Various embodiments pertain to an integrated circuit (IC) device and related systems that are configured to modify data values held by the device.

Today, there is increasing use of "smart cards" in place of, or in addition to, conventional magnetic stripe cards. A "smart card" is a thin card about the size of a credit card, with a built-in processor that enables the card to create data in response to external stimuli. The processor is a single-wafer integrated circuit (IC) which is mounted on an otherwise plastic card. For this reason, smart cards are often referred to as one class of "integrated circuit cards" or "IC cards".
As smart card technology becomes more pervasive, it paves the way for conducting a variety of new transactions, such as electronic money, which are not available with conventional mag-stripe cards. Smart cards also open up the arena for conducting certain new "offline" transactions, which do not involve validating a card with a central authority. These offline electronic transactions are typically performed without the human intervention, such as from a sales clerk.
Smart cards are equipped with authentication capabilities used to establish the identity of an entity with which it is communicating. An identity can be an individual human being, a business, a piece of computing hardware, software code, a network node, an organizational role, or an accreditation agent. Smart cards also have authorization capabilities to control access to resources stored on the cards or elsewhere.
Smart cards typically store data as exact or specific values. For example, the age of a user is stored as a number of years, the salary of a user is stored as a dollar value, and credit of a user is stored as loyalty point precise counts. For many computations that are performed by identities outside of the smart card, these exact values are not necessary. Yet, because this is the only data that the smart card stores, it must be provided to the requesting identity. For example, to sell cigarettes to a cardholder, a merchant need only know that the cardholder is over 18 years of age. It is unnecessary for the merchant to know the exact age of the cardholder. In many instances where specific data values are not explicitly required by an identity, rendering such specific values can be undesirable: For example, an individual may wish to protect aspects of their privacy. Yet, having to provide specific data values to some requesting identities unnecessarily compromises their privacy. On the other side of the equation, requesting identities may not want to take possession of specific data values if they do not need them for their purposes. Possessing more information than is necessary could create liability for a particular identity. For example, an identity may require certain salary information for purposes of computing cardholder benefits. The benefits might be correlated with a variety of salary ranges rather than specific salary values. If a cardholder is only able to provide their specific salary value to a requesting identity, then the identity must, necessarily, come into possession of it in order to compute the benefits. Once in possession of the specific salary value, it becomes subject to compromise which, in turn, could create liability for the identity.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a way of masking or modulating data relative to particular identities in accordance with the identities' data needs.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Integrated circuit device with data modifying capabilities and related methods


A keyboard apparatus of an electronic musical instrument has a plurality of pivoting members (white key main body 1, black key main body 2, and massive body 28) which pivot in response to depression or release of keys, a frame 3 which supports the pivoting members, and action restricting members (lower limit stopper 5 and upper limit stopper 6) which cause collision thereof with the pivoting members to restrict a range in which the pivoting members are allowed to pivot. The action restricting member contains a plurality of grains 11 in an enclosure member 12, and is arranged, in a state where inflow and outflow of air are allowed between the closed area and outside air, at the frame's side.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a keyboard apparatus of an electronic musical instrument, and more particularly to a stopper member which restricts pivoting of keys of the keyboard apparatus and massive bodies which pivot in synchronization with the keys.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a keyboard apparatus of an electronic musical instruments, conventionally, a range in which keys are allowed to pivot when the keys are depressed (from the initial position to the maximum pivotable position) is restricted by an upper limit stopper and a lower limit stopper provided on a key frame. FIGS. 20A to 20C are right side views schematically illustrating a conventional keyboard apparatus of an electronic musical instrument. The keyboard apparatus has a white key main body 1, a black key main body 2 and a key frame 3. The key frame 3 has front and rear steps in a longitudinal direction of the keys to have a horizontal portion 3a between the steps. On the rear end of the horizontal portion 3a, a key supporting portion 3b is provided.
On the rear end of the white key main body 1, a key pivot portion 1b is provided. The white key main body 1 is fastened to the key supporting portion 3b with a key pivot portion 1b to pivot about the key pivot portion 1b. The white key main body 1 has right and left sides formed downward from the both sides of the top surface. The white key main body 1 also has a pair of right and left stopper pieces 1c provided at the midpoint near a front end 1a of the right and left sides, the stopper pieces hanging downward from the right and left sides. Front ends 1d of the stopper pieces 1c are bent approximately perpendicularly toward the depth of the key. The black key main body 2 also has a key pivot portion 2b and stopper pieces 2c on the positions similar to those of the white key. On the front step of the key frame 3, a plurality of parallel slits 3c are vertically formed so that the front ends 1d, 2d of the stopper pieces of the white key and the black key are inserted into the respective slits 3c.
On the horizontal portion 3a of the key frame 3, a key switch 4 is provided. Projections (actuators) which are not shown are provided on the undersurface of the white key main body 1 and the black key main body 2 to oppose to the key switch 4. On the undersurface of the horizontal portion 3a of the key frame, an upper limit stopper 182 which is shaped like a stripe is arranged along the keys so that the upper limit stopper 182 opposes to the top surface of the front ends 1d of the stopper pieces 1c. On the top surface of the horizontal portion 3a, a lower limit stopper 181 is arranged so that the lower limit stopper 181 is shaped like a stripe. In the shown example, the white keys and the black keys have the same structure.
In view of shock absorbency, noise reduction and reproducibility of pivotable range, the upper limit stopper 182 and the lower limit stopper 181 are required to be formed of material having elastic recovery force. Conventionally, felt, polyurethane elastomer or the like is employed as the material of the upper limit stopper and the lower limit stopper. When a player depresses a key, the key switch 4 is elastically compressed to turn on a switch. When the key is further depressed, the lower limit stopper 181 is given a shock by the right and left sides of the white key main body 1 or the black key main body 2 to be elastically deformed. At the time of elastic deformation, internal friction causes kinetic energy to be converted into heat energy, resulting in damping of the key. When the lower limit stopper 181 recovers from elastic deformation, the lower limit stopper 181 produces elastic recovery force. This elastic recovery force becomes repulsion (referred to as rebound) for the key. The rebound is conveyed to the player's finger through the white key main body 1 or the black key main body 2, causing player discomfort.
When the key is released, a force which recovers the key such as action of a recovery spring which is not shown causes the white key main body 1 or the black key main body 2 to return to its initial position. When the key returns, the top surface of the front ends 1d of the stopper pieces 1c collide with the upper limit stopper 6. At this collision, an elastic recovery force of the upper limit stopper 6 becomes repulsion for the white key main body 1 or the black key main body 2. Since this repulsion is exerted toward the direction opposite to the force which recovers the key, the white key main body 1 or the black key main body 2 vibrates until the key fully stops. If the player's finger touches the key, as a result, the vibration is conveyed to the player to cause discomfort.
In addition, there has been a conventional keyboard apparatus of an electronic musical instrument whose massive bodies pivot in synchronization with player's key-depressions to provide the player with key touch close to that of an acoustic piano. The upper limit of a pivoting massive body is restricted by a collision of the vicinity of a rear free end of an inertial moment generating portion with an upper limit stopper. When a key is released to return to its initial state, the position of the massive body is restricted by a collision of the vicinity of the rear end of the inertial moment generating portion with a lower limit stopper. The upper limit stopper and the lower limit stopper provided for the above-described massive body also absorb shock of inertial moment of the massive body to damp the massive body. The upper limit stopper produces a repulsion when the massive body is driven to collide with the upper limit stopper, while the lower limit stopper produces a repulsion when the massive body recovers to collide with the lower limit stopper.
In an invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-195853, for an upper limit stopper provided for hammers (massive bodies), a "massive portion MB" is provided along with the upper limit stopper. In the "massive portion MB", a massive body is sandwiched between a lower cushion and an upper cushion. This massive body is made of elastic material made by blending elastomer or rubber with metal powder so that the material has an appropriate mass and flexibility. In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-195853 also discloses that the "massive portion MB" may employ a chain metal wire or a member formed by packing sand or metal powder in a pouched member so that the member has the same width as the entire width of the keys or the width of a plurality of keys. The "massive portion MB" is fastened to a rear part of a chassis by bonding or the like, or is held by enfolding the "massive portion MB" from below upward with a sheet member.

