A lamp unit 10 is one for use in a vehicle lamp. The lamp unit 10 includes a light source mounting portion on which a light source is mounted, and a projector lens 100 that is disposed on a vehicle front side of the light source. The projector lens includes an incident surface 100a on which light emitted from the light source is incident, a convex emission surface 100b from which the light incident on the incident surface is emitted forwardly of the lamp, a connection surface 100c that connects an edge part of the incident surface 100a and an edge part of the emission surface 100b. The connection surface 100c includes, at least in a partial area thereof, a convex surface that is convex, in section including an optical axis, outward in a diameter direction.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a lamp unit, and more particularly, to a lamp unit that is mounted on a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
JP 2003-317513 A describes a light source unit for use in a vehicle lamp. The light source unit includes a semiconductor light emitting element and a reflector. The semiconductor light emitting device is disposed on an optical axis of the light source unit so as to be directed in a predetermined direction substantially perpendicular to the optical axis. The reflector collects and reflects light, which is emitted from the semiconductor light emitting element, forward in the optical axis direction and to the optical axis.
In the vehicle lamp having the light source unit, a projector lens is provided in front of the light source unit. The light emitted from the light source is illuminated forwardly of the lamp unit through the projector lens. A plano-convex lens which has a round shape when viewed from the front side of the lamp is used as the projector lens.


A container which is particularly useful for shipping fuel assemblies is provided herein. The portable container includes a first end, enclosed second end and a tubular wall which cooperates with the first end and the second to define a selectively sealed inner chamber for receiving the fuel assemblies containing the radioactive material. The tubular wall includes a tubular, substantially sealed liquid section which substantially encircles the inner chamber. A divider separates the liquid section into a main reservoir and an auxiliary reservoir which are substantially side by side. A transfer passage is provided through the divider near a lower portion of the liquid section. The transfer passage connects the main reservoir in fluid communication with the auxiliary reservoir and allows for the transfer of liquid between the main reservoir and the auxiliary reservoir to maintain the main reservoir substantially full of liquid. The container detailed herein is designed to be within the guidelines established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and, when loaded with radioactive spent fuel and carried by a tractor-trailer, to be within the legal truck shipping weight.

Nuclear reactors are commonly used to produce electricity throughout various parts of the world. These nuclear reactors initiate and maintain a controlled nuclear chain reaction in a fissile fuel for the production of energy. The fissile fuel is commonly contained in bundles of tubes, referred to as a fuel assembly, for use in the nuclear reactor.
A pressurized water reactor ("PWR") typically utilizes a fuel assembly (hereinafter "PWR Assembly") which is approximately 81/2" square and 164" long. A boiling water reactor ("BWR") typically utilizes a fuel assembly (hereinafter "BWR Assembly") which is approximately 51/2" square by 176" long.
During the nuclear chain reaction, daughter particles originate in the fissile fuel as the fissile fuel disintegrates. Over time, the fissile fuel contains too many daughter particles to be efficiently used in the nuclear reactor. When this occurs, it is necessary to replace the fuel assembly containing the spent fuel.
Upon removal from the reactor, the spent fuel in the fuel assembly is very hot and very radioactive. Exposure to excessive radiation can present serious problems to humans and animals. Accordingly, it is necessary to store the spent fuel, without releasing excessive radiation, until the temperature and the level of radioactivity diminish to a sufficiently low level.
The spent fuel is stored at the nuclear plant in large cooling pools while waiting for the radioactivity of the spent fuel to decay to a safe level. As a result thereof, the cooling pools are beginning to become filled with the spent fuel at some plants.
Accordingly, there is a need to safely transport the spent fuel between plants with full cooling pools to those with available space. Further, plans are being developed for a nuclear waste site for storing the spent fuel. Thus, there will be a need in the future to safely transport the spent fuel to the waste site.
In many cases, the spent fuel must be transported with a truck and trailer since trains are not accessible to all nuclear plants. However, some states may attempt to block the transport of spent fuel on trailers on their highways. Nevertheless, under United States law, a particular state can not block passage of a truck and trailer which weighs under 80,000 pounds ("the legal truck shipping weight").
Presently, containers are available for shipping the spent fuel after the spent fuel has spent approximately ten years in the cooling pool. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has provided strict guidelines for containers for transporting radioactive material. These containers must be able to withstand high and low temperatures, bumping, jarring and accidents which can occur during transport of the radioactive material, without allowing for the escape of predetermined levels of radioactive emissions or other contaminants.
However, many of the existing containers are too heavy for the legal truck shipping weight, are relatively expensive to manufacture, relatively expensive to maintain, and/or utilize complex piping.
Furthermore, some of these containers can only transport a relatively small amount of radioactive material in each shipment. The ability to transport more radioactive material per shipment is very significant since loading and shipping of the radioactive waste is very expensive due to the numerous precautions which must be taken during loading and shipping.
In light of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a container for radioactive material which can transport a substantial amount of radioactive material and still weigh less than the legal truck shipping weight. It is another object of the present invention to provide a container that can accommodate four PWR Assemblies or nine BWR Assemblies and be within the guidelines for radioactive emissions. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a container which is not adversely affected by temperature fluctuations, minor accidents or jarring and is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and maintain. Another object of the present invention is to provide a container that is within the guidelines established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Shipping container for radioactive material


A picture element data density conversion apparatus, enabling arbitrary amounts of data density reduction to be independently selected for the horizontal (i.e. main) and vertical (i.e. secondary) scanning directions of a picture field, executes processing along a continuous path in which horizontally successive input values along each line of the field are first periodically selected and horizontal weighted averaging between specific pairs of these selected values is executed, then periodic selection of successive lines of the horizontal weighted average values thus obtained is executed, and vertical weighting averaging between vertically corresponding pairs of values in the selected line pairs is performed, to obtain density-reduced output data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for operating on picture element data representing a picture or a selected region of a picture as a plurality of picture elements, to obtain picture element data which represent that picture or selected region as a different number of picture elements.
More particularly the invention relates to a picture element data density conversion apparatus whereby such data can be converted to picture element data having a lower density, for thereby enabling the picture or selected region to be displayed or printed in compressed size with an arbitrarily selected degree of compression.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of apparatus for effecting a reduction of picture element data density have been proposed in the prior art. Such an apparatus is applicable for example to a copier apparatus, to enable selective reduction in size of an image or selected region of an image that is copied.
In the prior art, one method of achieving such selective size variation of copies produced by a copier apparatus has been to use an optical lens having a zoom capability. However due to the requirement for a high degree of optical accuracy, use of such an optical lens in a copier apparatus will result in a substantial increase in the manufacturing cost. Furthermore it is inherently difficult to achieve a sufficiently high degree of performance from such a lens.
Other methods have therefore been proposed, which are based upon picture element data density variation, to achieve an arbitrary amount of change (in general, compression) of the size of an original picture or region of an original picture. It should be noted that the term "picture" is used herein in a very general sense, to include for example a picture that is conveyed by a field of a television signal, a printed page of text, etc. FIGS. 1A, 1B are simple diagrams to illustrate the basic concept of picture element data density conversion and picture size compression. In FIG. 1A, an array of picture elements of an original picture are represented by corresponding values D1, D2, . . . , D36, which have been obtained for example by optically scanning the picture. If the picture is to be printed out or displayed in compressed size, by comparison with the size which would be obtained by using the set of values D1 to D36, and assuming that the desired compression factor is 5/6 in the horizontal and vertical directions for example, then that is achieved by first converting the set of values D1 to D36 to a 2-dimensionally reduced-density set of values D1', D2', . . . , D25' as shown in FIG. 3. The derived reduced-density values may occur intermittently, i.e. may not be continuously sequential along the time axis, so that it is then necessary to execute time axis compression in order to convert the data to suitable form for obtaining a compressed-size picture. That is generally done by writing the density-reduced values into a buffer memory, then reading the values out in a continuous sequence.
One method which uses a hardware technique for reducing the data density of a digital picture element signal employs a line image sensor which produces the picture element data by scanning across an original picture, with the line image sensor being moved in a secondary (e.g. vertical) scanning direction while being scanned across the picture in the main (e.g. horizontal) scanning direction. A reduced picture element data density is thereby achieved, by comparison with operation in which the line image sensor is not moved in the secondary scanning direction while moving in the main scanning direction. However such a method presents basic problems in the case of a color scanning operation. In general, a color line image sensor is formed of respective sensors for the primary colors, which are arrayed in the secondary scanning direction, so that these normally move in parallel across the picture being scanned, in the main scanning direction. However if such a color line image sensor is moved in the secondary scanning direction while moving in the main scanning direction, it becomes extremely difficult to properly combine the respective color output signals produced from the color line image sensor, and it is found that spurious signal components arise.
Other methods have been proposed in the prior art whereby software operation, i.e. computer processing, is used to reduce the picture element data density of a signal representing a picture or a region of a picture. However with such prior art methods, it is found that a relatively large amount of processing time is required, so that it becomes impossible to achieve certain types of real-time operation, such as size compression of a selected region of a moving picture.

