The present invention is directed to a novel compound, 2-mercapto-5-methyl-4-heptanone, a process of augmenting, enhancing or imparting taste to a material selected from the group consisting of a foodstuff, a chewing gum, a medicinal product, and toothpaste comprising the step of incorporating an olfactory acceptable amount of 2-mercapto-5-methyl-4-heptanone, and a process of improving, enhancing or modifying a fragrance formulation through the addition of an olfactory acceptable amount of 2-mercapto-5-methyl-4-heptanone.

There is an ongoing need in the fragrance industry to provide new chemicals to give perfumers and other persons the ability to create new fragrances for perfumes, colognes and personal care products. There is a similar ongoing need for new flavor and aroma compounds such as compounds that provide nutty and fruity sensation. Those with skill in the art appreciate how differences in the chemical structures of the molecules can result in significant differences in the odor, notes and characteristics. For example, small structural differences between close analogs would result in molecules with distinctive flavor properties. These distinctive properties can be highly valuable as they provide unique and distinguished characters to flavor compositions. However, many of these distinctive properties can also be undesirable and, thus, would render molecules not suited for flavor use.
It is well recognized by the art that whether a given molecule possesses useful flavor and fragrance properties and whether its synthesis can be carried out at a large scale to be suitable for commercial application are unpredictable. It requires undue experimentation to develop a particular molecule that meets the criteria of applicability based on the general knowledge in the art. For these reasons, a continuous and extensive effort has been made in the industry to search for novel molecules suitable for flavor and fragrance use that can be produced via an economical process.

2-mercapto-5-methyl-4-heptanone and its use in flavor and fragrance compositions

International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc.


A fluid injection apparatus for discharging a fluid against a surface in a controlled manner is disclosed. The fluid injection apparatus includes at least one fluid supply conduit, at least one rotatable and vertically-movable fluid injector provided in fluid communication with the fluid supply conduit and at least one fluid conduit provided in the fluid injector. By selective vertical movement of the fluid injector, each fluid conduit in the fluid injector can be selectively blocked from or provided in fluid communication with the fluid supply conduit to impart a desired flow configuration of a processing fluid against the surface. By selective rotational movement of the fluid injector, a rotational or swirling motion can be imparted to the fluid as it contacts the surface.

In the fabrication of semiconductor integrated circuits, metal conductor lines are used to interconnect the multiple components in device circuits on a semiconductor wafer. A general process used in the deposition of metal conductor line patterns on semiconductor wafers includes deposition of a conducting layer on the silicon wafer substrate; formation of a photoresist or other mask such as titanium oxide or silicon oxide, in the form of the desired metal conductor line pattern, using standard lithographic techniques; subjecting the wafer substrate to a dry etching process to remove the conducting layer from the areas not covered by the mask, thereby leaving the metal layer in the form of the masked conductor line pattern; and removing the mask layer typically using reactive plasma and chlorine gas, thereby exposing the top surface of the metal conductor lines. Typically, multiple alternating layers of electrically conductive and insulative materials are sequentially deposited on the wafer substrate, and conductive layers at different levels on the wafer may be electrically connected to each other by etching vias, or openings, in the insulative layers and filling the vias using aluminum, tungsten or other metal to establish electrical connection between the conductive layers.
Normally in etchers and other semiconductor processing tools such as those used for the deposition of thin films on wafers, gases in the form of chemicals or fluids are injected or flowed towards the wafer surface for etching or deposition purposes. The direction of flow and distribution of the fluid on the wafer surface influences the etching rate or deposition rate, as well as the CD (critical dimension) uniformity or film thickness uniformity. Conventional processing tools use a fixed-type fluid injector or plate which provides flow of the fluid against the wafer in a fixed direction or distribution pattern. Therefore, under circumstances in which there exists a need to adjust the flow and distribution of the fluid on the wafer surface for purposes of etching or deposition uniformity, such tools are unsuitable. Therefore, a new and improved fluid injection apparatus is needed to facilitate flow of processing fluids against a wafer surface in various flow and distribution patterns depending on the particular processing requirements.

Fluid injection apparatus for semiconductor processing

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A write element includes a first pole pedestal and a second pole pedestal opposing the first pole pedestal and defining a write gap between the first and second pole pedestals. A first layer of CoFeON is film positioned between the first pole pedestal and the write gap. A second layer of CoFeON film is positioned between the second pole pedestal and the write gap.

In a disk drive, a magnetic recording head is made of read and write elements. The write element is used to record and erase data bits arranged in circular tracks on the disk while the read element plays back a recorded magnetic signal. The magnetic recording head is mounted on a slider which is connected to a suspension arm, the suspension arm urging the slider toward a magnetic storage disk. When the disk is rotated the slider flies above the surface of the disk on a cushion of air which is generated by the rotating disk.
Write heads for disk or tape drives commonly include Permalloy (approximately 80% Ni and 20% Fe), which is formed in thin layers to create magnetic features. For example, an inductive head may have conductive coils that induce a magnetic flux in an adjacent Permalloy core, that flux employed to magnetize a portion or bit of an adjacent media. That same inductive head may read signals from the media by bringing the core near the magnetized media portion so that the flux from the media portion induces a flux in the core, the changing flux in the core inducing an electric current in the coils. Alternatively, instead of inductively sensing media fields, magnetoresistive (MR) sensors or merged heads that include MR sensors may use thinner layers of Permalloy to read signals, by sensing a change in electrical resistance of the MR sensor that is caused by the magnetic signal.
In order to store more information in smaller spaces, transducer elements have decreased in size for many years. One difficulty with this deceased size is that the amount of flux that needs to be transmitted may saturate elements such as magnetic pole layers, which becomes particularly troublesome when ends of the pole layers closest to the media, commonly termed poletips, are saturated. Magnetic saturation in this case limits the amount of flux that is transmitted through the poletips, limiting writing or reading of signals. Moreover, such saturation may blur that writing or reading, as the flux may be evenly dispersed over an entire poletip instead of being focused in a corner that has relatively high flux density. For these reasons the use of high magnetic moment materials in magnetic core elements has been known for many years to be desirable.
In order to write to higher coercivity media, which is more stable once written to, materials with higher magnetization are required to produce the necessary higher flux density. High magnetic moment materials allow application of higher flux density or higher field into the media, and thus enable writing to media having higher coercivity. High magnetic moment materials also allow the head to write a smaller bit, i.e., to write a higher bit density per length of track.
Iron is known to have a higher magnetic moment than nickel, so increasing the proportion of iron compared to nickel generally yields a higher moment alloy. Iron, however, is also more corrosive than nickel, which imposes a limit to the concentration of iron that is feasible. Also, it is difficult to achieve soft magnetic properties for iron-rich NiFe compared to nickel-rich NiFe. Nitrogen or nickel can be added to NiFe to reduce the magnetic hardness of the film, but the addition of these elements can dilute the magnetic moment significantly.
NiFe (80/20 Permalloy) is known to have a magnetization of 10 kGauss. CoFe alloys are known to a have a much higher magnetic moment, with a magnetization of about 24 kGauss. However, CoFe has only recently gained popularity as a construction material because it is magnetically hard, i.e., has a high coercivity so it requires a high magnetic field to switch direction. CoFe is also prone to corrosion.
What is needed is a CoFe based film which takes advantage of the high magnetization properties of CoFe, but which is also magnetically soft and therefore does not need a high current through the coils to switch the writer.
What is further needed is a CoFe based film which resists corrosion.

High magnetic moment Co-Fe-O-N films with soft magnetic properties

International Business Machines Corporation


An atomic force microscope and a method for detecting interactions between a probe and two or more sensed agents on a scanned surface and determining the relative location of two or more sensed agents is provided. The microscope has a scanning probe with a tip that is sensitive to two or more sensed agents on said scanned surface; two or more sensing agents tethered to the tip of the probe; and a device for recording the displacement of said probe tip as a function of time, topographic images, and the spatial location of interactions between said probe and the two or more sensed agents on said surface.

Atomic force microscopes (AFMs) are capable of producing images at molecular resolutions in water, making them a useful tool for biological and chemical imaging. AFMs, however, are limited because when complex samples are imaged, it is nearly impossible to differentiate between molecular targets, such as proteins, of the same molecular weight from the topographical image alone.
Recognition imaging is a technique that gives an AFM chemical sensitivity. U.S. Pat. No. 7,152,462, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses an atomic force microscope having an antibody tethered to the probe tip. The antibody tethered to an oscillating AFM sensing probe, binds to its antigen and changes the pattern of oscillation as the probe is scanned over the surface. A map of these changes, superimposed onto the topographic image, can show where the targets are located in the image.
FIGS. 1a and 1b show a typical prior art AFM configured for recognition imaging. The AFM's sensing probe consists of an oscillating cantilever 101 and a sensing agent 102 tethered to the probe's tip 107 by a short, flexible tether 108. The AFM contains a mechanism for recording the oscillation waveform detected as the probe is scanned across a surface 103. If the sensing agent 102 does not bind to a target on the surface 103, the waveform can look like the graph oscillation pattern 104 shown above FIG. 1a. If the sensing agent 102 does bind to a target on the surface 103, the waveform might look like the graph oscillation pattern 106 shown above FIG. 1b.
While a configuration such as the one shown in FIGS. 1a and 1b can provide a means for mapping compositions such as proteins on a nm-scale, it is limited to detecting only one target per image. A critical aspect of many chemical and biological systems lies in the relative spatial arrangement of different participants in the reactions or processes. Many biological pathways involve complex and so-called associated "co-factors," such as other proteins that must be recruited before an assembly becomes active. For example, in the case of a complex process like initiation of gene transcription, many factors must be recruited and assembled. Therefore, it is often important to know not only what factors are present individually in a sample, but also to know where one factor is positioned with respect to another.
In order to locate a different target using the systems and methods currently available in the art, the user must change the probe tip to one having a different sensing agent and then record a second image. Because of the time it takes to change the probe tip as well as the process of physically moving the tip, it is difficult, if not impossible, to draw any conclusions as to the relative locations of different targets based solely on the two recorded images. Statistical analysis of the two images can produce estimates as to the targets' relative positions, but such analysis is computationally complex and still only produces estimated results.
Therefore, there is a need in the art of recognition imaging for a probe that enables the determination of the relative locations of at least two different factors at once.