Keyboard apparatus of electronic musical instrument


Disclosed is a liquid crystal display (LCD). An LCD panel is divided into upper and lower panels, and a scanning direction of gate lines of the upper panel is opposite to that of gate lines of the lower panel. The upper panel includes an upper gate line block having a first gate line formed in the horizontal direction and transmits scanning signals, and upper data lines that cross the first gate line and transmit image signals. And the lower panel includes a lower gate line block having a second gate line, and lower data lines that cross the second gate line and are separated from the upper data lines. Upper and lower gate drivers that provide scanning signals to the gate lines of the upper and lower gate line blocks are located on the sides of the upper and lower panels, respectively. The upper and lower gate drivers supply the scanning signals to the gate lines in sequentially opposite directions. According to the present invention, the non-uniform brightness phenomenon can be prevented by making the scanning direction of the gate lines of the upper panel opposite to that of the gate lines of the lower panel.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a method for driving the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to an LCD having its screen divided into two sections and driven individually, and a method for driving the same.
(b) Description of the Related Art
As personal computers and televisions become lighter in weight and thinner in profile, display devices must also become lighter in weight and thinner in profile. Accordingly, flat panel display devices such as LCDs are increasingly replacing the cathode ray tube (CRT).
In order to obtain desired image signals, the LCD applies an electric field to liquid crystal material having anisotropic dielectricity that is injected between two substrates, and controls the light amount permeating through the substrates by the intensity of the electric field. An LCD is one of the most commonly used portable flat panel display devices. In particular, a thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD), employing the TFT as a switching element, is widely used.
The LCD comprises a plurality of gate lines that transmit scanning signals. A plurality of data lines crossing the gate linestransmit image data. And a plurality of pixels formed by regions defined by the gate lines and data lines are interconnected through the gate lines, data lines and switching elements.
A method for applying the image data to each pixel in such an LCD will now be described.
When the scanning signals to turn on the gates (or gate-ON signals) are sequentially provided to the gate lines, the switching elements coupled to the gate lines are sequentially turned on. Image signals (i.e., data voltages) to be provided to pixel rows corresponding to the gate lines are concurrently provided to the respective data lines. The image signals provided to the data lines are then applied to the respective pixels through the switching elements that have been turned on. At this time, by sequentially applying the gate-ON signals to all the gate lines during one frame period such that the image signals are applied to all the pixel rows, one frame of image is displayed.
A recently developed higher-resolution LCD requires more gate lines. However, since the time for scanning a frame is limited to 1/60 of a second, the time interval of the gate-ON signal to be provided to the respective gate lines becomes shorter. Hence, it is difficult to provide sufficient image signals (i.e., the data voltages) to the image rows through the switching elements, which degrades the picture or image quality.
Therefore, a method has been disclosed recently to drive an LCD by dividing the display screen into two parts (an upper part and a lower part) in order to obtain a sufficient gate-ON time. Such a drive method is called a 'dual scan method'.
FIG. 1 shows an LCD adopting a dual scan method.
As shown in the drawing, the LCD using the dual scan method comprises a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel 10, an upper data driver 21, a lower data driver 22, an upper gate driver 31 and a lower gate driver 32.
The LCD panel 10 comprises a plurality of gate lines G1, G2, . . . , Gm, Gm+1, . . . , G2m to transmit the gate-ON signals and a plurality of data lines D1, D2, . . . , Dn, C1, C2, . . . , Cn to transmit the data voltages (i.e., image signals). Regions defined by the crossing of the data lines and gate lines form pixels. Each pixel comprises a TFT 12, a gate electrode of which is coupled to a gate line and a source electrode of which is coupled to a data line, a pixel electrode 14 coupled to a drain electrode of the TFT 12 and a common electrode (not illustrated) to which a common voltage is supplied. The plurality of gate lines are divided into an upper gate line block and a lower gate line block, each comprised of m gate lines, respectively G1, G2, . . . , Gm, and then, Gm+1, . . . , G2m. The data lines D1, D2, . . . , Dn coupled to the pixels corresponding to the gate lines G1, G2, . . . , Gm of the upper gate line block are separated from the data lines C1, C2, . . . , Cn coupled to the pixels corresponding to the gate lines Gm+1, . . . , G2m of the lower gate line block. For example, an upper pixel of a first column is coupled to the data line D1 and a lower pixel of the first column is coupled to the data line C1.
The upper and lower gate drivers 31 and 32, coupled respectively to the upper and lower gate line blocks, sequentially provide gate-ON voltages to the gate lines of the upper and lower gate line blocks, respectively. At this time, the gate-ON voltages are provided to the gate lines from the first gate line and to the last gate line. The upper and lower data drivers 21 and 22, located respectively in the upper part and lower part of the LCD panel, supply the data voltages to the upper data lines D1, D2, . . . , Dn and the lower data lines C1, C2, . . . , Cn, respectively.
The operation of the LCD will be described hereinafter.
The gate-ON signals are sequentially provided to the TFTs 12 from the gate lines of the upper and lower gate line blocks starting from the first gate line then to subsequent gate lines. Concurrently, the data voltages (i.e., image signals) are provided to the upper and lower data lines. The TFTs 12 are turned on by the gate-ON signals, and the data voltages supplied to the data lines are provided to pixel electrodes through the TFTs 12 that are turned on. Electric fields generated by differences between the pixel voltages (i.e., the voltages supplied to the pixel electrodes) and the common voltages of the common electrodes are applied to the liquid crystal material. Since the arrangement of the liquid crystal material changes depending upon the intensity of the electric field (the intensity of the electric field varies according to the intensity of the data voltage), the amount of light permeating the liquid crystal material varies. Therefore, desired images are displayed on the LCD.
Since the gate-ON signals are concurrently supplied to the gate lines in the upper and lower gate line blocks, the above described dual scan type LCD has the advantage of a twice longer gate-ON time than the conventional single scan LCDs.
The electric field applied to the liquid crystal material continuously in the same direction deteriorates the liquid crystal material. Accordingly, when the data voltages are driven, the polarities of the data voltages are alternated between positive and negative values. Such a drive method is referred to as an inversion drive method.
Among different types of inversion drive methods are a frame inversion drive method that alternates the polarities every frame; a line inversion drive method that alternates the polarities every line; and a dot inversion drive method that alternates the polarities every pixel. The line inversion and dot inversion drive methods are most commonly used. However, the line inversion drive method or dot inversion drive method, when applied to the conventional dual scan type LCD, causes various drawbacks as described below.
It is assumed that the pixel of the LCD in FIG. 1 are driven by the dot inversion drive method, as shown by the positive (+) and negative (−) indications. The positive (+) polarity indicates that the polarity of the pixel voltage with respect to the common voltage is positive, and the negative (−) polarity indicates that the polarity of the pixel voltage with respect to the common voltage is negative.
A waveform of a voltage applied to the pixel electrode electrically coupled to the gate line Gm of the upper gate line block and to the data line D1, and a waveform of a voltage applied to the pixel electrode electrically coupled to the gate line Gm+1 of the lower gate line block and to the data line C1 are shown in FIG. 2.
As shown in FIG. 2 (a), in an ideal state, a voltage Vpu lower than the common voltage Vcom is uniformly applied during a period of one frame to the pixel electrode of the first pixel row coupled to the last gate line Gm in the upper gate line block. However, in the actual LCD, since a parasitic capacitance is generated between the pixel electrode and data line, the pixel voltage provided to the actual pixel electrode is affected by the voltage provided to the data line. That is, since the data voltages Vd1, the polarities of which with respect to the common voltage Vcom are periodically alternated are provided to the first data line D1 as shown in FIG. 2 (a), the actual voltage Va provided to the pixel electrode becomes the waveform as shown in FIG. 2 (b). For ease of explanation, the data voltages are assumed to be symmetrical with respect to the common voltage Vcom.
In more detail, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 (a) and (b), in the case where a pixel voltage Vpu with a negative polarity is provided and then a data voltage Vd with a positive polarity is provided to the data lines, the actual pixel voltage Va, unlike the ideal pixel voltage Vpu, is pulled in the direction of the common voltage by as much as ΔV due to the parasitic capacitance. On the other hand, if a data voltage with a negative polarity is provided to the data lines, the actual pixel voltage Va is pulled in the opposite direction of the common voltage by as much as ΔV.
As shown in FIG. 2 (c), in the ideal case, a constant voltage Vpd, higher than the common voltage Vcom, is provided to a pixel electrode of a first pixel row coupled to the first gate line Gm+1 in the lower gate line block during one frame interval. Further, a data voltage with a polarity identical to that of the data voltage provided to the data line D1 is supplied to a first data line C1. This is because the scanning process begins from the first gate line of each of the upper gate line block and the lower gate line block and the polarities of the pixel voltages coupled to the first gate line in the upper gate line block and lower gate line block are identical.
Therefore, because of the influence of the parasitic capacitance, the actual voltage provided to the pixel electrode has a waveform as shown in FIG. 2 (d). That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 (c) and (d), when the voltage Vpd with a positive polarity is provided and then the data voltage with a positive polarity is provided to the data lines, the actual pixel voltage Vb, unlike the ideal pixel voltage Vpd, is pulled in the opposite direction of the common voltage by as much as ΔV due to the parasitic capacitance. Also, if a data voltage with a negative polarity is provided to the data lines, the actual pixel voltage Vb is pulled in the direction of the common voltage by as much as ΔV.
As a result, since the voltages provided to the data lines influence the pixels of the two pixel rows on the boundaries in the opposite directions, the actual difference between the voltage provided to the pixels and the common voltage becomes the area marked by oblique lines in FIGS. 2 (b) and (d). This makes a bigdifference in the amounts of the light permeating the liquid crystal material in the pixels at the boundaries of the upper block and the lower block, which results in the inconsistent brightness on the boundaries. Eventually, this appears as undesired lines at the boundaries between the upper block and the lower block.

Liquid crystal display and a method for driving the same


A calorimeter apparatus includes a facility for rapid cooling of a heating vessel therein. A jacket surrounds the vessel wall. A partition member between the jacket and the vessel wall defines an inlet plenum adjacent the jacket and a spatial gap adjacent the vessel wall. Pressurized cooling gas is conveyed into the inlet plenum after termination of heating the vessel. The partition member has a distributed plurality of orifices such that the gas is jetted through the orifices to impingement cool the vessel wall. The gas is discharged from the spatial gap through an outlet plenum at an end wall of the vessel. The plurality of orifices are distributed in a pattern of varying density across the partition member such that uniform cooling of the vessel wall by the jetted gas is effected.

