The invention provides an optical interconnection circuit between chips, an electrooptical device including the circuit, and electronic equipment including the circuit. In particular, the invention provides such a circuit, device, and equipment in which a signal transmission speed can be increased, and which can be easily microminiaturized and manufactured. An optical interconnection circuit between chips includes a substrate, a micro tile element having a light emitting function which is provided on the substrate, the micro tile element having a light receiving function which is provided on the substrate, an optical wave-guide optically connecting the micro tile element having a light emitting function and the micro tile element having a light receiving function with each other and including an optical wave-guide member formed on the substrate, and an electrode provided on the substrate and electrically connected to the micro tile element having a light emitting function or the micro tile element having a light receiving function.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an optical interconnection circuit between chips, an electrooptical device, and electronic equipment.
2. Description of Related Art
In the related art, an electro luminescence panel (ELP), a plasma display panel (PDP), a liquid crystal display device (LCD), and the like are used as a flat display device. In these flat display devices, technology using light for signal transmission can be used in order to reduce or eliminate delays in transmitting signals and the like in response to an increase in the size of a display and in the amount of contents displayed.
Furthermore, in the related art, the operation speed (operation clock) inside a CPU in a computer has been enhanced with the increased microminiaturization of an inside structure of an integrated circuit. However, the signal transmission speed of a bus connecting a CPU to a peripheral device, such as a storage device, almost reaches a limit, and becomes a bottleneck of the processing speed of a computer. If an optical signal is available to transmit a signal in a bus, the limit of the processing speed of a computer can be remarkably enhanced.
In addition, an optical transmission device, which transmits an optical signal emitted from a light source to a predetermined sink so as to input the optical signal to a light receiving element and the like, is needed in order to transmit a datum by using an optical signal. In the related art, such an optical transmission device relates to technology utilizing an optical fiber and technology utilizing an optical wave-guide formed on a substrate.

Optical interconnection circuit between chips, electrooptical device and electronic equipment


A system for communicating video data is described. The system includes a mobile imaging system, at least one monitor fixed to a room in a medical facility, and a video transmitter assembly coupled to the mobile imaging system to transmit a video signal. The system for communicating video data also includes a video receiver assembly coupled to the at least one monitor to receive the video signal and display the video signal on the at least one monitor.

This invention relates generally to transfer of data, and more particularly to systems and methods for communicating video data between a mobile imaging system and a fixed monitor system.
Mobile C-arms and other imaging and patient monitoring devices are used extensively in operating rooms (OR), Radiology departments, outpatient clinics, and Cardiac and Vascular intervention suites. Moreover, most modern hospitals and clinics have a wall mounted or ceiling mounted video monitor built-in. A plurality of non-mobile imaging systems are "hard wired" as one of a plurality of video sources to the built-in monitor.
However, the mobile C-arms and navigation systems are less frequently plugged into the built-in monitor because of an inconvenience of manually connecting and disconnecting a video feed to the built-in monitor, of an inconvenience of making any video system adjustments for displaying a video signal on the built-in monitor, or of a potential for video signal incompatibilities between the mobile C-arms and the built-in monitor.

Systems and methods for communicating video data between a mobile imaging system and a fixed monitor system


A percutaneous thrombolytic device, also referred to herein as a percutaneous mechanical fragmentation catheter system, that includes a wire cage or basket attached to a rotational drive motor. The fragmentation basket, ensheathed in an outer catheter, is introduced into the clotted graft or vessel via an introducer sheath. When deployed, the basket will automatically conform to the inner dimensions of the vessel lumen. The rotating basket is slowly withdrawn through the clotted graft, mechanically fragmenting the clot. The fragmented, homogenized debris can be flushed into the venous system or aspirated.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the catheter for mechanically fragmenting clots within the vascular system and, in particular, within occluded synthetic vascular grafts. The catheter is used percutaneously thereby obviating invasive surgical procedures. The use of the catheter reduces or eliminates the need for pharmacological clot dissolution.
2. Background Information
Approximately 150,000 patients in the United States are undergoing chronic hemodialysis. A significant problem for these patients is thrombosis of their dialysis access grafts. This contributes greatly to patient morbidity and hospitalization. Various prior art techniques have attempted to break up clots and/or other obstructing materials, such as neo-intimal hyperplasia in the vascular system and in synthetic grafts. Although surgery has been the traditional management for thrombosed access grafts and fistulae, percutaneous chemical thrombolysis, the use of thrombolytic agents to dissolve clots, is playing an increasingly important role for hemodialysis patients. Currently, the most popular technique is pulse-spray thrombolysis; however, use of thrombolytic agents such as Urokinase or Streptokinase is associated with relatively high costs, prolonged procedure time, and the potential for bleeding complications. Chronic hemodialysis patients experience blockage of the synthetic access graft (the dialysis fistula) approximately 3–4 times a year. Use of thrombolytic agents requires the patient to spend a day in the hospital each time the dialysis fistula occludes. Moreover, pharmacological therapy requires long time commitments for infusion or medical personnel commitments for pulse-spray techniques.
Surgical thrombectomy has also been used to restore access for dialysis and has opened vascular ducts occluded by clots. Again, the expense is excessive because operating room time must be used. Such techniques use a Fogarty balloon catheter in the operating room, although a Fogarty balloon catheter may be used percutaneously.
Various mechanical devices have been developed that are designed to mechanically remove atheromatous plaque; most of these devices are said to remove thrombus material also. Most of these devices cut the material and then collect or remove the resulting debris from the vascular system. Various atherectomy devices are described in the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,482 issued to Samuel Shiber; U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,677 issued to Halmut Masch; U.S. Pat. No. 5,034,001 issued to Michi E. Garrison et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,277 issued to Andrew Farr; U.S. Pat. No. 4,926,858 issued to Hanson Grifford, III, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,061 issued to Robert E. Fischell et al.; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,923,462 and 4,936,845, issued to Robert Stevers et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,781 issued to Royce Hosted. The above devices share common problems—they require larger sheath size and create a limited channel size. Moreover, the prior art devices do not automatically accommodate to changes in the inner lumen dimensions of the graft or vessel caused by the presence of a thrombus or automatically expand outward toward the vessel or conduit walls as the thrombus is being fragmented.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,030,201 issued to Aubrey Palestrant, typifies the problems associated with prior art mechanical devices. Palestrant teaches a plurality of parallel cutting blades which are contained during transport within a protective sheath. In operation, the device cuts a portion of the obstructing material and then a second means is used to manually expand the parallel cutting blade so that a larger core can be cut in the obstructing material. The Palestrant device relies on the relative movement of coaxial catheters to bow the blades outward. The amount of expansion is totally controlled by the operator and the Palestrant device cannot automatically compensate for changes in the inner lumen as obstructing material is removed. The coaxial structure also requires a large diameter protective sheath.
Various mechanical devices, rather than using rotating members to cut the obstructive material use ureteric stone catcher baskets mounted on a catheter tip to grab and remove thrombotic material. The following articles teach the use of such baskets to grab and remove thrombus: 1) "A Combined Technique for Peripheral Arterial Embolectomy" Arch Surg/Vol. 105, December, 1972; 2) "Removal of an iatrogenic foreign body from the aorta by means of ureteric stone catheter" Am. Heart J. March, 1967; 3) "Nonsurgical Techniques for Removal of Catheter Fragments From the Pulmonary Artery" Catheterization and Cardiovascular Diagnosis 9:109–112 (1983); 4) "Atraumatic retrieval of catheter fragments from the central circulation in children" European Journal of Cardiology, 1974, 1/4, 421–422; 5) "Removal of Intravascular Foreign Body with Stone Retriever" Urology, February 1981, Vol. XVII, No. 2; 6) "Retrograde Embolectomy" The Lancet, Apr. 6, 1963; 7) "Mechanical Clot Dissolution: New Concept" Radiology, April 1989, 17/:231–233; 8) "Mini basket for Percutaneous Embolectomy and Filter Protection Against Distal Embolization: Technical Note" Cardiovasc Intervent Radial (1991) 14:195–198; and 9) "Percutaneous Aspiration Thromboembolectomy" Radiology July, 1985; 156:61–66.
An article appearing in Radiology entitled "New Device for Percutaneous Fragmentation of Pulmonary Emboli" (Radiology, 1991; 180:135–137) combines a spinning impeller contained within a stone basket. The stone basket does not rotate and is necessary to center the rotating impeller so that it does not inadvertently cut the vessel wall. The device cannot automatically expand the mechanical fragmentor to accommodate the inner lumen dimensions of the vascular conduit.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Percutaneous mechanical fragmentation catheter system