AFM for simultaneous recognition of multiple factors


The present invention relates to fibrous pulp comprising a combination of polypyridobisimidazole fibrous structures and fibrous structures derived from another polymer. The invention further relates to processes for making such pulp and articles comprising the pulp.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to fibrous pulp comprising a combination of polypyridobisimidazole fibrous structures and fibrous structures derived from another polymer. The invention further relates to processes for making such pulp and articles comprising the pulp
2. Description of Related Art
Fibrous and non fibrous reinforcement materials have been used for many years in friction products, fluid sealing products and other plastic or rubber products. Such reinforcement materials typically must exhibit high wear and heat resistance.
Polypyridobisimidazole polymer is a rigid rod polymer. Fiber made from this polymer (such as the polymer composition of which is referred to as PIPD and is known as the polymer used to make M5® fiber) is known to be useful in both cut and flame resistant protective apparel. Rigid-rod polymer fibers having strong hydrogen bonds between polymer chains, e.g., polypyridobisimidazoles, have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,674,969 to Sikkema et al. An example of a polypyridobisimidazole is poly(1,4-(2,5-dihydroxy)phenylene-2,6-pyrido[2,3-d:5,6-d′]bisimidazole), which can be prepared by the condensation polymerization of tetraaminopyridine and 2,5-dihydroxyterephthalic acid in polyphosphoric acid. Sikkema discloses that pulp can be made from these fibers. Sikkema also describes that in making one- or two-dimensional objects, such as fibers, films, tapes, and the like, it is desired that polypyridobisimidazoles have a high molecular weight corresponding to a relative viscosity ("Vrel" or "hrel") of at least about 3.5, preferably at least about 5, and more particularly equal to or higher than about 10, when measured at a polymer concentration of 0.25 g/dl in methane sulfonic acid at 25° C. Sikkema also discloses that good fiber spinning results are obtained with poly[pyridobisimidazole-2,6-diyl(2,5-dihydroxy-p-phenylene)] having relative viscosities greater than about 12, and that relative viscosities of over 50 (corresponding to inherent viscosities greater than about 15.6 dl/g) can be achieved.
Research Disclosure 74-75, published February 1980, discloses the manufacture of pulp made from fibrillated KEVLAR® brand para-aramid fibers of variable lengths and use of such pulp as a reinforcement material in various applications. This publication discloses that pulp made from KEVLAR® brand para-aramid fibers can be used in sheet products alone, or in combination with fibers of other materials, such as NOMEX® brand meta-aramid, wood pulp, cotton and other natural cellulosics, rayon, polyester, polyolefin, nylon, polytetrafluoroethylene, asbestos and other minerals, fiberglass and other, ceramics, steel and other metals, and carbon. The publication also discloses the use of pulp from KEVLAR® brand para-aramid fiber alone, or with KEVLAR® brand para-aramid short staple, in friction materials to replace a fraction of the asbestos volume, with the remainder of the asbestos volume being replaced by fillers or other fibers.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2003/0022961 (to Kusaka et al.) discloses friction materials made from a friction modifier, a binder and a fibrous reinforcement made of a mixture of (a) a dry aramid pulp and (b) wet aramid pulp, wood pulp or acrylic fiber pulp. Dry aramid pulp is defined as an aramid pulp obtained by "the dry fibrillation method". The dry fibrillation method is dry milling the aramid fibers between a rotary cutter and a screen to prepare the pulp. Wet aramid pulp is defined as an aramid pulp obtained by "the wet fibrillation method". The wet fibrillation method is milling short aramid fibers in water between two rotary discs to form fibrillated fibers and then dehydrating the fibrillated fibers, i.e., the pulp. Kusaka et al further disclose a method of mix-fibrillating fibers by first mixing plural types of organic fibers that fibrillate at a definite ratio, and then fibrillating the mixture to produce a pulp.
There is an ongoing need to provide alternative pulps that perform well in products and have an attractive cost to value relationship. Despite the numerous disclosures proposing alternative reinforcement materials, many of these proposed products do not adequately perform in use , cost significantly more than currently commercial products, or have other negative attributes. As such, there remains a need for reinforcement materials that exhibit improved value over other commercially available reinforcement materials in respect to high wear, strength and heat resistance at moderate cost.

Pulp comprising polypyridobisimidazole and other polymers and methods of making same


An image fusion method and an image processing apparatus are provided. A first image is generated based on a first photographing parameter, and a second image is generated based on a second photographing parameter. A first pixel reference value of each of first pixels is calculated by using a self-define mask according to color components and a luminance component of the first pixels on the first image. A second pixel reference value of each of second pixels is calculated by using the self-define mask according to color components and a luminance component of the second pixels on the second image. A synthesizing reference map recording a plurality of synthesizing weights is obtained by comparing the first pixel reference value and the corresponding second pixel reference value. A fusion image is obtained by synthesizing the first image and the second image according to the synthesizing reference map.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an image processing method, more particularly, to an image fusion method and an image processing apparatus.
Description of Related Art
With advancements in the optical projection technology, cameras having adjustable aperture, shutter or even replaceable lenses are gradually popularized, and functionalities of the cameras are also more diverse. In conventional optical systems, because multiple objects in a three-dimensional scene have different distances, a full resolution image cannot be obtained during the capturing process of one single shot. That is to say, under the restriction by optical characteristics of the lens, only one of depths can be selected while the digital camera is capturing images, and thus the objects with the other depths may be relatively more blurred in the image formation.
However, in the conventional method for generating the full resolution image, a color image file is usually converted into a gray scale file before performing analysis and fusion thereto. Because this kind of image fusion method often ignores information contained in color component, it is possible that the full resolution image being fused may not be as good as expected, or shows in poor quality. Further, in most of the current image fusion methods, because the fusion is performed in a manner of dividing the image into multiple blocks, not only is such image division difficult to implement but also likely to cause loss in detail parts for the image with complex picture composition. Furthermore, an amount of calculations for generating the full resolution image is also one of the major subjects to be concerned for person skilled in the art.

Image fusion method and image processing apparatus


Provided is a method of installing a bundle in an image forming apparatus operating based on a framework capable of sharing a function among a plurality of bundles. The method includes extracting related information between the bundle and another bundle from an XML file of any one bundle; and adding the extracted related information to a file including information of the bundle.

1. Field
Embodiments relate to an image forming apparatus operating based on an open service gateway initiative (OSGI) framework and a method of installing a bundle in the image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An open service gateway initiative (OSGI) framework is a middleware framework that is independently operated in an operating system and a platform. An OSGI framework implements a complete and dynamic component model that cannot be provided in standalone Java/Virtual Machine (VM) environments. In the OSGI framework, a service is formed and operated in units of bundles. In this instance, the bundle is a unit representing each component or application defined in the OSGI framework. The application consisting of at least one bundle can be dynamically installed, started, updated, stopped, and uninstalled at any time in the OSGI framework. As such, the OSGI framework can be used in various fields because of its functional convenience, for example, can also be used in an image forming apparatus. The bundle can also be used by exporting/importing a function of another bundle. Here, the exporting is an operation that opens a function so that another bundle can use the function, and the importing is an operation that refers to a function from another bundle. Thus, functions of bundles can be extended by being reused and recombined among the bundles. However, while a plurality of bundles refer to functions among one another, if an error is generated in one bundle and thus the bundle is not operated, all the connected bundles stop operating. As such, a reference state of the bundle needs to be analyzed in order to find a reason why the bundle does not operate, and the reference state of the bundles can be analyzed through an extensible markup language (XML) file that declared a referring interface. However, the XML file practically includes event information that is not required at runtime, and thus it is difficult to analyze the reference state between the bundles from the XML file.

