A ceramic-based hardwood floor finishing method resistant to panelization, exhibiting improved durability, and suitable for on-site use. The method is comprised of laying down successive layers of water-based primer, armor coat and top coat. The water-based primer utilizes a low resin content and a low co-solvent concentration to substantially reduce panelization of hardwood boards. The water-based armor coat is comprised of large particulate size ceramic additives which, in combination with a low resin content, allow the formation of a microscopic bead structure on the surface of the finish which provides enhanced durability.

The invention relates to water-based hardwood floor finishing products and methods of applying the products on site.
Hardwood flooring has long enjoyed favor with consumers due to the unique richness and elegance that it adds to a home or business setting. Although hardwood flooring is a consumer favorite, inherent physical characteristics of hardwood flooring make it susceptible to damage from ordinary usage and the occasional accident. As such, it has become traditional practice in the flooring industry to protect hardwood floors with some form of coating or finish to preserve aesthetic qualities, and ultimately extend the useful life of the surface.
Many protective finishes are known in the flooring industry. Protective finishes in the prior art include varnishes, acrylics, urethanes, and epoxies or combinations thereof. In general, protective finishes are applied to hardwood surfaces in successive layers, with each layer performing a specific purpose. For example, a protective finish normally constitutes primers applied directly to the hardwood surface to bond and seal the porous wood itself and top coat layers applied over the sealing layers to provide sheen and stain resistance. In recent years, water-based finishes (i.e., solutions in which water is the primary solvent) have become popular due to environmental and health concerns. In addition, various layers may also contain additives including co-solvents, defoamers, flow additives and wax emulsions to provide ease of application and improve the overall effectiveness of the protective finish.
Although the above-mentioned primers and top coats provide some protection against mechanical damage due to scratching, gouging, scuffing or the like, the hardwood flooring industry has invested much time and effort into identifying further additives for floor finishes in order to improve the overall durability of hardwood floor surfaces. Unfortunately, increasing finish durability often results in a finish with reduced abilities to preserve aesthetic qualities. Thus, the fine balance between durability and preservation of desirable characteristics such as clarity is difficult to attain. Nonetheless, such finishes are extremely desirable.
Finished hardwood floors also suffer from a problem termed panelization. Panelization, to be more thoroughly discussed below, results when resins contained in the primer coat invade the gaps between hardwood boards, cross-link, and cause neighboring boards to become rigidly affixed to each other as if glued together. Unfortunately, when hardwood boards contract due to seasonal changes in humidity, large sections of panelized flooring contract to leave unsightly, uneven gaps at the boundaries of the panelized units. Without panelization, the gaps between boards would be evenly distributed, and hence smaller and less noticeable throughout seasonal humidity cycles. A method of finishing hardwood floors that avoids this problem, but provides durability and is aesthetically pleasing, is needed.
The invention is a hardwood floor finishing method that uses water-based coatings and exhibits improved durability during ordinary usage and against accidental damage. It also substantially reduces or eliminates the above mentioned panelization problem. In general, the finishing method is intended to be carried out on-site in several simple, efficient and safe steps. In its preferred form, the method involves the application of a ceramic-based armor coat over the primer layers in order to improve the durability and wearability of the floor finish.
The inventive method disclosed herein is preferably implemented on a new floor by applying successive layers of primer, ceramic armor and top coat to a newly screened, cleaned and tacked hardwood surface. The primer is a water-based primer having a low solid content and low co-solvent concentration in order to reduce or eliminate panelization. As with many conventional primers, the primer contains a mixture of acrylic and polyurethane polymer resin dispersions that are not water-soluble, but are suspended in the water/co-solvent mixture. Alternatively, the primer may be a copolymer substitute for the acrylic and polyurethane mixture. Upon application to the prepared surface, this water-based primer penetrates the pores of the hardwood and acts to thoroughly seal the exposed hardwood surface. Use of a water-based primer to seal a hardwood surface is widely known in the field. However, as mentioned, the method disclosed herein involves applying a water-based primer having an unusually low resin content and low co-solvent concentration. It is believed that the combination of the low resin content and a low co-solvent concentration reduces the flow of resins into the gaps between the hardwood boards during the initial drying process. A second coating of primer is applied after initial drying of the first primer coat. Two coats of primer are needed because the coats are thin. The problem posed by panelization of hardwood floor boards is substantially eliminated by using a thin coating of low solid content/low co-solvent concentration primer, but a sufficient primer build is obtained by using two coats of primer.
It has been found that panelization results from the use of primers having a high solid content of polymers or copolymer resins and a high concentration of co-solvent. This combination promotes not only the flow of uncrosslinked polymer or copolymer resins into the existing gap between new hardwood boards but also the subsequent solvation step necessary to cross link the resins. However, the polymer or copolymer resins remain uncrosslinked when in a solution having a high water content. Only when water is removed as by evaporation, are the polymer or copolymer resins solved into the increasing concentration of co-solvent. Once solved, the polymer or copolymer resin crosslink into a rigid composition potentially resulting in a group of boards being joined or glued together to form a panel-like unit. It should be noted that hardwood normally contracts in a direction across the grain, and therefore the width of the boards normally shrinks when the hardwood boards respond to seasonal changes in humidity. The unfortunate result of this phenomenon on a panelized floor is that gap width is consequently spread unevenly across the floor surface. Instead of small gaps of uniform width existing between each new hardwood board, a panelized group of boards will have essentially no gaps on its interior, but much larger and noticeable gaps will surround the panel. The gaps due to panelization are especially evident during the winter when humidity is relatively low. These noticeable gaps in the hardwood surface are obviously undesirable.
The low concentration of acrylic and polyurethane polymer resins or copolymer resins in the primer effectively reduces the concentration of uncrosslinked resin in the gap area when the primer is first applied. Subsequently, the concentration of the crosslinked resins in the gap area remains relatively low for an extended time period because the water within the gaps takes longer to evaporate than on the hardwood boards"" exposed surfaces. Thus, if a second layer of primer is applied within a certain amount of time (e.g. about 45 minutes), the gap area between hardwood boards remains relatively free of cured resins.
After the primer layers are dry, the floor is then screened, vacuumed and tacked with a dampened cloth to remove all dust particles. Then, within about two to three hours of applying the second primer coat, the armor coat is applied to the floor. The armor coat effectively seals over the gap which should at this time still contains the primer solution with a relatively high concentration of water. The primer solution in the gap area is consequently left undried. In this manner, the resins in the armor coat are not allowed to reside deep within the gaps. Rather, as the armor coating dries, it forms a relatively thin bridge across the gap between the boards. Within twenty-four hours, the top coat should be applied over the armor coat. When the top coat and the armor coat continue to dry and cure over time, the coats shrink and the thin bridging across the gaps cracks easily. Also, the high content of water contained within the sealed off gap area is slowly absorbed into the porous walls of the neighboring hardwood boards. Left behind is a small amount of crosslinked resin which does not act as glue between hardwood boards. The gap area will ultimately be completely open and each hardwood board may expand and contract independently of their neighbor. In sum, individual hardwood boards do not become rigidly attached to each other and the unsightly effects of panelization are greatly reduced or eliminated totally.
The preceding paragraphs discuss the method for finishing newly constructed hardwood floors. However, when finishing older hardwood floors, panelization, if it is going to occur, will have probably already occurred. Thus, there is no advantage in applying a primer layer with panelization-inhibiting abilities to older hardwood floors that have previously been finished. Thus, the preferred method of finishing an older hardwood surface involves buffing the old finish and applying the armor coat and top coat directly on the buffed surface. Alternatively, the existing finish can be removed by sanding and a traditional high solid content primer can be applied in order to provide a sufficient build on the surface. High solid content primers, as noted previously, are widely known in the field.
In addition to offering a remedy for panelization problems, the preferred embodiment of the invention also provides an approach to improving the durability of the hardwood floor coating. The use of ceramic additives (e.g. aluminum oxide) to provide abrasion resistance and durability in floor finishes has been widely discussed in the prior art. Normally, the aluminum oxide particles are relatively small and embedded into the cured resin. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, however, relatively large-sized ceramic particles are mixed into the water-based armor coat. Also, the armor coat has a low resin content. This provides the fully cured finish with a unique microscopic bead structure on its surface. Standard abrasion resistance testing has shown that the microscopic bead structure provides a finished hardwood floor with extremely high durability.
More specifically, the diameter of the large particles of ceramic additive (e.g., aluminum oxide) are preferably in the range of 15 to 35 microns. When the armor coat is applied over the panelization-reducing primer layer(s), a large percentage of the non-ceramic components (i.e. water and co-solvent) in-the armor coat evaporate completely. The components left behind, namely the crosslinked acrylic and polyurethane polymers (or copolymers), produce a thin layer of hardened resin in which the larger ceramic particles remain protruding above. These protrusions are termed microbeads. The microbeads on the surface of top coat layer remain even after subsequent applications of a water-based top coat layer over the heterogeneous armor coat layer. An incidental benefit of the microbeaded top coat surface is the anti-slip characteristics bestowed on the surface due to the increased frictional coefficient of the microbeaded top coat layer.
It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention provides a practical and simple hardwood floor finishing method that yields a finish resistant to the problems of panelization. In another aspect, it should also be apparent that the finish is convenient to apply on-site and also provides exceptional durability. The finishing method is easy to apply on-site to both newly constructed hardwood floors and old hardwood floors in need of refinishing. In addition, the invention provides an environmentally safe method that generates no noxious fumes and contains no caustic agents. It is safe for both the people that work with the system and the environment in general.