A lamp includes a reflector including a reflective portion, a heel, and a nose, wherein the nose includes an opening. A light source is disposed in the reflector. A pair of leads connects to the light source. An eyelet protrudes through the opening in the nose and receives one of the leads. A positioning member is disposed in the heel portion of the reflector. The positioning member includes an opening to receive the light source.

This invention relates to electric lamps. More particularly the invention relates to electric lamps where a filament of the lamp is aligned with a focal point of a reflector.
PAR type lamps operate most efficiently when a filament coil of a light source is in a known position relative to the focal point of the reflector of the lamp. Known methods to fix the location of the light source and thus the filament relative to the reflector (or reflector housing) include using an insulating spacer and ceramic adhesives. This assembly technique is process intensive and results in filament tube reliability issues due to cement transfer onto a pinched end of the light source and mislocation of a heat shield, which can cause thermal cycle oxidation failures. Quality issues such as deviation from desired beam pattern, center beam intensity, and lumen output can also be prevalent with this type of fixing system.
An alternative method of fixing the location of the light source uses a metal disc in conjunction with metal eyelets. In this method, to assemble the lamp, a light source is inserted into an opening of a positioning member that is placed in engagement with a ledge of a protrusion. Thereafter, a force is applied to positioning member so as to deform it slightly rearwardly. After the force is applied to the positioning member a pair of eyelets are then mechanically fastened to the leads that will retain the deformation of the positioning member. After a period of time the assembly will "relax" so that a force remains on the positioning member.
Another alternative uses two metal eyelets crimped tightly to the base of the reflector housing. This alternative is highly dependent upon small variations and the conditions of openings in the base of the glass reflector. Furthermore, no positioning member is provided to facilitate positioning the light source in the reflector housing. Consequently, fixing the filament coil of the light source in a known position relative to the focal point of the reflector is difficult.

Assembly for precision focus of compact PAR lamps


Robotic surgical systems and methods of operating robotic surgical systems are included. The methods include directing light at an optical element configured to be detected by an image capture device of the robotic surgical system, the optical element configured to reflect light having a wavelength within a predetermined range, detecting, using an image capture device capturing images of the optical element, an absence or a presence of the reflected light from the optical element, and providing a notification, in response to the detection by the image capture device of the absence of the reflected light from the optical element.

Robotic surgical systems are increasingly being used in minimally invasive medical procedures. Typically, robotic surgical systems include a surgeon console located remote from one or more robotic arms to which surgical instruments and/or cameras are coupled. The surgeon console may be located on another side of the operating room from the robotic arms, in another room, or in another building, and includes input handles or other input devices for receiving inputs from a surgeon. The inputs are communicated to a central controller, which translates the inputs into commands for manipulating the robotic arms in the vicinity of the patient.
To view a surgical site, the surgeon console may include a stereoscopic display, sometimes referred to as a three-dimensional (3D) display. In some configurations, in conjunction with a corresponding pair of stereoscopic eyeglasses worn by the surgeon, such displays facilitate depth perception in an image by presenting the image to the surgeon as a pair of distinct images separately provided to the left and right eyes, respectively, replicating the effect of the offset between the left and right eyes, which results in a difference in what is seen in the display by each eye. The different images seen in the display by each eye are perceived as differences in the depths of the objects in the images. In other configurations, the stereoscopic display is viewed without the need for eyeglasses.
The surgeon console may further include a camera positioned to capture images of the surgeon. The captured images may be used to track eye or head position of the surgeon to detect instances in which the surgeon is not looking at the display. In some configurations of the robotic system, the central controller may generate signals or block generated signals to prevent the movement of instruments, in response to the detected eye or head position of the surgeon.

Systems and methods for detection of objects within a field of view of an image capture device


