A machine or apparatus for producing ice cubes comprising flexible membranes which are flexed into and out of thermal contact with a refrigerated evaporator core upon which conductive areas define discrete freezing sites which determine the location on the flexible membrane where the ice cubes are formed. The ice cubes are removed by flexing the flexible membrane. The flexing of the flexible membranes into and out of contact with the evaporator core may be accomplished with a fluid source which applies fluid to and removes fluid from collapsible spaces between the evaporator core and the membranes.

Automatic ice cube machines are widely used in restaurants, bars, hotels, etc. Such commercial machines typically form ice cubes by freezing a flowing stream of water on the chilled evaporator portion of a refrigeration system. After the ice has been formed to the desired thickness, the evaporator is heated, thereby melting the bond between the ice and the evaporator and allowing the ice to then fall or be pushed into an ice holding bin below. Heating of the evaporator is typically accomplished using "hot gas defrost," whereby hot refrigerant gas from the compressor is caused to bypass the condenser and go directly into the evaporator. The hot gas defrost cycle ends after the ice cubes have fallen away from the evaporator.
Such a hot gas defrost cycle adversely affects the capacity and energy efficiency of the ice machine. The ice making capacity is significantly reduced because: 1) the machine spends a substantial portion of its time defrosting, during which time no useful refrigeration is provided, 2) the ice machine melts some ice during defrost, and 3) the heat added to the evaporator during hot gas defrost must be removed from the evaporator before freezing can resume--which means that the machine's refrigerating capacity is being used to remove heat added during defrost rather than to make ice. Also, because the ice making machine is consuming energy during the defrost process but is not making ice, the energy efficiency is significantly lower than that of an ice machine with no hot gas defrost cycle.
The capacity and energy efficiency of an ice making machine are also affected by the refrigeration system's condensing temperature. It is well known that raising condensing temperature in a refrigeration system leads to a reduction of the heat transfer output and efficiency of the system. Cube making ice machines often are designed to have a higher condensing temperature than would otherwise be required in order to assure that sufficiently hot refrigerant gas is available to provide a quick defrost. This leads to lower capacity and efficiency.
Another disadvantage of ice machines using hot gas defrost is their reduced service life. An ice machine which utilizes a hot gas defrost cycle constantly cycles between warm and cold. This constant thermal cycling and the corresponding refrigerant pressure variations causes the main components to wear out faster than they would otherwise.
Various machines and methods for making ice have been available heretofore. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,610,476 and 2,990,199 to C. Field, 2,613,511 to E. C. Walsh, 2,683,356 and 2,683,359 to Charles M. Green, Jr., and 2,803,950 to J. R. Bayston all describe methods for making ice on a flexible or deformable surface which do not require a hot gas defrost cycle. However, all of these methods produce randomly shaped pieces of ice as each method fractures the ice as it is broken free of the deformable freezing surface. None of these methods allow the ice to have a controlled and consistent cross-sectional shape.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,429 to Vance L. Kohl describes an ice making method providing a jacket around an evaporator tube having intersecting ridges which define an array of sites for growing the ice cubes, with the "bottom" of each site being in close contact with an area of evaporator tube for freezing water applied thereto. During harvesting, water is circulated through the jacket to uniformly melt and loosen the cubes so they may fall away. The jacket may be made of a flexible plastic material so that filling said jacket with water during said harvest mode causes flexing thereof to help dislodge the ice cubes or particles.
While this method does not use a hot gas defrost and does use some flexing to remove ice from the freezing surface, it harvests the ice primarily through melting. The "bottom" of each freezing site (the primary contact area between ice and evaporator) is securely fastened to the evaporator tube and is not flexible; the ice can only be freed from this area by melting. Only the periphery of each freezing site is capable of any flexing.
Commercially available flaker-type ice machines do not utilize a hot gas defrost cycle, but they cannot make hard, clear, consistently-shaped ice cubes.
An objective of this invention is to provide a machine or apparatus for making hard, substantially clear, uniformly shaped ice cubes, which does not require hot gas defrost and which thus provides greater ice producing capacity, greater energy efficiency and longer service life than conventional cube making ice machines.


An aperture antenna suitable for a radar system of an automotive vehicle is provided which includes three or more primary radiators and a feeding circuit. The feeding circuit is designed to supply electromagnetic signals to adjacent two of the primary radiators through discrete feeders to radiate in phase electromagnetic waves and to extract signals received by the two of the primary radiators separately. This enables the radiation of radar waves over a wider area without increasing the radiation power.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a radar system which may be employed in anti-collision devices for moving objects such as automotive vehicles to monitor the position of a target present within a detectable zone and an aperture antenna used in such a radar system.
2. Background of Related Art
Monopulse radars are known as being suitable for anti-collision devices for moving objects.
Typical monopulse radars are designed to receive a radar beam reflected from a target concurrently through a pair of antennas arranged close to each other to determine the azimuth angle of the target based on a phase difference between received signals and amplitude thereof. The monopulse radars, however, have the drawback in that the radar beam has the directivity, so that a detectable zone of the azimuth angle of the target is limited to a narrow area where antenna-received beams overlap with each other.
For example, an automotive radar system requires quick detection of a vehicle which has cut in front of a radar-equipped vehicle and accurate detection of obstacles present on or near a road. Such detection, however, becomes difficult especially when the radar-equipped vehicle is traveling on a curved road. It is, thus, sought to widen further the detectable zone of the radar system.

Structure of aperture antenna and radar system using same


An apparatus, software modem, and method for a data communications device, such as a modem (100, 101), to determine a symbol rate and carrier frequency, from a received probe signal, for optimizing a bit rate for data transmission and reception. The various embodiments utilizing a processor (108) or a digital signal processor (106) receive a probe signal, which also typically contains noise and other distortions, particularly envelope delay distortion. The various method and apparatus embodiments then determine a variance of the envelope delay distortion, either directly or indirectly as a correlate of attenuation distortion or as a correlate of a selected transmit pre-emphasis filter specified under the ITU V.34 protocol. The variance of the envelope delay distortion is then utilized to eliminate or disable certain symbol rates and corresponding carrier frequencies in the determination of an optimal symbol rate and carrier frequency for data transmission and reception.

Presently, data communications devices ("DCDs") and other data communications equipment ("DCE"), such as analog and digital modems, terminal adapters and routers, for example, are used to transfer or transport data between data terminal equipment ("DTE") such as personal computers, workstations, mainframe computers, and other terminals, over various communications channels such as telephone lines, T1 or ISDN lines, which also may be part of a computer network. Typically, the data is transmitted, received, or otherwise transferred in the form of a digitally encoded communication signal, which may include, for example, digitally encoded data transmitted on a carrier signal, having a predetermined or otherwise specified center (carrier) frequency, that is modulated by a predetermined constellation (or transmit constellation) of signal points (such as quadrature amplitude modulation), at a particular (and usually predetermined) signaling or symbol rate (also referred to as a baud rate). In current and proposed systems, the signaling constellation may include from five hundred to over 1600 signaling points. For a given channel, the data throughput will vary as a function of both the symbol rate and the carrier frequency.
At the sending or transmitting DCE, a carrier signal is thus modulated with the set of constellation signal points corresponding to the digital code or value to be transported over the channel. The channel, however, typically introduces or allows a variety of impairments or noise which affect the transmitted signal, such as amplitude and phase distortion, envelope delay distortion, non-linear distortion, additive noise, white noise, and other distortions. The level of distortion in the channel may limit the rate of data transport, as certain data rates, such as the 28.8 kbps available under International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Recommendation V.34, require reasonably high signal to distortion (noise) levels. Before the digital data is transported, therefore, a symbol rate and carrier frequency should be chosen which optimizes or maximizes the data throughput for a given channel.
With the advent of the V.34 protocol, multiple symbol rates and carrier frequencies are now available for selection in data transfer, in contrast with the prior art which largely relied upon fixed symbol rates and carrier frequencies. In addition, different channel characteristics may be more or less significant for the determination and optimization of a data rate which may be supported by a selected symbol rate and carrier frequency under the V.34 protocol. Accordingly, a need has remained for an apparatus, software modem, and method to rapidly and efficiently determine a symbol rate and carrier frequency for data transmission, to optimize data throughput for given channel conditions or characteristics, such as envelope delay distortion characteristics, and also for a given type of channel, such as ADPCM or those containing PCM codecs.

Apparatus method, and software modem for utilizing envelope delay distortion characteristics to determine a symbol rate and a carrier frequency for data transfer


A method for managing display of electronic documents is described. A user interface is generated for a visual style set of visual styles that affect display of electronic document content. A visual style of the visual style set comprises a style element set of style elements. A lock status for a style element of the style element set is received via the user interface. The lock status indicates whether the style element is editable or non-editable by a user of an electronic document associated with the visual style set. The visual style set is stored with the lock status for the style element.

