There is provided a hetero junction field effect transistor including: a first layer of a nitride based, group III-V compound semiconductor; a second layer of a nitride based, group III-V compound semiconductor containing a rare earth element, overlying the first layer; a pair of third layers of a nitride based, group III-V compound semiconductor, overlying the second layer, the third layers being spaced from each other; a gate electrode disposed between the third layers at least a region of the second layer; and a source electrode overlying one of the third layers and a drain electrode overlying an other of the third layers. A method of fabricating the hetero junction field effect transistor is also provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hetero junction field effect transistors and methods of fabricating the same, and particularly to hetero junction field effect transistors allowing a recessed gate to be formed with good repeatability and methods of fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventionally a normally off hetero junction field effect transistor utilizing a nitride based, group III-V compound semiconductor represented by a formula of AlxGayInzN has been implemented for example by etching a barrier layer of nitride based, group III-V compound semiconductor underlying a gate electrode in plasma to reduce the layer in thickness to form a recessed gate, wherein 0≦x≦1, 0≦y≦1, 0≦z≦1, and x+y+z≠0 (see "Normally Off AlGaN/GaN HEMT with Recessed Gate for High Power Applications", Ken Nakata, Takeshi Kawasaki, and Seiji Yaegassi, IEICE Technical Report, Vol. 105, No. 325, pp. 51-56, for example).

Hetero junction field effect transistor and method of fabricating the same


An optoelectronic device and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. The optoelectronic device includes a substrate, light emitting chips disposed on the substrate and electrically connected to the substrate, a first annular structure disposed on the substrate and around the light emitting chips, a first wavelength conversion layer disposed in the first annular structure and covering the light emitting chips, a second annular structure disposed on the substrate and around the light emitting chips and further being in contact with the first annular structure, and a second wavelength conversion layer disposed in the second annular structure and covering the first wavelength conversion layer and the light emitting chips. Wavelength conversion substances contained in the first wavelength conversion layer and the second wavelength conversion layer respectively are different in material. Therefore, the optoelectronic device can achieve improved uniformity of luminescence as well as light output quality.

Currently, an optoelectronic device such as a light emitting diode packaging structure adopts a double-layer dispensing process, and the double-layer dispensing process usually includes steps of: forming an annular structure on a mirror aluminum substrate mounted with blue light emitting diode chips, and dispensing a first layer of fluorescent glue (for example, a packaging glue containing a red phosphor) in the annular structure and drying, and then dispensing a second layer of fluorescent glue (for example, a packaging glue containing a green or a yellow phosphor) and drying. However, after the first layer of fluorescent glue is dispensed into the annular structure, due to a surface tension between the annular structure and the first layer of fluorescent glue, the first layer of fluorescent glue will climb up along a side wall of the annular structure to form a curved surface, causing the first layer of fluorescent glue to appear an internally concave state being high in the middle and low on all sides. As such, the second layer of fluorescent glue will appear to be thick in the middle and thin on all sides, which will seriously affect the uniformity of luminescence of the light emitting diode packaging structure, so that an emitted light spot presents a large difference in color between the center and the outer circle. In addition, if the double-layer dispensing process adopts a double-layer dispensing precipitation process such as a natural precipitation or a centrifugal precipitation, it not only will have the problem of the degraded uniformity of luminescence, but also cause a problem of a side leakage of blue light when an amount of the phosphor in the first layer of fluorescent glue is low. Therefore, it is necessary to improve a light output quality of the optoelectronic device such as the light emitting diode packaging structure.

Optoelectronic device and manufacturing method thereof


A flexible general input/output function utilizes a programmable logic circuit in conjunction with general purpose input/output pins. A programmable logic circuit receives the input signals from the input terminals. The programmable logic circuit program conditions the input signals and provides conditioned input signals to the remainder of the integrated circuit. An input register receives the conditioned input signals from the programmable logic circuit, and stores values representing the state of respective conditioned input signals. A transition detection circuit detects a specified transition for each of the conditioned input signals it receives and provides an indication of the specified transition. An interrupt circuit is responsive to transition indications provided from the transition detection circuit to generate an interrupt signal associated with the specified transition of a respective conditioned input signal. The integrated circuit also includes output terminals, which are coupled to the programmable logic circuit. An output register, which can be written by the system processor, provides output signals which are conditioned by the programmable logic circuit and provided to the output terminals.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computers systems and more particularly to providing flexible general purpose input/output capability.
2. Description of the Related Art
When personal computers first became prevalent, the system board (motherboard) included a relatively large number of discrete electronic components to provide all the logic functions required by the system. In order to reduce the number of components on the motherboard, both to provide space savings and to reduce costs, more and more of the functions of the computer system previously found in various components on the motherboard are being integrated into fewer and fewer integrated circuits. Thus, for example, chip sets, such as the Intel 430 FX or "Triton" chipset, have incorporated functions to provide support for various buses, memory control and input/output (I/O) circuitry.
However, system board designs still frequently require the use of various "glue" logic to support functions which may have been unanticipated when the chipsets were developed and/or are unique to a particular computer system being implemented.
One solution provided by chips supporting input/output functions is to provide general purpose input/output ports. For example, the National Semiconductor PC87306 Super I/O chip (Super I/O is a trademark of National Semiconductor Corporation) provides sixteen bits of general purpose input/output that can be read or written by software. Although that provides some flexibility in design, such an approach can still result in the need for "glue logic" on the motherboard. There exists a need to provide a more flexible approach to general purpose input/output functions in computer systems.

Integrated programmable logic circuit for conditioning received input signals, detecting transitions of conditioned signals, and generating an associated interrupt respectively


Provided are nucleic acid-based sensors, kits that include such sensors, and methods for making and using such sensors. The sensors permit detection of a broad array of target agents, such as nucleic acids (e.g., DNA and RNA), proteins, cells, and small molecules (e.g., toxins and metals). In some examples, the sensors determine the activity of a protein, such as an enzyme's activity. The assays provide easy-to-read signals for point-of-care diagnosis. The sensors control the conformational switch for recognizing targets and to trigger the subsequent assembly of enzyme/cofactor structures for producing and amplifying signals.

Point-of Care (POC) testing includes assays that are simply operated, easy-to-read, rapid, and low-cost, which can be used by non-specialists at home, in the wild field, or on an ambulance. POC testing provides timely diagnostic results, which enables early diagnosis of diseases, protective therapy, and rapid treatment of the patients. Examples include glucose meters and pregnancy strips.

DNA logic-gated proximity assembly circuit for biochemical sensing

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey


A medical device is disclosed, including a catheter body; an electrode array coupled to the catheter body, the electrode array being transitionable from a substantially linear configuration to a substantially helical configuration; and a fluid conduit coupled to the catheter body spaced apart from the electrode array, wherein the fluid conduit is transitionable from a substantially linear configuration to a substantially helical configuration. The device may include a fluid source in communication with the fluid conduit and a radiofrequency signal generator coupled to the electrode array.

Minimally invasive devices are often employed for medical procedures, including those involving ablation, dilation, and the like. In a particular situation, an ablation procedure may involve creating a series of inter-connecting or otherwise contiguous lesions in order to electrically isolate tissue believed to be the source of an arrhythmia. Such lesions may be created using a variety of different energy transmission modalities, such as cryogenic freezing or heating with radiofrequency ("RF") energy, for example.
Radiofrequency or other ablation devices often include one or more electrically conductive surfaces or electrodes to impart electrical or thermal energy conduction through a tissue site. During operation, the tissue heats up, thus heating the electrodes that are in tissue contact. Exceeding a particular temperature range or threshold can result in unwanted injury to the tissue site, including tissue charring or coagulum formation, and can also compromise the medical device itself.
In view of the above, it is desirable to provide effective cooling mechanisms for thermal or electrical devices to avoid excessive heating and associated unwanted injury to the patient.


To suppress the amount of data frames passing through a public network and to provide advantages for both the telephone company and subscribers, a traffic control system is provided for controlling traffic in data frames transmitted between a public network and a subscriber through channels. Each data frame consists of a header and a payload. The header includes a predetermined bit indicating whether or not the payload includes traffic data. The system comprises, between the public network and the subscriber, a traffic control unit that includes channel filters each for receiving data frames from the subscriber through the corresponding channel, and for transmitting each data frame to the public network only when the predetermined bit in the header of the data frame indicates that the payload includes traffic data, and a channel reproducing unit for receiving data frames from the public network, and for reproducing an omitted data frame that has been discarded, to transmit the received data frames and the reproduced data frame to the subscriber.