A calorimeter is commonly used for providing measurements on thermal characteristics of samples. One such calorimeter is a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) for making measurements on a pair of samples such that a test sample is compared to another test sample or a reference sample, for example, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,263,484 (Watson et al). The samples are supported in an insulated container. A power supply provides power to each of the samples and temperatures are measured. In a DSC, differential power and temperature between samples are determined for comparison of heating characteristics such as phase changes. A furnace or other heating vessel is placed over the sample region for heating to provide a range of temperatures for the measurements. Liquid nitrogen or the like in a reservoir below the sample support may be used to extend the DSC to a lower temperature range.
After a test run with a calorimeter to an elevated temperature, but before making another test run, it usually is necessary to cool the sample region back to a starting level which may be room temperature or liquid nitrogen temperature. Typically a cooling chamber surrounds the furnace, for cooling gas to be passed through the region between the chamber walls and the furnace. Such an arrangement is relatively slow to cool the furnace walls and the sample region within, because the air flowing over the walls is warmed and is thereafter inefficient in cooling other wall regions. Such a method generally takes at least 30 minutes to cool from 500.degree. C. to room temperature. Furthermore, because of the non-uniform temperature of the resultant cooling air, the furnace walls vary in temperature, significantly affecting the performance of the calorimeter which then requires some corrective calculations to overcome the physical handicap.
High velocity jets have been used for cooling of surfaces, as disclosed in a paper "Heat Transfer by a Square Array of Round Air Jets Impinging perpendicular to a Flat Surface Including the Effect of Spent Air" by D. M. Kercher and W. Tabakoff, Gas Turbine Conference and Products Show, Cleveland Ohio, Paper No. 69-GT-4 (Mar. 9-13, 1969).

Calorimeter having rapid cooling of a heating vessel therein


A method is provided for transmitting data packets from a source device in a wireless network. The source device receives a channel time allocation identifying the source device as assigned to transmit and a destination device as assigned to listen during the channel time allocation. If the source device has any primary data to send to the destination device, it will do so during the channel time allocation. If time remains in the channel time allocation once the primary data (if any) has been sent to the destination device, the source device will determine whether it has any secondary data to send to a secondary device. If so, the source device will determine whether the secondary device will be listening during the channel time allocation. If the secondary device will be listening, the source device then sends the secondary data to the secondary device during the channel time allocation.

The present invention relates to wireless personal area networks and wireless local area networks. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems, methods, devices, and computer program products for controlling the transmission of data in a wireless personal area network or wireless local area network environment.
The International Standards Organization's (ISO) Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) standard provides a seven-layered hierarchy between an end user and a physical device through which different systems can communicate. Each layer is responsible for different tasks, and the OSI standard specifies the interaction between layers, as well as between devices complying with the standard.
FIG. 1 shows the hierarchy of the seven-layered OSI standard. As seen in FIG. 1, the OSI standard 100 includes a physical layer 110, a data link layer 120, a network layer 130, a transport layer 140, a session layer 150, a presentation layer 160, and an application layer 170.
The physical (PHY) layer 110 conveys the bit stream through the network at the electrical, mechanical, functional, and procedural level. It provides the hardware means of sending and receiving data on a carrier. The data link layer 120 describes the representation of bits on the physical medium and the format of messages on the medium, sending blocks of data (such as frames) with proper synchronization. The networking layer 130 handles the routing and forwarding of the data to proper destinations, maintaining and terminating connections. The transport layer 140 manages the end-to-end control and error checking to ensure complete data transfer. The session layer 150 sets up, coordinates, and terminates conversations, exchanges, and dialogs between the applications at each end. The presentation layer 160 converts incoming and outgoing data from one presentation format to another. The application layer 170 is where communication partners are identified, quality of service is identified, user authentication and privacy are considered, and any constraints on data syntax are identified.
The IEEE 802 Committee has developed a three-layer architecture for local networks that roughly corresponds to the physical layer 110 and the data link layer 120 of the OSI standard 100. FIG. 2 shows the IEEE 802 standard 200.
As shown in FIG. 2, the IEEE 802 standard 200 includes a physical (PHY) layer 210, a media access control (MAC) layer 220, and a logical link control (LLC) layer 225. The PHY layer 210 operates essentially as the PHY Layer 110 in the OSI standard 100. The MAC and LLC layers 220 and 225 share the functions of the data link layer 120 in the OSI standard 100. The LLC layer 225 places data into frames that can be communicated at the PHY layer 210; and the MAC layer 220 manages communication over the data link, sending data frames and receiving acknowledgement (ACK) frames. Together the MAC and LLC layers 220 and 225 are responsible for error checking as well as retransmission of frames that are not received and acknowledged.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a wireless network 300 that could use the IEEE 802.15 standard 200. In a preferred embodiment the network 300 is a wireless personal area network (WPAN), or piconet. However, it should be understood that the present invention also applies to other settings where bandwidth is to be shared among several users, such as, for example, wireless local area networks (WLAN), or any other appropriate wireless network.
When the term piconet is used, it refers to a network of devices connected in an ad hoc fashion, having one device act as a coordinator (i.e., it functions as a server) while the other devices (sometimes called stations) follow the time allocation instructions of the coordinator (i.e., they function as clients). The coordinator can be a designated device, or simply one of the devices chosen to function as a coordinator. One primary difference between the coordinator and non-coordinator devices is that the coordinator must be able to communicate with all of the devices in the network, while the various non-coordinator devices need not be able to communicate with all of the other non-coordinator devices.
As shown in FIG. 3, the network 300 includes a coordinator 310 and a plurality of devices 321–325. The coordinator 310 serves to control the operation of the network 300. As noted above, the system of coordinator 310 and devices 321–325 may be called a piconet, in which case the coordinator 310 may be referred to as a piconet coordinator (PNC). Each of the non-coordinator devices 321–325 must be connected to the coordinator 310 via primary wireless links 330, and may also be connected to one or more other non-coordinator devices 321–325 via secondary wireless links 340, also called peer-to-peer links.
In addition, although FIG. 3 shows bi-directional links between devices, the could also be unidirectional. In this case, each bi-directional link 330, 340 could be shown as two unidirectional links, the first going in one direction and the second going in the opposite direction.
In some embodiments the coordinator 310 may be the same sort of device as any of the non-coordinator devices 321–325, except with the additional functionality for coordinating the system, and the requirement that it communicate with every device 321–325 in the network 300. In other embodiments the coordinator 310 may be a separate designated control unit that does not function as one of the devices 321–325.
Through the course of the following disclosure the coordinator 310 will be considered to be a device just like the non-coordinator devices 321–325. However, alternate embodiments could use a dedicated coordinator 310. Furthermore, individual non-coordinator devices 321–325 could include the functional elements of a coordinator 310, but not use them, functioning as non-coordinator devices. This could be the case where any device is a potential coordinator 310, but only one actually serves that function in a given network.
Each device of the network 300 may be a different wireless device, for example, a digital still camera, a digital video camera, a personal data assistant (PDA), a digital music player, or other personal wireless device.
The various non-coordinator devices 321–325 are confined to a usable physical area 350, which is set based on the extent to which the coordinator 310 can successfully communicate with each of the non-coordinator devices 321–325. Any non-coordinator device 321–325 that is able to communicate with the coordinator 310 (and vice versa) is within the usable area 350 of the network 300. As noted, however, it is not necessary for every non-coordinator device 321–325 in the network 300 to communicate with every other non-coordinator device 321–325.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a device 310, 321–325 from the network 300 of FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 4, each device (i.e., each coordinator 310 or non-coordinator device 321–325) includes a physical (PHY) layer 410, a media access control (MAC) layer 420, a set of upper layers 430, and a management entity 440.
The PHY layer 410 communicates with the rest of the network 300 via a primary or secondary wireless link 330 or 340. It generates and receives data in a transmittable data format and converts it to and from a format usable through the MAC layer 420. The MAC layer 420 serves as an interface between the data formats required by the PHY layer 410 and those required by the upper layers 430. The upper layers 205 include the functionality of the device 310, 321–325. These upper layers 430 may include TCP/IP, TCP, UDP, RTP, IP, LLC, or the like.
Typically, the coordinator 310 and the non-coordinator devices 321–325 in a WPAN share the same bandwidth. Accordingly, the coordinator 310 coordinates the sharing of that bandwidth. Standards have been developed to establish protocols for sharing bandwidth in a wireless personal area network (WPAN) setting. For example, the IEEE standard 802.15.3 provides a specification for the PHY layer 410 and the MAC layer 420 in such a setting where bandwidth is shared using time division multiple access (TDMA). Using this standard, the MAC layer 420 defines frames and superframes through which the sharing of the bandwidth by the devices 310, 321–325 is managed by the coordinator 310 and/or the non-coordinator devices 321–325.
Of particular interest is how individual devices 321–325 can join an existing network 300, and how they will communicate with the coordinator 310 during operation of the network 300. This is preferably done to avoid collisions between different devices, which may occur if two or more devices 321–325 try and communicate (with each other or the coordinator 310) at the same time.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below. And while the embodiments described herein will be in the context of a WPAN (or piconet), it should be understood that the present invention also applies to other settings where bandwidth is to be shared among several users, such as, for example, wireless local area networks (WLAN), or any other appropriate wireless network.