1. Field
Various embodiments disclosed herein relate to a method and apparatus for controlling visual formatting of an electronic document.
2. Related Art
An electronic document typically includes document content data and document support data. Document support data may include visual style data in the form of metadata for controlling visual formatting of the electronic document. Visual style data is information that determines how the document content looks or appears when displayed on a screen or printed on paper. For example, visual style data may include information regarding whether text content is in bold, italicized, or underlined, its spacing with respect to other document content, or other visual formatting characteristics.
Conventional systems for storing, viewing, and editing a document in a client-server architecture typically include a server and a thin client device. The server stores the document as a document file in a database and provides processing power on behalf of the thin client device. The document file includes document content data and document support data which is stored together so that the server can properly render the document for viewing or editing on the thin client device.
When organizations or users have multiple electronic documents, they may desire consistent visual formatting or style across the documents. An organization may use a style document with information regarding the desired visual formatting, such as descriptions or examples of visual styles. Where each document has its own document support data, a user must compare each document individually against the style guide to obtain the desired visual formatting. Alternatively, the organization may use a system that stores document content data separately from document support data. While this approach allows for centralized control over the visual styles, some documents may use many different visual styles to accommodate slight differences in visual formatting. For example, four separate visual styles may differ only in whether bold and italics formatting are enabled or disabled (i.e., styles with bold and italics disabled, bold only enabled, italics only enabled, both bold and italics enabled). With additional differences in visual formatting, the number of styles required to cover each variation may be confusing to the user.

Method and apparatus for selective visual formatting of an electronic document using a style element lock status


An at least 3-port optical circulator has first group of optical components, and a second group of optical components, the first group being separated from the second group by an optical distance "1". Each group of optical components has a divider and combiner for dividing an input beam into two beams having orthogonal polarizations and for combining two beams having orthogonal polarizations into a single beam. Furthermore, each group has a GRIN lens for at least substantially collimating or focussing input light, and a polarization rotator between the first divider and combiner and the GRIN lens for making two orthogonal polarization vectors parallel or the two parallel polarization vectors orthogonal to one of or both of the first and second group of optical elements having beam shifting means disposed to shift two beams having a predetermined same polarization. The beam shifting means are of a thickness and orientation so that a beam of light that propagates from a first port sequentially to a second port and from the second port sequentially to a third port are shifted a distance equal to the distance between the optical axes of the first and the third ports.

Currently lenses of various types are used to collimate a diverging light beam exiting an optical waveguide and to focus light that being launched into an optical waveguide so as to more efficiently couple the light.
One of the most ubiquitous building blocks used in the design and manufacture of optical elements is the graded index (GRIN) lens. Lenses of this type are produced under the trade name "SELFOC"; the mark is registered in Japan and owned by the Nippon Sheet and Glass Co. Ltd. GRIN lenses in combination with other optical elements are used in the manufacture of WDM devices, optical couplers, circulators, isolators, and other devices. The use of a GRIN lens in this invention provides a number of advantages over other conventional lenses, however does not limit the invention to only GRIN lenses.
Advantages of GRIN lenses are that they are relatively inexpensive, compact, and furthermore have parallel flat end faces. In particular, the flat end face of the GRIN lens allows a single lens to be used as a means of collimating or focusing the light, and as well, as a means of tapping light reflected from the end face of the lens.
Quarter pitch focusing/collimating GRIN lenses are known to be used having their collimating ends adjacent one another in a back to back relationship, and having a thin optical element such as a dichroic thin film filter sandwiched therebetween. Such an arrangement may serve as a multiplexing/dempultiplexing optical filter. One or more optical fibers are typically coupled to an input end and to an output end (outwardly facing ends of the lenses) of the device. For these filters to work efficiently, without high coupling losses, it is especially important for the dichoric element disposed between the two lenses to be very thin.
When two quarter pitch GRIN lenses are placed directly adjacent one another with their collimating ends coupled, light launched into the input end from an input optical fiber having its optical axis parallel to but offset with the optical axis of the GRIN lens is directed to a location at the output end of the second GRIN lens. The light leaving the second lens is directly coupled into an output fibre that is parallel with the optical axis and the input optical fibre but offset thereto. However, if the lenses are unduly spaced, light exiting the output (focusing) end exits at an angle to the optical axis of the lens and is difficult to couple to a waveguide, for example to an optical fibre that does not have its optical axis parallel with the optical axis of the lens. This is a particular problem when a relatively thick optical element such as an isolator is disposed adjacent to a GRIN lens.
This invention obviates this difficulty, by providing a lens arrangement that is compatible with a relatively thin or thick optical element disposed between input and output waveguides.
Polarization independent optical circulators generally comprise a birefringent optical element such a rutile crystal for splitting an incoming beam into two orthogonally polarized beams. These two oppositely oriented beams, are then individually operated upon by being passed through at least a non-reciprocal rotating element and at least a second beam shifting crystal that is oriented to shift a beam passing therethrough in a first direction, for example, from port 1 to port 2, and allowing a beam passing therethrough from port 2 to port 3 without shifting. Further, a birefringent crystal is provided for combining at, for example, port 2, the two beams that where originally separated according to polarization components, into a single beam.
The cost of providing a large birefringent crystal is usually significant. For example, a crystal having a dimension of 2 mm, as is suggested in some optical circulator designs, can, according to the teachings of this invention be cut into four crystals, thereby providing significant cost savings.
It is therefore an object of this invention, to provide an optical circulator that minimizes the size of costly optical components.


A method and apparatus for providing a differential microphone with a desired frequency response are disclosed. The desired frequency response is provided by operation of a filter, having an adjustable frequency response, coupled to the microphone. The frequency response of the filter is set by operation of a controller, also coupled to the microphone, based on signals received from the microphone. The desired frequency response may be determined based upon the orientation angle and the distance between the microphone and a source of sound. The frequency response of the filter may comprise the substantial inverse of the frequency response of the microphone to provide a flat response. In a preferred embodiment, the gain of the differential microphone is adjusted so that the output level is effectively independent of microphone position relative to the source. In particular embodiments, the controller may determine, based on the distance from the sound source, whether to operate the differential microphone in a nearfield mode of operation or a farfield mode of operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to audio processing, and, in particular, to adjusting the frequency response of microphone arrays to provide a desired response.
2. Description of the Related Art
Speech signal acquisition in noisy environments is a challenging problem. For applications like speech recognition, teleconferencing, or hands-free human-machine interfacing, high signal-to-noise ratio at the microphone output is a prerequisite in order to obtain acceptable results from any algorithm trying to extract a speech signal from noise-contaminated signals. Because of possibly changing acoustical environments and varying position of the talker with respect to the microphone, conventional fixed directional microphones (i.e., dipole or cardioid elements) are often not able to deliver sufficient performance in terms of signal-to-noise ratio. For that reason, work has been done in the field of electronically steerable microphone arrays operating under farfield conditions (see, e.g., Flanagan, J. L., Berkley, D. A., Elko, G. W., West, J. E., and Sondhi, M. M., "Autodirective microphone systems," Acoustica, vol. 73, pp. 58–71, 1991, and Kellermann, W., "A self-steering digital microphone array," IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing (ICASSP), Toronto, Canada, 1991), i.e., where the distance between a signal source and an array is much greater than the geometric dimensions of the array.
However, under extreme acoustical environments, which can be found, for example, in a cockpit of an airplane, only close-talking microphones (nearfield operation) can be used to ensure satisfactory communication conditions. A way of exceeding the performance of conventional microphone technology used for close-talking applications is to use close-talking differential microphone arrays (CTMAs) that inherently provide farfield noise attenuation. If the CTMA is positioned appropriately, the signal-to-noise ratio gain for the CTMA will be inversely proportional to frequency to the power of the number of zero-order (omnidirectional) elements in the array minus one. One issue of using differential microphones in close-talking applications is that they have to be placed as close to the mouth as possible to exploit the nearfield properties of the acoustic field. However, the frequency response and output level of a CTMA depend heavily on the position of the array relative to the talker's mouth. As the array is moved away from the mouth, the output signal becomes progressively highpassed and significantly lower in level. In practice, people using close-talking microphones tend to use them at suboptimal positions, e.g., far away from the mouth. This will degrade the performance of a CTMA.

Adaptive close-talking differential microphone array


An illumination system is provided with at least a first reflecting device that has a first focal point at the arc of an arc lamp. The second focal point of the reflecting device is located at the input end of a compound parabolic concentrator (CPC). The CPC is optically coupled with an optical integrator. Light exiting the optical integrator may be used in low étendue projection systems.

