A method for use in a digital data transfer apparatus, such as a radio telephone (10), that includes an adaptive equalizer, such as an adaptive filter (32), for receiving, correcting, and outputting data symbols. The method determines correction coefficients for the adaptive equalizer and includes a first step of, for every data symbol output by the adaptive equalizer, maintaining a first matrix R that is a NxN channel correlation matrix and a second matrix P that is a N.times.1 cross correlation vector between a received signal and a transmitted symbol. The method includes a second step of, for every k.sup.th symbol output by the adaptive equalizer, determining a set of correction coefficients (C) for the adaptive equalizer based upon the matrices R and P. A third step of the method applies the set of determined correction coefficients to the adaptive equalizer so as to optimally correct a subsequently received data symbol. The correction coefficients are calculated with an inverse matrix of the channel correlation matrix. As a result, the correction coefficients are, in principle, optimal.

High baudrate data transmission may generally encounter intersymbol interference (ISI), where subsequent symbols interfere with or overlap one another, making reliable reception difficult or even impossible. The ISI might arise from amplitude or phase distortion, or in the case of digital radio communication, from multipath propagation.
The mentioned types of distortion are linear and may hence be combatted with a channel equalizer. Typically this equalizer is implemented as a tapped delay line, finite impulse response filter, where the taps or coefficients are adjustable, thus making it possible to adjust the filter characteristics.
There are a number of methods for determining the coefficients for a channel equalizer. It is known that an optimal equalizer can be obtained from a solution of the matrix equation: EQU RC=P, (1)
where C is a N.times.1 vector in which the elements are the equalizer coefficients, R is a NxN channel correlation matrix, and P is a N.times.1 cross-correlation vector of samples received and symbols sent.
In devices typically employing adaptive equalizers, such as data modems, it is found that the value N is required to be large. As a result, a direct solution of Equation (1) to obtain an optimal equalizer requires a large amount of calculation capacity. However, in that the required equalizer adaptability is generally minimal, relatively simple iterative methods, such as a Least Mean Squared (LMS) technique, can be employed for solving for suboptimal equalizer coefficients.
When optimal equalizer coefficients are desired, as opposed to suboptimal equalizer coefficients, it has been known to solve Equation 1 iteratively or recursively by RLS or Kalman algorithms. However, these algorithms, in their basic form, suffer from a sensitivity to a representation accuracy (number of bits) of the numbers used in the calculation. Unfortunately, decreasing the sensitivity also rapidly increases the requirement for greater calculation capacity.
In addition, all of the known iterative methods are carried out each time a data symbol is received, otherwise the equalizer adaptability is adversely affected.
It is known that a direct solution of Equation 1 may be accomplished by inverting the matrix R and multiplying the matrices R.sup.-1 and P, or by solving the equation group formed by the matrices, of which the latter is a more efficient approach.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved method, and apparatus for accomplishing the method, for updating correction coefficients for an adaptive equalizer.


A system includes: a tension member having a first end and a second end, where the first end of the tension member is connected to a first loading member and the second end of the tension member is connected to a second loading member; a first actuator configured to translate the first loading member, such that a tensile load is applied to the tension member along a first direction; a second actuator configured to translate the second loading member in two or more second directions that are substantially transverse to the first direction; and a control system that is configured to control the second actuator, such that the second loading member oscillates between the two or more second directions, where the oscillation of the second loading member causes the tension member to vibrate at a frequency.

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Tension members, such as tethers, umbilicals, ropes, and cables, are used to support loads associated with overhead transmission lines, suspension bridges, aerostats, offshore drilling platforms, and towing and mining applications, among other uses. In many such applications, the tension members undergo repeated loading, often at very high load values and over a large number of cycles. Thus, a testing system is useful to repeatedly test tension members under anticipated load conditions. Information from such tests may help to determine, for example, how well a tension member product or design will hold up in fatigue.

Tension member fatigue tester using transverse resonance


An electromechanical actuator arrangement (50) comprises an electromechanical motor (10) and a rail arrangement (35). The rail arrangement (35) has a rail (30) relative which the electromechanical motor drives in a main displacement direction (3). The electromechanical motor has electromechanically active actuators attached to a motor block (20) and are arranged to provide an actuating action against the rail. The rail arrangement has further at least one guide member (31) provided parallel to the main displacement direction. The guide members have a guiding surface (36) facing the motor block. The motor block in turn has guidance surfaces (37) facing the guiding surface of the guide members. The guiding surface or the guidance surface has a tangent line parallel to the main displacement direction. The other one of the guiding surface and the guidance surface has a tangent surface in a second plane parallel to the first plane

Electromechanical actuator arrangements have been used for many years to achieve energy-efficient and precise motion of different objects. Typical applications are motion of lenses in optical systems, positioning of objects under a microscope, control of ink jet nozzles, etc.
In a typical prior art electromechanical actuator system, an object to be moved is attached to a shuttle. The shuttle is moved by action of an electromechanical actuator. The load of the object and the shuttle is acting against a support part, typically by means of bearings. The bearings can be linear or rotational depending on the required motion. For high precision positioning applications, very high demands are put on the actuator as well as on the bearing arrangements. Typically, the actuator is responsible for the accuracy in the driving direction, i.e. the travel distance, while the bearing arrangement takes care of the flatness and straightness of the travel, as well as the yaw, pitch and roll accuracies. The standard linear bearings of today may provide flatness and straightness in the order of 2 μm, and pitch, roll and yaw accuracies down to about 100 μrad. Typical allowable loads can then be as high as 500 N.
A problem with electromechanical actuator systems of today is that the bearing arrangements add to the total volume and in order to further reduce sizes of the electromechanical actuator systems while maintaining or even improving the accuracies very expensive solutions according to prior art have to be considered. At the same time, the loads are often much lower than the maximum limit, giving a very high load margin.


An arrangement for communication between motor vehicles is specified. The arrangement comprises a reflector apparatus that is secured at a fixed location in the outer region of a curve or of a curve-like road. The reflector apparatus is in an orientation such that said reflector apparatus deflects electromagnetic radiation in the frequency band between 2.5 GHz and 7.5 GHz that is emitted by a first motor vehicle, situated in the region of a curve entrance, toward a second motor vehicle, situated in the region of a curve exit. Furthermore, a corresponding reflector apparatus for the arrangement is specified.

In the vehicle-to-vehicle communication (known as "Car2Car") field, motor vehicles can send one another messages in a frequency band between 2.5 GHz and 7.5 GHz, e.g. in order to communicate their respective own position, speed and direction of movement to other motor vehicles. Under less-than-ideal propagation conditions, in particular if the communicating parties do not have direct visual contact, limitations in the communication can arise. Moreover, a transmission power and/or a transmission interval for transmitting messages may be limited. In particular if the communicating parties move toward one another at high speed, this can lead to useful communication no longer being possible.
To date, what are known as "roadside units" have been employed in this regard, which are supposed to prevent limitations in the communication. Such "roadside units" are active communication endpoints that serve as relay station. However, they are comparatively costly both to purchase and operate and to maintain.
It is therefore desirable to provide an arrangement for communication between motor vehicles that is inexpensive both to produce and operate and to maintain.
The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.

Arrangement for communication between motor vehicles, and reflector device


A method of controlling media content between a portable device and a head control unit. A first link is initiated for transmitting control signals between a control client and a control server. A second link is initiated for transmitting media content between a data server and a data client. The first link has a lower traffic volume capacity than the second link and a shorter latency for the control signals than for the media content signal over the second link. The control client generates control signals identifying a user's request and transmits the control signals to the control server using the first link. The control server provides instructions to the data server for executing the user request. The retrieved media data is transmitted from the data server to the data client using the second link. The media data is output to the user over the media output device.

An embodiment relates generally to external device integration within a vehicle.
Mobile devices, such as smart phones, are becoming an everyday part of a person's life. The number of applications that can be used on a smartphone is ever increasing. Such mobile devices are used not only for phone calls and text messaging, but are also used for multimedia, (video and audio), internet access, reading GPS & navigation, scheduling, research, social networking, gaming and literally thousands of other applications. Technologies have recently enabled consumers to use many applications on their phone to be used on a head unit, such directly projecting a video image to the screen in the center stack of the vehicle. With this technique, many users like to display video and other visual or audio material on the screen of the head unit that is generated by the portable device. However, many users desire to use the controls on the head unit to device controls to control the video source as opposed to the controls on the portable device. Data collision between data transmission and control signal transmissions may result in performance and latency issues.