Ceramic-based hardwood floor finishing method


A carrying case and anchoring system for a beach umbrella and its support shaft is disclosed comprising in combination:. (1) Container means consisting of top, bottom and side members wherein the top and bottom members are operationally connected at one edge by hinge means to allow pivoting of the members about the axis of the hinge means whereby the container is opened and closed; wherein the top, bottom and side members define a hollow cavity when the carrying case is closed of sufficient size to receive a beach umbrella, its support shaft and a weighting medium for anchoring the container means, umbrella and support shaft; the top and bottom members being further characterized by possessing a plurality of paired openings situated through the top and bottom members wherein the openings of each pair are in direct opposition to one another such that when the carrying case is closed, the opening in the top member is juxtaposed upon the opening in the bottom member, thereby forming a channel through which the umbrella support shaft may be inserted;. (2) Locking means to secure the umbrella support shaft to the container means when it is closed and the support shaft is situated within the channel formed by the paired openings in the top and bottom members; and. (3) Weighting Means which is placed within the container means hollow cavity to anchor the container means, beach umbrella and support shaft from wind forces.. In one embodiment, there are a plurality of openings, one pair forming a channel perpendicular to the top and bottom members of the container means, while another pair form a channel which is at an acute angle to the top and bottom members, thereby permitting the umbrella to adopt a variety of positions relative to the sun. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the locking means are contained within a hollow cylindrical sleeve which is inserted into the channel formed by the paired openings, the sleeve being flanged at one end to rest on the beach sand and open at the other end. The sleeve protrudes above the surface of the top member of the container means when it is closed. The umbrella support shaft is placed into the sleeve and locked into position by way of the locking means.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable beach umbrella carrying case and an anchoring system therefore.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art portable beach umbrella carrying case systems have been described in the art but have been deemed inadequate to provide a system for carrying a beach umbrella with its support shaft and a weighting medium to stabilize the beach umbrella from wind gusts. Prior art systems have taught independent weighting means which must be carried separately from the carrying case such as the system shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,924,893. It can therefore be appreciated that there is a continuing need for, and interest in, improvements in the securement of a portable beach umbrella carrying case and anchoring system which may be integrated into a light weight easy to use beach umbrella carrying case and anchoring system.

Beach umbrella carrying case and anchoring system


A hermaphroditic fiber optic connector for use in an assembly for aligning mating ends of at least one pair of optical fibers is disclosed. The connector includes a terminating member having a passage therein dimensioned for receiving one of the optical fibers. An adapter associated with a mating end of the terminating member and communicating with the passage is provided wherein the adapter has a hermaphroditic face exposed at the mating end of the terminating member. The connector also includes means associated with the adapter for securing the one optical fiber in a preselected position relative to the mating end of the terminating member. In a more specific sense, the connector is adapted for use in an assembly including a second identical connector for aligning mating ends of optical fibers in a pair of fiber optic cables in which the various elements may be formed in a manner making them interchangeable with other like elements in order to form a modular hermaphroditic connector.

The present invention relates to fiber optic connectors and, more particularly, to hermaphroditic fiber optic connectors for use in an assembly for aligning mating ends of optical fibers in a pair of fiber optic cables.
In recent years, fiber optic communication lines made up of parallel optically-conductive fibers arranged to form a flexible cable for conveying light from one location to another have come into increasing use. The applications have varied, although one particularly significant application has been conveying data from one location to another by modulating a light source with data to be transmitted at one end of the cable and recovering the data at the other end of the cable with a photosensitive detector. Since the data is conveyed by a medium not subject to radio frequency interference or detection, fiber optic communication lines are particularly well adapted for applications requiring a high degree of security like those found in the data processing field.
With the increasing use of fiber optic communication lines, the need has developed for connectors capable of joining segments of cables with minimum detriment to the optical transmission path. It has been found that precise axial and angular alignment between a pair of fiber optic cables can be achieved by terminating the optical fibers of the cables in connector pin assemblies in such a way that the optical fibers are concentrically aligned with respect to the outer dimension of the connector pins. When a pair of connector pins are concentrically aligned, the ultimate result is that the optical fibers will likewise be angularly and axially aligned for efficient light transfer.
While the connector art has been developing, the primary focus has been upon connectors having male and female components. More recently, there has been a growing interest in, and recognition of the need for, developing a suitable hermaphroditic fiber optic connector for use in an assembly including a second identical hermaphroditic fiber optic connector for aligning mating ends of optical fibers in a pair of fiber optic cables. Understandably, this interest has developed out of an appreciation for the fact that hermaphroditic connectors would eliminate the problem of assuring proper selection of both male and female connectors for a particular assembly as well as an appreciation for the commensurately reduced manufacturing and assembly costs. More particularly, there has been an increasing awareness of the need for development of a multichannel hermaphroditic fiber optic connector for use with single fiber per channel strengthened cables. Additionally, a hermaphroditic fiber optic connector has been sought which exhibits low loss characteristics just as with prior art fiber optic connectors.
Although the advantages of a hermaphroditic fiber optic connector have been appreciated, the need has remained for a practical embodiment adapted for use in an assembly including a second identical embodiment. Prior art connectors have apparently failed to disclose or suggest a hermaphroditic connector of the type contemplated. This is perhaps best illustrated by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,870,396 and 3,398,388 which perhaps represent some of the more pertinent prior art. Prior art connectors such as those disclosed in these patents nevertheless have only a remote relationship at best to a hermaphroditic fiber optic connector of the type contemplated. Accordingly, a practical hermaphroditic fiber optic connector embodiment has never before been available even though the problems associated with assemblies using male and female connectors have long been known and appreciated.
As a result, a hermaphroditic fiber optic connector has been needed for use in an assembly including a second identical hermaphroditic fiber optic connector for aligning mating ends of at least one pair of optical fibers in a pair of fiber optic cables.


A method for storing serial data in blocks on a recording carrier allows editing of the stored data to be simply and quickly accomplished. A data block to be processed is stored in a working memory which is connected to an input/output unit and blocks immediately preceeding or succeeding the block to be processed are stored in intermediate memories connected to the working memory. Upon employment of the input/output unit data blocks are processed in the working memory and after reaching the highest address of the working memory the processed block is transmitted into a first intermediate memory and the succeeding block is transmitted from a second intermediate memory into the working memory.

1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to a method for storing serial data in the form of information blocks on a recording carrier, and for processing or editing same.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
Methods for correcting or editing text data stored on a recording carrier are known in the art. In accordance with such known methods, when later insertion of a data block between data blocks already stored on the recording carrier is desired, the block residing at the desired insertion location is read from the recording carrier and intermediately stored. Subsequently, the block to be inserted is recorded on the recording carrier at the position formerly occupied by the block now being intermediately stored. This process is repeated for all succeeding blocks which are individually read from the recording carrier, intermediately stored and again recorded on the recording carrier displaced by the length of the inserted block.
Processes such as that described above require a relatively long time span when a large number of data blocks are stored in the recording carrier at positions after the location at which a new block is to be inserted, because each block must be individually read from the recording carrier and be recorded displaced by the length of the inserted block. When several new blocks are to be inserted, the process must be frequently repeated.

Method for storing serial data on a recording carrier


Provided is a method of processing hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) and adaptive transmission of a device-to-device (D2D) link. In the method, an operation method of user equipment (UE) includes (a) receiving an initial transmission mode (TM) and transmission power for the D2D link from a base station, and performing data transmission through the D2D link, (b) determining, at the UE, a TM and transmission power of a succeeding subframe, or receiving a TM control value and a transmission power control value from counterpart UE of the D2D link and determining the TM and the transmission power of the succeeding subframe, and (c) performing the data transmission to the counterpart UE using the determined TM and transmission power. Here, (b) and (c) are repeated.