Image forming apparatus operating based on framework capable of sharing function among a plurality of bundles and method of installing bundle in image forming apparatus


A data processor core 10 comprising: a memory access interface portion 30 operable to perform data transfer operations between an external data source and at least one memory 120 associated with said data processor core; a data processing portion 12 operable to perform data processing operations; a read/write port 40 operable to transfer data from said processor core to at least two buses 75A, 75B said at least two buses being operable to provide data communication between said processor core 10 and said at least one memory 120, said at least one memory 120 comprising at least two portions 120A, 120B, each of said at least two buses 75A, 75B being operable to provide data access to respective ones of said at least two portions 120A, 120B; arbitration logic 110 associated with said read/write port 40; wherein said arbitration logic is operable to route a data access request requesting access of data in one portion of said at least one memory received from said memory access interface to one of said at least two buses providing access to said one portion of said at least one memory and to route a further data access request requesting access of data in a further portion of said at least one memory received from said data processing portion to a further one of said at least two buses providing access to said further portion of said at least one memory, said routing of said data access requests being performed during the same clock cycle.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of data processing systems. More particularly, this invention relates to the field of data transfer requests.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In data processing systems it is often necessary to transfer data from one memory to another, or between an external data source and a memory associated with the data processor. For example, in boot up codes may be stored in a slow memory such as a Flash and prior to them being used, it may be desirable to transfer them to a faster instruction memory associated with the processor. Generally, such transfers occurs via the data processor core, with a load instruction specifying a location in the Flash memory from which the data is to be read and a register in the core to which the data item is to be written, and a store instruction specifying the register in the core and the destination location in the faster instruction memory. Such a transfer is fairly slow and is expensive in instructions, taking several instructions for each data item.
The problem of data transfers being relatively slow and expensive in instructions can be particularly acute in applications such as data logging, where large amounts of data may need to be transferred to memory via a processor, at any time.


An insulated gate bipolar transistor having a low on-voltage and a low turn-off time is provided. P-type anode layer having a low impurity concentration, preferably 1.times.10.sup.16 to 1.times.10.sup.1 7/cm.sup.3, is provided on an N-type drain layer that includes a pair of P-type base regions each having an N.sup.+ -type source region. A plurality of P.sup.+ -type anode regions are formed in the P-type anode layer.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power semiconductor device and, more particularly, to an IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) having a high breakdown voltage of 1,200 V or more.
Description of the Related Art
A conventional IGBT has a sectional structure as shown in FIG. 6, and its basic operation is described in Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. 57-120369 in detail.
An N-channel IGBT formed in a silicon substrate will be described with reference to FIG. 6.
A semiconductor substrate 1 consists of a P.sup.+ -type anode layer 11 having a thickness of about 150 .mu.m and an impurity concentration of about 10.sup.20 /cm.sup.3, and an N.sup.- -type drain layer 12 formed on a first major surface of the anode layer 11. The N.sup.- -type drain layer 12 includes a pair of P-type base regions 13 in which an annular N.sup.+ -type source region 14 is provided. A polysilicon gate electrode 16 is provided on the substrate surface through a thin oxide film 15. A source electrode 17 is provided to short-circuit the source and base regions 14 and 13. A gate electrode 18 is provided on the polysilicon gate electrode 16, and an anode electrode 19 is formed on the lower surface of the P.sup.+ -type anode layer 11.
In the IGBT having this structure, when the gate electrode 16 is kept at a negative potential while grounding the source electrode 17 and applying a positive voltage to the anode electrode 19, the IGBT assumes an off-state. When a positive potential is applied to the gate electrode 16, an inversion channel layer is produced in the surface layer of the P-type base region 13, as in other conventional IGBTs. Therefore, electrons flow from the source region 14 into the surface layer of the drain layer 12 through the inversion channel layer to provide an electron accumulation layer. The electrons are further moved toward the anode electrode 19 through the drain layer 12 by the voltage applied between the source and the anode, thereby providing a forward-biased condition between the P.sup.+ -type anode layer 11 and the N.sup.- -type drain layer 12. Holes are then injected from the P.sup.+ -type anode layer 11 to the N.sup.- -type drain layer 12 to modulate the conductivity of the N.sup.- -type drain layer 12 and to turn on the IGBT. In this state, when the gate electrode 18 is returned to zero or negative potential, the channel is closed and the off-state is again obtained.
In the IGBT, however, a part of the minority carriers (holes) injected from the anode layer 11 to the drain layer 12 are undesirably accumulated in the drain layer 12 as excessive minority carriers. Accordingly, in order to turn off the IGBT, even if the gate voltage is set to zero to close the channel, thus stopping the flow of the electrons, the IGBT is not turned off until the accumulated minority carrier are removed from the drain layer 12. Furthermore, in this IGBT, when the electrons present in the drain layer 12 pass through the anode layer 11 during the turn-off operation, a new hole injection is induced from the anode layer 12 to increase the turn-off time. As a result, the current flowing through the IGBT is increased by about 10 times that of a conventional vertical MOSFET. However, the turn-off time is increased to about 10 times or more. In the case where such an IGBT is applied to switching devices, e.g., an inverter, its application is quite limited because a long turn-off time prevents an increase in the switching frequency.
For improving the turn-off time of the IGBT, it has been known to reduce the carrier life time. The carrier life time can be reduced by diffusing a heavy metal, e.g., Au, Pt, etc., into a desired semiconductor region, or by applying a radiation, e.g., a neutron beam, a gamma-ray, an electron beam, etc., thereto. In this case, however, although the turn-off time is improved, the degree of the conductivity modulation is degraded, so that the low on-resistance characteristic that is the greatest advantage of the IGBT is deteriorated. It may be also considered to decrease the impurity concentration of the P.sup.+ -type anode layer 11 in order to suppress the hole injection from the anode. When, however, the impurity concentration of the P.sup.+ -type anode layer 11 is decreased, the contact resistance with the metal electrode is increased to increase the on-resistance of the device. When the high breakdown voltage of 1,200 V or more is required for the IGBT, it is necessary that the N.sup.` -type drain layer has a very low impurity concentration of about 5.times.10.sup.13 /cm.sup.3 and a thickness of 100 .mu.m or more. However, it is difficult to stably provide such a drain layer according to present epitaxial growth techniques. Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. 2-7569 discloses that a double diffusion type DMOS structure is provided in one surface of a lightly doped N.sup.- -type semiconductor substrate and that a P.sup.+ -type anode layer is formed in the other surface by ion implantation techniques. However, since the P.sup.+ -type anode layer has a very shallow junction depth of about 1 .mu.m, the structure can be easily influenced by the surface state, and stable characteristics cannot be obtained.

Insulated gate bipolar transistor having high breakdown voltage


A case includes first and second halves, each having an opening in its one side, combined together with the openings opposed to each other. A moving member is accommodated within the case and slidingly movable along a movement guide. An operator is connected to the moving member. The operator has a proximal end connected to the moving member, a free end projecting outwardly from an upper surface of the case, and a bent portion bent between the both ends. Tops of the first and second halves are displaced from each other, in a direction vertical to the upper surface, to form a gap permitting entry of the operator. Edge regions of the tops of the both halves overlap with each other in the direction vertical to the upper surface, and the bent portion is bent so that the free end projects outwardly through the gap in the overlapping regions.

The present invention relates to a sliding operating device which can be suitably used to set a parameter or the like, corresponding to user's operation, by moving an operating-position setting section (moving member) in response to operation of a sliding-type operator and detecting a position of the operating-position setting section.
Examples of the conventionally-known sliding operating devices for use in mixing consoles etc. include the one disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3273422. The disclosed sliding operating device integrally includes a lever having a knob portion and a slider holder for holding slider pieces opposed to a resistor board. The lever and slider holder are slidably supported on guide shafts. Through manual operation of the knob portion or through driving by a motor, the slider holder moves so that a parameter or the like is set in accordance with a position of the slider pieces relative to the resistor board.
Further, in the sliding operating device disclosed in the No. 3273422 patent, one side of a motor drive unit is superposed on one cover half, the other side of the motor drive unit is superposed on the other cover half, and the two cover halves are secured together by means of screws. In such a state, the resistor board and almost all component parts of the motor drive unit are accommodated within the two cover halves, but the knob portion of the lever and guide hole of the lever project through an upper end gap of the two cover halves. Blindfold plate is inserted in the guide hole to cover the upper end gap of the two cover halves, and holders are screwed to left and right side surfaces of the cover halves so that the blindfold plate is fixed at its opposite ends to the holders.
With the conventionally-known sliding operating devices, the knob portion to be moved by a human operator projects beyond a console panel, and thus, it is absolutely necessary to form grooves in the upper surface of the sliding operating device and console panel surface along the moving direction of the knob portion. Thus, there is a need to take some anti-dust measures so that interior mechanisms and detection accuracy of the device are not influenced even when dust enters through the grooves.
With the arrangements disclosed in the No. 3273422 patent, it is possible to prevent dust, having entered through the grooves, from directly falling onto the motor drive unit; however, if dust accumulates in the interior, there is a possibility of the detection accuracy etc. being influenced. Further, with the disclosed arrangements, the guide hole must be formed in the lever to permit passage of the blindfold plate, and thus, if dust accumulates between the guide hole and the blindfold plate, sliding operability of the device would be adversely influenced. Further, the disclosed device presents the problems that the lever, requiring formation of the guide hole, and the mechanism composed of the lever and blindfold plate tend to be complicated in construction, so that the operability would suffer from aged deterioration and the necessary cost would increase.