Multimedia projection systems have become popular for purposes such as conducting sales demonstrations, business meetings, classroom training, and for use in home theaters. In typical operation, multimedia projection systems receive analog video signals from a video unit and convert the video signals to digital information to control one or more digitally driven light valves. Depending on the cost, brightness, and image quality goals of the particular projection systems, the light valves may be of various sizes and resolutions, be transmissive or reflective, and be employed in single or multiple light path configurations. (Hereinafter, projection systems may also be referred to as "projectors.")
Optimized sets of multimedia projector characteristics have been achieved by employing reflective light valves, the most common types of these reflective light valve optical arrangements are deflected mirror arrays and reflective liquid crystal light valves. Deflected mirror arrays are very efficient reflectors that do not require polarizers for operation. However, they are quite expensive, require off-axis illumination, and often employ unusual optical elements, such as specialized prisms, to compensate for the off-axis light path angles generated.
Reflective liquid crystal light valves are typically fabricated on a silicon substrate and are, therefore, referred to as liquid crystal on silicon ("LCOS") light valves. They are much less expensive than reflected mirror devices, but require specialized polarizers for operation, which results in significant light transmission losses.
LCOS light valve-based projector architectures employ linear polarized light-sensitive devices for receiving light from a randomly polarized light source, reflecting the light off the light valves, and redirecting the reflected light, depending on its polarization direction or state, either out through a projection lens or back toward the light source. The polarization state of the light is determined by an electronic image pattern applied to the light valve.
There are several different optical architectures for employing LCOS light valves. One variation is a multi-path optical architecture that provides a separate path for each of the primary color (red, blue, and green) lights. The different color lights are routed through a series of polarization beam splitters, filters, and wave plates to a color-specific reflective LCOS light valve. Polychromatic light is optically divided to provide each of the three pathways with its associated color light. A light valve, which is provided in each pathway, is modulated with its respective color data. The individual pathways are then recombined into a converged projected color image. Another variation is a single-path multimedia projector that typically includes a color wheel-based frame-sequential color ("FSC") optical arrangement. In this arrangement, polychromatic light rays emitted by a light source are directed through the color filter segments of the color wheel. The resulting FSC light travels along a single light path that color timeshares a single light valve.
The multi-path optical architecture generally provides an increased image brightness compared to the single-path architecture. Image brightness is also a function of the amount of collected light from the lamp and the color efficiency, which is generally lower for the single-path architecture. Nevertheless, the single-path architecture is generally preferred because the resulting systems tend to be lighter weight, lower cost, and more compact in size. All of these factors can be further improved if the light produced by the lamp (light source) can be collected efficiently and propagated through the optical components optimized for a low étendue, which enables using reduced-size optical components.
FIGS. 1–3 illustrate these problems in further detail. In particular, FIG. 1 shows a prior art conventional light source 100 used in conjunction with a single-path architecture multimedia projection system. The light source includes an arc lamp 101 mounted at a focus of an elliptical reflector 102. Polychromatic light rays emitted by arc lamp 101 are converged by elliptical reflector 102 to propagate along optical axis 106 through color filter segments of color wheel 103 and optical integrator 104. Color wheel 103 typically includes R, G, B, and light-purplish filter segments. Because the light from arc lamp 101 is typically greenish (deficient in red), the light-purplish (nonwhite) filter segment produces a more accurate white color point and overall color gamut for the multimedia projector. In some multimedia projectors, the color wheel 103 is replaced with other types of color modulators, such as a liquid crystal-based color switcher. For projectors with architecture of a multi-path type, the color modulator is not employed, and polychromatic light propagates directly through the image projection optics. After the FSC light passes through the color wheel 103 (single-path architecture), it passes through an optical integrator before it enters the remaining components of an image projection system 105. The optical integrator 104 is typically an elongated tunnel-type integrator with squared-off flat inlet 104a and outlet 104b ends.
One of the functional purposes of an illumination system is to output a large amount of light energy. However, the emitted light energy is restricted by constraints on the physical dimensions of the light source as well as the amount of light acceptable by downstream optical components. The amount of light that is acceptable to an optical component is a function of its area and the light flux throughput, or étendue. The geometric entity, étendue E, is defined as the product of the transverse sectional area of a light beam and the divergence angle of the beam. Étendue is also referred to as geometric extent.
Referring to FIG. 2, étendue E is a geometric entity that is represented mathematically by Eq. 1:
  E  =            ∫              ∫                              cos                                      (              Φ              )                                                      ⅆ            A                                          ⅆ            Ω                                =                  A                                                  Ω            =                        A                                                                                πsin              2                                                  (              θ              )                                      =                              A                                                                          π                                4                                                      (                                  f                  /                  #                                )                            2                                          where Ω defines a cone of light 201 diverging through a cross-sectional area A.
Étendue is important because in an optical system it cannot be reduced without a corresponding reduction in light flux. It is of particular importance in the efficient collection of light flux from a light source, such as light source 100, which effectively establishes the lower limit of étendue for the entire optical system.
An illumination system that uses the single on-axis elliptical reflector, as illustrated in FIG. 1, or an on-axis parabolic reflector (not shown), has an intrinsic variation of "magnification-over-angle" that degrades the étendue of the light, thus degrading the output from the illumination source.
FIG. 3 shows one attempted solution to this fundamental limitation of traditional conic reflector arrangements. In particular, light source 301 employs a double-paraboloid reflector 305 having first and second focal points 302 and 307. Light rays are produced by an arc lamp 304 that has its arc located at first focal point 302 of double-paraboloid reflector 305. Arc lamp 304 also includes a mirror coating 303 on its surface facing away from double-paraboloid reflector 305 to reflect light rays 306 back through the arc to join with and further intensify light rays. This light source 301 achieves suitable light-collecting efficiency (greater than about 40%) at a desirable étendue (less than 7 mm2·sr). However, a disadvantage of this light source is that the angles coming off of the second reflection are too steep to be fully utilized by downstream optical components. This stray light reduces the efficiency of the illumination system.
What is still needed, therefore, is an illumination system which achieves a suitable light-collecting efficiency at a small étendue. Such an illumination system would be advantageous in designing a compact, lightweight, and/or low-profile multimedia projection system that achieves a bright and/or high-quality projected image at preferably a relatively low cost.

Efficient illumination systems for reduced étendue color video projection systems


The present invention provides a new method for recombinantly expressing a protein of interest, such as the human BRCA2 protein, BLM protein, CtIP protein, or EXOI protein, by expressing the protein in the form of a fusion protein comprising two maltose-binding protein (MBP) or glutathione-S-transferase (GST) tags. The expression cassette useful for this method and the fusion protein produced by this method are also described.

Recombinant DNA technologies have offered a unique opportunity for scientists to produce essentially unlimited quantity of proteins of interest for therapeutic use and also for further research. Some difficulties however can seriously hinder the recombinant production of certain proteins, such as proteins of larger sizes and/or of limited solubility. For example, the BRCA2 protein has been the focus of intense research due to the involvement of this protein in various human epithelial cancers including breast and ovarian cancers, but efforts to recombinantly producing this protein has been largely unsuccessful. The present inventors devised a new strategy in the recombinant production of proteins and this new strategy has demonstrated unexpected effectiveness in improving the quantity of expression, solubility of the recombinant protein, and ease of purification of the protein. Their discovery is therefore a significant improvement, especially for certain proteins, such as the BRCA2 protein, which have the characteristics of relatively large size and low solubility, and which other researchers have previously been unable to recombinantly produce in desirable quantity and quality.

Expression and purification of fusion protein with multiple MBP tags

The Regents of the University of California


A flexible boot for covering and protecting protruding aircraft structures. The flexible boot is especially well adapted to cover and protect aircraft nose cones. In such an application the boot also protects electronic equipment including radar equipment typically located within the nose cone or radome area of the aircraft. The flexible boot has the advantage that it may be packaged by rolling it up. Preferably no discernible creases or wrinkles develop in the surface of the boot while it remains in rolled-up condition or thereafter when unrolled prior to use. The boot is formed of a flexible curved and continuous cap having a closed end and an opposed open end. The peripheral edge at the open end of the cap lies at or above the equator of the largest sphere which can be inscribed within the cap.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to flexible boots used to cover and protect protruding aircraft structures particularly aircraft nose cones.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Nose cones of both commercial and military aircraft typically house radar equipment. The nose cone is typically formed of an epoxy/fiberglass honeycomb covered with a layer of epoxy/fiberglass sheeting. The nose cone interior provides a hollow space, referred to as a radome area, for housing sensitive electronic and radar equipment. It is important to keep water or moisture from seeping into the fiberglass honeycomb or into the radome area, since such water or moisture could adversely affect the proper operation of the sensitive equipment.
Flexible elastomeric boots are conventionally employed to cover an aircraft nose cone to protect the sensitive radar equipment housed therein. Such elastomeric boots, commonly referred to as radome boots, are molded into a cap-like shape conforming to the shape of the nose cone. Adhesive, typically pressure sensitive adhesive, is coated onto the inside surface of the radome boot so that the boot can be adhesively applied to tightly cover the outside surface of the nose cone. Once applied, the boot prevents infusion of water or other liquids into the radome area while the aircraft is in flight. The elastomeric boot also provides protection from impact of birds in flight. Similarly such elastomeric boots have been used to cover and protect other protruding parts on an aircraft.
Prior art protective boots are typically formed by thermoforming polyurethane to conform to the shape of the nose cone or other protruding part of the aircraft. Such boots are conventionally shipped by placing them over a rigid shipping form of like shape. The shipping form is typically formed of rigid thermoformed polystyrene. The shipping form has been thought to be necessary in order to protect the boot from wrinkling, creasing, or deformation during shipment or storage. The polyurethane boot is normally formed to have a flat flange area protruding along the circumference of its peripheral edge. When the boot is placed over the rigid shipping form, the flange area provides a convenient surface for securing the boot to the shipping form as by stapling the flange thereto. It also provides a convenient gripping surface for manually removing the boot from the form and for applying the boot. After the boot is removed from the rigid shipping form the flange is normally first trimmed. The boot is then applied over the nose cone and adhesively secured thereto.
The conventional rigid shipping form to which the boot is secured may be as expensive or nearly as expensive to manufacture as the boot itself. Therefore, it would be an advantage if an alternative method of shipping and storing the boot could be devised that would eliminate the need for the shipping form. The alternative shipping and storage method should not cause permanent distortion as by becoming wrinkled or creased.