1. Technical Field
Example embodiments of the present invention relate in general to direct communication between user equipment (UE) and UE relaying, and more particularly, to a method of processing adaptive transmission and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) of a device-to-device (D2D) link in order to perform direct communication between UE and UE relaying.
2. Related Art
Direct communication between UE is a communication method in which two adjacent sets of UE perform direct data transmission and reception without passing through a base station. In other words, the two adjacent sets of UE communicate as a source and a destination of data, respectively.
Direct communication between UE can be performed according to a communication scheme using an unlicensed band of a wireless local area network (WLAN), such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, Bluetooth, or so on. However, in the communication scheme using such an unlicensed band, it is difficult to provide a planned and controlled service. In particular, the performance of the communication scheme may drastically deteriorate due to interference.
On the other hand, direction communication between UE provided by a wireless communication system using a licensed band or a television (TV) white space band employed in an environment in which interference between systems is controlled, can support quality of service (QoS), enhance frequency use efficiency through frequency reuse, and increase a communication distance.
On the other hand, UE relay communication is a communication method in which, to increase the transmission capacity of UE (UE A) present at a cell boundary or shadow region, neighboring UE (UE B) having a good link characteristic with a neighboring base station, that is, present relatively close to the base station or outside the shadow region, serves to relay data between the UE A and the base station. Here, the UE A may be a source and/or destination of the data.
Such UE relay can improve the transmission capacity of UE at a cell boundary, and also enhance the frequency use efficiency of a whole cell through frequency reuse.
The above-described direct communication and UE relay communication require a D2D link in common. A D2D link denotes a cellular communication method in which sets of UE belonging to the same cell or different cells exchange data through direct communication between them without passing through a network.
In the case of the direct communication between UE, only a D2D link is established between two sets of UE. In the case of the UE relay communication, a cellular link is established between the base station and the relay UE (UE B), and a D2D link is established between the relay UE (UE B) and the end UE (UE A).
To enable such direct communication between UE and UE relay communication in a current cellular communication system, problems relating to a HARQ and adaptive wireless transmission method between UE performing transmission and reception through a D2D link, etc. need to be solved.

Method for HARQ and link adaptation of device to device link in direct communication between user equipments and relaying by user equipment

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


A patient alignment system utilizes stationary and mobile light fan beams for precisely positioning a patient for performing NMR studies. One assembly of preferably laser light sources is utilized to create a visible reference point for aligning a patient anatomical reference in the staged scan position. The reference position is then used as a reference to locate the scan volume and to automatically translate the patient so that the scan volume is in the optimum homogeneous region of the polarizing magnetic field. Two laser assemblies, each separately operable to provide a vertically movable laser fan beam, are used to locate a vertical reference point. The vertical reference point is used to retrospectively reconstruct images centered in the field of view. The vertical reference point is used to obtain prospectively image data to reconstruct magnified zoom or unmagnified images offset from the isocenter.

This invention relates to NMR systems. More specifically, the invention relates to a system for precisely aligning a patient on a table prior to performing an NMR study and for providing reference data useful in acquisition of NMR data and in image manipulation.
An NMR system typically is made up of a magnet, a table for supporting a patient, and digital computer apparatus for controlling system operation, data acquisition, and subsequent image reconstruction, for example. The magnet, which may be of resistive or superconductive construction, is generally configured as a cylinder having a longitudinal bore approximately 90 cm. in diameter. A shim coil assembly located within the bore is used to correct magnetic field inhomogeneities in the main field. A gradient coil system with a typical diameter of about 65 cm. is situated within the magnet bore interiorly of the shim coil assembly. Gradient coils are needed in NMR imaging systems to provide substantially linear magnetic-field gradients used to encode spatial information into NMR signals. A radio-frequency (RF) body coil used for exciting the nuclear magnetic resonance phenomenon and for receiving NMR signals further limits useful bore diameter to approximately 55 cm. This is sufficient for accommodating most patients, but severely limits the ability to move the patient both transversely and vertically within the bore.
To obtain optimal NMR image quality, the patient region of interest must be positioned within a centered spherical volume of approximately 40 cm. in diameter centered about a system isocenter where the magnetic field produced by the magnet is most homogeneous. This is accomplished by using a patient support device capable of bidirectional longitudinal travel within the magnet bore but which does not travel in the transverse or vertical directions. The use of such a device has its design advantages since transverse travel is severely restricted in any case by the RF body coil diameter. Vertical travel is not only limited, but is difficult to implement because of the extreme longitudinal travel range (about 300 cm.) and the requirement that the patient support system be capable of supporting a 300 pound load. A problem which arises due to the lack of vertical travel capability (i.e., without the ability to center the patient volume of interest with the isocenter) is that the image reconstruction process lacks the necessary reference information to an image center for the purpose of displaying images centered in the field of view or for reconstructing magnified and unmagnified images which are offset from the image center. The manner in which offset images are reconstructed is claimed and disclosed in copending, commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 555,097 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,247, filed by Gary H. Glover, which is incorporated herein be reference.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a patient alignment system for precisely positioning a patient longitudinally in a region of interest within the magnetic field volume having optimum homogeneity.
It is another object of the invention to provide a patient alignment system capable of providing reference information for displaying centered images even when the region of interest is not centered with the isocenter.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a patient alignment system for referencing an anatomical reference point which is recorded and which may then be used as a reference for determining the dimension and position of the region to be studied.

Patient alignment system for NMR studies


A bi-directional interface for transmitting signals between a circuit tester and a connection point proximate to a circuit to be tested includes a first and a second optical fiber link, a first directional gate for coupling both the input end of the first link and the output end of the second link to one endpoint of the interface and a second directional gate for coupling both the input end of the second link and the output end of the first link to the other endpoint of the interface. An optical fiber link includes an optical fiber, a light source, and a photodetector.

This invention relates generally to systems for testing integrated circuits, and more particularly to the interface between an integrated circuit wafer or chip and a load board.
Conventionally, an integrated circuit test system is connected to the device under test (xe2x80x9cDUTxe2x80x9d) through a load board, which is connected by coaxial cables to a probe card, which is connected to the DUT itself. The probe card is conventionally a printed circuit board with connections for the coaxial cables, fine needles for making contact with the connection points on the DUT, and printed traces on the printed circuit board connecting each cable to a needle.
The quality of test measurements is affected by the nature of the electrical connections, or interface, between the DUT and the test system. It has long been known that long coaxial cables impair the testing of signals, but numerous efforts have resulted in little success at solving the problem. The bandwidth of coaxial cable is limited by conductor losses that increase with frequency, causing signal edge degradation. Settling-time from source-to-load mismatch is increased as a result of the cable length. Other cable-induced effects include power loss and impedance mismatch errors at the cable connections, crosstalk, ground bounce, and propagation delay.
Nevertheless, flexible and long cables are desired to facilitate movement of the probe card and to separate spatially the probe card from the load board and the typically large test system. Because the number of channels of an integrated circuit to be tested can number in the hundreds, the bundle of cables can become unwieldy, reducing flexibility and access to the DUT.
In general, in one aspect, the present invention provides a link based on optical fibers to carry a signal between a test system and a connection point proximate to an integrated circuit device to be tested. The link includes an optical fiber for transmitting the signal, a light source electrically coupled to the link input and optically coupled to the fiber input, and a photodetector optically coupled to the output of the fiber to receive light and electrically coupled to the link output. In other aspects, the invention includes a receiver stage to receive the output of the photodetector, an equalizer stage to receive the output of the receiver stage, a high-pass filter stage to receive the output of the equalizer stage, and a power output stage to receive the output of the equalizer stage or, alternatively, of the high-pass filter stage.
In general, in another aspect, the receiver stage includes a microwave amplifier to receive the output of the photodetector, and the equalizer stage receives the output of the receiver stage and includes an amplifier stage with a transfer function that provides a first-order high-pass closed-loop response.
In general, in another aspect, the light source includes a light emitter and a driver stage, a load adapter to receive the signal and to transmit the signal to the driver stage. In another aspect, the invention includes a programmable load configured to receive the signal and to transmit the signal to the driver stage. In another aspect, the light emitter is a light emitting diode or a laser diode and the driver stage produces in the diode a DC bias current coupled to a modulation current derived from the signal. In another aspect, the driver stage includes an emitter-follower driver. In another aspect, the driver stage includes an FET (field-effect transistor) source-follower driver.
In general, in another aspect, the photodetector is a photodiode biased in photoconductive mode, and the optical fiber is a multimode 100/140 micron tapered-index fiber of less than about five meters in length.
In general, in another aspect, the invention provides one or more bi-directional interfaces for transmitting signals between a circuit tester and a connection point proximate to a circuit to be tested and includes a first optical fiber link to provide for transmission in one direction and a second optical fiber link to provide for transmission in the other direction, a first directional gate for coupling both the input end of the first link and the output end of the second link to one endpoint of the interface, and a second directional gate for coupling both the input end of the second link and the output end of the first link to the other endpoint of the interface.
In general, in another aspect, the first directional gate includes a normally-closed switch between the input of the first link and the one endpoint of the interface, a normally-open switch between the output of the second link and the one endpoint, a sense switch coupled to the second link and connected, on sensing a signal from the second link, to cause the normally-open switch to close and the normally-closed switch to open, and a delay line between the output of the second link and the normally-open switch, in parallel with the sense switch, and connecting the output of the second link to the one endpoint when the normally-open switch is closed.
Among the advantages of the invention are the following. The invention provides an electrical connection that overcomes the problems of conductor loss and cross-talk in coaxial cables by substituting a fiber-optic interface system, which provides a bandwidth extending to at least 400 MHz and impedance matching at both ends of this interface, even when different impedances are used at each end of the interface. Moreover, the invention eliminates mismatch errors in the interface, reduces the diameter of the cables and cable bundle by a factor of about 2 or 3, provides increased flexibility of cable, and provides cables of any length less than about 100 meters without significant signal dispersion. The invention provides optical isolation of the signals from each other, from ground, and between the probe card and load board. In particular, source and load are isolated (buffered) from each other, so that the settling-time due to mismatch errors between them is reduced, and an appropriate impedance match between source and load is provided.
The use of long, light and flexible fiber-optic cables makes it possible to extend the probe card away from the load board, to manipulate the position and angle of the probe card with moderate force, and to make the probe card more accessible.
Other advantages and features will become apparent from the following description and from the claims.