A sandwich solenoid manifold assembly is provided which includes a steel plate having a plurality of fluid passages formed therethrough, a plastic manifold including a plurality of worm passages formed in a lower surface thereof and a plurality of insert receiving holes provided therein. The lower surface of the plastic manifold being connected to the steel plate. A plurality of steel inserts are inserted in the through holes in the plastic manifold, the steel inserts having a first end provided with a radial flange which abuts against a surface of the plastic manifold and a second end which abuts against the steel plate. The sandwich solenoid manifold assembly is less expensive to manufacture in comparison with conventional die cast solenoid manifolds.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solenoid manifold assembly. More particularly, the present invention relates to a sandwich solenoid manifold assembly including a steel plate and a plastic manifold having worm passages in a surface thereof and a plurality of insert receiving holes provided therethrough for receiving a plurality of steel inserts having a first end provided with a radial flange which abuts against a surface of the plastic manifold and a second end which abuts against the steel plate.
2. Description of Background Art
Virtually all complex hydraulically-controlled automotive transmissions are now equipped with a solenoid manifold which includes a plurality of solenoid valves that can be selectively actuated for providing hydraulic fluid to the clutches, brakes and other hydraulically actuated components of the hydraulically controlled automotive transmission in order to obtain a plurality of transmission gear ratios. Conventionally, die-cast type solenoid manifolds have been used in the art. These die-cast type solenoid manifolds generally include a plurality of worm passages provided on a surface of the die-cast solenoid manifold. This surface of the die-cast solenoid manifold is designed to be mounted to a corresponding interface of a hydraulically controlled automotive transmission.
The interface of the hydraulically controlled automotive transmission includes a plurality of input and output fluid passages which correspond with said plurality of worm passages in the manifold. A plurality of solenoid valves are disposed on the die-cast solenoid manifold in order to open or close the fluid passages defined by the worm passages formed in the first surface of the solenoid manifold. The opening and closing of the fluid passages generally provides fluid or shuts off fluid supplied for engaging or disengaging transmission clutches. The fluid supplied through the fluid passages may also be utilized for actuating other hydraulically actuated components in the hydraulic lines of the hydraulically controlled automotive transmission.
The conventional die-cast solenoid manifold designs were heretofore the primary design for solenoid manifolds because the die-cast solenoid manifolds are capable of withstanding the greater than 1500 p.s.i. which is utilized in a hydraulically controlled transmission of an automotive vehicle.
A problem with the die-cast solenoid manifolds is that they are very complicated and expensive to manufacture. A large factor in the high cost of die-cast solenoid manifolds is that each die-cast solenoid manifold requires several post machining operations. In addition, the dies required for manufacturing the die-cast solenoid manifolds are complex in design and are also very expensive.
Another problem with conventional die-cast solenoid manifolds is that they are very heavy. It is a growing trend in the automotive industry to reduce the total weight of a vehicle. The goal of weight reduction is driven in large part by increased governmental standards on fuel economy.
It is therefore desirable to provide a manifold assembly having a low overall cost, requires no post machining operations, provides a reduction in weight and increases the ability to place solenoid valves independent of customer interface requirements.


A stepping exercise machine has a frame, a transmission assembly, a resistance fan and two stepping assemblies. The frame has a base, a supporting bar, a mounting bracket and an oblique auxiliary bar. The transmission assembly is mounted on the supporting bar of the frame. The resistance fan is mounted rotatably on the transmission assembly and is able to be driven by the transmission assembly to create airflow. The stepping assemblies are mounted on the frame, are connected to the transmission assembly and are able to drive the transmission assembly to rotate the resistance fan. The resistance fan improves exercise intensity of a user.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exercise machine, and more particularly to a stepping exercise machine that allows a user to do efficient stepping exercise thereon. A resistance fan mounted on the stepping exercise machine is rotated with stepping force derived from the user and creates airflow that exerts an opposite reaction force on the resistance fan, which causes a resistance against the user and improves the user's workout efficiency.
2. Description of Related Art
Moderns live busy lives and are limited by cramped space and bad weather, which causes most of them do less exercise than required for health. Therefore, lots of exercise product manufacturers have developed various stationary bicycles, treadmills, stepping machines for people to exercise indoors without be restricted by space and weather.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a stepping exercise machine to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.


An apparatus and method for protecting against the problems associated with heave of a floating drilling rig are disclosed. The disclosed invention is a unique inline compensator in which a plurality of cylinders housed within a tubular housing and a plurality of low pressure and high pressure accumulators function together to provide a system for compensating for heave in the event a primary heave compensation system fails or becomes inoperative. The typical inline compensator of the present invention utilizes a plurality of hydraulic cylinders that act in opposite directions and that have different piston areas such that the piston rods of the cylinders are extended or retracted at different pressure levels to account for heave. The typical inline compensator of the present invention is self-contained and compact enough to fit in the limited space available on a floating drilling structure. Further, a pair of inline compensators of the present invention can be utilized with coiled tubing operations. In such a case, the inline compensators will not interfere with the tooling necessary to conduct the coiled tubing operations.

Drilling for oil and gas off-shore is completed from one of two types of drilling rigs: rigs that are supported by the sea floor (such as fixed drilling rigs or jack-up drilling rigs) or rigs that float on the surface of the water (such as drill ships or semi-submersible drilling rigs). Although drilling operations conducted from these two types of drilling rigs are similar, at least one major difference exists: drill ships or semi-submersible drilling rigs move with the waves of the sea, while fixed or jack-up drilling rigs remain fixed to the sea floor.
The movement of drill ships or semi-submersible drilling rigs with the waves of the sea presents a unique problem in drilling with these types of rigs. First, in any drilling operation conducted from floating rigs, compensation for the rig's tendency to heave—that is move up and down with the waves—must be accounted for. In particular, as the floating rig moves up and down, the drill string and drill bit extending below the rig will also move up and down. For a drill bit to perform as efficiently as possible, the desired or optimum weight on the drill bit—i.e., the downward force applied to the bit—must be kept as constant as possible. Heave, however, removes weight from the drill bit as the ship or rig rides to the crest of a wave, and puts weight back on the drill bit as the ship or rig rides down into the trough between waves. This fluctuation in the force applied on the drill bit severely hinders an operator's ability to drill the well bore. See Ron Baker, A Primer of Offshore Operations, pgs. 55–63 (Univ. of Texas Petroleum Extension Servs., 2nd Ed., 1985).
Perhaps more importantly, heave creates the potential for blowouts due to a potential fracturing or breaking of the production tubing during testing, workover, or completion operations. Specifically, once the well bore has been drilled, the oil and gas reserves are brought up to the floating rig through production tubing that runs from the rig to the producing zones of the well bore—typically thousands of feet below the sea floor. The string of production tubing consists of dozens, if not hundreds, of joints of tubing—typically approximately 30 feet in length each—connected together. The production tubing is supported by and is kept in tension by the drill hook and drawworks on the drilling rig to keep the string from buckling.
The production tubing is typically held in place within the well bore by one or more production packers. Because the production tubing is held in place within the well bore, any rise of the floating drilling rig due to heave will increase the tension on the production tubing string and could cause the string to fracture or break. A fracturing or breaking of the production tubing string would allow the oil or gas within the tubing to leak, creating the potential for a blowout.
To account for the problems associated with heave, floating drilling rigs are equipped with a heave compensation system. The heave compensation system is typically in the form of an active heave drawworks system or a system that is an integral part of the drilling derrick or mounted directly on an extension of the traveling block. When functioning properly, these primary heave compensation systems are capable of protecting against the effects of heave. However, prior art floating drilling rigs are generally not equipped with a back-up, or secondary, heave compensation system that operates in the event the primary heave compensation system is not functioning properly or becomes inoperative. In such a situation, the floating drilling rig will have no way to compensate for heave.
One possible reason why back-up heave compensation systems have not previously been utilized on drill ships or semi-submersible drilling rigs is the limited space available on the derrick of such floating rigs. Further, the possible locations on the drilling derrick or drill floor that a back-up heave compensation system can be placed is limited by the necessity to allow access to the production tree on the drilling rig. Such access is necessary to conduct numerous drilling operations, including the potential for conducting coiled-tubing operations. These space and placement limitations are likely a significant part of the reason why prior art floating drilling rigs have heretofore not been equipped with a back-up heave compensation system.
Accordingly, what is needed is a heave compensation system that acts as a back-up system to the primary heave compensation system and that is compact enough to fit in the limited space available on a floating drilling rig. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a heave compensation apparatus that is normally static when the primary heave compensation system is operative, but becomes operative if the primary heave compensation system malfunctions or becomes inoperative. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a back-up heave compensation system that is compact and self-contained such that it can be installed in the limited space available on a floating drilling rig. Those and other objectives will become apparent to those of skill in the art from a review of the specification below.