Method for controlling a data stream in a wireless network


A medical image compression and decompression technique is presented which exploits the special characteristics of medical images so as to increase the achievable compression ratio over existing generic image compression techniques. In general, the presented technique categorizes medical images based on the type of images. Medical images within the same category will typically have a very high level of similarity to each other. For each category, a type of standard image is computed which represents the typical characteristics of images within a category. For each image being compressed, only the difference between the image and the standard image is compressed. Due to the high level of similarity between images in the same category, the aforementioned difference is typically small and therefore a high compression ratio can be achieved.

Current medical imaging techniques produce digital images that are invaluable for diagnosis and treatment of patients. For example, current medical imaging techniques include X-ray and angiography, computed radiography (CR), computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), ultrasound, and so on. However, these images typically contain large amounts of data, thereby causing problems in storing and archiving them. In addition, the large image files generated from medical images must be transferred from one location to another, or between devices (such as between an imaging device and a computer for further processing).
In order to mitigate the problems associated with storing and transferring medical images, they are routinely compressed. However, existing compression techniques used to compress medical images are generic in that they are designed to handle any image and are not tailored to medical images. As such these techniques fail to take into account the special characteristics of medical images that could be exploited to achieve higher compression ratios.

Compression and decompression of medical images


An object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for marking an electric wire at a low cost. An apparatus 1 for marking an electric wire forms a band mark 21 on a part of an outer face 5a of the electric wire 3. The band mark 21 is formed along the entire circumference of the part of the outer face 5a of the electric wire 3. The marking apparatus 1 tightens the electric wire 3 in a state where a tensile force is applied in a longitudinal direction. The marking apparatus 1 includes a nozzle 35 for injecting coloring agent toward an uppermost position 10 of the outer face 5a of the electric wire 3. The nozzle 35 has an open end 42 which is opposed to the electric wire 3 and capable of passing the coloring agent. A straight line L extending between a center C1 of the open end 42 and a center C2 of the electric wire 3 lies along a vertical direction.

Various types of electronic units are mounted on a motor car as a moving body. The motor car is provided with wire harnesses for the purpose of transmitting electric power from a power source, and control signals and so on from a computer or the like to the electronic units. Each of the wire harnesses includes a plurality of electric wires, and a plurality of connectors to be attached to ends of the electric wires.
The electric wire is composed of an electrically conductive core wire and a sheath made of insulating synthetic resin for covering the core wire. The electric wire is a so-called sheathed wire. The connector is provided with electrically conductive terminal metals and an insulating connector housing. The terminal metals are fixed to the ends of the electric wires so as to be electrically connected with the core wires of the electric wires. The connector housing is formed in a box-like shape and contains the terminal metals.
On occasion of assembling the above described wire harness, the electric wires are cut into a predetermined length as a first step, and then, the terminal metals are fixed to the ends of the electric wires. A plurality of the electric wires are connected to each other, according to necessity. Thereafter, the terminal metals are inserted into the connector housing. The wire harness can be assembled in this manner.
It is necessary to identify the electric wires of the above described wire harness with respect to a size of the core wire, material of the sheath (the material may vary depending on presence of heat resisting property or so), an object for use, etc. The object for use means, for example, an air bag, an ABS (Antilock Brake System), a power transmitting system, and a system of the motor car in which the electric wires for transmitting control signals including vehicle speed information etc. are employed.
Conventionally, the electric wire for the wire harness has been provided with a ring-like band mark in a part of its outer face along an entire circumference thereof, in order to identify the objects for use (systems), as described above. For this purpose, it has been conventionally accustomed that when synthetic resin is extruded to form the sheath around the core wire, coloring agent of a desired color is admixed to the synthetic resin. Then, another coloring agent which has different color from the aforesaid coloring agent is applied to a part of the synthetic resin which has covered the core wire, that is, the outer face of the sheath, along an entire circumference thereof. In this manner, the part of the outer face of the sheath has been colored along the entire circumference thereof to form the band mark on the electric wire.
In a process for forming the band mark on the above described electric wire, the coloring agent has been applied to the outer face of the electric wire by blowing it together with a pressurized air, as an aerosol. On this occasion, a plurality of nozzles have been employed for blowing the coloring agents, and these nozzles have been arranged along a circumferential direction of the electric wire at a substantially equal interval.
A plurality of the nozzles have been conventionally employed as described above. Therefore, there has been such a problem that an apparatus for marking the electric wire has become large-sized requiring a larger space for installation, and that a production cost for the apparatus has been increased. This would incur a rise of the overall cost for marking the electric wire.
In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for marking an electric wire which can be offered at a low cost.

Method and apparatus for marking electric wire


An endoscope camera head includes: a main body unit having an irregular tubular shape made of a metal or an alloy and including a hollow portion that is airtightly concealed; an imaging unit accommodated in the hollow portion of the main body unit and configured to generate an image signal based on light from an object; and an operating unit configured to output an operation signal for operating the imaging unit. The operating unit includes an input unit located at a position extending over a first face and a second face adjacent each other, of a surface of the main body unit, and configured to receive an input of the operation signal from an outside, and a fixing unit configured to fix the input unit to the main body unit.

The present disclosure relates to an endoscope camera head.
In the related art, camera heads that are imaging devices for endoscopes that are inserted into a subject and capture an inside of the subject are known. A lens unit and an imaging element are accommodated inside the camera head. A camera head for medical use needs to reliably prevent inflow of a gas into the inside of the camera head so that autoclave sterilization may be performed in a high-temperature and high-pressure atmosphere.
For example, JP 2012-245045 A discloses a camera head provided with an airtight casing capable of preventing inflow of a gas, a button portion provided outside the airtight casing and for which an operation input is performed, and a tubular exterior member from which the button portion protrudes and covering an outer periphery of the airtight casing.


A state detection device which detects parameters includes a measuring pipe, electrodes, an exciting coil that applies a magnetic field to the fluid, signal lines arranged at angle to the magnetic field such that an electromotive force is generated due to a change with passage of time in the magnetic field, and a state quantifying unit for extracting a ∂A/∂t component from resultant electromotive forces that are detected at the electrodes and the signal lines and are composed of an electromotive force of the ∂A/∂t component irrelevant to a flow velocity of the fluid and resulting from a change with passage of time in the magnetic field and an electromotive force of a v×B component relevant to the flow velocity of the fluid, and extracts a variation factor relevant to the parameter from the ∂A/∂t component to quantify the parameter based on the variation factor.