Optical fiber interface for integrated circuit test system


A mechanism is provided for allowing input/output signal routing along the periphery of a programmable integrated circuit (IC) so that uniform circuit usage across the programmable integrated circuit is allowed in conjunction with predetermined pin assignments. The mechanism includes a plurality of periphery interconnect lines that run along the periphery of a programmable IC. Input/output blocks (IOBs) that are similarly along the periphery of the programmable IC and configurable logic blocks (CLBs) are coupled to the plurality of periphery interconnect lines using a programmable local interconnect structure. Each IOB includes an associated pad and an input/output external pin. Individual segments of the plurality of periphery interconnect lines utilize a bi-directional buffer to buffer a line of the periphery interconnect. Uniform buffered segments of the periphery interconnect are disposed such that for an interconnect of n lines, each line of the periphery interconnect is buffered at least once every n segments. In operation, a CLB located away from the periphery of the IC can output a signal over the local interconnect, onto the plurality of periphery interconnect lines, onto another local interconnect, into an IOB and over its external pin. To input a signal, the path is reversed. The pin and the CLB do not need to be adjacent.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention relates to interconnect structures for input and output signals of an integrated circuit. More specifically, the present invention relates to the interconnect structure for programmable logic devices.
2. Background Technology
Integrated circuits (ICs), and specifically programmable ICs such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), contain a number of input and output signal pads. When packaged, these pads are coupled through leads to external pins that are used to connect the IC to a larger system or "board" that contains other ICs. When packaged with pins, the IC is often called a "chip" or IC chip.
A system designer conventionally develops a particular board layout giving particular assignments for both the chips of the board and for the signal lines that run between the chips. Therefore, based on the particular socket or area on the board where a chip is to sit, a designer predetermines which input/output signals are to be assigned to which input/output pins of the chip. This pin assignment is often performed before the chip is designed or before the design is laid-out in the IC. Once assigned, a pin is said to be "locked" from use by other signals. As discussed below, IC pin "lock" can cause severe problems for a circuit designer in terms of circuit layout.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical FPGA 50 including a number of configurable logic blocks (CLBs) 20 that are coupled to a programmable interconnect structure (not shown). As is well known, the interconnect structure allows input/output lines of CLBs 20 to be programmably coupled together. CLBs 20, also well known, can be programmed to perform a number of different logic functions.
FPGA 50 also contains a number of input/output blocks (IOBs) 32 that are used by the IC as an interface between external pins 12 and CLBs 20. IOBs 32 are similarly coupled to the programmable interconnect structure. Although CLBs 20 are coupled together using the programmable interconnect structure, each IOB 32 is directly coupled to an individual pad 10 and an individual external pin 12. For example, IOB 32a of FIG. 1 is directly coupled to pad 10a having an external pin 12a.
As discussed above, when FPGA 50 is to be programmed, its pin assignments can be predetermined, i.e. certain signals are assigned to individual pins. However, when the circuit design to be programmed on FPGA 50 is being designed, it may be more efficient to place certain logic within one or more CLBs that are not spatially near the pin and associated IOB that are to output the signal generated by the logic. For instance, it may be more efficient or a better use of resources to have CLB 20a generate a signal that distant pin 12c needs even though these elements are not near each other. Alternatively, it may be more efficient or easier to place certain logic within one or more CLBs that are not spatially near the pin and associated IOB that input the signal needed by the certain logic. However, by placing the logic far away from its associated pin, a routing problem exists in supplying the signals from the logic to the pin.
A chip layout problem occurs as a result of the predetermined pin assignments done by system designers. Specifically, circuit layout designers feel constrained or forced to fit a large amount of circuitry into the area of FPGA 50 that is near the assigned pins. This design method is problematic because not all of the logic associated with a particular input or output pin can easily be placed adjacent to the pin. In some cases, there are not enough routing resources within the constrained IC area. Therefore, signal routing becomes a problem as the circuitry is spread out. In some instances, circuit design and functionality become reduced to fit in the constrained area. In other instances, the crowded circuits fit near the pins, but there is little room for additional circuits or expansion, thereby causing signal delays and/or signal errors because of indirect or complex signal routing.
In either of the above cases, it is more advantageous to uniformly utilize the resources of FPGA 50 that are distributed throughout the FPGA's area. Therefore, a need arises for a mechanism that allows system designers to evenly spread logic throughout FPGA 50 device even though the pins of FPGA 50 device are preassigned ("locked"). The present invention allows such advantageous functionality.

Periphery input/output interconnect structure


The present invention provides a composition comprising: a base polymer; at least one compound having the structure of Formula I or II

The present invention relates to compounds useful for oxygen scavenging. The invention also relates to substantially transparent compositions that comprise a base polymer, an oxidizable organic component, and a transition metal. The invention also is directed to uses of such compositions in the construction of packaging for oxygen sensitive materials.
All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.
It is known in the art to include an oxygen scavenger in the packaging structure for the protection of oxygen sensitive materials. Such scavengers are believed to react with oxygen that is trapped in the package or that permeates from outside of the package, thus extending to life of package contents. These packages include films, bottles, containers, and the like. Food, beverages (such as beer and fruit juices), cosmetics, medicines, and the like are particularly sensitive to oxygen exposure and require high barrier properties to oxygen to preserve the freshness of the package contents and avoid changes in flavor, texture and color.
Use of certain polyamides in combination with a transition metal is known to be useful as the oxygen scavenging material. One particularly useful polyamide is MXD6 which contains meta-xylene residues in the polymer chain. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,639,815; 5,049,624; and 5,021,515.
Other oxygen scavengers include potassium sulfite (U.S. Pat. No. 4,536,409), unsaturated hydrocarbons (U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,875), and ascorbic acid derivatives (U.S. Pat. No. 5,075,362).
In barrier layers of packaging walls that are made from blends of oxygen scavenging materials with base polymer resins such as PET, haze can result due to such factors as the immiscibility of the scavenging materials (especially when the scavenging material is a polymeric material) with the base polymer resins and the inability to create by mechanical blending means disperse-phase domains that are so small as not to interfere with the passage of light therethrough; and the adverse influence of the scavenging material on the crystallization behavior of PET base resin. One approach to minimizing such haze is careful selection of base resin to improve dispersibility of the scavenger material and, thus, reduce, but not substantially eliminate, haze; and to minimize the adverse crystallization effect. This approach may undesirably narrowly restrict the choice of base polymer resin. Another approach is to use compositions that serve as compatibilizers to reduce haze. These approaches add cost to the layer and the compatibilizer adds an additional material that must be evaluated for its suitability for contact with food. Thus, there is a need in the art for improved materials such as low molecular weight organic compounds which provide high oxygen scavenging capability when blended into PET to form containers while maintaining substantial transparency.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Oxygen scavenging additives for plastic containers

Abstract: wherein Ar is an o-, m-, or p-phenylene moiety, a substituted phenylene moiety, or a naphthalene moiety; R1 and R2 are independently selected from the group consisting of: hydrogen, alkyl, alkenyl, and aryl; and X is O or —(CH2)n—; n=0, 1, or 2; and p=0, 1, or 2; and; and at least one transition metal in a positive oxidation state, said metal being present in the composition in an amount of from about 10 to about 400 ppm, wherein said compound is present in an amount of from about 0.10 to about 10 weight percent of the composition.


A vacuum-cavity-insulated flow sensor and related fabrication method are described. The sensor comprises a porous silicon wall with numerous vacuum-pores which is created in a silicon substrate, a porous silicon membrane with numerous vacuum-pores which is surrounded and supported by the porous silicon wall, and a cavity with a vacuum-space which is disposed beneath the porous silicon membrane and surrounded by the porous silicon wall. The fabrication method includes porous silicon formation and silicon polishing in HF solution.