(1) Field of The Invention
The present invention relates to a traffic control system, and more particularly to a system for controlling traffic of data on a digital leased line between a public network and a subscriber system (herein after simply referred to as a subscriber).
To access a public network belonging to a telephone company through a digital leased line from a subscriber, it is preferable to be provided with various leased lines of various bit rates corresponding to the bit rates of respective subscribers.
(2) Description of The related Art
Conventionally, leased lines of 2.4 Kb/s to Kb/s, 1.5 Mb/s. 45 Mb/s and so forth have been prepared for practical use between each subscriber and a public network. Such a bit rate of a leased line, however, is insufficient for future subscriber services in which a large capacity is considered necessary.
To cope with the increase of the capacity of services, use of an optical transmission system, such as the already proposed SONET (Synchronous Optical Network) system, is proposed. When the SONET is used, an optical leased line of 600 Mbps, called OC-12, or an optical leased line of 2.4 Gbps, called OC-48, is used.
The problem to be solved by the invention is as follows. If a leased line of 1.5 Gbps, called OC-30, is preferable to a subscriber, but if only above-mentioned leased lines OC-12 and OC-48 are available, the subscriber must use leased line OC-48 with the bit rate of 2.4 Gbps because the other leased line OC-12 with the bit rate of 600 Mbps has too low a bit rate for the subscriber. In this case, when a telephone company provides digital service line OC-48 to the subscriber, the public network must always transmit the digital data line OC-48 from the subscriber.
The line capacity of the OC-48 line of 2.4 Gbps is the bit rate of the "maximum use amount". Therefore, all data frames are not always used by a subscriber. Namely, there is the case when Only the data amount corresponding to the OC-1 line with a bit rate of 51.84 Mbps is used or there may be the case when no data frame is used, e.g., during night. In such a case, however, under the current service condition, since it is impossible to distinguish the data frame being used and the data frame not being used, all data frames must be transmitted through the public network without conditions even when the data frame does not include traffic data.
Accordingly, for the telephone company that has a public network, it is wasteful to transmit frames without traffic data, and this is one of the reasons for not increasing the use efficiency of the public network.
Also, for the subscriber, it is not economicalto pay 100 % when 100 % of the line is not being used.


This invention relates to a process for fabricating ZnO nanowires with high aspect ratio at low temperature, which is associated with semiconductor manufacturing process and a gate controlled field emission triode is obtained. The process comprises providing a semiconductor substrate, depositing a dielectric layer and a conducting layer, respectively, on the semiconductor substrate, defining the positions of emitter arrays on the dielectric layer and conducting layer, depositing an ultra thin ZnO film as a seeding layer on the substrate, growing the ZnO nanowires as the emitter arrays by using hydrothermal process, and etching the areas excluding the emitter arrays, then obtaining the gate controlled field emission triode.

Currently, the fabrication of field emission emitter of optoelectronic device mainly employs the association of lithography and etching process of the typical semiconductor manufacturing for making the pyramidal emitter. However, this method could not fabricate field emission elements with high aspect ratio, and thus could not provide high field enhancement factor for the field emission emitter implemented in optoelectronic device accordingly. Therefore, it would normally require higher driving voltage for the emitter to trigger the electrons. Some relevant researches employed the high aspect ratio nano-structure as the field emitter, such as carbon nanotubes or other semiconductor nanorods, so it could reduce the driving voltage because of providing high field enhancement factor. However, for the fabrication of these material, they comprise step of growing process under high temperature (>500° C.), so they are not easily integrated into the semiconductor process. Simultaneously, they lack of sufficient uniformity reaction for large area production, and are not suitable for the fabrication of large-scale device.
For example, the Taiwanese Patent No. 1,248,626 discloses the use of carbon nanotubes as the emitter of field emission device, wherein the fabrication method comprises firstly growing a catalyst metal layer, such as Fe, Co, Ni on a substrate; then, introducing a carbon source gas and heating to about 700° C. of reaction temperature; and producing the carbon nanotubes array as the cathode electrode in the presence of catalyst. The problems of prior art at least include: employing high pollution metals, such as Fe, Co, Ni, in the semiconductor process, wherein these metals are easy to make the control device failed and to contaminate the processing pipes; and increasing the processing cost due to high reaction temperature.
Thus, in order to acquire the high aspect ratio nano-structure as the field emitter but avoid the disadvantages of high processing temperature (>500° C.), the ZnO nanowires are fabricated by the low temperature processing technology in this invention. Particularly, the ZnO based field emission emitter capable of exhibiting excellent emission efficiency at room temperature now becomes more important. On the other hand, if employing the carbon tubes or one-dimensional nanorods in a non-oxide system, they will frequently react with the gas in the field emission device at the same time when electrons trigger, so as to damage the field emission device during operation. Moreover, in the ordinary processing for field emission device, the aspect ratio for the emitter material is constricted after fabrication, there is less possibility to improve the field emission characteristics.

Gate controlled field emission triode and process for fabricating the same


Systems and methods for determining a slicing level which is used as a threshold to determine whether timeslots of an incoming data signal contain ones or zeros. The method of one embodiment comprises receiving a data signal, identifying a maximum level of the data signal, identifying a minimum level of the data signal, determining an average of the minimum and maximum levels, and then using the average of the minimum and maximum levels as a slicing level to identify bits of a data packet embodied in the data signal.

In packet switching data transmission systems (e.g., optical packet switching systems) the data signal which arrives at a receiver is in a burst mode. The incoming signal, although representative of binary data, is actually an analog signal that must be interpreted as binary data. This is important to note because the signal levels of the data arriving in burst mode may have widely varying values. In other words, the signal level which constitutes a 1 may be substantially different from one packet to another. Likewise, the signal level which constitutes a 0 may be very different from one packet to another. These signal levels may vary by as much as 10 dB (although it should be noted that the variation depends upon the size and configuration of the system).
Because the signal levels can vary in this manner, it is necessary to identify an appropriate slicing level for each packet in order to be able to properly interpret the data bits in the packet. The slicing level is the signal level above which a data signal is considered to be a 1 and below which a data signal is considered to be a 0. Once the slicing level is determined, the analog signal can be interpreted as binary 1's and 0's.
While there are several conventional approaches for identifying slicing levels, these approaches have drawbacks which make them inadequate for use in high-speed optical burst-mode transmission systems. For example, one approach is a sample-and-hold integration approach. Sample-and-hold integration methods require a sample-and-hold pulse that is synchronized with the incoming data. The accuracy of the slicing levels determined by these methods can be directly affected by the accuracy of the synchronization. If, for instance, the sampling window is not in alignment with the data packet, the method will integrate a portion of the packet and the remainder of the packet may comprise noise. Since the noise is unrelated to the data signal levels, it will obviously affect the integration calculation. In an optical burst-mode transmission system, it may not be possible (there may not be enough time) to synchronize the sample-and-hold pulse with the packet.
Another conventional approach for identifying a slicing level is a feed-forward peak detector approach. This approach does not require the synchronization pulse of the sample-and-hold methods, and instead uses a reset pulse that can easily be provided. Implementation of the feed-forward peak detector approach in an optical burst-mode system, however, requires that the photodetector be DC-coupled to the limiting amplifier which serves as the decision circuit. This prevents the use of a trans-impedance amplifier with a low-end cut-off frequency.
Yet another conventional approach uses a fast AGC (automatic gain control) loop. The AGC loop uses a self-adjustable pre-amplifier to convert varying levels of incoming data to a stable signal level. The stabilized-level signal can then be properly interpreted by a subsequent digitizing circuit. AGC loops, however, are generally relatively slow and consequently cannot be used in a system with a bit rate greater than 10 Gbps.

System and method for fast dynamic adjustment of slicing level for burst mode optical receivers


