arranged at 180° and decreases the applied opposing force. In the absence of separate bearings, the coils and magnets would come into contact and disable the motor or generator's function.
Permanent magnet motors employ magnets made of, for example and without limitation, neodymium NdFeB or ferrite. There are multiple methods for manufacturing these magnets, such as through casting in a mold, pressing, injection molding, or bonding. In most cases, these magnets are porous, which is especially true for magnets that are sintered. These magnets may be magnetized after they have been formed into their desired shape. Motors and generators may employ a wide variety of magnetic circuit designs. Permanent magnets may be used on the outside diameter of a rotating body or on the interior of a housing. They may use switched reluctance or induction and may use AC or DC current.
Motors and generators' efficiency and power can be increased by minimizing the distance between the coils in the magnets. As the distance between the coils decreases, the flux field force increases. However, due to the unstable relationship between the coils and magnets as described above, relatively large gaps between coils must be used in the manufacture of motors and generators. Such an arrangement is shown by U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,235 to Klecker.
Design engineers have been trying to achieve more functionality in less space. The paradigm today in the design of motors and generators is to have separate bearings and motor functions. This results in assemblies that are longer, larger in diameter, and heavier than if the motor and bearing elements can be one in the same. For example, see the assembly shown by U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,413 to Pflager et al.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,203 to Henderson, magnets are inserted into the face of a hydrostatic bearing assembly in order to increase the stiffness of the hydrostatic film with the magnets' preload force. However, there is no disclosure of using such magnets in a motor or generator.
One of ordinary skill in the art of hydrostatic bearings would appreciate that air and other gases are examples of a fluid used in hydrostatic bearings. This means that the broad term of hydrostatic bearings encompasses aerostatic bearings, as discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,771 to Devitt et al. The terms "hydrostatic bearings" and "hydrodynamic bearings" are both encompassed in the definition of "fluid film bearings." Hydrostatic bearings are differentiated from hydrodynamic bearings by the use of an external pressure source, which allows hydrostatic bearings to operate even with zero velocity between the relative bearing faces. In contrast, hydrodynamic bearings require relative motion between bearing faces to create fluid film pressure. One of ordinarily skill in the art would also appreciate that hydrostatic bearings exhibit hydrodynamic effects when there is relative motion between the bearing faces. These hydrodynamic effects are an unavoidable result of the shear of the hydrostatic fluid caused by the relative motion of the bearing surfaces, and are included in the operation of hydrostatic bearings.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present application to combine the bearing and motor functionalities, provide economy of space, and improve efficiency by reducing the gap in the flux field to the thickness of the hydrostatic bearing fluid.

Hydrostatic bearing made of magnetic material which is also used as a motor magnet


A method of operating a nonvolatile memory device includes; performing a verification operation on memory cells while controlling a verification voltage until the memory cells are verification-passed, controlling a level of a bias voltage to be applied to the memory cells according to a level of the verification voltage when the memory cells are verification-passed, and applying the bias voltage to the memory cells.

The present disclosure relates to semiconductor memory devices. More particularly, the disclosure relates to methods of operating nonvolatile memory devices and a memory system including same.
Semiconductor memory devices may be classified in two general types; volatile memory devices and nonvolatile memory devices. Volatile memory devices lose stored data in the absence of applied power, and include SRAM, DRAM and SDRAM. Nonvolatile memory devices retain stored data in the absence of applied power and include ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, PRAM, MRAM, RRAM, and FRAM. Flash memory devices may be further classified as NOR-type or NAND-type.