The micromachined flow sensors are miniaturized mechanical and electro-mechanical devices. They were investigated for their superior characteristics compared to conventional ones due to their small size, increased sensitivity, fast response, and cost effectiveness. Since flow measurement is a classical field of measurement technology, the micromachined flow sensors have found many important applications in several fields, including automotive and aerospace applications, meteorological stations, industrial control equipment, medical equipment, etc. The growing market of the micromachined flow sensors requires a lot of research and development of this new technology and its use for fabrication of flow sensors.
Different types of micromachined flow sensors were published in the literature, most of them being of the thermal type and composed of suspended membranes on top of a cavity, on which the active elements of the sensor are fabricated. These structures offer optimum thermal isolation by the air under the membranes.
Toyota Central Research and Development Laboratories developed a micromachined flow sensor based on the conventional hot-film anemometry. The sensor chip has two platinum thin-film resistors which are used as a heating element and a fluid temperature sensing element. The resistors are located in the centre of the oxidized porous silicon diaphragm and the rim of the chip, respectively. (Tabata, O., Inagaki, H., Igarashi, I. and Kitano, T., Fast, Proceeding of the 5th Sensor Symposium, The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan, Japan, 1985, pp. 207-211).
It has been shown that porous silicon oxidation causes marked wafer warpage, breaking up membrane during their release while etching Si from the back side, and formation of membranes with a blister-like shape immediately after the cooling step from the oxidation temperature to room temperature.
Delft University of Technology (Netherlands) manufactured a flow sensor for measuring flow rate and flow direction was developed. In these sensors, thermopiles consisting of silicon-aluminum coupling in a two-dimensional arrangement are in use. The heater resistor is located on a suspended thin silicon plate for improvement of the heat isolation. (Verhoeven H. J. and Huijsing, J. H., An integrated gas flow sensor with high sensitivity, low response time and pulse-rate output. Sensors and Actuators A, 1994, 41/42, 217-220.)
It is not common to use a suspended silicon membrane as thermal insulation. Since the thermal conductivity of silicon is relatively high, the improvement of the heat isolation is limited.
D. N. Pagonis et al. provided a micromachined flow sensor using a manufacturing technique for forming an air cavity below the porous layer to increase the thermal isolation efficiency. Both porous silicon and the cavity underneath are formed during the same electrochemical process in two steps: in step 1 the current density used is below a critical value, and in step 2 it is switched to a value above the critical current for electropolishing. In this way, porous silicon is formed first, followed by the formation of the cavity underneath. (D. N. Pagonis, A. G. Nassiopoulou, and G. Kaltsas, Porous silicon membranes over cavity for efficient local thermal isolation in Si thermal sensors, Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 151(8) H174-H179 (2004))
Unfortunately, the created porous silicon layer is easy to detach from the silicon substrate. To overcome this problem an n-type silicon bar is created in a p-type silicon substrate by thermal diffusion. The porous silicon layer is created in the p-type region surrounded by the n-type silicon bar and supported not only by the masking layer but also by the n-type silicon bar. In this process, a P implantation dose of 2 by 10 sup.16/square cm is required. In addition, three consecutive oxidation steps are followed and the oxide formed in each oxidation is removed. This process is not compatible with a CMOS process. The obtained PS membrane is only 10 um-thick, it is too fragile for most of flow measurements.
Chang Liu et al. proposed a micromachined flow sensor consisting of a suspended silicon-nitride diaphragm located on top of a vacuum-sealed cavity. A heating and heat-sensing element, made of polycrystalline silicon material, resides on top of the diaphragm. The underlying vacuum cavity greatly reduces conductive heat loss to the substrate and therefore increases the sensitivity of the sensor (Chang Liu, Member, IEEE, Jin-Biao Huang, Zhenjun (Alex) Zhu, Fukang Jiang, Steve Tung, Yu-Chong Tai, and Chih-Ming Ho, A Micromachined flow shear-stress sensor based on thermal transfer principles, JOURNAL OF MICROELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEMS, VOL. 8, NO. 1, MARCH 1999)
A drawback is that the fabricated sensor is also sensitive to changes of ambient pressure because the suspended silicon-nitride diaphragm is flexible and the heavily doped polysilicon serves as a piezoresistive element.
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,378,365 (Micromachined thermal flowmeter having heating element disposed in a silicon island; by Tu) revealed a micromachined thermal flowmeter comprising characteristically at least one crystal silicon island jutted into the flow of a fluid to be determined which are embedded in an elastic low thermal conductivity layer supported by a rigid low thermal conductivity plate having a heating element and a pair of thermal sensing elements formed therein.
This U.S. patents provided micromachined flowmeters that can work robustly in a dirty flow fluid without being disrupted for improved work efficiency.
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,758 (Method of manufacturing a micromachined thermal flowmeter; by Tu) teaches a method of manufacturing a micromachined thermal flowmeter. The major manufacturing steps comprise forming an n-type region(s) in a p-type silicon wafer, forming heating and temperature sensing devices in the n-type region(s), converting the n-type region(s) into porous silicon by anodization in a HF solution, bonding the silicon wafer onto a glass plate using a polyimide layer as an adhesive layer, removing the porous silicon in a diluted base solution, and coating the heating and temperature sensing devices with a corrosion-resistant and abrasion-resistant material.
This U.S. patents developed a thermal isolation technology based on selective formation of a porous silicon layer in a silicon substrate.
Compared to the above mentioned micromachined flow sensors, the vacuum-cavity-insulation flow sensor in the current invention disclosed will present superior properties in many aspects including easiness of fabrication, perfection of thermal isolation, strength of membrane structure, and lower cost of manufacturing.


In asymmetric cryptography, initially-set public key and private keys are updated as a function of the chosen prime number pair, a host sending an updated public key exponent and a unique prime-pair key associated with the chosen prime number pair to the client, the client using the unique prime-pair key to look-up and retrieve the chosen prime number pair and determine the updated public key and the updated private key as a function of the retrieved chosen prime number pair, the host and the client encrypting and decrypting exchanged messages with the updated public key and the updated private key without executing another handshake. In one aspect, a large even integer is used by host and client to generate a plurality of prime number pairs, and the unique prime-pair key may be a distance between each prime number of an associated prime number pair.

Asymmetric cryptography is a form of cryptography which utilizes a pair of keys for encrypting and decrypting a message, a public key and a private key. The public keys are used to encrypt messages that only private keys can decrypt based on a mathematical relationship between the keys. The public key can be shared with anyone, but the private key is kept confidential and secret by communicating users.
Encryption security is dependent upon keeping the private key secret and confidential. One way to increase system security is to change the private key with a reasonable frequency. As it may be undeterminable whether a private key has been divulged inadvertently or intentionally, regular resetting of a private key will reestablish system security, at least while each new private key remains secret. However, problems arise in efficiently changing private and public keys in prior art asymmetric cryptography systems. In one aspect, once determined the public key and private key may not be changed during the course of an established secured interaction between a message sender and a receiver. The keys remain static for an entire handshake transaction in prior art wireless encryption or network encrypted traffic, and in the case of a long-running message, wherein the encryption keys cannot be changed on the fly without terminating the transaction or message. Moreover, prior art asymmetric cryptography systems and methods must often reestablish new keys if an entire handshake between an encrypted message producer and consumer must be reestablished, a time consuming and resource-intensive process.
Thus, there is a need for improved methods and systems that address the above problems, as well as others.

International Business Machines Corporation


A method and apparatus is provided for facilitating operator interaction with a data processing system which includes a menu-formatted graphical user interface. The menu-formatted graphical user interface is provided on a display in the data processing system for interaction with the operator, and includes a plurality of menu fields whose identities and display positions are determined by an initial display configuration. Additionally, a menu field palette is provided in the graphical user interface which includes at least one additional possible menu field. Operator input is monitored, and at least one of the following tasks are performed in response to a predetermined operator input: (1) including a particular one of the additional possible menu fields from the menu field palette in the menu-formatted graphical user interface, (2) removing a particular menu field from the menu-formatted graphical user interface, and (3) automatically providing a visual representation in the menu field palette of particular menu fields which have been included or removed from the menu-formatted graphical user interface.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to graphical user interfaces which are utilized in data processing systems, and in particular to graphical user interfaces which include components which are menu-formatted and include a plurality of menu fields.
2. Description of the Related Art
Increasingly, the data processing industry has gravitated toward the use of graphical user interfaces to allow for the interaction between an operator and a data processing system. Typically, the graphical user interfaces include textual components and iconographic components. Many types of graphical user interfaces utilize a menu format which includes a plurality of menu fields arranged in a particular display configuration with textual and/or iconographic representations of information presented to the operator for utilization in interacting with the data processing system. Conventional approaches to menu design in graphical user interfaces require that all fields available to the operator be displayed simultaneously on the menu. Typically, such conventional approaches allow little or no operator input in the design and display of the menu-formatted graphical user interface.
This rigidity complicates menu design and utilization in a number of ways. First, fields must be grouped and ordered on the menu, by product developers who may fail to realize and account for operational difficulties due to the particular layout and configuration of the menu fields. Certainly, little opportunity is provided in conventional graphical user interface design for end-user input prior to finalization of a product. The result may be a cumbersome menu-formatted graphical user interface which discourages, rather than encourages, utilization of the particular software product. Second, as end-user sophistication increases, and the utilization of multiple workspace environments such as multi-tasking environments to accomplish data processing objectives increases, menu-formatted type graphical user interfaces have become increasingly complex and large, frequently providing the end users with a virtual blizzard of hierarchical relationships, operating options, and displays which are confusing and counter-intuitive, and thus inherently less useful to the end user. It is not uncommon for end users to perceive software products with menu-formatted graphical user interfaces as being constructed in an arbitrary and non-useful fashion. For all these reasons, many software products are difficult to learn and utilize, and correspondingly require considerable operator commitment in developing a basic skill set for manipulating the software product and obtaining data processing objectives.
The continued utilization of menu-formatted graphical user interfaces is predicated upon continuing efforts to "streamline" the interface and eliminate the ambiguities, arbitrary display features, as well as minimize operator confusion and maximizing the average end user's ability to develop a basic skill set for utilization of the software product.