Method and apparatus of using separate reverse channel for user input in mobile device display replication


A speed-enhancing comparator with cascaded inverters is disclosed. The comparator comprises: a first capacitor, a first inverter, and a first switch, wherein the first switch and the first inverter are connected in parallel, and a first terminal of the first capacitor is coupled to an input terminal of the first inverter; a first input switch and a second input switch, wherein input terminals of the first and second input switches are coupled to an input voltage and a reference voltage respectively, and both output terminals of the first and second input switches are coupled to a second terminal of the first capacitor; a second inverter, a second switch, and a third switch, wherein the second inverter and the third switch are connected in series and then connected in parallel with the second switch, and an output terminal of the first inverter is coupled to an input terminal of the second inverter; and a second capacitor, a third inverter, and a fourth switch, wherein the fourth switch and third inverter are connected in parallel, and a first terminal of the second capacitor is coupled to an input terminal of the third inverter, and a second terminal of the second capacitor is coupled to both output terminals of the second and third switches. The first to fourth switches and the first and second input switches carry out on/off operations, whereby the third inverter outputs a comparing result of the input voltage and the reference voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a comparator. More specifically, it relates to a comparator utilizing a plurality of inverters, connected in series, and a plurality of switches to enhance its operation speed.
2. Description of the Related Art
At present, most electronic systems use powerful microprocessors to process digitized data. Analog-to-digital converters, ADC hereinafter, serve a critical role in digitalization as interface media between analog signals and digital signals.
In general, either parallel-connected converters or flash converters are utilized to implement ADC converters, both of which output binary codes from an encoder after an analog signal is sampled and its voltage level compared with several reference voltage levels. An outputted binary code corresponds to the reference voltage level closest to the voltage level of the analog signal.
A flash ADC usually requires a large number of comparators for implementation. In order to simplify the design of the ADC in high-resolution applications, an ADC using a plurality of transforming stages for reducing the number of comparators has been proposed. For example, two-step analog-to-digital converters are commonly used for transforming analog input voltage into a digital code. The two-step ADC will first roughly determine the voltage range closest to the input voltage, thereby obtaining a high-bit portion (MSB) of the digital code. The two-step ADC will then further subdivide the closest voltage range determined above and compare the input voltage therein, thereby obtaining a low-bit portion (LSB) of the digital code.
In general, a two-step ADC uses comparators of the inverter type for obtaining both the high-bit portion (MSB) of the digital code and the low-bit portion (LSB) of the digital code. However, the signal (or voltage level) used for comparing to obtain the low-bit portion (LSB) of the digital code is usually small, and therefore the output voltage of the comparator requires a longer time to reach its steady state, thus resulting in a reduction and limitation of the converting speed of the ADC. When the resolution of an ADC is enhanced, the signal used for obtaining the low-bit portion (LSB) of the digital code becomes even smaller, thereby even further reducing the converting speed of the ADC.
FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B illustrate the structure of a conventional comparator and the timing chart of its operation, respectively. In FIG. 1A, two input terminals of two select switches (CKvin and CKvref) are coupled to an input voltage Vin and a reference voltage Vref, and both output terminals are coupled to one terminal of a capacitor C1; two inverters A1 and A2 are connected with two switches az1 and az2 in parallel, respectively, and the other terminal of the capacitor C1 is coupled to the input terminal of the inverter A1; a capacitor C2 is provided between the output terminal of the inverter A1 and the input terminal of the inverter A2; and the output terminal of the inverter A2 is coupled to the input terminal of the inverter A3. The operation of the comparator depicted in FIG. 1 will be described as follows in accompaniment with FIG. 1B, FIG. 2A, and FIG. 2B.
In time interval (1), since the switches az1, az2, and the select switch CKvin are turned on, and the select switch CKvref is turned off, the circuit topology of the comparator is depicted as FIG. 2A. The voltage levels at P1.about.P4 are the threshold voltage Vth of the inverters, because the input and output terminals of the inverters (A1 and A2) are connected together. The voltage level at P0 is Vin, and therefore the voltages stored in capacitors C1 and C2 are (Vth-Vin) and 0, respectively. The comparator carries out the operation to take samples of the input voltage Vin.
In time interval (2), since only the select switch CKvref is turned on, and the switches az1, az2, and the select switch CKvin are turned off, the circuit topology of the comparator is depicted as FIG. 2B. The voltage at P0 is Vref and the capacitor C1 stores the voltage of (Vth-Vin), and thus the voltage at P1 becomes Vth-(Vin-Vref). The voltage at P1 is amplified by the inverter A1 and outputted to P2. The voltage at P2 can be represented as Vth+(Vin-Vref).times.M, wherein M is the gain of the inverters. The voltage stored in capacitor C2 is 0, and thus the voltage at P3 is equal to that at P2. The voltage at P3 is amplified by the inverter A2, and the voltage at P4 can be represented as Vth-(Vin-Vref).times.M.sup.2. Finally, the inverter A3 amplifies the voltage at P4 and outputs the comparing result Vout which equals Vth+(Vin-Vref) .times.M.sup.3. From above descriptions, when the comparing signal (Vin-Vref) is small, a longer time is required for reaching an output of steady state during the amplifying operation of every inverter, thereby limiting the operating speed of the comparator.

Speed-enhancing comparator with cascaded inventors

Industrial Technology Research Institute


The present invention relates to a thermophilic hydrophobin, TT1, or a protein or polypeptide substantially similar thereto, derived from the thermophilic fungus Talaromyces thermophilus. The invention further relates to a polynucleotide encoding such hydrophobin, as well as to materials coated with such hydrophobin.