Measuring a flow rate of a fluid using a flowmeter is typically accompanied by needs for detection of a property or state of the measured fluid or a state of the fluid flowing through a measuring pipe. For example, in manufacture lines where chemicals are introduced into fluid, properties of the fluid such as conductivity and permittivity are measured, in addition to the flow rate thereof. In measuring pipes where contaminant is likely to adhere to the inner surface thereof, the adhesion state is measured to determine a maintenance cycle. Thus, there is a demand for measuring a property or state of fluid or a state of the pipe where the fluid flows as well as a flow rate thereof. In addition, there is a demand for realizing these measurements using a hardware configuration that is essentially the same as a flowmeter.
In other words, there is a demand for a single meter capable of selecting measurement of a flow rate of fluid, measurement of a state of the fluid, simultaneous measurement of a flow rate and state of the fluid, as desired by a user. The demand for simultaneous measurement of a flow rate and state of fluid means that the meter should be able to measure a property or state of the fluid independently of the flow rate of the fluid.
An electromagnetic flowmeter as an exemplary flowmeter is required to measure a state of a measuring pipe, in addition to the above needs, in terms of self-checking ability of the electromagnetic flowmeter. For example, in an electromagnetic flowmeter that uses an electrode to extract potential, insulating materials adhere to the electrode that is in contact with fluid, which precludes adequate extraction of the potential from the electrode and accurate measurement of a flow rate of the fluid. In this case, if the flowmeter can determine the cause of change in signals to be a change in flow rate of fluid therein or adhesion of insulating materials thereto, without interrupting measurement of the signals, troubles related to measured values can be prevented. In an electromagnetic flowmeter, usually, a change in a magnetic field to be applied results in errors in measured values. In this case, if the flowmeter has information about magnetic field applied to fluid, the flowmeter can determine the cause of the obtained abnormal output to be a change in flow rate of fluid or a change in the magnetic field applied to the fluid, providing the electromagnetic flowmeter with a self-checking function as the flowmeter.
As described above, it is desired to fulfill the requirements for measure various parameters other than flow rate in a hardware configuration that is essentially the same with that of a flowmeter. Examples of the devices that measure various parameters other than flow rate to fulfill the requirements are discussed in Japanese Patent No. 3164684 and Japan Measuring Instruments Federation, "A to Z of Flow Rate Measurement for Instrumentation Engineers", Kogyogijutsusha, 1995, pp. 147-148. The flowmeter devices disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3164684 and Japan Measuring Instruments Federation, "A to Z of Flow Rate Measurement for Instrumentation Engineers", measure a level and a conductivity using the principle of electromagnetic flowmeter. The flowmeter devices calculate a level using a ratio between the electromotive force signals obtained from electrodes when exciting coils that are located opposite to each other around a measuring pipe are simultaneously driven and the electromotive force signals obtained from electrodes when one of the exciting coils is driven. The flowmeter devices also calculate a conductivity of fluid using a ratio between electromotive force signals before and after a change of an input impedance of a preamplifier connected to electrodes. This configuration can be used to detect substance adhesion.
Unfortunately, the electromagnetic flowmeters discussed in Japanese Patent No. 3164684 and Japan Measuring Instruments Federation, "A to Z of Flow Rate Measurement for Instrumentation Engineers", detects a property or state of fluid based on a ratio between flow rate signals, resulting in a problem that the flow rate decreasing to zero results in a larger measurement error and lower accuracy, and no property or state can be detected at a flow rate of zero. In addition, no change in magnetic field can be detected because the cause of change in measured flow rate cannot be determined whether a change in the flow rate itself or a change in magnetic field.
To address the above problems, the inventor of the present invention proposed a state detection device as illustrated in FIG. 29 (see Japanese Patent No. 2006-90794). The state detection device includes: a measuring pipe 1 through which a measured fluid flows for measurement; a pair of electrodes 2a and 2b that are disposed perpendicular to both a magnetic field applied to the measured fluid and an axis PAX of the measuring pipe 1, and mutually opposite across the measuring pipe to be in contact with the measured fluid, so as to detect an electromotive force generated by the magnetic field and the measured fluid; an exciting coil 3 that applies, to the measured fluid, a time-changing magnetic field asymmetrical to a boundary plane PLN that is perpendicular to the axis PAX in the measuring pipe, the electrodes 2a and 2b being placed on the plane PLN; a state quantifying unit that extracts a ∂A/∂t component from resultant electromotive forces that are detected by the electrodes 2a and 2b and composed of an electromotive force of a ∂A/∂t component irrelevant to a flow velocity of the fluid and an electromotive force of a v×B component resulting from the flow velocity of the fluid, extracts a variation factor relevant to a parameter (such as a property or state of the fluid or a state in the measuring pipe) from the ∂A/∂t component to quantify the parameter based on the variation factor; and a power source 9 that supplies excitation current to the exciting coil 3.
The state quantifying unit 8 includes: a signal converting unit 5 that extracts a ∂A/∂t component from resultant electromotive forces that are detected by the electrodes 2a and 2b and composed of an electromotive force of the ∂A/∂t component and an electromotive force of a v×B component, and then extracts a variation factor relevant to a parameter from the ∂A/∂t components; a state storing unit 6 that stores, in advance, a relationship between the variation factor relevant to the parameter and the parameter; and a state outputting unit 7 that outputs the parameter corresponding to the extracted variation factor based on the relationship stored in the state storing unit 6. According to the state detection device discussed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-90794, accurate detection of a state in a measuring pipe including a fluid and a magnetic field can be achieved independently of a flow velocity of a fluid.


The present invention aims to provide a method for producing polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) with an excellent color using biomass-derived 1,4-butanediol (BG). The invention relates to a method for producing PBT comprising a step of subjecting a diol component containing raw material 1,4-BG having a nitrogen content of 0.01 to 50 ppm by mass and a dicarboxylic acid component to esterification or ester-exchange reaction, and a polycondensation reaction step for obtaining PBT from the reactant, wherein the content of gamma butyrolactone in the raw material 1,4-BG is 1 to 100 ppm by mass.

Polybutylene terephthalate (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as "PBT"), which is a typical engineering plastic among thermoplastic polyester resins, is excellent in view of the easy molding process, mechanical property, heat resistance, chemical resistance, aroma retention property, and other physical and chemical properties. Thus, PBT has been widely used as a material for injection-molded parts such as automotive parts, electric and electronic parts, and parts for a precision instrument. Recently, as PBT has been widely used also in the field of general consumer goods such as a film, a sheet, a monofilament and fibers making use of its excellent properties, PBT with an excellent color has been required.
PBT can be generally obtained by reacting terephthalic acid or an alkyl ester thereof with 1,4-butanediol (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as "1,4-BG"). However, since 1,4-BG is easily converted into tetrahydrofuran (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as "THF") during the reaction, a method for producing PBT in high yield in which the conversion of 1,4-BG into THF is prevented is required.
In addition, with the growing demand for building a sustainable society, it is desired to switch from materials derived from fossil fuel in the production of PBT as in the energy production. When no fossil fuel is used as a raw material, a biomass-derived material obtained from plants and the like as raw materials is one of the possible raw materials. Also with regard to 1,4-BG, which is a raw material of PBT, a method for producing PBT from biomass-derived 1,4-BG as a raw material has been studied.
However, the color of obtained PBT deteriorates when biomass-derived raw material 1,4-BG is used, in comparison with the color of PBT produced from raw material 1,4-BG which is obtained from fossil fuel such as petroleum. The major cause for the color deterioration is thought to be a nitrogen-containing component in PBT. In addition, it is thought that components other than this component also have an influence on the color of PBT.
PTL 1 describes a technique for obtaining PBT from a biomass-derived raw material and describes that PBT with a nitrogen content of 50 ppm by mass or less is obtained by setting the nitrogen content in the biomass-derived raw material 1,4-BG within 0.01 to 50 ppm by mass. PTL 1 also describes that, although 1-acetoxy-4-hydroxybutane (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as "1,4-HAB") contained in the raw material 1,4-BG delays the polycondensation reaction of PBT and causes the coloration of PBT, the coloration of PBT due to delayed polymerization can be reduced by using, as a raw material, 1,4-BG obtained from raw material 1,4-BG with a controlled nitrogen concentration.
In addition, it is known that gamma butyrolactone (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as "GBL") is generated as a by-product in the conventional methods for producing 1,4-BG. For example, PTL 2 describes that gamma butyrolactone is produced as a by-product when a crude hydrogenated product containing 1,4-BG is obtained by hydrogenating maleic acid, succinic acid, maleic anhydride, fumaric acid and/or the like, in a method for producing 1,4-BG from a raw material derived from fossil fuel.
As methods for producing 1,4-BG from a biomass-derived raw material, PTL 3 describes to subject biomass-derived succinic acid to chemical reduction or bioengineering hydrogenation to produce 1,4-BG, and PTL 4 describes a method for obtaining 1,4-BG by direct fermentation from bacterial cells.

Method for producing polybutylene terephthalate


A print control method causes a printing apparatus to print an image on the basis of a structured document containing a plurality of hierarchical elements. In the print control method, a print preview image and a tree view showing a hierarchy of the elements contained in the structured document are displayed. In the tree view, the elements are displayed in a selectable manner When an instruction to specify an element is input, an updated print preview image including the specified element is displayed. Thus, the user can easily remove unnecessary part of a Web page on a print preview screen and print the resulting Web page.

In recent years, it has been possible to obtain various kinds of information by accessing Web pages on the Internet. These Web pages are structured documents written in a structured language, such as hyper text markup language (HTML) or extensible hyper text markup language (XHTML). The Web pages can be displayed on a display in a viewable manner by software called browser supporting such a structured document. Typically, a Web page to be printed is displayed on a display by a browser, and the displayed page is printed. Japanese Patent No. 3588337 describes a method in which, within a Web page displayed by a browser, an area selected by the user with a pointing device (e.g., mouse) is printed.
However, in the known method described above, no consideration is given to cases where a plurality of parts the user wants to print are scattered within the Web page. Therefore, to print the Web page except a plurality of unnecessary parts scattered therewithin, the user has to edit the Web page and thus has to perform complicated operations.
In view of the problem described above, the present invention provides a print control method which allows the user to easily remove unnecessary parts scattered within a Web page and print the resulting Web page.    Patent Citation 1: Japanese Patent No. 3588337

Print control method and print control apparatus for controlling printing of structured document


Process for polymerizing or copolymerizing ethylenically unsaturated monomers in the presence of free-radical polymerization initiators at pressures in the range of from 110 MPa to 500 MPa and temperatures in the range of from 100° C. to 350° C. in a continuously operated polymerization apparatus, wherein the reaction gas composition is compressed to the polymerization pressure by at least two sequentially operating compressors in which a low-pressure compressor first compresses the reaction gas composition to a pressure of from 10 MPa to 50 MPa and a high-pressure compressor then further compresses the reaction gas composition to the polymerization pressure wherein the high-pressure compressor is operated with a polyalkylene glycol based synthetic lubricant and oxygen is introduced into the fresh gas feed or into the polymerization apparatus in an amount that the gas composition to be compressed in the high-pressure compressor has an oxygen content in the range of from 0.01 ppm to 0.9 ppm.