The present invention is directed to a method of preventing or reducing amyloid deposition in a subject. This method involves selecting a subject with amyloid deposits and stimulating the innate immune system of the selected subject under conditions effective to reduce the amyloid deposits. Also disclosed is a method of preventing or treating cerebral amyloidosis and Alzheimer's Disease in a subject by administering to the selected subject an agent that stimulates the innate immune system. In addition, a composition useful for the stimulation of the innate immune system of a subject exhibiting symptoms associated with amyloid deposition is disclosed.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a degenerative brain disorder characterized clinically by progressive loss of memory, cognition, reasoning, judgment and emotional stability that gradually leads to profound mental deterioration and ultimately death. AD is a very common cause of progressive mental failure (dementia) in aged humans and is believed to represent the fourth most common medical cause of death in the United States. AD begins slowly, first affecting the parts of the brain controlling thought, memory, and language. As symptoms worsen, patients may not remember family members, or have trouble speaking, reading, or writing. In later disease progression, AD patients may become anxious, aggressive, or wander away from home. Eventually needing total care, the AD patient may cause great stress for family members who care for them.
AD has been observed in all races and ethnic groups worldwide and presents a major present and future public health problem. As many as 4.5 million Americans suffer from AD. The disease usually begins after age sixty, and risk goes up with age. While younger people also may get AD, it is much less common. About five percent of men and women ages sixty-five to seventy-four have AD, and nearly half of those age eighty-five and older may have the disease. It is important to note, however, that AD is not a normal part of aging. AD is at present incurable. No treatment that effectively prevents AD or reverses its symptoms or course is currently known.
The deposition of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides in the central nervous system in the form of amyloid plaques is one of the hallmarks of AD (U.S. Patent Publication No. 20040214774 to Wisniewski et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,114,133 to Seubert; Wegiel et al., "Alzheimer Dementia Neuropathology," in Dementia: Presentations, Differential Diagnosis & Nosology, 89-120 (Emery & Oxman, eds., 2003). Several lines of evidence favor the conclusion that Aβ accumulation destroys neurons in the brain, leading to deficits in cognitive abilities. Because accumulation of Aβ appears to be the result of a shift in equilibrium from clearance toward deposition, identifying and promoting mechanisms that enhance Aβ clearance from the brain is highly desirable.
Vaccination was the first treatment approach which has been shown to have genuine impact on disease process, at least in animal models of AD (Sadowski et al., "Disease Modifying Approaches for Alzheimer's Pathology," Current Pharmaceutic Design, 13:1943-54 (2007); Wisniewski et al., "Therapeutic Approaches for Prion and Alzheimer's Diseases," FEBS J. 274:3784-98 (2007); Wisniewski et al., "Immunological and Anti-Chaperone Therapeutic Approaches for Alzheimer Disease," Brain Pathol. 15:72-77 (2005)). Vaccination of AD transgenic (Tg) mice with Aβ1-42 or Aβ homologous peptides co-injected with Freund's adjuvant prevented the formation of Aβ deposition and as a consequence eliminate the behavioral impairments that are related to Aβ deposition (Schenk et al., "Immunization with Amyloid-Beta Attenuates Alzheimer-Disease-Like Pathology in the PDAPP Mouse," Nature 400:173-77 (1999); Sigurdsson et al., "Immunization with a Nontoxic/Nonfibrillar Amyloid-beta Homologous Peptide Reduces Alzheimer's Disease-Associated Pathology in Transgenic Mice," Am. J. Pathol. 159:439-47 (2001); Morgan et al., "A Beta Peptide Vaccination Prevents Memory Loss in an Animal Model of Alzheimer's Disease," Nature 408:982-85 (2001); Janus et al., "A Beta Peptide Immunization Reduces behavioural Impairment and Plaques in a Model of Alzheimer's Disease," Nature 408:979-82 (2000)).
The striking biological effect of the vaccine in preclinical testing and the apparent lack of side effects in AD Tg mice encouraged Elan Pharmaceuticals, Inc./Wyeth Research to launch clinical trials with a vaccine designated as AN1792 which contained pre-aggregated Aβ1-42 and QS21 as an adjuvant. It was thought that this type of vaccine design would induce a strong adaptive cell mediated immune response, because QS21 is known to be a strong inducer of T-helper type-1 (Th-1) lymphocytes. The phase II of the trial was prematurely terminated when 6% of vaccinated patients manifested symptoms of acute meningoencephalitis. An autopsy performed on one of the affected patients revealed an extensive cytotoxic T-cell reaction surrounding some cerebral blood vessels. Analysis of the Aβ load in the brain cortex, however, suggested that Aβ clearance had occurred (Nicoll et al., "Neuropathology of Human Alzheimer Disease after Immunization with Amyloid-beta Peptide: A Case Report," Nature Med. 9:448-52 (2003)). Neuropsychiatric testing of vaccinated patients who mounted an immune response showed a modest but statistically significant cognitive benefit, demonstrating an improvement on some cognitive testing scales comparing to baseline and a slowed rate of disease progression in patients who had developed antibodies to Aβ (Hock et al., "Antibodies Against Beta-Amyloid Slow Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer's Disease," Neuron 38:547-54 (2003)). This indicated that the vaccination approach could be beneficial for human AD patients, but that the concept of the vaccine may need redesigning.
Given the significant impact of AD, there is a great need to discover, develop, and test new treatments that may be helpful in preventing and/or treating this devastating disease. The present invention is directed to achieve these objectives.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Preventing and treating amyloid-beta deposition by stimulation of innate immunity


A system and method schedule series of packets for transmission between terminals in a single wireless channel of a packet-switched local area network. The local area network can operate in an ad hoc mode or in infrastructure mode. A transmission rate is assigned to each of the terminals. The terminals can be mobile. Different terminals can be assigned different transmission rates, depending on a quality of the channel. That is, terminals transmitting via an error-free channel are assigned a higher transmission rate than terminals transmitting via an error-prone channel. Then, the series of packets are scheduled for transmission between the terminals such that each terminal receives a substantially equal amount of transmission time over an extended period of time.

A local area network (LAN) is a communications network that spans a relatively small area. Most LANs are confined to a single building or group of buildings. However, LANs can be connected to other networks, such as the Internet, using communication channels. LANs can locally connect terminal devices such as workstations, personal computers, printers, entertainment devices, sensors, and telephones. There are many different types of LANs, Ethernet being the most common.
A wireless local area network (WLAN) is a shared-medium communication network that transmits information over wireless channels between terminals within radio transmission range. IEEE 802.11 is a communication standard for WLANs, see O'Hara et al., "IEEE 802.11 Handbook, A Designer's Companion," IEEE Press, 1999, and "IEEE 802.11 e/D5.0, Draft Supplement to Part 11: Wireless Medium Access Control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) specifications: Medium Access Control (MAC) Enhancements for Quality of Service (QoS)." The medium access method of (MAC) of IEEE 802.11 is called a distributed coordination function (DCF), which is based on carrier sense multiple access/collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) protocol.
IEEE 802.11 wireless networks can be configured in two different modes: ad hoc and infrastructure modes. In ad hoc mode, all wireless terminals within communication range can communicate directly with each other. The present invention can be applied to Wireless LAN operating both in infrastructure mode and ad hoc mode. The IEEE 802.11a standard specifies eight transmission bit rates at 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, and 54 Mbps, and the 802.11b standard specifies four rate at 1, 2, 5.5, and 11 Mbps. With such a physical-layer enhancement, a terminal can select a best transmission rate depending on a quality of the wireless channel measured by the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or packet error rate. When used properly, a multi-rate WLAN greatly improves throughput and effectively supports communication-intensive multimedia applications.
In the context of scheduling a series of packets between terminals, i.e., a 'packet flow', the multi-rate WLAN poses new challenges for designing network protocols. Packet scheduling, particularly fair queuing, provides packet-level quality of services (QoS) in terms of throughput and delay, to enable both delay-sensitive and throughput-sensitive applications. Wireless packet scheduling should also address location-dependent channel errors in wireless networks, and shields short-term error bursts from packet flows. Location-dependent errors are a particular concern when terminals are mobile.
However, prior art wireless fair packet scheduling typically assumes a single, fixed transmission rate for all terminals, and does not consider multiple rates for different terminals, where at least one terminal is transmitting at a different rate than all other terminals. As a result, fair queuing methods that are designed for single-rate networks suffer from significant throughput reduction in VvLANs based on the 802.11a/b/g standards. In fact, even the prior art fairness notion may not be justified.
In wireless fair scheduling, packet flows, in the presence of channel errors, seek to approximate a QoS that is equivalent to idealistic, error-free channel conditions. To this end, transmissions of error-prone packet flows are deferred temporarily while error-free flows advance. This substantially improves the effective channel throughput because only flows that perceive error-free channels transmit packets at any given time.
Compared with error-free services, where all flows perceive error-free channels all of the time, error-prone flows may temporally lag behind and error-free flows lead ahead in short periods of time. However, these leading flows delay their future transmissions when the lagging flows perceive error-free channels in order to compensate for the time the lagging flows were deferred.
This way, both leading and lagging flows receive their contracted rates, i.e., throughput, over extended periods of time, and performance bounds in terms of throughput, delay and fairness are preserved over the extended periods of time in the presence of error-prone channels. In prior art design, both models of fair sharing among competing flows and compensation for error-prone flows are defined with respect to throughput. That is, 'fairness' means that over an extended period of time, all flows experience a substantial equal throughput.
Roughly speaking, each backlogged flow receives a 'fair' share of throughput, defined as ƒ bytes per second. The compensation in the presence of channel errors is also based on throughput.
If an assigned transmission rate of a packet flow ƒ is rƒ, then the flow ƒ receives services during a time period [t, t+ΔT] in proportion to the rate rƒ, as given by
                    S        f                          (                  t          ,                      t            +                          Δ                                                                                T                                      )              ≈                            r          f                                      ∑                          i                                                                                ε                                                                                B                                                                                r            i                                    C                                      Δ                                      T        ,where C is a channel capacity perceived by all flows, B denotes a set of flows that are back-logged due to experiencing an error prone channel, and ΔT is some predetermined time increment.
While such a model is adequate for single-rate WLANS, that model does not work for multi-rate WLANs because the flows have different rates and there is no single channel capacity C. Instead, the channel capacity varies over time depending on the rates assigned to the various terminals. Moreover, normalizing flow throughputs in a multi-rate network leads to significant inefficiencies and mitigates the gains offered by the multi-rate physical layer, because error-prone flows consume a disproportional amount of time and channel resources.
If each terminal in a WLAN can potentially assign different transmission rates at different times, i.e., at least one terminal is transmitting at a different rate than all other terminals, then the fundamental problem is to adapt the compensation models to accommodate such multi-rate options in wireless networks.

Scheduling packet flows in multi-rate wireless local area networks

Mitsubishi Electric Research Labortories, Inc.


In a preferred embodiment, an expendable alignment ring is adapted for centering opposing conical surfaces of a transmission torque converter and an engine crankshaft. The ring has an annular body formed of a thermoplastic such as high density polyethelene. The body has first and second ends formed by axially spaced inner and outer coaxial conical surfaces extending between inner and outer peripheries. The ring is installed over a pilot of the torque converter so that the conical ends of the ring align the conical surfaces of the torque converter and the crankshaft during assembly to center the torque converter relative to the crankshaft. Upon assembly of the torque converter to the crankshaft, the alignment ring is slightly compressed and provides the mechanism for precise alignment of the torque converter to the crankshaft. During subsequent engine operation, the alignment ring softens and is flattened or destroyed so as not to interfere with axial motion of the pilot during ballooning of the torque converter.