Hydrophobins are small, secreted cysteine-rich amphipathic proteins found in fungi. Mature hydrophobin proteins, with secretion signal peptides removed, are generally small proteins that are around 100 amino acids in length. Hydrophobins are characterized by having a pattern of 8 highly conserved cysteines that are positioned within the mature protein in a 1-2-1-1-2-1 pattern (dashes represent variable numbers of amino acids). Pairs of these 8 cysteines form disulfide bonds, resulting in 4 disulfide bonds that are necessary for the proper folding of the protein. Though the 8 cysteines are highly conserved, different hydrophobins are quite variable in their amino acid sequences, some having as little as 11% or less sequence identity (Wessels, J. G. H. 1994 Annu. Rev. Phytopathol. 32:413–37). Currently, over 50 hydrophobin sequences from a range of fungal species are known, and are available, for example, through GenBank and the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI; Bethesda, Md.). Many fungal species have several reported hydrophobins. Based on differences in protein primary structure, hydrophobins can be grouped into two distinct groups, Class I and Class II.
Genetic studies have implicated hydrophobins as playing roles in providing fungal surface properties. Some hydrophobins, belonging to Class I, are known to form rodlet protein layers found on fungal surfaces. Rodlet layers are extremely hydrophobic and are responsible for generating fungal surface hydrophobicity. Thus all fungal surfaces including aerial hyphae, fruiting bodies and vegetative spores, e.g., conidia, are coated with the hydrophobic domain of self-assembled hydrophobins exposed to the environment and the hydrophilic domain attached or interacting with the hydrophilic cell wall. Thus some roles of hydrophobins in nature are to allow fungal hyphae to escape into the air from its aqueous environment and search for new food sources and surfaces, to line the internal air spaces in Schizophyllum commune fruiting bodies in order to prevent flooding by water of these air channels, and to promote interactions between the fungus and the plant during pathogenicity, either acting as elicitors of plant defense responses or as stealth factors protecting the invading fungus from detection and rejection by the plant (Whiteford, J. R., P. D. Spanu 2002 Molec. Plant Pathol. 3: 391–400).
The best characterized Class I hydrophobin, SC3, which is obtained from the fungus Schizophyllum commune, has been used to study hydrophobin assembly on surfaces and the resulting changes in surface properties. Two Class II hydrophobins, HFBI and HFBII, isolated from Trichoderma reesei, have also been studied. These hydrophobins have been found to be useful as surface coatings to alter the properties of the coated surfaces. The amphipathic properties of hydrophobins, meaning having both hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties, allow them to interact with a wide range of material surfaces. In general, upon contact with either hydrophobic or hydrophilic surfaces, hydrophobin monomers self-assemble to form a film covering the surface. A consequence of hydrophobin film formation is a change in surface wettability. Thus on hydrobhobic surfaces such as Teflon® film, a hydrophobin coating can increase hydrophilicity as measured by a decrease in the water contact angle. Conversely, on hydrophilic surfaces hydrophobin coatings can decrease wettability, measured by an increase in the water contact angle. Particularly Class I hydrophobin SC3 from the fungus Schizophyllum commune and Class II hydrophobins HFBI and HFBII from Trichoderma reesei have been used in coating studies. HFBI and HFBII formed weakly ordered and highly crystalline coatings, respectively, on water surfaces (Sermaa, R. et al. Appl. Crystallography 36:499–502). Properties of different hydrophobins, even among hydrophobins within the same Class, can be quite variable in different coating situations.
The novel properties of hydrophobins, including the ability to self-assemble at interfaces in aqueous solution and under mild conditions, immediately suggest potential applications for these surface active proteins. Some potential applications presented in the literature include:                use in tissue engineering, particularly in coating of unnatural surfaces with a natural protein to increase the unnatural surface biocompatability, e.g., medical implants and surgical instruments (Wessels, J. G. H. 1997 Adv. Microbiol. Physiol. 38: 1–45).        use in drug delivery, especially the delivery of hydrophilic drugs. Drug oil vesicles coated with a hydrophobin would permit attachment of targeting antibodies to the outside of these vesicles (Wessels, J. G. H. 1997 Adv. Microbiol. Physiol. 38: 1–45).        use in the formation of stable foams in food manufacturing and as a natural surface-active agent in hair products (Wessels, J. G. H. 1997 Adv. Microbiol. Physiol. 38:1–45, Kershaw, M. J., J. Talbot. 1998 Fung. Genet. Biol. 29: 18–33).        use to pattern different molecules on a surface with nanometer accuracy (Scholtmeijer, K., et al. 2001 Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 56: 1–8).        use to bind or immobilize factors on a hydrophobic support, such as yeast cells expressing a hydrophobin in its cell wall (Nakari-Setala, T., et al. 2002 Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68: 3385–3391), and several commercially available lipases (Palomo, J. M., et al. 2003 Biomacromol. 4:204–210).        use to develop novel diagnostic sensors through hydrophobin self-assembly on electrode surfaces (Bilewicz, R., et al. 2002 J. Phys. Chem. B. 105: 9772–9777).
Hydrophobins used in previous studies have generally been isolated from the natural fungus in which the hydrophobin was identified. However, the amounts of protein that can be obtained using this method of preparation are inadequate for commercial applications. A successful recombinant DNA technology method would be required to supply adequate amounts of hydrophobin proteins for commercial uses. An example of recombinant hydrophobin expression is in WO 00/058342, where the endogenous HFBI hydrophobin was overexpressed in Trichoderma reesei. Using a recombinant DNA technology method also allows the creation of hydrophobin variants that may provide superior properties for use in specific applications.
Methods of treating surfaces with hydrophobins to provide a stable coating have been described. In U.S. 20030134042, Teflon® materials were incubated in an SC3 hydrophobin solution at 25° C. and then a heat treatment was applied. A heat treatment of 63° C. or 70° C. in the presence of different detergents at a concentration of 0.1% was required to obtain strong binding of the hydrophobin to the Teflon® surface. Heat treatments at lower temperatures, but above 30° C., in the presence of detergent were partially effective in transitioning the SC3 hydrophobin to a beta-sheet state deemed necessary for strong binding to hydrophobic surfaces.
Another method of treating surfaces requires pretreatment of the hydrophobin prior to application. In U.S. 20030113454 the disulfide bonds of the SC3 hydrophobin were disrupted by treating with sulphite to add sulfite groups, or with reducing agent followed by a sulfhydryl-protecting agent, or with a reducing agent followed by maintenance in a non-oxidizing environment. The thusly treated hydrophobin was then used to coat Teflon® materials. In a third step the hydrophobin coated material was treated to remove sulfhydryl-protecting groups if present, and with an oxidizing agent to reform disulfide bridges.
There is thus a need for identification of hydrophobins that are useful in the types of applications described above, as well as in additional applications. Also there is a need for the isolation of genes encoding useful hydrophobins such that recombinant DNA technology can be used to produce these hydrophobins in adequate amounts for commercial applications. Further, there is a need for rapid, simple methods of treating surfaces with hydrophobins. Accordingly, Applicants have isolated a DNA sequence encoding a novel hydrophobin from a thermophilic fungus, provided improved methods of surface treatment with the encoded hydrophobin protein, and expanded the variety of material surfaces for hydrophobin coating.

Thermophilic hydrophobin proteins and applications for surface modification


A cover structure of a machine tool with a simple structure which improves work efficiency by minimizing an opening portion. An opening portion is defined in a reverse concave shape at one lateral side of a cover. The opening portion includes two tool passing portions and a turning permission portion connecting the tool passing portions. A tool T which is held by an exchange arm passes through each tool passing portion. On the other hand, a rotation base portion of the exchange arm passes through the turning permission portion. While each tool passing portion is closed by a door, the turning permission portion is closed by a closing cover including a turning cover and a slide cover.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application Number 2005-287673 filed on Sep. 30, 2005, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cover structure for covering a cutting space in a machine tool.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a cutting space 52 of a machine tool 51 is covered with a cover 53 as shown in FIG. 4. The cover 53 has an opening portion 55 which is opened and closed by a slide door 56. When the door 56 is slid to open the opening portion 55, a tool exchange device 57 rotates an exchange arm 58 for inserting the exchange arm 58 into the cutting space 52 through the opening portion 55, and exchanges tools (not shown) attached to a main spindle 54 of the machine tool 51.
Another cover structure of a machine tool is proposed as disclosed in Japanese unexamined patent publication No. 09-309044, where a plurality of doors are used to open and close an opening portion defined in a cover. This cover structure of the machine tool is explained based on FIG. 5, which shows an explanatory cross-sectional plain view.
In this cover structure of the machine tool, an opening portion 64 which is V-shaped in a plain view is defined on a cover 63 which covers a cutting space 62. As a door for opening and closing the opening portion 64, a first door 65 which is V-shaped in a plain view and a small-sized second door 66 are mounted. The first door 65 is slidable along a guide axis 67 and the second door 66 is pivotable around a vertical axis 68. With this configuration, the first door 65 and the second door 66 are synchronized to open and close the opening portion 64 by means of a door opening/closing mechanism 72 including a drive shaft 69, a sector gear 70, and a sprocket wheel 71, etc.
However, in the structure as shown in FIG. 4, because a frontage of the opening portion is opened and closed by a single door, it is necessary to have a longer stroke of opening and closing the door. Consequently, it takes time to open and close the door, which would be an obstacle to a quick working.
On the other hand, in the structure disclosed in Japanese unexamined patent publication No. 09-309044, since a plurality of doors are used upon opening and closing the opening portion, each opening and closing stroke of the door can be shortened. However, the door opening/closing mechanism becomes complex as described above, so that a higher cost is required as the cost of equipment, etc. Moreover, the overall equipment needs to be enlarged because space for installing the door opening/closing mechanism is required.
Moreover, in a conventional structure as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a portion which needs not to be open (for example, a portion except a tool passing portion, such as an upper or lower portion of the opening portion, and a portion on the axis line of the exchange arm) is made to be open as the opening portion. In other words, the opening portion has a broad area which is unnecessary to be opened and closed. As a result, there are problems of waste of time, deterioration of work efficiency, and so on. Further, even if the opening portion is made to be open only at the time of tool exchange, there is a problem that cutting dust or cutting fluid used in working, etc. easily disperses outside the cutting space as long as an opening area is broad.
In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a cover structure of a machine tool with a simple structure which improves work efficiency by minimizing an opening portion.


A cranial implant designed to fill a cranial defect of the skull of a mammal or a human, wherein the cranial implant is made of biocompatible ceramic and includes an implant body having a shape and size substantially matching the shape and size of the cranial defect to be filled, wherein the implant body includes an outer face facing outside the skull and an inner face facing inside the skull when the implant disposed on the skull, characterized in that the implant includes one or more reinforcing members protruding from the inner face of the implant body. A method of manufacturing the cranial implant is also described.