Inline compensator for a floating drill rig


The invention is a tool having contoured opposing jaws for fully engaging hexagonally shaped fasteners on at least four sides for any fastener within the operating range of the tool. The jaws include a two-surfaced jaw and an opposingly disposed three-surfaced jaw. The jaw surfaces are configured and positioned relative to one another in such a way as to maintain a shape which conforms to that of the fastener's hexagonal shape during adjustment.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clamping or holding apparatus having movably positionable jaws. More particularly, the present invention relates to a tool, such as a wrench, having a set of opposingly located, positionable jaws. The jaws have jaw surfaces which are uniquely configured and positioned such that the jaw surfaces may fully engage five full sides of the smallest hexagonally shaped object within the operating range of the tool and at least four full sides of subsequently larger objects within the operating range of the tool.
2. Description of Prior Art
The prior art consists of a wide variety of wrenches employing jaws in which an effort has been made to improve the tool's effectiveness in gripping standard hexagonally shaped objects, such as nuts and bolts which are commonly referred to as fasteners. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,667 (Caballero), an adjustable wrench having movable V-shaped jaws for securing the workpiece is disclosed. (Col. 1, lines 37-47). While an improvement, this tool is primarily designed to partially engage four sides of the hexagonally shaped fastener by engaging two opposing a pieces of the fastener (Col. 3, lines 35-41). Because this jaw configuration only partially engages four opposing sides of a fastener at two opposite a pieces, unwanted rounding off of the a pieces can occur when sufficient torque is applied to the tool.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,239,899 (Baker) is another attempt to prevent the rounding off of the fastener's a pieces by providing curved drive surfaces. (Col. 2, lines 15-25). By design, the jaws of this tool do not engage the fastener's a pieces and are limited to engaging two opposing sides of the fastener.

Tool having jaws for gripping hexagonally shaped objects


A seal and protection system and method for use with a drain body to protect components of the drain body from damage during construction and eliminate trip hazards to a user created by an opening of the drain body is provided. The system also permits the user to test the drain body for leaks. The system includes a gasket coupled to the drain body opening, and a circular cover coupled to the gasket and having a beveled outer edge, a top face and a bottom face, the bottom face having a plurality of inner ribs disposed thereon and radially spaced apart such that each inner rib of the plurality of inner ribs is equidistant from each adjacent inner rib. The beveled outer edge of the cover conforms to contours of the drain body and extends to enclose the opening of the drain body, thereby sealing and protecting the drain body.

The embodiments herein relate generally to drain bodies of commercial buildings.
Commercial buildings typically have a plurality of drain bodies in the floor connected to the plumbing system. During the construction of a building and/or project, the drain body and other components such as the clamp ring are exposed. This is problematic because environmental elements such as rain and snow can rust, damage and/or cause premature wear to the clamp ring or other drain body components. In addition, the exposed drain body opening presents a tripping hazard to individuals present on the construction site.
As such, there is a need in the industry for a drain body seal and protection system that protects the components of the drain body when a building is constructed and eliminates tripping hazards posed to individuals caused by the exposed drain body opening. There is a further need for a drain body seal and protection system that permits individuals to test the drain body for leaks without the need for additional components and/or expensive labor costs.

Drain body seal and protection system and method


Illustrative embodiments are directed to applying a nuclear magnetic resonance sequence to a substance within an inhomogeneous static magnetic field. Various embodiments include applying a series of refocusing pulses to the substance, each refocusing pulse in the series of refocusing pulses having at least two segments, and a total pulse duration less than or equal to approximately 1.414 times T180. Various embodiments can further include applying an excitation pulse to the substance in the inhomogeneous static magnetic field, where the excitation pulse generates an initial magnetization that is aligned with a refocusing axis produced by a refocusing cycle that is performed after the excitation pulse.

General background of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) well logging is set forth, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,551. Briefly, in conventional NMR operation, the spins of nuclei align themselves along an externally applied static magnetic field. This equilibrium situation can be disturbed by a pulse of an oscillating magnetic field (e.g. a radio frequency (RF) pulse), which tips the spins away from the static field direction. After tipping, two things occur simultaneously. First, the spins precess around the static field at the Larmor frequency, given by ω0=γ×B0, where B0 is the strength of the static field and γ is the gyromagnetic ratio. Second, the spins return to the equilibrium direction according to a decay time T1, which is called the longitudinal relaxation time constant or spin lattice relaxation time constant. For hydrogen nuclei, γ/2π=4258 Hz/Gauss, so, for example, for a static field of 235 Gauss, the frequency of precession would be 1 MHz. Also associated with the spin of molecular nuclei is a second relaxation time constant, T2, called the transverse relaxation time constant or spin-spin relaxation time constant. At the end of a ninety degree tipping pulse, all the spins are pointed in a common direction perpendicular to the static field, and they all precess at the Larmor frequency. The net precessing magnetization decays with a time constant T2 because the individual spins rotate at different rates and lose their common phase. At the molecular level, dephasing is caused by random motions of the spins. The magnetic fields of neighboring spins and nearby paramagnetic centers appear as randomly fluctuating magnetic fields to the spins in random motion. In an inhomogeneous field, spins at different locations precess at different rates. Therefore, in addition to the molecular spin-spin relaxation of fluids, spatial inhomogeneities of the applied field also cause dephasing. Spatial inhomogeneities in the field can be due to microscopic inhomogeneities in the magnetic susceptibility of rock grains or due to the macroscopic features of the magnet.
A widely used technique for acquiring NMR data, both in the laboratory and in well logging, uses an RF pulse sequence known as the CPMG (Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill) sequence. As is well known, after a wait time that precedes each pulse sequence, a ninety degree pulse causes the spins to start precessing. Then a one-hundred-eighty degree pulse is applied to cause the spins which are dephasing in the transverse plane to refocus. By repeatedly refocusing the spins using one-hundred-eighty-degree pulses, a series of "spin echoes" appear, and the train of echoes is measured and processed. The transverse relaxation time constant, T2, or the distribution of multiple T2s, can be obtained using this technique. In well logging, the CPMG sequence is traditionally executed using a set of equipment located "down-hole" in a well bore (in situ). While performing the CPMG sequence in situ allows for relatively rapid data gathering, limitations of the equipment and the environment can make it difficult to obtain accurate down-hole data. For example, due to the limits on equipment power, design constraints and down-hole conditions, the signal to noise ratio (SNR) for an in situ CPMG sequence remains low. This low SNR can impede the gathering and analysis of useful data about the formation in the ground.

Refocusing pulses and excitation pulses for NMR logging


A portable measurement system is provided comprising a probe, two trackers, a receiver and a pod. A user interface control captures a location and position of the probe in a three-dimensional sensing space with respect to a coordinate system of the receiver from time of flight waveform analysis. The system suppresses a ringing portion of the received ultrasonic and minimizes distortion associated with ultrasonic transducer ring-down during high-resolution position tracking of the probe and the two trackers. Media is presented according to a customized use of the probe and two trackers during an operation workflow.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to medical interface devices, and more specifically to electronics for orthopedic instrumentation and measurement.
2. Introduction
Clinicians rely on information during an operative workflow. Such media may be in various visual and auditory formats. As sophisticated instruments are introduced in the clinical environment, clinicians may experience a learning curve for user interface applications.
A need exists for customizing the user experience to facilitate instrument use during operative workflow.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and system for media presentation during operative workflow


A printing control apparatus includes a split printing control section configured to split a region that is printable in one band into a plurality of regions according to a predetermined number of splits, and configured to carry out interlace printing in each of split regions on an outward path and a return path. The split printing control section is further configured to determine whether there is data where dots are applied in a region in a vicinity of a boundary of two of the split regions, which includes at least one of the two of the split regions that are adjacent to each other, based on printing data for each of the split regions, and configured to carry out printing by making the number of splits an odd number of times in a case where there is data where dots are applied.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a printing control apparatus and a printing control method where split printing is carried out with a width of one band.
2. Related Art
There is disclosed a technique for split printing where printing is carried out by a plurality of times of scanning (multipass scanning) irrespective of printing being theoretically possible in one pass. As disclosed in JP-A-2006-326939 (PTL 1), an amount of ink flow is reduced by increasing the number of passes in multipass scanning when the remaining amount of ink is less than a threshold.

Printing control apparatus and printing control method


An electromechanical switch includes a main contact provided with a number of main fixed contacts and a mobile main contact bridge; an auxiliary contact which precedes the main contact in the switch-on process and includes a number of auxiliary fixed contacts and a mobile auxiliary contact bridge; and a contact bridge carrier for actuating the main contact bridge and the auxiliary contact bridge. At least one of the contact parts is spring-mounted. The electromechanical switch has two stable positions of the auxiliary contact bridge or the auxiliary fixed contact. During the switching on process carried out by actuation of the contact bridge carrier via the auxiliary contact bridge or an auxiliary fixed contact in the first stable position, the auxiliary contact closes before the main contact, and during the switching off process by actuation of the contact bridge carrier in the opposite direction, the auxiliary contact with the auxiliary contact bridge or the auxiliary fixed contact in the second stable position opens before the main contact.

A switching device is known, for example, from DE 31 05 117 C2. The switching device known from DE 31 05 117 C2 has main contacts and leading contacts, also referred to as auxiliary contacts, which are interconnected with series damping resistors given a capacitive load.
The same also applies, for example, to a capacitor contactor known from DE 197 29 595 C1. When the switching device or capacitor contactor is switched on, initially the auxiliary contacts close such that a connected capacitor is initially pre-charged via the series damping resistors. This weakens the switch-on current peak when the main contacts close.
When the switching device is switched off, initially the main contacts open and thus disconnect such that there is virtually no current. Overall, switch-on arcs thus predominantly occur at the main contacts. Since such switch-on arcs lead to changes in the contact pieces, the risk of wear is increased. Furthermore, when the switching device is switched off, a relatively long arc-burning period results at the main contacts, which form a zero-current interrupter, as a result of which the life of the device is shortened.
In order to counteract these disadvantages, the actuation of the main contacts could be decoupled from the actuation of the auxiliary contacts. This would, however, require the switching mechanism to have a relatively complex design.