Polyethylene is the most widely used commercial polymer. It can be prepared by a couple of different processes. Polymerization in the presence of free-radical initiators at elevated pressures was the method first discovered to obtain polyethylene and continues to be a valued process with high commercial relevance for the preparation of low density polyethylene (LDPE). LDPE is a versatile polymer which can be used in a variety of applications, such as film, coating, molding, and wire and cable insulation. There is consequently still demand for optimizing the processes for its preparation.
A normal set-up of a plant for polymerizing or copolymerizing ethylenically unsaturated monomers such as ethylene in the presence of free-radical polymerization initiators consists essentially of a set of two compressors, a low-pressure and a high-pressure compressor, a polymerization reactor, which can be an autoclave or a tubular reactor or a combination of such reactors, and two separators for separating the monomer-polymer mixture leaving the tubular reactor, wherein in the first separator, the high-pressure separator, the ethylene separated from the monomer-polymer mixture is recycled to the ethylene-feed between the low-pressure compressor and the high-pressure compressor, and the ethylene separated from the mixture in the second separator, the low-pressure separator, is fed to the low-pressure compressor where it is compressed to the pressure of the fresh ethylene feed, combined with the fresh ethylene feed and the combined streams are further pressurized to the pressure of the high-pressure gas recycle stream. Such a high-pressure polymerization unit normally further includes apparatuses like extruders and granulators for pelletizing the obtained polymer. Monomer supply to the tubular reactor can either be carried out solely in the beginning of the reactor or only partly in the beginning with the other part fed via one or more side feed entries. Moreover, it is also common to introduce initiator in more than one place down the tube, thus creating more than one reaction zone.
The free-radical initiated polymerization of ethylene and optionally additional one or more comonomers is carried out at high pressures, which can reach even 500 MPa. Such high pressures require special technology for the process to be handled in a safe and reliable manner.
The compressors used for pressurizing ethylene and the other components of the reaction mixture are usually reciprocating piston compressors operating with plungers which are lubricated with oils. A recent development was to use as lubricant polyalkylene glycol (PAG) based oils instead of mineral oils. PAG based oils have the advantage that their solubility in supercritical ethylene is lower than the solubility of mineral oils. Therefore the lubrication films are more stable and less oil is transported to the polymer product and accordingly less oil is needed for the lubrication. More stable oil films also improve the lubrication and thereby increase the operating lifetime of the compressor. Moreover, at high pressures, PAG based oils have lower viscosities than mineral oils and can therefore more easily be pumped to the lubrication points.
The reliability of the high-pressure compressors is greatly reduced by polymer deposits in the compressors due to premature polymerization, i.e. polymerization prior to the feed of the free-radical polymerization initiators. In case of commonly used two-stage high-pressure compressors, these polymer deposits block filters on the suction side of the second compression stage as well as suction and discharge valves, resulting in increased pressures and temperatures between the two compression stages and causing strong vibrations on the cylinders of the second compression stage. However, such vibrations and increased interstage pressures can damage the compressor. Consequently, if such polymer deposits are formed it is necessary to remove them frequently. This requires however a shut-down of the plant accompanied by loss of production. Moreover, it had turned out that high-pressure compressors operated with PAG based oils are much more susceptible to formation of polymer deposits than high-pressure compressors operated with mineral oils.
As a consequence, there is a desire to avoid compressor fouling. One possibility is adding an inhibitor to the oil. Disadvantage is that the stabilizer in the oil will not be distributed homogeneously in the gas or supercritical phase thereby limiting its efficiency.
Another possibility is feeding inhibitor to the gas to be compressed. EP 811 590 A1 describes a process for compressing ethylenically unsaturated monomers which comprises carrying out compression in the presence of a sterically hindered amine derivative. EP 1 013 678 A2 discloses a similar process in which the pressurizing is effected in the presence of specific nitroxyl compounds. Additives such as nitrogen containing inhibitors can however remain in the polymer which is not desired as they can, for example, cause organoleptic issues. Furthermore, there is in general an increased demand in the market for "pure" LDPE.
WO 01/60875 refers to a method for polymerizing or copolymerizing ethylenically unsaturated monomers in the presence of radically decomposing polymerization initiators in a continuously operating polymerization device while preventing undesired polymer deposits in the compressors. The method is characterized in that nitrogen monoxide or oxygen is added in a dosed manner as an inhibitor into the high-pressure circuit, into the low-pressure circuit and/or into the pre-compressor. Oxygen can be used as inhibitor since it has generally an inhibiting effect at temperatures below 170° C. and an initiating effect only above 170° C. The document exemplifies oxygen concentrations of 3 ppm and 6 ppm and teaches that oxygen concentrations of from 1 to 5 ppm can be sufficient; the oxygen concentration is preferably 2 to 5 ppm. However, the disadvantage of using oxygen in such concentrations is that there is still an influence of the oxygen on the temperature profile in the tubular reactors. The more oxygen is fed the more rounded the first peak in the temperature profile gets and the less pronounced the temperature drop thereafter is. The success of peroxide initiated reactors is however at least partly due to the fact, that the steep temperature gradients allow for shorter reactors and therefore less investment costs. Oxygen initiated reactors show smaller temperature gradients with less sharp peaks. Therefore increasing the oxygen concentration partly cancels the advantages of peroxide initiation. Especially for high density grades which are run at low maximum temperature, a rounded temperature profile leads to too high temperatures at the beginning of the succeeding reaction zone, thereby limiting as well the range of obtainable product grades as also the achievable production rates.
Thus, it was the object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of such processes for polymerizing or copolymerizing ethylenically unsaturated monomers in the presence of free-radical polymerization initiators and provide a possibility for avoiding premature polymerization in the compressors and thereby allowing a higher throughput of the compressors and reducing the risk of compressor damages by reducing compressor vibrations while simultaneously detrimental effects on the flexibility with respect to the range of obtainable product grades and on achievable production rates are minimized


A delay locked circuit has multiple paths for receiving an external signal. One path measures a timing of the external signal during a measurement. Another path generates an internal signal based on the external signal. The delay locked circuit periodically performs the measurement to keep the external and internal signals synchronized. The time interval between one measurement and the next measurement is unequal to the cycle time of the external signal.

Delay locked circuits reside in many integrated circuits for delaying an external signal to obtain an internal signal. The delay locked circuit automatically tracks the external and internal signals to keep them synchronized. The internal signal usually serves as a reference signal for the integrated circuits instead of the external signal because the internal signal matches internal operating conditions of the integrated circuits, such as process, voltage, and temperature, better than the external signal does.
One type of delay locked circuit measures a timing of the external signal in every cycle (period) of the external signal. Based on the measurement, the delay locked circuit adjusts the delay applied to the external signal to keep the external and internal signals synchronized.
In many cases, the operating conditions of the integrated circuit remain unchanged for a time substantially greater than the cycle time of the external signal. Therefore, measuring the external signal to adjust the delay in every cycle time of the external signal wastes power.

Measure-controlled circuit with frequency control


A method, apparatus and computer program product for static warehouse area sizing and slotting of a multi-mode forward area. Method includes: receiving article dimensional attributes and demand information of more than article identified by a stock keeping unit (SKU); receiving storage dimensional attributes of more than one storage configuration of pick media; for each of a forward area and a reserve area, receiving a picking cost and a restocking cost for each storage configuration; optimizing slotting of each of the SKUs based upon the article dimensional attributes and the storage dimensional attributes; defining possible designs of the more than one storage configuration up to a maximum size of a facility; calculating a first cost for each design in picking and restocking in the forward area and a second cost for each design in picking from reserve area; and optimizing forward area based upon a difference between first and second costs.

A warehouse is a building used for the storage of goods, such as manufactured parts, raw materials, spare parts and more. This building has both receiving and shipping areas, in which goods are unloaded from the trucks in the receiving docks and are loaded to the trucks on a smaller scale in the shipping docks. The level of automation differs in different warehouses. While the products are completely picked, packed, and transported automatically in some warehouses, others utilize labor for those activities.
Material flow within the warehouse varies in terms of both type of Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) and the volume. SKUs and demand growth are two subjects that jeopardize any warehouse space management system. These growths will also affect warehouse functions. In some cases, managers must accommodate by adding new products to the already strained capacity of the distribution center. They may also need to apportion available space to those SKUs that have experienced growth in demand.
Every warehouse requires labor, capital, land, and an information system, but providing these resources is costly. One important reason to have a warehouse is to address a highly volatile and changing demand environment. Warehouses provide a buffer for these unpredictable changes. They can also reduce transportation costs by product consolidation before shipping the aggregate volume. Several value added services, such as packaging, returned product services, repairs, testing, inspection, and assembly, are provided by warehouses.