Method and apparatus for facilitating operator reconfiguration of a graphical user interface in a data processing system

International Business Machines Corporation


Site-selective functionalized glycopeptide antibiotics, methods of making and using are described herein. The compounds exhibit improved activity against methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA), methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-sensitive S. aureus (VSE), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), or combinations thereof. The compounds can be administered as the neutral free acid or free base or can be administered as a pharmaceutically acceptable acid-addition or base-addition salt. The compounds can be formulated with one or more pharmaceutically acceptable excipients to prepare pharmaceutical compositions. The compounds can be administered by a variety of routes of administration including enteral, parenteral, topical, or transmucosal.

Glycopeptide antibiotics are a class of antibiotic drugs which include glycosylated cyclic or polycyclic nonribosomal peptides. Examples include vancomycin, teicoplanin, telavancin, bleomycin, ramoplanin, and decaplanin.
Glycopeptide antibiotics inhibit the synthesis of cell walls in susceptible microbes by inhibiting peptidoglycan synthesis. The compounds bind to the amino acids within the cell wall preventing the addition of new units to the peptidoglycan. In particular, the compounds bind to acyl-D-alanyl-D-alanine in peptidoglycan.
Due to their toxicity, use of glycopeptide antibiotics is restricted to patients who are critically ill, who have a demonstrated hypersensitivity to the 3-lactams, and/or who are infected with β-lactam-resistant species. These antibiotics are effective principally against Gram-positive cocci. They exhibit a narrow spectrum of action, and are bacteriocidal only against the enterococci. Glycopeptide antibiotics continue to be one of the last effective lines of defense for cases of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). However, vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) and Vancomycin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) has been seen in some countries.
There exists a need for derivatives of glycopeptide antibiotics which are effective at treating vancomycin-susceptible or vancomycin resistant enterococci or Staphylococcus aureus.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide derivatives of glycopeptide antibiotics which are effective at treating vancomycin-susceptible or vancomycin resistant enterococci or Staphylococcus aureus, and methods of making and using thereof.

Site-selective functionalization of glycopeptide antibiotics


A short-arc type high pressure discharge lamp in which durability is improved and a lamp apparatus including the same is provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a short-arc type high pressure discharge lamp and a lamp apparatus including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A short-arc type high pressure discharge lamp has been used as a light source of a projection type projector. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a short-arc type high pressure discharge lamp in related art; FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a manufacturing process of a short-arc type high pressure discharge lamp in related art; FIGS. 3A through 3C are A-A line cross-sectional views of FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing portions of an electrode axis and a sealed metal foil; and FIG. 5A is an enlarged view showing the portions of the electrode axis and sealed metal foil and FIG. 5B is an enlarged view showing the inside of a circle in FIG. 5A.
As shown in FIG. 1, a short-arc type high pressure discharge lamp 10 includes: a discharge container 12 made of glass material such as quartz glass, a pair of electrodes 14, and two sealed metal foils 16. The discharge container 12 is formed of a pair of axis portions 1202 and a swelled portion 1204 provided between the pair of axis portions 1202 and having a sealed space 20 inside in which mercury and the like are enclosed.
Each of electrodes 14 has an electrode axis 1402 and an electrode body 1404 provided at an end of the electrode axis 1402. With respect to the pair of electrodes 14, the electrode axes 1402 are buried in the pair of axis portions 1202 respectively and the electrode bodies 1404 are disposed to face each other in the sealed space 20. Two sealed metal foils 16 extend like a strip having a narrow width and are buried in the axis portions 1202 such that the longitudinal direction thereof is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the axis portion 1202. The electrode axis 1402 is joined to one end in the longitudinal direction of the sealed metal foil 16 by resistance welding, and a lead wire 18 is joined to the other end in the longitudinal direction by the resistance welding. When lighting the short-arc type high pressure discharge lamp 10, on connecting an outside power source to each lead wire 18 and on applying a voltage to each electrode 14, an electric discharge occurs between the electrode bodies 1404 to make the sealed space 20 become a high temperature exceeding 300° C., mercury in the sealed space 20 is vaporized to be a mercury vapor pressure of around 200 atmospheric pressure for example, and light is emitted by an arc discharge occurred between the electrode bodies 1404 in that state.
The above short-arc type high pressure discharge lamp 10 is manufactured as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 2, a glass tube 22 whose diameter is larger than that of the axis portion 1202 of the discharge container 12 is prepared. The glass tube 22 has a pair of small diameter portions 2202 having an inner diameter larger than the width of the sealed metal foil 16, and a large diameter portion 2204 provided between those small diameter portions 2202 and having a larger inner diameter than the inner diameter of the small diameter portion 2202. First, with mercury as a base Ar gas and halogen gas are injected into the large diameter portion 2204. Next, each of the pair of electrodes 14 to which the sealed metal foil 16 is welded is inserted respectively from each of small diameter portion 2202 of the glass tube 22 toward the large diameter portion 2204 to make the electrode bodies 1404 face each other in the large diameter portion 2204. At that time, the electrode axis portion 1402 welded to the sealed metal foil 16 is positioned in the small diameter portion 2202 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3A.
Next, the end portion of each small diameter portion 2202 positioned on the side opposite to the large diameter portion 2204 is irradiated with a laser light beam and is heated to fuse the end portions of the small diameter portions 2202 positioned around the lead wires 18 and so both ends of the glass tube 22 are sealed. Hence, the sealed space 20 hermetically sealed is formed inside the large diameter portion 2204. Next, while cooling down the mercury in the sealed space 20 to prevent evaporation thereof by exposing the large diameter portion 2204 to liquid nitrogen, laser light beams are applied moving from the end portion of each small diameter portion 2202 toward the large diameter portion 2204 and so the whole area of the small diameter portion 2202 is sequentially heated. Hence, the portion of the small diameter portion 2202 around the lead wire 18 and the portion of the small diameter portion 2202 around the sealed metal foil 16 are fused. At this time, a barometric pressure inside the discharge container 12 is equal to or lower than the atmospheric pressure, because the large diameter portion 2204 is cooled down with the liquid nitrogen. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 3B, the fused small diameter portion 2202 is shrunk to have a small outer diameter due to the difference in the pressure.
Further, when the inner surface of the fused small diameter portion 2202 contacts with both ends in the widthwise direction of the sealed metal foil 16, the inner surface of the fused small diameter portion 2202 shrinks to come close toward the sealed metal foil 16 in the direction orthogonal to the widthwise direction of the sealed metal foil 16 as shown in FIG. 3C, because the sealed metal foil 16 serves as resistance. Then, the portion of the fused small diameter portion 2202 wraps the electrode axis 1402 and sealed metal foil 16 to be in a state where, as shown in FIG. 4, the portion of the fused small diameter portion 2202, that is, the fused glass material portion closely contacts with the whole area of the rear surface 1604 on the side opposite to a surface 1602 of the sealed metal foil 16 to which the electrode axis 1402 is welded. Further, a fused glass material portion 12A closely contacts with a portion of the outer circumferential surface 1402A on the side opposite to the sealed metal foil 16 in the outer circumferential surface 1402A of the electrode axis 1402. The short-arc type high pressure discharge lamp 10 as shown in FIG. 1 is obtained in this manner.
Hereupon, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, since the glass material portion 12A may not fully enter on both sides of the electrode axis 1402 between the outer circumferential surface 1402A thereof and the surface 1602 of the sealed metal foil 16 to which the electrode axis 1402 is welded, gaps S are formed respectively. The gap S is continuous with the sealed space 20. Further, it is illustrated in FIG. 5A that the fused glass material may closely contact with half the outer circumferential surface 1402A of the electrode axis 1402 on the side opposite to the portion to which the sealed metal foil 16 is welded, however, the gaps S on both sides of the electrode axis 1402 are in actuality continuous with each other through the half portion of the outer circumferential surface 1402A of the electrode axis 1402. The gaps S on both sides of the electrode axis 1402 are formed to be gradually small in the direction away from the electrode axis 1402 and along the surface 1602 of the sealed metal foil 16, and a surface 12-1 of the glass material portion 12A facing the gap S forms an acute angle θ with the surface 1602 of the sealed metal foil 16. Therefore, when the short-arc type high pressure discharge lamp 10 is lit, mercury vapor pressure rises in the sealed space 20 and so pressure in the gap S also rises, and strong force almost like a wedge acts on a portion of a gap S1 that is the acute angle θ formed by the surface 12-1 of the glass material portion 12A facing the gap S and the surface 1602 of the sealed metal foil 16.
Then, a crack may occur from that portion of the gap S1 along the boundary surface between the surface 1602 of the sealed metal foil 16 and the surface 12-1 of the glass material portion 12A, which is a disadvantage on improving the durability of the short-arc type high pressure discharge lamp 10. In order to solve such problem, it has been proposed to change the shape of the sealed metal foil 16 (refer to Patent Reference 1). FIG. 6A is a plan view showing portions of the electrode axis 1402 and the sealed metal foil 16 in an example of related art in which the shape of the sealed metal foil is changed; and FIG. 6B is a BB-line cross-sectional view of FIG. 6A. As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the sealed metal foil 16 is wrapped up to a portion opposite to a portion welded to the sealed metal foil 16 along the outer circumferential surface 1402A of the electrode axis 1402 in the portion where the electrode axis 1402 is welded to the sealed metal foil 16 and so the gaps S formed on both sides of the electrode axis 1402 between the outer circumferential surface 1402A thereof and the surface 1602 of the sealed metal foil 16 are eliminated.
[Patent Reference 1] Japanese Patent No. 3518533

Short-arc type high pressure discharge lamp having gaps formed among electrode axes, metal foils and a glass material surface

Abstract: Glass material portions 52A into which glass material enters respectively are provided on both sides of an electrode axis 5402 between the outer circumferential surface 5406 thereof and a curved portion 58 of a sealed metal foil 56, and a gap S3 being continuous with a sealed space 60 remains among the glass material portion 52A, the outer circumferential portion 5406 of the electrode axis 5402, and the curved portion 58. An angle formed by a surface 52-1 of the glass material portion 52A facing the gap S3 and the curved portion 58 is an obtuse angle φ. In other words, an angle formed by the surface 52-1 of the glass material portion 52A facing the gap S3 and a surface 5602 of the curved portion 58 of the sealed metal foil 56 is the obtuse angle φ.