Method of operating nonvolatile memory device and memory system


An LED cooling system comprising of a Peltier cooler. The Peltier cooler comprising of a top cooling plate and bottom heating plate. The top cooling plate is capable of directly contacting an LED housing such that heat generated by an LED in the LED housing can be transferred from the LED housing by said Peltier cooler; A control circuit electrically connected to said Peltier cooler to control the amount of power is supplied to said Peltier cooler; said amount of power supplied to said Peltier cooler is determined by the temperature of said LED housing.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for providing a cooling system for an LED lighting system.
2. Description of the Related Art
LEDs are rapidly becoming a popular source of lighting systems. Using LEDs provide numerous advantages over traditional light bulbs. For example, the size of the LED is dramatically smaller than a typical incandescent bulb, but the luminance of the LED can be just as strong or even greater.
Since an LED is a semiconductor device, the temperature of the junction point of the LED should be controlled to ensure that the LED will not burn out. In addition, controlling the temperature of the LED junction point will help to sustain maximum light, life and color consistency. Rapid fluctuations in the temperature can have undesirable effects in an LED lighting as the color and the luminance of light emitted by the LED will also vary greatly with the temperature fluctuations and will be noticed in a lighting fixture that uses LEDs. Thus, these systems utilize a cooling system to regulate the heat generated by the LED.
Typical cooling systems can involve the use of a heat sink and/or fan to cool the junction point. Another cooling system that can be used is a Peltier cooler. A Peltier cooler is an electrical device that works as a heat pump whereby heat is transferred from one side to the other when current is supplied to the cooler. The amount of current powering the Peltier cooler will have a linear relationship to the heat transferred. Through the use of two plates on opposite sides of the cooler, the Peltier cooler can transfer the heat from one plate to the other thereby creating a cooling surface area. Having a cooling surface area allows the LED system to be directly cooled by a proactive system instead of having a passive heat sink. Thus, the temperature at the junction can be directly controlled.
While the use of a Peltier cooler allows for greater control in cooling an LED system, there are several disadvantages. Peltier coolers have very low efficiency. They can consume more power than they transport. Thus, having a Peltier cooler operating all the time will use a lot of energy making the device less energy efficient. The Peltier cooler will also generate heat on the heating plate, which will need to be dealt with to avoid affecting the LED system. Another consideration in using the Peltier system is that the cooling effect can cause condensation to gather on the cooling plate if the Peltier cooler operates consistently after a long period of time. That condensation can affect the operation of a LED based lighting system.


A two-component developer includes at least a magnetic toner and a magnetic carrier. The magnetic toner has magnetic particles coated with a carbon black layer. The magnetic toner adheres to the magnetic carrier due to the magnetic interaction.

This document claims priority and contains subject matter related to Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2000-321397 filed on Oct. 20, 2000 and 2001-273280 filed on Sep. 10, 2001, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a developer as well as an image forming apparatus and method using the developer.
2. Discussion of the Background
As conventional latent image developing methods using a toner, two-component developing methods represented by a magnetic brush developing method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,874,063 and one-component developing methods are known.
In a dry type two-component developer used for a two-component developing method, fine toner particles are retained on the surface of relatively larger carrier particles by static electricity caused by friction between both particles. When the toner particles come close to a latent image, the toner particles are attracted to the latent image and the latent image is visualized, because the electric field strength of the latent image attracting the toner particles is larger than the binding strength between the toner particles and the carrier particles. Thus, the developer is repeatedly used, refilling the toner consumed for the development.
Therefore, the mixing ratio of the carrier and the toner, (i.e., the toner concentration) should be fixed to form a stable image density in the two-component developing method. Accordingly, a toner supplying mechanism and a toner concentration sensor are required for the developing device, which increases the size of the device and makes the printing operation more complicated.
On the other hand, in a one-component developing method, static electricity caused by friction between a toner and a developing sleeve of the developing device or a magnetic attraction between the toner""s magnetic particles and the developing sleeve""s magnet retains the toner on the developing sleeve. When the toner particles come close to a latent image, the toner particles are attracted to the latent image because the electric field strength of the latent image attracting the toner particles is larger than the binding strength between the toner particles and the developing sleeve.
Therefore, the one-component developing method is advantageous because the toner concentration does not need to be controlled. Thus, the size of the developing device can be reduced. However, it is difficult to apply the one-component developing method to a high-speed copier because the concentration of the toner particles in the developing area is smaller than that of the two-component developer and the developed volume of the toner on a photoreceptor is not enough.
Further, even in the two-component developing method, when the toner is not charged enough because the linear velocity of the developing sleeve is fast in a high-speed copier, the toner on the developer tends to leave the carrier, resulting in toner scattering. Therefore, the magnetic two-component developer including the magnetic toner is used even in the two-component developing method.
However, when the magnetic toner is used for the two-component developer, the toner magnetization becomes large if the volume of the magnetic particles is increased, resulting in deterioration of the developing capability in the two-component developing method. Further, when the volume of the magnetic particles is decreased, a reddish image without enough density is produced. To improve the drawback, when a non-magnetic black pigment such as carbon black is used, the chargeability of the toner deteriorates and background fouling tends to occur.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a two-component developer which sufficiently charges a toner and forms a quality image without toner scattering and background fouling.
To achieve these and other objects, the present invention provides a two-component developer including a magnetic toner including magnetic particles coated with carbon black, and a magnetic carrier configured to carry the magnetic toner on a surface thereof.