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


A method, apparatus and article of manufacture, implementing the method, accesses rows in a range-clustered table in a database management system. A table stores data that is organized into rows and columns. At least one column is designated as a key column. A particular row in the table is accessed based on a relationship between a specified key value and a predetermined range of key values associated with the key column. The table has slots for storing rows, and the slots are organized in accordance with the values of the predetermined range.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a technique, specifically a method, apparatus, and article of manufacture that implements the method, to organize and access rows in a range-clustered table in a database management system. This technique is particularly, though not exclusively, suited for use within a database management system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Database management systems allow large volumes of data to be stored and accessed efficiently and conveniently in a computer system. In a database management system, data is stored in database tables which effectively organize the data into rows and columns. A database engine responds to user commands to store and access the data.
In FIG. 1, a database table 30 having rows 32 and columns 34 is shown. A row 32 has one or more columns 34. A row 32 is also referred to as a record.
In the database table 30, the columns 34 are associated with a datatype that defines the type of data stored in that column. The datatype may be selected from a set of predefined datatypes such as numeric, integer, decimal, string, character, date, time and timestamp, among others. In a typical database management system, some datatypes assign a predefined length to a column. Such exemplary datatypes include, and are not limited to, "INTEGER," "DECIMAL," "DATE," "TIME," "TIMESTAMP," and "CHAR(N)" which allocates space for N bytes in a character column. Other datatypes store data having a varying length such as VARCHAR, Binary Large Object (BLOB), and VARGRAPHIC.
To more quickly access the data in a database table, an index is generated based on one or more specified columns of the database table. This set of specified columns is referred to as a key or index key. Each row of the database table is associated with a key. The value of the key is determined by the values stored in the columns making up the key. In the index, the values of the keys are ordered. Each key value is associated with a least one row identifier, or pointer, to its associated row of the database table. Therefore, the keys provide access to all the rows in a database table. The database engine accesses the index to quickly locate a row of data in a database table based on the value of the key. Because the columns of a key are a subset of the columns of the database table, the columns of the key are associated with a datatype, and this datatype information is stored as column description information for that index.
Traditionally, two types of methods are used to access rows—balanced tree (B-tree) indexes and hash indexes. In FIG. 2, a query uses a B-tree 40 to access a particular row 36 in the database table 30. A B-tree 40 is a data structure, stored on disk, that stores indexes. As shown in FIG. 3, the B-tree 40 has a primary data structure 42 that is used to access a secondary data structure 44 storing indexes 46. The indexes 46 of the secondary data structure point to the locations on the disk where the rows are stored. The B-tree 40 allows rows to be read in any order. When searching through a range of key values, the rows can be found efficiently even if those rows are distributed across the disk. The B-tree is typically structured to minimize the number of disk accesses to retrieve a row.
In FIG. 3, the primary data structure 42 has values A1 . . . An. Index values less than A1 are stored in secondary structure 44-1. Index values greater than or equal to A1 are stored in secondary structure 44-2. Values greater than or equal to An are stored in secondary structure 44-3. The index value v(2,2) points to row 48, and the index value v(n+1,o) points to row 50.
The hash index transforms a key into an index value, which is used to store and retrieve a row of data. The hash index performs well when accessing unique keys, such as social security numbers. However, the hash index does not perform range searches efficiently because each row must be read. For example, the hash index cannot efficiently be used to search for all employee names that start with "T".
Although B-tree indexes are efficient at retrieving rows and searching ranges of rows, B-tree indexes require many accesses to the hard disk and performance can be slow. Although hash indexes are efficient at retrieving rows with unique key values, hash indexes cannot perform range searches efficiently because each row must be scanned. Therefore, there is a need for a technique to access a database table that increases the speed of accessing data and allows range searches to be performed efficiently.

Range-clustered tables in a database management system

International Business Machines Corporation


According to an embodiment, a memory system includes multiple nonvolatile memories to/from each of which data can be written/read independently of one another; and a controller configured to control writing of data to and reading of data from the nonvolatile memories. Each of the nonvolatile memories includes a data storage including a normal data storage area for storing the data and a redundant data storage area for writing the data avoiding defect positions in the normal data storage area; and a defect information storage configured to store defect information indicating information on a defect of the data storage included in another nonvolatile memory different from the present nonvolatile memory.

In nonvolatile storage media such as NAND flash memory, blocks that are units of storage may become unable to be used as storage areas owing to such a reason as many errors. Such blocks that are unable to be used are called bad blocks or defective blocks, and controlled to be excluded from blocks (free blocks) in which data are to be stored.
In related art, a method of recording information indicating the positions or the like of blocks (bad blocks) in which errors are found during an inspection process in manufacturing in the form of defect information table (bad block statistical information) so that the blocks are not handled as free blocks that can be used is known. The defect information table is recorded on a nonvolatile storage medium and expanded into a volatile storage medium (such as a RAM) at system start-up for use.
The units of managing the defect information table are units of storage (such as units of blocks) in a nonvolatile storage medium, and the defect information table assumed to be entirely expanded into a volatile storage medium at start-up for use. In a case of a storage medium with a higher percent defective, however, more granular defect avoidance control in units of bits, for example, is required. In this case, however, the defect information table has a large size and cannot be expanded into a volatile storage medium such as a DRAM at a time. Thus, the defect information table stored in the nonvolatile storage medium needs to be referred to each time data are written/read thereinto/therefrom and the time for reading the defect information table from the nonvolatile storage medium is an overhead.


A make-break connector assembly having a latching mechanism integral to the top and bottom of the housing. The connector assembly includes connectors for fluid or air flow. The connector assembly has a single button release to release both the top and bottom latches.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to connector assemblies, such as connector assemblies for liquid and/or air flow.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is now common to apply cold and compression to a traumatized area of a human body to facilitate healing and prevent unwanted consequences of the trauma. Cold packing with ice bags or the like traditionally has been used to provide deep core cooling of a body part. Elastic wraps are often applied to provide compression. It will be appreciated that these traditional techniques are quite uncontrollable. For example, the temperature of an ice pack will, of course, change when the ice melts, and it has been shown that the application of elastic wraps and, consequently, the pressure provided by the same, varies considerably even where the wrappers are experienced individuals. Because of these and other difficulties, many in the field have turned to more complex arrangements which include cooling units for maintaining a desired temperature through a splint or other heat exchanger. Some of these units also provide compressive pressure.
Prior art connectors that attach heat exchangers to a controller that supplies air flow and liquid flow are problematic. They are problematic because: (a) the connectors are not easily operated (i.e., the connections are not easily made or broken); (b) users cannot readily appreciate how to orient the connector for making the connection; and (c) a mistake in a user identifying a type of heat exchanger can cause it be connected to a controller that may, for example, supply too high a pressure for liquid and/or air flow and, thereby, raise safety issues.
A prior connector apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,871,878. As described therein, at least one of the connectors in the housing includes a latching structure to securely latch the connector apparatus to a mating component. However, connectors having an integrated latching structure are relatively more expensive to manufacture, and require more precise alignment of respective mating components.

Make-brake connector assembly with opposing latches


A method and apparatus for optimizing dispersion in an optical fiber transmission line. The method and apparatus (a) determine an optimum amount of total dispersion of an optical transmission line corresponding to a power level of an optical signal transmitted through the optical transmission line; (b) control dispersion of the optical transmission line so that the total dispersion up to a specific point along the optical transmission line becomes approximately zero; and (c) add dispersion to the optical transmission line downstream of the specific point, to obtain the determined optimum amount of total dispersion. The control of dispersion in (b), above, can be performed in several different manners. For example, the control of dispersion can include (i) detecting the intensity of a specific frequency component of the optical signal, the optical signal having an intensity v. total dispersion characteristic curve with at least two peaks; and (ii) controlling the amount of total dispersion of the transmission line to substantially minimize the intensity of the specific frequency component between the two highest peaks of the intensity v. total dispersion characteristic curve of the optical signal. Assuming that the optical signal is modulated by a data signal having a bit rate of B bits/second, then the specific frequency component is preferably a B hertz component of the optical signal.