The present invention relates to the field of bone implants, particularly to cranial implants designed to fill a bone defect in the skull of a human or a mammal.
Treatment of bone defects of the skull is now a major problem in maxillofacial surgery and in neurosurgery. The cranial defects may have various origins and occur especially following a developmental anomaly, a bone disease or trauma that resulted in fractures of the skull. They may also be the consequence of a neurosurgical procedure, such as a decompressive craniectomy performed in the case of post-traumatic cerebral edema, or a surgery of extraction of a brain tumor.
These bone defects are repaired during a reconstructive skull surgery, called cranioplasty, during which a bone implant destined to fill the bone defect is inserted and fixed in the skull.
The ideal material for the cranioplasty implants must be resistant, biocompatible, to eliminate the risk of inflammation, rejection and infection, and must be able to integrate with the living bone structure to ultimately form a part thereof. The integration of the implant within the native tissue proceeds via a migration process of bone cells, the osteoblasts, into the implant, which will contribute to the formation of a new bone tissue.
In this regard, several types of materials have been used to make these implants. Bone itself has thus been commonly used by performing an autograft from other bone structures of the patient, such as ribs. This solution is not without drawback: it presents risks of morbidity at the donor site; the material is only available in limited quantity and is subject to conservation challenges.
Artificial bone implants provide an interesting alternative to the use of bone grafts. In particular, metallic or plastic implants have been used. However, these implants often lack biocompatibility, and have a low osteoconductivity, which diminishes their integration ability within the existing bone tissue.
Ceramics are also advantageous materials for the manufacture of cranioplasty implants. Thus, hydroxyapatite or calcium phosphate implants are known, materials selected for their suitable biocompatibility and osteoconductivity.
WO2005/094730 A1 describes a manufacturing method of a porous ceramic cranial implant. After acquiring a three dimensional image of the skull of the patient, the bone defect is modelled by computer-aided design. Then, by rapid prototyping, an implant prototype is made, which will be used to make a calcium sulphate, resin or silicone rubber mold. Finally, the mold is used to manufacture the porous ceramic implant.
Ceramics such as hydroxyapatite or tricalcium phosphate have interesting properties for manufacturing implants. Their chemical composition, based on calcium phosphate, is close to that of the bone matter, and imparts them with a good biocompatibility. In addition, the ceramics can be manufactured porous and therefore have good osteoconductivity which allows the implants to integrate well with the bone tissue.
However, one of the drawbacks of ceramic implants is their fragility both during the manufacturing process and on the finished workpiece. Cranial implants are workpieces that frequently have a cap shape with a relatively small thickness compared to their surface. These implants are thus subjected to large internal stresses which exert in particular during the heat treatments to which the workpiece is submitted during its manufacture: debinding and sintering. They therefore lead to a distortion of the implant, which may render it unusable, since unsuited to the shape of the bone defect. They can also cause the occurence of areas of fragility of the implant likely to promote its rupture. These drawbacks make it difficult or even impossible to manufacture large size ceramic implants, which limits the use of this material to the repair of small size bone defects.

Reinforced biocompatible ceramic implant and manufacturing method thereof


Systems and methods for locating a remote station within an area of a wireless communications network without using a global positioning system. Communications are established between a remote station and a plurality of base stations using separate time slots within at least one over-the-air loop. Propagation delay times associated with signals transmitted or received within the time slots are determined, and one or more possible locations of the remote station are identified based upon the determined propagation delay times.

Mobile and cellular telephones have come into common use today. Such equipment enables the provision of convenient telecommunications services to persons traveling in a vehicle or otherwise remote from traditional stationary telephone equipment.
To provide these services, cellular and mobile wireless communications systems generally employ a number of remote stations (often referred to as mobile stations or customer premises radio units) and one or more stationary units or base stations. The remote stations generally have the ability to establish communications links with the base stations, and the base stations are capable of establishing one or more communications links with a public service telephone network (PSTN), thus enabling the user of a remote station to communicate remotely with conventional telephones or other remote stations connected to the network.
The remote station typically comprises a cellular phone including a battery-operated transmitter/receiver, or a mobile phone, a similar device which is fixed to an object, usually an automobile. However, it is not uncommon, particularly in rural communities, for remote units to comprise stationary customer premises radio units (CPRUs). To initiate a telephone call on the public service telephone network (PSTN), a remote station will generally establish a communications link with a base station and the base station, often via a base station controller, cluster controller or control station, will establish a communications link with the public service telephone network. An exemplary wireless telecommunications system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,424, entitled "Spread Spectrum Wireless Telephone System," which is hereby incorporated by reference.
While providing convenient telephone services, present wireless telecommunications systems have limitations. Unlike traditional stationary telephones, in which the location of the telephone is inherent in the telephone number assigned to it, remote stations operating within a wireless environment do not have such information available. Moreover, because remote stations often have the ability to move and to establish communications with many base stations as they move through a network of communications cells, absent the use of global positioning systems (GPSs), there is presently no way to know the precise location of a remote station, unless the user of the remote station is somehow able to provide that information.
For example, if a mobile station user needs emergency assistance, the user may use the mobile station to call 911 or otherwise seek help. If the user knows his or her precise location, that information may be conveyed to emergency personnel allowing aid to be rendered fairly quickly. If, however, the user is lost or is somehow incapacitated, for example, if the user is rendered unconscious after initiating a call, information concerning the user's location may not be obtained, substantially increasing the likelihood that the user will not receive the needed emergency assistance.
In addition, if a remote station is lost or stolen, there is presently no practical way for the owner of the remote station or the wireless network service provider to locate the remote station.
Thus, there is a substantial need for a wireless telecommunications system that is capable of determining the precise location of a remote station.

Mobile station locating system and method


A system for heating viscous fluids in a wellbore includes a submergible pumping system comprising a pump and submergible electric motor. A heating unit is coupled to the pumping system and is supplied with electrical energy through a cable used to supply electrical energy to the motor. The heating unit may include a direct or alternating current heater and protective circuitry. The heating unit may be supplied with electrical energy through the motor stator windings or via a jumper arranged in parallel with the stator windings. Switches may be included in the heating unit and in a motor base for energizing the motor and the heating unit based upon sensed temperatures of the viscous fluids surrounding the pumping system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for heating heavy fluids to be produced from petroleum producing wells and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to a novel technique for heating fluids in the vicinity of a submergible pumping system of the type employed to produce fluids from petroleum wells.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of petroleum production, various techniques may be employed for raising viscous fluids, such as crude oil to the earth's surface from a wellbore. In a typical well, perforations are formed in the casing of the wellbore through which production fluids, such as crude oil, may penetrate and collect in the wellbore. Where ambient pressures are insufficient to force the fluid to the earth's surface for processing, submergible pumps are typically employed to pump production fluids up through the wellbore to collection points. Such wells and pumping arrangements may be located both on dry land and beneath bodies of water, such as over continental shelves, lakes, swamps and the like.
Known submergible pumping systems for petroleum wells typically include a pump close coupled to a submergible electric motor. A motor protector may be provided adjacent to the electric motor to protect against temperature and pressure variations in the portion of the wellbore where the submergible unit will be positioned. Inlet apertures surrounding the pump allow production fluids to flow into the pump. The electric motor drives the pump in rotation to pressurize the production fluids and to force them through a conduit to the earth's surface. Pumping units generally of this type are commercially available from Reda of Bartlesville, Okla. under the commercial designation "System 90".
While heretofore known pumping systems are generally sufficient to collect and pump many production fluids from wellbores, they may experience difficulties in handling particularly viscous or heavy fluids. Because the viscosity of such fluids is generally a function of a temperature, in certain applications heaters have been employed adjacent to submergible pumping units to preheat the fluids until their viscosity becomes sufficiently low to be pumped from the wellbore. In extreme cases, such heaters may be employed to melt solidified petroleum, paraffin waxes, hydrates and the like which can, once liquefied, be pumped via the submergible pumping system to the earth's surface.
Submergible heating systems of the type mentioned above are commonly attached to existing pumping systems including electric motor and pump sets. The heating system is powered by electrical energy transmitted through independent cables which run adjacent to the pumping system and upward through the wellbore to a power supply located at the earth's surface. Control of the heating unit is accomplished by modulating power input to the heating unit through the power supply cables. Because the heating unit is powered independently of the pumping unit, the heating unit cables are in addition to the power supply and control cables used to provide electrical energy for driving the electric motor.
While such arrangements may, in certain applications, provide adequate heating for viscous wellbore fluids, they are not without drawbacks. For example, depending upon the relative sizes of the wellbore casing and of the electric motor and pump assembly, very little clearance may be available in the wellbore for the additional power cables necessary to supply electrical energy to the heater. Similarly, the provision of multiple power cables for the heating unit and the pumping unit adds considerable cost and weight to the pumping system. Furthermore, such arrangements typically require separate power supplies and associated controls for the heating unit and the submergible electric motor. All of these factors contribute to significantly increasing the overall cost of the submergible pumping system and render the equipment more difficult to assemble, install and manage.
There is a need, therefore, for an improved technique for heating viscous fluids in a well which addresses these drawbacks of existing systems. In particular, there is a need for a submergible heating system which reduces the need for separate power supply conductors for a submergible pumping unit and a submergible heater for reducing the viscosity of fluids adjacent to the pumping unit. Ideally, such a system should be capable of implementation in both new pumping systems, and offer some degree of adaptability for retrofitting existing equipment.