A torque converter to crankshaft assembly includes a transmission torque converter and an engine crankshaft. The torque converter may have an axially extending pilot with an outer end and a conical surface spaced inward from the outer end. A radial drive plate is bolted to the crankshaft and to mounting bosses on the face of the torque converter to carry drive torques between the engine and torque converter. The crankshaft has a recess for receiving the outer end of the pilot, and a conical chamfer surface at an outer end of the recess to engage the conical surface of the pilot.
Two methods of assembling a torque converter to a crankshaft are commonly used. One method is applied to a butt joint pilot converter. This method involves inserting the pilot of the torque converter into the recess of the crankshaft until the conical surface of the pilot directly engages the conical surface of the chamfer. During assembly, the contact between the conical surface of the pilot and the chamfer provides the alignment that centers the torque converter relative to the crankshaft. During engine operation, as the torque converter balloons, the conical surface of the torque converter pilot applies axial thrust on the crankshaft, requiring the engine to have high strength crankshaft thrust bearings to deal with the direct and indirect thrust loads created by the ballooning of the torque converter.
The second method is applied to a floating joint pilot converter. This involves inserting the pilot of the torque converter within the recess of the crankshaft so that the conical surface of the pilot is spaced axially from the conical surface of the chamfer. During assembly, the chamfer surface and the conical surface do not engage to center the torque converter within the crankshaft. As a result, the alignment by this method varies because of required clearances and tolerances. During engine operation, the clearance between the crankshaft and the torque converter provides expansion room for torque converter ballooning. As a result, the engine can use standard crankshaft thrust bearings to deal with indirect thrust loads of the torque converter.
A torque converter to crankshaft assembly having the installation benefits of a butt joint pilot converter and the expansion benefits of floating joint pilot converter is desired.

Expendable torque converter alignment ring and assembly method


A system and method for facilitating the creation of personalized products is disclosed, wherein a user on a user computer can access a host merchant computer via a communication network, such as the Internet. The host merchant computer communicates with a products database containing information on products available for personalization and further contains manufacturing capabilities for the products. The method includes providing to the user via the communication network an assortment of product selections available in the products database, receiving a message from the user via the communication network indicating a selection of a product from the assortment, retrieving a set of manufacturing capabilities for the selected product from the products database, and providing to the user via the communication network a design interface including design tools which allow the user to select product configuration options and to create individualized enhancements, wherein the design tool is conformed to only allow configuration options and enhancements that satisfy the manufacturing capabilities.

Product customization is popular within many retail markets. Customers may add personalized features to a wide variety of products, such as greeting cards, T-shirts, hats, and golf balls. The personalization itself may take many forms, such as the product size, shape and color, and the location, size, shape and color of added text and graphics.
The personalization options presented to the customer are often quite limited. For example, a customer designing a personalized greeting card may be required to make a series of discrete text selections, each text selection coming from a limited number of prewritten choices. Or, if the customer is allowed to create his or her own text, it may be limited to a preset number of characters. Such limitations necessarily constrain the ability of customers to fully express themselves via the resulting personalized products.
Computer hardware and software developed for home use now provides a new source of text and graphics that may be incorporated into a personalized product. Customers may use applications such as Adobe Illustrator™, Paint Shop Pro™, and Corel Photo-Paint™ to create digital images for this purpose. The images created with these applications, however, often possess greater spatial resolution and include a larger number of colors than may be handled by the manufacturer of the personalized product. Furthermore, the size, shape, or format of the digital image may fail to correspond with the needs of the manufacturer. For a particular digital image, these limitations may preclude the creation of a personalized product utilizing that digital image, or at least result in a product that is unsatisfactory to the customer.
Similarly, word processors such as Microsoft Word™ and Corel WordPerfect™ provide customers with hundreds or even thousands of different typestyles for text. Many of these fonts, however, may be incompatible with the needs of the manufacturers of the personalized product.
Furthermore, customers may want to incorporate images and text into personalized products in myriad different ways. For example, some customers may want to add features to the brim of a baseball cap, rather than merely to the traditional location at front and center on the crown of the hat. Some such variations may be impossible for manufacturers of the personalized product to produce. At present, such customers may exert great time and effort up front to generate designs that are known by the manufacturers to be impractical.
Personalization systems developed for a user at a home computer requires the user to load specialized software onto his or her home computer. As such, the user must have a computer with an operating system compatible with the specialized software, and he or she must go to the trouble of acquiring the specialized software in the first place.
The present invention seeks to overcome these and other problems.

Intelligent personalization system and method


Field emission nanostructures assist operation of a microdischarge device. The field emission nanostructures are integrated into the microdischarge device(s) or are situated near an electrode of the microdischarge device(s). The field emission nanostructures reduce operating and ignition voltages compared to otherwise identical devices lacking the field emission nanostructures, while also increasing the radiative output of the microdischarge device(s).

Microdischarge devices, also known as microplasma or microcavity discharge devices, have been developed as a substitute for other light producing devices. Microdischarge devices are disclosed in U.S. patents that are incorporated by reference herein: U.S. Pat. No. 6,563,257, entitled Multilayer Ceramic Microdischarge Device; U.S. Pat. No. 6,541,915, entitled High Pressure Arc Lamp Assisted Start Up Device and Method; U.S. Pat. No. 6,194,833, entitled Microdischarge Lamp and Array; U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,384, entitled Microdischarge Lamp Formation Process; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,027, entitled Microdischarge Lamp.
In a recent application, we have disclosed phase-locked arrays of microdischarges devices, and microdischarge devices that are stimulated by AC, RF or pulsed excitation. The application is entitled Phase Locked Microdischarge Array and AC, RF or Pulse Excited Microdischarge, was filed on Apr. 22, 2004, and has been accorded Ser. No. 10/829,666. This application is also incorporated by reference herein.
Carbon nanotubes are field emission nanostructures that have remarkable physical and electronic properties. The utility of carbon nanotubes as a field emitter has prompted the development of new methods for the controlled growth of nanotubes and the introduction of vacuum electronic devices, including displays and sensors. Electronic applications of carbon nanotubes have typically relied solely on field emission as the current source, which requires electrode voltages in the range of 150V up to 1 kV, and places constraints on the length and diameter of carbon nanotubes as well as the surface number density of carbon nanotubes in an array. See, e.g., Choi, et al., "Electrophoresis Deposition of Carbon Nanotubes for Triode-Type Field Emission Display," Appl. Phys. Lett., 78, pp. 1547–49 (2001); Modi et al., "Miniaturized Gas Ionization Sensors Using Carbon Nanotubes," Nature, 424, pp. 171–74 (2003).
Other nanostructures have also been found to readily produce field emissions. Examples include silicon carbide nanowires, zinc oxide nanowires, molybdenum and molybdenum oxide nanowires, organic semiconductor nanowires, and tungsten nanowires. See, e.g., Tang and Bando, "Effect of BN Coatings on Oxidation Resistance and Field Emisssion of SiC Nanowires", Appl. Phys. Lett, Vol. 83, No. 4 (28 Jul. 2003); Lee et al., "Field Emission From Well-Aligned Zinc Oxide Nanowires Grown at Low Temperature", Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 81, No. 19 (4 Nov. 2002); Zhou et al., "Large-Area Nanowire Arrays of Molybdenum and Molybdenum Oxides: Synthesis and Field Emission Properties," Adv. Mater., Vol. 15, No. 21 (4 Nov. 2003); Chiu et al., "Organic Semiconductor Nanowires for Field Emission", Adv. Mater., Vol. 15, No. 16, (15 Aug. 2003); Min and Ahn, "Tungsten Nanowires and Their Field Electron Emission Properties," Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 81, No. 4 (22 Jul. 2002); and Wu et al., "Needle-Shaped Silicon Carbide Nanowires: Synthesis and Field Electron Emission Properties," Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 80, No. 20 (20 May 2002).