This application is based on, and claims priority to, Japanese application number 9-246901, filed on Sep. 11, 1997, in Japan, and which is incorporated herein by reference.
This application also claims priority to Japanese application 9-224056, filed on Aug. 20, 1997, in Japan, and which is incorporated herein by reference.
This application is related to U.S. application titled xe2x80x9cMETHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MINIMIZING THE INTENSITY OF A SPECIFIC FREQUENCY COMPONENT OF AN OPTICAL SIGNAL TRAVELLING THROUGH AN OPTICAL FIBER TRANSMISSION LINE TO THEREBY MINIMIZE THE TOTAL DISPERSIONxe2x80x9d, filed on Mar. 19, 1998, in the United States, and which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for optimizing dispersion in an optical fiber transmission line in accordance with the power level of an optical signal travelling through the optical fiber transmission line. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus which sets the dispersion at a specific point along the optical fiber transmission line to zero, and then adds dispersion downstream of the specific point to optimize the total dispersion in accordance with the power level of the optical signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical transmission systems using fiber optical transmission lines are being used to transmit relatively large amounts of information. For example, optical transmission systems at 10 Gb/s are now in practical implementation in trunk-line optical communications. However, as users require larger amounts of information to be rapidly transmitted, a further increase in the capacity of optical transmission systems is required.
Time-division multiplexing (TDM) (including optical time-division multiplexing (OTDM)) and wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) are being considered as candidates for such high capacity optical transmission systems. For example, with regard to TDM techniques, a significant amount of worldwide research is being performed on 40 Gb/s systems.
Chromatic dispersion (group-velocity dispersion (GVD)) is one of the factors limiting the transmission distance in a 40 Gb/s system. Since dispersion tolerance is inversely proportional to the square of the bit rate, the dispersion tolerance, which is about 800 ps/nm at 10 Gb/s, is reduced by a factor of 16 to about 50 ps/nm at 40 Gb/s.
For example, in measured experiments, an optical time-division multiplexed (OTDM) signal with a signal light wavelength of 1.55 xcexcm (where transmission loss in silica fiber is the lowest) was transmitted over a distance of 50 km through a single-mode fiber (SMF). The SMF had a zero dispersion wavelength of 1.3 xcexcm. This type of SMF is the type of fiber most widely installed around the world. The input signal light power was +3 dBm, and the bit rate was 40 Gb/s. Dispersion compensation was performed using a dispersion-compensating fiber (DCF). The width of the dispersion compensation value range allowed in order to hold the power penalty (degradation of optical signal reception sensitivity through transmission) to within 1 dB (dispersion compensation tolerance) was 30 ps/nm. This value translates to length of 2 km or less of an SMF with a chromatic dispersion value of 18.6 ps/nm/km.
Furthermore, in a land system, repeater spacing is not uniform. Thus, very precise dispersion compensation must be performed for each repeater section.
On the other hand, dispersion in a transmission line changes with time due to changes, for example, in temperature. For example, in the case of an SMF 50 km transmission, when the temperature changes between xe2x88x9250 to 100xc2x0 C., the amount of change of the transmission line dispersion is estimated to be as follows:
(Temperature dependence of zero dispersion wavelength of transmission line)xc3x97(Temperature change)xc3x97(Dispersion slope)xc3x97(Transmission distance)=0.03 nm/xc2x0 C.xc3x97150xc2x0 C.xc3x970.07 ps/nm2/kmxc3x9750 km=16 ps/nm.
This value is greater than one half of the dispersion tolerance of 30 ps/nm and cannot be overlooked when designing the system.
In the above-described measured experiments, when the amount of dispersion compensation was optimized at xe2x88x9250xc2x0 C. at the start of system operation, if the temperature subsequently rose to 100xc2x0 C. during system operation, the criterion of a 1 dB penalty could not be satisfied (worst case condition).
Further, depending on the characteristic and construction of a dispersion compensator, the amount of dispersion compensation can only be set discretely, sometimes leaving no alternative but to set the dispersion compensation amount to a value slightly displaced from an optimum value at the start of system operation. In that case, there arises a possibility that the criterion of 1 dB penalty may not be satisfied even when the temperature change is smaller than 150xc2x0 C.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic dispersion compensation system for use in ultra high-speed optical transmission systems at 40 Gb/s or higher rates.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an automatic dispersion compensation system so as to optimize the amount of dispersion compensation for each repeater section of the optical transmission system at the start of system operation, and also to perform optimization of the dispersion compensation amount according to the changing dispersion value of the transmission line during system operation.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide such an automatic dispersion compensation system for SMF transmission systems, but that can also be used in other systems that use 1.55 xcexcm band dispersion-shifted fiber (DSF) having a low chromatic dispersion value at that wavelength.
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a dispersion control method and apparatus that can properly control chromatic dispersion in an optical transmission line even when signal light power is so large that nonlinear effect becomes pronounced.
Objects of the present invention are achieved by providing a method and apparatus which (a) determines an optimum amount of total dispersion of an optical transmission line corresponding to a power level of an optical signal transmitted through the optical transmission line; (b) controls dispersion of the optical transmission line so that the total dispersion up to a specific point along the optical transmission line becomes approximately zero; and (c) adds dispersion to the optical transmission line to obtain the determined optimum amount of total dispersion. When adding dispersion, the dispersion can be added to the optical transmission line at a point which is downstream of the specific point.
The process of controlling dispersion in (b), above, can be performed in several different manners. The example, the process of controlling dispersion can include (i) detecting the intensity of a specific frequency component of the optical signal, the optical signal having an intensity v. total dispersion characteristic curve with at least two peaks; and (ii) controlling the amount of total dispersion of the transmission line to substantially minimize the intensity of the specific frequency component between the two highest peaks of the intensity v. total dispersion characteristic curve of the optical signal. Assuming that the optical signal is modulated by a data signal having a bit rate of B bits/second, then the specific frequency component is preferably a B hertz component of the optical signal.
Alternatively, the process of controlling dispersion in (b), above, can include (i) detecting the intensity of a specific frequency component of the optical signal, the optical signal having an intensity v. total dispersion characteristic curve with at least two peaks; and (ii) controlling the amount of total dispersion of the transmission line so that the intensity of the specific frequency component is at a midpoint between the two highest peaks of the intensity v. total dispersion characteristic curve of the optical signal.
Further, the process of controlling dispersion in (b), above, can include (i) detecting the intensity of a specific frequency component of the optical signal, the optical signal having an intensity v. total dispersion characteristic curve with a corresponding eye opening; and (ii) controlling the amount of total dispersion of the optical transmission line to substantially minimize the intensity of the specific frequency component in the eye opening.
Moreover, the process of controlling dispersion in (b), above, can include (i) detecting the intensity of a specific frequency component of the optical signal, the optical signal having an intensity v. total dispersion characteristic curve with a corresponding, allowable eye opening range; and (ii) controlling the amount of total dispersion of the transmission line to maintain the intensity of the specific frequency component along a point on the intensity v. total dispersion characteristic curve which is within the eye opening.
Objects of the present invention are also achieved by providing a method and apparatus of controlling dispersion in an optical transmission line having an optical signal transmitted therethrough. The method and apparatus (a) set the power of the optical signal to a first value producing substantially no nonlinear effect in the optical transmission line; (b) control the amount of total dispersion of the optical transmission line to be approximately zero; (c) change the power of the optical signal to a second value different from the first value; (d) determine an optimum amount of total dispersion of the optical transmission line corresponding to the power of the optical signal being at the second value; and (e) add dispersion to the optical transmission line to obtain the determined optimum amount of dispersion.
Objects of the present invention are further achieved by providing a method and apparatus of controlling dispersion in an optical transmission line having an optical signal transmitted therethrough. The method and apparatus (a) set the power of the optical signal to a value producing substantially no nonlinear effect in the optical transmission line; (b) control the amount of total dispersion of the optical transmission line to be approximately zero while the power is set to said value; (c) increase the power of the optical signal; and (d) add dispersion to the optical transmission line to obtain an optimum amount of dispersion corresponding to the increased power of the optical signal. The process of controlling the amount of total dispersion can take the form of any of the processes described above for controlling dispersion.

Method and apparatus for optimizing dispersion in an optical fiber transmission line in accordance with an optical signal power level