Method and apparatus for heating viscous fluids in a well


A method, an apparatus, and a computer program product are disclosed for trading goods, or services, or both, using an electronic network. In the method, two or more entities are registered as traders. An entity is preferably a natural business, a legal entity, or a business. In turn, one or more business profile are generated for each of the traders. Further, one or more business opportunities are generated for one of the traders. The business opportunity or the at least one business profile of the one trader is compared with the business profiles of the remaining traders. One or more of the remaining traders are notified via the electronic network of a trading opportunity if the at least one business opportunity or the at least one profile matches the at least one business profile corresponding to one or more of the remaining traders.

Numerous entities including individuals, companies and other forms of businesses are interested in a Business to Business (B2B) site where the members are able to find trading partners from all over the world for trading goods and services.
An existing Net Commerce product produced by IBM offers 3 types of stores, namely One Stop Shop, Personal Delivery and Business to Business Store. One Stop Shop is a simple business to consumer store model that does not require shoppers to register. Personal Delivery is a business to consumer store model that offers more store functions including Registration and Address Books. Business to Business is a B2B store model that includes an approval process for purchases. All three types of stores, however, assume that a merchant is selling products to consumers visiting their store (be it Casual Shoppers as in One Stop Shop, Registered Shoppers as in Personal Delivery, or office managers as in Business to Business Shop). The product was called Net.Commerce Start and Pro Editions, v3.x earlier, until v3.2. The product is currently referred to as WebSphere Commerce Suite Start and Pro Editions, Version 4.1.
The Net Commerce product provided by IBM has a number of features:                1. Helps build compelling e-commerce sites that allow customers to shop the way the customers want to: set preferences, navigate personal catalogs, drop items in shopping carts, check out, select payment and shipping methods and pay for purchases by credit card;        2. Helps the site administrator to easily manage stores or malls through a administrative interface that controls security using user Ids and password protection and lets the site administrator monitor buyer behavior to plan for future site enhancements;        3. Helps create interactive catalogs that contain marketing and technical information to help guide customers through the buying process, leading them to the products the customers want to purchase; and        4. Accept and process those Credit Card Payments.
In Net.Commerce, the key concept is that something is sold. The sellable thing is known as a product. The user buys and pays for a product. However the trading network itself does not sell any product. Rather the trading network helps party A know that party B is selling a relevant product. If a party is interested in buying the product, the party can contact party B. The contact with party B and the negotiations happen outside the system. Hence, this system does not sell products.
Instead, the NetCommerce product broadcasts appropriate opportunities (to buy/sell products) to appropriate people. Hence party A posts an opportunity that the party is interested in selling something. Party B states an interest in buying something. The system helps in alerting party B that party A might meet party B's demands, but party B does not buy products through the system. Party B has to contact party A offline for buying this.
Thus, a need clearly exists for a trading system permitting any registered shopper to enter a product (read opportunity) and not only the administrator.

Method of, apparatus for, and computer program product for trading goods

International Business Machines Corporation


An information transmission method and apparatus are provided. The method comprises: a first node sends a first data packet to a second node, the first data packet carrying at least one of the following information: first identifier information, first sequence number information, and first timestamp information, wherein the first identifier information is used for instructing the second node returns a second data packet after receiving the first data packet; the first sequence number information is used for identifying the first data packet; and the first timestamp information is used for instructing the first node to send time information of the first data packet.

Ultra-reliable and low latency communication (URLLC) is an important communication method in the future, of which requirements for an end-to-end communication delay are generally in the millisecond level. A URLLC transmission delay mainly consists of two parts, that is, a transmission delay of an air interface and a transmission delay of a core network. A transmission delay from the core network to an external network is generally not defined. However, during delay measurement, the most valuable and practical method is to measure only a delay between a terminal and the core network. How to accurately measure the delay between the terminal and the core network is a problem to be resolved.

Information transmission method and apparatus, and communication device

GUANGDONG OPPO MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP., LTD.


Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for retargeting content in a search environment. A method can include receiving a request for a content item to be provided with a search results page and determining that one or more retargeted content items are eligible for presentation with the search results page. Each retargeted content item is a content item that is eligible for presentation with the search results page based on: (1) the search query matching a targeting keyword for the retargeted content item, and (2) the user identifier matching a retargeted identifier that is included in a retargeting set for the retargeted content item. A responsive content item to be presented with the search results page is selected, based at least in part on bids that are associated with the retargeted content items, and data specifying the responsive content item are provided.

The Internet provides access to a wide variety of resources. For example, video and/or audio files, as well as web pages for particular subjects or particular news articles are accessible over the Internet. Access to these resources presents opportunities for digital components to be provided with these resources and search results pages that facilitate identification of these resources. Excessive network transmissions, packet-based or otherwise, of network traffic data between computing devices can prevent a computing device from properly processing the network traffic data, completing an operation related to the network traffic data, or timely responding to the network traffic data. The excessive network transmissions of network traffic data can also complicate data routing or degrade the quality of the response if the responding computing device is at or above its processing capacity, which may result in inefficient bandwidth utilization. The control of network transmissions corresponding to content item objects can be complicated by the large number of content item objects that can initiate network transmissions of network traffic data between computing devices.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Provided is an air conditioner including: a heater control section (54) for carrying out duty control on a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) heater (55); and a current detecting section (53) for detecting a current value of the PTC heater (55). The PTC heater (55) starts to be driven at a predetermined duty ratio. When the current value detected by the current detecting section (53) takes a peak (P), a duty ratio increasing process of increasing the duty ratio of the PTC heater (55) by a predetermined amount is repeated until the duty ratio reaches to 100%.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control method for a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) heater and to an air conditioner including the PTC heater.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional air conditioner is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 08-152179. The air conditioner has an integrated structure in which an indoor unit to be placed indoors is disposed in the front and an outdoor unit to be placed outdoors is disposed in the rear. In the outdoor unit, there are disposed a compressor for operating the refrigeration cycle and an outdoor heat exchanger connected to the compressor. The indoor unit has an inlet and an outlet opened therein and, inside the indoor unit, there are disposed an indoor heat exchanger connected to the compressor via a refrigerant pipe, and a heating portion including a PTC heater.
When starting cooling operation, the refrigeration cycle is operated by the drive of the compressor, and the indoor heat exchanger serves as an evaporator on the low temperature side in the refrigeration cycle while the outdoor heat exchanger serves as a condenser on the high temperature side in the refrigeration cycle. The air in a room flows into the indoor unit from the inlet to be subjected to heat exchange with the indoor heat exchanger so that the air thus cooled is delivered to the room from the outlet. This way, cooling in the room is performed.
When starting heating operation, the refrigeration cycle is operated by the drive of the compressor, and the indoor heat exchanger serves as a condenser on the high temperature side in the refrigeration cycle while the outdoor heat exchanger serves as an evaporator on the low temperature side in the refrigeration cycle. The air in a room flows into the indoor unit from the inlet to be subjected to heat exchange with the indoor heat exchanger and is thereby heated. The air flowing into the indoor unit is further heated by the drive of the heating portion. The air thus heated is delivered to the room from the outlet, to thereby perform heating in the room.
The PTC heater of the heating portion is formed such that a heating element having PTC characteristics is sandwiched by electrodes, and is driven through application of a voltage between the electrodes. When the temperature of the heating element exceeds the Curie point, the heating element shows a sudden increase in resistance to reduce a current value and a heating amount thereof. Accordingly, a stable amount of heating in the heating portion is obtained to make it easy to generate warm air of a predetermined temperature and also prevent overheating.
In this case, the PTC heater is low in temperature when starting up and accordingly the heating element is low in resistance, which leads to a risk that an overcurrent flows to exceed power capacity. It is known to contain a component having negative temperature coefficient (NTC) characteristics in the heating element in order to suppress the overcurrent at the time of start-up. However, the component having the PTC characteristics and the component having the NTC characteristics have different coefficients of thermal expansion, which accelerates the characteristic deterioration in the PTC heater.
As a countermeasure, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-59623 discloses a control method in which a current flowing through the PTC heater at the time of start-up is monitored to control the drive of the PTC heater so that the power capacity is not exceeded. Specifically, the PTC heater is subjected to triac control, in which duty control of varying a pulse width of a gate signal to a triac is carried out.
The PTC heater starts to be driven with the pulse width of the gate signal set to 0, and thereafter, the pulse width is increased by 1 bit at a time. Then, when a current value of the PTC heater reaches a predetermined allowable range, increasing the pulse width is stopped, and when the current value exceeds the allowable range, the pulse width of the gate signal is decreased. On the other hand, when the current value falls below the allowable range, the pulse width is increased. This way, the current flowing through the PTC heater makes a transition within the allowable range, to thereby prevent the overcurrent at the time of start-up.
However, in the above-mentioned drive control on the PTC heater disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-59623, the PTC heater has a significantly low initial temperature in some cases depending on ambient temperature or an air flow rate. In such a case, if the pulse width of the gate signal to the triac is increased at an advanced timing, an overcurrent flows through the PTC heater, causing a problem that the power capacity is exceeded and the circuit breaker trips.