A multi-segment display is disclosed. The multi-segment display includes substantially no hotspots and is substantially free of color discoloration that accompanies hotspots. The multi-segment display is configured for surface mounting. The multi-segment display is provided with a leadframe that fits into a package body thereby placing the light sources mounted on the leadframe in closer proximity to the encapsulant that fills vias of each segment.

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) have many advantages over conventional light sources, such as incandescent, halogen and fluorescent lamps. These advantages include longer operating life, lower power consumption, and smaller size. Consequently, conventional light sources are increasingly being replaced with LEDs in traditional lighting applications. As an example, LEDs are currently being used in flashlights, camera flashes, traffic signal lights, automotive taillights and display devices.
One particular type of device that employs LEDs is a segmented display, such as a seven-segment display device. The current design available for Surface Mount Technology (SMT) segmented displays uses a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) as the substrate for LED attachment and electrical connections. The light source in these designs can either be an LED package or a bare LED chip in each segment of the display. The usage of pre-tested and binned LED packages in the assembly of segmented displays enables uniform display between segments in displays and also enables stacking of multiple displays.
One unfortunate drawback to current segmented display designs is that there is an air gap between the thin layer of diffused epoxy on the top portion of the display and the LED package itself. This air gap between the upper epoxy layer and LED package reduces diffusion, which, in turn, creates hotspots during light up. Hotspots in each segment produce uneven colors at the edges of the segment during light up. The physical phenomenon that causes the hotspots is due to the epoxy meniscus, which is a natural result of the air gap between the LED package and the epoxy.

Leadframe-based surface mount technology segmented display design and method of manufacture

Avago Technologies General IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


One example method for estimating scatter associated with a target object may include acquiring a set of original projection data that includes primary radiation and scattered radiation at one or more selected projection angles associated with the target object, generating a first set of estimated scatter data from the set of original projection data, generating reconstructed image data by performing a first pass reconstruction using the first set of estimated scatter data, and generating a set of reference scatter data associated with the target based on the reconstructed image data. The example method may also include generating a set of reference primary plus scatter data associated with the target object based on the reconstructed image data, generating a second set of estimated scatter data associated with the target object based on the set of reference primary plus scatter data, and generating perturbation data associated with the target object.

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Computerized tomography (CT) involves the imaging of the internal structure of a target object by collecting several projection images ("radiographic projections") in a single scan operation ("scan"), and is widely used in the medical field to view the internal structure of selected portions of the human body. In an ideal imaging system, rays of radiation travel along respective straight-line transmission paths from the radiation source, through a target object, and then to respective pixel detectors of the imaging system without generating scattered rays. However, in real systems, when a quantum of radiation is absorbed by a portion of the target object, one or more scattered rays that deviate from the transmission path of the incident radiation are often generated. These scattered rays are often received by "surrounding" detector elements that are not located on the transmission path that the initial quantum of radiation was transmitted on, thereby creating measurement errors.
The measurement errors created by scattered radiation cause artifacts and loss of spatial and contrast resolution in the radiographic projection data and the CT images produced by the imaging system. The scattered radiation can also cause numerical errors in image reconstruction algorithms. All of the foregoing leads to image degradation.
Solutions have been proposed to estimate and/or correct scattered radiation. For solutions that use scatter kernels, certain scatter resulting from internal inhomogeneities or external adjacent objects may be difficult to model. Other solutions that include comparing estimated scatter from projection data with simulated scatter may need to address the difficult process of scaling the simulation profile.
Accordingly, there is a need to develop techniques that can further improve the estimation accuracy but in an efficient manner.

Methods and systems for estimating scatter


An accelerated secondary display system comprising a display adapter with a display simulator, a host computer with host software, a client device with a screen and client software. The display simulator is configured to send display characteristics to the host computer. The host computer is configured to receive the display characteristics and render an image into a frame buffer. The host software is configured to cause the host computer to stream image data over a communication channel, the image data based on the image in the frame buffer. The client software is configured to receive the image data over the communication channel and present a copy of the image on the screen based on the image data.

Many computer users work on the go, and are frustrated by the small screen of a laptop computer. Many of these users also carry with them a mobile device, in addition to a laptop computer. There is a need for a solution that allows computer users to use a device with a screen, such as a tablet, mobile phone, or another computer, as a monitor for a computer.
Numerous solutions are commercially available today that allow a client device with a screen to be used as a display for a host computer. With one exception, these systems convince the host computer that a physical display is connected by implementing a virtual video driver. The one exception is Air Squirrels' clever Reflector software, which implements a receiver for Apple's AirPlay protocol. But Reflector, which uses a hacked copy of Apple's private key, is a fragile solution that cannot be sold in Apple's ecosystem, can be broken by a change in Apple's AirPlay implementation at any time, and because it uses a pirated private key, is ethically questionable.
The other solutions all employ virtual video drivers. These virtual video drivers are full software drivers that convince the host computer that a physical display is connected. The host computer then renders the contents of that display into a frame buffer in memory. In turn, host software repeatedly streams the contents of that frame buffer to some external device. This is a suboptimal solution for several reasons.
In general, virtual video drivers are not associated with any physical graphic-acceleration hardware. Consequently, they are subject to severe performance and compatibility limitations, because most modern performance-dependent software is optimized to perform graphics operations with a graphics accelerator. In the absence of hardware graphics acceleration, many apps fail to render some user interface elements, render incorrectly, or crash completely. And virtual video drivers are fragile on macOS because Apple has not made its video driver protocols public and changes those protocols frequently.
One commercially available virtual video driver solution supports hardware graphics acceleration. That one, Avatron's Air Display Host for Windows (U.S. Pat. No. US9058759 B2), is fragile and very complicated, because it attempts to implement the entire application-level rendering stack. Furthermore, because Microsoft routinely adds features and complexity to its graphic acceleration driver specification, that hardware-accelerated Air Display Host needs to be updated frequently to stay compatible with Windows - and that approach only works on Windows.
At the same time, modern computer operating systems, such as macOS and Windows, do allow hardware graphics acceleration for monitors that are connected to their video output ports, such as HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface), VGA (Video Graphics Array), Mini DisplayPort, and Mini DVI (Digital Visual Interface). Displays connected to these ports are driven by the computer's own video drivers, which in modern personal computers do feature graphics acceleration hardware. These operating systems do not, however, allow such automatic graphic acceleration for displays connected via Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity), USB (Universal Serial Bus), or custom cables. So, displays plugged into the standard video ports are fast and compatible, while those that are connected via other methods are not.
There is a recent development called a display simulator. Sometimes it is called by the misnomer "headless accelerator," but it is not an accelerator. It is a dongle, i.e., a small device that plugs into a video port (such as HDMI, DisplayPort, or VGA) and convinces the computer that it is a real display. In its simplest form, it is just a resistor plugged into two pins of a VGA port, but it can also be a small board with memory and controller chips, reporting display descriptors via DisplayID or EDID blocks. The display simulator does not display anything on a monitor, but it does convince a computer that something is plugged into a video port. In response, the computer dutifully uses its graphics accelerator to render into the frame buffer that it has associated with the phantom display. Display simulators are designed for "headless" servers, which have no physical display. They convince a server computer that a monitor is connected so that the server can use its GPU for accelerated rendering. But it doesn't provide a secondary monitor.