Picture element data density conversion apparatus


In the fluorescent lamp of the present invention, a fluorescent layer and a reflection layer are formed on an inner surface of a tubular glass bulb such that the reflection layer is formed between the glass bulb and the fluorescent layer, and the open angle of opening portions formed in the fluorescent layer and the refection layer is made smaller than that formed in the external electrode. Thereby, reflection efficiency is improved, thereby making it possible to increase the amount of light with the same power consumption. Since the independent reflection layer is formed and the external electrode does not need to serve as a reflector, flexibility is given to the setting of the area of the external electrode, whereby power consumption is set freely.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fluorescent lamp and, more specifically, to a fluorescent lamp comprising an internal electrode provided inside a tubular glass bulb, an external electrode formed on an outer surface of the glass bulb, and a fluorescent layer formed on an inner surface of the glass bulb wherein the inside of the glass bulb is filled with a rare gas and the fluorescent layer is excited by ultraviolet light generated by discharge in the rare gas to emit light.
2. Background Art
FIG. 2 shows a configuration of this type of fluorescent lamp 90 of the prior art, which comprises a tubular glass bulb 91, an internal electrode 92, an external electrode 93, and a fluorescent layer 94. Inside the tubular glass bulb 91 which is sealed at both ends, the internal electrode 92 is provided at the center of the bulb 91 and a rare gas 93 is filled. The fluorescent layer 94 is formed on the inner surface of the glass bulb by suitable means such as coating. The external electrode 95 which also functions as a reflector is formed on the outer surface of the glass bulb 91 by affixing an aluminum foil, for example. Opening portions 94a and 95a each of which has an opening angle .alpha.0 from the center of the glass bulb 91 are formed in the fluorescent layer 94 and the external electrode 95 at the same position, respectively. Thus, the area of the formed fluorescent layer 94 is outwardly and indirectly covered with the area of the external electrode 95.
When voltage is applied between the internal electrode 92 and the external electrode 95 of the fluorescent lamp 90 configured as described above, discharge occurs between the both electrodes 92 and 95, whereby the fluorescent layer 94 is excited to emit the light which is radiated outward from the opening portions 94a and 95a. At this point, the light emitted from the fluorescent layer 94 to the glass bulb 91 is reflected by the external electrode 95, returns, passes through the fluorescent layer 94 and is radiated from the opening portions 94a and 95a.
However, in the fluorescent lamp 90 of the prior art configured as described above, the light emitted from the fluorescent layer 94 to the glass bulb 91 goes and returns within the glass bulb 91, thereby the light is attenuated by absorption by the glass bulb 91 and the amount of the light taken out from the opening portions 94a and 95a becomes smaller than the real amount of the light emitted from the fluorescent layer 94.
When the function thereof as a reflector is given priority because the external electrode 95 also functions as a reflector, the optimal area of the external electrode 95 cannot be set, resulting its excessive power consumption. Conversely, when the function thereof as an external electrode is given priority, the area of the reflector becomes short. Thus, requirements from the two functions conflict with each other, thereby making the optimal design difficult.


A method of organizing a transmission of repository data includes receiving, in a computer system, a request to transmit data from a data repository to a data recipient. In response to the request, batch jobs for transmitting the data are performed. Each of the batch jobs identifies a data amount that is to be transmitted to the data recipient. Upon detecting during transmission that a performance parameter of the computer system does not meet a predefined standard, the data amount that is identified by at least one of the batch jobs is automatically changed. Changing the data amount may include splitting the batch job into at least two batch jobs, or merging the batch job with another batch job. A predictive model may be created for determining a control parameter that can be assigned to the batch jobs. The control parameter may help the system assume an optimal organization state.

Many computer systems use repositories for holding data that the system uses in its operations. In an enterprise resource planning system, the data may relate to the ongoing business operations performed in the system. Systems can have great volumes of data electronically stored in repositories, and this data can be updated at regular or arbitrary intervals.
In systems with great amounts of repository data, it becomes very important to provide adequate search functions for users to access the data. The system may include a search engine or equivalent providing search functionality for relevant documents according to a variety of criteria. A search engine typically has associated with it an index of repository contents. When a user enters a search query, the engine consults the index to determine whether there are any matches. In response, the search engine may send a "hit list" that enables the user to access any responsive data, for example in the form of a document. The process of creating the index based on the repository data is usually referred to as indexing.
When a new index is to be created, an initial indexing process is performed on the entire contents of one or more data repositories. In the case of a repository containing a large volume of data or from multiple distributed repositories, the indexing can take quite some time, up to a full day or more depending on system size. This may cause system resources to be unavailable or slow for a significant amount of time. Particularly, one bottleneck in this initial indexing process may be the step of transmitting the data from the repository to the service or equivalent that performs the indexing. It always takes a finite time to access one or more knowledge entities in the repository and to transmit the retrieved data to the indexing service. Moreover, the retrieval process may suffer from partially failed retrievals, for example when documents cannot be found where expected.
In existing systems, the transmission of repository data to a data recipient, such as an indexing service, may be performed in a sequential batch data retrieval process. Such a process is used in some products available from SAP AG in Walldorf (Baden), Germany. One disadvantage with this process is that it can be held up by a single batch of data that takes a long time to retrieve from the repository and/or to transmit to the indexing service. Such a delay means that it will occupy the system resource, and other indexes must wait longer until the index is finished, or in the case of an index being updated, that the content of the index will not be updated for a longer time. Moreover, such systems do not have a sophisticated solution for handling failed batch jobs efficiently.
If the indexing process takes a long time, this reduces system efficiency and delays the moment when the new index is ready to use. For this reason, indexing jobs that involve transmitting large amounts of data typically are run at times when system use is low, such as overnight or on weekends. In contrast, the process of later updating the index with changes in the repository data may take relatively less time, because it may be possible to focus the update indexing on only the knowledge entities that have changed since the index was created, a so-called delta update. Nevertheless, also this process can impact system performance if it involves a great volume of repository data, and the index content typically is not updated for search.

Organizing transmission of repository data


An electronic component (10) for aligning a light transmitting structure (19) such as an optical fiber or a waveguide, includes a semiconductor substrate (11) which contains or supports at least one semiconductor device (12). To provide electrical isolation and mechanical protection for the semiconductor device (12), a passivation layer (25) is disposed over the semiconductor substrate (11). At least one alignment feature (14) for the light transmitting structure (19) is provided over the passivation layer (25) and over the semiconductor device (12). The alignment feature (14) is manufactured simultaneously during a flip chip bump process which eliminates the necessity for extra processing steps while providing additional alignment functionality.

This invention relates, in general, to electronic and optical components, and more particularly, to an electronic component for aligning a light transmitting structure.
Light transmitting structures such as optical fibers and waveguides, are used to enhance high speed communications from chip to chip, from board to chip, from board to board, and even from computer to computer. Optical devices such as, for example, vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) can generate optical signals which are transmitted by light transmitting structures. To ensure adequate light transfer efficiency, the coupling of optical devices and light transmitting structures requires precise alignment to one another. Existing structures and methods for accomplishing this precise alignment are expensive, unmanufacturable, or produce unnecessarily large components due to the inefficient usage of available space.
However, the precision alignment is preferably neither costly nor difficult to accomplish. Moreover, with the continuing efforts of device integration to produce smaller and more compact systems, the actual or physical alignment mechanisms of optical devices, waveguides, and optical fibers should be smaller and more compact as well.
Accordingly, a need exists for an electronic component for aligning a light transmitting structure which is simple to use, manufacturable, and is cost efficient.

Electronic component for aligning a light transmitting structure


Described herein are systems and methods providing a slip gear for an industrial cart. One embodiment includes a slip gear that includes a track gear for engaging with the track, a stabilizing bar, and a motor gear for engaging with a drive motor and the track gear. The slip gear may also include a stabilizing bar that is rotatably coupled to the track gear and the motor gear. In some embodiments, when the drive motor rotates the motor shaft, the motor gear rotates with the motor shaft to cause rotation of the track gear to propel the industrial cart. In response to an object pushing the industrial cart along the track, the stabilizing bar rotates to disengage the track gear from the track, thereby reducing friction between the industrial cart and the track.

While crop growth technologies have advanced over the years, there are still many problems in the farming and crop industry today. As an example, while technological advances have increased efficiency and production of various crops, many factors may affect a harvest, such as weather, disease, infestation, and the like. Additionally, while the United States currently has suitable farmland to adequately provide food for the U.S. population, other countries and future populations may not have enough farmland to provide the appropriate amount of food.
Additionally many industrial carts, such as those which may be utilized in a grow pod or other industrial environment may be self-powered; powered by a single cart that pulls (or pushes) the remaining carts in the assembly line configuration; powered by a track, etc. However, if power to an industrial cart falters, current solutions do not have the ability to continue moving the failed industrial cart.