Field emission assisted microdischarge devices

The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois


An apparatus and method for driving an electro-luminescence panel wherein pixels in a current driving type electrode-luminescence panel are pre-charged to change a storage voltage of the pixel into the corresponding voltage within a limited scanning time. In the apparatus, a plurality of electro-luminescence cells are arranged at crossings between gate lines and data lines. A gate driver is connected to the gate lines to sequentially drive the gate lines. A data driver is connected to the data lines to apply pixel signals, via the data lines, to the electro-luminescence cells. A pre-charger is provided within the data driver to pre-charge a current into the data lines before the pixel signals are applied via the data lines.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electro-luminescence display (ELD), and more particularly to an apparatus and method for driving an electro-luminescence panel wherein pixels existing in gate lines of a current driving type electro-luminescence panel are pre-charged to change a storage voltage of the pixel into the corresponding voltage within a limited scanning time.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Recently, there have been developed various flat panel display devices reduced in weight and bulk that is capable of eliminating disadvantages of a cathode ray tube (CRT). Such flat panel display devices include a liquid crystal display (LCD), a field emission display (FED), a plasma display panel (PDP) and an electro-luminescence (EL) panel, etc.
Studies for heightening a display quality of the flat panel display device and for providing the flat panel display with a large-scale screen have been actively made. The EL panel in such display devices is a self-emission device capable of being emitted for itself. The EL panel excites a fluorescent material using carriers such as electrons and holes, etc. to display a video image. The EL panel has advantages in that a low direct current voltage driving is possible and a response speed is fast.
As shown in FIG. 1, such an EL panel includes gate lines GL1 to GLm and data lines DL1 to DLn arranged on a glass substrate 10 in such a manner to cross each other, and pixel elements PE arranged at intersections between the gate lines GL1 to GLm and the data lines DL1 to DLn. Each of the pixel elements PE is driven when gate signals on the gate lines GL1 to GLm are enabled, thereby generating a light corresponding to a magnitude of a pixel signal on the data line DL.
In order to drive such an EL panel, a gate driver 12 is connected to the gate lines GL1 to GLm, and a data driver 14 is connected to the data lines DL1 to DLn. The gate driver 12 sequentially drives the gate lines GL1 to GLm. The data driver 14 applies pixel signals, via the data lines DL1 to DLn, to the pixel elements PE.
As shown in FIG. 2, each of the pixel elements PE driven with the gate driver 12 and the data driver 14 consists of an EL cell OELD connected to a ground voltage line GND, and a cell driving circuit 16 for driving the EL cell OLED.
FIG. 2 is a detailed circuit diagram of the pixel element PE shown in FIG. 1, which includes a driving circuit arranged at an intersection between the gate line GL and the data line DL, that is, four TFT's T1, T2, T3 and T4.
Referring to FIG. 2, the pixel element PE includes an EL cell OLED connected to a ground voltage source GND, and an EL cell driving circuit 16 connected between the EL cell OLED and the data line DL.
The EL cell driving circuit 16 includes the first and second PMOS TFTs T1 and T2 connected to the EL cell OLED and the supply voltage line VDD, a third PMOS TFT T3 connected to the second PMOS TFT T2, the data line DL and the gate line GL to respond to a signal on the gate line GL, a fourth PMOS TFT T4 connected to the gate electrodes of the first and second PMOS TFT's T1 and T2, the gate line GL and the third PMOS TFT T3, and a capacitor Cst connected between the gate electrodes of the first and second PMOS TFTs T1 and T2 and the supply voltage line VDD.
In operation, when a low input signal is applied to the gate line GL as shown in FIG. 3, the third and fourth PMOS TFTs T3 and T4 are turned on. If so, a video signal with a certain amplitude inputted in synchronization with a scanning signal from the data line DL is charged into the capacitor Cst via the third and fourth PMOS TFTs T3 and T4. The capacitor Cst is connected to the gate electrodes of the first and second PMOS TFTs T1 and T2 and the supply voltage VDD to charge the video signal from the data line DL during a low voltage input period of the gate line GL.
The capacitor Cst holds the video signal applied from the data line DL and then charged during one frame interval. Because of this holding time, the capacitor Cst keeps an application of the video signal from the data line DL to the EL cell OLED. Further, such a structure must include the number of data lines DL receiving each picture signal in correspondence with an input of each video signal such as red(R), green(G) and blue(B) signals. After being held for one frame interval, the video signal charged in the capacitor Cst is applied to the EL cell OLED to display an image on the display panel.
However, the conventional EL panel driving apparatus has difficulty in charging and discharging the storage capacitor Cst by a driving current Id within a limited gate line scanning time to change the driving current Id into the corresponding voltage because a very small current is used as the driving current Id. Herein, the gate line scanning time means a time at which the third and fourth PMOS TFTs T3 and T4 have been simultaneously turned on.

Apparatus and method for driving electro-luminescence panel


An apparatus for dispensing toner in an electrophotographic printing system includes a housing for containing a supply of toner and toner filled containers for replenishing the supply of toner. Toner is allowed to flow to a developer assembly in the electrophotographic printing system by removal of a housing toner seal. The bottom of the container is dimensioned so that it can be inserted through the opening in the top of the housing and the opening in the top of another substantially identical container. A toner dam seal is attached to the container to close the bottom opening. In the preferred embodiment, the toner dam seal includes a length of flexible material for use in removal of the toner dam seal. In an alternative embodiment, cutting blades are attached to the interior of the sidewalls of both the housing and the container for cutting the toner dam seal upon installation of the container into the housing or into a previously installed container.

Electrophotographic processes for producing a permanent image on media are well known and commonly used. In general, these processes all include: (1) charging a photoreceptor which is a drum or continuous belt bearing a photoconductive material; (2) producing an electrostatic latent image by exposing the charged area to a light image or a light emitting diode array, or scanning the charged area with a laser beam; (3) presenting particles of toner to the photoreceptor surface upon which the electrostatic latent image is disposed so that the particles are transferred to the electrostatic latent image; (4) transferring the particles from the photoreceptor to the media while maintaining the shape of the image formed on the photoreceptor drum; (5) fusing or fixing the particles in the shape of the image to the media; and (6) cleaning or restoring the photoreceptor for the next printing cycle.
Referring to FIG. 1, the electrophotographic printer 300 of the prior art has therein feed rollers 321 and 322 for feeding the printing sheets stacked in the printing sheet cassettes 311 and 312, a pair of rollers 323 for conveying a printing sheet fed from the printing sheet cassettes 311 or 312, an exposure array 376 for emitting light to the photosensitive drum 52 for forming an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 52, a transfer electrostatic charger 327 for transferring toner from the photoconductive drum 52 to the printing sheet, a pair of heat rollers 328 for fixing the toner transferred on the printing sheet and a prior art electrophotographic cartridge 50. The prior art electrophotographic cartridge 50 is not designed for replenishment of the toner supply.
The electrophotographic cartridge 50 has an electrostatic charger 84 for electrostatically charging the photoconductive drum 52 uniformly, a developer assembly 54 for applying toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductive drum 52 after exposure to the exposure array 376, and a cleaner 76 for removing the untransferred toner which remains on the photoconductive drum 52 after the transfer step. The untransferred toner is stored in waste hopper 85. Electrostatic charger 84 may be a charge roller assembly or a corona assembly. Further information about alternative photographic processes is available in the text "The Physics and Technology of Xerographic Processes", by Edgar M. Williams, 1984, a Wiley-lnterscience Publication of John Wiley & Sons, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Many image forming apparatus utilize the electrophotographic printing process, examples being laser printers, copy machines, and facsimile machines. As described above, these image forming apparatus use toner to print or copy the desired image or words onto a piece of paper or media. The toner is contained in a reservoir which is depleted as a result of printing. For example, the toner in a laser printer is generally depleted after printing from 2,000 to 10,000 pages depending upon the initial supply of toner in the reservoir and the coverage of the text or graphics images printed.
Some electrophotographic printing systems, such as copy machines, are designed to allow recharging of the toner reservoir. On these electrophotographic printing systems, an access port to the toner reservoir has been included to allow an operator to recharge the toner reservoir. Typically, toner is supplied in bottles and the operator is required to pour the toner into the toner reservoir to recharge the printing system. This creates the potential for contamination of the recharged toner supply and the potential for spillage of the toner during the recharging process. Contamination of the recharged toner supply can cause a degradation in the print quality delivered by the printing system either directly as a result of the contamination or through interaction with electrophotographic printing components. Spillage of toner and the possible subsequent soiling of hands, clothes, papers, and office equipment results in customer dissatisfaction.
Electrophotographic printers are typically designed so that the components involved in actually accomplishing electrophotographic printing are contained in a disposable electrophotographic print cartridge. The components usually included in the cartridge are the photoconductor drum, the drum charging assembly, such as the charge roller assembly or the corona assembly, the developer assembly, the drum cleaning blade, and the supply of toner used for forming the print text or print images. The supply of toner is contained in a toner reservoir. The useable life of the cartridge is limited by the available supply of toner in the toner reservoir and the useable life of the cartridge components, particularly the photoconductor, the developer assembly, and the drum charging assembly. Practically, limitations on the size and weight of the cartridge, which limit the supply of toner, most significantly limit the useable life of the cartridge. Cartridge components are designed to perform acceptably well for print cycles beyond the number at which the toner is consumed. The organic photoconductor drum, which is in contact with the media during printing, usually is the first of the cartridge components to fail because of wear. Typically, no provision for refilling the toner reservoir of the cartridge is included in the design of the cartridge. Upon exhaustion of the toner supply in the cartridge, it is necessary to replace the empty cartridge with one having the reservoir filled with toner.
An electrophotographic printer which allows recharging of the toner reservoir easily and with a greatly reduced risk of spillage would provide the motivation for the development of electrophotographic components with an extended operating life to exploit the refilling capability. Because electrophotographic cartridges are relatively expensive, this would allow a significant reduction in the average cost per printed page resulting from the extended operating life.
Disposal of exhausted electrophotographic cartridges contributes to the consumption of available landfill space. An additional benefit of cartridge toner recharging capability would be a reduction in the volume of solid waste generated through the use of electrophotographic cartridges.

Apparatus for dispensing toner in an electrophotographic printing system


The power plant disclosed is an engine that derives is usefulness in the pursuit of energy generation by utilizing natural pressure differentials found in various liquids and gases, such as but not limited to water and air. It is generally a two-stroke piston cycle engine, wherein the actions of the pistons perform work, which can be utilized to generate power, pump fluids, or perform work, for example.

This disclosure relates to the field of power generation, and more specifically to hydroelectric power generation methods based on renewable energy and pressure differential principles.
As energy sources based on fossil fuels become ever more expensive to maintain and their environmental cost is realized and quantified, the world has turned to renewable energy sources to combat these disadvantages of traditional energy generation methods. A sharply increasing demand curve continues to push the need for innovative new ways to generate power. There is thus a current need for new sources of energy that utilize renewable sources to generate that energy.
A particularly salient obstacle to power generation is the power input needed for use in the generation scheme. The input power required will inherently reduce the efficiency, and therefore the viability of, the system. Therefore, there is a need for a power generation scheme that utilizes natural phenomenon to both reduce the input power required to operate the system and to provide the energy source that the system converts to some form of usable energy.