Static warehouse area sizing and slotting of a multi-mode forward area


An electromagnetic transponder including: a parallel oscillating circuit adapted to extracting a supply signal from a radiated field; in parallel with the oscillating circuit, several branches each including a programmable resistor and a switch; and a cyclic control element for successively turning on the switches, each resistor forming an element for storing a portion of the code stored in the transponder.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electromagnetic transponder, that is, a transceiver (most often, mobile) capable of being interrogated in a contactless and wireless manner by a unit (generally fixed), called a read and/or write terminal. Generally, transponders extract the power supply required by the electronic circuits included therein from a high frequency field radiated by an antenna of the read/write terminal. There exist read-only transponders, that is, transponders adapted to operating with a terminal which only reads transponder data, and read/write transponders, which contain data that can be modified by the terminal.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Systems using electromagnetic transponders are based on the use of oscillating circuits including a winding forming an antenna, on the transponder side and on the read/write terminal side. These circuits are capable of being coupled by close magnetic field when the transponder enters the field of the read/write terminal.
FIG. 1 very schematically shows a conventional example of a data exchange system between a read/write terminal 1 and a transponder 10 of the type to which the present invention applies.
Generally, terminal 1 is essentially formed of a series oscillating circuit formed of an inductance L1 in series with a capacitor C1 and a resistor Rb, between an output terminal 2 of an amplifier or antenna coupler (not shown) and a reference terminal 3 (generally the ground). The antenna coupler belongs to a circuit 4 for controlling the oscillating circuit and for exploiting the received data including, among others, a modulator-demodulator and a microprocessor for processing the control signals and the data. Circuit 4 of the terminal generally communicates with different input/output circuits (keyboard, screen, means of exchange with a server, etc.) and/or processing circuits, not shown. The circuits of the read/write terminal generally draw the power required by their operation from a supply circuit (not shown) connected, for example, to the electric supply system.
A transponder 10, capable of cooperating with a terminal 1, essentially includes a parallel oscillating circuit formed of an inductance L2, in parallel with a capacitor C2 between two A.C. input terminals 11, 12 of a control and processing circuit 13. Terminals 11 and 12 are, in practice, connected to the input of a rectifying means (not shown in FIG. 1) the outputs of which form D.C. supply terminals of the circuits internal to the transponder. These circuits generally include, essentially, a microprocessor or a circuit in wired logic, a memory, a demodulator of the signals that may be received from terminal 1, and a modulator for transmitting information to the terminal. For example, in the case of an electronic label to which the present invention more specifically applies, this information is most often formed of a (binary) code enabling the processing system, on the side of terminal 1, to identify the product with which the label is associated.
The oscillating circuit of terminal 1 is excited by a high-frequency signal (for example, at 13.56 MHz) capable of being sensed by a transponder 10. When transponder 10 is in the field of terminal 1, a high-frequency voltage is generated across terminals 11, 12 of the transponder's resonant circuit. This voltage, after being rectified and possibly clipped, provides the supply voltage of electronic circuits 13 of the transponder.
The oscillating circuits of the terminal and of the transponder are generally tuned on the same frequency corresponding to the frequency of the excitation signal of the oscillating circuit of terminal 1. This high-frequency signal (for example, 13.56 MHz) is used as a remote supply carrier for the transponders located in the terminal's field and, when necessary, as a data transmission carrier from the terminal to this (these) transponder(s). When a transponder is in the field of a terminal 1, a high-frequency voltage is generated across terminals 11 and 12 of the transponder's resonant circuit. This voltage, after rectification and possible clipping, provides the supply voltage of electronic circuits 13 of the transponder.
The high-frequency carrier transmitted by the terminal is generally modulated in amplitude by said terminal according to different coding techniques to transmit data and/or control signals to one or several transponders in the field. In return, the data transmission from the transponder to a terminal is generally performed by modulating the load formed by resonant circuit L2, C2. The load variation (called a back modulation) is performed at the rate of a sub-carrier having a frequency (for example, 847.5 kHz) smaller than that of the carrier. This load variation can then be detected by the terminal as an amplitude variation or as a phase variation by means, for example, of a measurement of the voltage across capacitor C1 or of the current in the oscillating circuit. In FIG. 1, the measurement signal has been symbolized by a connection 5 in dotted lines connecting the junction of inductive resistor L1 and capacitor C1 to circuit 2.
The back modulation performed by the transponder may be resistive or capacitive. The present invention relates to a transponder with a resistive back modulation. The resistive back modulation includes connecting, in parallel with resonant circuit L2, C2, a resistor in series with a switch (generally, a MOS transistor). The switch is controlled according to the code to be transmitted (0 or 1) at the rate of the sub-carrier. The parallel connection is generally performed downstream of the rectifying bridge.
More and more, it is desired to integrate the entire transponder in a same silicon chip (antenna L2, capacitor C2 and circuit 13). Further, it is desired to minimize the surface area of the chip to miniaturize transponders, in particular in applications to electronic labels. An electronic label can then replace the printing of a conventional bar code to contain the identifier of a product.
A problem of conventional transponders is linked to the need to use a modulator-demodulator to convert a code (digital data, identification code of a label, etc.) to be transmitted to the read-write terminal. This need entails the necessary use of a storage (for example, a RAM, ROM, EPROM or EEPROM) of the code in binary form and of a modulation circuit upstream of the actual resistive back-modulation elements. This complexity adversely affects the miniaturization and the cost of present transponders.
Another disadvantage is that the programming of a binary code and, more generally, the writing of data in an electromagnetic transponder, requires at best a communication with a read-write terminal and a complex exchange protocol. At worst, in the case where it would be desired to store an immutable code in a one-time programming memory, it is necessary to write this code upon manufacturing in an EPROM or an EEPROM.
Another known technique is to increase the value of a resistance by optically submitting it to a laser which physically reduces its size. A disadvantage is the exorbitant price of the operation, which must be repeated for each chip. Another disadvantage is that the processing is optically visible, and thus detectable.


According to one embodiment, a nonvolatile semiconductor storage device includes a memory cell array where memory cells are arranged in a row direction and a column direction in a matrix shape; word lines which select the memory cell in the row direction; bit lines which select the memory cells in the column direction; a sense amplifier circuit which determines values stored in the memory cells based on states of the bit line; and a charge/discharge circuit which is formed in a well where the memory cell array is arranged and which charges or discharges the bit lines.

In a NAND type flash memory, a discharge operation for bit lines is performed through a sense amplifier circuit when a read operation or the like is ended. When parasitic capacitance or sheet resistance of the bit lines is increased according to miniaturization of memory cells, a discharge time in the discharge operation is increased.

NAND flash memory employing bit line charge/discharge circuit


By optimizing equipment and processing, magnetic domain miniaturization efficiency can be increased, workability can be improved, and processing ability can be increased through same. Provided is a method for miniaturizing the magnetic domains of a directional electric steel plate, the method comprising: a steel plate supporting roll position adjusting step of controlling the vertical direction position of a steel plate while supporting the steel plate progressing along a production line; and a laser emitting step of melting the steel plate by emitting a laser beam to form grooves on the surface of the steel plate, wherein the laser emitting step includes an angle changing step of changing an emitting line angle of the laser beam with respect to a width direction of the steel plate while an optical system emitting the laser beam onto the steel plate is rotated with respect to the steel plate, and a focal distance maintaining step of changing a tilt of the steel plate supporting roll which supports the steel plate according to a change in focal distance of the laser beam in the width direction of the steel plate.

For example, a directional electric steel plate with magnetic characteristics such as low iron loss and high magnetic flux density is required in order to reduce power loss and improve efficiency of electric devices such as a transformer.
There is disclosed a technique of miniaturizing magnetic domains in a vertical direction to a rolling direction by a mechanical method or emitting a laser beam to a surface of the steel plate so as to reduce the iron loss of the directional electric steel plate.
The method for miniaturizing the magnetic domains may be broadly divided into temporal magnetic domain miniaturization and permanent magnetic domain miniaturization depending on whether or not an effect of improving magnetic domain miniaturization after the stress removing and annealing is maintained.
The temporal magnetic domain miniaturization method has a disadvantage of losing the magnetic domain miniaturization effect after the stress removing and annealing. In the temporal magnetic domain miniaturization method, the magnetic domains are miniaturized by forming a local compression stress portion on the surface of the steel plate. However, such a method causes damage to an insulating coating layer on the surface of the steel plate and thus, recoating is required, and there is a disadvantage that the manufacturing cost is high because the magnetic domain miniaturization is performed in an intermediate process rather than a final product
The permanent magnetic domain miniaturization method may maintain an effect of improving the iron loss even after heat treatment. For the permanent magnetic domain miniaturization, techniques using an etching method, a roll method, and a laser method have been mainly used. In the case of the etching method, it is difficult to control groove formation depth and width, and it is difficult to guarantee the iron loss property of the final product, and it is disadvantageous in that the etching method is not eco-friendly because an acid solution is used. In the case of the method using the roll, there is a disadvantage that the stability, reliability, and process are complicated for mechanical processing.
In the method for miniaturizing the magnetic domains of the steel plate by using a laser, molten grooves are formed on the surface of the steel plate by emitting a laser beam to the surface of the steel plate while the steel plate is supported and the tension is adjusted, thereby miniaturizing magnetic domains. As described above, in order to miniaturize the magnetic domains using the laser, it is required to improve and optimize the process more effectively so that the iron loss of the electric steel plate is reduced and the magnetic flux density is increased while high-speed processing can be performed.