A rotor has magnetic poles and a stator has the same number of teeth. Each tooth has first and second side portions in first and second directions in a circumferential direction, and a tooth tip facing the rotor. First and second protruding portions protrude in the first and second directions from the first and second side portions on the tooth tip side. The tooth tip has a first end having a gap G1 with the rotor and a second end having a gap G2 (>G1) with the rotor. A reference line passes through a rotation axis and perpendicular to a radial straight line passing through a middle position between both side portions. From the reference line, a distance D1 a border between the first protruding portion and the first side portion is longer than a distance D2 to a border between the second protruding portion and the second side portion.

In a single-phase motor of an inner rotor type, the number of teeth included in a stator is generally the same as the number of magnetic poles of a rotor. When the rotation of the motor stops, tips of the teeth are positioned to face corresponding surfaces of the magnetic poles of the rotor by a magnetic attraction force. At the start of the rotation of the motor, a magnetic field is generated by a current flowing through coils of the stator to rotate the rotor by a magnetic repulsion force.
Meanwhile, in a case where the tip of each tooth has a symmetrical shape in a circumferential direction, it is not determined whether the rotor rotates either clockwise or counterclockwise when the magnetic field of the stator is generated. For this reason, in a motor disclosed in patent reference 1, a tip extension portion protruding in one direction (for example, in a clockwise direction) in the circumferential direction is formed at the tip of the tooth.

Motor, fan, electric vacuum cleaner, and hand drier


A transverse axis tubular hub (24) couples each propulsion unit (4) to the vehicle body (2), and supplies signals representative of the forces that it transmits. A tilt motor (22) of the propulsion unit bears on the hub to tilt the propulsion units about a transverse axis, on which a drive motor is disposed.

An important property of a vehicle of this kind is its ability to travel over rough ground. The obstacles to be surmounted in this case can be of highly diverse forms, for example a staircase designed for humans which the vehicle must travel up or down, or a pipe fallen onto a floor. There are two main aspects to the security of such vehicles when surmounting such obstacles. One is stability, i.e., the ability of the vehicle not to topple over due to its own weight and that of its payload. The other is grip and relates to each of the propulsion units of the vehicle, i.e., the members which rest on the ground to support and displace or immobilize the vehicle. The "grip" of a propulsion unit is its ability not to slip excessively in contact with the ground, even if the surface state of the ground is locally unfavorable.
Another important property of a vehicle of this kind is its compactness: its overall dimensions, especially in the transverse and longitudinal directions, must preferably be sufficiently small for the vehicle to travel through narrow passages or corridors in a building designed only to admit a human operator
Another important property is that the vehicle should be as light as possible
Various vehicles have been designed to have a good ability to surmount obstacles safely.
A known vehicle has four tracked propulsion units which can tilt relative to the vehicle body. The track on each propulsion unit is guided by a number of guide members, including two sprocket wheels one of which is a drive sprocket wheel for driving the track. These units are carried by a propulsion unit body which is assembled to the vehicle body in such a way as to enable the propulsion unit to tilt about a transverse axis. The vehicle body carries drive and tilt motors for rotating the drive sprocket wheels through mechanical transmission systems and for driving the tilting movements of the propulsion units, respectively. These motors are provided with brakes for controlling these movements. The vehicle body further carries batteries for supplying electrical power and motor control means.
This known vehicle was designed by the Japanese company Mitsubishi and is known as the MRV (Multifunctional Robot Vehicle). It is described on pages 425 and 426 of the report on the "85 ICAR International Conference on Advanced Robotics, Sep. 9-10, 1985, Tokyo, Japan, organized by: Robotics Society of Japan, The Society of Biomechanisms, Japan Industrial Robot Association".
This prior art vehicle appears to be able to surmount obstacles of known shape. However, to enable it to do so, it must be controlled by a human operator who can see the obstacle, even if from a distance. Also, it would not seem to offer other above-mentioned important properties to a sufficient degree.


The invention relates to a distance measuring device and a suitable method for determining a distance which provides for continuous determination of the distance—which can therefore also be made discrete—and in addition is easy to handle and provides for a large variety of applications. The distance measuring device comprises analytical electronics and a sensor facility, which comprises at least one coupling probe for feeding an emitted signal into a conducting structure with reflection body. Moreover, the conducting structure comprises a feeding block with a feeding area connecting an HF transceiver via a wave guide with dielectric support system to the coupling probe.

For the detection and recording of the position of the piston of fluidic linear drives or pneumatic and hydraulic cylinders as the conducting structure, it is generally known to use distance measuring devices measuring the distance between the piston serving as a reflecting body inside the conducting structure and the cylinder lid or bottom of the conducting structure. The detection of the piston position in cylinders can be performed either discrete, i.e. at discrete sites, or continuous, i.e. continuously during operation.
A discrete determination of piston position is usually applied in order to feedback the performance or completion of a piston movement to a process control (e.g. SPS), for example in order to be able to initiate the next process step. Magnetic field-sensitive sensors or sensor facilities are used predominantly for this purpose, which detect the magnetic field of a permanent magnet residing on the cylinder piston. The sensors used for detection are mounted to the outside of the cylinder tube. When the piston moves into the detection area of a sensor of this type, the sensor detects the presence of the cylinder piston through the cylinder tube. In the majority of cases, this requires the use of non-ferromagnetic materials and thus limits the design properties and/or applications of the drive. However, if a different position of the piston is to be detected, the sensor needs to be mechanically adjusted or newly adjusted accordingly. Therefore, an additional sensor must be mounted for each additional position to be detected, which is associated with additional material, mounting, adjustment, and installation costs in each case.
Another disadvantage is that the mounting usually is performed on customer premises. The situation is aggravated if the cylinder is already assembled in a machine that is difficult to access such that it may be impossible to adjust the sensing distances by mechanical shifting of the externally mounted magnetic switches. Moreover, these externally mounted sensors require additional space. Often additional design work is required in order to provide for the accessibility and robustness of the sensor.
Sensors of this type are implemented predominantly in the form of magnetic field-sensitive sensors and are known as Reed switches, magneto-resistive (MR), giant magneto-resistive (GMR), Hall switches or magneto-inductive proximity switches. However, the detection of the magnetic field requires extensive adjustment of the magnet to the sensor and/or sensor facility. Moreover, this measuring principle limits the possible applications because of interfering static or dynamic magnetic fields (EMV, field of a cylinder in close proximity) and the temperature properties of the sensor.
For continuous piston position measurement, it is common to use measuring systems based on potentiometry, the linear variable differential transformer (LVDT) principle or the ultrasound principle. In these systems, the position of the piston is output continuously and, in the majority of cases, as an analogous voltage signal. Sensors working according to the LVDT principle always require a calibration run for pre-adjustment after being turned on. Ultrasound sensors are suitable only to a limited degree for path length measurements in pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders, since the accuracy of measurement changes with cylinder pressure. Incremental path length measurements supplementing these systems are also known. These systems are implemented for example by coding the piston rod and thus can be used only for relative path length measurements.
In summary, both the continuous and the discrete determination of piston position according to the prior art can be integrated into a cylinder either not at all or only with substantial design efforts which are associated with high costs. Substantial design efforts are required because all common sensor principles described above must be adjusted to the respective cylinder length, since their detection area is too short.
It is desirable to create a distance measuring device and a method for determining the distance, which overcome the disadvantages listed above and provide for continuous determination of the distance—which can therefore also be made discrete—and in addition is easy to handle and provides for a large variety of applications.

Distance measuring device and method for determining a distance

Mikrowellen-Technologie und Sensoren GmbH


A coded bit transmission method and apparatus, to improve spectrum resource utilization and a data rate of a Wi-Fi system, where the method includes: A sender performing channel coding on information bits according to a used MCS, to generate coded bits; and the sender distributing the coded bits to a plurality of channel sets or a plurality of resource units according to a distribution rule. The MCS is an MCS used for each of the plurality of channel sets, or an MCS used for each of the plurality of resource units.

A next-generation Wi-Fi protocol, for example, a protocol later than 802.11ax, needs to be forward compatible, and therefore also supports an operating spectrum of an 802.11ax device, that is, supports frequency bands of 2.4 gigahertz (GHz), 5 GHz, and 6 GHz. According to the most recently opened free-of-charge 6-GHz frequency band, channel division is performed based on the frequency band, and a bandwidth that can be supported may exceed a maximum bandwidth of 160 megahertz (MHz) that is supported at 5 GHz, for example, 240 MHz or 320 MHz. That is, the next-generation Wi-Fi protocol is to introduce an ultra-high bandwidth to support data transmission with an extremely high throughput (EHT). In addition to the ultra-high bandwidth, the extremely high throughput supported by the next-generation Wi-Fi protocol may further increase a peak throughput using more streams, for example, increasing a quantity of streams to 16, through cooperation between a plurality of frequency bands (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz), or in another manner.
However, because a channel is busy, or some supported frequency bands such as 5 GHz and 6 GHz are occupied by another system such as a military radar system or a meteorological radar system, frequency bands available when a Wi-Fi system occupies an ultra-high bandwidth are discontinuous. Therefore, how to use the discontinuous frequency bands to implement an ultra-high bandwidth and support data transmission with an extremely high throughput becomes a problem that urgently needs to be resolved.