Air conditioner having positive temperature coefficient heater


A system and method are disclosed for Common Information Model (CIM) management clients to predetermine a data provider's support for localization, select an available locale implementation, and receive the provider's indications and responses in the selected locale. A registered locale class is added to the CIM schema for instantiating predetermined locales within an Interop namespace and a referenced locale class is added to associate registered locale class instances to a registered profile class. Instances of the registered locale class are created by a CIM data provider in the Interop namespace for each supported locale. Element Conforms To Profile (ECTP) association classes are then implemented to create associations between registered locale classes with top level scoping classes and their corresponding locale namespace. The top level scoping class comprising its associated locale namespace is then established as the locale implemented by the data provider.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling systems and more specifically, to systems management.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems continue to grow in power, capabilities and variety, and with the advent of the Internet, they have also become more numerous and more distributed. As a result, their management has become increasingly complex, in part due to the growing heterogeneity of the elements that comprise them and the diversity of their associated management environments. In response, the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) has developed frameworks that facilitate the interoperable exchange of management information between managed elements and corresponding management systems. One of these frameworks is the Common Information Model (CIM), which provides a consistent definition and structure of management information through the use of object-oriented techniques. As a conceptual information model, the CIM is structured such that managed environments can be viewed as collections of interrelated systems, each of which is comprised of a number of discrete elements.
The CIM, comprised of a specification and a schema, allows management-related information about these elements to be transparently exchanged between management systems. The specification describes an object-oriented meta model based on the Unified Modeling Language (UML) and defines how the CIM can be integrated with other management models. These include, but are not limited to, Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) Management Information Base (MIB) or DMTF Management Information Format (MIF). The CIM schema provides a set of classes with properties, methods and associations that define how managed elements in an environment are represented as a common set of objects. In the CIM model, managed objects such as processors, sensors and fans are presented as CIM classes, with the relationships between these managed objects presented through association classes. This hierarchical, object-oriented architecture facilitates the tracking and depiction of the often complex interdependencies and associations between managed objects.
CIM-based management allows a client to manage devices on a network by communicating with data providers, which in turn communicate with managed objects to access data and event notifications. These providers are assigned to serve classes within a namespace, which is a directory-like structure that allows for the organization of classes in a more hierarchical structure. However, localization capabilities of these CIM data providers are limited. For example, there is currently no predetermined way for a provider to determine locale information (e.g., language, units of measure, etc.) of a CIM client making a request and return their responses implementing the same localization preferences. Furthermore, there is currently no predetermined way for a CIM client to communicate its localization preferences to a provider. As a result, the provider returns management information in its default locale implementation. Current approaches to addressing this issue include instantiations of the CIM_LocalizationCapabilities class by providers, which indicate to a CIM client which locales the provider can support for management information input and output. However, this approach does not provide the CIM client with a means of specifying its localization preferences to the provider, nor does it address supporting a plurality of CIM clients that have different localization requirements. These limitations result in the CIM client being required to translate indications, event information and instance property values from the provider's implemented locale settings. In view of the foregoing, there is a need for data providers to provide improved localization support for CIM clients.

Localization of CIM-Based instrumentation


A system for balancing the charge level of a plurality of electrically coupled battery units. The system configuration may utilize an architecture and/or methodology that is more appropriate for lower power applications. In particular, the present invention, in accordance with at least one embodiment, may provide a battery balancing system that implements low loss charge balancing circuits in a compact configuration suitable for a multitude of applications, such as smaller cell battery balancing. The charge balancing circuits may be incorporated within each battery unit.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a device and method for balancing charge between a plurality of storage batteries, and more specifically, to a low-loss battery balancing system that may be implemented, for example, in a low-power battery balancing application.
2. Background
Electronic monitoring and control applications require continuously supplied power from one or more reliable sources. These sources may generate power (e.g., solar cells, fossil fuel engines, hydroelectric, etc.) or may provide stored power when generated power is not available. If power is supplied from a combination of sources, the flow of energy supplied from these sources must be managed seamlessly. Power spikes or losses often risk an unrecoverable loss of system control, resulting in damage to equipment or possibly life-threatening situations.
Storage batteries are often used as back-up power when generated power is not available. The individual cells of some types of batteries, for example Lithium Ion batteries, may become unbalanced over continuous use. While these batteries may continue to function, the cell unbalancing may cause performance problems and lessen the overall lifespan of the battery. As a result, battery balancing systems are often employed to equalize the energy stored in the battery cells so that performance may be maximized.
Problems may occur, however, as state of the art battery balancing systems age. Analog components employed in the circuits that monitor and redistribute energy amongst the individual battery cells may experience changes in their overall response time due to age, temperature fluctuations, electromagnetic damage, etc. These circuits are usually designed driven at a constant drive frequency that corresponds to the resonant frequency of the circuit as manufactured. As a result, the "evolving" resonant frequency of the circuit no longer matches the original frequency as the circuit is used, and the overall performance of the circuit declines. The system may further experience disturbances due to non-ideal component behavior intrinsic to the circuit itself. These disturbances may include parasitic resistance that adversely affects the accuracy of cell voltages monitored by a microprocessor coupled to the balancing system, which may in turn impact overall system performance. More specifically, inaccurate measured voltages may result in incorrect control execution, false alarms and possibly even damage to the system.
In addition, while these systems may be widely used in high power energy storage applications, they are not as effective for low power battery management. Inherent losses that may be caused by balancing circuit componentry may defeat any benefit that may be realized in balancing the battery cells. For example, transformers may create losses due to core loss and IR loss resulting from magnetizing current. These losses may be acceptable for larger battery cells, but may create a substantial negative impact in system performance with respect to smaller cells.


A cardiac rhythm management system includes a lead assembly for intracardiac mapping, pacing, and drug delivery. The lead assembly includes an implantable endocardial lead having a proximal end for connection to an implantable cardiac rhythm management device and a distal end for disposal in an intracardiac region. The lead includes a pacing-sensing electrode and a drug delivery device, both located at or near the distal end. A lumen is within and extends throughout the lead, with an opening at or near the proximal end and another opening at or near the distal end. The lumen provides for access to the intracardiac region by a steerable stylet and a hollow needle, one at a time. The steerable stylet allows for electrophysiological mapping of the intracardiac region. The hollow needle allows for delivery of chemical, biochemical, and/or biological substance to the intracardiac region.