This invention has as its object to reduce power consumption of dependent stations with low frequency of communication by controlling communications of the control station in a network. According to this invention, a control station communicating with dependent stations comprises a classification unit configured to classify the dependent stations connected to the control station into a plurality of groups; a first transmission unit configured to transmit first broadcast-frame to the dependent stations classified into first group; and a second transmission unit configured to transmit second broadcast-frame to the dependent stations classified into second group with lower frequency of communication compared to the first group, wherein the second transmission unit transmits the second broadcast-frame with a lower transmitting frequency compared to the first broadcast-frame transmitting frequency of the first transmission unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication control technique in control stations.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wireless Universal Serial Bus (hereafter: WUSB) has been standardized as one of the communication methods in Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN).
WUSB is an extension of widely used USB standard to wireless domain, which has installed a plurality of products as wired communication standard. Aforementioned standard is publicly available as in URL="http://www.usb.org/developers/wusb/".
One of the characteristics of WUSB standard is partial simplification of wireless modulation method while compliant with WiMedia (one of the Ultra Wide Band communication method standard). Hereinafter, the wireless communication of aforementioned standard is explained using examples.
In wireless communication according to WUSB standard, each terminal is controlled to communicate with other terminals within the assigned time slot, based on time-division multiplexed system of fundamental WiMedia standard.
The communication slot assignment to each terminal is conducted by the terminal which acts as a control station (Host) by negotiate with the terminals which act as WiMedia-terminal according to the Wimedia standard. Moreover, at Host the allocated communication slot is segmented and by applied time-division multiplexing unique to WUSB standard, WUSB control data is transmitted to the Device. As mentioned above, Host of WUSB standard employs a hierarchized access control system.
In contrast, access control method of Device in WUSB standard is not always in compliant with WiMedia standard.
Stated differently, in case of Device in WUSB standard, while using WiMedia standard for wireless modulation methods, only a simplified WUSB standard is used as the access control method. By using such an approach, terminal architecture become simplified and power consumption of the terminal is reduced.
Access control method of Device compliant with simplified WUSB standard is explained below.
FIG. 10A is a representation of a wireless communication network (1005) constructed by wirelessly connecting Devices compliant with WUSB standard to Host compliant with WUSB standard. 1001 is a Host compliant with WUSB standard; 1003 and 1004 is Devices compliant with WUSB standard.
Moreover, FIG. 10B is a representation of, the time slot allocation based on Wimedia standard, and segmentation of the time slots based on time-division multiplexing unique to WUSB standard, with reference to FIG. 10A.
In WiMedia standard as discussed previously, Host (1001) starts time slot allocation as a terminal compliant with WiMedia standard (Hereinafter: WiMedia-terminal). In case of WiMedia time-division multiplexing, there is a time period where each WiMedia-terminal transmits each other control data (beacon) and a communication time slot (MAS) after aforementioned time period where each WiMedia-terminal communicates with others. By repeating these time periods as a supper-frame (broadcast-frame) at a constant frequency, time-shared controlling of multiplex communication between multiple WiMedia-terminal is implemented.
One cycle of Supper-frame contains 256 MAS, and each WiMedia-terminal secures its communication time slot sequentially based on this MAS unit. In WiMedia-terminals already connected to the network, the beacon transmitted by each terminal contains the occupied MAS information.
On the other hand, new WiMedia-terminal connecting the network analyzes the existing WiMedia-terminal beacons and selects a communication frame for itself without overlapping. In addition, negotiation protocol of the communication frame between WiMedia-terminals, is not directly related to present invention, and is not discussed.
In FIG. 10B-a, the state where Host (1001) has already ended the negotiation, and connected to the network as a WiMedia-terminal with an allocated time slot is represented. Beacon 1011˜1013 is sent at a constant frequency; and interval between two beacon starting points become 1 cycle of the Supper-Frame.
As shown in FIG. 10B-a, in one cycle of the Supper-Frame, the communication slot is separated into 3 MAS group 1014˜1016 and allocated to each WiMedia-terminals. Similarly, in next Supper-Frame, the communication slot is classified into 3 MAS group 1014˜1016 and allocated. However, because MAS positions are not constant, the MAS positions are updated due to WiMedia-terminal negotiations.
Here Host (1001) further segmentation of allocated MAS to create communication slots only compliant with WUSB.
More specifically, Host (1001) transmits irregular WUSB control information called Micro-scheduled Management Commands (MMC) to allocated MAS. Each MMC contains as indication information such as, Device identification information of communicable Devices compliant with WUSB standard in the slot following the MMC, information on communication slots position, and the next timing of MMC.
Instead, in each Device (Dev1(1003), Dev2(1004)) can obtain its allocated time slot by just analyzing MMC without considering beacon 1011˜1013 compliant with WiMedia standard. For this reason, in case each Device verifies the existence of its allocated time slot by MMC analyze, it conducts wireless communication with Host (1001) using this time slot.
As a result the Device receives the next MMC regardless of its' allocation or non-allocation of the time slot. It is necessary to obtain the next MMC transmitting timing to receive the next MMC.
As described above, in such access control method, the next MMC transmitting timing is obtained at the time MMC is received by the device compliant with simplified WUSB standard. Thus, even in case Hosts' (1001) MAS position information changed which obtained as a WiMedia-terminal, it can function as a device compliant with WUSB standard without any problems.
FIG. 10B-b represents the communication slot generation based on WUSB standard, in case Host (1001), Dev2 (1003) and Dev3 (1004) are connected into the wireless network 1005. As shown in FIG. 10B-b, inside MAS, MMC (1020˜1025), and communication slot of each device follow after aforementioned MMC is positioned sequentially.
In FIG. 10B-b to simplify the explanation consecutive MAC has only 1 MMC in each of them. However, in a Host compliant with WUSB standard, segmentation of MAS is possible due to various reasons such as, requests by connected various Devices compliant with WUSB standard, applications and etc. Then, for each time MMC is positioned. For that reason, in fact there might be plurality of MMC within each MAS.
However, in case wireless communication is conducted based on WUSB standard, a problem of unnecessary power consumption emerges when Device with low data rate requirements in relatively long periods is participated to the network. Concrete description is given using the FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B.
FIG. 11A shows a new condition of the network when Dev1 (1002) is participated to the network shown in FIG. 10A.
Dev1 (1002) depicted in FIG. 11A, is a device such as keyboard or mouse, which requires low data rate in relatively long periods. And, FIG. 11B depicts an example of communication slot construction.
As described above, in wireless communication according to WUSB standard, the communication slot that continues after MMC (1101˜1108) does not necessarily allocate communication slots for every device in the network. In case of communication slot (1107, 1108) of Dev1 (1002) is concerned, it is sufficient to allocate a narrow time slot with frequency of just once within the WiMedia-terminals' supper frame.
However, in each MMC contains the next MMC transmitting timing information. For this reason, Dev1 (1002) needed to receive and analyze MMC in order to preserve the wireless connection even in case it has no allocated communication slots.
Here, MMC is added depending on communication frame allocated as a WiMedia-terminal and number of devices connected to the same host. For this reason, for Devices such as Dev1 (1002) with relatively low frequency of communication, with MMC additions the time spend on MMC analyze unrelated to its communication become high, repetition of unnecessary data receiving operation is generated. Such receiving operation, increases the power consumption, especially in case of for Devices which use batteries, problem of battery life reduction is generated.

Control station, controlling method thereof and storage media


A simple to use, single quantity, syringe sterilization and destruction device is disclosed. A syringe is inserted into the device needle first by the operator. The device grips the syringe and holds it in place. The device heats the steel needle portion of a syringe to sterilize the needle portion. The heat also melts the steel-to-plastic fitting between the steel needle portion and the plastic barrel portion of the syringe. The plastic barrel portion separates from the heated needle portion of the syringe by force of gravity or by a light pulling force exerted by a pulling mechanism. The hole in the fitting is sealed by the molten plastic. Sealing the hole maintains the integrity of the plastic barrel/plunger container and prevents spillage of contaminated waste. The heated needle is bent into a spiral bundle so that no sharp portions protrude from the spiral bundle. The spiral bundle is deposited into a container for recycling or waste disposal. The plastic barrel/plunger portion is placed into a microwave oven and heated until sterile. In an alternate embodiment the barrel/plunger portion is heated in the microwave oven until the plastic barrel/plunger portion is melted. The needles and plastic barrel/plungers are now sterile and safe. Both the needle and barrel/plunger waste can be disposed of safely or recycled.

This invention relates generally to medical waste disposal and more specifically to the sterilization and disposal of contaminated syringes.
Syringes are commonly used in many environments including hospitals, doctors offices, dentists offices, and even at home by diabetics or others who require at-home hypodermic injections. The typical syringe consists of a hollow steel needle threadably coupled to a plastic barrel. A plastic plunger with a rubber gasket is inserted into the barrel for forcing fluids into and out of the plastic barrel and needle. Syringes are used to inject fluids into a body and to remove fluids from a body.
Syringes have always posed health and safety dangers. The sharp needles can stab a person accidentally, even when they are using the utmost care. The contaminated syringes can infect personnel through a needle wound or from spillage of their contaminated contents.
Today, however, the need for safe disposal of syringes is more important than ever. Serious and deadly diseases such as A.I.D.S. and hepatitis can be transmitted by a single needle injury. Often it is not known whether a patient is infected with a serious disease, thus causing fear and concern about all syringes.
The needle portion of a syringe poses two health and safety dangers. First, the needles are sharp and can cause a severe injury. When disposed of, the needles can puncture a waste container or bag and injure unsuspecting personnel. Waste disposal personnel can be injured by needles protruding from plastic garbage bags or from other inadequate waste disposal containers. Even after disposal, sharp needles poses a danger since they have been known to wash up on beaches or turn up in other public places.
Second, needles can pass on diseases, many of them very serious. Many diseases are highly infectious and contagious. A single needle prick from a contaminated needle can infect a person with one of these diseases. Some infectious diseases can be passed to personnel without even a needle prick, mere contact with the needle may be enough. The needles pose a health and safety threat until they have been completely neutralized by sterilization and by disabling the sharp portions.
Syringes pose a health and safety threat even after the needle has been removed. The barrel/plunger portion of the syringe often contains fluids contaminated with infectious diseases. The contaminated fluid in the barrel/plunger portion can leak or spill, thus spreading the disease. This can cause infection of medical personnel, patients, waste disposal personnel and others who come in contact with this waste. After final disposal of the syringe, the contaminated fluids can leak into the ground and contaminate ground water. The barrel/plunger portion of syringes pose a health and safety threat until they have been completely sterilized.
Many devices for disposal of syringes are known. However, they are all lacking in one or more ways.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,892 issued to Bricken on Apr. 2, 1991 discloses a process for the sterile disposal of syringes. The Bricken process places used syringes into a container and heats the syringes until the melted plastic encapsulates the needles thus sterilizing and neutralizing the needles at the same time. This process, however, is not practical for disposal of syringes one at a time. It does not prevent spillage of infectious material when syringes are placed into the container nor does it provide for disassembly and sterilization of parts contaminated by such spillage. Finally, it does not provide a means for collecting noxious fumes produced from the process.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,594 issued to Held et al. on Apr. 21, 1992 shows an apparatus and method for disintegrating a wide variety of medical wastes and disinfecting them with radio waves. The large scale and complexity of this device restricts its use to large bulk processing of medical wastes. Also, waste products remain in their infectious and dangerous state while waiting for processing.
U S. Pat. No. 4,900,500 issued to Honeycutt on Feb. 13, 1990 teaches a process of sterilizing and immobilizing potentially infectious devices by means of enveloping them within a hardening polymer that thermally sterilizes the contents by means of an exothermic polymerization reaction. This is essentially bulk processing and requires storage of hazardous waste while enough waste for a batch is accumulated. The process is time consuming, odor causing, and the enclosing polymer will ultimately decompose.
There are numerous other U.S. patents for syringe disposal devices. Most are lacking in one or more respects. Many do not sterilize the infectious waste, others do not disable the sharp needles, still others only process wastes in bulk. Finally, some are complicated, dangerous to use, or give off noxious odors.
Clearly, there exists a need for an improved syringe disposal device which is on-site, simple to use, processes single syringes, provides immediate sterilization, and disables the sharp needles.