c/o Fujitsu Limited, 1-1, Kamikodanaka 4-chome

Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa 211-8588


A semiconductor package comprising a connection pad device for electrically connecting at least a part of chip pads of a semiconductor chip with the corresponding inner leads of a lead frame. The connection pad device comprises a film as a connection pad device body, a plurality of copper foil wirings each having one end positioned to correspond to each chip pad of the semiconductor chip and the other end positioned to correspond to each inner lead of the lead frame, a plurality of first jumper pads protruded from the film, each of the first jumper pads being connected to one end of each corresponding copper foil wiring and wire-bonded to each corresponding chip pad, and a plurality of second jumper pads protruded from the film, each of the second jumper pads being connected to the other end of each corresponding copper foil wiring and wire-bonded to each corresponding inner lead. With the connection pad device, the semiconductor package can cope properly with various package types and have improvements in the degree of freedom in designing layouts of the semiconductor chip and lead frame.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor package, and more particularly to a semiconductor package capable of freely coping with various package types such as a SOJ type, ZIP type and etc. without changing the type of a semiconductor chip to be used, upon packaging a highly integrated memory of a 16-mega-bit grade or greater and improving the degree of freedom in designing a layout of the pads of semiconductor chip, thereby improving the characteristic of a semiconductor device to be manufactured and the degree of integration.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a semiconductor package is made by wire-bonding inner leads of a lead frame to corresponding pads of a semiconductor chip and then molding the semiconductor chip using a resin material.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the connection between a semiconductor chip and a lead frame in a semiconductor package of a general small outline J bend (SOJ) type. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a typical example of such a general SOJ type semiconductor package. As shown in the drawings, the semiconductor chip which is denoted by the reference numeral 3 is attached to a paddle 2 of the lead frame 1, by means of an epoxy adhesive 8. The semiconductor chip 3 has a plurality of pads 4 including pads 4a, 4b and 4c which are connected with inner leads 5 of the lead frame 1 by means of wires 6. The semiconductor chip 3 and the inner leads 5 of the lead frame 1 are molded with an epoxy resin 7.
In such a SOJ type semiconductor package, the semiconductor chip 3 has a source pad 4a at the lower end of one side portion thereof and a ground pad 4b at the upper end of the other side portion thereof, as shown in FIG. 2. The reference numeral 4c denotes general pads for inputting and outputting signals.
For wire-bonding the inner leads 5 of lead frame 1 to the corresponding pads 4 formed on the semiconductor chip 3 by means of metal wires 6, a layout for the semiconductor chip 3 is designed to allow the space between each inner lead 5 of the lead frame 1 and each corresponding pad 4 of the semiconductor chip 3 to be not more than 200 MIL (1 MIL=1/1000 inch).
For the same purpose, it is also necessary to provide a design space allowing each inner lead of the lead frame to be designed to correspond to the position at which each corresponding pad is formed. For example, in semiconductor packages of a 16-mega-bit DRAM grade, such a design space should be not less than 50 MIL in both X-axis and Y-axis directions.
The outline size of semiconductor package is also fixed for providing a compatibility of the semiconductor package. For example, semiconductor packages of the 16-mega-bit DRAM grade have the outline size of 400 mm.times.725 mm. As a result, in case of a small-sized semiconductor chip, pads are formed at corner portions of the semiconductor chip. In this case, a lead frame is designed such that its inner leads correspond to the pads formed at the corner portions of semiconductor chip, so as to be wire-bonded thereto.
In case of a highly integrated semiconductor chip of the 16-mega-bit DRAM grade or greater, that is, a large-sized semiconductor chip, in particular, in case of a SOJ type semiconductor package having outer leads protruded from its opposite sides as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, pads 4 are formed at opposite side edges of the semiconductor chip and are wire-bonded to the corresponding inner leads 5 arranged at opposite sides of the lead frame 1. On the other hand, in case of a semiconductor package of a zigzag inline package (ZIP) type, pads are formed at the corner portions of the semiconductor chip by using option pads, so as to cope with a variation in the type of package.
In such conventional packages with the above-mentioned structures, electric power is supplied to an internal circuit of the semiconductor chip 3 via specific outer leads of the lead frame 1, that is, a source terminal Vcc and a ground terminal Vss. Via the remaining outer leads, that is, signal terminals, signal inputting and outputting are carried out between the internal circuit of the semiconductor chip 3 and the external of the package.
Typically, the positions of source terminal Vcc and ground terminal Vss which are specific outer leads of the semiconductor package are fixed. As a result, the positions of source pad and ground pad are also fixed, to which inner leads connected to the source terminal Vcc and ground terminal Vss are wire-bonded. In case of the SOJ type semiconductor package, therefore, the source pad and the ground pad are formed at the lower end of one side portion and the upper end of the other side portion of semiconductor chip.
Such a limitation on the positions of source pad and ground pad becomes a factor of limiting the design of semiconductor chips. On the other hand, source lines made of metal are disposed in the semiconductor chip and connected in parallel to various internal circuit parts, so as to supply electric power thereto. These source lines have various and long lengths, thereby causing the degree of freedom in designing the semiconductor chip to be very limited. They also effect adversely an accurate supplying of static voltage to each internal circuit part. Since the source lines also have a width very larger than those of other signal lines, they occupy a great area in the semiconductor chip, if their length increases. As a result, there are problems of degrading the degree of integration and requiring an increase in chip area. The arrangement of various source lines also becomes a factor of generating a noise. The increased length of source lines results in a decrease in speed, thereby causing the performance of semiconductor chip to be degraded.
Where both a SOJ type package and a ZIP type package are to be made with semiconductor chips of the same kind, there is no problem when the chips have a small size. In case of the semiconductor chips having a large size, however, there is a problem that pad positions for the SOJ type package should be designed differently from those for the ZIP type package.


Embodiments of the present invention include an equipment rack for a vehicle, such as a vertical, tire-mount bicycle rack, that is specially adapted for heavier bicycles like e-bicycles, that is significantly more robust than prior vertical bicycle racks by using a high-powered actuator coupled with a base structure that optimizes both leverage and stability through a wide, cradling hinge plate and post member pivot axis that is located aft of the post member when the post member is in a generally vertical position.

Vertical mount equipment racks for vehicles allow users to carry more by positioning equipment vertically with respect to the vehicle. Vertical bike trailer hitch racks are one type of such vertical mount equipment racks. These racks allow users with a trailer hitch the ability to mount up to six bikes, usually by pivoting backwards for loading, then positioned and/or locked vertically for travel. These designs are relatively new, achieving popularity and widespread adoption only within the last few years. Significantly, the vast majority of these designs are for mounting and carrying conventional mountain and/or road bicycles. Accordingly, the corresponding structures, functionalities, and weight capacities are all premised upon loads of up to 300 pounds.
Electronic bikes ("e-bikes") are increasingly popular, with major markets experiencing; annual growth of between 10-50% or more, and there are millions of new users each year. E-bike users also want to be able to easily transport their bikes with other vehicles. However, e-bikes present unique challenges to existing rack designs. For example, e-bikes may weigh between 40 and 70 pounds 50% heavier than a conventional mountain bike. At best, the existing structures, functionalities, and weight capacities of vertical bike trailer hitch racks are inadequate to address these unique challenges. At worst, attempting to use existing bicycle designs with e-bikes may pose significant safety hazards through overloading failure, including traffic accidents as such events occur during transport.
What is needed is a vertical mount equipment rack—such as a vertical bike trailer hitch rack—that is specifically designed for the unique challenges presented by loading, carrying, and unloading e-bikes, and that optimizes rack structure, functionality, and weight capacity in view of the same.


A transmission rate control method for controlling a transmission rate of data transmitted from a mobile station to a radio base station via an uplink, includes: receiving, at the mobile station, an Absolute Rate Grant Channel which indicates an absolute value of the transmission rate from the radio base station; and ignoring, at the mobile station, a Relative Rate Grant Channel which indicates a relative value of the transmission rate until each HARQ process has been performed once, after receiving the Absolute Rate Grant Channel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transmission rate control method for controlling transmission rate in uplink, a mobile station, and a radio base station.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional mobile communication system, in an uplink from a mobile station UE to a radio base station Node B, a radio network controller RNC is configured to determine a transmission rate of a dedicated channel, in consideration of radio resources of the radio base station Node B, an interference volume in an uplink, transmission power of the mobile station UE, transmission processing performance of the mobile station UE, a transmission rate required for an upper application, and the like, and to notify the determined transmission rate of the dedicated channel by a message of a layer-3 (Radio Resource Control Layer) to both of the mobile station UE and the radio base station Node B.
Here, the radio network controller RNC is provided at an upper level of the radio base station Node B, and is an apparatus configured to control the radio base station Node B and the mobile station UE.
In general, data communications often cause burst traffic compared with voice communications or TV communications. Therefore, it is preferable that a transmission rate of a channel used for the data communications is changed fast.
However, as shown in FIG. 1, the radio network controller RNC integrally controls a plurality of radio base stations Node B in general. Therefore, in the conventional mobile communication system, there has been a problem that it is difficult to perform fast control for changing of the transmission rate of channel (for example, per approximately 1 through 100 ms), due to processing load, processing delay, or the like.
In addition, in the conventional mobile communication system, there has been also a problem that costs for implementing an apparatus and for operating a network are substantially increased even if the fast control for changing of the transmission rate of the channel can be performed.
Therefore, in the conventional mobile communication system, control for changing of the transmission rate of the channel is generally performed on the order from a few hundred ms to a few seconds.
Accordingly, in the conventional mobile communication system, when burst data transmission is performed as shown in FIG. 2A, the data are transmitted by accepting low-speed, high-delay, and low-transmission efficiency as shown in FIG. 2B, or, as shown in FIG. 2C, by reserving radio resources for high-speed communications to accept that radio bandwidth resources in an unoccupied state and hardware resources in the radio base station Node B are wasted.
It should be noted that both of the above-described radio bandwidth resources and hardware resources are applied to the vertical radio resources in FIGS. 2B and 2C.
Therefore, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), which are international standardization organizations of the third generation mobile communication system, have discussed a method for controlling radio resources at high speed in a layer-1 and a media access control (MAC) sub-layer (a layer-2) between the radio base station Node B and the mobile station UE, so as to utilize the radio resources effectively. Such discussions or discussed functions will be hereinafter referred to as "Enhanced Uplink (EUL)".
In the field of the Enhanced Uplink (EUL), as shown in FIG. 3, the mobile station UE is configured to receive an "Absolute Rate Grant Channel (AGCH)" from a serving cell, and to receive a "Relative Rate Grant Channel (RGCH)" from the serving cell and non-serving cells.
Whenever the mobile station UE receives the AGCH, the mobile station UE is configured to transmit an uplink data in a target TTI (Transmission Time Interval) using the transmission rate (or a transmission power offset) which is indicated by the AGCH, irrespective of whether or not to receive of the RGCH.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, when the mobile station does not receive the AGCH, and detects "UP" command or "DOWN" command in the RGCH, the mobile station UE is configured to increase/decrease the transmission rate (the transmission power offset) in a previous TTI which belongs to the same HARQ process as the target TTI by predetermined value, and to determine the transmission rate (the transmission power offset) in the target TTI.
As shown in FIG. 5, the AGCH is used to increase the transmission rate instantaneously, or the like.
However, when the mobile station UE erroneously detects the RGCH, so as to determine that "UP" command or "DOWN" command is received at the mobile station UE against the instruction of the radio base station Node B, and when the above mentioned method for determining the transmission rate (transmission power ratio) is used, the transmission rate on the TTI prior to the TTI in which the transmission rate was changed instantaneously by the AGCH is increased/decreased. Therefore, the fast transmission rate control using the AGCH cannot be performed.
To be more specific, as shown in FIG. 6, the radio base station Node B transmits the AGCH to the mobile station UE which is transmitting the data at the transmission rate of 100 kbps in t=3 [TTI]. Then, the transmission rate in uplink in the mobile station UE increase up to 1Mbps in t=5 [TTI].
When the mobile station UE erroneously detects "UP" command in the RGCH in t=6 [TTI], the transmission rate is increased by the predetermined value from the transmission rate in t=2 [TTI] which is the previous TTI belongs to the same HARQ process as t=6 [TTI].
In other words, When the mobile station UE erroneously detects "UP" command in the RGCH in t=6 [TTI], the transmission rate is increased by the predetermined value from the transmission rate of 100 kbps in t=2 [TTI].
As a result, the transmission rate, which has been increased up to 1Mbps by the AGCH, decreases rapidly. Therefore, there has been a problem that certain processing such as retransmitting of the AGCH needed to be performed, and a transmission delay occurs.