An improved Uhle box for use in a paper press includes an elongated, generally U-shaped support structure closed at its opposite ends by deckle pieces, and with each upstanding leg including a cylindrical recess for rotatably mounting a cylinder on which the wet felt is supported. The central portion of the support structure defines a vacuum zone which is in communication with a vacuum source. Lubrication is provided to the rotatable cylinder as the wet felt is passed over the Uhle box, and moisture is extracted from the wet felt as it passes over the vacuum zone.

In a typical paper making process, water is extracted from the paper web in a number of different operations. For example, in the forming section of the Fourdrinier, the fiber and water slurry is conveyed on a bronze or synthetic wire across a series of spaced transversely extending foil blades. Each foil blade is provided with a generally sharp edge facing in an upstream direction. As the paper web passes across the foil blade, a vacuum is created between the paper web and the upper surface of the foil blade, and draws water from the paper web. The edge of the next succeeding blade riding against the lower surface of the bronze or synthetic wire functions to remove more moisture.
The paper press felt is used in the press section of a paper machine to support the paper web as the web is passed through a pair of cooperating press rollers to extract water from the web. Following the pressing of the paper web, it is separated from the felt and passed to further processing stations.
While the felt is extracting water from the paper web in the press section, water migrates from the paper web into the felt. The paper stock slurry being treated typically consists of a mixture of wood pulp, pitch, water and numerous chemicals. Some components contained in the paper stock slurry can be detrimental to the efficient operation of the paper press. For example, some components can become attached to and imbedded in the felt and can inhibit the free movement of water from the paper web to the felt.
The felt normally comprises an endless fabric so that after it is separated from the paper web following pressing, the felt is then caused to transverse several return rolls. Thereafter, it is directed back to the point where the wet paper web coming from the wire is received onto the felt. In order to assure uniform porosity of the felt and proper and efficient operation of the press section, the moisture must be uniformly extracted from the felt before the wet paper web is received back onto the felt. It is desirable for the felt be cleaned on its return run after the paper web is separated from the felt. Such cleansing is commonly accomplished by conventional Uhle boxes over which the felt is caused to travel on its return run. During the endless travel of the felt in the press section of the paper machine, the web-supporting surface of the felt is commonly passed in direct contact with one or more Uhle boxes.
The typical suction or Uhle box includes a rigid cover which supports the felt that carries the paper web, and the cover is provided with a plurality of perforations or slots. The cover portion is attached to a vacuum source which functions to remove moisture from the felt by creating a vacuum through the vacuum slots provided in the interior portion of the Uhle box.
Of particular importance in the case of most paper presses is that a build up of pitch typically occurs on the Uhle box strips. Pitch deposition can be detrimental to the efficient operation of the press section. Pitch can deposit on process equipment and press felt resulting in operational problems in such systems. Deposition of pitch can occur not only on metal surfaces in the system, but also on plastic and synthetic surfaces such as machining wires, felts, foil blades, as well as Uhle box strips. Pitch deposits may also break off the surfaces of Uhle box strips in the system and cause spots and defects in the final paper product which ultimately decreases the paper's quality. Machine breaks may also occur. Pitch deposition can also cause premature wear of the wet felts, thereby requiring the costly replacement of such felts.
Typically, the prior art Uhle box includes high density polyethylene or ceramic strips over which the paper press felt travels before entering the vacuum zone that extracts the moisture from the felt. A disadvantage of the use of polyethylene or ceramic strips in the conventional Uhle box is that a shearing force results between the traveling felt and the Uhle box strips. The shearing force arises due to the stress resulting from the applied force which causes the felt to slide relative to the Uhle box strips in a direction substantially parallel to their plane of contact. This resulting shearing force can cause a build-up of pitch which tends to deposit upon the Uhle box strips and the felt. These pitch deposits ultimately reduce the felt life, plug the felt, and accelerate wear of the strips of the Uhle box. To obviate this problem, it is necessary to periodically clean the Uhle box or the individual foil blades to remove pitch deposits which would otherwise build up and commonly obstruct the vacuum slots in the Uhle box or cause damage to the felt. The frequency of the periodic cleaning obviously causes downtime of the machinery and thus substantial production problems, and increased manufacturing costs.
Accordingly, it is an object of the subject invention to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art devices and to provide a new and improved Uhle box for a press section of a paper machine.
Another object of the subject invention is to provide a new and improved Uhle box which reduces pitch deposition in the press felt and on Uhle box strips.
Still a further object of the subject invention is to provide a new and improved Uhle box which provides for more efficient and better felt cleaning, and more efficient moisture removal.
It is another object of the subject invention to provide a new and improved Uhle box which enables a press section to operate more efficiently at lower cost.
A further object of the subject invention is to provide a new and improved Uhle box which results in less wear to the wet felt.
Still another object of the subject invention is to provide a new and improved Uhle box which eliminates the use of foil blades as part of the Uhle box.


Computer based systems and methods for designing (e.g., customization) of consumer products, articles of footwear, knit footwear uppers, and the like. In some embodiments, a user may generate and/or modify footwear designs using a footwear design interface. Additionally or alternatively, the footwear design interface may be configured to simulate the layout and/or operation of a knitting machine to provide the user with the impression of physically designing and/or manufacturing an article of footwear. In other embodiments, the system may disallow prospective footwear design changes based on limitations associated with inventory availability and the footwear design characteristics.

Conventional articles of athletic footwear include two primary elements, an upper and a sole structure. The upper provides a covering for the foot that securely receives and positions the foot with respect to the sole structure. In addition, the upper may have a configuration that protects the foot and provides ventilation, thereby cooling the foot and removing perspiration. The sole structure is secured to a lower surface of the upper and is generally positioned between the foot and the ground. In addition to attenuating ground reaction forces and absorbing energy (i.e., imparting cushioning), the sole structure may provide traction and control potentially harmful foot motion, such as over pronation. Accordingly, the upper and the sole structure operate cooperatively to provide a comfortable structure that is suited for a wide variety of ambulatory activities, such as walking and running.
The upper forms a void on the interior of the footwear for receiving the foot. The void has the general shape of the foot, and access to the void is provided by an ankle opening. Accordingly, the upper extends over the instep and toe areas of the foot, along the medial and lateral sides of the foot, and around the heel area of the foot. A lacing system is often incorporated into the upper to selectively increase the size of the ankle opening and permit the wearer to modify certain dimensions of the upper, particularly girth, to accommodate feet with varying proportions. In addition, the upper may include a tongue that extends under the lacing system to enhance the comfort of the footwear, and the upper may include a heel counter to limit movement of the heel.
Various materials may be utilized in manufacturing the upper. Some uppers are formed of knit material, such as thread and/or yarn. Knit uppers have appearances that differ from the appearances of uppers formed of other materials like leather, synthetic leather, and rubber. During the design and manufacturing of a knit upper it is common for a designer to create a design and then for one or more other people to program a knitting machine to manufacture the upper. The separation of parts of the design and manufacturing process can result in the development and manufacturing of several uppers before the designer approves a design that can be manufactured by a knitting machine. Multiple rounds or cycles of creating many knit uppers that don't meet a designer's view of the design imagined can be costly in time and resources.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for systems and methods that can allow designers, during the design process, the ability to electronically visualize knit uppers that more realistically embody a manufactured knit upper, so as to allow for timely adjusting designs prior to manufacturing. Such functionality can drastically improve the design to manufacturing process in knit engineering.


Each of a plurality of photodiodes forming a photodetector is mounted on a respective metal pad on the surface of a semiconductor integrated circuit chip including a corresponding number of amplifier circuits for detecting the photocurrent from respective photodiodes. Each circuit comprises a high gain, high input impedance amplifier and a feedback element, typically a resistor of high value, connected across the amplifier between input and output nodes thereof. Each photodiode mounting metal pad and each feedback resistor is connected to a common input node of a respective amplifier by metal paths within a connecting structure forming part of the integrated circuit. Adverse effects on the output current from the photodiodes are reduced by forming a junction of the path from each feedback resistor with the path from the corresponding photodiode at the metal pad on which the photodiode is mounted, and interconnecting such junction along a common path to the corresponding amplifier input node.