Systems and methods for providing a slip gear for an industrial cart


A method and apparatus are disclosed that enable an over-the-horizon-radar (OTHR) system to detect and track multiple target classes simultaneously, where target classes are defined by the speed and acceleration of the tracked objects. The OTHR is tasked in a staring mode, with a bandwidth and waveform repetition frequency that enable detection of Doppler shifts from all target types, with sufficient clutter reduction and range resolution. The backscattered echoes are buffered for each target class and processed independently. The output of an automatic tracking algorithm then preferentially plots target progress on a single digital map for all target classes.

OTHR is a well established and economical, long-range, wide-area surveillance sensor technology. OTHR propagates high-frequency (HF) energy via the ionosphere to detect targets at distances of roughly 400 to 2,000 nautical miles (nmi) from the radar, within azimuthal sectors up to 90° wide. Operational OTHRs have been deployed at various locations in the United States and Australia for target detection applications, and the underlying technology is described in the literature of the art, for example, in J. M. Headrick and M. I. Skolnik, "Over-the-Horizon Radar in the HF Band," Proc. IEEE, vol. 62, no. 6, pp. 664-673, 1974; T. W. Washburn, L. E. Sweeney, Jr., J. R. Barnum, and W. B. Zavoli, "Development of HF Skywave Radar for Remote Sensing Applications," in AGARD Conf. Proc. No. 263, Special Topics in HF Propagation, V. J. Coyne, Ed. London, England: Tech. Editing and Reproductions, 1979, Ch. 32.; and James R. Barnum, "Ship Detection with High-Resolution HF Skywave Radar," IEEE Jour. Oceanic Engineering., Vol. OE-11, No. 2, pp. 196-209, April 1986.
Current OTHRs deal separately with targets found in different target classes, where the target classes are defined by differing speeds and accelerations. The development of OTHR, directed at one new target class after another, has spawned unique methods for radar operation and signal processing to achieve optimal results for each target class. For example, the radar system is configured with short dwell periods for fast targets. Conversely, the radar system is configured with long dwell periods for slow targets that compete with stochastic earth clutter. Although the target application or "mode" can be switched rapidly, a deployment scenario involving detection of slow targets can preclude detection of faster targets, and vice versa. Moreover, some medium speed target detection modes have a target refresh rate that is too slow to acquire and identify high speed, high acceleration targets.
The OTHR development community has long recognized the limitation imposed by differing radar requirements for each target class. The solution of mode switching described above results in reduced capability. Another proposed solution to utilize multiple radar systems can be prohibitively expensive.
What is needed is a method and system to enable simultaneous detection and tracking of targets in multiple target classes by a single OTHR installation.

Method and system for multiple target class data recording, processing and display for over-the-horizon radar


The present invention discloses an input equipment with a sensed movement feedback, which comprises a pressure sensor pad having a through hole at the center, a rolling ball disposed in the through hole with part of the rolling ball exposed and protruded therefrom, and at least one driver contacting with the surface of the rolling ball. The sensor pad will produce a signal according to a pressing force exerting thereon and transmit the signal to a control circuit of the input equipment, enabling the control circuit to produce a rolling signal for activating the driver to move the rolling ball in a direction proportion to the pressing force. Thus, the user can sense the direction and speed of the cursor movement on the screen from sensing the rolling movement of the rolling ball.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an input equipment with sensed movement feedback.
2. Description of the Related Art
This is the world with blooming information; all kinds of high-tech products are derived from computers. The development of high technology is extremely fast, not only reducing the distance between people, but also shortening the time and distance between spaces, which is indispensable to our life. As various information products are introduced to the market, particularly the popular application of notebook computers, people have high demands on the quality of portable computers. Whether or not a notebook computer can provide a more convenient and effective service has become an important index to evaluate the manufacturing technology of the information product of a country whether such country is leading others.
The portable computer of early stage is not light but weighs about 7˜14 kg, and the laptop computers weighs about 4˜7 Kg. However, the current notebook computer only weighs about 1˜4 Kg; besides the light, thin, short, and compact design in weight and volume, the development also tends to be all-in-one. In view of the current information market, the competition is severe. Since there are numerous brands of notebook computers in the information market, therefore it gives a big pressure for computer companies to create good sales performance, and also offers more choices for consumers. Offering a reasonable price for a humanistic, multifunctional, all-in-one notebook computer becomes one of the important factors for a computer to stand out in the severe competition of the information market.
A notebook computer, as its name suggests, is similar to a notebook which can be opened and closed, and thus having excellent portability. It comprises a display panel and a main system, and at least one hinge to connect the display panel and the main system, such that the screen of the display panel can be closed at regular time. When a user wants to use the notebook computer, the user only need to rotate the display panel by using the hinge as the axis for an axial rotation until the display panel reaches an appropriate position and angle, and then using the keyboard on the main system to enter information into the main system. The main system uses a communication line to send the information to the display panel, and displays the content of the related information on the screen of the display panel. Due to the fast development of application programs, particularly the popular application of various windows operating systems (such as Microsoft Windows), only a keyboard being used for entering the commands into such operating system will cause lots of inconvenience to the operation. For example, it is inconvenient and troublesome to control the direction of the movement of a pointer or open an icon displayed on the screen by using a keyboard only. Therefore, in addition to a keyboard, notebook computers usually come with at least a pointing device to simplify the operating procedure of such operating system, and improve the controllability of such pointer.
Besides keyboards, the input device currently adopted by most people is a mouse, which is also a kind of pointing devices. As its name suggests, a pointing device refers to the input device for controlling a pointer. In general, it is very convenient to use a pointing device to operate a window interface operating system (such as Microsoft Windows) or other computer application programs. As the time is changed, various pointing devices having the same function of a mouse are developed, and widely used on notebook computers, and gradually become one of the standard equipments of the notebook computer. For example, a pointing stick (also called track point), which is made of rubber material and substantially in a cylindrical shape, is generally protruded from an appropriate position between the keys of the keyboard. Its controlling method is by mechanical touch; the direction of the pointer can be controlled by moving a finger on the pointing stick, and the notebook computer can sense and control the moving direction of the pointer. A touch pad, which is also commonly used on notebook computers to control the pointer, just requires a very simple procedure for the operation. The user just needs to touch the touch pad with a finger and gently press on the touch pad to control the moving direction of the pointer.
Besides the external mouse, the main system of the current notebook computers usually comes with a built-in touch pad, and such touch pad can move the direction of the pointer on the screen according to the pressing direction of the user's finger. The moving speed of the pointer depends on the pressing force of the finger. However, when a user uses such touch pad to enter data, the user can only visually determine the movement of the pointer on the screen, and cannot sense the movement of the cursor by the operation of such touch pad. Therefore, the cursor cannot be moved to the desired position, which is very inconvenient.

Input equipment with sensed movement feedback


Threat exchange information protection can include receiving security information from a number of participants of a threat exchange community, wherein a portion of the received security information is encoded with pseudonyms by each of the number of participants, analyzing the security information collectively from the number of participants, wherein the portion of the received security information remains encoded, and sending analysis results to each of the number of participants, wherein the analysis results include information relating to the portion.

Entities can use the Internet to create networks. Such networks can be used to connect people, provide services, and/or organize information, among other activities associated with an entity. The network can include a plurality of resources connected by communication links. Due to the distributed nature of the network, resources on the network can be susceptible to security attacks. A security attack can include, for example, an attempt to destroy, alert, disable, steal, and/or gain unauthorized access to use of an asset (e.g., a resource, confidential information).

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Provided is a coordinate measuring device which can easily perform accurate measurement. A coordinate measuring device is provided with a sub-imaging unit, a display unit, and a probe. The probe includes a stylus. The stylus has a contact part that is brought into contact with a measurement target in order to measure the measurement target. The sub-imaging unit is provided in the probe so as to have constant positional relationships, and captures an image of at least part of the measurement target. The image of the measurement target obtained by the sub-imaging unit is displayed as a captured image on the display unit. Based on calculated positions of the probe and the positional relationships of the sub-imaging unit, an image showing a measurement position on the measurement target, with which the contact part is to be brought into contact, is displayed on the captured image.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a contact-type coordinate measuring device.
2. Description of Related Art
A contact-type coordinate measuring device is provided with a probe having a contact part. The contact part of the probe is brought into contact with a measurement target, and a contact position between the measurement target and the contact part is calculated. By calculating a plurality of positions on the measurement target, a size of a desired portion of the measurement target is measured.
JP 06-511555 A describes a system for point by point measurement of spatial coordinates, which includes a data processor, a contact probe, and an angle sensor. The contact probe is provided with a plurality of point light sources in addition to a contact point. The angle sensor is provided so as to allow observation of an essential portion of a measurement target and allow observation of the plurality of point light sources of the contact probe.
A spatial direction from the angle sensor toward each light source is recorded. Based on the recorded spatial direction, a position and an orientation of the contact probe with respect to the angle sensor are calculated by a data processor. The position of the contact probe and a position of the contact point are associated with a position of the measurement target.
By use of the system for point by point measurement in JP 06-511555 A, it is possible to measure a size of a previously set measurement target portion with respect to each of a plurality of measurement targets. This allows quality control of the plurality of measurement targets.
However, in the case of an unskilled measurement operator measuring a plurality of measurement targets, it is difficult to eliminate variation in actually measured place with respect to the plurality of measurement targets.
Further, when the measurement target portion is hardly recognized in an external appearance of the measurement target, it is difficult even for a skilled measurement operator to perform an accurate operation. As described above, in shape measurement for the measurement target, the accurate operation is difficult while skill is required.