A heart is the center of a person's circulatory system. It includes a complex electro-mechanical system performing two major pumping functions. The heart includes four chambers: right atrium (RA), right ventricle (RV), left atrium (LA), and left ventricle (LV). The left portions of the heart, including the LA and LV, draw oxygenated blood from the lungs and pump it to the organs of the body to provide the organs with their metabolic needs for oxygen. The right portions of the heart, including the RA and RV, draw deoxygenated blood from the body organs and pump it to the lungs where the blood gets oxygenated. These mechanical pumping functions are accomplished by contractions of the heart. In a normal heart, the sinoatrial (SA) node, the heart's natural pacemaker, generates electrical impulses, called action potentials, that propagate through an electrical conduction system to various regions of the heart to excite the muscular tissues of these regions. Coordinated delays in the propagations of these electrical impulses in a normal electrical conduction system cause the various portions of the heart to contract in synchrony to result in efficient pumping functions. A blocked or otherwise abnormal electrical conduction system and/or a deteriorated myocardium cause asynchronized contraction of the heart. Consequently, the person suffers from poor hemodynamic performance, including poor pumping efficiency and diminished blood supply that is usable to satisfy the needs for normal metabolism of the organs.
The heart's electrical conduction system includes internodal pathways between the SA node and the atrioventricular (AV) node, the AV node, the His bundle (also known as the bundle of His, the AV bundle, and the Common bundle), and the Purkinje system including the right bundle branch (RBB) and the left bundle branch (LBB). In the normal heart, the electrical impulses generated from the SA node are conducted to the AV node through the internodal pathways. The propagation of the electrical impulses is delayed in the AV node. The His bundle conducts the electrical impulses from the AV node to the right bundle branch (RBB) and left bundle branch (LBB). The RBB and LBB then conduct the electrical impulses to the RV and LV, respectively, through the Purkinje system, resulting in the contraction of the ventricles.
Damages or depression of the AV node and/or His bundle, known as AV block, impairs the AV conduction, i.e., conduction of the electrical impulses from the RA to the RV and LV. AV block, depending on a degree or severity, can result in excessive delay in the AV conduction, partial blockage of the AV conduction (only some electrical impulses are conducted to the ventricles), or total blockage of the AV conduction (no electrical impulse is conducted to the ventricles). AV block can result from, for example, ischemia, acute myocardial infarction, intoxication, and inflammation. Ablation of the AV node, a surgical procedure performed on patients with atrial fibrillation, also creates total blockage of the AV conduction.
Pacing therapy can restore cardiac function impaired by AV block. One method is His bundle pacing, i.e., delivery of pacing pulses to the His bundle. If conduction system below the AV node remains normal, pacing pulses delivered to the His bundle are conducted through the His bundle and the bundle branches to cause synchronized contraction of the ventricles. In addition, pacing of the His bundle prevents its degeneration, a pathological process that starts with severe or total AV block.
His bundle pacing requires locating a pacing site in or about the His bundle. Unlike conventional atrial and ventricular pacing sites, which can be located by imaging techniques such as fluoroscopy, His bundle cannot be reliably located by imaging. Additionally, chemical, biochemical, and biological therapies may provide further benefits to the condition of the AV node and/or His bundle, as well as other cardiac regions, in addition to His bundle pacing.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved method and system for delivering a therapy to the His bundle.

His bundle mapping, pacing, and injection lead


A piezoelectric vibration device includes an element mounting member provided with a recessed part, a vibration element held in the recessed part, and a lid closing the recessed part. The element mounting member includes an insulating base body including an inner bottom surface of the recessed part and an inner circumferential surface of the recessed part surrounding the inner bottom surface, a pair of signal terminals which are located on an outer surface of the base body and are electrically connected to the vibration element, a GND terminal which is located on the outer surface of the base body, and a shield film which is superposed on the inner circumferential surface of the recessed part and is electrically connected to the GND terminal.

A piezoelectric vibration device has for example an insulating base body having a recessed part, a lid closing the recessed part, and a piezoelectric vibration element held in the recessed part (for example Patent Literatures 1 to 3). Patent Literatures 1 to 3 disclose a shield film formed on an outer side surface of the base body, a shield film formed on the outer side surface of the lid, or a lid (shield) configured by metal.


An improved apparatus and system for a re-configurable optical channel dropping de-multiplexer is herein disclosed. A re-configurable channel dropping de-multiplexer in accordance with the present invention comprises an input, a first polarizing port optically coupled to the input, a first polarization modulator optically coupled to the first polarizing port, a polarization beam splitter (PBS) having a first side that is optically coupled to the first polarization modulator at a side opposite to the first polarizing port, a second polarization modulator optically coupled to the PBS at a second side of the PBS that is opposite to the first side, a second polarizing port optically coupled to the second polarization modulator at a side opposite to the PBS and a multiple-channel output optically coupled to the second polarizing port.

Optical fibers are used extensively in telecommunications systems. In this document, the term "optical" is not limited to references to visible radiation but is used in a broad sense to refer to electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength or wavelengths that that may carry an information signal and that may be propagated along or through a waveguide device so as to deliver the information signal from one location to another location. It is often necessary to add or drop a wavelength channel in optical links or systems. Channel dropping can be achieved by a re-configurable channel dropping de-multiplexer. Such a re-configurable channel dropping de-multiplexer receives, from an input port, a wavelength division multiplexed composite optical signal that comprises several channels, or "wavelengths". These plural channels include one or more "dropped channels" or wavelengths that a user wishes to remove, or "drop" to selected local channel drop ports, and, optionally, other "express" channels that the user wishes to send, as a wavelength division multiplexed composite optical signal, to another destination. The re-configurable channel dropping de-multiplexer permits the user to choose whether to drop or not to drop one or more pre-determined channels.
FIG. 7 illustrates a conventional single-dropped-channel re-configurable channel dropping de-multiplexer. The conventional single-dropped-channel re-configurable channel dropping de-multiplexer 700 comprises an optical input 702, a de-multiplexer 704 optically coupled to the optical input 702, a plurality of single-channel outputs 705.1, 705.2, . . . , 705.n optically coupled to the de-multiplexer 704, an optical switch 706 optically coupled to a first one 705.1 of the plurality of single-channel outputs, two switch outputs 707a–707b optically coupled to the optical switch 706, a multiplexer 708 optically coupled to the single-channel outputs 705.2, . . . , 705.n and to the first switch output 707a and an optical output 710 optically coupled to the multiplexer 708.
In the operation of the conventional single-dropped-channel re-configurable channel dropping de-multiplexer 700, a wavelength-division-multiplexed signal comprising the several wavelength channels λ1–λn is delivered from the optical input 702 to the de-multiplexer 704. The de-multiplexer 704 separates the channels so that each channel is directed to a respective one of the single-channel outputs 705.1, 705.2, . . . , 705.n. For instance, the channel λ1 is output to the first single-channel output 705.1, the channel λ2 is output to the second single-channel output 705.2, etc. Each one of the second through the nth single-channel outputs is optically coupled to the multiplexer 708 and delivers a respective optical channel to the multiplexer 708. The first single-channel output 705.1 delivers the channel λ1 to the input of the optical switch 706, whereat the channel λ1 may be directed to either one of the two switch outputs 707a–707b, depending upon the controlled operational state of the switch 706. If the channel λ1 is directed to the switch output 707b, then the channel λ1 is removed or "dropped" and the remaining channels λ2–λn are multiplexed by the multiplexer 708 so that the combined wavelength-division-multiplexed signal λ2–λn is output at the optical output 710. If, on the other hand, the channel λ1 is directed to the switch output 707a, then all of the channels λ1–λn are multiplexed by the multiplexer 708 so that the combined wavelength-division-multiplexed signal λ1–λn is output at the optical output 710.
Although the conventional single-dropped-channel re-configurable channel dropping de-multiplexer 700 can perform its intended function adequately, its use may lead to some disadvantages. A first disadvantage arises from the fact that all channels must be de-multiplexed and the re-multiplexed during operation of the conventional single-dropped-channel re-configurable channel dropping de-multiplexer, regardless of whether the channel λ1 is dropped or not. This causes un-necessary optical insertion loss for each channel as compared to an apparatus that does not perform the sequential de-multiplexing and multiplexing steps. Further, during this operation, each channel must pass through both a de-multiplexer and a multiplexer in sequence, the requirements for which add additional bulk, complexity and cost to the conventional apparatus as compared to an apparatus that does not perform the sequential de-multiplexing and multiplexing steps. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved re-configurable channel dropping de-multiplexer. The improved re-configurable channel dropping de-multiplexer should be capable of delivering the non-dropped channels to the output without de-multiplexing and re-multiplexing these channels.