This invention relates to the use of photodiodes, and particularly to the interconnecting of a photodiode within an electronic circuit for improved efficiency of operation.
Photodiodes are known electronic components which generate electrical current in response to radiant energy. Principal uses of photodiodes are in photodetectors such as image sensors and photospectrometers.
Typically, a plurality of individual photodiodes are disposed in side by side array to define a light receiving area. A light pattern to be analyzed is projected onto the light receiving area and each photodiode generates a current in proportion to the intensity of the light falling thereon. If the original source of light has been separated by wavelength, so that each photodiode receives light of a different wavelength, the photodiode array functions as a photospectrometer for detecting and measuring the different wavelength components of the light source.
The output of each photodiode of the array is electrical current (referred to as "photocurrent"). Ideally, all the photodiodes forming a photodetector should have identical characteristics whereby the relative amplitudes of the current outputs of the various photodiodes precisely reflect the relative intensities of light incident thereon. Some variations in characteristics of the photodiodes are inevitable, however, and a task is to minimize the effects thereof.
In certain photodetector applications, described hereinafter, the photodiodes are operated at zero voltage bias and, when so operated, an equivalent circuit of the photodiodes comprises a radiant energy responsive current generator having two output terminals. A shunt resistor is connected between the two output terminals in parallel with the current generator, and a resistor is connected in series between the generator and one of the terminals. As described hereinafter, the shunt resistor represents a path for leakage current within the photodiode, and the series resistor represents intrinsic resistance to current flow outwardly from the photodiode.
The two resistors form a current divider internally of the photodiode in the path of the current from the current generator. That current which flows through the series resistor and to the one output terminal is available to contribute to the output signal of the photodiode. The current which flows through the shunt resistor circulates within the photodiode and is not available as output current.
Clearly, for maximum signal output, the shunt resistance is preferably as high as possible and the series resistance is as low as possible.
The magnitudes of the two photodiode resistors are a function of the design and fabrication of the photodiodes. The present invention is not concerned with the fabrication of photodiodes, but with the arrangements used for connecting photodiodes to the input nodes of amplifier circuits. The impact of such connecting arrangements is as follows.
With any given photodiode including the aforedescribed internal current divider, it is recognized that the functioning of the current divider can be influenced by how the photodiode is used. Specifically, if the path for current from the one output terminal from the photodiode to the input node of the amplifier circuit includes a resistance, such resistance can add to the series resistance portion of the photodiode current divider. Thus, a greater proportion of the current generated by the photodiode is lost to internal circulation.
Based upon the foregoing, it has been accepted heretofore that the output terminals of the photodiodes should be connected to the input nodes of respective amplifier circuits by connecting paths having the lowest possible resistances and, preferably, of identical resistance values. While known connecting arrangements largely accomplish this, some resistance is inevitably present in the connecting paths and, depending upon the geometries of the photodetecting devices, the resistances can vary from path to path. Thus, not only do the path resistances tend to reduce the output currents of the photodiodes, but the variable path resistances variably influence the photodiodes for magnifying existing differences among the photodiodes.
The present invention reduces the adverse effects of connecting path resistances.

Low loss connecting arrangement for photodiodes


Lightweight composite or “mineral foam” composite materials can be made from reactive materials such as metal oxides. The materials can be prepared from a reaction of metal oxide(s), phosphate(s) and residual materials to which may be added a reactive foaming agent and/or latex polymer to provide enhanced physical properties. The composite materials can have a density of between about 0.35 to 2.25 g/cc, and may be used for many applications including pre-cast structures, in-situ structures, insulating blocks, slabs and composite wall sections, light weight spheres, mixes and coatings.

Typical concrete materials are made of Portland cement, sand, stone and water. When water is mixed with Portland cement, an exothermic reaction occurs, which results in a solid mass with a density approximating 145 pounds per cubic foot.
Although conventional concrete is useful for many applications, and has a long history of use, lighter weight mixes such as "autoclaved aerated concrete" (AAC) are known to have considerably lighter density than conventional concrete and also exhibit some insulating properties as well. These AAC products are limited owing to the high cost of equipment, and lengthy processing cycles. Portland cement, in fact, while widely used in many lighter weight construction applications, requires care in handling since any changes in temperature, vibration or disturbance can cause the fine cellular structure to collapse before the materials have set sufficiently to be self-supporting. Also, Portland-based cellular concretes at low densities tend to be very friable and are easily damaged, and exhibit very low compressive strength unless exposed to curing procedures common to AAC. This AAC process is time consuming, with 12 hour cycles; capital intensive, with autoclaves involved, and energy intensive, with 10 hours under steam and pressure.
Phosphate-containing concretes have been proposed for a number of purposes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,580 describes use of oxy-boron compounds as retarders in acid-base cements containing magnesium oxide and various grades of powdered phosphate compounds. U.S. Pat. No. 4,335,060 describes an acid-base cement comprising "liquid ammonium polyphosphates" with fly ash and magnesium oxide where the fly ash can be used as a substitute for part or all of the MgO. Further references to acid-base cements include those found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,645,518; 5,830,815; 5,846,894 and 6,133,498, which disclose phosphate ceramics that encapsulate various types of residual materials and contaminants such as heavy metals, asbestos, ash, various wastes, and low-level radioactive waste. These patents teach the use of residual materials that act as fill materials, which are encapsulated and do not participate in the chemical reaction of the product. Such processes use high-purity reagent grade phosphates and dead burned MgO. These processes utilize expensive MKP, i.e., mono-potassium phosphate, which reacts with the P2O4 to produce high sensitivity matrices—but tend to be too expensive—when compared to the use of MAP, i.e., mono-ammonium phosphate, as an acid source. These products tend to be lighter than Portland cement concretes, but form dense matrices that are ineffective for use as insulating materials, and are not generally used in applications where-a light weight insulating material would be advantageous. U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,610 discusses use of fibre additives to magnesium phosphate cements and non-reactive fill materials to achieve mechanical properties desirable for construction uses similar to those of Portland cement-based concrete. U.S. Pat. No. 6,136,088 discloses production of a cement and/or mortar based on reactions of water, magnesium compounds, and potassium phosphate, which utilize retardants such as boron oxide, polyphosphonic acid, carboxylic acid, hydrocarboxylic acid, and salts of these acids; additives such as silica, class F fly ash, talc, clay based sand, silica fume, and mixtures of these materials are used as inert fillers; these composites are dense and have high compressive strengths.
While the prior art covers numerous applications and uses for these acid/base cements, often referred to as "Sorrell Cements," they all create a fairly high density, solid matrix with very high compressive strengths and very low permeability. They tend to be too heavy to be considered in applications where lightweight and low thermal conductivity are crucial to the success of the intended purposes.
It is, therefore, desirable to improve the art. It is, furthermore, more particularly desirable to provide materials that address such deficiencies of the prior art as relate to thermal conductivity and overall density, cost of raw materials, and issues and shortcomings characteristic with these prior inventions. It is also desirable to provide improved compositions efficiently, and to have generally widespread use for them.

Lightweight composite materials and methods


The rolling bearing has a first bearing ring, a second bearing ring and a plurality of rolling bodies which are arranged between the first bearing ring and the second bearing ring. The rolling bodies are arranged in at least four rows. At least two rows have a first reference diameter and at least two further rows have a second reference diameter which is different from the first reference diameter, and those rows which have the same reference diameter are arranged symmetrically with respect to a predefined plane which is aligned perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the bearing.

The present invention is aimed at a symmetrical rolling bearing and in particular at a multi-row symmetrical rolling bearing.
The invention is described with reference to a wheel bearing unit for driven or non-driven wheels of motor vehicles, such as for example of pickup trucks, light trucks or SUVs (sports utility vehicles). It is however pointed out that the present invention may also be used in other rolling bearings.
The prior art discloses rolling bearings which have an outer ring, an inner ring and rolling bodies arranged between the rings. It is also known from the prior art to arrange the rolling bodies in a plurality of rows. For example, DE 100 60 638 A1 discloses a double-row rolling bearing. In this way, it is possible to distribute the loads acting on the bearing between a plurality of rows of rolling bodies, and therefore to a plurality of rolling bodies.
The use of balls in double-row rolling bearings as disclosed by DE 100 60 638 A1 is disadvantageous because this is unsuitable for high axle loads. The use of tapered rollers in double-row wheel bearings has the disadvantage that a high frictional torque is generated in this way.
Rolling bearings having more than two rows are relatively complex to produce and, in addition, it is necessary to determine geometric dimensions which are suitable for production.
The present invention is therefore based on the problem of providing a rolling bearing which is firstly suitable for high axle loads and which can secondly be produced and assembled with a justifiable amount of expenditure. In addition, it is intended to provide a rolling bearing which can be exchanged for a conventional rolling bearing with tapered rollers.


A methodology and apparatus is described that incorporates the use of thermal infrared imaging into a complete end-to-end face recognition system. Since thermal infrared primarily images emissive phenomenology there are advantages over video imaging in the reflective domain (e.g., visible, near-infrared) for face recognition, particularly with respect to image invariance in the presence of varying illumination incident on the subject. On the other hand video cameras in the reflective domain provide important image detail not apparent in thermal infrared imagery. Fusion of thermal infrared imagery with reflective domain (e.g., visible, near-infrared) imagery provides even further advantages. Embodiments of such systems that incorporate thermal infrared imaging for automatic face recognition are important for access control, verification, identification, and surveillance and monitoring.