In a satellite experiencing alternate periods of light and eclipse, an electrical power control system utilizing direct energy transfer battery charging in a fully regulated electrical bus system to provide and control the system power over both the charging and the discharging cycles of the satellite electrical system.

The unique feature of the majority of satellite power system design is the requirement to provide continuous power to the satellite payloads and service subsystems in an environment where the power source (usually a solar array) is routinely interrupted by the eclipse of the source, resulting from the passage of the satellite through the earth's shadow.
In order to provide power to the satellite's electrical system during periods of eclipse, energy storage systems must be incorporated in the satellite electrical bus system. The battery is the storage device generally used. This requires providing a means of charging the battery during the time the satellite is in the sunlight and regulating the discharge of the battery during the eclipses.
Further, during the periods of charge and discharge, the bus must be regulated to provide the proper voltage required by the satellite electronics.
In such battery powered systems, electrical power bus regulation therefore becomes a major concern. The bus is required to supply a system with operating power at all times. Such systems usually incorporate two power sources, a primary source such as a solar array which converts sunlight into electrical energy, and a storage system such as a battery which can supply power when the external source does not supply sufficient power to meet system requirements.
In such prior art systems, the satellite electrical power system (EPS) employs a fully regulated bus, receiving power from the solar panels and regulating the voltage on the bus. Such EPS systems rely on an electronic battery charge controller which uses a constant voltage source, i.e. the regulated satellite bus, as an input and provides a constant current output for charging the batteries. Such systems, during eclipse, sense the loss of the constant voltage from the solar panels and begin to discharge the batteries via a discharge controller to change the battery discharge current into a voltage on the satellite bus to maintain system voltage on the bus at the required levels.
As a result, the satellite is required to carry separate battery charge and discharge controller units to provide for each bus power control function. Since the satellite is in sunlight for the greater part of its operational life, the discharge control unit adds unnecessary weight as well as cost to the satellite.
Additionally, the use of the satellite bus power to charge the battery is inefficient. Power is lost in the conversion from solar power to the satellite bus and, again, from the bus to battery charge power.

Unidirectional battery charge/discharge controller for a regulated electrical bus system with a solar current source


Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to providing a more accurate presentation of a vehicle's surroundings when the presentation combines images from multiple cameras. Cameras may capture the same portion of the environment. If an object is within view of at least two cameras, each camera produces a portion of an overall view, such as a 360 degree synthetic top-down view. The seam, angle and/or geometry, angle between any two images is dynamically determined, such as due to proximity (or lack thereof) to an object. As a result the synthetic top-down view may present an image of an object more prominently and/or avoid having the seam between camera images fall on the image of the object, which may otherwise result in the image of the object being omitted from both camera images.

Vehicle display systems typically provide a camera image to display the environment in close proximity to the vehicle, such as to assist a driver in backing the vehicle with another object (e.g., another vehicle, pillar, wall, etc.) in close proximity. Systems have been developed that utilize multiple cameras and present combination of the resulting images in a synthetic top-down view, that is, presenting a view having the appearance of being taken above the vehicle and looking down, but formed from images provided by vehicle-mounted cameras. As a benefit, a driver may be focusing on backing a vehicle and viewing a display showing the backup camera image, as well as be aware of motion or objects elsewhere around the vehicle as presented by the same display. While the image presented on a display may resemble a top-down view, the vantage point of the cameras are limited to that which may be seen from the vehicle's mounting locations of the cameras. For example, a backup camera can provide more accurate imaging when placed close to bumper height of the vehicle, such as to better observe the distance between the reversing vehicle and an object behind. However, presenting such an image as a portion of an apparent top-down view requires the image to be heavily transformed, such as a trapezoidal correction. Additionally, the cameras utilized for imaging a vehicle's surroundings are typically fitted with a fish-eye lenses, which requires additional image processing and results in additional errors, especially when combined with other images from other cameras. Combining images with images from neighboring cameras results in numerous image errors, such as artifacts or blind spots, that present inaccurate information to a driver. Hence, there is a need for improved methods and systems for providing an imaging system that more accurately portrays the vehicles surroundings.

Dynamic seam adjustment of image overlap zones from multi-camera source images


A heated windshield scraper device 10 including a scraper blade member 20 mounted on a housing member 21 that is telescopically received in a handle member 30 that contains an adjustable heating unit 13 that provides heat both to the scraper blade member 20 and the handle member 30.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of heated windshield scrapers in general, and in particular to an adjustable extendable heated windshield scraper having a heated handle.
2. Description of Related Art
As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,711,679; 5,189,756; 5,287,593; and 5,357,646, the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse heated windshield scrapers.
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function they are deficient in a number of noticeable instances, particularly their failure to provide a simple, practical and efficient heated windshield scraper device that has both a variable heat control, as well as providing a heated handle to keep the user's hands warm while using the device.
As most users of the prior art devices are all too well aware, insufficient heat delivered to the scraping blade will not effectively remove ice and too much heat delivered to the blade runs the risk of cracking the vehicle windshield. In addition, since the process of removing ice from a windshield is a normally time consuming task. It is unfortunate that the prior art devices also do not provide a means for keeping the user's hands warm during the scraping process.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need for a new type of heated windshield scraping device that not only has a variable heat control, but which also incorporates a hand warming element in the handle, and the provision of such a construction is a stated objective of the present invention.

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A method of determining whether a user has fallen comprises detecting a potential fall using a motion sensing device, updating a probability of the potential fall being an actual fall based on an additional sensor, and updating the probability of the potential fall being an actual fall based on user context, the user context including an identified activity prior to the potential fall.

One of the ways that people can be injured is by falling. Especially for people engaged in dangerous activities, with certain medical conditions, or older people, falls can be very dangerous. There are numerous fall detection systems available, which attempt to identify when a user has fallen, and either alert or provide assistance.
Some prior art systems and devices employ accelerometers that measure sudden changes in acceleration that may indicate a fall, such as rapid changes in acceleration followed by no movement (i.e., lying on the floor). However, the prior art systems have a significant number of false positive identifications. For example, they often cannot distinguish a fall from a user dropping the device, or from certain normal activities.
Other prior art systems use microphones and vibration detectors to identify falls based on floor vibration and audio analysis. However, not only is this computationally expensive, but it is location-bound and also cannot distinguish between falls, drops, or other incidents.