Transmission rate control method and mobile station


A film forming system is to form an organic film on a substrate having a pattern formed on a surface thereof, includes: an organic film formation section configured to perform an organic film formation treatment on the substrate to form the organic film on the substrate; a film thickness measurement section configured to measure a film thickness of the organic film on the substrate; and an ultraviolet treatment section configured to perform an ultraviolet irradiation treatment on the organic film on the substrate to remove a surface of the organic film. In the film forming system, the organic film formation section, the film thickness measurement section, and the ultraviolet treatment section are disposed side by side in this order along a transfer direction of the substrate.

In a photolithography step in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, for example, in a multilayer wiring structure, a coating treatment of supplying a coating solution, for example, onto the surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as a "wafer") as a substrate to form an anti-reflection film or a resist film, an exposure treatment of exposing the resist film to a predetermined pattern, a developing treatment of developing the exposed resist film, a thermal treatment of heating the wafer and so on are performed in sequence to thereby form a predetermined resist pattern on the wafer. Then, an etching treatment is performed using the resist pattern as a mask, and then a removal treatment of the resist film or the like is performed to form a predetermined pattern on the wafer. The step of forming the predetermined pattern in a predetermined layer is repeatedly performed a plurality of times to manufacture the semiconductor device in the multilayer wiring structure.
Incidentally, in a case where the predetermined pattern is repeatedly formed on the wafer as described above, in order to form a resist film in an (n+1)-th layer at an appropriate height after the predetermined pattern is formed in an n-th layer, a surface to be coated with the resist solution needs to be flat.
Hence, conventionally, an organic film such as an SOC (Spin On Carbon) film or the like is formed on the predetermined pattern on the wafer to flatten a surface of the organic film.
In a method disclosed in Patent Document 1, an organic material is applied onto the wafer having a pattern formed on a surface thereof and the organic material is subjected to a thermal treatment to form into an organic film on the wafer. Then, the organic film is irradiated with ultraviolet rays, a surface of the organic film is removed until the surface of the pattern is exposed, namely, etched back, whereby flattening is achieved.

Film forming system, film forming method, and computer storage medium


The inventive subject matter relates to multi-layered massage devices for providing a pleasurable massage sensation; for simulating a lubricant-aided massage on the skin of an animal, without the use of a lubricant; for treating or preventing a cause or a symptom of a disease, disorder, or condition in an animal in need thereof, by administering a therapeutic massage; for genital stimulation for the pleasure of a male or female human; and for producing a low friction interface between a surface of a human body and a surface of another object.

1. Field of Invention
The inventive subject matter relates to multi-layered massage devices for providing a pleasurable massage sensation; for simulating a lubricant-aided massage on the skin of an animal, without the use of a lubricant; for treating or preventing a cause or a symptom of a disease, disorder, or condition in an animal in need thereof, by administering a therapeutic massage; for genital stimulation for the pleasure of a male or female human; and for producing a low friction interface between a surface of a human body and a surface of another object.
2. Background
Most people agree that Swedish massage provides some of the most delightful sensations imaginable, in the form of gentle hand pressure gliding slowly over muscles, coaxing tension and aches away. But who has time to go to a masseuse, and what about having to undress and spread massage oil over the skin?
The inventive device offers a convenient opportunity to add the pleasure and therapeutic benefits of massage to every-day life. It can be used, for example, for treatment of pain, and even in romantic or sexual settings. The inventive device provides delightful sensations leading to relaxation, pain relief, and even sensual/sexual pleasure.
The commercial products available today generally fall into two categories: (1) smooth or textured massaging bath mitts, gloves, and cloth, related to personal hygiene and (2) textured massage mitts and gloves specially designed for producing pleasurable sensations in the massage recipient.
The former group is disclosed to be useful for skin exfoliation, opening and cleansing the pores of the skin, increasing blood circulation under the skin, rejuvenating tissues, reducing fat deposits, and leaving the skin with an improved appearance. Consistently, massaging bath mitt products are made from high-friction materials such as sisal and agave fibers, loofa, loose weave nylon, and rubber.
The latter group is disclosed to be useful for the purpose of producing therapeutic, sensual, or sexual pleasure in the massage recipient. Consistently, these massage mitts fall into two material types: natural and artificial furs, and rubber-like materials, such as natural rubber, soft plastics, gels, flexible polymers, and similar materials.
A number of U.S. Patents disclose massage devices such as gloves and mitts made of fabric or textile, massage devices which provide a "dry" massage while simulating a "wet" massage, and the use of fabrics in multiple layers to provide desired low friction characteristics. None of the patents identified by Applicant combine all of these elements as in the inventive subject matter. Further, nothing in the documents identified by Applicant teaches or suggests combining all of these elements in a single device.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,607,499 and 6,494,851 issued to Becher on Aug. 19, 2003 and Dec. 17, 2002, respectively, disclose real time, dry mechanical relaxation and physical therapy devices for simulating application of massage and wet hydrotherapy. The devices in the Becher patents are complex machines having pairs of massage grippers connected to and extending from the device surfaces, wherein the massage gripper pairs are capable of moving reciprocally between an open and a closed position to simulate finger manipulated massage.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,487,726 issued to Sitiku on Dec. 3, 2002, discloses a massage mitt comprised of a flexible mitt-shaped sheet, made of plastic or rubber, which has a separate thumb portion and numerous projections that are specially shaped and spaced to ensure flexibility while massaging, allowing comfortable pushing, patting and pinching throughout the surface of the flexible sheet, and a fastening device on the back that can be easily cleaned, attached or removed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,070 issued to Chen on Aug. 29, 2000, discloses a bath glove woven out of yarns formed from twisted artificial fibers, wherein said yarns are hooked and pulled in specific manner to form bottom, middle, and top layers of yarns, the bottom layer of yarns forming loops to sequentially tighten the middle and top layers of yarns at predetermined intervals, such that parts of the yarns of middle and top layers between two adjacent points tightened together by the loops of the bottom yarns become loosely and upward projected, such that a difference in height exists between the middle and top layers of yarns to form a wavy, elastic and fluffy texture of the bath glove that traps more bubbles for better cleaning and massaging effect, without undesirably scratching skin.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,702, issued to Wrightenberry on Jul. 14, 1998, discloses a double layer sock having an inner ply having a foot portion that is undyed and a dyed outer ply covering the inner ply, wherein the inner ply is formed of antimicrobial and/or hydrophobic yarns, and the undyed section is inserted into the dyed section to form a two-ply construction having an undyed inner ply, having the characteristic of reducing friction between the wearer's foot and shoe.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,229 issued to Brandt, et al. on Apr. 26, 1994, discloses an articular bandage of elastic bandaging material which renders possible a selective transversal friction massage for the speedier rehabilitation of the joint functions of injured joints.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,844 issued to Hursh, et al. on Jul. 4, 1989, discloses an anti-friction two-ply athletic sock, especially for jogging or other athletic activity, having a foot portion which includes an inner ply having a first inner surface formed to make relatively high frictional contact with the skin of the wearer and a second, outer surface having relatively low frictional characteristics, wherein the inner ply is inserted within and fixed to an outer ply which includes a first inner surface having relatively low frictional characteristics disposed adjacent said second surface of said first ply and a second, outer surface having a relatively high frictional surface adapted to make contact with the interior of a shoe.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,615,188 issued to Hursh, et al. on Oct. 7, 1986, discloses a two-ply athletic sock, especially for jogging or other athletic activity, having a foot portion consisting of a first inner layer or ply disposed inside a second outer layer or ply, the first ply of the foot portion having an inner surface adapted to contact the skin formed principally of yarns having high frictional characteristics, high thermal conductivity, and low moisture regain, its opposed surface formed principally of yarns having relatively low frictional characteristics, and a second ply having an inner surface which has low frictional characteristics and its outer surface is formed of yarns having relatively high frictional characteristics and high moisture regain, the latter surface optionally formed with terry loops to enhance its shock-absorbing construction as well as to increase its moisture absorbing capacity.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,960 issued to Hursh, et al. on Feb. 25, 1986, discloses a two-ply athletic sock, having relatively low friction characteristics, permits the inner ply (in use) to slide relative to the outer ply for greater foot comfort and avoidance of blisters, said sock having a foot portion consisting of a first inner layer or ply disposed within and attached to a second outer layer or ply, the first or inner ply having (a) an inner (next-to-the-foot) surface comprising a plurality of moisture-absorbing fibers such as cotton fibers around which a yarn such as a nylon yarn is spirally wound and also having (b) an outer surface comprising yarns of nylon, for example, having relatively low friction characteristics compared with said inner surface, and a second or outer ply, having (a) an inner surface comprising yarns of nylon, for example, which also have relatively low friction characteristics and (b) an outer surface plaited on the yarns of the inner surface comprising a plurality of moisture-absorbing fibers such as cotton around which a yarn such as nylon is spirally wound.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,067,325, issued to Olask on Jan. 10, 1978, discloses a friction massage or rubbing material for use on the surface of the human body to remove dead skin and to generally give a feeling of good tone, in the form of a strap or mitten which includes a rubbing surface to be rubbed over the human body, said member composed of strands knitted in a pattern defining a surface with high and low areas adjacent to one another, and which strands are composed of a mixture of vegetable and animal fibers at a ratio of about 50% each and wherein the vegetable fiber component is about 50% sisal and 50% alfa and the animal hair is about 50% coarse animal hair, such as horse hair, and 50% fine animal hair, such as elephant hair.
Using a fur cloth, mitt, or glove to massage or stroke a subject is designed to produce the obvious smooth and silky sensations one would ordinarily expect from fur placed in contact with exposed skin. However, Applicant is aware of no products which are disclosed to produce such sensations using a fabric. The lack of such products is unexpected, and perhaps is indicative of the current marketing strategy for products of this type. Further, Applicant is unaware of any low-friction fabric or textile massage products, particularly having a multi-layer design and/or for use in producing the unexpected massage effects of the inventive subject matter in a clothed subject.
Conversely, rubber-like massage mitts are consistently marketed as having some variety of surface texturing, such as nubs or "fingers," and with the consistent recommendation for use with a lubricant, such as oil, soap, or powder. Applicant is unaware of any products which produce the sensation of a lubricant-aided massage using only a fabric or textile material, which produce the sensation of a lubricant-aided massage without the use of a lubricant, or which produce the sensation of a lubricant-aided massage in a clothed subject.
Thus, the inventive devices are an ideal solution to these problems. The same sensations as massage with oil on bare skin can be achieved, even through clothing. On bare skin it feels wonderful, but, amazingly, one can create the feeling of being massaged with oil right through clothing. With the inventive device, this experience can always be available and there is no mess and no clean up.
The inventive devices provides a means of transmitting hand pressure, in a nearly frictionless manner, over skin, muscle, and various body parts. In each device there is a minimum of one "silk-to-silk" interface, so horizontal movement remains nearly frictionless regardless of the nature of the surface it is laid upon or the characteristics of the skin of the person doing the massage. The sensations that are created are consistent-perfectly smooth and "silky". And this is maintained even if the device is soaking wet.
The essentially frictionless nature of the inventive device provides significant advantages beyond pleasant sensations. Massage done in this manner is much easier to perform and results in less fatigue of finger muscles. This is an important advantage for the average person, since most people do not perform massage regularly and have not developed much strength in the particular muscles involved. The novice would usually tire after only a few minutes, but with the inventive device they can perform a massage much longer. This feature will also make the work of professional masseuses and masseurs much easier. Another advantage is that if a recipient's muscles are sore, they can be worked on with much less pain. In addition, hand pressure that is applied in this fashion makes it easier for the recipient to keep muscles relaxed, which enhances the tension releasing, therapeutic benefits of massage.