A method for providing network services includes receiving a configuration request. The configuration request identifies a mobile node. The method also includes determining a location of the mobile node and selecting a directory agent based at least on the location of the mobile node. Additionally, the method includes transmitting to the mobile node a configuration response that identifies the directory agent.

Significant improvements in the global telecommunication infrastructure over recent decades have made it possible to provide mobile communication services to users located essentially anywhere in the world. Furthermore, technological advancements have made it increasingly easy for mobile users to seamlessly transition between services provided by various networks. As geographic constraints become less limiting, the importance of providing a full range of voice, media, and data services to users (regardless of their location) has increased dramatically.
Additionally, as the Internet becomes the common platform for providing services to mobile communication users, the dynamic, distributed nature of the Internet creates difficulties in effectively providing services to mobile users. Because the respective locations of the mobile user and the service provider may be relevant in finding an appropriate service provider for the mobile user, conventional mobile communication systems have experienced increasing difficulties in matching mobile users and service providers. Accordingly, the ability to provide appropriate services and features to accommodate a diverse group of end users presents a significant challenge to system administrators, component manufacturers, and service providers.

Providing location-specific services to a mobile node


A warhead for use in air defense missiles has a flat-sided cross-sectional onfiguration which can be mass focused to direct an entire side onto a target. The warhead may be rotated about the missile longitudinal axis to properly orient a warhead side at the time of detonation.

The present invention relates to warheads for use in air defense missiles and, more particularly to improvements in fragmenting warheads whereby the on-target fragment density is significantly increased without increasing warhead mass.
Conventional missile warheads are annular in cross section. When the charge is fired the fragments are distributed with substantially uniform density radially outward from the longitudinal axis of the missile. Assuming that firing occurs at the optimum time during the missile-target encounter, the probability of a target being hit by a warhead fragment depends upon the mass of the warhead, the size of the target, and the distance between the missile and target. Referring to FIG. 1 by way of illustration, a target 1 having an eight foot cross-sectional diameter is shown in an encounter with a missile warhead 2 having an eight inch cross-sectional diameter. The maximum permissible spacing between target 1 and missile 2 at the moment of firing is assumed to be eighty feet. Imaginary lines A and B are drawn from the longitudinal axis of warhead 2 to the top and bottom, respectively, of target 1. The angle 2.alpha. subtended between lines A and B corresponds to the angular portion of warhead 2 from which fragments are directed toward the target. For the dimensions assumed in FIG. 1, angle 2.alpha. turns out to be 5.72.degree.. Since there are 360.degree. of fragmenting warhead surface, and the fragment density is uniform in all directions about the missile axis, the percentage of warhead fragments which hit target 1 is ##EQU1## This extremely small percentage considerably limits the target hit probability and therefore places considerable demands on the missile guidance system to bring the missile sufficiently close to the target to considerably increase hit angle 2.alpha.. Alternatively, a warhead of larger mass may be used to increase the number of warhead fragments and likewise increase the fragment density uniformly in all directions.
The problem of increasing the on-target fragment density without increasing warhead mass or guidance precision has been attacked with limited success in the prior art. The most significant approach has been the use of fragment mass focusing, a technique in which the location and/or the firing sequence of the charge is arranged to direct fragments in one direction to a greater extent than in other directions. Unfortunately, this results in only a slight improvement in on-target fragment density.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to significantly increase the hit probability for a warhead by increasing the fragment density at the target without increasing warhead size.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a warhead configuration which projects significantly higher fragment densities toward a target without increasing missile size.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army


In a safety operation for LP gas, a safety inspector selects an inspection slip and determines whether an inspection item is necessary depending on the facility. Therefore, mistakes and omissions in the inspection content occur, and problems occur, such as visiting the actual site again to perform re-inspection. Furthermore, inspection slips that were manually filled are taken back to his or her office to input into a PC. Therefore, problems occur such as increases in workload due to erroneous entry of data and data re-entry, and time lags until inspection results are reflected in the safety management system. By reading a two-dimensional code attached to the main body of LP gas supply facility and consumption facility, the inspection slip (inspection items) related to each safety operation is downloaded to a mobile terminal in real-time at the operating sites, and inspection results are aggregated on a server by data communication.