A plug-in terminal block is driven into a companion receptacle and drawn out of the receptacle by an actuator pivoted to the receptacle. The actuator, having driven the plug-in block into the receptacle, is in its blocking position, blocking the plug-in block against removal from the receptacle and blocking insertion of a terminal block into the receptacle. A locking device locks the actuator in its blocking position. The actuator is accessible for operating the locking device and for tilting the actuator via the door opening of an enclosure.

Plug-in connectors have long been used for disconnecting and reconnecting groups of wires, for interrupting and then reconnecting two pieces of electrical apparatus. The connections commonly include energizing circuits, control circuits and monitoring circuits, extending between what may be called "a main electrical unit" and a secondary electrical unit. In an example, the main electrical unit may be a motor control center, and the secondary unit may be the controlled and monitored unit.
In normal operation, the terminal blocks are in their plugged-in condition. The main electrical unit commonly includes a main switch or a circuit breaker or fuses, for turning on power to the secondary unit and for interrupting the power when a fault occurs. There are times when the plug-in terminal blocks are pulled apart, as for safely working on the secondary equipment.
Plug-in terminal blocks contain mating or companion contacts that commonly develop large amounts of friction where they engage and disengage each other. Cam levers are often used for making it easy to plug-in and extract one plug-in terminal-block from a companion terminal block. Resilient detents are occasionally used for increasing the force needed to unplug one connector from the other, to reduce the risk of accidental disconnection.


A device for generating tunable light pulses has a non-linear optical fiber. The optical spectrum of femtosecond light pulses can be modified by this optical fiber, taking advantage of solitonic effects. In order to make available such a device, which makes it possible to vary the pulse energy and the wavelength of the light pulses independently of one another, an optical compressor precedes the non-linear optical fiber.

Applicants claim priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of German Application Nos. 103 08 249.2 and 10 2004 009 066.1 filed Feb. 25, 2003 and Feb. 23, 2004, respectively.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for the generation of tunable light pulses, having a non-linear optical fiber, by means of which the optical spectrum of femtosecond light pulses can be modified, taking advantage of solitonic effects.
2. The Prior Art
Laser systems that are able to produce femtosecond light pulses are increasingly being used in basic physical research and also in other areas of research. Using such laser systems, it is possible to observe rapid physical, chemical, and biological processes essentially in "real time." Commercial areas of use for laser systems that produce femtosecond light pulses exist in the fields of materials examination and processing, in the field of medicine, as well as in the so-called "life science" field. Concrete applications that can be mentioned as examples are multi-photon microscopy as well as optical coherence tomography.
Particularly in the field of single-photon and multi-photon microscopy, there is a need for laser systems that are both high-performance and spectrally variable, which are inexpensive and easy to operate. Until now, femtosecond light pulses having a high performance in the laboratory were usually generated by means of titanium-sapphire laser systems. It is a disadvantage of these systems that they are very expensive, complicated to adjust, and difficult to handle. Also, the spectral tunability of the generated light pulses is not satisfactory in such laser systems.
Nowadays, there is a tendency towards generating femtosecond light pulses with pulse energies of one nanojoule and more by means of purely fiber-based laser systems. Such systems usually consist of a pulsed laser light source, which emits femtosecond light pulses in the energy range of 100 picojoules. These light pulses are then amplified, by means of an optically pumped amplifier fiber, so that the light pulses are available in the desired pulse energy range.
For example, a device for generating tunable light pulses is previously known from EP 1 118 904 A1. This device works with a special non-linear optical fiber. By means of this fiber, the optical spectrum of femtosecond light pulses that are provided by a suitable pulsed laser light source can be modified, in targeted manner, taking advantage of solitonic effects. To vary the spectrum of the generated light pulses, the intensity of the light coupled into the non-linear optical fiber is varied in the system described in the cited reference. This approach directly results in the disadvantage that in the previously known system, the desired optical spectrum of the generated light pulses is dependent on the pulse energy. An independent variation of the pulse energy and the wavelength of the light pulses is therefore not possible, using the previously known system. Another disadvantage is that in the previously known system, the non-linear fiber used must have a length of several 10 m, so that the desired solitonic optical effects become active to a sufficient degree. Because of the long traveling distance, an undesirable loss of coherence of the generated light pulses can occur.


A broadband power line network device includes a printed circuit board, a power converter, a network control chip, a network connector, and an Ethernet signal coupling device. The printed circuit board includes a primary layout region and a secondary layout region. The primary layout region and the secondary layout region are separated from each other by a first distance. The power converter includes a pair of power-receiving terminals for receiving an AC voltage, thereby converting the AC voltage into a DC voltage. The network control chip is disposed on the primary layout region for receiving the DC voltage. The network connector is disposed on the secondary layout region for transmitting or receiving an external network signal. The Ethernet signal coupling device is arranged between the primary layout region and the secondary layout region.

With increasing development of science and technology, personal computers and networks are widely used in homes and become indispensable communication devices. For example, through network connection, personal computers in homes may be employed to exchange data, share data or print data. Nowadays, a power line communication (PLC) system is one of the most popular ways to connect many computers. In the PLC system, the electrical wires are utilized to connect these computers.
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates the architecture of a conventional broadband power line communication system. Generally, the home-use power outlets are found in many regions such as rooms, studies, living rooms, kitchens, or the like. These power outlets are connected with each other in parallel to provide AC power. In additions, the power outlets and the electric wires between these power outlets may be collectively employed to construct the broadband power line communication system. As shown in FIG. 1, the plug 105 of the personal computer 100 may be inserted into a first power outlet 110 to provide electrical power to the personal computer 100. The personal computer 100 may be in communication with another home-use computer (e.g. a notebook computer 200) through corresponding electrical wires within the power outlets.
Generally, in the broadband power line communication system, several broadband power line network devices are employed to transmit Ethernet signals at a data transmission rate higher than 10 Mbps. The network system that does not transmit Ethernet signals and the network system that transmit Ethernet signals at the data transmission rate lower than 10 Mbps are not considered as the broadband power line communication system. For brevity, in this context, the power line network devices are broadband power line network devices.
Please refer to FIG. 1 again. The network line 115 of the personal computer 100 is connected to a first power line network device 120, and the first power line network device 120 is plugged into a second power outlet 125. Similarly, the network line 215 of the notebook computer 200 is connected to a second power line network device 220, and the second power line network device 220 is plugged into a third power outlet 225. In such way, the personal computer 100 and the notebook computer 200 are in communication with each other, and the broadband power line communication system is established.
As is well known, the power outlet can provide a high AC voltage such as 110V or 220V. Consequently, the trace layout of each power line network device should comply with stringent safety regulations in order to prevent any user from directly contacting with the high AC voltage at any situation.
Therefore, there is a need of proving a power line network device for complying with the safety regulations and meeting the requirements of reduced trace layout area and reduced fabricating cost.

Broadband power line network device and ethernet signal coupling device thereof


A tuner is provided for selecting a channel from a broadband radio frequency input signal containing a plurality of channels, such as a terrestrial broadcast signal. The tuner has an input which supplies the broadband signal to a filter. The output of the filter is connected to a mixer of a single frequency changer, which converts the selected channel to a predetermined non-zero intermediate frequency. The filter is a tracking radio frequency filter which tracks the frequency of the selected channel so as to attenuate the image channel. A controller receives from a demodulator a signal representing reception quality, such as bit error rate, and adjusts the tracking of the filter so as to achieve acceptable reception quality, such as an adequately low bit error rate. Alignment of the filter during manufacture is not, therefore, required.

FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings illustrates diagrammatically a known type of receiver arrangement for receiving digital terrestrial broadcast television signals and signals transmitted via digital cable systems. The receiver comprises a radio frequency (RF) input 1 connected to a single conversion tuner 2 for selecting a desired channel for reception and converting it to a non-zero intermediate frequency (IF). The output of the tuner 2 is connected to an IF stage 3, which provides variable gain in accordance with an automatic gain control (AGC) arrangement and channel filtering in the form of a surface acoustic wave filter (SAWF) for passing the selected channel at intermediate frequency and for attenuating other channels which may be present in the output of the tuner 2.
The output of the IF stage 3 is connected to a demodulator 4. The demodulator comprises an analog/digital converter (ADC) 5 which converts the selected channel at intermediate frequency to the digital domain. The output of the converter 5 is supplied to a demodulator block 6 which, in the case of coded orthogonal frequency division multiplex (COFDM) signals, principally comprises a demodulator and a fast Fourier transform (FFT) stage. The output of the demodulator 6 is supplied to a forward error correction (FEC) block 7 which performs the appropriate error correction, such as Reed Solomon or Viterbi correction. The demodulated error-corrected data are supplied, for example as an MPEG transport stream, to the output of the demodulator 4 for further processing by a baseband section (not shown) of the receiver.
The single frequency changer in the single conversion tuner 2 converts the selected channel to a standard non-zero intermediate frequency. In the case of digital terrestrial television receivers and digital cable receivers, three intermediate frequencies are in common use nowadays. 36 MHz is used, for example, for COFDM modulation in Europe. 44 MHz is used, for example, for VSB (vestigial sideband) modulation in USA. 57 MHz is used, for example, in Japan. In such receivers, it is necessary for adequate performance to be achieved in the presence of the image channel. It is usual for "high side mixing" to be employed, where the local oscillator frequency is above the desired channel. In this case, the image channel in the radio frequency domain will be at twice the intermediate frequency above the selected channel. For example, in the case of receivers with an intermediate frequency of 36 MHz, the image channel is 72 MHz above the selected channel. When translated to radio frequencies in the terrestrial television UHF band from 470 to 860 MHz, the frequencies affected by the image frequency are from 470 MHz to about 788 MHz. It is also possible in terrestrial transmission broadcasting for the image channel to have a substantially greater amplitude than the selected channel. The image channel may be as much as 46 dB or more above the selected channel. The image channel must therefore be suppressed to a level where it does not cause significant interference with the desired or selected channel and this is generally achieved by applying image filtering in the tuner 2.
In the case of known single conversion tuners such as 2, image suppression is achieved by the use of tracking RF filters between the input 1 and the frequency changer of the tuner 2. Such filters are typically of double-tuned type having a passband which is tuneable so as to be centred on a selected channel. Thus, the passband of the centre frequency is required to follow or "track" the frequency of a local oscillator of the frequency changer with an off-set such that the local oscillator frequency is greater than the centre frequency of the filter passband by the intermediate frequency in high-side mixing.
Tracking between the local oscillator frequency and the radio frequency filter passband centre frequency is achieved using suitably matched components such as varactor diodes within the local oscillator resonant network and the tracking filter. However, such components are subject to normal manufacturing tolerance spreads so that the filter and the local oscillator do not generally track acceptably across the transmitted frequency spectrum without an alignment step during manufacture. Accordingly, the resonant network and/or the filter includes at least one adjustable component which is aligned during manufacture so that the oscillator and filter frequencies vary as required to an acceptable tolerance when tuning across the transmitted spectrum. Typically, free standing wire wound or metal plate inductor elements ("air-coils") are used and alignment during manufacture involves mechanically adjusting such air-coils, for example changing the spacing between coils or plates or changing the mechanical dimensions of plates or coils from their original PCB (printed circuit board) assembled dimensions, so as to achieve acceptably accurate tracking of the local oscillator frequency by the image suppression filtering.
Such tuners are not attractive for implementation directly on to the main PCT (mother board) of a digital receiver because such mother boards are expensive and any mechanically adjustable component adds significant cost to the assembly and testing of the mother board. The production yield is reduced because of increased production test failure due to mechanical damage to the air coils by alignment operators or robots. It is also more difficult and expensive to service products with such mechanically adjustable air coils as this would require not only coil or plate replacement but also full mechanical re-alignment of the air coils using the entire mother board.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,949,832 discloses an arrangement for use in a digital data receiver for controlling the bandwidth of I and Q channel filters following frequency conversion of an input signal in a quadrature down-converter. The filters are referred to as Nyquist filters, which implies that the down-converter is of the zero intermediate frequency type and that the filters are low pass filters of controllable turnover frequency. The filter bandwidths are controlled so as to adapt to different data rates.
GB2364455 discloses the use of an active control loop for controlling the bias current of an input radio frequency amplifier to achieve an acceptable bit error rate.
GB2367700 discloses the concept of automatic alignment of tracking radio frequency filters without disclosing any technique for achieving this.

Tuner for reception of a broadband radio frequency signal


Microprocessor based apparatus for controlling an electrical load, such as a motor, includes an external capacitor for storing an analog equivalent of a digitally modeled heat state signal, such as the I.sup.2 t characteristic of the motor. The voltage on the capacitor decays to mimic motor cooling when the microprocessor is powered down with deenergization of the motor. The stored analog signal is updated by periodically converting the analog signal to a retrieved digital heat state signal which is compared to the latest calculated value of the heat state signal. If the retrieved value is below the present calculated value, an input/output port is set to a high output state to charge up the storage capacitor. If the retrieved value is above the calculated value, the port is configured as an output port with a low state to reduce the voltage on the capacitor. When the retrieved heat state signal equals the calculated signal, the port is configured as an input port with a high impedance to maintain the stored value on the capacitor. To maintain accuracy over a wide range with an 8-bit processor, the selected limiting value of the I.sup.2 t characteristic is loaded into a large register and shifted n bits toward the most significant bit of the register until a ONE appears on the most significant bit. On power-up the 8-bit retrieved heat state signal is then loaded into the most significant bits of the register and shifted the n bits away from the most significant bit to bring it into the range of the selected limit value for the I.sup.2 t characteristic. For updating the stored heat state signal, the latest calculated heat state signal is shifted n bits toward the most significant bit for comparison with the retrieved digital heat state signal.

Field of the Invention
This invention relates to power switches for electrical loads such as motors incorporating protection for current overloads. More particularly, it relates to a microprocessor controlled load controller which digitally models, with an adjustable range, the heat state of the motor, in combination with an external analog circuit which tracks the heat state of the motor when the controller is powered down for use by the controller as an initial value when power is restored.

Load controller with digitally modeled overload protection and analog tracking of heat state during power off


A transmission mechanism device of an aspect of the present invention includes a motor, a transmission mechanism including a plurality of gears, a first shaft and a bearing supporting the first shaft and transmitting power of the motor, a housing that accommodates the transmission mechanism and holds the bearing on an inner face, oil that collects in a lower region inside the housing, a catch tank that is disposed inside the housing and opens upward, an oil passage through which the oil passes, and an oil pump provided in the oil passage. The oil passage has a first path connecting the oil pump and the catch tank and a scooping path for scooping the oil by rotation of the gear to guide the scooped oil to the catch tank. The catch tank includes a feed portion for supplying the oil to the gear or the bearing.