Coded bit transmission method and apparatus


A 3-layer Virtual Private Network (VPN) is disclosed and includes P devices and PE devices in the backbone network, a plurality of sites and CE devices in subscribers' VPNs, and Hierarchy of PE (HoPE) devices, the HoPE devices serve as edge routers in the backbone network and are connected to P devices in the backbone network as well as sites and CE devices in subscribers' VPNs; the HoPE devices include understratum PEs (UPEs), zero or more middle-level PEs (MPEs) and superior PEs (SPEs) connected with each other, and all of the PEs (UPEs, MPEs, and SPEs) take different roles and deliver the function of a central PE. For the SPEs, the routing and forwarding performance should be relatively higher; while for UPEs, the performance may be lower. The architecture can enhance the expandability in hierarchical BGP/MPLS VPNs.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the architecture of a 3-layer Provider Provide VPN (PP VPN) and constructing method thereof.
2. Background
There are different implementations of traditional PP VPN architecture in actual applications, such as BGP/MPLS VPN, VR VPN, and MPLS 12 VPN, etc. As for BGP/MPLS VPN (Multi Protocol Label Switch based on Switch Border Gateway Protocol), the PP VPN is a network that delivers IP VPN service in public networks with MPLS technology and BGP. The BGP/MPLS VPN architecture mainly comprises a backbone network composed of P devices and PE devices provided by ISP as well as subscribers' VPN that comprises a plurality of sites and CE devices.
In said devices, P (Provider Router) devices are mainly responsible for forwarding MPLS. PE (Provider Edge Router) devices are the main body to realize MPLS/BGP VPN service, and they maintain independent lists of sites in subscribers' VPNs, and detect VPN topologies and learn internal VPN routes through BGP. CE (Custom Edge Router) devices are common routers, and they connect sites in subscribers' VPNs to PEs, without supporting any MPLS or VPN signaling or protocol.
In the BGP/MPLS VPN architecture, PE devices may be the bottleneck in large-scale deployments because they have to converge routes from a plurality of VPNs (especially in cases that capacity of PE devices is small). Furthermore, most traditional MPLS VPN models are planar ones, wherever a PE device resides in the network, its performance should be the same as others. In such an environment, more routes have to be maintained as PE expands towards edge because routers converge layer by layer. For a 3-layer model typical network employing a core-convergence-access architecture, the performance of devices degrades as the network expands, which brings difficulty to the expansion of network towards the edge. To solve said problem, a Multi-VRF (VPN routing/forwarding instance) scheme is proposed to enhance the capacity of CE devices to deliver VRF functionality. Such devices are called VCE devices. In networking, a plurality of VCE devices and PE devices are combined to form a distributed PE. Seen from FIG. 1, multiple VRFs are configured in VCE, and the VRFs correspond to multiple VPN sites. On each VRF there are some downward interfaces to connect to VCE devices and an upward interface to connect to PE devices. On PE devices, the same VRFs are configured correspondingly, and each VRF has one or more interfaces, which connect with VCE devices. Thus, a Multi-VRF CE device simulates multiple CE devices actually, each virtual CE is isolated from each other to access multiple VPN subscribers, but the PE devices don't "know" whether they are connected to multi CE devices or a VCE device. Therefore, any expansion is unnecessary. Though the scheme solves the problem of expandability of PE devices to some extent, the disadvantage is also obvious, i.e.
a large amount of interfaces, sub-interfaces are needed between PE and VCE devices, which consume limited interfaces and IP addresses resource;
multiple VRFs have to be configured on PE and CE devices, which is a heavy-labor and repetitive work;
if a dynamic route protocol is used in exchange of routes between PE and VCE devices, PEs and VCEs need to run multiple instances; if static routes are used, the configuration is a heavy-labor work;
if tunnel interfaces are used to connect PEs with VCEs instead of direct connection, each VRF will need a tunnel, resulting in heavy consumption of resource;
if different VCEs are connected with each other to deliver VPN messages to reduce the burden on PE devices, each VRF needs an interface/sub-interface.

3-layer VPN and constructing method thereof


A variable fiber count optical fiber cable core is disclosed. The cable core is intended for use as a part of an optical fiber cable, the optical fiber cable having an elongate cylindrical core tube formed about a longitudinal axis, and within which the cable core is received. The cable core comprises a stack of a plurality of variable fiber count optical fiber units formed about the longitudinal axis of the core tube, and housed therein. The stack of the optical fiber units will comprise at least a first optical fiber unit having a first predetermined number of fibers therein, and at least a second optical fiber unit having a second predetermined number of optical fibers therein, where the first and second predetermined numbers of optical fibers differ from one another within the stack of optical fiber units. So constructed, the number of optical fibers within selected ones of the stack of optical fiber units will be varied dependent on the position of the selected ones of the optical fiber units within the stack of optical fiber units, and so that the stack of optical fiber units takes on the approximate shape of a cylindrical cable core within the cable core tube. Each of the optical fiber units comprised a first predetermined number of optical fibers sub-units joined together, each of the optical fiber sub-units being comprised of a second predetermined number of optical fibers, where both the first and second predetermined numbers of sub-units and optical fibers, respectively, comprise integers.