Two-component developer, and image forming apparatus and image forming method using the developer


A method of verifying a digital circuit in which state transition information is extracted from the output of a non-formal first verification technique. A formal verification tool is then applied to the extracted state transition information to extend the verification coverage of the digital circuit beyond the coverage that is achieved using the first verification technique. In one embodiment, the method includes the initial step of applying a first verification technique such as a simulation technique to a model of the digital circuit. In the preferred embodiment, the application of the formal verification tool comprises applying a model checker to the extracted state transition data to achieve a formal verification of the state machine represented by the state transition diagram. In one embodiment, the extracted state transition information includes a set of data points each representing a present state, a present input, and a next state. In one embodiment useful for extending the verification coverage provided by a conventional non-formal verification technique, the non-formal tool is used to verify satisfaction of a specification or rule by traversing a first transition path of the circuit. The non-formal tool is then used a second time to verify the rule or specification by traversing a second transition path. State transition information generated during the first and second passes of the non-formal verification technique is then extracted and provided to a formal verification tool such as a model checker. The formal verification of the circuit represented by the extracted state transition information extends the verification coverage achieved with the non-formal verification tool such as by, for example, traversing the digital circuit with a third transition path that was not explored with the non-formal verification tool. In addition, infinite loop conditions or live lock conditions may be detected by applying the formal verification technique to the extracted state transition information. Extraction and archiving of transition information may be performed periodically to accumulate new transition information.