Conventionally, LP gas is classified into gas imported from producers of industrial gas, and gas generated domestically during the manufacture of petrochemical products. Import stations of storing the LP gas transported by tankers from the industrial gas producers and oil refinery stations are called the primary stations. The LP gas in the primary station is loaded into coastal vessels and tank trucks, and shipped to the secondary stations, which are transit stations located along or away from the coasts. Further, the LP gas carried to the secondary stations is transported to LP gas filling stations (delivery bases) in various places, and is filled in gas cylinders in the delivery bases. The gas cylinders filled with the LP gas in the individual delivery bases are delivered by deliverymen to customers' homes, such as general houses, apartment buildings and offices. This is a supply method with a gas cylinder. Another supply method is a supply system with a gas bulk. This is a method for supplying gas from tank trucks directly to a gas bulk in customer's home. In the description of the present invention, there is a case wherein a gas cylinders and a gas bulk are collectively referred to as "gas cylinders".
For LP gas supplied by these methods, there is a possibility leading up to pollution, such as a gas leakage or a gas explosion. Therefore, there is the law in Japan for ensuring safety, anti-pollution and optimization of transaction of LP gas as main purposes. According to the law, gas suppliers are obligated to conduct periodical inspections of LP gas supply facility and consumption facility. It should be noted that the supply facility represents a section extended from a gas cylinder to the outlet of a gas meter. The gas facility is obligated to conduct periodical inspections under administrative control and responsibly in the gas suppliers. The consumption facility represents a section extended from the outlet of a gas meter to each gas appliance (e.g., a gas stove or a water heater). This facility is under administrative control and responsibly in a customer, and as well as the supply facility, a periodical inspection by the gas supplier is required.
There are two types of law for obligating periodical inspections: the "Act on the Securing of Safety and the Optimization of Transaction of Liquefied Petroleum Gas" (hereinafter referred to as the "Liquefied Petroleum. Gas Act") and the "Gas Business Act", both of which are separated based on supply forms. The Liquefied Petroleum Gas Act stipulates, as LP gas supply forms, a direct supply form for delivering gas cylinders to customers (hereinafter referred to as "general supply") and a form whereby a simplified gas generator, also called a gas facility, is installed and vaporizes LP gas, and the thus generated gas is supplied through pipelines to a plurality of customers. It should be noted, however, that the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Act is applied for a service area wherein the number of supply destinations, i.e., the number of customers, is smaller than seventy. In a case wherein the number of customers is seventy or greater, the Gas Business Act is applied. As described above, although the installed facility is the same, the different Act is applied in accordance with the number of supply destinations. To classify the individual supply forms, the supply form employed for the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Act is called "concentric gas (supply)" and that employed for the Gas Business Act is called "community gas (supply)". Further, there is a case wherein both for the concentric gas and the community gas, a gas facility as a supply facility is called a "parent", while a consumption facility in a customer is called a "child". It should be noted that the destinations of supply by the gas facility are not a plurality of "consumption facilities", but a plurality of "customers" (it is possible that a customer owns a plurality of consumption facilities, and eventually, gas supply may be performed for a plurality of consumption facilities).
According to the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Act, a periodical inspection is obligated once every four years for the supply facility and the consumption facility for gas cylinders. It should be noted that the periodical inspection includes a piping inspection to inspect gas pipes. In the piping inspection, in a case of a white gas pipe that tends to be corrosive (an old-fashioned plated gas pipe), in principle, the annual inspection is obligated. For a gas bulk, there is also a case wherein the inspection should be conducted in a shorter period cycle, such as every six months or every year. Further, in a case wherein re-inspection is required as the result of the periodical inspection for the consumption facility, the re-inspection must be obligated within one month to sixth months following the inspection date. The requirement for re-inspection is limited to the case of the consumption facility, because the consumption facility is consistently owned by the customer, and the gas supplier can merely request that the customer take a corrective measure. Therefore, when a predetermined period has elapsed from the request, the re-inspection is conducted for the corrective measure. If the corrective measure is not yet taken at the time of re-inspection, and it is determined that it is at high risk to continuously supply gas, it stops supplying gas (so-called a closing cock measure). In contrast, the supply facility belongs to the gas supplier, and the immediate inspection can be conducted if the re-inspection is required, so that any specific period of time for the re-inspection is not stipulated by the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Act.
According to the Gas Business Act, the periodical inspection for every forty months for the consumption facility is obligated. A period for conducting the periodical check of a gas facility, which is supply facility, varies depending on the facility level. More specifically, a daily check is obligated for the facility that employs a system for forcibly vaporizing LP gas by using electricity or a gas, a monthly check is obligated for the facility with an automatic monitoring device being attached, and a weekly check is obligated for the other type of facility. Furthermore, likely to the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Act, the re-inspection for the consumption facility is obligated within one month to sixth months following the inspection date. Moreover, for the supply facility, the re-inspection for a pipeline leakage is obligated once every forty months. The pipeline represents a gas pipe that is employed for community gas supply and that is embedded underground and extended in parallel to a road (meanwhile, gas pipes extended from the pipeline to the individual customers are called "supply lines").
In addition to the above described inspections, periodical replacement of parts, such as a gas alarm device, a gas meter, a gas pressure regulator and a gas hose, is also performed to provide the maintenance and the replacement operation for these parts. Especially, parts should be replaced before their expiry dates, since there are many types of parts and different expiry dates are provided for the individual types.
In the description of this invention, "inspection", "check" and "survey" are employed in accordance with cases. The "inspection" represents an operation for examining all the facility, including the consumption facility in the customer's home, the "check" represents an operation for examining only of the supply facility, and the "survey" represents an extension of "check" for more closely surveying the supply facility. Further, in some cases, the "inspection", the "check" and the "survey" are collectively referred to as the "inspection". The inspection operation and the parts replacement operation are collectively called a safety operation.
As described above, many inspections are conducted for the LP gas supply facility and consumption facility and the periodical replacement for many types of parts is performed. Safety inspectors perform these safety operations, and submit inspection slips describing the results.
However, at present, paper-based inspection slips are employed. The inspection slips are divided into two types, one type each for the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Act and for the Gas Business Act, and furthermore, in case of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Act, the inspection slip differs for gas cylinders and for gas bulks, so that the total of three types of inspection slips are provided. The safety inspector carries these three types of inspection slips, and selects an appropriate slip in accordance with the facility. Further, inspection items that are not actually necessary in accordance with the type of a safety operation are also included in the inspection slip. On this point, a determination for unnecessary inspection items is also performed by the safety inspector. Further, a determination for compulsory inspection items is also left to the safety inspector. Under these circumstances, there are problems that omissions or errors in entries of the inspection are found, and the safety inspector visits the actual site again to perform re-inspection.
The safety inspector returns to his or her office with the inspection slips that were manually filled in at the operational sites, and employs a PC terminal to enter data to a safety management system. However, the data entry is not always performed by the safety inspector, and correct data may not be entered. Various problems occur due to erroneous entry of data, the increase in workload for re-entering data due to the erroneous entry of data, and the occurrence of a time lag until the inspection results are reflected in the safety management system.
To resolve these problems, there has been a demand on a method and a system, wherein a two-dimensional code, such as a QR code (registered trademark), is attached to the LP gas supply facility and consumption facility, and safety inspectors read the code by using mobile terminals carried by the safety inspectors, and download, into the mobile terminals, the inspection slips (inspection items) corresponding to the individual safety operations in real-time at operating sites, and a server collects all the inspection results through data communication.

System and method for downloading a safety inspection item


The present invention concerns 1,2,4-triaminobenzene derivatives of the general formula I or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof and the use thereof.

Ion channels are cellular proteins that regulate the flow of ions, including potassium, calcium, chloride and sodium into and out of cells. Such channels are present in all animal and human cells and affect a variety of processes including neuronal transmission, muscle contraction and cellular secretion.
Humans have over 70 potassium channel subunits (Jentsch Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2000, 1, 21-30) with a great diversity with regard to both structure and function. Neuronal potassium channels, which are found in the brain, are primarily responsible for maintaining a negative resting membrane potential, as well as controlling membrane repolarisation following an action potential.
One subset of potassium channel genes is the KCNQ family. Mutations in four out of five KCNQ genes have been shown to underlie diseases including cardiac arrhythmnias, deafness and epilepsy (Jentsch Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2000, 1, 21-30).
The KCNQ4 gene is thought to encode the molecular correlate of potassium channels found in outer hair cells of the cochlea and in Type I hair cells of the vestibular apparatus, mutations in which lead to a form of inherited deafness.
KCNQ1 (KvLQT1) is co-assembled with the product of the KCNE1 (minimal K(+)-channel protein) gene in the heart to form a cardiac-delayed rectifier-like K(+) current. Mutations in this channel can cause one form of inherited long QT syndrome type 1 (LQT1), as well as being associated with a form of deafness (Robbins Pharmacol Ther 2001, 90, 1-19).
The genes KCNQ2 and KCNQ3 were discovered in 1988 and appear to be mutated in an inherited form of epilepsy known as benign familial neonatal convulsions (Rogawski Trends in Neurosciences 2000, 23, 393-398). The proteins encoded by the KCNQ2 and KCNQ3 genes are localised in the pyramidal neurons of the human cortex and hippocampus, regions of the brain associated with seizure generation and propagation (Cooper et al. Proceedings National Academy of Science USA 2000, 97, 4914-4919).
KCNQ2 and KCNQ3 are two potassium channel subunits that form "M-currents" when expressed in vitro. The M-current is a non-inactivating potassium current found in many neuronal cell types. In each cell type, it is dominant in controlling membrane excitability by being the only sustained current in the range of action potential initiation (Marrion Annual Review Physiology 1997, 59, 483-504). Modulation of the M-current has dramatic effects on neuronal excitability, for example, activation of the current will reduce neuronal excitability. Thus, openers of these KCNQ channels will reduce excessive neuronal activity in conditions such as seizures and diseases characterised by excessive neuronal activity such as epilepsy and neuropathic pain.
Retigabine (D-23129; N-(2-amino-4-(4-fluorobenzylamino)-phenyl) carbamic acid ethyl ester) and analogues thereof are disclosed in EP554543. Retigabine is an anti-convulsive compound with a broad spectrum and potent anticonvulsant properties, both in vitro and in vivo. It is active after oral and intraperitoneal administration in rats and mice in a range of anticonvulsant tests including: electrically induced seizures, seizures induced chemically by pentylenetetrazole, picrotoxin and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and in a genetic animal model, the DBA/2 mouse (Rostock et al. Epilepsy Research 1996, 23, 211-223). In addition, retigabine is active in the amygdala kindling model of complex partial seizures, further indicating that this compound has potential for anti-convulsive therapy. In clinical trials, retigabine has recently shown effectiveness in reducing the incidence of seizures in epileptic patients (Bialer et al. Epilepsy Research 2002, 51, 31-71).
Retigabine has been shown to activate a K(+) current in neuronal cells and the pharmacology of this induced current displays concordance with the published pharmacology of the M-channel, which recently was correlated to the KCNQ2/3 K(+) channel heteromultimer. This suggests that activation of KCNQ2/3 channels may be responsible for some of the anticonvulsant activity of this agent (Wickenden et al. Molecular Pharmacology 2000, 58, 591-600)—and that other agents working by the same mechanism may have similar uses.
KCNQ 2 and 3 channels have been reported to be upregulated in models of neuropathic pain (Wickenden et al. Society for Neuroscience Abstracts 2002, 454.7), and potassium channel modulators have been hypothesised to be active in both neuropathic pain and epilepsy (Schroder et al. Neuropharmacology 2001, 40, 888-898; Blackburn-Munro and Jensen European Journal of Pharmacology 2003, 460, 109-116). Furthermore, the localisation of KCNQ channel mRNA is reported in brain and other central nervous system areas associated with pain (Goldstein et al. Society for Neuroscience Abstracts 2003, 53.8).
In addition to a role in neuropathic pain, the expression of mRNA for KCNQ 2-5 in the trigeminal and dorsal root ganglia and in the trigeminal nucleus caudalis implies that openers of these channels may also affect the sensory processing of migraine pain (Goldstein et al. Society for Neuroscience Abstracts 2003, 53.8).
Recent reports demonstrate that mRNA for KCNQ 3 and 5, in addition to that for KCNQ2, are expressed in astrocytes and glial cells. Thus KCNQ 2, 3 and 5 channels may help modulate synaptic activity in the CNS and contribute to the neuroprotective effects of KCNQ channel openers (Noda et al., Society for Neuroscience Abstracts 2003, 53.9). Retigabine and other KCNQ modulators may thus exhibit protection against the neurodegenerative aspects of epilepsy, as retigabine has been shown to prevent limbic neurodegeneration and the expression of markers of apoptosis following kainic acid-induced status epilepticus in the rat (Ebert et al. Epilepsia 2002, 43 Suppl 5, 86-95). This may have relevance for preventing the progression of epilepsy in patients, i.e. be anti-epileptogenic. Retigabine has also been shown to delay the progression of hippocampal kindling in the rat, a further model of epilepsy development (Tober et al. European Journal Of Pharmacology 1996, 303, 163-169).
Given that anticonvulsant compounds such as benzodiazepines and chlormethiazole are used clincially in the treatment of the ethanol withdrawal syndrome and that other anticonvulsant compounds e.g. gabapentin, are very effective in animal models of this syndrome (Watson et al. Neuropharmacology 1997, 36, 1369-1375), we expect that other anticonvulsant compounds such as KCNQ openers will also be effective in this condition.
mRNA for KCNQ 2 and 3 subunits are found in brain regions associated with anxiety and emotional behaviours such as bipolar disorder e.g. hippocampus and amygdala (Saganich et al. Journal of Neuroscience 2001, 21, 4609-4624), and retigabine is reportedly active in some animal models of anxiety-like behaviour (Hartz et al. Journal of Psychopharmacology 2003, 17 suppl 3, A28, B16), and other clinically used anticonvulsant compounds are used in the treatment of bipolar disorder.
WO 200196540 discloses the use of modulators of the M-current formed by expression of KCNQ2 and KCNQ3 genes for insomnia, whilst WO 2001092526 discloses that modulators of KCNQ5 can be utilized for the treatment of sleep disorders.
WO01/022953 describes the use of retigabine for prophylaxis and treatment of neuropathic pain such as allodynia, hyperalgesic pain, phantom pain, neuropathic pain related to diabetic neuropathy and neuropathic pain related to migraine.
WO02/049628 describes the use of retigabine for the prevention, treatment, inhibition and amelioration of anxiety disorders such as anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, panic anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, social phobia, performance anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, acute stress reaction, adjustment disorders, hypochondriacal disorders, separation anxiety disorder, agoraphobia and specific phobias.
WO97/15300 describes the use of retigabine for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's chorea, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, AIDS-induced encephalopathy and other infection-related encephalopathies being caused by rubella viruses, herpes viruses, borrelia and by unknown pathogens, Creutzfeld-Jakob disease, Parkinson's disease, trauma-induced neurodegenerations, and neuronal hyperexcitation states such as in medicament withdrawal or by intoxication, neurodegenerative disorders of the peripheral nervous system such as polyneuropathies and polyneuritides.
Hence, there is a great desire for novel compounds, which are potent openers of the KCNQ family potassium channels.
Also desired are novel compounds with improved properties relative to known compounds, which are openers of the KCNQ family potassium channels, such as retigabine. Improvement of one or more of the following parameters is desired: half-life, clearance, selectivity, interactions with other medications, bioavailability, potency, formulability, chemical stability, metabolic stability, membrane permeability, solubility and therapeutic index. The improvement of such parameters may lead to improvements such as:                an improved dosing regime by reducing the number of required doses a day,        ease of administration to patients on multiple medications        reduced side effects,        enlarged therapeutic index,        improved tolerability and/or        improved compliance.