Massage devices and methods of using same


A clock distribution module for a digital synchronous system is described. The clock distribution module comprising a first node arranged to comprise a clock signal comprising a propagation delay relative to a reference clock signal, at least one further node arranged to comprise a clock signal comprising a propagation delay relative to the reference clock signal corresponding to that of the first node, and a clock configuration module. The clock configuration module is arranged to receive at least one indication of clock skew between the first node and at least one further node of the clock distribution module, and to selectively couple the first node to the at least one further node based at least partly on the at least one indication of clock skew there between.

In a synchronous digital system, a clock signal is used to define a time reference for the movement of data within that system. A clock distribution network (often referred to as a clock distribution tree) distributes the clock signal(s) from a common point to the various synchronous elements within that clock domain. FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified example of a clock distribution network 100. Clock distribution networks typically comprise the greatest fan-out of all signals within a synchronous digital system, and typically operate at the highest speeds of any signals, either control or data, within the synchronous system. Since the transmission of data signals relies on a temporal reference provided by clock signals, the waveforms of those clock signals must be particularly clean and sharp. Furthermore, because long interconnect lines become significantly more resistive as line dimensions are decreased, clock signals are particularly affected by technology scaling.
Synchronous digital systems typically comprise cascaded banks of sequential registers with combinational logic between each set of registers. The functional requirements of the digital system are satisfied by the various logic stages, with timing requirements between the logic stages being controlled through appropriate clock signals provided to the respective registers. The proper design of the clock distribution network ensures that these critical timing requirements are satisfied. Thus, the reliability and accuracy of the clock signals has a significant impact on the maximum performance of the entire synchronous system.
Furthermore, the clock distribution network is often responsible for a significant proportion of the overall power consumption of an integrated circuit device therefor. One power saving technique often implemented within synchronous digital systems is dynamic frequency scaling (DFS), wherein the frequency of the clock signal(s) may be dynamically controlled to either reduce power consumption by reducing the frequency of the clock signal(s) or to increase performance by increasing the frequency of the clock signal(s). Such dynamic frequency scaling is often implemented with dynamic voltage scaling (DVS), whereby the supply voltage to elements within the synchronous digital system may be increased or decreased depending on the system requirements; the combined implementation of DFS and DVS typically referred to as dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS). For example, when low power consumption is a priority, the voltage supply may be reduced along with the clock frequency. Conversely, when high performance is a priority, the voltage supply may be increased along with the clock frequency, to enable fast switching of signals.
A mesh clock tree configuration is a known clock distribution network configuration comprising shorting between clock tree layers with the same propagation delay. This results in a multi-driven mode in which meshed clock nodes are driven by multiple clock tree registers. In this manner, skew between different clock tree branches may be reduced. Ideally, a mesh clock tree configuration should be implemented over an H-tree clock tree design, where all branches are totally symmetrical. FIG. 2 illustrates a simplified example of such an H-tree design 200. Within an ideal H-tree design, on chip variation is the only cause for skew, which can be reduced by shortening the length of branches. Thus, in an ideal H-tree clock tree design, branches will have skew, and so current through shorting lines will be limited.
In practice, H-tree implementation has many constraints due to the impact that it can have on functional components within the synchronous digital system. For example, memory elements typically have constraints for their placement, often resulting in an asymmetrical, non-rectangular layout. Furthermore, imposing fixed pre-placement of clock buffers and pre-routing of clock distribution nets with shielding can impact critical paths of the functional design for a synchronous digital system. Additionally, H-tree clock tree power consumption in low activity applications is higher than a normal clock tree configuration. Normal clock tree configurations are typically balanced for typical PVT (process, voltage, temperature) conditions, but suffer from elevated skew over PVT (process, voltage temperature) variations due to the non-symmetrical nature of branches within the network. Such elevated skew can be problematic for both setup and hold timing closure. The skew within a normal clock distribution network configuration may be reduced by applying connections between clock layers with the same propagation delay to create shorts there between. FIG. 3 illustrates a simplified example of the clock distribution network 100 of FIG. 1, comprising a normal clock tree configuration and with shorting connections applied between clock layers with the same propagation delay, as illustrated by the broken lines at 300. In this manner, a crude mesh clock tree may be achieved from a normal clock tree configuration, simplifying the practical implementation of such a mesh clock tree. However, the non-symmetrical nature of the branches within such a crude mesh clock tree design typically result in a high current through shorting lines, thereby increasing the power consumption of the clock distribution network.
Thus, a mesh clock tree implementation enables low skew to be achieved throughout the digital synchronous system, which enables good setup and hold timing closure, and thus enables high speed applications to be achieved. However, ideal mesh (H-Tree) clock tree implementations are difficult to implement in practice, and more crude mesh clock tree implementations suffer from high power consumption which is undesirable for low power applications. Conversely, a normal clock tree implementation has a lower power consumption than a mesh clock tree implementation at lower speeds, but suffers from high skew (especially over process/voltage/temperature ranges), which is problematic for high speed applications due to setup and hold timing issues. Accordingly, neither a mesh clock tree implementation nor a normal clock tree implementation provides an ideal solution across both high speed and low power configurations, for example such as may be desired within a digital synchronous system in which DVFS is implemented.

Clock distribution module, synchronous digital system and method therefor