The present invention relates in general to optical fiber cables. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved optical fiber cable in which the cable core is comprised of variable fiber count optical fiber units for maximizing the packing density of the cable core, and a method of maximizing the packing density of the cable core.
Optical fiber technology, to include the usage of optical fiber cables, has increasingly grown in demand and usage. Optical fiber cables offer the advantage of passing large amounts of data quickly, easily, and with a degree of reliability unmatched by conventional wire data transmission technology. Accordingly as the usage of optical fiber cables increases, it is becoming increasingly difficult to utilize the existing infrastructure to accommodate the demand for increased optical fiber cable capacity. For example, there is only a limited amount of underground duct space currently in existence, and it would be extremely expensive to begin adding additional underground duct space, or duct space in existing buildings, to accommodate the demand for ever greater numbers of fiber optic lines.
For example, limited underground duct space, cable joining costs, and cable manufacturing costs place an economic premium on fiber optic cables with high fiber counts, as well as high fiber packing densities for each measure of cable sheath diameter. For many years, it has been common practice to use a stack of fiber optic ribbons to achieve high fiber counts and packing densities. An example of such an approach to optical fiber cable core construction is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,180 to Nothofer, et al. In the patent to Nothofer et al., an optical fiber cable core is provided with a plurality of superimposed and adjacent stacks of optical fiber ribbons, the stacks of fiber ribbons being arranged over and/or adjacent to each other, and in parallel. As a result, the optical fiber cable core of Nothofer, et al. provides a stack of optical fiber ribbons, in which each of the ribbons has an identical number of optical fiber cables provided as a part thereof.
Other approaches which attempt to maximize the packing density of optical fibers within optical fiber cable cores are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,906,067 to Mayr, et al., disclosing an optical fiber cable comprised of a plurality of bundled elements, each bundled element having an identical number of optical fibers therein, and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,051 to Travieso, et al., which discloses a high density riser and plenum breakout cable for indoor and outdoor cable applications, in which the cable is comprised of optical fiber ribbon structures, the ribbon structures being broken down into four substructures which are stacked within the cable core, and where selected substructures can be broken out of the cable and used where desired.
Ribbon structures of the type utilized in these existing approaches to maximizing the number of optical fibers in an optical fiber cable are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,126 to Jackson, et al., disclosing a bonded array of optical fibers formed as a ribbon; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,905,835 to Bourghelle, et al., disclosing a multi optical fiber ribbon in which two identically sized and shaped ribbons are bounded together for forming one larger ribbon of optical fibers.
One example of a known type of optical fiber cable core configuration which utilizes a stack of optical fiber ribbons, similar to the approach of the patent to Nothofer et al., is illustrated in FIG. 1, which shows in cross-section an optical fiber cable 5 having an elongate continuous core tube 6. Situated within the core tube is a stack 7 of optical fiber ribbons 9, each one of the optical fiber ribbons having an identical number of optical fibers therein. As seen, such a configuration attempts to maximize the packing density of the optical fiber ribbons within the cable core, yet a great amount of free space remains within the cable core. The stack 7 of optical fiber ribbons 9 shown in FIG. 1 is an illustrative configuration only, it being understood that varying square or rectangular stacks of optical fiber ribbons may be present within the core tube, which serves to illustrates the problem, which is that these square or rectangular ribbon stack configurations do not fully utilize the space available within the core tube. It is also understood, although not illustrated in FIG. 1, that the optical fiber cable will be provided with the requisite jacketing, strength members, rip cords and/or water blocking tape which comprise a part of optical fiber cables, as known.
As is known, the maximum number of optical fibers that can be placed within a cable core tube, without incurring excess added loss, is constrained by the dimensions of the stack of optical fibers relative to the inner diameter of the core tube. Specifically, the ratio of the diagonal of the ribbon stack to the core tube inside diameter cannot exceed a predetermined value without inducing excessive cabling and low temperature added optical losses. In the alternative, for a given core tube inner diameter, a minimum clearance between the core tube wall and any optical fiber in the stack may be specified. Although cable cores, such as those disclosed above, comprised of a rectangular stack of optical fiber ribbons offer an attractive solution to the need for maximizing optical fibers within a cable, a rectangular stack of optical fiber ribbons, with each ribbon having a constant fiber count, such as those disclosed in the ""180 patent to Nothofer, et al., the ""051 patent to Travieso, et al., and the ""067 patent to Mayr, et al., do not fully utilize the space available within the cable core for fiber containment, and thus there exists a need for an improved optical fiber cable, more specifically an improved optical fiber cable core, which maximizes the packing density of the optical fibers, or optical fiber units, within the cable core, as well as a method of determining the maximum number of optical fibers that can be packed within a cable core within such structure.
What appears to be needed, then, is a fiber optic cable core having a maximized optical fiber packing density, and a method of maximizing the packing density of optical fiber cable cores.
The present invention provides an improved optical fiber cable core design, and a method of specifying the maximum number of optical fiber units that can be provided as a part of this improved cable core, which overcomes some of the deficiencies of the known art. This is accomplished by providing a variable fiber count optical fiber cable core in which the number of optical fibers within the optical fiber units are varied, dependent on the position of the optical fiber units within a stack of optical fiber units comprising the optical fiber cable core. This improved optical fiber cable core design provides a simple, efficient, and cost effective cable core, and method of specifying same, heretofore unavailable in the art. Moreover, the relative simplicity of the cable core of this invention, and the method of determining same, when contrasted to the known optical fiber cable core designs, provides a greater degree of reliability, durability, maintainability, and ease of use while simultaneously increasing the optical fiber packing densities per unit of sheath diameter.
This invention attains this improved packing density, as well as providing simplicity in design and ease of use, by providing a variable fiber count optical fiber cable core for use as a part of an optical fiber cable. The optical fiber cable has an elongate cylindrical core tube formed about a longitudinal axis within which the cable core is received. The cable core is comprised of a stack of plurality of variable fiber count optical fiber units formed symmetrically about the longitudinal axis of the core tube. In one preferred embodiment, the optical fiber units may comprise a plurality of optical fiber ribbons.
The variable fiber count optical fiber cable core of this invention comprises at least a first optical fiber unit having a first predetermined number of optical fibers therein, and at least a second stacked optical fiber unit having a second predetermined number of optical fibers therein, where the first and second predetermined numbers of optical fibers differ within the two optical fiber units so that the number of optical fibers are varied within the optical fiber units which comprise the stack of optical fiber units within the cable core. Moreover, the number of optical fibers within selected ones of the plurality of optical fiber units forming the stack of the cable core may be varied dependent on the position of the selected ones of the optical fiber units within the stack of optical fiber units. Additionally, in fashion heretofore unknown in the art, the variable fiber count optical fiber cable core of this invention provides a stack of optical fiber units which are sized and shaped to approximate a cylindrically shaped stack of optical fiber units within the core tube of the optical fiber cable for maximizing the number of optical fibers that can be safely and efficiently packed within the optical fiber cable core.
Also, it is anticipated that at least some of the optical fibers of at least one of the optical fiber units may be colored differently than others of the optical fibers within the same optical fiber unit for ease of identifying the optical fibers, dependent on, for example, the type of optical fiber being used. For example, the optical fibers may comprise multi mode, single mode or match clad optical fibers, the colors being used to identify which optical fibers are present for ease of use during installation and cable splicing.
In the improved optical fiber cable core of this invention, each of the at least a first and a second optical fiber units, respectively, comprises a first predetermined number of optical fiber sub-units joined together as a single optical fiber unit, each of the optical fiber sub-units being comprised of a second predetermined number of optical fibers. The first predetermined number of optical fiber sub-units, and a second predetermined number of optical fibers within each sub-unit each comprise integers. In one preferred embodiment, this second predetermined number of optical fibers for each such sub-unit will be at least two; and in a second embodiment, there will be at least twelve optical fibers within each such optical fiber sub-unit.
Additionally, at least some of the optical fibers within at least one of the optical fibers sub-units may be colored differently than the remainder of the optical fibers within the same sub-unit, and/or the other sub-units which together comprise the optical fiber unit.
A method of maximizing the packing density of an optical fiber cable core is also provided as a part of this invention. The optical fiber cable core is produced by stacking a plurality of optical fiber units within the core tube of the optical fiber cable, while varying the number of optical fibers within selected ones of the plurality of optical fiber units. This step of varying the number of optical fibers within the optical fiber units occurs in response to the position of selected ones of the optical fiber units within the stack of optical fiber units. The method of this invention also includes the step of establishing a first predetermined number optical fiber sub-units within each optical fiber unit, and multiplying this number of optical fiber sub-units by a second predetermined number of optical fibers for each such sub-unit. Both the first and second predetermined numbers of optical fiber sub-units and optical fibers, respectively, each comprise an integer.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved optical fiber cable core.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved optical fiber cable core in which the packing density of the optical fibers within the cable core is maximized.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improved optical fiber cable core which is simple in design and construction, is rugged and durable in use, and which is easy to use and maintain.
It is to these objects, as well as to the other objects, features and advantages of the present invention, which will become apparent upon reading the specification, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, to which the invention is directed.

Variable fiber count optical fiber cable core


A pervasive search architecture that indexes personal content of a querying user and made accessible to the user by other users. A compute node of a personal content location facilitates index generation and serve of the index. The index is generated for personal content stored at the personal content location. For a given content location, the index may encapsulate content stored in a set of locations with access permissions. The indexing application runs periodically at the personal content location and incrementally indexes content that is added to the shared locations. The same application allows the user to configure locations with the desired access permissions for participation in the search.

Online search is presently restricted to public documents that are online, which are hosted and made available on servers. Current search engines crawl and index these publicly available documents of the web and generate an index that essentially maps search terms or queries to a list of relevant documents. However, this search index has no access to personal data that reside on personal devices such as hard drives and other data storage devices, storage devices that account for a vast amount of content. Moreover, even if users share their personal data, there are no means to index and make this data available to the searches performed by the users with which they choose to share the data.


A terminal device mainly includes: a display module (21), a middle frame (22) for fixing the display module (21), a light-guiding column (23) embedded on the middle frame (22), and an ambient light sensor (24) located at bottom of the light-guiding column (23), wherein a light-entry surface of the light-guiding column (23) guides ambient light to the ambient light sensor (24).

With the rapid development of electronic display devices such as intelligent mobile phones and the gradual rising of user requirements on the display performance of electronic products, the design of full screen (ultra-narrow bezel) has become a mainstream direction of the current research. However, in order to achieve the design of full screen, it needs to rearrange the elements on the display screen, thereby preventing such elements from occupying too much of the bezel.
In the related art, in terms of hardware, a main factor affecting the design of full screen is an ambient light sensor. Referring to FIG. 1, in the working environment, an ambient light sensor 11 detects the brightness of the ambient light in which the current display module 12 exists, and assists in adjusting the backlight brightness of the display module 12 according to a certain rule, thereby attaining the object of automatically regulating the backlight brightness according to the ambient light. In view of the rectilinear propagation feature of light, the light intensity sensed at different angles may be different. Therefore, in order to accurately simulate the detection of ambient light by human eyes, the ambient light sensor 11 usually needs to be arranged at the upper part of the front face of the display module (basically at a location aligned with the sight line of a user when using the electronic product) and must be located in the region of a cover plate 13, which requires that the cover plate 13 has a certain width for accommodating the ambient light sensor 11, thereby restricting the realization of full screen.


An engine control system is configured to improve the estimation accuracy of a fresh intake air quantity and a total intake air quantity that flows into the combustion chambers. The engine control system is configured to estimate an estimated EGR rate value Regr using a primary lag process for a target EGR rate, calculate a volumetric efficiency equivalency value based on the estimated EGR rate value Regr, estimate an estimated fresh intake air value Qac that flows into the combustion chamber based on a rate of change in a volumetric efficiency equivalency value Kin/Kinn-1 of the estimated EGR rate value Regr and the volumetric efficiency equivalency value Kin, and estimate an estimated total intake air quantity value Qsco2 that includes the EGR gas based on the estimated fresh intake air value Qac and the estimated EGR rate value Regr.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an engine control system. In particular, present invention generally relates to a technology that aims to improve the estimation accuracy of fresh intake air quantity and total intake air quantity that flows into the combustion chamber.
2. Background Information
In internal combustion engines such as diesel engines, an exhaust gas recirculating system (EGR system) is widely used wherein a part of the exhaust gas is recirculated to lower the combustion temperature in order to reduce discharge of nitrogen oxide (NOx). In some conventional engine control system, an airflow meter is used in some diesel engines to detect fresh intake air quantity values and output the detected fresh intake air quantity values to an engine control system for maximum smoke limit control and EGR control.
One example of such an engine control system is disclosed Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-123873. Similarly, an airflow meter is used in some gasoline engines to detect fresh intake air quantity values for various controls in gasoline engines.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved engine control system. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.