1,2,4-Triaminobenzene derivatives useful for treating disorders of the central nervous system


A method for handling of multicast data streams within a broadband access network of a telecommunications network includes: a specific service edge node receiving a join request message from or through a specific customer premises equipment; an activation request message being transmitted, by the specific service edge node, to a multicast controller node within the broadband access network; and the multicast controller node generating and/or replicating multicast data stream-related data packets and injecting these multicast data stream-related data packets, using a corresponding session identifier information, into a point-to-point-protocol connection or tunneling protocol connection between the specific service edge node and the specific customer premises equipment.

The exchange of packetized information in broadband communication systems or telecommunications networks, both in fixed-line as in wireless communication systems (or fixed-line communication networks and mobile communication networks) has already grown dramatically and probably will also grow in the future due to the rapid spread of different data services in such communication networks.
The present invention generally relates to the area of providing the possibility to efficiently realize the transmission of multicast data streams, i.e. comprising multicast data stream-related data packets, to a plurality of recipients or client devices, typically via customer premises equipments being connected to such recipients. Typically, such client devices use a network connectivity link provided by the customer premises equipment that connects the client device to a broadband access network of a telecommunications network, typically using a central office point of delivery of the telecommunications network.
In conventionally known broadband access networks, multicast control signaling and data plane replication is typically done at the same point in a device or a network node. For example, the multicast data stream might be transmitted within the same point-to-point-protocol connection between the customer premises equipment and the terminating broadband network gateway (BNG) or service edge node (for that customer or subscriber) that is also used for non-multicast, i.e. unicast, data.
In such a scenario, the request to deliver multicast packets is received by the terminating broadband network gateway or the service edge node through the point-to-point-protocol session, and the broadband network gateway or the service edge node performs the multicast replication itself.
However, as the multicast data plane traffic has to be handled by the broadband network gateway or the service edge node, this approach requires complex quality-of-service mechanisms to differentiate between multicast and unicast traffic—especially as multiple multicast streams might be delivered to the same subscriber at the same time.

Enhanced handling of multicast data streams within a broadband access network of a telecommunications network


The present invention discloses a lamp module. The lamp module includes a lamp frame for supporting a lamp and a fixing means for fixing the lamp and a reflector to the lamp frame. The fixing means includes a movable first fixing element and a movable second fixing element which both can be moved to a first position for releasing the reflector and a second position for fixing the reflector. The first fixing element includes at least one elastic element for fixing the reflector by pushing the reflector to securely keep at a static position relative to the lamp frame. The present invention provides the lamp and the reflector that can be detached from the lamp frame, thereby providing a lamp module capable of quickly and individually replacing the lamp and the reflector.

Generally, a lamp used in a projector and the other corrective components can constitute a lamp module. Refer to FIG. 1, a conventional lamp module includes a lamp 10, a reflector 11, a lamp frame 12, an electrical connector 13, and cables, etc., wherein some components are not shown in FIG. 1 because of view angle. The lamp 10 and the reflector 11 of the conventional lamp module cannot be individually replaced. Accordingly, when the lamp is broken or the lifetime of lamp ends, the whole lamp module must be abandoned and then replaced with a new lamp module. However, the lifetime of the lamp is shorter than the other components of the lamp module. Thus, it is wasted that useful components such as the lamp frame 12, the electrical connector 13, and the cables must be abandoned because of a broken lamp. Although R.O.C. Publication No. 522,284, entitled "Projection Type Display Device" (the U.S. counterpart patent, U.S. Pat. No. 6,345,896 B1, entitled "Projector capable of easily replacing and efficiently cooling light source") is disclosed a projection type display device capable of easily replacing a lamp module and efficiently cooling the lamp module and capable of facilitating a reduction in the size of the display device. An exhaust fan adjacent to the lamp module is fixed to a replacement cover. When moving the replacement cover, the lamp module can be easily attached or detached. However, the mentioned prior art still can not solve the problem of waste because of replacement of the whole lamp module.
According to new environmental protection rules of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) published by European Union (EU), components are repeatedly used so as to reduce waste. Throwing away the lamp module with the broken lamp and the useful components increases the waste and a maintenance charge.


This invention relates to the allocation of communication channels. The idea of the invention is to form different channel groups with a group specific identifier in the IP network side of a network element between a PSTN and IP network. Each group represents a certain type of channel, for example, alarm calls, area codes, companies, etc. The PSTN network side of the net-work element forms a single group due to the need of a unique SPC. A channel is associated with the right group according to the information of the calling or called party in the call signaling, such as an E.164 number or a signaling IP address. The information is linked to the group identifier.

Channel connections between a PSTN and IP network can be divided into two parts: signaling channel connections and payload channel connections. The network element, called gateway, between the PSTN and the IP network comprises a control part and a cross-connection part. The control part, which can be a separate element from the network element, receives the signaling, called SS7, from the PSTN network, converts it to the signaling used in the IP network, for example H.323, and vice versa. The control part also controls operations in the cross-connection part. The cross-connection part reserves and connects payload channels from PCM time-slots (a PSTN network) to IP packet streams (an IP network) and vice versa.
The control part has a unique SPC (Signaling Point Code) number for the needs of the SS7 signaling. Due to this, there is one control part per a cross-connection part. The cross-connection part of the gateway can also be divided into several units, each unit including a portion of the PSTN and IP channels. Each unit needs a separate control part. So, for example, a gateway with three cross-connection units needs three control parts. However, sometimes there are needs, such as cost-saving and maintenance, for using several cross-connection units under one control part. The objective of the invention is to make it, possible. This is achieved in a way described in the claims.