A catalyst for production of 1,4-polybutadiene which comprises. as the catalyst component (A) a transition metal compound represented by the formula M(R).sub.l (OR').sub.m X.sub.n-(l+m), wherein M denotes a transition metal atom, R and R' each denote a hydrocarbon group of 1-20 carbon atoms, X denotes a halogen atom, and l, m and n denote numerals satisfying the equations l.gtoreq.0, m.gtoreq.0 and n-(l+m).gtoreq.0, n corresponding to the valence of the transition metal,. as the catalyst component (B) an organoaluminum compound represented by the formula AlR.sup.1.sub.a X'.sub.3-a, wherein R.sup.1 denotes a hydrocarbon group of 1-20 carbon atoms, X denotes a halogen atom, and a denotes a numeral satisfying the equation 1.gtoreq.a.gtoreq.3, or an aluminoxane obtained by the reaction of said organoaluminum compound with water, and. as the catalyst component (C) an organic compound having at least two hydroxyl groups.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a polymerization catalyst which selectively gives trans- or cis-1,4-polybutadiene and a process for selective production of trans- or cis-1,4-polybutadiene using said catalyst.
In more particular, the present invention relates to a catalyst comprising a transition metal compound and an organoaluminum compound, to a process which gives a butadiene compound polymer wherein at least 50%, usually 60-90%, and under suitable polymerization conditions at least 90%, of the butadiene units contained therein are linked in trans-1,4-configuration by using said catalyst, and to a process for production of a butadiene compound polymer which gives a polybutadiene wherein at least 90% of the butadiene units contained therein are linked in cis-1,4-configuration by using a catalyst comprising a titanium compound, an aluminoxane and an organic compound having at least two hydroxyl groups.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various processes are so far known for production of diene compound polymers, including radical polymerization, cationic polymerization, anionic polymerization, and coordinated anionic polymerization which uses Ziegler-Natta catalysts. As for systems which give trans-1,4-polybutadiene, there are known, for example, those reported by Natta et al. including the one which uses TICl.sub.3 of a solid catalyst and triethylaluminum (Gazzetta chimica Italiana, 89, 761 (1959)) and the one which uses soluble VCl.sub.4 and triethylaluminum (La Chimica e Industria, 41, 116 (1959)). However, these disclosed processes have the disadvantage of low catalytic activity and hence being unsuitable for use in the commercial production.
As for processes for production of polybutadiene having a high cis-1,4 content, there are known (1) a polymerization process which uses a catalyst comprising a trialkylaluminum and titanium tetraiodide (BE 551,851); (2) a polymerization process which uses a catalyst system comprising triisobutylaluminum and titanium tetrabromide (GB 824,201); (3) a polymerization process which uses a catalyst system comprising cobalt chloride and an organometallic compound (BE 573,680); (4) a process which uses a catalyst system comprising triethylaluminum, nickel naphthenate and boron trifluoride (Japanese Patent Application Kokoku (Post-Exam. Publn.) No. 3708198); (5) a process which uses a catalyst comprising tetrabenzyltitanium and methylaluminoxane, and other processes.
Among these processes, the process (5) has the disadvantage of low catalytic activity and hence being difficultly used for the commercial production [(Macromolecules) 22,2126, 1989]. The processes (1), (2) and (3), which use a transition metal catalyst system, are disadvantageous in that the catalyst cannot be removed sufficiently from the polymer formed.

Process for selective production of cis-1,4-polybutadiene


A hierarchical communication system, arranged in a spanning tree configuration, is described in which wired and wireless communication networks exhibiting substantially different characteristics are employed in an overall scheme to link portable or mobile computing devices. Copies of data, program code and processing resources are migrated from their source toward requesting destinations based on request frequency, communication link costs and available local storage and/or processing resources. Each appropriately configured network device acts as an active participant in network migration. In addition, portable two-dimensional (2-D) code reading terminals are configured to wirelessly communicate compressed 2-D images toward stationary access servers that identify the code image through decoding and through comparison with a database of images that have previously been decoded and stored.

Multiple radio base station networks have been developed to overcome a variety of problems with single radio base station networks such as spanning physical radio wave penetration barriers, wasted transmission power by portable computing devices, etc. However, multiple radio base station networks have their own inherent problems. For example, in a multiple base station network employing a single shared channel, each base station transmission is prone to collision with neighboring base station transmissions in the overlapping coverage areas between the base stations. Therefore, it often proves undesirable for each base station to use a single or common communication channel.
In contradistinction, to facilitate the roaming of portable or mobile devices from one coverage area to another, use of a common communication channel for all of the base stations is convenient. A roaming device may easily move between coverage areas without loss of connectivity to the network.
Such exemplary competing commonality factors have resulted in tradeoff decisions in network design. These factors become even more significant when implementing a frequency hopping spread spectrum network. Frequency hopping is a desirable transmission technique because of its ability to combat frequency selective fading, avoid narrowband interference, and provide multiple communications channels.
Again, however, changing operating parameters between coverage areas creates difficulties for the roaming devices which move therebetween. In particular, when different communication parameters are used, a portable or mobile device roaming into a new base station coverage area is not able to communicate with the new base station without obtaining and synchronizing to the new parameters. This causes communication backlog in the network.
Computer terminals and peripheral devices are widely used. Many types of computer terminals exist which vary greatly in terms of function, power and speed. Many different types of peripheral devices also exist, such as printers, modems, graphics scanners, text scanners, code readers, magnetic card readers, external monitors, voice command interfaces, external storage devices, and so on.
To communicate with such peripheral devices, portable computers have been adapted to use RF (Radio Frequency) and infrared communication. Such configurations, however, do not always provide for efficient communication. For example, a portable computer device may be mounted in a delivery truck and a driver may desire to transmit data to, or receive data from, a host computer or peripheral device at a remote warehouse location. While permitting such transmissions, wide area networks. (WANs) only provide point-to-point communications, use a narrow bandwidth, and often exhibit heavy communication traffic. Moreover, WANs require relatively higher transmission power—a negative factor in the ever increasing need for power savings associated with portable transceiving devices. As a result, WANs are generally slow and expensive, and simply do not provide an effective overall solution.
The need for portable, or otherwise mobile, devices has led to smaller, lower power designs. Portable computer terminals have achieved such size and power reductions by decreasing local processing and storage resources. In contrast, application programs are growing in size and functionality, requiring more and more processing and storage resources to operate. As a result, portable computer terminals have been effectively disabled from independently performing many needed tasks. Others have been stretched to a nearly unacceptable limit of portability, battery life and processing and storage ability.
To address such needed tasks, remote processing and storage techniques are currently being used. For example, stationary remote host computers having superior processing and storage capability are often connected via a WAN network to a mobile computer terminal. In such configurations, whenever the mobile terminal desires access to data, it sends a request across the WAN for such data. Similarly, when it desires remote processing, the mobile computer terminal formulates a request which is sent to the host computer over the WAN. However, the mobile terminal is still required to use the relatively expensive and delayed services provided by the WAN for each such request, which often prove unacceptable for a given task.
Similarly, the relaying of communications through even lower power radio networks is required in many multi-hop radio environments. Repetitive requests and associated delivery of data, program or processing resources from a source (e.g., a mobile computer terminal) to a destination (e.g., a host computer) takes its toll on overall network performance.
Thus, there is a need for a wireless communication network that provides efficient distribution and utilization of network resources in support of portable and otherwise mobile computer devices.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus wherein collisions are minimized in overlapping coverage areas by utilizing uncommon communication channel characteristics in a multiple base station network, while still providing seamless communication for roaming devices by informing roaming devices of the nature of the neighboring base station communication channel characteristics.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a hierarchical communications system for providing an efficient communication pathway for data and programming objects.
Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Hierarchical communication system providing intelligent data, program and processing migration


Provided is a technology which improves reliability of the interaction between devices in a system where the devices communicate. In an information appliance system, multiple information appliances and a communication device such as a smart phone are in M2M communication. The communication device receives input of a voice from a user, and authenticates the user based on a voice signal, and sample voice data accumulated for user identification. The communication device performs a speech recognition process on the voice signal to determine an instruction of the user. When the user is authenticated and the instruction of the user is determined, the communication device transmits a command according to the instruction to an information appliance that is associated with the determined instruction of the user.

Conventionally, a system where multiple devices communicate is employed in a facility such as a house, for example. For example, a user is able to control information appliances connected over a home network by transmitting commands to these information appliances from a mobile terminal. This improves user convenience. Thus, various techniques are being considered. For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2012-37783 (PTD 1) discloses an information appliance system which provides an improved operability, without reducing its convenience. According to the technology disclosed in PTD 1, a result of speech recognition by a speech recognition means is transmitted as recognition result information to an information appliance, With this, in a system comprising information appliances connected to one another over a network, a user is able to control the information appliances via a speech recognition server through voice input to a mobile terminal.


Systems and methods disclosed herein provide setting a mode for a door lock of a door in a building with an electronic device communicatively coupled to the door lock via a communications interface of the door lock, when the mode of the door lock is set in a privacy mode, correspondingly placing a security system device communicatively coupled to the door lock into a privacy mode via the communications interface, and updating an operation state of the security system in the building according to the setting of the privacy mode for the door lock and the device.

Presently-available door locks can have a privacy mode that prevents people from entering a room or building via a door with the door lock. However, this privacy mode only applies to the door lock itself, and does not apply to the building, or any of the other devices of the security system in a building or home. That is, in typical security systems, if it is desired to have full home privacy, a user would have to either set or turn off each individual device associated with the security system so as to have true privacy within the user's home. For example, in typical systems, a user may have to set the door lock to a privacy mode, turn off a camera of the security system so that it does not record video, turn off any notifications, and the like.

Systems and methods of privacy within a security system