Apparatus and system for a re-configurable channel dropping de-multiplexer


A method for determining the relative position of a metal object in relation to a user device and to a transmitter antenna of an inductive charging support when charging the user device. The method includes measuring the quality factor of the transmitter antenna, measuring the quality factor of the receiver antenna, and comparing the measured quality factor of the transmitter antenna with a predetermined quality factor threshold of the transmitter antenna and comparing the measured quality factor of the receiver antenna with a predetermined quality factor threshold of the receiver antenna so as to deduce therefrom the relative position of the metal object in relation to the user device and to the transmitter antenna or the absence of an interfering metal object.

Numerous motor vehicles are nowadays equipped with a charger for inductively charging the battery of a user device. Such a charger may for example be installed in the central console, between the driver's seat and the front passenger seat. The user device may be for example a smartphone, tablet, portable computer, wireless earpiece etc. device.
To this end, the charger comprises what is called a "transmitter" antenna and a support for receiving the user device, installed above said transmitter antenna, and the user device comprises what is called a "receiver" antenna.
When a user wishes to charge his device, he places it on the charging support of the charger, which then detects it via the transmitter antenna. When a user device has been detected, the charger triggers an exchange of messages allowing the device to indicate the power of the charging signal that it wishes to receive. The charger then commands the transmitter antenna so that it transmits a charging signal at the power desired by the user device.
A problem arises when a metal object, for example a coin or an aluminum chewing gum packet, is present on the support when charging the device. Specifically, in this case, some of the power transmitted by the transmitter antenna dissipates into the metal object rather than charging the battery of the user device via the receiver antenna.
Such energy losses may have a significant cost and furthermore lead to the metal object heating up, which may prove dangerous for the user if he comes into physical contact with the object.
In order to partly rectify this problem, it is known to create a power budget in order to estimate the loss level. In this solution, the user device measures the power of the signal that it receives from the transmitter antenna when charging and compares it with the power that it requested beforehand from the charger, the difference constituting the loss level.
When the loss level is greater than a predetermined threshold, it is considered that it is necessary to reduce the power transmitted by the charger, or even to stop the transmitter antenna transmitting the charging signal, so as respectively to reduce or to eliminate the risks linked to the presence of the metal object.
The problem that arises with this solution is that the predetermined threshold depends both on the type of user device (in particular of its receiver antenna), on the type of metal object and on the relative position of the device, of the object and of the transmitter antenna.
More particularly, the threshold is predetermined on the basis of a given type of user device, for example a smartphone of a standard make and model, of a given type of metal object, for example a coin, and of a standard configuration of the assembly formed by the user device, the metal object and the transmitter antenna in which the user device, the metal object and the transmitter antenna are superimposed while being perfectly aligned.
Therefore, depending on the position of the user device in relation to the metal object and the transmitter antenna, the losses will be considered to be great enough only when the user device, the metal object and the transmitter antenna are superimposed while being perfectly aligned, whereas in practice the user device, the metal object and the transmitter antenna may be superimposed without being perfectly aligned, thereby possibly generating more losses, without this triggering the reduction in the power of the charging signal or stopping the transmission of the charging signal.
This is supplemented by another drawback due to the fact that the internal losses of the user device on the basis of which the threshold is predetermined are estimated in the laboratory using a test tool that interacts with the device differently from the charger on board the vehicle, thereby possibly also leading to an incorrect determination of the loss level with respect to the predetermined threshold.
In order to partly rectify these drawbacks, one solution consists in using the quality factor of the transmitter antenna.
More precisely, the user device is calibrated in the factory before the device is marketed, for example in a device certification phase. In this calibration, the user device is deposited on a reference charger and a test device measures the quality factor of the reference transmitter antenna of the reference charger with the user device present on the charging support. This reference value is then stored in a memory area of the user device. Next, when the user device is placed on the charging support of the vehicle, it communicates the reference value of the quality factor of the reference transmitter antenna to the charger. The charger then measures the quality factor of the transmitter antenna when the device is present and compares it to the reference value provided by the device in order to deduce the existence of losses therefrom when the difference between the two quality factor values is greater than a predetermined threshold.
This solution makes it possible to reliably determine the actual loss level when the metal object is aligned with the transmitter antenna, but does not make it possible to cover in particular the configuration in which the metal object is aligned with the receiver antenna of the user device but not with the transmitter antenna, this representing a major drawback. Specifically, in this configuration, the losses through dissipation into the metal object may turn out to be significant and represent a risk of damaging the user device or to the safety of the user.

Method for determining the position of a metal object on an inductive charging support relative to a transmitter antenna and a receiver antenna


An apparatus, resonator and method for modulating light including a mechanism to compensate for parameter deviations. The apparatus may be capable of phase shift keying and quadrature amplitude modulation, and includes a waveguide, a plurality of micro-resonators, and an electronic structure. The plurality of micro-resonators are positioned adjacent to the waveguide and have a parameter deviation in at least one resonator characteristic. The electronic structure is electrically biased so as to cause electro-optic modulation of amplitude and a phase of the light output by the apparatus, each bias voltage comprising a numerical offset that is determined based upon the parameter deviation, thereby reducing any overall effect caused by the material or manufacturing imperfections. An electronic encoder may provide driving voltage levels for phase shift keying or quadrature amplitude modulation. The number of output amplitude and phase states of light depends on the number of output voltage levels of the encoder.

1. Statement of the Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to optical modulation devices, and more particularly to resonator-based optical modulators.
2. Description of the Related Art
Advanced optical modulation formats could offer significant advantages for optical communications. For example, Quadrature Phase-Shift Keying ("QPSK") provides higher spectral efficiency, better tolerance to fiber nonlinearly and chromatic dispersion, and enhanced receiver sensitivity compared to on-off keying. Traditional Lithium Niobate ("LiNbO3") modulators can be used for such modulation. However, LiNbO3 modulators are relatively large in size. For a general M-ary modulation format that requires a large number of optical modulator components along with their driving signal circuitries, the overall size of the entire modulator is rather cumbersome. Recent breakthroughs in silicon photonics, particularly silicon based optical modulators, have fundamentally changed the landscape of modulator technology. Notably, micro-resonator based silicon modulators constitute an ideal candidate for optical modulation due to their compact size, low power consumption, and ease of monolithic integration with driving circuitries on the same silicon chip. Most research on silicon micro-ring modulators employed intensity modulation in binary formats. Recently, micro-ring resonator based modulators for differential binary phase-shift-keying and differential QPSK have been proposed, and satisfactory performances have been predicted. Another work employed the anti-crossing between paired amplitude and phase resonators and demonstrated enhanced sensitivity to the input drive signal. A high-Q micro-ring quadrature modulator incorporating dual 2×2 Mach-Zehnder interferometers has also been recently proposed with beneficial performance.

Parallel-coupled dual racetrack silicon micro-resonator

RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY


A bicycle rack for a vehicle is disclosed herein. In one or more embodiments, the bicycle rack includes: (i) a central support assembly; (ii) a rail member coupled to the central support assembly, the rail member having an elongate groove formed therein for receiving a portion of a first wheel of a bicycle; (iii) a support arm coupled to the central support assembly, the support arm including a cavity for receiving a portion of a second wheel of the bicycle; and (iv) at least one pedal support assembly coupled to the central support assembly, the at least one pedal support assembly configured to structurally engage a pedal of the bicycle in a supporting relationship. Also, in one or more embodiments, the bicycle rack may further include a bicycle locking assembly configured to secure the bicycle to the bicycle rack so as to inhibit a theft of the bicycle.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to a bicycle rack. More particularly, the invention relates to a bicycle rack that is configured to mount on a vehicle, such as a car, a truck, or a recreational vehicle (RV).
2. Background and Description of Related Art
Conventional bicycle racks are known that support a bicycle from a car by its frame and wheels. However, these conventional bicycle racks tend to impart an undue amount of stress on the frames and wheels of bicycles when they transported. This is even more of a problem with the design of today's newer high performance bicycles. The frames of these high performance bicycles often employ materials, such as carbon fiber, that can be catastrophically damaged by misapplied clamping forces exerted thereon. Also, many of these high-end bicycles are even using carbon fibers and composites for wheel construction.
Therefore, what is needed is a bicycle rack for a vehicle that is capable of supporting a bicycle from the bike components that are designed to withstand the greatest forces during the normal use of the bicycle. Also, a bicycle rack is needed that can be effectively used with high performance bicycles without damaging any of the special materials employed by these bicycles. In addition, a bicycle rack is needed that applies clamping pressure at the points on the bicycle that are most capable of withstanding such pressure.