Channel allocation in a network element between at least two networks


An advanced process control (APC) method for controlling a width of a spacer in a semiconductor device includes: providing a semiconductor substrate; providing a target width of a gate; forming the gate on the semiconductor substrate, in which the gate has a measured width; depositing a dielectric layer covering the gate, in which the dielectric layer has a measured thickness; providing a target width of the spacer; determining a trim time of the dielectric layer based on the target width of the gate, the measured width of the gate, the target width of the spacer, and the measured thickness of the dielectric layer; and performing a trimming process on the dielectric layer for the determined trim time to form the spacer.

A semiconductor device typically includes a gate on a semiconductor substrate, spacers on sidewalls of the gate, and source and drain regions on opposed sides of the gate and in the semiconductor substrate. The width of the spacers determines the distance between the source and drain regions. Therefore, many functional device characteristics and parameters, such as the transistor saturation current, Isat, are highly dependent upon the spacer width. How to precisely produce the spacers having desired width becomes an important issue in the manufacturing process of the semiconductor device.
The spacers are conventionally produced by forming at least one dielectric layer over the gate, and performing an anisotropic dry etch process, so as to form the spacers along the sidewalls of the gate. Generally, etch time of the anisotropic dry etch process is determined by a thickness of the dielectric layer and a target spacer width. However, a variability of an actual width of the formed spacer between respective lots is still a problem needing to be addressed. Accordingly, there is a need for a method for accurately producing spacers with lower variability.

Advanced process control method for controlling width of spacer and dummy sidewall in semiconductor device

TAIWAN SEMINCONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.


To observe a catheter (43) advancing in a vessel system, a 3D model of the vessel system is reconstructed with the help of differently oriented X-ray projections (P1A, . . . ) generated by a C-arm system (20) during the injection of a contrast agent. Next, a movement corridor (M) of the catheter (43) is determined from the 3D model. During an examination procedure, current projections (P) are generated showing an image (43′) of the catheter that can be registered with the reconstructed 3D model and/or the movement corridor (M). Based on the registered catheter image and 3D model of the vessel geometry or the movement corridor (M), an optimal projection direction (dopt) is determined and the C-arm system (20) is controlled to orient the next projections in the optimal projection direction.

In radiological interventional procedures an instrument like a catheter is navigated through the body of a patient under continuous X-ray observation. The U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,680 describes for such procedures an examination apparatus that localizes the current position of the catheter tip with the help of radiofrequency markers and then positions the X-ray apparatus automatically in such a way that the catheter is always in the field of view. One disadvantage of this approach is the need of additional markers on the instruments. Moreover, the generated projections are often insufficient for the navigation of a catheter through a complicated vessel geometry.

Method and apparatus for the observation of a catheter within a vessel system


In an external memory interface circuit included in a signal processing circuit which is for processing an input signal by using an external memory, the external memory interface circuit carries out initialization of the external memory on reception of a clear signal. In the initialization, an end address detecting circuit detects an end address of an address signal generated by an address generator and produces an end address detection signal. A signal generating circuit continuously generates an enable signal, a write-in pulse signal, and an address increment pulse signal until the signal generating circuit receives the end address detection signal after reception of the clear signal. A reset signal generating circuit generates an address reset signal on reception of the enable signal. A write-in register successively produces zero data while the write-in register receives the enable signal to write the zero data in the external memory in synchronism with the write-in pulse signal. The address register produces address zero on reception of the address reset signal and increasing the address of the external memory one by one in response to the address increment pulse signal.

This invention relates to an external memory interface circuit included in a signal processing circuit which is for processing an input signal by using an external memory. Such a signal processing circuit is particularly useful in a voice signal processor of a microprogram control type for processing a voice signal.
In such a voice signal processor, it is often required to generate echo sound by processing an input signal, such as a voice signal, in order to obtain good sound effects. For this purpose, the voice signal processor comprises a signal processing circuit for processing the input signal and an external memory having a large capacity. The external memory is for giving a predetermined delay to the input signal. As well known in the art, the input signal having the predetermined delay is used for generating the echo sound.
The signal processing circuit is connected to an external central processing unit (CPU) and carries out a signal processing operation in accordance with a predetermined signal processing program. The predetermined signal processing program is transferred from the external central processing unit to the signal processing circuit on starting of the signal processing operation. In order to temporarily storing the predetermined signal processing program, the signal processing circuit comprises an instruction RAM (random access memory). The signal processing circuit further comprises an external memory interface circuit for carrying out input/output control of the input signal in the signal processing operation.
In the meanwhile, the external memory must be initialized previous to the signal processing operation. In initialization of the external memory, the signal processing circuit writes zero data in all addresses of the external memory by using the external memory interface circuit. The signal processing circuit carries out the initialization of the external memory in accordance with an initialization program. The initialization program is also transferred from the external central processing unit to the signal processing circuit and is temporarily stored in the instruction RAM. When the initialization completes, the initialization program in the instruction RAM is replaced by the predetermined signal processing program.
As apparent from the above description, the signal processing circuit requires the initialization program in order to carry out the initialization. Furthermore, the initialization program must be replaced by the predetermined signal processing program on completion of the initialization. This means that the signal processing circuit requires an extra or unnecessary time duration before the signal processing circuit starts the signal processing operation. In other words, the signal processing circuit requires an increased initialization time duration for carrying out the initialization. Moreover, the load on the external central processing unit increases because the external central processing unit must carry out transfer operation of the initialization program.

External memory interface circuit capable of carrying out initialization of external memory with a reduced initialization time duration


A breaker apparatus for preventing a power line carrier frequency from moving along a power supply lead. The breaker comprises a core member with a first leg, a second leg and a third leg where each leg extends between a top section and a bottom section of the core member. The top section and a first leg portion define a top core section and the bottom and a second leg portion define a bottom core section. The top and bottom core sections are separate sections. A first power supply line enters the core member from one of the sides of the core member and coils around the first leg of the core member and exits from the same side as entering the core member to form a first coil winding. A second power supply line enters the core member from the other remaining of the sides of the core member and winds around the third leg of the core member and exits from the same side as entering the core member to form a second coil winding. The first and the second power supply lines are connected to a power line carrier frequency generator of a home automation appliance. The breaker enables a power line carrier frequency entering the first coil and the second coil from the power supply to be blocked and a power line carrier frequency inputted by the home automation appliance to be blocked.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a power line carrier frequency breaker, and more particularly, to a power line carrier frequency breaker for blocking a power line carrier frequency from moving along a power supply lead.
Generally, the remote control of a home electric apparatus and a home electronic apparatus are performed by a home automation appliance. At this time, the home automation appliance utilizes a power line carrier frequency of, for example, 120 KHZ.+-.10 KHZ. Since the power line carrier frequency is used with a common voltage source, there is a disadvantage in that the home automation appliance fails to properly perform due to a flow-in or flow-out of the power line carrier frequency to or from another house through the power supply line.
For solving the above problem, a power line carrier frequency breaker is established on the lead-in line of a power supply line for blocking the power line carrier frequency and passing a normal frequency. However, since the voltage source has a high voltage and a high current in comparison to the voltage and current of the general electronic circuit, the general passive element constituting the power line carrier frequency breaker, that is a coil and condenser, must high voltage.
Further, the power line carrier frequency breaker has a large volume due to the construction of a multistage filter. Accordingly, there is a disadvantage in that the cost due to the separate construction increases and the aesthetic view near the breaker deteriorates.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to solve the problem set forth above and to provide a power line carrier frequency breaker which has low power consumption.
The preceding objects should be construed as merely presenting a few of the more pertinent features and applications of the invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to both the summary of the invention and the detailed description, below, which describe the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device including calibrating an ion implant process. The calibration includes forming a dielectric layer over a calibration substrate. A dopant is implanted into the dielectric layer. Charge is deposited on a surface of the dielectric layer, and voltage on the surface is measured. An electrical characteristic of the dielectric layer is determined, and a doping level of the dielectric layer is determined from the electrical characteristic. The electrical characteristic is associated with an operating set-point of the ion implant process. The calibrated ion implant process is used to implant the dopant into a semiconductor substrate.