Over the past several years the development of face recognition systems has been receiving increased attention as having the potential for providing a non-invasive way of improving security systems and homeland defense. Such systems may be used for applications such as access control to restricted areas, by either control of physical entry into a building, room, vault or an outdoor area or electronically such as to a computer system or ATM. Another application of such systems is identification of individuals on a known watchlist, which can consist of but is not limited to, known criminals, terrorists, or casino cardcounters. For identification a face recognition system produces a rank ordering of known individuals that closely match an unknown subject. If there is an identification matched ranking of N (e.g., N=10) or less with a known malevolent individual, then the unknown subject can either be detained or taken to a secondary procedure where further information is solicited. Another set of applications include surveillance and monitoring of scenes whereby the identity of individuals present in a scene is periodically verified.
Existing end-to-end systems that detect and recognize faces of individuals at a distance are exclusively performed with visible light video cameras. The influence of varying ambient illumination on systems using visible imagery is well-known to be one of the major limiting factors for recognition performance [Wilder, Joseph and Phillips, P. Jonathon and Jiang, Cunhong and Wiener, Stephen, "Comparison of Visible and Infra-Red Imagery for Face Recognition," Proceedings of 2nd International Conference on Automatic Face & Gesture Recognition, pp. 182-187, Killington, Vt., 1996; Adini, Yael and Moses, Yael and Ullman, Shimon, "Face Recognition: The Problem of Compensating for Changes in Illumination Direction," IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, Volume 19, No. 7, pp. 721-732, July, 1997]. A variety of methods compensating for variations in illumination have been studied in order to boost recognition performance, including histogram equalization, Laplacian transforms, Gabor transforms, logarithmic transforms, and 3-D shape-based methods. These techniques aim at reducing the within-class variability introduced by changes in illumination, which has been shown to be often larger than the between-class variability in the data, thus severely affecting classification performance. System performance, particularly outdoors where illumination is dynamic, is problematic with existing systems.
Face recognition in the thermal infrared domain has received relatively little attention compared with recognition systems using visible-spectrum imagery. Original tentative analyses have focused mostly on validating the thermal imagery of faces as a valid biometric [Prokoski, F. J., "History, Current Status, and Future of Infrared Identification, Proceedings IEEE Workshop on Computer Vision Beyond the Visible Spectrum: Methods and Applications, Hilton Head, June, 2000; Wilder, Joseph and Phillips, P. Jonathon and Jiang, Cunhong and Wiener, Stephen, "Comparison of Visible and Infra-Red Imagery for Face Recognition," Proceedings of 2nd International Conference on Automatic Face & Gesture Recognition, pp. 182-187, Killington, Vt., 1996]. The lower interest level in infrared imagery has been based in part on the following factors: much higher cost of thermal sensors versus visible video equipment, lower image resolution, higher image noise, and lack of widely available data sets. These historical objections are becoming less relevant as infrared imaging technology advances, making it attractive to consider thermal sensors in the context of face recognition.

Method and apparatus for using thermal infrared for face recognition


A recording apparatus includes a first power supply having a first output voltage, a second power supply having a second output voltage different from the first output voltage, and a recording circuit for recording input digital data on a recording medium selectively using the first power supply or the second power supply. The recording circuit selectively uses the first power supply or the second power supply in accordance with a state of the input digital data. It is thereby possible to reduce power consumption in the circuitry of the apparatus during recording.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a recording apparatus, and more particularly, to control of recording current when recording a digital signal on a magnetic tape using a magnetic head.
2. Description of the Related Art
A digital VCR (video cassette recorder) for recording a digital signal on a magnetic tape using a magnetic head is known as an apparatus for recording a signal on a recording medium.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of circuitry described in "LSI/IC for DCC", National Technical Report, Vol. 39, No. 6, December 1993, as an example of a magnetic-head driving circuit for controlling recording current passing through a head in such a digital VCR. In FIG. 1, a series circuit comprising a switch 212, controlled by an output from an inverting circuit 225, and a first constant-current source 214, which can be turned on and off, and a series circuit comprising a switch 216, controlled in accordance with recording data, and a second constant-current source 218, which can be turned on and off, are connected in parallel to a power supply 210 having an output voltage V.sub.cc, and a magnetic head 224 is connected between a node 220, where the switch 212 and the constant-current source 214 are connected, and a node 222, where the switch 216 and the constant-current source 218 are connected.
FIG. 2 illustrates the relationship between the values of digital data to be recorded, and the operations of the switches 212 and 216 and the constant-current sources 214 and 218. That is, in the circuitry shown in FIG. 1, when the value of data to be recorded is "1", the switch 212 is switched on, the switch 216 is switched off, the constant-current source 214 is turned off, and the constant-current source 218 is turned on, so that a constant current I.sub.c determined by the constant-current source 218 flows from the plus terminal to the minus terminal of the power supply 210 via the switch 212, the magnetic head 224 and the constant-current source 218. Accordingly, the current I.sub.c passes through the magnetic head 224 from the node 220 toward the node 222. On the other hand, when the value of data to be recorded is "0", the switch 212 is switched off, the switch 216 is switched on, the constant-current source 214 is turned on, and the constant-current source 218 is turned off, so that the constant current I.sub.c determined by the constant-current source 214 flows from the plus terminal to the minus terminal of the power supply 210 via the switch 216, the magnetic head 224 and the constant-current source 214. Accordingly, the current I.sub.c passes through the magnetic head 224 from the node 222 toward the node 220.
If the current passing through the magnetic head 224 from the node 220 toward the node 222 is assumed to be positive, statically, a recording current I.sub.rec passing through the magnetic head 224 equals +I.sub.c and -I.sub.c when data to be recorded is "1" and "0", respectively.
As is well known, when a constant current passes through an inductive load, such as the magnetic head 224 or the like, the following voltage e appears between terminals of the load for a change in the passing current i: EQU e=-L(di/dt)(V),
where L is the inductance of the load.
In the circuitry shown in FIG. 1, if it is assumed that the switches 212 and 216 are ideal and their on-resistance equals zero, negative transient pulse voltages as shown in FIGS. 3(b) and 3(c) are generated. FIG. 3(a) illustrates the waveform of the recording current passing through the magnetic head 224. The output voltage V.sub.cc of the power supply 210 must be selected so as to provide pulse voltages corresponding to the inductance L of the magnetic head 224, the transfer rate of digital data to be recorded, and the value of the recording current. For example, if the output voltage V.sub.cc of the current supply 210 is too low, pulse voltages at the nodes 220 and 222 are too low, as shown in FIGS. 4(b) and 4(c), respectively, so that rise and fall of the recording current are not sharp, as shown in FIG. 4(a). Normal recording cannot be performed in this state.
Recently, camcorders, in each of which a VCR and a video camera are integrated, have been rapidly popularized, so that video recording is ordinarily and easily performed outdoors using a battery as a power supply. When providing a digital VCR unit, it is desired to reduce power consumption in order to increase the recordable time period when the battery of the VCR unit is in a fully charged state.
However, the above-described conventional magnetic-head driving circuit has the following problems. That is, a high voltage for providing pulse voltages required at the nodes 220 and 222 is always applied to one of the constant-current sources 214 and 218, thereby increasing power consumption in the constant-current sources 214 and 218, and resulting in a short recording time period in the case of battery drive.

Recording apparatus wherein the recording circuit uses a first power supply or a second power supply


An apparatus for anomaly detection in a network, using an autoencoder including an encoder and a decoder. The apparatus includes a processor and a memory including computer program code, causing the apparatus to: providing the decoder with network configuration parameters used to obtain calculated network performance indicators, obtaining reconstructed network performance indicators from the decoder based on the network configuration parameters used to obtain the calculated network performance indicators, comparing the reconstructed network performance indicators with the calculated network performance indicators, detecting an anomaly when observing a deviation between the reconstructed network performance indicators and the calculated network performance indicators, providing the encoder with the calculated network performance indicators, obtaining estimated network configuration parameters from the encoder based on the calculated network performance indicators, detecting that the anomaly is related to the network configuration parameters.

A radio access network comprises a base station configured with network configuration parameters to communicate with one or more a user equipment over-the-air by using a radio access technology.
Before deploying a new base station release in a radio access network, the release shall go through a test and validation phase. This test and validation phase includes configuring the base station with test network configuration parameters, operating the network like a customer with commercial devices, end-to-end applications and realistic scenarii, measuring network performance indicators (KPIs), and optimizing the network configuration parameters to ensure best-in-class performances in over-the-air conditions and in customers configurations.
Anomalies can occur during the tests for various reasons (e.g. software problem, device not well configured . . . ). Traces are collected as a result of the tests that need to be processed to identify anomalies. The investigation of the collected traces is time consuming and the process is long from analysis, anomalies identification and feedback to the teams in charge of establishing the network configuration.
In addition when an anomaly is detected, it is not straightforward to figure out if the cause is related or not to the network configuration parameters. Conventionally, a kind of 'trial and error' policy is performed on the network configuration parameters where there is no guarantee that the raised anomalies can be solved with a change in the network configuration parameters and more specifically which one(s). This generally requires an expert intervention.

Method and apparatus for anomaly detection in a network


A first device may receive an indication that a multimedia message service (MMS message) message has been sent from a first user device to a second user device; obtain, from a second device, the roaming status of the first user device at a time that the MMS message was sent by the first user device; generate a call details record (CDR) indicating the obtained roaming status of the first user device at the time the MMS message was sent by the first user device; and store or output the CDR to a billing system that charges an account, associated with the first user device, for sent MMS message. An amount charged by the billing system may be based on the roaming status of the first user device at the time at which MMS message are sent by the first user device.

A user device, such as a mobile telephone, may communicate with a "home" cellular network associated with a user's telecommunications service provider. In some situations, such as when the user of the user device travels outside of a "home" geographic region, the user device may communicate with a "roaming" cellular network (e.g., a cellular network associated with a different service provider than the "home" cellular network). A user account, associated with the user device, may be billed at different rates based on network usage of the "home" cellular network and of the "roaming" cellular network. For example, when the user device is used to send and/or receive a message, such as a multimedia message service (MMS) message, the user account may be billed at a different rate depending on whether the user device was connected to the "home" cellular network, or the "roaming" cellular network when sending or receiving the MMS message.

Differentiated MMS billing based on roaming status determination of user devices