In recent years, the development of drive devices to be mounted on electric vehicles has been actively carried out. Oil is retained inside such a drive device, and the oil enhances the lubricity of the gears and bearings in the drive device. There is a structure in which a catch tank that receives oil scooped up by a gear is provided.
In the conventional structure, oil is supplied to the catch tank by using the drive rotation of the gear, so that there is a problem that the oil in the catch tank tends to be insufficient when the rotation speed is low. Therefore, in the drive device having the conventional structure, there is a possibility that the oil supplied to each part via the catch tank may be insufficient depending on the drive state.


A mobile communication terminal with dedicated keys for controlling an integrated functional component such as an audio player, in which the dedicated keys are situated at convenient positions for use. The mobile communication terminal includes a housing that accommodates parts which enable wireless communications with an external device and has an audio player therein. The terminal includes a control key assembly positioned on at least one lateral side of the housing to enable a user to operate the audio player. The position of the control key assembly assists the user in pressing the keys using his thumb, forefinger, middle finger and third finger. The position of the control key assembly also enables a wide auxiliary display to be positioned on the upper surface of the housing, e.g., on the outer surface of the upper housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminal, and more particularly, to a mobile communication terminal provided with dedicated control keys that are positioned so as to be conveniently accessed and easy to use for controlling the operation of a functional component integrated in the mobile terminal, such as an audio player.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Originally, mobile communication devices such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and the like were dedicated to one or two functions, such as wireless voice communications. However, as technology has advanced, so have the relative capabilities of these devices. For example, such mobile communications devices incorporate increasingly sophisticated technologies and, as a result, provide additional functions. For example, wireless mobile telephones now typically include features such as digital displays for displaying character and image information, gaming functions and the like in addition to simple voice capabilities. Integration of functional components continues. For example, mobile communication terminals, such as the type shown in FIG. 1, are now commonly offered with features such as an audio player function for playing back audio files, and a digital camera function for capturing digital photos and videos.
While users continue to demand this type of increased functionality, there is an ongoing effort to insure that the devices are provided within smaller and smaller form factors. The ability to provide additional functionality along with a small form factor has, however, created problems with respect to usability of these devices. In particular, small sizes and increased functions can result in a device that is more difficult to use and control on the part of a user. For example, in a device having an integrated camera and audio player function, the need to position a camera lens as well as control keys for operating and controlling the audio player can be problematic—especially in a device having a small form factor. The device shown in FIG. 1 is illustrative of this particular problem.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical mobile communication terminal in the form of a mobile telephone having an integrated digital camera and audio player. In this type of environment, a camera lens 4, is generally positioned at the top end of an upper housing 1. Alternatively, the lens 4 might be positioned on a hinge 7 joining the upper housing to a lower housing 2, or on a rear side of the lower housing 2. Typically, control keys 6, such as those shown in FIG. 1, are provided for controlling the audio player and are positioned on an outer surface of the upper housing 1.
In addition to the control keys and the lens, an auxiliary display 5, as shown in FIG. 1, is typically positioned along a portion of the upper housing 1 so that a user can check a current time, caller information and the like without opening the upper housing 1. As will be appreciated, the need to provide all of these functional components—the lens 4, the control keys 6 and the auxiliary display 5—within the relatively small space provided by the front surface of the upper housing 1 is difficult. For example, this arrangement inevitably limits the size of the auxiliary display 5 that can be provided, or may limit the size and type of control keys 6 that might otherwise be provided, thereby limiting the usability of the mobile communication terminal.
Previous solutions to this problem have not been completely satisfactory. For example, in designing the terminal to increase the size of the auxiliary display 5, the lens 4 might be positioned on the hinge 7, or on the lower housing 2. Or, the control keys 6 might be positioned on the main keypad (such as might be found on a typical mobile telephone, not shown in the drawing) that is provided on the lower housing 2 and accessible only when the mobile device is placed in an open position. However, these approaches are not entirely satisfactory because they all result in a device that is less convenient to use. For example, when the control keys 6 are positioned in the keypad disposed on the lower housing 2, it requires the user to first open the mobile communication terminal to use the audio player. This typically requires the use of two hands, and can be inconvenient.
Moreover, if the control keys 6 are situated at the positions shown in FIG. 1, it is difficult for a user holding the mobile communication terminal by one hand to press or otherwise manipulate the appropriate control key 6. In this case, a user usually presses the control keys 6 using the thumb of the hand that holds the mobile communication terminal. This type of operation is normally difficult and inconvenient. Hence, a user needs to use both hands to press the control keys 6 correctly—again, an operation that can be very inconvenient.
Thus, in view of the above problems it would be desirable to provide a mobile communication device, such as a cellular telephone, PDA or the like having integrated functions such as an audio player, with accessible and easy to use control keys.


In accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method, comprising exchanging connectivity information, setting up a connection, determining that a correspondent node has at least one access in an inactive state, and transmitting a request to the correspondent node to activate at least one of the at least one access in an inactive state. The setting up may be done based on the exchanged connectivity information.

Communication between nodes may be effected using transmission control protocol, TCP, for example. Traditionally TCP connections have connected corresponding nodes such that a TCP connection has been defined between a first address of a first node and a second address of a second node.
More recently, multipath TCP, MPTCP, has been defined, where first and second nodes may comprise pluralities of addresses. In communication according to MPTCP, a multipath connection comprises a plurality of individual connections connecting addresses of the first and second nodes. With reference to the example illustrated in FIG. 1, a multipath connection may comprise an initial and an additional connection. In the example illustrated, host A initiates an initial connection from its address A1 to an address B1 of host B. Host A further initiates an additional connection from its address A2 to address B1 of host B. The additional connection could equally be initiated from address A2 to address B2. The initial and additional connections may be considered to be individual paths or connections in the overall multipath connection.

Method and apparatus for multipath communication


An encoder/decoder for an emergency alert system to enable broadcasters to receive, store, re-broadcast and originate emergency alert messages. Multiple emergency alert signals are received by the encoder/decoder. A digital signal processor of the encoder/decoder scans the reception of the multiple emergency alert messages to determine the presence of an incoming emergency alert signal. The digital signal processor provides digital implementation of a frequency shift key modulation and a frequency shift key demodulation to encode and decode emergency alert messages. Additionally, the digital signal processor functions as a central processing unit to control input/output ports over a digital signal processor bus for performing all encoding and decoding functions and to control all encoding and decoding functions.