Method and device for magnetic domain refinement of oriented electrical steel plate


An aseptic molding process of a container starting from a parison (20) made of a thermoplastic material, comprising steps of:

As is known, in a stretch-blowing molding process, the parisons are heated and advanced towards a stretch-blowing apparatus having a plurality of molding stations.
Each molding station comprises a mould consisting of two half-moulds that reproduce the shape of the sides of the container to be obtained. Usually at one of the bases of the mould there is a profiling element of the bottom of the container, known in the sector as a "bottom", which engages with the half-moulds in order to define a molding cavity.
Once the parison has been inserted into the mould cavity, the two half-moulds are neared and maintained closed by a mechanical locking system.
A blower or sealing nozzle is neared to the neck of the parison and closes, and maintains airtight, the mouth thereof. Pressurised air is blown through the nozzle inside the parison.
In particular, during a first step, known as the pre-blowing step, air is blown at a maximum pressure of about 16 bar. A stretching rod, slidable inside the blowing nozzle, is simultaneously and gradually introduced into the parison until it reaches the bottom. After touching the bottom, the stretching rod continues its linear stroke during which the tubular body of the parison is stretched up to when the parison reaches substantially the desired length of the container to be obtained.
In a second step, known as the blowing step, the air is blown at a maximum pressure of about 40 bar, thus determining the expansion of the parison up until it adheres to the internal walls of the half-moulds and the bottom. Simultaneously, the stretching rod starts to retract until it exits from the container. On conclusion, the blowing air is maintained for a few instants inside the container so as to consolidate the molding of the container.
The air is then discharged through the blower nozzle so as to return the inside of the container to atmospheric pressure, and then the container is removed from the mould.
During the pre-blowing and blowing steps, the two half-moulds are stressed by very high pressures which can cause deformations in the mould and be converted into evident defects in the shape of the finished containers, where the seam line generated by the two flanked half-moulds is perceptible both to the eye and to the touch. The simple mould locking system is not sufficient to compensate for these deformations.
For this reason compensation systems for the mould mechanical deformations have been developed which, at least during the blowing step, apply a closing force on one of the two half-moulds as a function of the blowing pressure.
The closing force is applied by introducing a fluid under pressure (for example compressed air) in a confined chamber between one or the two half-moulds and the relative mechanical support (for example the mould-holder).
Document EP2559545 describes a compensation system of the deformations of the mould in which the force exerted on the half-mould by the pressurised fluid has at least two components lying in different directions. The pressurised fluid is also sterile.
However, the introduction of sterile air is not sufficient to ensure the degree of aseptic conditions required by the process.
Document WO 2012/016951 describes a compensation system in which the force is distributed on at least two different zones of one of the two half-moulds.
In an aseptic molding process all devices destined to enter into contact with the parison or which are in proximity of the parison after sterilisation thereof must be sterilisable.
The Applicant has developed a molding apparatus in aseptic conditions, in which the molding rotary carousel is protected by an isolation device suitable for defining a controlled-contamination environment, while the movement means for moving the carousel and moulds are located outside the isolation device (see European patent EP2246176).
In this apparatus, the sterilisation step involves, in particular, the gripping members, the stretching rod and the blowing air management circuit.
For this reason the Applicant has also proposed a blowing air circuit in which the air discharge pathway is split. By appropriately driving the valves of the circuit, inlet of the contaminants into the container is prevented during the evacuation of the air at high pressures (up to 40 bar) and completion of the evacuation is enabled even at low pressures (for example lower than 3 bar). This solution is described in document EP2643142.

Apparatus and process for aseptic molding of a container starting from a parison made of a thermoplastic material

Abstract: blowing a first fluid into the parison (20) located in a mould (10);

Abstract: introducing the first fluid into the compensating chamber (14) of the mould (10) through an inlet (15);

Abstract: evacuating the first fluid from the molded container;

Abstract: evacuating the first fluid from the compensating chamber (14) through an outlet (16) fashioned therein;

Abstract: sterilising the compensating chamber (14) by supplying to the inlet (15) a second fluid containing a sterilising agent and evacuating the second fluid from the outlet (16) of the compensating chamber (14).


There is provided a code acquisition device and method using a two-step search process in a DS-CDMA UWB modem. The device includes: an I/Q channel symbol generating unit for, generating a plurality (i) of nth I/Q channel symbols in a first search process and generating a plurality of nth I/Q channel symbols in a second search process; a spread code selecting unit for receiving the plurality of nth I/Q channel symbols in the first search process; an NNC2NS tap I/Q channel symbol matched filter unit for, in the second search process, receiving the plurality (i) of nth I/Q channel symbols; a switching unit for changing to a closed state of the second search process; and a super frame and symbol boundary time deciding unit for deciding a super frame time and a symbol boundary time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a code acquisition device and method using a two-step search process in a Direct Sequence-Code Division Multiple Access (DS-CDMA) Ultra Wide Band (UWB) modem, and more particularly, to a code acquisition device and method using a two-step search process in a DS-CDMA UWB modem in which when a beacon frame synchronization being a super-frame timing synchronization is performed, twenty-four noncoherent correlators are used in a first search process to search for an allocation code allocated to a piconet, and a spread code sequence searched in the first search process is used in a second search process to concurrently decide a super frame time (packet code) and a symbol boundary time (firstly received path).
2. Description of the Related Art
As well known, in a conventional DS-CDMA system, pilot signals all having patterns of "0" can be always radiated from a base station, and if code synchronization is acquired through the pilot signal, a reception packet time of a type allocated to a PN code chip clock is automatically acquired. Accordingly, in a conventional DS-CDMA system of Data Communication Network (DCN), Personal Communication Services (PCS), International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000), if only the code synchronization is acquired, a relation of a period of a PN code sequence, a chip duration and the like can be used to acquire a packet synchronization.
However, unlike the conventional DS-CDMA system, in a DS-CDMA UWB modem of IEEE 802.15.3a, when a device belonging to a piconet is turned on, the device should primarily receive a beacon frame to communicate with a piconet coordinator. Before the reception, code synchronization is performed between a spread code sequence received from the piconet coordinator and a spread code sequence generated from a device receiver. Additionally, since a spread code of the piconet relating to the code synchronization, a packet synchronization (super frame time decision), and a symbol boundary time for allocating a code phase to a plurality of fingers should be searched within a determined preamble duration, a code synchronization acquisition process should be necessarily performed at a high speed.
However, a device and method for performing a code synchronization acquisition at the high speed in the DS-CDMA UWB modem of the IEEE 802.15.3a has not been developed. Just only analogous type of searcher is embodied by Motorola Corporation, but a digital type of searcher for a reception signal does not have ever been proposed before. Accordingly, there is a drawback in that it is difficult to perform a communication between the device belonging to the piconet and the piconet coordinator due to the absence of a kernel technology of the DS-CDMA UWB modem.

Code acquisition device and method using two-step search process in DS-CDMA UWB modem

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


The image forming apparatus includes: an image forming device which has a plurality of nozzles performing droplet ejection of ink to deposit droplets of the ink to form an image onto a prescribed medium; an image reading device which acquires read image data by reading in the image on the medium; a deviation amount calculation device which, for each of the nozzles, calculates a current deviation amount that is a deviation amount in the droplet ejection with respect to a prescribed central value, by finding a weighted average of an initial deviation amount and past N deviation amounts nearest to a current time calculated for the nozzle according to past read image data; and a droplet ejection correction device which corrects the droplet ejection of each of the nozzles according to the current deviation amount of the nozzle calculated by the deviation amount calculation device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a droplet ejection correction method, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus for correcting droplet ejection in cases where images are formed by droplet ejection and a droplet ejection correction method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Among image forming apparatuses which form images by ejecting and depositing droplets of ink onto a medium, such as paper, apparatuses are known which read in an image formed on a medium and correct ink droplet ejection on the basis of the reading results (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication Nos. 5-238012, 6-166247, 6-198866 and 7-266582).
Furthermore, an image forming apparatus is also known which reads in an image formed on a medium and determines ejection failure nozzles on the basis of the reading results (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-297728).
In a so-called single-pass image forming apparatus which forms images by moving a medium, such as paper, once only, with respect to a head having a plurality of nozzles, any variation in the droplet ejection between respective nozzles, such as variation in the direction of flight of the ejected droplets and variation in the ejected droplet volumes, directly produces image abnormalities, such as so-called "banding", or the like.
In an image forming apparatus of this kind, naturally, better reliability of the head is achieved, but even in this case, if using a head having a very large number of nozzles, it is not possible to avoid droplet ejection variations which occur with a certain probability.
If it is sought to correct droplet ejection on the basis of image reading results, in order to avoid image deterioration due to variations in droplet ejection, then "instable variations" present a major problem. More specifically, if the variation in the droplet ejection is "relatively stable variation" which involves gradual variation over time, then if images containing relatively stable variation of this kind are read in and correction is performed directly on this basis, then an effect in maintaining high image quality is obtained; but if the variation in droplet ejection is "instable variation" which involves sudden variation over time, then even if images containing "instable variation" of this kind are read in and correction is performed directly on this basis, when the correction is actually implemented, it is possible that the direction of variation will have changed (in other words, the direction of flight of the ejected droplets or the direction of increase or decrease in the ejection droplet volume will have changed), and in cases such as this, the deterioration of the image may actually be exacerbated. In other words, there is a problem in that high-frequency noise components adversely affect the correction.
Well-known and commonly used methods for removing high-frequency noise components are simple averaging, such as arithmetic averaging, and filtering of the high-frequency components, but in the case of an image forming apparatus, increasing the number of measurement operations so as to achieve effective noise removal means increasing the number of prints or increasing the number of test patterns. Therefore, it is not possible to increase the number of measurement operations, readily.
Japanese Patent Application Publication Nos. 5-238012, 6-166247, 6-198866, 7-266582, and 6-297728 mentioned above do not make any concrete description of the problem of dealing with temporal variation in droplet ejection, and nor do they present ways of resolving this problem.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-198866 discloses a general averaging process between pixels, namely, a process which uses the average value of the adjacent pixels to each pixel (dot) output, (for example, the average of three pixels), as the output for that pixel, in order to reduce the effects of noise and reading error, but it does not discuss how to deal with temporal variations in droplet ejection.

Image forming apparatus and droplet ejection correction method