1. Field of the Present Invention
The present invention relates to the field of logic design verification and more particularly to a method for extending the verification coverage achieved with traditional non-formal verification techniques such as simulation.
2. History of Related Art
Verification of digital hardware is generally accomplished by a simulation technique in which a given set of input test vectors is applied to a model of the circuit to be verified. Traditional simulation, however, is significantly limited in its ability to completely verify complex hardware. The number of states, state transitions, and state transition sequences associated with any particular digital circuit all increase exponentially as the model size, calculated in terms of the number of latches comprising the model, increases linearly. Referring to FIG. 1, a state transition diagram 100 representing various states and transition paths between the various states for a given logic design is presented where a transition path is defined as a sequence of one or more transitions and a transition is defined as a single step from a present state to a next state under control of the present input. State transition diagram 100 includes an initial state 102a and multiple transition paths 104a, 104b, and 104c, leading from initial transition state 102a to next transition states 102b, 102c, and 102d. Each of the states 102b, 102c, and 102d can transition to other states indicated in transition table 100 through the various transition paths. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the field of digital hardware design that state transition diagram 100 of FIG. 1 is a grossly simplified representation of the state machines contemplated by complex digital circuitry. It will be further appreciated that the number of transition states 102 and, correspondingly, the number of transition paths 104 increases exponentially with the number of latches, such that even a moderately complex circuit comprised of, for example, 1000 latches can assume 21000 or roughly 10300 states. Traditionally, conventional simulation techniques verify a given digital circuit in a depth-first fashion. As an example, a simulation technique might attempt to verify the digital circuit represented by state diagram 100 by applying a sequence of inputs to a model of the digital circuit and recording the transition paths that the model follows. Thus, for example, a given simulation trace may follow the digital circuit from an initial state 102a through intermediate states 102c and 102e to a final state 102f via transition paths 104b, 104d and 104e. If any rules or specifications with which the digital circuit must comply are violated along the transition path indicated from initial state 102a to final state 102f, the simulation trace indicated will identify the violation. As the number of states and transition paths increases exponentially with the number of latches in the circuit, achieving any significant coverage of the total number of available transition paths quickly becomes exceedingly difficult using conventional simulation techniques because each simulation run exposes only a single transition path. Circuit simulation is commonly referred to as a non-formal verification technique to emphasize the limited coverage achieved using such a technique. At the other end of the verification spectrum, formal verification tools and techniques are used to rigorously verify that an implantation satisfies a given specification or set of rules. Typically, a formal verification technique utilizes a breadth-first approach in which each possible transition path from a given transition state is verified before proceeding to another state (or set of states) in the machine. In the depiction of FIG. 1, for example, a formal verification technique might begin by verifying transition paths 104a, 104b, and 104c with respect to state 102a before proceeding to the second xe2x80x9ctierxe2x80x9d of states including states 102b, 102c, and 102d. After verifying each transition path 104 leading from the second tier of states, a formal verification tool might verify each transition path extending from the second tier of states to the third tier, and so forth. In this manner, a formal verification technique verifies essentially every permitted combination of transitions in state diagram 100. While formal verification tools and techniques obviously enjoy the advantage of the greatest possible coverage of the digital circuit being verified, it will be readily appreciated that the computational load contemplated by a full formal verification of a digital circuit with any significant complexity can quickly become overwhelming. Typically, therefore, formal verification tools are utilized in conjunction with an environment that is associated with the design to be verified. A model, such as an HDL model is imported into a formal verification tool such as a model checker. A verification engineer then constructs an environment around the design consisting of a variety of input constraints associated with the circuit. In addition, a set of properties or rules to be verified is supplied to the formal verification tool. The verification tool will then extract the full state transition table for the design limited by the environmental constraints. While this type of formal verification provides the desirable level of verification coverage, the construction of the environment around the design is a manually intensive, arduous, and time consuming process. It is therefore highly desirable to implement a verification technique striking a reasonable compromise between the limited coverage afforded by conventional simulation techniques and the expense and time consumed by formal verification methods.
The problems identified above are in large part addressed by a verification method according to the present invention in which a conventional non-formal verification tool is utilized to generate information from which a partial state transition diagram of the circuit to be verified can be extracted. A formal verification tool such as a model checker is then used to achieve formal verification of the portion of the circuit represented by the extracted state transition information. By combining non-formal with formal verification techniques, the invention is able to achieve additional verification coverage over the coverage provided by traditional simulation with only an incremental increase in the amount of time and expense required to generate the simulation.
Broadly speaking, the present invention contemplates the use of a two stage verification process in which the second stage augments verification coverage obtained by the first stage in an automatic fashion. In the first stage, state transition information is extracted from the output of a non-formal verification technique. A formal verification tool is then applied to the extracted state transition information to extend the verification coverage of the digital circuit beyond the coverage that is achieved using the first verification technique. In one embodiment, the method includes the initial step of applying a first verification technique such as a simulation technique to a model of the digital circuit. In one embodiment, the information from which the state transition information is extracted includes an all events trace that is produced by executing a set or plurality of simulation runs using the simulation tool or technique. In the preferred embodiment, the application of the formal verification tool comprises applying a model checker to the extracted state transition data to achieve a formal verification of the state machine represented by the state transition diagram. In one embodiment, the extracted state transition information includes a set of data points each representing a present state, a present input, and a next state. Preferably, the state transition information is sorted by the present state information to facilitate a breadth-first verification by the formal verification tool. In one embodiment useful for extending the verification coverage provided by a conventional non-formal verification technique, the non-formal tool is used to verify satisfaction of a specification or rule by traversing a first transition path of the circuit. The non-formal tool is then used a second time to verify the rule or specification by traversing a second transition path. State transition information generated during the first and second passes of the non-formal verification technique is then extracted and provided to a formal verification tool such as a model checker. The formal verification of the circuit represented by the extracted state transition information extends the verification coverage achieved with the non-formal verification tool such as by, for example, traversing the digital circuit with a third transition path that was not explored with the non-formal verification tool. In addition, infinite loop conditions or live lock conditions may be detected by applying the formal verification technique to the extracted state transition information. The invention further contemplates a computer system and a computer program product such as a computer readable medium for implementing the method of verifying digital circuits described herein.

International Business Machines Corporation