The present invention relates in general to encoder/decoders, and, more particularly, to an encoder/decoder for an emergency alert system.
The patent to Ganzer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,430, issued on Jun. 9, 1992, for Storm Alert For Emergencies, discloses an emergency alert system. The emergency alert system includes a code generator which is part of a broadcast transmission system. The code generator produces a composite code signal. One component of the composite code signal designates a geographical area for receiving a message. Another component of the composite code signal designates the alert message for the designated geographical area. The composite code signal is encrypted and the encrypted composite code signal modulates an audio carrier by frequency shift keying. Remote receivers are tuned to the broadcast transmitter. The receivers demodulate the encrypted composite code signal and recovers therefrom the composite signal. A data comparison circuit within the receivers compares the user location code with the designated geographical location code. If a match is detected a selected number of times over a predetermined time period, the receivers in which the match is detected will activate an alarm and the alert message is reproduced by the receiver. The broadcast transmitter may be a television transmitter and the remote receivers may be television receiver circuitry.
In the patent to Permut et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,155,042, issued on May 15, 1979, for Disaster Alert System, there is disclosed a central alert station. The central alert station includes a code selector and transmits coded radio frequency activation signals specifying the geographical area. The central alert station also transmits audio signals containing an audio message. Simultaneous transmission of the coded activation signal and the audio signal are possible by multiplexing both signals on the same frequency by employing a multiplexer. A plurality of radio frequency receivers are remotely located. The output of each of the radio frequency receivers is supplied to a decoder, which analyzes the coded radio frequency activation signal. Detection of a coded activation signal by the decoder results in the activation of power circuits. Each decoder is coupled to its associated radio frequency receiver and enables user entry of the location code corresponding to the geographical area of the associated receiver. Activation of the power circuits results in the operation of an audible alarm, a display of a visible alarm, reproduction of an audio message, and the activation of desired auxiliary units.
The patent to Giallanza et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,383,257, issued on May 10, 1983, for Message Communication System With Message Storage, discloses a transmission system. The transmission system developes a binary encoded data train having a header followed by a message. The data train is applied to a carrier frequency to modulate the carrier using frequency shift key techniques. The header uses synchronizing signals, one or more address signals, and a message. One or more receivers receive the message in response to an address signal in the header. The digital data is converted into audio signals for modulating the transmitted signal by frequency modulation. A receiver/demodulator detects the binary encoded data train and demodulates the carrier modulated by the audio frequencies into the corresponding sequence of binary logic levels. The demodulated digital data is then applied to a bit synchronizer that synchronizes the internal clocks of the receiver to the incoming data train so that each of the binary data bits can be sampled and applied to a decoder. The decoder stores the message prior to display of the message on a visual alphanumeric display.
In the patent to Bernard et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,956,875, issued on Sep. 11, 1990, for Emergency Radio Alerting And Message Transmitting System Directable To Selected Classes And Numbers Of Receivers, there is disclosed an emergency radio alerting and warning system. The emergency radio alerting and warning system includes a frequency modulated transmitter. The broadcast signal from the frequency modulated transmitter uses an encoder to provide a code to enable broadcasting to be made to particular receivers in a selected geographical location. The broadcast signal is a composite signal that also includes sound messages and audible alarms. Frequency modulated receivers are receptive, but inactive, until the specific encoded geographical signal at frequency modulated receivers is received. Upon detecting the specific encoded geographical signal, the activated frequency modulated receivers activate an audible alarm followed by the alert message.
The patent to Rush, No. U.S. Pat. No. 5,030,948, issued on Jul. 9, 1991, for Multiple Characteristic Sensitive Addressing Scheme For A Multiple Receiver Data Network, discloses a data transmission network. The data transmission network includes a transmitter for transmitting messages via a radio wave type communications medium, such as a sub-audible carrier or a frequency modulated broadcast band or an ultra high frequency television spectrum for incorporation into existing television transmission. The data transmission is a composite signal that includes a code component and a message component. Receivers compare the code component. Should the code of the receiver match the transmitted code, then the message is stored. The stored message may be outputted by alternative apparatus including a circuit capable of generating audio from digital data.
In an article circulated on Apr. 18, 1993, by Frederick M. Baumgartner of TFT, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., at an NAB Convention in Las Vegas, Nev., there is disclosed an emergency broadcast system in which a microprocessor scans audio and data sources for emergency information. The emergency broadcast system employs a header containing location and emergency alert information. The emergency alert information is decoded by a receiver system that scans between several information sources. Decoders scan or monitor looking for the emergency information source preamble and data. Decoders decode the original emergency information source header, data and end of message and then regenerate the frequency shift keying of the emergency information system signal. The sources of emergency information, which provide audio signal input are connected to an audio bus. A voice storage is provided for review or rebroadcast of emergency information. The emergency information system utilizes all electronic media, including broadcast television, radio, cable delivered services, satellite services, data services, and government and private warning services.

Encoder/decoder for emergency alert system


Error correction techniques based on a modified chase combining (MCC) in data retransmission in communication systems such as wired and wireless communication systems. The described MCC may be implemented in wireless communication systems that use hybrid automatic repeat request (H-ARQ) in data transmission. In wireless systems, the mobile communications devices and base stations may be designed with the present MCC.

This application relates to communication systems and techniques including wireless communication systems and techniques.
Information may be represented by digital data bits and such data bits can be transmitted as data packets from a sender to one or multiple receivers. The transmission of such data bits may be made through various transmission links such as wired links (e.g. electrical cables and optical fibers) and wireless links (e.g., radio-frequency, microwave, or optical signals through air). Any perturbation between a sender and a receiver may adversely affect the signal and the data bits carried in the signal. Hence, the received data bits may be corrupted due to various perturbations during the transmission.
Various techniques may be used to reduce the errors in received data bits at a receiver. For example, the data bits from the sender may be encoded with redundancy bits for correcting bit errors prior to transmission and the encoded data bits are then transmitted to the receiver. The receiver decodes the received data bits, corrects any bit errors that may have occurred during the transmission based on the redundancy data bits, and retrieves the original data bits. The forward error correction (FEC) is a well-known implementation of this approach.
As another example, the receiver may check the bit errors in the received data bits and send a request for re-transmission to the sender if the data bits are corrupted. In this approach, the receiver may combine data bits of different transmissions by the sender to reduce the bit errors. In wireless communication systems, the automatic repeat request (ARQ) and hybrid ARQ (H-ARQ) are two implementation of this approach.
Different data combing techniques may be applied in H-ARQ in wireless communications. One example of the data combining techniques is the incremental redundancy (IR) retransmission where the data bits and some redundancy bits are transmitted first and the additional redundancy bits are incrementally transmitted subsequently upon requests by a receiver. The wireless air interfaces under IEEE P802.16-REVd/D5 (May 2004) provides an optional H-ARQ that uses the IR retransmission. The sections 6.3.17, MAC support for HARQ, in IEEE P802.16-REVd/D5 is incorporated herein by reference as part of the specification of this application. Jaehee Cho et al. of Samsung Electronics in their publication of "New FEC structure suitable for CTC and mobile Cellular Operation of 802.16 OFDMA" on Mar. 11, 2004 described an implementation of the IR retransmission for OFDM/OFDMA wireless systems and is incorporated herein by reference as part of the specification of this application.
Another example of the data combining techniques is the chase combining (CC) retransmission where an identical duplicate of a previously transmitted data packet which is detected to have errors by a receiver is sent for the second or more times so that the receiver can combine the received duplicates to improve the signal quality prior to decoding. Section 8.495 under IEEE C802.16e-04/136 describes an implementation of CC retransmission in OFDM/OFDMA systems and is incorporated herein by reference as part of the specification of this application.

Modified chase combining for hybrid automatic repeat request


A server system performs error detection on a hop-by-hop basis at multiple compute nodes, thereby facilitating the detection of a compute node experiencing failure. The server system communicates a packet from an originating node (the originating node) to a destination node by separating the packet into multiple flow control digits (flits) and routing the flits using a series of hops over a set of intermediate nodes. The packet's final flit includes error detection information, such as checksum data. As each intermediate node receives the final flit, it performs error detection using the error detection information. The pattern of nodes that detect an error indicates which intermediate node has experienced a failure.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to processing systems and more particularly to error checking in server systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
High performance computing systems, such as server systems, are sometimes implemented using compute nodes connected together by one or more fabric interconnects. The compute nodes execute software programs to perform designated services, such as file management, database management, document printing management, web page storage and presentation, computer game services, and the like, or a combination thereof. The multiple compute nodes facilitate the processing of relatively large amounts of data while also facilitating straightforward build-up and scaling of the computing system. During operation, the compute nodes communicate with each other by routing information over multiple nodes, whereby each compute node routes received information to one of its connected nodes according to a defined routing plan. A failure at a compute node can cause faulty communication of information to its connected nodes, thereby causing errors at the server system. However, because the information is routed over multiple nodes, it can be difficult to identify the particular compute node in the routing path that experienced the failure.

Hop-by-hop error detection in a server system