As the size of MOS transistor features continues to shrink, some dopants used to fabricate the transistors are implanted at shallower depths. Specifically, so-called "ultra-shallow" junctions are thought to successfully improve device performance with scaling. These junctions generally provide better threshold voltage control, improve transistor performance, reduce CHC (Channel Hot Carrier) degradation and reduce parasitic capacitance.
In the past, an implant process could be characterized by physical contact with a metrology wafer into which the dopant is implanted using the production process. When the implant energy of a dopant is sufficiently high, and the implant depth sufficiently large, four-point measurement may be used to determine the resistivity of the metrology wafer. However, when the depth of the doped region is less than about the spacing between electrodes used for four-point measurement, electric field lines of the four-point probe may extend below the doped layer.
In this case the measured resistivity may be dominated by the undoped substrate below the doped layer. Thus, four-point measurement of test doped layers formed by shallow implants may not accurately represent the characteristics of the doped layer. As a result, sheet resistance measurements become unreliable for manufacturing purposes. This limitation is particularly applicable for shallow implants used in MOS transistor technology associated with a transistor gate length of about 45 nm or less.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a method of characterizing shallow junction implant processes that overcomes the limitations of the prior art.

Semiconductor device manufactured using a non-contact implant metrology


A compacting press for powdery to granular bulk materials, comprising two counterrotating rollers (1,2), arranged in one plane, which rollers (1,2) are held in a roller housing (11). At least one of the two rollers (1,2), preferably the top roller (1), is a loose roller which is flexibly supported by force generators (16,17). Each roller (1,2) at each of its two sides (1a, 1b, 2a, 2b) comprises its own electric motor drives (18a, 18b, 19a, 19b, 21a, 21b, 22a, 22b). The loose roller (1) bears these drives (21a, 21b, 22a, 22b). For easy installation and deinstallation, the roller housing (11) with a vertical design comprises two separate parts (11a, 11b), namely a bottom part (11b) comprising one roller (2) and a top part (11a) with the loose roller (1), wherein said top part (11a) is held by a swivel bearing (13) to the bottom part (11b) and is lockable. In this arrangement, the top part (11a) can be swiveled open by way of the swivel bearing (13).

The invention relates to a compacting press for powdery to granular bulk materials, comprising two counterrotating rollers, arranged in one plane, wherein said rollers are held in a roller housing by bearing blocks, with at least one of said rollers being a loose roller which is flexibly supported by force generators, with said rollers at each of their two sides comprising their own electric motor drives, wherein the drives of the loose roller are borne by said loose roller.
Compacting presses of this type are known (DE 37 31 934 A1). In these compacting presses, as a rule, bulk material is fed into the roller slit from a filling funnel by way of feed screws, which in the bulk material already build up a certain pressure. The rollers are driven by an electric motor from one side by way of a reducing power dividing gear. Since distribution of the bulk material fed into the roller slit is not even across the width of the roller, yet an essentially constant pressing force is desired across the width of the rollers, at least one roller is designed as a loose roller and is flexibly supported by force generators in a flexible manner. In the specified geometric shape this leads to a reduction in the torque load at the drive shafts of the rollers, and/or makes it possible to achieve better drive performance, or in the case of a specified throughput performance makes it possible to achieve smaller and thus more economical machines. Since the loose roller comprises its own drive on each of its two sides, said roller can move freely without the need of a power dividing gear, as would otherwise be usual in the case of stationary drives, which power dividing gear is commonly connected to the sides of the rollers by way of universally jointed shafts, with said power dividing gear being of elaborate construction and requiring considerable maintenance expenditure. Furthermore, because of the drives arranged on the sides of the rollers, there is no one-sided and thus uneven load being exerted on the rollers, so that an even pressing force across the width of the roller is ensured.


A new shipping and storage pallet for storing or moving cargo and freight. The device includes an integral deck member with a plurality of spaced apart elongate slat portions that extend between a pair of deck member longitudinal sides and which are arrayed between a pair of deck member lateral sides. Upper surfaces of the slat portions define a deck member top upon which items may be rested. A plurality of spaced apart elongate stringer portions extend from a deck member bottom defined by the lower surfaces of the slat portions. An elongate mounting tongue extends along the length of each deck member stringer portion. An integral base member includes a plurality of spaced apart elongate base slat portions. Each base slat portion extends between longitudinal sides of the base member. Lower surfaces of the base slat portions rest on a surface. Upper surfaces of the base slat portions define a base member top from which a plurality of base member base stringer portions extend. Each of the base member base stringer portions has an elongate mounting groove that extends along the length of the base stringer portion. Each mounting tongue of the deck member stringer portions is inserted into a mounting groove of a base member base stringer portion to form a plurality of complete stringer members. The deck member bottom is spaced apart from the base member top to define an entry space into which the forks of a forklift may be inserted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pallets and more particularly pertains to a new shipping and storage pallet for storing or moving cargo and freight.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of pallets is known in the prior art. More specifically, pallets heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art pallets include U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,396; U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,976; U.S. Pat. No. 5,365,859; U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,338; U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,052; and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 347,511.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new shipping and storage pallet. The inventive device includes an integral deck member with a plurality of spaced apart elongate slat portions that extend between a pair of deck member longitudinal sides and which are arrayed between a pair of deck member lateral sides. Upper surfaces of the slat portions define a deck member top upon which items may be rested. A plurality of spaced apart elongate stringer portions extend from a deck member bottom defined by the lower surfaces of the slat portions. An elongate mounting tongue extends along the length of each deck member stringer portion. An integral base member includes a plurality of spaced apart elongate base slat portions. Each base slat portion extends between longitudinal sides of the base member. Lower surfaces of the base slat portions rest on a surface. Upper surfaces of the base slat portions define a base member top from which a plurality of base member base stringer portions extend. Each of the base member base stringer portions has an elongate mounting groove that extends along the length of the base stringer portion. Each mounting tongue of the deck member stringer portions is inserted into a mounting groove of a base member base stringer portion to form a plurality of complete stringer members. The deck member bottom is spaced apart from the base member top to define an entry space into which the forks of a forklift may be inserted.
In these respects, the shipping and storage pallet according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of storing or moving cargo and freight.


An endovascular stent graft assembly (10) for use with abdominal aorta aneurysms (70) and having a main stent graft body (12) and a separate attachment graft tube (14) that extends proximally therefrom having the proximal attachment stent (50) thereon for infrarenal attachment of the assembly (10) to the aorta (74). A distal end portion (44) of the attachment graft tube (14) underlies the proximal end portion (30) of the main stent graft body (12) and presses outwardly there against forming a friction fit, at an overlapping region (64). The main stent graft body (12) has an ipsilateral leg (22) and a contralateral stump (24) at the bifurcation (26). After deployment of the attachment graft tube (14), the contralateral leg (16) is deployed at the contralateral stump to complete the stent graft assembly (10).

In recent years treatment of aneurysms has included the use of stent grafts that are emplaced within the vascular networks and that include one or more stents affixed to graft material. The stent grafts are secured at a treatment site by endovascular insertion utilizing introducers and catheters, whereafter they are enlarged radially and remain in place by self-attachment to the vessel wall. In particular, stent grafts are known for use in treating descending thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms where the stent graft at one end defines a single lumen for placement within the aorta and at the other end is bifurcated to define two lumens, for extending into the branch arteries.
One example of such a stent graft is disclosed in PCT Publication No. WO 98/53761 in which the stent graft includes a sleeve or tube of biocompatible graft material such as Dacron™ polyester fabric (trademark of E. I. DuPont de Nemours and Co.) or polytetrafluoroethylene defining a lumen, and further includes several stents secured therealong, with the stent graft spanning the aneurysm extending along the aorta proximally from the two iliac arteries; the reference also discloses the manner of deploying the stent graft in the patient utilizing an introducer assembly. The graft material-covered portion of the single-lumen proximal end of the stent graft bears against the wall of the aorta above the aneurysm to seal the aneurysm at a location that is spaced distally of the entrances to the renal arteries. Thin wire struts of a proximal stent extension traverse the renal artery entrances without occluding them, since no graft material is utilized along the proximal stent while securing the stent graft in position within the aorta when the stent self-expands. An extension is affixed to one of the legs of the stent graft to extend along a respective iliac artery and, optionally, extensions may be affixed to both legs. Another known stent graft is the Zenith AAA™ stent graft sold by William A. Cook Australia Pty., Brisbane, Australia.
In prior art stent grafts, graft fixation was achieved by fixation at the top or proximal end by barbs or by a stent portion that is uncovered by graft material and could be incorporated into the vessel wall. Distal end fixation was attained by friction within the branch or iliac arteries. The stents of the prior art stent grafts tended to be flexible and relatively soft. The proximal main tube graft was of a standardized length, and that length tended to be significantly shorter than the aneurysms themselves, while the full length was bridged and achieved by smaller diameter extensions or legs.
With the prior art stent grafts, certain late complications were common: due to the above-mentioned configuration there was a certain instability leading to kinking, obstruction of the lumen and/or disintegration leading to possible graft explantation, wherein the stent graft undesirably moved out of its intended position mostly due to larger displacement forces within the smaller diameter stent graft portions; material fatigue also occurred, leading to endoleak wherein blood flow continued into the aneurysm.